February 28 - March 6, 2022 Vol. 30 No. 09
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Arts & (Home) Entertainment
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SportsWise
More and more events are happening in Chicago, and we want you to know about the best of the best!
The SportsWise team recaps the Super Bowl.
Cover Story: From Slave to Saint?
The life story of Father Augustus Tolton encompasses Black History Month. Born a slave, Tolton was 9 years old when he escaped to freedom in Illinois on the Underground Railroad with his family during the Civil War. Like many Blacks, he was told "No" at every turn, yet he managed to achieve his dream and retain some sense of hope and charity. As the first African American to be ordained a priest in the United States, he ministered to South Side Blacks that included former slaves and homeless people. Now he is in line for sainthood, which could be an important message for African Americans, says an official of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
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From the Streets
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The Playground
Property taxes are due March 1, and there are several deductions Chicagoans may not be aware of.
On the cover: Fr. Augustine Tolton attended St. Peter's Catholic School in Quincy, IL, as a boy. A statue of Tolton was commissioned for the centennial of his death in 1997 and sits in front of the school building. The first St. Peter School opened in 1861. It was located south of the church and was staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic photo). This page: Tolton pictured in this undated file photo as a seminarian at Urban College in Rome (photo provided by Chicago Archdiocese Archives and Records).
Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher
dhamilton@streetwise.org
StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI
Suzanne Hanney, Editor-In-Chief
suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com
Amanda Jones, Director of programs
ajones@streetwise.org
Julie Youngquist, Executive director
jyoungquist@streetwise.org
Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616
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ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time. To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of things you do at home and why you love them to Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org
Groundbreaking Dance!
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Come witness the powerful and moving performances of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. For over 60 years, Alvin Ailey has a long and rich history of nurturing Black artists and expressing the African-American experience by producing forward-thinking and ground-breaking works. Performances will run March 2-6 at various times at the historic Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B Wells Drive. For more information on the event, please visit alvinailey.org.
All the World's a Stage!
Shakespeare in Type: Wing Foundation Lecture on the History of the Book To go or not to go, that is the question. On March 3, choose to join scholar and professor Claire Bourne as she uncovers and illuminates how typographical innovation affected the production and reception of Shakespeare’s dramatic writing in her lecture “Shakespeare in Type: Wing Foundation Lecture on the History of the Book.” This in-person event is open to the public and will be held at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St., from 6-7 p.m in Ruggles Hall. For more information and to register, visit newberry.org.
Evocative Classical!
(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT
McGill Plays Mozart Experience the gorgeous sounds of the classics as Mozart scholar Dame Jane Glover and Chicago native and New York Philharmonic principal clarinetist Anthony McGill (pictured) perform Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, featuring haunting tunes like Symphony No. 40 in G Minor and Overture to “Lucio Silla.” The event is hosted by Music of the Baroque and in partnership with Project Inclusion, whose aim is to increase diversity in the performing arts. Performance will take place at Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Drive, on February 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35+ More information can be found at baroque.org.
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Tickle the Ivories!
George Vatchnadze, piano Join the DePaul School of Music at 2330 N. Halsted St., for Beethoven's challenging "Diabelli Variations" performed by associate professor George Vatchnadze. Anton Diabelli composed a waltz and invited the greatest composers of the Austrian Empire -- Liszt, Mozart's son, Beethoven -- to vary it on the keyboard. Beethoven responded with 33 pieces, some happy, some sad, including a riff on Mozart's "Don Giovanni" opera. Vatchnadze has played all over the world, from Ravinia to Ravenna, Covent Garden, Salzburg, Alice Tully Hall, Osaka Symphony hall and the Mariinsky Piano festival in St. Petersburg. The concert will be 2-3:30 p.m. March 6. Tickets are $15 standard, $10 senior, and $5 for nonDePaul students. For more information, please visit music.depaul.edu.
"King" LeBron!
'King James' This play is nothing but net. Basketball and theatre fans unite as “King James” hits the stands to celebrate LeBron James’ reign in Cleveland and the place that sports occupy in our lives and relationships. Told over 12 years of his life, from rookie to NBA Champion, the play is clever, fast-paced, and endlessly hilarious. “King James” features the talent of author Rajiv Joseph, director Kenny Leon and ensemble members Glenn Davis (pictured) and Chris Perfetti. The play will run March 3 - April 10 at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St., every Tuesday Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday - Sunday at 3 or 8 p.m. Tickets start at $56 and can be purchased at steppenwolf.org.
Zen Views!
Jin Lee: Views and Scenes Come experience the refreshing outdoor landscapes of Chicago indoors in this one-person exhibition by highly respected photographer Jin Lee. The exhibition entitled “Views and Scenes” will feature four different bodies of work: pictures from the artist's Amtrak commute, Lake Michigan, Salt Mountain, and the weeds and wildlife growing in abandoned alleyways and neighborhoods. The exhibition runs March 5-August 7 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., which is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission is free. More information about the exhibit can be found at chicago.gov or jinleephotography.net.
Classical Lunch Hour!
Dame Myra Hess Stephanie Zyzak & Filippo Gorini Come to the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert, Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist, 55 E. Wacker Drive, for enchanting performances by Stephanie Zyzak (pictured) on violin and Filippo Gorini on piano. Selections will include Franz Schubert’s “Violin Sonata in A major, Op. posth. 162, D574” and Robert Shumann’s “Drei Romanzen, op. 94.” The 12:15-1 p.m. performances will be in-person, virtual, and accessible through the Dame Myra Hess radio station. Admission is free. More information can be found at imfchicago.org.
Local Legends!
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Presents: RE/CONNECT The Museum of Contemporary Art’s Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 E. Chicago Ave., will host the return of the Spring Series brought to you by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Two mixed-repertory programs are available. Program A includes works by prolific choreographers in contemporary dance Ohad Naharin and Lar Lubovitch, and two world premieres by Darrell Grand Moultrie and Amy Hall Garner. Program B offers another chance to see Moultrie’s work with the addition of Nacho Duato’s “Jardí Tancat” and Jermaine Maurice Spivey’s “The Seen.” Program A is available March 2-6, and Program B is available through March 9-13. Tickets are $15+. For more information on times and dates, see hubbardstreetdance.com.
Let Your Hair Down!
'Rapunzel' Let down your hair and grab a seat for this magical and quirky retelling of the classic fairy tale “Rapunzel” by the Chicago Kids Company. After stealing from the garden of their wacky neighbor Nexus, the King and Queen give up their only child, who will be locked away in a dreadfully tall tower for 18 long years. “Rapunzel” wil be an hourlong musical with a hilarious script adapted by Jesus Perez and will take place at both the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., from March 3 - May 6 and the Stahl Family Theater, 5900 W. Belmont Ave., from May 11 - August 5. Tickets are $14-18. For more information about times and dates, please visit chicagokidscompany.com. -Compiled by Cora Saddler
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Vendors Russ Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.
Patrick: If I weren’t a football fan prior to this year’s Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, I imagine I would be one now. I thought this game was one of the best Super Bowls I can remember. Russ: Why? Patrick: I guess because I didn’t know who’d win. I know who I wanted, but in regard to who was going to win, I had no big leanings until the near-sack of Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow at the end. John: I thought it was a decent game—not great. Also, the commercials were awful.
SPORTSWISE
Donald: John, a lil’ less cheer, please! John: Well, two things did stand out: Aaron Donald got better as the game went on. He put pressure on Joe Burrow, including the final stop mentioned up above, when the Bengals had an opportunity to at least tie—if not win. The second thing that stood out for me was Cooper Kupp. In the fourth quarter, with the Rams trailing 20-16, Cupp caught everything thrown at him, and this despite the Bengals knowing he would get the ball.
Donald: I agree with you, John, about that defense led by the Rams’ Aaron Donald. Seven team sacks and two for Donald against a quarterback who’s crafty in getting away from the defense says tons about how hard the defense is playing. The game could’ve been more exciting, but, obviously, it’s not about excitement if a victory can be gotten. Let me add before I pass the mic that I loved the halftime show. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige—Awesome! Russ: I enjoyed the game. I found myself rooting for Cool Joe B as he led Cincy into and through battle. Unfortunately—but somewhat expected—the Rams got 'em. On a side note, I won a square, liked a few commercials and kinda dug the halftime show. So, all in all, a good Sunday.
Patrick: And neither team should hang its head. So what do you guys think about the upcoming NFL season based on this season? Russ: Well, with Joe Burrow, the sky’s the limit; as for the league in general, man, with the way the season has gone with all of these great games, including this Super Bowl, I’m hoping and believing that next season’ll be the same. Better even. Teams will know that you can go nearly undefeated during the regular season and still not get that trophy. Patrick: Keep on churning, right? Donald: Until it’s done. As for the upcoming season, I can’t wait. I love to see these young cats not being afraid of anything or anyone. Currently, every team has a shot—or, at least, feels they have a shot to get the big one. Not mad at that.
John: For me, my focus for the upcoming season is on the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. What happens there is big in determining what’s going to happen in the upcoming NFL season. The Bears still feel way incomplete for me, so not expecting the world from them. No telling who’ll be in the Super Bowl. Patrick: I believe in our Bears. We’ve made changes, I believe, that show a commitment to righting this ship. As for the overall NFL landscape, I believe Dallas is ready to do some things. San Fran will get back to it. Buffalo could be ready. And every other team will come hard because this year proved that the trophy truly is there for the taking by any team.
Any comments or suggestions? Email pedwards@streetwise.org
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VENERABLE AUGUSTUS TOLTON
THE PATH TO THE FIRST
BLACK SAINT? by Suzanne Hanney
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ORN A SLAVE, Father Augustus Tolton was the first African American to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest, in 1886. Tolton is also on a path to become possibly the first Black saint in U.S. history.
Tolton was then given the title “Venerable.” That means he lived according to theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, and the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance at a heroic level in surmounting the challenges set before him.
Tolton would be a saint for these times, says the Most Rev. Joseph Perry, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, because he was a Black man who persevered through great trials, suffered patiently, practiced works of mercy and evangelized to South Side poor with a focus on saving souls and spreading God’s love.
“Lessons from his early life as a slave and the prejudice he endured in becoming a priest still apply today with our current problems of racial and social injustices and inequities that divide neighborhoods, churches and communities by race, class and ethnicity,” Perry said in archdiocesan prepared material in 2019.
“Yes, he did all of that. He is an example for African Americans because he went through the worst of their historic experience. He encompasses Black history. In his whole life, he was told the word ‘No’ more than anything,” said Perry, who is postulator for Tolton’s cause with the Vatican, in a telephone interview.
The slavery experience within African American history provides important insights to American Catholic life because African Americans have faced resistance from nearly every institution, Perry told the National Catholic Register in 2016. “How [do] you get through that and still hold onto your faith in God, still have a sense of hope, and still have some sense of charity toward your neighbor who is not Black? I think that’s the legacy of the Black struggle.”
COVERSTORY
“Everywhere he turned, there were these blockages,” Perry continued. “The country was in this visual and emotional dissonance whenever a Black person entered spaces they were not allowed to enter. Everywhere he turned, he was running into these obstacles. He was a priest to everyone, but when white people were gravitating to him, he was told to leave them alone and make sure their contributions got to white churches.”
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Tolton was a household name when Perry was an African American seminarian in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But it was Cardinal Francis George, who was so moved after reading Tolton’s definitive biography, “From Slave to Priest,” by Caroline Hemesath, S.S.F. (Ignatius Press, 1973/2006) that he mentioned in passing to Perry that he was contemplating asking Rome to consider Tolton for possible sainthood. Cardinal George, in 2011, initiated Tolton’s case with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, in Rome. A working document, or positio of 1,000 pages was compiled, with historic testimonies by witnesses of the Black priest’s life. A nine-member team of theologians unanimously recommended him, as did a committee of cardinals, and then Pope Francis, in June 2019.
Tolton was a 9-year-old slave on the Stephen Elliot plantation in Brush Creek, Mo., in July 1863, when Elliot died, leaving the plantation in debt. Augustus and his brother, Charley, one year older, had already been field hands with lash marks on their bodies when Elliot’s widow, Ann, had the plantation appraised– including its slaves. Augustus was valued at $25, Charley at $100, their 20-month-old baby sister Anne at $75 and their mother, Martha, at $59. Martha knew that a slave sale would undoubtedly mean that her family would be split up. That’s what happened when she had been given as part of Ann’s wedding dowry in 1849. Martha had later married Peter Tolton, who went to fight with the Union Army in the Civil War and who died in a military hospital. All alone, Martha decided to flee with her children on the Underground Railroad. Despite the Emancipation Proclamation signed earlier in 1863, the Fugitive Slave Act was still being enforced. Captured slaves were returned to their masters. Those who assisted would-be escapees paid devastating fines.
This is one of two murals on the outside walls of St. Elizabeth Church on Michigan Avenue and 41st Street in Chicago. The section highlights Father Augustine Tolton, the first universally recognized black Catholic priest in the United States. He founded St. Monica Church (symbolized by a small church structure) at 36th & Dearborn in the 1890s. This congregation merged with St. Elizabeth in 1924. Two other figures are part of this section: Mother Katharine Drexel, SBS, whose Blessed Sacrament Sisters have ministered both at St. Monica and at St. Elizabeth elementary and high schools; and Father Peter Claver, after whom the Knights of St. Peter Claver are named (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic photo).
When the Toltons reached Hannibal on the Mississippi River, Confederate soldiers tried to arrest them – but Union soldiers intervened and said the family was standing on federal soil. The Yankee soldiers also helped the Toltons find a boat to row cross the mile-wide Mississippi. Once ashore, the family traveled another 21 miles north to Quincy, IL, which had a free Black population of 300. Mrs. Tolton, Charley and Augustus found jobs at the Harris Tobacco factory in Quincy. They stood for 10 hours a day, six days a week, removing the stems from 3-foot to 4-foot stalks so that someone else could roll the leaves into cigars. Employees breathed tobacco dust and experienced dizziness and addiction. Augustus worked there nine years. Augustus went to the German parish school during the three winter months of 1865, when the tobacco factory was closed, but quit after a month when parishioners threatened to withdraw their children and leave the parish. A nun at the school discovered his ability to speak German and English, however, and tutored him before and after hours. Three years later, he attended an all-Black school, but he was dark-skinned, tall for his age, behind in reading and he smelled of tobacco. He was bullied by his classmates but eventually accepted. He then spent off-seasons at the Irish parish school, whose pastor also employed him as janitor for six years. After he graduated in 1872, at age 18, he started a ministry for impoverished Black families in Quincy.
These nuns and priests realized Augustus might be able to help his people, post-slavery, Perry said. “They were visionary – that evangelization would go nowhere unless the people could see clergy who looked like them. These people saw things others could not see.” Augustus studied Latin and within a year was reading Caesar. He was tutored by another priest for two years in Latin, Greek, German, geography and in U.S., ancient and modern history before he entered St. Francis Solano College, now Quincy University, where he was ahead of his class. Excellent recommendations notwithstanding, none of 18 seminaries in the United States accepted Tolton as a candidate for the priesthood. Their general response was that they were “not ready” to accept a Black candidate. Eventually, his mentors decided to apply to the Urban College of the Propaganda Fide in Rome, which was founded by a 17th century pope to do missionary work. After Tolton arrived at its location near the Spanish Steps, he found he was no longer the only person of color; he was joined by students from Syria, Cyprus, Greece, Australia, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East. Nearly 6 feet tall, he was known as “Gus,” or “Gus from the U.S.,” and amazed at the lack of prejudice he encountered. Perry recalled Tolton’s quote, “Everybody here loves me, and I don’t know why.” www.streetwise.org
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LEFT: This sign now marks the spot of the former St. Joseph Church (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic photo). ABOVE: Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, dedicates Catholic Charities’ Father Augustus Tolton Peace Center on May 24, 2018. The Father Augustus Tolton Peace Center and Peace Garden in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood is a community resource center and “peace hub” for violence prevention and trauma therapy programs (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic photo). NEXT PAGE ABOVE: Cardinal Cupich was the main celebrant at a Mass of Thanksgiving honoring Venerable Rev. Augustus Tolton on Oct. 14, 2019 at St. Philip Neri Church, 2132 E. 72nd St., Chicago. The Mass celebrated Pope Francis’ June 11, 2019 declaration of Tolton as “Venerable.” He is the first African American priest to receive this designation, a step toward possible sainthood (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic photo).
Wearing the college’s distinctive black cassock with scarlet sash and biretta, a four-cornered hat with red tassel, Tolton navigated Rome without issue for his six years of study. He performed daily acts of goodness. He learned to play the accordion and in a baritone voice, he sang both traditional African American spirituals and the songs of other nations, during recreational hours. He sketched Roman ecclesiastical art and architecture.
gress in Washington D.C. in 1889. Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore later engaged him to speak before a mixed audience. He also spoke in Boston and New York and for a predominantly white audience in Galveston, TX.
Tolton had expected to become a missionary to Africa, but on the day before his Holy Saturday, April 24, 1886 ordination, he received a rude awakening.
By the time Tolton drew 35 Blacks and 200 whites to his services in Quincy, a German priest complained to the bishop, who told Tolton to confine his ministry to Blacks. “He had an open disposition about him that was a cut above the average priest in Quincy. Tolton did not have the energy or the disposition to tell whites to stay out of his church. It wasn’t in his nature. People came voluntarily. He didn’t recruit them. They found him to be an image of what priests should do well: being open to people and ministering to their needs. That desire to be open and not question anybody’s background before you minister to them proved to be his undoing,” Perry said.
Cardinal Giovanni Simeoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (now known as the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples), was instead sending Tolton back to the United States. The U.S. was still missionary territory as far as the Catholic Church was concerned. “America has been called the most enlightened nation,” Simeoni said. “We will see if it deserves the honor. If America has never seen a [Black] priest, it will see one now.” Church officials did not expect Tolton to surmount the odds, Joyce Duriga wrote in “Augustus Tolton: The Church is the True Liberator” (Liturgical Press 2018). “He was a sacrificial lamb in some ways, as are all pioneers in history.” Initially, things went well for Tolton back in Quincy. The Quincy Journal of July 26, 1886, covering an early mass by the native son, referred to “his fine educational training,” his “oratorical ability,” his “rich and full voice which falls pleasantly on the ear” and his “whole-souled earnestness.” When Tolton noticed adults standing at the rear at the beginning of his sermons, he beckoned with both arms, Hemesath wrote. Children understood, and ran forward to sit on the floor around his feet, which freed seats for adults. He was the main speaker at the First Catholic Colored Con-
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Was Tolton too good at his work? Yes, Perry said.
The German priest’s jealousy became so intense that Tolton looked for another city. Archbishop Patrick Feehan of Chicago rescued him, as Perry put it, and let him make a new start. In late 1889, Tolton was sent first to St. Mary’s Church at 9th Street and Wabash Avenue, which had invited Blacks to form a St. Augustine Society. They prayed together and maintained a common fund, augmented by white friends, to help the poor, visit the sick, bury their dead. However, the fund drew heavily for “corporal works of mercy,” Hemesath wrote. Slaves had been freed by the Civil War, but their problems were not over, because there were no programs to help them assimilate into mainstream society, Perry told the National Catholic Register. “So they were left kind of haphaz-
ABOVE RIGHT: Father Augustine Tolton founded St. Monica Church at 36th & Dearborn in Chicago in the 1890s. The congregation merged with St. Elizabeth Church in 1924 (Photo courtesy of Archdiocese of Chicago Archives and Records Center). BELOW RIGHT: This foot bridge at the end of 35th Street in the Bronzeville neighborhood crosses train tracks and is the approximate location of a former train stop where Tolton disembarked the day he died. Participants joined Bishop Joseph Perry for a pilgrimage to historic sites in Chicago of Fr. Augustus Tolton in April 2012. Stops included where he collapsed from heat stroke, former site of St. Monica's Church at 36th and Dearborn streets, and the grave site of his mother (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic photo).
ardly out there to experience whatever they were going to experience and be treated every which way.” The first generation out of slavery also lacked community support. Hemesath quoted the Conservator newspaper that there were two predominant classes of Blacks in Chicago. The “respectables” were regular churchgoers and moderately prosperous; the “refined” had more education and money and considered themselves defenders of their race. More prosperous Blacks did not want to be “pulled down by the freed people, thinking them uneducated, uncouth and threatening to their standing in society,” Duriga wrote. The “refined” even used ridicule and sarcasm to try to change the new lower class, Hemesath wrote. Four months after Tolton took over services in St. Mary’s basement, he had 200 regular attendees, who were committed to building their own church. He also attracted a great number of people to a storefront church in the 2200 block of South Indiana Ave., which was closer to where many of his parishioners lived. An earlier donation of $10,000 had been earmarked for a Black church and in 1891, Feehan laid the cornerstone for St. Monica’s Church, at 36th and Dearborn Streets. Meanwhile, the St. Augustine Society had located a rectory for Tolton at 448 W. 36th St., so that he could bring his mother and sister to Chicago. Tolton was in demand as a speaker, and he put the fees into the church building fund, but he was reluctant to leave his parish members. “I must say at this moment I wish there were 27 Father Toltons, or [Black] priests at any rate, who could supply the demands,” he wrote on Jan. 25, 1890. “There are 27 letters here before me all asking me to come and lecture.”
Tolton was less concerned with brick and mortar than with his parishioners’ welfare. Instead, building fund money often went to their food, medicine, clothes and shelter. The congregation, Perry said, consisted of people who came to church to be helped. They were “a lot of former slaves, displaced people, homeless abject poor. There were no welfare societies so people were scrounging, eking out an existence for themselves.” Tolton continued to put his parishioners first, and by the late 1890s, they could see changes in his health. He moved more slowly, he sat down while preaching. There was perspiration on his forehead and his hand shook while distributing communion. “He is left to struggle on almost alone - in poverty and humility grappling with the giant task of founding a church and congregation in Chicago,” wrote a parishioner. “He was living in poverty with his people, he did not receive a salary and he rarely had a break,” Duriga noted. Still, Tolton wrote to a large donor he had been able to administer last rites to a Black woman who nine years earlier had been “hurled out of a white church and even cursed at by the Irish members. She sent for me and thanked God that she had a priest to send for.” Shortly afterward, Tolton did take a break at a religious retreat in Bourbonnais, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago. He returned home July 9, 1897 to 105-degree heat. He got off the train at noon at 35th and the lake, intending to call on parishioners on his way home to 448 W. 36th St. Instead, he keeled over at 35th and Ellis Avenue. Bystanders pulled him to a cooler spot and a police patrol took him to Mercy Hospital, then at 2525 S. Michigan Ave. That night, he died of heatstroke and uremia. He was 43.
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VENDOR A. ALLEN: TOLTON IS A BLACK HERO
Father Augustine Tolton, also known as Augustus, is pictured in an undated photo. Born into slavery in Missouri, he was ordained a priest April 24, 1886, in Rome, and said his first Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. He served as pastor at St. Joseph Church in Quincy, Ill., and later established St. Monica's Church in Chicago (photo courtesy of Archdiocese of Chicago Archives and Records Center).
The next step toward sainthood for Venerable Augustus Tolton would be a miracle for someone who prayed to God through Tolton. Physicians would cite someone who is still alive, for example, for reasons unknown to medical science, Perry said. At that point, he would be beatified and given the title of Blessed Augustus Tolton. A second miracle would elevate him to sainthood. The miracles are a sign that God wills Tolton to be so honored, Perry said. The Catholic Church relies on the candidate’s reputation for holiness in the community, “which is why we go around giving presentations about his life, especially in places that have never heard of him before. Action comes from people in the pews.” Perry was in North Dakota recently and will go to Louisiana in April, along with California, Georgia, the Carolinas and Texas. Tolton Ambassadors in larger cities like Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia go deeper into the community. Social media has brought inquiries from Germany, the Philippines, Italy and Korea. As Perry told the National Catholic Register, “If we had an African-American saint, it would message to African-Americans that we have finally arrived in the Church, that we finally have something to offer, that holiness is possible from amongst those of our ethnic stripe, that the contribution we have been making to the Church for several hundred years is finally recognized.” For more information, please visit tolton.archchicago.org
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Not only is Augustus Tolton a Black hero in the Black community, being the first African American to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest, but I can really appreciate the Most Rev. Joseph Perry, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, for his recognition and acknowledgement of the legacy of this great man’s time on Earth, especially on Chicago’s South Side, from 1889 to 1897. Yes, this is Black History Month and what can be more appropriate than writing about this young man who went from slave to priest. Augustus was a 9-year-old on a Missouri plantation whose master had died. He was in danger of being sold and was appraised at $25, his mother Martha at $59. With the threat of being separated, they escaped on the Underground Railroad to Illinois. He was fortunate enough to be a Christian and to avoid being incarcerated or put on a prison gang. But many Blacks were free and basically went into another form of slavery, whether sharecropping or being incarcerated. It’s almost like the “Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” written by Chips Moman and made famous by B.J. Thomas. Yes, this is the same story. Tolton was good at what he did. Other priests admired him, but were also resentful of his success, and they used his Blackness to reject him. It reminds me of a passage from Isaiah 53:3 KJV: “He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. We hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not.” The same story, but a different man (victim). I am grateful to Bishop Perry for pushing this issue and for postulating Father Tolton’s cause for sainthood with the Vatican so that he can become the first Black saint from the U.S. From a Black man’s point of view, while he was alive, the answer was always “no.” And while he is dead, the answer should be “yes” to his sainthood.
Check your tax bill for exemptions and save on your property taxes by Judi Strauss-Lipkin
The first installment of your 2021 property tax bill is due by March 1, 2022. It is 55 percent of your 2020 total tax bill. You can see the 55 percent tax calculator on the left-hand side of the bill about 2/3 of the way down. You can also view it online at www.cookcounty treasurer.com. However, this new tax bill DOES NOT show some especially important exemption information - which you can find on your second tax bill from 2020 and your next, second bill for 2021. You might be eligible for three exemptions, which will reduce your taxes: • Homeowner’s Exemption: you must live and own at this address on January 1 • Senior Exemption: you must be 65 years or older (one of a couple) • Senior Freeze Exemption: you must have total household income under $65,000.
Here's an example of a second installment tax bill, with major exemptions applied. These exemptions are only listed on the second installment bill, due in the fall.
For the Senior Freeze Exemption, you will need: Senior Freeze Form and all the above, including documentation of each item of income from your tax return. You can submit the applications online and upload all supporting documents, you can mail it or you can submit it in person to the Cook County Assessor’s Office at 118 N. Clark St., Room 320, Chicago, IL 60602. The assessor’s office website suggests an appointment – the best option – so they can review your forms and documentation.
The Senior Freeze, however, is a year-by-year exemption depending on your total income on your tax return. It is important to apply for the Senior Freeze each year. When tax professionals prepare income taxes for clients, especially seniors, they should check the exemptions; if they have not been done, they can download the forms from the website of Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi (https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/exemptions). You will also need supporting documentation.
There are also exemptions for veterans and people who are disabled. You can submit a Certificate of Error for the tax years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and eventually get a refund - these are also online or can be printed and then submitted with proper documentation.
For the Homeowners Exemption, you will need: the Homeowners Exemption Form, the DocuSign Occupancy affidavit that the property was/is your principal residence, and a scanned copy of your Driver’s License or ID card. For the Senior Exemption, you will need: Senior Exemption application form, proof of age and identity and occupancy in 2021; a copy of one photo ID, (usually an IL Driver’s License or ID Card), along with an Occupancy Affidavit (which is provided within the online application). They may also require a utility bill or bank statement showing your address. The name and property address must match the application, and the date of issue must verify that you occupied this property in 2021.
Please review your second tax bill for the summer of 2021 as well as prior years' real estate tax bills to see if you are receiving these exemptions. Check again when you are preparing your 2021 income tax. A press release from Kaegi’s office on Aug. 24, 2021 showed how the three exemptions reduced a sample tax bill by $1598 – from $2372 to $774! The office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas estimates that there are over $34 million in unclaimed exemptions over the last four years! Dr. Judi Strauss-Lipkin is an enrolled agent and was a professor of management at Benedictine University and George Williams College. She was president of the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Chicago and treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Chicago.
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FROM THE STREETS
These exemptions can add up. On a $7,046.87 tax bill for a property near the lakefront on the North Side, for example, the Homeowner Exemption amounted to $691.10 and the Senior Exemption to $552.88. That’s a 17 percent savings for those two exemptions alone. These first two exemptions continue each year, and you only apply once.
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To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and 2/21/22 Crossword box must contain the numbers 1 toStreetwise 9.
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©2022 PuzzleJunction.com SudokuCopyright Solution
last week's Puzzle Answers
Solution
3 5 7 6 4 8 2 9 1
4 1 2 3 9 7 8 6 5
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2 1 9 6 8 7 2 3 1 4 8 5 4 2 1 9 6 3 7 8 3 6 5 4 5 Sudoku 9 4 7 7 5 3 1 9 8 6 2
Solution
Crossword Across 1 Relinquish 5 Drifts 10 Baby’s first word, maybe 14 Looking down from 15 Ice house 16 Locket shape 17 Sari-clad royal 18 Exploits 19 Hot spot 20 Scorched 22 Ill-tempered 23 Animal hides 24 Luau food 25 Narrative 27 Cheapen 31 Traffic stopper 32 Where to get a fast buck? 57 Great Lakes city 34 Conical buoy 58 Lagoon 35 Abound surrounder 36 Piece of cave 59 ___ out (fall art asleep) 37 Chicken ___ 60 Stylish gown 38 First lady 61 Fliers in V’s 39 Talkative 62 To be, in old 40 Rash Rome 41 E-mail 43 Small part Down 44 Floral ring 1 Low-___ diet 45 Texas cook2 Catalog card off dish abbr. 47 Pamper 3 Lady of Spain 50 Oklahoma 4 “Paradise Lost” Native is one Americans 5 To a great 54 In custody degree 55 New 6 Insurance seller Hampshire’s 7 Hightails it state flower 8 Mary in the 56 Site of the Taj White House Mahal
How StreetWise Works
spirit through the dignity of self-employment by providing Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive social services, workforce development resources and immediate access to gainful employment.
Orientation Participants complete a monthlong orientation, focusing on customer service skills, financial literacy and time management to become a badged vendor.
Financial Literacy Vendors buy StreetWise for $0.90, and sell it for $2. The profit of $1.10 goes directly to the licensed vendor for them to earn a living.
Supportive Services StreetWise provides referrals, advocacy and other support to assist participants in meeting their basic needs and getting out of crisis.
S.T.E.P. Program StreetWise’s S.T.E.P. Program provides job readiness training and ongoing direct service support to ensure participants’ success in entering the traditional workforce.
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9 Message in a bottle? 10 Angora goat yarn 11 Ancient greetings 12 Fountain treat 13 Confederate 21 “Ol’ Man River” composer 22 NASA scrub 24 Rigg role in “The Avengers” 25 It doesn’t hold water 26 Beech and birch, e.g. 27 June 6, 1944 28 Licoricelike flavor 29 Because of 30 A deadly sin
31 Flower stalk 32 Unsophisticated sort 33 Sun or moon 36 Wise men 37 Kind of pilots, once 39 Highlander 40 Headlight? 42 Pitcher’s specialty 43 Ellipse 45 Daphnis’s love 46 Makes sound 47 Cast off 48 Persian spirit 49 This and that 50 Mention 51 They’re inflatable 52 Coastal raptors 53 Rice wine 55 Fall behind
Solution
THE PLAYGROUND
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PuzzleJu
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