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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■ Austin Pantry closes, PAGE 6
Vol. 32 No. 44
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October 31, 2018
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austinweeklynews.com
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Meet Erin Bender, d page 5
5 things we know about West Side economics, life
Chicago Ideas Week hosts conversation on ‘death gap’ By AYINE JEAN-BAPTISTE City Bureau
On Oct. 15 Chicago Ideas Week hosted a conversation on what is called the “death gap,” a 16-year divergence in life expectancy for Chicagoans living in the Loop compared to those living on the city’s West Side, assessed in a 2015 Virginia Commonwealth study. West Side United is a public-private collaborative anchored by 23 health institutions and community partners with a stated goal of shrinking this gap 50 percent by the year 2030. Here is what we know so far.
1. Average life expectancy on the West Side mirrors the national average in the 1950s. David Ansell, senior vice president for community health equity at Rush University Medical Center, likened the CTA to a time machine: “seven stops, seven decades.” “We need to make equity a strategy at Rush, equity meaning that these gaps See DEATH GAP on page 11
SARAH CONWAY/City Bureau
PUSH BACK: Members of the D20 Army Community Battle Group, an anti-gentrification group in Garfield Park, during a meeting on the Garfield Park Eco Orchard on Oct. 22.
6 things to know about the Eco Orchard The $1M Garfield Park development has garnered support and pushback
By SARAH CONWAY City Bureau
Garfield Park Community Council, the City of Chicago and community stakeholders held a meeting on Oct. 22 at Marshall High School to review two design concepts for a proposed eco orchard and hear recommendations from a panel of experts. The $1 million city-funded project, organized by the Garfield Park Community Council, plans to inject a variety of fresh produce, like fruit and nuts, into the area.
Around 50 individuals attended the community meeting to get more information about the project and to discuss how the orchard can benefit neighborhood residents, and what sort of features they would like to see incorporated into the project. The audience was a mix of Garfield Park residents, urban gardeners, project supporters and Garfield Park Community Council staff. The meeting was the last of three community planning meetings. This fall, City Bureau reporters will follow development projects such as the eco
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orchard in Garfield Park. Here is what we know so far about this project. ■ The eco orchard is five years in the making and is funded by the city. The idea for the orchard grew out of feedback from neighborhood residents who want fruit at Garfield Park Farmers Market, according to Garfield Park Community Council president Mike Tomas. “A light bulb went off in our head several
See EC) ORCHARD on page 4
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