Austin Weekly News 031820

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West Side women launch ‘Stop Taking Our Girls’ campaign,

Vol. 34 No. 12

March 18, 2020

austinweeklynews.com

Also serving Garfield Park

@AustinWeeklyChi

Amara Enyla speaks on lawsuit, wsuit, PAGE GE 8

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@AustinWeeklyNews

Cinespace worker tests positive for coronavirus

North Lawndale studio disinfects to protect film crews By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

A film crew member working on a TV show filming at Cinespace Film Studios on the West Side has tested positive for coronavirus, public health officials confirmed. The worker was working on the set of the upcoming FOX show “NeXt,” which wrapped production of its first season last week at the studios, 2621 W. 15th Place. Despite fear of exposure to the highly contagious virus, Cinespace officials said the film studio will remain open and operational. They are disinfecting production offices and sound stages in wake of the news, they said. “FOX and the other tenants at our facility have confirmed that they took immediate action and began disinfecting their production offices and stages. In addition to our tenant’s efforts, last night, we brought in added cleaning crews to deep clean all common areas,” the statement said. Cinespace Chicago is the center of Chicago’s film industry where several other shows, including “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Chicago Med,” and “Empire” are filmed. Officials at the Chicago Department of Public Health are working with Cinespace shows to identify any individuals who came into contact with the sick employee. Some tenants renting sound stages have sent their crew members home for now. DePaul See CINESPACE on page 11

ALEX ROGALS

OUT EARLY: Chicago Public Schools students walk on Harrison Street in Austin, near George Leland Elementary School, last week. On March 13, Gov. JB Pritzker announced that he was closing schools statewide due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Austin, residents adjust to COVID-19 ‘Got to be careful, got to be prayerful,’ resident says

By AUSTIN WEEKLY NEWS STAFF On Sunday afternoon, Leamington Foods, 5467 W. Madison St. in Austin, was bustling with shoppers stocking up on everything from bottled water to toilet paper in preparation for long stays at home to avoid spreading or catching coronavirus, or COVID-19. “It’s a panic,” said Gus Cassacio, the store’s manager. “People are scared. Everybody is concerned. I’ve never seen anything like this in my 55 years in the

business. I’ve been here since we opened this store in 1994.” “People are adjusting to it,” said former 29th Ward alderman Isaac “Ike” Carothers. “As long as Austin’s existed, people here have overcome challenges. For the first few days, it was hard to get paper towels and tissue. Now, they’re getting that. We’re getting used to not socializing. People are still reaching out to shake hands.” Government authorities and public health officials have endorsed social distancing in order to mitigate the spread

of coronavirus, or COVID-19. The virus, which was traced to Wuhan, China in December, leads to respiratory infection and is 10 times more lethal than the flu, according to health experts. As of March 15, there were 93 cases of the virus reported in Illinois. The virus has prompted President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to close schools, restaurants and bars for the next few weeks. Last week, the governor also

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 COVID-19 on page 3

Larry Williams,Agent 5932 W. Lake Street Chicago, 60644 (773) 379-9010 larry.williams.b0bk@statefarm.com


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