Austin Weeklyl 072518

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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■

Rep. Davis leads petition drive for mental health commission in Austin,

Vol. 32 No. 30

July 25, 2018

austinweeklynews.com

Also serving Garfield Park

@AustinWeeklyChi

@AustinWeeklyNews

PAGE 9

Meett JJermaine M i Sanders, page 5

Flawed gang databases not just Chicago problem County and state law enforcement officials also maintain problematic databases By MICK DUMKE ProPublica

Over the last 25 years, Illinois State Police have built a database of more than 90,000 people they deem to be gang members — but won’t say what gangs they’re in or where they live. The Cook County sheriff ’s office has a gang database, too. It includes 25,000 people, including hundreds whose gangs aren’t known and hundreds who are dead. And the Illinois Department of Corrections says the only information it can provide about its gang database is that it can’t provide any information. The Chicago Police Department’s massive gang database has received considerable scrutiny in recent months. But it’s not the only gang tracking system used by area law enforcement. Police and other authorities have been keeping See GANG DATABASE on page 4

Remembering Mandela

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Charles Perry gives a speech last Wednesday during a ceremony marking Mandela Road’s 5th anniversary and the 100th birthday celebration of Nelson Mandela outside of the Westside Health Authority on Chicago Avenue in Austin. More photos on page 8.

West Side popup store doubles as case study Forty Acres Market wants to prove that Austin ‘deserves fresh food,’ too

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Contributing Reporter

For the past few weeks, 21-year-old Latanya Johnson has been working on a plan that will help her live a healthier lifestyle, and she knew the first step she’d need to make was to change her eating habits. With an interest in starting a plantbased diet – which consists of eating more unrefined foods like fruits, vegetables

and whole grains – Johnson has made small, conscious efforts to shop smarter at the grocery store, but she finds it difficult, especially when her community doesn’t have many supermarkets, only convenience stores. “We don’t have many healthy options. We have more fast food options,” said Johnson, who lives in Austin. After hearing about Forty Acres Fresh Market’s tent on the corner of West

Chicago and Mayfield Avenues from her boyfriend, she decided to stop by the morning of Friday, July 20, and see what it had to offer. “I think it’s really nice,” Johnson said, after picking up some fresh produce. She even stayed to watch guest chef, Mary Mora, of Proviso Partners for Health, demonstrate how to make a basil fruit sal-

Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com

See FORTY ACRES on page 6


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