According to the existing bylaws, they “may be amended at any WLVN meeting called for this purpose, by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the Voting Members present, provided the proposed amendment has been sent in writing, via mail or email, to all Voting Members thirty (30) days prior to the date of the meeting.”

Because the meeting is scheduled May 14, please note that the proposed amendments have been posted to the WLVN website and emailed to members by Saturday, April 14.

Only paid Voting Members present at the May 14 meeting will be allowed to vote on the amendments to the bylaws. If you are not a paid Voting Member, you can sign up for membership on or before April 30 to be eligible to cast a vote at the May 14 meeting. Sign up to become a member here. If you not sure whether you are a paid Voting Member, please contact us at info@wlvn.org.

View an edited version of the proposed WLVN bylaws.

View a summary outlining the changes and justification for the proposed bylaws.

Save the date for our FINAL community meeting of 2017, which is at 7 p.m. Monday, November 13 on the second floor of The Butcher’s Tap, 3553 N. Southport Ave. RSVP on Facebook here. A meet-and-greet with complimentary appetizers and a cash bar will begin at 6:30 p.m.

TENTATIVE AGENDA 

1) Community updates: We will have representatives from various community organizations and update residents on upcoming events in the neighborhood.

2) Community grant program: West Lakeview Neighbors is seeking grant proposals for events, programs, and improvement projects in the neighborhood! One of our goals is to improve the quality of life in our community. If you have a project or an idea that WLVN may fund, please submit using this form by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10. Once proposals are submitted, the WLVN board of directors will review them and make announcements by Giving Tuesday. Submit a community grant proposal or idea here.

3) Street festival committee: Our annual street festival is the largest fundraiser for WLVN, and our Street Festival Committee just met for the first time this year. Come to get an update on our plans and learn how to get involved.

4) Renew your membership for 2018 at the meeting!
We hope you’ll stop by to learn about how you can get involved in the community and to renew your membership with WLVN in 2018 by paying the $20 annual dues. New and renewing members will get a West Lakeview tote bag.

As a paid WLVN member you can:

• Vote on important neighborhood developments and proposals.
• Join a committee to focus on issues important to you.
• Help us raise more money to put back into neighborhood events and projects.
• Access neighbor networking nights.
• Get a free tote bag for shopping locally!

Or, pay your membership dues online 
You can also pay your 2018 membership dues online at http://www.wlvn.org/membership-signup/. Complete the form on that web page, and you will be taken to our PayPal account to complete the transaction.

Annual dues are $20 per household (up to 2 voting members), and voting members must live within the WLVN boundaries: Irving Park (between Ravenswood and Ashland) and Addison (between Ashland and Racine) on the north; Belmont on the south; Racine on the east; and Ravenswood on the west.

Money Smart Week Workshops 

Most Popular Low Down Payments and How to Qualify

With Darryl Evans, Saturday, April 22, 1pm.

7 steps to Home Buying in Today’s Market  

With Darryl Evans, Tuesday, April 25, 6:30pm.

Buying and Selling a Condo 101

With Melinda Jordan, Thursday, April 27, 6:30pm.

All events held at the Lincoln Belmont Branch, 1659 W. Melrose St. Call 312-744-0166 for more details.

Get Covered Illinois: Health Care Info Sessions

Wednesday, April 5/12/19/26, 1-4 p.m.

Open enrollment for health insurance continues into 2017. Every Wednesday this month, get ongoing free assistance with the Affordable Care Act. Sign up for Medicaid and learn about special enrollment periods.

Financial assistance may be available.  A state certified health insurance navigator is available to answer your questions and help you enroll at no charge. Please bring your driver’s license or state ID, income information (w-2′s, tax forms, pay stubs) and social security numbers for you and anyone else in your household that needs coverage. Call 312-898-8864 to schedule an appointment.

Lincoln Avenue: On Foot, for Food Walking Tour

Saturday, April 8, 10 a.m. 

In recent years, Lincoln Avenue in Roscoe Village continues to offer the interested food aficionado a range of cafes, butchers, fast-casual restaurants, and Southern-style cuisine eateries. On this walking tour, we’ll get to stop by a few of these establishments and talk with business owners about how they are responding to customers’ requests to know more about their food. Urbanologist, Max Grinnell, will host and lead the tour.

Book Club: “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Saturday, April 15, 2:30 p.m.

First published in 1962, this book is considered one of the most significant works ever to emerge from Soviet Russia. Illuminating a dark chapter in Russian history, it is at once a graphic picture of work camp life and a moving tribute to man’s will to prevail over relentless dehumanization, told by “a literary genius whose talent matches that of Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gorky”

Poetry Month: Everyday Odes poetry reading with Andy Karol

Thursday, April 20, 6:30 p.m. 

Chicago-based performance poet Andy Karol is a storyteller who draws audiences in with vulnerability, passion, and lyrical language. A focus on gender, sexuality, mental illness, love and loss, Andy’s poems speak of an inner world that exists like an ocean beneath a night sky. Andy has also taught spoken word classes and workshops and tours individually as well as with Cometry, an ensemble that uses poetry and comedy to inspire and educate national audiences. Andy has competed on two Chicago teams at the National Poetry Slam and has published two chapbooks—Fail-Safe (2015) and Paperboy (2016).

MWRD recently began distributing free oak tree saplings to Cook County residents as part of its Restore the Canopy, Plant a Tree program. Planting and care instructions, along with additional information regarding the benefits of trees, will be provided.

According to MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos, “trees can keep neighborhoods cooler and lower energy bills, provide oxygen and shade, buffer noise, provide protection from wind, and most importantly in our case, absorb water.”

MWRD will distribute the trees from 9 a.m. to noon every Wednesday at several water reclamation plants, including:

• Calumet (400 E. 130^th St., Chicago)
• Egan (550 S. Meacham Rd., Schaumburg)
• Hanover Park (1220 Sycamore Ave., Hanover Park)
• Kirie (701 Oakton St., Des Plaines)
• O’Brien (3500 Howard St., Skokie)
• Stickney (6001 W. Pershing Rd., Cicero)

For more information, contact MWRD at 312-751-6633 or go to the MWRD website.

Rain Barrels 

MWRD also offers rain barrels to residents as a type of green infrastructure that capture rainwater from your roof and save it for when you need it. By keeping this water out of the sewer system, rain barrels  can also help prevent sewer overflows and flooding. You can use rain barrel water to wash your car, water your lawn, or clean work boots and tools.

For Cook County residents living in municipalities not enrolled in the free program, residents can still purchase a rain barrel for $47.85 or $51.67 (depending on color), and this includes a flexible connecting elbow to attach your barrel to your downspout, a linking hose to connect it to a second barrel, detailed instructions, and free delivery to your home. Please click on Purchase Rain Barrels to learn more about rain barrel options.

Go to the MWRD website to learn more about the program.

The Meet and Greet will begin at 6:30 p.m.  The full meeting will start at 7 p.m.

Tentative Agenda For March:

• Recent Crime In and Around West Lakeview
• Four Star Restaurant Group Introduction of New Restaurant at Former Justin’s Site
• P&D Discussion – 1445 W. Roscoe
• 44th Ward Update
• Lakeview Chamber Update
• Cubs Update
• Question and Answer                 

2016 MEMBERSHIP FORMS

Have you renewed your WLVN membership dues? Only paid members can vote on the issues critical to the neighborhood. $20/ household. BECOME A MEMBER 

LINCOLN-BELMONT LIBRARY UPDATES:

Chicago Public Library Event Calendar

LAKEVIEW CITIZENS COUNCIL UPDATES

LVCC Event Calendar

The event is from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7 at the Hawthorne Scholastic Academy Auditorium, 3319 N. Clifton.

RSVP to l.gillman@sbcglobal.net and feel free to invite others from outside the Hawthorne community.

Five percent of all net profits at both stores on the Community Giving Day will be donated to the Pantry. Please consider doing your shopping at Whole Foods Market on October 20 to support our neighbors in need!

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President, Mariyana T. Spyropoulos, presents a history of Chicago’s waterways and operations of MWRD and how it evolved as the City of Chicago grew, as well as helpful, practical tips on how you can help conserve water and protect the environment in your own neighborhood.

This program is part of the 2015-2016 One Book, One Chicago season, exploring the theme of “Chicago: The City That Gives.”

The event is at 11 a.m. this Saturday, Oct. 3.

This year’s festival is July 11-12, and we have two-hour shifts available for volunteers to work at the WLVN table.

The Taste of Lakeview is WLVN’s largest fundraiser, and we use money raised to give back to organizations in the community.

Please sign up to volunteer below and contact Jodi Savitt at jodilinn@aol.com.