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New arts group led by teens focuses on N. Lawndale revitalization,
Vol. 33 No. 22
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May 29, 2019
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austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
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West Siders d talk lk betterment, page 11
Re-imagining North Avenue Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning released draft plan for busy corridor’s revitalization May 9 By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has officially released the draft of the new North Avenue Corridor Revitalization and Mobility Plan. The plan includes strategies to revitalize the portion of North Avenue, between Austin Boulevard and Harlem Avenue, on both the Oak Park and Galewood sides of the corridor. Last year, the North Avenue District, Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) and the village of Oak Park, successfully applied for CMAP’s Local Technical Assistance Program. The program helps municipalities and nonprofits develop plans to improve transportation, land use and quality of life. Since then, the agency has been working with other entities, including the Urban Land Institute, which bills itself as “membership-based, multidisciplinary real estate forum that offers communities strategic advice from development experts,” to figure out the particulars. The draft plan was released to the public on May 9, during an open house held at Galewood Trinity Church, 1701 N. Narragansett Ave. It was posted online the following day. The agency is expected to use the feedback to create the final versions of the plan, which will need to be approved by the three partner organizations. The draft plan was largely developed during a technical assistance panel conducted by ULI Chicago that took place in December 2018. The panel took input from the three organizations and two municipalities. It found five major issues in the area of study, including speeding along North Avenue that makes the street unsafe for cars and pedestrians. The plan also singled out the “unattractive,
It’s a wrap
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Lonni Kehrein cuts the ribbon on stage on Wednesday, May 22, during the grand opening for the Kehrein Center for the Arts and Sistema Ravinia Auditorium at Catalyst Circle Rock Charter School in Austin. Story on page 4.
Key moments from Mayor Lightfoot’s inaugural address The new mayor’s May 20 speech outlined promises, vision
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
In an inaugural speech spiced with references to the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks and church hymns, along with
a nod to the “great, late” Chicago mayor Harold Washington, new Mayor Lori Lightfoot — the first African American female openly gay mayor in the city’s history — outlined her vision for the nation’s third-largest city.
We read the transcript of Lightfoot’s May 20 address, delivered at Wintrust Arena, and selected some of the most specific promises. Read the most important parts of her speech below:
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