U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley speaks to East Village Association, Jan. 8 at the Happy Village. Other speakers included Sameena Mustafa, Mike Skoulsky and Alyx Pattison. East Village Association membership meeting Jan. 8, 2018 Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott Ave. Three candidates in the March 20 primary election answered questions from EVA members Jan. 8, and the builder renovating St. Boniface Church as condos gave a progress report. Sameena Mustafa gave a critique of incumbent Rep. Mike Quigley. Although Mustafa agrees with the Democrat on many issues, Quigley voted to increase military spending and accepts PAC donations from from companies like Caterpillar that support fracking. Developer Mike Skoulsky is awaiting city review of a redevelopment agreement. St. Boniface church at 1358 W. Chestnut St. to 17 condos. A new building next door would have 24 condos. All would be 2- and 3-bedroom units. The former rectory lot will become a two-story building for Northwestern Settlem...

Redevelopment of the St. Boniface Church grounds is proceeding with a new partner: Stas Development is working with Northwest Settlement on a new mixed-use building for the former rectory site at 921 N. Noble St., replacing the Chicago Academy of Music. Builder Mike Skoulsky will give an update at Monday's East Village Association meeting. Skoulsky plans to convert the church at 1358 W. Chestnut St. to 17 residential units and build 24 units at the former school and convent site, 1340 W. Chestnut St. Saint Boniface Info has been posting news on discussions with neighbors.

Work continues on an apartment conversion at 1038 N. Ashland Ave. West Town residents come here to learn about the East Village Association , read its Planning, Preservation & Development guidelines, check the Chicago crime map or renew their membership . In addition, EVA news posts throughout the year reflect community interest in development, public safety and other issues. Most-read posts of 2017 suggest what has attracted neighbors' interest. Here are the top posts with updates on where things stand: Restaurant plan shakes Damen neighbors: Plans for a burger bar at 820 N. Damen Ave., now an auto mechanic's garage, have not progressed since an August hearing. Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) proposed and the City Council approved a moratorium on new tavern and packaged-goods licenses along Damen Avenue, from Chicago Avenue to Augusta Boulevard. Restaurants are not affected. The license freeze also covers Chicago Avenue from Leavitt Street to Damen.

East Village Association membership meeting Dec. 4, 2017 Happy Village, 1059 N. Wolcott Ave. Ald. Proco Joe Moreno expects a Chicago police satellite presence in East Village in the next few months. The 1st Ward alderman told EVA members Dec. 4 that Cmdr. Eddie Johnson during November budget hearings pledged to set a timeline at yearend for using vacant space in the former 13th District station at 937 N. Wood St. The building now houses the Cook County Sheriff's central warrant unit. Moreno saw positive signs in the appointment of Stephen C. Chung as 12th District commander and addition of 12 new officers in 2017. He admitted that staffing remains below 2015 levels, and suggested that business districts in the ward should consider hiring private security. Noting that new ballfields were nearly complete at Wells and Clemente, Moreno said he hoped that within five years neighborhood parents would appreciate having the high schools as default choices for incoming freshmen....

Nelson Algren poses at a viaduct (Library of Congress) A fountain at a major intersection quotes his writing. A community garden is named for one of his characters, played by Frank Sinatra. But what do you really know about Nelson Algren in East Village? Chicago Tribune transportation writer Mary Wisniewski is here to help. She visits the East Village Association on Monday to tell the tale of Algren's days and nights on Division Street. Wisniewski's biography Algren: A Life , published by Chicago Review Press, is a fine Christmas gift for East Village neighbors and friends who drop by to visit Algren's Gold Star barstool . As usual, we'll meet in a tavern, The Happy Village at 1059 N. Wolcott. The program starts at 7. The agenda includes Ald. Proco Joe Moreno on the State of the 1st Ward, Bridgette Flagg of Soule Restaurant, 1931 W. Chicago Ave., and an update on development at the Polish Triangle , where Algren's quote appears (“For the masses who do the city...

As Chicago aldermen debate the city's 2018 budget, a skeptic gives the East Village Association on Monday a community development perspective on municipal finances. Tom Tresser, a founder of the activist CivicLab group, will speak at 7 pm in the Happy Village, 1058 N. Wolcott Ave. Tresser is editor of "Chicago Is Not Broke," a collection of budget reform essays. Chicago's $8.6 billion budget is a 3% increase from current spending. The 2018 proposal adds 425 new police officers, detectives and sergeants and kicks in another $63 million in police and fire pension contributions from new taxes, including higher phone charges on 911 service. A public hearing is set for 11am Wednesday at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St. While Mayor Rahm Emanuel calls the plan gimmick-free , it pulls $40 million from the city's Tax Increment Financing property-tax earmarks. TIFs also shore up the school budget. Tresser's TIF Illumination Project calls TIFs a $1.4 billio...