Weeks after a mural of a slain Ukrainian refugee appeared in a West Side neighborhood, a local Ukrainian group is fighting to prevent a second mural from going up.Members of the Illinois chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) received word from Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) that a constituent had made a request to paint a mural somewhere in the North Center neighborhood. It was not immediately clear if the proposed mural was linked to the North Center artwork of Iryna Zarutska. Villegas’ office didn’t provide a comment. Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed last summer while riding a train home from work in Charlotte, North Carolina. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have blamed Democrats for the stabbing because the man charged in the stabbing was in and out of jail several times in the last decade.Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak, president of the UCCA’s Illinois chapter, said she was outraged when she learned of the request for a new mural. She said she’s connected to Zarutska’s community in Charlotte, North Carolina, and that no one contacted Zarutska’s family before using her photo for the mural. The UCCA played a role in the Ukrainian Village being designated a cultural district in Illinois, and works to support cultural, educational and humanitarian activities in the area.“If someone really cares about war refugees, there’s a lot of work you can do to help them, other than to paint a mural without family’s permission and just sign a poor girl’s name on it,” Dmytriv-Kapeniak said.Zoryana Smozhanyk,…
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