Back of the Yards

Back of the Yards | Best of the South Side 2017

Best of Back of the Yards 2017

by 2 years ago

Grace Hauck

A community like this—there’s no condos here—most of the houses don’t have in-unit washers and dryers, so folks are forced to use laundromat facilities. We think that this laundromat focuses on a really underserved niche—low-income, working-class folks. Clean clothes [are] a right, in our opinion. You can go without a lot of things, but everyone is entitled to clean underwear. You shouldn’t have to go to a rat-infested hole in the wall to clean your clothes. This is thought of as a safe place in a very dangerous neighborhood.

Back of the Yards | Column | Politics | Violence

Speed Bumps on the Road to Progress

Alderman’s new plan to reduce crime in Back of the Yards misses the bigger picture

by 3 years ago

NaomiEzquivel_NatalieGonzálezAccording to recent reporting by DNAInfo, 15th Ward Alderman Raymond Lopez has proposed using around $400,000 from the ward’s infrastructure budget to install traffic circles and speed bumps in Back of the Yards (particularly in the area around Davis Square Park) in an effort to combat crime. The idea, according to Lopez, is that putting speed bumps and traffic circles on intersections around major parks will “restrict the amount of traffic coming into the [park] area,” “a definite deterrent to those gang members accustomed to driving in, shooting and speeding out.”

Back of the Yards | Best of the South Side 2015

Best of Back of the Yards 2015

by 4 years ago

Luke White

I’m sixty-eight years old, but I really feel like I’m nineteen. I really try to stay busy. I love what I do, and the reason why I love what I do is because that’s what God wants me to do. Here, 139 years old, the church is. Really, we’re well-known for all the years we’ve been here. St. Gabriel’s is the same.

Back of the Yards | Features | Little Village

The Faith of the People

When Father José Landaverde was banned from his church, his congregation followed

by 5 years ago 1 Comment
STIKY IDC

STIKY IDC

Tucked between a law office and a weight loss clinic (“hasta 20 libras al mes”) on 26th Street in Little Village is a church and a quiet hotbed of social change. A broad white sign, in prim red lettering, announces this as the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission. A blue awning stands watch over the window and the door; its lack of words is all that distinguishes the mission from the litany of other storefronts on the street. Continue reading →

Back of the Yards | Blurbs | Englewood | Woodlawn

Farms in the City

Remedies for Chicago eats and neighborhood streets

by 5 years ago
PLANT CHICAGO, NFP/RACHEL SWENIE. Mayor Rahm Emanuel tours the growing system at The Plant, an urban agriculture organization in Back of the Yards.

PLANT CHICAGO, NFP/RACHEL SWENIE. Mayor Rahm Emanuel tours the growing system at The Plant, an urban agriculture organization in Back of the Yards.

We believe that if you have a whole system problem, only a whole system solution can transform it,” announced Naomi Davis, founder and president of the grassroots community development organization Blacks in Green, to an auditorium full of Chicago Humanities Festival patrons on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading →

Back of the Yards | Englewood | Junctures

Peoria Street & Garfield Boulevard

by 5 years ago 11 Comments
CAM BAUCHNER

CAMDEN BAUCHNER

To talk about Garfield and Peoria is to talk about St. Basil–Visitation parish. Its two landmarks face one another on either side of Garfield Boulevard: Visitation Catholic School and St. Basil’s Church, with Peoria running in between. Today, the church and school communities are both small but vibrant; Father Hernán Moran-Rosero of St. Basil’s speaks fondly of Visitation’s annual Christmas concert, which is held at the church each year and marks a rare instance when the pews are filled. Just a few decades ago, empty seats at St. Basil’s would have been unthinkable, as would a Latino reverend. Continue reading →