AustinWeeklyNews_032625 by Wednesday Journal

Banking starts comeback in Austin a er decades

Chicago’s West Side has been underbanked for half a century, but it’s nally starting to see more investment from nancial institutions

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

There are only four financial institutions in Austin, serving over 90,000 residents: The Great Lakes Credit Union at Leaders Network Financial on Madison Street, a BMO Bank and the Old Second National Bank on North Avenue, and a U.S. Bank branch on Madison Street.

“I would say, for at least 10 years, there’s been one bank in Austin, which is ridiculous,” Austin native Michelle Collins told Austin Weekly News of the U.S. Bank facility.

Collins is a retired community development banker, who helped give home and commercial loans to Austin residents for over 25 years. She was also instrumental in getting the Great Lakes Credit Union’s Leaders Network branch to open last year

Just west of Austin Boulevard, Austin’s western border, Oak Park has a U.S. Bank and the Self-Help

BANKS on pa ge 6

e recover y house for wome n and children at 851 N. Leaming ton Ave.

By JESSICA MORDACQ | Staff Reporter

A woman- and minority-owned construction company is leading the construction on the Phoenix Recovery House for women and children at 851 N. Leamington Ave. in Austin.

After gutting the for mer substance abuse recovery

PINK HATS on pa ge 9

JESSICA MOR DACQ

Leaders Network puts focus on business with new hire

Marseil ‘Action will head the division as an activist, entrepr radio personality

By JESSICA MORD Staff Reporter

The influential social justice organization, the Leaders Network, announced earlier this month that it has a new head of its business division: Marseil “Action” Jackson.

The Leaders Network is a volunteer organization with no employees. While it has had a business division in the past, 20th anniversary this year, it and enhancing the divisio part of that, Jackson, a resident of has been appointed its leader.

Pastor Ira Acree, co-chair of the Leaders Network, said the group chose head its business division because he’s a popular local figure with a also because he’ll draw in younger people.

“This is a huge deal to bring in one of the movers and shakers of our day and time, a powerful, influential millennial leader. That’s what we need as we continue to try to bridge the generational gap,” Acree told Austin Weekly News. “It helps to have an institution supporting him. It expands opportunities, not only for him, but for this initiative to be that much more impactful.”

AU

STIN WEEKLY news

Acree said the organization is doing this now, partially for its 20th anniversary and because its members aren’t getting any younger.

“I’m really excited to use this platform to get people involved, because I was told, ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,’” Jackson said. “We want to make sure that business owners are at the table and that there isn’t one person or one organization making all of the decisions for an entire group of people.”

The Leaders Network previously named a business of the month and had members who were business leaders and often shared information and resources. Now, the organization is putting more focus on bringing businesses to its forefront by providing knowledge and resources for local entrepreneurs, advocating for their access to capital and contracts, plus creating a network of business owners.

“This being our 20th year in business, bringing this millennial leader is going to widen and expand our tent,” Acree said. “It exhibits a hybrid de gree of inclusivity – this is not just some middle-aged organization.”

The business division was also restructured because of the current federal administration.

“We’ve got to present options and opportunities for people to support and to collaborate,” Acree said. “While we may do a great service to resist this authoritarian leadership that’s coming from Washington, we also have more effect and could have potentially more impact on our local politics, by trying to encourage, promote,

inspire and develop leaders around us.”

Rev. Marshall Hatch, co-chair of the Leaders Network, said Jackson is a good fit given the state of national politics.

“Marseil Jackson is one of the brightest young lights in our community,” Hatch said in a statement. “His leadership demonstrates that our social justice work is being embraced by a new generation. In spite of the chilling civil rights rollbacks in our current political climate, our community will not go back.”

Meet Marseil “Action” Jackson

Jackson, 36, is an Austin resident, wellknown radio personality and entrepreneur.

For the last decade, he’s been the co-host and co-executive producer of The Brunch Bunch, a radio show on Inspiration 1390

Interim Executive Direc tor Max Reinsdorf ter Jessica Mordacq

ntributing Editor Donna Greene

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oordinator Brooke Duncan

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tising Associate Ben Stumpe

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elopment Manager ry Ellen Nelligan

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Marseil “Action” Jackson

CTA boosts Blue Line frequency and speed to Forest Park

Thir

ty extra train trips will be added to weekday ser on the Blue Line to Park starting April 20

By MACK LIEDERMAN Block Club Chicago

The CTA will run a new train schedule starting April 20 that plans Line trips and faster frequency from the Forest Park ter minus, part evenings.

The Blue Line schedule will include 30 extra trips on weekdays, 17 more trips Saturdays and two new trips Sund

That should shrink wait times Line Forest Park trains from 15 minutes to seven and a half minutes for p.m.-midnight weekdays and 9 night Saturdays, according to the CTA.

The Blue Line currently schedules 410 daily weekday trips, 366 Saturday trips and 318 Sunday trips, according to a train tracker maintained by Brandon den, a cybersecurity analyst and member of transit advocacy group Commuters

Take Action.

The Blue Line averaged 282 daily train trips last week, fulfilling about 72 percent of its scheduled service, according to McFadden’s tracker.

After an “agg ressive training schedule” to onboard more rail operators, the

CTA will schedule two extra train trips on weekdays for the Blue Line to O’Hare Airport, six extra trips Saturdays and five extra trips Sundays, according to an agency news release.

The CTA has a seasonal process called the “pick” where rail operators choose shifts based on seniority, adding train runs to the pool of picks as more operators join the agency.

The agency scheduled pre-pandemic levels of train service for the first time in this fall’s pick after years of struggling with a depleted workforce and complaints about untimely trains. Transit experts and CTA workers have warned service won’t run as well as scheduled when people call out of work or problems arise on trains, platfor ms or tracks.

The CTA had 825 rail operations employees in February, a slight decrease from the prior three months, compared to 880 before the pandemic, according to the latest agency data.

A new addition from page 3

AM that airs weekdays from noon to 1 p.m. The show covers topics of community, business and faith.

On his radio show and beyond, Jackson is an activist for economic development, af fordable housing and access to af fordable and quality healthcare. Jackson is also an entrepreneur, leading the marketing company Dream Team Enterprises. And he recently submitted a building permit to start construction on Dream Center Studios, a podcast studio, art gallery and wellness cafe.

In 2021, Jackson opened the Dream Center at 5927 W. Chicago Ave. in Austin as a co-working space. He said he bought the building and was awarded a grant from the City of Chicago to rehab it. The Dream Center provides office space, as well as business support and services for marketing, social media, workshops and consulting.

“I was told that Austin didn’t need a co-working space, the community wasn’t ready for that,” Jackson told Austin Weekly News. “And it has been a very successful business since its inception.”

Jackson said he’ll use these previous experiences as head of the Leaders Network’s business division to galvanize local entrepreneurs and expand the group’s business efforts.

As director of the business division, Jackson’s priorities include creating a directory of businesses and launching quarterly business luncheons. He also plans to work with legislators to create policies and advocate for state and federal funding that helps Austin businesses, especially those in emerging business districts on Madison Street and Chicago Avenue.

“As small business owners, one of the biggest hurdles is overhead costs,” Jackson said. “I want to make sure that there’s funding directed to these districts to entice business owners to open.”

“We want to build business corridors where the community can come out, shop together, eat together, congregate together,” Jackson added.

An Austin Weekly News partner

GCM FILE PHOTO

e Forest Park Blue Line CTA station

Loretto launches Women’s Wellness Center

The hospital hosted a grand opening of the center, which will o er gynecological care to the West Side

State Senator Kimberly Lightford, State Representative Camille Lilly , Nicole Har vey of Congressman Danny Dav is o ce, hospital CEO Tesa Anewishki and event host Darlene Hill at Loretto Hospital’s Lead.Her.Ship event on March 22.

After a soft launch in January, Loretto Hospital held a grand opening for its new Women’s Wellness Center on March 22.

The center will offer gynecologic care, as well as address conditions like endometriosis, ovarian cysts, pelvic pain and polycystic ovary syndrome.

The wellness center is an ef fort by Loretto to address disparities in healthcare

on the West Side.

“We believe that access and investment are the antidote to communities in crisis,” Loretto Hospital President and CEO Tesa Anewishki said in a statement. “When women are well, it directly impacts the entire household, and communities thrive.”

— Jessica Mordacq

Attendees tour the hospital’s new Women’s Wellness Center.

Exam room at the new center.

Lead OB/Gy n Surgeon Dr. Pierre Johnson

PHOTO S BY TODD BANNOR

BANKS

Defeating the desert

from page 1

Federal Credit Union. These institutions contribute to Oak Park having about three times more banks than Austin, for just over 50,000 Oak Park residents.

“Austin is ve ry underbanked,” A thena Wi lliams, executive director of the Oak Pa rk Re gional Housing C enter, told Austin Weekly News. Wi lliams was bo rn and raised on the West Side and initially pa of the L eaders N etwork c ommittee to ge the Great Lakes Credit Union to c ome to Austin.

“Not just Austin, but West Garfield, North Lawndale – they’re all financial deserts,” Collins said.

That’s because, for better the better part of 50 years, Austin has been actively disinvested from by many sectors, including banks. Also, while Austin is one of the largest Chicago neighborhoods, it is not as densely populated as others.

But more banking options are on the horizon.

Darnell Shields and Athena Williams talk about the redevelopment of the Laramie State Bank building during an Austin community tour for the MacArthur Foundation.

Forty Acres Fresh Market, expected to open this year, plans to include a PNC Bank branch. BMO Bank plans to be a tenant in the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation, which will have its grand opening later this year

And the Oak Park Regional Housing Cen-

here since we opened in 2015!

ter has had several banks submit letters of intent, wanting to move into the development at the old Laramie State Bank. Construction to develop the lot’s apartment buildings is underway and expected to wrap next February. The original bank building, which will include office and retail space,

is expected to open after the apartments do and will include a financial institution.

Doubling Austin’s banking options within the next year is something that the community has been working toward for a long time.

“The future now looks brighter than it has looked in the last 10 years,” Collins said.

“Banks are starting to show an interest in being located on the West Side,” said Darnell Shields, executive director of nonprofit Austin Coming Together and board member of Growing Community Media, the parent company of Austin Weekly News. “In the last, I would say five years, we’ve seen more banks have a greater presence in the community of Austin.”

Shields said he recently heard from people at Wintrust that the bank is interested in having a presence on the West Side, and he said that JP Morgan Chase may be interested as well. He largely chalks that up to work that’s been done in the community to attract developers and those who want to invest in the West Side

“Having a lot of economic activity and economic growth will help convince banks that they ought to be located in the Austin community,” said Ed Coleman, for mer CEO of Bethel New Life and West Side Forward, who

Daddy’s feeds my soul, too

Since 2015, I have been the proud owner of Chef Daddy’s, a soul food/BBQ restaurant in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. What began as a shared vision with my former fiancé has now become a testament to my resilience, dedication, and entrepreneurial spirit. Over the years, Chef Daddy’s has become more than just a place to eat -- it’s a community staple where people gather for comforting, home-cooked meals made with love.

At Chef Daddy’s, we take pride in serving freshly cooked, nutritious meals that nourish both the body and soul. Our menu features wholesome favorites like oxtails, pot roast, rib tips, turkey with dressing and baked pork chops. For our sides we serve fresh picked collard and cabbage mixed greens and candied yams. We are also known for our fresh bean selection, including great northern

beans, speckled butter beans/crowder peas with okra, and black-eyed peas. Our dedication to quality and flavor recently won first place in the Best of the West Mac & Cheese cook-off competing with other local soul food restaurants here in Austin.

Taking over full-time in 2022 came with its challenges, as I transitioned from a 15-year nursing career with the Department of Veterans Affairs to the demanding world of restaurant ownership. Despite financial and leadership hurdles, I’m committed to my mission: keep Chef Daddy’s thriving for another decade and beyond.

Chef Daddy’s is more than a business to me; it’s a symbol of perseverance, love, and community. As I continue this journey, I look forward to honoring the legacy of soul food while evolving into the leader I was always meant to be.

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was recently named executive director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce

As with any business, Coleman added, it’s necessary to show banks that there’s a market in Austin, “that there are people and businesses with the resources that will make it worth their while to open up a facility.”

What

does a community lose in a nancial desert?

“The greatest source of wealth is basically access to capital,” Collins said. And without enough banks and credit unions, Austin residents don’t have access to that capital.

Collins added that, if people don’t have a place to save and borrow money, or have a debit or credit card, it’s difficult to buy a home or get a car loan.

Because of Austin’s lack of financial institutions, residents who use banks and credit unions often go to neighboring communities, saving and spending their money elsewhere.

“When people go to the bank, they’re going to naturally spend their money near where they’re banking,” Williams said. “We have a huge situation where a lot of the residual income from Austin goes to Oak Park.”

Aside from keeping money within the community, having more banks in Austin would increase equitable access to financial institutions on the West Side.

“You shouldn’t have to have a car and drive some place that is maybe unfamiliar to you and where you don’t feel welcome,” Collins said. “You want to be able to walk from your apar tment or your home, drive right around the corner and get to know your local banker.”

While Austin has been underbanked for decades, it became especially apparent during the pandemic, according to Coleman.

In 2021, the gover nment launched the Paycheck Protection Program to give federal grants to businesses that were struggling after Covid-19. Coleman said he saw many large banks that administered PPP loans weren’t very receptive to engaging with local business owners, preferring to support their existing clients or larger ones

Coleman said that could partially be because some smaller local businesses aren’t operating with all the necessary documents – something he saw often at Bethel New Life and West Side Forward.

“They need to have records and paperwork and all the things that these institutions are requesting,” Coleman said. He

added that, as a part of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, he plans to work with these businesses so they have the necessary documents to apply for future grants. And that local financial institutions will be necessary if there’s another widespread sickness like Covid-19.

“If anything like a pandemic were to hit, having community banks available to support businesses in particular is a great thing to have,” Coleman said.

How to get more nancial institutions in Austin

Though there’s a handful of banks that plan to have an Austin presence within the next year, local shareholders say they must continue partnering and having conversations with financial institutions if they want more of them in their communities

“We can’t just sit back and hope some bank will say, ‘I think I’ll go to Austin,’ or ‘I think I’ll go to Garfield,’ or ‘I think I’ll go to Lawndale,’” Collins said.

Instead, organizations and shareholders need to come together to get these institutions to the West Side. It’s what Austin is currently seeing as the Leaders Network partnered with the Great Lakes Credit Union, and with the three banks moving into Austin

within the next year

“We’re saying, ‘We’re here. This matters to us. Let me show you the value of coming to bring these services,’” Collins said.

“I think what would really help some of the bank partners become even more intentional about investing in communities is being able to understand where the opportunities are for their shareholders and their services that they provide,” Shields said. He added that they can learn about where there is land or vacant building space by talking with those in the community.

But there’s also an onus on Austin residents to g et more banks in their neighborhood.

“We have to make sure we use the banks, and we have to make sure that we support the banks to keep them in our communities,” Williams said.

Collins said parents can help with this effort by starting their children out with student accounts, teaching them how to manage money and access capital at a young age.

Williams said that’s what her parents did when she was young, and her father took her with him to go to the bank.

“When he went to the bank, the whole family went to the bank,” Williams said. “A family that banks together, grows wealth together.”

Happy Apple needs a new baker backer

After 8 years, founder is retiring and looking for a successor

By RISE SANDERS-WEIR Oak Park Eats Reporter

There’s a cheerful sign on the sidewalk outside of the Happy Apple Pie Shop, 226 Harrison St. in Oak Park. It reads, “Pie Today!” The question for owner Michelle Mascaro is whether there will be pie tomorrow. As she contemplates retiring, Mascaro is searching for a new owner to keep the dough rolling Mascaro opened the shop eight years ago. Her goal was not only delicious pie, but also a welcoming work environment for people with and without developmental and intellectual disabilities.

“We decided to start it because my oldest child, my daughter, has an intellectual disability and severe anxiety disorder,” Mascaro said. “Everybody has to learn how to have a job.”

At age 22 young people with disabilities age out of state-sponsored learning programs. Employment is the next challenge.

“We thought we’d start something she and her friends like to do. Like everyone, they like to make food,” she said.

Happy Apple’s opening was right before Thanksgiving. A perfect time for pie. The pastries were a hit from the very beginning

Each day a variety of both sweet and savory pies are available for purchase by the slice or whole pie. Advance orders are accepted and appreciated. And catering orders are a big part of the business too

Apple pie is always on the menu, but recent flavors have included chocolate chess and, for St. Patrick’s Day, chocolate Guinness. Fruit pies follow peak harvesting seasons, so no peach pie in the winter. Savory flavors can be seasonal too, like the recent corned beef pot pie. Chicken pot pie is always on the menu or customers get grumpy, according to Mascaro.

“We built a wonderful community. I call it the pie community. We have some re gular people that come from Hyde Park, come from out in the western suburbs, up in the northern suburbs, and it’s just always nice to get to see them again and welcome people,” she said.

Her workforce is dedicated too.

“I like to think of people with abilities who work here, because that’s really how we focus

on what’s the ability,” Mascaro said. “I have staff who say, this is the job I want for the rest of my life.”

Prep work is done during the day. Most employees work a two- or four-hour shift, depending on what is best for them. Pies are baked in the evenings. Like a lot of foods, pie is better when it’s had some time to set up for sale the next day.

Funnily enough, her daughter doesn’t work at the shop.

“Her attitude is -- you’re my mother and I don’t want to work with you,” Mascaro said. “That’s actually pretty ordinary, right? She works at the Park District of Oak Park.”

That understanding is a hallmark of everything Mascaro does. Lead with kindness is a mission.

The reason for Mascaro’s retirement is doctor’s orders. It’s a good time to break from days and nights crafting pies and focus on other, less strenuous ideas that she has

“I’m beyond retirement. I want to make sure that whoever takes this over has the capacity and the understanding to do this. And I think there are many creative ways to do it,” she said. “I want it to be that we started something that has a life and continues. That something was begun here, a network of kindness, community and good pie.”

Interested in a slice or the whole happ yapplepie.co

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

Happy Apple’s original re cipe apple pie

PINK HATS

home Sisters House last fall, general contractor Pink Hats Construction & Development Group Inc. is hiring women contractors and workers to use sustainable materials in rehabbing the recovery house. Opening this summer, the 16,000-squarefoot, 30-room Phoenix Recovery House is constructed for women, by women – who often don’t get the same chances as men do for construction jobs.

Though the project’s electrician and HVAC installer are men, an all-woman carpenter crew helped build out the Austin re covery center, and women poured the concrete in the building’s basement. A woman also did the recovery home’s plumbing.

“They said they never probably would have gotten an opportunity,” said Traci Quinn, founder and CEO of Pink Hats Construction & Development Group Inc., of the gratitude she heard from the contractors she hired. “And some that have been in pprenticeshi p ograms, they’r erlooked because they hire the men.”

Quinn added that Ald. Emma Mitts rred the building to the woman who bought it.

“It’s been womhole entire time, which is aweI’m able to insulate and provide a safe, livable space for these women that will be in recovery and their children.”

The new home will house women who are recovering from substance abuse and their children. Quinn said individuals will likely stay anywhere from six months to a year, “depending on what the judge may issue or what the social worker may suggest, or the doctor may recommend or even what they desire.”

Origins of Pink Hats’ mission

Quinn started Pink Hats in 2021 after she was released from a three-year prison sentence for a marijuana-related charge. A re gistered nurse by trade, when Quinn got out of prison in 2020, she started work-

PROVIDED

Workers will install hemp insulation, pictured here with Traci Q uinn at K-Tow n Business Centre in North Lawndale. e center was developed by the Will Group, which used to have its manufacturing headquar ters in Austin.

ing construction jobs for her father, who is from the West Side and owns several properties in the area.

“I got a lot of experience working on their homes and their properties throughout the West Side,” Quinn said.

Quinn said it was her time in prison, and the presence of God that she felt, that led her to learning about inequalities in the justice system and discovering the power of uplifting women.

“I never would have empathized or even thought about those who are locked up in prison,” Quinn said. There are so many talented women in there.”

Now, Quinn provides second-chance employment opportunities for those reentering the workforce after serving time

“My goal is to be able to work with returning citizens, the youth exiting foster care,” Quinn said, “creating luxurious transitional homes for women coming out [of prison], and a progr am where they can get into the trades, as well as help develop and eventually purchase their own

assets, their own land or home that we are developing.”

She said she wouldn’t take back any of her prison time, knowing that it was all part of the bigger picture.

“I don’t re gret a day that I was locked up, because I see what [God’s] doing, and it’s not just about me,” Quinn said. “It’s about his children and developing underserved communities.”

And her role in it all comes full circle, as she went to prison because of cannabis and is now using hemp, the fiber of a cannabis plant, as a sustainable insulation material in construction. The Pheonix Recovery House will be lined with insulation made from hemp.

“I think we will be the first in the city of Chicago to insulate a full building with hemp,” Quinn said.

Hemp is a non-toxic alternative to insulation materials like asbestos or fiberglass, which have irritants and can cause ne gative health effects. Unlike other insulations, this hemp insulation is carbon

ne gative, meaning it removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits. Hemp insulation also enhances indoor air quality and is better at insulating heat and absorbing acoustics than other materials.

In 2023, Quinn helped host a workshop that taught area architects how to start adding hemp insulation into their designs and contractors how to install the material.

Pink Hats continues spreading its mission of sustainability and empowerment for women and the for merly incarcerated around Chicago and beyond. Quinn said her construction group is working on the CTA Red Line extension and in south suburban Harvey, where they are remodeling about 100 homes for the Harvey Housing Initiative. They completed several residential projects on the West Side before working on the Pheonix Recovery House .

“I’m just excited for this journey to be a blessing,” Quinn said, “not only to our community, but to also create generational wealth and give second chances to those that would normally be turned away.”

TRACI QUINN

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:

CONTRACT 19-375-3P CHEMICAL ADDITION BACKUP SYSTEM, KWRP

Estimated Cost: Between

$5,130,000.00 and $6,210,000.00

Bid Deposit: $250,000.00

Voluntary Pre-Bid Walk-Through will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Chicago Time at the Kirie Water Reclamation Plant, 701 West Oakton Street, Des Plaines, IL 60018.

Voluntary Technical Pre Bid Conference: Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 10:00 am Chicago Time via ZOOM Link.

Compliance with the District’s Affirmative Action Ordinance Revised Appendix D, Appendix V, Appendix K, and the Multi Project LaborAgreement are required on this Contract.

Any contract or contracts awarded under this invitation for bids are expected to be funded in part by a loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). Neither the State of Illinois nor any of its departments, agencies, or employees is or will be a party to this invitation for bids or any resulting contract. The procurement will be subject to regulations contained in the Procedures for Issuing Loans from the Water Pollution Control Loan Program (35 IAC Part 365), the Davis-Bacon Act (40 USC 276a through 276a-5) as defined by the United States Department of Labor, the Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act (30 ILCS 570), Illinois Works Jobs Program Act (30 ILCS 559/20-1), and the federal “Build America, Buy America Act” requirements contained in the Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-58. This procurement is also subject to the loan recipient’s policy regarding the increased use of disadvantaged business enterprises. The loan recipient’s policy requires all bidders to undertake specified affirmative efforts at least sixteen (16) days prior to bid opening. The policy is contained in the specifications. Bidders are also required to comply with the President’s Executive Order No. 11246, as amended. The requirements for bidders and contractors under this order are explained in 41 CFR 60-4. Bid Opening: April 29, 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.

PUBLIC NOTICES

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 District of Greater Chicago

By Darlene A. LoCascio Director of Procurement and Materials Management

Published in Austin Weekly News March 26, 2025

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

e Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. is newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTCHANCERY DIVISION

U.S. Bank Trust National Association, as Trustee of the Igloo Series IV Trust Plaintiff vs. Bertha Porter; Andrew McDaniel; Unknown Owners and Nonrecord Claimants Defendant 24 CH 2091 CALENDAR 57 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 April 23, 2025, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-09-411-013-0000. Commonly known as 201 North Lamon Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60644.

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.

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 to verify all information.

For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Sottile & Barile, LLC, 7530 Lucerne Drive, Suite 210, Middleburg Heights, Ohio 44130. (440) 5721511. ILF2402009 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3262520

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTCHANCERY DIVISION CAG NATIONAL FUND IV LLC Plaintiff, -v.-

BESSIE EARLY, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF MELINDA J. SMITH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MICHAEL SMITH, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, WILLIAM P. BUTCHER, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR MELINDA J. SMITH (DECEASED) Defendants

2024 CH 07803 128 S PARKSIDE AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60644 NOTICE OF SALE

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 7, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on April 11, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:

Commonly known as 128 S PARKSIDE AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60644

Property Index No. 16-17-204-0360000

The real estate is improved with a residence.

Sale terms: 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. Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.

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 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) 236-SALE

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. 14-24-02617

Attorney ARDC No. 00468002

Attorney Code. 21762

Case Number: 2024 CH 07803

TJSC#: 45-104

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 # 2024 CH 07803 I3262183