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West Siders grill park district about festivals at Douglass Park
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FREE Vol. 36 No. 35
August 31, 2022
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Also serving Garfield Park
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ACT Special Section INSIDE
Open mic returns to East Garfield Park library Hidden Talents open mic held every fourth Thursday of the month at Richard M. Daley branch library
Controversial ‘cop academy’ to have mock neighborhood
By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter
Police and firefighters will conduct training exercises in a mock neighborhood at the controversial cop academy on the West Side, raising the total cost of the project to $128 million. Construction on the $33 million, state-of-the-art “tactical scenario village” used for police and fire training will include a fake city block, a six-story burn tower, a car crash rescue area and other settings and props to simulate real-life emergencies. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer. Construction on Phase 1 of the training campus at 4301 W.
Roy Kinsey, a rapper and librarian at the Richard. M. Daley branch library, 733 N. Kedzie Ave., said that one of the major reasons he started the Hidden Talents open mic back in 2017 was to give people, especially youth, a place where their talents could blossom. “Some teens, they were so shy when they started out, and when they put on their song they became a whole different person,” he said. As the Aug. 25 open mic got underway, 17-yearold James Evans, who performs as Tankoo the Goat, smiled sheepishly and kept looking away. But as the music played, his voice became clear and confident, and he moved around the stage without a second’s hesitation. This was the first open mic since the pandemic. Kinsey said he revived the platform because people in the community need to express them-
See COP ACADEMY on page 4
See HIDDEN TALENTS on page 10
SHANEL ROMAIN/Staff
Construction on the $33 million “tactical scenario village” used for police and fire training will include a fake city block and a six-story burn tower By JENNIFER BAMBERG Block Club Chicago
MY PEDIATRICIAN GAVE ME CONFIDENCE ABOUT VACCINATING MY CHILD
UMI B.
CHI.GOV/REALSTORIES