Village Free Press_041520

Vol. IV No. 16 Bellwood mayor addresses COVID-19 cases, PAGE 4

Pritzker points to signs of pandemic ‘leveling’ Daily death toll declines; ramped-up testing uncovers more cases

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker said on April 12 there are signs the COVID-19 outbreak is starting to level off, but he urged people to continue practicing social distancing to control the virus’ spread.

Speaking during an abbreviated Easter Sunday daily briefing in Chicago, Pritzker said the state is now conducting more testing than ever but that the percentage of tests coming back positive has remained almost exactly the same for the past two weeks, while the number of daily deaths appears to be dropping.

Pritzker said there had been 1,672 new confirmed cases reported of COVID-19 over the previous 24 hours, the highest daily total in Illinois so far in the pandemic, but he said that was largely due to increased See PRITZKER on page 4

APRIL 15, 2020

theVillageFreePress.org

Ribbons of hope appear in Maywood, PAGE 2

PRINE IN PARADISE: Robert Reid, a longtime John Prine fan, posted this collection of Prine concert tickets and album covers on Facebook in the days following the musician’s death. Reid said he met Prine through his niece, Anne Prine Sorkin, “way back when.”

Photo courtesy Robert Reid

Remembering ‘Uncle John’

For west suburban residents who knew him best, John Prine was first a decent man, then a masterful songwriter

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Rolling Stone magazine once called John Prine — who died on April 7 at the age of 73 due to complications from COVID-19 — the “Mark Twain of American Songwriting.”

Bob Dylan once said Prine’s “stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree. And he writes

beautiful songs.”

Anne E. Prine Sorkin, a longtime River Forest resident and former educator, simply called him “Uncle John.”

“I recognize his gifts and talents, and have always enjoyed his music, but I admired and loved him even more for family things,” said Sorkin during an interview on April 10. “He had a really good heart and from the

time I was a really young kid, I recognized that.”

Sorkin, the daughter of Prine’s oldest brother Dave Prine, said that she grew up next to her grandparents’ Maywood house, which was a block south of Proviso East High School, where she, her father and her three uncles attended.

See JOHN PRINE on page 3

TIRED OF PAYING ATM FEES?

PAY NO MORE!

LOOK INSIDE TO FIND OUT HOW

1759 N. Mannheim Rd. | Stone Park, IL 60165 708-483-0030 | www.provisobank.com Proviso Community Bank is a branch of Hinsdale Bank & Trust Company.

2

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

the village free press Editor & Publisher Michael Romain Strategic Consultant Kamil Brady Advertising Director Dawn Ferencak Editorial Designer Debbie Becker Advertising Design Support Andrew Mead, Mark Moroney HOW TO REACH US Village Free Press c/o Wednesday Journal 141 S. Oak Park Ave. Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE: 773-626-6332 FAX: (708) 467-9066 thevillagefreepress.org Twitter: @village_free Facebook: @maywoodnews The Village Free Press is published weekly

by Michael Romain. It is distributed free of charge at locations throughout Maywood. © 2020 Village Free Press We’re proud to partner with Wednesday Journal, Inc.

Publisher Dan Haley

“To learn to be human is to develop through the give and take of communication an effective sense of being an individually distinctive member of a community.”

—John Dewey

State officials plan to wrap up work on Westlake on April 24 The hospital is one of five in state chosen as COVID-19 alternate sites

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

During Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s daily COVID-19 press briefing in Chicago on April 10, Dr. Suzet McKinney, the CEO and executive director of the Illinois Medical District, said that the officials plan on completing construction on Westlake Hospital, 1225 W. Lake St. in Melrose Park, by April 24.

The Melrose Park hospital, which was closed last year, is one of five alternate care sites that the state will temporarily repurpose to treat COVID-19 patients, in case existing medical facilities run out of capacity to treat those patients. McKinney is responsible for overseeing operations for those sites.

The other four are McCormick Place in Chicago, Metro South Medical Center in Blue Island, Advocate Sherman in Elgin and

Vibra Hospital in Springfield. The latter site likely won’t open until May 9, McKinney said.

“Once construction is complete, we’ll need about two days to train all the staff,” McKinney said, adding that the sites are only intended to “supplement, not replace our acute care hospitals,” in order to open up bed space at those existing hospitals “for the most critically ill.”

Gov. Pritzker, who first announced on April 2 that Westlake was among those five alternate care sites, said during Friday’s briefing that he hopes none of the sites have to be utilized.

“We are all praying that we don’t need any of these alternate care facilities,” Pritzker said. “We’re building them out to make sure there is nobody who does not have a hospital bed, an ICU bed, or a ventilator that they may need one.”

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com

Ribbons and messages of hope appear in Maywood Maywood dance teacher Heidi Renteria said gestures were in honor of health care workers

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Heidi Renteria was walking through nearby Oak Park recently when she saw trees lined with white ribbons in honor of healthcare workers. The sight inspired her to do something similar on the 500 block North Third Avenue, where she lives.

“I just started putting them up [in the area] and hoped my neighbors trusted that I was doing something positive,” Renteria said in an interview on April 10.

“I was putting a ribbon on a tree that was between my brother’s house and another house, and my neighbor came out and said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m putting up a ribbon to honor healthcare workers, because we’re so grateful for them.’

And she said, ‘You missed a tree. Get all of my trees!’”

The gesture and others similar to it have been popular nationwide since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has turned hospitals around the country into battlegrounds, with healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines of a fight for which many, if not most, are ill-equipped.

Medical providers across the country have complained of shortages of personal protective equipment like face masks and gloves, prompting many front line medical workers to improvise and make their own. And many are working long, agonizing hours despite the health risk.

“This is to honor nurses, doctors and [other medical and safety professionals] who are still going to work,” said Lois Baumann, Renteria’s mother and the co-founder of Maywood Fine Arts, where Renteria is a dance instructor.

Renteria said that her brother Spooner Baumann’s girlfriend works at Edwards-Elmhurst Heart Hospital in Elmhurst.

“I was trying to do something nice for her, because we can’t see her,” Renteria said, adding that her family didn’t stop at the Ribbons of Hope.

Maywood’s first family of the arts also expressed their thanks through chalk art in front of Renteria’s home. It’s the least the family can do, Renteria said. A heart with the names of some area healthcare workers anchors the heartfelt display, which sits in front of the southeast stop sign at the corner of Third and Superior Street.

“I feel so helpless during these times,” Renteria said. “All I can do is watch those healthcare workers struggling their butts off for all of us. Hopefully, one of them will drive by and know that we’re thinking of them.”

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

3

Summer events cancelled, jeopardized by COVID-19 Taste of Melrose Park cancelled, Maywood Fest ‘in jeopardy’

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

A range of annual summer events and programs that residents in Maywood and Melrose Park have come to anticipate over the years are in jeopardy of happening much later than usual or not at all due to COVID-19, Maywood Village Manager Willie Norfleet Jr. said during a special budget meeting held April 8 inside Council Chambers, 125 S. 5th Ave. in Maywood.

Most board members and village staffers, including Mayor Edwenna Perkins, called into the meeting and those who were in attendance were at least three feet apart from each other in compliance with national and state social distancing guidelines designed to slow the spread of the viral respiratory infection that has the world on edge.

In response to questioning by Trustees Antonio Sanchez and Nathaniel George Booker about the status of upcoming summer events and programs, Norfleet said that staffers will budget for them despite the

PRITZKER

Urges social distancing from page 1 testing. He also reported 43 deaths from the disease, the lowest daily total in the past six days.

“I pray as we move forward that these trends continue,” he said. “And if they do, it will be because of all of you, adhering to our stay-at-home order. Doctors and experts

real possibility that they may not happen this year due to social distancing measures that have been put in place, such as the statewide stay-home order that prohibits all non-essential activity and all gatherings of any number that take place outside of a single household.

Norfleet said that he’s not certain that the state’s restrictions will be lifted in time for several major summer events and programs in Maywood, which include the annual Village Pride, Village Wide volunteer cleanup event that was postponed from April 7 to April 30; the annual Maywood Fest that takes place each September; the village’s summer youth employment program; and the opening of the Fred Hampton Aquatic Center, 300 Oak St. in Maywood.

“The summer program is in jeopardy of being held back,” Norfleet said. “Even some elements of Village Wide, Village Pride [and the] opening of the swimming pool may be in jeopardy if those social restrictions are not removed.”

Norfleet said that he nonetheless left the budgets for those events and programs intact within the FY 2021 proposed budget.

The village’s fiscal year starts on May 1 and runs through April 30. The village budgeted $50,000 for Maywood Fest, $160,000 to maintain the Fred Hampton pool and $40,000 for the summer youth employment program.

“The attitude is to leave [the money] in there until a final decision is made rather than move money around,” Norfleet said.

“We always have the ability to make budget amendments and that money will be on the table if we’re not able to utilize it in that manner.”

Maywood’s discussion about the status of its events and programs happened two days after Melrose Park officials cancelled the annual Taste of Melrose Park, which happens each Labor Day weekend.

Norfleet and other staffers proposed a composite FY 2021 budget of $50,668,676, which the board will vote on at its next regular meeting on April 21.

of the stated goal of 10,000 tests per day.

There have now been more than 100,000 tests performed in Illinois, with a total of 20,852 confirmed cases and 720 fatalities.

Pritzker cautioned, however, that it was still too early to say whether the outbreak had peaked.

“What I look for is a leveling because the numbers had been going up exponentially,” Pritzker said. “And then they were going up arithmetically.”

Responding to questions from reporters, Pritzker said the stay-at-home order will remain in place until there is a significant

COVID-19, will have had it and recovered from it. So you wouldn’t have herd immunity at that point,” he said. “So the question is how do you operate society when we begin to bring down the level of infection and make sure that people are able to begin to go back to work in various industries?”

“So I’m talking to industry leaders about that. I’m talking to economists about that,” he said. “I’m also very importantly listening to the scientists and the doctors to make sure that we do this right because what we don’t want … is to begin to open things up, and then have a big spike in infections, and you

Taste of Melrose Park called off The annual Taste of Melrose Park, which is held each year over Labor Day weekend, has been cancelled due to public health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement released by village officials on April 6.

“Due to the uncertainty of the Coronavirus and concern for people’s safety, the Village of Melrose Park has cancelled the 2020 Taste of Melrose Park,” according to the short statement, which was posted to the village’s website.

The annual Taste of Melrose Park is one of the largest food and entertainment events in the west suburbs. In 2018, Melrose Park officials said that the event regularly attracts between 100,000 and 300,000 people and typically features between 60 and 80 food vendors.

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com

COVID-19 cases in Proviso Township As of April 12, there are a total of 5,512 confirmed COVID-19 cases in suburban Cook County and 205 deaths, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 data portal. There are 85 congregate settings, such as long-term care facilities or nursing homes, with one or more confirmed cases, the county explained.

The following is a list of Proviso Township suburbs and the number of confirmed cases, as of April 3: Bellwood (125), Broadview (26), Forest Park (43), Hillside (28), Maywood (90), Melrose Park (80) and Westchester (61).

The rates of infection, or the number of cases per capita, in those towns are as follows: Bellwood (655 per 100,000 people), Broadview (328 per 100,000 people), Forest Park (304 per 100,000 people), Hillside (343 per 100,000 people), Maywood (374 per 100,000 people), Melrose Park (315 per 100,000) and Westchester (365 per 100,000 people).

confirm the fact that, Illinois, having been the second state to announce a stay-at-home order, now seems to be reaching a peaking terminal term and our hopes have been coming to fruition.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported that 7,956 COVID-19 tests had been conducted over the previous 24 hours, the highest daily number so far, but still short

drop in the number of active cases and hospitalizations. Even then, he said, the state will need to be cautious about returning to normal activity. The current order is through April 30.

“You still will only have had a certain percentage, a relatively low percentage in my opinion, maybe less than 20 percent of the public will have been exposed to

know unfortunately all the spikes that come with that including a spike of deaths. So we want to make sure we’re not doing that while we’re also looking at how we can get people back to work.”

Pritzker also said that while there were many things he’d hoped to accomplish legislatively this year, most of them are likely to be put off until next year. The

Legislature has not been in session since March 5, and its return date is uncertain.

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Illinois was reported in Chicago on Jan. 24.

The first confirmed case outside of Cook County was reported on March 11. The stayat-home order has been in effect since March 16.

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com

4

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

County commissioner joins push for COVID-19 reforms Brandon Johnson says moratorium on evictions, 20 days paid emergency leave, other reforms comprise necessary pandemic response

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and fatalities increase in Illinois, the state’s entrenched racial divide has been brought into stark relief.

In Illinois, Africans-Americans are roughly 14 percent of the population, but they comprise around 28 percent confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 and account for around 43 percent of confirmed COVID19-related deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

First District Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, whose district includes most of Proviso Township, recently joined a group of activists and elected officials who are pressuring local and state officials to support measures that they say are less radical now that the country faces a pandemic and a recession.

“It’s very clear that this pandemic has exposed what is wrong with our society,” Johnson said. “Many of the families that are

suffering in this pandemic have been living in crisis mode for generations.”

Johnson said that the package of reforms, collectively called Right to Recovery legislation, is a series of progressive proposals that have been on the table at various levels of governments for years, but that have not gotten much traction. The pandemic, however, has illustrated their importance.

The proposals, according to a memo released by the Right to Recovery coalition in March, include 20 days of paid emergency leave for all workers who need it; a “moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, rent and mortgage collections, housing for homeless and lease extensions for tenants, if needed”; and weekly payments of $750 “to all families with school children and all workers facing furloughs, layoff and reduction in hours”; among other measures.

The proposals also include the release of inmates in Cook County Jail who are locked up on money bonds and the immediate release of individuals who are 50 and older,

or who are a high-risk k for contracting COVID-19.

“It’s interesting that there’s here’s such a harsh critique over finding necessary ecessary resources to invest in communities that have been disinvested in for generations ons and decades,” Johnson said. “What we see is the idea of government being socially y responsible is not as far-fetched an idea as people eople want to make it out to be.

“The last depression in this country, outside of 2008, thatt people can refer to — the Greatt Depression — had 300 percent unemployment nt among white men. Our ur country called that a national crisis. Nobody dy pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. The government invested in them.” hem.”

Read a full list of Right to Recovery legislation and watch h the coalition’s press conference at: actionnetwork.org/ campaigns/right-to-recovery. very.

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@ gmail.com

Bellwood mayor addresses town’s COVID-19 cases Mayor Andre Harvey urges social distancing, says more public health data needed

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

After the Cook County Department of Public Health released its data portal late last month that tracks the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases by suburb, the village of Bellwood’s high infection rate and number of cases has become markedly apparent.

During a Facebook video released on April 7, Bellwood Mayor Andre Harvey attempted to put the data in context while urging residents to comply with social distancing measures enforced at the local, state and federal levels. Harvey also outlined some preemptive measures the village has taken in the last few weeks designed to slow the spread of the virus.

According to the public health department, Bellwood has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the highest infection rate, in Proviso Township.

As of April 12, there were 125 cases of COVID-19 in Bellwood and at least two deaths. Bellwood’s infection rate was 655 per 100,000 residents.

A 77-year-old African-American woman from Bellwood died from the viral infection

at Loyola University Medical Center on March 30. And a 50-year-old African-American man was found dead at his home in the village on April 6. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office later ruled that he died due to complications from COVID-19.

During his Facebook address, Harvey said that the public health department’s numbers do not show the actual number of people who are being tested for COVID-19.

“There are several ways [the COVID-19 data is collected],” Harvey said. “You can go to the hospital and you can test positive for the virus and/or you can go to a local testing site and if you’re tested positive for the virus, they will indicate to the Department of Public Health that there’s a confirmed case of the virus in the community.

“The numbers could be high, because more Bellwoodians have been tested than [residents] in other communities, which is a good thing. We encourage our residents,

if you can get tested, get tested. If you feel sick, call your healthcare provider and after you get word for your healthcare provider, go to the hospital and find out if you’re sick.”

Public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci — the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and top adviser to President Donald Trump — have also argued that a significant number of people who may have the virus may not show any symptoms.

The information prompted the federal government to issue a guidance calling for Americans to wear face masks, or other protective equipment, whenever they go outside. Since late last month, Illinois has been under a stay-home order, which prohibits all non-essential activities.

Harvey said that he’s spoken with many residents who believe that, due to the public health department data, the village has an outbreak.

“That is not the case at this time,” Harvey said. “These numbers indicate that people have been tested and they’ve contracted the virus. I know several people … that have contracted the virus. The good thing is you can actually contract the virus and fight it. Some people believe that if you contract the virus, then that’s an automatic death sentence. That’s not true.”

The mayor said that Bellwood’s Village Hall, 3200 Washington Blvd., will be closed until further notice, but that residents can still pay their utility and water bills by dropping a check or money order into the white mailbox outside of Village Hall. They can also pay online at vil.bellwood.il.us/, or by calling (708) 547-3520.

Harvey also urged residents to continue to practice social distancing, calling the measure “one of the most important things we can do to stay separated, so we don’t pass the virus on from person to person. It’s about to be hot outside, but we really want our young people [and other residents] to practice social distancing. Stay in the house if you can. Come outside to exercise, but maintain social distancing.”

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

5

NEWS briefs Two in custody after April 8 shooting in Maywood Maywood Police have two people in custody after an officer-involved shooting that was captured on a video shared roughly 4,300 times on Facebook. As of April 11, the video had around 56,000 views.

During an interview on April 11, Maywood Police Chief Valdimir Talley said that the incident happened on April 8, at around 12:30 p.m., on the 1600 block of South 8th Avenue in Maywood.

The 18-second video shows a black SUV crashing into a house on the block as a Maywood Police officer gets out of his squad car. Seconds later, shots are fired, but it’s unclear where they’re coming from. A man who appears to exit a red car in front of the police car runs in the opposite direction of the officer, who is shown running toward the crashed SUV. On Saturday, Talley said that the suspect in the SUV ” was able to get access into the house, but we got him out of the home.”

Talley said that officers entered the home after the owner arrived and gave them permission to enter the house, “where we recovered the suspect and the weapon.”

Talley said that police also arrested another person inside of the home, who may have let the suspect inside. The suspect does not own the home, the chief said. No injuries were reported, he said.

“We believe he may have known someone in the house,” Talley said.

Talley said that the department is currently conducting both a criminal investigation and an internal investigation into the officer-involved shooting, which he said is standard protocol whenever officers are involved in incidents involving a discharged gun.

Maywood man found dead in home on April 8 had ‘flu-like’ symptoms A Maywood man found dead inside of his apartment had been experiencing flu-like symptom, police said.

The 55-year-old African-American resident was found unresponsive inside of his apartment unit at 1509 N. Maywood Drive in Maywood, on April 8, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

“He was found by his step-daughter, who said that he was having flu-like symptoms and was sent home,” said Maywood Police Chief Valdimir Talley during an interview on April 11.

Autopsy results are still pending and it isn’t known how long the man was sick or whether he got a COVID-19 test.

This wasn’t the first time that Maywood’s first responders have fielded calls dealing with either suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients, officials said. Last

month, Village Manager Willie Norfleet Jr. announced that Maywood may have gotten its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 20. Another resident was taken to the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms on March 24, Norfleet said.

No injuries reported in Maywood house fire on April 8 No one was injured in a house fire that happened last Wednesday morning in Maywood, according to Maywood Fire Chief Craig Bronaugh.

Bronaugh said that the fire department was called to the fire at a two-story wood frame house at 134 S. 19th Ave., at around 5:50 a.m. on April 8. When they arrived, fire was in the back of the house on the first floor and extending to the second floor.

“Four hand lines and efforts from both onduty and off-duty personnel along, with five municipalities, assisted with putting out this fire,” Bronaugh said. “There were no injuries.”

The chief said the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Riveredge Hospital CEO says people should reach out if they’re struggling Riveredge Hospital CEO Carey Carlock is aware of just how much a pandemic like the one we’re going through can affect a person’s mental health.

“It’s a time of uncertainty and anxiety,” said Carlock in an interview with the Review.

“Even people who are normally OK can really struggle at a time like this. When you have folks with psychiatric conditions, there can be an exacerbation of those underlying conditions.”

It doesn’t help, said Carlock, that there is almost incessant exposure to media, to reports of deaths and increasing numbers of positive tests. All that just raises anxiety and feelings of despair.

“It’s important to validate people’s

experiences,” said Carlock. “We are more isolated, anxious and depressed than normal.”

But she stressed that she’s seen “a lot of generosity” in the mental healthcare and social services industries, which have nimbly transitioned to telehealth and virtual support. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, for example, offer ways to get support and help online.

And mental health facilities and hospitals, including Riveredge, 8311 Roosevelt Rd., Forest Park, have figured out ways to provide services to patients from a distance as well.

Riveredge is fully operational for its inpatients but has had to find creative ways to keep outpatients safe from COVID-19 while attending to their needs for compassionate and necessary therapy.

They’re running their intensive outpatient program, which is three-hours long, online. Right now, the program has eight young people in it, and it’s going really well, said Carlock. So well, in fact, that it’s made Riveredge think about ways to change services permanently.

Riveredge can be reached at 708-771-7000 or online at riveredgehospital.com.

Governor: Illinois not yet meeting testing goals SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced Wednesday the state is unable to reach its daily novel coronavirus testing goal this week as previously expected.

According to medical and scientific experts, he said, processing 10,000 tests per day will give officials the clearest picture of how many confirmed COVID-19 cases are in the state and how it is spreading.

Laboratories “only just recently surpassed” 6,000 tests daily, Pritzker said.

The hold-up, Pritzker said, is due to “new laboratory automation machines” manufactured by Thermo Fisher Scientific, originally promised to process a “multithousand daily unit increase” of tests — 200 hourly.

The five machines, distributed to Illinois’ three state-run labs, are giving technicians “the level of output that we want to see,” the governor said.

“More importantly, these tests are not producing valid results in a way that meets our exacting standards,” Pritzker added.

“I am as inpatient as the rest of you are, wanting to increase testing, but I will not sacrifice accuracy for the sake of speed. The tests and results they will provide are too important.”

Until those machines are operating correctly, the governor said they will not be used to examine Illinois tests.

“I want to be clear with all of you that we are choosing the best path, but not necessarily the easiest path,” Pritzker said.

At the same briefing Wednesday, the Department of Public Health announced 1,529 new cases of coronavirus disease

(COVID-19) in Illinois, including 82 additional deaths. That brings the statewide total to 15,078 cases, including 462 deaths, in 78 counties.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Public Health Department, added 82 additional Illinoisans died from the virus in Boone, Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Macon, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair, Tazewell and Will Counties. That brings the state’s total to 462 fatalities.

Four people injured in Bellwood shooting on April 6 Four people were injured after a shooting that happened on Monday night in Bellwood, according to Bellwood Police.

The April 6 incident happened at 937 25th Ave. in Bellwood, where officers responded to a call of shots fired at around 8:17 p.m., police said in a statement. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered two people “who had been shot with non-life threatening injuries.

“A third person walked up and advised that he was also shot with non-life threatening injuries. A fourth person drove to Loyola [University Medical Center] in Maywood for non-life threatening gunshot injuries.”

Police said that all of the victims were black males. Two were 35 years old while one was 20 and another was 28, they said.

So far, no suspects are in custody. The case is still under investigation.

Relatives of man found dead in Bellwood home from COVID-19 speak out The family of Reggie Relf – a 50-yearold African-American engineer who was discovered dead inside of his mother’s Bellwood home on April 6, after feeling sick for weeks – is speaking out about health care inequities.

Ami Relf told WGN 9 last week that her brother had been “looking after his elderly mother when in late March, he started feeling ill.”

“He said, ‘Ami I got this cold I can’t beat … He thought it was a cold and he had been coughing,’” Ami said.

After she took her brother to an immediate care clinic on March 29, health care professionals sent him home because he didn’t have a fever. Reggie Relf, however, was diabetic, which Ami said should have been enough for him to be taken to the emergency room.

“They sent him home to die,” Ami said.

The Medical Examiner’s offie later ruled that Relf died of COVID-19 complications.

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com

6

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

Forest Park Walmart employee dies of COVID-19 infection Another worker tests positive for the virus, company says its taking ‘extensive steps’ to protect workers

By MARIA MAXHAM Forest Park Review

An employee of Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., has died of a COVID-19 infection. He was identified in a statement from Walmart only by the first name Francisco.

According to Forest Park officials, who spoke to Walmart representatives, the employee showed signs of illness at work on April 2. He went home and did not return to work again. He died at home on April 7.

A second employee, who has not been to work since March 31, has also tested positive.

Village Administrator Tim Gillian, Mayor Rory Hoskins and Steve Glinke, public health and safety director, who is overseeing infection control for the village during the COVID-19 pandemic, spoke to Walmart officials including the government affairs director, a regional manager, and a senior corporate representative on April 9.

During the call, Walmart representatives reviewed plans for notifying coworkers of the infection and death and discussed remediation plans for sanitizing the store as well as measures the stores is taking to prevent this from occurring again.

According to Gillian, it was “a productive

call.”

“We’re confident with the actions Walmart has taken to date and with their go-forward plan,” said Gillian, who reported that Walmart has been asked to keep the village in the loop regarding infection control and any additional cases at the store.

“They are taking aggressive steps in regard to cleaning,” said Hoskins, who added that he appreciated corporate Walmart’s open communication with the village.

A statement sent to the Forest Park Review from Anne Hatfield of Walmart corporate communications said, “We are devastated to hear of Francisco’s passing and our hearts go out to his family. He will be greatly missed by his Forest Park Walmart family. There is nothing more important than for all of us to work together to get through this in the safest way possible. With the guidance of health care officials, we remain focused on taking measures for associates to protect themselves while supplying the community with essential items for their families.”

The statement also addressed sanitizing measures being taken.

“We have taken extensive steps across the country to protect our associates and

customers. A third-party company is sanitizing key areas of the Forest Park store. This is in addition to the expanded deep-cleaning measures, sneeze guards at registers, social distancing decals on the floors and limiting the number of customers in the store at a given time. We’ll continue to take additional steps, such as screening associates, conducting temperature checks,

and providing masks and gloves for associates.”

Additional information was also provided on Walmart’s Facebook page, including the following from the retail store: “We remain in communication with village officials and based on these measures we are able to continue to fully serve the community.”

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

Take the Census Online TODAY!

www.2020census.gov

By Phone: English: 844-330-2020 / Spanish: 844-468-2020 Participation Rates

4.13.2020

1

Western Springs

68.7%

2

Westchester

62.6%

3

La Grange Park

62.2%

4

Brookfield

61.8%

5

Berkeley

56.7%

6

North Riverside

55.6%

7

Bellwood

52.2%

8

Broadview

51.0%

9

Hillside

50.9%

10

Forest Park

50.8%

11

Northlake

47.9%

12

Maywood

46.4%

13

Melrose Park

39.9%

14

Stone Park

29.3%

EDUCATION

I COUNT INFRASTRUCTURE

YOU

COUNT SOCIAL SERVICES

WE ALL COUNT FAIR REPRESENTATION

To learn more visit www.ProvisoCensus2020.com For more information contact: Nathaniel George Booker Proviso Census 2020 Awareness & Education nathaniel@provisocensus2020.com

"Funded by IDHS. The contents are solely the responsibility of the author"

7

8

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

JOHN PRINE Native son from page 1 “I enjoyed being with John and I was so proud of all of my uncles,” she said. “My dad is the oldest of the four brothers and still lives in Maywood. I was next door with my grandma probably more than I was at home.

My Uncle Bill, the youngest of the brothers, was seven years older, so he was more like a big brother to me.”

Sorkin said she was no more than “seven or eight” when Uncle John, still working as a mailman, would play his songs for his family before they caught the attention of the world.

“I remember vividly when he played ‘Angel from Montgomery’ for the first time in my grandparents’ living room,” Sorkin recalled.

The song is from his 1971 self-titled debut album and is classic Prine: unpretentious (responding to Dylan’s “Proustian existentialism” compliment, Prine once said: “I can’t even pronounce that”), blazingly simple and focused not on himself, but on the interior lives of the less powerful and the marginalized.

There’s the injured Korean War vet “with a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back” who becomes addicted to drugs. The vet’s children, who notice “There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes.” The old retired couple who do nothing all day, but perhaps think about the son they lost in Korea — “Don’t know what for; guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”

One night in 1970, a young Chicago Sun-Times writer happened to pass by the Fifth Peg, a folk club in Chicago, where Prine, back then just a 23-year-old mailman and aspiring musician, was playing. The writer wasn’t the newspaper’s music critic, but he wrote a review, anyway.

“Prine’s lyrics work with poetic economy to sketch a character in just a few words,” wrote Roger Ebert.

“In ‘Angel from Montgomery,’ for example, he tells of a few minutes in the thoughts of a woman who is doing the housework and thinking of her husband: ‘How the hell can a person go to work in the morning, come back in the evening, and have nothing to say?’”

That was the very first review of Prine’s music and, along with the strong support of country singer Kris Kristofferson, would help launch the Maywood native’s career.

Lois Baumann, the founder of the nonprofit Maywood Fine Arts in Maywood, was a year behind Prine at Proviso East High School, where the budding songwriter was a member of the gymnastics team.

Prine’s fame never went to his head and he regularly returned to his hometown years after making it big, Baumann said.

“In 2000, we needed a roof on the MFA building at 25 N. 5th Avenue and we appealed to him, because we didn’t have a dime and

wrote recently that unlike the famed novelist and Oak Park native Ernest Hemingway — another writer praised for his narrative economy and simplicity — Prine “realized there were the haves and the have nots in this world, those who did things to others, and those who had those things done to

town in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, “where my parents were born,” Prine sings in “Paradise.”

Prine’s father, Bill, grew up in Paradise before moving to Maywood to find work as a tool and die maker at American Can Company. Bill drilled his native land deep into his sons, which explains John’s “ghost of a Kentucky accent,” as Ebert described it.

“One time, I went to school and they asked us all to find out where our roots were,” Prine told Rolling Stone in 2017. “It’s goin’ around the class, and the kids were going, ‘I’m Swedish-German’ or ‘I’m EnglishIrish.’ They get to me and I said, ‘Pure Kentuckian.’”

Each year, there’s a family reunion in the Prines’ native Kentucky and every night during those reunions, “there’s a jam session, because we have a lot of musical people in the family,” Sorkin said. “We’d have good food and good music. We’d always sing ‘Paradise.’”

That song, Sorkin said, was “very special and dear to my family.” She said she believes her Uncle John file wrote the song for his father.

Throughout the song, Prine JOHN IN OAK PARK: John Prine at Val’s hall Records in Oak Park in 2019. Below, the musician’s pleads for his father to take him books and albums displayed inside the record store. Last year was Prine’s last visit to Oak Park. to Paradise, but it’s too late, his father tells him. The coal company

that building needed a roof,” Baumann recalled. “That’s when he came out and did his first concert for us. The next concert was in 2010, when our dance studio burned down. He was such a good guy and he’s been a friend to Maywood for a long time.”

Prine’s pre-fame years were informed

Prine “realized there were the haves and the have nots in this world, those who did things to others, and those who had those things done to them. He saw the human toll of the inherent pecking order of this world that so often restricted personal choices and ultimately foreclosed on people’s dreams.

BILL DWYER

by other west suburbs, too. Prine delivered mail in Westchester. He had an apartment in Melrose Park. He frequented Val’s halla Records in Oak Park, where he visited for the final time last year while promoting his newest album, “The Tree of Forgiveness.”

“He loved Russell’s Barbecue in Elmwood Park,” said Sorkin, who taught elementary school for two decades in Forest Park schools and lived in the village before moving to River Forest. “We used to go over there and get the Russell’s sauce and cook chicken in my grandma’s backyard.”

Journalist Bill Dwyer, an Oak Park native,

them. He saw the human toll of the inherent pecking order of this world that so often restricted personal choices and ultimately foreclosed on people’s dreams.

“Hemingway crafted interesting, entertaining stories masterfully written, but he generally lacked any empathy or concern for the humanity of others,” Dwyer wrote.

“He celebrated masculinity and dominance, romance and faraway places populated with privileged, monied people absorbed with their wants and needs.”

Prine’s muses were places like Maywood and Paradise, a “backwards old” coal-mining

“came with the world’s largest shovel” and “tortured the timber and stripped all the land” and “dug for their coal till the land was forsaken,” then they “wrote it all down as the progress of man.”

But the young Prine is insistent, still pleading with his father to “take me back to Muhlenberg County, Down by the Green River where Paradise lay … When I die let my ashes float down the Green River, Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam, I’ll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin’, Just five miles away from wherever I am.”

CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

9

Aides caring for seniors still working despite lack of PPE As many as 22 home care clients who are part of an Illinois program have tested positive for COVID-19

By ALEJANDRO CANCINO Better Government Association

As the nation scrambles to keep its doctors and nurses supplied with safety gear during the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak, an army of low-wage Illinois home care workers on the front lines remain largely on their own.

Workers such as 57-year-old Karen Williams, whose resourceful son tracked down a few masks for her to wear each day as she takes two buses from Englewood to Bronzeville to care for elderly clients for whom she prepares meals, dispenses medication and helps with bathing.

“What I’ve been doing is reusing them.

Maybe every two or three days I change them,” said Williams, who never considered staying home.

“I am always there when she is sick,” she told the Better Government Association while she was visiting one client. “When she gets sick, I get sick, and vice versa…Because the client comes first, I am going to try to come as long as I can.”

Williams is among more than 40,000 workers in Illinois’ Community Care Program, which allows more than 100,000 seniors to stay out of nursing facilities by providing aides who visit the seniors in

their homes.

The aides and clients are some of the most susceptible people to the pandemic, yet across Illinois many remain in close quarters, and lack protective equipment, such as masks and gloves.

As of Tuesday, the Illinois Department on Aging, which oversees the program, confirmed 5 deaths among 22 cases of Chicago-area seniors in the program who had tested positive for the virus, said the department’s spokesman Michael Dropka.

The private companies that employ the workers under a state contract are not required to report COVID-19 cases to the Department on Aging, Dropka said. The department knows some workers have tested positive, but cannot say how many.

Dropka, the labor union that represents these front-line caregivers, and the company executives who employ them said they are aware of the dangers inherent in allowing these two high-risk groups –– elderly residents and caregivers –– to mingle without proper protective gear.

He said the department has requested masks and other protective gear from state and federal emergency management officials. Company officials said they too are struggling to find enough gear to protect

Proud to partner with Michael Romain and the village free press the Village Free Press Vol. III No. 37

Maywood remembers Bataan, PAGE 2

theVillageFreePress.org

As PMSA’s enrollment increases, D209 looks to replicate the school at East and West

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

If all goes according to an ambitious plan laid out by administrators last week, there will not be one Proviso Math and Science Academy in Proviso Township High Schools District 209 — there will essentially be three.

In a lengthy interview on Sept. 4, D209 Supt. Jesse Rodriguez explained that the district is seeking to open math and science academies at Proviso East and Proviso West that replicate PMSA’s academic curriculum while continuing to increase the student population at the selective enrollment school in Forest Park.

Rodriguez said that the expansion will benefit students in the district who have the capability of excelling in PMSA’s academically rigorous curriculum, which notably includes the International Baccalaureate Diploma program.

The program allows high school students the opportunity to earn college credits and is considered by some education experts to See PMSA on page 5

from employers asking them to check their temperature and reminding them to protect themselves by frequently washing their hands.

Reginald Griffin, 76, said he found five masks at his neighborhood hardware store on the city’s North Side.

“All I could buy as a customer,” he said.

“So I have to be careful to keep them clean until I am able to get more.”

Griffin takes the bus each day to care for an See BGA on page 10

It’s tax season!

Need help?

Contact Go Big Accounting.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

A sampling of the top dishes at Taste of Melrose Park, PAGE 8

Three’s company

their workers.

Although home health-care aides are on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis in Illinois, they are not licensed or certified as health care workers. As the state gains access to gloves and masks, such workers do not qualify as “priority health care providers,” a category that is given priority access to protective equipment.

“The work that they are doing is extremely risky,” said Beth Menz, home care director for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Illinois Indiana. “They are in the homes of seniors, bathing them, dressing them, preparing food for them. So there is fear in their minds that not only are they at risk, but could potentially put their families and their loved ones, who can also be in vulnerable categories, at risk.”

These workers have largely been left to fend for themselves during the crisis, according to interviews with the workers, seniors in the program and the union representing workers. In some cases, they’ve been provided no more than phone calls

NO STOPPING HIM: Tim Bannon, 14, was born without arms, but that hasn’t stopped him from competing in a triathlon and on the football field. The Hillside teenager wants to be the kicker for the freshman team.

SHANEL ROMAIN

Proviso West football player born with no arms lights up the field Tim Bannon, 14, wants to be the kicker on the freshman football team

By SHANEL ROMAIN Contributor

Tim Bannon, a 14-year-old Proviso West High School freshman, doesn’t want or need your sympathy or stares or sentimental

statements about how inspiring he is, although he knows that he’ll get those responses. And that’s OK. Tim’s going to do what he wants regardless of how people respond to him.

The Hillside teenager spent the latter part of his summer preparing for the Chicago Triathlon (that’s a roughly mile-long run, a 200-meter swim and around four miles of See TIM BANNON on page 6

TIRED OF PAYING ATM FEES?

PAY NO MORE!

LOOK INSIDE TO FIND OUT HOW

PROVISO TOWNSHIP’S COMMUNITY BANK 1759 N. Mannheim Rd. | Stone Park, IL 60165 708-483-0030 | www.provisobank.com Proviso Community Bank is a branch of Hinsdale Bank & Trust Company.

141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 708.613.3300 | OakPark.com

GO BIG Accounting & Tax Services • Tax Strategy • E-File Individual & Business Tax Returns • IRS Client Representation • Amended tax return • Prior year tax return

Vena Nelson, CPA, MBA

vnelson@gobigaccounting.com (708) 975 6059 GoBigAccounting.com

10

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

BGA

Care takers at risk from page 9 83-year-old man with diabetes, emphysema, and other chronic conditions that make it difficult for him to care for himself. He too never considered missing a day.

“I might think that way just like any other person in the front lines, but I have to do what I have to do,” Griffin said. “I have to think positively and do things so I won’t get it.”

Griffin was lucky enough to find protective gear on his own. Many don’t.

One 75-year-old woman told the BGA she is letting her home care worker dip into her personal stash of protective gloves.

“She’s my lifeline,” said Davetta Brooks, who suffers from several conditions, including an autoimmune disease, and relies on a wheelchair.

Nationwide, there are 12 million vulnerable Americans who rely on home-based services and are balancing social distancing with their need for help. Many of the seniors suffer from chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, and low immune systems that experts have warned put them at an increased risk of developing a severe form of pneumonia if infected with COVID-19. The deadly virus has a higher fatality rate for those older than 60, and even higher for those older than 85.

Another national concern is the high rate of black Americans testing positive and dying from COVID-19, a trend Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says is prevalent in the city where 72 percent of the virus-related fatalities are black.

In the Chicago area, the majority of seniors in the community care program are black, as well as the majority of caregivers, according to records and interviews. Nearly half of the caregivers are also older than 55.

Dropka, the spokesman for the aging department, said the state is working to secure additional supplies of personal protective equipment, including requesting supplies from FEMA. He said the department also is in daily communication with provider agencies and has taken guidance from the Illinois

Department of Public Health “regarding the screening tool and processes we use –– so that both our in-home workers and the older adults they care for are safe when they do their work. The agencies in our network use this as part of any protocol where faceto-face contact with an older and more vulnerable adult occurs.”

“We are doing everything we can,” Dropka said.

Companies employing the workers also said they are scrambling to secure personal protective equipment due to the nationwide supply shortage and have asked the state for help. Some are providing gloves, which they’ve always offered to their workforce, but also are in need of masks and gowns.

A policy memo posted online by Addus HomeCare, one of the state’s largest providers of home care services, shows workers are being directed to use gloves, wash their hands regularly before and after direct contact with a client and encouraged to stay at home if they feel sick. If workers believe they may have been exposed, they are required to report to a supervisor.

If workers call in sick, they are asked five questions: Have they traveled internationally in the past 14 days; have they had signs of a respiratory infection such as fever, cough and/or sore throat; has anyone they live with had those symptoms; have they had contact with anyone who has been diagnosed or screened for COVID-19, and have they traveled to other states with widespread community transmission of the disease. Workers who fail the screening are instructed to cease patient visits.

But that’s just one protocol of more than 100 companies that provide home-based and community-based services to seniors.

Theresa Collins, president of the Illinois

Association of Community Care Program Homecare Providers, said in an email that “each provider agency has developed their own plan of action based on the unique needs of their staff and participants.”

Providers, she added, are screening workers and the seniors they serve for coronavirus symptoms. If they fail the screening, they are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Addus HomeCare, for example, asks clients the same five screening questions it asks employees when they call out sick.

If the client fails the screening, the worker is required to notify their supervisor. If a client is quarantined or tests positive, the company would suspend services to the client and contact the state.

Darby Anderson, chief strategy officer at Addus HomeCare, said he is receptive to clients and workers who are worried and anxious for more protective equipment.

“The problem is simply the availability of PPE. We cannot secure enough,” Anderson said.

The company is pushing for its workers to be considered “priority health care providers,” in hopes that the designation would ensure their access to gloves, masks and gowns.

Anderson said that designation becomes even more necessary if home care workers are asked to care for seniors as hospital beds fill up. Already, he said, the question has come up in at least two states. But before that happens, he said, there needs to be a protocol in place to protect the workers. And that starts with protective equipment.

“We don’t want to say no, but we have to have the right PPE,” Anderson said. He said other issues to iron out would include whether $13-per-hour workers should receive

hazard pay, and whether they should be provided hotel rooms to isolate themselves from their families during the outbreak.

Some seniors are already going without services, either because they’ve paused them amid the COVID-19 crisis or because they haven’t been able to secure an aide.

Carolyn Crane, 68, said she was in the process of getting a new aide when the pandemic hit and now has been without one for more than six weeks.

“It’s really bad right now for me, personally,” said Crane, who has diabetes, high blood pressure and a compromised immune system.

Crane said she was paying a neighbor to fetch her groceries and sometimes paying for food to be delivered, but the increased costs cut a hole in her budget. She finally got a respite when the Illinois Institute of Technology moved its classes online, freeing her grandson to help her out. He’s staying with her and helping her with groceries and daily tasks, though she’d prefer to have a professional help her instead.

Debra Miller, 68, said the issues for seniors go beyond whether home care aides have proper equipment. In Chicago, there are thousands of seniors living in apartment buildings where they might be exposed to the virus inside elevators, when they pick up their mail or when they throw out their trash.

At an online press conference last week, Miller and other seniors who are members of Jane Addams Senior Caucus, a grassroots organization that advocates for seniors living in low-income housing, called on city officials to enact new guidelines to protect seniors. Among them: Requiring better cleaning regimens in communal spaces, providing protective equipment to staff; and stationing trained healthcare professionals to monitor temperatures of workers and guests entering apartment buildings.

Miller said she’s frustrated by some elected officials who only talk about protecting seniors, the most vulnerable population.

“I know that by now,” she said. “Tell me what you are doing besides.”

This story was produced by the Better Government Association, a nonprofit news organization based in Chicago.

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

forestinsured.com 708 383 9000

Delivering best-in-class coverage and service—since 1957!

L CAL Y A D TO

AUTO | HOME | BUSINESS | LIFE | PRIVATE CLIENT

thevillagefreepress.org

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

11

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF Cook County, Illinois, County Department, Chancery Division.

U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, successor in interest to State Street Bank and Trust Company, as Trustee for GSMPS Mortgage Loan Trust 1999-1 Plaintiff, vs.

Jerrald Lee Kennedy aka Jerrald Kennedy aka Jerrald L. Kennedy; Schular E. Kennedy aka Schular Kennedy; Unknown Owners and Non-Record Claimants Defendants, 16CH11114 Sheriff’s # 200039 Pursuant to a Judgment made and entered by said Court in the above entitled cause, Thomas J. Dart, Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, will on May 14, 2020, at 1pm in room LL06 of the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction the following described premises and real estate mentioned in said Judgment: Common Address: 2341 South 16th Avenue, Broadview, Illinois 60155 P.I.N: 15-22-209-007-0000 Improvements: This property consist of a Single Family Home.

Sale shall be under the following terms: payment of not less than ten percent (10%) of the amount of the successful and highest bid to be paid to the Sheriff by cashier’s check or certified funds at the sale; and the full remaining balance to be paid to the Sheriff by cashier’s check or certified funds within twenty-four (24) hours after the sale.

Sale shall be subject to general taxes, special assessments.

Premise will NOT be open for inspection.

Firm Information: Plaintiff’s Attorney Shapiro Kreisman & Associates LLC 2121 Waukegan Rd. Suite 301 Bannockburn, Il 60015 847-291-1717 ILnotices@logs.com This is an attempt to collect a debt pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

I3148841

Plaintiff, -v.MARLA PHIPPS, AL JAMES GEE, SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Defendants 15 CH 18625 612 SOUTH 21ST AVENUE MAYWOOD, IL 60153 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on March 14, 2017, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 22, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 612 SOUTH 21ST AVENUE, MAYWOOD, IL 60153 Property Index No. 15-10-319-0150000 The real estate is improved with a single family home with a detached two car garage.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours.

No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition.

The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

Where a sale of real estate is made

to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088 E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com Attorney File No. 13408 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 15 CH 18625 TJSC#: 40-414 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 15 CH 18625 I3149089

is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours.

No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition.

The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys,

One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088 E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com Attorney File No. 270885 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 19 CH 09624 TJSC#: 39-7641 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 19 CH 09624 I3149102

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Mr. Anthony Porto at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Kluever & Platt, L.L.C., 150 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (312) 236-0077. SFS.3257A INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3149960

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, NA

nds. a h r u In yo Shine. r Rain o t.

Read i it. ge Smud smile. a Crack asket. g Pop a tter. e l a s Write u

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION Plaintiff, -v.JACQUELINE THOMAS, WEST SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION AGENCY Defendants 19 CH 09624 1418 SOUTH 19TH AVENUE MAYWOOD, IL 60153 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on November 25, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 27, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1418 SOUTH 19TH AVENUE, MAYWOOD, IL 60153 Property Index No. 15-15-116-0260000 The real estate is improved with a white vinyl siding, one story single family home, detached two car garage.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS INDENTURE TRUSTEE FOR THE CIM TRUST 2016-2, MORTGAGE-BACKED NOTES, SERIES 2016-2; Plaintiff, vs.

ERIC D. DIXON, SR.; KIMBERLY JORDAN DIXON; UNKNOWN OWNERS, GENERALLY AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 18 CH 1505 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Friday, May 22, 2020 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-17-111-021-0000.

Commonly known as 338 N. Forest Avenue, Hillside, IL 60162.

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

Village Free Press

12

Village Free Press | April 15, 2020

thevillagefreepress.org