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USA Today
30-05-2025
- General
- USA Today
Public housing failed miserably in Chicago. Why is the city now opening a housing museum?
Public housing failed miserably in Chicago. Why is the city now opening a housing museum? The National Museum of Public Housing puts visitors in the shoes of former tenants through recreated apartments. Residents hope people see there's more to life in the projects than the news shows. Show Caption Hide Caption Jen Hampton named among USA TODAY's Women of the Year for North Carolina Following Hurricane Helene, Jen Hampton visited each of Asheville's public housing communities to ensure residents knew how to get help. She's one of USA TODAY's Women of the Year. CHICAGO – A 7-year-old boy walking to school dies under sniper fire. A 13-year-old girl taking the elevator is assaulted when a man slips in behind her. Conditions in hallways are hardly fit for rats. Public housing in the U.S. invokes images so horrible it begs the question why Chicago – where America's grand housing experiment arguably went more wrong than anywhere else – built the country's first museum of public housing and turned a spotlight on a past many people would prefer to forget. Chicago's National Public Housing Museum opened in April in the last remaining building of a public housing complex, located some two miles from the city's iconic downtown. The opening comes decades after former residents called for a museum in response to the city destroying much of Chicago's public housing in the early 2000s. America had soured on public housing then and was on a nationwide demolition derby, blowing up decrepit high rises from Philadelphia to San Francisco. Museum leaders say the questions the exhibits ask are more urgent than ever as President Donald Trump enacts sweeping cuts to Housing and Urban Development, the federal agency that handles public housing. Budget cuts are already expected to result in the loss of 32,000 housing vouchers. 'Ultimately, the big question the museum asks is what is the responsibility of government to its people,' museum Executive Director Lisa Yun Lee told USA TODAY. And about public housing, 'what were the successes that got drowned out by its loudest failures?' The institution is the first public housing museum of its kind, experts told USA TODAY. General admission is free. Admission to the historic apartments costs up to $25. The over $16 million museum was built with public and private funding, including $4.5 million from a city Community Development Grant. Federal officials began building public housing in the 1930s. Over the course of a century, 10 million people lived in public developments, according to the museum. They became synonymous with urban life. TV shows including Good Times celebrated residents striving for a better life but the image that endures in series like The Wire show people caught instead in an American nightmare. Chicago's new museum aims to broaden the debate through guided tours of three apartments: one belonging to a Jewish family in the 1930s, a Polish and an Italian family in the '50s and a Black family in the '60s. Visitors can take a gefilte fish recipe from the Turovitz apartment or see the apartment that a Chicago pastor credits for his development into a prominent voice for peace in the city. Other exhibitions highlight everyday objects from former public housing residents, including Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor; historic government posters that promoted public housing; and the impact of public housing residents on American music. Stars from Elvis Presley to Jimi Hendrix and Barbra Streisand all lived in public housing. But the uncelebrated life of everyday people is at the heart of the museum. For them, the museum stands as a witness to the stories of resilience and community that filled their days. 'These housing developments were not always bad,' The Reverend Marshall Hatch told USA TODAY. Hatch is the prominent West Side pastor who grew up in the Jane Addams Homes complex, where the museum is today. 'Even in the worst of times, people had community, had love, they had friendship, they had celebration, they were thoroughly human.' 'New, different and demonstratively better': Early public housing Public housing in America has always been for the nation's poor and working class. The earliest projects date back to the Great Depression and the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who declared in horror during his second inaugural address in 1937: 'I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.' Already the progressive icon was building public housing projects around the country. Laborers lived in slums then and federal 'planned housing' was pitched as a panacea for everything from diseases associated with unsanitary conditions to juvenile delinquency and deaths from house fires, according to federal promotional posters at the museum in Chicago. 'It was built to be new, different and demonstratively better,' said Lawrence Vale, a scholar of public housing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But the projects weren't for everyone. Entry requirements were so strict, applicants had a better chance of getting into Harvard, according to Vale. Early projects accepted people who could cover rent; lived in tight nuclear families instead of large extended families; and had the 'right racial composition for the neighborhood' which usually meant being White, Vale said. Getting accepted for them was a sure step towards achieving the American dream. 'If you got a spot in public housing it was like a seal of approval of your prospects,' said Vale. Growth of public housing Federal housing programs became popular and soon cities and towns around the nation had started housing authorities aimed at helping more Americans enjoy a better life. In Chicago they sprang up with names that matched their utopian visions, including Jane Addams, the social reformer known for launching a movement in the U.S. to improve the lives of the poor, and Ida B. Wells, the Black journalist born into slavery whose reporting on lynching propelled the Civil Rights Movement. A total of nearly 1.4 million public housing units were built nationwide. Decades of demolitions have reduced the number to 877,000 units but still federal maps of public housing show towns from Glasgow, Montana, – population 3,000 – to Itta Bena, Mississippi, – population 1,700 – have agencies overseeing public housing. They even exist in U.S. territories. According to federal data, there are over 300 public housing developments in Puerto Rico alone, the largest of any single housing authority, although New York City has more total units at 180,000 to the island's 54,000. The vast majority of sites are low-rise complexes, according to experts. 1.6 million people live in public housing and 2.3 million households use housing vouchers, according to federal data. 'Grandest place to live,' says former resident Public housing aims to give people a chance at the American dream, according to Crystal Palmer, a former public housing resident in Chicago who works for the city's housing agency. Palmer, who is Black, moved into Chicago's Henry Horner Homes – a sprawling network of high-rises once located near the stadium where the Chicago Bulls play – in 1968 when she was nine years old. The high rises were destroyed by 2008. The complex was among several built in the '50s and '60s when Chicago's Black population was booming, growing from 230,000 people in 1930 to 810,000 in 1960. Martin Luther King Jr. blasted the slums that Black migrants were confined to before the Civil Rights era. King moved into a tenement in solidarity with residents in 1966 and told the Chicago Tribune: "We don't have wall-to-wall carpeting, but we have wall-to-wall rats and roaches." Palmer's family then was among Black West Siders taken from slums into the city's newest housing projects. It felt like no less a seal of approval. 'It was the grandest place to live,' said Palmer, adding there was green grass, fences around the yards and flower beds as well as a ballfield and candy stand. The buildings represented a chance to go from a house that often had problems with water and electricity and where rodents had the run of the place to instead a 'decent, safe, sanitary environment,' she said. Pleasant conditions gave way to years when the building fell into disrepair, gangs took over and police were afraid to come or brutalized people if they did, according to Palmer. But 'The Hornets,' as they became known, still offered her a place to fall back upon and save to become the homeowner she is today. 'I know what it is to leave home when I could and come back when I really needed it,' she said. 'It's important because it gives people a leg up to do better, it gives their family an opportunity to do better.' 'Most notorious' housing project in the nation Public housing around Chicago and the nation fell into despair in the '80s and '90s when federal funding dropped precipitously. The country went from funding the federal public housing agency with $83 billion in 1978 to just $18 billion in 1983, as measured in 2004 dollars. Buildings became exactly what they were built to replace — slums. And the decline was perhaps most horrific of all in Chicago. A USA TODAY cover story from Oct. 21, 1992, titled 'Life, death in 'Little Hell'' called one Chicago housing project – the Cabrini-Green Homes – 'arguably the nation's most-notorious.' The complex was located just blocks away from Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood, one of the ritziest in the nation, but it stood a world apart. The story was written in response to the death of 7-year-old Dantrell Davis who died by sniper fire while walking to school with his mother. 'No name invokes a grimmer image of urban blight, violence and poverty than this 70-acre, 7,000 person 'city' of isolation and dead-end despair,' the paper reported. 'Three children dead in eight months, a rubble-strewn, graffiti covered war zone just blocks from some of the richest downtown real estate in the USA.' Davis' story created a lasting image for the complex. It came to national attention in the '70s as the setting of the popular sitcom Good Times. Cabrini-Green became a symbol of the failures of public housing nationwide even though it represented just .5% of the 3.8 million people living at that time in public housing nationwide. Data from the period shows public housing residents in New York City were even safer than other New Yorkers, according to USA TODAY reporting at the time. Stepping over bodies to get to school The failures were awful. Francine Washington survived a decades-long horror show at a high rise on the South Side she moved into in the mid-1970s. Washington lived through the police beat covering Stateway Gardens, the complex where she lived until they were demolished in 2006, becoming among the most dangerous in Chicago. People overdosed in the buildings, women Washington knew were raped and wayward bullets killed children in their apartments. Some flew into Washington's apartment, hitting where her husband usually sat. 'Ping, ping,' she said, recalling the sound to a USA TODAY reporter recently. 'The bullets came through the window, if he had still been there, he would have been dead.' In 1990, no city police beat saw more murders or sexual assaults than the 7,400 residents living at Stateway, the Chicago Tribune reported. The 20 homicides in the 16-block area were more than in Montana, Delaware, Alaska, New Hampshire, Maine, the Dakotas, Vermont, Wyoming and Idaho, according to the Tribune. Washington was left to raise two sons under the conditions. One son wanted to skip school one day after finding a body in the hallway outside the apartment. 'Step over that damn body and get your ass to school,' she remembers telling him. A teacher called asking her how she could send her son to school after such a scare and Washington replied, 'he's gonna see that more than one time, he might as well get used to it.' Community despite odds Nearly 20 years after leaving the demolished high rise apartment building, Washington can recall terrible moments in detail but she also becomes sentimental in speaking about her neighbors. 'Even though we had all the problems and all the ills, it was still a community, everyone knew your name,' she says. 'You always had somewhere to go and somebody to visit. You weren't lonely.' Washington moved to another public housing site after her building was destroyed in 2006 but hasn't formed close relationships with her neighbors who aren't public housing residents. 'I do miss it because it was family,' she said of her old high rise. Faith in public housing shaken The buildings where Hatch, Palmer and Washington spent formative years were all destroyed as officials slammed high rise buildings themselves as the reason for the desperate conditions in public housing. They came down amid a wave of highly publicized demolitions that dated back to the razing of the 33 buildings of Pruitt-Igoe in St. Louis in the mid-70s. The complex of 11-story high rises designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect behind the original World Trade Center towers in New York City, was celebrated at its opening for its utopian vision. But that vision to landed on its face in less than 20 years. Famed American composer Philip Glass memorialized the rise and fall of the complex in 'Pruitt-Igoe,' a piece of music for an art film about the empty promises of modern life. Chicago officials called the policy of destroying high rises the 'Plan for Transformation.' Images celebrating the destruction of public housing came to typify how Americans felt about the project even as millions of people still relied on federal programs. 'It remains vivid in the public imagination because it is a major visible public failure,' said Akira Drake Rodriguez, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's Weitzman School of Design. 'It's meant to say we solved the problem.' A litany of failures so bad that the sites had to be blown up left America's faith in public housing forever shaken. Chicago pastor aims to restore public housing village People who lived in the buildings officials destroyed or at uneventful public housing sites wish the rest of America knew there was more to the story. Hatch, the West Side pastor who grew up in the complex where the museum sits today, remembers a crowded, joyful household. The family moved in 1960 when he was 2 years old and stayed until he was 16. He slept on the couch so his parents could have a room and his seven sisters could have the other. And for him they were some of the best years of his life. 'During my childhood it was a beautiful little village,' said Hatch, 'almost like a dream.' The apartment was so crowded they spent their days outside with other children. Life was playing baseball in the complex courtyard where Art Deco statues of animals served as the basepath. It was about developing friendships that last a lifetime. And it was about developing pride in community that turned Hatch into a prominent voice for peace in a city often rocked by gun violence. Decades later, Hatch is still trying to recreate the feeling he had when he lived in public housing. The New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church pastor helps head a group that's aiming to build a similar community in West Side neighborhoods that have still never fully recovered from the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. They hope to transform the area into a 'walkable village' with grocery stores, a health care clinic, an art center and credit union — everyday things that are out of reach for many in Chicago. The group was awarded $10 million for the project in 2023. For Hatch, the inspiration lies in his experience of public housing and the figures the projects were named after to begin with, who offer a different vision of the nation. 'These social reformers had this incredible vision of America being a place of inclusion and being able to support these immigrant and migrant families with what I call 'family-friendly public policies,'' Hatch said. 'And once we get through this current season that is almost embarrassingly amoral, I think these social reformers will offer a sense of what a more positive and spiritual vision of America looks like.'
Politico
28-05-2025
- Business
- Politico
Trump effect hits Illinois budget
Presented by Good Wednesday morning, Illinois. This short week feels long. TOP TALKER BUDGET STRESS IS TRENDING: The federal funding cuts and looming tariffs pushed by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are trickling down to state budget negotiations in Springfield — and to statehouses across the country. Along with the challenge of making sure spending doesn't exceed expected revenues, states are now trying to prepare to respond to federal cuts to Medicaid and other programs. Noses to the grindstone: 'The governor and his budget team are continuing to meet this week with budgeteers and leaders even as our state grapples with the reality of the Trump economy slowing growth and trade war raising prices,' Matt Hill, spokesman for Gov. JB Pritzker, told Playbook. 'Governor Pritzker will continue prioritizing fiscal responsibility as his proposed budget focused on the long-term fiscal health of the state while maintaining core investments and not raising taxes on working families.' Hill also issued a reminder for lawmakers: 'The governor will only sign a balanced budget that reflects these shared priorities.' Tick tock, doing math: Lawmakers have until Saturday night to nail down a budget. So far, the governor has proposed a $55.2 billion spending plan. But revenues for the 2026 fiscal year that starts July 1 are estimated at $53.4 billion. That's nearly $2 billion short of the state's total budget. That's a drop in the bucket, however, compared to other states. California, for example, has a $12 billion gap (3.72 percent of its total budget). Iowa has a $900 million gap (9.73 percent of its total budget). And Indiana has a $2 billion gap (4.55 percent of its total budget). Point being: Whether they're red states or blue states, they have to be ready for the trickle down of federal cuts, too. RELATED | Illinois budget battle: What Chicago needs from Springfield, by WGN 9's Tahman Bradley and BJ Lutz THE BUZZ IT's AN AD WAR: The Illinois Democratic Party is launching an ad campaign focused on the state's three Republican Congress members who voted on President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' which is expected to cut funding to Medicaid, the health-care insurance program that benefits low-income and disabled Americans. The ads target Congress members Mike Bost (IL-12), Mary Miller (IL-15) and Darin LaHood (IL-16), who all voted for the measure. The ads on Facebook and Instagram say: 'Forced to drive hours for health care. Thanks Mary Miller' (or Bost or LaHood). Here's a preview If you are Darin LaHood, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@ WHERE'S JB At the Illinois State Library at 2:30 p.m. with Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski to honor former Gov. Jim Edgar, who is also scheduled to be on hand, for the dedication of the Jim Edgar Reading Room WHERE's BRANDON At the Chicago Cultural Center at 9:45 a.m. for an announcement for the Community Development Grant — At Navy Pier North Dock at 11 a.m. for the pier's marina opening — At Northwestern University at 5 p.m. to speak to students Where's Toni At the Cook County Health Professional Building at 9 a.m. to announce the release of the county's first Regional Behavioral Health Strategic Plan Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or a complaint? Email skapos@ MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The Conversation with Dasha Burns arrives on Sunday, June 1 — and we're dropping a first look. Each week on her new podcast, Dasha will sit down with one of the most compelling — and sometimes unexpected — power players in Washington. This isn't just a podcast. It's a new kind of political interview show for a moment when politics feels more personal, more chaotic and more consequential than ever. Catch the video and audio trailer out this morning to see what Dasha's digging into this season. And subscribe to the podcast, wherever you listen or watch. BUSINESS OF POLITICS — NEW TODAY: Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller is forming an exploratory committee to run for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District. Along with two terms on the County Board, Miller has served as board chair of Planned Parenthood of Illinois and its political action committee and was vice president of Illinois Democratic Women and president of Democratic Women of the South Suburbs. She's also advocated for newborn screening for cystic fibrosis and for improving maternal health. Miller received a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden for her work in medical equity and awareness. — In IL-02: Adal Regis, a public policy expert, is out with a statement saying he's been endorsed by CNN contributor Van Jones, Richton Park Village Trustee Alan Banks, and Mickensy Ellis-White, the former chair of the Vermillion County Democratic Party. Regis is running for the congressional seat now held by Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who's running for Senate. — In IL-09: Abughazaleh hiring private security because of Republican rival's comments about 'Hezbollah', by the Daily Herald's Russell Lissau — Obama world loses its shine in a changing, hurting Democratic Party: 'Obama White House and campaign alumni have been setting the course of the Democratic Party for years. After 2024, more Democrats want to see that change,' by NBC's Natasha Korecki, Jonathan Allen and Allan Smith. ILLINOIS' POPE — State Rep. Martin McLaughlin proposes a Pope Leo XIV statue and license plate: 'McLaughlin wants a statue of the new pope at the Illinois statehouse, paid for in part with a commemorative license plate,' by the Sun-Times' George Wiebe. — Pope Leo will address Chicagoans via video at Sox Park celebration: 'The newly installed pope — a White Sox fan — will deliver a 'special video message to the young people of the world' at a Mass and celebration of the pope June 14 at Rate Field,' by the Block Club's Stephen Montemayor. THE STATEWIDES — BUNDLE OF ENERGY: Lawmakers are still hammering out an energy bill. As of Tuesday evening, the bill included a plan to expand battery technology that will store excess solar and wind power. On hold is a plan to regulate data centers, which consume large amounts of water and energy — and could cost rate-payers to keep them running. 'What else goes into the bill is still being worked on,' Sen. Bill Cunningham told Playbook. — Lawmakers pass Anna's Law, which would require additional police training for sexual assault: The bill's sponsor is Sen. Mary Edly-Allen, a Libertyville Democrat. It's named after Anna Williams, who brought the issue of police insensitivity to victims of sexual assault to state lawmakers after her experience with law enforcement officials in 2021, by Capitol News' Jade Aubrey. — Mayor Brandon Johnson urges 'expediency' in addressing CTA fiscal cliff: 'Should the Illinois General Assembly conclude its spring session this weekend without addressing the financial shortfall that looms for the CTA at the end of this year, the issue may then be punted to the fall veto session,' by the Tribune's Jake Sheridan. — As Illinois works protect the Great Lakes from invasive carp, it must reckon with legacy of coal ash pollution, by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco for the Grist — Alexi Giannoulias: Don't click on fake texts from Illinois DMV with threats about traffic tickets, by the Daily Herald's Marni Pyke — Susana Mendoza has kicked off her Dog Days of Summer campaign featuring dogs available for adoption from shelters around the state. SPOTLIGHT — Sen. Tammy Duckworth heads to Taiwan, Singapore in bid to 'close the deal' for quantum campus: 'Duckworth says her main goal will be to push Foxconn to invest in the soon-to-be-constructed Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park on the city's South Side,' by the Sun-Times' Tina Sfondeles — How the South Works quantum transformation is unfolding: 'The research park aims to attract all the companies, big and small, that think they can crack the code on quantum,' by Crain's John Pletz. CHICAGO — Mayor Johnson fans the flames of his political war against President Trump: 'You have a president that is cutting off medicine and food, a president that is working to erase culture. I mean, you can't make this stuff up. He's doing it in plain sight,' Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday, by the Sun-Times' Fran Spielman. — Wall Street rating agency revises City Hall's financial outlook to 'negative': 'Fitch said the negative outlook is 'driven by a lack of substantial progress procuring permanent, high-impact solutions' to a structural budget gap of $1.12 billion,' by the Sun-Times' Fran Spielman. — As Trump targets foreign enrollment, Chicago's IIT could be hardest hit, by Crain's Brandon Dupré — Violence down over Memorial Day weekend, according to police data, by the Tribune's Carolyn Stein — Chicago Housing Authority selling more land for private development near Chicago Fire training facility, by the Tribune's Lizzie Kane COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS — Chicago Bears' proposed move to Arlington Heights would require complicated approval by local taxing bodies: 'It will require an extensive review by local school districts, a park district, and even, potentially, the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District,' by the Tribune's Robert McCoppin. — An 1846 document signed by President James Polk tells story of DuPage County, by the Daily Herald's Susan Sarkauskas Reader Digest We asked for your go-to summer drink. Retired Judge John Curry: 'Aperol Spritz.' Clem Balanoff: 'Water, it's been around longer than any other drink, but not out of plastic bottles so as to avoid microplastics.' Denise Barreto: 'Tinto de Verano, a delicious Spanish wine spritzer made with red wine and citrus soda — sangria lite.' Peter Creticos: 'Ouzo on the rocks, of course!' Charles Keller: 'Bell's Brewery Two Hearted Ale. Or beer in general.' Kevin Lampe: 'Billy Goat IPA, brewed by Miskatonic Brewing in Darien, Illinois.' Jim Lyons: 'Iced tea. No sugar, no lemon.' Ed Mazur: 'A frosty cold Negra Modelo! Or two!' Linda Shafran: 'Water out of the hose, like I was a kid again.' Rodrigo Sierra: 'Campari and soda with a slice of orange or a large wine glass filled with ice and doused with rosè wine (They call it a 'Swimming Pool' in Aspen.).' Peter Skosey: 'Campari and soda on the patio at the Hummingbird Lounge in New Buffalo.' James Straus: 'A 'Jim & Tonic,' 1/2 Lemonade 1/2 Tonic — like gin and… cuts down on the sugar!' Timothy Thomas: 'Icelandic Glacial Springs water preferably in a glass bottle.' Patricia Ann Watson: 'Black, green, white iced tea, the real stuff, nothing added.' NEXT QUESTION: Who spoke at your college graduation? THE NATIONAL TAKE — Kennedy says Covid vaccines no longer recommended for healthy children, pregnant women, by POLITICO's Sophie Gardner and David Lim — DeWine pitches an alternative to Ramaswamy, by POLITICO's Jonathan Martin — BLM official escorted out of building after DOGE conflict, by POLITICO's Ben Lefebvre — Trump is losing patience with Putin but unsure of his next move, via POLITICO — Trump administration pursues termination of Harvard contracts, by POLITICO's Juan Perez Jr. TRANSITIONS — Paige Wahoff is now an associate in Blank Rome's general litigation practice group. She was a judge advocate in the U.S. Army. EVENTS — Monday at 9 a.m.: A Pride Month flag-raising ceremony at Daley Plaza will include Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioners Kevin Morrison and Maggie Trevor and MWRD Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis. — June 18: NBC 5's Allison Rosati will be honored by Gilda's Club Chicago at its annual fundraiser. Dr. Leonidas Platanias is the honorary event chair, and Ann and Thom Serafin are event chairs. Details here TRIVIA TUESDAY's ANSWER: Congrats to Kristin DiCenso for correctly answering that Dixon proclaimed Sept. 14, 1941, as Louella Parsons Day, which brought Hollywood celebs Bob Hope, Charles Montgomery, Ann Rutherford and Ronald Reagan to town. TODAY's QUESTION: What Springfield-born professional baseball player spent the twilight of his career working for Secretary of State Jesse White? Email skapos@ HAPPY BIRTHDAY Former Congressman Aaron Schock, political strategist Jayme Odom, entrepreneur Matthew Pritzker, Molson Coors chief comms officer Adam Collins, Plus500US Financial Services HR Administrator Hannah Bartholf, trial attorney Shawn Kasserman, ACCESS Sales Manager Jen Kramer, Illinois Indiana Iowa Fair Contracting Organization's Marcus Jordan and Concept Charter School Network's External Affairs Director Hannah Keller -30-
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
City gives Greens Park a facelift, new playground equipment
Palestine's Parks and Recreation Department has installed new playground equipment at Greens Park. The Parks Department also upgraded existing equipment with a couple of coats of paint to give it a facelift of its own. 'We found that the old climbing apparatus was a piece of equipment that could no longer be repaired, so we opted to get some new equipment' said Patsy Smith, director of the Parks and Recreation Department. 'Our thoughts behind new playground equipment is to try and bring more families to Greens Park. We have a lot to offer with Greens Park from kids playing basketball to kids enjoying the new playground equipment to disc golf. If you haven't been to our park, come check it out. You can even just sit and have a picnic lunch and enjoy the scenery.' 'I'm excited to see the new playground equipment at Greens Park,' said City Manager Teresa Herrera. 'It's a fantastic addition that will provide a fun and engaging space for children and families to enjoy.' The 20-acre park, located at 1775 N. Queen St. in Palestine, features one basketball court, an 18-hole disc course, picnic areas and a playground. 'I'm delighted with the new playground equipment at Greens Park, a key upgrade from our capital improvement project that replaces outdated setups with safe, modern features for families to enjoy,' said District 1 Councilman Sean Conner. 'The recent addition of public restrooms also enhances the park even further. Plus, with new equipment currently being installed at Calhoun Park, we're continuing to enrich recreational spaces throughout our community.' Last summer, the city installed new restrooms at Greens Park. The project, which cost a total of $69,000, was funded partially with a Community Development Grant from the Palestine Economic Development Corporation. 'The city's commitment to enhancing this park is evident, and it's great to see us taking an active role in improving community spaces,' Herrera said. 'This investment not only benefits local residents but also encourages outdoor activity and social interaction. Plus, with the new restrooms that were added last year, the park is becoming an even more welcoming and convenient park for everyone.' Greens Park is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Polk County approves $750,000 to fund school with housing for at-risk youth
DES MOINES, Iowa — A school for at-risk youth in Des Moines is undergoing a major expansion, and the Polk County Board of Supervisors approved additional funding to help the project. Starts Right Here opened in 2020 to provide educational support for kids who are at risk of dropping out of school. Founder Will Keeps has helped dozens of kids graduate from high school. Now, Keeps is expanding the school to the former Elim Church in the East Village. Aside from providing additional classroom space, they are also developing 18 new rental units for at-risk populations. Keeps said community members age 18 to 24 will be able to apply for these apartments. On Tuesday, the Polk County Board of Supervisors met and unanimously approved $750,000 of ERA2 funding for Keep's project. According to the Department of Treasury, the ERA2 program was authorized in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act and was designed to help provide housing assistance, among other things. After the meeting, Keeps told WHO 13 News he was happy about the board's decision. 'For a long time, I've been wondering, 'Am I ever going to get the funds to get the things I want to do for the community?' And right now everybody's stepping up to be able to help the community in a big way and I'm so excited, it's unbelievable,' he said. Chair of the Polk County Board of Supervisors Matt McCoy said the project will target a critical age group that may need the additional help. 'It's their first house, many of them haven't established credit. So, what this does is it helps them get started in their first apartment and provides the supportive housing that they'll need to help them be successful; the job skills, the educational training, and the opportunities for educational training,' McCoy told WHO 13 News after the meeting. Country music legend Hank Williams Jr. returning to Iowa State Fair Grandstand McCoy also said another reason why the board approved this funding is because of the demographic of the population this will help. He said, 'These are kids, in many cases, who have aged out of the foster system, so they would be without the supportive services without a program like this.' In total, Starts Right Here has now raised $5,425,000 in funding for this project. This money was provided by the City of Des Moines, Polk County, and the State of Iowa. In early January, the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Board of Directors kicked off funding for the project by awarding a total of $3,625,000 to Hatch Development Corporation for the development of this project. The total grant award includes $2.5 million for development costs, $750,000 in Supportive Services Funds, $187,500 for Non-Profit Operations and $187,500 for Non-Profit Capacity Building. In late January, the Polk County Board of Supervisors approved $50,000 from the Community Development Grant to Starts Right Here. Then, $1,000,000 was awarded by the City of Des Moines during a City Council Meeting earlier in February. Now, this additional funding approved by Polk County on Tuesday brings the total to just under $5.5 million. 'To see how the state, the city, Polk County, everybody coming together to help this project, I always talk about we need to all come together and work together and they literally came together, and it's a beautiful thing to see,' said Keeps. The new space will allow Starts Right Here to help hundreds of more students. This comes two years after a student opened fire, killing two students and injuring Keeps, at Starts Right Here. 'We've shown that resilience, even during terrible times. I'm so happy that people in power are seeing it,' said Keeps. He said construction will likely start in July. Metro News: Polk County approves $750,000 to fund school with housing for at-risk youth Beaverdale business shutting down after 50 years Urbandale School District will remain in the CIML Fire breaks out at Des Moines duplex early Tuesday morning 'Picture of perseverance': Marshalltown man's legacy lives on 100+ years later in historically African-American school Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Six organizations in Grand Forks to receive Community Development Grant dollars this year
Feb. 24—GRAND FORKS — Six organizations across Grand Forks were selected to receive funds through the city's annual Community Development Grant programs. A total of $569,135 was available in the competitive grant pool for the capital improvement and operational fund programs. The Grand Forks City Council approved the allocation of the funds at two meetings in February with the goal of helping ease homelessness and housing insecurity in the city. "We have some exciting notes too," Collin Hanson, community development manager for the city told the council earlier this month. "We may have seen that the Grand Forks Senior Center is well on its way. ... The United Way was recently in the Herald as well with opening their brand-new family shelters, all things that the city is proud to help support those agencies (with) and continue to serve those folks." Funds are given through two programs — the Community Development Block Grant program and the Community Services Grant program . Applications opened in November and were reviewed by the Community Advisory Committee in January. The CDBG program, the capital project grant program, has $410,000 available for use this year. The program is funded through federal funds the city receives from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. There was less money than there was in 2024, but the program has had higher amounts than usual, due to the sale of the Corporate Centers downtown. A total of $904,357 was requested by organizations for capital funds. Northlands Rescue Mission; United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Area; and Grand Forks Homes were given funds for infrastructure rehabilitation. Priority has been given to projects that are shovel-ready. The CSG program, the operating grant program, had $159,235 available for 2025. This was about the same that was available in the program last year, but this year the maximum grant award amount was increased to $50,000 from $30,000. These funds come from sales tax revenue. A total of $285,000 was requested by organizations in Grand Forks for operational funds. Funds were given to Grand Forks Homeless Helpers; St. Joseph's Social Care; Northlands Rescue Mission; United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Area; and Spectra Health. At the same time, the city is looking toward the final stages of its next consolidated action plan for HUD. The plan sets out the city's priorities and plans for the allocation of federal funds and is a requirement to be done every five years. However, with the change to a new president, guidelines change. "In four years we don't know what the next administration is going to be between the Obama administration, the Trump administration, the Biden Administration and now a Trump administration," Hanson said. "We've seen about four or five different versions of a fair housing requirement come and go." There's a public hearing on the plan scheduled for April 7. The public can comment and view the draft plan on the city's website.
