East Village Association membership meeting Aug. 3, 2020, via Zoom. Presiding: John Gantner, president Renters and homeowners can apply for relief set aside in this spring's emergency Illinois legislative session. State Rep. Delia Ramirez gave the outlines of the program at the East Village Association's Aug. 3 online meeting. Staring Aug. 10, renters can apply for up to $5,000 in rent assistance to cover COVID-19 related hardships, drawn from $396 million in federal coronavirus relief funds. Five local organizations are administering the $150 million available on a first-come, first-served basis, Ramirez said. On Aug. 24, the mortgage relief program opens with $150 million set aside, up to $15,000 per household . Ramirez will offer details in online  information sessions Aug. 11-13 ; her office is open by appointment .

Windy City Mini Market, 1756 W. Chicago Ave. EVA members will take an advisory vote Monday on a change to a Chicago Avenue package goods license, and state Rep. Delia Ramirez will give an update on her work in Springfield. Windy City Mini Market plans to add hard liquor to its beer and wine sales at 1756 W. Chicago Ave. The convenience store has been selling beer and wine since 2016 under a plan of operation that does not allow sale of any item of less than $5.99. The 2016 plan negotiated with EVA put a system in place to show that liquor does not exceed 30% of sales, but with no explicit monitoring routine. A signage provision requires unobstructed views into the store.

Wells Community Academy High School, 936 N. Ashland Ave. East Village Association membership meeting April 1, 2019, Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott Ave. Presiding: Michael VanDam, president Wells Community Academy High School has been allocated $120,000 as a "magnet cluster" in fine and performing arts. This program adds art, music, dance and drama to Wells' specialties in JROTC, law and computers, and allows the neighborhood school at 936 N. Ashland Ave. to attract more students from outside its boundaries. Wells Principal Michael Stosek will address East Village Association members June 3. While Wells won the fine arts designation, Ogden International School at 1250 W. Erie St. bid unsuccessfully for a bilingual program to complement its international baccalaureate designation. Michele Dreczynski and Grand Drutchas told members they've been working to establish a local language academy high school, devoted to bilingual proficiency, which benefits pupils...

From the Happy Village patio, Pauline Dengler describes the Cook County State's Attorney's west side initiatives. East Village Association membership meeting Sept. 10, 2018, Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott Ave. Presiding: Michael VanDam, president Two prosecutors work out of the Community Justice Center at 715 W. Maxwell St. At the Sept. 10 EVA meeting, community liaison Pauline Dengler described their action on crimes in the 11th and 12th Chicago Police districts and on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. Dengler's classes and programs for community members include court advocacy, a self-defense course and " Keeping It Real " panel discussions with ex-offenders. Delia Ramirez, an unopposed candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives , told members she would for advisory committees on public safety, housing, schools and other local issues. Ramirez noted that a large class of new state representatives could pull the legislature toward more...

Candidates for the 4th District House seat in the March 20 Illinois primary election share a progressive outlook. But the four women had time to spell out their differences during a Feb. 21 forum at Rowe Middle School, 1420 W. Augusta Blvd. CAN-TV recorded the event for cable broadcast . Organizer Our Urban Times posted candidates' answers to off-camera questions. Here's the "too long, didn't watch" guide to how Iris Millan, Alyx Pattison, Delia Ramirez and Anne Shaw responded to questions from East Village Association members and an overflow audience of about 125. Top priority Millan and Pattison put revenue first, largely from a progressive income tax that would require amending the state constitution. Ramirez and Shaw stress the need to raise school subsidies.

East Village Association membership meeting Feb. 5, 2018 Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott Ave. Chicago Avenue would be trimmed to three motor-vehicle lanes in a "road diet" proposed by the West Town Chamber of Commerce. Program manager Kace Wakem told East Village Association members Feb. 5 that the Chicago Department of Transportation and Chicago Transit Authority are studying the proposal, part of the West Town Master Plan produced in 2017. CDOT has identified Chicago Avenue east of Paulina Street as a "high-crash corridor" in its Vision Zero safety plan, while the CTA is tracking performance of the #66 bus route. The plan would reduce the two center lanes to a single left-turn lane. Bike lanes would be added in either direction. Chicago Avenue was identified in the city's 2012 plan to create crosstown bike routes . Grants for tree planting, considered in meeting a sustainability goal, would require volunteers to plant and care for trees. Other maste...