February 2005 | Choice News

One-woman battle to save the No. 11 Lincoln Avenue bus

The threatened Chicago Transit Authority service cuts might have intimidated some people. But when hairdresser Stevie Smith heard about them, she pedaled straight to Evanston Township High School for the public hearings. What she heard compelled her to launch a one-woman grassroots campaign to save the No. 11 Lincoln Avenue bus.

At the hearings, many not-for-profit groups spoke for the physically handicapped, claiming that canceling routes would make getting around the city incredibly difficult for these people. “The CTA plans to double the monthly rate for Para-transit cards from $150 to $300. One man spoke of how the Para-transit card had helped him to go to college and to find a great job,” Smith said.

Canceling the No. 11 would mean Smith’s own commute would go from an approximately 30-minute one-bus ride, to an hour-long journey involving two buses and an “L” train (or one bus and two trains).

Smith understands physical impediments. In July, 2000, she was hit by a car while on her bicycle and suffered broken bones, including several fractured ribs. She was out of work and bedridden for five months. When finally able to walk with crutches, she hobbled the half block to catch the No. 11, which dropped her off right in front of the Lincoln Park Sine Qua Non Salon, 2766 N. Lincoln Ave.

“The bus enabled me to work 16 hours a week. If I’d had to spend $20 on cab fare, it wouldn’t have been worth it to work at all.”

The day after the fall transportation hearings, she blanketed Lincoln Avenue bus stops with her “Save the Lincoln Avenue Bus” flyer (the route extends from Howard Street to North Avenue). She hung flyers in libraries, police stations and cafés. “As I hung signs, people told me how they’d ridden the No. 11 for 20 years. Students at Mather High School and Lane Tech ride that bus to school every day. Hearing all the stories, I realized I had to do something more.”

That’s when she started her petition. “But I only had three days to get signatures. I had to mail it by Nov. 2 to make sure it arrived by the Nov. 5 deadline for all written responses.”

In late November, the Illinois General Assembly voted not to fund the CTA’s requested $82.5 million aid package and CTA president Frank Kreusi said that without that funding he’d have to impose $55 million in cuts. However, the CTA has delayed voting on proposals to reduce service by 20 percent and eliminate late-night “L” trains, in the hope that in early 2005 the state will still find the funds to bail out the public transit system.

“I don’t claim to understand all the machinations at CTA. But I wanted to raise awareness among riders, put more control into the hands of the people. The decisions that those CTA bureaucrats make are going to affect people’s lives drastically.”

Smith doesn’t own a car, nor does she want to, even though she, unlike many affected by the cutbacks, can afford one. “One of the biggest reasons I moved here from Atlanta was for public transportation. I don’t drive. I’ve never driven, and I don’t want to. Especially when you see all the problems with our country’s dependence on foreign oil. People don’t see that cars are a lifestyle choice. They don’t see that the main reason we’re in Iraq is for oil.” — Eileen Favorite


Feds Fund the Third Coast

AFTER MORE than 30 years and the loss of perhaps $40 million of federal funds, Illinois has become the last of 35 eligible states and territories to apply to the Coastal Management Program, according to Lake Michigan advocates.

In 1972, the U.S. Congress enacted the Coastal Management Program to help state and local governments in coastal areas and along the Great Lakes protect and restore the shoreline by balancing environmental interests with economic development.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently sent a letter to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that administers the program, indicating that Illinois would begin the lengthy application process, which includes public hearings.

Frequent beach closings, a decline in commercial fishing, growing populations of invasive species and a huge budget deficit are just a few of the factors that convinced Blagojevich to apply to the program, said Cam Davis, executive director of the Lake Michigan Federation.

The program had been resisted by North Shore residents who did not want the federal government dictating shore use policies, Davis said.

However, given fiscal limitations, Illinois can no longer afford to opt out of the Coastal Management Program, Davis said. “We need this money more than ever.”

Environmental groups lobbied the governor’s office and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to join the voluntary program.

The push to gain federal funds also included Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, and State Reps. Harry Osterman (D-14) and Karen May (D-58).

“It was no small feat; we had to do a lot of arm-twisting,” Osterman said. “Lake Michigan is vital throughout the state for recreation, business and overall quality of life.”

Over the next several months, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will be meeting with Illinois’ coastal communities in Cook and Lake counties to give interested parties a chance to participate in the planning.

For more information, visit www.lakemichigan.org. — Erin Meyer


Food to Put You in the Mood

FOR MANY people layers of decadent chocolates, packaged in a heart-shaped box with red ribbons, are synonymous with Valentine’s Day.

What may surprise you is that those truffles may trifle with your ability to reach the highest levels of intimacy worthy of the holiday.

The typical chocolate-induced sugar high, characterized by an immediate but short-lived energy boost, is bad for libido, according to Jory Adams, an Evanston nutritionist and holistic health counselor who specializes in helping women increase their sexual appetites through nutrition.

“Soon after a woman eats a few handfuls of the traditional holiday chocolate, she will crash,” said Adams. “As a result, women are often unable to follow through with the romance.”

If you make the right choices, good food and good sex go together like champagne and caviar, which, incidentally, are two good sex food choices, Adams said.

“So many women come in with questions about their libido and how they can increase it,” Adams said. “What they don’t know is that a slight change in your diet can increase your sex drive.”

The idea is to balance food pairings by combining contractive and expansive foods so that the body is chemically and energetically balanced for the perfect sexual experience, Adams said.

Expansive foods are those high in carbohydrates, and/or uncooked, tender, juicy and often perishable. Adams said they work to open an individual’s energy, increasing feelings of sensitivity and dreaminess.

Contractive foods tend to be denser, tougher and saltier. They are often cooked and high in protein, both animal and vegetable. Contractive foods promote aggressive characteristics like competitiveness, focus and physical energy, according to Adams.

Finding the right balance between the two types of foods plays a part in ensuring a pleasurable sexual experience.

The proteins present in contractive food induce the brain to release dopamine, a hormone responsible for increased physical strength, while the carbohydrates, present in expansive foods, stimulate Serotonin, also known as the pleasure hormone, which increases mental energy.

“Champagne paired with caviar is one of the most familiar examples of this concept in regards to foods traditionally considered to be aphrodisiacs,” Adams said.

Champagne is expansive and contains high levels of carbohydrates. When a glass of bubbly is coupled with caviar, a contractive food high in salt, the food pairing causes the body to become more chemically balanced, Adams said.

For more information, e-mail: Jory Adams, or call 847-962-8805. — Erin Meyer


Waste Not, Want Not

CHICAGO “PRIDES itself on being the cleanest and most environmentally friendly (city) in the nation,” but it can do even more to recycle, according to Al Sanchez, Commissioner of the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

Currently 25 percent of the city’s waste is being diverted from landfills, putting it ahead of cities such as New York and Boston. However, Sanchez recently announced plans to increase participation even more.

Central to the plan is opening three city sorting centers to independent waste haulers transporting recyclable materials. The centers are located at 1633 W. Medill Ave., 750 N. Kilbourn Ave. and 3400 S. Lawndale Ave.

The plan is expected to be implemented soon, and haulers will be required to pay five dollars per ton of recyclables they drop off at the sorting centers, according to said Matt Smith, spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation.

Currently private waste haulers take trash and recyclables to private facilities and have to cover the cost of time and resources necessary to haul, process and landfill the material. Since the haulers pass the cost on to business owners, “the city’s hope is that, by accepting recyclables from third-party haulers, we will relieve some of that expense,” Smith said.

Private waste haulers handle the lion’s share — 74 percent — of the city’s total waste stream. This includes waste transport for all office, commercial, and residential buildings with more than four units, as well as construction and demolition waste, according to the city’s 2003 State of Recycling Report.

The 660,000 households serviced by the City of Chicago’s waste disposal unit account for only 26 percent of the total waste stream.

To learn more about recycling and the other city environmental initiatives visit www.cityofchicago.org or call 311. — Erin Meyer


Wicker Park Hopes to Sustain Shops

WHEN THE Starbucks Coffee Co. opened a shop on Milwaukee Avenue in the heart of Wicker Park in 2001, some locals protested by smashing the windows. The national coffee chain had pushed out a popular locally-owned coffee shop by offering the landlord higher rent.

Debbie Sharpe, who owns the restaurant Feast and the market Goddess and Grocer, both in Wicker Park, was upset over the loss of a cherished local business, but instead of putting a dent in Starbucks’ façade, she opened Half & Half Café less than a block away in an attempt to put a dent in its bottom line. “It’s an alternative,” she said, “and don’t people just love alternatives?”

That’s exactly what the people at Sustainable Chicago are betting on. Sustainable Chicago is a network of small local businesses that offer an alternative to national chains. Whether offering coffee, in Sharpe’s case, or Web site design and database development, as in the case of Ruth Gagliano, owner of Computer Friendly Associates, the members of Sustainable Chicago believe businesses that serve the community ought to be based in the community. “Something is lost with big corporations, a sense of responsibility,” Gagliano said, “and I never want to lose that.”

In a study comparing chains to local businesses in the Andersonville neighborhood on the North Side, Civic Economics, an independent economics consulting firm based in the area, found that almost twice as much money spent at local businesses comes right back into the local economy when compared to money spent at chain businesses. The study compared 10 local businesses with 10 chain businesses, all in Andersonville. It found that local businesses spent more on labor, more on local goods and services and gave more to local charities than chain stores. Spending money at chain stores, in other words, is sending it away. But what makes a chain a chain?

In San Francisco, the answer is clear. There, a chain store is defined as fulfilling certain criteria, including the number of outlets, how standardized each outlet’s décor is, and how standardized each outlet’s product is. Sustainable Chicago is pushing for similar standards in the form of a city ordinance that would give neighborhood residents some control over the local business atmosphere. “It would set a definition for what a formula business is and it would help a community regulate the flow of formula businesses into the community,” said Ellen Shepard, executive director of the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce and a member of Sustainable Chicago. “[The San Francisco ordinance] allows different communities within the city to choose what’s right for them,” she said.

Sustainable Chicago meets the first Tuesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo Drive, Chicago. Visit www.sustainablechicago.org for upcoming Sustainable Chicago events. — Geoffrey Wallin


Feel Good on Valentine’s Day

FOR THOSE who love natural, good-for-you body products, The Enterprising Kitchen’s Choices products offer you two ways to feel good. The specialty soaps, bath salts and spa products not only soothe the skin, but they can help you help others.

The Enterprising Kitchen, located in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood at 4545 N. Broadway, employs women who are unemployed or under-employed and also offers sessions on team building, business ethics and computer training to help them gain the skills they need to succeed in the workforce. The women also participate in seminars on financial planning.

“This program has showed me that I still have a chance to fix my mistakes,” said Shajuana Nash, 22, of Chicago. Nash began working at The Enterprising Kitchen in April, 2003, when she was under house arrest for a case involving a fraudulent check.

“I thought I could never make soap,” said Nash. However, she worked her way through the production areas and is now the chief soap maker responsible for teaching other women.

“I’m the type of person that wants more out of life,” she said. Since she began working at The Enterprising Kitchen, Nash has enrolled in a medical assistance program at the Illinois School of Health Careers and hopes to become a registered nurse.

“It’s a very good program for women who have no idea what to do with their life,” Nash said. “For most of the women, it’s easier for them to relate to what we have been through because we’ve all taken the same path.”

The Enterprising Kitchen was founded as a small nonprofit in 1996 by Joan Pikas and Kathi Lieb, who wanted to help women move from poverty to self-sufficiency. They met while volunteering at the Inspiration Café, a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization that provides meals and other services to homeless men and women. Pikas, then a teacher and mental health therapist, and Lieb, who was in the process of changing careers, decided to start a program where women could be employed while going through training.

Since it was founded in 1996, it has employed and served more than 230 women ranging in age from 18 to almost 60.

The organization hires its employees through referrals from local social service agencies. Each woman is employed in the transitional program for a six-month period and works between 21 and 30 hours a week.

This year, The Enterprising Kitchen has created special Valentine’s Day products. The gift sets range from little heart-shaped soaps in a box named “Better than Chocolate” to a romantic gift set for men that includes a towel, wood bath brush and soap.

The products are sold in 300 stores across country and through the on-line store, www.theenterprisingkitchen.org. — Belia Ortega


Cruelty is Not Kosher

THE CHARGES and countercharges have been flowing faster than blood on a slaughterhouse floor since early December when People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released startling video footage of what the organization says are cruel slaughter practices at AgriProcessors Inc. of Postville, Iowa, the largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse in the world. (Glatt kosher refers to the strictest standards of kosher food processing.)

The hard-to-watch video, shot by an animal activist who went undercover at AgriProcessors, shows workers shocking cows with electric prods and ripping the tracheas out of their throats while the animals are still conscious, then dumping them onto a concrete floor where, despite the blood pouring from their throats, many stumble and try to stand up.

PETA filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calling for the agency to prosecute the plant for violations of federal humane-slaughter laws. A number of Orthodox rabbis backed up the group’s claims. So did Temple Grandin, one of the world’s leading experts on humane slaughter.

Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities and an associate professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She is one of the world’s foremost authorities on livestock handling and slaughter.

Kosher slaughter was originally based on the principle of treating animals humanely. In its ideal form, a specially trained slaughterer cuts the animal’s neck quickly with a long, sharp knife, killing it in one painless blow. PETA says that AgriProcessors has veered far from this ideal.

Meat from the Postville plant is sold in Chicago grocery and kosher specialty stores under the brand names Aaron’s Best, Iowa’s Best Beef and Rubashkin.

Attorneys for AgriProcessors, and some segments of the Jewish community, were quick to denounce PETA’s findings. The Orthodox Union, the country’s largest kosher certification agency, declared that the procedures at AgriProcessors “meet all our standards in the highest degree.”

Some Jewish groups accused PETA of being anti-Semitic for attacking kosher slaughter practices, although PETA coordinator Bruce Friedrich made a point of praising kosher law for emphasizing animal welfare.

In the latest developments, AgriProcessors, while denying any wrongdoing, has said it will implement some new practices. Among other changes, workers will no longer rip out cows’ windpipes immediately after the neck is cut, when the animals may still be conscious and suffering great pain.

PETA continues to call for charges against the company. A USDA inquiry remains open.

For more information, visit the Web site GoVeg.com. — Pauline Yearwood