■ Another Loretto Hospital indictment PAGE 5
FREE Vol. 39 No. 27
July 9, 2025 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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West Sub closes obstetric and neonatal units without notice Illinois Department of Public Health expresses concerns following late notice By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
The Illinois Department of Public Health said July 7 that the decision by West Suburban Medical Center to abruptly shutter its obstetric and neonatal units was “concerning” and said the agency would “be gathering more information about this action to ensure the hospital complies with its obligations under the Hospital Licensing Act.” A spokesman for IDPH told Austin Weekly News that it was notified on July 3 that West Sub was closing the unit temporarily due to a shortage of nurses. “Even if temporary, this closure is concerning.” Rumors are swirling around West Sub about this decision and its ongoing cooling issues during the recent heat wave. IDPH sent staff to the hospital last week to assess the status of its See WEST SUB on page 4
El Elvin i the th elephant l ph t rides again, page 3
Exterior of The Field School, formerly Francis Scott Key Elementary School.
First look at Field School’s south building Grand opening of the private Christian school is Aug. 16, when middle-schoolers will join elementary students on the campus TODD BANNOR
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
Come next school year, the two buildings that once held Francis Scott Key Elementary students will house the Field School’s kindergarten through eighth graders. It marks the first time the two-building campus at 535 N. Parkside Ave. in Austin will be fully occupied
since Chicago Public Schools closed the school, along with 49 others, in 2013. The private Field School started classes for kindergarten and first graders out of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park in 2017, but it was always their intention to be based out of Austin. “When the school started, the vision was to have it on the West Side,” said Jeremy Mann, head of school, who lives two
blocks away. The Field School had plans to move into an Austin church, but then the church experienced a change in leadership and school leaders realized the site required expensive changes to make the building up-to-code for children. “The whole idea is to make a homeschool advantage available for kids on See FIELD SCHOOL on page 8
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