Week of May 3, 2017 Vol 50 • No 12 • www.thechicagocitizen.com
Weekly
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS LOCAL POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS RECOGNIZED ON NATIONAL SUPERHERO DAY
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South End
Audit Bureau of Circulation
GRANT FIGHTS OPIOID CRISIS
NNPA NEWSWIRE EXCLUSIVE:
BILL COSBY FINALLY BREAKS HIS SILENCE By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Bill Cosby is blind. It’s been more than two years since the embattled, television and film legend, who was once known as “America’s Dad,” has spoken out publicly. During a recent interview with the NNPA Newswire, Cosby revealed that he’s lost his sight. Waking one morning about two years ago, he nervously called out to Camille, his wife. “I can’t see,” he said. Doctors later confirmed the worst: that there Embattled, television was nothing and film legend Bill that could be Cosby, once known as “America’s Dad,” done to repair speaks out publicly his vision. during an exclusive “When interview with the he would NNPA Newswire. perform, we’d draw a wide straight yellow line from backstage to the chair on the stage and he’d rehearse the walk, hours before the show,” said Andrew Wyatt of the Purpose PR firm, a public relations agency in Birmingham, Ala. Wyatt has worked with Cosby for years. Wyatt said that his star client has decided that it’s time to talk. Together, Wyatt and Cosby said they grew comfortable that the NNPA Newswire would be more interested in “facts over sensationalism.” Cosby has shunned most
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Member
ABC AUDITED
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) was awarded a federal grant for over $16 million to fight Illinois’ opioid crisis. The grant is funded through the 21st Century Cures Act which includes an estimated $1 billion to states over the next two years to combat the nation’s opioid crises. Grants will be administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration under the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grant program. “As has been the case nationally, Illinois has been severely
impacted by the opioid epidemic. This significant investment will strengthen state-wide services and expand access to treatment and overdose prevention programs in Illinois,” said IDHS Secretary James Dimas. “These resources will provide a comprehensive array of prevention, treatment and recovery services through evidence-based public health solutions that will combat the opioid and heroin crises in our communities.”
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ROYAL LEADERS
The Revolution of Young Artist as Leaders (ROYAL) poetry team, which was created two years ago, is a “school-community collaboration and a mentorship model that offers a six week workshop that provides a safe space for creative expression and youth empowermen
By Christopher Shuttlesworth “Simeon’s poetry team, called Writers Never Die and 2014/15 Louder Than a Bomb Champions collaborated with John W. Cook Elementary School and created The Revolution of Young Artist as Leaders (ROYAL) poetry team [two years ago],” according to gagdc.org. ROYAL held a Spoken Word Slam at Simeon Career Academy on April 25, 2017, where
ROYAL continued to display what happens when youth engage in activities that allow them to use their voices instead of negativity. Carlos Nelson, who is the Executive Director of Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC), said nearly 200 Cook Elementary students supported the Cook spoken word artists.
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