AustinTalks - News and information covering Chicago's Austin neighborhood on the West Side

AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/copa/)

  • Home
  • About
  • Community
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Global Navigation
Subscribe

COPA

Austin

New COPA chief, faith leaders discuss police accountability

By Francia Garcia Hernandez | March 13, 2022

Members of the Leaders Network discussed the challenges and responsibilities of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability with its new chief, Andrea Kersten.

police accountability

Police accountability office urges West Siders to know their rights

By Suzanne McBride | February 9, 2018

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) held a community meeting earlier this week at Hope Community Church; the new city office will be back in Austin Feb. 13 to educate more residents about the work its doing to investigate police misconduct in Chicago.

29th Ward

West Siders question new oversight agency, express concern over police retaliation

By Xueer Zhang | November 3, 2017

During the 29th Ward’s monthly community meeting, residents questioned whether the newly formed Civilian Office of Police Accountability is truly independent, and some expressed reluctance to file complaints, saying they fear harassment.

News

  • Expungement, record sealing event helps West Siders get jobs after leaving prison

    Austin resident Anthony Jefferson has been working over the past six years to expunge his criminal record. With help from the Monroe Foundation, he's moving toward the clean slate he wants to achieve to secure employment.

  • Get free groceries, other help from these Austin groups

    On a recent Thursday, volunteers from What About Us Charitable Enterprises spent the morning filling dozens of grocery bags with fresh food and staples that soon filled the arms of West Side residents in need. Dorin “Pastor Mac” McIntyre, executive director and co-founder of What About Us Charitable Enterprises and pastor of Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, is one of many helping Austin residents struggling with food insecurity.

  • 29th Ward residents invited to holiday events on Tuesday

  • 29th Ward residents invited to propose how to spend $450,000

    Austin residents are invited to participate in this year's participatory budgeting cycle. The annual process lets ward residents ages 14 and up decide how to spend a portion of the aldermanic menu money.

  • Forty Acres Fresh Market marks important moment this week in bringing store to Austin

    Austin moves one step closer this week to getting a new grocery store with the groundbreaking of Forty Acres Fresh Market in the heart of the Soul City Corridor. Another effort to expand food offerings on the West Side continues with the Austin Community Food Co-op, which held a virtual info session last week on its efforts to bring a grocery store to the area.

  • Healing in nature workshop set for Saturday

    The Westside Cultural Alliance continues its "See, Feel and Heal" nature series Saturday at Garfield Park Nature Area, 100 N. Central Park with a workshop on making memory boxes. The workshop sessions focus on art and nature as vehicles of healing through art therapy, which provides wholistic healing for the body, mind and spirit.

  • Illinois residents can apply for help with paying gas, electric bills

    Applications are now open for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for qualified residential customers who are over the age of 60, have a disability or have children under the age of 6 to receive financial assistance to pay their energy bills. LIHEAP is a federally funded bill payment assistance program that helps low- and fixed-income families pay their utility during the winter heating season.

  • West Siders turn out for chili cook off in Austin’s Soul City

    Over a dozen local chefs competed in the second annual "It’s Getting Chili in Soul City" event on Saturday. A team of five who make up the Austin African American Business Networking Association board – Malcolm Crawford, Shirley Fields, Sharmine Rickett, Ronald Smith and Marshawn Felton – created the chili contest last year.

  • Chicago Marathon runner raises money for West Side girls

    Over the last 20 years, Ashley Graham has run 56 marathons - including the Chicago Marathon five times. Several of those marathons she raised money for charity - and this year was no different.

  • Stop by Austin farmers market this week

Like Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterSubscribe via RSS

Search This Site

Browse Archives

© Copyright 2025, AustinTalks

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑