What a charming, inspiring person - let alone a politician!…read more Rep. Dunkin (D) represents the 5th legislative district in the Illinois General Assembly, which is huge and straddles both sides of the Dan Ryan Expressway, reaching from "the Gold Coast to Soul Coast," as he put it. I had the privilege of hearing Rep. Dunkin speak last night at my daughter's high school graduation. He was excited for the graduates (his own daughter was among them), but more importantly, this man's humility and reverence for his own success was extraordinary and his background and life path, inspiring. In the context of reminding the graduates that they should be proud of themselves and not take graduating even from high school for granted, he openly shared some intimate family details, including that half his siblings are incarcerated or have recently been released from Illinois or federal prisons. Dunkin was born and raised in Cabrini Green, attended Lincoln Park High School, graduated with an AA degree from Harold Washington College, a BA in Political Science from Morehouse College, and an MA in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago. Dunkin began his career as a social worker, and then became the Director of the Robert Taylor Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, and ultimately a Consultant for the City of Chicago Department of Health and Department on Aging. The man was stunningly humble and not the least bit full of himself. If you are lucky enough to live in his district, check him out. He's a jewel.

I just recently joined this chamber and have been very pleasantly surprised by their…read moreprofessionalism, involvement, and organization. Everyone I've interacted with involved in the leadership of the organization has been inviting and pleasant and my first networking event with them was a very positive experience. The chamber is large enough to provide plenty of contacts of a wide variety to serve as a great resource and referral source to small business owners and the like, but small enough that you don't feel lost in the crowd. Those members and event guests that I've met thus far have been a pleasure to talk to and I look forward to the future as a RVCC member!

The apocalyptic storm of 8/4/08 left us a present in the form of a GIANT hunk of tree that filled…read moreour entire front yard, blocking the path from the gate to the stairs...WHEEEE! Considering the mayhem I heard the streets of Humboldt Park to be - several whole trees felled onto main thoroughfares, trees embedded in people's roofs, etc. - I fully expected it would probably be at least a couple days before they could get to our relatively non-treacherous inconvenience. But I went ahead and called first thing in the morning anyway...squeaky wheels and all that. The gentleman I spoke to at this office was incredibly nice, explaining that while his guys have a lot on their plates today, he'd drive by, assess the damage and see what could be done. 1pm rolls around and 3 guys in a cherry picker/woodchipper vehicle show up and get down to business with an efficiency I don't think I have EVER seen from city workers in my 35 years in Chicago. No guy sitting in the truck while others do the work, no hemming and hawing, they just knocked it out pure TCB/PDQ-style. I was impressed that they not only removed our little present, but trimmed back other potentially threatening branches form the tree. But it was when one guy came into our yard to rake up errant branches that my jaw dropped in my lap! And THEN he came through with a leaf-blower and cleaned up our yard, the sidewalk and the midway!!! My husband took a few Gatorades out to them and tried to offer them a little "lunch money" for their efforts "We can't take that sir. The Gatorades are fine". Um...this IS Chicago, right? I honestly don't believe any professional tree-trimming service we could have spent big $$$ to hire would have done such an amazing job. I have not come to expect much from city workers, but these are the guys that make the moniker "Chicago Works!" a truism in a way I've never seen before.

Well I never have wanted to visit a police station, so that was a bummer. But the rental car I had…read morewas t-boned by a careless driver a block and a half from my house, and they wouldn't come out since no one was injured so myself and the driver went to the station to file a report. It was quiet on that Sunday morning, which at the very least I was thankful for. It took about 15 minutes to file the report but it took longer than that because it was a shift change and they don't pay attention to you then. At least they have some plants that could keep me calm, less annoyed.

I was just there and saw a sign about the art glass. It's such a beautiful building anyone know…read moreabout the building. The ceiling is wood and it's just amazing. Always feel like it's ok to interact with the Police. Just makes me feel safe

These are good people. When I purchased my home I did not understand the Senior Freeze & Senior…read moreExemption. As the purchaser You receive that benefit for one year unless You are a Senior. Otherwise the taxes can increase by approx. $10K, which makes the home unaffordable & unsellable. There are two property tax appeals in a year. Roughly Summer & Fall - the home owner has to protest the taxes to keep them the same. Ms. Coy and her people are great. They helped me through the process and helped me keep my home. Thanks

This is a nice space for having parties. We came for a wedding reception. I'm not sure what else…read morethe building is used for otherwise. There's plenty of street parking available, but that may be only in the evening. But if you need a medium sized space for a party, this might be a good choice.

So far my time in Park Ridge has been fine. I've used the park district a few times and it's been…read morevery good; I've taken a class with my little one and will be starting another one in a couple weeks with the Wildwood Nature Center. The park district also has a preschool program, including a nature preschool, which has really piqued my interest. They did a leprechaun hunt that was kind of easter egg hunt but make it leprechauns, and I also signed up for their thing where residents can put out a leprechaun trap and a park district employee will come to leave fun stuff from the leprechaun. I signed up for the easter egg hunt at home that they have too, and that will be fun for my little one. The schools are excellent; one of the elementary schools has recently been deemed the 20th best elementary in the state. And there are some famous Park Ridgians (none who live here any longer, of course): Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harrison Ford are probably the two most famous. Park Ridge is bordered by three Chicago neighborhoods: Edison Park, Norwood Park, and O'Hare. The plane noise isn't too bad, given its location to the airport (which can be quite a convenience). There's ample access to public transportation as well; the CTA blue line can be found in Chicago just across the street from the border to Park Ridge. There's a large parking lot there for commuters. In addition, there's both a Dee Road station and a Park Ridge station on the Metra line (currently called the Union Pacific Northwest line, though Metra is planning to change the names). The Dee Road station has a lot of parking (I've never had a problem finding a spot, though it may have been different pre-Covid) and I think there's probably plenty of parking for the Park Ridge station as well. The farmers market is really great. I have been to several neighborhood markets in Chicago, and only the North Branch Market in Edgebrook is better. That's including the Green City Market, in my opinion. Last year they started a night market that took place once per month during summer and it was a lot of fun as well. There was a band and adult beverage vendors, as well as quite a few food vendors. Parking wasn't bad for either market. Overall, it's not a bad suburb nice that it's so close to Chicago.

Park Ridge City Hall is a stately building located in Uptown PR. City Hall is the home to most of…read morethe governmental offices for Park Ridge. The city council meets here, so this is the place if you want to attend a meeting and voice your opinion. If you are a resident then you will likely need to come here for a variety of reasons - to pay City bills in person, get vehicle stickers, dogs tags or bike tags. During elections this acts as a voting place. The lines are typically shorter than the local schools and there is ample parking by the attached police station. The City does a great job of decorating the building for holidays and really adds to the community feel. They also host a variety of summer concerts on the steps of City Hall. Hodges Park is located in front of City Hall and is the home to many grea community events.

Not much to say. If your here it's cause something bad happened. But at least they are nice while…read morethey help you.

I have no stars to click on. I talked to the Switchboard and I mean Officer Hermandez and said I'll…read moretransfer you to 911as if I was bothering her. Absolutely disgusting! The suburbs don't act that way at all and show concern. This officer behind a desk wanted to hand me off to 911 and the 911 dispatcher was ignorant and didn't care. That's the oath that you took to do no evil and to protect your citizens. You failed. Have frozen water bottles pelleted at your head when you're on the front lines of defending the city of Chicago. But when you have no experience, then shut your mouth.