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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 31 No. 34
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August 23, 2017
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Arlene Jones on the sugary drink tax,
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Westside Music Festival a year in the making Ald. Michael Scott, who came up with the idea, explained his organizing process By LEE EDWARDS Contributing Reporter
The 2017 Chicago Westside Music Festival, held in Douglas Park over the weekend, was a success, said organizers of the annual event. That’s largely due to yearlong planning efforts, they indicated. Since the inaugural WSMF, the annual music festival has drawn crowds in the thousands to see some of the biggest names in R&B and hip-hop. Headliners have included acts like Bell Biv DeVoe, MC Lyte, Slick Rick, Syleena Johnson and Musiq Soulchild, among others. This year was no different, as Lil Mo, Vivian Green and Dru Hill thrilled attendees. And yet, as soon as the curtain closed on this year’s fest, the work to produce next year’s WSMF was already underway. Ald. Michael Scott, Jr. (24th Ward), who has been one of the primary organizers of the WSMF dating back to his tenure working with the Chicago Park District, called the WSMF his “brain child.” He said that he wanted to make the annual event a “cultural See MUSIC FESTIVAL on page 10
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
AUSTIN CHURCH, COMMUNITY LEADERS REACT TO MURDERS: Elected officials, community leaders and everyday residents gather at a press conference last Monday outside of Friendship Baptist Church in Austin after two men were gunned down while walking into the church last Sunday.
City’s violence hits church house steps
Murder of men outside of Friendship Baptist Church on a Sunday shocks community members By IGOR STUDENKOV & XUEER ZHANG Contributing Reporter & AustinTalks
Members of Friendship Baptist Church, 5200 Jackson Blvd., are grieving the loss of one of their own. Emanuel
Fleming, 32, was an usher at the church. While Fleming was entering the house of worship on Sunday, Aug. 13, with his children, a group of men approached them and started shooting. Michael Swift, 46, was entering the church when he found himself in the line of fire. Both men were taken to Stroger and Mt. Sinai hospitals, respectively, where they were pronounced dead shortly after the shooting. Chicago Police Department Detective Division Commander Kevin Duffin said that the shooters were most likely targeting Fleming.
During a Monday morning press conference, Austin faith leaders, community activists and elected officials joined Friendship Baptist Church pastor Rev. Reginald Bachus on the steps where the men were gunned down a day before and strongly denounced the violence. After the conference, community leaders met in private to discuss strategies for dealing with the fallout of the shootings. And later that day, there was a prayer walk through the area where the shootings took
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See CHURCH SHOOTING on page 4