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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 31 No. 21
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May 24, 2017
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Alderman honors vets,
austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
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Ri h d B Richard Boykin ki letter, page 6
Davis could face primary challenge in 2018 Anthony Clark, an Oak Park teacher, announced his plans to run for Congress last week By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Congressman Danny K. Davis (7th) could face a young primary challenger in the 2018 midterm elections. Anthony Clark, an Oak Park, high school teacher and founder of the advocacy group Suburban Unity Alliance announced in a May 17 Facebook post that he’s running for Congress. Reached by phone, Clark, 34, told Wednesday Journal that he was encouraged to run by several people in the community who connected him with an organization called Brand New Congress, which aims to fix a “broken” Congress, according to its website. “Both major parties have chosen big donors over the American people,” the Brand New Congress website states. “We are going to recruit and run hundreds of outstanding candidates in a single, national campaign for Congress in 2018. Together, they will pass a practical plan to significantly increase wages, remove corruption, and protect the rights of all Americans.” Clark said in a telephone interview that he has dedicated his life to giving back to the community, but he felt not enough was being done to address systemic issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny. “I thought, ‘I have to do more,’” he said. Clark has a profile on the Brand New ConSee DAVIS VS. CLARK on page 8
WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer
The world is their stage
Members of the Collective, a performing arts ensemble, delight audiences at the Garfield Park Conservatory on May 16. The performance was part of the Chicago Home Theater Festival’s annual city-wide series of artist projects.
Austin, Oak Park residents talk race, poverty The conversation was part of the Chicago Community Trust’s On the Table event By XUEER ZHANG AustinTalks
More than 150 people from Austin, Oak Park and across Chicago gathered on May 16 at Columbus Park Refectory, 5701 W
Jackson Blvd., to exchange ideas about racial integration and discussing the challenges faced by the two communities separated by Austin Boulevard. This is the third year The Chicago Community Trust has organized the On the Table event in which about 5,800 “tables” participated throughout the Chicago area. Sixteen of those were at Austin’s Columbus Park Refectory. Community advocates and residents voiced their concerns over the longstanding inequity and exclusion on Chicago’s
West Side, asking some hard-hitting questions that many avoid in their daily lives. “You can see how we end up having a huge division of resources,” said Rob Breymaier, the event co-organizer who spoke at the start of the dinner, referencing the long-existing segregation and its consequences on the area. “Right now, we look at our two communities and we can see we have one community with thriving schools and the other
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com
See ON THE TABLE on page 5