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Austin residents invited to take part in quality-of-life plan

By AustinTalks | 22 hours ago

Over the next several days, Austin Coming Together and LISC Chicago will be holding the last set of community meetings in a year-long process to develop the improvement plan.

News

Local school elections held this week

Parents, teachers and school staff will be able to vote Wednesday at elementary schools and Thursday at high schools. In Austin, there will still be vacancies on 12 of the 17 LCSs, which will be filled before July 1 when all members begin serving.

Opinion

Is our government for or against us?

State Rep. La Shawn Ford urges everyone to make it a priority to fight for justice and change the bad public policies that continue to hurt African Americans in Austin and elsewhere.

gang database

Inspector general seeks transparency in Chicago Police Department’s gang database

City official Joe Ferguson is collecting information from the public as he works on a report about the gang database. Some West Side residents shared their concerns at a meeting last week about how inclusion in the database – said to number more than 100,000 people – could be hurting innocent people as well as those who’ve turned their lives around.

More Headlines

Plato Learning Academy facilities to be consolidated
State reps say they won’t support gun control bill unless amended
Elected officials, health experts put spotlight on opioid crisis

News

  • Longtime Austin resident wants to lead 29th Ward

    A longtime Austin resident and community advocate is running for the 29th Ward aldermanic seat. Dwayne Truss, a 54-year-old auditor for the state of Illinois, announced his candidacy to several dozen residents as they voted in the March 20th primary.

  • Former Austin resident kicks off National Poetry Month with book signing, poetry slam

    Poet Markell L. Mooney held a book signing and impromptu poetry slam Saturday to unveil his newly published Words of Life. Family and friends gathered at the Chicago Public Library's West Chicago Avenue branch, 4856 W. Chicago Ave., to support Mooney, who spent part of his childhood in Austin and goes by "Kell-O-G."

  • Teens share inspiring stories, win scholarships

    They have overcome all sorts of challenges - parents divorcing, a father going to prison, multiple moves, bad grades, trouble paying rent and problems with peers. But that’s not what stood out on a recent Thursday night at the headquarters of BUILD, a nonprofit that works with young people in Austin and other Chicago neighborhoods.

  • Commissioner Richard Boykin concedes to fellow Democrat Brandon Johnson

    The close race for the Cook County Commissioner 1st District seat officially came to an end Monday afternoon when incumbent Richard Boykin called challenger Brandon Johnson to concede. Johnson announced Boykin’s concession in a press release stating the incumbent had called to congratulate him on his victory.

  • Race to be next Cook County commissioner still in flux

    Two days after the Democratic primary, Brandon Johnson declared victory in the race for the Cook County Commissioner 1st District seat. But first-term incumbent Richard Boykin says he's not conceding.

  • Union organizer Brandon Johnson ahead of Cook County Commissioner Boykin

    In one of the most hotly contested local races, union organizer Brandon Johnson appeared to be on the verge of beating Cook County Board Commissioner Richard Boykin. With 224 of 232 precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, Johnson had received 50.4 percent of the vote (23,713 votes) to Boykin's 49.6 percent (23,370 votes).

  • Voting Tuesday? Here’s what you need to know about Cook County’s 1st District race

    On Tuesday, voters will head to the polls to throw their support behind incumbent Richard Boykin or his challenger Brandon Johnson for a seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners representing the West Side. READ: COOK COUNTY’S 1ST DISTRICT RATE PITS CTU ORGANIZER AGAINST BUSINESS-MINDED INCUMBANT Cook County’s 1st District covers much of Chicago’s Austin and West Garfield Park neighborhoods, as well as the suburbs of Oak Park, Forest Park, Maywood, Bellwood and Hillside.

  • Students quiz 7th district Democratic candidates on gun violence

    Just three days before the March 20th primary, the Democrats seeking the 7th District nomination - challenger Anthony Clark and Congressman Danny Davis - discussed gun violence at a forum that included questions from high school students. The two-hour forum held Saturday at the Westside Justice Center, 601 S. California Ave., attracted about 40 people and was moderated by Tom Moss, host of the Chicago podcast Indivisible.  Both candidates had the chance to discuss the pressing topic - one on the minds of students across the country after last month’s shooting in Florida that killed 17 people, most of them teenagers.

  • Austin library branch targets teens

    Dejaune Clark was smiling from ear to ear Monday night after getting a haircut from Josh Kruel for free. “I feel relief.

  • Residents continue to brainstorm plan to improve education

    About a dozen West Side residents, teachers and others concerned about education in Austin gathered Tuesday night to continue work on a five-year improvement plan. Among participants was CPS’s Network 3 Chief, Randel Josserand, who said a vital step for improvement is attracting highly qualified elementary school students to continue their education in Austin rather than attending high school elsewhere.

Recent Updates

  • Be a part of one of the biggest events of 2018

  • Don’t miss family night on Friday

  • Share your thoughts about ‘Gang Girl’

  • Austin clinic helps patients improve housing conditions to live healthier lives

    Patients at PCC Community Wellness Center can get free legal services thanks to a new partnership the Austin health clinic has with the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing (LCBH). Attorney Nathan Nash has been on site at PCC Austin Family Health Center, 5424 W. Lake St., since August and helped nearly 50 patients.

  • Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

       

  • See new footage of the day MLK was killed

  • Free dance classes start Monday at the library

  • The obvious pattern of racism gets ignored

    White kids being killed in a Florida high school get more attention than an unarmed black man being shot 20 times, murdered in his grandmother’s backyard. A black woman gets shot three times and dies stumbling out of a car, yet a white man placing explosives that killed black men is not a terrorist.

  • West Side youth invited to career exploration/resource fair

  • Youth career fair to be held March 24

  • 7th District congressional candidates to discuss gun violence

  • Gov. Rauner signs hospital funding law

    Gov. Rauner signed legislation this week that will redistribute about $3.5 billion in funding to Illinois hospitals, including the largest private employer in Austin. The new funding plan may leave safety-net hospitals such as Loretto Hospital in a difficult position.

  • Family night Thursday at Columbus Park

  • Come hear Austin teens share their stories

  • Free community meal Saturday

AustinTalks on Twitter

  • Join these community partners for a fun-filled Family Night! @westsidehealth @buildchicago and many others!… https://t.co/4WKrfbB0lG4 days ago
  • RT @petersagal: I'll have more to say about Carl on @NPR and of course on this week's episode of @waitwait. Right now, even though we knew…4 days ago
  • RT @AustinWeeklyChi: Owners of the $30M Hatchery are lacking in community outreach, West Siders say. https://t.co/STxC7Z9S9e4 days ago
  • RT @BillRuthhart: Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown, who is under federal investigation, appears to have issued a news release indicating she…4 days ago
  • RT @ChicagoReporter: #HappeningNow: Hundreds of Chicago students pour into Grant Park for today’s #NationalSchoolWalkout against gun violen…4 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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