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Vol. 34 No. 53
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Details on page 2
West Side clergy blast Franklin Graham,
December 30, 2020
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austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
@AustinWeeklyChi
PAGE 6
@AustinWeeklyNews
West Side pols on the vaccine, PAGE 5
Police want more time to give detained phone call
Police and Mayor Lightfoot’s office rejected plan to require police give detainees a phone call within an hour, but aldermen want accountability By JUSTIN LAURENCE & PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago
Aldermen and police officials locked heads Monday during a debate over an ordinance that would require police ensure detained people can make a call within an hour of being arrested. The measure would require the Police Department to provide detained people with a phone call one hour after arriving at a police station. Although the ordinance allows for exceptions in extraordinary circumstances, police officers would have to document the reason for delay. At the request of Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th), the Committee on Public Safety held a hearing on the ordinance Monday without taking a vote on the proposal. Hairston remains at odds with Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the ordinance, as Lightfoot is proposing an alternative that critics say waters down the effort. Lightfoot’s administration argues Hairston’s proposal would leave the city vulnerable to lawsuits for failing to adhere to the new, stricter standard. But supporters of the proposal say asking police to document why a phone call was delayed is not an outrageous request. Details of Lightfoot’s alternative proposal See POLICE PHONE CALL on page 8
THE YEAR IN PHOTOS: 2020
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
LOTS OF MARCHES AND MASKS: This year was marked by a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and historic protests, including one from Oak Park to Austin over the summer. See more of the year in photos on pages 6 and 7.
Legler library quietly reopens
The West Side’s new regional library open now, but with COVID restrictions By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
After more than a year of renovations, West Garfield Park’s Legler Regional Library, 115 S. Pulaski Rd., reopened on Dec. 21, without much fanfare. The renovations were meant to make the West Garfield library a full-fledged
West Side regional hub, similar to the North Side’s Sulzer Regional Library and the South Side’s Woodson Regional Library. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the library’s new amenities – such as the new Maker Lab, most YOUmedia teen services equipment and the new auditorium - will be unavailable to the public until the pandemic subsides.
Still, the Chicago Public Library system ultimately decided that opening Legler, even at limited capacity, would benefit the community. Patrons can check out books and other materials and use library computers, and the library staff plans to hold virtual events starting next year. See LEGLER LIBRARY on page 3