Just a quick reminder, if you are downtown this Friday, April 28th during your lunch hour, please wander past the Federal Plaza, 230 S. Dearborn, and cheer on those of us from Rape Victim Advocates who will be doing the annual Standing Silent Witness event. We won't be able to talk to you, but all of us who stand need your support!

So I'm doing a drive-by to find out if there's any Madison, Wisconsin busties?

Hello all!
Thursday, May 4th is the City-Wide (Chicago) Day of Action Against Street Harassment. I am still looking for people to help with the fliering at the CTA. PM me if you are interested.
Here is a list of activities going on around the city:

Rogers Park YWAT
The Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team (YWAT) is sponsoring a community march to Support Girls’ Safety on May 4th 2006 at 5:30 p.m. Starting at Loyola Park (1230 West Greenleaf Ave), ending at the Morse EL.

Associated Colleges of the Midwest [Urban Studies Program]
Students are planning a public action for May 4th. They will hand out literature and big flowers {which will say “flowers are beautiful, unwanted comments are not;” give a gift to mothers STOP STREET HARASSMENT). Students will also display a large banner and they will be wearing a t-shirt with different statement (such as MY NAME IS NOT BABY…STOP STREET HARASSMENT).
Chicago Rape Crisis Hotline [YWCA of Metro Chicago]
Hotline volunteers will work the CTA Red Line Stations of Thorndale, Granville, and Loyola. Volunteers will distribute a pamphlet that lays out in no uncertain terms how to NOT participate in a Rape Culture.

Depaul University
Feminists in Action and Sigma Lambda Gamma are hosting street harassment awareness and education as to how to deal with certain situations. Along with a street harassment rally from 8-11 am and at 5:45 to sunset we are going to march and rally on the Lincoln Park Campus.

Feminist Sociology Writers
The Feminist Sociology Writers Group will wear “Because the Street Belong to All of Us” buttons on May 4th 2006.

Girls in the Game
Girls in the Game will host a workshop on street harassment for the girls in the Wicker Park community.
Where: Wicker Park (1425 N. Damen Avenue)
When: Thursday May 4th 2006 – 3:30 to 6:00 pm.

Members of the Girls in the Game program at Wells High School will be creating educational pamphlets on street and sexual harassment and distributing them outside of their school.

Girl World [Alternatives Inc.]
The young women in Teen Group at Alternatives Inc plan to host a forum in support of the Day of Action against Street Harassment. On Thursday May 4th from 5-6:30 pm, the Alternatives Girl World Teen Group will meet with young men from the Lakeview, Rogers Park, and Uptown communities in order to talk about their personal experiences with sexual harassment. The participants will define sexual harassment, hear from young women affected by this issue and develop an action plan for dealing with this issue.

Global Girls
On May 4th, Global Girls will facilitate co-ed workshops on sexual harassment at Westinghouse High School and South School of Leadership. Each workshop will last 90 minutes and involve juniors and seniors. Group members will review materials on sexual harassment, discuss how it impacts males and females and develop a plan to share what they’ve learned with their peers.

Hopewell M.B. Church
The Hopewell M.B. Church, located at 6600 S. Hermitage, will post RESPECT flyers to support the Citywide Day of Action against Street Harassment [Rev. Cartha McKenzie Sr, Pastor].

IMPACT Chicago
IMPACT Chicago will post a fact sheet on self-defense against street harassment on its website and send the Fact Sheet to its mailing list. www.impactchicago.org

Marion Nzinga Stamps Youth Center
The Center’s dance line, flag team, and drumline will support the YWAT’s Community March on May 4th 2006 at 5:30 p.m.

Mayor Daley’s Region 1 YouthNet
We will participate in the YWAT sponsored community march while wearing ORANGE and the button.

Mikva Challenge
On Wednesday May 3rd, the Mikva Challenge will distribute a notice and informational material on street harassment awareness to teachers at over 50 Chicago high schools. We will encourage them to discuss street harassment with students for at least five minutes on May 4th. The Mikva Challenge will also post an announcement and some informational material prominently on its website for the week of May 1-5. Finally, the Mikva Challenge staff will wear ORANGE on May 4th in commemoration of the Citywide Day of Action against Street Harassment.
Northwestern University
Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc at Northwestern University will be taking part in events on May 4th. We will host an educational workshop and pass out information about street harassment on campus and at “The Rock” which is our biggest statue on campus that most students pass daily. We will also be taking part in the YWAT sponsored community march.

Rogers Park Youth Intervention Program
We will participate in the YWAT sponsored community march as well as wear ORANGE.

Sullivan High School [Gay Straight Alliance]
We will have a meeting focusing on street harassment, create posters for the YWAT march, participate in the march, and encourage others to participate.

The Sparkle Foundation
The Sparkle Foundation will be supporting YWAT and their movement to resist street harassment by wearing the color ORANGE on May 4th.

Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center
The teen class at Thousand Waves will participate in the Day of Action by dedicating each yell, strike, and kick to stopping street harassment of teen girls.

University of Chicago
A group of students are hosting a film screening and discussion to support the Day of Action against Street Harassment on May 4th 2006.




University of Illinois at Chicago
UIC students will hand out pamphlets and buttons on campus to commemorate the Citywide Day of Action against Street Harassment. This action is being spearheaded by the UIC Campus Advocacy Network.

Women and Girls’ Leadership Project, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health & Metro Seniors
Staff from these three groups will be watching the video War Zone on May 4th 2006. War Zone is a video that raises important issues about street harassment.

thanks kittenb!

My mom, sister and I are starting our self-defense class at Thousand Waves this week! Woo hoo!

This is totally non-sequitur, but remember at the last Bustie gathering at the Heartland Cafe, we were talking about Pre-Raphaelite painters and I think someone mentioned Maxfield Parrish, and we thought he painted Flaming June? Well, I was going through my greeting card collection today and I have a card with Flaming June on it. He didn't paint it- Lord Leighton Frederic did!

Here's a site about Maxfield Parrish and here's some info on Lord Leighton Frederic.

Funny that we all got that mixed up!

Are there any Milwaukee Busties around? My sister & her girlfriend are traveling there in a couple of weeks and are looking for advice on cool things to do. Thanks!

janeinane, I'm not in Milwaukee, I'm in Madison, but I highly recommend they check out the "safehouse" bar in Milwaukee if they want a wacky kind of funny good time. It's a bar that's full of boobie traps.

Sounds like fun and it's for a good cause. Anybody interested?

When It 'Clicked': Becoming a Feminist

The Chicago Women's Health Center is hosting an Open Mic fundraiser focusing on issues of gender equality and identity. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 10th from 6-9 pm at the Heartland Café. The Open Mic is open to all genders and is free, but please eat, drink, be merry, and donate!

Come and share in real-life stories, poems, music, and works of spoken word!
When was the first time you realized things weren't exactly equal? When did you first become a feminist? What experiences and encounters shaped your identity, be it silly, solemn, or sexy?

Fun events include: a raffle for a $50 gift certificate to Early To Bed, feminist trivia, and a silent auction featuring artwork from CWHC staff, volunteers, and clients.

The Heartland Cafe is at 7000 North Glenwood Ave. right off the Morse Red Line.

Oh yeah, I've heard about the Safehouse, too- supposed to be really fun. The art museum there is pretty cool, too.

I have my self-defense class on Wednesday night, kittenb- we went to the Heartland afterwards last week (after Humanist stopped by your place!) If you'll be around after that event, maybe we'll stop by and eat there again this week!

Of course last week, I was a little pissed off at them- when we came in, we asked if the kitchen was open, they said it was, until 11. It was a little before 10, so we had plenty of time. We went into the dining room area and sat down. We had no idea it was open mic night, no one said anything to us. There was a table in front of the stage with a bunch of people there and one of them came up to us and started telling us that if we weren't here for open mic, we had to go sit in the bar or pay the $3 cover charge. He was really obnoxious about it. When our waitress came back, we told her about it and she said we didn't have to pay, it was a voluntary donation, and if we wanted to go sit in the bar we could, she would still be our server, so she wouldn't lose her tip (she didn't say that, but we didn't want to go sit in the bar because we didn't want that to happen). We ended up sitting there and eating quickly then leaving. I, of course, have no problem supporting art, but I don't want it rudely shoved down my throat and be forced to pay for it (especially when the doofus was lying about it being a cover charge!)

Mornin' ladies! I'm new around here and thought I'd see if there are any Kansas Busties (or did everyone "evolve" away to smarter states). ;)

Hello sixelcat! I'm not from Kansas, but I've heard Lawerence is a great place. You are more than welcomed here!

I've been to the safe house once when I was a kid it was alot of fun.


Hey cat, as a science teacher I must say I liked the evolutionary dig!

I'm in Chicago, but my mom is from the Kansas/Missouri area, so I have a lot of family there. I'm actually going there next weekend for a wedding- where are you from in Kansas, sixelacat?

Thanks for the welcome! Lawrence is my current home (and it is a great college town, stargazer-one of the few towns you can joke about evolution ;P).
My BFF lives in Crystal Lake, so I actually get off to Chicago once or twice a year. *Sighs wistfully* I'd love to live in a large city!

Oh, I hear Lawrence is the place to be in Kansas. My bf's cousin went to school there (go Jayhawks!) and William S. Burroughs lived there. Most of my family is in the Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas) area, like Overland Park, Olathe, all those suburbs. And St. Joe, Independence and other places on the Missouri side. I love Kansas City, MO, though- one of the only places I'd leave Chicago for! Everytime we go there, my mom says we should go to Lawrence, but we never do

It's so funny the way people in KC think Lawrence is so far away, and vice versa. I go back and forth all the time (my family is in Overland Park and I have good friends in KCK), it's only a 15-20 min. drive. My friend in Chicago drives further to go the gym every day!!!

Polly, my mom does the same thing, and she's in OP. I think she's been here twice in 8 years. Maybe someday you can entice her with shopping downtown Lawrence, there are tons of cute shops, coffee shops, etc. That's how I got mine out here.

I know, it's really not far away, but we're only there once or twice a year and there's tons of family to see...one of them should move to Lawrence so we don't have a choice but to go! We almost went last time I was there, back in August, to some restaurant, I can't remember the name- it had a silly name and it was like a girly tea and finger sandwiches place and you'd get all dressed up in costumes and eat lunch. Then I ended up getting some nasty stomach bug from some idiot relative who came to the family reunion and made a bunch of people sick and I spent the last day puking, so, again, no Lawrence.

My BGP suggested we take a little road trip this summer to St. Louis or Indianapolis...I'm trying to convince her to spend a few more hours in the car and go to Kansas City...I need some Stroud's!!

The art museum in Milwaukee is very cool; great design and has an impressive collection.

If they can afford a hotel, I recommend the Astor, between the East Side and downtown. Good location, lovely big rooms and bathrooms. I think it's about $90 per room per night.

Brady St is good for pub crawls and there's also a fab (and authentic) Mexican restaurant there, starting with Z...?

Hello everyone.... The Mr. and I are possibly moving to Chicago BUT I am really really scared to give up my comfortable(enough)life here and venture into the UNKNOWN! Well, unknown to me anyway, the Mr. is from Chicago but it's been over 10 years since he actually lived there. I have so many questions and I have been purposely stalling this move because I am just soooo worried about finding a place to live (in a decent neiborhood) and finding work. The Mr. says he'll be able to get work no problemo but I'm one of those people who have to have everything covered BEFORE doing anything so his little "guarantee" is not quite enough for me. I have looked on the net at apartment listings and jobs and such just to get an idea of what I'll be getting into. I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on making a move like this? We currently live near Nashville TN and this will be the biggest move of my life and I'm having these horrible thoughts of getting up there with the kids and the Mr. and ending up broke and homeless and mugged and the kids being beat up at school everyday and any other BAD thing that could possibly happen...... (I guess these thoughts come from hearing about the Mr's life growing up there) This is making me a basket case and the Mr. is very very unhappy here and really wants to go "home". Can someone please tell me it won't be this bad and maybe tell me what areas would be good to live in with good schools. We are what I consider to be middle class-ish and if we're both working then we do OK enough. I don't want to pay an outrageous amount for apartment rent (we pay $605.00 for a nice 2 bdrm now but I know the cost of living is a bit higher there) and we want to be near, but not IN, the city. I want to be able to take the train into the city from wherever we live. Any info that would help me out would be great. Also, what is the BEST place to look for jobs there? Temp. / placement services or the newspaper?
Thanks a ton to anyone who can help

Whew! Deep breath, voodoo, it'll be ok! My $.02: I'm single, work for a nonprofit, and live alone w/out a car in Chicago and feel pretty comfortable doing it. I love urban living so am biased, but Chi is not so difficult a city to life in.

As far as housing and job options, the Chicago Reader (http://www.chicagoreader.com/), Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/), and Craigslist (http://chicago.craigslist.org/) are solid resources (and http://npo.net/jobservice/jobs/ if you're inclined to work in the nonprof. sector).

I'm not too familiar with all the neighborhoods, but a friend just got a nice place in the Jefferson Park area, and I think Albany Park, Ukrainian Village, West Rogers Park, and Ravenswood are affordable and safe -- many others too, of course. And I know people who live in Oak Park, a suburb immediately bordering the city, who enjoy it cause it's not *in* the city but it's very easy to get to & from the city by car or transit, and it has cool businesses and ammenities of its own.

Good luck -- give Chi a chance, I think it could be really nice for you!

voodoo - the completely wise jane has given you all the resources I could think of - she knows this city, yo. There are lots of good places to live, but with kids, your concern is going to be schools, and on that, I'm not much help. Rent is going to be a good chunk higher here, but still not crazy - you should definitely be able to find something under $1000....not $600, but still not *too* insane.

I will say that I love Oak Park and Jeff Park as far as the close in 'burbs go. Evanston is great too, but rent could be close to $1000, but schools are better. Niles and Skokie are good family burbs too, though not as connected to public transit.

another housing resource is http://www.apartmentpeople.com. They helped me find my first place and drove my scared ass all around the area looking at apartments (I was 21 and had never lived in a city before).

I took a look at the craigslist thingy and found a bunch of places around the area of 17th / 18th / 19th / blue island / pilsen / diversy..... anyone familiar with this area? We looked on the map and it looks to be IN the city BUT it is also in our price range so I might have to compromise on NOT living in the city. Are these places in the city? I saw pics of the places and they looked alright but I know nothing about the schools or anything..... I have to figure out how to find out what schools are zoned for that area.
My idea of alright living kind of varies as I have lived in some pretty bad places and some pretty good places so anything in between is just fine with me. I'm not really into fancy shmancy anyway.... I just don't want holes in the walls or roaches or nasty neighbors encroaching upon my space. I have always thought that where you live is only as good as you make it, so even if it's not "the best" apt. in the world, I can still fix it up and live with pride, ya know. I just am really picky about my children's influences, so......
Oh and, I am bearing in mind that we are coming from Tennessee which ranks almost DEAD LAST in the US for quality of education so I would bet that even Chicago's mediocre schools would be better than our BEST schools.
Thanks for the help so far, I appreciate it!

Pilsen has been a mostly Mexican neighboorhood with lots of art galleries around and it is slowly in the process of gentrification. It is in the city chicago extends pretty far south. A good way to test a neigboorhood is to drive around at night and you can get a pretty good feel if it is shady or not.

if you are concerned about schools try and check out if there are charter schools in that neighboorhood

This is not directly related to Chicago per se but when a friend of mine moved to a completely unknown city she called the schools themselves in the two areas she was interested in and talked with the school counselors about what programs were available, student/teacher ratio, etc. She said they were more than happy to talk with her about their schools and it helped her decide which neighborhood to live in.

Evanston also has VERY high taxes- my bf works at Evenston High School and their tax system's a mess because Northwestern pays no real estate tax (it's a crazy 150 year old law) and they own some of the best real estate in the city. The school is starving for money, and they raised the citizens property taxes. The citizens sued and the school had to give back $750,000. Yeah. Great.

Anyway, Edison Park is another nice area of the city.

Northwestern pays no real estate tax? Wow, that is a crazy law.

Nope, not a cent. All those gorgeous old lakefront houses that they give to their professors-- not a cent!

*Shakes fist at Northwestern* That's shocking! And with their tuition rates, it's not like they can't afford it.

Ah, well, but Northwestern built the city, owns half the land, so they get their way. I work in Evanston, right by the university, but we could never afford to own there...rent *can* be affordable up there in some areas, but you do get less for the money. Hence, I live south of the border in RoPa, but can still bike to work. ;)

seabird - nice to see you!! How're things? Did you finish your book?

Right, I think the theory at the time of that law being created was short-sighted- "oh, this little college will never take off! What's a little real estate tax? We'll all just be farmers forever, anyway."

I wonder why there isn't more of a fight being put up by people not affiliated with the university to just reverse the law. Or is there?

Oh taxing the uni is talked about all the time, amongst the little people, but it never goes anywhere, because NU brings so much business to the city, they just let it lie. I doubt NU could really afford to pay the property taxes on everything they own, since most of it is prime real estate. In my view, the worse effect of the tax system in Evanston is that you basically cannot set up any new non-profit operation in the town, because of the lowered tax revenue. They let a church build a giant new HQ on Ridge Rd, and then after it was built, told them they could not hold services there....which forced them to sell their new multi-million dollar building. And that kind of crap goes on all the time. They just tried to change the tax rate for the NPO I work for, and we had to spend thousands in legal fees to fight it. Bloody ridiculous.

Voodoo...you should check out the Chicago Reader ONline...all of the apartments I've found have been through the Reader...good luck with everything...and you know you have our support..

Anyone in STL this next two weeks should check out Gypsy Caravan (a HUGE flea market downtown) on Memorial Day and the Rock N Roll Craft Show on June 3rd and 4th.

I'll be in both, so if you come by, look for Beqi Clothing merchandise and say hi!

voodoo - have you checked out Albany Park? My sister, ex-husband, and many of my friends live there. One of my friends has 4 kids who all go to school in the area. It is an affordable, culturally diverse area that's not too far from fun stuff. It's the neighborhood that North Park University is in.

Oh thank you Bustygirl. I'm going to be there on Memorial Day. I'll definitely look for you there!

double post

puppykitty - wow thanks! I'm gonna look into that.... the Mr is getting bummed cause he says I'm never gonna agree to move casue I'm just too worried about everything up there.... jobs, housing etc.... I'm gonna research this area tho... sounds promising!

Hey, Chicago Busties -- FYI, our own princess dander is going to be running in the AIDS Marathon this fall! She needs to raise a bunch of cash in order to participate, so she and I are throwing a little fundraiser at T's in Andersonville on Sat. June 10. PM me if you'd like details.

Thanks -- hope to see you there. If not, we should plan a summer get-together at some point!

oh yeah! sounds like fun!

I think I might be able to make it...I'll shoot you an email!

I'll be out of town, but I've been promised in absentia raffle tickets!

I'll spread the word to others.

St. Louis is having the much anticipated rock n' roll craft show today and tomorrow. I'll be working the jewelry booth from 12 to 2, come say hi!

voodoo! I just lurked on this thread again after a long time. That's is so great that you are thinking of moving to Chicago.
I like the Pilsen neighbourhood a lot, but you should visit for yourself and see what your comfort level is. And definitely check out magnet/charter schools in the areas you are interested in. The desegregation guidelines have an interesting effect on white people living in predominantly minority areas and vice versa. I was able to get my son into (what I hope will be) a great gifted program in a public school because the school is 60% black and my son is white and it is located in an area that is probably 90% black.

beren - thanks BUT it looks like I will NOT make it to Chicago after all as the Mr. has decided he no longer wants me and the kids and will be moving back to his mommy's house where everything is FREE and is dumping all the bills on me..... I have to start looking for a job and I'm sure I won't be able to make enough to save for a move now BUT, it was an exciting thought though, hey? Maybe in another life.....

(((((((voodoo))))) I'm so sorry to hear that things have suddenly gotten rough for you. I hope you can resolve things, and get what you need to take care of yourself and the bebes.

(((voodoo)))
Keep us posted.

(((((voodoo))))) thinking of you.

((((voodoo)))) hang in there, sweetie.