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Lessons L ffrom Ms. M Ruby, R b page 5

City approves new patio plan for Madison Street restaurant TNT will be required to put up screens on three sides of the restaurant

By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter

Real estate agent Tameka Daniels of Blue Island is back after about two years of radio silence with revamped plans to open a restaurant with the rooftop patio in Austin next to the Veterans Peace Garden.

According to renderings, the changes mostly involved completely redoing the rooftop bar, adding a set of stairs leading from the first floor to complement the planned stairs in the back and adding more tables.

Daniels has been trying to open the TNT Restaurant on Madison Street since she purchased the building in October 2019. Because she planned to put in a rooftop patio, she had to get approval from the Chicago zoning board of appeals. When the board considered her original plans in May 2021, several residents expressed concerns about

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2 Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

Decorated Senior Olympian works to mentor West Side kids Jason Ferguson hopes to inspire West Siders as he trains to qualify for the 2025 National Senior Games

By TREY ARLINE Block Club Chicago

Jason Ferguson is an aspiring Black historian, a poet, track coach and Marine Corps veteran. He recently added 11-time Senior Olympic medalist to his resume.

Fresh off his wins in the Illinois Senior Olympics this summer, the East Garfield Park resident is now working to instill his love of physical fitness and friendly competition in West Side kids.

Ferguson, 57, has always enjoyed staying active, including playing basketball and racing against – and even beating – people half his age. Never lacking in his competitive spirit, he decided to try his hand in the Illinois Senior Olympics over the summer.

As one of only three Chicagoans at the games, he participated in 11 different events and won medals in every competition in which he participated: One bronze, four silver, and six gold. The Senior Olympics is held over the summer in Springfield and is open to residents ages 50 and over.

He competed in jump rope, basketball free throws — where he made 22 of 25 shots — bowling, ping pong as a single and doubles competitor, pickleball and multiple track events.

Ferguson is now hoping to have as big an impact training others as he has had in organized competition.

His wins in the Senior Olympics coincide with his GOlympians Track Team group expanding its efforts to help Black West Siders discover opportunities for sports they may not have been previously given opportunities to play.

After eight years and spending roughly $100,000 of his own money, Ferguson said he recently made GOlympians an official nonprofit and has received Chicago Park District approval to host practices at the Garfield Park field house on South Hamlin Boulevard.

PHOTOS BY COLIN BOYLE/BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO

Recent Illinois Senior Olympics gold medalist Jason Ferguson poses for a portrait at his alma mater, Marshall Metro High School, in Garfield Park on Oct. 17, 2023 Hoping to expand the types of sports available to West SidersFerguson’s GOlympians encourages young men ages 6 to 18 years old to consider “alternative sports” outside the classics offered at most parks and schools. GOlympians trains kids in tennis, badminton, track and pickleball.

Ferguson said he believes many young Black men in the neighborhood lack confidence and hope. Through his nonprofit endeavor, Ferguson said he seeks to inspire men and women through athletic competition to be their best selves and learn to take care of themselves and others.

Exposure to sports has plenty of practical benefits, including possible college scholarships, networking and an increased sense of community, he said.

“I think it’s important to show young kids out here different sports besides football and basketball that provide the same opportunities to get a college education,” Ferguson said. “Not everyone playing those sports can go pro, but they will get a far better opportunity in life with the exposure.”

Born in Shaw, Mississippi, Ferguson remembers using outhouses and buckets to bathe in while his white neighbors used toilets and a hot shower. He moved to Chicago and settled in East Garfield Park when he was 14 years old.

Ferguson attended John Marshall High School and enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduation, serving more than a decade as a maintenance clerk in countries including Japan and Korea.

After retiring from active duty, Ferguson became a trackand-field coach and teacher at Marshall High School, even crossing paths with NBA basketball player Patrick Beverley.

After a stint working an administrative job at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Ferguson was recently hired as a physical education teacher at Jacob Beidler Elementary School in East Garfield Park.

When he is not playing tennis or pickleball – a sport he recently has grown to love – Ferguson is often learning and writing about Black history, particularly military history.

Ferguson graduated from Northeastern University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He plans to write a book detailing Black military leaders and outfits, ranging from the Harlem Hellfighters in World War I, to Black Union soldiers in the Civil War to the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Ferguson is not entirely new to writing. He most recently recited several poems about Black history during the grand opening of Urban Essentials Coffee Cafe in Austin.

“These stories of our deaths and our sacrifices are not new to us, but I’m hoping to really expand that to those that want to learn our history,” he said.

Although Ferguson has ventured into history and poetry writing, he still finds time to participate in athletic events.

After his success at the state games, Ferguson said he plans to participate in the USA Track & Field Masters Indoor Championships in March and hopes to qualify for the 2025 National Senior Games as well.

“I know there’s no guarantee that I’ll win any of the events, but I know I’ve got the long jump down,” he said.

“That’s definitely mine for sure.”

Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

TNT

AUSTIN WEEKLY

Patio problems

news

from page 1 the noise the patio would create – but Daniels’ application was approved.

The project went quiet until two years later, when Daniels went back before the board because her changes were enough to require another review. Chicago’s department of planning and development also wanted her to put in 6-foot “solid screening or fencing” barriers to reduce noise – something that Daniels’ attorney Robert M. Walker argued would defeat the whole point of having a patio, and pose a financial burden for his client. The board ended up compromising, allowing them to put up trees instead of a physical barrier on the Madison Street side.

However, barriers are still required on three other sides of the restaurant.

Both Daniels and Walker declined to comment.

Formal dining In an interview in 2021, Daniels said that that she wanted to bring a more formal dining experience to Austin, where her family is from. Sit-down restaurants are in short supply on the West Side portion of Madison Street corridor, and while MacArthur’s restaurant is across the street from the building, it serves classic American-style comfort food.

While Daniels said she didn’t want to share too many details – because she wanted it to be a surprise for the community – she said that the menu will include “some healthy options.”

“I don’t eat meat, so there will be some plant-based options,” Daniels added.

In 2021, Daniels made several statements that appeared at times to change. She told the board that she got support from the South Austin Neighborhood Association, which runs the Veteran Peace Garden east of the restaurant. She said that that she “spoke to the ladies that maintained the lot and they were excited that I purchased [the building].”

SANA president Cassandra Norman confirmed that Daniels spoke to her and Liz Abunaw, founder of Forty Acres Fresh Market, during the Oct. 4, 2019 pop-up event the market held at the garden, but she said could not recall Daniels mentioning any detailed plans for her business.

Daniles also told the zoning board that TNT Restaurant would be serving alcohol

Editor Erika Hobbs Staff Reporters Amina Sergazina, Igor Studenkov, Amaris Rodriguez Special projects reporter Delaney Nelson Digital Manager Stacy Coleman Digital Media Coordinator Brooke Duncan Reporting Partners Block Club, Austin Talks Columnists Arlene Jones, Aisha Oliver Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead IGOR STUDENKOV

TNT Restaurant – only to walk back that statement in a follow-up interview, saying that she was still trying to decide whether she would serve alcohol and that she hasn’t applied for a liquor license.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), whose ward includes the restaurant, told Austin Weekly News at the time that Daniels never told him TNT Restaurant might serve alcohol.

South Austin resident Terry Redmond, who was SANA’s treasurer at the time, told Austin Weekly News that she and several neighbors expressed concerns about parking, the noise coming from the patio and drunken customers misbehaving. Daniels said that she planned to play music on the patio.

During the November meeting, Walker was upfront about the patio having a rooftop bar, and Taliaferro told Austin Weekly News in the recent interview that his office was aware of those plans.

Screen objections Nancy Radzevich, who heads the Department of Planning and Development’s zoning bureau, told the board that, given the increased number of seats, the size of the bar, the mixed-use apartments on the other side of Madsion Street and the Veterans Park to the west, it was important to have screens to reduce the noise and the lights.

Walker responded that the area around the bar will be screened, and said that neighbors were fine with the existing parapet.

Walker added that the existing parapet wall is 4-feet and 8-inches tall, which he ar-

Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea Designer Susan McKelvey

gued already provides screening. Adding a 6-foot screen on top of that would not only interfere with the views, but put a financial strain on Daniels.

“At this time, the applicant already spent significant finances to renovate the property, and that would represent a significant financial burden,” Walker said. “[We submitted] the letters of support from all to the owners of adjacent properties,” he added. “They all toured the property with Ms. Daniels and are in agreement that the current [design], with the four-foot parapet wall, will not represent a nuisance in regards to the lights or sounds from the property.”

Board chairman Brian Sanchez wondered whether the 6-foot requirement was excessive. Radzevich responded that it has been a standard practice in recent years, mentioning six rooftops approved, mostly on the South and West sides.

In a recent interview, Taliaferro said that he toured the building in November, and he was satisfied with the revised plans.

“I have spoken with the owner in regards to [noise] as well, and they assured me that any music and noise that’s played during the dining experience, they would keep at a minimum,” he said. “And also, there’s no plan to have any type of rooftop events outside of dining. And that was my concern from the very beginning.”

Taliaferro said that he hasn’t heard any concerns from the neighbors.

“As part of the agreement with me, there would be no rooftop parities or events,” he added.

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4 Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

Met Sandra Warren Austin’s beloved school crossing guard She’s been guiding kids safely across Chicago’s streets for 26 years

ers are supposed to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, not just intersections with traffic lights or stop signs, and are supposed to beware of crossing guards and obey their directions.

Adrienne Chandler, the clerk and administrative assistant at Ella Flagg Young ElBy DEBORAH BAYLISS ementary School in Austin, speaks highly Contributing reporter of Warren.

“She’s high-spirited, energetic and nice If your weekday mornings or afternoon commute takes you through the Central and and she will report the kids if they are North Avenue intersection, you’ve likely not following directions,” Chandler said. seen the animated crossing guard in the “She’s a great crossing guard to have in the greenish-yellow jacket with a hand-held stop community for the children.”

Although Warren is dedicated to her job, sign directing children and traffic.

“I’ve been at this intersection for about she would like to take occasional time off five years now,” said Sandra Warren as she but has not done so in the past four years.

“When I call to ask if anykept a watchful eye on pedesbody was going to be there if trians at the busy location. “I I take off, they would say, ‘we cross Ella Flag Young and St. don’t have anybody to send,’” Angela students.”

Warren said.

It was the schedule flexA lot of crossing guards quit ibility that attracted her to during the pandemic, Warren working as a crossing guard said. In light of that, she said 26 years ago, something that she takes every chance to enallowed her to leave her night courage people to become a shift job for a position with crossing guard, going as far as more flexibility as a mother posting information about the with two school-aged children job on social media. at that time.

With a starting pay at just ADRIENNE CHANDLER Warren dresses in layers dur$15.46 an hour with benefits, Clerk, Ella Flagg Young ing the winter months, but it’s according to CPS, enticing Elementary School ice water that helps through someone to the role may be a the sweltering summers. hard sell.

Motorists, more often than Just as the number of not, obey her commands, Warcrossing guards has dwinren said. dled, the number of children “The world got faster and faster and the drivers got faster and fast- crossing at her intersection has also er,” she said. “We’re trying to get body dwindled, Warren said, saying she used cameras to record the drivers that don’t to have twice as many children crossing obey the rules. We’re asking the Chicago at that location.

She added that she believes parents enBoard of Education for cameras that we can put around our neck instead of us try- rolling their children into charter schools ing to write down [license] plates. Because is a big reason for the decline.

“It’s like every couple of years, there’s if you’re trying to write down a plate, you a new one,” Warren said of the charter can get hit.”

In May, Chicago Public Schools pushed schools. “The reason I know is because out reminders that under Illinois law, driv- whenever they open a new one, they send

“She’s highspirited, energetic and nice and she will report the kids if they are not following directions

PROVIDED

Sandra Warren escorts school children across Austin’s busy streets. out fliers to the whole neighborhood and I get them.

As for the changes she’s seen over the years, Warren said she is now seeing more Hispanic children crossing at her intersection.

According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s analysis of the U.S Census data, Austin’s Hispanic population more than doubled in 2020, while there was a decline in Black population.

As a longtime Austin resident who lives just three blocks from her crossing intersection, Warren has an up close and per-

sonal view of the changes to the area.

Sometimes, the children she’s helped cross the busy street in Austin, have come back and asked her if she remembers them.

“Next year will be 21 years that I’ve lived in my home, “ Warren said.

Born in 1954, she said it’s hard to not ponder retirement during the winter months, but she’s not ready to put down her stop sign just yet. She’s not sure what she’ll do with all the free time.

When she’s not working, Warren enjoys meeting up with friends for outings, reading love stories and listening to music.

Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

The sanctuary city failed Ms. Ruby

T

he Austin community is shifting with the help of school closures, new development, nonprofits, housing and a slew of other factors. But recently, the conversation among black residents is the wave of migrants who have flooded the area.

It seems as though those who have deemed themselves leaders and stakeholders are shying away from addressing this issue. To be clear it IS an issue – an issue that is a clear message to black residents on the Westside and Southside that the city does not value the black population no matter who is in office.

I can’t help but feel disrespected and insulted when seeing the way the City of Chicago has bent over backward to help migrants. Meanwhile, I pass our very own Chicagoans who are struggling or displaced daily in Austin and across the city.

My personal experience with helping homeless and struggling families in this community for so long is why I can’t wrap my mind around the sudden influx of resources. Resources that always seemed to fall short when it came to my angel, Ms. Ruby, and other black Austinites. Let me tell you about Ms. Ruby Humphrey, a beautiful soul who happened to be homeless.

I met her at Central and Lake one day outside the train and we began to talk. Ms. Ruby’s spirit and personality was magnetic, she could paint a portrait with her words.

Her safe space was a spot she claimed under the viaduct near the train. Every day, I watched as people passed her without acknowledging her. She was intelligent and her wisdom was worth more than money. I began to care for her like a family over the years. Residents in the area saw how I looked out for her and many of them began to care for her, too.

Especially the students from Austin High School and Duke Ellington Elementary.

Those young people showed compassion for Ms. Ruby once they saw our interactions.

One day, as it began to get cold, I went looking for her in her usual spot, only to pull up and see that the city had pushed her out, thrown all of her stuff away and put a gate around the area where she slept.

For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how the city could be so cold toward those who needed help the most. I spent days driving around the West Side looking for her, I needed to know that she was safe. A kid from

the community who knew I was looking for her spotted her while riding the bus. Ms. Ruby roamed, looking for a new place to sleep and seek shelter. She landed in the North Lawndale area. I drove around the area that she was seen in and located her. A month later, I received a call at work from her case worker at Bobby E. Wright.

Ms. Ruby had been murdered and left lying in the front yard of a home. She was two weeks from celebrating her 58th birthday.

Devastation was what I felt, knowing that she was driven out of a space in our community that she had been safe in for years.

The same “sanctuary city” that welcomed migrants with open arms and resources displaced Ms. Ruby. She asked me to throw her a birthday party before her death.

Everything was planned, but we had no idea that she wouldn’t be with us. We have been hosting a community Christmas party in her honor called Ruby’s Roses.

This week, I received a call from a resident with legitimate concerns – a single mother of five, who has been struggling with permanent housing after losing everything in a fire. She wanted to know how the migrants were receiving resources and why none of the housing programs have worked for her.

“Every day there is a new group of migrants moving into the hood. But me and my kids have been looking for permanent housing since the fire. How is this possible? Do we need to protest, sis? What do you think we need to do?”

I tried to answer her questions as best I could. I not only heard her frustration, but I also understood it. Her concerns are valid and should be heard, along with those of others who experience inequity. Black residents who are impacted the most are never truly considered when politics, platforms and bottom lines are involved. How do we change that?

We can continue to boast about new developments and paint murals, but that does not preserve or protect the people or culture of the Austin community. Long gone are the days of optics being enough. There is no generational wealth being created or passed down within our community. We continue to hear about fair or affordable housing and opportunities that are being created here but we have yet to see it trickle down to the people. The black constituents of Chicago must apply pressure where it is needed.

In the words of Ms. Ruby: “Hold on honey, a change gone come.”

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6 Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

Final Illinoisan serving life for ‘three-strikes’ offense is released Charles Collins was sentenced to life in 2010 for cocaine offenses

By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois

For at least two hours of the ride home, Charles Collins feared someone was following his father’s car, looking to take him back to prison for the rest of his life.

At an interstate rest stop between Western Illinois Correctional Center and Chicago, Collins said the reality of his freedom settled in and he let go of the anxiety. He would be with his family for Christmas for the first time in 14 years.

“It’s going to be a party, that’s for sure,” he said.

Collins, 49, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in relation to a 2010 charge for cocaine possession with intent to sell.

It was his third felony, making him eligible for an enhanced sentence under the state’s habitual criminal, or “three-strikes,” law.

He had two prior felonies on drug trafficking charges from 1998 to 2007 that made him eligible for the enhanced sentence.

The judge told him she had no choice, he recalled, before she sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole.

“For a minute, it didn’t sink in. I was shocked that the judge went through with it,” Collins said.

The three-strikes law allows that if a defendant is convicted more than three times of the same or similar offenses, the judge can aggravate the crime to one that is eligible for a life sentence. The law was designed to combat recidivism, but advocates argue it was draconian and unfairly targeted minority defendants.

Jennifer Soble, the executive director for the Illinois Prison Project, an advocacy group for incarcerated people, noted in 2020 that 75% of people serving life sentences in Illinois were African American and 94% of people serving life sentences in Illinois for a third strike for armed robbery

or drugs were African American or Latino.

Collins was the last man serving life in the Illinois Department of Corrections under the three-strikes law for drug offenses, Illinois Prison Project legal director Candice Chambliss said.

Earlier this year, Gov. JB Pritzker commuted the life sentence for the three people who were doing life without parole for drugs under the three-strikes law. One of those offenders, Michael Lightfoot, 67, received clemency and was released from Danville Correctional Center in November.

Pritzker commuted Collins’ sentence in February 2023 from life without the possibility of parole to parole eligible. In a rare move, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board voted unanimously last week for Collins’ release.

The Illinois Prison Project took up the cause of three-strikers in 2020, providing legal representation for incarcerated individuals. It has 74 pending cases for inmates serving three-strikes sentences for nondrug offenses. As of December, 27 people have been released through commutation, parole, or medical release, according to Chambliss. Thirty-three others have been denied, and six people died before the governor issued a decision.

The scope of the three-strikes law has been narrowed over the years – including as part of the criminal justice reform known as the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T Act – but the statute remains on the books in Illinois.

While one lawmaker proposed a measure in the spring session that would have fully repealed it, the legislation failed to gain support in the General Assembly and did not receive a vote in committee.

“Gov. Pritzker is a lifelong advocate for criminal justice reform and signed legislation making our criminal justice system more equitable,” Pritzker Spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement.

“The SAFE-T Act reformed the habitual offender law to ensure it is used only in the most serious circumstances.”

After his 2010 arrest, Collins spent months in Cook County Jail before he was transferred to IDOC, eventually ending up

CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS/PHOTO SUBMITTED

In a selfie shared with Capitol News Illinois, Charles Collins prepares for his first Christmas at home in 14 years. Collins was sentenced to life in prison under the state’s “threestrikes” law for drug convictions. He was released last week from the Department of Corrections after the Illinois Prisoner Review Board unanimously granted parole. at Menard Correctional Center in Chester.

He said fellow inmates who had been convicted of violent offenses could not believe he was sentenced to life without parole. For years, Collins spent time in the law library in the prison to try to find a way to have his sentence reconsidered.

“I knew it was time for me to get to work; that it couldn’t end this way for me,” Collins said.

Mira de Jong, an attorney with the Illinois Prison Project, took his case in 2020.

In an interview with Capitol News Illinois, de Jong noted that none of the crimes used to aggravate Collins’ sentence were violent but were drug offenses normally punishable by a maximum of 15 years.

“Most times, the sentence does not take into account growth and change. The system isn’t designed to help people,” de Jong said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of space for redemption there.”

After his commutation, Collins was transferred to Western Correctional Center in Mount Sterling. It was there that Collins had access to educational and reintegration programs, he said. He took advantage of the opportunities – achievements noted by the parole board.

After the holidays, Collins said he’s go-

ing to try to get his commercial driver’s license reinstated. A friend offered him a job driving a truck and later financing to start his own trucking business.

He knows he has missed a lot, time with his children and grandmother, celebrating graduations, birthdays, and holidays, grieving deaths. Through it all, Collins said his family was his constant.

Charles Dunn, Collins’ father and best friend, was at the Prisoner Review Board hearing in Springfield last week. He made the call to Collins to let him know the board’s decision.

Collins was in the barber shop at Western Illinois Correctional Center when he received that call from Dunn, who was standing outside the hearing room.

“You made it!” Dunn told Collins. “You are coming home!”

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

7

Metra riders with SNAP to get reduced fares

The pilot begins in February and will run through the second half of 2025

By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter

Metra riders who receive Illinois Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will be able to pay reduced fares on all Metra trains under a new low-income fare pilot.

The program will work like the existing RTA reduced-fare permits, which allow seniors and riders with disabilities to pay about half of what the regular riders pay to ride throughout the Chicago area. This program will be Metra-only, and riders will need to apply for a Metra Access Pass. The pilot will kick off Feb. 1 when other fare changes take effect, and it will run until at least July 31, 2025.

The program comes as Metra prepares to discontinue the Fair Transit South Cook program, in which Cook County provided

subsidies to allow Metra to offer reduced fares on the two lines that serve the South Side of Chicago and south suburbs – Metra Electric and Rock Island District. As part of the biggest fare overhaul in decades, Metra reduced the number of fare zones and reduced ticket prices, but that will still be a fare increase for the two lines. The new pilot will ensure that some low-income riders will be able to keep paying lower fares not just on Fair Transit lines, but across the entire Chicago area six-county region.

Under the new fare system that will take effect on Feb. 1, all but one station within Growing Community Media’s coverage area will fall into Fare Zone 2. Brookfield’s Congress Park station will fall into Fare Zone 3.

Most riders traveling from Zone 2 to downtown Chicago will pay $3.75 for one-way tickets and $75 for monthly passes. Metra Access Pass holders will pay $1.75 for one-way tickets and $37.50 for monthly passes. For riders using the L lines in Chicago and the suburbs, this will represent a cheaper, albeit less frequent, option, because they would still have to pay regular $2.50 fares.

Congress Park riders traveling toward the Loop will pay $5.50 for one-way tickets and $110 for monthly passes. Metra Access Pass holders will pay $2.75 and $55, respectively.

According to Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis, Metra Access Passes will look like the reduced-fare permits, which have picture IDs, except they will be a different color. Riders will need to show their eligibility in order to get the pass. Unlike the regular reduced fare passes, Access Pass holders will be able to get discounts for the members of their household.

According to a December memo to the

Metra Board of Directors, Cook County will reimburse the transit agency for up to 74% of the money they lost by giving Access Pass holders who travel within Cook County. It won’t get any reimbursements for the lost revenue in the collar counties.

Metra will do an analysis of the pilot within the first six months of operation, and may conduct more down the line. The transit agency can terminate the agreement before the pilot expires by giving a 90-day notice.

The Metra Board of Directors approved the agreement unanimously as part of a larger consent agenda.

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8 Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

The Austin Weekly News stories you loved the most Articles about issues, columns get clicks

By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter

As 2024 dawns, we took a look back at the Top 10 articles and columns that got the most views in 2023.

What we found was an interesting mix of long-form features, columns and pieces that touch on the issues that matter to the West Side. Some of those issues affected the entire community, while others are so local, they only affected a single block.

We would like to hear from you, dear readers. Are there any stories that should’ve gotten more love? Any stories that got overhyped? And, as you look back on the year of our reporting – what is your favorite piece? Email or comment on Facebook, and let us know.

No. 1 A look at Austin’s growing Hispanic population

By Francia Garcia Hernandez and Igor Studenkov This year, Austin Weekly News tried something different and put out a West Side magazine that – as editor Lacey Sikora so aptly put it – captured the many things that make our communities so vibrant.

IGOR STUDENKOV

The Delgado family — Maricela Delgado, Jose Luna, Kiara Luna and Adneris Luna — pose in front of the Austin house they called home for the last five years.

No. 2 A Men in Black Moment

By Arlene Jones A recent column by Arlene Jones looks at the mysterious explosions that were seemingly heard all over the city, offering an interesting look at how information, and disinformation, can spread, especially when official sources are silent on the matter. If a fallen tree goes unreported, did it really fall?

No. 3 Austin man barricaded in apartment after arrest attempt FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ

Chicago Police Department cars at the intersection of Central and Augusta on August 9, 2023.

By Francia Garcia Hernandez Some of Garcia Hernandez’s best stories happened because she stumbled on a story and stuck with it for hours on end. This was

the only one that made it into the Top 10. It went beyond what made the evening news – armed man barricading himself, police and the FBI getting involved. Garcia Hernandez talked to neighbors whose apartment was raided by mistake, how traumatizing it was for a victim of gun violence, and how the standoff made the other neighbor miss work.

No. 4 Teens crashed Columbus pool, neighbors criticize park district

By Igor Studenkov Pools are a precious commodity on the West Side, where there aren’t that many places to cool off and relax. When the Columbus Park Advisory Council pitched us the story, they emphasized that they weren’t just upset by the mayhem young people caused – they blamed the park dis-

Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

9

IGOR STUDENKOV/STAFF REPORTER

FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at Washington Square Mall. trict for not opening the pools as long as they could be and not giving them alternatives. The pool season is over, but the issue lingers.

No. 7 Chicago considers using Austin Avenue warehouse, office building to house migrants by

No. 5 FEMA aid appears to be coming up short, West Side advocates

By Igor Studenkov

By Igor Studenkov Ever since FEMA came in to respond to July 4 flooding on the West Side, community leaders like Rev. Ira Acree worried that the aid wouldn’t get to the people that needed it the most. We promised to follow up – and when we started getting statistics, we did our best to parse out the West Side numbers. In the months to come, we will keep our eye on the issue and keep checking with our sources, because while the flooding passed, the fallout has not.

The city’s effort to house asylum-seekers that largely came from Central and South American countries has been a major source of concern for West Siders, and tensions exploded when city proposed using the Amundsen Park fieldhouse. After strong pushback, the city looked at an alternative site – the portion of the old Zenith Radio campus between the park and the railroad tracks. Several residents suggested using the seemingly abandoned factory portion north of the tracks. While re-

PROVIDED, CHRISTINA-MARIA VAROTSIS, REFUGEE COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Volunteer Valentina Paez interacts with a toddler who is part of the asylum-seekers sheltered at the 15th Chicago Police District searching the story, we found out that the factory wasn’t as abandoned as it seemed.

No. 8 Austin residents object to proposed three-flat on vacant lot

By Igor Studenkov There are local issues, and then there are really local issues. The neighbors living at the 200 block of North Menard Avenue attended Ald. Chris Taliaferro’s June 7 ward meeting, saying they were worried that developer A-Z builders’ plans to build a pair

No. 6 Weak people, hard times

By Arlene Jones This April 28, 2021 column hits on a common Arlene Jones theme – that violence will continue to plague the West Side if the community doesn’t strongly denounce it and push back. The column came on the heels of the murder of Jaslyn Adams, who was shot while her family was driving though a drive-thru of a Homan Square McDonalds, and Jones argued that the response was inadequate. This was far from Jones’ last column on the topic – but it seems to have struck a chord.

of three-flats would hurt their quality of life, and asked for two single-family homes instead.

No. 9 West Siders want Cato, former 15th District commander, as next top cop

By Igor Studenkov Before he was promoted, Ernest Cato was a popular commander of the 15th Police District, which spans the half of Ausitn south of Division Street. When the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability was looking for candidates for a new police superintendent and held a hearing in Austin, many attendees urged them to nominate Cato. He didn’t make it into the list of three finalists, and CCPSA now faces another important task – transiting to an elected commission.

No. 10 Chicago disrespects Black citizens with its policy on migrants

By Aisha Oliver

COLIN BOYLE/BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO

Jaslyn Adams, 7, was shot and killed while with her father in the drive-thru lane of the Homan Square McDonald’s.

Oliver voices something we’ve heard quite a bit on the West Side in recent months – that the city is investing resources in migrants and not addressing inequities that Chicago’s Black residents faced for decades.

10 Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

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AustinWeekly News, January 3, 2024 11

For military veteran caregivers, caregiving often starts earlier in life and lasts longer. To better care for your loved one, you must also care for yourself.

HELP WANTED ENGINEERING DRAFTSMAN

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago will be accepting applications for the following classification(s): Engineering Draftsman II (Original)

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PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES 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: 24-690-11 Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA Estimated Cost for Group A: $ 4,610,000.00 Estimated Cost for Group B: $ 1,330,000.00 Total Estimated Cost: $ 5,940,000.00 Bid Deposit: None Voluntary Technical Pre-Bid Conference via ZOOM: Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 10:00 am CST. Compliance with the District’s Affirmative Action Ordinance Revised Appendix D, and Appendix C are required on this Contract.

Bid Opening: January 30, 2024 24-691-11 Truck Hauling of Processed Solids for LASMA and CALSMA Estimated Cost for Group A: $ 1,281,500.00 Estimated Cost for Group B: $ 1,182,000.00 Total Estimated Cost: $ 2,463,500.00 Bid Deposit: None Voluntary Technical Pre-Bid Conference via ZOOM: Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at 10:00 am CST. Compliance with the District’s Affirmative Action Ordinance Revised Appendix D, Appendix V and Appendix C are required on this Contract.

Bid Opening: January 30, 2024 24-692-11 Utilization and Transportation of Air Dried Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA Estimated Cost for Group A: $ 754,700.00 Estimated Cost for Group B: $ 520,600.00 Total Estimated Cost: $ 1,275,300.00 Bid Deposit: None Voluntary Technical Pre-Bid Conference via ZOOM: Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at 2:00 pm CST. Compliance with the District’s Affirmative Action Ordinance Revised Appendix D, and Appendix C are required on this Contract.

Bid Opening: January 30, 2024 ***************************************** 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 4 Procurement and Materials Management 4 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 4 Procurement & Materials Management 4 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 District of Greater Chicago

By Darlene A. LoCascio Director of Procurement and Materials Management Chicago, Illinois January 3, 2024 Published in Austin Weekly News January 3, 2024

PUBLIC NOTICES BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT Baby Girl L.R. arrived on the 27th day of February 2008 to the parents Rashad and Angelea Rhodes.

Weighing 6 pounds and 15 inches long at 6:30pm Trinity Hospital.

Published in Austin Weekly News January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024

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PUBLIC NOTICES BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT Bouncing Boy A.R. arrived on the 8th day of September 2006 to the parents Rashad and Angelea Rhodes.

Weighing 8pounds and 18inches long at 10:15pm Advocate Hospital.

Published in Austin Weekly News January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024

PUBLIC NOTICES BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT Beautiful baby Girl E.R. arrived on the 20th day of November 2009 to the parents Rashad and Angelea Rhodes.

Weighing 7 pounds and 61 inches long at 8:37pm. Trinity Hospital.

Published in Austin Weekly News January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024

Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com RBLandmark.com ForestParkReview.com AustinWeeklyNews.com PublicNoticeIllinois.com

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12 Austin Weekly News, January 3, 2024

Quality, Affordable, Independent Housing for Seniors

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agencies and programs designed specifically for seniors. The Oaks is owned and operated by the Oak Park Residence Corporation and is funded by the US Department of Housing and Ur-ban Development through the 202/ Section 8 Program. Monthly rent is based on the resident’s income, with individuals paying approximately 30% of their monthly income toward rent.

For more information, please visit us at www.oakparkrc.com or contact us at 708-386-5862.

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