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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 31 No.35
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August 30, 2017
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Arlene Jones on choices,
austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
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The ttruthful thf l cartoon, page 3
Austin nonprofit looking to go into housing
Westside Health Authority was granted a special use permit for a transitional housing facility it plans to open By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
The Westside Housing Authority moved a step closer to offering transitional housing services for ex-offenders at a facility it owns in Austin at 5422 W. Division St. The Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals voted on Aug. 18 to approve a special use permit that allows the nonprofit to operate a residential component at the facility, where the nonprofit had already been providing a number of support services for ex-offenders. Services for ex-offenders who are re-entering society are a major part of WHA’s work. According to its website, the organization helps them find jobs by providing job training, offering GED preparation courses and assisting them with job placement. WHA also offers anger management and conflict resolution courses, provides health screenings, sets up voicemail boxes for ex-offenders to use, See WESTSIDE HEALTH on page 8
Something to shout about
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Attendees sing and dance to live music on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, during Ald. Jason Ervin’s Summer Festival at Marshall High School Campus Park in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Story and photo, page 4.
West Side residents invited to join city’s largest choir
Illinois Humanities gears up for a massive Oct. 1 performance by Chicagoans from all 50 wards By XUEER ZHANG AustinTalks
Dozens of West Side poets, singers and residents will come together next month to rehearse for a 1,000-person performance that they and Chicagoans from all 50 wards will participate in Oct. 1. The rehearsals are being organized with the help of Illinois Humanities as
part of the Year of Public Art’s 50*50 Neighborhood Arts Project initiative. Community groups from each of the 50 wards will invite artists and residents to represent their communities during the 45-minute performance of “Crowd Out,” a musical piece written for more than 1,000 non-professional performers by Pulitzer-winning composer David Lang. “This will be the U.S premiere of
‘Crowd Out,’” said Paul Durica, director of programs at Illinois Humanities, adding Chicago will be the third place where the piece has been performed, following concerts in England and Germany. The 1,000-voice piece, which combines music with spoken, whispered and shouted words, sprang from Lang’s
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com
See CHOIR on page 10