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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 32 No. 8
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Developer chosen for North Ave. Sears site,
February 21, 2018
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austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
@AustinWeeklyChi
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Meett P M Paull JJoseph ph Adams III, page 4
CPS sells Key to private school
The shuttered school went for $175K to The Field School By ANALISA TROFIMUK AustinTalks
Some local residents are complaining that CPS kept them out of the loop about the recent sale of former Francis Scott Key Elementary to a private, Christian school. It has been vacant since CPS shuttered it and three other Austin schools in 2013. The Chicago Board of Education approved the $175,000 sale Jan. 24th to The Field School, now operating at 931 Lake St. in Oak Park. The Field School plans to use the space at 517 N. Parkside as a K-8 school to educate about 300 diverse students, school head Jeremy Mann said. Dwayne Truss, a longtime Austin resident and community organizer, was upset to learn about the sale of the building, saying decisions about which schools West Side children attend should involve engagement from active members of community groups. “What’s so hard about having a conversation?” Truss asked. The lack of communication between CPS and residents about the sale left See KEY SOLD on page 5
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
GOOD SAMARITAN: John Netherly demonstrates how he re-purposes windbreakers from trash bags outside of the Forest Park Transit Station.
A one-man movement to help the homeless John Netherly aims to help those who prefer to live on the streets
By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter
They found Miss Bernice dead in a doorway. Forest Park resident John Netherly said he knew that would happen. He had been pleading with police for months to take Miss Bernice to a hospital or mental health facility, telling officers the woman was not mentally capable of making decisions in her best interest. “There’s nothing we can do,” Netherly
heard in return. The homeless woman then passed alone of a drug overdose on Jan. 24, after refusing Netherly’s offer to connect her with a social service, temporary housing, mental health or other agency. Netherly is the founder of the Bedrock Movement, a nonprofit that serves those like Miss Bernice who choose to sleep on the street instead of in a shelter. A 2016 survey by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that, of the 952 people researchers counted as being homeless in
the Chicago suburbs in 2016, 110 were unsheltered. In the city, 1,243 of the 5,889 were sleeping outside. The Northern Illinois Chapter of the American Red Cross has recently recognized Netherly’s work with the homeless, and nominated him to receive a community service award at its annual Heroes Breakfast in May. Netherly has spent his life serving the homeless and mentally ill. His father, who
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com
See JOHN NETHERLY on page 9