Austin Weekly News 122221

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Gov. Prizker, after Edwardsville why does Amazon get a pass?

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FREE Vol. 35 No. 51

December 22, 2021

Also serving Garfield Park

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Details on page 12

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A holiday h l d toy drive, page 5

North Austin Community Center moving forward after lot sale City sells West Side lot for $1, paving way for a state-of-theart sports facility that will bring after-school programs and athletic opportunities to local youth By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

The City Council has agreed to sell public land that will allow the development of a youth and recreation center on the West Side to move forward. See CENTER on page 3

COLIN BOYLE/Block Club Chicago

Lit up

Holiday lights and decorations are hung up in the 2700 block of West 18th Street in North Lawndale on Dec. 3, 2021.

Loretto CEO’s church target of FBI probe into vaccinations

Investigation focuses on the city’s role in vaccinations done at the church when West Siders were struggling to get their shots By KELLY BAUER & DAVID JACKSON Block Club Chicago & Better Government Association

The FBI is investigating potentially improper vaccinations Loretto Hospital administered at its CEO’s suburban church — including the city of Chicago’s role in the vaccinations, government records show.

A federal grand jury subpoena was issued to the city’s law department on Nov. 10, more than five months after Block Club Chicago revealed the West Side hospital vaccinated people at an Oak Forest church whose leader is a friend of Loretto CEO George Miller. The FBI is also probing vaccinations the hospital did at Trump Tower, Block Club

and the Better Government Association reported earlier this year. All the subpoenas were issued “pursuant to an official criminal investigation.” The most recent subpoena focused on the church vaccinations, which were done in February at Valley Kingdom Ministries International in southwest suburban Oak For-

S W E N LASH! F

est. The FBI asked for documents related to outreach to the church by city officials, as well as city use of the church to administer vaccines, and visits to the church made by city officials surrounding the February vaccination event. See LORETTO on page 4

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