AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/author/melty/page/3/)
West Side business owners, parents and social workers met last week in Oak Park to discuss the potential and challenges facing the school. The conversation was moderated by Reesheda Graham Washington, executive director of Community First Association and owner of the LIVE café, where the meeting was held.
About 150 mourners gathered at Greater St. John Bible Church earlier this week to bid farewell to 15-year-old Antwon Green, who was fatally shot Sept. 4 in North Lawndale.
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate and his running mate, state Rep. Juliana Stratton, opened a field office at 5847 W. Chicago Ave. earlier this month – where they highlighted their campaign priorities for West Side voters.
Another hearing is scheduled for later this fall to discuss the future of the long-vacant Art Deco building at 5200 W. Chicago Ave.
Dozens gathered last week at Scoville Park in Oak Park to celebrate what would have been the 18th birthday of Austin teen Elijah Sims. He was shot to death a day before his 17th birthday.
The Austin landmark’s deteriorating condition will be discussed at 2 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Richard J. Daley Center. Some West Siders hope the building, located at 5200 W. Chicago Ave., will be put back in use for the community.
West Side community leaders, elected officials and relatives who’ve lost loved ones rallied at the Green Line Central station Saturday before marching to Laramie and Jackson, where two men were killed earlier this month on the steps of Friendship Baptist Church.
Tonight’s event will feature dozens of West Side performers, including the Good Neighbor Girls – a new Austin dance group – from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Davis Play Lot, 5437 W. Division St.
Community meetings and rehearsals have been set in the 29th and 37th Wards for the citywide Crowd Out performance at Millennium Park Oct. 1. The program is sponsored and coordinated by Illinois Humanities.
The layoffs will hurt West Side students and the community as a whole, educators and advocates say.