What's Good-What's Bad & How Much Did This Study Cost?
The word "Perception" gets used almost every time by DevCorp North when they speak or write about safety in Rogers Park. I wanted to see exactly what the word " perception " meant.
Checking a couple dictionaries, a common thread was the word "Idea". I had an idea what the word idea meant, but I decided to check a couple of dictionaries to get the correct meaning. Again, I found one of the common themes for the word " idea" was the word "opinion".
The reason I bring this up. I read the word "Perception" in describing safety for Rogers Park Full Circle Project (Jan 6, 05 ) material "Perception of Dangerous activity on Morse and Howard."
Looking at this map, the perception is, these interns working for DevCorp on this project don't have a clue as to what is an asset and what is a liability. When they found an asset, they added extra stars, call them the 4-Star locations if you will, such as The 1218 W. Morse property or the Field School. Liabilities were given just a single circle!
They listed the Cobblers Mall, a place where DevCorp has offices as a liability, but Soo Liquors as an Asset? Listing the property below as an asset?
They needed one more star ( star on the bottom of the map. ) They went "Out of Bounds to get this star included. The photo below is the property. Did the interns get extra credit to find this ( See 49th Ward Anti Affordable Housing Plan, Part 1), then add it as an asset?
This whole Roger Park Full Circle Project "idea" was a waste of Grant funds! It is my "opinion" DevCorp should return this money back to the Government and fire the intern they hired to head up this star and circle map project! His name is Daniel Butt. No, this isn't a joke.
Rogers Park Full Circle Project
7 comments:
Craig, I don't think you know how a community process works. It wasn't DevCorp putting those "stars" on the map, it was the community -- your neighbors. In this kind of "charrette" (look that one up), whatever the participants say gets recorded, good or bad, without judgment by the facilitators.
The whole parks and beach community assessment process is a similar deal. There were something like 800 recommendations that came out of that community process. Some were just plain dumb or off the wall, such as #208: "No more insect pests" in the parks. Huh? But the organizers left it in there because a neighbor said it.
So I really think it's just DevCorp giving people their say, whatever it is they said. That doesn't mean that the final report will say: "We should expand Soo Liquors and make sure all drug deals occur in front of it."
-Michael C.
Those symbols were not assigned by this community! They were assigned by interns who are ignorant of this community. It is most interesting that the interns ignored the Rogers Park Community Council and Rogers Park Community Development Corporation offices on the 1500 block of Morse. It's even more interesting that DevCorp staff and Board of Directors allowed this oversight to remain on the map of the SSA area. After all, Ms. Kimberly Bares used to work in those offices!
Sandi Price also worked for Cary Steinbuck and the Rogers Park Community Council for many years. Now she works for Kim Bares and DevCorp North.
>In this kind of "charrette" (look that one up), whatever the participants say gets recorded, good or bad, without judgment by the facilitators.
The facilitators had obviously trained hard on how to manage the process to create a desired result.
The idea of public washrooms in the Howard EL was brought up, but the facilitor classified this idea as "not gonna happen" and we were not allowed to vote in favor of it.
Police foot patrols were suggested and the facilitator again tried to prevent us from voting in favor of the idea, reversing his call only after noticing that it was the number one vote getter in all the other groups.
A similar charrette process was used to prove public support for the Devon-Sheridan TIF. Yeah, sure.
An employee of James DiMatteo, Trident Management, the manangement company of Gatewall Mall, suggested we decorate the windows of empty storefronts, a currently on-going DevCorp North project, and this was accepted by the facilitator and we were allowed to vote on it.
perception=observation therefore we can all look at an object and see a different view.
Facilitator=takes on a totally different meaning in politics. Usually it means to 'spur on' i.e. get things moving. In RP it usually amounts to agree with the powers that be and don't make waves.
just one small comment on one of the photos you printed.
i have lived across the street from the building you condemn as being a gang hangout since may. my second floor window overlooks that exact corner. however, i have never seen any gang members congregating outside of the building. i HAVE seen some shady activity going on, but it has been relatively minor (and usually occurs on the corner of morse and glenwood -- not lunt).
In the chicago reader, one of my neighbors said he had seen hookers, pimps, gangbangers etc. outside our apartment building, and said this was why his faltering theatre could no longer put on successful plays.
While some of this activity does undoubtedly occur, i have to say the police have been doing a good job since stepping up patrols. despite these public comments, i have NEVER seen any gangbangers outside of this building. however, i have only been at this location since late april of 2004.
keep up the good work and thank you for caring so much about this neighborhood. can you state where you get this information from? which gangs are present? i don't doubt that they operate nearby.
sincerely,
a neighbor.
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