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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 32 No. 22 ■ May 30, 2018
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Arlene Jones on becoming an artisan,
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Also serving Garfield Park
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Much of West Side now ‘Opportunity Zone’
The federal status eases taxes on investment in zones, but it has critics By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Much of the West Side is now a federally designated Opportunity Zone, which makes new investment created in the area eligible for preferential capital gains tax treatment. The zones, created through the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, are designed to “spur economic development and job creation in distressed communities,” according to the IRS. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner announced on May 18 that 327 census tracts across 85 counties in the state had been officially designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as Opportunity Zones. Governors across the country had until March 21 to submit to the U.S. Treasury Department a list of communities they had selected to nominate to become Opportunity Zones in their states. The volume of nominations was limited to 25 percent of the total amount of low-income communities within the states. According to the IRS, Opportunity Zones give a range of tax benefits to investors who put their money in a Qualified Opportunity Fund — a vehicle designed for investing in Opportunity Zones. “First, investors can defer tax on any prior gains until the earlier of the date on which an investment is sold or exchanged, or December 31, 2026, so long as the gain is reinvested in a Qualified Opportunity See OPPORTUNITY ZONES on page 9
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
JESUS WEPT: Cardinal Blase Cupich speaks to an audience about the new art piece Thou Shalt Not Kill, pictured to the right, last Thursday, during a dedication ceremony in the Father Augustus Tolton Peace Center at Catholic Charities in Austin.
Cardinal Cupich blesses Austin peace garden The Catholic Charities garden and center are housed in former Austin bank building By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
It’s a striking visual — a neat garden with a statue of Jesus weeping over a bulletridden body right in the center of it. The garden is the new addition to the Father Augustus Tolton Peace Center, a community service center operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and located at 5645 W. Corcoran Place, inside the
former ABC Bank building. Both the center and the garden are part of the Catholic Charities’ mission to address the root causes of violence and the trauma associated with it. Christine Richardson, the regional director of community relations for Catholic Charities and the center’s head of outreach, said that the garden was meant to be a place for quiet contemplation and healing. Although the center has been operational
since November, the garden didn’t officially open until May 24. During a short ceremony that day, Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, blessed both the garden and the center. Cupich and other Catholic Charities officials said that the center is named after Augustus Tolton, a former slave and the first African American to be ordained a Catho-
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See PEACE GARDEN on page 4