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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 32 No. 26
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June 27, 2018
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Another bakery rises on Chicago Ave.,
austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
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‘Gang Book’ ‘G B k’ drops, page 4
City to West Side biz owners: change or risk closing Residents complained about loitering, drugdealing outside three area businesses By CONNOR S. CARYNSKI AustinTalks
Alleging that three businesses along the same strip of Madison Street in Austin allow an environment of loitering, drugdealing, gambling and public indecency, local residents met with city officials and business owners last week to create a plan to resolve the issues. Hosted at City Hall by Vera Elue, senior attorney for the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, the community hearing was set after local residents wrote to the city about the problems they have experienced with the businesses throughout the years. John Aranki, owner of Prestige Food and Liquor; Percy Washington, owner of Winners Sports Bar and Grill; and Leatrice Moore, owner of the Laundromat of African American History, all attended the meeting to defend complaints brought against their businesses and to discuss guidelines for improving the quality of their locations. During the hearing, community memSee BUSINESSES on page 6
Juneteenth Still going...
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Fest-goers walk around the area and check out the different stands and food trucks throughout the park last Saturday, during the West Side’s Juneteenth Celebration at Garfield Park.
Healthcare providers describe toll of opioids Opioid overdoses in Cook County have increased by 83% since 2015
By SUZANNE McBRIDE AustinTalks
Bob Urso’s nephew got mixed up with drugs several years ago. “He was a lost soul, in and out of treatment centers,” says Urso, president and CEO of PCC Community Wellness Center. But when Urso’s nephew became a dad, he “really turned his life around.” About to be-
come a father for the second time, he’s still clean, no longer manipulating his parents and grandparents, living a productive life. Christie M. Hahn’s family has also been affected by the opioid crisis. “My cousin sounds like your nephew,” Hahn says. But her cousin’s story turned out very differently: It ended 25 years ago on the streets of Flor-
ida with his death from a heroin overdose, says Hahn, who works for Aetna Better Health and serves on the leadership council of The Kennedy Forum Illinois, a mental health organization. Hahn and Urso shared their stories earlier this month at the PCC Austin Family Health Center, where health providers and others gathered to discuss how the opioid crisis is affecting
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com
them, their employers and the West Side. Angie Kauffmann, clinical program manager at Thrive Counseling Center in Oak Park, says it’s now common to see people addicted to opioids go from one hospital to the next – “hospital hopping,” as opposed to bar hopping – to maintain See OPIODS on page 10