Co-governance framework gives locals decisionmaking power
Pilot projects include enhancing urban agriculture and decarbonizing buildings
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
The West Side may be seeing more urban agriculture, reentry services and decarbonized buildings in the next year, thanks to a new cogovernance framework in Chicago.
Earlier this year, Chicago United for Equity and Chicago’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice launched a co-governance framework that creates a way for city government and community members to partner to bring more programs, policies and resources to Chicago neighborhoods that need it most, like those on the West Side. This month, they announced the framework’s first pilot initiatives.
“We have to start with the people who know the work and have the lived experience being the designers – not just the people who are cosigning the design,” said Candace Williams, interim executive director of Chicago United for Equity,
See CO-GOVERNANCE on pa ge 6
Emilia Merchen and other St. Catherine-St. Lucy parishioners who were baptized and con rmed in the church stand to be recognized. e church is being closed by the Chicago Archdiocese
By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
Prior to Sunday’s final mass at St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Catholic Church, organ music settled over dozens of cong re gants as they filed in, joining their voices with hundreds more in the nave
Here stood the statue of St. Lucy, holding an olive branch and staring down at the sheer throng of people, an estimated 800 who made the trek from around the area and even across the country to partake in the Eucharist one last time at the church
See LAST MASS on pa ge 13
ERICA BENSON
Youth-led bike repair pop-ups arrive in Austin
Free bike maintenance program ever y other Saturday
By HECTOR CERVANTES
Contributing Reporter
Youth from Bikes ’N’ Roses are leading free bike re pair pop-ups across Austin this summer – offering tools, solutions and a deeper connection through cycling.
Empowering youth across Chicago’ West and Northwest Sides, Bikes ’N’ Roses, a bike shop located at 4600 W. Palmer St., Chicago, provides hands-on bike training, leadership development and community engagement. It uses as a tool for social change, helping young people apply their skills to suppo neighborhoods, access services and evoke positive changes.
The free bike repair clinic takes place every other Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Upcoming dates and locations are: July 6 at the North Austin Public Library, July 19 at AltSpace, Aug. 2 at Intentional Sports and Aug. 16 at Bethel New Life coordinator ents
are part of the Pedal to Wellness campaign, a summer initiative taking place throughout the Austin neighborhood.
“Austin doesn’t have any bike shops,” she said. So what we’re doing is providing pop-up clinics throughout the neighborhood, so people can easily access free bike repairs and maintenance. We’re also doing free bike giveaways, so even if people don’t have bikes, it’s like, ‘Oh, we got you.’”.
At the previous re pair pop-up event held at Columbus Park on June 7, the team re paired 21 bikes and gave away three bikes
“Youth are pretty much the driving force behind these pop ups as youth leaders founded Bikes ’N’ Roses, because they wanted a space where young people could come to g ether to work on bike re pair and mechanics, do things for the community, and apply their interest in mechanics to helping others,” Romea said.
Yurem Romero is one of the mechanics on the team, helping to re pair bikes
“To me, it’s like a passion. Doing bikes, re pairing them, making them, and seeing people happy in general,” Romero said.
Romero highlights that cycling has the power to unite communities, noting that even simple activities like bike re pairs or group rides help bring people to g ether
Hoping for a career in the bike industry, Romero r uns a bike business called Scycoloforge, a 3-D printed bike manufacturing company that does custom 3-D print bike par ts for individual riders
As part of the campaign, Bikes ’N’ Roses plans to hold a community bike ride followed by a barbecue to foster connection and celebration. Final details ar e still in the works.
Romea emphasized how powerful biking can be, noting that it’s not only a practical way to get around, but also something that supports both physical and mental health. He added that it’s inspiring to hear young people share how biking and bike repair have positively impacted their lives and helped them build connections.
“Community is one of the most valuable things life has to offer. T he really beautiful thing about these clinics is that people across g enerations are connecting – youth are able to share their skills with the community, and the community g ets to see that youth have something meaningful to of fer,” Romea said.
As part of the Pedal to Wellness campaign, residents can enter a free bike giveaway by filling out an online form. Winners will pick up their bikes at one of the upcoming re pair pop-up events
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HEC TO R CERVANTES
Free bike repairs at various West Side locations this summer.
Prosecutors say ex-Loretto exec stole $300M through COVID testing scams
Former Loretto COO Anosh Ahmed allegedly took personal data about Loretto patients and used it to submit fake testing claims
By KELLY BAUER Block Club Chicago
T he for mer Loretto Hospital executive charged with stealing millions from Austin’s safety-net hospital also used fake COVID-19 testing companies to steal about $300 million from the gover nment, prosecutors alle ged in a newly unsealed indictment.
For mer Loretto COO and CFO Anosh Ahmed is among a group of four who now face charges related to the scheme, prosecutors said.
Block Club has re ported extensively on Ahmed’s troubling conduct at Loretto Hospital, from letting well-connected people access COVID-19 vaccines early — and even bragging he vaccinated Eric Trump — to contracting with companies owned by his business partner, best friend and neighbor, Sameer Suhail.
Ahmed and Suhail were previously charged with wire fraud, embezzlement
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and money laundering, with prosecutors alleging they defrauded the hospital out of $15 million. They fled to Dubai.
Separately, Block Club also revealed in 2021 and 2022 that various COVID-19 testing companies were providing questionable and sometimes fake results while appearing to wrongfully seek federal reimbursements wor th hundreds of millions of dollars. One of the labs highlighted by Block Club Chicago for problematic work was O’Hare Clinical Lab.
Now, those stories have converged, as prosecutors say Ahmed, Mohamed “Siraj” Sirajudeen and Mahmood Sami Khan used O’Hare Clinical Lab, among others, to submit f alse COVID-19 testing claims
Le : An O’Hare Clinical Lab Ser vices COVID-19 testing center at 3101 W. Montrose Ave. in Albany Park in 2022. Right: Dr. Anosh Ahmed in 2021 at Trump Tower.
to the gover nment. T hey sought about $900 million in reimbursements, of which they rece ived about $300 million.
T he scheme was laid out in an indictment that was unsealed June 17.
Ahmed has been charged with 14 counts of fraud, as well as conspiracy to defraud the U.S. gover nment, two counts of wrongful renumeration involving federal health care progr ams, wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health infor mation and five counts of money laundering, according to the indictment.
Sirajudeen, Khan and Suhaib Ahmad Chaudhry also face various charges in the case
O’Hare Lab got $202M from feds
T he indictment alle g es Ahmed and others used O’Hare Clinical Lab and other labs to defraud hundreds of millions from the gover nment via fake COVID-19 testing.
Ahmed and others connected to his plan submitted about 1.36 million f alse claims via O’Hare Clinical Lab for more than 1 million fake patients in just three months in 2021, prosecutors said.
Ahmed worked with Sirajudeen — who operated the lab and owned its management company, Chicago Polyclinic — for the scheme, which took place in 2021, prosecutors said.
Ahmed resigned from Loretto Hospital in March 2021 after Block Club’s re ports about him letting people cut lines to get COVID-19 vaccines.
A month later, when Ahmed was no longer working at Loretto Hospital, he received a spreadsheet of patients’ personal information from someone who was still working there, prosecutors said. The leaked information covered more than 150,000 Loretto patient visits from July 2014 to June 2020.
Ahmed and the others involved in the scheme also obtained people’s infor mation through other means, such as by collecting information from people in exchange for a free COVID-19 antigen test or taking it from people who ordered athome testing kits on a site they ran, prosecutors said.
This information was eventually used when submitting f alse COVID-19 testing claims to the gover nment for reimbursement, prosecutors said.
Beginning around June 2021, Ahmed pretended he was collecting samples for COVID-19 tests at sites around the country and performing tests on behalf of Loretto Hospital — even though he was no longer working there — to make the testing appear legitimate to O’Hare Clinical Lab, according to the indictment.
See LORETTO on pa ge 12
COLIN BOYLE/BLOCK CLUB CHICAG O/PROVIDED
West Sub admits patients from Weiss a er AC failure
Owners report West Sub’s HVAC was fully replaced in 2024
By DAN HALEY Interim Editor
With its sister hospital, Weiss Memorial, suffering a “catastrophic loss” of its air-conditioning system just as Chicago entered an extreme heat wave, West Suburban Hospital Medical Center admitted 22 Weiss patients beginning June 17.
Resilience Healthcare, the owner of both West Sub and Weiss, blamed the failure of the HVAC at Weiss on neglect by the previous owners. Like West Sub, Weiss has cycled through a series of owners in recent times. Resilience was for med two years ago to purchase the two hospitals out of bankruptcy from its most recent owner.
CBS2 News reported that a half-dozen trucks from HVAC contractors were in the parking lot, June 17. In a statement, the Uptown-based hospital said it expected it would take from several days to a couple of weeks to restore the cooling system. Other re porting indicated delays were expected as hard-to-find parts needed to be located and shipped.
West Sub, a safety-net hospital serving the West Side and Oak Park and River
Forest, has been much in the news locally with re ports of deteriorating physical conditions, including chronically failing elevators and some medical equipment.
In response to an inquiry last week, though, a spokesman for Resilience said the entire HVAC system at West Sub was re placed in 2024. T hey declined to provide the cost of that upgrade.
Asked about Jour nal re porting of ongoing elevator and, more recently, cooling issues at West Sub’s River Forest campus on Lake Street, the spokesperson said two of the three buildings there are not experiencing either elevator or HVAC issues. However, the statement, attributed to Dr. Manoj Prasad, Resilience CEO, acknowledged that the third building in River Forest has had HVAC issues, which “get addressed as they arise and the landlord is working on a more permanent solution.” Prasad said West Sub “often loans our clinical space” to other tenants when there are HVAC issues.
At Weiss all patients were transfer red out last week and ambulances have been diver ted from its ER, which remains open for walk-ups.
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JESSICA MOR DACQ
West Suburban Medical Center
CO-GOVERNANCE
Shared decision-making
from page 1
which amplifies the power of individuals and serves as the community-focused part, while OERJ represents citywide departments
While part of the co-governance framework focuses on governmental entities understanding and acting on community feedback, allowing for more local input in the decision-making process, it also aims to help residents understand government processes and what to ask for.
“Our ultimate goal is around changing material conditions that actually makes people’s lives better,” said Lyric Griffin, OERJ’s deputy chief equity officer, who lives on the West Side
With the launch of the co-governance framework, over the next year-to-18-months, OERJ and Chicago United for Equity are helping to develop three citywide pilot projects: urban gardens, reentry services and decarbonization in buildings
While urban agriculture has had some government funding, Griffin said, there hasn’t been any significant policy funding. With the co-governance framework, city departments and community organizations are working together to create a policy agenda that sustains urban agriculture across Chicago, prioritizing neighborhoods with food deserts.
“It’s no secret that areas like Austin, North Lawndale and Garfield, or South Side communities like Englewood, are living in food deserts with limited access to food and groceries,” Griffin said. “How do we empower our urban growers and our farmers to be able to feed communities in a different way? How do we reconstruct the way we think about food delivery and food growing from traditional models?”
The returning resident service provision pilot started with Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services, which is partnering with communities to see how they can better provide programming and infrastructure that meet the needs of those who are returning to society after serving time
Reentry services are in high demand on Chicago’s West and South Sides. According to 2019 research from the Safer Foundation, over 30% of people who serve prison time in Illinois move to Chicago when they get out. Nearly all of them live in six neighborhoods, including Austin, East Garfield Park and North Lawndale
The third pilot project is the city’s Department of Environment and Community Organization’s effort to decarbonize buildings
Robert Hart co-manages the Hart and Peace Garden in Austin, an urban farm that Chicago’s co-governance framework aims to expand.
Though the city previously had a working group to address this effort, they didn’t follow a co-governance model. But now they want to
“That’s going to have huge equitable impacts in communities, not only for decreasing emissions, because buildings are one of the biggest polluters in Chicago, but it’s also going to help lower utility costs,” Griffin said. “We know that’s critical for communities like Austin.”
Though it might seem like these three priorities have existed in West Side communities for years, Griffin said this is the first time the city government is helping by using its power to deepen civic trust and asking Chicagoans for help in shaping their neighborhoods.
“We are teaching folks to do the things that we have seen done by us,” Griffin said. “Now we’re not leading the table, departments are leading the table. Communities are doing what they’ve always been doing and leading the conversations.”
What is co-governance?
When Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson started his term in 2023, many of the people rallying around him, and the mayor himself, called for a co-governance framework that would allow those who have been most impacted by systemic injustices to have more control over satisfying their needs, building their trust in government entities
Though Johnson supports it, the co-governance framework is not administration-based and was developed to sustainably continue after Johnson’s term ends. Instead, the goal is to eventually embed the framework into all departments of Chicago’s government.
“We cannot do true governance work, we cannot talk about sustainability, equity and accountability on a government level, while
“We had well over half of the total participants who rated that they either had no experience with government or a very difficult experience with government,” Griffin said. Common reasoning behind these ratings were negative interactions with the government, the government’s low ability to deliver on services and low government engagement with residents. Examples include a pothole not being filled, calling 911 and getting pushback or feeling like you’re going in circles filing a 311 request.
“How many times have you gone to the table and said, ‘Hey, this is the change we need in our community?’” Griffin asked. “And yet nothing changes.”
Williams said this distrust of the government isn’ t new for many Chicago communities.
making it focused on one administration,” Williams said. “What does it look like to take this framework and institutionalize it into the very fabric of Chicago governance to make sure there are long-standing impacts?”
Though OERJ was created in 2019 to focus on equity and racial disparities in city government, Griffin said people came into the OERJ and Chicago United for Equity’s office around Mayor Johnson’s election to express their confusion around what co-governance meant for them. Griffin said, while neighborhoods across the city were represented, many of those who came to the offices work around equity and justice, and many are based on the West and South Sides of Chicago.
So in 2023, OERJ and Chicago United for Equity convened national and local entities who are doing co-governance work, plus over 100 organizers, researchers, academics and government staff to define co-governance.
First drafted in February and launched in April, the co-governance framework outlines shared institutional and community values and pathways, and a mutual definition of co-governance: “Co-governance is a problemsolving structure in which community members directly impacted by systemic racism and economic inequity work side-by-side with government representatives to share decision-making power and accountability for creating stronger policies, programs, and practices.”
While building the framework, OERJ and Chicago United for Equity held 18 community conversations – two were hosted in Austin, though Austin residents attended four of the community conversations – where over 200 participants from 57 neighborhoods rated their experience with the government and what contributed to that ranking
“People in the communities are not apathetic. We’re dealing with a long line of communities who are vocal, who are trying to advocate, but they have been disenfranchised,” Williams said. “They have been disinvested in and they have been silenced.”
Positive feedback from those community conversations, Griffin said, was, “‘This feels like the city is doing something different.’”
The community conversations were hosted by nine paid steering committee members, who designed and facilitated the talks. Those who attended community conversations also received stipends for their time. About 10% of community participants who built the cogovernance framework live in Austin, Griffin estimated
“Austin is a community area that has been, whether intentional or unintentional, left out of or excluded from decision making,” Griffin said.
In April, organizations and city departments started applying to take part in one of the first three co-governance pilot projects OERJ and Chicago United for Equity asked for community organizations and government entities to apply together
“These are leads that have relationships, that haven’t gotten to their intended goal that they want to get to ultimately and are now going to apply co-governance to it so that they can drive greater impact,” Griffin said. She added that some applicants started with a policy plan that wasn’t passed, an idea for a program that isn’t as sustainable as they want or have been offering services that aren’t as impactful as they want them to be.
As the three pilot projects develop throughout the city over the next year or so, OERJ and Chicago United for Equity plan to share what they’ve learned along the way. They say that the framework established to create the pilots will continue after the initial 18-month phase ends.
SAM TUCKER
Aspire Center opens on Juneteenth
The building is a hub for workforce innovation, nancial and legal services
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
The Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation opened at 5500 W. Madison St. on Juneteenth, housing workforce training, legal and financial services and public space all under one roof. The 78,000 square-foot building is years in the making and a $47 million investment in the Austin community. A large portion of the Aspire Center used to
be the Robert Emmet Elementary School, which closed in 2013. In 2018, Westside Health Authority bought the property. It’s one of the building’s tenants, along with Austin Coming Together, which helped to develop the Aspire Center.
Other tenants include the Jane Addams Resource Corporation, which offers free training for the trades, BMO bank, the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender and Legal Aid Chicago.
Austin Coming Together Executive Director Darnell Shields, anked by Alderman Chris Taliaferro and Mayor Brandon Johnson, cuts the ribbon at the Grand Opening of the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation on June 19.
A young man per forms a traditional West African stilt dance e roo op deck.
Attendees in f t of the new facilit
PHOTO S BY TODD BANNOR
If your child comes out as transgender
One OPRF student’s advice on talking about coming out and how to hear the responses
By TEDDY N.
(Editor’s note: This essay was written by a rising junior at Oak Park and River Forest High School.)
Introduction
Every once and a while, I will get asked about how I came out as trans. Or why. Or what it’s “like.”
I’m not the best at describing this experience, but one analogy I’ve heard (that I think is pretty solid) is to imagine one day you wake up, and when you put on your shoes, you realize they are on the wrong feet. Every attempt to fix them fails. Maybe throw a rock in them for good measure. And all of a sudden, you are left to deal with this perpetual feeling of wrongness. With every step, you are reminded of this situation you’re in, and you think everyone can notice how you walk funny. Somedays, you can get used to it. Your friends tell you they don’t even notice the mix-up. But then there are those other days, when all you can think about is those freaking Converses (Conversi?). All you want is to rip them off, because anything would be better than another step in those Doc Martens (I’m realizing how few shoe brands I know). And to make matters worse, many in society view the procedure to fix the shoes as something abhorrent. There are those attempting to ensure it is illegal to fix your shoes.
I can only imagine how you are feeling right now. But with all my heart, I thank you for taking this step. If anything, I hope these suggestions can provide a broad idea of your first thoughts if your child comes out to you, to help them feel safe and loved.
Suggestion #1
Your child is not dead, so do not mourn. I understand the feelings overflowing when such an event happens. When I came out to my mother, just the two of us present, there was a pause. Potent and fragile. At that moment, all I wanted was to weep, because the last thing I ever wished to do was cause her pain. Gently, I remember her looking up and asking:
“Do you not like being a girl?” In retrospect, the answer is pretty clear
now. But even then, while I was still reeling in my decision, I understood her meaning. Did she fail as a mother? Did she teach me to be ashamed of womanhood, to think of femininity as something to avoid?
No. I wasn’t able to find that simple word. But by presenting and pretending to be something I wasn’t, I only solidified my understanding: the life I knew was built of glass.
I am so grateful to have been gifted with the most incredible mother I could ever ask for, who’s compassion has guided me through this tumultuous experience more times than I can count. But I know others have not been so lucky. Time and time again I have heard stories from other queer youth, whose parents’ tears did not stop, who they would see clutching to baby photos or reminiscing on songs they played when their children were young. At that moment, all these kids wanted was to turn back time, hide in a closet and have everything go back to the way it was
But they knew that wasn’t possible. Grieving won’t bring your child back, because they never left.
I have been to a few funerals in my life. Loss can be a feeling that never truly goes away. Maybe you spent years planning a name, a future, and it all feels like it is slipping away
to consider -- as they are a major dispute regarding youth -- they are, simply put, not something to worry about right now. Because if your child tells you at dinner they are actually male, they are not coming home the next day with top surgery, a beard, and the heavenly voice of a prepubescent boy, cracks and all. Because being transgender does not equate to having surgery
And yet, it is often one of the only factors considered when a youth discusses aspirations for transitioning
What your child is actually asking for might be so much smaller than you imagined
Transitioning, a majority of the time, is social. It can be choosing a new name, using new pronouns. I hate to use the term “boy and girl clothes”, but maybe your child would like outfits associated with their newfound gender identity. Maybe they just want a haircut. I cannot encourage you enough to let them.
“Their smile, their jokes, the way they hug you? That will not change.”
TEDDY N.
But please understand, your child is the same one that loved dinosaurs when they were five, or who came to you in the middle of the night because of a monster under their bed. They are now simply telling you something bigger than their favorite extracurricular, or where they want to go to college. Their smile, their jokes, the way they hug you? That will not change.
They are asking you to hold their hand as they cross a new road, and to instead act as if you are viewing their eulogy is a stab in the heart. The baby you raised is still here, and you are meeting them more than ever before
Suggestion #2
Your child is not going to undergo a sex change operation overnight.
In the mainstream media, I recognize fear mongering on this topic is widespread, with even the current president implying you can have a gender-affirming surgery at school. While the medical procedures commonly linked to a transgender identity are viable
Even if it doesn’t make sense right away, to look in the mirror and finally recognize your reflection? To know your parents and friends see you for who you are? It is as if you finally found a missing puzzle piece, and the picture is finally whole
And yes, more likely than not they will eventually want to discuss more impactful options, and when they do, I implore you to listen to them. But that takes time. Doctors. Consultations.
Right now, they don’t need a medical evaluation. They need you.
Being transgender is not just about your body or future procedures. Even if you think you’re considering their wellbeing, to only focus on hypothetical medical risks is to completely ignore what they are telling you, and what they’re asking for right now. So be here in the present with them.
Suggestion #3
Know your child is scared.
It was one of the most monumental decisions I ever made, and I know the same is true for others I’ve talked to. However much you imagine your perfect coming out, and whatever media tells you about how rewarding it is, you never know what the reaction will be
Even if all they said was one sentence, understand how much bravery it takes. Behind “I think I’m a girl” is months of self-reflection as they determine who they are. Behind “I’m actually a boy” is time spent stressing about whether it was worth it to tell you.
Behind “I’m trans” is the decision that the potential consequences are insignificant to the opportunity to accept their intrapersonal identity
So recognize that. Be proud -- you have raised a child brave enough to value themselves even when the outcome may appear dire.
But also acknowledge this decision comes with fear, because they don’t know if you will still love them.
They’ve seen the news. They know there are those in power trying to erase their existence and diminish their identity as nothing but mental illness. And they know some of their classmates echo this sentiment. There is a chance to be public about who they are, classmates would isolate them, family members might harass them, all alongside an imbued understanding current politicians would prefer if they didn’t exist.
Try to imagine if when you turned on the TV there was an elected official arguing healthcare that could save your life should be prohibited. That your existence should be criminalized (though unfortunately, this reality applies to more than just those in the LGBTQ+ community).
Your child fears you agree with these sentiments. So make it abundantly clear you do not. Do not ignore what is circulating in the media but ensure this fear does not define them. Treat them as they are: not as your transgender kid, but your son or daughter who happened to be born in the wrong body They are not trying to confuse or harm you. They just need to know that they are still yours. That you will support them even when the world does not. That you will hold their hand
Queer youth founded safe summer space with OPALGA+ support
Local LGBTQ+ students and allies join the organization in the
By ELIZABETH SHORT Contributing Reporter
School pride clubs can provide an important safe space for LGBTQ+ youth. Queer students can find support and inclusion in these communities, which they might not find at home or elsewhere. These groups also offer opportunities for LGBTQ+ and allies to organize, become involved in activism, and connect with the larger queer community. During the summer months however, many of these groups become inactive and some queer students are without crucial support systems
In April, colle ge students Emma Costello-Wollwage and Jude Kennedy founded the LGBTQ+ Youth Council of West Cook County to tackle exactly this issue. The Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association + (OPALGA+), which has advo for LGBTQ+ equality and acceptance in the Chicago area since 1989, sponsors the group. Costello-Wollwage and Kennedy are both previous recipients of the OPALGA+ Scholarship, awarded to students in reco gnition of their advocacy. In partnering with a larger organization, the Youth Council will work alongside existing LGBTQ+ advocacy projects and groups approaching these issues from a specifi-
cally youth-oriented perspecti
The Youth Council, around 30 member cal LGBTQ+ youth with vital suppo tems during these summer months. The group hopes
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LORET TO Ex-exec
indicted
from page 4
Ahmed and others would then provide “scrambled” information from fa tients to O’Hare Clinical Lab, which would purportedly process the tests and submit claims for them to the federal go vernment, saying the fake patients were uninsured, according to the indictment.
Ahmed also sought to get the lab’s owner, Sirajudeen, to pay a higher collection fee to Ahmed, since Sirajudeen thought Ahmed’s connection to Loretto would mean more business for O’Hare Clinical Lab, prosecutors said.
O’Hare Clinical Lab ag reed to pay Ahmed’s Westside Pharmacy business up to $49.50 per specimen that Ahmed’s ness sent to the lab, prosecutors said. But the two soon changed the terms of their ag reement so that Ahmed would get more money in exchange for each of the specimens his company sent in, though they did not update their written ag reement and concealed this change, prosecutors said.
Someone who was still working at to helped in the plan by creating an email address through Loretto’s domain name where O’Hare Clinical Lab could send sults for the fake tests collected through Ahmed, making it appear the results would be passed on to patients and that Ahmed was still connected to Loretto, prosecutors said.
Ahmed and Sirajudeen also instructed workers to lie to government officials to help conceal the fraud, prosecutors said.
Just between June 4, 2021, and Sept. 10, 2021, the federal government reimbursed O’Hare Clinical Lab for about $202 million for tests related to Ahmed’s collection sites — and the lab and its management company then paid Ahmed’s companies about $147 million, prosecutors said.
When the federal government disqualified O’Hare Clinical Lab in September 2021 from submitting claims due to a worker’s felony conviction, Sirajudeen and Ahmed tried to “continue the scheme” by appearing to change the lab’s ownership, but they were unsuccessful, prosecutors said.
And when the Illinois Department of Public Health “raised concerns” about the amount of testing purportedly being done through Loretto Hospital, Ahmed and Sirajudeen instructed staf f not to report test results to the agency and falsely infor med the agency that Loretto would report the
Eric Trump stands Anosh Ahmed, the chief operating o cer of Loretto Hospital. Screenshots and video show Ahmed sent this photo to people along with a message saying he vaccin ated Trump.
Ahmed, who’d also bragged that he’d vaccinated Eric Trump, son of President DonTrump. Further stories showed Loretto had also vaccinated people at a luxury Gold Coast jewelry shop that Ahmed frequented and people at a steakhouse he ate at.
The hospital also vaccinated people at CEO George Miller’s suburban church, and a doctor with ties to Loretto vaccinated his suburban-based family with doses from the hospital.
Ahmed resigned within days, and the city took control of the hospital’s doses in an attempt to ensure they would go to the people who needed them most.
Block Club, with the Better Government Association, then raised questions about the Suhail companies that were awarded millions of dollars in contracts under Ahmed’s leadership, but Loretto repeatdeclined to say whether Ahmed had disclosed the potential conflict of interest. It also declined to answer questions about whether Loretto was working with any other Suhail companies.
One of the hospital’s most prominent supporters during the scandal was state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, the Illinois Senate majority leader and vice chair of Loretto’s board. She repeatedly criticized Block Club’s reporting and defended then-CEO
Chaudhry — took control of a number of non-operational laboratories in Texas, prosecutors said. Ahmed, Khan and others then worked to submit via those labs about 466,000 false claims to the government for COVID-19 testing, billing the feds about $227.4 million and obtaining $83.36 million, prosecutors said.
Separately, in December 2021, Ahmed and Sirajudeen said Ahmed was going to buy a working lab in Texas — but that they’d conceal the ownership, having the documentation show the lab was owned by Khan and another person, prosecutors said.
That lab, too, then submitted fake claims for COVID-19 test results to the government, seeking about $25 million and getting about $8 million, prosecutors said.
Ahmed, Sirajudeen and Khan tried to conceal the false claims made on behalf of the Texas labs, opening bank accounts with misleading names, creating false and backdated invoices and contracts and moving money between various bank accounts, prosecutors said.
Ahmed also ordered his co-schemers to
scheme, prosecutors said.
Years in the making
Ahmed could not immediately be reached for comment. He fled to Dubai in 2024 as he faced charges in the Loretto case.
Attorneys were not listed for Sirajudeen, Khan and Chaudhry.
If convicted, the defendants will have to forfeit a number of properties, cash and assets alle gedly related to the crimes, including up to $50.5 million in an account Ahmed had; interests and securities worth tens of millions; luxury cars, including two Rolls Royce, a Mercedes-Benz and a Lamborghini Huaracan; and multiple properties in Houston.
The cases were years in the making
In March 2021, when vaccines were still rare and highly sought-after, Block Club reported that Trump Tower had vaccinated its staf f, claiming it was part of a program meant to help residents of the West and South side, which had been gravely impacted by COVID-19.
In a series of stories, Block Club then revealed the vaccinations had been set up by
Block Club and the Better Government Association showed the hospital and its leaders were facing several investigations, including FBI probes.
Miller left Loretto in April 2022 amid the investigations.
Then, in May 2024, for mer hospital executive Heather Bergdahl was charged with embezzling $500,000 from the hospital during the COVID-19 crisis. Ahmed and Suhail were charged with defrauding the hospital of $15 million that July, and, in October, prosecutors said Miller had accepted $770,000 in bribes to funnel hospital contracts to companies run by Suhail.
Separately, in late 2021 and early 2022, when the United States saw enormous surges of COVID-19 and people were desperate to get tested and keep each other safe, Block Club showed that numerous COVID-19 pop-up testing sites were providing incor rect and sometimes fake results.
The companies behind the sites — including O’Hare Clinical Lab — were collecting hundreds of millions from the government in reimbursements and ran hundreds of sites across the United States.
Amid Block Club’s reporting, multiple companies shut down and state and federal agencies launched investigations.
BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
LAST MASS
‘Holy Spirit showed up’ from page 1
Greeter George Jones, a kindly Black man pushing 90 years, smiled brightly and shook hands with virtually everyone who entered. Rev. Carl Morello, pastor of St. Catherine-St. Lucy and St. Giles, darted around, making sure final preparations were coming to gether.
Over there was a man with his arms crossed and a somber countenance, as if in realization that the end was finally here after the announcement March 2 that the church at 27 Washington Blvd. in Oak Park would be closing.
But for the most part, this was a day of celebration, of reuniting with family and old friends and classmates from St. Catherine-St. Lucy School.
Of tears, yes. But of laughter and handshakes and hugs as well.
“The sadness we feel is real,” Morello proclaimed during his homily. “We cannot rush past it. But today, let’s honor it. Let’s also let it open up to what is next. Because God is not done with us yet. Amen?”
And in one voice, of those in the congregation and perhaps also the many who flowed through its doors since the current church building opened in 1931, everyone responded.
“Amen!”
Later, Morello asked that everyone who had been baptized at St. Catherine-St. Lucy please stand. Dozens upon dozens did so, everyone from the young to many with nests of gray hair.
T here were also plenty who had gotten married in the crowd, like Kari and John Pechous, who did so back on Dec. 15, 2007. There was a big snowstor m that day, which contrasted with Sunday’s sweltering mid-90s heat.
“There are a lot more people here today than there were at our wedding,” Kari Pechous deadpanned after services were complete and dozens still milled about in front of the altar, taking final photos. In chatting with the couple and their young son, it was clear that St. Catherine-St. Lucy’s impact transcended both time and space. The Pechouses are from La Grange and made the trek over. But there was more.
“My parents actually got married here, so it had extra meaning to us,” John Pechous added.
T he two who had perhaps the best view of the proceedings were the brother-andsister server team of Aaron and Ava Konecki
What was it like being on the altar and realizing this was it?
“Lots of waterworks,” said Ava Konecki, who attends Xavier University in Cincinnati. “I took a lot of it in, like looking at the stained-glass windows and just how intricate, and I remembered back to when I was a kid, and sitting and looking
TEARS AND CHEERS: Parishioners of St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church embrace during the last Mass on Sund ay, June 22.
at the lights.
“Growing up here,” she added, fighting back tears, “it made me really emotional. It was hard, but I pulled it tog ether.”
Ditto for her brother
“It was very sur real, because I kind of grew up in this church, and my dad, he’s been here since he was a kid, and now I’ve been there, and it’s very sad to see it go,” said Aaron Konecki, who attends Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Valerie Jennings, who lives in Austin, has been a parishioner at St. CatherineSt. Lucy since the 1980s, after St. Catherine of Siena and St. Lucy merged in 1974. She spoke at the be ginning of the service.
“I found myself having to just hold it down,” Jennings said, adding she broke down and cried at communion. “That’s why we come. We come to feast upon the table, and I look at that table one last time … I’ll never be able to eat at that table again.
“I’ ll eat at the table of God, somewhere. At St. Giles and other places. But this is home. It was tough at communion. ”
After the service, in the sacristy, with robes and vestments put away one last time, Morello reclined on a chair and let his own emotions catch up with him over months of prayer and preparation.
“Being the celebrant, you try to hold it all to g ether, spiritually, because as I said there is the bitterness and the sadness,
but there is also the hope of who we are as a people of faith,” he said. “So it’s a lot of pressure.
“But as a man of faith, I count on the Holy Spirit, and I would say at the end of it all, the Holy Spirit showed up.”
Morello was buoyed by the bigger moments of the service, like during the offertory, when the praise choir sang a joyful song titled, “Every Praise.” Morello stood and be g an clapping, and suddenly everyone stood and joined in, which concluded with thunderous applause
While the St. Catherine-St. Lucy church building is now closed, Morello pointed out to the cong re gation that its le gacy will continue.
St. Catherine-St. Lucy School will remain open, while SisterHouse, which offers a temporary home to women seeking recovery from substance abuse, will remain in the church’s for mer convent building. T he Neighborhood Bridge and the Faith and Fellowship Ministry will continue to operate out of the re purposed rectory, along with Housing Forward, an emergency over night shelter.
And as the cong re gation united their voices in St. Catherine-St. Lucy one last time, they sang a closing hymn of hope.
“I got a feeling, everything’s gonna be all right.
“Be all right.
“Be all right.”
ERICA BENSON
ERICA BENSON
e choir leads a packed church in song and chee r.
HELP WANTED
HELP WANTED
Database Administrator (Original)
Environmental Research Scientist (Original
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago will be accepting applications for the following classification(s):
Database Administrator (Original)
Environmental Research Scientist (Original)
Additional information regarding salary, job description, requirements, etc. can be found on the District’s website at www.districtjobs.org or call 312-751-5100.
An Equal Opportunity Employer - M/F/D
Published in Austin Weekly News
June 25, 2025
NOTICE INVITATION TO BID TO METROPOLITAN WATER RECLAMATION DISTRICT OF GREATER CHICAGO
Sealed proposals, endorsed as above, will be submitted back to the District via an electronic upload to the Bonfire Portal only, from the date of the Notice for Request for Proposals, up to 11:00 A.M. (Chicago time), on the proposal due date.
CONTRACT 25-RFP-08
ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP) ASSESSMENT
Estimated Cost: $150,000.00
Bid Deposit: NONE
Compliance with the District’s Affirmative Action Ordinance
Revised Appendix V and Appendix A.
Bid Opening: August 8, 2025
********************************
The above is an abbreviated version of the Notice- Invitation to Bid. A full version which includes a brief description of the project and/or service can be found on the District’s website, www.mwrd. org; the path is as follows: Doing Business > Procurement and Materials Management > Contract Announcements.
Specifications, proposal forms and/ or plans may be obtained from the Department of Procurement and Materials Management by downloading online from the District’s website at www.mwrd.org (Doing Business > Procurement & Materials Management > Contract Announcements). No fee is required for the Contract Documents.
Any questions regarding the downloading of the Contract Document should be directed to the following email: contractdesk@ mwrd.org or call 312-751-6643.
All Contracts for the Construction of Public Works are subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (820 ILCS 130/1-et.seq.), where it is stated in the Invitation to Bid Page.
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals if deemed in the public’s best interest.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago By Darlene A. LoCascio Director of Procurement and Materials Management
Published in Austin Weely News June 25, 2025
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOISCOUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION Plaintiff, -v.UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF FELICITA GERENA, DECEASED, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS AGENCY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THOMAS P. QUINN, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR FELICITA GERENA, DECEASED, LUZ RIVERA, EDWARD RIVERA, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendants 2023 CH 07473 1441 N. KOLIN 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 April 15, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 17, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1441 N. KOLIN AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60651
Property Index No. 16-03-214-0030000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
The judgment amount was $322,623.35.
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, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition.
The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.
Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.
The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.
If this property is a condominium
unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).
IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.
For information, contact CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ
SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 2416901. Please refer to file number 23-131605.
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.
CHAD LEWIS ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC
6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018
561-241-6901
E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM
Attorney File No. 23-131605
Attorney ARDC No. 6306439
Attorney Code. 65582
Case Number: 2023 CH 07473
TJSC#: 45-1097
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 # 2023 CH 07473
I3268230
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTCHANCERY DIVISION BYLINE BANK Plaintiff, -v.MARK D. WEISSMAN A/K/A MARK WEISSMAN, NOT PERSONALLY BUT AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF HAPPY TRAILS TRUST DATED SEPTEMBER 28, 2018, MARK D. WEISSMAN, MARK WEISSMAN AS BENEFICIARY OF HAPPY TRAILS TRUST DATED SEPTEMBER 28, 2018, BMO HARRIS BANK N.A., UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendants 2024CH04998 2034 WEST POTOMAC AVE CHICAGO, IL 60622
NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on March 26, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 21, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 2034 WEST POTOMAC AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60622
Property Index No. 17-06-121-0310000
The real estate is improved with a residence.
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, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. 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, examine the court
file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876
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.
CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527
630-794-5300
E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com
Attorney File No. 14-25-02650
Attorney ARDC No. 00468002
Attorney Code. 21762
Case Number: 2024CH04998
TJSC#: 45-1509
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 # 2024CH04998 I3268416
Submit events and see full calendar at austinweeklynews.com/events
AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2025 QUARTER 1
June 25, 2025
THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY PUBLISHED ITS FIRST QUALITY-OF-LIFE PLAN CALLED AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. (AFT) IN 2018.
THIS QUARTERLY PUBLICATION DESCRIBES HOW AUSTIN COMING TOGETHER (ACT) IS SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY TO IMPLEMENT AFT AND OTHER EFFORTS.
FREEDOM
TO ASPIRE
Delivering on our promise to the community
COMING FULL CIRCLE PAGE 3 | MEET THE ACWI TENANTS PAGE 4 | HOLISTIC MODEL AT ACWI PAGE 6 | COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION IN AUSTIN PAGE 7 MEET YOUR AUSTIN OUTREACH WORKERS PAGE 10
Special thanks to these Austin Forward. Together. quality-of-life plan legacy investors: THIS ISSUE INCLUDES A SPECIAL FEATURE PROFILE OF SCALING COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION FOR SAFER CHICAGO (SC2) STARTING ON PAGE 7
Since 2010, Austin Coming Together (ACT) has facilitated collaboration to improve education and economic development outcomes in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
Today, we serve a network of 50+ organizations committed to improving the quality of life in the Austin community. Our strategic plan is called Thrive 2025 and outlines how we will mobilize our resources to achieve four impact goals by the year 2025: Quality Early Learning, Safe Neighborhoods, Living Wage Careers, and Stable Housing Markets.
ACT BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Officers
CHAIR
Larry Williams
Broker, State Farm Insurance
VICE CHAIRMAN
Bradly Johnson
Chief Community Officer, BUILD Inc.
SECRETARY
Jerrod Williams
Law Clerk, Illinois Appellate Court
ACT STAFF
Leadership
Darnell Shields
Executive Director
Research & Evaluation
Andrew Born*
Senior Director of Community Impact
Mia Almond
Research Associate
Operations
TREASURER
LaDarius Curtis
Senior Director of Community Engagement & Health, West Side United
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Darnell Shields
Austin Coming Together
Directors
Sharon Morgan
Director of Graduate Support & Community Outreach, Catalyst Schools
Reverend Reginald E. Bachus Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church
Deirdre Bates*
Director of Operations
Dearra Williams
Executive Operations Lead/ Assistant to the CEO
Londen Mance
Office Administrator
Strategic Initiatives
Sandra Diaz*
Service Delivery Enhancement Manager, Austin Community Hub
Emone Moore
Engagement Coordinator, Austin Community Hub
Dollie Sherman
Engagement Specialist, Austin Community Hub
Tenisha Jones
Executive Management Professional
Reginald Little
Business Development Specialist, Great Lakes Credit Union
Dawn Ferencak
Senior Marketing Strategist, Chicago Parent
Deborah Williams-Thurmond
Founder & CEO, D.W. Provision Consulting Services
Saenovia Poole
Community Resources Coordinator, Austin Community Hub
Clara Bonnlander
Social Services Coordinator, Austin Community Hub
Ethan Ramsay*
Planning and Investment Manager
Grace Cooper Lead Organizer
*Also part of the ACT Leadership Team
ACT MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
A House in Austin
Academy of Scholastic Achievement
Austin Childcare Providers Network
Austin Community Family Center
Austin Weekly News
(Growing Community Media)
Be Strong Families
Beat the Streets Chicago
Bethel New Life
Beyond Hunger
BUILD Inc.
By The Hand Club For Kids
Cara Catholic Charities
Chicago Austin Youth Travel Adventures
Chicago Community Loan Fund
City of Refuge
Defy Ventures Illinois
Erikson Institute
Friends of the Children
Friendship Community Development Corp. of Austin
Greater West Town Community Development Project
Housing Forward
Ruth Kimble
Founder & CEO, Austin Childcare Providers Network
Max Komnenich
Associate Principal, Lamar Johnson Collaborative
In Memoriam
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jack Macnamara 1937–2020
FOUNDING BOARD CHAIR
Mildred Wiley 1955–2019
Nyla Larry
Project Coordinator
Arewa Karen Winters
Community Organizer
Natalie Goodin
Special Projects Manager
Strategic Initiatives
La’Shawna Bundy
Community Land Trust Coordinator
Marketing & Development
Jon Widell
Marketing and Development Specialist
Sydni Hatley
Marketing and Development Coordinator
i.c. stars
IFF
Institute for Nonviolence
Chicago
Jane Addams Resource Corporation
Kids First Chicago
KRA Westside American Job Center
Learning Edge Tutoring (fka Cluster Tutoring)
Legal Aid Chicago (fka LAF)
Manufacturing Renaissance
Mary Shyrese Daycare
Maryville Academy
Mercy Housing Lakefront
New Moms
OAI, Inc.
Oak Park Regional Housing Center
Open Books
PCC Community Wellness Center
Project Exploration
Renaissance Social Services, Inc.
Sarah’s Inn
South Austin Neighborhood Association
St. Joseph Services
St. Leonard’s Ministries
Stone Community
Development Corporation
The Catalyst Schools
The Journey Forward
The North Avenue
District, Inc.
Towers of Excellence
UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work
VOCEL
Westside Health Authority
West Side Forward
Worldvision
Youth Guidance
Coming Full Circle
By Darnell Shields Executive Director, Austin Coming Together
In 2013, 50 Chicago Public Schools were closed by then Mayor Rahm Emmanual, with the largest number, four, being located in Austin. Low-income areas across the city that already were facing disinvestment, crime, and dwindling opportunities were hit the hardest. These closures removed even more access to necessary resources to the people of Austin. When the former Emmet School (now the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation (ACWI)), first became available ACT and Westside Health Authority (WHA) knew that this was an opportunity to reclaim what was lost in the community. A rare chance to not only have a physical and permanent space to serve as a reminder of the freedoms that had been taken away, but to also show how the future is shaping up for Austin and the Westside. To further illustrate this point and to drive home what the Aspire Center symbolizes, Juneteenth (6/19/2025) was chosen for the grand opening date.
Community buy in and input was key to the success of this project, in determining what was needed and what this needed to look like. From the start, we worked alongside
community members to provide residents with the wraparound resources they need to move from workforce development to building wealth. The community built this for itself, and the Aspire Center stands as a testament to the power of community organizing and collective vision. Built on the efforts of passionate advocates and community trailblazers, this project reflects a legacy crafted by and for the people it serves.
Located at Madison and Central, along two main commercial corridors, ACWI is part of a broader effort to revitalize our local economy and increase home ownership. When residents walk past the building, we want them to feel pride, and when they walk in, we want them to feel supported.
ACWI not only represents visible and physical change, but reclaiming a physical asset in the community serves as a reminder of the hope and the change that is possible, and that it is happening right now. While the Aspire Center is a new structure, it was important that much of the original structure, built in 1893, was preserved. It was key to show an ode to the past while pushing the boundaries forward, reimagining what was once thought possible, challenging the status quo and telling our youth their futures matter, but remembering where we came from.
Decades of disinvestment in the area have brought and shaped radical change, and this day and moment we hope serves as a point of liberation. The northeast corner of Madison and Central Avenue is no longer a reminder of Austin’s inequitable past, but an engine of new opportunities for generations of Austin families. After nearly a decade of planning and imagining, the Aspire Center has opened its doors to the community. n
Meet the ACWI Tenants
Tenants Austin Coming Together, Westside Health Authority, Jane Addams Resources, and BMO
Since 2010, Austin Coming Together (ACT) has facilitated collaboration among its member network to collectively impact education and economic development outcomes in Austin. ACT assisted the community in creating its first-ever quality-of-life plan and manages its ongoing implementation, in addition to engaging with residents to get them connected to resources.
As the lead for the Austin Quality-of-Life Plan, ACT supported Westside Health Authority (WHA) in working with community leaders to make the Emmet School building a focal project of the plan. This led to partnershing with WHA and other organizations to submit a proposal for the CHicago Prize called the ASPIRE Initiative. While it was ultimately not selected for the prize (1 of 6 finalists), ACT became a co-developer and anchor tenant of the project to ensure the resources for construction and mobilization of the center into operations could be raised.
While mobilizing the center for operations, anchor tenants identified ACT’s role as lead for service coordination, community organizing, and evaluation. The Hub @ ACWI will play a central role in guiding the implementation of the Aspire Centers Operating Model, coordinating with all Anchor Tenants to connect residents and enhance their awareness of available services and resources. In addition, The Hub @ ACWI will also continue to support service providers and organizations in strengthening their relationship with one another and with the community, while ACT’s P&I team will leverage the center to facilitate high quality action planning sessions and host trainings that will build our collective power to realize the Austin Forward. Together. Quality-of-life plan.
For over 30 years Westside Health Authority (WHA) has been providing support to residents through community reentry, youth development, and employment services. They focus on economic development projects that revitalize and rebuild the Austin community by leveraging the power of its citizens. In 2018, WHA purchased the property of the former Emmet School, now Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation, in a continued effort to create opportunities for the citizens of the Greater Westside on the recommendation of community stakeholders who desired to see the site redeveloped into a safe, attractive space for residents to access commerce and community services.
WHA has sought out to revive the once-bustling intersection of Madison and Central, and the repurposing of the Emmet School is a giant step in that mission. The Aspire Center will serve as a centralized location for Austin’s youth and unemployed and underemployed adults seeking career training and support. WHA is moving their reentry work to ACWI, in addition to their main operations and media and property management teams to make their work more accessible for the community.
Anchor
Since 1985, Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC) has trained low-income adults in manufacturing, and will be continuing their free on-site skills training at the Aspire Center. Austin residents will have access to Computer Numerical Control machine operation, welding, and mechanical assembly.
JARC has served as a Strategy Lead for the Austin Quality-of-Life Plan since 2019, on the Economic Development task force. They have sought to disrupt the traditional industry of manufacturing by investing in workers, targeted skills training, comprehensive support services and industry collaboration. With the goal of helping low-income workers, job seekers, and community residents attain financial selfsufficiency through manufacturing skills training and wrap-around supportive services.
JARC will be moving their main offices to ACWI, which will allow them to have a prominent and easily accessible location in Austin for the first time, to further their commitment to bringing wealth opportunities to Austin through their FOC work and continue reshaping the manufacturing industry’s relationship with its workforce.
The Freedom Defense Center of Austin fosters accountability and trust between the Public Defender’s Office and the community it serves. The Freedom Defense Center was founded in direct partnership with Austin residents, standing with and advocating for this community to reduce the impact of the carceral system and fight for justice. It works to change the narrative around harm and safety by honoring community members’ experiences and prioritizing their autonomy.
The Freedom Defense Center provides services aligned with their values: Collaboration, Transparency and Courage.
Through its partnership with United Way of Metro Chicago, BMO was a legacy investor in the Aspire Center and United Way’s ongoing work in supporting the Austin community. Through BMO’s own initiatives, it partners with organizations that drive social change, celebrate and support our local communities and families in providing financial wellness, and bring communities together. Through their community outreach sponsorship program with Aspire, their Zero Barriers to Business program, and their Bank at Work Initiative, they will play a key role in ensuring Austin residents have a clear path to equitable, sustainable wealth creation.
In conjunction with the organizations located within the Aspire Center, as well as those in ACT’s expansive member network, a partnership with BMO will ensure residents have access to integrated services of income support, financial coaching, and other banking products/services.
Legal Aid Chicago addresses legal areas that cover basic human needs. They have a vision that poverty will not be an impediment to justice in Cook County. Legal barriers that perpetuate poverty and inequality will be dismantled. Laws and legal systems will be open and equally effective for all who need their protection, especially those who experience unfair and disproportionately unjust treatment due to personal or community characteristics.
Their involvement with ACWI began with a partnership with Westside Health Authority in 2020, focusing on re-entry work. They offer an array of legal services and provide high quality civil legal aid to people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups. Their move to ACWI will allow them to help even more people in the community.
Meeting People Where They Are: A Holistic Approach to Building Community Wealth
By Natalie Goodin Special Projects Manager, Austin Coming Together
Programming at the Aspire Center will foster strong connections with the community, strengthen partnerships with industry leaders, and develop innovative solutions to address gaps in small business development. These efforts will also create pathways into high-demand economic sectors, advancing our workforce development goals. As we pursue this work, it is essential that our approach to engaging individuals is as robust, thoughtful, and comprehensive as our strategy for collaborating with high-level partners.
In our commitment to meeting people where they are and providing the most effective support, we recognized a broad spectrum of stability among residents. This ranges from individuals in crisis, facing unemployment or urgent basic needs, to those who are gainfully employed and actively investing in their long-term success and the well-being of the broader community.
At the heart of our programming model is a holistic approach to equitable wealth creation, which focuses on individuals. This
approach is not only comprehensive but also intentional, ensuring that each resident is met with the resources and strategies most relevant to their journey toward selfsufficiency and success.
Through this lens, we identified six core components that make up our Comprehensive Scope of Services: job/ career, financial, legal, emotional, life/ family, and aspiring. These components reflect the full range of needs for individuals striving to reach their highest potential, aligning directly with our vision for the Aspire Center.
While we recognize the importance of all six, we have prioritized job/career, financial, and legal services as foundational. These priorities guided our initial partnerships and shaped the commitments from tenant organizations at the time of our Grand Opening, laying a strong groundwork for meaningful, long-term impact.
Alongside the development of the building, tenant teams spent more than a year working together and collaboratively building this holistic programming approach. The team built a coordinated intake system to be used at the center, overhauled existing processes and procedures to streamline referrals, and together, collaboratively evaluated partnerships positioned to meet the more outlying needs of the comprehensive scope. In areas that did not have a clear program or service to connect residents with, we successfully identified new opportunities and forged new partnerships, ensuring pathways for residents.
The true innovation of this holistic approach, and the comprehensive scope of services we offer, lies in its power to inspire. It instills a sense of worth in every individual who walks through our doors, encouraging residents to envision more for themselves, their families, and their
community. It provides the motivation to dream boldly and the support to turn those dreams into reality.
We have a beautiful facility, a dedicated team, and a trusted network of partners committed to delivering impactful programming. Through this integrated and person-centered model, we aim to see more than just higher incomes and stable employment. We envision residents progressing through career pathways, setting and achieving aspirational goals such as homeownership, long-term financial planning, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.
This freedom to dream, this freedom to aspire, can ignite a renewed sense of value, purpose, and determination. Our holistic approach represents more than a set of services; it embodies the intention and commitment behind the Aspire Center: to serve as a catalyst for transformation in the Austin community. n
COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION
Delivering on our promise to the community
In 2018, Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) leaders identified the need to expand violence intervention initiatives in Chicago. In 2024, AFT leaders and organizations seized an opportunity to meet this need by partnering with a citywide collaborative known as Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago (SC2). Our goal is to substantially reduce the annual number of shooting incidents in Austin by 2027.
Community Violence Intervention in Austin
WHAT IS COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION OR CVI?
A community-based approach to addressing violence
Engages individuals most at risk of being a victim of or committing an act of gun violence
Goal is to prevent and disrupt cycles of violence and retaliation
Provides services that save lives, address trauma, provide opportunity and improve the physical, social and economic conditions that drive violence
OUR APPROACH TO CVI IN AUSTIN
We’re creating a holistic suite of services for Austinites who are most at risk of perpetrating or being a victim of violence. This includes:
Street Outreach & Victim Services
Outreach workers build relationships with those most at risk of perpetrating or experiencing gun violence. When violent incidents occur, they work with victims and perpetrators to prevent retaliation and repair harm.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Counseling
Outreach workers connect the young men and women that they work with to mental health professionals, who provide counseling, therapy, and other supports for their mental well-being.
Employment
Our Employment and Workforce programming is designed to prepare participants for the workforce through learning both traditional soft skills as well as cognitive behavioral skills to increase job retention.
Education
Outreach workers also help connect individuals who want to go back to school or further their education.
Spiritual Counseling, Mentorship, & Case Management
Counseling and connecting people at risk of violence to new resources, social networks, and spiritual knowledge is a key component of Austin’s CVI work.
Community Mobilizations
Our faith-based partners mobilize the community to show up in both proactive and reactive ways, providing public displays of solidarity for victims, families, and neighbors.
ORGANIZATION AND LEADER
BUILD Chicago
Adam Alonso
Heartland Human Care Services
David Sinski
HOPE CDC
Pastor Steve Epting
Institute for Nonviolence Chicago
Teny Gross
Jehovah Jireh Outreach Ministry #1
Pastor Jody Bady
Together Chicago
Jonathan Banks & Mark O’Halloran
What About Us Charitable Enterprises
Dorin McIntyre aka “Pastor Mac”
Westside Health fAuthority
Morris Reed
Meet Your Austin Outreach Workers
Outreach workers are the heartbeat of CVI in Austin. Their heroic actions save lives. Whether it involves responding to violent incidents late at night, caring for victims and their families when violence occurs, or helping to negotiate non-aggression agreements between groups in conflict, the job of a CVI outreach worker never stops. We wanted to introduce you to some of Austin’s best and brightest outreach workers helping to foster peace in our community.
Marcus Simpson Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, Lead Outreach Worker
I’m a Lead Outreach Worker in Austin and proud of it. I lead by example and focus on building real connections between the community. I act as the glue between communities and the organization, making sure everyone feels seen and heard. I’m passionate about what I do, and I believe I am one of the best people to do it. People in the community know and respect me because I show up and follow through, whether that means helping resolve conflict, supporting a family in crisis, or just being there when it counts. Outside of work, I’m into football, basketball when the playoffs heat up, and enjoy pro wrestling. I can’t wait for Summer Slam this year.
EdBrown
Together Chicago, Street Outreach Supervisor
I lead my team with boots on the ground. My job as Outreach Supervisor is to try and slow down any street violence. I lead with safety first. I personally connect with the perpetrators, giving them information that can help them do better with their life. I stay in tune with the streets to know what’s going on in the streets. I lead my team with grace. We move as one, to better our community and to show there is a better, safe way to live. Why do I do this? I was once running in the streets in my past life. I am a true example that demonstrates that anyone can change.
I love to eat at Jays Backyard BBQ, love hanging at Galewood Park where I play basketball with my family. I love sports and family time. I love going to Pastor Mac’s church to hear him speak.
PabloGalvez BUILD Chicago, SC2 Manager
“Gangs were everywhere when I was growing up,” says Pablo Galvez, SC2 Manager in Austin with BUILD. “I got exposed to a lot of it.” When he lost a close friend to violence and saw the impact of outreach workers in his neighborhood, he found his calling. For more than twenty years Pablo has led street outreach and violence intervention teams from the front lines, earning the trust and love of youth, mediating conflicts, answering calls in the middle of the night and never giving up on anyone. “Peace to me is a state of mind, and a way of living. It’s much harder to be in control of your emotions, and make peace,” says Pablo. “But peace is possible, one person at a time.” When not out on the streets you can find Pablo playing softball, checking on his friends, and staying close to his family.
With the release of the AFT Highlighted Agenda, ACT is going “on the road!” Our team will be on tour and available to co-host discussions about the new phase of Austin’s AFT quality-of-life plan and its vision and strategy, with block clubs, churches, community organizations, coalitions, etc. Other ways we’ll ensure to update the community on the progress of implementing the Highlighted Agenda are through newspaper sections like this, emails, and social media.
Plan Leaders
Community
Narrative
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Kenneth Varner
Healthy Schools Campaign
Dearra Williams
Austin Coming Together
Reesheda Graham
Washington
The Kehrein Center for the Arts
STRATEGY LEADS
Suzanne McBride
Austin Talks
Cindy Gray Schneider
Spaces-n-Places
Maria Sorrell
Community Resident
Megan Hinchy
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Andraya Yousfi By the Hand Club for Kids
Jai Jones
PSPC, The Chicago Community Trust and Community Resident
Adrienne Otkins
Community Resident
Michael Romaine The Culture
Keli Stewart Front Porch Arts Center
Maiya Sinclaire
The Kehrein Center for the Arts
Economic Development
TASK FORCE CHAIR
Roxanne Charles West Side Forward
STRATEGY LEADS
Erica Staley Manufacturing Renaissance
Emily Peters Jane Addams Resource Corporation
Tina Augustus
Community Resident
Melissa O’Dell Defy Ventures
Baxter Swilley Community Stakeholder
Education
TASK FORCE CHAIR
Charles Anderson
Michele Clark High School
STRATEGY LEADS
Ruth Kimble
Austin Childcare Providers Network
Cata Truss Community Resident
Housing
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Athena Williams Oak Park Regional Housing Center
Allison McGowan Community Resident
STRATEGY LEADS
Shirley Fields Community Resident
Rosie Dawson Westside Health Authority
Public Safety
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Bradly Johnson BUILD Inc.
Marilyn Pitchford Heartland Alliance
STRATEGY LEADS
Edwina Hamilton BUILD Inc.
Jose Abonce The Policing Project
Ruby Taylor Taproots, Inc.
Youth Empowerment
TASK FORCE CHAIR
D’elegance Lane
Community Stakeholder
STRATEGY LEADS
Aisha Oliver Root2Fruit
Helen Slade Territory NFP
Dollie Sherman
Austin Coming Together
Chris Thomas YourPassion1st
Civic Engagement
TASK FORCE CHAIR
Deborah Williams-Thurmond
D.W. Provision
Consulting Services
