Reporter 11 3 16

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Fall 2 at a.m. FALLback BACK 2 a.m. Sunday this Sunday

Higher seeds stunned, but state hopes still alive for two area teams: SPORTS

REPORTER

THE

Serving Chicago Ridge, Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, Oak Lawn, Palos Hills and Worth

Volume LVII, No. 33

USPS 118-690

$1 Newstand 2 SECTIONS 20 PAGES

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Divisive politics makes for an ‘epic struggle’ Local legislators discuss state budget, minimum wage, term limits and more By Dermot Connolly

Photo by Dermot Connolly

State Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-18th) makes a point as state Sen. Michael Hasting (D-19th) and state Rep. Kelly Burke (D-36th) wait their turn during the 11th Annual Breakfast With Your Legislators held last Thursday at St. Xavier University, 3700 W. 103rd St., Chicago.

Six elected officials shared insights on local and national issues with residents during St. Xavier University’s 11th annual Breakfast With Your Legislators last Thursday. Former state Senator Edward Maloney moderated the discussion with Cong. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd), state senators Bill Cunningham (D-18th) and Mike Hastings (D19th), state Rep. Kelly Burke (D-36th), Cook County Commissioner John Daley (D-11th) and Chicago Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th), who represents neighborhoods around where SXU is located at 3700 W.103rd St., Chicago. Lipinksi was asked how the outcome of

the presidential race might affect Congress. “Most polling suggests that Hillary Clinton will be the next president, and the Democrats could retake the House. No one knows about the Senate,” he replied. Lipinski said that both Clinton and Donald Trump have spoken about the need for a comprehensive infrastructure bill, so he is hopeful that will be passed no matter who wins. The Transportation Committee member said that because both Republicans and Democrats back an infrastructure bill to fund road and rail improvements nationwide, the divided country might come together over it. But he can’t help but be somewhat skeptical.

“We thought we saw division before, but this is even worse. It used to be that people would look around after the election and see which party is in control where, and figure out ways to work together. But now, it is what can we do to get control in two years time,” the congressman said. He said divided government has led to stagnation. “And I don’t like that because I got into politics to get things done,” he said. The legislators also addressed the pros and cons of a statewide referendum on Nov. 8 ballots that asks if the “Safe Roads Amendment” should be added to See LEGISLATORS, Page 7

Willowbrook Ballroom goes up in flames By Steve Metsch As he carefully stepped along the gravel shoulder of Archer Avenue on Monday morning near the iconic Willowbrook Ballroom, Greg Sikorsky had a sad look on his face. “It’s a shame,” the Countryside man said. “It’s been an institution for so long, and then to have it burn down ...” On Friday, fire swept through the building that cost $100,000 to build back in 1930. The current ballroom opened its doors in 1931. But on Friday, the venerable institution that had survived for decades had little chance when a fire started on the roof and quickly spread. On Monday, all that was left was the red-and-white marquee sign, and the exterior brick walls black with soot from the flames. A brick chimney stood tall on the Photo by Steve Metsch Flames and smoke billow up from the Willowbrook Ballroom in Willow Springs on Friday. A Pleasantdale Fire Protection District snorkel truck north side of the building. As Sikorsky walked along the pours water onto the Willowbrook Ballroom. Thick black smoke from the fire could be seen from as far away as St. Rita High School in Chicago roadway, an employee of a Naand at 87th and Harlem in Bridgeview.

Shade structure at park is a testament to two Evergreen Park women who died of melanoma By Joe Boyle Nancy Donovan got the idea after watching participants cross the finish line of the March4Meg’s 5K Run and Walk that has become an annual tradition at Klein Park, affectionately known as Circle Park, in Evergreen Park. Donovan decided then that she would like to have a shade structure constructed to protect children from the danger of overexposure to the sun. She had only one location in mind, and that was Klein Park, 9700 S. Homan Ave. Her daughter, Meg Donovan Moonan, lived across the street from the park and that’s also where Meg’s children still live and play. Meg Donovan Moonan died of complications from melanoma on March 30, 2012. Family and friends of Meg vowed to do what she would have done — try to prevent others from

spending too much time in the sun. During her 19-month battle, Meg endured two surgeries, numerous experimental chemotherapy treatments and 16 hospital stays. Nancy Donovan said Meg battled the disease with quiet resolve that was an inspiration to everyone who knew her. Meg’s focus was on the family and the hope that one day she would live to see a cure. One of four siblings who grew up in Chicago’s Wrightwood neighborhood, Meg attended St. Thomas More School and Maria High School. She and her twin sister, Maureen, were both fair skinned so their mother overcompensated with long-sleeve shirts and pants in the warmest of weather. But Meg still contracted the deadliest of cancers. She is survived by her husband, Ken Moonan, and their four children. Though the local parish rallied around the family, Nancy Donovan sensed they were wilting under the weight of grief and longing.

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perville fence company was busy securing a tall fence around the building. An employee of Morrison Security said they wanted to make sure “nobody got in here on Halloween night because of Resurrection Mary.” He referred to the ghost longrumored to frequent the ballroom. Now, Mary is joined by the memories of countless people who visited through the decades. There were dances, wedding receptions and funeral luncheons. There were club meetings, romantic New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day dinners, and the Girl Scout’s Susie Snowflake daddy-daughter dances each winter. There was the Big Band sound of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Count Basie. And there was the rock ‘n’ roll of the Bryan Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and The Guess Who. If you wanted to learn how to dance, the ballroom offered See WILLOWBROOK, Page 12

Presidential race is volatile while local races are a snooze By Dermot Connolly

han; niece, Meredith McGuffage; and others, founded March4Meg. Shortly after the first race, the money that was raised was earmarked for the Meg

While Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are engaged in a knockdown-drag-out fight for the presidency, said to be the most contentious in modern history, many local races found lower down on the Nov. 8 ballots are uncontested. Cong. Bobby Rush (D-1st), running for his 13th term in Congress, is one of the few local incumbents with an opponent. Vying against him this time around is August (O’Neill) Deuser, a former teacher from Mokena. Both candidates survived spirited primary races, but Rush is the odds-on favorite to win again in the heavily Democratic 1st District, which stretches from the South Side of Chicago to Will County, taking in all or parts of Evergreen Park, Oak Lawn, Worth, Palos Heights and Orland Park along the way.

See MELANOMA, Page 11

See ELECTION, Page 7

Photo by Joe Boyle

Nancy Donovan, mother of Meg Donovan Moonan, who died from melanoma in 2102, cuts the ribbon for a shade structure built over a sandbox to protect children from the sun at Klein Park in Evergreen Park. She is joined during the ribbon-cutting ceremonies by Evergreen Park Mayor Jim Sexton.

“We had to do something bold because everyone was do depressed and heading nowhere,” Nancy Donovan said. Nancy, with the aid of her daughters, Maureen Kovac and Mary Pat McGee-

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