Austin Weekly News 062420

FREE

■

Vol. 34 No. 26

■

June 24, 2020

■

On being black and policed,

austinweeklynews.com

■

Also serving Garfield Park

@AustinWeeklyChi

PAGE 8

Special 8 page section inside - “Counting on Chicago/Census 2020”

@AustinWeeklyNews

Meet brains behind Austin COVID-19 vending machine Lo Brown was working on vending machine idea months before COVID-19

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Several months ago, when beauty supply stores were closed due to the state’s stay-at-home orders prohibiting non-essential business activities, a vending machine stocked with beauty products like synthetic hair bundles and satin durags inside of a liquor store in suburban Maywood provided some relief for area customers affected by the store closures.

You may be surprised to discover that Lo Brown, the woman who is the brains behind the machine, retrofits used vending machines herself and she was doing that many months before most people knew what COVID-19 was.

“I had to re-engineer the board, update it, make it accept credit cards, stuff like that,” said Brown, 50, during an interview last week. “I redesigned the board that controls the machine, programmed it and made sure the beauty supplies fit inside of it.”

So far, Brown said, she has two vending machines in operation. In addition to the machine in Maywood, she also has a COVID-19 vending machine stocked primarily with face masks, hand sanitizer and other essential items inside of the Uncle Remus Saucy Fried Chicken, 5611 W. Madison St. in Austin.

“I created the machines not to compete with See LO BROWN on page 7

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

HIS-STORY: A young child works on a mural during the Juneteenth celebration held at the Youth Development Center, 5437 W. Division St. in Austin, where community leaders voiced support for making Juneteenth an official citywide holiday.

West Siders rally around making Juneteenth official

West Side Health Authority gave employees paid off, gets behind proposal to make Juneteenth official city holiday

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

At a Juneteenth celebration held June 19, at the Youth Development Center, 5437 W. Division St., West Side leaders expressed support for making the annual commemoration an official holiday at the

city and state level.

Two days earlier, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution in support of making Juneteenth a national holiday.

But an ordinance that would actually make it a city holiday, which has the support of all West Side aldermen, is currently sitting in limbo.

Morris Reed, the nonprofit WHA’s CEO, said that his organization supports that ordinance’s passage. And Illinois state rep Camille Lilly (78th) said that the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus is currently working on making Juneteenth

State Farm Mutual Automobile • Insurance Company State Farm Indemnity Company • Bloomington, IL • statefarm.com® Larry and his staff are licensed and together have over 75 years of State Farm experience.

See JUNETEENTH on page 2

Larry Williams,Agent 5932 W. Lake Street Chicago, 60644 (773) 379-9010 larry.williams.b0bk@statefarm.com

2

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 2020

JUNETEENTH

Independence Day from page 1 a state holiday.

“We have 364 days until the next Juneteenth, because the fight is not over,” said WHA CEO Morris Reed. “We’re going to continue in this movement until it’s a city holiday.”

While Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved AfricanAmericans, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, when the Union forces retook the last of the Confederate territories, that this proclamation was fully enforced.

To underscore the importance of Juneteenth, WHA gave its employees a paid day off for the annual commemoration, which is also known as Emancipation Day. Reed said that, given that the organization was founded to empower African-Americas change their health and wellbeing, it was only natural that they would celebrate the day that African-Americas were able to “build their own community, raise their children and realize that American dream.”

“We, as a community, share the same past and the same struggle,” Reed said. “We’re trying to join together to create Juneteenth as our July 4, because this is our Independence Day.” Ken Woods, who works at the Youth Development Center, said that, as with other WHA activities, they hoped that the celebration would not only bring people together, but get them to believe in themselves “Our thing is to change their thinking and let them know that, collectively, we have a lot of strength to make a lot of changes,” he said.

The main part of the celebration was a mural that was painted over by the Youth Development Center door. James Coleman, WHA’s community wellness director, was among the painters. He said with the pandemic, the disparities in healthcare, police brutality and lack of economic opportunities, the community is under a lot of stress and this mural provides an outlet and an inspiration for them.

“It actually is an opportunity for residents of Austin to express themselves,” Coleman said. “With people on edge, this is a healing mural. We provide the mural for people to be true to themselves.”

Coleman said when the mural is completed, they’ll place it inside of the youth center.

Yolanda Talley, the 15th District police commander, stopped by the celebration toward the end. She said that Austin always comes together in times of need and this event was “a great representation of the Austin community.”

CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.

SOAKING IT ALL IN: The festivities at Friday’s Juneteenth celebration in Austin included performances from area musicians, sidewalk chalk art and mural painting, among other forms of entertainment.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 2020

3

Juneteenth Caravan

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

IT TAKES A COMMUNITY: On Friday, June 19, the communities of Oak Park and Austin came together to celebrate Juneteenth in honor of Black excellence and freedom, according to Oak Park activists Juanta Griffin and Anthony Clark, who led the parade.

The annual celebration started at the corner of North Avenue and Harlem, with the caravan finished at Chicago Avenue and Austin.

“The” Friendship BAPTIST CHURCH Rev. Dr. Reginald E. Bachus, Pastor

5200 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60644 773-378-6600

fbcchicago.org • facebook.com/friendshipbcchicago SUNDAY SCHEDULE 8:30AM 1st Sunday Communion 8:30AM Morning Worship Service 9:30AM Sunday Church School 11:00AM Mid-Morning Worship Service MIDWEEK SERVICES (Wednesday) 12:00PM Noon Bible Study 6:00PM Bible Study 7:00PM Prayer Meeting

4

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 2020

Austin Garden Collective holding volunteer days

COVID-19 pandemic means initiative will return with some changes

By MATEUSZ JANIK AustinTalks

The Austin Garden Collective is bringing back community gardening volunteer days for its second year starting on Saturday, June 20, but there will be some rules in place because of the coronavirus.

“The goal of the volunteer days is really to get community members who live around the community gardens and involve them, as well as support the people who manage the gardens themselves,” said Cindy Schneider, strategic lead for health and wellness under Austin Coming Together’s Quality of Life Plan and founder of the Austin Garden Collective.

“We are also just being mindful of preventing the spread of COVID-19 in our community, but as we entered into Illinois’ Phase 3 of reopening, it made sense to have volunteer days return on a smaller scale.”

The Austin Garden Collective introduced volunteer days last year as a way to get individuals from the Austin area involved with the various community gardens throughout the neighborhood.

Activities include pulling weeds, clearing out spaces between gardening beds, planting vegetables or flowers, and placing mulch.

Each participating garden will receive a $200 gift card for any expenses needed for their garden.

Last year, Schneider said they had about 20 to 25 volunteers at each Saturday event, but this year, they will be limiting the number to 10 individuals. Also, only one household with children will be allowed at each event.

Volunteers will have to maintain 6 feet of distance from each other; if it is possible, volunteers should bring their own work gloves, masks and gardening tools; and everyone will be required to wear a mask for the duration of time in the garden. For those without a face covering, disposable masks will be provided.

“It is a lot of hard work, but it’s fun work,” Schneider said. “It’s good to be outside and digging in the dirt, especially now because people need to be outside and in a safe environment together.”

Others like the Austin Green Team, a nonprofit that builds and maintains community gardens, will also be participating in the volunteer days and encouraging residents to get out to help or learn about gardening.

“We encourage the community to come out and volunteer or at least stop by to learn

about the history of these gardens and the reasons why they’re here,” Tina Augustus said. “There’s so much to learn just from these various types of plants and their purpose on earth.”

The Austin Green Team’s gardens include: • Rosie’s Peace in the Valley Garden, 168 N. Laramie • Unity Garden, 5102 W. Fulton • Memorial Garden, Washington and Laramie • LeClair Garden, 415 N. LeClaire • Wells Garden, 4900 W. Ferdinand • Vision on Madison, 1201 N. Menard The Austin Green Team also manages two greenhouses at Austin Career Education Center, 5352 W. Chicago Ave., where they grow plants that help maintain the community gardens they oversee.

Augustus said they encourage interested community members to sign up to volunteer on their website and take part in events soon to come, like a garden tour set for Aug. 1.

Cassandra Norman, a community advocate at South Austin Neighborhood Association (SANA), said her group also encourages residents to take part in the volunteer days and events held at both the 29th Ward Veteran’s Peace Memorial Garden, 5413 W. Madison St., and Farm-ToTable Garden, 5421 W. Monroe.

The Veteran’s Memorial Garden will be open this Monday, June 22, along with Chicago’s Lakefront and masks will be available to those who do not have one.

The Austin Veteran Community Organization also holds monthly meetings at the garden every third Wednesday and invites any interested residents to attend.

Their next meeting is 12 p.m. July 15.

Norman said SANA’s farm-to-table garden will start to host events soon, possibly within the next month.

“We have speakers and programs about health, wellness, food and how to grow a garden, so it’s mainly an educational opportunity,” Norman said.

Use this Eventbrite link to sign up for available volunteer spots. The tentative schedule for each community garden and volunteer day is listed below. Note that some garden locations are still to be determined.

• June 27: Austin Green Team TBD • July 11: Mayfield Community Garden (301 N. Mayfield) • July 18: Austin Green Team TBD • July 25: SANA Farm-to-Table Garden (5421 W. Monroe) • Aug 1: Rosie’s Peace in the Valley (168 N. Laramie), 9 am start

CONTACT: austintalks.org@gmail.com

Proud to partner with Austin Talks

GARFIELD PARK LITTLE LEAGUE

“BUILDING BETTER CHILDREN

ONE BASE AT A TIME” For more information or to donate, call us at 773.443.2746

★ Register now at Gpleague.org ★

austintalks.org INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? Contact Dawn Ferencak 708.613.3329

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 2020

5

‘A line has been crossed!’

West Side faith leaders, activists decry 3-year-old’s murder in Austin, offer $5K reward

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Pascal Sabino is a Report for America corps member covering Austin, North Lawndale and Garfield Park for Block Club Chicago. Read more of his coverage at blockclubchicago.org.

West Side clergy leaders gathered on the corner of Central and Ohio avenues in Austin on Father’s Day afternoon to speak out against the murder of a 3-year-old who was killed on the block the day before.

Mekhi James, of Skokie, was killed after “someone opened fire at his father while they were driving Saturday evening,” according to a Fox 32 Chicago report.

“The toddler was struck in the back about 6:25 p.m. when someone in a blue Honda pulled behind the black SUV the boy’s 27-year-old father was driving in the 600 block of North Central Avenue and fired several rounds, according to Chicago Police Chief of Operations Fred Waller,” Fox reported, adding that James’ father may have been the intended target of the shooting, a police source said.

At Sunday’s press conference, members of the Leaders Network, the West Side faith-based social justice group, stood with Rev. Ira Acree, the pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church in Austin, to announce a $2,500 reward Acree and his church was offering for any information leading to the capture of the suspect.

“We’re here today, because we cannot pastor in this community and not say something,” Acree said. “It would be ashamed for us not to pause and say that this kind of ruthless criminal activity is not accepted here in Austin … a 3-year-old was gunned down. A baby! … A line has been crossed.”

Rev. Marshall Hatch, the pastor of the New Mt. Pilgrim MB Church in Garfield Park, said that he lives just a few blocks away from where the murder took place. He said he felt compelled to attend Sunday’s news conference to speak out against the shooting.

“We say his name! Mekhi James! His life matters, as well,” Hatch said. “None of us can go forward with a simple Father’s Day dinner without coming to this corner on the block where this baby lost his life in what really is a scandalous crime.”

Hatch said that the Leaders Network would add $2,500 to that Acree’s reward.

Community activist Zerlina Smith also chipped in.

“I’m working, middle-class Black woman and I get a check,” Smith said. “I’m going to donate out of my paycheck $500 to Rev. Acree to make sure if anybody knows something going on in this community that you step up and say something.”

“There should be 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 people on the streets right now shutting down the Black community until we get it right,” said antiviolence activist Tio Hardiman. “Black men need to shut down the Black community until we get it right!”

CONTACT: pascal@blockclubchi.org

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

Pascal Sabino/Block Club Chicago

COVID HOTBED: At Austin Oasis, a residential care center in Austin that has less than 200 residents, more than 100 people have tested positive for COVID-19, according to date from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Austin nursing home confronts COVID-19 outbreak

Austin Oasis has less than 200 residents, but more than 100 positive cases

By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

More than 100 people have been infected with coronavirus at an Austin nursing home and eight people have died, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Austin Oasis is a residential care center that provides long-term nursing for patients in hospice, rehabilitation, memory care and psychiatric care. The nursing home has less than 200 residents, but the outbreak has infected at least 101 of their patients and staffers.

The high number of cases reflects the nursing home’s rigorous testing, Austin Oasis officials said in a statement. In early June, Austin Oasis asked the Illinois Department of Public Health to test all patients and staff members at the care center.

All of those who have tested positive are being treated in a special recovery unit to prevent more infections, nursing home officials said. In accordance with state guidelines, Austin Oasis has discontinued visits and communal activities while increasing access to personal protective

equipment.

The nursing home also sent a letter to family members notifying them about the expanded testing. The letter said that the majority of positive test results came from patients who were asymptomatic.

“Austin Oasis ensures that the internal and IDPH guidelines and protocols are being followed by constant monitoring and rounding in the facility.

Our main focus right now is protecting our residents and staff from COVID-19,” the statement said.

According to state data, more than half of all COVID-19 deaths are linked to longterm care centers. Nursing home patients are often elderly or have comorbidities that make them susceptible to developing severe complications when infected.

As of June 12, at least 3,433 COVID-19 deaths were linked to nursing homes. The most recent data shows that 6,398 have died from the pandemic statewide.

SEIU Healthcare, a union representing caregivers, said the nursing home industry at-large is to blame for the huge number of cases and deaths among patients and staffers at residential care centers. The industry is largely forprofit, and private nursing homes are often understaffed, rarely compensate nurses with hazard pay and cut corners on personal protective equipment and testing to save money.

“This industry must be held accountable

for their inept response to this tragedy because they continue to put profits above the lives of our residents and workers,” union officials said in a statement.

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who represents the 8th district where Austin Oasis is located, said nursing homes too often put patients and nurses at risk in the name of profit.

“These people are negligent in their duty,” Ford said. “I know there are groups of high-risk people and they don’t have their cases like that.”

Ford said the situation at many private nursing homes has escalated because of a lack of oversight by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the licensing agencies that should be regulating the care centers. The state has pushed testing and PPE at long-term care centers, but outbreaks have remained difficult to control.

“These are businesses that these people are treating individuals there as a dollar, and they’re not treating them as humans,” Ford said. “Families rely on the state to protect those individuals.”

6

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 2020

West Side school bridges e-learning digital divide

At Morton School of Excellence, as many as 90 percent of families lacked computers or WiFi at home — until now

By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

Chalkbeat

For Janina Davis’ two kids, school was the only place they had reliable Internet access. At home, they had no computers and no WiFi. When they had questions about schoolwork and needed to look something up, they had to ask to borrow Davis’ phone.

So when the pandemic forced schools to close and switch to remote online classrooms, Davis’ family was totally unprepared. She couldn’t afford to buy any new technology.

But her kids’ principal at Morton School Of Excellence stepped in to allow kids to bring the school’s devices home.

Were it not for that, Davis said, her kids — who are in second and eighth grade — would be almost totally disconnected.

“I didn’t realize it before now since we didn’t have a choice. But it helps a lot,” Davis said. “And if everyone has it, they can learn more. A lot of work they don’t understand or can’t do, they can just look it up.”

At Morton, as many as 90 percent of families are in the same boat and lack computers or WiFi at home, according to Principal Peggy Burnett-Wise. In predominantly low-income communities of color like Garfield Park, Wise said this lack of access points to a persistent digital divide that explains why some students have lagged behind in the transition to virtual learning, according to recent data from Chicago Public Schools.

“It’s about equity. Access is a game changer. It’s really an opportunity gap,” Wise said. “People talk a lot about an

Pascal Sabino/Block Club Chicago

E-LEARNING: A Garfield Park student using a laptop. Below, a chart by the publication Chalkbeat that shows the percentage of students using Google Meet or Google Classroom. achievement gap… but when they get the opportunity they go for it.”

The newly released data from the district measures how many times each week students log on to access schoolwork and complete assignments online. The findings show that students of color, those with special needs, and families experiencing homelessness or in temporary living situations are participating less in online learning.

Nearly 90 percent of white and Asian CPS students logged into virtual classrooms at least once in during the week of May 11, according to the most recent data.

By comparison, only 70 percent of Black

students and 61 percent of students experiencing homelessness logged in more than once that week.

When it became evident that schools would close in March, Wise and her team began distributing all 130 devices that the school already had, making sure each Morton family had one device.

When CPS offered the school 50 additional Chromebooks and 77 tablets, Wise was able to follow up with families with multiple kids to make sure each child had their own individual device.

Giving students easier access to computers at home plus the needed teaching support for home learning helped boost participation in online lessons, Wise said.

“I was so proud of my parents and my students. Those parents came up, they got those devices and students immediately started logging on,” Wise said. “It was just the best feeling in the world to see our students and our parents get that access immediately. Prior to this, the parents and students would be on one phone trying to access video lessons.”

Davis received two Chromebooks for her second and eighth graders.

Since Davis hadn’t owned a computer before the pandemic, she had to learn how to set up the devices and help her kids with their online assignments and video conference calls. Tech literacy is another barrier she can keep many families from participating in virtual classrooms.

Seeing her kids participate in

the virtual classes has been eye-opening for Davis, she said. Each day she sees her kids finding answers to any question instantly on Google, playing educational games and tapping into vast pools of knowledge on the internet. She said she hadn’t fully grasped just how big of an advantage other students with access to the internet have always had.

Davis also appreciates that Morton’s teachers check in with her regularly to follow up on late assignments and to make sure the family is supported at home and in the virtual classroom.

“That’s not something that we were used to. Any questions that I had, any problems or complications that I had, I just reached out to the teachers,” she said. “If it wasn’t for my teachers, it would have been difficult.”

According to Wise, building strong relationships between teachers and parents has always been key to a successful education at Morton, and it’s a strategy that gives the school an edge now with remote learning.

Those trusted relationships also allow the school to understand the barriers that are keeping some students from participating.

“Some of them were experiencing some really huge trials… having a relationship with them, they were comfortable telling us what was going on,” Wise said.

Wise identified many families at Morton who were experiencing homelessness or in temporary living situations. Students in these families have been logging on for virtual classes less than any other demographic, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of CPS data.

To help those students participate, the school gave WiFi hotspots to every family in temporary living situations since they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get online.

“A lot of people that are in a shelter, they don’t have access to the internet,” said Davis, who is in a temporary living situation. “A lot of people don’t realize they could get access to it. That’s why I appreciate Morton that they go and see about everybody. If they can’t reach them by phone, they go knocking on doors.”

Wise believes these accommodations to bridge the digital divide should be permanent. These opportunity gaps have always existed and are just being exposed by the pandemic, she said.

“Things should never go back to the way they were before,” Wise said. “If we keep the technology access levels where they’re at, then we won’t ever be in a situation where we’re caught off guard and not knowing how to provide students with equitable education.”

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, June 24, 2020

LO BROWN

7

that she’ll vet anyone interested in franchising to ensure market feasibility and other aspects of the business.

Brown said she’s eyeing North Riverside Mall as a potential location from page 1 for her next beauty supply vending machine. She’s also looking at places beauty supply stores, but to create a like neighborhood convenient stores, luxury for people who aren’t able to get senior home lobbies and transit to beauty supply stores after hours,” stations, where there’s high traffic, high said Brown, who owned her own bricksecurity, high visibility and a captured and-mortar beauty supply stores first in market.

Bellwood, where she lives, and then in Brown said she had identified a Harvey before going into the vending liquor store in Chicago where she was machine business. “This gives them going to install a third machine, but ease of access and instant gratification.” the widespread looting that started in The machines are the result of the wake of George Floyd’s death in Brown’s engineering acumen, her late May scrapped those plans. Brown sense of style and her acute business said she’s grateful that she avoided that savvy. Brown, who said she’s a former potential loss.

IT consultant who worked for the city Ultimately, she said, she hopes that of Chicago for 13 years, discovered she can become a model for aspiring that she could do away with the high minority business owners who have operating costs that come with having ambitions of their own.

SHANEL ROMAIN a beauty supply store, stock her items “I want to educate people about with the most popular products that INNOVATOR: Lo Brown in front of her beauty supply vending machine inside of Maywood Wine & entrepreneurship, so that they can customers want and create a niche for Spirits, 1816 S. St. Charles Rd. in Maywood. Brown said that she’s stocked the machines with the earn money and recycle it within their herself. own communities,” said Brown, who is most popular items that customers typically demand.

And it seems to be working, she also a certified life coach and author. said. Brown has high ambitions to “This is not about me. This is about Brown owns the name that appears on she said. “I do everything myself. I also have scale up her operation to 50 machines this the machines — Mental Beauty Supply — my own distributors I work with. So, people how I can help other people turn their vision year and 250 next year. She said she also and said her knowledge of retrofitting and can’t just do all of this themselves.” into reality.” offers franchise opportunities that come operating them is proprietary.

For more information on Lo Brown, visit Brown said that franchising includes with pre-approved financing for purchasing mentalbeautysupply.com.

“I’m an engineer, so I’m able to get old a royalty fee that franchisees would pay individual machines, which go for $3,000 machines at low cost and reengineer the each month. She said an app allows her to empty and $3,500 stocked with product. boards and add the credit card processors,” track sales from each machine. She added CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

Finding her niche

Sponsored Content

TOY-T: From the streets to production and music

T

OY-T is from the Cabrini Green projects on the Near North Side of Chicago. He was raised by his grandmother and grandfather while his father was in prison and mother was on drugs, in and out of jail. He fell deep into the streets. At the age of 11 years old TOY-T was arrested for attempted murder and strong-arm robbery. He looked up to the streets for love & guidance with gangs, drugs, guns money and violence. When he was 16 years old, TOY-T was shot a couple times, and in front of his mother, grandmother, two little sisters and one-year-old daughter.

TOY-T has been on the TV show Gangland episode “Gangster City”.

He is one of the executive producers and starring in the street film episode of Mack Mecca’s “Robbin’ Hoods”. TOY-T is part of Killa Klan Entertainment and he has his own production company called RNOD Productions (Real N----s On Deck).

He is also in business partnership with Luxury For Man aftershave.

TOY-T always had a passion for music and got serious about it when he lost one of his friends of many who have lost their lives in the city of Chicago named 40 Cal

Slim. TOY-T’s love for music is versatile, and he has worked with many different artists. TOY-T tells his life story through his music—he talks about his pain, love, joy, hurt,

For music or productions inquiry visit the website at rnodproductions.com or email at rnodproduction.ent@gmail.com

happiness and losses.

TOY-T is a business man who is strong and loyal in what he believes in to make a better future for himself and his loved ones.

8

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 2020

On being black and policed

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor | Opinion

I still shudder at the memory of my most terrifying encounter with the police. I was in Maywood visiting my best friend. At the time, I was living in Peoria and had grown homesick, so I drove the two hours for a trip that was supposed to be a few days. It turned into a few weeks of me crashing on his basement couch and spending my days waiting for nights of jokes and laughter over beers.

One afternoon during my visit, my friend and I hopped into his car to go to a destination I now forget.

While he was pulling out of his driveway, a black sedan drove by. As the sedan turned the corner, I could see the passenger looking at me. For a split second, our eyes locked and I knew without knowing that the car would turn around and about five seconds later, it did.

And before either of us could process a response, two plain clothes officers were playing good cop-bad cop outside of our respective windows. They demanded we show our hands, present our IDs and explain our presence in the community where we were both raised, lived and have our being.

“When was the last time you were arrested?” the Hispanic cop outside of my window asked.

When I showed him both my state ID and my University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign student ID, which I still carried with me, having finished college a few years before, he asked me why I would be in Maywood if my residency was Peoria.

None of my answers were good enough for him. When we told the officers that we had no drugs on our bodies or in the car, and after a full-body pat down yielded nothing, the Hispanic cop still threatened to call the K9 unit to tear the car up.

Despite my studied deference, the ‘bad cop’ insisted that I was being a smart aleck and ordered me out of the car. He sized me up, his face inches away from mine, and threatened to handcuff me and take me to jail if I so much as breathed his way.

The whole encounter lasted maybe five minutes — the utter helplessness; the paralyzing fear; the inexplicable shame despite my innocence — but I continue to feel it some 10 years later The cops didn’t know my best friend was related to multiple Maywood cops, one of whom he called that day. Later that evening, my friend and I stood in the Maywood police station facing those two plain clothes cops, who turned out to be with a Cook County narcotics unit.

“College boy!” the Hispanic officer

greeted me, halfway attempting to ingratiate himself while still managing to demean me. His countenance had changed.

He was disarmingly non-threatening, even chipper. We shook hands.

He wanted me and my friend to “understand” why we were stopped.

Seconds before we pulled out of the driveway, the bad-cop-turned-good explained, a guy rode by on a bike, making it appear as if we’d been part of a drug deal.

Me looking him in the eyes didn’t bolster my innocence, he told me.

I’m thinking of Dave Chappelle’s Def Jam poem about him being surveilled in a Korean store (“I’m not stealing in the least, but if you’re shopping and you know someone’s watching you shop, that s– will make you look like a thief.”).

And then, managing to weaponize even empathy, the Hispanic cop insisted that my friend and I put ourselves in his shoes, that we understand what cops like him — who police our hometown like it is an occupied territory and treat us as if we’re hostile insurgents — must feel as they’re forced to make split-second decisions in the complex, crime-ridden terrain that is our everyday lives and their war zone.

What the cop did not say at the time, but what I would eventually learn, is that he is trained to protect his own self, first and foremost, and then the bodies of his brothers in arms, so that, at the end of the day, they can all return home to their families, and that this is to be accomplished by any means necessary, even if it means terrorizing the people he is sworn to putatively ‘serve and protect.’

This sense of terror, this dreadful state of policing and being policed, is not egalitarian, is not distributed equally, is predominant in communities of color like mine and not because of anything we citizens of color merited. My friend and I did not earn this treatment.

After the powwow, my friend’s stepmother, a veteran Maywood police officer, asked us if we wanted to file a complaint. We both declined to do so.

My best friend is now a rookie police officer himself — the only black cop in a lily-white suburb, where the police (particularly, and especially, my friend) are polite and accommodating and even deferential to residents — and who within the last few weeks has been called a traitor to his race by a white protestor during a Black Lives Matter rally.

A few days ago, my friend texted me with a request. Can I write something in response to whites who suddenly want to be allies?

This is the best I can do.

MICHAEL ROMAIN

Policing the other

This current crisis in policing is not about individual police, all of whom are human (and I have never known a human being to be an apple). This is about twin perpetual crises that our present system of policing was created to manage: the crisis of racism and the crisis of capitalism.

Modern policing developed in America in order to patrol slaves and to discipline unruly, underpaid and underfed workers whose “riots” BLACK IN BLUE: Kerry were the genesis of the modern labor James Marshall, Untitled (policeman) movement, which is why it is so (2015). The Museum of Modern Art; gift of ironic that politicians’ piecemeal Mimi Haas in honor of Marie-Josée Kravis. police reforms are so often stymied by powerful police unions. regret pulling this sorry s–!”

It’s not a coincidence that police forces “We’re going to kick some Iraqi a–!” the have so often expanded during moments soldiers chant over and over again, as if of racial tension. For instance, after the spellbound. passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, As a black man, in a way a kind of Iraqi, I which prohibited discriminatory housing can only hope the spell breaks. practices and allowed blacks to start moving into suburbs that were formerly CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com closed off to them, Oak Park’s police force grew by a third, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago.

Today, 40 percent of the village’s general budget goes toward policing, according to an assessment of publicly available data.

From 1998 to 2020, Oak Park’s police budget (excluding pensions) grew by 155 percent — from $10.1 million then to nearly $26 million today. The growth in local police spending over those two decades has outpaced the rate of inflation by roughly 62 percent.

And growing alongside that bloated police budget has been fear — of young men who look like me, of black bodies whose movements through time and space have been contained and strictly controlled and surveilled with suspicion.

In her recent study on the imperial origins of American policing, Julian Go of Boston University writes that local police have “borrowed tactics, and organizational templates from America’s imperialmilitary regime that had been developed to conquer and rule foreign populations.

Imperial feedback occurred as a result of imperial importers, many of them veterans of America’s imperial-military apparatus, who constructed analogies between colonial subjects abroad and radicalized minorities at home.”

There’s a scene in “Jarhead,” one of my favorite war movies, where Lt. Col. Kazinski, played by Chris Cooper, briefs fresh troops new to the Gulf War on their mission — to protect Saudi oil fields.

“And gentlemen, I’m talking a lot of oil,” he says. “A lot of oil. So gentlemen, you will hydrate, you will train, you will adjust to this desert and you’ll hydrate some more.

And you will be ready, you will maintain a constant state of suspicious alertness and one day soon Saddam Hussein is going to

To our readers A note on a minor, but major style change (from now on, we’re capitalizing the ‘b’ in Black)

By DAN HALEY Publisher

These are days of mighty change that we are reporting on in our seven neighborhoods. Our reporting has never been more vital. And our thoughtful use of words takes on greater importance.

That is why Growing Community Media, like many other news organizations, last week updated our editorial style guidelines to begin capitalizing the words Black and Brown when used in our pages. This change reflects recognition of systemic racism in our work over decades in reporting on people of color.

It is a small but notable adjustment which acknowledges with respect the contributions to our history and to our culture of Black and Brown people.

It equalizes references to Hispanics, Asians, Italian-Americans, IrishAmericans and other communities.

The word white, which typically describes a skin color and not a distinct culture, will continue to be lower-case.

Growing Community Media publishes under four flags in seven neighborhoods – the Austin Weekly News, Wednesday Journal of Oak Park & River Forest, Forest Park Review and RiversideBrookfield Landmark.

CONTACT: dhaley@wjinc.com

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 2020

9

Floyd’s murder and its ripple effects

G

eorge Floyd never asked to become a martyr. His death after 8 minutes and 46 seconds of having an officer’s knee pressed to his throat, all captured on a cellphone video, has proven to be one of the most horrific sights that has been recorded this century. Not once was he disrespectful to those officers. He begged and pleaded for his life, and even called out his mama’s name. All to no avail.

George Floyd’s death has resonated throughout the entire world. It captured in living color what black people have often spoken about: Our fear of an encounter with the police that we don’t live to tell about.

I was not amazed by certain individuals who countered the recording of his death with his criminal record. The irony of that

defense is that George was a criminal who held a gun against a woman, and the woman lived, yet George Floyd was held by law enforcement, and he died!

The aftermath of George Floyd’s death has played out all over the place. I am not one who supported the looting and rioting that went on. One only has to remember what Madison and Pulaski looked like in the 1960s to see that it never returned to the magnificent shopping area it once was.

Although I grew up on the North Side, it was well known that if you couldn’t find it on Madison Street, it didn’t exist in the world!

There were a lot of provocateurs who wanted certain things to happen and conveniently provided the equipment for it. Like the pallets of bricks that just happened to be

ARLENE JONES

available. Or the video of white people breaking the windows of businesses, to encourage looting and the starting of fires. It’s been 23 years since Chicago had an occasion to riot, which was the last Bulls championship. So the numerous young people who have been raised on stories of ill-gotten loot from those riots were looking for their own opportunity to steal. The devastation that occurred at the Washington Square Mall at North Avenue and Cicero proves that many of those who looted had no clue how hard this community had to work and struggle just to get a mall in that location. And I understand numerous videos exist that show multiple ethnic/racial groups who did all the plundering.

Another aftermath effect of George Floyd’s murder has been the self-reflection that many corporations are doing. From acknowledging Juneteenth, to honoring that day, to talking about the Tulsa race riots, America has never been so aware and

Heal trauma from within

By DARYL SATCHER AustinTalks

I will never watch the video of my brotha George Floyd being murdered. I stopped watching videos of domestic terrorists beating and killing my people a few years ago.

I have seen enough and read enough for a lifetime about what was and is being done to my people. That poison takes me to a dark and dangerous place. I am not at my best in that infected space. I do more harm to myself.

When I was in sixth grade, it was an abnormal day at school. My classmates and I were with Mr. Bell for two hours or so. He did not write on the board that day; no books were opened, and no notes were taken.

Mr. Bell went off script and started telling this mixed but mostly Caucasian crowd of students about how racism was the backbone of our current world; he was a griot that day.

I remember hearing in horror how there was a one drop rule: If you had one drop off African blood in you, then you were African and deemed as the beast, three-fifths of half a man in ‘their’ eyes.

Hannibal was the great African warrior who is still studied today because of his brilliant strategies and prowess as an extraordinary warrior. Hannibal was white in our book. And Malcolm X apparently talked violently and was killed violently, the end.

When Mr. Bell told us the great warrior Hannibal looked like me, my spirit exploded into an undying pride in my people and thirst for more knowledge. I fell in love with history instantly, Black history. If they lied about Hannibal, what else did they lie about?

“Who taught you to hate yourself? Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair?

Who taught you to hate the color of your skin, to the extent that you bleach it to get it to look like the white man? Who taught you to hate the shape of your nose and lips?

Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the sole of your feet?

Who taught you to hate your own kind; who taught you to hate the race that you belong to, so much, that you can’t stand to be around each other? Who taught you to hate what God gave you? He sells you the liquor and throws you in jail for drinking, sells you the dope and throws you in jail for using it to numb yourself from the hell he put you in.” – Malcolm X Jane Elliot told a group of white people that if they were not racist after going through the American public school system, then they were not paying attention.

If white people are programmed to be racist, then my people are programmed to hate ourselves. My history books taught me my people had it too hard and had to struggle and grind and claw for the idea of freedom. I read this rerun again and again and again. Teaching this to melanated students programs them to struggle and grind and claw for the idea of freedom.

Systemic racism is the true virus that we need to defeat. You must first defeat this disease in your mind before you can defeat it in your world. Defeating systemic racism in your mind leads to a healthier lifestyle.

Emotions like anger and rage stings you several times before every stinging anyone else. If you never heal from being traumatized, you are living in the past. Dr. Dispenza brilliantly breaks down the power of the mind and how most of us live in the past.

“If feelings and emotions are the end product of past experiences and you are feeling the same way every single day,

doesn’t that mean nothing new is happening in your life? And those feelings and emotions drive certain thoughts. And you can’t think greater than how you feel, because you had events in your life that have branded you emotionally, and you feel sadness or guilt or shame or unworthiness or insecurity. All of those emotions are created from past experiences.

“And when you feel those emotions, and those emotions drive certain thoughts, and then those thoughts make certain chemicals for you to feel the same emotions and those emotions drive certain thoughts, the repetition of that cycle then, conditions the body to memorize that emotional state better than the mind.

“And now your body is literally in the past. Because if you can’t think greater than how you feel, then you are thinking in the past. Most people spend the majority of their life talking about why they never arrived at their vision of the future, because of some past experience.”

So if you never heal from past traumas, then you are stuck in your personal purgatory. It is like the movie Groundhog Day: You relive the trauma every day in your mind and body.

That is why I stopped watching those videos. I know what happened, and I understand the impact deeply. I realized that watching those videos was like reliving the story of Emmitt Till.

When I watched the story of Emmitt on Eyez on the Prize, I was the age he was when he was lynched. I had nightmares for days after seeing what these white men did

upfront about her own shameful history.

For years I have promoted and celebrated Juneteenth. It had been a major holiday in Texas since 1980, but for the rest of the country, it was unknown. I learned about it around 20 years ago. Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation, effective Jan. 1, 1863. It did nothing for those who were enslaved in Northern states. So when those enslaved in Galveston, Texas learned two and a half years later of their freedom, they marked the occasion with song, dance, and religious prayer. This year, for the first time in my memory, it became recognized almost overnight by major corporations. It was a proud moment to see so many cars bearing the flag. I am hoping that we can take the momentum from this year and really move it forward for next year.

Next week I’ll address America’s corporate response.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1983 painting “Defacement,” which was inspired by the death of young, black artist Michael Stewart, who was killed

by New York City Transit Police. Basquiat said he saw himself in Stewart. to this kid. Carol Bryant, the woman who accused Till of whistling at her, said in 2016 that he never whistled at her, adding salt to our emotional wounds.

I focus most of my time on envisioning the world that I want to live in, and then I open my eyes and go create it. I find people who see the world like I see it. Sure, we won’t agree on everything, but those disagreements help us grow. We collaborate and create this world.

What if you realized that everything you learned in school, watched, and listened to was based on an unspoken theme that Caucasian people were superior, God-like?

What would you do?

Would you be willing to do the work to free your mind from this oppressive belief?

Would you fire the director of the film in your head and hire the divine in you? Or would you stay asleep in a dream for the very few and a nightmare for the rest of us?

Anger, rage and hate must pierce you before it touches anyone else. That poison takes you to a dangerous and infected space.

Heal thyself from within.

Daryl Satcher has taught at Columbia College Chicago since 2003 and been a professional actor since 2002. He is a theatre artist/restorative storyteller, having produced, written, directed and acted in three plays. This past year, he became a yoga instructor and got certified in mental health first aid training.

CONTACT: austintalks.org@gmail.com

10

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 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

River Forest Public Schools District 90 Student Support Services - Vacancies for the 2020-2021 School Year 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.

District 90 is seeking qualified and experienced student support educators for the following positions: • Special Education Support Teacher (Willard Elementary School) • Special Education Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Coordinator (All D90 Schools) • Social Worker Part-time (Willard Elementary School) • Speech and Language Pathologist (Roosevelt Middle School)

General Qualifications: Valid Illinois 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.

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.

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.

CITY RENTALS Augusta & Kildare: PERFECT FOR SENIORS A gorgeous 2nd flr.studio apt. kitchen, dining room and large walk-in closet, hardwood floors, in a beautifully landscaped & well maintained building, quite, safe & secure, rent 625.00 incl. heat, appliances, and laundry room, for more information call 773-838-8471 .

ROOMS FORÂ RENT

AUSTIN CLEAN ROOM With fridge, micro.

Nr Oak Park, Super Walmart, Food 4 Less, bus, & Metra. $116/wk and up.

773-637-5957

SUBURBAN RENTALS OAK PARK 1 BR LR, Kitchen, BR in beautiful building with lovely Wesley Ave. location.

Parking available. $1095/mo plus security deposit.

773-746-3163

ITEMS FOR SALE LENOX CHINA 5 piece place settings Lenox china, Tuxedo pattern WATERFORD GLASSES Colleen pattern, 2 water goblets, 2 wine glasses, 5 double old fashioned glasses IRISH CARDIGAN Men’s size large.

708-386-6160

WANTED TO BUY 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

Selling your home by owner?

Help it stand out – advertise here.

Call 708-613-3342 to place your ad.

AIR CONDITIONING/ HEATING AIR CONDITIONING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Air Conditioning Automotive A/C Refrigerators Ranges • Ovens Washer • Dryers Rodding Sewers

CEMENT Residential Commercial Industrial Licensed Bonded Insured Free Estimates ¡ Veteran Owned

Drives Walks Patios Stamped Concrete Curbs/Gutters Garage Floors Foundations Water Control / Management

MAGANA

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.

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

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

HANDYMAN

773-637-0692

THERAPY OFFICES FOR RENT Therapy offices for rent in north Oak Park. Rehabbed building. Nicely furnished. Flexible leasing. Free parking. Free wifi; Secure building; Friendly colleagues providing referrals. Shared waiting room; optional Conference. Call or email with questions. Shown on Sundays.

Lee 708.383.0729 drlmadden@ameritech.net

Apartment listings updated daily at:

A&A ELECTRIC

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000

CEMENT

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

PAINTING & DECORATING CLASSIC PAINTING

Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

708.749.0011

PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

Licensed, Bonded, Insured, & EPA Certified Expert craftsmanship for over 50 years

C O N C R E T E C O N S T RU C T I O N “QUALITY IS OUR FOUNDATION� ESTABLISHED IN 1987

COMMERCIAL ˜ INDUSTRIAL ˜ RESIDENTIAL

708.442.7720 '5,9(:$<6 Â&#x2021; )281'$7,216 Â&#x2021; 3$7,26 67(36 Â&#x2021; &85% *877(56 Â&#x2021; 6,'(:$/.6 612: 3/2:,1* Â&#x2021; 67$03(' &2/25(' $**5(*$7( &21&5(7( FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

Starting a New Business?

Call the experts before you place your legal ad! Publish your assumed name legal notice in Austin Weekly News Call Mary Ellen for details: 708/613-3342

ELECTRICAL

Let an American Veteran do your work

HANDYMAN

devegaconcrete.com ¡ 708-945-9001

SUBURBAN RENTALS

Ceiling Fans Installed

Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

OFFICE SPACE FORÂ RENT

Lost & Found classified ads run free in Austin Weekly News!

Call 773/626-6332 to place your ad. .

ELECTRICAL

Attention HomeImprovement Pros!

Reach the people making the decisions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; your target demographic.

Place an ad in Austin Classified!

Call 773/626-6332

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, AS TRUSTEE OF UPLAND MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST A Plaintiff, -v.PERRICK ROBINSON, DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS CERTIFICATE TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF BOSCO CREDIT II TRUST SERIES 2010-1, TILA MITCHELL, MIDLAND FUNDING LLC, STATE OF ILLINOIS-DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE Defendants 18 CH 10399 4843 W. KAMERLING AVE CHICAGO, IL 60651 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on July 1, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 21, 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 4843 W. KAMERLING AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60651 Property Index No. 16-04-217-0060000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

The judgment amount was $139,538.72.

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

REAL ESTATE FORÂ SALE 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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;AS ISâ&#x20AC;? 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.

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 (driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

For information, HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC Plaintiffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attorneys, 111 East Main Street, DECATUR, IL, 62523 (217) 4221719. Please refer to file number 364100.

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.

HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC 111 East Main Street DECATUR IL, 62523 217-422-1719 Fax #: 217-422-1754 E-Mail: CookPleadings@hsbattys. com Attorney File No. 364100 Attorney Code. 40387 Case Number: 18 CH 10399 TJSC#: 40-1020 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 # 18 CH 10399 I3151341

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 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 SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR ARGENT SECURITIES INC, ASSET-BACKED PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005-W2 Plaintiff, -v.JOANN R. MARSHALL A/K/A JO ANN MARSHALL, ONEMAIN FINANCIAL OF INDIANA, INC, F/K/A AMERICAN GENERAL FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC, CITY OF CHICAGO Defendants 18 CH 11976 5333 W. GLADYS AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60644 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on May 30, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 21, 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 5333 W. GLADYS AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60644 Property Index No. 16-16-115-0680000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

The judgment amount was $93,393.80.

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.

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.

For information, Alexander Potestivo, POTESTIVO & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 223 WEST JACKSON BLVD, STE 610, Chicago, IL, 60606 (312) 263-0003. Please refer to file number 114234.

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.

POTESTIVO & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 223 WEST JACKSON BLVD, STE 610 Chicago IL, 60606 312-263-0003 E-Mail: ilpleadings@potestivolaw. com Attorney File No. 114234 Attorney Code. 43932 Case Number: 18 CH 11976 TJSC#: 40-1735 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 # 18 CH 11976 I3151666

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION SELECT PORTFOLIO SERVICING INC.; Plaintiff, vs.

CECILIA FRANCISCO AKA CECILIA N. FRANCISCO; OIS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND OFELIA FRANCISCO; Defendants, 19 CH 8679 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 Wednesday, July 29, 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, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-04-215-013-0000.

Commonly known as 4821 West Hirsch Street, Chicago, IL 60651.

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 Mr. Anthony Porto at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Kluever & Platt, L.L.C., 150 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601.

(312) 236-0077. SPS00021519FC1 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3151790

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION CITY OF CHICAGO, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, Plaintiff, vs.

TBI URBAN HOLDINGS LLC; METLIFE HOME LOANS; THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; LATISHA VEAL; WANKEE VEAL; CHASE HOME FINANCE, LLC; CURTIS GARRETT; DEMETRIOUS KELLY; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, Defendants, 11 M1 402682

NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause on February 18, 2020, Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Monday, July 27, 2020, at the hour of 11 a.m. in its office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described property: P.I.N. 16-09-315-043-0000, 16-09315-044-0000, and 16-09-315-0450000.

Commonly known as 125 North Pine Avenue, Units A, B, and C, Chicago, Illinois 60644.

The property consists of vacant land.

Sale terms: 10% of the purchase

price will be required to bid at the sale. The balance of the purchase price required by 12:00 p.m. the following day. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale which will entitle the purchaser to a Deed to the premises after confirmation of the sale.

For information call City of Chicago Department of Law/COAL, City Hall 121 North LaSalle Street, Suite 400, Chicago, Illinois 60602 (312) 7420007.

INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 Dated: June 10, 2020 I3151759

AUSTINWEEKLY news Mary Ellen Nelligan Editor Michael Romain Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Senior Editor Bob Uphues ≈ Contributing Reporters Bonni McKeown, AustinTalks, Igor Studenkov Publisher Dan Haley Columnist Arlene Jones Business Manager Joyce Minich Staff Photographer Alex Rogals ≈ Design/Production Manager Andrew HOW TO REACH US Mead 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 773-626-6332 Designer Debbie Becker FAX 708-467-9066 Sales & Marketing Representavies ONLINE www.AustinWeeklyNews.com Lourdes Nicholls, Marc Stopeck TWITTER @AustinWeeklyChi Sales & Development Austin Weekly News is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. It is distributed free of charge at locations across Austin and Garfield Park. Our hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Advertising rates are available by calling our office.

Printed entirely on recycled paper. © 2020 Growing Community Media NFP.

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

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!

12

T: 5.04 in

Austin Weekly News, June 24, 2020

Les Luscious

Natural products for all hair types and textures

“Be comfortable with your hair”

“Be comfortable with your hair?”

Meet the CEO and founder of Les Luscious Products & Luxury for Men, Leslie Lofton, who always had a passion for natural hair care, which led to the creation of an all natural line of products, for all types and textures of hair, so your own hair can stay healthy.

leslusciousproducts.com 312-934-4375

June 24, 2020

COUNTING ON CHICAGO • 2020

T

FROM THE DESK OF DONALD J. DEW, C.E.O., Habilitative Systems, Inc. (HSI)

hank you Chicago!

The 2020 Census virtual outreach campaign has reached thousands of households throughout Illinois. Partnering organizations across the state of Illinois continue our virtual census campaign to communicate with households by phone, email, web and social media the importance of completing the 2020 Census. It’s just 10 questions and 10 minutes of time, from the convenience of your home, and it’s done.

Counting on Chicago Coalition (COCC) events including Census Sunday (March 29), NBA All-Star Watch Party 2020 and April 1 Census Day reached thousands throughout Illinois to inform them of the importance of completing the 2020 Census. We continue to

focus on our mission of increasing census participation among the hard-to-count residents in 13 communities across Chicago, and we are eager to reach our goals in spite of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) challenges. We are encouraged that during these unprecedented times it will serve as an opportunity to capture accurate data for each reporting household.

While many people are adhering to the stay-home, save-lives order advised by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzer and Illinois Health Professionals, it is also an essential time for Illinois residents to complete the United States 2020 Census form, that is so important

it is required by law. The results from the 2020 Census will be used to direct billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, roads and other public services that will address the social determinants of health and disparities. Including every member of each household is essential to matching funds with potential needs, expected and unexpected.

Illinois elected officials, including Congressman Danny Davis, State Representative Camille Y. Lilly and Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer are among many others who have joined the virtual push to secure a complete count for Illinois households.

Many elected

2020

officials have responded with 2020 Census Public Service Announcements (PSA) that air on social media sites and web sites throughout Illinois.

Current and former NBA players including Denzel Valentine, Craig Hodges, Cliff Livingston, Mickey Johnson, along with hometown celebrity and hip-hop artist Twista urged supporters to Be Counted.

Many of the celebrities are also featured in a 2020 Census PSA campaign.

Today is the day that matters the most. Don’t delay. Complete your 2020 Census and Be Counted.

Thank you to all our coalition partners that are pushing the 2020 Census message, engaging thousands of households virtually, and delivering essential services during this pandemic. We are stronger together!

Complete the 2020 Census today: My2020census.gov or Call 1-844-330-2020

2

Austin Weekly News • June 24, 2020

COUNTING ON CHICAGO • 2020

HABILITATIVE SYSTEMS, INC. EXECUTIVE TEAM Donald J. Dew – President & Chief Executive Officer Richard Jackson - Vice President of External Affairs Dr. Karen B. Dixon – Chief Operating Officer Sharon Butler – Vice President of Finance Dee Taylor - Human Resources Generalist Della Acres - Administrative Assistant

2020 Census Staff & Consultants Dr. Patricia Easley – Project Manager Deborah Williams – Community Outreach & Engagement Supervisor Tina Augustus – Outreach Workers’ Supervisor - West Ruthie Moore - Outreach Workers’ Supervison -South Joanne Cowart, CPA – Project Accountant Steve Adams – Director of Management Information Systems Vanessa Taliferro – Monitoring & Evaluation Consultant Wynona Redmond – Marketing & Public Relations Consultant

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR VENDORS & CONSULTANTS

Finch and Associates, Video Display Consultants (312) 636-0764 - tfinch@gmail.com

AD-V BUSINESS CONSULTING, INC

COUNTING ON CHICAGO • 2020

Counting on Chicago Coalition was established to ensure inclusion of Chicago’s historically undercounted and marginalized populations in the 2020 Census

T

he announcement was made at the second stop of the Illinois Legislative Overall, Illinois Black Caucus Census 2020 bus tour to raise awareness of the important role the federal census has on provisions of $29 million resources for Illinois and Chicago. In in this year’s helping to announce the coalition, Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford said that an accurate census prepare and count has significant consequences.

“Historically, people of color have been undercounted during the census process, a shortcoming that has left our communities without proper funding for vital resources and put a strain on state budgeting,”

F

said Sen. Lightford. “My colleagues and I are working on legislation that provides the necessary funding to reach those hard-to-count populations in order to ensure that Illinois does not lose out on billions in federal funding or representation in Congress.”

The demographics and characteristics common to these community areas are: predominately African American, impoverished residents, single-parent households, limited access to technology and internet, distrust of

The Counting on Chicago Coalition will work under a $2.3 million grant awarded by the State of Illinois’ 2020 Census Grant program, which aims to make sure that Illinois is represented appropriately in the upcoming census.

Overall, Illinois has committed $29 million in this year’s budget to prepare and execute the census in Illinois. This is the largest per-person investment made in any state in the nation.

The resources are going directly to outreach and COMMUNITIES education, with grants to community organizations across the state engaged

What makes these neighborhoods unique?

or its participation as a Regional Intermediary, Habilitative Systems is assigned several urban community areas in the City of Chicago. These areas include Ashburn, Auburn Gresham, Austin, Chicago Lawn, East Garfield Park, Englewood, Morgan Park, Near West Side, North Lawndale, Roseland, Washington Heights, West Englewood, and West Garfield Park.

in this work, particularly in hard-to-count communities.

The executive order signed

by Gov. Pritzker also established a Census Office within the Department of Human Services to lead this effort and a Census Advisory Panel to guide its work.

the government, renters, housing instability, low educational attainment, high elderly population, and high number of returning citizens.

Historically, these communities have endured years of economic woes, violence, high crime, disproportionate unemployment rates, and inadequate access to comprehensive healthcare. All these factors contribute to the low self-response rates but Habilitative Systems, Inc. and its collaborative partners in the Counting on Chicago Coalition have aggressively conducted outreach to encourage and to motivate residents to complete the survey.

Austin Weekly News • June 24, 2020

The grant represents the largest effort ever undertaken to reach the traditionally hard-tocount population in Illinois in the history of the U.S. Census.

Illinois State Representative LaShawn Ford commented, “We’re looking to reduce the skepticism people have in black communities about taking part in the Census. This collective effort is a call for all hands on deck to bring awareness to the value each person brings to their communities when they’re counted.”

WHERE THE COALITION WORKS:

COMMUNITIES WHERE THE COALITION WORKS:

The coalition will be responsible for outreach in 13 communities in Chicago.

Those neighborhoods are:

• Ashburn • Auburn Gresham The coalition will be

responsible for outreach in 13 • Austin communities in Chicago. Those neighborhoods are: • Chicago Lawn

• East Garfield Park • Ashburn • Englewood • Auburn Gresham • AustinPark • Morgan • Chicago • Near WestLawn Side

• East Garfield Park

• North Lawndale • Englewood

• Roseland

• Morgan Park

• Washington Heights • Near West Side

• West Englewood • North Lawndale • West Garfield Park • Roseland • Washington Heights • West Englewood • West Garfield Park

#Chicago #ashburn #aubrungreshamchicago #austinchicago #chicagolawn #eastgarfieldpark #eastgarfieldparkchicago #englewood #englewoodchi #morganparkchicago #nearwestside #nearwestsidechicago #northlawndale #roselandchicago #roseland #washingtonheights #westgarfieldparkchicago #westgarfieldpark

Your Household Matters • Be Counted!

3

4

Austin Weekly News • June 24, 2020

COUNTING ON CHICAGO • 2020

MEET THE COALITION MEMBERS

Habilitative Systems, Inc. (HIS) provides supportive services to improve the lives of Chicago’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable residents in the North Lawndale, West Garfield, Austin and Englewood communities.

Counting on Chicago is 30 organizations, each with strong and unique access points to vulnerable populations such as disenfranchised minority communities, the homeless, disabled, elderly, and people across the spectrum who are otherwise at risk of elimination from the census process. The coalition members are:

Austin Childcare Provider Network offers education and training for 80 licensed childcare providers and 5 daycare centers enrolled as members working to further their education and raise the level of quality childcare in Austin and neighboring communities.

Fathers Who Care advocates on behalf of fathers in the areas of responsible fatherhood involvement, healthy relationships, father’s rights, re-entry opportunities, men’s health and wellness and youth leadership and development.

austinchildcareprovidersnet.org

habilitative.org

Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center is a licensed Level I and Level II outpatient addiction treatment facility located on the West side of Chicago at 2942 West Lake Street, serving Chicago’s community of the disenfranchised with a long history of unemployment and substance abuse impacting both the family and the community at large.

Austin Peoples Action Center is a social service agency serving Chicago’s Austin Community and several suburban communities.

asnchicago.org

Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind -Specific outreach to hundreds of persons with visual impairments and their families - Chicago wide.

Communities United serves the neighborhoods of Albany Park, Austin, Belmont-Cragin, Roseland and West Ridge and focuses on advancing health equity, affordable housing, education justice, youth investment, immigrant rights, police accountability and restorative justice alternatives. communitiesunited.org

Chicago Westside Branch NAACP/ Bright Leadership Institute is a local chapter of the NAACP is a chapter-driven, membership-driven organization dedicated to social equality. illinoisnaacp.org/chicagowestside

The Answer, Inc. - Chicago area Autism and Disability advocacy organization serving thousands annually.

fatherswhocare.org

First Ladies Health Alliance NFPOver 100 churches with community ministries that include social and broadcast media - Chicago wide.

AustinPeoplesActionCenter.org

anb.today

Alternative Schools Network works in partnership with community-based organizations & schools to re.engage a diverse community of learners to actualize their true academic potential & personal goals by promoting educational innovation, workforce opportunities & civic participation for future leadership and service.

Laura B. Collins Community Development /Leaders Network – A grassroots network of faith and community leaders that advocates for human rights, equity, and social justice for the underserved populations on the Westside and greater Chicago. Train faith-based leaders for civic engagement.

Garfield Park Community Council focuses on renewing the community’s commercial corridors, spurring new housing investment, addressing public safety and wellness, and building connections between neighbors by integrating resident leadership and advocacy to ensure that community members lead neighborhood planning and renewal efforts. Garfield Park Community Council.

Haymarket Center aids people with substance use disorders in their recovery by providing comprehensive behavioral health solutions. hcenter.org

Family Guidance Center is a notfor.profit behavioral healthcare organization that treats and prevents substance use disorder as well as an array of other related problems, educating and guiding individuals toward their full potential as productive members within their own families and our society. fgcinc.org

Introspect Youth Services Legacy education organization that has secured college scholarships for thousands of youth over 40 years - Westside.

COUNTING ON CHICAGO • 2020

The Loretto Hospital is an acute care community hospital that serves over 33,000 patients each year from Chicago’s Austin and surrounding communities providing a unique, patient-centered healthcare delivery system that promotes general wellness and education. lorettohospital.org

Project Exploration – Provides STEM-related learning experiences for middle and high school youth, primarily in Chicago Public Schools, and with families in underserved communities, utilizing college undergraduate facilitators from local universities - Westside.

Projectexploration.org

Sinai Health System delivers a full range of quality inpatient and outpatient services, as well as a large number of innovative, community-based health, research and social service programs focused on our collective depth of expertise and passion to improve the health of the 1.5 million people who live in our diverse service area. sinai.org

Austin Weekly News • June 24, 2020

5

Westside Health Authority organization’s mission is to use the capacity of local residents to improve the health and well-being of the community, which includes the social and physical environment which contributes to the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of the estimated 22,000 residents served directly and indirectly annually through their services. healthauthority.org/

North Lawndale Employment Network - Social Entrepreneurial grassroots organization providing employment and training services to reentry and other hard to count populations. nlen.org

Proviso-Leyden Council for Community Action is a private, notfor-profit corporation to serve lowincome residents in Cook County’s Proviso and Leyden Townships, and the Chicago metropolitan area. plcca.org

UIC- Institute on Disability and Human Development - Specific outreach to thousands of students learning to work with physical disabilities and over 500 Hispanic families receiving support for their children with disabilities - Chicago.

wide People’s Community Development Association, an affiliate of the People’s Church of the Harvest Church of God in Christ, fulfills community and economic development and is a pillar in the East Garfield Park community. pcdac.com

Phalanx Family Services assists economically disadvantaged, at-risk youth and families in the pursuit of self-sufficiency using a multifaceted approach to employment that includes recruiting, training, job placement and other support services for individuals seeking employment or career advancement. phalanxgrpservices.org

Saint Agatha Church is a vibrant Christian faith community rejoicing in the power of praise and worship of Jesus Christ as our teacher and guide, seeking to welcome all into both the work of Jesus Christ in the North Lawndale community and the worship that nourishes us for that work.

VAS Networking – Focus on homeless and ex-offender populations to provide stable housing and supportive services Southside.

FUNDING GRANT: •W orking under a $3.3 million grant awarded by the State of Illinois’ 2020 Census Grant program.

st-agatha-chicago.org

Sankofa Safe Child Initiative Intergenerational mission driven organization specializing in Grandparents raising Grandchildren involved with DCFS.

Bobby E. Wright Behavioral Health Services - Over 45 years mental health substance use disorder services to persons experiencing trauma, violence and numerous life challenges Westside.

WACA –Chicago Family Partnership - Specialized mentoring, counseling and supportive services for youth dually involved with DCFS and Juvenile Court - North Lawndale.

urpose is to make •P sure that traditionally under-represented and undercounted populations in Chicago are represented appropriately in the upcoming 2020 federal census.

•T he grant represents the largest effort in the history of the U.S. Census to reach the traditionally hard-to-count population in Chicago.

6

Austin Weekly News • June 24, 2020

COUNTING ON CHICAGO • 2020

Here’s the Coalition’s innovative outreach efforts, in the time of COVID-19

H

abilitative Systems and our partners in the Counting on Chicago Coalition have brought unity, resolve, and ingenuity to reach the city’s Hard to Count geographic areas to make sure these neighborhoods are well and fairly represented in the 2020 Census.

the May Regional Intermediary virtual meeting hosted by UIC. The program staff implemented a reporting tool for subrecipients to track current 2020 response rates and compare them to the 2010 census response rate baseline data, on a biweekly basis. This strategy enabled the subrecipients to strategically plan

In partnership with Chicago Public Schools and Ancestry.com, Habilitative Systems created the Family Ancestry Challenge, an innovative educational program.

This program introduced students

from two high schools to the process of researching their families’ ancestry. Understanding that Census records are a key component of the research helped increase student and family willingness to participate in the 2020 Census Survey and encourage other family members to do so as well.

For instance, the Coalition led the kick-off efforts with a highly publicized and attended bus tour with the Illinois Black Caucus. This event garnered city-wide press coverage from television and local newspaper reporters. This first outreach community event precipitated many other creative engagements to educate the public about the 2020 Census.

The NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago provided the opportunity for Chicago Bulls basketball icons like Cliff Livingston and Craig Hodges, and current Bulls’ player Denzel Valentine to travel to North Lawndale and make special presentations to community residents about the importance of completing the census. The Coalition sponsored this free event which drew thousands in attendance.

Habilitative Systems was recognized for its work in tracking response rate data at

outreach efforts in hard to count neighborhoods with low selfresponse rates. Consequently, UIC adopted this proactive tract level strategy and began to drill down from community level data to tract level for all Regional Intermediaries to incorporate this approach into their program practice. On May 6 HSI program staff was given the opportunity to share their approach with other Census organizations.

Habilitative Systems joined with others across the country in promoting National Census Sunday on March 29. The Virtual Church Campaign for 2020 Census was part of the national strategy to engage specific faith-based institutions in Census awareness. Habilitative Systems and the Coalition successfully collaborated with over 200 churches who in turned shared the “All Souls Count” message with well over 5,000 people via social media that included Facebook Live and YouTube.

Habilitative Systems was chosen by the state Defining our Decade committee to be in one of four videos being developed for

Current Census response rates as of June 15 are Illinois: 66.2%, Chicago: 53.8% Your Household Matters • Be Counted!

State of Illinois Department of Human Services for the Defining our Decade Series. Habilitative Systems was chosen because of the vast amount of videos and other artifacts that were

submitted to the committee to define our decade thus far.

Donald Dew, president and CEO of Habilitative Systems was interviewed and some of our work was showcased on the first video being produced. Special thanks to George “Motivador G” Salter and APAC for Twista and other Rap artists.

Habilitative Systems invested in Smart Van technology for its Virtual Phonebanking platform, prior to the mandate that all outreach be conducted digitally or via social media due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HSI subrecipients utilized this tool for phone banking throughout the service area. The phone banking tool was extremely instrumental in moving the outreach to a safe platform.

COUNTING ON CHICAGO • 2020

Austin Weekly News • June 24, 2020

Our Staff Person: Tina Augustus, Outreach Worker Supervisor in charge of Virtual Phone Bank Census Outreach Strategy, led the efforts of Counting on Chicago Coalition

to make over 175,000 Calls!

This infographic highlights the outreach activity and results from phone banking.

Counting on Chicago Coalition 2020 Census Marketing Campaign was in full display all throughout local neighborhoods of Chicago. We invested in a Mobile Electronic Billboard Truck to carry the message about the importance of being counted.

Finch And Associates provides LED digital mobile billboards trucks that reach any demographic, neighborhood, conference, fair or festival. Their displays will capture your targeted consumers where they Live, Work, Commute and Play. This mobile mass media can’t be overlooked! Your message will be mobile, customizable and highly targeted. They travel to high traffic streets, churches, schools and more.

Finch and Associates, Video Display Consultants (312) 636-0764 - tfinch@gmail.com

Donald Dew, CEO & Dr. Karen Dixon, COO at HSI

7

8

Austin Weekly News • June 24, 2020

COUNTING ON CHICAGO • 2020

YOU MATTER Fill out the Census. And be counted.

Illinois loses millions of dollars when residents don’t fill out the Census.

Be counted so Illinois can get money for our...

Hospitals

Schools

Roads

Public Transportation

Your Household Matters • Be Counted!

Your info CANNOT be shared with immigration or law enforcement, or affect your government benefits.