AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/category/news/page/25/)
Demonstrators gathered outside the 29th Ward office earlier this week to call for the passage of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance, which would overhaul police oversight. They want Ald. Chris Taliaferro, who heads the Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee, to put the proposal to a vote.
ComEd’s CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy recently graduated 92 West Side residents, including 10 from Austin. Applications are now being accepted for the next round.
Registrations are still being accepted for Saturday’s Global 6K for Water walk/run organized by World Vision. The 3.7 mile event, being held virtually for a second year because of the pandemic, raises money to provide clean water around the world.
Congressman Danny Davis, along with community partners and the Illinois Department of Corrections, hosted the event last weekend. It’s part of Davis’ larger work on making reentry after incarceration easier for the thousands of Chicagoans who return to the city after getting out of prison.
Pastors Ira Acree, Cy Fields and Marshall Hatch Sr. say Black and Brown communities are once again being harmed; this time, they’re losing out on lucrative state licenses to run cannabis dispensaries. “This is not good, this is not right,” said Acree, pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church.
The new youth-led podcast aims to tell a more accurate narrative about Austin the bigger media outlets miss. West Side residents Tobias Bell, Tamia Crawford and Ziolet Nellum want to help Austin residents share their stories. Listen to “Austin Has the Mic” on Spotify.
Both the two-dose Pfizer and one-dose Johnson & Johnson shots will be offered inside the 40-foot CTA bus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 8 at 5070 W. Adams. Anyone who wants to get vaccinated can walk up that day, and the vaccines are available to all, not just Austin residents. You must be 16 or older, and minors must have a guardian with them to be vaccinated.
Lewis School of Excellence and the Revive Center unveiled new murals Friday at two locations on the West Side. The mural series at Lewis is titled “We Believe” and was designed by students. The Revive Center mural, painted by artist John Vergara, depicts Cesar Chavez, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr.
The PepsiCo Foundation is launching a $40 million scholarship program investing in 4,000 Black and Latinx students throughout the country, including 160 here in Chicago. One scholarship program targets students pursuing degrees in five high-demand areas, while the other scholarship provides support to community college graduates making the transition to a four-year institution.
At this month’s meeting of the 29th Ward residents aired concerns about vaccine appointments and the alderman shared how the Chicago Police Department is preparing for summer violence. Residents also heard an update about a new grocery store that will be opening in the now-closed Salvation Army building in the 5300 block of West Chicago Avenue.