Vol. VI No. 2
JANUARY 12, 2022
Beloved Betty in photos, PAGE 2
vfpress.news
Court upholds state redistricting plan
Meet author Veronica Harrison, PAGE 3
Trustee Nick Steker, who was appointed the new acting village president, during a board meeting on Jan. 6. Read the story on page 4.
A 3-judge panel rules against plaintiffs in remap By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD – A three-judge federal court panel has upheld the legislative redistricting plan that state lawmakers approved during a special session last summer, thus leaving in place the new maps that will govern state legislative elections for the next 10 years. In their 64-page opinion, released Thursday, Dec. 30, the judges said the plaintiffs in the three separate lawsuits had failed to show that the redistricting plan violated federal law or the U.S. Constitution by diluting Latino voting power in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs or Black voting power in the Metro East region on the Illinois side of the St. Louis metropolitan area. See REDISTRICTING on page 4
Betty White, born in Oak Park a century ago, dies at 99 Mourning the silver-haired golden girl, who died Dec. 31 By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter
Hearts everywhere broke at the news that adored comedy icon Betty White died Dec. 31, only a matter of days before she was set to turn 100. She kept audiences laughing throughout her long career. White was loved across the country, but only Oak Park
has the bragging rights of being her birthplace. Born at West Suburban Hospital on Jan. 17, 1922, White only lived in Oak Park for a short time. She lived with her parents in an apartment on Pleasant Street before moving into a house on North Taylor Avenue, according to the Oak Park River Forest Museum’s Frank Lipo. The family packed up and moved to Los Angeles when White was a toddler, but she lived her life according to principles that Oak Park came to honor. White believed in equality and stood by
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that her whole career. She defied pressure in 1954 to fire dancer Arthur Duncan from her daytime talk show for his Black skin. “I said, ‘I’m sorry, but, you know, he stays. Live with it,’” White recalled in a 2018 documentary about her life and career. Her advocacy for the welfare of animals spanned decades. She also bucked social constructs. She supported the rights of LGBTQ individuals to marry and became a beloved figure within the gay community. White’s roles on the “Mary Tyler Moore” See BETTY WHITE on page 5
MEET US
YOU SHOULD KNOW YOUR BANKER. Jose Villa
Vice President & Branch Manager 708-483-0030 | jvilla@hinsdalebank.com Proviso Community Bank is a branch of Hinsdale Bank & Trust Company, N.A.
1759 N. Mannheim Rd., Stone Park | 1111 Madison St., Maywood 708-483-0030 | www.provisobank.com