West Town Special Service Area #29
Click on the red text above for more information.

Available now! The Special Service Area (SSA) #29 FREE Wireless Internet Program is available to businesses, residents, and visitors along Chicago Ave. from Halsted St. to California Ave. and is also available in Eckhart Park. The Wireless Internet Program is a great way to help reduce costs to run your business by providing FREE WiFi to your business, customers, and any residents near your building.
A limited number of volunteer rooftops are needed! The program works by placing a small WiFi node on your rooftop for best/fastest signal (minimally invasive). You are then free to use WiFi at no cost.  The hardware, internet service and increased awareness of your business (we promote the hotspots) are free to you and anyone who logs on using the SSA Gateway homepage. Your browsing is safe and secure. This program has been piloted over the last year with multiple business rooftops to great success.
You can contact Matthew Westfallen, SSA #29 Program Manager, for instructions on accessing the wi fi along Chicago Ave., to check if you property is eligible, or with questions and comments. Please call the Chamber at (312) 850-9390 or visit www.westtownssa29.org
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Community Shredding Event
Saturday, October 17th
10 am - 12 pm
North Community Bank
West Town Branch - 1244 W. Grand Avenue
Protecting your identity is
more important than ever!
Shredding your old bills and financial
statements is one way to protect you
against identity theft and fraud.
North Community Bank can help.
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The WTCCC commercial development committee makes recommendations to the board regarding zoning and development issues. The WTCCC board then votes on the chamber's official stance given the findings from the committee, and shares the chamber's stance with local officials. In the 1st quarter of 2009 the committee and WTCCC board of directors recommended the following:

RE: A potential development at 2201 W Chicago:

The Board of Directors and Commercial Development Committee of the West Town Chicago Chamber of Commerce (WTCCC) have reviewed the plans for the proposed development at 2201 W. Chicago Avenue and support the project as described and the required zoning change from C-12 to C-15 with the following conditions which the board request become restrictive covenants to the zoning change:

Ø The zoning change is for this specific project as described
Ø The architectural design of the structure remain as it is described and pictured in the final developers plans (attached)
Ø The permission for use of the adjacent parking lot is documented and the 35 underground parking spaces of the building remain part of the project
Ø A health club remains as the main tenant of building
Ø An effort is made to hire from the local West Town community

Thank you for taking the stance of the entire West Town business community as represented by the WTCCC into consideration. This project, and specifically the health club, will be an asset to the community; and the project concurs with the mission of the WTCCC to foster economic development.

RE: A potential onsite dry cleaner development at 1916-24 W Chicago
The West Town Chicago Chamber of Commerce (WTCCC) board of directors reviewed the proposal and plans for the dry cleaning onsite operation proposed for 1916-24 W. Chicago Ave and has voted to write a letter of support for the zoning change from B3-2 to C1-2 with a restrictive covenant. The restrictive covenant would MANDATE the zoning reverts to B3-2 if the building lost the dry cleaner as its tenant.

The chamber board supports the zoning change in order to accommodate the onsite dry cleaner, but the chamber does not support the zoning change for any other purpose.

RE: A potential restaurant development at 1924 W. Chicago
The West Town Chicago Chamber of Commerce (WTCCC) board of directors reviewed the proposal and plans for the Winchester restaurant at 1924 W. Chicago and unanimously voted to write a letter of support for the Winchester's zoning change from R-4 to B3-2.

The WTCCC also supports an incidental liquor license, and supports a PPA license. Provided that a restrictive covenant (as determined by the 1st Ward Aldermanic office with input from the community) be placed on the deed.

The board believes that the project will be an asset to the business district, and is in full support of the plans for the restaurant as they have been described and submitted.

WTCCC Licensing Liaison Committee
Stance Letters

RE: Incidental Liquor License for Piccolo at 859 N. Damen
The West Town Chicago Chamber of Commerce (WTCCC) board of directors would like to express full support of Piccolo 859 N. Damen Ave. receiving an incidental liquor license. The board believes that Piccolo is an asset to the business district and sustaining existing businesses in West Town is an important mission of the chamber. Supporting responsible business owners is imperative to assure economic development continues in the area.

RE: East Village Package Goods Liquor Moratorium

The board of directors of the WTCCC would like to request that the package sales liquor license restrictions in place on the commercial streets within our service area be lifted; specifically the restrictions on Chicago Avenue and Division Street from Damen to Ashland, and on Ashland and Damen from Division to Chicago. While ten years ago there may have been a need to restrict package liquor sales in the East Village district for safety issues, the neighborhood has since gentrified, thus the WTCCC board of directors believes that the restrictions are no longer necessary and are actually prohibiting positive commercial development. If in the future there is a case in which a business with a package liquor sales license is causing safety issues or problems, the Deleterious Impact Ordinance can now address those situations.

Recently there have been several existing small business owners, convenience grocers, requesting support for obtaining package sales licenses on Chicago Avenue and on Damen Avenue in the East Village neighborhood in order to compete with the new Dominick's and to provide goods and services for the new demographic. Instead of supporting each current and future request, the WTCCC board voted to request that the entire package sales restriction be lifted. Retaining existing businesses and recruiting new businesses to the area is the mission of this chamber, and the outdated liquor license restrictions are deterring that mission.
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Board Opposes Franchised Waste Management Plan
The West Town Chicago Chamber of Commerce (WTCCC) recently held a presentation and meeting with the Wicker Park & Bucktown Chamber of Commerce in order for members of both chambers to review information from the City's Department of Environment and the National Solid Waste Management Association (NSWMA) regarding the City's proposed plan to franchise waste management and recycling services in Chicago.

After reviewing the information, and taking into consideration the stance of the members in attendance at the meeting, the board of directors of the WTCCC voted not to support the City's proposed plan to franchise waste and recycling collection. A stance letter was forwarded to all parties, local Aldermen and the City Department of Environment.

CHI FI
Did you know that the West Town Chicago Chamber of Commerce Special Service Area program, SSA29, has launched FREE WI FI on Chicago Avenue!
Go anywhere on Chicago Avenue (or just inside a storefront/resident facing Chicago Avenue), between Armour (~1500 W.) and Throop (~1300 W.) with a wireless device. The wireless device can be a laptop, notebook, personal digital assistant or cell phone type device. These devices are required to include a wireless PC-Card (802.11b or 802.11g at 2.4Ghz) component and an Internet browser. You may need to be near the front of the building (facing Chicago Avenue) to get a strong signal.

Note: Newer operating systems, like Windows XP or Mac OSX, are designed to automatically recognize a wireless network signal. Use the instructions below to configure your wireless adapter, if your laptop has been previously configured for another wireless network or if you are using an older operating system.
To configure your wireless adapter:

Windows OS: Right-click on My Network Places/Network Neighborhood. Go to Properties. Double-click Wireless Adapter. (Or, simply click on your vendor icon for the wireless adapter in the lower right-hand tool bar.)

Then, follow these five steps:
1. The SSID should be set to "chifi" (it may be followed by a number, such as "chifi1" or "chifi2").
2. A DHCP address will be allocated automatically.
3. The 'wireless encryption privacy ' WEP' option should be set to "off ".
4. The network type option should be set to "infrastructure" not "ad hoc" (peer-to-peer).
5. You can now open a web browser. You may be directed to a registration page; follow the instructions to set up a free account. The system will allow you to connect long enough to register and then check an online email account (such as gmail.com, or yahoo.com) so you can retrieve your password. Once you log in with your name and password, it's likely you won't need to enter a name/password if you tell your browser to save the name and password for the login page.

Mac OS: Click on System Preferences from the Apple menu. Double-click the Network logo. Under Show Menu:

1. Select Airport. Close window.
2. Open Internet connect. Turn on Airport.
3. At Network menu, select "chifi" (or "chifi1", "chifi2", or whichever of these access points appears.
4. You can now open a web browser. You may be directed to a registration page; follow the instructions to set up a free account. The system will allow you to connect long enough to register and then check an online email account (such as gmail.com, or yahoo.com) so you can retrieve your password. Once you log in with your name and password, it's likely you won't need to enter a name/password if you tell your browser to save the name and password for the login page.

If you have any questions, please email support@onshore.net.