In case you missed it, one of our signers, Michael Podgers, published a follow up article on Streets Blog Chicago about our next steps. Since my last update, I've also learned that our petition was mentioned on WBEZ. Let's find ways to increase media coverage. It doesn't have to be about me. I'd actually prefer that more of you take the good work we've done so far and run with it. As of this update, we have 588 signatures. I expect one major reason why we've not gotten to our second 500 signatures as quickly as our first 500 is due to the number of well-meaning news articles and blogs that claimed 500 was our goal. Again, I never said anything of the sort to the writers who interviewed me. In that case, 88 courtesy signatures is quite a lot. However, I want to remind you that we do not a have a numerical goal for signatures. Instead our goal is date driven. As Michael Podgers helps to clarify in his latest article, we want to compel Mayor Emanuel, the CTA, and the powers that be to get the ball rolling for real study and real planning for real restoration of the E. 63rd Street Green Line on or before September 27, 2017—the 20-year mark of the demolition from Dorchester to Cottage Grove. With that said, we still need more signatures. I contacted the Office of the Mayor via email the day we reached 500 signatures and have yet to receive a response. It's been almost two weeks. I'll be contacting his office again. Every time someone signs, the Mayor and our 18 other designated decision makers receives another email from change.org. So there at least two key things you can do right now to help: a) Help get more signatures. Share links and stories on social media. Contact your preferred news outlets to pick up our story. Keep spreading the word in positive and uplifting ways. b) Email the Office of the Mayor yourself. The more the merrier. (Punny?) Mayor Emanuel can be reached at rahm.emanuel@cityofchicago.org. You might also consider CCing Joan Coogan, the mayor's First Deputy Chief of Staff, at jcoogan@transitchicago.com. If you don't know what to write, here's a form letter to help you get started: BEGIN FORM LETTER Dear Mayor Emanuel, I just wanted to take a moment today to greet you on behalf of the more than 500 signers of our petition to restore E. 63rd Street Green Line service to Jackson Park and the new Obama Center. In the short time we've been collecting signatures, you need to know how optimistic and excited our neighbors have become here in Woodlawn, Hyde Park, and South Shore! Too often, you have to make tough decisions without a lot of community support. We want to help make this one of the easiest decisions of your professional career. If you haven't seen it yet, one of our signers helped us create this video: https://youtu.be/OFLsS11jsEc. And we've also set up an informational website at https://63rdL.com. We've quickly become aware of the need for specially held community meetings about this restoration project. And we'd like to invite you—both to attend to and to help us organize them so that our meetings can be as positive and inclusive as possible. Please contact our petition leaders at https://63rdL.com/contact/ and put us in touch with the people in your office who can best help us to move this vital project forward. Sincerely, END FORM LETTER On a personal note (and another major reason why we have probably not had as many signatures in the past 13 days as we did in our first 8), I just got back from a week out of town and just yesterday had my tonsils removed. I will be on complete vocal rest through September 4. And although I won't be able to speak audibly, I plan on making a glorified nuisance of myself in any and all text-based media I can get my hands on. Feel free to join the fray! Now more than at any other point during our short campaign, I need your help. You can speak in ways that I can't, connecting with neighbors and leaders who can help us actually make restoration happen. Please contact me directly at https://63rdL.com/contact/ with your ideas for bolstering our efforts. Thanks for your continued support of our petition.