I will try to post more comments after the Holidays, but here are some pics from Decima Musa's Gran Finale... Last Night at Decima Musa

The only way to describe the feeling of receiving news of Decima Musa’s imminent demise was the proverbial punch in the gut. But I quickly relieved myself by convincing myself that the bearer of the bad news had to be mistaken. “Closing on the 15th, you mean just for the holidays” is what I keep telling myself and anyone who dared try to contradict my illusion. It wasn’t until I heard the words directly from Rosario’s mouth that I was forced to face the truth – Pilsen was losing another one of it cultural icons. I’ve told friends that my tearful conversations Rosario over this decision since have been filled with great memories but are harder to endure than most wakes I have attended. It truly feels like the final days of a dear friend. Pilsen has been an immigrant, working class community since its earliest days in the mid-19th century. Because of these demographics it has also been a neighborhood of struggle. Few businesses or institutions in Pilsen during the last 30 years ha...

Alvaro and Silvia Tellez have been trying for months to negotiate with the bank that holds the mortgage on their home. They want to renegotiate the terms of their sub-prime mortgage and are willing to keep making regular payments that are within their budget. Over the past year, their monthly payments have jumped from $3,000 to $4,700. The family moved into the basement of their building in order to rent the two floors above in effort to continue making regular monthly mortgage payments. But the bank would rather add one more vacant property to a neighborhood already riddled with them rather than find a way to keep the Tellez family in their home. Alvaro and Silvia followed the legal process and looked for relief from the courts, but were callously told by a judge, after a hearing that took minutes, that they most vacate their property by December 4th. But the Tellez family is taking a stand. With the support of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Committee, the Tellez family announced on Thursd...