■ Austin mom, St. John member slain near home PAGE 3
FREE Vol. 37 No. 10
March 8, 2023 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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ACT Special Section Page B1
West Side community activists do well in first-ever police district elections Margins close in 15th District races By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter
The first-ever police district council races saw several progressive candidates do well on the West Side, while none of the candidates endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7 labor union got in. On Feb. 28, voters in every Chicago police district elected three people to serve on their local police district councils. Those councils will be responsible for improving collaboration between the community and police, as well as nominating candidates to the city-wide Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, which will be taking over the Chicago Police Board’s role of selecting police superintendent candidates, as well as selecting candidates for the police board and the head of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. While the 11th police district, which includes all of West Garfield Park, the section of See POLICE DISTRICT on page 9
Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson greets supporters after he announced his run for Mayor of Chicago at Seward Park on Oct. 27, 2022.
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A proud West Sider, Brandon Johnson advances to runoff in a historic election night Johnson will face Paul Vallas who secured 33.73% of the vote By FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ Staff Reporter
Brandon Johnson, a son of the West Side, defeated incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot in advancing to the runoff election for mayor of the city of Chicago. Lightfoot is only the second incumbent mayor in the last 40 years that has been denied a second term; the city’s first female mayor Jane Byrne lost her
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primary race in 1983. Now, on April 4 Johnson will face Paul Vallas, the former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Vallas led the nine-candidate field winning 33.73% of the vote according to the latest data from See JOHNSON on page 8
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