■ Arlene Jones: Tyler Perry should know better PAGE 5
FREE Vol. 38 No. 44
October 30, 2024 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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Rep. La Shawn Ford calls for state to sell White Sox property Ford is filing legislation for the sale, which he said could pay off debt and serve as a new source of property tax revenue By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
La Shawn Ford, who represents the 8th District in the Illinois House of Representatives, is filing legislation to sell the state-owned property where the White Sox play on Chicago’s South Side. Though Guaranteed Rate Field isn’t in the 8th District — which encompasses part of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood and the Forest Park suburb — Ford said selling this land would benefit more than just the South Side, allowing Illinois to pay off debt associated with the White Sox and receive revenue from property taxes, which the state doesn’t pay. The attempt to pass legislation comes after a recent report that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is open to selling the team. To sell state-owned property, Ford has to get authorization from the state by filing legislation, something he says must be done at some point if the state eventually wants to sell the land. “Whether we sell it today or not, we still need a bill to be See SOX PROPERTY on page 9
Theatre Th eatre Y explores fascism in new production, page 6
Jitu Brown introduces himself, and talks through his platform with 5th District constituents during a breakout session at the meet-and-greet.
School board candidate Jitu Brown faults ‘inequity’ in CPS The uncontested 5th District candidate says inequity permits ‘an apartheid school system’ COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND FAMILY ISSUES
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
Fifth district school board candidate Aaron “Jitu” Brown said that the biggest problems in Chicago public schools are inequity and racism, and that he is the right candidate to work with communities to change the system. “The biggest issue in Chicago public
schools is deep-seeded inequity — inequity that says it’s okay to have an apartheid school system, where a child that lives on Diversey and Ashland has one reality, and a child that lives on 53rd and King Drive, or lives on Madison and Pulaski, has another,” he said. His comments came during Thursday’s informational session and meet and greet hosted by Community Organizing and Family Issues, an organiza-
tion that empowers parents, primarily Black and brown women, to get involved in civic issues, at Chicago’s Service Employees International Union Healthcare in Pilsen. The meeting was intended to inform parents about the election, the school board’s role, and to hear from candidates about how they plan to represent their constituents. See SCHOOL BOARD on page 4
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