What are /r/chicago's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

They blame the budget given to public schools in Chicago, then they blame the teachers and the curriculum.

The problem is many of these 'students' don't care to learn, are unruly and dangerous. Also, they come from one parent households because men in these communities have unprotected sex, create a human life then abandon it before it's born.

They grow up with no books in the house, no guidance from an immature, uneducated shallow single mother, and get thrown into a CPS like this where violence and hatred will get you attention, rather than academic success which leads to real world success.

Of course if a School Resource Officer (SRO) were to forcibly remove this violent student, the cell phones would come out, he'd be referred to a "child" and the racial angle would be broadcast on the MSM.

You can't fix this. It's a problem of breeding, low education and poor moral values.

EDIT: Wow, thanks for the Gold, stranger! It's my second gold in as many days. Thank you - truly. I tend to take a contrarian view, and it's paying off in sweet, sweet karma.

Also, some speculation - my username is a reference to a chapter from Napoleon Hill's classic work 'Think and Grow Rich.' In this amazing book (you can borrow for free from your local library), the author explains (and proves) how we literally shape our lives by the way we think. Our thoughts are things - they are practically tangible. Every real thing in your life, practically, was first a thought in your mind or someone else's mind.

If you're looking to grow your career, or improve your life in other ways but are stuck, reach for this book. It has helped many people, myself included. Just wanted to throw that out there, not that you guys need any book recommendations. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/014311493X

True story, that's how it worked in the Robert Taylor homes. The gang leaders, building managers, and police had an uneasy truce.

If someone did some stupid shit that was out of line, the gang leaders would make sure to quietly rat out the perpetrator via the building crew.

I'm pretty sure that the recent rise in random street violence is directly related to the breakup/gentrification of the project homes. It's no different from the mafia or yakuza - once the central power is broken up, there are lots of low level thugs scrambling for money/power and nobody to keep them in line.

This wouldn't be an issue if the phone companies finally implemented the European mobile ID - once a phone is reported stolen it cannot be used for anything.

Remove the value, remove the crime.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/cell-networks-to-form-phone-database-to-fight-theft/73596

Whoa also PSA: buy jumper cables and learn how to jump cars, it's very simple and easy and a good way to be neighborly.

Here are some good ones: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B073VHBRFC/

the corner of Van Buren and Franklin -- Link to streetview

However, there is now a building on the right.

Buy Musher's Secret for the pup's paws. It's a wax that helps prevent the effect of salt/crud and moisturizes/heal her paws.

However, dog "boots" are the best preventative measure. We have a decent pair ($35) of "boots" off Amazon that use velcro to fasten the boot above the ankle. Your pup will hate them at first and begrudgingly get used to them. Once they go outside they'll notice how they're able to walk longer and without pain so in the end they'll roll with the "boots"

Call me a corporate shill but I use a happy lamp and, I know it's anecdotal, but it makes a huge difference for my mood and energy in the winter months.

You can get a 10,000 lux lamp on amazon for 40-50 dollars. Use it for 30 minutes in the morning while you are drinking your morning coffee. Game changer.

EDIT: Since there were some questions about recommendations, I use this one. I actually spent quite a bit of time agonizing over what to buy since I have a min-max issue in real life and I have to say I'm happy with it. If I recall, a majority of the negative reviews were regarding the "ionizer" portion of the product which, to be frank, I have no idea about. There is no research to suggest that inhaling ionized air is beneficial. There is plenty of science to support the benefit of these lights for SAD as long as the strength of the light is 10,000 lux. This is important. Again, there is no scientific evidence to support that anything less than this will be beneficial. As with any product, user mileage will vary so I can't, in good conscious, suggest that you buy one of the "higher end" models for 200-400 dollars without knowing if you benefit so this is a good option. Having seen one of the more expensive lights be used in the resident room of the hospital I worked at, I suspect the more expensive ones do the same thing but are more aesthetically pleasing and have a larger spread of light.

As for use, the idea is to expose your skin to the light. I have it sitting on my dining room table so, in the morning while I drink my coffee and surf reddit, it's hitting my face. I use it for 30 minutes a day.

American Science Surplus 5316 N Milwaukee Ave Chicago, IL www.sciplus.com

It's like the gift store at the Adler, Field and MSI ... rolled into one with reasonable prices.

Worth it -

>How difficult is it keeping that 30 minute time before bringing the bike back?

not difficult, I don't think i've paid extra yet - but i generally keep along the path and i know where all the docking stations are on my route so i can switch out easily. I live near wrigley, and i know that if i'm heading downtown the stations i'll need to connect are Fullerton, History Museum, Oak Street, or Monroe St (by the Yacht Club). The point is to have a plan before you take the bike out.

>How often have you found kiosks were filled?

Not often - if they are filled, you get an extra 15 min to find another kiosk

When signing up Check for discounts

• Groupon

• Blue Cross members may get a discount

• your employer

I think it's unrealistic to just say "he never actually pointed it at the cop" and think that makes a huge difference. If you see someone holding a gun and then they start to move their hands up then their not pointing a gun at you but you're going to think they might be about to.

It takes a lot to sit there and watch someone with a gun raise it up towards you and not try to do something to stop that.

And I realize he wasn't raising it to shoot the cop, he was raising it to throw it away, but the cop couldn't have known that in that situation.

this video highlights everything well: https://odysee.com/@CWBChicago:7/Two-Minute-Compilation-Video-Slowed-Down-With-Captions:3

Just a real shitty situation all around. There's a lot more nuance to this than people are mentioning.

This is from Instagram user kbucklandphoto. He does surreal type shops all the time (like this), I don't think it was ever intended to fool anyone.

Just an FYI. There is an app called Bun Alert where you can tag the bunnies and post pictures with a description of them and it will notify those around you.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.refect.bunalert

> Before Woodstock and Vietnam, before the creation of the DEA in 1973, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics—headed by “America’s first drug czar,” Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger, from 1930 to 1962—waged its own war, at first primarily on marijuana, and, to a great degree, on jazz musicians and jazz culture. ...

>But Anslinger renamed it ‘marijuana’ to associate it with Mexican laborers,” and claimed that the drug “can arouse in blacks and Hispanics a state of menacing fury or homicidal attack.”

http://www.openculture.com/2015/01/how-americas-first-drug-czar-waged-war-against-billie-holliday.html

The War on Drugs originated as overtly criminalization of POC. This goes back to the 1930s

The laws are magically changing now since addiction has started to impact middle America.

If you want to dig deeper, after prohibition ended law men like Anslinger needed something to do. And thus the War on Drugs.

If you want it to be click bait: Field Museum Scientists Hate This Amazon Prime Product

But he was shooting the gun randomly at cars driving by or whatever. Adam put himself in that situation. I blame his parents.

https://odysee.com/@CWBChicago:7/Two-Minute-Compilation-Video-Slowed-Down-With-Captions:3

This office will primarily be for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) sales and marketing team. AWS is one of their fastest growing segments and they need a local presense for client meetings/presentations and for a place for the sales team to hang out.

I've had various conversations with AWS employees and they were barred from even having meetings in Illinois until this past January (or February?) since Amazon wasn't collecting sales tax. Basically Amazon was telling Illinois that they weren't conducting any business in the state, and this meant no face-to-face meetings. Now that Amazon collects sales tax in Illinois, they can have employees and conduct business meetings here.

I also expect an AWS Loft space like they have in San Francisco, New York, London, and Berlin to open up in the next 12-18 months.

This is from an album Dennehy, told through the POV of a fictional character Kenny. Dennehy is a man's man, Irish-American actor. The narrator embraces him because of his own South Side Irish roots. Kenny also likes tom berenger, also a man's man tough guy actor. The song is pretty much '80s and into the mid-'90s standard fare life on Chicago's South Side, where Irish and African Americans traditionally dominated; the song highlights some of their cultural crossovers and also standard stuff for a south side guy, like vacationing in Wisconsin to go fishing.

Lotta sports references throughout, starting out with the chorus with the obvious omission of the Cubs until the last verse.

'85 Walter Roos = Walter Payton wore 'Roos footwear. (They gave him a lambo when he broke jim brown's record.)

Stacey Adams: Dress shoe and clothes company. Think Morris Day and the Time.

Shawon Dunston: Strong-armed Cubs SS, know for over-throwing Leon Durham at 1B.

After Jordan and Dave Corzine retired, a late '90s Bulls reference, even though Corzine (white center who went to DePaul) was long gone before MJ.

Guy plays 16-inch softball somewhere on Western, longest street in chicago which spans the width of the city.

Lotta '85 Bears references: Richard Dent's verse in Shuffle, Walter Payton, Ditka driving down the Edens (highway through the North Suburbs).

WCKG: 105.9 FM, Longtime classic rock station.

Venture, Zayre: Or called Ventures, Zayres plural, like calling Jewel "the jewels," both discount department stores.

Portillo's: a big hot dog and beef chain.

Tom Skilling, longtime WGN weather guru.

Butkus, HOF Bears linebacker

The Shuffle, Super Bowl Shuffle, '85 Bears theme song.

Also, likes Dennis Farina, late smooth Italian tough-guy actor who was once a Chicago Cop.

For better Chicago references, I like Serengeti's 'Ozzie Guillen' from same album.

Big Bill Thompson was actually voted the WORST.MAYOR.EVER for ANY big city.

> Taking the first-worst prize is Chicago's Mayor William H. "Big Bill" Thompson (1915-23, 1927-31), one of the most colorful if not most corrupt mayors in the city's history. Big Bill, who received campaign funds from such gangsters as Al Capone, won the sobriquet "Kaiser Bill" during World War I for his pro-German stand, and he earned more notoriety in the 1920s for his "America First" program, his campaign to censor school textbooks, and his threat to punch King George "in the snoot." Perhaps Big Bill's first-worst designation is a small price to pay for the $1.5 million that may have been ill-gotten booty that turned up in his safe-deposit box after his death. The experts ranked Big Bill a solid and undisputed first place; he led the pack in the times-ranked-first column and also in the number of experts (forty-five) who put his leadership in the mayoral hall of shame.

https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/holli-mayor.html

Try one of these. Found one on the sidewalk yesterday that someone dropped. Someone had some epic St. Pats plans and they are bummin now. :/

im probably about to blow your mind, but Richard M Daley was in office for 22 years. His father Richard J Daley (who the book is about) was in office for 21 years. That should give you some sort of idea.

American Pharoah is another good book on him https://www.amazon.com/American-Pharaoh-Richard-Battle-Chicago/dp/0316834890/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522868382&sr=1-1&keywords=american+pharaoh

also, This American Life did a great podcast on Harold Washington, who was one of the few mayors we've elected in recent times who stood up to the machine (although that resulted in a period of racially charged "Council Wars") https://www.thisamericanlife.org/84/harold

Okay, let me say something up front here:

I am very much opposed to these groups and I do believe they are terrorists.

However i am concerned with the Patriot Act laws and always have been.

Are they Constitutional?

I tend to doubt it.

I wonder what would happen if political groups across our nation are suddenly voted in to being terrorists.

What happens next?

What happened in Virginia yesterday is no surprise.

We have a "President" who agrees with these people and and his election vindicated them and it "validated" them.

But all of this is by design.

It is time to take a serious look at why we are here right now.

It is about the vilification and the criminalization of black men in our society in order to keep a segment of our society in slavery.

Criminalization.

It is a slave gathering tool.

13th.

The title of Ava DuVernay's extraordinary and galvanizing documentary refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States." The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.

Watch 13th on Netflix to see where this all has led.

Without hating black people this won't work.

Pretty cool, but you should have linked source. Taken from my film Cityscape Chicago...

1:24 in the piece.

https://vimeo.com/52302939

EDIT: Reading in the other discussion, you made it for a business proposal for your friend? No respect.

Not precisely Bronzeville, but I did my masters project on the changes in North Kenwood and Oakland just to the east. A lot of factors led to their decline, disinvestment in schools and neighborhood institutions by the city, loss of jobs from the stockyards closing, declining access to public transit, clustering of lots of public housing in one area with no access to jobs, and stagnant wages throughout the 1960s-1990s to name just a few.

The area has been on the rebound recently, but it'll be a while before it's as vibrant as it used to be, if ever. Not to mention, most of the recent developments haven't seemed to be to the benefit of existing residents.

Here's my report, if you want to look it through.

And a dehumidifier. A dehumidifier that covers 7,200 sq. ft. clocks in at just under $2,000.

I can’t imagine the overall cost of this bribe with labor included was more than $20,000. For a multimillion dollar contract, this is like accepting $5 to allow someone access to a month’s worth of cash drops from even the smallest Home Depot.

The only way I could see “cabinets” being worth more is if he ate the cost on a full kitchen and/or bathroom(s) remodel where the labor prices might fluctuate, but even worst case, a $250k remodel is a steal for those contracts.

This should be an open and shut case (operative word being “should”).

> It's free because the Chicago market is very competitive which is good for you...

> It's our job to bring them qualified tenants who will be a good match and for this service, they pay our brokerage 1 month's rent...

> If you were my client, my fiduciary duty is to find you the best deal for your needs and wants...

Somebody once said, "If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold."

When I did it myself I ran a metal cable across first and attached it to a bracket. Then ran the string lights along the metal cable in case I want to hang more lights or something.

https://www.amazon.com/Suspension-Nylon-Coated-Stainless-Turnbuckle-Accessories/dp/B07HVQFPNQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3A3MJID883KQN&dchild=1&keywords=string+light+cable+hanging+kit&qid=1625844766&sprefix=string+light+cab%2Caps%2C166&a...

I don’t think you need their permission to install curtains.

I bought some cheap ones at Costco that work really well, along with a basic curtain rod.

There's a pretty active Google Group with a bunch of Chicago urban chicken owners. Everyone there is way into it and would probably love to help you out.

Scott May, the #1 draft pick for the Bulls in 1976 and the #2 pick overall, injured his hand in the preseason by being startled when he was sleeping, knocking a glass off his side table and then falling out of bed with his hand getting lacerated by the broken glass. He missed the whole season.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19810304&id=lY8yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2ecFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3179,873707

Also there's American Science and Surplus where you can pick up items ranging from Tesla coils to astronomical binoculars to underpants in a can.

Yes, underpants in a can.

"Emergency underpants in a can. Says it all, doesn't it? Quite stretchable in a Tyvekish white fabric, 'one pair fits most adults.' They're hip-hugger, semi-bikini, translucent type drawers, so despite the smiling man wearing them and a red bow-tie on the can, some (insecure) guys might find these just a touch jeune fille-ish. 'Safe, Sanitary, Secure.' Says so right on the 3" x 1-1/2" x 2/3" flip-top metal can. Better buy (3) in case of a long weekend."

Aerial view 1953 of the cargo ship MARINE ANGEL the largest vessel to travel the Mississippi River and the Illinois Waterway as it rounds a bend in the Chicago River Chicago Illinois.

Here's the definitive book on the tunnel system. I didn't realize it was out of print; used copies might be available a bit cheaper at Illinois Railway Museum when it reopens.

After 9/11, the city became paranoid about sealing off all the entrances, though Willis Tower security once told me a story about a breach (during a security test) that exploited the tunnels.

For those interested the Circuit Decision has been posted here:

Politics aside it seems the Independent Maps Amendments team made some pretty clear mistakes in drafting their amendment,

Count IV - Requiring supreme court justices to declare a political party.

Count III - “original jurisdiction” in the amendment and petition versus “original and exclusive jurisdiction” in the Constitution’s judiciary article

It should of been easy to see that those two sections would not pass judicial review.

I'm a bit biased because I'm the developer, but if you're on Android you should check out Depot.

Arrival time widgets on your home screen, arrival times in a persistent notification that updates automatically, ability to be notified if you're on a vehicle and your stop is coming up, and lots more.

I'm overdue for an update on it because things got pretty busy with me, but it should still work well for most routes.

You are exactly right about that specific date, however looking at this historical information shows that 1) that was the coldest recorded temp of the month, and 2) this weather does seem far from typical. We have only had 10 days so far that have been 69 degrees or higher. Last year that number would have been doubled. I'm not sure where rain is at for this year, but based on the link there seemed to be only two significant rainfalls.

Anomalies happen, but I hope this trend doesn't continue. The numbers themselves seem a bit shocking when looking at the data

This winter has been fairly average, perhaps even colder than average.

Historical data: http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/chicago/illinois/united-states/usil0225

Historical January average high and low of 32 F and 18 F, respectively.

https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KORD/2017/1/28/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=&req_state=&req_statename=&reqdb.zip=&reqdb.magic=&reqdb.wmo=

Average high and low so far for January is 29 F and 14 F, respectively.

More cleaned up version, tweets only (no roads or other features), whole world visible: https://www.mapbox.com/labs/twitter-gnip/locals/#5/38.013/-94.988 (click "explore")

What we learned (and this is true of everywhere): Tourists tweet downtown, at the airport, and at sports stadiums; locals tweet everywhere else; everyone tweets on the interstates.

I came to this post expecting to read an article about the damage to the River's ecosystem.

TIL: What the difference is between dyeing and dying.

Logan Theatre will be doing this. Psycho, Texas Chainsaw, Blair Witch, Nightmare on Elm Street, Rosemary's Baby, Child's Play, etc.

http://www.fandango.com/logantheatre_aahvf/theaterpage?date=10/15/2015

EDIT: Just saw they posted this easy to read (and copy/paste list)

It's our favorite time of year! The 4th annual Horror Movie Madness festivities are about to begin and we've got you covered with freaky features every night of October and two eerie parties in our lounge. Here's what's happening:

-Psycho (1960): Oct. 1-5

-Poltergeist (1982): Oct. 1-5

-The Blair Witch Project (1999): Oct. 6-8

-Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): Oct. 6-8

-Rosemary's Baby (1968): Oct. 9-12

-A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): Oct. 9-12

-Child's Play (1988): Oct. 13-15

-Beetlejuice (1988): Oct. 13-15

-The Exorcist (1973): Oct. 16-19

-Friday the 13th (1980): Oct. 16-19

-Frankenstein (1931): Oct. 20-22

-The Lost Boys (1987): Oct. 20-22

-The Shining (1980): Oct. 23-26

-Gremlins (1984): Oct. 23-26

-Young Frankenstein (1974): Oct. 27-29

-Night of the Living Dead (1968): Oct. 30-31

-Black Sheep (2006): Oct. 30-31

Don't worry how you look. No one else will care at all.

I wore the following balaclava along with a thick beanie and the other normal essentials (gloves, long jacket, scarf, etc.) during the coldest of days last year and got through it. You're going to be cold no matter how much you layer up, but it's about cutting down on your skin exposure, holding in heat, and staying dry.

Balaclava link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075QYMKZG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Go to a bar with AC during the hottest hours. If bars aren’t your thing than an indoor mall.

Get fans and eat spicy food.

When I was overseas where it was constantly hot and humid I found this to be a lifesaver.

For a while I lived in a brick building that would bake in the sun and no AC. During the hottest times I found abandoning ship during the hottest hours to be the best option.

The Third Coast by Thomas Dyja

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

>Oh, I have. City salaries are crazy compared to many markets. 90k for Firemen, 80k for cops, ave CPS teacher 85k, etc. Please.

This has what to do with the CTA again?

You seem to be looking for a reason to bitch, not looking to have rational discourse.

Anyway. Where are those numbers from? The things that I find from casual searching indicate you are making things up.

> and the shittiest public trans of any major city.

Have you BEEN to Los Angeles? Atlanta? Denver? New York City may have Chicago beat on transit, but that's about it. And do you know why? Because New York has been willing to sacrifice automobile access to improve public transit. Chicago's bus infrastructure is actually pretty good.

…And before you pull out something about a European city, think about that "highest taxation rate" thing again first.

I'm assuming you have actual money to pay for goods and services?

https://www.kayak.com/hotels/Chicago,IL-c12514/2016-07-29/2016-07-30/3guests

OP edited his post to include a budget. $100 for Lolla weekend last minute? Not a fucking chance.

This Xfinity FAQ refutes both of those claims. On the other hand, some tests have shown that the extra network can raise electricity costs.

I finally got a job. I start tomorrow. All of this free time is killing me. I'd rather be busy working and being stressed than questioning the meaning (or meaninglessness) of existence and rewatching movies on Netflix.

My first and current audiobook is a Man's Search for Meaning. I need something a bit more uplifting.

I can't wait to sign up for sailing lessons.

I am dining at RPM Italian tonight. They were completely booked but they were kind enough to call me and give me a table for one.

It's a huge pain in the ass. First you've gotta find a building that'll let you run an airbnb inside of it. Then you need to pay for multiple licenses from the city. Once you've got that taken care of the city will slap an 8.5% tax on whatever you make from it

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/861/chicago--il

Dude in the middle has his shirt off.

Correct me if I'm wrong - I'm presuming this post was intended to reference the semi-nice weather incoming this weekend..

Rust proofing is an old scam the dealers ran, no one does this anymore and modern cars don't need it. Consumer Reports agrees

The new 400 up in Rogers Park has $6 matinees. $8.50 regular tickets. Also they don't upcharge for 3D.

If you have someone to go with there currently is a groupon offer for 2 tickets, two well drinks or soda, and two popcorns for $21.

Canon Powershot SD790 IS (point and shoot camera), used CHDK custom firmware to take exposure bracketed shots, took 5 pics starting at -2 exp to +2 Exp, then ran the 5 shots through a program called Photomatix. The program has a bunch of presets for image processing and I liked this one the best.

Hey, so I live near the area and am willing to work with anyone to get the word out about what they are doing here. I went to Stevenson, and I fucking HATED IT, but this is yet another evil I do not wish for the students of that evil fucking institution to be subjected to.

Please PM me if you're interested in organizing something. This hits way too close to home for me to not do anything. Hopefully some of you feel the same way.

EDIT: I found a link to a Facebook group of some people getting together to protest this - https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_185938408112292&ap=1

My Uncle in Bridgeport had framed pictures in his garage of Mayor Richard J. Daley, JFK & this poster of Ava Gardner.

I remember asking him why did he have those 3 on the wall. His answer, "Daley gave me a job. JFK was the 1st Catholic President & if you don't understand why I have Ava up on my wall boy I pity you."

fe fe

finessin

foolies

foo foo

goofy

huff

the L

lackin

lick

nitty

opp

popped

send it up

shits

stain

squad

low end

thot

tweakin

This is a list of non gang-related slang that I've heard before. Im sure some of these are used in other cities

HERE is a full list with more words and definitions of the ones I listed.

There's a line of thunderstorms from Kansas to DC right now: https://i.imgur.com/YWYPBP9.png

Snagged the screenshot from Windy.tv if you want to see how fast the storms are moving.

Another app that I find really useful to navigate the CTA is CityMapper. Sometimes it will suggest alternate routes to get somewhere that hadn't occurred to me.

Wholeheartedly recommend unlocator.

You can try it for a week before entering payment info to make sure it works with your devices. They have specific support for mlb.tv too. This is my second season using this with a ps4.

I've been reading through Rahm Emanuel's new book "The Nation City" recently and have been blown away by everything I've learned about Chicago. The book itself is a little showboaty and does a little too much fingerpointing at the federal gov't without providing meaningful solutions...

But! It's depiction of chicago is really compelling. The new education initiatives with city college, the reinvestment into infrastructure, the CTA, etc all sound amazing.

Question for y'all

1. How do you feel about your city and how it's changed in the last 5-10 years?
2. What are some things that you wish were improved?

Curious to get a second opinion to compare to what I'm reading about!

The ACA. Once you receive your determination letter, if they deny you, you go to the heatlhcare.gov website, log-in, and you will be given an option for "Special Enrollment". You fill your info and most of the time it already knows that you were denied and will let you proceed.

> Being determined ineligible for Medicaid or CHIP:

> You applied for Medicaid or CHIP during the Marketplace Open Enrollment Period and your state Medicaid or CHIP agency determined that you weren’t eligible for Medicaid or CHIP after Open Enrollment ended. You may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period regardless of whether you applied through:

> The Marketplace and your information was sent to your state Medicaid or CHIP agency, or Your state Medicaid or CHIP agency directly

(https://www.healthcare.gov/sep-list/)

Do teachers pay social security taxes? Current social security tax rate for employees is 6.2%. What does 6.2% get you? Well, on average it is about $1,368/mo or $16,416 per year. The employer picks up an additional 6.2% for you.

The max you can get in 2016 was 2639/mo or $31,668 and that's IF you worked 35 years at the social security max --- which in 2018 is a bit over $128,400. Few teachers get that high, and those that do don't do it for 35years.

IIRC (someone correct me), Chicago teachers were paying about 2% and the state /city was picking up 7%. This was common in most districts where the employer picked up some/most of the pension contribuation. And what does 2% contribution get you in Chicago? Well, it can get you over $60k/yr if you work 35+ years and you don't have to work until 65 or 67.

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/07/30/americans-average-social-security-at-age-62-66-and.aspx

http://www.ctpf.org/active_members/calculator.htm

Bullshit. The main negatives (off the top of my head) against Rahm are:

• covering up the Laquan McDonald murder. Honestly, this should be all you need to know he's not at all a good man, let alone mayor.

• alienating most of the South Side with the CPS school closings.

• his closing mental health clinics all over the city and slashing Chicago Public Library staff (despite the fact that library return on investment is usually around $4.50 gained for every $1 spent).

• and lastly, the violent crime spike.

As for weak on violent crime... I think most people here can agree that the War on Drugs was and remains a huge failure. Policing doesn't solve any of the issues that are leading to drug usage. The exact same thing holds up when we start talking about violent crime, especially in Chicago. Hell, This American Life did a two-part series about how CPD nabbed so many the big gang leaders that the gangs disintegrated, leading to more violence. [NPR article about it]

The cops are not the solution to Chicago's problems and will never be. The solution is making sure people can get good educations, good houses, and good jobs. Fix the decades of disinvestment in these areas in communities like Englewood - make it so people can make an honest living - and no one will want to risk that by shooting someone.

Hmm..according to this the highest temp that day was 94ºF and hottest temp recorded for that day would have been set in 1934 at 105ºF. Humidity also played a role in that, making it seem hotter than it actually was for that day.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

I was really hoping for the Chicago version of this, then I remembered that it probably cost a ton of money (I really hope whichever production company put that together was paid some serious cash for their efforts, because it's amazing).

Do we really live in a world where downvoting on Reddit makes someone a bigot? Are you serious?

Also your definition is incomplete.

Definition of bigot : a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; <strong><em>especially :</em></strong> one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance

Add to that the highlights from this report from ReFund America project to fix our current issues.Chicago Our Kind of Town

The main points being:

> Recover losses from predatory municipal finance deals.

>Reducing financial fees by 20 percent across the board.

>Insourcing pension fund management.

> Collective bargaining with Wall Street.

> Create a Public Bank

> Raise Progressive Revenue

You should affix the Chicago Municipal code 9-52-020, in particular, part 'b' :

> 9-52-020 Riding bicycles on sidewalks and certain roadways. > > (a) No person shall ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk within a business district unless such sidewalk has been officially designated and marked as a bicycle route, or such sidewalk is used to enter the nearest roadway, intersection or designated bicycle path, or to access a bicycle share station. > > (b) No person 12 or more years of age shall ride a bicycle upon any sidewalk in any district, unless such sidewalk has been officially designated and marked as a bicycle route, or such sidewalk is used to enter the nearest roadway, intersection or designated bicycle path, or to access a bicycle share station. > > (c) Bicycles shall not be operated on Lake Shore Drive or on any roadway where the operation of bicycles has been prohibited and signs have been erected indicating such prohibition. > > (d) Whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the roadway.

-- Source (p4/5), which was amended on 8May13, seemingly to work with Divvy.

edit: Better link

They are intwined right now. His goal is to take away health care privatize social security, make sweeping changes to medicare, medicaid. He has promised to appoint supreme court justices who will change Roe V Wade. He has promised to destroy the ACA with a horrible replacement. Lets not forget he bragged about sexual assault.

What? No way it's at XSport in Logan. This picture has been reposted on /r/Chicago a bazillion times.

It's at the former Children's Hospital. /u/blipsman is right.

See this thread

There's even a tumblr picture compiler.

A++ /r/chicago repost though.

I don't mind the use of car horns so much when people are driving. What pisses me off is when they are used as a substitute for doorbells.

Get out of your beat to shit Caprice Classic, walk 25 feet up to the door of your baby mama's building and push the little button next to the door. You know her fat ass is always slow on Tuesdays. (Insert any day here.) She just got her nails did. Call ahead next time. Think about the neighbors.

I helped plan my buddy's bachelor party which had 11 people coming in from out of town. You may be best off with getting a vacation rental for the weekend. We used a several bedroom apartment as our base of operations, drinking games, cooking breakfast, and a place to pass out. Many places have a three night minimum. If you split it amongst a few people, it will be the cheapest option!

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/illinois/chicago

http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentals-g35805-Reviews-Chicago_Illinois-Vacation_Rentals.html

Try AirBnB in the Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village and Wrigleyville neighborhoods. Or you could get a private room at a nice hostel in Lincoln Park, the Getaway Hostel, which is in a nice neighborhood and a short bus ride away from Wrigley.

Yea I wish there was some general API that I could access to generalize it across different libraries (as in different library systems, not just Chicago), but there isn't, there is this API but it (apparently) only shows the items that the library stocks (with no distinction between being checked out, on hold, unavailable, etc. which is what I want). So I need to send parameters to the library's search, get the page, then parse the html - which is of course not ideal because any changes to their markup will break the parsing :D

I lived here without a car for 10 1/2 years. My wife and I have been borrowing one from my parents for the past few months because I'm high risk with COVID so we're avoiding the CTA and we're saving up to buy a car and a parking spot so we can get a dog. If not for that, I'd be happy to continue living without one.

1. It depends on where you live. Some parts of the city are better served by the CTA than others. If you can live within walking distance of a CTA train line or bus route that runs later at night and you don't need to get all over the city or to the suburbs for work and don't have family in the suburbs or elsewhere in Illinois, etc, having a car can be a big hassle. Especially in the winter.

2. My wife commuted to the Loop for work pre-pandemic and will return to doing so eventually. We live near the end of the Brown Line train which made her commute pretty. Hop on the Brown Line in the morning, take it to a station in the Loop about 3 blocks from her office, and walk to the office. Do the reverse at night.

3. It's not my favorite winter activity, but it's fine if you're not a weenie. It's good exercise. I live a little less than half a mile from the convenient grocery store and a little less than a mile from the good one. Pre-pandemic I would usually just walk to a store (or take the bus if it was raining or too fucking cold) a couple times a week and only buy as much as I could carry. We have a folding granny cart for bigger trips.

4. Zipcar is kind of like that. You pay for a monthly membership and then you can rent a car for a couple few hours for a small fee. The Uber fare estimator is fairly accurate https://www.uber.com/us/en/price-estimate/

I really like my Zinus mattress that I got from Amazon, for the price. Surprisingly high quality for a budget option.

Well, it's not a hotline, but there is literally an app called "Scream Into The Void" on Google Play - hope it helps! Your friend!

Chicago Works is a bit wonky, but it works enough. You can make a variety of complaints/issues (potholes, abandoned cars, alley lights out, RATS, graffiti, etc.). I've submitted a fair amount and everything has been fixed or addressed in a reasonable time frame. You can upload pictures too.

• Street near my apartment looked like it was shell by artillery (2 weeks from complaint to getting it fixed)
• RATS (3 days)
• Alley light out (2 or 3 months - I don't know why this took so long).
• Abandoned Car (a week)
• Graffiti 3x (literally the next day)

I'll check out SeeClickFix. The UX of Chicago Works is not the best.

Depot From the looks of it thats what transit tracker used to be.

Here maps also has offline schedules for the CTA and offline maps.

Probably not a good idea to eat anything out of lake michigan

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=noodling A form of fishing in which a crazy person runs into a lake and searches for holes on the bottom with his foot. Then he inserts his finger into the hole and lets something bite it. Hopefully, it's a catfish. If so, he wrestles the catfish to the surface and drags it to shore. If its not a catfish, he may lose his finger to a snapping turtle or his life to a water moccasin.

I once did a short sublet in 3941 n pinegrove..

I was googling around and courttv had a big article on a (IIRC part of a serial) murder that was there. the Lipstick Killer they called him, he killed the woman in the apartment and wrote on the wall in lipstick:

"For heavens sake catch me before I kill more I cannot control myself"

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/lipstick-killer

...the place itself wasn't too bad except I lived on the top floor (made sure it wasn't the unit this happened in!) and the wind tunnel pushing down from park place tower would be enough to move the ceiling/walls in a brick building which was kinda weird too.

I've never been, but it's really highly rated on TripAdvisor.

Looks like your $60 price point is just above their minimum of $54 a ticket, too.

I don't know much about your parents, but being OTB they should be able to enjoy the percussion and the spectacle of the show without a language barrier impacting their experience.

Original Xbox games can be tricky to come by. I'd look in to getting the Lego Star Wars games. They're fun and family friendly. Here's a list of reviews for decent game: http://www.ign.com/games/reviews?platformSlug=xbox&amp;startIndex=150&amp;score=8.0

I'd say Ebay would be your best bet to find the types of game you're looking for. Just look for reliable sellers. There are lots of superhero games (Hulk, Spiderman, X-Men) that are a little older, but still fun to play. Best of luck!

I highly recommend watching the documentary "16 Right", it goes into detail about why general aviation infrastructure is so important, and how it is slowly being eroded. To pilots like myself, this is like tearing down a monument or a historic building.

The entire thing:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/118168/one-six-right

Here is the Meigs Field sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqwQbAxhVxs&amp;feature=results_video&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PLA6199D7F28DA987F

Check out this benefit at Lincoln hall on the 18th of August to help repair the damage. Some good bands, and a great cause if you want to help. facebook invite here

The average temp for the first week of June 1975 was 73degrees and the lowest it got that week was 48degrees. So no, you didn't see any snow in June

https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KORD/1975/6/2/WeeklyHistory.html?&amp;reqdb.zip=&amp;reqdb.magic=&amp;reqdb.wmo=

>> Chicago will routinely have nice summer weather from May - September

We have not had nice summer weather this year in May. Or June. Today feels more like late October than it does summer. We’ve had some nice days but we’ve had far too much cold, overcast , rain, etc

We were well below the average highs and lows for most days in June. And for may too

Not saying you are wrong, you aren’t. Just doesn’t feel that way at all the last few years. Regardless of what the stats may say it just feels like the true summer weather has been too little and too brief lately.

I grew up in New England and we had 4 seasons. Each was distinct. Our spring felt like an actual spring. Spring in Chicago is just a less shitty extension of winter.

low key might pick up a set

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/indoor-residential-electric-Escalator_266073707.html?s=p

joking, but there must be a way to get german escalators within a year if the chinese can get me one in 20 days.

Nice. I use TripAdvisor for my advice when I globetrot.

However, remember when they did not even list Chicago as a top 10 destination for PIZZA?

http://www.tripadvisor.com/PressCenter-i6185-c1-Press_Releases.html

For those wondering, Fermilab is in Batavia, a western suburb. It is about an hour drive or 3 hours by train/bus/foot.

Some other places in the area, to add more to your trip, are the Chicago Premium Outlets (shopping), Two Brothers Tap House (brewery/restaurant - free tours on weekends), and American Science &amp; Surplus

Since it is a month away, it's hard to really say what the weather will be like. I remember Novembers when it was relatively mild and I remember Novembers when it has been colder, although, the soul crushing winter cold in Chicago usually doesn't rear its head until later in December or January. That being said, for November 13, the average high is 50 and the average low is 36, so you can probably expect temps in the 40s for most of the weekend. Not sure where you're from, but that's not too bad in these parts. This is a pretty comprehensive report for typical weather conditions here.

As for what to do, it depends on what you like. Since you're into architecture, I'd check out the Chicago Architecture Foundation, they offer a lot of great tours of the city. Unfortunately I think the boat river tours may be closed for the season by mid-November, but they still offer a ton of great walking tours around the city so you can see a lot of cool shit.

As for bar and other recommendations, check out our wiki, lots of helpful info.

I'm pretty sure I seen him dead on the side of the road here. On Columbine Rd. (Rt. 53) in-front of 'The Church of the Nazarene'.

Just remember people. Big Brother is Watching You Also Never forget if you video tape them doing anything wrong you are trampling their right for privacy [old gizmodo article(http://gizmodo.com/#!5553765/are-cameras-the-new-guns) there are about 10k more on google. I believe the guy selling art who videotapes his arrest is up for 15 years in jail (on par with sentencing guidelines for a murder charge)

>https://odysee.com/@CWBChicago:7/Two-Minute-Compilation-Video-Slowed-Down-With-Captions:3

Yup, .838 seconds, which is closer to .5 seconds when you factor in reaction time.

> What is your mind is an authentic Chicago book, movie, tv-show, etc?

Ever read the book version of the blues brothers? It's great. There's a separate story for acquiring each and every band member.

https://www.amazon.com/Blues-Brothers-Miami-Mitch/dp/B000JDKVLG

I have a similar setup to OP, didn't do a metal cable, just pulled the string of lights tight and used these to secure to the deck and my garage

I have some stuff you can have for free if you pick it up and load it yourself from Lakeview. It's a matching set of a TV stand, two end tables and an audio rack. They're all cherry and glass. This is what the tv stand looks like. The rest of it is from the same series: https://www.amazon.com/Sanus-NFV249C1-Cherry-Natural-Series/dp/B001BMY84K

Did you ever see one of these spiral-bound Chicago map books? In the days before smartphones, I worked in a dispatch office that covered essentially the entire Chicago metro area. Our drivers needed to be able to find every street in the city and all surrounding suburbs, so they all had one of these in their truck. Literally every single street in NE IL was listed.

There's a somewhat similar passage describing Chicago in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" as an endless array of straight streets running into other straight streets, dotted with laundromat and beer and pizza signs

The perfect environment for a man to go mad.

That's a great point. I'd like to have seen a proper analysis of that before Rahm spent millions, but due to zero-oversight/slush-fund nature of TIFs I'd be surprised if there was one. I'd be even more surprised if the analysis wasn't done after the decision was made.

>If the money must be spend at Navy Pier or McCormick Place, may as well make is as useful as possible.

The money must be spent at McCormick because the TIF was created in the first place. You're using the existence of the TIF to justify the existence of the TIF. That's circular reasoning.

>It kind of kills 2 birds with one stone.

DePaul could play at the United Center. There is only one bird.

The logic behind the TIF expenditures always feels like a stretch. Meanwhile, the general funds are stretched so tight that we can't pay for the maintenence of basic services. As I learn more about the city's supposed budget crisis, and it's magnitude relative to the TIF program, I think more and more that it bears a striking resemblence to the manufactured crises described in The Shock Doctrine. This shouldn't be too much of a stretch considering the neo-liberal program is a product of the University of Chicago. As Rev. Wright would say, "[Chicago's] chickens are coming home to roost."

But since I feel sorry for you, here is the 3RD FUCKING ARTICLE when I googled "North Dakota oil boom".

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/job-north-dakota-oil-boom-200000024.html

EDIT: The best part of the article is "...28 year-old...looked for steady work for a year, but found nothing...bought one-way bus ticket to North Dakota...found a job within first hour".

Deadline is Friday, December 15! To look into your options, you don't have to log in...here's the link to check out the plans: https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/

You can also check out the recent /r/chicago discussion about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/7h3ox4/reminder_illinois_acaobamacare_open_enrollment/