By Catherine Durkin and Kristen Aguirre

For the past 18 years Tina Stendardo wakes up, gets ready, and heads to work, where she strives to help people with intellectual disabilities do the exact same thing.  Enhancing the lives of others with special needs is her passion, which correlates with the values of Misericordia.

Stendardo is the developmental training director at Misericordia, a not-for-profit corporation that houses individuals with developmental disabilities.  As the developmental training director, she oversees the work programming at the organization. Stendardo has worked with Misericordia for almost two decades, and says her experience has been anything short of “wonderful.”

“As corny as it sounds there is such a family feel here,” Stendardo said. “For an organization who has 1,000 employees and 600 residents and so many things coming and going, there really is a nice family feel at Misericordia.”

Tina Stendardo is the developmental training director at Misericordia. Photo by Kristen Aguirre

The Misericordia Heart of Mercy home is a community of care for more than 600 children and adults, who suffer from mild to profound developmental disabilities. The organization is located in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, on a sprawling 31-acre campus with a variety housing options for individuals to live as independently as possible.

“We believe that the people who live here have a life worth living,” Stendardo said. “It is about all of us supporting these residents and making sure they have the most meaningful lives and that’s how u build a community.”

But Misericordia does more than simply giving its residents a place to live; according to Stendardo, the organization maximizes their level of independence and self-determination. This is done through a variety of ways, such as job placement which Stendardo believes is the most important.

Misericordia has a core group of residents that work around the surrounding area, at retail businesses and organizations such as Jewel, Lowes, and Best Buddies. The corporation also works through enclave employment, which consists of a job coach taking residents to various work sites and completing the task under the supervision of the coach.

“What that does is it really allows the residents who are more severely disabled to have a job in the community because they work really hard but they might need supervision or verbal prompt,” Stendardo said.

“The businesses really enjoy this service because it ensures that the work gets done,” Stendaro said. “It has open up the doors to give residents opportunities that they did not think they would get. And in this economy to say we were able to have 30 additional jobs from last year is very impressive and we are really proud of that.”

Groups and activities at Misericordia also play a pivotal role in resident’s lives. While job placements programs help residents be more self-sufficient through working on campus, groups like The Heartbreakers help improve residents self-worth says Gail Wojciechowski.

A look inside one of Misericordia facilities. Photo by Kristen Aguirre

Wojciechowski is the director of recreation and leisure at Misericordia as well as the director of The Heartbreakers, a group of enthusiastic dancers who perform at shows and fundraisers throughout the year.

“Being in The Heartbreakers builds their self-esteem and confidence as well as social skills,” Wojciechowski said. “There were a few residents who when they started in the group would come to practice and sit alone. But after being involved in the group they become best friends with their peers.”

Connecting with peers outside Misericordia is also important for both the residents and the corporation. Besides having the college campus like land, Misericordia also owns seven townhomes located throughout Rogers Park, for residents to live in. This allows them to meet people in the community, and in turn allows the community to learn and meet the residents of Misericordia.

“It’s really important to us to stay connected to our community and it’s really important that we have a restaurant, and one of the main purposes of it is PR,” Stendardo said. “We certainly want people to come visit and see what we are about and to know that they are welcome to visit us.”

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 57.7 million people in the United States suffers from a mental illness. One in 17 adults suffer from a serious mental disorder in a given year, as the disease itself accounts for over 15 percent of the burden of diseases in the United States. Misericordia’s mission is to aid those 15 percent living in the Chicagoland area, and Stendardo’s hopes that, that will never stop.

“I hope that we can continue forever because there is always going to be a need to work with our population, to serve and support them,” Stendardo said.

Podcast: Tina Stendardo discusses how Misericordia allows it’s residents to feel like they belong in this world and are part of a special community.

Misericordia Final 2 by Cdukin2

See below where Misericorida is located and where sites of the Enclave Employment Program are as well.

As of Sept. 1st, 2010 no arrest have been made related to the crimes.

Click the map to move around from different pinpoints, or click view larger map.

Alex Morales-Aponte speaks to a DePaul graduate journalism class about the community of Pilsen and The Resurrection Project. (Photo by Luz Garcia Cubillos)

The residents of the neighborhood Pilsen in Chicago have been struggling financially before the economic crises even hit.   Recently, The Resurrection has been helping ease the finical burden Pilsen residents have been facing.

The Pilsen neighborhood is located in the lower west side of Chicago and is the heart and soul of Chicago’s Mexican-American community.  The community has been hit hard in the last two decades with foreclosures and other economic problems.  The Resurrection Project (TRP) was formed in 1990 to help better organize Pilsen and bring it back to the thriving community it once was.

Alex Morales-Aponte is responsible for TRP’s external communications such as social media and the organization’s website as well as being a tour guide for the Discover Pilsen tour.  He explained that subprime mortgages were pushed onto the people of the Pilsen community, which they actually could not fully afford.  This led to many of the individuals and families homes being listed in foreclosure.

In return, in 2010 TRP formed the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in partnership with Proviso Township Mental Health Comission.  This program will begin the acquisition and rehabilitation of 18 foreclosed vacant and single family and two flat homes in Melrose Park and Stone Park for families to rent through the Lease-To-Own purchase.  This program is targeting families with low to moderate income who will now have an opportunity to invest in their future.

Morales-Aponte stressed that the TRP mission starts with building relationships.

“When we sell these homes,” Morales-Aponte said. “We are selling a part of the community.”

The homes have become so popular and desperately needed that families are selected through a lottery to be eligible to purchase a home.  These families are required to complete and ABC of home ownership before being allowed to own a home. In fact, the TRP has helped 592 families in danger of foreclosure through counseling and education on how to prevent foreclosure.

Developments such as La Casa, an affordable independent residence hall for college students and Casa Maravilla, affordable aparments for senior citizens are also opening under the TRP.

The developments the TRP have opened are funded 50 percent by the rent revenue.  The rest is provided by foundations, grants and donors to the organization.  But if residents fail to pay their rent they will be evicted from the premises.

“TRP is more than just brick and mortar,” Morales-Aponte said. “It is a holestic development looking at investing in people.”

There are several programs available such as Mujer Avanzando which helps Latina single mothers through comprehensive services.  Also, Elev8 and Smart Chicago, transform the educational achievements and life outcomes of disadvantaged middle school students in the community.

The TRP has made enormous changes in the Pilsen community throughout the last 20 years.  The organization has taken on a quality of life plan that has improved economics, family safety, housing and the community image successfully.

“We are not simply building homes for sale,” Morales-Aponte said. “We are instilling pride into the community.”

Andrew Huff speaks to a DePaul University graduate journalism class about his blog Gapers Block. (Photo by Mike Reilley)

A gapers block is Chicago term, that describes traffic slow downs because drivers looking at an accident or other incident.  Based on that idea, Andrew Huff wanted to get people to slow down and take a look at what is going on around Chicago on his hyperlocal blog Gapers Block.

Huff is the editor and publisher of the site that started in 2003 now receives around 250,000 visitors per month.  The site publishes stories about news or events that are happening in the city. How do they decide on what to write on?

“If it’s interesting to you, it’s going to be interesting to someone else,” Huff said.

Recently, the site received a grant for $35,000 from the Chicago Community Trust to enhance the growth of new sources for quality local news.  The grant will allow the site to pay some writers for their submissions.  Huff said, that Gapers Block is looking primarily for stories about Chicago communities that are not receiving enough attention.

The site is also undergoing a major redesign and is considering adding a business section. The main idea behind the redesign is to shift and widen the Merge (city news) and Rearview (local photo) sections in order to showcase the writers of the blog more.

Gapers Block has always had a layout similar to the Wall Street Journal‘s What’s News Section with one sentence visible, to lead in the story.  Huff believes sites like the Huffington Post are too visually jarring for its readers, and would like Gapers Block to have a layout similar to The Daily Beast.

Huff also stresses the importance of linking to other sites, which Gapers Block does religiously.  Because Gapers Block link to other sites they receive links back.

“If people don’t link you, how are they going to find you?” Huff said.

When Huff started Gapers Block it was very different in the blogosphere than it is currently. In fact, there were fewer than 1 million blogs compared to more than the estimated 100 million today. Gapers Block started with 12 contributors and now has expanded to around 100 with Huff being the only full-time employee

But the site does not make enough revenue yet for Huff to fully support himself. Huff also earns a living through copy writing.  He also is a full time blogger on commercial sites such as Me3dia.  His hopes for the feature are that Gapers Block readership grows larger and the site becomes even more well known and influential to its readers.

Huff said, “I get the most satisfaction when I’m at an event and people say ‘I saw this event on Gapers Block.’”

“Most of the days are good,” Bacon said. “The kids can be frustrating sometimes but I’m frustrating to them and we try to work around that,” he said.

The children leave at 6pm and Bacon heads home to drop off some belongings. His love for Korean food has caused him to cook less in his new home country so he opts for his favorite restaurant. While it might remind him of a good old-fashioned U.S. diner, the menu is quite different and less expensive.

“Dinners are incredibly cheap and you get a lot of food. Ill get a bowl of bibimbap, which means mixed rice with vegetables and spicy sauce, and then they’ll bring up some miso soup and some side dishes with that, for about 4,000 won which is only $3.80,” Bacon said. “So I eat out… a lot.”

Bacon seems to live the life of a young average American, and yet he is living abroad in Korea teaching young children English.

“Originally the very first reason [I left for Korea] was that I was having a lot of difficulty finding employment fresh out of college,” Bacon said.

Like many graduates, Bacon was faced with rising unemployment rates which left him jobless and forced him to find other sources of income. That search ultimately led him to teach English as a second language overseas.

“At first I was intimidated about teaching ESL but the more I read on it the more interested I got and the offer sold me,” Bacon said.

And more recent graduates are going the same route. The opportunity to live abroad, study a new culture, and most importantly make money is attracting more recent grads. The Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Institute is a school that helps young adults to get certified to teach and find a job abroad.

Established just five years ago, the TEFL Institute vows to take English worldwide. The program certifies adults to teach English abroad in foreign countries.  Through online and on campus classes, the institute certifies 1500 students yearly and has over 25 locations all over the world, with their Chicago location as its headquarters.

The institute registers students all year round and currently has students ranging from ages 18 to 80. Vice President of the TEFL Institute, Bruce Jones explained that enrollment has doubled every single year since opening, and has about 125 students per month compared to only 80 last year.

“Since November of 2008 when the whole finical meltdown happened, we started getting a lot of people who were in real estate who could not sell anything,” Jones said.

Once enrolled at TEFL, students must complete 100 hours of class time as well as 20 hours of student teaching in order to become certified. The students are trained in language and teaching methodology, grammar, teaching speaking skills and many other subjects in order to be fully prepared for their job overseas.

“Basically the students eat and breath TEFL during their intensive certification course,” said Lauren Baker, a marketing specialist for TEFL and former ESL teacher.

NOLA preforming.

Phil Earhart is currently finishing up his last semester student teaching at Thorton High School in Harvey, Illinois. The 22-year-old aspires to teach high school students when he graduates, with his degree in history education. But Earhart’s students may be surprised to learn that he plays guitar and piano, as well as being the lead singer in the local band NOLA.

NOLA was formed about eight years ago, when Earhart was in high school in his hometown of Orland Park, Illinois. He was good friends with current band members Ben De Biasio and Mike O’Meara, who were in a funk band called “The Super Champions.” De Biasio explained that their band needed a front man and Earhart needed a band, which is how NOLA was born.

When asked what genre of music NOLA falls under, Earhart explained that the band has been trying to develop a specific sound for years.

“As our taste in music changes, our music changes, and that is the equation for how we sound today,” Earhart stated. “We try not to ‘sound’ too much like any other bands, although I’m sure we do sometimes. I’d like to hear what our fans think our sound is, because that is all that really matters.”
The band is currently comprised of three other members besides Earhart: Ben De Biasio, Mike O’Meara and Sean Kimzey. NOLA competed in the Battle of The Bands and won five consecutive events in high school, through which the band gained notoriety.

But there have been obstacles the band has had to overcome throughout the years. The main hurdle that NOLA has had to deal with, was band members attending different colleges all over the state. The band was accustomed to practicing whenever and wherever, as they all lived in the same town; but due to the distance practice became limited.

Phil Earhart and Ben De Biasio singing.

The members of NOLA did not let the distance hinder their livelihood. Instead, they looked at the separation as a time to write and grow as individuals.

“We wrote a lot of music using the Internet, sending each other ideas via sound recordings,” Earhart explained. “We were writing songs 200 miles apart and it was pretty cool. I was writing lyrics and playing piano and guitar parts over a song, that was written in Chicago and sent to my computer.”
Each summer, the band looked forward to being in the same hometown to write and play their music. Earhart said it is always a special feeling for the members of NOLA to be back in Orland Park and getting back into the grove.

Bass player Ben De Biasio acknowledges, that it is challenging for musicians to force yourself to practice when you are alone. But he believes the distance was actually beneficial for NOLA.

“It basically forced us to make the most of the time we had together, and we were forced to be efficient with our time” De Biasio stated. “Everything happens for a reason, so now, I think we are all looking forward only.”

Of course over the past eight years, the band has also had to deal with the loss of band members due to creative reasons or availability for practices and shows. The band agrees that the current NOLA members mesh because they all get along and complement each other in different ways.

Guitarist Mike O'Meara and the rest of NOLA playing a show.

“Mike and Ben have been in this thing since the beginning, and they’ve become more than just band mates for me; they are great friends” Earhart stated. “Sean is a great musician and he really caught our ear when we heard him play while looking for a new drummer. He is a great friend and a key asset to this band.”

NOLA has recorded three albums, the most current being “Love by Proxy,” and performs at festivals and venues all around the Chicagoland area. The band would love to land a record deal in the future, but is not motivated by money. They would much rather increase their fan base, which would allow more people to hear their music.

Guitarist Mike O’Meara believes NOLA’s greatest accomplishment is never being content with where the band is.

“We’ve experienced spurts of small successes with certain approaches we have taken,” O’Meara said. “But we all know that we still haven’t found exactly what our full potential is. Staying hungry for that search is in my opinion our greatest accomplishment.”

De Biasio and O’Meara have the same opinion when it comes to lugging gear-that they would like to have someone else carry it for them some day. If that wish ever comes true, they will consider themselves luckier than they already do.

As for Earhart he stated, “I’d like to play music as long as I am alive. This is something that will never go away because it is fun, interesting, and a challenge.”

By: Catherine Durkin

Neil Lustyk sits at his desk at the CME Group's Globex Control Center in downtown Chicago. Lustyk is the Associate Director at the control center during the third shift from 3:00 A.M to 11:00 P.M. (Photo by Catherine Durkin)

While most individuals are sound asleep, Neil Lustyk is on his way to work at 2:30 a.m.  Lustyk currently works the night shift as the Associate Director of the Globex Control Center at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange located at 20 South Wacker Drive.

For the past eight years, Lustyk has been working the third shift in the CME control center from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.  During the third shift, Lustyk manages the control center and oversees the other night staffers during what as known as the European shift.

Prior to working at the CME Group, Lustyk worked at a similar analyst job at the Chicago Board of Trade.  Lustyk applied for the third shift at the CME group after noticing that it paid well.

Lustyk had very little college experience prior to working in the financial sector.  He originally started as a broker on the trading floor at the Chicago Board of Trade where he began to learn hands on about the trading world.

“My education in this business is really based on my experience on the floor,” he said.  “I started there when I was 19 years old and I will be 50 soon; meaning I have been in the business for almost half my life.”

Lustyk acknowledged that in current times, people who are job hunting in the business world without a college degree are fighting an uphill battle and he considers himself lucky to have his current job.

Before becoming associate director of the Globex Control Center, Lustyk was an analyst at the CME Group.  As an analyst he would take phone calls from customers all over the world, who were having problems with trading applications or had questions in general.

Lustyk then worked his way up to his current position, of Associate Director where he manages ten direct reports, is involved in the planning of the department itself, as well as constantly updating trading application as well as testing them.

“We equate what we are doing on this shift to a fire house” Lustyk said. “The bells ring a lot more during the day and they get to ride on the truck. But part of our responsibility is to make sure the truck is working right so when they have to drive it out, they don’t get a flat tire.”

Lustyk has 10 analysts who report directly to him everyday and with whom he involves in projects.  Altogether, about 35 employees work in his department overnight, along with two employees in London.

Unlike most jobs, Lustyk works full-time Sunday through Thursday from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.  When he is not working, Lustyk is on-call if a major problem arises in the department.

There are obviously many challenges that are associated with working the overnight shift, especially when there are customers calling the control center.

“The customer does not want to hear ‘Well it’s the overnight staff we really don’t handle that” he said.  “We have to provide the same level of service that one expects during normal hours, which is often difficult because the problem might require additional support such as waking up another staff member during the night.”

On the other hand, Lustyk said that people have to be prepared for how the late-night shift affects their lifestyles.  Lustyk stresses that one has to be cautious to get enough rest before the workday in order to keep your energy level up.

“I try to get six hours of sleep every night meaning I go to bed around 8 o’clock at night and wake up and 2 o’clock in the morning,” Lustyk said. “ I also unfortunately drink a lot of diet pop to increase my energy.”

Lustyk acknowledged that his staff members must be more cautious of their health when working such a shift. As one can imagine, there is not a wide variety of meal choices to choose from during Lustyk’s working hours.

“We have our list of places that will deliver to us but lately we have been all cutting back because we are trying to lose some weight,” Lustyk said chuckling. “Obviously the places are not delivering us healthy food at this time of the day.”

Another drawback of the overnight shift is there is very limited public transportation during the early hours of the morning.  Lustyk commutes from the suburb of Lisle, which means he must pay expensive daytime parking fees, which can add up to about $200 a month.

On the other hand, Lustyk stressed that there are surprisingly several benefits to working the late shift.  One main advantage is that he receives a 10 percent differential in his pay for his working hours.

“If you manage your time right and you make sure you get enough sleep you can have the whole day to do stuff,” he stated.  “I was able to have all the summers with my son as he was growing up to do activities during the day.”

Even though Lustyk must drive to work due to his hours, he avoids rush hour all together.  His commute downtown is never more than 30 to 40 minutes due to the lack of traffic.

Working the late shift has also given Lustyk the perk of being able to call the shots more, as he is one of the highest-ranking individuals on the shift.  He acknowledges that his shift is a little off the radar, which means the staff does not have people looking over their shoulders securitizing them.

When asked if he has any interesting stories about working his shift, Lustyk responded that he actually witnessed part of the Batman film “The Dark Knight” being filmed right outside the CME building.

“Strangely enough I see myself staying on this shift in the future,” he said.  It works for me especially with the flexibility it gives me in my life.  This company has truly been a godsend for me and I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else”

CME Group's Globex Control Center.