Jeff Zimmermann was teaching Pilsen kids how to make popsicle-stick sculptures when a neighborhood priest asked him to paint Our Lady of Guadalupe on a building at 19th and Ashland.
Back in 1996, Zimmermann was just a graphic design geek helping out at a Pilsen community center. He didn't know the first thing about painting a mural.
"The priest said, 'You're an artist, right?' 'You know how to paint a mural, right?' And I said, 'Yeah,' " Zimmermann says. "But none of it was true."
Continue reading Jeff Zimmermann -- He's a character.
At his best, Mark Konkol is a White Sox fan. He lives on the South Side. He
enjoys cold beer. At one time or another over the last 10 years, he's covered Chicago and Cook County government, city schools, transportation and the ins-and-outs of neighborhood life. E-mail him at 