Mike's Corner
Posts from November 2010
Doll-ing for Dollars
The kids all seemed eager and engaged, and a handful of girls (the essay winners, I surmised) excitedly clutched a large box with a doll inside. Examining their faces, I could see how wildly diverse these kids were – a true assemblage of cultures, with skin tones and other body features representing Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. This kind of stuff excites a Rogers Parker like me.More…
Strip Searches Taxing to Property Owners
Can we at least be proud that we are the guys who are stepping up to the plate, paying for critical and essential City and County services? Hardly. Was it coincidence or simple irony rearing its head when a journalist friend of mine who covered Tuesday's Cook County Board meeting told me about the big news coming from that meeting: the County Board unanimously approved a $55 million class action lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates and detainees of Cook County jail who were subjected to strip searches. Yes. I said $55 million.More…
Head Rattling on Proposed 49th Ward TIF/RIF
As a landlord, I should be enthused with an idea that would offer financial assistance to me and my fellow landlords. Many buildings in our community, especially the older stock, require repair, and it is particularly challenging for us to keep buildings well maintained, let alone occupied with good tenants. Landlords have many challenges - who wouldn't want free government money to make the repair and upkeep of our buildings easier? Not me. I am wildly opposed to the idea of a ward wide TIF, which I find wrong for many reasons...More…
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About the Author
Mike has a long term relationship with Rogers Park, having lived here at various times in his life, most recently returning to the neighborhood in August, 2009. While living here as a third year law student, he remembers drunken nights at Biddy Mulligan’s and hosting a couple of memorable parties that he, hypocritically, now forbids his own tenants from having. Years later, after completing his stint as a lawyer, Mike started investing in apartment buildings in Rogers Park (and elsewhere), and soon after, did what many newly divorced real estate investors do: he moved into one of his buildings. In 1992 Mike was one of the founding members of the Rogers Park Builders Group, an organization that he eventually headed for six years, until yielding those reigns three years ago. Around a decade ago, on a whim, he reserved the web site “Rogerspark.com,” which he has been developing ever since, and which co-hosts RP BizArts networking events. Mike is the proud father of three wonderful children, Amy, Mitch and Ella.
Mike Glasser
