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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 32 No. 36
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September 5, 2018
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A reader remembers Aretha Franklin,
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Also serving Garfield Park
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St. Angela’s opens space for students
‘All people…’ Amara Enyia, a West Side policy consultant and head of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, officially kicked off her campaign for mayor on Aug. 28 at Co-Prosperity Sphere in Bridgeport. Enyia framed her candidacy as the progressive, grassroots alternative to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s neoliberal governing philosophy.
Austin school is now available as student activity space By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Last summer, the site of St. Angela Parish — the Catholic church in Austin that closed in 2005, leaving behind generations of alumni, many of whom live in Oak Park — looked more like Dresden at the end of World War II. The Archdiocese of Chicago had decided to demolish the building in order to allow more space for St. Angela School, which still exists. A year later, what was once a field of rubble has been transformed into a lush green expanse fertile with possibility. During interviews on the new grounds last week, school officials said that, so far, community members, students, parents and employees of the school have been impressed with the transformation. “It’s an unbelievable space,” said Kurt Wittenberg, St. Angela’s principal. “It’s the only green space in this whole area, and I think the kids enjoy it.” Lynn Frederick, St. Angela’s director of advancement, said a lot of the student activity in the new space will be determined by the needs of teachers. On the day she was interviewed, Frederick said she was due to meet with faculty “about their involvement in administering the space, so they’ll decide its best use.” There are a lot of possibilities for the empty space, which appears to be roughly the size of See ST. ANGELA’S on page 6
AMARA ENYIA/Facebook
West Sider launches mayoral campaign Amara Enyia, head of Austin’s chamber, announces second bid for seat
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Standing before a roomful of dozens of supporters, Amara Enyia, the executive director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, formally announced her candidacy for mayor — becoming the 11th challenger looking to take two-term incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s fifth-floor seat in City Hall. Enyia, who lives in West Garfield Park, made the announcement on Aug. 28 at CoProsperity Sphere in Bridgeport. In her introductory remarks, Enyia,
whose parents emigrated from Nigeria, linked her grassroots candidacy to her family’s long history of political activism in continental Africa, and with the social struggles fought by people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The 35-year-old policy consultant had been aggressively hinting at the prospect of getting into the race for weeks leading up to Tuesday’s official announcement. Each Wednesday since the start of August, Enyia — an avid runner — has been hosting a series of evening runs across the city. During her roughly 30-minute campaign
speech — in which she introduced herself in multiple languages and lead the audience in a chant (“All people, all voices, one city!”) — Enyia presented perhaps the starkest political contrast yet to Emanuel’s technocratic approach to governing. “It’s time for a new vision for Chicago,” Enyia said, before describing the policies of the Emanuel administration as being steeped in “neoliberal philosophy.” The term neoliberal, Enyia said, simply means the prioritization of the interests of
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com
See AMARA ENYIA on page 5