receives a plant that was gifted to him for his work pulling off the photo exhibit at BUILD Chicago during the exhibition’s opening day reception on April 3. |
Westside Earth Keepers Photo Exhibit Spotlights Local Environmental Stewards
A month-long exhibit at BUILD Chicago features photos of local growers, organizers, and environmental leaders by photographer Kenn Cook Jr.
BY MICHAEL ROMAIN The Culture
Anew photo exhibition at BUILD Chicago, 5100 W. Harrison in Austin, is casting a long-overdue spotlight on the people quietly reshaping the West Side’s relationship with land, food, and the environment.
“Westside Earth Keepers,” a collection by West Side photographer Kenn Cook Jr., opened April 3 at BUILD and will run
throughout the month. The exhibit features roughly two dozen portraits of residents— gardeners, organizers, and advocates— whose work centers on caring for the earth in their communities.
The idea for the exhibition emerged organically, said Kesiah Bascom, manager of BUILD’s Austin Grown, which teaches West Side youth how to grow food and responsibly steward the environment. She said the concept came together during a chance exchange with Cook at a film screening.
“For more than 15 years, I’ve been doing food systems work, and I really believe in the connective power of food,” Bascom said at the April 3 opening. “It brings people from different cultures together.”
Bascom said she has spent recent years exploring ideas around earth stewardship and Black agricultural traditions. When she and Cook began discussing his work as a visual storyteller and archivist, the concept for the exhibit quickly took shape.
“We thought about how powerful it would
On
Cook
DEANGELO HANDLEY
Kesiah Bascom, Michelle Scott, and Kenn Cook Jr. at the opening reception for the Westside Earth Keepers exhibition at BUILD Chicago on April 3. | DEANGELO HANDLEY
be to highlight people in this community who are tending to the earth,” she said. “A lot of times, they’re not seen. We wanted to bring that to light.”
Cook said the project was also inspired by the visible growth of community gardens in Austin.
“What sparked this project is all the gardens going up in Austin—about two dozen over the last few years,” Cook said. “When I first met Kesiah and others at community events, I didn’t know much about community gardening. They were teaching me.”
Those lessons extended beyond planting and harvesting. Cook said he began to understand the deeper cultural and historical
connections between Black communities and agriculture.
“They were teaching me how it connects to Black culture—how we were leading agriculture at one time, but don’t anymore,” he said. “Earth keeping is about people restoring the land, reducing their carbon footprint, and building something sustainable for the future.”
Through his portraits, Cook aims to document and preserve those stories while giving visibility to individuals whose work often happens outside the public eye.
For many of the exhibition’s subjects, that recognition carries emotional weight.
Community Food Co-op whose portrait is featured in the exhibit, said the experience offered a rare moment to reflect on her impact.
“When you’re doing the work, you’re not always thinking about the impact,” Shields said. “It felt really powerful to be seen and for people to learn more about why I do what I do in the community.”
Crystal Gardner, the co-founder of the West Side Environmental Justice Alliance, echoed that sentiment while also emphasizing the ongoing nature of the work.
“It’s overwhelming and a high honor, especially in a neighborhood I’ve been in for 40 years,” Gardner said. “To be ac-
knowledged for work I feel I’ve barely begun is meaningful—but we’ve got more work to do.”
That sense of urgency and continuation is a throughline in the exhibit. While the photographs capture still moments, the work behind them is dynamic—rooted in longterm efforts to address food access, environmental justice, and community health on the West Side.
For Cook, the exhibit is as much about archiving a moment as it is about inspiring the next one.
“These are the people doing the work right now,” he said. “And their stories deserve to be told.”
Briana Shields, the founder of the Austin
Kenn Cook frames one of the photos in the Westside Earth Keepers exhibit at BUILD Chicago. | DEANGELO HANDLEY
The Westside Earth Keepers exhibit running throughout April at BUILD Chicago features photos of around two dozen gardeners, organizers, and advocates whose work centers on caring for the earth in their communities. | DEANGELO HANDLEY
A woman takes a cell phone photo of a Westside Earth Keepers portrait at the exhibition's opening night on April 3. | DEANGELO HANDLEY
A woman looks at a photo of Crystal Gardner, a West Side activist who co-founded the West Side Environmental Justice Alliance. | DEANGELO HANDLEY
The Grind
Artist Briana Shields Wants to Bring Color, Craft, and Artistic Community to the West Side
BY MICHAEL ROMAIN The Culture
Multidisciplinary artist Briana Shields learned to dance at wellknown local arts institutions like Stairway of the Stars in Maywood and the Lou Conte Dance Studio in the West Loop, and studied visual arts at Marwen before attending the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.
But if Shields, 33, had her way, she would have been able to develop her artistic skills by staying in the place she calls home — Austin.
“This is where my roots are, this is where I’m from,” Shields said. “My family is here. My memories are here. The West Side is connected to my purpose.”
That sense of place — and what was missing from it — is what led Shields to launch Deco Ave Creative Studio & Wellness House, a new venture she soft-launched April 7 after nearly a decade of working as a freelance creative.
“I’ve been freelancing for about 10 years,” she said. “I never incorporated. I was just getting experience — making money as an artist, working as a contractor.”
Over time, that work began to take shape around marketing and communications. Shields found herself designing brands, building campaigns and helping organizations tell their stories, often as a contractor for nonprofits and small businesses. At the same time, she was trying to hold onto her own artistic identity as a painter, dancer, and multidisciplinary creator.
At a certain point, though, the two began to clash.
“As a graphic designer, I started treating my marketing work like art,” she said. “And that created tension. Organizations had ideas, but I wanted to create my own.”
Deco Ave is her answer to that tension by allowing her to separate, but also honor, both sides of her work.
On one end is her personal practice, Briana Janeé Arts, where she explores her own creative voice. On the other is Deco Ave, where she collaborates with clients on branding, marketing strategy, graphic design, and content creation.
“I really love working with people and bringing their businesses to life,” she said. “Helping them develop their brand identity — that’s something I enjoy.”
Right now, Shields is the primary creative behind Deco Ave, bringing in collaborators for things like videography when needed. But she sees the studio as something that can grow beyond her.
“I need to have a team,” she said. “This is a bigger opportunity.”
Part of that opportunity, she said, lies in a gap she’s experienced firsthand.
“There are a lot of creatives on the West Side,” she said. “What there isn’t is necessarily a central space.”
She points to what she calls “pockets” of activity — dance studios, art spaces, and emerging hubs — but says there are still limited places where artists can develop professionally, especially in the space between school and a sustainable career.
“There’s a need for artists to learn how to freelance and understand the business of the arts,” she said. “There aren’t many places where you can get that kind of development.”
Deco Ave is also meant to meet another need, one she sees growing as more businesses take root on the West Side.
“Marketing is one of the foundations of a successful business,” she said. “Being able to have access to someone who understands what it takes to build something from the ground up matters.”
For now, Shields is building the studio the way she built her freelance career — through relationships.
“I just network,” she said. “I have a grass-
roots approach that’s about relationship-building, being a go-getter, thinking strategically with what I have.”
Shields said she ultimately wants to open a permanent physical space on the West Side where where creative services, programming, and community events can all happen under one roof.
“It would be somewhere we can do marketing services, but also host programming, maybe curate gallery shows, have events,” she said. “There might even be a retail component.”
Underlying that vision is a deeper philosophy about what art can do.
Shields said her work as an artist focuses on color theory and its relationship to wellness, particularly how color can shape emotion and influence how people feel in a space. That thinking carries into the bright, vivid look and feel of the Deco Ave brand aesthetic.
“The West Side needs color, liveliness, excitement,” she said. “But not chaos. Not negativity. Something that feeds your spirit.”
For Shields, art is more than expression; it’s a tool for healing, storytelling, and connection.
“Art is restorative. It captures history,” she said. “It can do so many things.”
For more information on Deco Ave Creative Studio & Wellness House, visit instagram.com/decoavecreativestudio
About ‘The Grind’
From barbers and bakers to tech founders and corner-store owners, The Grind explores how West Side entrepreneurs are redefining what it means to build something lasting. Each installment profiles local innovators whose businesses strengthen the fabric of Austin, North Lawndale, Garfield Park, and beyond — creating jobs, community spaces, and new possibilities. Through their stories, The Culture chronicles not only how people work, but why they keep grinding for the neighborhoods they call home.
If you know a business or social entrepreneur you want us to profile, send us a tip at ourculture.us/contact-us
Austin artist Briana Shields, 33, recently launched Deco Ave Creative Studio & Wellness House. | PROVIDED
Tradesman Who Went ‘From Handguns to Nail Guns’ Seeks to Teach Youth His Skills
West Side native and Maywood businessman
Leonard Alexander’s Fearless Dreamers workshop instructs young people on the tools of the construction trades
BY MICHAEL ROMAIN The Culture
On Saturday, April 11, Levi Clayton, 12, felt a rush of adrenaline—but it wasn’t from a video game. In fact, there were no screens involved at all. After taking instruction from his uncle, Leonard Alexander, Clayton recoiled slightly from the reverberation of a nail gun driving a metal spike cleanly into a slab of wood.
The moment was brief, but telling. In a room filled with the sounds of tools and conversation at the Homan Square Community Center, 3517 W. Arthington St. in North Lawndale, Clayton and about a dozen other young people were getting hands-on exposure to a trade that Alexander believes can change lives.
“I think doing this stuff will still help me out when I get older,” said Clayton, who added that he hopes to become a basketball player one day. “It’s good to know how to do it.”
Clayton was among roughly a dozen fourththrough eighth-graders who participated in the first monthly Fearless Dreamers Workshop, an initiative launched by Alexander, a veteran tradesman and general contractor now based in Maywood. The April 11 session marked the program’s first youth-focused workshop after years of working with older participants.
During the workshop, participants rotated through hands-on stations designed to introduce them to foundational construction and maintenance skills. Under supervision, the young people practiced hammering nails into wood, drilling and securing screws, and learning the safe handling of basic power tools.
At another station, they were introduced to entry-level electrical work, including how to install and replace light fixtures and bulbs, wiring basics, and how to identify common components used in residential electrical systems.
That philosophy underpins Fearless Dreamers, which Alexander said began about seven years ago as a way to address recidivism among adults and teens. Early workshops were held at Franklin Park with support from Ald. Michael Scott, who helped secure access to park district facilities.
“This is our first workshop with the youth, but we’ve been doing workshops with teens and adults for about seven years,” Alexander said. “This was an effort to address the recidivism rate.”
Now, he’s aiming to expand the program’s reach even further. Alexander said he is currently in discussions with officials at the Cook County Jail about potentially bringing the workshops inside the facility.
“We’re just waiting for them to get the last word,” he said.
ander said. “We began this endeavor with me just funding it out of pocket—paying stipends, buying tools, food, and everything.”
At one point, contracts with the Chicago Housing Authority helped support the program financially. But after those agreements ended, Alexander said he has spent the last two years searching for new funding sources to keep the initiative going.
Despite those hurdles, Saturday’s session offered a glimpse of what the program could become.
Terrance Alexander, 36, Leonard’s son and an apprentice working alongside him, said the workshop is as much about structure and opportunity as it is about skill-building.
The exercises emphasized both technique and safety, giving students a tactile understanding of how everyday systems in their homes function—while also building confidence in their ability to work with their hands.
Alexander’s mission is rooted in his own life story.
“I went from handguns to nail guns,” he said. “I grew up on the streets on the West Side. I had my hardships, and it was 1999 when the light bulb went off. That was the last year I was incarcerated.”
Throughout the 1990s, Alexander said, he cycled in and out of prison on gun charges, armed violence, and drug-related offenses. But a turning point at the end of the decade set him on a different path—one that ultimately led back to skills he first learned as a child.
“The work was embedded in me,” Alexander said. “My father was a union cement mason, so at 11 years old, I was pushing wheelbarrows full of concrete. He taught me how to identify tools. So I came up in the trades.”
Today, Alexander operates as a general contractor, doing work across west suburban communities including Bellwood, Maywood, and Melrose Park. But beyond the business, he sees his experience as a blueprint for intervention—particularly for young people growing up in environments similar to his own.
“I’m my own case study,” he said. “I know the trades can make a difference—not just for a paycheck, but for pride, purpose, and a new direction in life.”
For now, the focus is on building consistency and community interest. The workshops are planned as monthly sessions, though sustaining them has been a challenge.
“We’re looking for participants and facilities, because they can be pretty expensive,” Alex-
“He figured this was the best position to give back to the community,” Terrance Alexander said. “Most of the kids in here are part of our family, so we want to give them the knowledge first. At the end of the day, youth have nowhere to go. What else would they be doing on a Saturday? Now, they can get some knowledge.”
More information about the program is available at fearlessdreamers.org
Leonard Alexander, far left, teaches his nephew, 12-year-old Levi Clayton, how to properly use a nail gun during a Fearless Dreamers Workshop, an initiative launched by Alexander, a veteran tradesman and general contractor now based in Maywood. | MICHAEL ROMAIN
West Side Women of Wisdom Celebration Returns for 7th Year
Honoring
“A Legacy in Burgundy” gala on April 26 will spotlight 32 women whose work uplifts youth and families across the West Side
BY MICHAEL ROMAIN The Culture
Alongtime West Side leader is preparing to honor a new class of community builders whose impact is felt across generations.
Deborah Williams-Thurmond, founder of DW Provision Consulting Services and a board member of organizations including the Leaders Network, Austin Coming Together, and Project Exploration, will host the 7th Annual Recognition of West Side Women of Wisdom & Inspiration on April 26 at Drury Lane, 100 Drury Lane in west suburban Oak Brook Terrace.
The event, themed “A Legacy in Burgundy: Showcasing Power, Purpose and Passion,” will celebrate 32 women whose work has helped shape communities across the West Side and nearby west suburbs.
Williams-Thurmond, who is set to begin a new role as associate director at Great Lakes Credit Union on April 21, said the annual recognition grew out of a deeply personal mission.
“I started seven years ago trying to go back and recognize some of the women who have poured into my life — my mentors over the years, people I’ve worked closely with, people I’ve admired,” she said. “They’re passionate about what they do. Some are volunteers, some are doing their jobs, but going above and beyond.”
What began as a small recognition of about 20 women has since evolved into a marquee community event. By its fourth year, the initiative expanded to honor 100 women annually, earning its name: 100 Women of Wisdom & Inspiration. In total,
Community Leaders
nearly 150 women have been recognized since the program’s inception.
This year’s class is smaller by design, Williams-Thurmond said.
“These women represent resilience, brilliance, and heart,” she said. “Each one has faced challenges with courage and continues to uplift others through service, compassion, and leadership.”
Honorees span a wide range of professions and community roles, including educators, faith leaders, nonprofit executives, elected officials, and grassroots organizers.
Among those being recognized this year are Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson, noted for her leadership amid the federal escalation of force at the detention center in the western suburb.
Margaret Acree, the wife of Rev. Ira Acree, the pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church in Austin, where Williams-Thurmond attends, will also be honored.
“Margaret is a walking miracle, and so we’re honored to lift her,” Williams-Thurmond said.
Williams-Thurmond said she plans to honor Barbara Deer, the wife of the late Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer, for her major support and service over the years.
This year also marks a new chapter for Williams-Thurmond’s initiative. In February, she formally incorporated the 100+ Westside Women of Wisdom as a nonprofit. The organization will focus on advancing “health and wealth” initiatives, including physical and mental wellness, financial literacy, homeownership, and economic empowerment, while also expanding mentorship opportunities for young people.
DW Provision Consulting Services, the parent organization, provides support to community-based and faith-based groups across Chicago, specializing in nonprofit management, grant writing, board development, and civic engagement.
As preparations continue, Williams-Thurmond said sponsorship opportunities are still available and encouraged community members to support the event.
“Our goal is not just to celebrate these women,” she said, “but to build something lasting — a network of support, recognition, and resources that continues to pour back into our community.”
Tickets and additional information about the event are available online at zeffy.com/en-US/ ticketing/7th-annual-recognition-gala
2026 Honorees
Tonya Francisco, WGN news anchor
Veronica Harrison, publicist
Katrina Thompson, Broadview mayor
Kari Steele, president, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Ashlee Horton, executive assistant to Mayor
Brandon Johnson
Arewa Ekua, 15th Chicago Police District Council member
Marquetta Smith, Deputy District Director for Cong. Danny K. Davis
Mary Gardner, Chicago Board of Education member
Rev. Dr. Diana Body, pastor, Life of Peace International Ministries Inc.
Pastor Lisa NewMan, pastor, Walking in the Shekinah Glory Ministry
Vanessa Brown-Dukes, singer/founding member of the Brown Sisters of Chicago
Kathy Lockett, host of the Kathy Lockett Radio Show on AM 1390
Krystal Kyles, executive director of HOPE Excel
Reaching the World Academy
Margaret Acree, first lady of St. John Bible Church in Austin
Tasha Wilkerson, first lady and co-owner of Urban Essentials Cafe
Dr. Mekita Whitfield, first lady of New Life Holiness Church
Barbara Meschino, Malcolm X College West Campus dean
Sgt. Danielle Brown, 11th District, Chicago Police Department
Charlotte Myers, director of Graduate Support and Family Engagement, Catalyst Schools
Alexis Strong, mentor at Chicago LAMP, community-engaged recruitment specialist at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
Pamela Price, director, Pamela Price, Parent University & Engagement Center at Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School
Barbara Deer, executive director, Juneteenth Illinois
Jai Jones, Chicago Fund project manager, United Way of Metro Chicago
Jackie Reed, founder of Westside Health Authority
Shevon Johnson, realtor
Michelle Jefferson, outreach coordinator, Black Men United
Fanya Berry, executive director of West Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force
Dionne Harris, executive administrator, Black Men United
Catherine Jones, community representative, Frederick Douglass Academy High School’s Local School Council (LSC)
Diane Graham, president, Lotus Neighbors for Action block club
Rosie Dawson, property director, Westside Health Authority
Shantel Franklin, 8th District State Representative-elect
Deborah Williams | PROVIDED
Restoration Of Sears Sunken Garden To Begin After Years Of Planning
The garden, once part of Sears, Roebuck and Co.’s sprawling West Side campus, will be closed for the duration of the work. The first step will be repairing the historical pergola.
By MICHAEL LIPTROT
Block Club Chicago
Adestination green space on the West Side will soon return to its former glory, with restoration work scheduled to start on April 17, Friends of the Sears Sunken Garden announced last week.
Rehabilitation work on the Sears Sunken Garden, 3312 W. Arthington St. in North Lawndale, will consist of restoring the pergola, making the area ADA-accessible, and adding new lighting. The pergola work will last through mid-July, when restoration of the garden will begin, according to the community group leading the effort.
The garden will be closed to the public during the duration of the project.
The restoration project, five years in the making, was slated to break ground in October, but obtaining city permits and holding additional meetings with community stakeholders led to the delay, according to Friends of the Sears Sunken Garden.
A permit was issued Dec. 30, city records show. The organization has met with Ald. Monique Scott (24th), County Commissioner Michael Scott, the Foundation for Homan Square, and the office of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.
“This moment reflects the power of community — neighbors, partners, and leaders coming together with a shared vision,” Reshorna Fitzpatrick, board chair of the Friends of Sears Sunken Garden and executive pastor of Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, said in a statement. “The Sears Sunken Garden will become a beauti-
ful, welcoming space that serves residents and visitors for generations to come.”
The garden opened in 1907 and was created by Sears, Roebuck and Co. as a leisure space for employees who worked at the 40-acre industrial West Side complex that served as the retail giant’s headquarters.
After Sears moved Downtown in the ’70s, the garden’s condition declined.
Restoring the garden was explored in 2021 by the GROWSS Committee, a neighborhood group dedicated to urban agriculture and beautification that’s affiliated with the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council.
The project is part of fulfilling the group’s 2018 Quality of Life Plan.
In 2023, North Lawndale residents began planting new plots for the garden, taking the first steps toward reviving the area.
The full restoration includes a newly designed garden space by world-renowned garden designer Piet Oudolf, who designed the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park, and de-
signer Roy Diblik.
The project also includes the installation of stormwater runoff storage and an irrigation system, as well as adding seating, increasing accessibility and new lighting. It is expected to take 18 months, according to the Trust for Public Land.
The total project is expected to cost about $5 million, including $700,000 for the pergola rehabilitation, according to the Trust for Public Land. Currently, the project has $1.35 million in funding, and fundraising is con-
tinuing. This funding includes a $1 million donation from the Driehaus Foundation. Beyond the Driehaus Foundation, the restoration project has received support from the Trust for Public Land, The Builder’s Initiative, and BMO Bank.
Construction work will be confined to 7 a.m.-3 p.m., with noise-generating work beginning at 8 a.m., according to Friends of the Sears Sunken Garden. For more information, visit the Sears Sunken Garden website at searssunkengarden.org.
North Lawndale’s Sears Sunken Garden at 3330 W. Arthington St. is beginning construction this Friday for renovations that are expected to last through mid-July, according to the community group leading the effort, Friends of the Sears Sunken Garden. | CREDIT: TERRA ENGINEERING LTD
Renderings of renovations to the Sears Sunken Garden in North Lawndale at 3330 W. Arthington St. |
CREDIT: TERRA ENGINEERING LTD
The Sears Sunken Garden in North Lawndale at 3330 W. Arthington St, photographed from the Sears, Roebuck and Company Complex tower on Oct. 16, 2025. | MICHAEL LIPTROT/BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
Anjanette Young, Victim Of Botched Police Raid, Nominated To Chicago Police Oversight Board
Young, who has advocated for police raid reforms, will be appointed to the Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability pending City Council approval
By MICHAEL LIPTROT Block Club Chicago
The Chicago woman who became a police reform advocate after being the subject of a botched law enforcement raid is now in line to join a city police oversight board.
Anjanette Young was nominated to join the Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability earlier this month by Mayor Brandon Johnson. Young was a victim of a 2019 botched police raid on the Near West Side that resulted in widespread City Hall fallout and led Young to become a vocal advocate for other victims of police abuses as well as a champion of police raid policy reform.
“Young’s nomination helps ensure that police oversight efforts are grounded in community voice, lived experience, and a shared commitment to transparency, accountability, and equity,” Johnson said in a statement announcing the nominations of Young and others. The nomination must be approved by the City Council.
Young said she was excited to join the board while also recognizing there are critics of her nomination. She said she has heard critiques from some who think she may be biased or anti-police due to her advocacy work, but Young said that could not be further from the truth
“It’s disheartening because anyone who has followed me from 2019, when it happened, up until this very point [knows] I’ve never said anything against the police,” Young told Block Club. “I’ve only highlighted how we need to do better, so that we have good policing and that we get rid of bad actors.”
On Feb. 21, 2019, Young was at home after working her job as a social worker when 12 Chicago police officers burst in with guns drawn. They were serving a search warrant that was later determined to have been issued on faulty police intelligence.
The group of officers came through Young’s door using a battering ram seconds before handcuffing Young, who was undressed. She was left to stand naked in front of the officers, all of whom were men.
Controversy over the raid led to an apology from then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the resignation of the city’s top lawyer, the fir-
ing of the sergeant who oversaw the raid, and Young receiving a $2.9 million settlement from the city.
In February, Young released her book, “Past The Pain,” where she recalls the humiliating experience of being “baptized by fire” into a life of advocacy.
Young became the public face of efforts by some City Council members to reform how police conduct no-knock searches. The legislation stalled, but last week Young, accompanied by State Rep. Kam Buckner, presented a bill in Springfield called the Anjanette Young Act, which would create a new state law banning no-knock warrants and pointing guns at children during raids, as reported by WTTW.
Since the raid, Young has helped fellow victims of police misconduct at the hands of Chicago police. That has included Peter Mendez, who received a $2.5 million settlement from a 2017 botched raid in McKinley Park, and the family of Ebony Tate and Cynthia Eason, who received a $5.7 million settlement from a 2018 botched raid in Back of The Yards.
Young said that the nomination to the oversight commission means she would have a larger platform to “attempt to impact change as it relates to the way the Chicago Police
Department engages with the community.”
“For me to have an opportunity to be on this commission, to then sit with other people in the community who are concerned about how police engage with our community, that is what I’m hoping to do,” Young said.
Young said that her ongoing advocacy against no-knock warrants will not spill over into her work on the commission or be a priority in this role, as she said those policies don’t fall directly within the responsibilities of the commission.
The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability is a civilian body formed in 2021 with the task of overseeing Chicago police, the police board, and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the city’s police watchdog agency. The seven-person commission works to advance systemic reform and strengthen police accountability, according to the commission’s website.
Angelique Guzman, a senior and class vice president at Mather High School in West Ridge, was nominated alongside Young. She is also president of the North River Commission’s Youth Council and an intern in the office of Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th).
Anjanette Young speaks as Clayton Harris III, Cook County States Attorney candidate, holds a press conference calling out his competitor Eileen O’Neill Burke at the Federal Plaza on March 4, 2024. | COLIN BOYLE/BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
City Awards $4,500 Grants To Community Groups, Food Pantries Amid SNAP Cuts
This funding is the latest part of Chicago’s efforts to counter cuts to food assistance by the Trump administration.
BY MICHAEL LIPTROT Block Club Chicago
The city is providing grants of $4,500 to dozens of local groups so they can respond to a growing need for food assistance amid the Trump administration’s cuts to SNAP.
Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the program on April 9, saying the city has provided the grants to 67 groups. The funding is meant to help the groups scale up their
operations and provide for food-insecure people in Chicago.
“We are not just investing in services that you provide, but the leadership that you provide and the trust that you have built with residents,” Johnson told the grantees at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd. on the Near West Side. “You embody the spirit of our collective responsibility — Chicagoans showing up for one another, not not as charity, but as a shared goal for our collective humanity and justice. And you remind us the path to a more equitable city is built together.”
President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill last fall changed SNAP eligibility requirements and left many low-income families without food assistance, according to The Hill. In the wake of the changes, Chicago
food assistance programs have seen record-breaking demand. Johnson responded in November with an executive order redirecting city funds toward food banks and other organizations fighting food insecurity.
Life Is Work Resources Center in Austin — a trans-led organization that educates, empowers, and organizes trans and other queer people — received one of the microgrants.
Group leaders said they are using the funds to expand their food pantry, as they’re giving out food supply bags, delivering supplies to homes, and providing hot meals daily.
“We were able to do a rapid response with tailoring additional inventory for food pantry services, and then we were also able to expand volunteerism to meet those requirements,” said Maria’h Foster, deputy director of Life Is Work.
Chicago Turns All Public School IDs Into Library Cards To Boost Student Access
Chicago Public Library and CPS announced the expansion of The 81 Club, building
on a pilot launched in 2022 to give students access to the library system’s vast collection and databases
BY MICHAEL LIPTROT Block Club Chicago
All Chicago Public Schools students now have access to nearly everything the city’s libraries have to offer, including physical items like books as well as extensive digital resources.
The Chicago Public Library and CPS announced earlier this month the expansion of The 81 Club, a program that allows school identification cards to double as library cards. Named after the city’s 81 library locations, the program builds on a 2022 pilot and looks to remove any barriers to accessing the library system’s 6 million-item collection as well as its online databases and free academic support, according to the city.
“With this expansion, every student — no
matter their ZIP code, school enrollment or their age, will have access to library cards and programs and resources that make their lives more enriched,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said at an event announcing the expansion on April 7 inside the Austin Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 5615 W. Race Ave. in Austin.
The 81 Club works through an agreement between CPS and public libraries to share student data, according to the city. This interagency communication removes the need for an application, paperwork, or any additional steps for students to gain a library card. All a student needs is their student ID or student ID number in order to check out books or gain access to other resources.
Chicago Public Library officials said the initiative is aiming to promote resources for
young people facing the greatest barriers to education, such as foster youth, unhoused students, and undocumented students.
The program allows access to the library system without the need for students to provide additional documentation.
The program also expands educators’ access to public library resources. CPS teachers can access digital resources such as research databases, instructional tools, and the educational platform Sora. Not to be confused with the OpenAI video generator of the same name, Sora provides access to millions of eBooks, audiobooks, and classroom learning materials.
The public libraries will also partner with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to release limited edition cards for The 81 Club members that will feature
|
student-made artworks. The department’s acting commissioner, Kenya Merritt, recalled growing up in the Austin area and visiting the library regularly, and said the program is another step towards equity for local kids.
“This partnership is what it looks like in action when young people have access, not just to books, but to stories, art, and creative expression. It opens doors for them. It helps them to imagine what’s possible for themselves … it helps students envision their future that’s full of opportunity,” Merritt said. “What’s really powerful about this collaboration is that it’s going to reach every single CPS student. That’s how we make equity real.”
The library access pilot program launched in 2022, leading to a 63 percent increase in library access among economically disadvantaged students and 81 percent among English language learners, according to local policy research institute Chapin Hall.
City officials said in the pilot project area of Englewood, West Englewood, Rogers Park, and New City, The 81 Club members now exceed the number of traditional library card-holders.
For more information, visit the program’s website at chipublib.org/the-81-club
Thursday Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a microgrant program awarding $4,500 grants to 67 community-based organizations, totalling more than a $300,000 investment.
