October 18 - 24, 2021

October 18 - 24, 2021 Vol. 29 No. 41

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Arts & (Home) Entertainment

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SportsWise

We are replacing our usual calendar with virtual events and recommendations from StreetWise vendors, readers and staff to keep you entertained at home!

The SpotsWise team on the Chicago Bears' possible relocation.

Cover Story: Vaccination art

Chicago murals urging COVID-19 vaccinations in McKinley Park, Englewood and West Englewood, three communities with lower rates than the rest of the city, are part of a multicity partnership between the nonprofit design lab Amplifier, which builds arts and media experiments to "amplify" the most important social movements of their time, and Facebook amplifier, which will spread the message through digital social media.

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From the Streets

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Inside Streetwise

President Biden's "Build Back Better" plan receives support from Chicago-area community groups. Also, the October 2 pro-abortion rally in downtown Chicago warns about dangers to abortion rights in the wake of a Supreme Court decision in a Texas case and an upcoming Mississippi case this fall.

Vendor Steven Riggs explains why he got vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Playground ON THE COVER: "Let's Get Vaccinated" by Katie Chung in Chicago.

THIS PAGE: "Take Care of All Generations, Get Vaccinated" by Jazz Danis in Ottawa, Canada. Both images part of the Community Vaccination Art Program by Amplifier, a nonprofit design lab.

Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher

dhamilton@streetwise.org

StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI

Suzanne Hanney, Editor-In-Chief

suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com

Amanda Jones, Director of programs

ajones@streetwise.org

Julie Youngquist, Executive director

jyoungquist@streetwise.org

Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616

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ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time.

To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org

Improv on Stage!

The Goldfish Tank Comedy Show The Lincoln Lodge, 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave., presents The Goldfish Tank comedy show on October 22 from 9:30-11 p.m. This performance is their own version of the show, “Shark Tank,” a TV show that lets entrepreneurs pitch their business proposals to "sharks" - sucessful entrepreneurs - who choose whether or not they want to invest. During this show, comedians will come up with their own pitches for products they are selling to a panel of "Goldfish" investors. Who knows what products these comedians will come up with! Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased under the calendar section at thelincolnlodge.com.

Campy Halloween Fun!

(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT

‘I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle’: Movie Screening The Martin, Tarnish, and Split-Rail are partnering to host a movie screening of “I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle,” on October 24 from 7-9:30 p.m. The film is a 1990 comedy horror movie about a motorcycle becoming possessed by a vampire’s spirit. This unrated film will show at The Martin, 2500 W. Chicago Ave., a woman-owned creative space. You can make reservations for dinner before the show at Split-Rail, a co-sponsor, which is a woman-owned restaurant that specializes in New Americana cuisine. Of course, what is a motorcycle movie without motorcycles? Tarnish is a woman-owned motorcycle boutique, selling motorcycle gear, clothes, and accessories (for you and your bike). This screening is a great way to support local businesses and celebrate the Halloween spirit.

Tickets cost $5 and can be purchased at eventbrite.com.

Win Big!

Bingo at the Bottle The Empty Bottle,1035 N. Western Ave., is having a free bingo night on October 24 at 7 p.m. There will be live music courtesy of Old Timey, a band that performs vintage music from the 1920s to 1950s. Prizes include gift cards to local restaurants, bars, and shops in the Ukrainian Village and Humboldt Park. The Empty Bottle is also asking everyone to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test at least 72 hours before the event. 21+.

Registration for this event is not necessary but highly encouraged, and you can RSVP at emptybottle.com.

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If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it!

Vivaldi & Friends Music of the Baroque presents Vivaldi and Friends at the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., on October 18 at 7:30 p.m. Baroque music is classical music from the 1600s. The era is known for its introduction of the concerto, sonata, and opera. Antonio Vivaldi is one of the greatest Baroque composers. He helped popularize Baroque music and contributed to the trend. Vivaldi's best known composition is "The Four Seasons." John Butt, the conductor (pictured), will play Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in C Major, as well as Corelli, Albinoni, and Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 1. Butt is paying tribute to the Baroque musicians who inspired him to pursue music.

Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at baroque.org.

The Beauty of Nature!

First Flight Butterfly Release The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, hosts a First Butterfly Release on October 20 from 2 - 2:30 p.m. at the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven. Swallowtails, longwings, other types of butterflies and moths will be taking flight for the first time! Visitors can also learn about the life cycles of butterflies and moths, and learn to identify those in your area. Don't miss this unique opportunity to experience first-time flight. The butterfly release is a free and a relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

Day of the Dead!

Day of the Dead Show The McKinley Park FieldHouse, 2210 W. Pershing Road, is throwing a Day of the Dead Show on October 23 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., featuring local artists such as La Rosa Noir, Lisa Vasquez, and Solde T. There will also be local vendors selling Day of the Dead art and traditional Mexican art. This day will be filled with music, food, and dancing. There will also be a Day of the Dead arts and crafts show, where artists will be able to showcase their work. This show is free and open to the public. There is no registration necessary before the event.

Fitness & Fun!

Roller Skating Under the Stars Come spend a night rolling skating under the stars at Midway Plaisance Park, 1130 Midway Plaisance North, on October 21 from 4-8 p.m. There will be live music courtesy of DJ EDUB. You must bring your own skates. W hat a great way to spend a Thursday night outdoors with friends and family before it gets too cold. You can bring a picnic – or just enjoy skating in the park. Midway Plaisance Park is asking everyone to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status. It is completely free to skate and no registration is required. .

Show your Green Thumb!

Chicago Bonsai Club The Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., is hosting the Chicago Bonsai Club on October 20 from 6-7:30 p.m.

This club is open to all bonsai tree enthusiasts. The experience level ranges from none to expert. This club is to teach about tips and tricks for caring for a bonsai tree. This is an optional BYOBT (bring your own bonsai tree), or you can show up to learn more about bonsai trees. You will even have the chance to plant your own bonsai tree, as potting soil and wire will be provided for free, but some pots and planting materials will be available for an additional cost. No reservations or costs required for this club.

Thrills & Chills!

OTV Presents: Queer Horror Showcase Open Television is hosting a Queer Horror Showcase at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., on October 19 from 7-9 p.m. Open Television is a non-profit media organization that helps promote intersectionality among artists by showcasing those who have felt marginalized and oppressed in their communities. The Queer Horror Showcase will take place in the outdoor garden at the Music Box Theatre, so be sure to dress for the weather! There will be a showing of four short horror films, “Black Pill” (pictured), “Flock,” “35,” and “Hell by any Other Name.” After the films, there will be a brief panel discussion with the directors of “Black Pill” and “35.” The Music Box Theatre allows guests to bring food to the venue but drinks must be bought there. They are requiring everyone to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test at least 72 hours before the screening. This event is free, and for more information on the films and to register for the event, please visit eventbrite.com.

-Compiled by Paige Bialik

www.streetwise.org

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Vendors Russ Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.

Patrick: John, you appear to be chomping at the bit to speak on the subject of the Bears uprooting from our beautiful, lakefront Soldier Field, and heading on down the road to Arlington Heights—even though they would still be called the Chicago Bears. Go ahead. What do you got?

John: It’s not a possibility anymore; it appears to be a done deal.

Donald: I did see that the Bears signed the purchase agreement—one of multiple bids—but it’s the Bears, so we have to be frontrunners, right? I mean, it is the Bears.

Russ: No, it’s Da Bears.

Donald: Right!

SPORTSWISE

John: Well, all I can say is that Mayor Lightfoot can plead all she wants about our Bears staying in Chicago, but the Bears organization has said, as the mayor, in 2020, said to Donald Trump: “Go pound some sand!”

Patrick: Ouch. All right, so let me run down a couple of facts regarding all of this. First, the move wouldn’t happen until 2026, when the Bears organization can buy its way out of its Soldier Field lease. The team reached an agreement on the purchase of Arlington International Racecourse; of course, they would build a stadium and, even look to

build around the stadium to create an experience.

Russ: Yeah, I heard that was huge to the Bears: the whole creation of an entertainment zone.

John: And because the Bears are close to the end of the lease, the penalty fee is not as high as it would have been a few years back. Or, if for some weird reason this falls through, the closer to the end of the lease the Bears are if they were to look into once again relocating, the lower their penalty fee, which would give them a better opportunity to fund the area for profit…

Donald: …which would put them in the arena with teams such as the Rams and the Chargers, who play in the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles; the Las Vegas Raiders in Allegiant Stadium; the New York Jets and the Giants, who

play in New York’s MetLife Stadium; lastly, the Dallas Cowboys in AT&T Stadium.

These teams have bankrolled new stadiums either completely on their own or with only a small public contribution.

Patrick: Good point. So, now, the Bears would be able to follow in the footsteps of those teams on what to build, how to build it, finance it, and how to friggin’ market it.

Russ: I read somewhere that the Los Angeles Rams—in SoFi Stadium—have sold over $600 million in seat licenses. $600 million! Now, one problem is that the Mayor is in somewhat of a lose-lose situation. Kinda…

cle—as John indicated—and billions of dollars in taxpayer money…or…she could go down, simply, as the mayor who lost the Bears to the suburbs.

Patrick: Well, I’ll say this: Although I have preached all my life that the Bears need to get out of Chicago in order to have real success, now that it’s possibly here, it hurts a little.

I get it from the Bears’ perspective, in that they would be able to have more control over the “extras, etc.,” and would be able to build-buildbuild out there. Hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.—it’s on.

John: For me, the key to embracing this is to understand that the team name won’t change.

Donald: What do you mean?

Russ: Well, the Mayor can either fight to keep the Bears at Soldier Field, which, unfortunately, would take a mira-

Donald: That’s right: Chicago Bears forever.

Any comments or suggestions?

Email pedwards@streetwise.org

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THE ART OF PIZZA ON STATE STREET

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The Art of Pizza on State Street: Steven Riggs with employee; interior; a slice of stuffed crust.

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Amplifier's Community Vaccination Art Program encourages vaccinations in areas with lower rates

by Suzanne Hanney, artist stories by Paige Bialik, Fran Johns contributing

Commissioned to create a Chicago mural promoting COVID-19 vaccinations, artist Katie Chung thought of the Al Green song, “Let’s Stay Together,” and depicted collective experiences that disappear under quarantine.

The Art Institute lion, the Navy Pier Ferris wheel and a hot dog are all included in her mural at 32nd and Hoyne in the McKinley Park neighborhood.

“I was also thinking that whether you agree with the vaccine or not, if we don’t solve it together, we will lose access to all the things on my artwork…the things we enjoy as a city, but that go away when viruses happen, when we do not want to get vaccinated, and the virus keeps spreading,” Chung said. “The words I chose to say were, ‘let’s get vaccinated’, something very simple and straightforward and not too demanding.”

A QR code on the mural will allow people to access information about COVID-19 vaccinations at will. Chung’s artwork is part of a multi-city partnership between the nonprofit design lab Amplifier, which builds art and media experiments to “amplify” the most important movements of their time, and Facebook Open Arts, which will spread the message through digital social media.

The Amplifier-Facebook Open Arts campaign is using public art this summer and fall to inspire people in communities with lower vaccination rates to get the vaccine. The campaign will encompass 12 cities across the United States and Canada: Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Mesa, Montreal, Ottawa, San Bernardino, San Antonio, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Chosen artists have roots in the cities and were asked to emphasize community, trust, the value of vaccination, education, and access.

Chung is a graduate of Lane Tech and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been resident printmaking artist at Lillstreet Art Center; a member of Candor Arts, a Chicago-based resource for artist books; a participant in the Center Program at Hyde Park Art Center and the recipient of the IAP grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Another two murals in Englewood will be done by Brandon Breaux, known as the artist behind all three of Chance the Rapper’s iconic album covers.

Chung, who was Facebook Inc. Artist in Residence last year, is a native Chicagoan who has always lived here.

“That’s why it was awesome to be part of this project. I love this city and want to see it thrive, not go through quarantine again. It was a pretty depressing time.”

Just before the lockdown, Chung was working on her first project with Facebook, a mural at the entrance of its new offices. As the office faced a shutdown, her two weeks on the project were whittled down to one week of 12-hour days. “I was just in a bubble.”

Then, when she went to the grocery store and saw the empty shelves, she felt the enormity of the virus and the office shutdown.

The COVID-19 mural process was interesting for Chung because her art has mostly been personal, exploring what it means to be a first-generation Korean-American, simultaneously explaining her history and fitting in with the public. For the Amplifier-Facebook project, however, she had to analyze what wasAlt-J going on around her. “How do I engage with an audience that doesn’t want to engage? How do I want my art to interact with the public on a sensitive subject?

Katie Chung

(Chicago, IL) is a Korean-American visual artist from Chicago. Her artistic media usually include drawing, print, and sculpture.

She combines her identity and heritage to create art representing labor and immigration. Chung has been a recipient of the IAP D-CASE Cultural Grant and has been featured in the Chicago Artist Coalition. Her art for the COVID-19 vaccine depicts two people hugging each other and smiling as things start to return to the way they were before COVID. Currently in Chicago, only 57% of residents are fully vaccinated (Chicago. gov). Mayor Lori Lightfoot is encouraging residents to get vaccinated to protect those around them. Katie poses in front of a billboard displaying her work (photo courtesy of Katie Chung).

Rachelle Baker (Detroit, MI) is a multidisciplinary artist, born

in Detroit, who works in illustration, graphic design and relief printing as well as video art and music. Her work has been seen in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker and Marie Claire magazine. She has also contributed illustrations to many books, including “Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream,” “Stamped,” “Stamped (for Kids)” and “Motherlode: 100 + Women Who Made Hip-Hop.” Her COVID-19 art encourages people to get vaccinated in order to protect others.

Jared Yazzie (Mesa, AZ) is a self-taught graphic designer

and printmaker. He is the owner of OXDX, a fashion label featuring designs that “properly represent Native people” and artwork that “brings to light indigenous issues.” Yazzie’s COVID-19 artwork, appearing in Los Angeles and Mesa, is inspired by his family members and his Navajo heritage with a message to get vaccinated to protect loved ones.

www.streetwise.org

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Gabby Gonzales (Los Angeles, CA) is a trained artist whose work currently

focuses on LGBTQ themes, including what it’s like to be a queer woman today. She describes her work as being “heavy in symbolism” and perhaps a bit melancholy as she looks at subjects like longing and desire. The message of her mural in Los Angeles is “Protect the Ones You Love.”

“I was really drawn to this project because I am a full supporter of the vaccine, a supporter of science. Throughout this year and last year, I’ve seen the country divided. It’s amazing I got to use my art for something I believe in, and also inviting to people who are suspicious or a little scared of the vaccine. I understand that at the outbreak, we were not under the best leadership and there was a lot of false information. I am grateful for this opportunity to share a different approach of looking at this vaccine.”

Murals in Englewood (6310 S. Halsted St.) and West Englewood (64th Street and Ashland Avenue) are an opportunity to get the community working together, said Rodney Johnson, president of One Health Englewood, which he founded in 2016 and which is focused on health literacy, health advocacy, health promotion and research.

Johnson came to the Amplifier Facebook project at the recommendation of Teamwork Englewood, having worked on its community quality of life plan years ago.

Johnson also had early success getting people to share a link for Protect Chicago Plus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s program focused on the 13 lowest-

vaccinated communities. On February 6, 4.6 percent of the Englewood population, and 4.4 percent of the West Englewood population, had received at least one dose of the vaccine; by May 8, the rates were 34.9 percent and 36.6 percent, respectively. This summer, the City added door-to-door canvassing.

Johnson coordinated two or three vaccine events a month in the southwest corner of Englewood and in West Englewood. Armed with a master’s degree in public health from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a master’s in social sector leadership from the University of Chicago, he also sought to develop relationships with organizations to better understand the community.

Because there is so much trauma in the community, “people stick to their own and often don’t engage as much as they should,” Johnson said. Young people are hard to reach, not just in terms of COVID-19.

“Young people have complicated lives, especially young parents trying to raise a family with jobs that are not familyfriendly,” such as retail, which does often give an opportunity for more education, he said.

Seeing the city open up again after Memorial Day also played into vaccine hesitancy, he said. Diabetes and cancer develop over time, so if you are not sick enough to go to the emergency room, if COVID isn’t immediately affecting you, it’s not as important to you as it is to those who are aware of its effects.

“Then, a lot of media have been antivaccine for political reasons,” he said.

“People hear that and go to things that have happened to our community; that builds on the stigma as well.”

Johnson has coordinated block club parties at the intersections of 73rd and 79th Streets with Ashland Avenue, using a bus that was highly visible. “We upgraded the food, because people remember food and will engage more when the food is better. They know the difference between a hot dog and a bratwurst. And word of mouth. And incentives. People are getting the vaccine more because of the incentives.”

Deciding to get the vaccine can be a snap decision. “Their friends have it done and everyone starts getting it done. It feels familiar.”

Johnson coordinated a vaccination event Saturday, October 2, at 59th and Wood Streets that drew 50 people.

Partner organizations included CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) Chicago, The Blessed Child, Voices of West Englewood, and Growing Home.

The Blessed Child distributes incentive gifts during a vaccine sign-up event on October 2 in West Englewood (courtesy photo).

Rue Oliver (Seattle, WA) is a self-described “queer trans artist and poet” who

creates work focusing on the wisdom and healing that queer bodies carry. Their work includes portraits, medical illustrations, trans-inclusive medical illustrations and brand/marketing design. Oliver created a mural which can be seen in Seattle, encouraging vaccination and featuring families of all types with the message “Together We Can Find Our Way.” “I hate to say it was [the] convincing [factor], but the incentives help,” said Anthony Hilton, executive director of CORE Chicago, which has partnered with the city to get the vaccination rate to 77 percent in each of its 77 neighborhoods. The City of Chicago provided a $50 debit card to everyone who received the first Pfizer shot and $100 to everyone who received the Johnson & Johnson single shot. They also provided Uber rides to and from the vaccination event and to the grocery store.

Some people have hesitated because they say the vaccine was approved too quickly, Hilton said. CORE, which was founded by Sean Penn and Ann Lee in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake and which is partnering with Los Angeles, New Orleans and other cities on COVID-19 vaccinations, is trying to dispel those myths. “We’re trying to explain it will not hurt you, it’s not some government thing to keep track of you, but just to make sure we’re all safe. We can get back to normal, stop wearing masks.”

Dwayne Harris of The Blessed Child said they promoted the event on Facebook as the first of many pop-ups, an opportunity to access young men and women prone to violence via their parents. The Blessed Child brought a range of gifts to show that people didn’t have to go across town to shop, and also the power of community.

Johnnie Brown, supervisor of The Blessed Child’s violence prevention program, said their violence interruption outreach will involve pop-ups, mediations and anger management “to get our high-risk individuals in another direction other than violence.”

Harris said both he and his wife, LaTonya, have been vaccinated, but he has lost a brother, a brother-in-law and several friends to COVID-19. “At the end of the day, it’s killing us in record numbers, so we have to get that shot in order to survive. It’s important that we be involved with anyone getting these shots out so we can get back to normalcy.”

The reason many people delayed getting the shots, said bystander Renard Williams, is that people were on their own and in their own world, the kind of people who wear hot pants in a snowfall because they don’t listen to weather forecasts.

There was also a mistrust of government suddenly wanting to help, Williams said. “When I really needed you, you weren’t there. You didn’t even want to talk to me before the vaccine. Is that the way you want to communicate with me, through the vaccine?”

Still, it came down to personal contact.

Williams works 12 hours a day, but helped out with the vaccination day because Gloria Williams, executive director of Voices of West Englewood, is like family to him and he wanted to bring people through the event.

“We’ve got to understand, this will save lives,” said yet another bystander. “If we don’t stop it, it will get worse. It’s going to take a lot more people.”

Gloria Williams is working with Johnson on the West Englewood mural, which she said will be about vaccinations and the generations of people who have lived in the neighborhood.

Her organization regularly provides a lot of information on taxes and the housing crisis. Right now, she is focusing on abandoned properties, so that residents can obtain them at a cheaper price and move back into the neighborhood. Over the summer, she picked out a block with five abandoned properties through the Cook County Land Bank, and cleaned them up so that everyone could see their value.

Many community organizations have been doing good work, but the COVID-19 crisis has brought them together, Johnson said. His hope is that they will build a culture of civic engagement to improve the community.

“I look at it from a long-term point of view, but also ask why these things are so systemic in the community. Once COVID gets solved, what’s next?”

Shyama Kuver

(Washington, D.C.) is a self-taught interdisciplinary artist whose work is inspired by her queer and Indo-Fijian identities. Her artistic style reflects the multicultural, spiritual and experiential contexts that have shaped her life and career. Kuver’s work has appeared in The Washingtonian, NYU Press, Columbia University Press and Teen Vogue, among others. The message of her colorful billboard, featuring many different hands, is “Choose Community Care.” Her goal was to create imagery that does not make the viewer feel wrong, but rather, communicates that it is within their power to help themselves and their community. www.streetwise.org

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President Biden's 'Build back better' plan receives local support from community groups President Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan has received the support of local community groups Housing Action Illinois, the Jane Addams Senior Caucus, ONE Northside and Fair Economy Illinois.

“We haven’t been this close to major investments in affordable housing in a generation,” Housing Action Illinois (HAI) noted in an email blast. In particular, HAI favored the plan’s $90 billion in rental assistance for one million lowest-income households, $80 billion to preserve public housing for two million people and $37 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund, which would create 330,000 affordable rental housing. Illinois’s share would be 31,000 new vouchers for families with children, people with disabilities and seniors; as well as $1.7 billion for the Housing Trust Fund to create new rental homes for extremely low-income households.

HAI noted also that the proposed legislation would begin to close the racial wealth gap with $10 billion in down payment assistance for first generation homebuyers.

President Biden official portrait (whitehouse.gov)

Affordable housing expansion was also one of the factors behind support from community leaders from ONE Northside, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, The People’s Lobby and Fair Economy Illinois.

FROM THE STREETS

They were joined in a September 29 action outside the Blue Cross Blue Shield building by elected officials, including Alds.Daniel La Spata, Rossana Rodriguez, Andre Vasquez, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Michael Rodriguez, and Matt Martin; Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, State Rep. Will Guzzardi, and State Sens. Robert Peters and Mike Simmons, all of whom urged congressional Democrats to stand fast behind the Biden plan. The plan has no Republican support, according to CBS News, so Democrats are attempting to pass it through a budgetary process called reconciliation, which requires the support of all party members.

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The four organizations and elected officials said Build Back Better has bipartisan support because: • It would expand Medicare and allow the government to negotiate drug prices • It would create pathways to citizenship for immigrant youth, people with temporary protected status, farm workers, and essential workers • It would slow climate change by shifting energy consumption away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy while creating green jobs • It would fund all of this by forcing corporations and the wealthy to finally pay their fair share in taxes.

According to the website of the House Budget Committee, people making less than $400,000 annually would not see a tax increase.

The day before the Blue Cross Blue Shield action, on September 28, the Jane Addams Senior Caucus partnered with Human Rights Watch, the National Domestic Workers Alliance and others on a virtual news conference with U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). The advocates

said the proposed Better Care Better Jobs Act (S.2210) promises to expand access to home and community-based services for older people and people with disabilities, so they could live there instead of in nursing homes and other residential facilities. There are 820,000 people on waiting lists for these services across the U.S., Jane Addams officials said.

If passed, the legislation would raise wages and improve working conditions for direct care workers, who are overwhelmingly women and people of color, officials said. Due to low wages and lack of basic benefits, they often live in low-income households. Poor working conditions lead to a high rate of turnover among workers, despite growing demand for services.

The White House website calls the Build Back Better agenda “an ambitious plan to create jobs, cut taxes and lower costs for working families – all paid for by making the tax code fairer and making the wealthiest and large corporations pay their fair share.”

House Budget Committee officials say that expenditures would focus on childcare expansion; on education (two years free pre-K and two years of free community college); paid family and medical leave; expansion of Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act; tackling climate change through clean energy credits and more affordable housing in underserved communities.

- Paige Bialik and Suzanne Hanney, from prepared materials

October 2 abortion rally - one of 90 in the US - in response to Texas case

The Saturday, October 2 abortion rally at the Daley Center led by Planned Parenthood IL Action and Women’s March, was just one of 90 rallies occurring in all 50 states – and just the beginning of the fight to retain abortion rights threatened by a recent Texas case before the U.S. Supreme Court, organizers said afterward.

“The rally and march to Defend Abortion Access on October 2nd was hugely successful, but now the real work begins: fighting for reproductive justice and abortion access for all,” Brenna O’Brien, a host of the event, said afterward in an email.

“We must fight city by city, state by state, to ensure that all people can still access the health care they need. We cannot allow the reality of Texas to become the reality of this country.”

The rally included roughly 30 other partners, including Access Living, Chicago NOW, Chicago Women Take Action, Equality Illinois, Gay Liberation Network, Illinois NOW, Indivisible Illinois, National Council of Jewish Women (Chicago North Shore and South Cook sections), Personal PAC, SEIU HCII, Women Employed, and more.

Subsequent action includes Women2Women Circles led by individual volunteers who recruit five or more friends and family to engage with other women. https://www.mobilize.us/womensmarch/event/368873/?akid=.143189.216t9L According to the New York Times on October 1, the Supreme Court refused to block a Texas law prohibiting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy – the most restrictive abortion law in the nation – less than a day after it took effect. The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining the court’s three liberal members in dissent.

Consisting of just one paragraph, the unsigned majority opinion did not rule on the constitutionality of the Texas law. However, it raised the stakes around a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks that is scheduled to come before the court this fall. Both supporters and opponents of abortion have said the Mississippi case would challenge Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.

-Suzanne Hanney, from online sources

www.streetwise.org

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Vendor Steven Riggs encourages getting the vaccine

I took the COVID-19 vaccination shot in June because my mom took the shot in the spring. I wanted to be able to visit her in the hospital, hold her hand and caress her hair if she caught the virus or otherwise became seriously ill. When the virus first appeared, a lot of family members could not visit their loved ones in the hospital. Even in nursing homes, they couldn’t visit their parents and grandparents because the elderly were the majority of the people dying from the virus.

So as soon as my mom made the decision to get the shot, and the building that she stays in, the Senior Suites at 74th and Rockwell, made it so easy and so available to the seniors and elderly that live within the building, right after she took the shot I went down to the Jewel on Roosevelt and State and got my vaccine.

So I am vaccinated and my mom is vaccinated.

INSIDE STREETWISE 14

I would advise everyone to get vaccinated so that you can visit your loved ones, so that you can stay healthy, and last but not least, so that you can keep other people around you who come into contact with you and interact with you, healthy. To my StreetWise customers, we need your support, and I believe that, during these times, the best way to get your support is to encourage you all to stay healthy. How are you going to support us if you’re sick, or if you’re in the hospital? We want you out and about going to restaurants, going to grocery stores, going to malls. Please do that safely: put your mask on when you go inside, and wear gloves or sanitize your hands and your children’s hands when you come outside. God bless you all, thank you for your support of StreetWise. StreetWise helps the unemployed to become self-employed – it’s not a hand out, but a hand up.

1 to 9.

Streetwise 10/3/16 Crossword

Sudoku

To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

©2016 PuzzleJunction.com

61 Arab chieftain 62 The Scourge of God 64 Romanian cash 65 Clock sound 66 Offended 67 Recliner part 68 Wood sorrel 69 Windbreaks

10 Lewis with 41 Column carved Lamb Chop in the shape of a 11 Common person sense 44 Native 12 Affirmative 45 Tombstone votes wording 14 Disneyland 47 One parent in 21 Cartridge the UK contents 50 Less typical 24 Inn inventory 51 Loose hemp or 25 Off yonder Down jute fiber 1 Twaddle 26 Chimney 52 City on the channel Mohawk 2 Talipot palm 27 Rip apart leaf 54 Aqua ___ 3 32-card game 29 Like a churl 55 ___ fide (in bad 33 Bird venerated 4 Catamaran faith) 5 Long bones by ancient 58 One year in a 6 Error Egyptians trunk 34 River to 7 Peruvian beast 59 On the safe side, 8 Astringent Donegal Bay at sea drug 35 Gumption 61 D.D.E.’s Parting words 9 Old PC Copyright36©2016 command PuzzleJunction.com platform 38 Aquatic bird 63 Much spam

Copyright ©2016 PuzzleJunction.com

©PuzzleJunction.com

lastSudoku week's Puzzle Answers Solution

Solution

Sudoku Solution

Find your nearest StreetWise Vendor at

PuzzleJu

Crossword Across 1 Asian capital 6 Muggy 11 Continental divide?

12 Egyptian god of the underworld 14 Negative stimulation 16 Sci-fi creatures 18 Daughter of James II 19 On the ball 21 Geologic time period 22 Golfer’s concern 23 Weapons storehouse 25 “Alley ___!”

26 Legendary Giant 27 Louisiana wetland 28 Building materials 30 Home maker 32 Mollify 34 Pung, e.g.

36 Drops the ball 37 Dog type 40 Brace 44 Pageant crown 45 Kind of bean 47 Mr. Potato Head piece 48 Nasty biter 49 Turns back, perhaps 50 Gobbled up 51 Utmost degree 52 Dog treats 53 Wool sources

©2016 PuzzleJunction.com

54 ___ your business 56 Fishermen 59 Getting closer all the time 60 On the lam 61 Tibet’s capital 62 Finished Down 1 Vespid wasps 2 Teen affliction 3 Newcomer, briefly 4 Clumsy sort 5 Extreme dishonor 6 Selfgovernment 7 Loan shark’s interest rate

8 Catcher’s need 9 A Gershwin 10 Go to a restaurant 13 Went boldly 14 Claw 15 Labor leader’s cry 17 Gullible sorts 20 Roller coaster feature 23 Evergreen ornamental shrub 24 Harder to find 28 Cancels 29 Russia’s Itar___ news agency 31 Romanov ruler 33 Lingo 35 Lyreflower

37 Engine part 38 Renaissance painter 39 Life of Riley 41 Iodine source 42 After ant or man 43 Place for a comb 44 Zingy taste 46 Flea market deal 49 Debauchees 52 Half an island in French Polynesia?

53 “What ___ is new?”

55 Scrooge’s cry 57 Oui’s opposite 58 Pantheon member

www.streetwise.org

How StreetWise Works

Our Mission

Orientation Participants complete a monthlong orientation, focusing on customer service skills, financial literacy and time management to become a badged vendor.

Financial Literacy Vendors buy StreetWise for $0.90, and sell it for $2. The profit of $1.10 goes directly to the licensed vendor for them to earn a living.

Supportive Services StreetWise provides referrals, advocacy and other support to assist participants in meeting their basic needs and getting out of crisis.

S.T.E.P. Program StreetWise’s S.T.E.P. Program provides job readiness training and ongoing direct service support to ensure participants’ success in entering the traditional workforce.

THE PLAYGROUND

To empower the entrepreneurial spirit through the dignity of self-employment by providing Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive social services, workforce development resources and immediate access to gainful employment.

Solution

15

INTERFAITH 35th ANNUAL MEMORIAL OBSERVANCE

FOR INDIGENT PERSONS

Held to commemorate the lives of our neighbors who were buried by the Office of the Cook County Medical Examiner

PLEASE COME AND JOIN A CELEBRATION OF LIFE! A reception and celebration follows the service.

“To live and die alone is a human tragedy, but not to be remembered and mourned after earthly life is an ugly blemish on human dignity.”

W. Earl Lewis (1949-1999) Founder, The Interfaith Memorial Service for Indigent Persons

CHICAGO TEMPLE

Keynote Speaker

BETTY A. BOGG Connections for the Homeless

WEDNESDAY

O C T 27 7 , 202 21 NOON - 1:00 PM

First United Methodist Church 77 West Washington — Chicago