Drunk driver crashes into Bellwood print business, PAGE 9
Vol. VI No. 14
Proviso’s Black mayors open up about race Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Glen Ellyn chapter hosted the African American Mayors Roundtable on March 26
APRIL 6, 2022
Westchester exploring gas relief, PAGE 3
vfpress.news
After owner leaves, hardware store still nailed into place
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
When he was 14 years old, Bellwood Mayor Andre Harvey was arrested by the Bellwood Police Department, “handcuffed, thrown on the ground, kicked and called the n— word.” Harvey, who became the village’s first African American mayor in 2017, had previously been the village’s first Black firefighter and its first Black fire chief. “When I became a firefighter, the police officer who arrested me and kicked me and called me the n— word still worked in the village of Bellwood,” Harvey recalled. “I tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘Remember me?’” Harvey’s recollection prompted wild applause from those gathered inside of Broadview Village Hall, 2350 S. 25th Ave. in Broadview, on March 26 for an African American Mayors Roundtable hosted by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Glen Ellyn chapter. All four of Proviso Township’s Black mayors attended the event. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson, Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker and Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins joined Harvey for the roughly two-hour panel discussion in which the mayors spoke rather candidly about the myriad ways race has informed and affected them as elected officials. “In Broadview, we have an all-female board of trustees,” said Thompson. “So, not only am I the first Black woman to hold the seat, I’m the first Black woman to See MAYORS on page 5
Siraj Bhanpuri and Randy Bhanpuri inside of Broadview True Value Hardware. After longtime owner Siraj retired last week, the store is now woman-owned. Read the story on page 7.
Michael Romain