Austin Weekly News 052621

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Vol. 35 No. xx

Ford’s marijuana licensing bill heads to House floor

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May 26, 2021

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Fighting for Democracy? page 7

Vacant West Side lot brimming with possibilities Residents will soon be able to give feedback on the plans for 3400 W. Ogden Ave. as part of the city-led INVEST South/West program

By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

An empty patch of land along North Lawndale’s commercial backbone may soon house a hotel, a cosmetology school, a business incubator or a food hall for local entrepreneurs.

Six teams are bidding to develop 3400 W. Ogden Ave. as part of the city’s INVEST South/ West Program, which aims to drive major residential and retail projects in South and West Side neighborhoods. In North Lawndale, the city’s focus is Ogden Avenue between Kedzie and Pulaski.

The city sought plans that would create affordable housing to prevent displacement, support the growth of local businesses and retail opportunities, and improve public spaces along the historic Ogden Avenue corridor, planning department officials said.

City officials said they took their cue from the 2018 North Lawndale Quality of Life Plan, a community-driven blueprint for improving key issues in the neighborhood, including the local economy, public health, greening and safety.

The planning department also held monthly See INVEST on page 11

PAUL GOYETTE/Contributor

Black Workers Matter members during a press conference on May 20 in Cicero.

West Side workers demand area plants give paid time off for vaccines

Black Workers Matter and Cicero Essential Workers Alliance to host vaccination site for essential workers on May 25 and May 26 amid demands that Bimbo Bakery provide paid time off

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

Black Workers Matter and Cicero Essential Workers Alliance will be co-hosting a vaccination site for essential workers from the West Side and the west suburbs later this month as the organizations push

local companies to make it easier for their employees to get vaccinated.

The vaccinations will take place on May 25 and May 26, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at 1330 S. 54th Ave. in Cicero. The workers partnered with the COVID Equity Response Collaborative Loyola and the Cook County Department of Public Health.

During a press conference on May 20, held in front of the nearby Bimbo Bakery at 1540 S. 54th Ave. in Cicero, the workers urged Bimbo and other companies to offer paid time off so that employees can not only get vaccinated, but can also have See WEST SIDE WORKERS on page 6

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

New Food Depository initiative to help West Siders access SNAP benefits The Greater Chicago Food Depository and local organizers are working to remove barriers to assistance

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

The Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD), a food bank that supplies items to food pantries throughout the Chicago area, is working to help Austin and North Lawndale residents apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

The program provides debit cards that beneficiaries can use to buy food, as well as seeds and plants that can be grown into food. The eligibility requirements are largely income-based, with income limits going up the more people live in a household.

While providing food is a major part of the food depository’s mission, it also works to address root causes of hunger and helps clients apply for benefits such as SNAP. During the May 18 monthly meeting of North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council’s (NLCCC) Health and Wellness Committee, Sara Bechtold Medema, who heads the nonprofit’s public benefits outreach, said that her employer is looking to do more outreach in North Lawndale and Austin.

They are reaching out to local community organizations to

find out what barriers the residents face to apply for benefits and help them sign eligible residents up for SNAP. Food insecurity has been a recurring topic at the Health and Wellness Committee meetings, but it gained new urgency in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. NLCCC and its member organizations organized multiple food giveaways and deliveries of regular “food boxes” to families.

Bechtold Medema told the committee that SNAP doesn’t just help the beneficiaries.

“We can never match the amount of help that SNAP provides,” she said, adding that the money helps businesses as much as it helps individuals and households.

The Depository decided to focus on Austin, North Lawndale and South Side’s Englewood neighborhood because its research showed that those communities have a disproportionate number of people who didn’t apply for SNAP benefits.

The study found several reasons why eligible residents don’t apply. Bechtold Medema said that, in many cases, they may not know they are eligible in the first place. Those who do know may not apply, because they are either overwhelmed by the process, or because of the stigma against using food stamps.

Another issue is that applicants need to apply at the offices of state agencies and/or nonprofits, which requires that they travel. The lack of reliable transportation and/or internet access, however, may keep them from getting to those places where they can fill out applications.

Medema said that the food depository already helps clients sign up for SNAP and Medicaid, and they trained some of the nonprofits they work with to help clients with applications as

Photo by Maria Lin Kim on Unsplash

well. With the new outreach, they want to take it to the next level.

“Our goal is to partner with two to three organizations from the community,” Bechtold Medema said. “We’ll help these partners build capacity, so they can offer services at the same level as the food depository.”

She said that building capacity would include “training, technical support, providing technology, helping them market services and some funding for initial assistance.”

Debra Wesley, who serves as the committee’s chair and heads the Sinai Health System’s Sinai Community Institute, said that the health system would be interested in getting involved.

“This is a big issue in our community, so whenever we can make those conditions better, we want to help,” she said.

Interested North Lawndale organizations can sign up by filling out the form at https://forms.office.com/r/dkdgv5z4a5.

Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

AUSTIN WEEKLY

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Equity Editor/Ombudsman/Editor Michael Romain Senior Editor Bob Uphues Contributing Reporter Igor Studenkov Reporting Partners Block Club, Austin Talks Columnist Arlene Jones Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Austin Talks

SPEAKING OUT: Demonstrators gathered outside of Ald. Taliaferro’s office in Austin on May 17.

Protestors say, ’Enough is enough,’ amid calls for police oversight bill

Demonstrators gathered outside Ald. Taliaferro’s office on May 17 to pressure him to support the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance

By ZACH CUNNING AustinTalks

About 50 demonstrators gathered outside the 29th Ward office at 6272 W. North Ave. on May 17 and called on Ald. Chris Taliaferro to bring the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance to a vote in the Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

“We’re here, specifically, because Chris Taliaferro has been stalling this ordinance,” said Kobi Guillory, who led the demonstration.

Ald. Taliaferro’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

“We could have all been anywhere else on Monday evening, but here we are, out here in front of Chris Taliaferro’s office,” said Carlil Pittman, a co-founder of Good Kids Mad City.

Pittman said the community has “seen our people suffer” because of police violence.

“And now we have an opportunity to bring real change into our city and be a model for other cities, to be a model for the country and what policing should look like in our communities,” he said.

“And we’re here because enough is enough.”

Pittman said Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been talking about working directly with communities, as well as releasing her own ordinance in response to the Empowering Communities for Public Safety’s proposal.

But he said he’s yet to see any real action from Lightfoot, who served as head of the Chicago Police Board before being elected mayor

two years ago.

Lightfoot views the current bill as “outsourcing” responsibility for CPD, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I wear the jacket, as every mayor does, for violence in this city, for crime in this city,” the Sun-Times reported Lightfoot as saying. “And the notion that we’re gonna outsource that to someone else and have no responsibility — no ability to impact this — I don’t know anybody who thinks that’s a good idea.”

The mayor was reported as saying she’s heard a clear message from residents of communities most impacted by violence: “Please, mayor, don’t walk away from us.”

Lightfoot said while those may not be the people actively protesting, “they are very much concerned about what’s happening in their neighborhoods. So we have to come up with the plan that is also responsive to them,” the Sun Times reported.

On May 17, Pittman said, “We are the ones who’ve been in the community and meeting with the community. So, who is she talking to?”

Frank Chapman told the crowd, “What we’re doing here is unprecedented in the history of this country.”

He said this is the first time a city council anywhere has taken up an ordinance of this type and magnitude “with even the possibility of passing it.”

The demonstrators had gathered because “we the people are deciding to take power,” Chapman said. “We are not begging for any-

body to pass this ordinance. We are not begging for justice. We are demanding justice.

“And you can do it. People can do it,” he said.

The demonstration came just hours after Chicago’s City Council’s Black Caucus voted to endorse the plan, the Sun Times reported.

In an interview, protest leader Guillory said the proposed ordinance “is something that was put together by hundreds of community organizations and thousands of people.

Legal experts, organizers, activists, family members of people who’ve been harmed by the police. This is possibly the most transformative police reform in the history of this country.”

The plan is a combination of two previously opposing proposals from the Civilian Police Accountability Council and Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability.

If approved by the city council, the binding referendum would come before Chicago voters in the 2022 primary.

ECPS would establish an 11-person oversight commission made up of nine elected members and two mayoral appointees.

The oversight commission would have powers to hire and fire the head of the Chicago Police Department, negotiate police contracts and set the police department’s budget, taking those powers out of the hands of the mayor and aldermen.

“We’re getting this thing passed. And that’s what we’re here to say, with or without Ald. Taliaferro, we’ll get it passed,” Guillory said.

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

Ford’s marijuana licensing bill heads to House floor

Measure aims to correct problems in licensing ‘social equity’ applicants

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – A bill aimed at allowing more people from distressed communities to get into the lucrative recreational marijuana business is on its way to the House floor as lawmakers head into the final days of the spring 2021 session.

“The bill will correct a flawed license lottery system that has prevented minorities from ownership in the industry,” Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, the bill’s chief sponsor, said during a news conference Thursday.

House Bill 1443 is a follow-up to the landmark bill that passed in 2019 legalizing and regulating the sale and use of recreational marijuana. Under that law, dispensaries that were already licensed to sell medical marijuana immediately became eligible to apply for recreational-use licenses while a number of other licenses were set aside for so-called “social equity” applicants.

Those were to be businesses run by people from communities that were disproportionately affected by over-policing and criminal drug prosecutions during what former President Richard Nixon dubbed the “war on drugs,” as well as individuals and family members of people who had previously been prosecuted for marijuana violations.

The first 75 social equity licenses were supposed to go out last year through a lottery system, but that was put on hold

when, out of more than 900 applications filed, only 21 received perfect scores making them eligible to enter the lottery.

Since then, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has given those who didn’t make the cut a chance to amend their applications, and it plans to go through a second scoring process before determining which ones will qualify for the lottery.

Ford’s proposal, meanwhile, calls for establishing two more lotteries in which a total of 110 dispensary licenses will be available.

One of those would be for applicants who received a score of 85 percent or better on their initial application and did not receive a license in the initial lottery; the other would be specifically for applicants with similar scores who have personally been convicted of a marijuana offense or has a family member with such a conviction.

Former state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, who now serves as Gov. JB Pritzker’s cannabis policy advisor, said during a House Executive Committee hearing Thursday that lowering the “cut score” for applicants to get into the other lotteries would open the way for about 65 percent of the applicant pool to have a chance for a license.

Ford acknowledged that even with the additional lotteries, some applicants still will not get a license, but he said it was important to give more people from disproportionately

w e n e h t t a s u Join

Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, speaks about his bill that would create changes to the marijuana licensing process Thursday at the Capitol. impacted communities an opportunity to get into the new industry.

“When this all started with working with the social equity applicants, all they asked for is a chance, and that’s what they’re asking for now,” Ford said during a committee hearing Thursday. “They understand that this is a lottery, and this is a gamble. … But they really just want an opportunity to get what they paid for. And that’s what we’re trying to do right now.”

The bill passed out of the House Executive Committee by a vote of 15-0. It now heads to the full House for consideration.

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

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State senator got Caribbean trips, campaign donations through Loretto State Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford accepted campaign contributions from a Loretto Hospital contractor and Caribbean travel as part of her board duties

By KELLY BAUER & DAVID JACKSON Block Club Chicago & Better Government Association

When scandal engulfed Loretto Hospital this spring, the West Side facility had a powerful champion: Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford.

Lightford defended hospital administrators when they admitted improperly vaccinating people at Trump Tower and other places miles from the community the hospital serves. She stood by the officials even after multi-million insider contracts with the business partner of Loretto’s chief financial officer were revealed.

Lightford’s staunch support of Loretto is part of her legacy — but she’s also been the recipient of perks and payments from the publicly funded hospital for years, the Better Government Association and Block Club Chicago found.

She’s been paid by an insurance firm owned by Loretto, which also paid for her to travel to the Caribbean for firm meetings, records show. During some of those trips, she stayed at a luxury hotel and used campaign funds to cover the cost.

Lightford’s campaign fund also has accepted more than $38,000 in contributions from the hospital’s key management contractor, records show.

A Democrat from Maywood, Lightford has served on Loretto’s board for 21 years and is currently the vice chairman. The lawmaker’s website touts that she has steered $26 million in state grants to the hospital, which has put her name above its emergency room front door.

Exactly how much Lightford was paid by Loretto’s insurance firm is not listed on the hospital’s tax statements or on Lightford’s state ethics disclosures, the BGA and Block Club found.

Lightford declined calls and written requests for comment.

Loretto’s recent stumbles throw a spotlight on the senator’s service to the hospital and on the facility’s small, politically connected Board of Trustees.

Loretto’s website currently lists six board members, including Lightford. One of their top jobs is ensuring the hospital is following federal rules for taxpayer-funded programs, most notably from Medicare and Medicaid.

Two members of the board — including

Lightford — have received perks or payments through Loretto. The board chairman’s law firm billed the hospital for at least $3 million in legal fees over 11 years, although Loretto said his firm worked at a discount.

Another two members, the hospital’s CEO and a prominent doctor, are paid by Loretto while serving on the board that’s tasked with the hospital’s oversight.

And Loretto’s board and senior staff included two other state lawmakers until one resigned in March.

The hospital’s compliance officer, who vets all staff and board conflict of interest statements, has private business ties to Loretto’s top attorney, who is tasked with defending the institution against legal claims and government investigations.

Health care ethics experts said it’s not illegal for board trustees to do business with the hospital, but these sort of personal financial entanglements could compromise the board’s independence.

“This is a relatively small board for a hospital. And if three or four of them have some sort of insider benefits, it’s really hard to police that — because it is harder for one director to call out the others,” said Donald Kramer, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s nonprofit law program who reviewed the BGA/Block Club findings.

The benefits to board members and a state lawmaker who served on the hospital’s senior staff were not always disclosed in the charity’s nonprofit tax returns, the BGA and Block Club found in this new examination of hospital tax reports stretching over two decades.

Loretto’s board members declined individual requests for interviews, directing questions to hospital spokeswoman Becky Carroll.

Carroll answered few questions about Loretto’s financial relationships with specific trustees and staff, but she said the hospital tax statements were prepared by certified public accountants and independent auditors before being submitted to the IRS. The board members’ work for Loretto was good for the hospital in the long run, she said.

“Safety net hospitals in Illinois have been forced to close because of a reliance on the

Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Left: Loretto Hospital has been embroiled in scandal. Right: State Senator Kimberly Lightford at a news conference in March 2020. old models of operating,” Carroll wrote in an emailed statement. “Loretto challenged itself to find ways to generate new revenue, reduce costs and expand and maintain highquality health care services to help reduce inequities facing the communities it serves and it’s done exactly that.”

Loretto Hospital, a 122-bed, acute-care center, serves mainly low-income people and patients of color, and in recent years, the hospital has warned it could close due to funding shortfalls.

The hospital has been under renewed scrutiny since March, when Block Club revealed COVID-19 vaccines went to ineligible people at Trump Tower, a Gold Coast jewelry shop and a steakhouse, among other places. The former chief financial officer who arranged for those doses, Dr. Anosh Ahmed, subsequently resigned.

Block Club and the BGA also found Loretto awarded at least $3.9 million in hospital contracts to Ahmed’s friend and business partner.

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

WEST SIDE WORKERS Making demands from page 1 time to recover from the vaccines’ possible side-effects.

Yvette McCallum, a union steward for Bimbo workers who worked at the plant since 2016, said she got laid off on June 29, 2020, because she wouldn’t come to work until her doctor gave her the OK. She said that she has a medical condition that puts her at higher risk of getting COVID-19, and she was simply following her doctor’s recommendations. McCallum is currently going through arbitration.

She said that she still keeps in touch with current workers, and while some conditions changed, other issues persisted.

“I heard that they staggered times when people were coming in,” she said. “I BRANDON JOHNSON heard that they Cook County Commissioner staggered lunch times, gave [employees] another break room. But I’m hearing that the conditions are still rough. They still bunch people together and people still need to get their own PPE.” People working in food production have been eligible for vaccinations since February 2021. Shay Mitchell, who, like McCallum, got laid off in June 2020, because her medical condition put her at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 and she wanted to get cleared by her doctor to return to work, argued that incentivizing vaccinations is in the company’s best interest.

“In order to come back to work, you should be encouraging me to get vaccinated,’ she said, adding that, given the hazards workers have faced throughout the pandemic, they deserve to get their wages bumped up to at

“What’s frustrating is there are people who make profit off of our people and do not value our lives.”

least $20 an hour.

Black Workers Matter wrote a letter urging plant manager Moises Chavez and plant human resource manager Gabriela Martinez to encourage workers to take advantage of their vaccinations and give them paid time off to get vaccinated and recover.

The group tried to deliver the letter to the plant. They got rebuffed, leading them to tape the signed copy of the letter to the plant’s front door. Bimbo Bakeries didn’t respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Bimbo Bakeries didn’t respond to a request for comment by deadline.

The workers got support from Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson (1st), whose district includes Austin.

“The work you’re doing is saving lives,” he said. “What’s frustrating is there are people who make profit off of our people and do not value our lives. Continue to challenge the power structures. I’ll be here throughout the pandemic to make sure that everything we need, we get.”

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Black Workers Matter members during a press conference on May 20 in Cicero.

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

Memorial Day: Fighting for Democracy?

I

t was the “turbulent 60s,” and of boxing at the height of his career. it was an audacious move givAli, who previously had been en the sociopolitical climate. under the brilliant tutelage of Army veteran Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, likely knew somePresident John Kennedy, and thing else—that many Black men human rights leader Malcolm X who had served this country valhad all been assassinated when, iantly had been treated savagely, in April 1967, a 25-year-old from not only in the military, but upon Louisville declined induction into return home. After risking their the United States military. lives, instead of being treated as Muhammad Ali, a conscienheroes, these Black men were tious objector, refused to serve in often vilified and terrorized by the controversial Vietnam War. their white countrymen.

Long on record against the war, In 1946, Sergeant Isaac Wooda month before, Ali had stated, “...

Commentary ard was a 26-year-old decorated No, I will not go 10,000 miles from World War II veteran riding a here to help murder and kill another poor Greyhound bus in South Carolina on his way people simply to continue the domination of home to his wife. white slave masters over the darker people of When the bus stopped, the white driver the earth.” gathered the police, angry because Woodard Providing further commentary later on had earlier requested a bathroom break. The a college campus when he was challenged, police beat and arrested Woodard — in his Ali quipped, “...You my opposer when I want Army uniform. freedom... You won’t even stand up for me in At the jail, the police chief gouged both his America, for my religious beliefs...you won’t eyes with a billy club, permanently blinding even stand up for me here at home.” him. The chief was acquitted by an all-white The white political establishment was livid. jury that deliberated for 30 minutes. Sgt. Ali, who had already been pilloried for joinWoodard had survived war overseas only to ing the Nation of Islam, was stripped of his be rendered a disabled veteran at home. heavyweight title, arrested, charged, and conReporting on the case in 2019, the Equal victed of a felony. On appeal, the conviction Justice Institute (EJI) noted that, “...between was overturned by the United State Supreme the end of Reconstruction and the years following World War II, thousands of Black Court, but not before Ali had lost three years

DR. RHONDA SHERROD

veterans were accosted, assaulted, attacked and killed due to their race. For many, merely wearing a uniform created an immediate risk of attack.”

Previously, in 2017, the EJI issued a report called “Lynching in America: Targeting Black Veterans” and noted that, “The hopeful determination of black veterans seeking equality following military service challenged the defiant determination of white Americans to reinforce white supremacy, maintain racial inequality, and suppress black veterans’ potential as leaders and change agents.”

These lynchings also laid bare the hypocrisy of America, which purported to be fighting for democracy overseas.

George Dorsey, 28, had been home from WWII about ten months when an unmasked mob snatched him, his 23-year-old wife Mae Dorsey, his sister and her husband out of a car and lynched them in broad daylight.

It was 1946, and an NBC news anchor reporting on the story said the bodies were “riddled by 60 bullets,” and that “...A gang of armed and degenerate, poor whites, waylaid a Negro man and another man and their wives on a country road 40 miles from Atlanta.”

But it would later be discovered that it was likely not just poor whites involved, and this had been one of the epiphanies of investigative journalist Ida B. Wells—that prominent white citizens were often involved in or attached to brutal lynchings.

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There are so many stories, including that of Chicagoan Dempsey Travis, the historian, author, activist and real estate magnate who died in 2009.

In his book, the “Autobiography of Black Chicago,” he recounts the harrowing experience of serving in the segregated Army at Camp Shenango and being shot three times when white soldiers fired on a group of Black soldiers, including the friend Travis was with—an aspiring doctor—who was shot in the head and killed.

Camp Shenango in Pennsylvania was renamed Camp Reynolds, some say in an attempt to erase the horrific racial history associated with the Camp.

So, as this country continues to reckon with its sordid racial past, the brutal history of the treatment of Black soldiers and veterans has to be honestly examined.

As you celebrate Memorial Day—a day that grateful, newly freed Black people pioneered to honor the dead who served the Union in the Civil War—remember and reflect upon the immense sacrifice that Blacks have made in every single war and “conflict.”

Dr. Sherrod has an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Alabama, a master’s degree in English from Chicago State University and a law degree from the University of Texas. She practiced law in the Chicago metropolitan area for several years prior to enrolling at Jackson State University, where she had her doctorate conferred in clinical psychology. A licensed psychologist in Alabama, she also has completed pre-doctoral and clinic work at Harvard Medical School.

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

Are you a property owner/manager with tenants in need of rental assistance?

The Illinois Rental Payment Program can provide up to $25,000 in emergency rental assistance!

Tenants and housing providers must both complete their portion of the application to be considered for this grant. The grant will be paid directly to the housing provider.

Grant amounts will vary, and the maximum grant amount is $25,000 per tenant. Assistance will cover up to 15 months of emergency rental assistance, paying up to 12 months of missed rent payments and up to three months of future rent payments. The coverage period is June 2020 through August 2021.

Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

Housing providers/landlords may initiate a joint application starting Monday, May 17 through Monday, June 7. Tenants will have until Monday, June 14 to complete their portion of a landlord-initiated application.

Tenants may initiate their own application starting Wednesday, June 9 through Monday, June 28. Landlords will have until Tuesday, July 6 to complete their portion of the tenantinitiated application.

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The household lives in Illinois and rents their home as their primary residence.

The household’s income in 2020 was below 80% of the area median income, adjusted for household size.

The household experienced a financial hardship, including a loss of income or increased expenses, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The residents are at risk of homelessness or housing instability

Housing providers and tenants can submit a joint application at ILRPP.IHDA.org.

For application assistance, call the Oak Park Regional Housing Center at 773-887-5187 or 708-771-5801

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

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What kind of society are we becoming?

young lady, Destiny Nunez, 23, was in the liquor store in the 500 block of North Kedzie.

I’ve seen the security video and some sort of altercation ensued. The people she got into it with ended up shooting her and her companion, Adrian Navarro, 18. Both of them succumbed to their injuries.

But as Nunez lay dying, individuals started turning on their social media accounts and posting her final moments. There were people standing over her, attempting to move her, and they have absolutely no medical training. Nor did I hear on the audio any of the individuals dialing 911.

Instead commentaries picked up by the recording were more like, “She’s dead y’all!”

We have truly become a very sick society when a young woman is dying and the most important thing seems to be recording it for posterity on one social media account.

If you wouldn’t want your own death to be displayed on social media, why would you do it to someone else?

Meanwhile, the ease with which people will fire a gun with no regard for the consequences says a lot about the society we live in. They’re not worried about the consequences because usually there aren’t any. I still wonder why God doesn’t smite all these criminals, but there must be a reason he lets them live.

I just don’t know what it is.

It seems that every couple of days, there’s some sort of shooting on the expressways.

If there were ever a reason to impose the death penalty, it should be for those who have no regard for the catastrophe that can occur when they shoot at a moving car. The inconvenience of shutting down an entire expressway to investigate is enough to cause everyone to become indignant over the actions of those who create the chaos.

I don’t know how often people are firing guns at other cars, but in California a couple of days ago, someone did just that. A road-rage incident left a 6-year-old boy dead. Just a couple of weeks ago, we had a similar scenario on Lake Shore Drive when two individuals got into it and shots were fired and 1-year-old Kayden Swann was hit.

I am of the opinion that until we have a return to the death penalty, until we see a public execution, people will continue to not care about the chaos they’re creating.

The, “I don’t care” mindset is the biggest problem we have as a society and in this community. Everybody does all the boasting and talking until they’re actually faced with real-world consequences. Then we hear the boo-hooing.

If it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

I don’t want to see what “getting worse” will mean.

ARLENE JONES

“It seems that every couple of days, there’s some sort of shooting on the expressways.”

AUSTIN WEEKLY NEWS Mail your letter to the editor to: Austin Weekly News, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 or email michael@austinweeklynews.com

Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

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INVEST

Developer proposals from page 1 roundtables and a visioning workshop to determine what developers should prioritize, city planner Brian Hacker said.

Residents want the winning project to include a public plaza to support a strong pedestrian presence on Ogden Avenue, sitdown restaurants, retail space, a grocery store and affordable housing, according to community feedback collected by the city.

Job creation and local business development is also a priority, Hacker said.

The planning department will select the winning proposal mid-summer based on input from residents who attended community presentations Wednesday and Thursday, and from responses to a survey sent to residents next week. Planning officials did not specify how much resident feedback would impact the final decision.

A rendering of the Elevate X Hive Cosmetology and Fragrance School.

Hive cosmetology campus and affordable housing Elevate Cosmetology and Fragrance School and Miller & Ferguson aim to create a $52.8 million Elevate X Hive cosmetology campus.

Students at the school would be able to earn a 1,500-hour cosmetology certificate.

The school would also offer entrepreneurship classes and workshops on topics such as perfume making and product design so residents can “curate their own beauty and wellness brands,” Hive founder Bambi Montgomery said.

“You will enroll in the cosmetology and fragrance school as a beginner. But you will ensure with the wisdom and confidence to own,” Montgomery said.

The five story mixed-use building would also include the Crown and Glory museum of Black hair, a community plaza and five retail spaces for local businesses on the ground floor. The cosmetology school would also operate a salon and spa that would offer discounts to residents, Montgomery said.

The project would include 66 units of affordable housing, 150 temporary jobs in con-

PROVIDED

A rendering of OG Lawndale, one of the proposals for a vacant Ogden Avenue lot.

PROVIDED

PROVIDED

A rendering of the Tapestry.

struction and 75 to 100 permanent jobs in retail and facility maintenance. Developers partnered with North Lawndale Employment Network to ensure Lawndale residents are the first to benefit from the jobs created.

Food hall, affordable housing celebrating Lawndale’s Black and Latino heritage Lawndale Christian Development Corporation and NHP Foundation aim to create The Tapestry, a $31.4 million project with a food hall to unite North and South Lawndale with art and economic opportunities.

The food hall would create opportunities for local food vendors, restaurants and entrepreneurs of color. The project would also include retail storefronts and a co-working space to offer support and technical assistance to local businesses.

“We have a shared history of overcoming adversity. We have a shared history of having systemic disinvestment in our neighborhoods,” said Richard Townsell, executive director of the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation.

The development would create 67 units of affordable housing, 50 permanent jobs and 170 temporary construction jobs.

PROVIDED

A rendering of PIVOT North Lawndale.

Outside The Tapestry, a landscaped plaza incorporating public art and murals that reflect the Black and Latinx heritage of North Lawndale and Little Village.

“This new active outdoor street plaza will provide accessible public space for neighborhood gatherings, programmed activities for both young and seniors, a sense of place and expression of both Latinx and African American cultures,” said Veronica Gonzalez of NHP Foundation.

Business incubator, marketplace and affordable housing Michaels Development and New Covenant Community Development Corporation would create PIVOT North Lawndale, a $27.5 million project anchored by a business incubator.

The five-story hub would be designed to connect neighborhood groups, entrepreSee INVEST on page 12

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

INVEST

Ideas galore from page 11 neurs and cultural organizations. The development will also include a marketplace with five micro-retail spaces owned and operated

by New Covenant for local entrepreneurs at the incubator.

“It lets those businesses communicate with each other. We can create a cohort of businesses working together. Our plan includes having them occupy those different spaces until they reach a certain level, then we launch them into the deep,” said Rodney Brown, executive director of New Covenant.

The project will also include a pavilion area to house restaurants and retailers. Developers partnered with local businesses Principle Barbers and Del Kar Pharmacy as community consultants.

The development will include 46 units of affordable housing and eight market-rate units. The plan is expected to create around 32 permanent jobs and up to 300 temporary construction jobs.

Mixed-use center with public plaza, housing and retail Gorman & Company and BEEHYYVE aim to create OG Lawndale, a $38.3 million plan with 50 units of affordable housing, a public square and retail.

The OG Lawndale plan emphasizes the innovative design of the building, which features several green rooftops and terraces, over the specific offerings of the mixed-use development. The offerings of the building will be determined by the needs of the community, developers said.

“The idea [is] activating the street with human beings and retail and just sheer activiy, and let the community invent some programs. Sometimes it’s up to us as architects to provide that canvas and let the community create,’ said Juan Moreno, president of JGMA, a design partner for the project.

The OG Lawndale project could include ground-level retail storefronts, a café, and restaurants with outdoor seating.

“There is pop-up retail in that front plaza, so we are able to do things like food truck

PROVIDED

Ground-level rendering of OG Lawndale. festivals or art festivals within the confines of the building but also outside. We see this as an opportunity to continue to grow the vision so it’s not ours, but the community’s,” said Ron Clewer, Illinois market president of Gorman.

Art and tech center with restaurant, bistro and housing A team led by GRE Ventures, Imagine Development and 548 Development proposed a $31.4 million project called Lawndale Redefined.

The development would be anchored by an arts and tech community center called the Cube. The center would offer training for tech fields like blockchain, crypto, A rendering of the Proxima Management Hotel.

5G and artificial intelligence. The fined include Black Men United, NAACPCube would also function as an art gallery that could host events and gather- Westside Branch, Habilitative Systems, Small Business Development Corp. ings.

A public art plaza outside the building The project would also include a small grocery store and a bistro with full-service would have a splash pad for children and a dining on the rooftop terrace. The green meandering walking path with installations roof would have solar panels installed, and designed to educate visitors about Lawnwould also have opportunities for commu- dale’s rich history.

Lawndale Redefined will include 48 afnity gardening.

Community partners for Lawndale Rede- fordable housing units and 12 market-rate units, including three townhomes that will provide residents with opportunities for homeownership.

Proxima Management hotel

Rendering of Lawndale Redefined.

PROVIDED

A $48 million proposal by Proxima Management would create a hotel with 200 rooms in North Lawndale.

The Proxima Management Hotel would also include two spaces for restaurants or retailers. The green rooftop of the hotel would have a terrace, a fitness center and a lounge, developers said.

The hotel plan would close the service drive along Ogden Avenue and repurpose it as a landscaped community area for gatherings, perfor-

PROVIDED

mances and art.

Visitors staying at the hotel would boost the local economy by patronizing neighborhood businesses and restaurants, developers said. The hotel itself is expected to contribute 10 million to the economy, developers said, and another $20 million would be generated indirectly through tourism.

The hotel would create at least 30 permanent jobs, and the developers would make sure at least 10 Lawndale residents were hired for temporary construction jobs.

Proxima partnered with North Lawndale Employment Network to ensure residents are prioritized for hiring.

“North Lawndale is a place to come visit.

It is going to become a place where families will want to come visit the botanic gardens, or visit the Martin Luther King museum.

There’s so much history in this community,” said Brenda Palms Barber, president of North Lawndale Employment Network.

Pascal Sabino is a Report for America corps member covering Austin, North Lawndale and Garfield Park for Block Club Chicago.

CONTACT: pascal@blockclubchi.org

Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

ACCOUNTING CLERK

Responsibilities: • Accounting duties • Process invoices accurately and timely • Check the accuracy of business transactions • Perform data entry and administrative duties • Preparation of payable checks • Posting of checks and ACH payments • Create, edit and update spreadsheets in excel • Daily, weekly and monthly reporting

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• Previous experience in account-ing, finance, or other related fields • High level of accuracy in data entry skills • Ability to prioritize and multitask • Strong organizational skills

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Qualified Candidates should send their resumes and salary requirements to humanresources@icl-na.com

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HELP WANTED

PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER River Forest Public Schools District 90 is seeking a Part-time (FTE 0.77) Elementary School Physical Education Teacher.

Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Grade-Appropriate Physical Education Endorsement; successful teaching experience in physical education preferred; master’s Degree is preferred.

Job Duties: The part-time PE Teacher will work in partnership with the fulltime PE teacher to instruct students in Pre-K through 4th grade on how to develop habits of mind and actions that support good health, fitness and enjoyment of sport and play. The PE teacher will facilitate a learning environment that engages students in learning skills for sport and fitness, as well as SEL skills by growing confidence, sportsmanship and team spirit.

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.

ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER Must have own transportation.

For more information CALL 708-738-3848 SEASONAL FARMERS’ MARKET ASSISTANT The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Seasonal Farmers’ Market Assistant in the Development Customer Services Department. This position will provide administrative support to the Farmers’ Market Manager to allow growers and producers of food to sell directly to the public within established guidelines. This position requires work in inclement weather conditions; some heavy lifting of up to 50 pounds; walking or standing for sustained periods of time. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application.

Open until filled

AustinWeeklyNews.com

1040 NORTH BLVD OFFICE Sub-lease, Move right in. Private furnished window office 10×15 @1040 North Boulevard, walk to CTA green line and Metra train. Asking $600m + 1m SD. Includes all utilities and internet. Note: this is a 2nd-story walkup space. Conference rm, available.

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ROOMS FOR RENT Large Sunny Room with fridge, microwave.

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SUBURBAN RENTALS

ESTATE SALES Riverside

ESTATE SALE 272 BLACKHAWK ROAD THU 5/27 & FRI 5/28 9AM TO 3PM

CEMENT

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MAGANA

Dishes, glassware, tables, lamps, exercise bike, outdoor furniture, cameras, printers, stereos etc.

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FOREST HOME CEMETERY PLOTS 6 Plots in Sec. 49. Available in lots of 2.

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HENREDON SOFA Black-gray Henredon sofa. Excellent condition. 84 in w x 34 in d. $249.

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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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WANTED TO BUY

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

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PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (NEVER KNOWN TO FAIL) Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me, herein you are my mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to suc cor in my necessity (make request).

There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, show me herein you are my mother. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times).

Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and publish; your request will be granted. CAC

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Supreme1 SUPREME ONE APPLIANCE

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Reach the people making the decisions.

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Julio Gonzalez 773-366-6520

NOVENA

Apartment listings updated daily at:

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Excellent condition. Size 6. $40.

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ELECTRICAL

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supremeoneappliance@gmail.com

HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs • Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates Ask for John

Call 773/626-6332

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

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

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PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y21007029 on May 19, 2021 Under the Assumed Business Name of QUEENS KITCHEN & CATERING with the business located at: 3630 W POLK ST CHCIAGO, IL 60624. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: SHEENA DUNN-HEAD 3630 W POLK ST CHICAGO, IL 60624, USA.

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Published in Austin Weekly News May 26, June 2, June 9, 2021

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.

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

Austin Weekly News

Graduation is almost here!

Be part of something fun, something positive and celebrate!

Being a student during COVID-19 has been especially challenging. During the first two weeks of June, Growing Community Media will publish graduation coverage across all of our four newspapers.

Give the Grads in your life a much deserved shout out!

Place a personalized ad honoring your graduating high school, middle school or elementary student. The suggested cost is $60 per ad, but no ad will be turned away for inability to pay. If you would like to make an additional donation to defray the cost of another student’s ad, you can do that too!

Ads will run on June 2 and June 9. To place an ad visit: AustinWeeklyNews.com |

ForestParkReview.com | OakPark.com | RiverForest.com | RBLandmark.com

Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

May Is Mental Health Month You are not alone Did you know that nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health?

Things you can do to help manage symptoms: • Prioritize mental health • Connect in safe ways • Know that it’s okay to not be okay • Find support in your community

To find resources close to you, go to HealthConnectionHub.org or call Riveredge Hospital at 708-209-4181.

riveredgehospital.com

Physicians are on the medical staff of Riveredge Hospital, but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Riveredge Hospital. The facility shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. Model representations of real patients are shown. Actual patients cannot be divulged due to HIPAA regulations. For language assistance, disability accommodations and the non-discrimination notice, visit our website.

210982-1560 05/21

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Austin Weekly News, May 26, 2021

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