FREE
AUSTINWEEKLY news ■
Vol. 33 No. 37
A West Side block club takes matters into its own hands,
■
July 17, 2019
■
austinweeklynews.com
■
Also serving Garfield Park
@AustinWeeklyChi
PAGE 11
@AustinWeeklyNews
Former Defender editor laments print’s demise Oak Park journalist helmed historic paper’s newsroom for five months By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Shari Noland, 49, of Oak Park, knew what she was getting into when, in 2017, she decided to leave her job as communications director for the Oak Park Education Foundation in order to become executive editor of the Chicago Defender. The cash-strapped newspaper’s best days were behind it, but the Defender’s rich legacy still resonated with the veteran journalist. “I had a contact who knew someone who said they were looking for an editor,” Noland said in a recent interview. “I hadn’t planned on leaving the Education Foundation. I liked it. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work for the Defender.” Last Wednesday, the nearly 115-year-old newspaper, once the most authoritative voice in Black America, released its last print issue — the cover boldly announcing the paper’s ambitions to publish its content exclusively online (a photo of a phone See DEFENDER on page 4
SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor
NEW HOME: Congressman Danny K. Davis, fourth from left, state Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Rev. Myron Austin attend Sunday’s ribbon-cutting for Rose of Sharon Community Church, which moved into its permanent home in Maywood on July 7.
Prominent West Side church moves to suburbs Rose of Sharon brought its own rich history to a 150-year-old church building in Maywood By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
A historic Maywood church building that dates back to 1871 took in its newest congregation on July 7. Dressed in communion Sunday white, members of the Rose of Sharon Community Church converged on the steps of 201 S. 5th Ave. for a brief ribbon-cutting and prayer before eagerly marching into their new
house of worship. The moment marked a historic transition for Rose of Sharon, whose longtime pastor, the late Rev. James A. Murphy Sr., built the church into an institution on Chicago’s West Side. Murphy, who died last year at 87, founded the church in 1955 and pastored for more than 62 years, according to an obituary published in the Chicago Crusader. Murphy was also a serial entrepreneur, owning an array of businesses on the West
Side that constituted their own cottage economy. Murphy owned R.O.S. Cleaners, “a chain of dry cleaners with 13 locations,” the Crusader article pointed out; the Turning Point Supper Club; Murph’s Place Restaurant; and Century 21 Murphy Real Estate. The enterprising pastor also penetrated the city’s airwaves, broadcasting his
State Farm Mutual Automobile • Insurance Company State Farm Indemnity Company • Bloomington, IL • statefarm.com® Larry and his staff are licensed and together have over 75 years of State Farm experience.
See ROSE OF SHARON on page 5
Larry Williams,Agent 5932 W. Lake Street Chicago, 60644 (773) 379-9010 larry.williams.b0bk@statefarm.com
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
We all need an Albertine
Chicago Police Department
BEAT BEAT 2531 2532
BEAT BEAT 2534 2535 Pulaski
Division
Central
District 15
BEAT 2533
Central Park
BEAT 2512 Armitage BEAT 2513 North
BEAT 2514 BEAT Wrightwood 2521 BEAT 2515 BEAT 2522 Kilborn
Diversey
Albertine Alexander, wife of MacArthur’s Restaurant owner, died last week
Belmont BEAT 2523 Diversey BEAT 2524 Fullerton BEAT 2525 Armitage
Kostner
BEAT 2511
Laramie
District 25
Oriole
July 2019 Beat Meetings Harlem
BEAT 1133
California
BEAT 1123 BEAT 1124 Sacramento
BEAT 1132
Franklin
Homan
BEAT 1131
District 11
BEAT 1134
BEAT 1125 Van Buren BEAT 1135
Western
Eisenhower Expressway
Springfield
Van Buren
Kildare
BEAT 1113
BEAT BEAT 1122 1114 Warren BEAT 1115 Jackson
BEAT 1121 Central Park
Lake
BEAT 1112 Huron
Kedzie
BEAT 1111
Pulaski
Division
Cicero
2
Roosevelt
CAPS 15th District • Commander Ernest Cato III
5701 W. Madison Ave. Phone: 312-743-1440 • CAPS015District@chicagopolice.org Tuesday, July 2 6:30 PM Beat: 1531 & 1532 West Branch Library, 4856 W. Chicago Ave.
Tuesday, July 9 6:30 PM Beat: 1511 & 1524 Outdoor Meeting 942 N. Lockwood
Thursday, July 11 6:00 PM Beat: 1513S Outdoor Meeting Monitor/Fillmore
Wednesday, July 3 5:00 PM Beat: 1522 & 1533 Loretto Hospital, 645 S. Central
Wednesday, July 10 6:30 PM Beat: 1513N Outdoor Meeting Parkside/Adams
Thursday, July 11 6:30 PM Beat: 1512 & 1523 PCC Wellness Center, 5425 W. Lake St.
CAPS 25th District • Commander Anthony Escamilla
5555 W. Grand Ave. Phone: 312-746-8605 • CAPS025District@chicagopolice.org Tuesday, July 2 Tuesday, July 16 Thursday, July 18 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM Beat: 2525 Beat: 2533 Beat: 2535 25th District Office Community Maternity BVM, Mozart Park, 2036 N. Avers Room, 5555 W. Grand Ave. 3647 W. North Avenue Tuesday, July 16 6:30 PM Tuesday, July 23 Thursday, July 4 Beat: 2531 6:30 PM 6:30 PM Beat: 2513 Beat: 2511 25th District Community Room, Amundsen Park, Bethesda Home, 2833 N. Nordica 5555 W. Grand Ave. 6200 W. Bloomingdale Wednesday, July 17 Thursday, July 4 6:30 PM Wednesday, July 24 6:30 PM 6:30 PM Beat: 2521 Beat: 2515 Beat: 2523 St. Stanislaus, 2310 N. Lorel Senior Suites, 2715 N. Cicero St. Joseph, 4021 W. Belmont
CAPS 11th District • Commander Darrell F. Spencer
3151 West Harrison St.Phone: 312-746-8386 • CAPS.011District@chicagopolice.org Tuesday, July 2 6:30 PM Beat: 1111 Brian Piccolo School, 1040 N. Keeler
Thursday, July 11 6:00 PM Beat: 1122/23 Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park
Thursday, July 18 6:00 PM Beat: 1113/14/15 St. Michael’s MBC, 4106 W. Monroe
Tuesday, July 9 6:30 PM Beat: 1124/25 JLM Abundant Life Center, 2622 W. Jackson
Tuesday, July 16 6:00 PM Beat: 1133/34 Homan Square Community Center, 3559 W. Arthington
Tuesday, July 23 6:00 PM Beat: 1135 Altgeld Park, 515 S. Washtenaw Thursday, July 25 6:00 PM Beat: 1131/32 Eloise McCoy Village Apt., 4650 W. Van Buren
Albertine Alexander, a longtime member of Neighbors of Maywood Community Organization and the wife of MacArthur’s Restaurant owner Mac Alexander, died last week, according to an announcement released by NOMCO’s executive committee. She was 74 years old. Albertine, in addition to her active membership in NOMCO — one of Maywood’s oldest and most important civic organizations — was also a strong supporter of Village Free Press, a newspaper I founded in Maywood in 2013. Last week, people across the country were shaken by the announcement that the historic Chicago Defender newspaper would release its last print issue, which hit newsstands last Wednesday. While doing some research for this week’s cover story, I learned how Robert Abbott, the Defender’s founder and intrepid publisher, started the once mighty newspaper nearly 115 years ago. During the first five years of the Defender’s existence, Abbott skipped meals and sacrificed news clothes and shoes and even train trips (opting to walk to his destinations instead), so that he could print the newspaper. He was mocked by people in the streets who thought he was kidding himself by sticking to the fanciful notion that a black man could own a newspaper. The Defender would not have endured those early days of struggle if not for people like Henrietta P. Lee, Abbott’s landlady. When Abbott learned that he couldn’t afford the rent to house his newsroom, Lee opened up her dining room to the fledgling operation. What Henrietta did for Abbott, Albertine did for me. She opened up not just her checkbook, but her heart, pouring into me strength and emotional support each time I encountered her. “You making any money yet?” Albertine would, in so many words, invariably ask whenever we saw each other. Invariably my answer was no. “Well, keep doing what you’re doing. Eventually, you will. Your gifts will make way for you.” Every young, black man, whatever his lot in life, needs an Albertine — someone who makes him better not by talking him down and focusing on his faults, but by quietly lifting him up through the sheer force of her
MICHAEL ROMAIN One View
Randy Corbin, owner of West Side funeral home dies Randy Corbin, the founder and president/CEO of Corbin Colonial Funeral Chapel in Chicago, has died. His death was confirmed by close relatives and friends on Facebook earlier this month. Corbin, of Berkeley, was an active member of the Proviso Township community. For a time, he operated a branch of his funeral home in Maywood and he was a longtime advisory board member for the venerable Maywood nonprofit Operation Uplift. In a statement, Operation Uplift’s executive director, George E. Stone II, said that Corbin “was a staple in the Proviso Township community and provided services to thousands over his 60year career. “He assisted many families who didn’t have means to provide funeral services for their loved ones. He was a true gentleman, pioneer businessman and a role model for us younger African-American males that came after him.” In January, Operation Uplift honored Corbin with its George E. Stone, Sr. Humanitarian Award “for his life service and dedication to serving humanity.” In a Facebook post, Randall McFarland, the founder of the nonprofit Best of Proviso Township, remembered Corbin as “a true pioneer and pillar for our community.” “A true gentleman and knowledgeable leader,” McFarland said. “An absolute mountain of information and resources. He loved bending the ears of young people to pour into them.” Corbin was buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside on July 8.
positive energy and high hopes. Albertine made me want to live up to the expectations embodied in her wide, welcoming smile. I was proud to make her proud. On Monday, Mike Rogers, NOMCO’s president, said that Albertine “was absolutely instrumental to NOMCO since she moved to Maywood. She actively served on committees all the way up until her death. Both NOMCO and the community are going to miss her spirt, her energy and her inspiration.” I second that. The visitation for Albertine Alexander will take place on Friday, July 19, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Corbin Colonia Funeral Home, 5345 W. Madison St. in Chicago. Her funeral will be on Saturday, July 20, 11 a.m. to noon, at Canaan AME Church, 801 S. 14th Ave. in Maywood. CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
AUSTIN WEEKLY news Editor Michael Romain Senior Editor Bob Uphues Contributing Reporters Bonni McKeown, AustinTalks, Igor Studenkov
≈
Publisher Dan Haley Associate Publisher Dawn Ferencak Business Manager Joyce Minich Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Dow
IT Manager/Web Developer Mike Risher Columnists Arlene Jones
≈
Editorial Design Manager Claire Innes Editorial Designers Jacquinete Baldwin, Advertising Design Manager Andrew Mead Advertising Designers Debbie Becker, Mark Moroney
Natalie Johnson Inside Sales Representative Mary Ellen Nelligan
HOW TO REACH US 141 S. Oak Park Ave. Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 773-626-6332 FAX 708-467-9066 ONLINE www.AustinWeeklyNews.com TWITTER @AustinWeeklyChi ≈
Advertising Director Dawn Ferencak Client Engagement
Staff Photographer Alexa Rogals Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Distribution Coordinator Wakeelah Cocroft-Aldridge Front Desk Maria Murzyn, Carolyn Henning
The Austin Weekly News is published each Wednesday by Wednesday Journal, Inc., an Illinois corporation. It is distributed free of charge at locations across Austin and Garfield Park. Our hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Advertising rates are available by calling our office. Printed entirely on recycled paper. © 2019 Wednesday Journal
Fathers Who Care
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Involvement Fathers Who Care is a non-profit organization
that promotes a myriad of programs and initiatives supporting the wellness and development of responsible fathers, families and youth initiatives within the West Garfield Park community.
Monthly West Garfield Park Community Stakeholders Meetings
Fathers Who Care Youth Leadership Council engages their peers in leadership development, violence prevention activities and events as well as promotes non-violence lifestyles through a variety of ways.
Call 773-287-5821 for meeting location.
being held every 2nd Monday at 6:00pm.
What We Offer: • Weekly Youth Council Meetings every Monday at 4:30pm • Youth-Led Community Events, Community Healing, Youth Townhalls & Summits • Youth leadership committees tackling issues, strategies and fundraising opportunities for their community • Youth-Led weekly CAN-TV Show on Channel 21 • Recreational Activities • Youth College Tours & Scholarships
Fathers Who Care
4540 W. Washington Blvd. Chicago, IL 60624 (773) 287-5821 • Fax: (773) 287-5853 westsidecommunitystakeholders@gmail.com
3
4
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
DEFENDER
Brave new world from page 1 displaying the paper’s website on its screen hovered above a hashtag: #DigitalMoves). “It is no secret that the media and publishing landscape has shifted drastically and the pace of change continues at dizzying speeds,” Hiram E. Jackson, chief executive of Real Times Media, the Defender’s parent company, explained in a statement the company released on July 5. “That is why, over the past few years, we’ve made significant investments in digital media. Having experienced initially promising returns, we have concluded that we need to do more to continue building a business model for the future,” Jackson said. “It is simply time for the publication to break away from the printed page and put more focus on bringing our readers daily content from the African-American perspective and increasing the impact of our community voice.” Jackson’s optimism notwithstanding, many African Americans across the country have been mourning the loss of the print product, which, judging by what’s happened to other iconic African-American media companies, could be a harbinger for more bad news to come. In May, for instance, Clear View Group, the Austin, Texas-based private equity firm that owns Ebony and Jet magazines, told employees they would be suspending the print edition of Ebony, according to the New York Post. The following month, after laying off its print staff, Clear View started laying off its remaining digital staffers as well (Jet went all-digital in 2014). For Nolan, who was at the Defender for roughly five months, the grief is palpable. “My dad was very active in politics and the Defender meant a lot to him, so I was sad that I became the editor and he never got to see that,” she said. “It was definitely a paper I knew and respected, so when the opportunity came I had to take it. But I knew going in, it might not last.” Nolan — who has worked at multiple large newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, the Fort Worth Star Telegram and the Charlotte Observer — said she’s seen firsthand the decline of the newspaper industry. The signals of decline at the Defender, she said, were particularly acute. “It’s just heartbreaking,” she said. “I could see the beginning of the end, but you don’t want to accept it. I was let go for ‘business reasons,’ but I knew what that meant. [When I was there], the paper was down to four or five people. You’d walk in the building and see all these empty cubicles. You knew at one point there were people in these cubicles. You saw the physical paper getting smaller and smaller.” In a way, the Defender is returning to the struggles that forged its founding. Robert Abbott, the Georgia-born lawyer and son of freed slaves, published the paper’s first print issue on May 5, 1905, according to Ethan Mi-
Submitted photos
TTHE DEFENDER EXPERIENCE: Shari Noland, far left, with Gov. JB Pritzker and a former Chicago Defender editor Marty Datcher in the Chicago Defender offices. Noland was the paper’s executive editor for five months. f Left L , Robert Abbott, the Defender’s founder, appears in the paper. chaeli’s How the L Legendary h li’ The Th Defender: D f d H th d Black Newspaper Changed America. “The bill for the first edition’s printing was $13.75, a sum Abbott raised through the pennies collected from the sales of individual copies as well as from advertising,” writes Michaeli, who worked as a copyeditor and investigative reporter for the Defender from 1991 to ’96. When Abbot realized, weeks after publishing his paper, that he “would not be able to afford even the simple desk space he had rented” at a local real estate office, his landlady, Henrietta P. Lee, offered Abbot her dining room as a newsroom. To keep the paper alive, Abbott skipped meals, went without shoes and clothes, “used the street car but once a week” and sold copies of his paper downtown on State Street, often to mocking laughter from people who thought he was “kidding himself.” By 1909, however, Abbott was in the position to hire Lee’s teenage daughter to handle clerical tasks for the newspaper and the Defender was well on its way to becoming the newspaper of record for African Americans across the country. In 1956, the newspaper transitioned from a weekly to a daily.
Th f d spotlighted everything from The D Defender race riots and lynching to the social trappings of a burgeoning black middle class that Abbott’s paper helped create by persuading throngs of African Americans in the South to head North during the Great Migration, which lasted from 1916 to 1970. “[Abbott] had Pullman porters take the papers on their route to the South and drop them off down there,” Glenn Reedus, a former Defender editor, told the New Yorker. “That is when people started reading about Chicago and opportunities for black people, and that’s when they started coming. And once they were here, because they were familiar with the Defender, it was almost like the Bible.” Recently, however, the Defender’s primacy has suffered as the newspaper dealt with the same challenges that felled traditional media companies across the country in the digital age — from declining readership to disappearing ad revenue. In 2007, the paper went from printing daily to printing bi-weekly. Eventually, the paper would switch back to printing weekly while staffers tried to bring the aging institution into the 21st century. “One of the highlights at the Defender
was just being able to re-do the website and make it a little more lively because that’s my passion,” Noland said. “We had a youth advisory group and they shared what they thought the Defender could be. We were trying to motivate that younger generation, but I think the website, and seeing so many people so passionate about trying to keep the paper alive, is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget.” Although she laments the decline of legacy newspapers like the Defender, Noland contends there’s a crop of younger journalists who are poised to create new institutions. “You see change happening,” she said. “I think it’s just time for a new generation of journalists of color. Before, nobody wanted to tell black stories. Now everyone wants to tell black stories. [The newspaper is] not as much of a niche like it once was, but it served its purpose and when you look back on history, you know it made its mark. Hopefully, the next generation of independent journalists will pick up the torch because there’s still a black perspective that needs to be shared.” CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
5
ROSE OF SHARON
Creating history anew from page 1
church’s live services for more than 50 years on area radio stations. In the 1990s, he created “The Lord Will Make a Way” broadcast on cable television, where he often sung “The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow” — a song that he made his own. “When people would see him coming, they’d start singing that song,” said Congressman Danny K. Davis, a friend of Murphy’s and a native of Chicago’s Austin community. “Rose of Sharon was the first church I stepped foot in in Chicago,” Davis said during Sunday’s ribbon-cutting. Davis said he was also a frequent patron of R.O.S. Cleaners. “The Murphy family has been an integral part of our community,” he said. While on the West Side, the Rose of Sharon worshipped in four different locations. In 1990, a fire destroyed the third location, at 2950 W. Warren, forcing the congregation to temporarily worship in a mortuary, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Our faith is on trial,” Clementine Murphy, Rev. Murphy’s wife of 66 years, told a Tribune reporter at the time. “We`re going to find that we`ll be stronger at the end of this.” Eventually, the church moved into their last location in the city, a spacious building at 4256 W. Walton. After Rev. Murphy’s death in 2018, the church moved again, this time to First Congregational Church, 400 N. 5th Ave. in Maywood, where they rented space, before finding their permanent location. Chevonne Nash, the church’s communications manager and Rev. James and Clementine Murphy’s granddaughter, said that Rose of Sharon’s last West Side location was too large and too costly for the congregation of roughly 50 members. “We wanted to downsize,” Nash said. “Also, a lot of our members are from the west suburbs, so this location is easier for them to get to.” The previous congregation to worship at 201 S. 5th Ave., New Beginnings Christian Fellowship, disbanded after its pastor, David Torres, died in 2014. “The church had been just sitting here vacant, for a couple of years, when we found out about it through our chairman,” said Rev. Myron Austin, Rose of Sharon’s current pastor. “We believe everything is in divine order.” Annie Beckworth, who joined Rose of Sharon in 1960, gave the church’s new location her stamp of approval.
SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor
MOVING IN: Above, Annie Beckworth, a member of Rose of Sharon Community Church since 1960, said she’s satisfied with the congregation’s new location inside of one of Maywood’s most historic church buildings. Below left, Rev. Austin and other congregants outside of the new church before service on July 7. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “I love it. I love it.” “This is a great location. This corner has a whole lot of history,” said state Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (7th), who also attended the ribbon-cutting. “You’re across from the old Masonic Temple, but your church holds a lot of meaning itself,” he said. “You’re right next to the police station and the park and Fred Hampton Pool. We’re looking forward to Rose of Sharon adding to the rich history of this vil-
lage.” Welch could have added another factoid. According to Douglas Deuchler, who authored a book on Maywood, the church’s original congregation, the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, included “many prominent Maywood families” as members, including the man who founded the village — Colonel William T. Nichols, a Civil War veteran from Vermont, who named the town after his deceased daughter, May. Now, the burden of building on that his-
tory is up to the historic building’s newest hosts. Before she cut the ribbon on Sunday, Clementine Murphy, echoing her sentiments following the 1990 fire, seemed up to the task. “The Lord will make a way somehow,” Murphy said, channeling her late husband. “We want to keep on going, no matter how hard or rough it might be. This church is full of love. We believe in sharing one another’s burdens and problems. There’s no end to church work. You’ve got to keep going.” CONTACT: michaelromain@ymail.com
6
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
DIY MOBILE: Maya Bird-Murphy wants to purchase a used step van, below left, in order to take the design and construction workshops she facilitates in Oak Park schools on the road. She has an initial goal of raising $10,000.
Courtesy Chicago Mobile Makers
GARFIELD PARK LITTLE LEAGUE
“BUILDING BETTER CHILDREN
ONE BASE AT A TIME” For more information or to donate, call us at 773.443.2746
★ Register now at Gpleague.org ★
Architect has dreams of turning van into ‘maker space’ Maya Bird-Murphy wants to retrofit step van for mobile design, construction workshops for West Side students By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
If you need help, or know someone in need, call us today to learn about your local support options. We offer many ways to engage and reduce the risk of substance abuse among youth.
Please call Fathers Who Care for more information about joining West Garfield Park Community Stakeholders.
773-550-3556
Bridging the inter-generational gaps, to promote a safe and drug-free community
“The van will have power tools, a 3-D printer and a laser cutter, and will be run on a generator. It will have everything you need for a project.”
A suburban woman is a step closer to her goal of retrofitting a used Workhorse P500 step van into a mobile “maker space,” where young people from the West Side and the suburbs can learn all kinds of problem-solving skills in areas like design, construction and architecture. MAYA BIRDMURPHY Maya Bird-Murphy, 26, of Oak Park, said Architect in an interview last week that she recently launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $10,000 — the minimum she believes it will advanced youth workshops. “We can start offering levels of classes, like cost to transform a van roughly the size of a UPS delivery truck into a space for 3-D printing 101, and you’d be able to take conducting more advanced versions of the classes that get more and more advanced and that allow you to build your workshops she currently offers skills,” she said. “The van will to area students. have power tools, a 3-D printer and Bird-Murphy is the program a laser cutter, and will be run on a coordinator for Architecture generator. It will have everything Adventure, which offers hands-on you need for a project.” workshops in construction and According to the Indiegogo design to elementary and middle site, Mobile Maker’s mission “is school students throughout to engage and empower youth Chicago. Last year, she started a through making and skill building, nonprofit, Chicago Mobile Makers, train and support future public with the goal of offering the interest architects, designers, educational workshops in a van MAYA BIRD-MURPHY and makers, and to advocate for and eventually a permanent space. Architect social, economic, gender and “We just connected with a racial diversity in the architecture contractor, Formed Space, and they jump-started this idea again,” said Bird- and broader design fields. So far we’ve held Murphy, who works at an architectural firm programs in Bronzeville, Garfield Ridge, Irving in Chicago. “We bought the truck in April and Park, East Garfield Park, Austin, Englewood, I was thinking we wouldn’t be able to start, the Near North Side, and Oak Park.” To donate to the Indiegogo campaign, visit: because we didn’t have the funds. But Formed indiegogo.com/projects/the-chicago-mobileSpace made the project seem more possible.” Bird-Murphy said that the retrofitted van makerspace#/. CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com will allow her organization to offer more
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
VIEW points
July 17 - 24
BIG WEEK
7
I
Chi-Gator can be a money-maker!
was driving through Humboldt Park the other day. As I passed the lagoon, I saw a mob of people milling about. Apparently, Chicago’s very own gator has created a sensation. Although Mayor Lightfoot urged people to stay away from the park, the exact opposite was happening. A festive and happy crowd of around 500 people had gathered near the large lagoon in hopes of getting a chance to spy the elusive and shy gator. Whether you call him or her “Chance the Snapper” or, like myself, “Chi-Gator,” the alligator is a hit. So rather than tell people to stay awake, my advice to Mayor Lightfoot is: Make money off of it! Chi-Gator is an attraction, luring people to the neighborhood. Where’s the creativity coming from City Hall? Put that gator on some of those scooters (licensing fee going to the city, of course) and have people park in various spots as they rent them to ride to the park. How about a photographer snapping a picture of the alligator in the water and then have people stand where to have a photo taken with the alligator image in the background? That would be the must-have selfie of the season with Chicago getting at least half of a $10 fee. Where is the call to our local breweries to create the Chi-Gator ale? How about connecting with Midori or any other alcoholic beverage company to create the Chi-Gator cocktail? A green drink in honor of our own green reptile? (A chance to celebrate green where St. Patrick is not the only option.) Our creative young people could invent the Chi-Gator Shuffle? There’s already a song
in Spanish about the alligator, but where’s the English about “our” gator? Izod Lacoste may have an alligator symbol on their shirts, but we can have our Chi-Gator mascot (trademarked of course) superimposed on T-shirts. He can be seen thumbing his snout at all the other historic icons sitting in the background: John Hancock, Sears Tower, the Picasso, the Bean, etc. as he lounges about in a local city park. That gator is a real Chicagoan who knows the best neighborhood can be found miles from downtown! How about a new lottery ticket in honor of Chi-Gator, with proceeds going to the city? Prizes can include: Ticket-free parking pass for a month or a year; get the boot taken off for free; wipe out your debt to the city up to $5,000; free water for life (no more water bill), and the one everyone of wants: free city stickers for life! Chi-Gator can be an opportunity to get our young people into the entrepreneurial mindset. Many of them don’t need training in how to be an entrepreneur; they need inspiration. And Chi-Gator can provide that. Downtown may have had those cows on parade, but we have our gator. Let’s celebrate his existence before he’s caught soon after Labor Day and sent to a local zoo. The zoo? Lincoln Park Zoo, of course! That gator is the long-overdue mascot the city needs. He has made Chicago his city and we want to keep him here and celebrate him!
ARLENE JONES
Proud to partner with Austin Talks
austintalks.org INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? Contact Dawn Ferencak 708.613.3329
8
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
Local group offers free repairs for West Siders
Volunteers with the Repair Cafe will be at Austin library July 27 By BONNI McKEOWN Contributor
YOUR NEWS. YOUR WEBSITE.
For more information, please contact Dawn Ferencak at 708.613.3329 • dawn@austinweeklynews.com
This summer, West Side residents who have any household items that need to be fixed, such as lamps, clocks, tables, toys, mixers, even record turntables, have been able to take them to the Austin Branch Public Library, 5615 W. Race St. Members of the nonprofit Repair Cafe have been on hand on the fourth Saturday of the month in June and July to make repairs and give advice on what parts you can buy at a local hardware store to complete a job onsite or at home. The next Repair Cafes in the Austin Branch library will be held Sat. July 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. e Austin resident Veronica Sorrell said that the repairs cut costs and keep people’s possessions from cluttering landfills and contributing to climate change. Sorrell added that the repairs also bring people together and helps them become more self-sufficient. Sorrell worked with Roy Kinsey, Austin’s teen library, to set up the repair sessions with Oak Park Repair Cafe organizer McLouis Robinet, who along with Kinsey is an active member of the Austin Town Hall Park advisory council. Sorrell, who makes faith banners and signs, has physical disabilities that keep her from heavy or regular work. She helps people with sewing repairs like hems, buttons and seam adjustments. “I’m thankful to help others because so many here have helped me,” she said. “We’d like to find local fixers and get our own group started here in Austin like they have in Oak Park.”
“This is the first Repair Cafe, of several thousand worldwide, to locate in a predominantly Black community,” Kinsey said. “A lot of us grew up with someone around who fixes things. Helping them is a bonding experience. Today you can develop a skill and patience instead of just following society’s tendency of instant gratification. You can fix something instead of throwing it away to a landfill.” Kinsey said that teens can volunteer at the library for community service credits for school. A Repair Cafe clock tear-apart session at the library last year attracted 10 young people. Robinet said the girls had as much fun as the boys. Robinet said many Repair Cafe volunteers are seniors like himself with broad mechanical skills— the kind of people who, as children, loved to take things apart. Alan Fox, wearing a T-shirt saying “I Void Warranties” has been fixing things since he took apart a watch at eight years old. He managed to get all the the watch parts back in the case only to find it didn’t work, but he kept going. He is a cabinet-maker skilled at fixing furniture and appliances. David Stocklosa also confessed to being one of those tinkering kids. Gary Lundin of LaGrange, a retired sales engineer dealing with electric motors joined the group after seeing a news story five years ago. “I enjoy working with people and fixing stuff,” he said. The Oak Park Repair Cafe started seven years ago and is hosted by the Lifelong Learning Center headquartered at Oak Park Arms, a retirement center. The Oak Park Repair Cafe is a chapter of the international Repair Cafe, which was organized in Amsterdam, Holland. The international group encourages people to patronize local repair shops to achieve the overall goal of conserving resources and increasing community fixit skills. Fixers take no money for the work, but welcome donations for the coffee and donuts served at the Repair Cafe. CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
9
10
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
At open mic night, residents pay homage to West Side
Cultural event at the Lab allow people to opine candidly, hopeful on their hometown By TRICIA WOOD AustinTalks
What does the West Side mean to you? That was the question posed by Resita Cox and Keith Kelley to a group of Chicagoans who gathered recently at the Lab, 3450 W. Lake St. Cox became inspired to work with Kelley on setting up an open mic event through a documentary film she is working on called “Regrowth.” The film focuses on three Garfield Park residents and entrepreneurs who are working to reclaim space and redevelop the neighborhood through urban farming and community service. “The idea of doing an open mic in conjunction with the film was to give the overall community a chance to come out and to have their voices be heard,” Cox said. The recordings — made June 28 of West Side residents who took to the stage to answer the question “what does the West Side mean to you” — will be used as some of the narration for the film. For Kelley, who’s with the Spoken Word Academy of Chicago, the open mic was an opportunity to promote the spoken word art form, as well as to highlight the cultural significance of the West Side. Being a “born and bred” resident of Garfield Park, Kelley talked candidly about his relationship with spoken word. “When I was a teenager,” Kelley said, “I would go to the Conservatory to write because I knew nobody from the neighborhood would be there.” Among the diverse crowd at The Lab were two young men from Garfield Park and Hyde Park, who sat eagerly waiting
for their chance to share their thoughts on the West Side and compare their perspectives with what they see depicted in the mainstream media. Antonio and Kenneth, who later shared the top prize awarded, both talked about misconceptions they’ve seen in the media and how that depiction impacts the attitudes of those living through them. For Kenneth, his time on stage was a chance to speak candidly about the hardships of growing up surrounded by gangs and violence. “It’s hard being a black man on the West Side,” he said. That life, he said, has included losing friends to violence before he turned 19, cycling in and out of jail and getting shot multiple times. Kenneth said he successfully left the gang world because he found a viable alternative. “I put down the gun and picked up the camera,” he said. Antonio, who grew up on the South Side, took the opportunity to explain his view of the West Side before he performed. “We really don’t realize the kings and queens that we are,” he said. “The West Side is this place that has so much potential. And it’s going to be this potential that is going to be manifested. I know it is.” Antonio emphasized the importance of the culture on the West Side. This culture, on view last month at The Lab, was apparent in the form of white, black and brown residents who made up the audience. Off to the side, Austin resident Jamar Wilson worked on a painting for the show’s winner. “The West Side to me is like a coal mine,” Wilson said, adding that, like a coal mine, the West Side seems useless and unimportant to a viewer who only sees its exterior. “But given the opportunity to dig deep and get to know some of the residents, there are so many jewels, gems and talents and more worth here,” he said. CONTACT: austintalks.org@gmail.com
AustinTalks
SHARING THEIR TRUTHS: West Side residents during a recent open mic session at the Lab, 3450 W. Lake St. During the event, community members opened up about what the West Side means to them.
“The” Friendship BAPTIST CHURCH Rev. Dr. Reginald E. Bachus, Pastor
5200 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60644 773-378-6600
fbcchicago.org • facebook.com/friendshipbcchicago SUNDAY SCHEDULE 8:30AM 1st Sunday Communion 8:30AM Morning Worship Service 9:30AM Sunday Church School 11:00AM Mid-Morning Worship Service MIDWEEK SERVICES (Wednesday) 12:00PM Noon Bible Study 6:00PM Bible Study 7:00PM Prayer Meeting
11
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
A West Side block club takes matters into its own hands
The 4000 Adams Block Club gets creative in fight against rising crime By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
The 15 regular members of the 4000 Adams Block Club have seen crime transform their neighborhood. Now, they’re determined to reverse the transformation. The block club spans the block of Adams Street that runs between Pulaski Road and Karlov Avenue. Bertha Zagore, a retired educator and grant writer who has lived on the block long enough to remember when Sears was headquartered in’ North Lawndale, said that her club is responding to the area’s quality of life issues several fronts. On the one hand, they’ve collaborated with government agencies and departments, such as the Chicago Police Department and the Department of Street and Sanitation. On the other hand, they’re using their own time and money to clean up the block and fence off vacant lots. Zagore is preparing to set up an online fundraiser to raise $10,000 to fence off the vacant lots that haven’t been fenced off already and paint murals along the fences, among other beautification efforts. She said that she plans on launching the GoFundMe sometime in August. Throughout her 58 years on 4000 Adams, block clubs have come and gone, Zagore said. Her club started nine years ago and represents roughly half of the block’s households. She said that the club’s presence has been particularly critical. Since November 2018, she explained, crime in the area start-
ed to escalate. “We had people on vacant lots selling drugs, we had cars pulling up day and night,” Zagore recalled. “In January, we met with Ald. Jason Ervin and we met with the new 11th District commander. It was still going on two months later.” Zagore said that, to make matters worse, residents have witnessed people “defecating, urinating and having sex” in gangways and backyards.” Phyllis Hale, who served as the block club’s president until last summer, echoed Zagore’s account, adding that, at times, the situation has gotten so bad that residents were afraid to get in their cars. Hale said that the spike in drug-dealing alarmed the neighborhood, but they were not going to take the rampant criminality lying it down. The block club members came up with several strategies, such as establishing “phone trees” to keep everybody in the loop and to have as many people as possible call 911. Several households on the block already have surveillance cameras. And the block club has already fenced off three vacant lots on the north side of Adams. “One of the neighbors bought the concrete, somebody else bought the panels, another person bought the pole,” Hale said. “Once we got what we needed, we just put it together.” The block club is also in the process of fencing off another large vacant lot that sits opposite Hale’s house. She said that their long-term plan is to build a gate on the Adams Street side and use it for block parties. Bobby Wright, who lived on the block for the past 30 years said that the fencing has slowed the drug traffic. Zagore said that she hopes the block improves even more after the club implements more improvements with the help of the fundraising money.
ON A MISSION: Bertha Zagore, a member of the 400 Adams Block Club, is hoping to raise funds so that they can make improvements in an effort to fight crime. “Most of us on this block are retired people from the education and medical fields,” Zagore said. “We are senior citizens and we’re trying to keep the properties up. And we’re just trying to finish our lives decently.” CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.com
12
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
Music. Dance. Movies. Theater. Festivals. Family Fun. Free events, in the parks, all summer.
Night Out in the Parks brings world-class performances to Chicago’s neighborhood parks! View our upcoming Night Out events at www.NightOutInTheParks.com or access them in the free My Chi Parks™ mobile app.
Lori Lightfoot, Mayor
2,000
140
77
EVENTS
ARTISTS
COMMUNITY AREAS
STAY CONNECTED.
@ChicagoParks #InTheParks
at AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM/CLASSIFIED 066 | E-MAIL: classifieds@AustinWeeklyNews.com
IFIEDS
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
13
deadline: 9:30 am Monday office hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday
CLASSIFIEDS TO PLACE AN AD HELP WANTED SAL’S POWER WASHING PART-TIME, FULL-TIME
Seeking to fill Fleet Washing positions. Positions Require: --Clean Appearance --Drug-Free --Valid Driver’s License --Clean Driving Record --Ability to Speak English CALL 708-351-5236
CALL: 773-626-6332 | FAX: 708-467-9066 | E-MAIL: classifieds@AustinWeeklyNews.com Place your ad online anytime at AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM/CLASSIFIED HELP WANTED
You have jobs. We have readers! Call 773-626-6332 to advertise here.
River Forest Public Schools District 90 seeks a full-time 12-month Building Engineer. Qualifications: · Ability to speak, read, and write English. · Valid Illinois driver’s license and excellent driving required. · Valid First Aid/CPR cards; bloodborne pathogen and Epipen training preferred. · General knowledge of communication tools, including, but not limited to, phone systems, email, and the like. Job Duties: · Keep District 90’s school buildings and grounds in an excellent state of cleanliness and maintenance in order to enhance the educational environment of the students. · Ensures that all building equipment is well maintained and in good repair. · Ability to make basic measurements and interpret dilution ratios. · Develops and follows a project cleaning schedule when school is not in session. · Assists visitors in utilizing the facilities, and ensures that proper set-up and clean up is performed for all users. · Supervises and evaluates custodians; conducts initial and ongoing training for custodians. · Ensures building security and remains on-call for building emergencies in off-hours. · Ability to establish and maintain positive work relationships with staff, students, and the community, including in a supervisory capacity.
VILLAGE OF STICKNEY Clerical Help The Village of Stickney is seeking qualified applicants for full and parttime for clerical position. The applicant will be required to have Microsoft Office knowledge and accounting skills. Must have a minimum of a high school diploma or a GED equivalent. Bilingual is a plus. Must be able to multitask. Responsibilities will include performing clerical and administrative duties in an office setting. Should have knowledge of office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems and personal computers. Will be required to answer phones and reroute calls to appropriate people. Weekly work schedule is 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Starting salary for part-time position is $12.00. Starting salary for full-time position is $15.00. Background check and drug test required. Send resume to the attention of Mayor Jeff Walik, 6533 W. Pershing Road, Stickney, IL 60402 Public Works Laborer The Village of Stickney is seeking qualified applicants for the part-time and full-time position of Public Works Laborer. The Laborer position performs a variety of skilled and semi-skilled tasks in the construction, maintenance and improvement of public properties, facilities, and infrastructure (water, sewer, streets, parkway, and storm sewer systems). This includes landscape and building maintenance, asphalt paying and patching, snow and ice control, sewer and basin cleaning and repair, forestry, street sweeping, concrete installation, and other tasks as assigned. The Laborer will operate vehicles and equipment of varying sizes and weights while performing these tasks. Must be able to lift 50 pounds. The weekly work schedule is normally, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., but may be altered or extended in the event of emergency, personnel shortage or workload. Work is required on some Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Duties are performed independently and as a team member. Position has “on-call responsibilities” and may be required to work nights, early mornings, weekends, and/or holidays on short notice. Work activities may be conducted in all weather conditions, and at all hours of the day, in precarious or confined surroundings and in close proximity to vehicular traffic. Minimum qualifications include graduation from high school, or GED equivalent, and must possess or obtain a valid commercial driver’s license (Class B with air brake endorsement, CDL preferred) within 6 months or date of hire. A water certification of Class “B” will be needed after 2 years of hire. Some knowledge of building maintenance, sewers, landscape is a plus. Salary for part-time $13.50 with no benefits; Salary for full-time is $19.90 with benefits. Physical, criminal back ground and drug/alcohol testing. Stop into the Stickney Village Hall, 6533 W. Pershing Road, Stickney, IL, to fill out an application.
classifieds@AustinWeeklyNews.com
HELP WANTED NETWORK SPECIALIST The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Network Specialist in the Information Technology Department. The ideal candidate will need to be knowledgeable and capable to apply the principles and procedures of computer systems, such as, data communication, hierarchical structure, backups, testing and critical analysis.Hardware and software configuration of computers, servers and mobile devices, including computing environments of Windows Server and Desktop OS and applications, Unix/Linux OS, VMware, IOS/Android. Network protocols, security, configuration and administration, including firewalls, routers, switches and wireless technology. Cabling and wiring, including fiber network, telephone, serial communication, termination, and punch-down. Telecommunications theory and technology, including VoiP, serial communication, wireless protocols, PBX, fax, voicemail and auto-attendant. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oakpark.us/. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application position opened until filled.
SUBURBAN RENTALS
SUBURBAN REAL ESTATE
ROOMS FOR RENT
NEW CONCEPT FOR MAYWOOD
Large Sunny Room with fridge, microwave. Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $101.00. New Mgmt. 773-376-8888
In this quiet residential neighborhood
902 S. 3RD AVENUE (2 blks W of 1st Ave & 1 blk N of Madison)
Reserve your own affordable 2 or 3 BR condo unit of 1000+ sq ft of living space being built on this historic site. You’ll benefit from a unique 12 year tax freeze and lower monthly living expenses from energy saving systems/appliances, and you can help design your own individual unit. Plans also include building 5 new townhomes onsite. For details Call 708-383-9223.
CITY RENTALS AUSTIN VILLAGE 5937 W MIDWAY PKWY
Clean 1BR apt, 1/2 blk from OP Green Line & shops. 3rd flr. $785/ mo. Heat not included. 708-383-9223
SUBURBAN RENTALS
Apartment listings updated daily at:
CRAFTERS & VENDORS
AUSTIN CLEAN ROOM With fridge, micro. Nr Oak Park, Super Walmart, Food 4 Less, bus, & Metra. $116/2k and up. 773-637-5957
SUBURBAN RENTALS BERWYN: 2 BR,gorgeous Apt w/ granite kitchen countr top. All appls. HT/WTR inc. Security cams. $1100 + $1500 sec. Close to Shpng Mall 708-699-8916 BROOKFIELD 2 BR 2 BR ground floor apt. Steps to Prairie Metra stop. C/A. Off-street parking. No pets. $1200/mo + util. Security. Credit Check. Call 708-387-7459
Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue. Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.
HELP WANTED
HELP WANTED
Editor/Reporter
Wednesday Journal, Inc., publisher of community news on Chicago’s West Side and Near West suburbs, has an opening for an editor/reporter. This is a full-time job covering Forest Park and River Forest. You will be reporting on village government and schools, business and community. Reporting will be published on digital, print and social platforms. We are looking for a person who loves community journalism, sees its power and its storytelling connections in an engaged community. We are an independent company, founded in 1980, adapting rapidly in a digital world while rooted in communities we have helped shape. Bring your energy and ideas, strong work ethic, enjoy a sense of ownership and discover the pleasures and satisfactions of doing good work. We’re paying $30,000 plus decent benefits. Send us a cover letter explaining why you’re interested and your resume to Dan Haley, editor and publisher, at dhaley@wjinc.com
OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT THERAPY OFFICES FOR RENT Therapy offices for rent in north Oak Park. Rehabbed building. Nicely furnished. Flexible leasing. Free parking. Free wifi; Secure building; Friendly colleagues providing referrals. Shared Waiting room; optional Conference. Call or email with questions. Shown on Sundays. Lee 708.383.0729 drlmadden@ameritech.net
CHURCH SPACE CHURCH IN MAYWOOD HAS SPACE AVAILABLE First Congregational Church of Maywood. Corner of 5th and Erie. Our current space share friends, Rose of Sharon Church, have found a new and permanent home. The Worship space they have used for the past 18 months, in the lower lev- el of our church, will be available beginning mid July. Large, multi use space with kitchen use available. Please send email inquiries to pastorelliot52@gmail.com.
CRAFTERS NEEDED Christ Episcopal Church Fall Bazaar Sat, Nov 9 • 9:00am-2:00pm 515 Franklin Av, River Forest $35 per table Light Lunch Provided Call Julie at 708-366-7730
GARAGE/YARD SALES Oak Park
GARAGE SALE 319 S HUMPHREY SAT 7/20 8AM TO 11AM SUN 7/21 9AM TO 1PM
(Garage in back, entrance to alley off Randolph) Youth, adult, and home. Scooters, board games, tools, sporting goods, brand new dog beds (she is picky), furniture, and so much more! River Forest
HUGE GARAGE SALE 743 MONROE AVE FRI 7/19 12PM TO 4PM SAT 7/20 9AM TO 1PM SUN 7/21 10AM TO 1PM
Office items, teaching materials, school supplies, toys, books, house decor, clothes, miscellaneous. We will be in the back alley, other houses in the block might join.
ITEMS FOR SALE LEATHER SOFA FOR SALE Beautiful, almost new, dark brown leather, 3 seater sofa for $1000.00 (originally $4500). Call 708-5240291 for evening appt. only. SINGER SEWING MACHINE Enclosed in Cabinet with drawers and chair $300.00 OBO 708-259-9527 THOMASVILLE BEDROOM SET 5 Piece Set, Great Condition Head, Foot Boards, Hutch,Dresser W/ Mirror, Night Stand. $800.00 OBO 708-259-9527
WANTED TO BUY WILL BUY OLD INSTRUMENTS Is an old instrument taking up space in your closet? I’m interested in buying your old acoustic folk instrument! Guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, fiddles, dulcimers, etc... Phone (708) 488-9280, or email, ukekev1955@gmail.com WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, flags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers-lead plastic-other misc. toys. Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400
AIR CONDITIONING/ HEAT AIR CONDITIONING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Air Conditioning Automotive A/C Refrigerators Ranges • Ovens Washer • Dryers Rodding Sewers
ITEMS FOR SALE CAMPING & TAILGATE ITEMS IGLOO MINI REFRIGERATOR Dual power. Used once.
Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience
PULL HANDLE COOLER Used once.
FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.
2 FOLDING ROUND CHAIRS Brand new. POP UP CANOPY TENT 10 x 10. Green & white stripes. Comes with carry case.
708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000
Best offers. 708-745-2986 CERTIFIED WIND SURFER Full Size, with cover and sail $125.00. WATER SKIS $10.00 708-488-8755 FILE CABINET High quality file cabinet, 2 drawers. 3.5 ft high x 1.5 ft wide. 708-848-8755
CLEANING CLEANING FOR YOU
Experienced, reliable, honest, 100% satisfaction guaranteed! Call or leave a message: 708-870-6740 or 708-262-9756
Starting a New Business? Publish your Assumed Name legal notice in Austin Weekly News. Call the Experts! (773) 626-6332
14
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
CLASSIFIEDS (773) 626-6332 | FAX: (708) 467-9066 | E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM CEMENT
CEMENT Residential Commercial Industrial Licensed Bonded Insured Free Estimates ¡ Veteran Owned
Drives Walks Patios Stamped Concrete Curbs/Gutters Garage Floors Foundations Water Control / Management
PAINTING & DECORATING
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
CLASSIC PAINTING
TRUST, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT AS TRUSTEE FOR PRETIUM MORTGAGE ACQUISITION TRUST Plaintiff, -v.DEANNA GARCIA, LE MOYNE SQUARE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 2018 CH 15970 3607 W LEMOYNE STREET UNIT G CHICAGO, IL 60651 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on April 24, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on August 30, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 3607 W LEMOYNE STREET UNIT G, CHICAGO, IL 60651 Property Index No. 16-02-115-0441012. The real estate is improved with a residence. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twentyfour (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS� condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.
Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost
708.749.0011
devegaconcrete.com ¡ 708-945-9001
MAGANA
C O N C R E T E C O N S T RU C T I O N C O E E R “QUALITY IS R OUR ESTABLISHED C ON NC C R ET TFOUNDATION� E C CO ON N SS T T RU UC CT T II O OINN N1987 “QUALITY IS OUR F OUNDATI O N � E STA B LI SH E D I N 1 9 8 7 “QUALITY IS OUR F OUNDATI O N � E STA B LI SH E D I N 1 9 8 7
COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL •• INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL •• RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL
708.442.7720 DRIVEWAYS •• FOUNDATIONS •• PATIOS •• STEPS DRIVEWAYS FOUNDATIONS PATIOS STEPS DRIVEWAYS • FOUNDATIONS • PATIOS CURB / GUTTERS • SIDEWALKS • SNOW PLOWING CURB / GUTTERS • SIDEWALKS • SNOW PLOWING STEPS • CURB/GUTTERS • SIDEWALKS STAMPED ,, COLORED ,, & AGGREGATE STAMPED COLORED• &STAMPED, AGGREGATE CONCRETE CONCRETE SNOW PLOWING COLORED F REE ESTIMATES L ICENSED, BONDED, & INSURED FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED , BONDED, & INSURED & AGGREGATE CONCRETE
FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED, BONDEDREAL & INSURED ESTATE
ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed
FOR SALE ELECTRICAL
A&A ELECTRIC
Let an American Veteran do your work
We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles. We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs Home Re-wiring • New Plugs & Switches Added New circuit breaker boxes • Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp • Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential • Commercial • Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. • Bonded • Ins. • Low Rates • Free Est.
708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area
ELECTRICAL
LANDSCAPING
FOUR SEASONS ELECTRIC
BRUCE LAWN SERVICE
Cool your Home★ ★with Ceiling Fans! Installing Ceiling Fans Rewiring Old Houses Service Upgrades
Reasonable Pricing & Free Estimates
• No Job Too Big or Too Small • Lic * Bonded * Ins * 24 hrs
708-445-0447 HANDYMAN
HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs • Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates
773-732-2263 Ask for John
Spring Clean-Up Aerating, Slit Seeding Bush Trimming, Lawn Maintenance brucelawns.com
708-243-0571
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION CITIBANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF THE NRZ PASSTHROUGH TRUST VI; Plaintiff, vs. ANTOINETTE JEFFERSON, AS INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF BETTY JEFFERSON AKA BETTY L. JEFFERSON, DECEASED; Defendants, 17 CH 483 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Friday, August 23, 2019 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-02-316-028-0000. Commonly known as 1040 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL 60651. The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 16-029404 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3126018 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, D/B/A CHRISTIANA
PLUMBING
PLUMBING
A-All American
Plumbing & Sewer Service FREE ESTIMATES Service in 1 Hour in Most Cases
All Work Guaranteed Lowest Prices Guaranteed FREE Video Inspection with Sewer Rodding /P +PC 5PP -BSHF t /P +PC 5PP 4NBMM Family Owned & Operated
t Lic. #0967
Attention! Home improvement pros! Reach your target market. Advertise here. 773/626-6332.
Map It!
G AR AGE
SALES
GO TO AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS. COM/ GARAGESALES TODAY! or call Mary Ellen at 708.626.6332 to place an ad
Find your local garage sales all in one place!
LAND AUCTION
Thursday, August 1, 2019 • 6:00PM
LOCATION:
INCOME PRODUCING RECREATION LAND 39 +/ - ACRES
Farley Room, 202 South Range St., Oblong IL 39 +/- Acres Prime Hunting Land, 4.87 +/ - Acres CRP w/annual payment of $862.00 due to expire in 2024 Willow Creek runs thru property. Marketable timber appraisal of $15,000.00 and would rise significantly w/another 8 years of growth. Ideal building location for a home or cabin. Hooked up to EJ Water and has active account. Property Located in Sec 1, Licking Township, Crawford County, IL Land is covered in Deer tracks and owners have spotted several Turkeys Seller: P & N Properties
schmidauction.com
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
15
CLASSIFIEDS (773) 626-6332 | FAX: (708) 467-9066 | E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
For information, examine the court file or contact Plaintiff’s attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876 Please refer to file number 14-18-13815. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE, IL 60527 (630) 794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-18-13815 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2018 CH 15970 TJSC#: 39-2691 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. I3125602
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION CITIBANK, N.A., NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF NRZ PASS-THROUGH TRUST VI Plaintiff, -v.LAURA CROFFORD, JEFFREY CROFFORD, DESMOND CROFFORD, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF WILLIS CROFFORD, JR, IF ANY, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, JOHN LYDON, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DECEASED MORTGAGOR, WILLIS CROFFORD, JR. Defendants 2017 CH 16823 4736 WEST RACE AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60644 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on May 28, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on August 30, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South
Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 4736 WEST RACE AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60644 Property Index No. 16-10-108-0280000. The real estate is improved with a single family residence. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twentyfour (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale.
The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, examine the court file or contact Plaintiff’s attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876 Please refer to file number 14-18-14035. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7
day status report of pending sales. CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE, IL 60527 (630) 794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-18-14035 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2017 CH 16823 TJSC#: 39-3480 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. I3125620
$80,249.37. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twentyfour (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, contact The sales clerk, SHAPIRO KREISMAN & ASSOCIATES, LLC, 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301, Bannockburn, IL 60015, (847) 2911717 For information call between
the hours of 1pm - 3pm. Please refer to file number 17-083701. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. SHAPIRO KREISMAN & ASSOCIATES, LLC 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301 Bannockburn IL, 60015 847-291-1717 E-Mail: ILNotices@logs.com Attorney File No. 17-083701 Attorney Code. 42168 Case Number: 17 CH 10388 TJSC#: 39-3329 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. I3126278
local employees happy employees!
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO LASALLE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR MERRILL LYNCH MORTGAGE INVESTORS TRUST, MORTGAGE LOAN ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007HE1 Plaintiff, -v.RACHELLE R. FAULKNER A/K/A RACHELLE RENEE FAULKNER A/K/A RACHELLE R. BILLUPS, YVETTE FAULKNER Defendants 17 CH 10388 5844 WEST HURON STREET Chicago, IL 60644 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on May 22, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on August 23, 2019, at The Daley Center, 50 W. Washington, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 5844 WEST HURON STREET, Chicago, IL 60644 Property Index No. 16-08-204-0150000 The real estate is improved with a multi-family residence. The judgment amount was
Illinois Classified Advertising Network AUCTION 1150 GUNS AT AUCTION • JULY 21ST 9:00AM 601 LAKE LAND BLVD, MATTOON, IL 217-259-5956 Colt, Winchester, Mauser, Maynard, Marlin, Ruger, Beretta, Gatling, AR, S&W, Sig, Glock, More! 217-259-5956 www.baurauction.com 2-DAY GUN / MILITARY AUCTION LIVE & ONLINE! July 20th - 21st 10AM 8512 S Union Rd, Union, IL VEHICLES * GUNS * WEAPONS * GEAR AMMO * MEMORABILIA RODS * TACKLE * MORE (815) 923-7000 • www.donleyauctions.com
BLUEBERRIES FOR SALE
Hire Local.
Place an ad on Austin’s local online Job Board. Go to AustinWeeklyNews/classified today!
BLUEBERRIES! Certified Organic. Seasonal U-Pick and Pre-Picked, Year-round frozen. Clean fields, easy picking, Northwest Indiana, easy access off 80/90. Check us out at www.BlueberryRanch.com
HEALTH FARMERS, LANDSCAPERS or GARDENERS, did you or a loved one use Roundup Weed Killer and were diagnosed with NON-HODGKINS LYMPHOMA (Cancer)? You may be entitled to compensation. Call Attorney Charles Johnson: 1-800-535-5727
LEGAL SERVICES Contact Mary Ellen Nelligan for more information. (708) 613-3342 • classifieds@austinweeklynews.com
NEED LEGAL HELP? Get a FREE referral to an attorney! Call the Illinois State Bar Association Illinois Lawyer Finder The advice you need! https://www.isba.org/public/illinoislawyerfinder or 1-877-270-3855
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.; Plaintiff, vs. ERNESTO CRUZ, SR.; JAZMIN CASSIO; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 18 CH 12717 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-02-313-033-0000. Commonly known as 1030 North Ridgeway Avenue, Chicago, IL 60651. The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 18-030181 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3126338
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777. Austin Weekly News
16
Austin Weekly News, July 17, 2019
Summer 2019 Guide
We are a CPS Vendor.
#34334 Reserve your space with your P.O.# today!
Parents in the West Side neighborhood are looking right now to find the right school for their children. The Austin Weekly News, as the most widely read community newspaper on the West Side, can help your school reach out to those families throughout the year!
Publication Date:
August 7
Deadline Date:
August 2
To reserve space or for more information, please contact Dawn (708) 613-3329 • dawn@austinweeklynews.com