AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/new-mount-pilgrim-missionary-baptist-church/)
West Side faith and community leaders have raised $43,850 of $150,000 seed money needed to get a match from philanthropic groups. The Leaders Network is asking others to join the founders circle and commit to making a $5,000 contribution.
The Chicago News Cooperative reports some South and West Side neighborhoods have twice as many violent crimes per officer than North Side communities.
The USPS says changes must be made, but the closures could harm communities and may be illegal.
Residents are encouraged to meet Sept. 27 at the Thompson Center. Free round-trip transportation is offered, and a town hall meeting will take place afterward.
The Chicago News Cooperative’s Hunter Clauss reports today that the minister has dropped his bid to challenge Ald. Deborah Graham in the Feb. 22nd election.
Some aldermen don’t think so, but several local ministers say it shouldn’t be an issue for the Rev. James Meeks, who wants to succeed Mayor Richard Daley.
No matter what the outcome in the Park National Bank seizure, the situation has broken down barriers between the Austin community and Oak Park residents. It’s the silver lining in the cloud that has hung over those two communities since October. That’s when the popular neighborhood bank, located in Oak Park, was seized by federal regulators, said Rev. Marshall Hatch, a member of the Coalition to Save Community Banking, a grassroots organization formed in response to the takeover and forced sale. “There’s much less of a barrier between Austin and Oak Park,” said Hatch, representing the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in West Garfield Park. “This has brought people together.