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Village Free Press_083023

Page 1

At 100, ‘Ginger’ Vaitkus has more than earned her nickname Story on page 3

Vol. VIII No. 35

AUGUST 30, 2023

vfpress.news

Venerable Blackowned bookstore in danger of closing Story on page 5

Village Free Press is back under old ownership

Founding publisher takes the helm with new company By MICHAEL ROMAIN Publisher

Last year, I relinquished Village Free Press (VFP) ownership to my former employer, Oak Park newspaper nonprofit Growing Community Media (GCM). At the time, I thought VFP could benefit from GCM’s resources. I also thought there was some synergy between VFP and the nonprofit’s four other newspapers. As part of the deal, I was named GCM’s director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In January of this year, I was terminated as the nonprofit’s DEI director and VFP, the news outlet I founded in 2013, stayed under GCM’s ownership. Since then, thanks to widespread community support and two intrepid attorneys, Joe Ponsetto and Jordan Tarren, I’ve regained outright ownership of VFP and look forward to the newspaper’s growth. As of Aug. 24, VFP is owned by my new company, John Wilk Communications LLC, which I started earlier this year. The name evokes Rev. John Wilk and John Brown Russworm, two of the free African Americans who launched Freedom’s Journal, the See OWNERSHIP on page 2

Shanel Romain

Firefighters from eight suburbs and one police department joined forces to raise money for Fire Buddies at their first annual double-elimination softball tournament on Sunday, Aug. 27, at Mayfield Park in Westchester. More photos on Page 4.

Addison Creek Reservoir officially opens

The $81 million, 600-acrefoot reservoir among a rash of projects and initiatives across Proviso designed to confront the effects of climate change By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Local elected officials across Proviso Township gathered on Aug. 17 to officially open the massive Addison Creek

Reservoir at 2795 Washington Blvd. in Bellwood. According to officials with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), the agency that guided the project, the 600-acre-foot reservoir includes control and inlet structures, a spillway and a pumping station. When they broke ground in 2019, MWRD officials said the reservoir would store close to 200 million gallons of water and connect with the Addison Creek Channel, which is scheduled to undergo a range of improvements that include vegetation clearing, the removal of three bridges and design changes.

The improvements will be constructed along the Addison Creek Channel that runs roughly three miles through Northlake, Stone Park, Melrose Park, Bellwood, Westchester and Broadview. “This reservoir will provide a newfound sense of security for whenever it rains,” said MWRD President Kari K. Steele at the Aug. 17 ribbon-cutting for the new reservoir. “It will also reduce future insurance costs for many residents.” Steele said the ribbon-cutting event also served as a kickoff for those channel improvements, “which will be connected See RESERVOIR on page 8


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