Dan Dooley is a long time resident, community leader and Real Estate Broker for Baird-Warner. I recently sat down with him in his home on Touhy.

What is your history here in Rogers Park? Were you born and raised here? I'm a native of Rogers Park. I spent my summers at Sam Leone Beach with my brothers and friends. At fifteen my family moved to Wisconsin. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, in 1977, I moved back to Rogers Park. I often visited Leone Beach during the summer. That is me standing up in the boat with all those kids. It was a fun time.

What keeps you in Rogers Park? It's a very convenient lakefront location. You can get on the L and go downtown quickly. I enjoy being able to easily walk to the lakefront from my home.

What changes do you like to see happening in RP? The last six years Rogers Park has really come back. When I go for walks, I see condo developments springing up all over the place. Condos are a good thing because it makes people take ownership where they live and brings a more stable neighborhood. Homeowners tend to get more involved in the neighborhood. It gives people more of a connection to the community.

What is the Rogers Park Builders Group? It's a group of people committed to promoting Rogers Park as a great place to live. Everyone in the group is involved in the community. It's a group of property owners and service providers forming a network to improve Rogers Park. We sponsor a number of activities such as: Do It Yourself Handel's Messiah at St Ignatius, a computer lab for the Lost Boys of the Sudan, the Jazz festival at Café Ennui, and The Artists of the Wall. Something I have done for the past three years is a photo-taking project with Field School. The kids went out into the Rogers Park Community and took pictures of what they saw: the beach, streets, friends, and their school their families and other neighborhood sites. It was great to see Rogers Park through their perspective. Dan Dooley at 25

What are some of the challenges in Rogers Park? One of the challenges is to get people involved on the local level. In my neighborhood we have a block organization that sponsors a block party each September. It takes very little time to prepare the event. Everyone has a great time and meets other neighbors at the block party. We have also adopted Touhy Avenue through Chicago's Adopt A Street Program. The Adopt A Street Program led to the installation of wrought iron trash containers on our corners. My neighbors John and Sharon Harvey have led the efforts for this program and also organize the Rogers Park Garden Walk every summer. Hundreds of people walk through Gardens in Rogers Park on a Sunday afternoon in July. It's a great way to see that Rogers Park lives up to Chicago's motto, Urbs in Horto (City in a Garden).

How do you get people involved? I get involved myself. I tell people it doesn't have to be a full time job. I like to focus on a particular project or task. My current project is working to prevent the construction of an 800 boat marina at Calvary Beach on the Chicago- Evanston Border. The 49th Ward Beaches and Parks Advisory Board and Evanston's Citizens for Lakefront Preservation are joining forces to keep the community informed about this aesthetic and environmental nightmare. I tell people to make a commitment of coming to the block club party or cleaning up the beach. I stress to people it doesn't take a lot of time but the community gets a huge benefit.

How can people reach you?
People can email me at dan.dooley@bairdwarner.com

photo: Dan Dooley at 25