J U L Y 18, 2 01 8 V O L . 1 0 I S S U E 31
Rock Island site of Revolutionary War, War of 1812 battles
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EVENTS
Walk of Flowers Morning showers can’t stop walk of flowers SEE PAGE 2
SPORTS
On fire Burndown at Sundown entertains again SEE PAGE 5
BUSINESS Dave Says Better to pre-plan vs. prepay funeral
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JULY 18, 2018 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
VILLAGE NEWS >> DOWNERS GROVE
Morning showers can’t stop walk of flowers Downers Grove’s 12th annual Garden Walk helps Bridge Board BY RYAN OSTRY Bugle Staff @BugleNewspapers rostry@buglenewspapers.com
PHOTO BY RYAN OSTRY
Garden lovers were not stopped by a little morning rain as they flocked to the 12th Annual Downers Grove Garden Walk.
On the 12th Annual Downers Grove Garden Walk last Saturday, residents and tourist from all over did not let a little rain stop them from enjoying their participation in a great cause. The rain teetered back-andforth for the first few hours of the event starting at 9:30 a.m. but the weekend Gods decided to put a halt to that real quick. The Garden Walk charity is a partnership with Bridge Board at First Methodist Church and Bridge Communities. Bridge Board currently sponsors and mentors two families — providing the financial support, which is delegated by the Downers Grove Garden Walk fundraiser in the summer. Chairwoman Mary Carver said she enjoys this once a year event especially because of the multiple people it helps, and all of the benefits that are gained from the experience. “Everybody is happy while doing this,” Carver said. “I think that it’s even more special though because everyone who is doing this knows that the proceeds are going to support Bridge.” Bridge Communities was founded in 1988 by two community volunteers, Mark Milligan and Bob Wahlgren, and has grown to become the largest transitional housing program in DuPage County. Dan Johnson, who is the chairman of Bridge Board First Methodist Church, said this program has seen results in the past. “This event typically helps mothers or families with young children who find themselves in a homeless or near homeless situation,” Johnson said. “As a program partner we do fundraising like this Garden Walk and other events to sponsor a family, and it really pays off.” The Garden Walk offers six different landscaped gardens across the Downers Grove area, all having their own identity and attracting the oohs and aahs from spectators.
“It’s a little different every year in that fact that some flowers will grow particularly tall, some with be more vibrant and we have other perennial flowers and bushes that contribute it being a little different every year.” Throughout the area the six gardens presented were: Johnson Garden, Burnham Garden, Sklodowski Garden, Walker Lackland Garden, Brown DeSutter garden and Mulkewicz Garden. Twenty-year gardening veterans David Lackland and his wife Eillien take great pride in their vigorous “Kaleidoscope” garden, and notice that every year still brings great joy to them. “It’s a little different every year in that fact that some flowers will grow particularly tall, some with be more vibrant and we have other perennial flowers and bushes that contribute it being a little different every year,” Lackland said. Through the many years of gardening and trying different recipes, Lackland said there is also serenity to the process. “We like the sense of peace that comes with all of this. We have hummingbirds, butterflies and moss that feast and that’s always fun to see. It’s just really nice seeing the smaller wildlife around here, it’s very calming.” Steadfast volunteer and local Roberta Muehlhaus said she also finds great benefit in partaking in this munificence every year. “Meeting all these people and sharing all of the gardens in downtown Downers Grove is all just a unbelievable gratifying feeling of helping others through the Bridge,” Muehlhaus said. “The diversity of the plants, the quiet setting and the amount of effort the owners put into creating this wonderful space is amazing.”
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JULY 18, 2018 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
VILLAGE NEWS >> WESTMONT
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FOREST PRESERVE
Enjoy Music, Art, Theater and Nature at ‘Discover Mayslake’ July 21 Free All-Ages Open House Spotlights YearRound Events at the Estate PHOTO BY RYAN OSTRY
Taiwanese dancers were part of the entertainment at the 97th Taste of Westmont festival.
Taste of Westmont a hit with the community This year marks the 97th year of the popular, four-day event BY RYAN OSTRY Bugle Staff @BugleNewspapers rostry@buglenewspapers.com
An abundance of summer loving civilians paraded the suburbia streets with the four-day annual ‘Taste of Westmont’ which ran July 12 through the 15. This event is hosted by a numerous amount of volunteers who assemble the whole rendezvous every year. Local volunteer Tess Mahan said she has only been doing this event for the past couple years, and doesn’t intend on quitting anytime soon. “This is my second year working in the beer and wine tent and I love Westmont,” Mahan said. “[Westmont] is a great little town, and it seems like everyone knows each other and it’s always just really nice to come out to these kind of events.” Westmont Special Events Corporation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to coordinating, and assisting with community events such as this one.
Many of the cities most notable joined in the weekend fun including the mayor Ron Gunter who is currently serving in his sixth year. Gunter has been around this event for a while, and he has been seeing many beneficial aspects of the taste. “What this has become is a reunion for classes such as Westmont High School and Hinsdale Central,” Gunter said. “It’s great to see everyone reminiscing with each other, going from the 90’s classes to 2000’s classes and so on.” This year marks the 97th year of the popular event, kicking off in 1996 when Cass Ave. was closed parlaying the name ‘Taste of Westmont’. The Taste got started Thursday night with the four hour Westmont Car Show, following other events such as Michael Mclnerny, kidzapalooza carnival special and the Westmont library trivia night. Friday night, the folks in Westmont enjoyed entertainment, while also catching some serious sunrays with temperatures reaching the upper 90s, but that did not stop the musician’s workshop as well as the ever so famous bingo from taking place. In addition to the Friday night
festivities, Taiwan dancers took the main stage and captured the audience’s attention with their poetic and symmetry style of motion. Meng Yueh Hsu who is the artistic director of the group facilitated this partnership with the Taste of Westmont and the Taiwan dancers, so that every year there is a performance adding to the more than 400 stages performed on nationwide. “I get nervous because every stage is very different, and this is the first time we have seen this stage,” Hsu said. “Once everybody is up on that stage, I just get very happy and proud of all of them.” On Saturday, a plethora of different events were scattered around during the day including: Expressions dance, uke circle with Unlce Jon’s Music, face painting, wings & talons birds of prey, ice cream vendors, bingo crafts princess leia visit and many more. With the finale coming on Sunday, the yearly event wrapped up with eclectville, battle of the bands and Muddy Waters Jame and Tribute. In total there were 13 food vendors, several different beer tents and plenty of other kid rides and games.
Take a self-guided tour of Mayslake Hall and enjoy live music and theater, art, nature hikes, archery and fishing at “Discover Mayslake” on Saturday, July 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 pm. at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St. in Oak Brook. The free, all-ages open house spotlights programs and events offered throughout the year at the 87-acre estate, which is home to the 1920s Tudor Revival-style Mayslake Hall, a national historic landmark. Two Mayslake regulars will perform during the event, Sinfonietta Bel Canto at 12 p.m. and Acappellago at 1 p.m. First Folio Theatre — Mayslake’s resident theater company and the western suburbs’ premier nonprofit professional theater — will give short performances at 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. Visitors can take in the beauty of Mayslake on naturalist-led hikes through the forest preserve’s high-quality prairie, oak savanna and woodland and on garden walks led by volunteers who care for the estate’s heritage garden. They can stop by exploration stations featuring bugs and letterboxing (a type of outdoor treasure hunt), or try archery and fishing with Forest Preserve District rangers. “We are so lucky to have this historic icon right in our backyard,” said Forest Preserve District of DuPage County President Joe Cantore. “It’s just one of the many cultural at-
MORE INFO The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County has been connecting people to nature for more than 100 years. More than 4 million people visit its 60 forest preserves, 145 miles of trails, five education centers and scores of programs each year. For information, call 630-933-7200 or visit dupageforest. org, where you can also link to the District’s e-newsletter, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
tractions that connect people to nature in DuPage County.” Other open house features include historical talks about the forest preserve and the ongoing restoration of Mayslake Hall, tours of the mansion, an art exhibit of Illinois bicentennial-inspired works, and art activities, including one where visitors’ completed images will be posted on Mayslake’s Facebook page. Throughout the year Mayslake Hall hosts theater and musical productions, art classes, tours, exhibits, workshops, summer camps, special events and private functions. The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County has been connecting people to nature for more than 100 years. More than 4 million people visit its 60 forest preserves, 145 miles of trails, five education centers and scores of programs each year. For information, call 630933-7200 or visit dupageforest.org, where you can also link to the District’s e-newsletter, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
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Rock Island site of Revolutionary War, War of 1812 battles BY ROGER RUTHHART The Quad-Cities region has provided a footnote to history for virtually every war fought on American soil, including the Battle of Campbell’s Island – the western-most battle of the War of 1812. According to the records of Indian historian John Hauberg, as the French and Indian War ended, the last of the French soldiers of the northwest spent the winter of 1760-61 near present-day Rock Island, ice bound, on their retreat from Michilimacinac to Fort Chartress, Illinois, following the British conquest of Canada. All Indian villages in the upper Mississippi and Great Lakes were canvassed by British agents to enlist Indians for fighting in the frontier during the Revolutionary War. The Americans, even before General George Rogers Clark conquered the Illinois country in July 1778, had agents who had succeeded in keeping the Sauk and Meskwaki from joining the British ranks. With the arrival of Gen. Clark, messengers were sent to all of the tribes inviting them to come to Kahokia to join in treaties of peace. According to the writings of Hauberg, the Sauk held to the middle ground – trading with the British but also with the Spanish at St. Louis and with the Americans in Illinois. In 1780 the British hatched a plan to retake the entire Mississippi Valley. Representatives of all tribes were forced to serve. The first attack was at St. Louis, but according to some accounts the Sauk and Meskwaki held back. Other Indians, fearing a rear attack from them, held back too and the grand scheme of conquest failed. American Gen. Clark wanted to punish those who had aided the British. In 1780, Lt. Col. John Montgomery and 350 men came up the Illinois River to Peoria, then to the Sauk village of Saukenuk – the modern day site of Rock Island – on the Rock River. One report said 700 Sauk warriors withdrew without resistance and watched as the Americans burned their village. According to reports by Hauberg, the Sauk, who had been America’s friend, had been mistaken for the enemy. While history is uncertain on this point, this may have been the western-most battle of the Revolutionary War. In July 1814, during the war with Britain, an expedition led by Lt. John Campbell was heading north in five
keel boats to reinforce and resupply the U.S. fort at Prairie du Chien, Wis., and stopped at Rock Island. They spent two days eating and drinking with the warrior Black Hawk and his men and the Americans became friendly with the Indians. In his autobiography, translated by Antione LeClaire and edited by J.B. Patterson, Black Hawk said they had no intention of hurting the Americans. But during the night, the British arrived down the Rock River with six kegs of powder and told them that the British had taken the fort at Prairie du Chien and wished for the Sauk to join them in the war, which they agreed to do. The next morning, July 19, 1814, Black Hawk and 500 braves were hidden along the river as the American expedition entered the head of the Mississippi River’s dangerous Rock Island Rapids. While passing what is now called Campbell’s Island, the wind came up and blew Lt. Campbell’s boat to shore. “This boat the Great Spirit gave us,” according to Black Hawk’s account in his autobiography. “We advanced to the river’s bank and commenced firing at the boat. ... I encouraged my braves to continue firing. … I prepared my bow and arrows to throw fire to the sail, which was lying on the boat; and after two or three attempts, succeeded in setting the sail on fire.” The boat was soon in flames. “One of the boats that had passed returned, dropped anchor and swung in close to the boat on fire and took off all the people except those killed and badly wounded,” Black Hawk related. “They did not return fire. ... I therefore ordered a rush to the boat. When we got near, they fired and killed two
of our people, being all that we lost in the engagement. Some of their men jumped out and pushed off the boat and thus got away without losing a man. I had a good opinion of this war chief (Lt. Campbell) – he managed so much better than the others. It would give me pleasure to shake him by the hand.” In September, U.S. Army Maj. Zachary Taylor was sent with a fleet of eight protected keel boats and 334 men to destroy Black Hawk’s village and uproot the crops. According to accounts written by historian Hauberg, as the fleet approached the mouth of the Rock River at the Mississippi, the wind shifted and reached gale proportions. They put in at Pelican Island and were attacked by Indians and British six-pound cannon and swivel guns. The expedition fled back to St. Louis. All of these western military activities led to the construction of Fort Armstrong in 1816. It was abandoned in 1836 after Indian warfare died down and from 1840-45 was an ordnance depot. In 1861 efforts began in earnest to build a national arsenal on the island. It was approved by President Abraham Lincoln in July 1862. Roger Ruthhart, the former editor of The Dispatch-The Rock Island Argus, was recently inducted into the Lincoln League of Journalists. He can be reached at roger. ruthhart@gmail.com. *Editor’s note: The weekly Illinois Bicentennial series is brought to you by the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors and Illinois Press Association. More than 20 newspapers are creating stories about the state’s history, places and key moments in advance of the Bicentennial on Dec. 3, 2018. Stories published up to this date can be found at 200illinois.com.
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JULY 18, 2018 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
BRINGING
HEAT
Burndown at Sundown combines top notch motorsports with Ringling Brothers Circus
BY MARK GREGORY Editorial Director @Hear_The_Beard mark@buglenewspapers.com
Route 66 Raceway in Joliet set out to bring even more entertainment than it has in previous years to the annual Burndown at Sundown – and it succeeded. The Saturday night main event fell in the middle of a weekend packed with exciting racing for die-hard race fan. Saturday’s event still provided a full day of drag racing, but twice during the night the motor sports circus came out. “This is a unique event because there is something for everyone. For people who have a love for drag racing – it has that,” said Scott Paddock, President of Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway. “We are going to have close to 500 cars this weekend competing. But, several years ago, we started to
build a very spectator driven exhibition around it and that is what it is. It is our thrill show, it is our night of fire. It is the wow factor. It has turned into a real family event over the years. People like thrill shows and they like the unknown.” It featured the USFMX, a new addition to the card this year, that saw dirt bikes flying 40-feet in the air, jumping over an 80foot long semi truck all while doing tricks and stunts in the air. “It was a privilege to come out and be the first ones to do freestyle motocross at an event like this,” said Terry Russell, one of the daredevils. “The crowd was great, I think they had a great time. We had a nice autograph line with a lot of kids who wanted to meet us after.” Russell said it was nice to perform at an event that was geared PHOTO BY MARK GREGORY
SEE HEAT PAGE 8
Route 66 Raceway pulled out all the stops to entertain fans at the 2018 Burndown at Sundown.
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JULY 18, 2018 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
BASEBALL
Minooka’s Foltynewicz is MLB All-Star BY MARK GREGORY Editorial Director @Hear_The_Beard mark@buglenewspapers.com
To say the road has been easy for Mike Foltynewicz would be a lie. The Minooka High School graduate, who had all the scouts buzzing as a senior, did not have a smooth ride once he was drafted in 2010, but while he has faced adversity, Foltynewicz has always kept progressing and that hard work has paid off this season as he was named to the National League All Star team. The game will be played Tuesday night in Washington. He enters the game with a 7-5 record for the Atlanta Braves with a 2.66 ERA and 120 strikeouts. His 10.623 strikeouts per nine innings is 10th among all MLB pitchers. “As a program, we are super proud of Mike and personally, I just couldn’t be happier for Mike,” said Minooka head baseball coach Jeff Petrovic. “He has worked really hard, he is a great talent and a great person and it is nice to see great things happen to great people and someone I care about so much.” Foltynewicz, 26, had planned to pitch for the University of Texas after Minooka, but chose to forego college after he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round, 19th overall selection, of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. In 2012, Foltynewicz was the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year after going 14–4 with a 3.14 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 152 innings pitched.
HEAT FROM PAGE 7 to motorsport fans. “It was a breath of fresh air to go to a motor sports event and one that was the quality of this,” he said. “We perform at a lot of fairs and places like that, so this was nice. It was a good merge of
He made his MLB debut for the Astros on August 2, 2014 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Then on January 14, 2015, Foltynewicz was traded to Atlanta and made his Braves debut on May 1 of that year, earning his first career win. Foltynewicz battled injury and surgery in 2015 and 2016 and on June 30, 2017 he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Oakland Athletics, but allowed a home run to the leadoff man and was pulled. On June 1, 2018, Foltynewicz pitched his first career complete game against the Washington Nationals, earning a shutout and 11 strikeouts. “People have said for a long time it is coming, but until it happens, there is always some doubt. There are always the doubters and critics and they can be pretty loud. People may be surprised by what they have seen this year, but this is not a surprise to me,” Petrovic said. “This is something that I expected because this kid is so talented and there was never a doubt in my mind that he would get this far. You have to get used to the travel and the workload and we can’t even comprehend what these guys go through. So what, it took him a couple years to get there – so what. It takes something to happen to catapult you to the next level and this could be huge for Mike. The sky is the limit for Mike. This may throw him into another realm. “We could be having a talk in 15 years when he is in the Hall of Fame – he is that special of a talent. I love to death and am just happy for him.”
two different types of motorsports. My hat is off to the gentleman at Route 66 Raceway that brought us in and he they said they thought there was a chance we would be brought back – so hopefully we are back next year.” Russell was joined by Cody Elkins and Jared Larue at the
PHOTO COURTESY OF ATLANTA BRAVES
Minooka’s Mike Foltynewicz made the MLB All-Star team for the first time this year.
event. If there wasn’t enough excitement inside the track, fans were treated to more fire stunts as they exited the grandstands and made their way to their cars. Fire breather Logan Cruz was back for her second year of performing for fans and drew a
hefty crowd from fans that wanted more entertainment. “I love the event here,” Cruz said. “I have never been super into cars, but the cars that are here are so cool, especially the jet cars. It is perfect because everyone gets psyched up about the fire inside and as they are
walking out, there is more fire. It really is a family event out here.” Cruz will be the feature artist in a web series called Chicago Talent, a new reality show that showcases the lives and endeavors of several Illinois artists and entrepreneurs, that will begin in August.
BUSINESS + REAL ESTATE DAVE SAYS
Better to preplan vs. prepay funeral DEAR DAVE, My grandmother passed away a week ago. She was 98, and I know both she and my grandfather had pre-paid for their funerals in 2004. However, there were outstanding costs of $1,500 with the funeral services we had to pay out of pocket, because she had outlived the insurance policy attached to the prepayment plan. I know you say it’s always better to pre-plan, not prepay, for a funeral. Can you refresh my understanding of this? REBECCA DEAR REBECCA, Let’s use a round figure, and say the cost of a funeral is $10,000. What would $10,000 grow to 25 years from now if it were invested in a good mutual fund? Now, juxtapose that number with the increase in the cost of a funeral over that time. The average inflation rate of consumer-purchased items is around four percent. So, the cost of funerals, on average, has risen about four percent a year. By comparison, you could’ve invested that money, and it would’ve grown at 10 or 12 percent in a good mutual fund. Now understand, I’m not knocking folks who are in the funeral business. But lots of businesses that provide these services realize more margin in selling pre-paid policies than they do in caskets. In other words, they don’t make as much money selling the casket as they do selling a pre-paid policy on the casket. Do you understand my reasoning? If we knew the exact date she pre-paid, and how much she pre-paid, that figure invested in a good mutual fund would be a whole lot more than the cost of a reasonable funeral. It’s the same principle behind the reason I advise folks to not pre-pay college, or just about anything else, that’s likely far into the future.
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POLICE >> DOWNERS GROVE
Man pleads guilty to attacking mother DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin announced today that a Downers Grove man charged with attacking his eightyyear-old mother with a hatchet has entered a blind plea of guilty to one count of Aggravated Domestic Battery, a Class 2 Felony. John Flick, 58 (d.o.b. 11/29/1959) of 4212 Earlston Rd, appeared in Court where he entered his plea in front of Judge Liam Brennan. On May 19, 2017, Flick appeared
Melrose Park Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Drug Induced Homicide DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin announced today that a Melrose Park man has been sentenced to eighteen years in the Illinois Department
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NEWS BRIEF
in Bond Court where his bond was set at $500,000 with 10% to apply. He has remained in custody at the DuPage County Jail since that time. On May 14, 2017, the victim’s daughter went to visit her mother for Mother’s Day. Upon arriving at the home, the daughter noticed lacerations about her mother’s face and head. The two women then went to the hospital to seek treatment for the victim’s injuries. Upon seeing the woman’s injuries,
hospital authorities alerted the Downers Grove Police Department. An investigation conducted by the Downers Grove Police Department led to Flick as the person responsible for the injuries to his mother. The investigation revealed that on the evening of May 13, 2017, Flick returned to the home he shared with his mother and that at some point in time he repeatedly hit his mother about the head and face with a hatchet.
“This case is a very disturbing example of how domestic violence is not confined to spousal abuse,” Berlin said. “The very idea that an individual would attack another with a hatchet, let alone their own mother, is outrageous. Thankfully, the injuries Mr. Flick inflicted upon his mother were not life threatening. I would like to thank the Downers Grove Police Department for their work on this case. I would also like to thank Assistant State’s Attorney Lee Roupas for his efforts in preparing an extremely strong case against Mr. Flick.” Flick’s next court appearance is scheduled for August 21, 2018, for return of the Pre-sentence Report. Because the victim in the case is a senior, Flick is extended term eligible and faces between three and fourteen years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
of Corrections (IDOC) for selling heroin that ultimately led to the overdose death of twentysix-year-old Naperville resident Marcus Penton. Kevin Liszka, 34 (d.o.b. 8/20/1983) of 1460 N. 1st Avenue, appeared in court this afternoon where Judge George Bakalis handed down the sentence. On March 1, 2018, following approximately half an hour of deliberations and a three-daylong trial, a jury found Liszka
guilty of one count of Drug Induced Homicide, a Class X felony punishable by a minimum of six/up to thirty years in the IDOC. He has been held in the DuPage County Jail awaiting trial since his arrest on a bond of $2 million with 10% to apply. On February 19, 2015, Penton died from a heroin overdose. An investigation into the death led authorities to a friend of Penton’s, Skyler Sabala as the source
of the heroin. Further investigation into the death revealed that Sabala purchased the fatal dose of heroin from Liszka. On October 4, 2016, Sabala entered an agreed plea of guilty to one count of Manufacture or Delivery of a Controlled Substance, a Class 2 Felony, and was sentenced to seven years in the IDOC. Liszka will be required to serve 75 % of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
DuPage Narcan Program-500 Lives Saved The DuPage Narcan Program (DNP) recently experienced a milestone by recording the 500th life saved since Narcan was first administered in 2014. The life was saved by Officer Lundy on June 23, 2018 in Wheaton. “Serving and protecting citizens continues to evolve,” said Wheaton Police Chief Bill Murphy. “Narcan has become an important public safety tool.” The DNP was formed in 2013 in response to the alarming number of DuPage County deaths attributed to heroin overdoses, and Narcan training began later that year. There are now 4,601 individuals trained by the DNP to use Narcan to reverse an overdose. Health Department Executive Director Karen Ayala said, “Although saving 500 lives is a remarkable accomplishment, we must embrace these opportunities to link individuals to treatment.” Many lives have been saved, however, many lives continue to be lost. “The remarkable successes we achieved in a few short years are overshadowed by the number of opioid-related deaths,” said DuPage County Coroner Dr. Richard Jorgensen. There have been 37 deaths due to opioid overdoses in 2018, the coroner said. In DuPage County, the recently formed Heroin Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Taskforce, an interagency-interdisciplinary advisory group, is comprehensively assessing opioid use within the County. The Taskforce advises DuPage County elected leaders on ways to address opioid use in the County. Visit 30Tdupagehealth.org30T for more details.
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