9-year old girl killed in Back of the Yards shooting
A shooting in Back of the Yards killed a nine-year-old girl and injured ten other family members, including three children and the girl’s mother Saturday night, April 13. Ariana Molina, was shot in the head and rushed to Comer Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later, according to police. Police say SpotShotter detected eighteen gunshots fired on the 2000 block of West 52nd Street shortly after 9:00pm where victims gathered in a confirmation celebration. At a press conference, police reported that it was most likely a gang-related incident, although the family told the Sun-Times that they do not understand why gang members would shoot directly at a family.
Chicago Police and community organizations, UCAN and Chicago Survivors will open on Wednesday an emergency center at Richard M. Daley College (5024 S. Wolcott Ave.) from 3–7pm to provide people with resources such as counseling, assistance for victims of violent crimes and other support.
Neighborhood travel series
Choose Chicago, a nonprofit organization that works with the city to promote Chicago and make it a “destination” spot, recently released a travel series show called, “The 77: A City of Neighborhoods.” Despite what its name suggests, the show focuses on just five neighborhoods and tells their story through interviews with residents and small business owners: Pullman/Roseland, Little Village, Bronzeville, Uptown, and Humboldt Park. Running about half an hour each, the episodes feature a range of South Side restaurants, such as Old Fashioned Donuts in Roseland, La Catedral in Little Village, and Carver 47 in Bronzeville, as well as bits about the histories of each neighborhood. The Little Village episode is also available in Spanish under La Villita, and all can be accessed for free at www.choosechicago.com/the77.
Though one gets the sense that the intended audience may in part be out-of-towners, there’s plenty to learn and savor for longtime Chicagoans too, and it’s refreshing to see a tourism agency set its sights on places other than the Loop. All that’s left is to ask: when should we expect the next seventy-two episodes?
Housing Issue Survey
The Weekly is gearing up to do a Housing Issue this summer, our first in many years. We want to gather the perspectives and information needs of our readers and community members, to help drive and focus our coverage. Are you looking for resources on how to apply for a first-time homeowner loan? Are you interested in learning about tenant unions and how to form one yourself? Are you curious about what the future—or past—of housing will or did look like? Let us know by scanning the QR code below and filling out our survey, or heading to bit.ly/ssw-housing-issue-24