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New businesses coming to Chicago Avenue

By Zach Cunning | 5 hours ago

Austin native Marseil Jackson plans to open an art gallery, wellness lounge and recording studio along a stretch of Chicago Avenue being developed as the Soul City Corridor. He’s purchased a vacant building in the 5800 block of Chicago Avenue to house Soul City Studios, which after renovations he aims to open early next year.

Will you get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Learn more about the importance of getting vaccinated at a virtual town hall sponsored by The Loretto Hospital. Speaking at Wednesday night’s event will be the hospital’s president and CEO, George Miller Jr., and its chief clinical officer, Dr. Nikhila Juvvadi. Tune in at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24.

More local residents can dine in at MacArthur’s, other West Side restaurants

Indoor dining capacity increased this month, which helps MacArthurs, the popular soul food restaurant on West Madison Street. But the increased capacity is far more helpful to other parts of Chicago that have more restaurants. “One of the things we’re fighting right now is the lack of opportunities to sit down in a restaurant” in Austin, said Malcolm Crawford, executive director of the Austin African American Business Networking Association.

Rethinking hospice care

JourneyCare, the city and state’s largest nonprofit offering palliative, supportive and hospice care, wants to empower West Side residents to be proactive in making end-of-life decisions. “Talking about death is difficult,” Deborah McDonald said. “Nobody wants to think about that impending moment. Being well-informed is what it’s all about.”

More Headlines

West Side LSCs still seek members after low turnout
Black Panther leader’s family attends Judas and the Black Messiah screening
Loretto Hospital dispensing hundreds of COVID-19 shots a week

News

  • Local group wants your help in preserving Chicago’s Black history

    The Black Metropolis Research Consortium is conducting a Community Needs and Assets Assessment to determine what Black Chicagoans are interested in preserving. The consortium's purpose is to understand what people already know about their history and what they’re most interested in preserving.

  • Criminal justice forum held Thursday night

  • Austin travel agency featured in university competition

    Naazneen Vhora and Sakshi Sharma have won first place in the University of Illinois at Chicago's Earth’s Remedies’ Community Consulting Competition. The pitch competition, organized by Earth's Remedies and sponsored by Net Impact, gave graduate students real-world experience by connecting them to Crystal Dyer, founder and CEO of the Austin-based travel agency Gone Again Travel.

  • West Side residents help decide how $1 million will be spent in the 29th Ward

    Voting for this cycle of the 29th Ward’s participatory budgeting has ended, and the results are in: Sixty percent of the $1 million will go to street repairs and resurfacing. The rest of the projects to be funded - listed here in order of popularity - are: street safety upgrades, community gardens, a fitness course at the Austin Town Hall, bike lanes, a mural in Columbus Park and public art at Sayre Language Academy.

  • Austin Walmart doling out COVID vaccines, but there’s concern over who’s getting the shots

    In a converted storage space at the back of Austin’s Walmart Supercenter, dozens of people lined up to get their COVID jabs on Tuesday. The storage area had been chosen because it was the largest available space and offered the greatest degree of social distancing, said Sarah Sultan, market health and wellness director.

  • Fred Hampton’s son keeping his father’s legacy alive

    The TRiiBE's TV show "We Real Chicago," which airs at 6 p.m. Feb. 4th, will feature special guest Fred Hampton Jr., the son of the 21-year-old chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party who was killed by Chicago police officers in December 1969.

  • Chicago police official vows to improve relations with community

    The Chicago Police Department wants to improve the long-strained relationship between detectives assigned to solve the city’s deadliest crimes and family members whose loved ones have been killed. “This is something we have to do together,” said Richard Wiser, commander of the Area Four Detective Division, which includes Austin.

  • As Chicago’s vaccination program expands, questions remain for some

    Dozens of people gathered last week on Zoom for the Westside Health Authority's Good Neighbor Campaign monthly meeting, and COVID-19 was on the minds of many. Westside Health Authority CEO Morris Reed said they were there, in part, to discuss the misinformation spreading about the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 20,000 people in Illinois.

  • Reparations discussed at Austin church

    Unitarian Universalist leader Carl McCargo says the United States cannot heal without reparations. Speaking earlier this month at Third Unitarian Church of Chicago, McCargo talked about the tragic legacy chattel slavery left behind, but he's hopeful the U.S. can heal the inter-generational trauma caused by centuries of an oppressive system.

  • Go for a run in Austin

Recent Updates

  • Applications open for After School Matters spring programs

    Chicago teens can now apply to more than 400 remote programs happening this spring through After School Matters. Safe, equitable and innovative remote learning opportunities are available for about 8,000 young people this spring.

  • City officials seek feedback from residents on future of Laramie State Bank

    At two community roundtables last week, residents expressed concerns about how developers will engage the community, as well as how the proposed projects would benefit Black residents and grow wealth in Austin. The meetings, held Jan.

  • Faith leaders to get COVID-19 vaccine this week

    By Rev. Ira Acree Austin minister Ira Acree, senior pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church, will be joining other faith leaders Wednesday to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • Voting ends this week for 29th Ward participatory budgeting

    West Side residents have until Jan. 29 to vote in this year's participatory budgeting cycle that will determine how the 29th Ward spends $1 million of menu money.

  • Austin’s artist in residence wants to connect with residents

    Austin’s artist in residence, Antonia “Toni” Ruppert, is pushing for more community engagement amid a pandemic. On Tuesday, Jan.

  • MLK Day celebrated with a reminder to stay healthy

    For the 14th year, West Side residents celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday by putting the focus on healthy living. Sponsored by state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford who partnered with Lawndale Christian Health Center, the event paid tribute to Dr. King’s legacy and informed participants on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

  • Two West Side ministers pray for country’s future in nation’s capitol

    WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rev. Ira Acree and Rev. Marshall Hatch were in Washington, D.C., Tuesday to pray for the country’s future and condemn white supremacy. A day before President Donald Trump leaves office, the two West Side ministers kneeled beside ministers from New York City outside the Washington National Cathedral and called  for Americans to advocate for healing and reconciliation.

  • Public input sought about Laramie State Bank building

  • More COVID-19 testing sites open in Austin this week and next

    COVID-19 testing will take place at several churches starting this month, including two in Austin. The testing will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a limited walk-in basis.

  • Events planned to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

    This year's events celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held virtually, starting with an interfaith celebration Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will hold at 10 a.m. Jan. 15.

  • Family members plead for improved prison conditions amid spike in COVID-19 cases

    Ruth Perot's nephew has been in prison 30 years, most recently at Danville Correctional Center. The 55-year-old man, who suffers from high blood pressure, has just one year left in his sentence.

  • Two Austin businesses receive grants

    Two Austin businesses were among 46 in Chicago to receive grants from the Verizon Foundation. Mary Shyrese Home Day Care, 5418 W. Jackson Blvd., and Raze Up Grooming, 520 S. Laramie Ave., both secured small business grants totaling $17,500.

  • Loretto Hospital seeking more people of color for COVID-19 clinical trial

    Health-care providers at Loretto are urging West Side residents to sign up for a COVID-19 clinical trial being held at the Austin hospital. It’s critical for people of color to be represented in these trials so the medical community has a better understanding of how medications and other treatment work in every patient, the experts said.

  • Overdose deaths hit record levels in Cook County in 2020

    The record number of opioid-related deaths in Cook County last year means far more people need to be trained on how to reverse overdoses, says Charles Brown, a member of the West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force. The task force wants to make sure people know how to stop someone from overdosing, including using Narcan, a medication that blocks the effects of opioids.

  • Residents can soon cast their votes in 29th Ward participatory budgeting

    Resident of the 29th Ward will soon have the opportunity to vote on how they’d like $1 million in participatory budget money spent. This is the third time under Ald.

AustinTalks on Twitter

  • We're going to check out these places! https://t.co/UgJAnZFElS53 minutes ago
  • .@MClarkEagles is serving as one of four vaccination sites for @ChiPubSchools https://t.co/wVBpVPlJvR21 hours ago
  • Be sure to stop by and support this Austin restaurant, which opened in 2019. https://t.co/WADKk56XZl2 days ago
  • Ninety-seven Black Cook County residents died by suicide in 2020 — the highest total for a single year in more than… https://t.co/Y5LRSX1FKZ2 days ago
  • Something to check out tonight! https://t.co/E4bYoqYj5i4 days ago
  • The closest warming center to Austin is at 4312 W. North Ave. https://t.co/TIyQ9jFTaP7 days ago
  • Austin is one of the targeted communities. https://t.co/3Z4dBxj8kE7 days ago
  • RT @canderson311: We’ve gotta get vaccinated. It’s quick and easy. https://t.co/WkO71zQkDq7 days ago
  • The Hope Food Pantry - at the corner of Iowa and Mayfield - will be open today (Friday) from noon to 2 p.m.12 days ago
  • The city’s 311 service once ran a program that coordinated volunteers to shovel snow for volunteers, but the progra… https://t.co/8j5PT1yQ3M12 days ago
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The Austin community, home to nearly 100,000 people, is rich in diversity, culture and life. AustinTalks seeks to reflect this richness and provide residents of Chicago's most-populated neighborhood with news and information not available anywhere. Help us make this a meeting place that showcases all Austin has to offer. Share your tips and questions; we'll share your stories.

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