FREE
AUSTINWEEKLY news ■
Vol. 34 No. 11
■
State’s Attorney candidates make cases for election,
March 11, 2020
■
austinweeklynews.com
■
Also serving Garfield Park
@AustinWeeklyChi
PAGE 11
@AustinWeeklyNews
SSee Ci City B Bureau’s’ election guide, PAGE 5
Financial struggles pervade West Side
New United Way report shows 63% of Austin households struggling financially By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Do you know ALICE? If you’re employed, but still don’t make enough for your basic needs and don’t own many assets, you know ALICE even if you don’t think you do. The acronym stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed and it’s the center of a new report released last week by United Way. Technically, ALICE households are those “with income above the Federal Poverty Level but below the basic cost of living.” The Federal Poverty Level in Illinois is $24,600 for a family of four and $12,060 for a single adult. The poverty level is far below what the United Way calls the bare-minimum Household Survival Budget, which defines who meets the ALICE threshold. The Household Survival Budget is what individuals and families need to meet basic costs of living. “To clarify just how many households are struggling in Illinois, this Report measures what it actually costs to live in each county in the state; it calculates how many households have income below that level; and it offers an enhanced set of tools to describe the impact of financial hardship on them and on their communities,” the report’s authors wrote. See ALICE on page 7
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
IS AMAZON COMING TO GALEWOOD?: Workers disassemble the old Sears building on the northeast Harlem and North avenues in Galewood. There has been unconfirmed speculation that an Amazon grocery store could be headed to the location. Read more on page 3.
West Side seniors strut the runway
Seniors make cultural statement during North Lawndale show celebrating African fashion By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago
February may be over, but Black History Month lives on for many of the more seasoned residents of North Lawndale. In celebration of the rich African culture that connects most of the people of North Lawndale as descendants of slaves, seniors in the neighborhood put on a fashion show and walked the runway wearing traditional West African clothing.
The show was hosted by the Senior Day Services program of Lawndale Christian Health Center, 3745 W. Ogden Ave. Seniors and nursing staff came decked out in their dashikis and rocking their best kente cloths for the Honoring Our Heritage Fashion Show. At the show, traditional fashion was a medium for diving into the cultural histories that many families had forgotten after generations of slavery, sharecropping, Jim Crow and assimilation. “I really think that it’s a beautiful thing that the culture of the African program
can be carried on,” said Oralee Downing, a senior who walked in the show. “And it lets the young people coming after us to know what it’s about. A lot of young people don’t know anything about Black history. … that’s how they lose their culture.” Staff member RaQuira Welch spoke at the fashion show to highlight the unique cultural moment in the United States where for the first time, Black people’s traditional clothing and hairstyles are being accepted into the mainstream
State Farm Mutual Automobile • Insurance Company State Farm Indemnity Company • Bloomington, IL • statefarm.com® Larry and his staff are licensed and together have over 75 years of State Farm experience.
See FASHION SHOW on page 6
Larry Williams,Agent 5932 W. Lake Street Chicago, 60644 (773) 379-9010 larry.williams.b0bk@statefarm.com