Austin Weekly News_051320

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Vol. 34 No. 20

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Austin teacher chosen for national fellowship,

May 13, 2020

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Also serving Garfield Park

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Celebrating lb healthcare workers, PAGE 3

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Commissioner blasts nursing home operators Brandon Johnson calls state to toughen up regulation of facilities, where COVID-19 is rampant

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

First District Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson stood outside of Westchester Health and Rehabilitation, 2901 S. Wolf Rd. in Westchester, on May 6 to call for the state to “reimagine” how it handles for-profit nursing home facilities, where reports of lax regulation and poor working conditions are making already vulnerable senior citizens even more vulnerable to COVID-19.

As of May 1, Westchester Health and Rehabilitation reported 47 cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths related to the disease, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

An analysis of IDPH health data by WBEZ shows that the hazards are spread across nursing homes throughout the state. According to WBEZ’s analysis, 44 percent of the COVID-19 deaths in Illinois were tied to nursing homes.

On May 1, WBEZ reported, IDPH data showed that “1,082 coronavirus deaths were tied to long-term-care facilities and assisted living establishments — 73% more than the 625 reported a week earlier and nearly four times the 286 reported on April 17.”

Loretta Brady, a resident of Chicago’s Austin community and one of Johnson’s constituents, said that her mother, 83-year-old Lottie Smith, is a resident at the Westchester facility. Brady said that her mother was diagnosed with COVID-19 in See BRANDON JOHNSON on page 2

Madison Hopkins/BGA

DESPERATE TIMES: David Galorath, 41, visits the Community Outreach Intervention Projects location in Austin. Galorath initially tried to sharpen his own needles as needle exchange facilities closed due to staff shortages from the coronavirus pandemic.

Needle exchange programs cutting back Programs started in 1980s to slow HIV epidemic now scaling back due to COVID-19

By CASEY TONER Better Government Association

The COVID-19 lockdown has reminded David Galorath how painful it can be to

inject heroin with a dull needle.

“It sucks,” he said. “That hurts. It hurts your body.”

So in early April — with his supply of fresh syringes for his heroin use dwindling as needle exchange sites closed due to staff shortages — he attempted a dangerous do-it-yourself way to sharpen his old ones at home.

“A buddy of mine said, ‘You can do it on a nail file, one of those big ones,’” said the 41-year-old former waiter who said he perfected the technique through trial and

error. “I started sharpening one, and that thing was like sandpaper.”

“It was all because the place closed,” Galorath said of the state-funded exchange site.

Government-funded needle exchange programs — such as the Community Outreach Intervention Projects’ storefront that serves Galorath — have cut services and closed exchange sites due to staff shortages and safety concerns as

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Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

Nursing home strikes averted after workers reach deal

Employees, including at three facilities in Austin, win $15 minimum wage, hazard pay, other concessions

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Roughly 6,000 unionized frontline workers at 64 nursing home facilities in the Chicago area — including Austin Oasis, at 901 S. Austin Blvd.; Symphony of Chicago West, at 5130 W. Jackson Blvd.; and Mayfield Health Center, at 5905 W. Washington Blvd. — have reached a deal with the owners of those facilities, averting a strike that was planned

BRANDON JOHNSON Speaking out from page 1 late March, but that the nursing home didn’t notify her until days later.

“My mother had to be rushed to Loyola with a heart rate of 130 … and had to be on a ventilator,” Brady said during Wednesday’s press conference. “Nobody [from the nursing home] said anything. She had to stay in the hospital for 10 days fighting for her life. To date, nobody has told me how she contracted the virus.”

Brady said that since contracting COVID-19 in March, her mother has tested positive for the virus again. And the family, she said, is still in the dark.

“Nobody is telling us anything,” Brady said. “We’re asking for help!”

Glenda Harris said that her mother, Carrie Claybon, 83, was also a resident at the Westchester facility. Harris said that she attempted to take her mother out of the facility even before the COVID-19 crisis hit, but officials at the facility wouldn’t allow it.

Claybon died from COVID-19 on March 30.

“Now, my mom is deceased and now all I got is a memory — all because these people wouldn’t cooperate with me,” Harris said.

“They didn’t have to take care of her. I was willing to take care of her myself.”

Harris and Brady both complained about the alleged treatment their parents received at the Westchester facility — from a lack of communication about their parents’ conditions from nursing home staff to outright neglect.

“Plenty of times my mom would come back at night time, from being at dialysis four and five hours, sometimes the transportation would be late picking her up,” Harris said.

“When she would get [back to the nursing home], the bed wouldn’t be made. We’d have

fully paid sick days for COVID-19 testing, illness or quarantine,” and “provisions ensuring that employees are not required to work without adequate” personal protective equipment.

On April 27, the workers delivered strike notices to roughly 40 Chicago area facilities, including Oak Park Oasis and Berkeley Nursing & Rehab Care, after they voted overwhelmingly for a strike authorization, said Greg Kelley, he president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois, during a videoconference on April 29.

In a few days, workers at around 20 more nursing homes had threatened to join the demonstration.

“All of the major contract gains will help safeguard the health and safety of workers and the residents for which they care -- at a time when both are vulnerable to the risks

associated with COVID-19,” SEIU officials said in the statement.

“While residents are at increased risk of the virus due to age and compromised health, workers face increased negative impacts from coronavirus due to their history of poverty wages, lack of paid time off and the underlying health conditions that often accompany poverty. Additionally, a majority of workers are African-American, and a disproportionate number of AfricanAmerican lives have been claimed by COVID-19.”

In its statement, the SEIU also explained that the tentative agreement “was overwhelmingly supported by members of the bargaining committee, but must be ratified by the larger group of members who will be impacted by its terms.”

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

to get someone to make the bed,” she said. “I have pictures of when my mom would be at dialysis, we’d look at her hand and she’d have poop on her hand because they didn’t clean her and she’d scratch herself. I kept complaining about this.”

A representative from the MICHAEL ROMAIN Westchester TOUGHEN UP! : Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson outside of facility could not be reached Westchester Health and Rehabilitation in Westchester on Wednesday. for comment state lawmakers approved in 2019, as part of on May 7, but in a statement sent to the Gov. Pritzker’s most recent budget.

Chicago Tribune, Westchester Health According to a report by Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center spokeswoman News, $70 million of that $240 million funding Annaliese Impink outlined precautions the facility has taken since the COVID-19 boost is associated with staffing mandates.

Nursing home operators that fail to meet pandemic.

“We have implemented every guideline, required minimum staffing levels won’t get measure, and protocol provided by the the increased Medicaid reimbursement. The health authorities,” Impink explained. money, however, still hasn’t been doled out.

According to its profile available at “We are working closely with the health Medicare.gov, Westchester Health and authorities to follow their guidance and will continue to be transparent … while Rehabilitation has an overall rating of one maintaining the dignity and privacy of each star out of a possible five, which indicates that it performs “much below average” of our residents.”

During the May 6 press conference, in the areas of health inspections, quality Commissioner Johnson, said that the measures and staffing.

Late last month, Pritzker ordered all state “has to step up its supervision and oversight,” before calling for the Gov. J.B. nursing homes to test residents and staff.

Pritzker to order an infectious disease And the governor has said in the past that survey at the Westchester facility. Johnson nursing home safety is a priority for his said that he’s also contacted Attorney administration and has called for more General Kwame Raoul’s office about the support and staffing at the facilities. The governor did not directly address the matter.

Johnson pointed out that there’s already Medicaid reimbursement funding during $240 million in state funding allocated for his daily press briefing on May 6.

Johnson said that the state should use its nursing home operators in the form of a Medicaid reimbursement increase that budgetary and regulatory authority over

for-profit nursing home and require them to provide more personal protective equipment to employees, to increase workers’ wages, to require proper certification among employees, and to provide hazard pay for frontline nursing home workers, among other preconditions for those nursing homes securing additional state aid.

The commissioner said that the state should also consider fining, or even placing into receivership, those nursing homes that fail to meet basic requirements.

Johnson also echoed a demand expressed earlier this week by American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, a grassroots disability rights organization.

“The top demand is the call for an executive order from the Governor to immediately rescue residents by moving them from nursing facilities into non-institutional, lower-risk settings and to reduce facility occupancy to no more than one resident per room,” the organization explained in a statement.

“If we can build facilities at a moment’s notice in the case of an enormous outbreak, like McCormick Place, why can’t we reimagine how we handle [nursing home] facilities struck by this virus?” said Johnson, who also lent his support to frontline nursing home workers, such as receptionists, cooks and certified nursing assistants, at least 60 Chicago area nursing homes who threatened to go on strike on May 8 before reaching a contract agreement with owners.

“The families who lost loved ones, we’re not going to get them back. But can we at least attempt to stop other families from losing loved ones? That’s what our politics should be about in this moment. If we can find ways to bail out corporations, if we can find dollars to give tax breaks to the wealthiest people in the country, we can’t find an opportunity to raise wages to $15 an hour? We can’t provide hazard pay?”

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

for May 8.

On May 7, SEIU Healthcare, the union representing the workers, released a statement that it had reached a two-year contract agreement with the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities, the body representing the owners in contract negotiations.

The agreement will touch more than 10,000 frontline union employees, including receptionists, cooks and certified nursing assistants, at more than 100 nursing homes, the SEIU stated.

In its statement, the SEIU said that the workers “won significant contract gains,” including “higher baseline wages bringing all workers above $15 an hour and establishing greater parity in wages across geographic areas,” hazard pay for all workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, “additional

Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

SHOWING THANKS: On May 7, in honor of National Nurses’ Week, the Chicago Police Department’s 10th District officers honored nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in North Lawndale with a special police procession. Squad cars drove with flashing lights on from the 10th District station at 3315 W. Ogden Avenue down Ogden to Mount Sinai Hospital, located at 1500 S. Fairfield Ave. Nurses walked the sidewalk at Mount Sinai Hospital to acknowledge the Chicago Police Department.

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Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

Austin teacher chosen for national fellowship

Catalyst Circle Rock’s Nicholas Tomasso to participate in Northrop Grunman Foundation Teachers Academy

By MATUESZ JANIK AustinTalks

Catalyst Circle Rock School teacher Nicholas Tomasso is one of 26 middle school teachers nationwide chosen to participate in the Northrop Grumman Foundation Teachers Academy.

“We feel that he’s someone who is going to be able to use the new knowledge as a recipient and share it with the community,” Catalyst Circle Rock School Principal Elizabeth Jamison-Dunn said. “It won’t just help his students directly, but it will also help all of our students because he’ll be able to share what he learned with other teachers and staff.”

Selected by the Northrop Grumman Foundation and the National Science Teaching Association earlier this year, Tomasso is the only teacher selected from Illinois. He will have the opportunity to

participate in science, engineering and technology-related programs to further develop his classroom skills.

“I’m looking forward to when we work with experts and the activities we’ll bring to the classroom to expose the kids to engineering careers and different skills,” Tomasso said.

He received his first master’s degree in secondary social studies education at Adelphi University in New York then moved to Chicago in 2012 to enroll in a special education master’s program at National Louis University.

Tomasso decided to pursue the second master’s degree after realizing during his student teaching that he needed more training.

Tomasso started as a special education teacher in 2013 at Catalyst Howland School before it closed, and in 2015 he began working at Circle Rock where he now teaches 7th and

8th grade.

“I realized I didn’t know how to help my special education students,” he said.

Tomasso has been able to introduce classroom projects from the Museum of Science and Industry involving virtual reality and started a student council for the students.

He is also the middle school department chair and helps coordinate events like WE Day and community gardening.

“He is someone who I feel is a great representation of what you would want a core member to be because he came into education and has helped increase access for our students who don’t always have access to things,” Jamison-Dunn said.

More importantly, Tomasso has built a strong relationship with students and parents, she said. That is especially now with lessons and classes being taught entirely online because of the state’s stay-athome order.

NICHOLAS TOMASSO

“Some kids are much more conscientious and are getting their assignments done.

Some need more of a push, but as time goes on and the longer we do this, the better it will be for the kids as well,” Tomasso said.

Online classes at Catalyst Circle Rock started April 1, and since then teachers have been using software like Classkick and Google Classroom to interact with students and ClassDojo to help communicate with parents. The school has distributed more than 400 laptops to every student who needed a device at home; the schools has 512 students in all.

Tomasso was not able to attend the NSTA National Conference on Science Education, which was to be held in Boston from April 8 to 11, because of COVID-19. But he has been able to attend online seminars with experts.

It’s possible Tomasso and his fellow scholars will be able to attend another conference next year.

“I’m just looking forward to learning new ways to have my students experience success and to potentially look at careers,” Tomasso said.

Last week, Chicago Public Schools celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week with its #ThankATeacher campaign to show gratitude to teachers for educating students and helping them reach their full potential.

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Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

NEEDLE EXCHANGE Cutting down from page 1 the virus sweeps the nation, so far killing more than 70,000 in the U.S. In fact, the amount of needles exchanged by the Chicago program in March plummeted by more than 78% from the year before. It has left hundreds of high-risk users to fend for themselves — more likely to reuse or share needles and unable to get the help on which they have come to rely.

“Am I worried about it? Yeah,” Galorath said of the COVID-19 outbreak. “But I’m not like, overstressed because we’re all going to die of something, right?

“Hey, I’m a drug addict, dude.”

That needle exchange programs — established decades ago specifically to slow the spread of the HIV epidemic — would now cut back in the face of yet another deadly disease is an irony not lost on public health experts who said drug users are at higher risk to themselves and others during the pandemic.

Staff reductions at COIP prompted it to close two storefront locations, in South Chicago and Humboldt Park, and reduce hours at three other storefronts, while also halting daily mobile efforts on the South and West sides. The Chicago Recovery Alliance, a mobile needle exchange and delivery operation, cut visits to two of its less-frequented sites and stopped providing supplies to another exchange in Edgewater, which also closed.

The programs — which together supply more than four million clean needles every year to the more than 10,000 injection drug users in the Chicago area — reported significant declines in the number of people the exchanges have served so far during the pandemic.

A newly published study from New York University revealed about half of 173 addiction aid organizations responding to a nationwide survey decreased their services due to COVID-19. This is sparking concerns of increases in overdoses as well as future HIV and Hepatitis C outbreaks caused by needle sharing and the absence of testing for these diseases, which are typically performed by the organizations.

One of the study’s authors said in an interview that drug users left to fend for themselves during the pandemic could also become a “real reservoir” for COVID-19.

“There is a real concern that this could be a population among a bunch of other lowincome populations where COVID could potentially have a very drastic effect and that the coronavirus would not stay contained within these high-risk populations,” said NYU epidemiologist Don Des Jarlais.

Des Jarlais said that drug users are more at risk of an HIV or Hepatitis outbreak without clean syringes. They also have a difficult time social distancing and may be more at risk of contracting COVID-19.

Des Jarlais’ study found one in four of the organizations surveyed reported shutting

HIDDEN COSTS: “If these places close, it will make sh-- really hard for them,” said Nick Litrento, 36, as he visited the COIP location in Austin to exchange needles and seek health care. Below, COIP maintains supplies of clean needles, overdose reversal drugs and face masks to help its clients stay safe during the pandemic.

Madison Hopkins/BGA

down sites for safety precautions and a lack of staff, and most reported a decline in the number of clients served since social distancing measures took effect.

In Chicago, directors at two of the region’s busiest needle exchange programs said they were forced to scale back their workforces because many of their employees are in high-risk groups for COVID-19.

Some are older, having played an instrumental role in establishing needle exchanges during the AIDS and HIV epidemic of the 1980s. Others have autoimmune disorders or are recovering drug users themselves as both organizations make a practice of hiring people who can identify with clients because of their shared understanding of street life.

Brandie Wilson, Chicago Recovery Alliance executive director, said that maintaining pre-COVID-19 staffing levels during the outbreak is “non-negotiable.”

“We deeply care about the people who built our organization and help build our movement and we value their lives and so do they,” she said. “So we all agreed we would act as leaders and take the proper

precautions to not impact health care as well as to prevent potential life loss within CRA.” Her program, funded with more than $1 million in state and city grants each year, has been operating with half the regular staff since March, but CRA officials said their services have been largely uninterrupted.

Wilson said the number of clients CRA has served is down 18% from the same period last year, while the number of overdose medications it distributed was up about 11%.

At COIP, which is affiliated with the University of Illinois at Chicago, staff is down about 80% to only eight employees, according to program officials. COIP also receives about $1 million in city, state and foundation grants annually.

COIP exchanged only 5,062 needles in March, down from 24,086 in March 2019, according to program officials. Secondary exchanges, where a person deposits and collects needles on behalf of themselves and another person, fell by 40%, from 410 to 246. Overall, the number of COIP’s clients plummeted nearly 70%, from 252 to 76.

COIP director Antonio Jimenez said the public health crisis also has spurred COIP to

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give its clients extra needles and overdose medication to try to keep them safe and at home.

A lack of access to clean needles can contribute to viral outbreaks, especially as more people become addicted to powerful prescription painkillers and shift to heroin, experts say.

One recent example was in Scott County, Indiana where a state prohibition on needle exchanges — and a slow effort to rescind the prohibition by then-Gov. Mike Pence — contributed to an HIV outbreak beginning in 2014 that infected more than a hundred people, according to an academic study and news reports.

“If they don’t get their needles, they’re going to share,” said Keith Adams, a COIP client. “They need the needles and that keeps them from sharing. It’s going to happen because they get that craving and they’re going to share needles. The craving is real strong.”

Adams is homeless. At night, the 49-year-old who dropped out of high school as a sophomore sleeps on a couch in an enclosed gangway near the COIP site.

For the past three months, he’s been visiting the COIP site to obtain prescriptions for Suboxone, an opioid addiction replacement drug he takes instead of heroin, a drug he had used for 30 years.

“With me being a drug addict, I need these people to help me because I’m a heroin addict and they give me Suboxone to keep the cravings of heroin away from me so I won’t pick up and use,” said Adams.

Anticipating a possible disruption in the heroin supply chain, workers at COIP have encouraged clients to switch to Suboxone, typically administered through a strip or pill.

According to news reports, COVID-19 has already disrupted the street trade of synthetic opioids because many of their ingredients are manufactured in Wuhan, China, where COVID-19 is thought to have started. The sudden absence of heroin could have calamitous repercussions.

“You may have people going through severe withdrawal symptoms and a lot of desperate circumstances call for desperate measures,” said longtime COIP employee Tryce Johnson, who works at the Austin site after the location in South Chicago closed due to the pandemic.

For now, Chicago’s narcotics black market is alive. Chicago Police have set up multiple See NEEDLE EXCHANGE on page 9

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Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

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Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

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Loretto to give fewer COVID-19 tests starting May 11 On May 11, Loretto Hospital began limiting the number of COVID-19 tests it conducts to about 100 per day and reducing hours of operation to 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who’s been pushing for more testing of West Side residents, said last Sunday the hospital had to scale back because the state has a backlog in processing results.

Since Loretto began testing last month, more than 2,500 people have been tested, a spokesman for the hospital said.

Testing continues to be free, and anyone can be tested regardless of symptoms, exposure or medical history. Both drivethru and walk-up testing is located outside the hospital at 645 S. Central Ave. Hospital personnel administer the tests, which consist of inserting a nasal swab and completing a short questionnaire to obtain contact information and any current medical symptoms. Patients will be notified by telephone within 96 hours

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by a Loretto Hospital staff member.

The PCC Community Wellness Center, at 330 N. Lotus Street, continues to provide testing to anyone with symptoms consistent with COVID19 infection.

PCC is offering only drive-thru tests, but an appointment must be made in advance by calling (773) 295-3347. The testing is located in the parking lot next to the PCC Austin Farm at 330 N. Lotus St. (across from PCC Austin Family Health Center).

West Side residents also can get tested at the former Walgreens at 1606 N. Mobile Ave., which continues to offer drive-thru tests from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents must register online beforehand, and the site is only for drivethru appointments. The former Walgreens at 1606 N. Mobile Avenue will be offering drivethru tests from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents must register online beforehand, and the site is only for drive-thru appointments.

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Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

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Call Editor Michael Romain at 773-626-6332 michael@austinweeklynews.com

T

hree videos have been released as of this writing regarding the death of Ahmaud Arbery, the young black jogger who was murdered in Georgia back in February. The first video was the one in which Arbery was jogging down the road and encountered the father and son team of Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34. Moments later, Arbery is shot dead.

The second video, released days later, was the one in which a security camera captured someone going into the underconstruction house. The third video is one of that person inside the house.

Much has been made about the second video as if it could vindicate what happened in the first one. On the surface, it does show a person (possibly Arbery) who had been running down the road slows down, and

Fools and their murdering ways then enters the open garage.

That person exits the open garage and goes around towards the back of our house. But rather than view what occurred as someone with criminal intent, what if it was an innocent attempt to locate someone on the property to ask them a question? I for one am a lover of new construction. Perhaps Arbery was too? So rather than the person on the tape being seen as someone looking to steal something, maybe that person was looking for someone on the premises to ask a question, such as, “Is this house for sale?” Or even to get some free construction advice. Or to inquire if the owner needed help because

they had seen the house sitting unfinished and the person could do that kind of work? Or just to admire how it was going?

The third video shows that although the person entered the house and looked around, that person didn’t take anything.

The total time of them being in the house was less than 5 minutes. The person leaves out the front door and jogs on down the street. We know from the first tape what happens next.

There was a second tragic situation that occurred in Flint, Michigan on May 1, which momentarily generated outrage, but then fell off most people’s radar once the Arbery video was released. Calvin Munerlyn, 43, was

ARLENE JONES

working security at a Family Dollar store.

He got into a confrontation with Sharmel Teague, 45, who was in the store with her daughter, Brya Bishop, 24. Teague was wearing a face mask, but when she was told the daughter should have one on as well, an argument ensued. The two left the store and 20 minutes later her husband, Larry Teague, 44, and her son Ramonyea Bishop, 23, arrived at the store to confront Munerlyn. The son, a “budding” rapper pulls out a gun and shoots the security guard in the back of the head killing him. Now all four members of the family are in jail, charged with crimes associated with the murder.

Two senseless killings perpetrated by young people under the guidance of their elders. Proof positive that young fools simply become old fools and old fools perpetuate the cycle by creating young ones!

West Side nonprofits win prestigious awards

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

Two West Side community development nonprofits walked away with honors during the 26th Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards, which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had to be held virtually on May 6 and May 7.

Austin Coming Together won this year’s Chicago Community Trust Outstanding Community Plan Award for developing the Austin Quality of Life Plan. And Accion Chicago and the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago won the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project for building the Hatchery, an East Garfield Park-based food business incubator. The winners received a $15,000 cash prize and a plaque noting their accomplishment.

The awards are organized by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago, a community development nonprofit, as a way to recognize Chicago area nonprofits whose developments make communities healthier and better places to live. The speakers during the virtual ceremonies praised both winners for living up to that mission, noting the community -driven nature of ACT’s Quality of Life Plan

and the Hatchery’s ability to create jobs and support local entrepreneurs.

The two West Side honorees happened to be the first to get their awards on May 6. In her opening remarks, Mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged the difficulties the city faces amid the pandemic, but added that the projects that were chosen gives her hope.

“Our city’s future will be built on this kind of meaningful community engagement and I want you to know that my team and I will never stop working to bring everyone to the table,” she said.”As hard as things have been, it is this work that will allow our city to recover stronger than ever, and become the equitable, inclusive city we all want it to be.”

As previously reported by Austin Weekly News, the Austin Quality of Life Plan was developed over the course of two years and officially unveiled in December 2018. While the plan isn’t legally binding, it is meant to provide a vision of what kind of development Austin residents would like to see in the community and what strategies they should pursue in order to achieve that vision.

According to the award ceremony packet, ACT won the award on the strength of the quality of life plan’s vision and the plan’s community involvement component. As noted during the ceremony, ACT assembled a 23-member steering committee that held three public meetings and did extensive outreach to local stakeholders.

Darnell Shields, ACT’s executive director, said his organization appreciates the recognition and is looking forward to things to come.

“This plan will help us to continue have the momentum to further build things out in

REAPING THE HARVEST: Darnell Shields during the launch of the Austin Quality of Life Plan at Michele Clark High School in 2018. The plan garnered Austin Coming Together the Chicago Community Trust Outstanding Community Plan Award this year.

Briana Shields

Austin Coming Together, Hatchery developers win Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards

the community,” he said.

The Hatchery was conceived as an outgrowth of ICNC’s existing industrial business incubator. While it could suit many types of businesses, it wasn’t equipped to cook food, so the council teamed with Accion Chicago, a nonprofit lender, to build a something that would fill the gap.

The vacant lot at the northeast corner of Lake Street and Kedzie Avenue was used as the Garfield Park Community Council’s neighborhood farmers market, and the two organizations agreed to include an indoor space that would allow the market to operate year-around.

Samantha Chatman, an ABC 7 Chicago investigative reporter presented the award, saying the Hatchery earned the distinction for its “thoughtful” design and for the owners’ “confidence and commitment to the continuity and residents in East Garfield

Park” Brad McConnell, CEO at Accion Chicago, thanked all of the organizations that helped bring this about, specifically mentioning Angela Taylor, founder of Garfield Park Neighborhood Market and GPCC’s wellness coordinator.

“Working together, we’ve created a special place,” he said. “And soon, we’ll be together again, at the Hatchery, and it will become, again, a thriving hub of entrepreneurship.”

Chicago celebrity chef Rick Bayless, who runs a culinary training program out of the Hatchery, added his own congratulations.

“You know, I’m en entrepreneur at heart and I’ve never seen a place where likeminded entrepreneurs can come together and thrive, and this is what the Hatchery is,” Bayless said.

CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.com

Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

NEEDLE EXCHANGE Adjusting to COVID-19 from page 5 checkpoints on the West Side due to gang activity and drug sales, and workers with COIP and CRA said they have witnessed hand-to-hand drug deals and drug users congregating on their way to work.

According to records obtained by the Better Government Association, more than a quarter of all 311 calls that were referred to Chicago police in March 2020 — the first major month of the Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay at home order — were for drug use and sales.

While millions of people shelter in place, many heroin users cannot.

“They’re up against it on every front right now,” said John Gutenson, a senior outreach worker with CRA. “You have to have a whole sh--load of money to stock up on the things they need. That’s not generally how it works. They don’t have the big ATM card and the big bank account because of their situation.”

COIP’s clientele has gone through a dramatic transformation since it opened in 1986 to fight the HIV and AIDS epidemic.

Increasingly, the people who are stopping by the site to exchange needles are white and suburban as opioid use skyrockets outside the city’s borders and suburbanites commute into the city to buy drugs.

Basmattee Boodram, a UIC epidemiologist whose research is conducted in collaboration with COIP, has spent years studying the changing social networks of heroin users.

Her work focuses on the shift of first-time users from urban to suburban, and the spread of disease.

“People initiating injection right now are not likely to be urban or black,” Boodram said. “That’s a major shift from the ‘90s and ‘80s. That geographical shift had some impact on disease and transmission as you spread out into different geographies where it’s harder to reach people.

Nick Litrento commutes to the COIP site from his home in the suburb of Roselle, west of O’Hare Airport.

At 36, he has been using heroin for seven years. He switched to the street drug after getting a prescription for Percocet due to a back injury incurred at his shipping and receiving job. Litrento has taken basic COVID-19 precautions such as wearing a facemask when he commutes into the city.

Programs designed to reduce risks for those with heroin addictions, such as COIP and the CRA, are a last ditch safety net for many people, he said. In early April, he stopped by to exchange syringes and to have an onsite doctor examine his swollen leg.

“Once these people are out here and they are out on the streets, they literally don’t care,” Litrento said. “There’s no support system. Why care? They are going to die out here anyways, probably alone. If these places close, it will make sh-- really hard for them.”

Galorath doesn’t sharpen his old needles at home now, since he discovered the exchange is still open on limited hours and days.

That’s where the BGA caught up with him as he dropped off a paper bag of old needles at COIP’s storefront in Austin for a fresh supply.

“I eventually called and found out the new schedule. Now I try to get enough for the new week,” said Galorath, a drug user for more than two decades.

He explained how when he tried sharpening the needles himself, he filed too much the first time, the needle split, and

Antonio Jimenez, director of COIP, prepares a bag of clean needles and other supplies for clients. Right, Keith Adams, 49, used heroin for 30 years. For the past three months, COIP has provided him with a prescription opioid addiction replacement drug.

Madison Hopkins/BGA

the liquid shot out in three directions.

“I did use one that I filed down, but I learned from the first one,” Galorath said. “I did get it correct. I am pretty sure.”

VISIT: Bettergov.org

COMMUNITY AN EXCITING DIGITAL PORTAL DEDICATED TO EVERYTHING

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10

Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

REAL ESTATE FORÂ SALE

deadline: 9:30 am Monday office hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday

CLASSIFIEDS TO PLACE AN AD HELP WANTED

CALL: 773-626-6332 | FAX: 708-467-9066 | E-MAIL: classifieds@AustinWeeklyNews.com Place your ad online anytime at AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM/CLASSIFIED HELP WANTED

Office Support Agent: Office Support Agent for a suc- Infrastructure Supplier (CISA)� cessful, fast growing national essential business supplier for frame manufacturing company in components we make for the CTA, Chicago, Galewood next to Oak Amtrak, Transportation, Emergency Park. vehicles, Hospitals.

You’ll see Candidate must possess accuour products all over the U.S. Our rate, fast typing (min 60 wpm and beautiful, comfortable offices and will be tested), MS WORD and manufacturing facility are near Oak EXCEL knowledge, good speaking Park in the Galewood neighborhood and organizational skills. You will (near Cortland and Narragansett). learn about our frame business We have huge, spread out offices, and do a myriad of tasks which easy social distancing at our officwill include the following: Help es, we provide masks for “close process the accounting and papertalking� where necessary. You will work for Amazon, Ebay, online be in your own office. This flexiorders, work with Fedex and UPS ble role is perfect for an energetic online shipping software, write up stay at home parent, recent gradframe orders. Help our salesperuate or a part time student who is son correspond with our wonderful looking for a great job. We can clients and suppliers from all over be flexible with schedule and no the U.S. by email and telephone.

We are an owner operated fun travel or weekend work. You will work in nice offices, with a friendly and friendly growing company, treating employees with respect team, in casual attire, and with easy Metra and bus access. Hourly and kindness. We have clients pay depending upon experience, nationwide and are a leader in our industry. Visit our websites at $16-$18 starting pay. Excellent www.fastchangeframes.com www. income growth potential if you master our product line and transition to bannergrip.com www.desktoppers. account executive. Submit conficom www.hospitalwhiteboards. com www.stormsnaps.com www. dential resumes by email only. No visits without appt. See our companoisewindows.com We have ny video at www.fastchangeframes. been open the entire time during com . Alpina Manufacturing LLC. the shutdown, and practice strict CDC safety guidelines.

Alpina 6460 W. Cortland St., Chicago, IL Manufacturing LLC is a “Critical 60707 www.fastchangeframes.com River Forest Public Schools District 90 Student Support Services - Vacancies for the 2020-2021 School Year District 90 is seeking qualified and experienced student support educators for the following positions:

Professional Education License with endorsement in field of study, a Master’s Degree is preferred and successful teaching experience with students in a classroom setting is preferred.

• Special Education Multi Needs Instructional Teacher (Roosevelt Middle School)

General Duties: Provide excellence in education by developing and implementing activities that encourage students to be life-long learners. Possesses knowledge of District policies and regulations relating to areas of responsibilities.

Create an environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the developmental maturity and interests of each student.

• Special Education Support Teacher (Willard Elementary School) • Special Education Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Coordinator (All D90 Schools) • English Language Learners Teacher – Part-time (Roosevelt Middle School) • Speech and Language Pathologist (Roosevelt Middle School) For detailed qualifications requirements and job duties, please visit our website at https://www.district90.org/about/ employment for our complete list of employment opportunities.

General Qualifications: Valid Illinois

Application: Apply online at www. district90.org. Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90.org. Please do not send hard copies of supporting documentation, i.e. cover letters, resumes, licensure, etc. to River Forest Schools District 90; instead, upload these materials onto the online job application system for proper processing.

SUBURBAN RENTALS

WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, flags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers – lead or plastic – other misc. toys.

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

Apartment listings updated daily at:

Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.

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To Be Given Away, Items for Sale and Lost & Found classified ads run free in Austin Weekly News! Call 773/6266332 to place your ad.

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We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors â&#x20AC;˘ Home Re-wiring â&#x20AC;˘ New Plugs & Switches Added â&#x20AC;˘ New circuit breaker boxes â&#x20AC;˘ Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp â&#x20AC;˘ Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential â&#x20AC;˘ Commercial â&#x20AC;˘ Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. â&#x20AC;˘ Bonded â&#x20AC;˘ Ins. â&#x20AC;˘ Low Rates â&#x20AC;˘ Free Est.

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email us: classifieds @ AustinWeeklyNews.com

Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

(773) 626-6332 | FAX: (708) 467-9066 | E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM

11

CLASSIFIEDS

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year AustinWeeklyNews.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com

REAL ESTATE FOR SAL IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, SUCCESSOR

BY MERGER TO WELLS FARGO BANK MINNESOTA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE F/K/A NORWEST BANK MINNESOTA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR RENAISSANCE HEL TRUST 2004-1; Plaintiff, vs.

JASPER HALL; CITY OF CHICAGO; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 18 CH 12601 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Thursday, June 11, 2020 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash,

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-13-412-001-0000.

Commonly known as 801 South California Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Law Clerk at Plaintiff’s Attorney, The Wirbicki Law Group, 33 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603. (312) 3609455. W18-1542 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3150338

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION NEWREZ LLC D/B/A SHELLPOINT MORTGAGE SERVICING Plaintiff, -v.MARIA GLIBKA A/K/A MARIA GLIBCA, PETRO GLIBKA, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CITY OF CHICAGO, CAVALRY PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 19 CH 06878 1912 SOUTH HOMAN AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60623 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 29, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on June 5, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South

Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1912 SOUTH HOMAN AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60623 Property Index No. 16-23-418-0380000 The real estate is improved with a gray stone, two story single family home with no garage.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle

the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE

WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial

Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088 E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com Attorney File No. 269521 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 19 CH 06878 TJSC#: 40-716 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 19 CH 06878 I3150556

Illinois Classified Advertising Network WANTED TO BUY FREON WANTED: We pay CA$H for cylinders and cans. R12 R500 R11 R113 R114.

Convenient. Certified Professionals. Call 312-598-1758 or visit RefrigerantFinders.com

local employees happy employees!

Hire Local. Place an ad

on AWN’s Local Online Job Board.

Go to AustinWeeklyNews.com/classified today!

Contact Mary Ellen Nelligan for more information.

(708) 613-3342 • classifieds@austinweeklynews.com

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

Austin Weekly News

12

Austin Weekly News, May 13, 2020

NAMI Metro Suburban knows about isolation and the effects on someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mental health. Isolation due to COVID-19 is engulfing our communities and people are struggling with the uncertainty of our future. If you or someone you know is feeling alone, having depressed feelings, or experiencing an increase in anxiety, NAMI is here to help. NAMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s services have been converted virtually to support you, your family and your neighbors during this time.

For more information about our daily call ins, support groups and virtual family services, please check our website, namimetsub.org, or email info@namimetsub.org.

If you are in need of one-on-one support due to an increase in anxiety or depressive symptoms, please call 708-582-6580 to speak with a Certified Peer Support Specialist. We are available every day from 1:00pm to 9:00pm.

In partnership with: