■ Underwood endorses Fisher in 7th District race PAGE 4
FREE Vol. 40 No. 2
January 14, 2026 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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Commission for Public Safety and Accountability holds a public meeting at Thalia Hall in Pilsen.
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Opioid Task Force moves to the corner page 9
Blue Line Central Avenue station to reopen in three years State transit bailout requires CTA to ‘remodel, renovate, or construct a new station’ by the start of 2029
HECTOR CERVANTES
Federal immigration actions spark community outcry in Chicago Public testimony flags ongoing ICE activity in Chicago and West Side neighborhoods By HECTOR CERVANTES Contributing Reporter
Chicago residents gathered Thursday in Pilsen to protest interactions between Chicago police officers and U.S. Immigra-
tion and Customs Enforcement agents. The public meeting was sponsored by The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA at Thalia Hall, drawing Chicago residents from across the city, including the West
Side. About 500 people attended. The meeting came as ICE agents removed residents from a South Austin building and Border Patrol agents put See ICE on page 6
By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
The CTA el station at Central Avenue on the Blue Line has been abandoned since 1973. But that will soon change as a measure tucked into the state transit reform bill passed last fall requires the transit agency to bring it back to active use. The 1,043-page bill mostly deals with increasing transit funding, transit agency governance overhaul and public safety improvements. But it also includes several provisions that deal with specific transit lines and stations. In Austin, it requires the CTA to either build, rebuild or rehab an el station on the Blue Line at Central Avenue. It also appears to require the reopening of the Lavergne Avenue entrance at the Blue Line’s Cicero station further west. The See CTA STATION on page 8
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