Austin Weekly News 093020

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Vol. 34 No. 40 ■ September 30, 2020

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A new mural rises on the West Side,

austinweeklynews.com

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Also serving Garfield Park

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PAGE 6

‘For the love of RBG,’ PAGE 5

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W. Side program gets $300K grant We Raise Foundation gives MAAFA Redemption Project largest grant in foundation’s 115-year history

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

A faith-based residential program for young men of color will be able to house more participants thanks to a six-figure grant from a Christian nonprofit.

The MAAFA Redemption Project is a ministry of New Mount Pilgrim Church, 4301 W. Washington Blvd., that pushes for the revitalization of West Garfield Park. The project recruits young men who are vulnerable to street violence, gangs and poverty, and helps them become local leaders who can help turn around the neighborhood.

The We Raise Foundation, based in suburban Itasca, in partnership with the MIGMIR Fund, awarded the project a $300,000 grant, the largest donation offered in the 115-year history of the foundation.

The MAAFA Redemption Project was picked because its whole-person approach aligned with the We Raise Foundation mission of investing in the intersection between violence, poverty and inequality, said Paul Miles, foundation president and CEO. “The redemptive approach to community health really resonated with us. It’s holistic. It’s treating the entire person, but also the entire community,” Miles said.

The name of the initiative, MAAFA, comes from the Kiswahili word meaning “calamity” or “disaster.” It typically refers to the transatlantic slave trade and Middle Passage.

Decades of institutional racism followed the abolition of slavery, through Jim Crow, See MAAFA on page 9

Daniel Liu/provided

MISSING OUT: Bobby Price cuts hair at Principle Barbers, in North Lawndale, before the coronavirus pandemic. North Lawndale didn’t receive any Neighborhood Opportunity Funds..

N. Lawndale shut out of city’s grant program

Community got zero Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grants despite being prioritized

By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

None of the city’s latest Neighborhood

Opportunity Fund grants went to North Lawndale businesses, despite the neighborhood being one of the 10 areas the program is supposed to prioritize.

Applications for the next grants to help entrepreneurs on the South and West sides improve and expand their businesses are now open, and local leaders are encouraging previous applicants to refile their proposals and try again.

In the most recent round of applications, the city selected 32 finalists for more than

$5 million in grants. The majority selfreported as minority-owned, and more than half of the businesses were Blackowned, according to Chicago Department of Planning and Development records.

Half of the projects were also in areas targeted by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s INVEST South/West initiative, which aims to make good on her promise of equity by funneling development toward 10 historically underresourced neighborhoods.

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

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Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2020

W. Side alderman confronts loitering, abandoned cars

One of Ald. Ervin’s proposed measures would allow city to tow away vehicles left in vacant lots for several days in a row

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

The alderman is proposing an amendment to the municipal code that would allow the city to tow away vehicles left abandoned in the vacant lots several days in the row and, if the vehicles are unclaimed, dispose of them. Ervin also submitted a resolution calling for a hearing on how the city is enforcing existing regulations on “loitering for purposes related to gangs, prostitution, or narcotics trafficking.”

Both pieces of legislation, each of which deals with concerns that are regularly brought up during Ervin’s community meetings, still need to be heard on the committee level, but, as of Sept. 24, it is not

Ervin has repeatedly acknowledged the problem, but said that the city lacks an enforcement mechanism to deal with the problem.

The new ordinance would address that problem.

Under the current regulations, the city can tow away “any hazardous dilapidated motor vehicle in full view of the general public.” If the city can track down the owner, the owner must Provided be notified and have an opportunity to retrieve it.

NEW MEASURES: Ald. Jason Ervin has introduced a new mea- But if the owner doesn’t sure that would allow the city to tow vehicles left in vacant retrieve the vehicle or lots for several days in a row. if the owner can’t be tracked down, the city clear when that might happen. has a right to dispose of it.

Residents of East Garfield, West Garfield Ervin’s ordinance would expand that Park and Austin portions of the 28th Ward provision to any vehicle that has been left have long complained about garbage and on a vacant lot and is either so damaged that abandoned vehicles being dumped on the it can’t be driven off the lot or has been left vacant lots near their homes. abandoned for seven or more days (if it has

Alderman supports ordinance increasing penalties for looters

Ald. Scott backs proposed ordinance would create specific fines and jail time for looting

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

Ald. Michael Scott (24th) is backing an ordinance that would create specific fines and jail time for looting, as well as allow the police to impound vehicles allegedly involved in looting.

The ordinance was introduced by Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th), whose Far South Side ward includes the entirety of Beverly, Morgan Park and Mt. Greenwood neighborhoods. The latter, in particular, is home to a large number of first-responders.

The 95th Street business district in Beverly, which is home to several of the ward’s Blackowned businesses, was among the South and West Side commercial corridors that saw widespread looting on in late May and early June following the death of George Floyd.

O’Shea’s ordinance currently has 21 cosponsors, five of whom are Black. As of Sept.

24, Scott is the only West Side alderman to sign on as a co-sponsor. The ordinance

will need to clear the Committee on Public Safety, which is chaired by Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), but it is not currently clear when the committee might consider it.

After Floyd’s death in May, the city experienced several protests. On May 30, stores in the Loop and the surrounding neighborhoods were looted, leading Mayor Lori Lightfoot to lock down the central business district. The following day, looting swept through several commercial corridors on the South and West sides, including the Madison/Pulaski corridor in West Garfield Park and major intersections along Madison St. and North Ave. in Austin.

After a wave of looting swept through central areas in the early hours of Aug. 10, the city locked down the Madison/Pulaski corridor, but while there was a confrontation between police and a group of residents, the looting didn’t materialize.

O’Shea told the Beverly Review newspaper in mid-August that, with his ordinance, he was “trying to offer an additional tool to the Chicago Police Department” to deal with looting.

“I support the First Amendment right to peacefully protest, but when it turns into civil unrest, whether that be breaking into businesses, destroying property or attacking police officers, this has to stop,” he was quoted as saying. “The only way we’re going

valid state-issued plates) or four or more days (if doesn’t have plates).

The ordinance is being referred to the Committee on Budget & Government Operations, which is chaired by South Side Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd). The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 30, but its agenda has not been posted as of Sept. 24, so it’s not clear whether the ordinance will be considered.

Ervin also introduced a resolution calling for a hearing to examine the effectiveness of the city’s anti-loitering ordinances. Ervin argues that the enforcement of existing ordinances has not been effective, because their prohibitions only apply to certain zones in the city that are designed by the police superintendent.

The resolution has been sent to the Committee on Public Safety chaired by Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), who has the discretion to decide when the hearing would take place and whether the hearing would even take place at all.

It’s not clear when the hearing will take place.

CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.com

to rebuild our city—the only way we’re going to rebuild relationships— is if we can get the civil unrest under control.”

O’Shea’s ordinance defines looting as forcibly breaking into another person’s property, or taking advantage of the YouTube entrance that was already pried open, IN SUPPORT OF PENALTIES: Ald. Michael Scott Jr. is the only during “emergency West Side alderman who backs a proposed ordinance to create conditions” such as specific fines and jail time for looting. “a hurricane, fire, riot, mob, or any other the ordinance and he didn’t respond to the natural or man-made crisis.” request for comment by deadline.

The ordinance mentions that the person The ordinance currently has support doesn’t have to actually steal anything to from five Black Caucus members: Scott, Ald be charged with looting. If more than one Gregory Mitchell (7th), Ald. Anthony Beale person participated, each person would (9th), Ald Derrick Curtis (18th) and Ald. be charged separately. Those found guilty Howard Brookins (21st). would be subject to a $1,000 to $2,000 fine As the chair of the Committee on Public and/or up to six months of jail time. The Safety, Taliaferro has the discretion to decide police would also have the right to tow and when O’Shea’s ordinance will be considered, impound any cars the looters were driving if at all. While a meeting was scheduled on at the time until the owner pays a $2,000 fine, Sept. 28, it has since been cancelled and none plus the “fees for the towing and storage of the meetings for the rest of the year have of the vehicle.” The owner would have the been scheduled as of Sept. 24. right to appeal the impoundment.

Scott has not publicly commented on CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.com

Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2020

Denied dispensary applicants can amend applications

Some still have concerns over veteran ownership requirements

By RAYMON TRONCOSO Capitol News Illinois

Gov. JB Pritzker announced changes to the licensing process for marijuana dispensaries on Sept. 21 after weeks of criticism from activists, lawmakers and applicants who were initially denied for the first round of 75 licenses.

Now, failed applicants will have an opportunity to amend their applications and receive more information as to why they were denied points in the scoring process.

In a news release on Sept. 21, Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said they came to the decision after a “careful examination” based on “feedback from community leaders and stakeholders.”

The change allows denied applicants to resubmit their applications or have them rescored after receiving a “supplemental deficiency notice” that tells them which specific portions of their application lost points and prevented them from reaching the 252-point perfect score needed to enter the lottery to distribute licenses.

Those receiving a perfect score after this process takes place would be added to the lottery for the first 75 licenses.

An applicant may not, however, change the owners or makeup of its ownership group on resubmitted applications. Officials said the process allowing for rescoring could be wrapped up “this fall.”

The announcement of changes comes after just 21 of more than 900 applicants received perfect scores in the first round of grading by an outside company. That meant no other applicants would be eligible for any of the 75 licenses granted in the first wave of the new program, which sparked an immediate backlash from lawmakers, applicants and activists.

The outside professional services and auditing firm conducting the first round of grading was KPMG, and they will once again be grading the rescored applications, according to the governor’s office. A spokesperson from the governor’s office noted, however, that “IDFPR will ensure strong oversight of the process with KPMG to ensure every step focuses on fairness.”

KPMG received a $4.2 million no-bid contract from the state to score dispensary applicants, as well as a $2.5 million no-bid contract from the Illinois Department of Agriculture to grade applicants who wish to receive a license to grow, transport and infuse cannabis products.

The grow licenses have yet to be awarded, as the process has seen significant delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Further Changes Possible

Per the legalization law, IDFPR will also conduct a disparity study evaluating the ethnic, racial and socioeconomic makeup of the adult-use cannabis market.

Pritzker on Tuesday noted lawmakers could make changes to the law and application process to ensure equity in the future as more than 300 licenses are still to be distributed in future waves.

“I have already offered my suggestions for how the General Assembly can change the law so that we can ensure even greater representation in this industry, including capping the number of licenses or regions that any one owner can apply for, and allowing more applicants to advance to the lottery round than just those with the very highest scores,” Pritzker said at a news conference in Chicago.

After the initial announcement of just 21 applicants reaching the lottery, rejected applicants filed multiple lawsuits against the state.

While at least one of those suits has been dropped following Monday’s development from Pritzker and IDFPR, the changes to the process sparked backlash from some of the 21 finalists who feel changing the rules after qualifiers were announced is unfair.

So Baked Too LLC and Suite Greens LLC – two firms whose applications received perfect scores and qualified for the 75-license lottery – released a joint statement Tuesday saying Pritzker’s decision to make changes “clearly violates the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act in multiple ways, and is, therefore, unfair to the social equity teams that knew the rules.”

They also opposed extending the amount of time it will take to award licenses, as the process has already been delayed from its scheduled May release date due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“There were simple solutions that would have followed the spirit of the law but were also fair to the social equity teams that did make the lottery and didn’t violate the law and could be implemented reasonably expeditiously… But this proposal is not it,” according to the statement, which accused the governor’s office of violating portions of the legalization law.

The Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, an industry advocacy group for licensed marijuana businesses, issued a statement Monday supporting the governor’s changes.

“CBAI and its members have been strong supporters of a robust and diverse cannabis industry that keeps social equity at the forefront,” according to the release. “Our members have incubated, mentored and supported social equity applicants to be competitive in the marketplace, and we’re

encouraged by these additional steps to bring more diversity to the industry.”

Concerns over veteran ownership Dr. Lawrence Hatchett, the lead investor for a group organized under the name Cannabliss Supply Co., had all 10 applications for dispensary licenses rejected in the first wave.

In an interview last Wednesday, Hatchett called the process a false hope for Black Illinoisans who wanted to get a foot in the marijuana industry to provide an economic boon to their communities.

But after Pritzker’s announcement, Hatchett said the state was moving things in a better direction.

“I’m going to give the governor credit where credit is due,” Hatchett said in an interview Tuesday. “I do believe that all these are good steps… I’m optimistic.”

Avis Bulbulyan, CEO of marijuana consultant group SIVA Enterprises, worked with a Black-owned business that received a social equity designation when applying for a license.

He and Hatchett said they are still concerned that firms that are not at least 51-percent owned by military veterans will still be unable to achieve a perfect score and move onto the lottery.

At the news conference Tuesday, Pritzker

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and his lead marijuana advisor, former state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, said such concerns could be addressed by the General Assembly amending the legalization law to provide a cut-off range for applicants to qualify for a license rather than only accepting the highest scores.

According to Hutchinson, that would allow worthy applicants who don’t achieve a perfect score for reasons such as not having a majority veteran stakeholder to still advance to the lottery stage. But those changes would require action from the General Assembly and be more likely to happen in future rounds, rather than for the first wave of 75 licenses.

“This process is designed for us to see all the things that worked and figure out how to tighten this as we move forward,” Hutchinson said, noting that 75 licenses in the initial distribution is an intentionally small number.

Pritzker echoed that statement while calling his administration’s handling of the first licensing round “far from perfect.”

“As governor, I’m not interested in protecting a process that people are afraid to trust,” he said. “I’m interested in doing everything that we can to advance the priority that we all share, and that’s fairness.”

Hatchett, citing his own experience putting hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line for a chance at a license, said many may be skeptical of the process going forward.

“I do believe what happened in the first round is going to disillusion 75 percent of ‘true’ social equity applicants,” Hatchett said, referencing his belief that some social equity applicants were fronts by bigger, outof-state corporations. “If you are a person from a low socioeconomic area that just wasted or lost a certain amount of money already, are you willing to jump back in and take a second chance at something when you are still disillusioned that the system is really going to be fair?”

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

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Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2020

Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2020

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Liberals, for the love of RBG, toughen up

he story of how Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week at 87, got her nickname — Notorious RBG (derived from the Brooklyn rapper Biggie Smalls, also known as Notorious B.I.G.) — is somewhat emblematic of our current national predicament.

In 2017, Ginsburg told NBC that the moniker was the work of a second-year student at NYU Law School (I pulled the following quotation from an article published

by Bustle): “This young woman was, to put it mildly, disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision in the Shelby County case — the decision that held a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 no longer constitutional.

“She was angry, and then it came to her that anger is a useless emotion. It doesn’t win any friends or make any changes. So, instead of being angry, she would do something positive. And the positive thing she did was to put on that blog the announcement of my dissenting opinion in the Shelby County case, and then it took off from there.”

That young woman, Shane Knizhnik, is now a 32-year-old staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of New York City who,

as the co-author of the New York Times bestseller “Notorious R.B.G.: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” has successfully translated that anger into a hip cult of personality that could not be more Brooklyn circa 2020.

With all due respect to the late, great Ginsburg, Knizhnik should’ve stayed angry for a little longer and avoided Tumblr. For far too long, liberals have met the amorality, duplicity, depravity and shamelessness of conservatives by being cool and hip or “going high when they go low.”

While mild-mannered, positivethinking liberals decadently revel in their cultural hegemony, they look on haplessly, albeit wearing aviator sunglasses and sporting Timberlands or Notorious RBG T-shirts, as the likes of Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh take the whole country deeper into the abyss of environmental catastrophe, crippling wealth inequality and civil disorder.

We have to start acting like the threats we pay lip service during election cycles are real and meet them with the seriousness they deserve. I’m not saying we need to start acting like conservatives and Republicans, but at least understand their

MICHAEL ROMAIN

psychology in order to effectively counter their depravity.

The GOP will likely do everything in its power to confirm Ginsburg’s replacement, because it believes that the Supreme Court, even more than voter suppression, is the last rampart that separates the party’s idea of America (a place made for white, Christian men) from the current multicultural reality that Notorious RBG symbolized and to which Ginsburg dedicated her life.

This intense belief in the Supreme Court as white America’s end times bunker is what motivated Richard Nixon to deploy the White House and Justice Department to try to threaten two liberal justices into resigning, according to Adam Cohen’s insightful book “Supreme Inequality.” And when threats didn’t work, Nixon obsessed over the health of the court’s liberal justices, frequently asking aides “for updates on his colleagues’ medical conditions.”

When Justice Thurgood Marshall once checked into a hospital with pneumonia, “Nixon asked for a status report,” Cohen writes. “Marshall told a Navy officer, ‘Well, Admiral, you have my permission to give it to him on only one condition: that you put at the bottom of it, quote, ‘Not yet.’”

If liberals, conservatives who aren’t crazy and everybody else who just likes life on Earth hope to avoid the nightmare of a Su-

preme Court with a 6-3 conservative majority, we have to meet the opposition not in the arena of culture, but in the arena of raw political power — not with positivity, but with realpolitik.

So, what exactly can regular folk like us do?

We can call, write and email Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth — and demand that they use every procedural tool in the shed to slow down this appointment process to at least bide some time for a Hail Mary.

Meanwhile, if you have relatives or friends in states with Republican senators, tell them to help flood those senators’ office lines and inboxes and mailboxes with demands that they refuse to take part in this sham appointment process, if only because Trump will be hand-picking the judge that may help decide the fate of his re-election prospects.

You can also vote, make sure eligible voters you know vote and phone bank for Joe Biden by calling voters in critical swing states.

If you’re a lawyer, volunteer to protect the votes of others and, in general, just push as hard as you can for a Democratic House, Senate and presidency. And don’t forget about local seats of power like city councils and school boards and statehouses. Vote Blue up and down ballot.

This is a bleak moment for American democracy, which is all the more reason to lean into it passionately.

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Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2020

New West Side mural speaks to love, resilience, unity

The mural was unveiled at the Westside Justice Center

By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

A new West Side mural shows the community as a thriving garden exuding love despite the centuries of struggle Black people have endured.

The mural, called “Sowing Seeds of Change,” was unveiled Wednesday at the Westside Justice Center, 601 S. California Ave. A garden is a place of creativity and love, said artist B’Rael Thunder, and the mural is a reminder that in neighborhoods like North Lawndale, “together we are the garden.”

In Thunder’s painted garden, Black women dance together, their skirts resembling a sunflower. A gravity-defying crown of dreadlocks grows from a woman’s head and stretches out like branches of a tree.

Another tree in the mural is formed by the bodies of people reaching towards the sky. The deep brown skin of their arms comes together to form the trunk of the tree overlooking the rest of the garden. Floating above is a group of children wearing green, which Thunder said represents how Black communities must uplift children as seeds being sown for the future.

The plants made up of the bodies of many Black people symbolize the intertwined destinies of those living in neglected areas, Thunder said. People must join together to envision new futures and build collective power to address injustice, fight for change and revitalize under-resourced communities, he said.

“In order to put them in better situations, in order to provide the resources that they need, it’s a collective effort. We all stand on each other’s shoulders; we all uplift each other,” Thunder said.

The mural reflects the work being done at the West Side Justice Center, a holistic legal aid clinic that offers pro-bono counsel, legal education and criminal rights advocacy to empower those who typically don’t get a fair shake in court. Thunder uses the plants and trees in his art to speak to the tenacity that the community manifests in the fight for Black liberation.

“A tree will go through a lot of struggle. It will go through impossible feats in order to find that light. I wanted to show how even in a darkest times, there’s still an opportunity to navigate your way to success and to

freedom,” Thunder said.

Thunder initially got involved with the Westside Justice Center through the Movement and Justice Gallery based out of the legal aid clinic’s building. Thunder contributed to the Black Summer exhibit at the gallery in 2019, which brought together art that affirms Black joy and resilience.

At the unveiling of the mural, Renaldo Hudson said he saw his own experience reflected in the faces of the people in the painting. Hudson interprets the people in the tree reaching their arms upward as a community freeing their loved ones from incarceration and welcoming them home.

“This looks like brothers in prison being pulled out,” Hudson said. “It is an extension of the breaking the bars. And I see the hope and smiling faces of people being released from prison.”

Hudson spent 37 years in prison and was released just weeks before seeing the mural.

He now works with the Illinois Prison Project to advocate for criminal justice reform.

“My story is from death row to the front door,” he said. “And so it’s really amazing: When I look at the picture, I see myself.”

Ray Robinson sees the people in the mural as using the power of communal love to find

Pascal Sabino/Block Club Chicago

ART OF LOVE: The Sowing Seeds mural is about love, resilience, and the power of unity, said artist B’Rael Thunder, pictured in front of his creation.

joy in the face of generations of oppression directed against Black people.

“It’s a systemic struggle and intentional disparity that we’re fighting against,” he said.

Robinson appreciates that at the top of the mural is a Sankofa, a bird with its feet planted in the ground and its body facing forward while its head looks backward. The Sankofa is a symbol of the Akan people of West Africa, and it is meant as a reminder to draw on the wisdom of the past in order to craft a better future.

“Sankofa means ‘to go back and fetch.’

To go back and fetch the teachings of our ancestors, the teachings of our people and bring it to today, so we can enhance our tomorrow,” Robinson said.

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, September 30, 2020

RibFest Every Day!

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Sick of the violence and the stunts

he violence that is permeating Black Chicago is absolutely sickening! We now have young people for whom the notion is foreign that violence at one time only occurred on weekends.

Not only has daily violence been part of their entire lives, but they also know there is no such thing as an age limit for it. Babies, toddlers, school-age, tweens and teens, young adults, middle-age and old people, have no protection from the stupidity of the violence that is occurring.

Where is the sincere moral outrage about the violence? Certain civil right leaders are too old and ill to really speak on anything. Others, like the notorious pastor who once shut down liquor establishments in an entire community and went on to become a state senator, are now quieter than the mouse in their church.

Even the great community organizer who rose to accept the highest position in the land hasn’t come back to say much about what’s going on. One would think with those skills, he could turn this disaster of a city around. But the agendas and the concerns are not aligned for that.

We have become a society of stunts. Those responsible for the stunts allege that they will bring attention to the ongoing carnage.

Shutting down an expressway does not have the same sort of meaning and impact as crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Writing the name of a woman killed in Louisville, Kentucky in red paint to symbolize blood is not the same as writing the name of an 8-year-old butchered like an animal for the sin of being in a car with her parents at a stoplight at 47th and Union. In that bloodred paint, ask people to name names!

And when an injured horse garners more sympathy than the cause for which it was ridden, it’s a reality check we all need to pay attention to. Because if the Black com-

munity doesn’t care, all the other communities look at us and wonder why should they care?

And when we have individuals within the Black community living down to the stereotypical roles that have long been perpetrated against us, it only gives the racist credence to say, “See that’s what we always said!”

One of the first excuses — and that’s what the black community has, a plethora of excuses — is that the mental health facilities have closed. That’s the reason why, say many, a young mother stabbed and nearly decapitated her 5-year-old daughter in East Garfield Park. Yet I recall back to 1993 when the facilities were open and available, how Amanda Wallace tied an extension cord in a bow around her 2-year-old son’s neck and hung him from a transom until dead. There are sick individuals regardless of whether the mental health facilities are open. Let’s recognize it. Irresponsible parenthood because of irresponsible birth control practice has always been at the epicenter of the problem.

This has been a rant only in that my solutions wouldn’t bode well with most people.

I’d like to see a return to the death penalty in public executions. DNA has exonerated innocent people and can convict the guilty.

I’d like to see politicians put forth some effort to see what will work. I still advocate for the National Guard to calm this city down for a day, a week, even a month without senseless violence. It has become so much the norm that we are numb to it.

If not the National Guard, then I’m praying for bitter-cold weather. It won’t stop domestic violence, but at least it will keep folks off the streets.

I’m praying for 2020 to hurry up and end, for God to smite the killers, and for 2021 to be an awakening!

ARLENE JONES

NEED TO REACH US? Call Editor Michael Romain at 773-626-6332 • michael@austinweeklynews.com

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Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2020

Play about Fannie Lou Hamer coming to West Side in October

“Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It!” to show free of charge in Austin, North Lawndale Oct. 1, Oct. 2

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Provided

DREAMER: Jamion Cotten, 11, performing with the Chicago Children’s Choir. Cotten wrote an original song that he performed during a virtual concert this past Saturday.

West Side Lives Jamion Cotten, 11, dreamer and songwriter

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

This week, I interviewed Jamion Cotten, the 11-year-old singer and songwriter who is a member of the Austin Neighborhood Choir — an offshoot of the Chicago Children’s Choir.

Jamion and his fellow choir members presented a virtual concert on Sept. 26 called “Reverberation,” during which Jamion performed “Just a Dream,” a song he wrote with Chicago Children’s Choir alum W. Mitchell Owens.

Jamion spoke about how he first started singing, the challenges he’s experience, life in Austin and the meaning behind his original song.

On the first song he sang I started singing when I was a little boy. I sang I was born by the river by Sam Cooke [“A change is gonna come,” 1963]. My family would tell me to sing it all the time.

I was in church and I was scared, so my father told me, ‘Don’t be scared.’ He was preaching for my grandfather, because they were out of town.

So, I sang, ‘I was born by the river’ and I wasn’t scared, anymore. Since I’ve started singing, I just feel free and joyful.

On his best experience this year We sang with Chance the Rapper [at NBA All Star Weekend] in February. We met Cardi B, Queen Latifah, Common, Kim Kardashian, Lil Yachty and DJ Khaled. We met the basketball players, too. We were crying, because it was the best experience.

On life’s challenges I’ve been through some stuff I shouldn’t have been through, but me and my family have been through thick and thin. Trials and tribulations. One of my cousins got shot in 2012 and one got shot in 2017. They did not survive.

It was depressing, because I was real close with both of them.

On what he loves about living in Austin It’s fun. It has energy and there are loving, expressive people here. I love Austin. I love Pizza Hut and Home Run Inn. Those are some of my favorite places to go.

On “Just a Dream” The song is about when you think about bad dreams and someone wakes you up and you say, ‘Oh, it was just a dream.’ You should think about good things you want to dream. I want to see my dream and I don’t want it to be ruined. I have to work hard for it.

My dream is to be a famous singer and songwriter and I think my dream is coming true.

Every kid’s dream matters. So, keep following your dream and see what your future brings.

Want to tell your story?

This is part of a series we’re launching called West Side People, designed to introduce our readers to their fellow West Siders. If you know of someone we should write about, email me at: michael@austinweeklynews.com. And in the subject line write: West Side Lives.

Editor

A free 40-minute play about Fannie Lou Hamer will be staged on the West Side in October, a month out from a presidential election that features many of the battlefronts — from voter intimidation and suppression to economic inequality — on which Hamer famously fought.

In 1964, Hamer, the leader of the Mississippi-based Freedom Democratic Party, shared her life’s story with the Nation’s Jerry DeMuth.

A native of Ruleville, Miss., Hamer came from a family of sharecroppers who lived under the thumb of Jim Crow.

“The family would pick fifty-sixty bales of cotton a year, so my father decided to rent some land. He bought some mules and a cultivator,” Hamer told DeMuth.

“We were doin’ pretty well. He even started to fix up the house real nice and had bought a car. Then our stock got poisoned. We knowed this white man had done it. He stirred up a gallon of Paris green with the feed. When we got out there, one mule was already dead.

The other two mules and the cow had their stomachs all swelled up. It was too late to save ‘em.

“That poison knocked us right back down flat. We never did get back up again,” she recalled. “That white man did it just because we, were gettin’ somewhere. White people never like to see Negroes get a little success. All of this stuff is no secret in the state of Mississippi.”

Hamer consistently faced death threats and intimidation during her long with to win voting rights for Black Mississippians. She herself didn’t vote until she was 44 years old.

“Speaking for every African-American living under the South’s Jim Crow rules,” DeMuth wrote, “Fannie Lou Hamer says she is sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Hamer’s indefatigable spirit is the source of “Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It!” — a 40-minute play produced by the Goodman Theatre in collaboration with the Chicago Park District.

The play is being staged at eight

parks throughout the city. The first performance happened on Sept. 18 at Robert Abbot Park on the South Side.

The play will be performed at Austin Town Hall Park, 5610 W. Lake St., 6 p.m., on Oct. 1. And at Homan Square, 3559 W. Arthington St., 6 p.m., on Oct. 2.

E. Faye Butler, who stars as Hamer, said in a recent interview with Quenna L. Barrett, the associate director of education and engagement at Goodman Theater, said that much of Hamer’s legacy is wrapped up in her fight for voting rights. “”She wanted everyone to know, you have the right and people have died so you can vote,” Butler said.

Butler added that the play focuses on Hamer’s brilliant ability to inspire others to action through her charismatic persona at rallies and protests.

“She was a freedom worker and she was a civil rights leader and she was an amazing singer, but not the kind of singer most people would expect,” Butler said. “She didn’t sing because she necessarily had a beautiful voice; it was the spirit of the song and the passion and that’s why so many people loved for her to be at rallies … She could turn a crowd out.”

Cheryl L. West, who wrote the play, said that she initially constructed the script to incorporate a high level of audience engagement. After the pandemic hit, however, she had to make some modifications.

“When this was first constructed, audience participation was part of the show, because it’s a rally,” West told Barrett.

West said that she had to axe the parts of the play that called for the audience to sing along with Hamer.

“I had to go through the script to take out all of those references,” she said.

But the essence of the play, Hamer’s spirit, remains, West said.

“The power of it is still intact,” she said. “The story is still there.”

West said that she hopes the play instructs how audiences live in the present.

“Learn from the past,” she said.

“Learn from the challenges we had. Arm yourself. [Hamer’s] favorite prayer was, ‘I arm myself with God,’ so she didn’t have much fear.”

For more information, including special safety precautions due to COVID-19, visit GoodmanTheatre.org/SpeakOnIt.

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2020

OPPORTUNITY FUNDS Needed in N. Lawndale from page 1 When the initiative launched in October, Lightfoot positioned the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund as one of its main tools. But at least one of the target neighborhoods — North Lawndale — didn’t receive any grant money this spring.

Businesses across the West Side submitted about 90 proposals for the grant, according to city officials, and other neighborhoods in the area were better represented among grant finalists.

In Austin, which is also a target community under INVEST South/ West, 41 applications were submitted and five businesses were named as finalists. East Garfield Park businesses submitted two proposals and had no finalists. Eleven West Garfield Park businesses applied for the money, and one business was selected.

In Lawndale, none of the 16 proposals from neighborhood businesses were successful.

“Many potential applicants that weren’t quite ready for the last funding round are expected to reapply this round with more complete and stronger proposals,” a spokesperson for the planning department said in a statement.

The program continues to be refined to make the funding more accessible to entrepreneurs in targeted areas, the spokesperson said. Since the program prioritizes the most viable proposals that are ready to begin construction, the application process has an improved project readiness tool to help applicants better identify the strengths and weaknesses in their plans.

And the fund now accepts proposals twice per year, which the city expects will make it easier for businesses to prepare their applications in advance.

Rodney Brown, of the North Lawndale Chamber of Commerce, hopes the improvements will make the grants a more realistic option for local businesses. Even with the assistance of the chamber, local entrepreneurs struggled to apply for the grant.

“We’ve had some challenges with [the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund] in the past. I’m hoping the changes that have been made are such that the challenges can be eliminated,” he said.

Brown is working with Lawndale’s entrepreneurs to maximize the flow of money into the neighborhood for the new round of Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grants. Since many of Lawndale’s main commercial corridors were damaged during civic unrest this summer, the chamber is focused on getting impacted businesses to the front of the line for public dollars.

“We got some projects that are … shovel-ready, that we think that we’ve primed for the city,” Brown said.

In past rounds, there have been several grantees in North Lawndale, and the awards have helped fund important projects in the neighborhood, said Ald. Michael Scott Jr. (24th). A recent award will help the North Lawndale Employment Network build a workforce development campus.

But in many cases, even those who were offered the funding in past rounds were unable to successfully complete their projects due to challenges of getting upfront funding, Scott said. Those business owners ended up having to pass on the grant opportunity.

“They were not able to get some of the things they needed to get — licensing, zoning and all those things — because of a lack of technical assistance,” Scott said.

At least 35 grant winners citywide since the program’s beginnings in 2017 have had to withdraw or terminate their projects, city records show.

Several businesses who previously applied feel burned by the process, though Scott and Brown encourage Lawndale entrepreneurs try again and to lean on them for support.

“Hopefully this round will show folks in communities that are undeserved and need this money desperately that there is an opportunity to be successful,” Scott said.

Scott said he also worked with the Lightfoot administration so businesses that were deemed viable investments in previous rounds but were unable to accept the funds will have an edge this time.

Planning department officials confirmed previous finalists that withdrew will get special consideration.

Recent improvements to the structure of the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund are also designed to lower some of the barriers that kept such businesses from accepting the city dollars.

Lightfoot earlier this year expanded the grant to cover 100 percent of a project’s total cost if the owner and their employees are residents of the South or West sides. Previously, the grant was capped at 65 percent of costs. Award finalists now also have access to a pool of technical advisers to help them bring together financing and manage contractors.

Brown hopes the improvements and the city’s initiatives to promote equity in underinvested areas will build momentum behind the community-driven revitalization of North Lawndale.

“We know that there has been a strategic disinvestment and abandonment of North Lawndale over the last 50, 60 years,” Brown said. “Now is the time for North Lawndale. We really do need to be at a place where that investment returns to the community.”

Pascal Sabino is a Report for America corps member covering Austin, North Lawndale and Garfield Park for Block Club Chicago.

CONTACT: pascal@blockclubchi.org

MAAFA

Critical funding from page 1 segregation, redlining and the deliberate neglect of Black neighborhoods, producing many of the conditions West Garfield Park struggles with today, said Rev. Marshall Hatch Jr., who leads MAAFA. “The violence has to be contextualized. We can’t understand gun violence in Chicago without understanding the history of white supremacy and residential segregation,” Hatch said.

“Jesus is right when he says violence begets violence. So let’s talk about the economic violence that has been wrought on neighborhoods like ours.”

The church guides participants toward success by providing basic needs — like housing, employment and healthy food — that the young men previously had to struggle to obtain, Hatch said.

MAAFA also provides cognitive-behavioral therapy, violence mediation, leadership development and job skills training. The project attempts to activate the men’s potential by replacing the scarcity and hopelessness many of them are accustomed to with an abundance of support and opportunity, Hatch said.

The initiative typically has capacity for 20 residential participants per cohort and Provided 20 non-residential young men. New Mount Pilgrim AWARDED: MAAFA won Church owns two facilities $300,000 to expand their serfor the young men to live vices for at-risk young men. in: the MAAFA House and the Sankofa House.

The grant will allow MAAFA to rehab a three-unit building to house 10 more men, and also hire more staff for coaching and mentorship programs.

“It’s a neighborhood with all this potential. And its greatest asset, its greatest human resource, is all of its denizens. But at the same time, those human resources are being snuffed out,” Hatch said.

Hatch said he hopes this grant can open the door for more investment into the neighborhood. Churches have historically been the political, economic and spiritual centers of Black neighborhoods, he said, and New Mount Pilgrim Church plans to collaborate with other West Side churches to fulfill those needs in Garfield Park.

“The goal is to scale up what we do, and to incorporate other churches … to really create a network of Black churches that are committed to the same vision,” Hatch said.

Pascal Sabino is a Report for America corps member covering Austin, North Lawndale and Garfield Park for Block Club Chicago.

AUSTIN WEEKLY

news Editor Michael Romain

Senior Editor Bob Uphues Contributing Reporters Bonni McKeown, Igor Studenkov Reporting Partners Block Club, Austin Talks Columnist Arlene Jones Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designer Debbie Becker Sales & Marketing Representavies Lourdes Nicholls, Marc Stopeck Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner ≈ Publisher Dan Haley Business Manager Joyce Minich ≈ GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA Board of Directors Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer ≈ HOW TO REACH US 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 773-626-6332 FAX 708-467-9066 CIRCULATION Jill@oakpark.com ONLINE www.AustinWeeklyNews.com TWITTER @AustinWeeklyChi 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.

9

10

Austin Weekly News, September 30, 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

CALL: 773-626-6332 | FAX: 708-467-9066 | E-MAIL: classifieds@AustinWeeklyNews.com Place your ad online anytime at AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM/CLASSIFIED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

ANIMAL ASSISTANT Part—time Animal Assistant. 25 hours per week. Will train. Call Prairie State Animal Hospital 708524-9720 to get application to fill out.

HAPPY KIDD’S WEST INC. 6928 W 16th St Berwyn, IL 60513 We are seeking a Director and 2 teachers. Director must be qualified and have Associate’s degree or equivalent. Teachers must be director or teacher qualified. Mon thru Fri. working with Infants to 6 yrs old. Compensable salary negotiable based on experience.

Call 773-619-5545 or fax resume to 773-728-5437.

ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER PART-TIME Part-time Electrician’s Helper.

Must have own transportation.

Call for more info.

708-738-3848 FLOATER YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST Hephzibah Children’s Association is a social service agency in Oak Park, IL providing a variety of programs including Residential Group Homes, Foster Care programs and other Family Based services and Day Care.

We are accepting applications for part time Floater Youth Development Specialists in our Day Care program for the 20-21 school year. You will assist with e-learning and provide supervision and care to 5-11-year-old (Kindergarten-5th grade) children in the Oak Park community.

The position is part time, as needed, between the hours of 7:20 am and 3:20 pm weekdays – approximately 16-24 hours per week.

Requirements include: • Minimum of 6 semester hours in education, recreation, social work, or related college courses • Experience working with children You will supervise and assist children with e-learning programs; plan and supervise arts and crafts, indoor & outdoor play, games, sports, homework help, lunchtime, snack time and more.

The program follows the safety guidelines of the IDPH including daily health screening of all staff and participations (temperature check and health questionnaire) required face masks, social distancing and cleaning & disinfecting.

Contact: MJ Joyce at mjjoyce@ hephzibahhome.org Equal Opportunity Employer

CITY RENTALS 3BR APT FOR RENT 4949 W IOWA $1200/mo. Application required.

Non-refunded $600 move-in fee.

Call between 10am and 7pm.

773-626-5994 DELUXE 3BR APT 5955 W HURON First Floor. Large kitchen, all electric appliances. Near West Suburban Hospital. Near all public trans. $1150/mo.

Call 773-637-8677 for appt.

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 FOREST PARK 3BR 3 BR apt, 2nd floor, w/ dining rm and breakfast nook. New kitchen w/ granite & stainless. New baths central air, free laundry. Garage space included. 2 blks to blue line. $1800 + deposit & credit check required.

312-802-8291

SUBURBAN RENTALS Apartment listings updated daily at:

SUBURBAN RENTALS OAK PARK: ROOSEVELT/ OAK PARK AVE. CORRIDOR 2BR 4RMS close to blue line. On site laundry, parking, heat & water incl. $1200/ month 708-383-9223 WESTCHESTER 3BR 1.5BA Westchester 2nd floor apartment for rent. 3BR, 1.5BA. Heat & water, appliances incl. 1 parking space incl. Garage space avai. $1450 plus 1.5 mo security. Avail. Oct. 1.

708-642-1400

GARAGE/YARD SALES Oak Park

GARAGE SALE 531 FAIR OAKS ALLEY SAT 10/3 8AM TO 11AM

Furniture - desks, tables, chairs, bureaus, other home furnishings, camping and sports gear, bike and other household items. Come masked up and ready to shop.Â

ITEMS FOR SALE DECK FURNITURE 48�wicker patio table with glass top, plus 4 chairs (2 swivel) and matching umbrella. Small side table with glass top too. Best offer.

708-528-0896

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

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

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,� as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004344 on September 9, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of 1200 GRILL with the business located at: 5637 W. DIVISION ST., CHICAGO, IL 60651.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: KRISTOPHER MCLENDON 14718 ELLIS AVE, DOLTON, IL 60419, USA.

HANDYMAN

HEATING/ AIR CONDITIONING

Published in Austin Weekly News 9/23, 9/30, 10/7/2020

REAL ESTATE FORÂ SALE

773-637-0692

HEATING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT

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

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

Attention Home-Improvement Pros!

Reach the people making the decisions.

Place an ad in Austin Classified!

Call 773/626-6332

CEMENT

CEMENT

MAGANA

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 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.

ELECTRICAL

'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

Furnaces, Boilers and Space Heaters Refrigerators Ranges â&#x20AC;˘ Ovens Washer â&#x20AC;˘ Dryers Rodding Sewers Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000 PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 â&#x20AC;˘ ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

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

ROOFING

MIDWEST ROOFING All types of roofing repairs Commercial - Residential Call for free estimate

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION DITECH FINANCIAL LLC; Plaintiff, vs.

HAROLD T. ROBINSON; LIBERTY BANK AND TRUST COMPANY FKA COVENANT BANK; COOK COUNTY; THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, OFFICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 17 CH 14629 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 Monday, October 19, 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. 16-14-108-028-0000.

Commonly known as 3906 West Gladys Street, Chicago, IL 60624.

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

REAL ESTATE FORÂ SALE 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 Sales Department at Plaintiffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 19-042344 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3155847 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR STRUCTURED ASSET SECURITIES CORPORATION, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2004SC1; Plaintiff, vs.

LEE WATT; SHIRLEY WATT; CITY OF CHICAGO; Defendants, 16 CH 14732 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 Monday, October 26, 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. 16-09-227-028-0000.

Commonly known as 418 North Lavergne Avenue, Chicago, IL 60644.

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 Sales

Illinois Classified Advertising Network AUCTION

FIREARMS CONSIGNMENT AUCTION Firearms, Military, Knives, Currency, Uniforms, Collectibles, MORE! October 11th 9am Edwardsville Moose Lodge 7371 Marine Road Edwardsville, IL LIVE WEBCAST AUCTION! www.legacysells4u.com

773-637-0692

Starting a New Business? Publish your Assumed Name legal notice in Austin Weekly News. Call the Experts! (773) 626-6332

Austin Weekly News, September 30, 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

Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 16-029325 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3156249

Corporation will on Monday, November 2, 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: August 26, 2020 I3156690

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

local employees... happy employees!

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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

Hire Local. Place an ad on AWN’s Local Online Job Board.

BANKRUPTCY SALE BID DEADLINE NOV. 3

17 MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES WITH 181 UNITS ON CHICAGO’S SOUTH SIDE

Exceptional Opportunity to Acquire Value-Add Multi-Family Buildings with Tremendous Upside Potential!

PORTFOLIO BEING SOLD SUBJECT TO A MINIMUM STALKING HORSE OVERBID OF $4,785,000 ($26,436 PER UNIT)

855.755.2300 HilcoRealEstate.com/ Chicago-Multifamily-C

Go to AustinWeeklyNews.com/classified today!

The Portfolio is Being Sold as a Whole

Contact Mary Ellen Nelligan for more information.

(773) 626-6332 • maryellen@austinweeklynews.com

ECD:N/A

CD: G. Apfelbach

AD: A. Del Valle

CW: N. Aylor

P: D. Varichak

CSM: Scobee/Valencia

PD: docherty T: 10.25 in

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Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2020

A WORKFORCE OF GOOD

A city is only as strong as its neighborhoods.

And now, more than ever, it is important to support the people who make them up.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why ComEd oďŹ&#x20AC;ers training opportunities that give Chicagoans access to good-paying jobs, both at ComEd and beyond. Because better careers mean better communities.

Learn more at ComEd.com/Training

Communities that work