■ Collaborative Bridges Wellness center opens in Garfield Park PAGE 6
FREE Vol. 39 No. 7
February 19, 2025 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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New bakery N b k is i crushing it, page 8
Austin manufacturer invests $4 M to spur growth, add 50 jobs Freedman Seating Company plans to upgrade its century-old Austin facility By MICHAEL LIPTROT Block Club Chicago
Freedman Seating Company is making a $4 million capital investment as part of a state tax credit program to upgrade its nearly 100-year-old Austin facility and add 50 full-time jobs, the company’s leaders and Gov. JB Pritzker announced Feb. 7. The longtime West Side manufacturer has committed to getting new equipment, preserving its existing 676 fulltime jobs and adding 50 full-time positions as part of an agreement through the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy program, which provides annual tax credits to qualifying businesses. “Programs like EDGE don’t give businesses a handout, they help level the playing field. They allow companies like ours to invest, grow and compete while creating more opportunities where they are needed most,” said Craig Freedman, Freedman Seating CEO, during a press conference at the company’s Austin facility, 4545 W. Augusta Blvd. “Without real, tangible support, businesses will leave. When that happens, communities suffer. We continue to invest in our facilities and our people because we believe in the West Side.” See FREEDMAN on page 5
JESSICA MORDACQ
Student residents protest at West Suburban Medical Center last May.
West Sub’s revoked accreditation leaves medical residents uncertain about future Family Medicine Residency Program participants look elsewhere to continue education By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
On Jan. 21, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education withdrew accreditation from West
Suburban Medical Center, declaring it would no longer be a sponsoring institution for the Family Medicine Residency Program. ACGME is a nonprofit that monitors graduate medical education
programs to ensure that resident doctors and fellows deliver safe and high-quality care. And when an institution doesn’t meet its requirements,
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See WEST SUB on page 3