Wells sheds light on ballpark night use

Ballfields will be lighted for night games at Wells High School.

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East Village Association membership meeting

Sept. 11, 2017
Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott Ave.

President's Welcome

Michael VanDam called the EVA community meeting together with a reminder: The board meets at 6:30pm Monday, Sept. 18. Meeting locations have been moving around, so watch Facebook for notifications.

Field of Hope

Rita Raichoudhuri, principal at Wells High School, discussed ballpark development behind the building at 936 N. Ashland Ave. Timeframe for completion is by Halloween.

Initially, specs were to include a soccer and a baseball field. Zoning allows only an Illinois High School Association regulation-size soccer field. The baseball team can only practice but not play official games on the field. Two sets of bleachers, each holding 75 persons, will be on the East side of the field.

Neighbors in attendance raised concerns regarding the recently installed field lights. Lights will be used only for evening games, Raichoudhuri said, ending around 8pm. School officials don't have game times. The custodial schedule ends at 9pm so Raichoudhuri suggested the events would end an hour or so before that. Urban lighting guidelines were followed.

Wells principal surveys improved turf

Construction equipment prepares Wells grounds for artificial turf.

Outgoing Wells High School principal Rita Raichoudhuri will discuss Field of Hope ballfield construction, school issues and her new Chicago Public Schools job at Monday's East Village Association meeting.

Artificial turf for soccer and baseball are being installed in a $3 million project behind the school at 936 N. Ashland Ave.

Graduation rates rose this spring in citywide Chicago Public Schools statistics. University of Illinois at Chicago found better school effectiveness. Wells' results improved the school environment while its enrollment slipped to 365 last year.

This is Raichoudhuri's last month as principal. She has been named executive director of the Chicago schools Office of College and Career Success, which is in charge of guidance counseling and special academic programs. Wells runs advanced placement courses as well as technology and law academies.

Monday's meeting starts at 7pm in the Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott Ave. The agenda is likely to include a recap on last month's West Town public safety meeting, at which aldermen pledged to reverse a decline in police manpower.

Aldermen pledge police force boost

Capt. Phil Kwasinski addresses an Aug. 31 public safety meeting with Aldermen Proco Joe Moreno and Brian Hopkins.

Two aldermen signed a pledge to fight for West Town police staffing at a Aug. 31 East Village Association special meeting. But they pushed back on notions of what they could get done.

The community letter they signed seeks return a police presence at the old 13th District Police Station within a year, and a return to more than 400 officers in the 12th District by the end of 2018.

While signing the letter, Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1st Ward) argued that it would take the votes of 26 aldermen to reopen the 13th District police station, which closed in 2012.

"I don't sign anything that I'm not going to do. I'm going to fight for that," Moreno said. "But I like wins as well. And I think the win we could have now, with your support, is to increase the number of police offers and the transparency within the department. I'll take that fight to the mayor or to anybody else, any day of the week and twice on Sunday."

A capacity crowd of about 120 people filled the meeting, called on short notice, at the Bath House Cultural Center at 1019 N. Wolcott Ave.