West Garfield Park

West Garfield Park mom wonders if neighborhood is a safe place to raise kids

By Andy Grimm

Crime

Burglars use pickup truck to smash into West Side clothing store; 2 held

Two men were arrested on suspicion of burglary after officers found their pickup truck had crashed through a retail clothing store late Tuesday.

By Kade Heather

Inches of water flood Denise Abbott’s basement in Austin, Sunday, July 3, 2023.

City Hall

West Side flooding prompts deluge of complaints at budget hearing

“I don’t see nothing there for the West Side. It makes me sick to my stomach,” Ald. Emma Mitts told Water Commissioner Andrea Cheng.

By Fran Spielman

A man was shot to death in the 2000 block of South Michigan, police said.

Crime

2 killed, 2 wounded —including 7-year-old boy — in Garfield Park shooting

Two men were killed and two others wounded in a shooting Sunday. A 7-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to the head and was hospitalized in fair condition.

By Sun-Times Wire

El padre de Marisol Berrios, Raphael Berrios, de 70 años, dijo que no estaba al tanto del alcance que tenía su hija mayor hasta que comenzó a recibir llamadas de todo el mundo, incluso de personas en Chile y España.

La Voz Chicago

Comunidad suelta globos en memoria de la pastora Marisol Berrios

Patricia Berrios dijo que la muerte de su hermana es aún más dura porque su madre murió dos meses antes.

By Violet Miller

Crime

West Side pastor Marisol Berrios is remembered with a balloon release

Berrios, who conducted sermons online, reaching a global audience, was honored by friends and others “for the hero she is.”

By Violet Miller

Jacqueline Coles holds up photos of her son James Cole when he was in high school at her home in Morgan Park, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. Her son James Coles was shot and killed during a drive by in the West Pullman area.

Crime

Family mourns dancer fatally shot near mother’s home: ‘I never thought I’d have to bury my son’

As James Coles left his mother’s Morgan Park home to see a friend, Jacqueline Coles grabbed him by the wrist and told him to be careful. Hours later, she stood outside Christ Medical Center as doctors tried in vain to save him.

By Mohammad Samra

Damario Ferguson, 15, is recovering after being shot in the abdomen after a Friday night football game at Mount Carmel high school.

Crime

‘I got hit once and I kept running.’ 15-year-old recounts shooting after Mount Carmel-Morgan Park football game

Damario Ferguson was one of seven young people shot over the Labor Day weekend.

By Allison Novelo and Rosemary Sobol

Crime

Man fatally shot following car crash in West Garfield Park

The man crashed into another car in the 3800 block of West Madison Street. A man inside the other car then shot him multiple times, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

A rendering of the Community Center for Teaching and Learning.

Education

Malcolm X College’s Far West Side satellite campus to get $9.5 million expansion

A 3,000-square feet addition to the satellite campus will be called the Community Center for Teaching and Learning. Besides boosting student capacity by 50% to 2,000, the community center will also serve as an events space.

By David Struett

Crime

Passenger fatally shot in West Garfield Park

The man, 18, was inside a car just before 10 p.m. when someone fired shots, striking him in the head, cheek and abdomen.

By Sun-Times Wire

Chris Harris, 13, who performed a poem with his twin, reacts as visitors clap for them after the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago’s Rusu-McCartin Club on the West Side, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023.

West Garfield Park

New Boys and Girls Club opens on West Side ‘not only for our young people but by our young people’

The $15 million, 27,000-square-foot Rusu-McCartin Boys & Girls Club is the first new club from the organization in two decades.

By Kaitlin Washburn

Los robos ocurrieron entre las 7:20 y las 8:20 a.m. el jueves, según la policía. | Archivos Sun-Times

Crime

Man shot, killed in West Garfield Park vehicle

The man, 33, was sitting in a vehicle about 9:20 a.m. in the 300 block of North Kilbourn Avenue when an SUV approached and at least one person inside opened fire, Chicago police said.

By Mohammad Samra and Sun-Times Wire

Health

Groups call for safe-use site as opioid overdose deaths climb

Overdose prevention groups continue to offer innovative solutions — such as stocking old newspaper distribution boxes with anti-overdose medicine — but say such efforts are not enough as deaths continue to rise.

By Michael Loria

Crime

1 killed, 4 wounded in West Garfield Park drive-by shooting

Ashley Griggs, 40, was killed in the early Sunday shooting in the 4000 block of West Washington Boulevard, police say. Four others were wounded and are hospitalized.

By Sun-Times Wire

West Garfield Park

Man killed in West Garfield Park hit-and-run

The man, who hasn’t been identified, was in the 800 block of South Pulaski Road when he was hit and trapped under a car Thursday afternoon, police said.

By Mary Norkol

The Save A Lot at 420 S. Pulaski Road in West Garfield Park.

News

Plan to rehab West Side grocery ‘like putting a Band-Aid over a terrible wound,’ shoppers say: ‘We need a new building’

Yellow Banana, owner of the Save A Lot, plans to renovate the store, but local shoppers say the building needs to go after decades of rat infestation.

By Michael Loria

Crime

Boy, 17, shot in West Garfield Park

Teen, shot late Wednesday night, was listed in fair condition at Stroger Hospital, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

A 46-year-old woman was shot to death early Saturday in Grand Crossing on the South Side.

Crime

Girl killed, 2 wounded in West Garfield Park shooting

Two 17-year-old girls and a 19-year-old man were outside a home in the 3800 block of West Gladys Avenue when someone in a car fired shots before midnight Monday.

By Sun-Times Wire

Crime

Juvenile driving stolen car causes fatal crash on West Side: police

The crash happened at the intersection of Independence Boulevard and Roosevelt Road.

By Sun-Times Wire

A man was fatally shot Saturday afternoon in Englewood.

Crime

Man dies after found shot on sidewalk in Garfield Park

The 26-year-old was shot in the lower back about 6:30 p.m. in the 3900 block of West Gladys Avenue.

By Sun-Times Wire

Crime

14-year-old boy shot in Garfield Park

The teen was in good condition after the Wednesday afternoon shooting in the 4300 block of West Adams Street, police said. No one was in custody.

By Sun-Times Wire

Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th meets diners at Manny’s Deli in the West Loop on Feb. 28, 2023.

Fran Spielman Show

Ald. Walter Burnett says nothing nefarious about how he spent unaccounted for $165K — otherwise, ‘I’d be in jail’

“My accountant and my lawyers are working on that. It’s fine. It hasn’t gone anywhere. We’ve just got to reconcile it. And it will be reconciled,” Burnett said Thursday.

By Fran Spielman

Crime

Two shot, one fatally, in West Garfield Park

The victims were sitting in a parked car in the 4100 block of West Taylor Street when they were shot, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

Community activists joined hands Thursday to pray on the steps of the Legler Regional Library Branch in West Garfield Park, where a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old were shot Tuesday.

Chicago

Charges pending against alleged gunman in shooting outside Garfield Park library branch

A 37-year-old Brookfield man was arrested in the shooting that wounded two boys, ages 12 and 16, outside the Legler public library branch.

By Andy Grimm

From left to right, Zerlina Smith-Members, Rev. Ira Acree and Rev. Marshall Hatch, Jr.

Politics

Who will fill Brandon Johnson’s Cook County Board seat?

The application process for those interested in serving the rest of Brandon Johnson’s term on the County Board was announced Wednesday. Those already vying for the spot include three members of the Leaders Network, a West Side faith-based group.

By Michael Loria

Two boys, both 17, were shot July 12, 2022, in Austin.

Crime

Boys, 12 and 16, wounded in shooting outside library in West Garfield Park

Two people were taken into custody a few blocks away. A weapon was recovered at the shooting scene, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

Organizer Tawana Pope gets food Saturday during a Mother’s Day BBQ that provided meals for mothers experiencing homelessness in West Garfield Park.

Chicago

Mother’s Day BBQ provides food, clothing and reminder to unhoused moms that ‘you are not alone’

“My message to single moms is that you can find a way out, find your gift and you can do anything,” said LaSonya Alexander, founder of Moms Can Do It 2.

By Kaitlin Washburn

Tawana Pope, an outreach worker for Hines VA Medical Center, stands outside the suburban hospital.

News

BBQ for homeless moms is for those ‘who feel they fell short’

Tawana Pope of Diamonds in the Making, a nonprofit that does outreach with unhoused people, will host the free barbecue on the West Side on Saturday.

By Michael Loria

Screen_Shot_2022_08_26_at_10.12.07_PM.png

Crime

Stolen car crashes into pickup truck in Garfield Park, 4 hurt

Police say two people in a stolen Hyundai struck a pickup Sunday afternoon in the 4400 block of West Washington Boulevard. Three children and an adult were injured.

By Sun-Times Wire