I am amazed at the ladies that work in the village clerks office , I have been there many times and…read morehave never seen any of them in a bad mood, as soon as they see you walk in someone is coming to the window to take care of you, They chat with you, while they are taking care of your business, and make you feel comfortable being there, you just don't see that kind of service anymore. And you have to consider they also handle all the complaints that come in, even if their office has nothing to do with it, they will direct you to the person who can help you. My hats off to these ladies

I've been living in New Lenox for the past 10 years but have always driven through the area since I…read morewas a kid. I've seen the town go from having a few stores and open land to stores being placed everywhere. I'm not sure if the people who plan this village want it to be like Orland Park but I will tell you this, I CAN'T STAND Orland Park. It's too busy, too many asshole people and just way to crowded. Plus I'm not sure if there is a small penis epidemic floating around but within the past year or so I've seen a ton of huge diesel smoke spewing trucks on the road with tires taller than most cars. Someone get those guys some medicine.

If you are looking up neighborhoods in Chicago for moving or staying during your visit , I'm happy…read moreto tell you to come here! Living : proximity to 3 good public schools and several private schools. 53rd street and 55th street are the more commercial streets , with some businesses along Lake Park. Trick or treating is decent. Visiting: the Sofy and Hyatt place are both comfortable. If you want proximity to U of C and want an air bb, stay closer to 57th street (Woodlawn university , Ellis , Drexel , cottage grove as your cross streets). If you are staying just to not stay downtown but close access to downtown stay between 55-56-57 street station - 47 street on Metra or stay near the 6 bus route. Attractions MSI Lakefront trail Promontory Point Obama's house Obama presidential center and library U of C and its museums Barak and Michelle's first kiss monument 57th Street beach Coffee: my favorites Philz (53 and black stone) Sip n Savor (53/South Hyde Park) Fairground (by u of C) There's a Starbucks in target and a standalone , both on 53rd Food: My favorites Dawn 5 Rabinitos Nella Medici on 57 Cafe 53 Etoo Nandos Peri Peri chicken Jets pizza Valois Pizza capri Cedars Palestine kitchen Small cheval Giordanos Ivd heard good things about Virtue. Hair 57 street salon Cleopatra Transit to downtown Metra 6 bus 2 bus (morning pm rush) 15/55 bus to the Greek line / red line Nice tree lined streets Puppies everywhere Nice green spaces Enjoy

Hyde Park, one of the community areas within the city of Chicago, is one of the more well-known…read moreareas on the south side of Chicago. It's one of the more upper class neighborhoods on the south side. It originated as a Hyde Park Township in the mid-19th century, and was annexed by the City of Chicago. It is one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods, and has been home to many prominent Black residents and celebrities. Perhaps what first brought it to my attention was learning about Leopold and Loeb when I was a teenager growing up in Oregon; not really the best association to have with the Hyde Park-Kenwood area, but there's a lot more to this community than tragic history. Hyde Park is home to a high concentration of higher education institutions, the most prominent being the University of Chicago. In addition are McCormick Theological Seminary, Catholic Theological Union, and the Lutheran School of Theology. It was also the location of the World's Fair 1893, the Columbian Exposition. The Museum of Science and Industry, what was built as the Palace of Fine Arts for the fair, is one of the remaining remnants of that magnificent celebration. I like Hyde Park, and lived there for a few months. It's really densely populated, and has some interesting places to visit and good restaurants. People say the north side is hard to park, but when I was living in Hyde Park it was a constant struggle! There are several parks around here and large ones at that. CTA buses serve Hyde Park, obviously, and there's a Metra route that goes through as well.

Bachelor's Grove Woods is not to be confused with Bachelor's Grove Cemetery which, besides being a…read moreformer cemetery, is east of this location and on the south side of the street. Bachelor's Grove Woods used to be a thing, but currently there are no services here. There are no trails and the only thing one can really do is throw out a blanket and have a picnic in the shady grassy area. Loads of parking but no trails or picnic tables or cookout stands...so you have to bring everything that you need. This particular woods is a part of the greater Forest Preserve District of Cook County and can be located on their map (http://fpdcc.com/downloads/maps/FPCC-CountyMap-2014-web.pdf) as #238.

Bachelors Grove is a pretty historical and adventurous place to go too but for me as a person who's…read morebeen here multiple times, I think it's mostly hype. Don't try coming here after night or during non summer hours because Forest Preserve police are always watching. The graves and tombstones are definitely cool and I wish they would do something to help restore this place but you get to follow a long trail which kind of goes nowhere and then you're stuck in the woods.That's Bachelors Grove in a nutshell

This really isn't a place...it's an event that's held at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park to…read moreremember Lauren Kiefer. She graduated from Willowbrook in 2000 and her mother still works there. This event is held in her honor because she was brutally taken from friends and family on Dec. 25, 2006. So this is a 5K walk/run that is going to take place every year around the third weekend in June. I believe it is $25 to enter and then donations are also accepted which benefit a number of charities including two scholarships that are given out to Willowbrook students. This a fun event for a great cause and in honor of one very special woman! Go to rememberlaur.com to check out the details under events! Hope to see you there!

Edgewater is one of the 77 community areas within Chicago, and the newest of them; it was created…read morein 1980 when Uptown was divided and Edgewater established. As the name suggests, it is a neighborhood that borders Lake Michigan. It's home to one of the most popular neighborhoods in the city, Andersonville--the Swedish neighborhood home to lots of eyewear shops, restaurants, and so on. It was once one of the most desired neighborhoods in the city; there were many a mansion that lined the lake in this city. Hillary Rodham Clinton was born in Edgewater at Edgewater Hospital, and their family lived here for a few years of her childhood before moving to the suburbs. The notorious John Wayne Gary was also born at Edgewater Hospital. The hospital itself was a sordid history; due to medicare fraud, it was closed essentially overnight in the 1990s and sat empty for decades--it was only demolished about 10 years ago, when condos were built on the site. I saw some photos from urban spelunkers who broke in and explored the building, and it was honestly quite eerie. The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce is very active, and there are lots of activities and events that are planned throughout the year. Those include Midsommerfest, trick or treating along Clark, the Andersonville Farmer's Market, and other events. The Swedish Museum hosts a celebration for Santa Lucia day every year. Lakewood Balmoral Neighborhood Association hosts a yard sale every year that is huge, with at over 40 homes participating when I went last year. It's a nice neighborhood with a good deal of diversity.

It was a nice sunny day, so I thought I'd check out the Edgewater neighborhood. My goal is to…read morebecome more familiar with more of this great city's neighborhoods. Edgewater is very easy to get to; you can take LSD or the Red Line which I did. Like many neighborhoods, it liked parking is at a premium so take public transportation. From my relaxing stroll on Bryn Mawr, Broadway and some of the side streets, I noticed a variety of restaurants from the small mom & pop restaurants to very upscale restaurants such as Francesca's. I wish I had more time in the area but I will return to check more of this 'hood out.

I attended the Chicago Green Festival Kickoff Gala on May 21, 2001 at the Marom Grand. This event…read morewas excellent. I enjoyed dressing up for the gala and tasting the delicious food from many local green restaurants. These included City Provisions, Dawali, Fig, Lula cafe and sweets from XoXo. I also liked meeting the ladies from Allyu spa. Including the Palo Santo aromatic incense with their card was a nice touch. The gala was nicely organized starting from the blow up screen projector to the group of young men that came by and picked up our plates, cups and forks for recycling. I enjoyed the talk given by Dr. Kevin Danaher on global and local sustainability and appreciate his zeal to bring little bit of San Francisco to Chicago. I also enjoyed Blanca's Alexander candid talk about what inspired her in her life to become an advocate for conscious living. Nonetheless I did see the bar pass some plastic water bottles

For some reason I was under the illusion that I had written a review for this festival, at least in…read more2008. I remember attending that one and liking it. I would have rated it 5 stars. Lots of good green content to fill your mind and soul with. I learned much about new vendors offering innovative technologies to assist in daily household living from a green standpoint as well as advances in alternate sources of power. Information wise and through photos and other marketing, there was much to see. Now in 2012, there wasn't much. Maybe my expectations for it were set too high. I recently returned from living on the West coast. For those that don't know, in many areas of California people are trying their best to be green. Whether they want to do it for the good of the earth, to feel better about doing or get some kudos from all the green loving people, businesses and consumers alike are trying. Upon return back to Chicagoland, I had hoped for more out of Green fest. Instead, there was a ton of marketing for the Ford motor company. As well as these random people that wouldn't divulge who they were with but asking if you would participate in surveys. Jaik S. mentioned if you see anyone's foot touch the carpet where Ford was displayed, someone would eventually ask you to take a survey. Green shit in the sense of the word green. Like vegan food, green vegetable smoothies and living with more greens in your diet. Really? That's all. A few foo foo stores which offer organic products. I didn't connect with any of the content and couldn't find anything that grabbed my attention. Maybe a few vendors. There was one vendor I found pretty funny. It was something like "Green singles dot com". We aren't talking about clean dollar bills, folks. One vendor sold recycled glass for use in homes. When asked what was the difference between their product and Home Depot the guy responded.."Do you want crap or high quality?". What a silly salesperson. Please don't come out to a festival if you can't explain to me benefits of your product and how and why your company claims to be green. I researched the company and later discovered they import granite from Italy and in manufacturing plants here in the U.S. use glass from recycled beer bottles, glass containers, etc to give their granite countertops a more interesting look. In 2008 I spent the whole day at the festival. In 2012, I walked the entire festival in an hour or less. I think we spent the most time in the beer & mead garden. Which by the way, happened to be the most popular area. The largest number of people stood in a tiny 20' x 20' space. Ideas for future Green Fests from Jacob - If Ford or any other car maker decides to be a big contributor to this again, have them show data on fuel efficiency for their new line of alternative energy running automobiles. What to expect for the future of the brand. What new innovative technology they are working towards. Plans for moving towards creating more efficient types of transportation. The savings a person can expect from going to a green vehicle, etc. Passing out free samples of gluten free nachos with salsa or packs of organic popcorn is fine for the average festival attendee, but not everyone. I desire information. Or what is Ford doing for the environment beyond offering green vehicles ? - Alike this, there are companies around the Midwest which currently offer biofuels. How about someone talking about alternative fuels for different kinds of vehicles. I.e. diesel, electric, NGV (natural gas vehicle), bio-diesel. Where can a person find fueling stations, or get reps here from those stations. Map fliers which indicate where in Chicagoland these resources can be found. - Chicago has green roofs, what are people planting up there and where can we find more information about doing it. Are there Chicagoland companies which offer service to get you started, etc? What are current issues concerned folks are working on for the advancement of a Greener Chicago ? At one point a year or more ago I heard something about the possibility of petroleum based plastic bags not being used any longer in Chicago supermarkets, is that real or fake? I realize for some this might have been an eye opener. Every year more people are waking up and realizing how to recycle or searching for greener ways of operating their everyday life. For those this festival is probably a source of information but for someone already doing their part but wanting a bit more, well I hope next years festival is better.

This building has offices for the administration, their arts council and the police dept. The…read morebuilding and all the grounds were all built several years ago and is very well maintained. The grounds surrounding it have a huge park that even has a giant swimming pool and playground.

Joan, who works in the Finance Department, is always DISRESPECTFUL and UNPROFESSIONAL. She gave my…read morefather and I a bad attitude so I gave her the same attitude back to her. If she continues to behave this way, then I am going to continue treat her poorly. I suggest to all the Lincolnwood residents to do the same as well. Remember, our taxpayers' money goes to Joan's paycheck and pension which she does NOT deserve. I already filled a complaint on her and unfortunately, they can't do anything about it... Shame.

A street art enthusiast smorgasbord!…read more First, Pilsen is a vibrant neighborhood, which appears to be home to many Mexican families. Tons of street art and murals along their main streets and a ton of great smelling Mexican/Latin restaurants. The 16th street murals are along the rail line. It's a little gritty. Yes, there is garbage on the ground. Yes some of the grass is overgrown. But I didn't feel threatened or unsafe at any time. Maybe avoid the area at night and try to avoid getting yourself into a totally deserted spot, but overall like any urban landscape. There are several overpasses, and sadly there are some house-less people, but they were all minding their business and hanging out in their camps. The art is edgy and kinda punk. Multiple themes, from Mexican heritage, death, horror, animals, city life, memorials. And there was a total badass Simpsons Treehouse of Horror montage. This is walkable, but it's better if you do it by car, driving a bit, then exploring each section by foot. It is quite expansive. Just about 3/4 of a mile or a little more out of the main city center and plenty of parking.