History
The Streeterville Organization of Active Residents [SOAR] was founded in 1975 as a neighborhood organization focusing on quality of life issues in Streeterville. The founding members, Dale Reiss Schecter, Marshall Sparberg, and Richard X. G. Irwin, were residents of Streeterville who wished to be a community voice, speaking to the health, safety, welfare and comfort of their neighbors, to the city, county, and state governments.
In its early years, SOAR struggled to gain membership and to generate growing interest and enthusiasm among its neighbors. But changes in 1983, when SOAR extended its membership base to include hotels and, in 1985, when it added an associate membership category for those living outside of Streeterville, provided sources of new and important members and support. By 1989 the organization added secretarial help and moved beyond operating from directors' homes to a more professional office, a sign that SOAR was maturing as an association.
As membership grew in the 1980s and 1990s SOAR created special committees and task forces to address a variety of issues including real estate/planning and zoning, law, communications, community affairs, budget and fund-raising, government, parks and landscaping, environment, traffic and transportation, and outreach. These groups within SOAR addressed issues such as zoning violations, city services, condition of the neighborhood, and urban aesthetics. Although often engaged in challenges to proposals and practices, SOAR also has supported and conducted various activities for the betterment of Streeterville; for example, it maintains the gardens at Lake Shore Park, recognizes special landscaping, and encourages and assists in other neighborhood enhancements. These kinds of activities along with an increase in residential housing in Streeterville helped SOAR to grow in both members and influence.
By the 1990s, SOAR's responsibility to the community extended to sponsoring forums and workshops dedicated to neighborhood issues. Through Issues Forums and the Condominium Cooperative Affairs Council SOAR focused on matters such as zoning, health care, cable and satellite systems for condos, condo association management, and condo newsletters and web sites. Further, SOAR engaged several government officials at the city, county and state levels on matters of concern to the neighborhood and continues to do so.
By the beginning of the 21st century, SOAR had grown to over 600 members with a large and active Board of Directors. In 2006 it modified its office operations by creating the positions of Executive Director and Member Services Manager, both currently on a part-time basis; in mid-2005 it moved its growing office operations to Worcester House on East Pearson Street. This transformation brought with it the additional goal of increased fund-raising to generate a substantially greater budget to make SOAR a permanent full-time operation with a solid foundation as an influential and flourishing neighborhood voice for keeping Streeterville a viable and vital neighborhood.
