AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/author/zach-cunning/page/4/)
Residents of the 29th Ward have until Jan. 29th to vote on how $1 million in menu money will be spent. In addition to street repairs and surfacing, the money will be allocated for community projects. Residents will be able to choose up to five of seven projects, which include public art, community gardens, speed bumps and a fitness course at Austin Town Hall.
Residents of the 29th Ward will soon have the opportunity to vote on how to spend about $1 million in their community. The goal is for residents to be able to vote on several possible projects before the end of January.
Four years after her son’s murder, Sharita Galloway is still fighting for Chicago Police to solve his case. She said the person CPD identified as her son’s killer didn’t commit the crime, but detectives won’t listen to her. Victim advocates say it’s a problem for more than just Elijah Sims’ mother that police don’t communicate with family members, and that gives the impression they aren’t interested in solving cases.
The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered in Chicago were given at The Loretto Hospital Tuesday morning. Mayor Lightfoot hailed it as a milestone, but officials caution Chicago isn’t out of the woods yet. Also this week, Loretto announced it will be launching a coronavirus vaccine trial with a focus on minority populations. To learn more, tune in early next month to a virtual town hall the hospital will be holding.
At a community meeting hosted last weekend by state Rep. La Shawn Ford, community members discussed concerns they have about e-learning and the opioid crisis, which is hitting the West Side even harder this year than in 2019.
If two key federal agencies approve the vaccines in coming days, as expected, Chicago would receive its first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine as early as next week and Moderna’s the week after, a local health official told members of the Leaders Network. Members of the group asked what the city is doing to build confidence and trust among the African American community to take the vaccine. Chicago health officials are reaching out to community ambassadors, partners and organizations, incudling churches on the West Side, to help educate residents and encourage them to get vaccinated.
Antonia “Toni” Ruppert, an Austin native, has been selected as the neighborhood’s artist in residence. The new city program, under INVEST South/West, will place artists in four communities throughout the city.
Gov J.B. Pritzker visited L. May Creations, an event space on Chicago Avenue, last week to announce the release of millions of dollars in emergency relief funding. L. May Creations is one of 4,000 businesses across the state that has received a grant. There is about $175 million left to distribute, state officials say.
The Austin branch of the Chicago Public Library will host an anti-racist book club via Zoom on Wednesday, Oct. 28 to discuss Mikki Kendall’s book “Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot.” Meetings in November and December to discuss other anti-racist books have been scheduled.
About 50 people came together last week to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Million Man March and to call for new economic drivers for the Austin community. The Million Man March, which the Washington Post called “the largest civil rights demonstration in U.S. history,” was held in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 1995.