■ Chicago names official ‘safe zone’ in Austin PAGE 7
FREE Vol. 39 No. 28
July 16, 2025 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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Man charged in North Ave. arson that killed 4
Austin A i mourns Marjay Dotson, page 4
Chief Impact Officer of United Way of Metro Chicago Dr. Kimberlee Guenther, Austin Coming Together Executive Director Darnell Shields, and U.S. CEO of BMO Darrel Hackett.
Set ex-girlfriend’s building on fire after learning she was dating his friend, officials say By CHARLES THRUSH Block Club Chicago
A West Side man set his former girlfriend’s apartment building on fire after learning she was dating his friend, killing four people and displacing nearly 30 others, according to authorities. Lontray Clark, 23, has been charged with murder and attempted murder in the June 26 apartment fire in Austin that killed a 5-year-old boy, two adult sisters and a 76-year-old man, police announced Friday. Clark’s former girlfriend, a 23-year-old woman, lived in the apartment building at 5222 W. North Ave. On June 25, Clark was texting the woman to ask if she was dating a friend of Clark’s, prosecutors said in court Saturday. The woman posted a selfie with her new boyfriend to social media, and Clark sent the photo to the woman and said he knew she was dating his friend. Early on June 26, Clark drove to pick up another man before going to a West Side gas station and filing an anti-freeze container with gasoline,
Austin’s lead role in building partnerships that transform communities CITY CLUB OF CHICAGO
The City Club of Chicago hosts a panel highlighting Austin Coming Together’s Darnell Shields and the Aspire Center in Austin By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
See ARSON on page 8
The story of revitalizing Austin, specifically through the Aspire Center, is spreading throughout the City of Chicago. The City Club of Chicago, the longestrunning civic forum in Chicago, hosted a fundraising panel discussion July 9 at Maggiano’s Banquets in River North. The conversation revolved around community transformation in disinvested communities, specifically as it relates to the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation in Austin, which opened last month after years in the making. It also highlighted the importance of partnerships
in such neighborhoods and included representatives from BMO bank and United Way of Metro Chicago, which aims to create equitable opportunities for Chicagoans. According to Darnell Shields – executive director of Austin Coming Together and a panel participant – Austin has the most community-based-led projects in Chicago right now. And he said his neighborhood got there by building relationships between residents, nonprofits,
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See CITY CLUB on page 8