West Side pastor named to Time magazine’s list of 100 rising stars
Honor goes to Marshall Hatch Jr. for his dedication to improving the lives of Black and Brown young adults
Oct. 16.
By MICHAEL LIPTROT Contributing Reporter
A West Side pastor who is building a center for “arts and activism” has been named one of the world’s top 100 rising influential voices by Time magazine.
Marshall Hatch Jr., pastor at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church at 4031 W. Washington Blvd. in West Garfield Park, was named to Time’s 100 Next list, a compilation of upand-coming innovators, artists, leaders and advocates.
Hatch, 37, is featured among names such as WNBA star Paige Bueckers, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and new CBS News boss Bari Weiss. He made the list for his advocacy work as the executive director of the church’s social justice ministry, the MAAFA Redemption
Project.
Hatch will attend the Time100 Next ceremony Thursday in New York City.
Rev. Al Sharpton wrote about Hatch for Time’s list, with Sharpton saying he watched Hatch grow up while working with his father, longtime faith leader Marshall Hatch Sr., to advance social justice on the West Side.
“As President Donald Trump continues to send federal law enforcement into a series of American cities, it has never
See PASTOR on pa ge 9
Ravinia continues free
a
er-school music programs at West Side schools
Teaching orchestra to students at Catalyst Circle Rock, and now GR Clark Elementary, Frazier and Gregory Elementary
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
Every concert season at the Ravinia music venue in Highland Park, musicians grace the open-air and indoor stages to perform for thousands of listeners.
This summer, a 20-year-old graduate of Catalyst Circle Rock in Austin led a number on the Ravinia stage in front of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The young adult was part of Sistema Ravinia at Catalyst, a program that launched at the school in 2012 to provide free after-school orchestra classes to students.
“We want to make all for ms of music more accessible and inclusive, and orchestral music
See RAVINIA on pa ge 8
Marshall Hatch Jr. at City Hall on
Chapel continues St. Catherine-St. Lucy spiritual mission
‘What’s important about any church isn’t the space … it’s the people.’
By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
The June closure of St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Catholic church in Oak Park still hurts for many, including the Rev. Carl Morello, who presided over the final mass.
But the opening of a new chapel space on the fourth floor of St. Catherine -St. Lucy School at 27 Washington Blvd. is bridging the gap between then and now and helping continue the church’s mission of for mation of spiritual hearts.
A weekly service is held at 8:30 a.m. Tuesdays for students, though the public is welcome.
“It’s a smaller space, so it’s more intimate, and what I said to the kids when we first started, we’ve created a church space, but what’s important about any church isn’t the space … it’s the people,” Morello said. “They are what make the place special and sacred.”
Sharon Leamy, the school’s principal, was a key driver behind the chapel’s formation. Leamy also credited Louie Weiss, the operations director. Leamy said, “giv-
Students in the new St. Catherine-St. Lucy School chapel in the former gymnasium on the fourth oor.
was imperative
The pair looked at the gymnasium, but that wasn’t feasible due to the preparations that need to be made for mass. Instead, they selected a fourth-floor multi-purpose space with a dropped ceiling. Grant money was used to purchase new furniture and chairs, and painting was completed. Weiss worked together to erect the altar and the cross and bring in the sound
ke up to the fourth floor,” Leamy said. “I was worried about their they’ve been very good. We kneelers, so Father has taught w to stand through the consecrathe Eucharist.
“It’s been a good solution, and it’s probathe best solution we had here. The most important thing is that we’re celebrating mass. It shouldn’t matter what it looks ” said Leamy.
reed, noting that the chapel area was blessed as a sacred space at the first mass. The other half of that area is the school’s lunchroom.
“There is value in calling kids together as a community of faith for prayer,” he
said.
There are pros and cons to the space. There is no elevator to reach the fourth floor, so community members that want to attend mass will have to hike with the students up the stairs. On the other hand, students won’t have to file out of the school into rain or snow.
As for the church building, Morello ag reed that the closure still stings to a certain de gree. He said there have been discussions with potential lessees for the church property, but nothing concrete yet. A statement from the Archdiocese of Chicago noted that it “doesn’t comment on real estate transactions.”
“There is still a sense of loss, and the people who were parishioners at St. Catherine-St. Lucy are going to St. Giles,” Morello said of the church at 1045 Columbian Ave., where he is also pastor. “Some are going to St. Edmund,” located at 188 S. Oak Park Ave.
“Others have other spiritual homes,” he said. “The people coming that we know seem to be doing the best they can. They are trying to make a new connection with the community at St. Giles.”
AU STIN WEEKLY news
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Columnists Aisha Oliver
Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead
Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea
Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza
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ERICA BENSON
Rev. Carl Morello leads the nal service at St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church on June 22.
TODD BANNOR
to vacant Austin building
It’s
the latest development revitalizing the Soul City corridor on Chicago Avenue, o cials say
By MICHAEL LIPTROT Block Club Chicago
A long-vacant building on Chicago Avenue in Austin has reopened as affordable housing, the latest development to come to the neighborhood’s Soul City corridor.
The Avenue Apartments opened at 5246 W. Chicago Ave. in Austin. The complex offers 20 units, including one- and two-bedroom apartments. Applications are open for those interested
The apartments include amenities such as dishwashers, in-unit laundry machines and air conditioning. Monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit is $1,400, and two-bedrooms rent for $1,600, said officials with the Westside Health Authority, the project’s developer
“Our goal was to create long-term, highquality, moderate-income housing for Austin residents,” Rosie Dawson, who serves as director of property at Westside Health Authority, said at a ribbon-cutting event last week. “This project reflects our ongoing commitment to building strong, sustainable communities where residents can truly thrive.”
For years, the building sat vacant, and it came to be known by neighbors as The Carter, a reference to the drug-infested apartment complex depicted in the 1991 film “New Jack City,” Dawson said.
The Westside Health Authority, a nonprofit
An
community development group based in Austin, bought the building in 2016. Though officials were doubtful of its potential future uses during walkthroughs in 2017, the group decided to preserve and repair the structure rather than demolish it.
“It was just another building that was just not cared for and overlooked by so many different people,” said Kareem Broughton, president of Black Contractors United and the project’s general contractor. “You started seeing the vision and you started seeing the community really try to get involved.”
Restoring an existing building was important to developers and the community, Dawson said.
“I want people to understand that it [would cost] more to tear this building down than it did to fix it up,” Dawson said. “We need to understand that vacant lots are nothing but eyesores, no matter how we cover them up.”
The $2.5 million project required several funding partners, including the nonprofit, a $1 million grant from the Community Investment Corporation and funds from the city’s
Small Business Improvement Fund.
The building is still awaiting a certificate of occupancy from the city and plans to be move-in ready by Nov. 15. The parking lot and some masonry work are also ongoing
The Avenue Apartments is housed within Austin’s Soul City cultural district, which has seen multiple developments come online this year.
Soul City saw the state designate the area a cultural distinct and expand its footprint earlier this year, around the time of the completion of an $8.7 million overhaul of Chicago
Avenue. The corridor has also celebrated the opening of Forty Acres Fresh Market. Additionally, barbecue restaurant The Avenue Que and Kitchen opened inside the retail space attached to The Avenue Apartments this summer.
People interested in applying to live at The Avenue Apartments can apply in person at the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation at 5500 W. Madison St. or call 312-224-4672. Officials said more than 30 people are on the waiting list so far, with more applications pending.
Austin Weekly News partner
MICHAEL LIPTROT/BLOCK C LU B CHIC AGO
La Shaw n Ford, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Danny Dav is take part in the r ibboncutting at 5246 W. Chicago Ave. on Oct. 20.
MICHAEL LIPTROT/BLOCK C LU B CHIC AGO
GOOGLE MAP S
e building at 5246 W. Chicago Ave. in Austin in May 2024
Dutch Bros co ee drive-thru approved for Madison Street
Chain to build its
rst Cook County store
at
old KFC
site near Percy Julian Middle School
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
Oak Park will soon be the home of Cook County’s first Dutch Bros Coffee location.
Oak Park’s village board unanimously approved the zoning variance requests from Dutch Bros, an Oregon-based fastservice coffee chain with more than 1,000 U.S. locations primarily on the West Coast. The chain plans to repurpose the site of the for mer Kentucky Fried Chicken location at 316 Madison St. as part of an early foray into Chicagoland
“This is revitalizing a piece of property for a productive use that’s appropriate for the land,” said Village President Vicki Scaman.
The property sits near the intersection of Madison Street and Ridgeland Avenue, adjacent to Percy Julian Middle School. The company would construct a new 1,236 square foot building on the site, featuring two-drive through lanes and a walk-up window for pedestrian customers, according to its proposal.
“The project includes the redevelopment of a non-operational KFC restaurant into a Dutch Bros Coffee with a drive-thru service window,” the company wrote in its proposal. “Site improvements include demolition of the existing building, dual drive-through lanes with stacking for up to 13 vehicles, a bypass lane, and a trash
and recycling enclosure. The building will include a customer walk-up window on the north side of the building with covered outdoor seating. Surface parking for 14 hicles is proposed to serve the site.”
Trustee Chibuike Enyia said that rede veloping the site will also make the area safer for school children walking to class.
“Kids travel through that lot every day to get to school,” said Enyia, a Julian parent. “Some kids can get lost in the pack around that building and I think knowing that there will be eyes on that building, that there will be a use for it, will get kids back to walking on the sidewalk and not use those shortcuts that can potentially create a dangerous situation in the alley between the school and the building.”
The board’s vote comes after Dutch Bros shared plans for two downstate Illinois locations and made a pitch for a shop in a farther-flung Chicago suburb.
The chain opened its first location in the state last month in the Metro East St. Louis community of Glen Carbon, according to The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Dutch Bros announced in August that it’s on track to open a location in Urbana by the end of the year, according to NBC.
Dutch Bros re presentatives also appeared before Naperville’s Planning and Zoning Commission in August to pitch a new location, according to the Naperville Sun.
T he chain has looked to expand across the country in recent years after amassing a dedicated following on the west coast. In the process, Dutch Bros has become well associated with its large, eclectic drink menu, viral online promotions and the peppy service provided by its “broistas.”
RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR
Dutch Bros w ill soon occupy a storefront on Madison Street in Oak Park
Anabel Mendoza is youngest candidate running for 7th District Congress
The 27-year-old works at a youth-led immigration nonpro t, wants to see a new generation in o ce
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
With Rep. Danny Davis retiring after nearly 30 years representing Illinois’ 7th congressional district, 18 candidates have declared their intentions to fill his seat. The Democratic primary will take place March 17, 2026, and contenders are currently circulating nominating petitions
Hyde Park resident Anabel Mendoza is among them. She’s 27 years old, the youngest in the race, and works for the largest youthled immigrant nonprofit in the country. Her
career and lived experience inspired her to run for Congress
Since graduating from Northwestern University, Mendoza has provided direct services and advocacy for immigrants, working with undocumented youth and those who have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. Mendoza said the recent presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) terrorizing Chicago residents without accountability influenced her to run for Congress and move from full-time to part-time in her day job.
“This was a moment, with the political climate, where I didn’t feel like I could be taking a step out of that work,” Mendoza said. “What I do for work every day is part of why I’m running.”
She added that working in immigrant rights has taught her to navigate complex legislation and processes.
“There are so many functions and mecha-
We know animal lovers are everywhere.
nisms of Congress and of elected offices that everyday people have been, I believe, deliberately not told about. We don’t get that understanding of what Congress actually can do and accomplish,” Mendoza said. “We see Republicans or the Trump administration dusting off a rule from the f*cking 1800s and using it to ram through their agenda. Clearly, there are ways.”
Mendoza was also inspired to run for Congress by her upbringing in West Lawn. She said she recently learned that, during her childhood, her working class Latino parents once had only $9 to spend on her and her two siblings between paychecks.
“There were times when my mom and dad deliberately chose to skip lunch and dinner to be able to feed me and my siblings,” Mendoza said. “This many years later as an adult, I see that there are millions of people who are facing the same pressure, and sometimes even worse. Nothing has changed materially enough where people have actually seen improvements in their life, and in fact, it’s actually rapidly going the opposite direction.”
Anabel Mendoza
Mendoza said, “which I will fight for as someone with a lot of student loans.”
Mendoza added that she’d also have an aggressive approach to gun legislation.
“Making sure that we are investing in common sense gun legislation is so important,” she said.
Growing up in West Lawn, Mendoza remembers times when she was playing outside and her parents called her in because there was a shooting down the street.
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The main priority of Mendoza’s platform is increasing affordability for her constituents, many of whom have told her about working two or three jobs to scrape by.
“There are so many parents like that who I get to meet when I’m in Austin, in North Lawndale, in Garfield Park, and they share these stories with me,” Mendoza said. “Affordability and the price of living is the biggest thing I have heard is on people’s minds.”
That includes the high cost of groceries, utility bills and rent. If elected to Congress, Mendoza said she would fight for legislation for rent control, so people don’t spend over 25% of their income on it, and to restrict large rental companies from pricing out residents from their neighborhoods.
“We need to make life livable for the people and the families who have been in these neighborhoods and have made these neighborhoods amazing,” Mendoza said.
That also includes affordability of health care, which Mendoza calls a “human right for everybody, regardless of your immigration status and regardless of where you live.”
“One of the things I want to fight for at the federal level isn’t just health care for all, but relieving people’s medical debt the same way we continue to fight for student debt relief,”
“There are countless families on the South and West Side that have been shattered by gun violence, and I’ve talked to them,” Mendoza said. And she’s met with several community leaders in gun violence prevention who don’t have the sustained federal funding to make an impact at a larger scale.
“Congress has always held the power of the purse to be able to fight for resources and transformational investments to come back into the South and West Side,” Mendoza said. “That is why we need a fighter in Congress, someone who isn’t going to take ‘No’ for an answer, someone who is going to fight just as hard as this government often fights to fund a genocide abroad and bring that funding here. Because if we have the money to fund a genocide abroad, if we have the money to give ICE and Customs and Border Protection $170 billion of our taxpayer dollars, then I know we have the money to fund our communities.”
“We have operated it in this country, thinking top-down economics works,” Mendoza added. “From what I’ve seen, it just keeps the rich richer. Real investment is standing shoulder to shoulder with your community and lifting from the bottom up.” Mendoza said increasing af fordability and decreasing gun violence would vastly help the South and West Side, but also the rest of the country.
“The seventh district tells a national story,” Mendoza said. “In Cong ress, you’re
representing this district, but the things that you fight for affect the entire country.”
The 7th district is far reaching, from the western suburbs to the Loop to the South Side of Chicago. Over 40% of the district is Black, 30% white, and nearly 10% Asian and 10% Hispanic.
“One of the things that this district tells the story about nationally is not just income inequality, but the racial wealth gap in this country.”
Mendoza gives the example of Englewood, a predominately Black neighborhood, where the median household income is just over $29,000.
“In the same district, you have Streeterville — one of the richest, if not the richest, part of the city, where the median household income is well into the six figures,” said Mendoza of the predominately white neighborhood. “One of the things I have been fighting for on my platform, and that I will absolutely make a conversation in this campaign, is reparations for the descendants of enslaved people.”
Though she’s had people tell her that support for reparations will lose her votes, Mendoza said the racial wealth gap is tied to decades of intentional economic disinvestment from the South and West Side
“You have had generations of families
that have been deliberately left behind, while everybody else grows their wealth,” Mendoza said. She added that providing more opportunities to these families would improve the overall economy. “Reparations is an investment in our communities. It’s also an investment in our entire city. It would mean billions of federal dollars from the federal gover nment.”
That money could impact the entire 7th district, from the South and West Side of Chicago to neighborhoods along I-290.
“My goal is to bring all of these communities together, and I believe I’m uniquely positioned to do that given my experience, not only growing up and being a lifelong Chicagoan, but someone from West Lawn, someone from an immigrant family, someone who is Latina, someone who has lived on the South Side and lived on the West Side,” Mendoza said. “There are so many similarities in our plights, and there are so many similarities in what we are facing.”
Mendoza said the Chicagoland area is seeing these shared stakes right now, as ICE raids have unfolded throughout the city — like the one in South Shore last month, where federal agents ambushed an apartment in the middle of the night and ille gally detained its residents
“What happened in South Shore is a per-
fect example that the immigration enforcement that is escalating right here in our own city is what’s binding us, re gardless of whether we are undocumented, a U.S. citizen, whether we are Latino, whether we are Black, whether we are Asian — we all have shared stakes in this,” Mendoza said. “I think there’s been a wrongful narrative that this is really only a targeted attack against immigrants. In this moment, immigrants and undocumented communities are the top of the spear for this administration, but it’s very clear if they don’t actually care if you’re an immigrant or not.”
Mendoza said the reason that governmental bodies haven’t been able to stop the Trump administration is because “we haven’t built the kind of leverage that actually speaks their language and makes them feel threatened.” The way to do that, she added, is by using collective labor power to boycott industries that financially impact the administration.
“Part of uniting this community isn’t just some hollow slogan. It’s not just a platitude. I mean it as our strateg y in this moment. How do we show that we have shared stakes, we have shared experiences? And through that, we also have shared labor power, and we have always been the ones — as working and middle class, but pre-
dominantly working class — to keep the gears turning in this country,” Mendoza said. “We’re building a movement that is ready to meet this moment. When we see that the most disenfranchised communities also have the most courage, then we better match that courage.
“I think what our generation is bringing to the table in this particular political moment is a level of moral courage that has long been hollow in our political system,” Mendoza said. “We have seen how politics has neglected us. We have seen the stagnation. We have seen people with our own Democratic Party who have stood in the way of progress. We need a new generation,” Mendoza added, something she represents in the 7th district congressional race. “I genuinely see being the youngest as my greatest strength in this because I know I have the most energy and fresh perspective and new ideas, but also the mentality that is not trying to replicate the status quo.”
Other candidates include Richard Boykin, Jerico J. Brown, Kina Collins, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Anthony Driver Jr., Dr. Thomas Fisher, Jason Friedman, La Shawn Ford, Rory Hoskins, Danica Leigh, Tekita Martinez, John McCombs, Jazmine Robinson, Emelia Rosie, Reed Showalter, Felix Tello and William Volny.
RAVINIA Expanding the program
especially needs that,” Christine Taylor Conda, Ravinia’s executive director of education and community engagement, told Austin Weekly News. “It is possible for those students, if they want to, to play at a high level in an orchestra and to own it and to feel a sense of accomplishment with that music.”
Today, Ravinia offers free use of instruments and instruction to 117 students at Catalyst Circle Rock charter school and George Rogers Clark Elementary School in Austin and, in North Lawndale, Frazier International Magnet School and Gregory Elementary School.
“I never knew anyone in Austin to play a string instrument that was my age,” said Shemeka Nash, artistic manager at Sistema Ravinia Austin and Lawndale, about growing up in Austin. Now, in four West Side schools, Nash develops curriculum and teaches Sistema Ravinia’s after-school programs.
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In Sistema Ravinia, students from third or fourth grade (depending on the school) through eighth grade meet an average of two hours a day, three days a week. Professional musicians teach anyone who wants to learn how to play instruments through studio classes and small ensemble performances, or those with just string, wind or percussion instruments
Nash said she aims “to make sure that the students have high standards to reach for and knowing that it doesn’t matter that it’s Austin and that the crime rate is high, and there’s a ton of different reasons that people will say, ‘These children can’t do this, or these children can’t learn this.’”
Sistema Ravinia is about showing students “what they can do, what they can achieve, what they should have access to, and what they should feel is for them too,” Taylor Conda added.
Older students have the opportunity to play in a full orchestra through West Side Wednesday. Every Wednesday, Ravinia busses over 100 students from Catalyst Circle Rock, George Rogers Clark Elementary, Frazier and Gregory Elementary to Kehrein Center for the Arts for a collective orchestral performance.
“It’s another example of a place where students can see other students who are like them — making music, playing an instrument, committing to the process,” said Alex Rodriguez, program manager of Sistema
Ravinia Austin. “You start to see these really beautiful friendships form and develop from all of these different school sites and the community that gets created as a result ... There’s nothing more beautiful than being surrounded by other young people who love the things that you love.”
The path to Sistema Ravinia
In the 1990s, Ravinia started its jazz mentors program in Chicago schools. Through the program, professional jazz musicians travel to local high schools to put on clinics and workshops. Annually, they audition students for the Ravinia Jazz Scholars honors ensemble, which gets intensive training and performance opportunities
Nash was a part of Ravinia’s jazz mentors program, which showed her what was possible when it came to learning new kinds of music.
“Had I not felt encouraged to play jazz,” Nash said, “I don’t think I would’ve done it.” But now she has the opportunity to teach children about the history of jazz and help them feel connected to it. For example, Nash taught Frank Morrison, an up-andcoming drummer who came out of Ravinia’s jazz mentor program at Morgan Park High School.
From the jazz mentors program, Ravinia started a music discovery program for kindergarteners through third graders whose schools lacked music programs. In this program, teaching artists work alongside classroom teachers on a musically inte-
grated unit.
And in 1998, Ravinia opened the Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School, where children and adults can take free music classes. But Ravinia staff still had the goal of getting music programming inside more schools.
“We wanted to expand the footprint of what we were doing so that we could reach more kids,” Taylor Conda said.
After Catalyst Circle Rock charter school opened in Austin in 2007, Ravinia launched its music discovery program inside the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school two years later. And in 2012, Catalyst Circle Rock became the first school to be a part of Ravinia’s El Sistema-inspired program — a music education model from Venezuela that highlights social development and community building, especially for those living in disadvantaged areas
“Equity and musical excellence are at the forefront,” Taylor Conda said of the model.
“But also, we want to be a part of the community, we’re interested in developing the whole child and their social, emotional learning. We care for the families. We care about them and want to include them.”
Taylor Conda said students from Sistema Ravinia and Catalyst Circle Rock are in the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative, which develops orchestral students from underrepresented backgrounds. Through Sistema Ravinia, some students have been able to attend fine arts camps, some have gotten full scholarships to universities,
and others have attended conservatories. Ravinia’s goal is to continue supporting these students even after they’ve left their programming
“We are able to build, nourish and maintain relationships with our students, families and our school partners,” Rodriguez said of what Ravinia calls a “circle of care” around a child. “The way we approach a child’s development, it’s not just their musical learning, but it’s the development of them as a whole person.”
“How can we best set them up, prepare them for, help them create relationships with, or make them aware of some additional opportunities that they have because they play an instrument?” Rodriguez added. “Because our students are musicians, they have way more options for high school than just their neighborhood high school.”
Taylor Conda said those opportunities don’t stop after high school, though.
“Anything that they want to do musically is possible. We’re trying to break down any barriers that would prevent them from progressing as much as they want to. And we want them to know that the stage of the Kehrein Center and the stages at Ravinia are for them too,” Taylor Conda said.
“I want the Austin community to know that there’s a youth orchestra at the Kehrein Center,” Nash added, “and for people to invite us to perform more often.”
Sistema Ravinia has a winter concert on Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. at the Kehrein Center for the Arts, 5628 W Washington Blvd.
Professional musicians teach West Side students how to play in an orchestra through the Sistema Ravinia program.
PASTOR
‘rising star’ from page 1
been so important to elevate the leaders on the ground who are actually building communities up,” Sharpton wrote.
When asked what the honor means to him, Hatch responded with one word: ubuntu. The ancient African phrase translates to, “I am, because we are,” Hatch said, emphasizing his commitment to community
“We’ve been the boots on the ground,” Hatch said. “We’ve been doing, as [Civil Rights icon] Ella Baker said, the spade work of building people, building community from within.”
The MAAFA Redemption Project was founded in 2017 with the mission of improving the lives of Black and Brown youth and young adults. The Redemption Project works with men ages 18-30, who live in a dormitory setting while receiving services including education, financial empowerment, mental health, workforce development and housing support.
Men in the project are considered fellows in a nine-month cohort. This May, 29 fellows graduated as part of the project’s eighth cohort, Hatch said.
Fellows are paired with a life coach to develop a personalized life plan, setting short- and long-term goals for themselves. This year, all fellows completed their plan, Hatch said.
Last month, the MAAFA Redemption Project broke ground on an $8 million Cen-
ter for Arts and Activism as the new home base for the project at 4241 W. Washington Blvd., for merly St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.
The new Redemption Project center will also house MAAFA’s Beautiful Seed Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering women 18-30 in a 24-week fellowship, as
well as the Sankofa School for the Arts, which will offer dance, musical theater, visual arts and digital arts programs.
With federal immigration officers deployed throughout the city and frequently sparring with neighbors, the need for community building is as important as Hatch said: “What is happening with ICE and the threat of more federal agents scending on Chicago is nothing more than a political stunt,” Hatch said. “It’s a ruse … an excuse. It’s not about crime at all. It ’s about control. If the president was serious, he would offer more sustainable solutions like targeting the root causes of a lot of the public safety issues.
After graduating from Lincoln Park High School, Hatch attended Bates Colle ge in Maine, where he majored in political science and minored in religious studies. While away at school, Hatch learned more about the origins of residential se gregation and redlining in Chicago. This awakening, combined with life experiences during this time, led him to his calling as a servant leader.
“In my early 20s, the same God that I heard my father preach about, I experienced for myself, and it became my God,” Hatch said. “That’s what allowed me to really surrender to this specific call of social justice ministry.”
As a pastor, Hatch has worked to empower young people to be active in their communities. The work is not unfamiliar to Hatch: his aunt, Rhoda Jean Hatch, was a well-known West Side activist whose work led her to grace the cover of People Magazine.
The fights for social justice “have to be fought on all fronts,” said Hatch, invoking the words of Mar tin Luther King Jr. That belief has infor med his work with MAAFA in its ef for ts to provide all-encompassing
“This [The MAAFA Redemption Project] is the sustainable solution to issues like public safety.”
Hatch grew up in Garfield Pa rk and Austin. Walking down Madison Street as a kid — seeing “trash, broken glass and drunk people out” and not understanding the condition of his neighborhood — influenced his passion for community advocacy
His father, Hatch Sr., has been the senior pastor at Mount Pilgrim Church since 1993 and himself the son of a well-known pastor, Hatch Jr. sought to break from the family tradition to become a lawyer.
social and economic services. MAAFA takes its name from the Swahili word for “g reat disaster,” a term used to describe the transatlantic slave trade.
Hatch also said he sees his work as showing the strength in building community to combat oppression in its many forms.
“This moment has to be looked at through the lens of American history,” Hatch said. “It was King who said the triple evils of American society are racism, materialism and militarism. … This is all about Trump flexing for power, and so we have to do our part to flex our power in the ways that we can in West Garfield Park
“And it’s as contagious as fear. That kind of courage and coming together is as contagious as fear, if not more.”
ERIC ALLIX ROGERS
e MAAFA window at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church.
COLIN BOYLE/BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
Marshall Hatch Jr
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTCHANCERY DIVISION
WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR OPTION ONE MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2007-4, ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-4 Plaintiff, -v.LINDA JONES, MIDLAND CREDIT MANAGEMENT, INC., UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF JAMIE L. JONES, SHERI JONES A/K/A SHERRIE HAYES, CARY ROSENTHAL, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR JAMIE L. JONES (DECEASED)
Defendants 2022CH07329 1130 N HAMLIN 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 August 7, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on November 10, 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 1130 N HAMLIN AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60651 Property Index No. 16-02-303-0280000
The real estate is improved with a residence.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 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
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
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) 236SALE
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. 14-22-05388
Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762
Case Number: 2022CH07329
TJSC#: 45-2077
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 # 2022CH07329 I3274619
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTCHANCERY DIVISION
CITIGROUP MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST INC. ASSET-BACKED PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-AMC4, U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE
Plaintiff vs. TERRY A. WATT AKA TERRY WATT; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant 20 CH 1574
CALENDAR 63
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on November 24, 2025, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell, in person, to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-02-115-035-0000. Commonly known as 1424 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL 60651. The real estate is: 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. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than the mortgagee shall pay
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 189.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file before bidding. IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER THE ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(c) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Diaz Anselmo & Associates P.A., 1771 West Diehl Road, Suite 120, Naperville, IL 60563. (630) 4536960. 6710-188361 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3274780
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTCHANCERY DIVISION MORTGAGE ASSETS MANAGEMENT, LLC Plaintiff,
-v.JOHN LYDON, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF SUSAN BUCHANAN, DECEASED, SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, ROSETTA BUCHANAN, ANTHONY BUCHANAN, JERMAINE BUCHANAN, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF SUSAN BUCHANAN Defendants 2016CH08495 911 NORTH LAWLER AVENUE 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 November 16, 2016 and amended on September 22, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on November 14, 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 911 NORTH LAWLER AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60651
Property Index No. 16-04-418-0170000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence. Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 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(g1).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.
MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT
PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION
One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC
One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602
312-346-9088
E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com
Attorney File No. 22-10434IL_806897 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 2016CH08495
TJSC#: 45-2444
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. I3274836
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTCHANCERY DIVISION LOANDEPOT.COM, LLC Plaintiff, -v.-
ERIN K WOODS
Defendants
24 CH 07714
5945 WEST WALTON STREET 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 August 27, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on December 2, 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 5945 WEST WALTON STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60651 Property Index No. 16-05-418-0070000
The real estate is improved with a two unit apartment building with a two car garage.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 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(g1).
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.
MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088.
THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION
One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC
One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088
E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com
Attorney File No. 24-18977IL
Attorney Code. 61256
Case Number: 24 CH 07714 TJSC#: 45-2250
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 # 24 CH 07714 I3275389
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
SELENE FINANCE, LP Plaintiff, -v.-
Shushonda D. Reed; Neighborhood Lending Services, Inc.; Unknown Owners and Nonrecord Claimants Defendants. 2025CH02968
3904 W CONGRESS PKWY, CHICAGO, IL 60624
NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on 8/8/2025, an agent of Auction. com, LLC will conduct the Online Only auction at www.auction.com, with the bidding window opening on December 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM CDT and closing on 12/10/2025 at 10:00 AM subject to extension, and will sell at public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate.
Commonly known as 3904 W CONGRESS PKWY, CHICAGO, IL 60624 Property Index No. 16-14-112-0390000 The real estate is improved with a Residential Property. The judgment amount was $260,789.10 Sale Terms: Full Sale Terms are available on the property page at www.auction.com by entering 3904 W CONGRESS PKWY into the search bar. If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, the winning bidder must pay the full bid amount within twenty-four (24) hours of the auction’s end. All payments must be certified funds. No third-party checks will be accepted. All bidders will need to register at www.auction.com prior to placing a bid. 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)(l) 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(g1). 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. For information, contact Plaintiffs attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES PC (630) 794-5300 please refer to file number 14-25-01629. Auction.com, LLC 100 N LaSalle St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60602 - 872-225-4985 You can also visit www.auction.com. Attorney File No. 14-25-01629 Case Number: 2025CH02968 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. I3275420
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 Invitation to Bid, up to 11:00 A.M. (Chicago time), on the bid opening date, and will be opened publicly as described in the Invitation to Bid by the Director of Procurement and Materials Management or designee at 11:00 AM on the stated bid opening date below for:
CONTRACT 12-369-3S UPPER DES PLAINES INTERCEPTING SEWER 11D REHABILITATION, NSA
Estimated Cost: Between $16,150,000.00 and $19,550,000.00
Bid Deposit: $600,000.00
Voluntary Technical Pre-Bid Conference: Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 11:00 am CT via ZOOM Link.
Compliance with the District’s Affirmative Action Ordinance Revised Appendix D and the Multi-Project Labor Agreement are required on this Contract. Bid Opening: November 18, 2025 CONTRACT 22-377-2DR RAW SEWAGE DISCHARGE PIPE SUPPORT MODIFICATIONS FOR PUMPS 1-3, KWRP (RE-BID)
Estimated Cost: Between $8,293,500.00 and $10,039,500.00
Bid Deposit: $401,580.00
Voluntary Technical Pre-Bid Conference: Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 11:00 am CT via ZOOM Link.
Compliance with the District’s Affirmative Action Ordinance Revised Appendix D and the Multi-Project Labor Agreement are required on this Contract Bid Opening: December 9, 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 Districtof Greater Chicago By Darlene A. LoCascio Director of Procurement and Materials Management
29, 2025
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