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No bells or whistles. No gossip or political glad-handing. Just neighborhood news, reported plainly and honestly by people who live here.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
CPD Nabs Another Man in Connection With Orange Line Robbery Back in July
Just released to the press by CPD at 11:08 a.m. today:
Archdiocese 'Clerical Abuse' Documents
Just released to the press at five minutes after midnight by the Archdiocese of Chicago:
Archdiocese of Chicago to Release
Decades-Old Clerical Abuse Documents
Documents Related to 36 Priests
will be Posted on Archdiocesan Website
at 9 a.m. on November 6
Chicago, November 5, 2014 - The Archdiocese of Chicago will release
documents on Thursday, November 6, at 9 a.m., related to 36 Archdiocesan
priests who have substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct with
minors, all of whom have been listed on the Archdiocese’s website for
years. The documents will be posted on the Archdiocesan website,
www.archchicago.org.
The documents are in addition to those released in January related to
30 other priests. The release, in combination with the January release,
covers all the priests who have substantiated allegations of sexual
misconduct with minors identified on the Archdiocese’s website, with
the exception of two priests where ongoing processes do not permit
release. All of the documents relate to incidents that date back many
years, and in many cases, decades. No priest with even one substantiated
allegation of sexual abuse of a minor serves in ministry in the
Archdiocese of Chicago today.
“As we said in January, we are committed to transparency with the
people we serve,” said Francis Cardinal George, OMI. “We cannot
change the past but we hope we can rebuild trust through honest and open
dialogue. Child abuse is a crime and a sin. The Archdiocese of Chicago
is concerned first and foremost with bringing healing to abuse
victims.”
The Archdiocese followed a thorough document review process to
determine which documents could be released. It was designed to protect
victim privacy, comply with legal restrictions against publishing mental
health and medical information and protect the privacy of third parties
mentioned in the documents, but not involved in the abuse. Nothing was
redacted or removed to conceal the identity of abusers. This process
resulted in the release of approximately 15,000 pages of material on the
36 priests.
Ninety-two percent of the cases included in the documents occurred
prior to 1988. Additionally, all of the priests involved in this
document release are out of ministry and 14 are deceased.
The Archdiocese of Chicago is in full compliance with the Charter for
the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the U.S. Bishops
in Dallas in June 2002. The Charter requires that no priest with even
one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor can serve in
public ministry. The Archdiocese of Chicago refers all reports of sexual
abuse immediately to civil authorities. The Archdiocese’s Independent
Review Board examines the findings of all investigations and makes
recommendations to the Archbishop regarding fitness for ministry and
safety of children.
The Archdiocese encourages anyone who has been sexually abused by a
priest, deacon, religious or lay employee, to come forward. Complete
information about reporting sexual abuse can be found on the
Archdiocesan website at
www.archchicago.org/departments/protection/protection.shtm.
About the Document Release
The documents, which will be posted on the Archdiocese’s website at 9
a.m. on November 6, concern the following priests, all of whom are out
of ministry and 14 are deceased:
● Alexander S. Baranowski*
● Richard B. Bartz
● Leonard A. Bogdan
● R. Peter Bowman*
● David F. Braun*
● Daniel P. Buck
● Eugene P. Burns*
● John W. Calicott
● Norman J. Czajka*
● Walter G. DeRoeck
● Francis E. Dilla*
● Richard W. Fassbinder*
● James V. Flosi
● Robert D. Friese
● Jesus P. Garza
● John E. Hefferan
● James Hoder
● Michael J. Hogan
● Walter E. Huppenbauer
● Robert L. Kealy
● John J. Keehan
● John J. Keough
● Leonard P. Kmak*
● William L. Lupo
● Robert J. McDonald
● Peter J. McNamara
● Gary M. Miller
● Donald J. Mulsoff*
● James M. Ray
● John A. Robinson
● John F. Rohrich
● Joseph E. Savage*
● Albert(o) Tanghal*
● Richard G. Theisen*
● Joseph S. Thomas*
● Anthony J. Vader*
*Deceased
About the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth
The Archdiocesan Office for the Protection of Children and Youth,
charged with assisting victims and their families and preventing abuse,
has trained and processed background checks on more than 173,700
priests, deacons, religious, lay employees and volunteers; conducted
more than 3,000 training sessions; and trained more than 200,000
children to protect themselves from sexual predators.
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Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Update: This is 'Local' Hiring, Checkers?
Update on November 5:
Checkers corporate officials answer Southwest Chicago Post follow-up questions. Scroll down to the bottom of this page.
By Tim Hadac
Managing Editor
Southwest Chicago Post
Earlier this year, a Checkers corporate spokesman told me that when it comes to staffing their hamburger restaurants, they are committed to hiring locally and that the company wants the staff to be a reflection of the community it serves.
So it sounded like
we could expect to see people from Garfield Ridge and Clearing well represented among the crew they'd be hiring to flip burgers, drop fries and make shakes at their new restaurant at Archer and Narragansett, right?
Didn't happen.
In response to a question I asked a few days ago, a Checkers representative informed me that just two of the 59 employees at Archer and Narragansett are from the 60638 ZIP code.
Who are the others?
Well, mostly ZIP codes from the South Side.
Nine employees from 60628 (Roseland), seven from 60637 (Woodlawn), six from 60619 (Chatham), five from Englewood (60636), five from South Shore (60617), and so forth. In fact, here's the exact breakdown:
Perhaps if your definition of "local" is "anywhere at all in Chicago," then Checkers hired locally.
But that's not my definition, and I'll bet it's not yours.
And as best I can see, they made no effort to recruit from Garfield Ridge or Clearing. I saw no outreach to the local press, local civic organizations and clubs. Nothing other than a sign at their construction site.
And it's not like there's no unemployment or underemployment here on the Southwest Side. There's plenty, thanks to this ongoing, sluggish economic recovery.
So it looks like Garfield Ridge has yet another fast-food joint, not locally owned, not locally operated, and which--for the most part--does not hire local men, women and teens.
Great.
Some in the community are saying hey, there's no law requiring them to hire locally, and at least we have something at that site, right? Better than a vacant eyesore, right?
Well, yes and no. Yes, in the sense that the site is now a business that is paying taxes and employing people--even if they live nowhere around here.
No, in the sense that Checkers is competing against local restaurants that are locally owned, locally operated and which hire local men, women and teens.
What Checkers ought to do is reconsider their actions and, moving forward, commit to hiring employees from the immediate neighborhood, as vacancies arise in the future.
Until then, I'll spend my fast-food dollar at the local independents.
Checkers corporate officials answer Southwest Chicago Post follow-up questions. Scroll down to the bottom of this page.
By Tim Hadac
Managing Editor
Southwest Chicago Post
Earlier this year, a Checkers corporate spokesman told me that when it comes to staffing their hamburger restaurants, they are committed to hiring locally and that the company wants the staff to be a reflection of the community it serves.
So it sounded like
Didn't happen.
In response to a question I asked a few days ago, a Checkers representative informed me that just two of the 59 employees at Archer and Narragansett are from the 60638 ZIP code.
Who are the others?
Well, mostly ZIP codes from the South Side.
Nine employees from 60628 (Roseland), seven from 60637 (Woodlawn), six from 60619 (Chatham), five from Englewood (60636), five from South Shore (60617), and so forth. In fact, here's the exact breakdown:
60015
|
1
|
60608
|
2
|
60617
|
5
|
60619
|
6
|
60620
|
4
|
60621
|
2
|
60623
|
1
|
60624
|
3
|
60628
|
9
|
60629
|
2
|
60636
|
5
|
60637
|
7
|
60638
|
2
|
60643
|
1
|
60644
|
3
|
60649
|
2
|
60651
|
1
|
60653
|
3
|
Perhaps if your definition of "local" is "anywhere at all in Chicago," then Checkers hired locally.
But that's not my definition, and I'll bet it's not yours.
And as best I can see, they made no effort to recruit from Garfield Ridge or Clearing. I saw no outreach to the local press, local civic organizations and clubs. Nothing other than a sign at their construction site.
And it's not like there's no unemployment or underemployment here on the Southwest Side. There's plenty, thanks to this ongoing, sluggish economic recovery.
So it looks like Garfield Ridge has yet another fast-food joint, not locally owned, not locally operated, and which--for the most part--does not hire local men, women and teens.
Great.
Some in the community are saying hey, there's no law requiring them to hire locally, and at least we have something at that site, right? Better than a vacant eyesore, right?
Well, yes and no. Yes, in the sense that the site is now a business that is paying taxes and employing people--even if they live nowhere around here.
No, in the sense that Checkers is competing against local restaurants that are locally owned, locally operated and which hire local men, women and teens.
What Checkers ought to do is reconsider their actions and, moving forward, commit to hiring employees from the immediate neighborhood, as vacancies arise in the future.
Until then, I'll spend my fast-food dollar at the local independents.
# # #
Update on November 5:
Here are answers from Checkers corporate officials to a few follow-up questions posed:
- Is the staff working at the Archer/Narragansett location temporary, like a team that specifically opens units, or is this the staff specifically designated for Archer/Narragansett? No, they are hired for the location. However, the training restaurant was in a different zip code so a lot of the employees hired lived closer to that restaurant. They are seeing an increase in applicants from this zip code and are excited about reviewing them.
- I was surprised to see only two of 59 staff from the immediate area (60638). How many 60638 residents applied for jobs there? Unfortunately, I don’t have that data available today. We are working with our ATS (Applicant System) vendor so we can get this information in the future.
- Other than the sign at the construction site, which encouraged people to apply, did Checkers conduct any activities in the immediate area, like hiring fairs, outreach to specific organizations? Back in June, we sent a letter to the Principal at John F Kennedy High School advising him of employment opportunities at Checkers and directing interested applicants to our website, www.work4checkers.com . Checkers also will reach out to the local unemployment agencies for support. For this location, there were sufficient applications generated through our ATS system so a job fair was not required.
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Sunday, November 2, 2014
St. Rene Faithful Rally to Save School
Well over 100 people--and perhaps as many as 150--braved
the cold, windy weather Sunday night to show support at a prayer vigil for St. Rene Goupil School---one of two Southwest Side Catholic elementary schools that the Chicago Archdiocese plans to close after the 2014-15 school year.
The vigil was organized quickly by several parent leaders at the school, who vowed that they would find a way to reverse the decision and keep the school open.
St. Rene has been a cornerstone of Catholic education in the Clearing neighborhood for decades.
The decision to close, consolidate and re-configure certain schools in the Chicago Archdiocese was explained by Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., in a column posted online:
http://www.catholicnewworld.com/cnwonline/2014/1102/cardinal.aspx
Video of the prayer vigil below. Organizers are asking that all friends of St. Rene Goupil School--parishioners, parents, alumni, alumni parents, local business owners, and all members of the community, attend a planning meeting set for 7 p.m. Thursday, November 6 at the school, 6340 South New England Avenue.
People of all abilities are needed to help pull together and implement an action plan to save the school and ensure its long-term survival.
# # #
The vigil was organized quickly by several parent leaders at the school, who vowed that they would find a way to reverse the decision and keep the school open.
St. Rene has been a cornerstone of Catholic education in the Clearing neighborhood for decades.
http://www.catholicnewworld.com/cnwonline/2014/1102/cardinal.aspx
Video of the prayer vigil below. Organizers are asking that all friends of St. Rene Goupil School--parishioners, parents, alumni, alumni parents, local business owners, and all members of the community, attend a planning meeting set for 7 p.m. Thursday, November 6 at the school, 6340 South New England Avenue.
People of all abilities are needed to help pull together and implement an action plan to save the school and ensure its long-term survival.
# # #
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Letters to the Editor
Editor's note: We respect your opinion and are privileged to share it via this website. All letters to the editor will
be reviewed before being posted. We do allow anonymous comments, yet we will not allow the Southwest Chicago Post to serve as a forum for bigotry of any kind. We also will not allow personal attacks against anyone, including elected officials and other public figures. On this site, all of us need to keep our tone respectful and our criticisms constructive. That's important as we work together to build better Southwest Side neighborhoods for all. So please join the conversation by sending your letter to editor@swchicagopost.com.
Editor,
Dear Editor:
Thank you for speaking with me on the phone the other day and clearing up the misconception I had. It was not your paper that ran special pages about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It was another paper.
To reiterate what I said on the phone, my mom is a breast cancer survivor and it bothers me to no end to see these little newspapers with their annual "fight breast cancer" pages that are filled with paid advertising from politicians and businesses. My sister's business was solicited by a saleswoman to purchase an ad in these pages.
When she learned the cost of the ad, she asked, "So, how much of that is the newspaper donating to the American Cancer Society (or some similar charity)?" to her shock, the ad saleswoman said, "Nothing."
"Nothing?" she asked. "You mean your newspaper is pocketing it all? Isn't that like a scam? And if I don't advertise in your special Breast Cancer Awareness section, I look like I don't care, by my absence, right? Is that the game you're playing?"
The saleswoman left in a hurry.
What angers me further is that these pages offer no significant, useful advice for women. They are just a cluster of ads that basically say, "We think breast cancer is a bad thing."
Gee, ya think?
Sue Vencuro
Archer Heights
Editor:
I want to thank Congressman Dan Lipinski for staging such a nice parade on Archer Road this year. You could see from the look on the children's faces how much they enjoyed it, and that was the point, right?
* * *
Editor,
While we're on the subject of ward parades, the past two years' handling of bus transportation issues--(and I blame both the CTA and the parade sponsors/district and ward officials for their lax attitude toward public transportation commuters) was a nightmare-- not on Elm Street, but on Archer Avenue!
COMPLAINT: Definitely not enough heads-up community mentions about times and re-routing specifics on Archer (which needs to be stated in media outlets and on street postings well ahead of time--say, at least a week).
COMMENTS: In 2013's parade, the driver of the CTA bus I was riding on (I hadn't learned of the parade that day) suddenly turned left off Archer-- well ahead of the usual route end-- without any explanation to the group of passengers. She opened the doors and as most of us, bewildered, piled forward, querying her, she mumbled something vague and inarticulate, and unceremoniously left us and drove off (including a couple of seniors in their 70s and 80s). We were left to cross the street to wait at the westbound bus stop (not knowing--nor did this driver tell us--that the CTA buses would not be going further west until the parade ended-- a parade most of us still didn't know was happening, as we were at least a mile away)!
I begrudgingly was forced to walk to my long-off destination, but kept thinking about those poor seniors (who had canes and bags)-- don't know how they got to their homes. On the way back-- well after the parade ended-- the buses still weren't running along Archer, so I walked yet again. And met up, yet again, with another senior lady (carrying two full bags!). She was confused and tired. I told her she would have to walk a long way (roughly Central to Cicero!), and proceeded to help her by taking both bags and walking very slowly. Needless to say, it took us a LONG time to get to Cicero. And there, we waited another 20 minutes or longer. Finally, a Cicero southbound bus showed up and I helped her on (she still had to get to her home near Midway Airport-- and it was dark by then)!
As the rest of us waited at this corner, no Archer bus was showing up (it was at least an hour now)...until someone shouted...an Archer bus was on Cicero about to turn eastbound (apparently, while we were all waiting and watching for a bus to come down Archer, from the nether-regions of west Garfield Ridge, at least two Archer buses, must've re-routed down 55th and 'snuck up behind us' on Cicero, to turn back eastward on their merry way down Archer! Well, that young lady yelled loud enough across Cicero to stop that Archer bus in its tracks...we all scuttled across Cicero and scowled as we boarded. All the driver could say, was, "I don't know about that; I just came on shift"!
Earlier this year, I told myself, the parade fiasco wouldn't, couldn't repeat itself. Officials would certainly have straightened out the commuter/bus problems along Archer. Wishful thinking! Before I realized what was happening (again, no advance warning/postings in Archer Heights, on the parade about to start in Garfield Ridge), the bus stopped very short of where I (and others) wanted to go-- further westbound. This time, the CTA driver didn't even know what was happening (she said she was just told to turn here, go there...she wasn't told about any parade). So, another year, another pile of people left behind to walk helter-skelter along an empty Archer Avenue, like in a zombie movie!
On the way back, the same story. Had to walk for a long time, and wait a long time at Archer and Cicero for a bus (again, at least 45 minutes to an hour after the parade had ended). Among the group waiting with me this year, was-- the irony!-- a senior veteran with a cane, and proudly wearing his military cap-- thanks to the Veterans Day Parade, this elderly gentleman was left stranded, along with the rest of us (including a woman in a motorized wheel chair, and another middle-aged woman with luggage)!
SO, moral of the story: It's much less important where a parade is held. It's direly important that the parade organizers get the logistics right! Especially 1) transportation issues 2) timing issues 3) proper notification/postings well in advance.
I for one am glad the parade was moved off Archer Avenue in Garfield Ridge....maybe next year, I can get to where I need to go, without walking miles, waiting hours and wasting precious time!
Anonymous
COMPLAINT: Definitely not enough heads-up community mentions about times and re-routing specifics on Archer (which needs to be stated in media outlets and on street postings well ahead of time--say, at least a week).
COMMENTS: In 2013's parade, the driver of the CTA bus I was riding on (I hadn't learned of the parade that day) suddenly turned left off Archer-- well ahead of the usual route end-- without any explanation to the group of passengers. She opened the doors and as most of us, bewildered, piled forward, querying her, she mumbled something vague and inarticulate, and unceremoniously left us and drove off (including a couple of seniors in their 70s and 80s). We were left to cross the street to wait at the westbound bus stop (not knowing--nor did this driver tell us--that the CTA buses would not be going further west until the parade ended-- a parade most of us still didn't know was happening, as we were at least a mile away)!
I begrudgingly was forced to walk to my long-off destination, but kept thinking about those poor seniors (who had canes and bags)-- don't know how they got to their homes. On the way back-- well after the parade ended-- the buses still weren't running along Archer, so I walked yet again. And met up, yet again, with another senior lady (carrying two full bags!). She was confused and tired. I told her she would have to walk a long way (roughly Central to Cicero!), and proceeded to help her by taking both bags and walking very slowly. Needless to say, it took us a LONG time to get to Cicero. And there, we waited another 20 minutes or longer. Finally, a Cicero southbound bus showed up and I helped her on (she still had to get to her home near Midway Airport-- and it was dark by then)!
As the rest of us waited at this corner, no Archer bus was showing up (it was at least an hour now)...until someone shouted...an Archer bus was on Cicero about to turn eastbound (apparently, while we were all waiting and watching for a bus to come down Archer, from the nether-regions of west Garfield Ridge, at least two Archer buses, must've re-routed down 55th and 'snuck up behind us' on Cicero, to turn back eastward on their merry way down Archer! Well, that young lady yelled loud enough across Cicero to stop that Archer bus in its tracks...we all scuttled across Cicero and scowled as we boarded. All the driver could say, was, "I don't know about that; I just came on shift"!
Earlier this year, I told myself, the parade fiasco wouldn't, couldn't repeat itself. Officials would certainly have straightened out the commuter/bus problems along Archer. Wishful thinking! Before I realized what was happening (again, no advance warning/postings in Archer Heights, on the parade about to start in Garfield Ridge), the bus stopped very short of where I (and others) wanted to go-- further westbound. This time, the CTA driver didn't even know what was happening (she said she was just told to turn here, go there...she wasn't told about any parade). So, another year, another pile of people left behind to walk helter-skelter along an empty Archer Avenue, like in a zombie movie!
On the way back, the same story. Had to walk for a long time, and wait a long time at Archer and Cicero for a bus (again, at least 45 minutes to an hour after the parade had ended). Among the group waiting with me this year, was-- the irony!-- a senior veteran with a cane, and proudly wearing his military cap-- thanks to the Veterans Day Parade, this elderly gentleman was left stranded, along with the rest of us (including a woman in a motorized wheel chair, and another middle-aged woman with luggage)!
SO, moral of the story: It's much less important where a parade is held. It's direly important that the parade organizers get the logistics right! Especially 1) transportation issues 2) timing issues 3) proper notification/postings well in advance.
I for one am glad the parade was moved off Archer Avenue in Garfield Ridge....maybe next year, I can get to where I need to go, without walking miles, waiting hours and wasting precious time!
Anonymous
* * *
Dear Editor:
Thank you for speaking with me on the phone the other day and clearing up the misconception I had. It was not your paper that ran special pages about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It was another paper.
To reiterate what I said on the phone, my mom is a breast cancer survivor and it bothers me to no end to see these little newspapers with their annual "fight breast cancer" pages that are filled with paid advertising from politicians and businesses. My sister's business was solicited by a saleswoman to purchase an ad in these pages.
When she learned the cost of the ad, she asked, "So, how much of that is the newspaper donating to the American Cancer Society (or some similar charity)?" to her shock, the ad saleswoman said, "Nothing."
"Nothing?" she asked. "You mean your newspaper is pocketing it all? Isn't that like a scam? And if I don't advertise in your special Breast Cancer Awareness section, I look like I don't care, by my absence, right? Is that the game you're playing?"
The saleswoman left in a hurry.
What angers me further is that these pages offer no significant, useful advice for women. They are just a cluster of ads that basically say, "We think breast cancer is a bad thing."
Gee, ya think?
Sue Vencuro
Archer Heights
* * *
Editor:
I want to thank Congressman Dan Lipinski for staging such a nice parade on Archer Road this year. You could see from the look on the children's faces how much they enjoyed it, and that was the point, right?
Ester Fernandez
Summit
* * *
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