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The Austin Peoples Action Center and Westside Health Authority both hosted events in Austin to celebrate Juneteenth. The Austin Peoples Action Center hosted the "heal the land" rally on Chicago Avenue on Friday with food, free supplies including diapers and milk, and performances by Cheri Soul and the Sax Preacher.
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Dozens of people gathered in the Family Dollar parking lot at 4247 W. Madison St. for a resource giveaway and rally last week.
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Ten graduating high school seniors from Austin were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship recently at the Third Unitarian Church’s annual scholars service. The 46-year tradition, held during services May 31 by Zoom rather than in person in the church sanctuary, continued despite a global pandemic, lost mail and shuttered schools.
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A few hundred protestors gathered Sunday afternoon outside the City of David Church at 5624 W. Division St. then marched down Central Avenue toward the Chicago Police Department’s 15th District headquarters.
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By Michael Romain
At least 1,500 people marched several blocks Thursday from Oak Park's village hall to the 15th District Police headquarters to protest against the systemic racism that many of the participants believe is the root cause of the May 25 death of George Floyd. Floyd died handcuffed while Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes.
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Between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Chicago ran out of police officers. Devin Sims, owner of The Roasted Leaf Cigar and Coffee Cafe, at 5925 W. Chicago Ave., realized that as he listened to the police scanner from his family's backyard and heard a dispatcher say: "We have no more available units in Chicago.”
There's no question in state Rep. La Shawn Ford's mind that police, city officials and residents “lost total control of the situation,” and the result is devastating.
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Chicago Police Schools will resume meal distribution Tuesday at more than 300 school sites - including about a dozen in Austin - after a temporary one-day suspension. No grab-and-go meal sites were open on Monday due to transportation and safety challenges that were anticipated for staff that hand out the meals.
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Twenty-nine Austin community groups will receive more than $100,000 in grants from the Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities program. The Austin organizations are among 164 groups throughout the West and South sides selected to receive a total of $1 million in grants.
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All but four schools in Austin could see an increase in their budget for the next school year, according to a proposed spending plan under consideration by Chicago Public Schools. Out of nearly 20 schools in Austin, four would see drops in funding of up to 10 percent: Brunson Math & Science Specialty School (3.39% decrease), Frederick Douglass Academy High School (9.83% decrease), Spencer Technology Academy (.19% decrease) and Ella Flagg Young Elementary School (4.66% decrease).
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Beginning Monday, The Loretto Hospital will be limiting the number of COVID-19 tests it conducts to about 100 per day and reducing hours of operation to 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who's been pushing for more testing of West Side residents, said Sunday the hospital has to scale back because the state has a backlog in processing results.
