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FREE Vol. 37 No. 20
May 17, 2023 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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Tony Collins, whose artist signature is 720, poses next to his mural at the Lacuna Lofts, 2150 S. Canalport Ave. on May 10, 2023.
Art saved life of this West Sider For more than 20 years, Tony ‘720’ Collins’ murals have adorned Chicago
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Map debate continues for elected Chicago school board
State releases its version while critics push ward-based map By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter
ture 720, have adorned Chicago walls for more than 20 years. Some murals stand for a long time, while others are only up for a few weeks, yet for Collins, art is not about time or fame.
With an elected school board coming to Chicago’s public schools, a proposed electoral district map from a state legislative committee would not split up Austin and North Lawndale – but the same can’t be said for Garfield Park and West Humboldt Park. Meanwhile critics, many West Side based, argue for a map based on existing city wards. The map released by the Illinois General Assembly’s House and Senate Special Committees on the Chicago Elected Representative School Board on May 5 splits the City of Chicago into 20 districts, 7 of which are majority-Black, 5 of which are majority-white, 5 of which are majority-Hispanic and three of which are minority-majority – districts
See COLLINS on page 12
See DISTRICT MAP on page 8
FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ
By FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ Staff Reporter
Chicago artist Tony “720” Collins, 47, is a living testament of the power of art. He never attended art school, yet Collins’s murals, identifiable by his signa-
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