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COVID19 DEATHS Taking precautions

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residents have asthma, compared to 10percent citywide; and 39 percent of Austin residents have hypertension, compared to 28percent of Chicagoans who have it.

“Our Austin community is greatly affected,” Seo said.

Loretto Hospital President and CEO George N. Miller agreed.

“Austin has been hit very, very hard, and we’ve been hit very, very hard,” he said.

He thanked the Austin community for donating personal protective equipment to hospital workers and restaurants for providing meals to the healthcare workers who are “very busy” both in the emergency room as well as the COVID-19 unit, Miller said.

He announced Loretto has been designated a state testing site, and starting Monday would be offering tests from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the hospital, 645 S. Central Ave., either walk-up or drive-thru. The tests are free, and no insurance is required.

PCC Community Wellness Center also is doing drive-thru testing, though an appointment must be made in advance by calling (773) 295-3347; tests will be conducted from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The testing site is located in the parking lot next to the PCC Austin Farm at 330 N. Lotus St. (across from PCC Austin Family Health Center).

State Rep. La Shawn Ford late last week announced the former Walgreens at 1606 N. Mobile Ave. is another testing site, operating from 9 a.m.t o 4 p.m. Residents must register in advance, and it’s a drive-thru site only. For more information, click here.

Dr. Seo and Dr. Sarah Tarnowsky, who works at PCC, both stressed that only certain individuals should be tested, and those not experiencing any symptoms definitely should not seek a test.

Seo said she worries people who test negative for the coronavirus won’t then take the necessary precautions, like continuing to stay at home and maintaining social distancing if they do go out.

“There isn’t an unlimited amount of testing … so we need testing to be available for our community members who are over 60 or have underlying health conditions.”

The most important steps each of us can take, Seo said, are to stay home and if you must leave your home, stay at least 6 feet away from others at all times. Also, make sure to frequently wash your hands so the virus doesn’t get into your eyes, nose or mouth.

When outside your home, facial protection should be worn, Dr. Seo said, though she noted cloth masks are helpful, but not 100 percent effective. The purpose of the mask is not to protect you but everyone else; and surgical and N95 masks should be reserved for health personnel and first responders.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) said while he sees many people wearing masks, not everyone is wearing them correctly ; masks need to cover both a person’s mouth and nose.

Residents are welcome to join

Chicago Health

Commissioner

Dr. Allison

Arwady each week day at 11 a.m. via the city’s Facebook page to ask questions about the coronavirus. The city also updates the number of cases and deaths in Chicago; that data and other information can be found here.

Residents can call the city’s coronavirus hotline at (312) 746-4835 or email coronavirus@cityofchicago.org. CONTACT: austintalks.org@gmail.com

POLICE CHIEF Rough welcome

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threatened him and his friend.

“Last Tuesday, I was going to my friend’s house, because I haven’t seen him in a while and I was going to the store,” Moore said. “When I came outside, police was harassing us, saying, ‘Y’all need to get in the house,

J.B. Pritzker’s stay-home order, between late March and early April, about 700 happened on the West Side, the Tribune reported. Five hundred of those incidents happened in the 11th District while the 10th and 15th districts each reported 100 incidents.

Chicago Police spokesperson Luis Agostini told the Tribune that “dispersal orders have proven to serve as an effective enforcement tool to ensure compliance with the [public health order], without having to resort to citations or arrests unless absolutely necessary.”

During a teleconference held April 9 and organized by Communities United and Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE), two social justice advocacy organizations, Degalo Moore, of Austin, said that a week earlier, an officer you all need to be inside, and if you aren’t in house by 5:00 p.m., you’d be arrested.’”

Myaia Coleman, of North Lawndale, said her brother had a similar experience.

“When it comes to the police and COVID-19, I believe a lot of police officers are abusing their powers,” said Coleman. “They’re looking at us like walking disease and I think that’s unfair.”

Promises of more outreach

During the April 20 public safety committee meeting, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Supt. Brown said that he would conduct more community outreach and improve relations between the police and the community.

A Dallas native, Brown joined the city’s police department in 1983. When he became police chief in 2010, he pushed to improve the relationships between police and residents, especially those in DAVID BROWN

predominantly minority communities. Brown encouraged officers to use less force and supported the use of body cameras to improve transparency.

According to a 2016 report by the New York Times, Brown’s tenure was still marked by complaints from black residents of racial profiling. Brown garnered national attention on July 7, 2016, when five Dallas Police officers were fatally shot and nine injured by a lone gunman. Brown retired in October of that year.

As part of the confirmation process, superintendent candidates have to clear the Committee on Public Safety, which is chaired by Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), a former police officer. During the April 20 committee meeting, Taliaferro asked Brown what he would do differently about the fact that the department still lags in recruiting African-American officers.

Brown replied that his experience in Dallas taught him that the only way to improve minority hiring was having recruiters who specialize in minority hiring.

“I think you need people selected to understand these groups, what attracts them and having that face time with people, particularity in college and university settings,” he said. “I was surprised you didn’t have recruiting teams here targeting your specific demographics.”

Ald. Michael Scott (24th) asked what Brown could do to improve safety and make people living in neighborhoods like North Lawndale feel safe. Brown responded that the statistics don’t mean much if people don’t feel safe and that the key is positive engagement with residents and businesses.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) said that he would be working with Brown to reduce loitering and prostitution, saying that people should feel as comfortable in Garfield Park as they do in Lincoln Park. Brown said that he believed that there was a way to address those issues without hurting people’s constitutional rights and that it requires creativity and a willingness to try different approaches.

South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) asked how Brown thought civilian oversight would benefi t police. Brown responded that he believes that “local democracy and debate” makes a city strong, but he declined to give his position on what a civilian oversight council should look like.

“I have a long track record of calling it like I see it and I won’t hesitate to follow the same approach in the City of Chicago,” Brown said. “There must be a real partnership with the community. And civilian oversight can serve as a mechanism to build [that partnership]. So I’m a full supporter of civilian oversight and I’ll be a full supporter of what the mayor and the City Council negotiate.”

Sawyer also asked how he would approach negotiating the new contract with the Fraternity Order of Police.

“I’m going to be a strong advocate for cooler heads prevailing in the way we negotiate on both sides,” Brown said.

Brown also touted a program that kept juveniles accused of nonviolent crimes from going to jail by having them participate in some form of mental health treatment and/ or counseling programs.

“The more you can get our young people back on the right path, the better and safer you are,” he said. “At the same time, we need to accept the small subset of young people who are violent and would hurt us, and they need to be incarcerated.” CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com