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New boutique sparks controversy Owner fights sex store stereotype, works with Woodstock on concerns For nearly the last month, owner Scott Bialas has been working with city officials to WOODSTOCK – A busi- address concerns raised by ness a block off the Woodstock some residents who thought Square selling lingerie, in- the exterior of Bialas’ busicenses, lubricants and adult ness, Redlight Boutique, was toys opened during the week- inappropriate, both Bialas end, despite a local contro- and city officials said. versy shrouded in misunderResidents reiterated those standings, the owner said. concerns during a recent City
By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO
sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com
Council meeting that was just more than one block from the store’s location. The primary complaint regarded the boutique’s windows that exposed the business’s inventory, mostly including lingerie and other adult clothing along with scented candles, oils and adult toys.
Obama library a lift to Chicago
But Bialas said residents who think they are walking into a traditional adult store don’t yet have a full understanding of his business. “We are not a classic type of porn store that people think. We are very classy and upscale-looking. We are very friendly and knowledgeable,” Bialas said. “It’s upscale.”
The exterior of the building also never references the business’s full name, Redlight Boutique, because some city officials objected to the word “redlight” and its connotations to prostitution, he said. Curtains backdrop the store’s front-window display
See BOUTIQUE, page A4
ALGONQUIN FAMILY SHARES CANCER FIGHT
The ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO – President Barack Obama will establish his presidential library on the South Side of Chicago, a part of the city where his political career began and where some of the issues he plans to devote himself to when he leaves the White House are playing out on the streets. The Barack Obama Foundation made official Tuesday what had been widely expected, that the library will be erected on a site proposed by the University of Chicago. The location was selected over bids made by Columbia University in New York, the University of Hawaii and the University of Illinois at Chicago. “With a library and a foundation on the South Side of Chicago, not only will we be able to encourage and effect change locally, but what we can also do is to attract the world to Chicago,” Obama said in a video accompanying the release. “All the strands of my life came together and I really became a man when I moved to Chicago.” The library, to be located in one of two public parks near campus, is expected to be a boon to nearby communities that struggle with gang violence, drugs and unemployment. The University of Chicago has said the library and its 800,000 expected visitors a year will translate into dozens of new businesses, thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in revenue. While the choice was not a surprise – people with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press and other media nearly two weeks ago that it was the winner – sewing up the deal was less smooth than expected. Questions lingered for months about whether the library legally could be built on park land as the university proposed, because the university had not secured the land. Those questions triggered a flurry of activity, with the City Council approving an ordinance to transfer the land and state lawmakers passing a bill reinforcing the city’s right to use the park land for the library as well as “Star Wars”
Working with city officials, Bialas added window films along the east side of the building that obscures the view inside the store, at 116 E. Calhoun St. The white window films feature a lady’s face complete with red lipstick that mimics images commonly found on the exterior of hair salons, Bialas said.
Photos by Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Bella Yakos, 7, hugs her mother, Jen Yakos, while enjoying the evening May 6 at their Algonquin home. Last August, Bella was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that almost always affects infants and young children. The Yakos family will be participating in a 5K on Sunday in Chicago for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. BELOW: Bella is pictured at her Algonquin home.
‘She always talks about Bella Strong’ Seven-year-old Algonquin girl battles Stage 4 neuroblastoma; family and friends to gather for 5K walk/run
Story by ALLISON GOODRICH • agoodrich@shawmedia.com Photos by SARAH NADER • snader@shawmedia.com ALGONQUIN – Behind a black and white photograph of a little girl and a dog – taken before everything changed – lies a note of hope and determination. Its contents: “Bella wrote this – I realy want to be strong and I am because I beleeve in myself and you should too.” Seven-year-old Bella Yakos even signed the loose-leaf note in scribbled, adult-like flourishes. This, according to her father, Ryan Yakos, was written sometime in October, just a few months after Bella was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma. She and her family will be joined by 20 to 30 people Sunday for this year’s Move the Kids 5K Walk/Run, which benefits the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where Bella has spent more than 120 days so far. The group will walk under the name, Team Bella Strong. Neuroblastoma, more common in infants and children younger than age 5, forms in a person’s nerve tissue. For the Yakos family, it all started with
some fairly uncharacteristic fatigue and weight loss. “One day we were talking to her while she was eating, and she just fell asleep,” her mom, Jen Yakos, said. “We knew that wasn’t normal so we took her into the doctor’s office, and it was that same day that we ended up at the hospital.” It was every parent’s worst nightmare realized. One side of Jen’s brain refused to believe it was as bad as cancer. But the other side, she said, just knew. Part of the shock stemmed from just how extensive Bella’s case was from the get-go. After initial scans and tests, a tumor about the size of a football was found inside the petite 7-yearold girl.
See BELLA, page A4
See LIBRARY, page A2
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Tractors driven during funeral procession for farmer Tom King / A3
Crystal Lake South shows its potential in win over Dundee-Crown / C1
Lawmakers debate whether to change tort reform law / B3
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