Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by:
|
|
|
|
|
This Thursday, spend a few moments with the latest local stories from WTTW News.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The nonprofit arts organization SkyART, which provides free arts programming to young people on Chicago’s South and West sides, plans to expand its South Side studio space in South Chicago after receiving a $2.5 million state grant. (Courtesy of Ry Thiel)
|
The nonprofit SkyART, which provides free arts programming to young people on Chicago’s South and West sides, aims to reduce its waitlist through a recently announced expansion of its South Side studio space.
A $2.5 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity covers infrastructure costs for SkyART to add an additional 2,000 square feet of studio and art therapy space at its flagship location in South Chicago, according to a news release.
The planned expansion comes as SkyART gears up to host a free community block party on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. for the organization’s 25th anniversary. The celebration will be held at SkyART West, 3450 W. Lake St., which opened last year in Garfield Park.
Free tickets are available here.
Ahead of the upcoming celebration and planned expansion, Executive Director Devon VanHouten-Maldonado reflected on the organization's programming and its role in supporting young people on the South and West sides amid ongoing funding and fundraising difficulties for arts organizations in the city.
Some backstory:
The organization’s programming, beyond teaching technical art skills, aims to teach young people how to think like an artist, according to VanHouten-Maldonado. These skills — being able to experiment, adapt and try new things — can help build self-esteem and help young people become creative leaders in the future, he said.
“Where we choose to invest in young people is ultimately what’s gonna become our reality,” VanHouten-Maldonado said. “If we’re not preserving, maintaining and building young people’s creativity, their social emotional learning, their emotional intelligence, they’re gonna lose those things, and we already see those things being dramatically threatened by social media, and now, AI.”
SkyART provides free art programs and creative therapies for young people ages 7 to 24.
Programs offered include an after-school social emotional learning program for ages 7 to 13; an open studio program for teens; and an art therapy program. The organization also partners with schools and community organizations.
Last year, the organization served more than 1,000 young people.
Through the expansion of its South Side studio space located at 3026 E. 91st St. — which currently sees high demand for its programs — the organization aims to serve even more young people. In the spring, the organization had a waitlist of 80 people for its programs, VanHouten-Maldonado said. It's expected to open in 2028.
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsor Message
|
|
Andersonville Internal Medicine is a Chicago-based concierge practice providing personalized primary care for adults through a relationship-centered, membership-based model. By caring for a smaller patient panel, our physicians are able to offer extended appointments, proactive preventive care, and 24/7 direct access. We provide same-day or next-day appointments, as well as regular health check-ins focused on both chronic disease management and long-term wellness.
Our concierge care model emphasizes seamless, personal, and consistent care over time. Call or inquire online for a complimentary meet and greet appointment in either Andersonville or Evanston. Healthcare as it should be.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Chicago City Hall is pictured in a file photo. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
|
A key Chicago City Council committee agreed on Tuesday to tighten Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, advancing a slate of changes that includes a requirement that candidates explicitly stand by their advertisements.
The Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight unanimously voted to advance a revised package of reforms first introduced in May 2024, sending it to the full City Council for a final vote on Sept. 23.
More context:
The proposed changes to Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance were crafted by the Chicago Board of Ethics “in response to multiple incidents of problematic behavior.”
The new rules would require candidates to include a statement, either read by the candidate or clearly printed, that the candidate has approved the advertisement.
Candidates for federal office have had to include similar statements in their advertisements since 2002, as part of an effort intended to discourage negative attack ads by making candidates claim personal responsibility for the content of their campaign ads.
However, the amount of negative political ads has only increased since that claim of responsibility became a routine, and much-mocked, part of campaign advertising.
The revised ordinance would also expand the prohibition on the use of city property for political purposes by explicitly banning candidates from using “any uniform, badge or other insignia that identifies or purports to identify an individual as a city official or employee” as part of their campaign.
Former Chicago Board of Ethics Chair William Conlon specifically warned all candidates running in the 2023 mayoral election not to use images of uniformed Chicago police officers, firefighters or city personnel in campaign advertisements.
If approved by the City Council, those changes would take effect in 30 days.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(Kenishirotie / iStock)
|
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office has reached a settlement agreement with the Northern Illinois Gas Company to cut the natural gas utility’s requested rate increase by approximately $140 million.
Raoul on Wednesday announced the settlement, saying the deal allows Nicor to “retain good jobs in Illinois” while also protecting consumers from “drastic” rate increases.
“My office’s Public Utilities Bureau will continue to fight to ensure all customers are paying fair and reasonable rates for their utilities,” Raoul said in a statement.
Nicor, which serves 2.3 million customers across northern Illinois, sought a $221 million rate increase in January, which represented a 14.5% increase over current rates. The utility at that time said the increase was necessary to allow for “strategic investments” to help enhance the “safety, reliability and resilience of its natural gas system,” particularly during periods of extreme weather.
But consumer advocates expressed outrage with the move, calling on state regulators to reject the request, which had come less than two months after state regulators approved a $168 million rate hike for the utility.
Raoul’s office opposed Nicor’s request, claiming instead that significant portions of Nicor’s forecasted capital spending program were overstated or unnecessary, and that the utility inflated a routine accounting mechanism to bolster its profits.
As part of the settlement agreement, Nicor’s rate increase was cut from that $221 million request down to $81 million.
According to the spokesperson, the average monthly impact to residential customers is expected to be $2.21 per month, or about 2.49% on their total annual bill.
|
|
|
|
|
|
More From WTTW News:
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Back in the Day: September 10, 1986 - The Chicago Theatre Reopens With Frank Sinatra Performance
|
In the early ‘80s, the Chicago Theatre was nearly demolished. Once the pride of Balaban and Katz, the 1921 theater hit hard times and, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, “endured two insensitive ‘remodelings’ and has withstood infestations of mice, cockroaches and pickpockets, who filled its ventilation shafts with empty wallets and discarded purses.” On this day 40 years ago, the Chicago Theatre officially reopened after a nine-month, $4 million renovation undertaken by
Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group. The reopening was marked by a Frank Sinatra performance, a singer who last took the Chicago Theatre stage 44 years prior.
|
|
|
|
|
This Week’s Arts & Culture Events
|
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
Yes, Labor Day marked the symbolic end of summer and autumn feels closer than ever. Before you start buying pumpkin spice lattes, decorating the house for Halloween and taking your cardigans out of the closet, take a moment to realize that the city’s arts community doesn’t slow down as the seasons change. Just as summer brought the goods when it came to cultural events, you’ll find more than enough to do as we dive into fall.
Theater: “The Birth of the Pill” — TimeLine Theatre
A play based on journalist Jonathan Eig’s 2014 nonfiction book “The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution” makes its world premiere at Chicago’s TimeLine Theatre. Adapted by Jessica Huang and directed by Sandra Marquez, this brand new production “explores the transformative power of vision and invention, alongside the costs of pursuing both by any means necessary.” It runs now until Oct. 4. Buy tickets here.
Film: “Andrei Tarkovsky: Complete Retrospective” — The Gene Siskel Film Center
One of this newsletter producer’s favorite filmmakers is the Russian auteur Andrei Tarkovsky, whose patient, visually lush and cerebral approach was wildly influential. Whether he was making movies about historical figures, interpersonal dramas or science fiction, his work weighed and toyed with heavy themes like spirituality, reality and dreams. Throughout this month, the Gene Siskel Film Center is screening all of his movies, from 1962’s “Ivan’s Childhood” to 1986’s “The Sacrifice.” Check out screenings and showtimes here.
Art: Catherine Opie Lecture — The Art Institute of Chicago
The acclaimed photographer, educator and filmmaker Catherine Opie will be visiting the Art Institute of Chicago for a lecture Monday evening. The UCLA professor and 2019 Guggenheim Fellow is appearing at Fullerton Hall from 6-7:30 p.m. as part of the museum’s Visiting Artists program. For more information on the free and open-to-the-public event, click here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's the No. 1 thing Chicagoans should do outside before summer is over?
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
|
|
|
|
|
5:30 PM | 10:00 PM
|
|
|
Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on
Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more.
|
Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
|
|
|
|
|
