Village Free Press_062321

JUNE 23, 2021

Vol. V No. 25 Vaccinated?

You’re in the lotto, PAGE 3

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Westlake Hospital could reopen as Woodlake A New Jersey company has filed an application with the state to reopen the Melrose Park hospital

”God is love, I said, but art’s the possibility of forms, and shadows are the source of identity,” (Ralph Ellison, “Juneteenth”).

Juneteenth revelers paint in downtown Chicago on June 19. Read more about how community members across Chicago and Proviso Township celebrated Juneteenth on page 4.

Paul Goyette

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

A company based in New Jersey is in the process of getting state approval to permanently reopen Westlake Hospital, 1225 W. Lake St. in Melrose Park, as Woodlake Specialty Hospital.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board conducted a public hearing related to New Jersey-based Woodlake Pacific Holdings’s application on June 15.

The same day, Crain’s Chicago Business broke the news that it had obtained court transcripts showing that Westlake’s previous owner, California-based Pipeline Health, “never intended to keep the hospital open” despite promises to the contrary that Pipeline’s representatives made in the weeks and months leading up to purchasSee WESTLAKE on page 3

Choose an account you can rely on.

D209 makes Black history mandatory, PAGE 6

Westchester townhome proposal put on pause Village Board defers vote on zoning relief as residents’ concerns about environmental impacts grow

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Back in March, when the developers seeking to build luxury townhomes in Westchester presented a scaled down version of their plans to address concerns expressed by village officials and residents, it seemed that

the proposal, at least two years in the making, was finally on the fast track to actually happening.

Since then, however, the proposed development has once again come to a halt due to widespread concerns among community members about the proposal’s impact on the nearby Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve and the Hickory Lane buffer lands.

During a regular meeting on June 8, the Village Board decided to defer taking action on a series of zoning relief measures required for the developer, Countryside-based Gallagher & Henry Construction, to build 180 townhome units at 2 Hickory Lane.

The board’s decision came after the vil-

lage’s Plan and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on the request for zoning relief on June 7. During the hearing, at least 100 people packed into the Court Room at 10300 Roosevelt Rd. in Westchester — virtually all of them vocally against the development.

Although the commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Village Board grant the zoning relief, they made the decision contingent on the developers satisfying 10 conditions.

Those conditions included providing proof of utility easement rights and government permits, providing “additional environmental documentation regarding the See TOWNHOMES on page 5

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WHEN YOU OPEN OUR MOST POPULAR CHECKING ACCOUNT enroll in online banking, activate e-statements, and have at least monthly occurring direct deposits totaling $500 or more for the 2 consecutive calendar months following the month of account opening.2

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Proviso Community Bank is a branch of Hinsdale Bank & Trust Company, N.A. 1. Total Access Checking Bonus Information. This Total Access Checking account bonus offer is valid for new accounts opened January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. This Total Access Checking account bonus offer is not available to existing or closed checking account customers of WTFC and its subsidiaries or its active employees. Limit 1 bonus payment per customer, regardless of the number of accounts opened. If you qualify for this Total Access Checking account bonus offer, you are ineligible to receive this Total Access Checking account bonus offer from any other Wintrust Financial Corporation (‘WTFC’) location. If you qualify for any other WTFC savings offer it may be combined with this Total Access Checking account bonus offer. Your new account must be open, in the same product, and have a balance greater than zero to receive the bonus payment. Balance is determined as of the end of each Business Day as the funds currently in your account including deposits and withdrawals made in the Business Day. The $300.00 bonus payment is subject to IRS 1099-INT reporting and may be considered income for tax purposes for the tax year in which the bonus was paid. 2. Total Access Checking Bonus Qualifications. (i) Open a new Total Access Checking account; (ii) tell us you are aware of this Total Access Checking account bonus offer at account opening; (iii) have at least monthly occurring direct deposits totaling $500.00 or more each month made to your new account for 2 consecutive calendar months after the calendar month your new account was opened (‘Qualification Period’). For example, if you open your new account in January, you would need to have “Direct Deposits” made to your new account in February totaling $500 or more and in March totaling $500 or more; and (iv) enroll in online banking and activate e-statements within the Qualification Period.

A direct deposit is defined as any payment made by a government agency, employer, or other third-party organization that is made via an electronic deposit. A direct deposit does not include teller/ATM/mobile or remote deposits, wire transfers, online banking/telephone transfers between accounts at WTFC, external transfers from other accounts at other financial institutions or ATM/debit card transfers and deposits. After you have completed all the above bonus qualifications, we will deposit the bonus payment into your new account within 30 calendar days after the Qualification Period. BANKER INSTRUCTIONS: Enter offer code WFC00DMAP300 during account opening.

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

VILLAGE people the village free press Editor & Publisher Michael Romain Senior Sales & Strategic Consultant Kamil Brady Editorial Designer Andrew Mead Advertising Design Support Mark Moroney, Javier Govea 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

Ryan Burrell, Proviso West grad, nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his natural hair styles

By SHANEL ROMAIN Community Correspondent

Ryan Burrell, a film hairstylist and union artist, was getting ready for work on the set of “All American,” when he got the call from his best friend, who is also a hairstylist, informing him of his first Daytime Emmy nomination for “The Big Fib” on Disney Plus.

It’s been a challenging yet rewarding journey for Burrell, who graduated from Proviso West High School and Ms. Roberts Beauty Academy, both in Hillside. He got his start in a salon in Edwardsville, but Burrell, the son of well-known hairstylist Audra Burrell, has been around hair practically his whole life.

I got a chance to interview Burrell while he was in between his flight from St. Louis to Los Angeles. He spoke about his career, overcoming obstacles and having an Emmy nomination under his belt.

vfpress.news 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. © 2021 Village Free Press We’re proud to partner with Growing Community Media, NFP. 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

How long have you been a licensed stylist?

15 years When did you start your career?

It started when I graduated from Miss Roberts Beauty Academy in Hillside Illinois. After finishing beauty school, I decided to go back to college at Southern Illinois University to finish my degree in biochemistry.

But after being in that class for my first semester back I said, ‘This isn’t for me.’ I was assisting a stylist while I grew my own clientele base. Soon after, the stylist asked if I was available more frequently and I said I was. It eventually began to take precedence over class. So I decided to drop out of school and continue doing hair.

What was your first television gig?

My first job that I got was in New York when I worked on the set of “Project Runway” in 2009.

How did the opportunity come about?

I was following a department head of the show on social media. He posted that he needed more hair stylists for the finale. I reached out and he put me on his team. From there, I met Derek Monroe and we became friends, and he just so happened to have been working on the “View.”

They were in need of extra hair stylists for their Halloween show. I received the offer and once I did the Halloween special, they asked me to come back the following week. I remained in New York for four years thereafter working on the “View” while also working on fashion shows internationally.

You’re a union hairstylist. Tell us how you got in?

I called Chicago’s Union for about six years every Monday. I would set a timer on my phone every Monday and would ask for my name to be put on the list in order to get hours towards their minimum required hours, which sometimes can take two

to three years to acquire.

A lot of hair stylists don’t even know there is a union out there for us in production. A lot of the time, the most that hair stylists want to do is be a salon owner or celebrity hairstylist and that’s it. They don’t know that you can also be a union artist with benefits, a 401K and a pension plan.

What are some obstacles you’ve had to overcome?

Being a Black hairstylist and being taken seriously by a predominantly white industry.

Some union artists told me: ‘Ryan, I think you’re the only male hairstylist that we have in the union that’s Black.” And I was like, ‘No, we have barbers.’ They said: ‘Yes, but they’re barbers, they’re not hairstylists.’

So, I was happy, but sad at the same time, because who wants to have that title and it’s been years. I became part of the union in 2019 and no one else? I’m honored and sad at the same time.

So tell me about the show you were nominated for?

I’m nominated for “The Big Fib” with Yvette Nicole Brown, who is also the executive producer of the show. This was Disney Plus’s first game show that they launched on their streaming app.

So, for there to be an African American woman on their first game show, it was an honor, but also for her to ask for a hairstylist that only styled her hair natural. That means she didn’t want any heat, such as blow drying or flat ironing. Everything I had to do, had to be built around her natural curl pattern. So we did 30 episodes. Two looks per episode.

Where were you when you found out?

I was getting ready to go to work in California at my current job, “All American,” when I got the call from my best friend Derick Monroe.

He said: ‘Congratulations, you’re nominated for a Daytime Emmy.’’ I just froze. He said check your phone. So I checked my phone and I dropped it. I told him I would have to call him back, because I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘There’s no way.’

So what does this do for your career?

To be honest, I don’t know. But what I do know is that, while I’m still on this earth, I’ll be known as Emmy-nominated hairstylist Ryan Burrell. Which is crazy. But this is what I wanted to do and this is what I strived to be. You want to be rewarded for your artistry. But you don’t think it’s going to come this soon. I was simply happy learning how to submit (in order to be considered for an Emmy, hairstylists and makeup artists must submit a 20-minute reel and an article to the Emmy committee). But to be nominated is mind-blowing.

What is something you would like to say to aspiring and current hairstylists?

For those who don’t know about being a union artist, and mind you, it’s not for everyone; however, look into what else you can do besides being a celebrity hairstylist, an editorial hairstylist and a salon artist. It’s more to the business. Also, educate yourself on a retirement plan, because we can’t stand up forever.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

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Vaccinated Illinoisans entered into $10M lottery

Any resident vaccinated automatically entered into lottery, which includes $7M in cash prizes for adults over 18, $3M in student scholarships

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois

Any vaccinated Illinoisan will be automatically entered into a lottery for $10 million in prizes without having to take any extra steps to enter.

Gov. JB Pritzker announced the “all in for the win” vaccine lottery at an event in Chicago, noting it would award $7 million in cash prizes for adults 18 years of age and older, as well as $3 million in scholarship awards for Illinoisans ages 12 to 17.

The first drawing will be conducted by the Illinois Lottery on July 8 and drawings will continue into August. Prizes will include

WEST LAKE Resurrected from page 1 ing the Melrose Park hospital, along with two others in the Chicago area in 2018. “‘Pursuant to the party’s acquisition agreement, the Westlake Hospital was required to be shut down by June 5th of that same year,’ bankruptcy trustee representative Allen Guon said during a hearing last November,” according to a court transcript Crain’s obtained.

“Pipeline’s 2018 change of ownership application with the state said the transaction ‘will result in no changes to the scope of services offered at Westlake,’” Crain’s reported.

Pipeline paid $70 million in 2018 to purchase Westlake, West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago from Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare. The company still owns the latter two hospitals. It closed Westlake in 2019, the year the Melrose Park hospital filed for bankruptcy.

Crain’s reported that it isn’t “clear why the acquisition agreement required Westlake to be closed,” but “Tenet’s deal with Pipeline came shortly after Tenet sold MacNeal Hospital to Loyola Medicine for $270 million in 2018.”

A Loyola Medicine representative told Crain’s that the health system “made no such request regarding the closure of Westlake Hospital.”

The proposed Woodlake Specialty Hospi-

cash payments from $100,000 to $1 million.

Scholarships would be in the form of Bright Start 529 savings plans worth $150,000 each.

The money is allocated from federal American Rescue Plan funding, of which the state received more than $8 billion.

Drawings will be conducted statewide and individually in the state’s Restore Illinois regions that coincided with mitigation efforts throughout the pandemic. In the final drawing August 26, the winners of the final two of three $1 million prizes will be chosen from a statewide pool.

To receive a vaccine, Illinoisans were required to give their information to the medical professional who administered the vaccine, so Pritzker said that is how the names will be chosen for the drawings. Anyone having received at least their first dose by July 1 would be eligible for prizes in the first drawing.

Those who win would be contacted by the Illinois Department of Public Health, who will seek permission to share the winner’s name with the Illinois Lottery. IDPH will not share information without a recipient’s consent, according to a news release.

tal would include 230 beds, the same number that Westlake Hospital had. In the application it submitted to the Review Board, Woodlake Pacific Holdings representatives said that they plan to spend an estimated $43.4 million to acquire and renovate the aging Melrose Park property.

They said if their application is approved by the state, they anticipate completing the hospital by Dec. 31, 2022 an d estimated that. “At least 500 to 600 permanent jobs will be created.”

As with Pipeline, Woodlake officials have vowed not to discontinue the hospital’s charity care policies, which are designed to provide affordable healthcare for low-income and indigent individuals.

According to Woodlake’s application, Mark Tress, the managing member of Woodlake Specialty Hospital and Woodlake Pacific Holdings, certified “under penalty of perjury” that “Woodlake Specialty Hospital LLC will not adopt more restrictive charity care policies that were in effect at Westlake Hospital prior to its closure in 2019 and that those charity care policies will remain in effect for no less than two years following the reopening of the former Westlake Hospital.”

Dr. Glenn Kushner, the last president of the medical staff at Westlake Hospital prior to its closure, has agreed to serve as the inaugural president of the medical staff at Woodlake Hospital, Woodlake officials stated.

Woodlake said on its application that the new hospital “is arguably the first project in at least 30 years where a new provider is

More information is available at allin.illinois.gov.

Pritzker made that announcement as the state’s positivity rate continued to plummet and as nearly 70 percent of the state’s 18-and-older population had received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

That number was 67 percent for Illinoisans 12 and older, and 89 percent for those 65 and older.

For full vaccination, the number as of Thursday was 50 percent for 12 and older, 53 percent for 18 and older, and 73 percent for 65 and older.

Pritzker and IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said they were hopeful that the lottery would increase vaccine participation to continue to drive positivity rates and hospitalizations downward. They noted vaccinations remain free for Illinoisans at a variety of locations, such as mass vaccination sites, local health departments, chain and small pharmacies, doctors’ offices and Federally Qualified Health Centers.

“While our vaccination numbers in Illinois are good, we can’t stop there. We still

need more people, as many people as possible, and there is a pool of 3 million eligible people who are not yet vaccinated. We still need you to step up and get vaccinated,” Ezike said.

Ezike and Pritzker also noted that more dangerous variants of the virus are gaining steam, and as long as there are unvaccinated individuals in whom the virus can find a home, it could continue to become more dangerous as a variant.

According to the IDPH website, the state has identified 64 cases of the delta variant first found in India. That strain is a “variant of concern,” according to federal health officials, and could be more transmissible and cause more severe symptoms for those who are unvaccinated.

“We have to stop this virus from circulating before it mutates to the point that we get a variant that threatens the vaccine immunity that the 70 percent of us… are already pursuing. And the way to stop that is through vaccination,” Ezike said.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

COMEBACK: Westlake Hospital could reopen as Woodlake if all goes according to the plans of a company based in New Jersey.

File

prepared to invest over $40 million into an underserved community with no real commitment that the State will cover any unprojected, operating losses.”

The company added that the pending opening of Woodlake was made possible

by Senate Bill 0168, which was filed by Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (7th) in March. The legislation outlines the requirements for reopening a discontinued general acute care hospital.

Under the new law, any entity seeking to reopen a previously discontinued general acute care hospital has to reestablish the

same number of total licensed beds as were previously licensed by the state at the discontinued hospital, among other provisions.

Among those 230 beds, Woodlake will have 80 acute mental illness beds, 60 long-term care beds, 33 long-term acute care beds, six intensive care unit beds to support the longterm acute care unit, and 40 comprehensive physical rehabilitation beds. The hospital will also maintain a stand-by emergency department.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

Proviso residents commemorate Juneteenth

At events across township on June 19, residents celebrate, reflect on present struggles

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

On Saturday, community members across Proviso Township celebrated Juneteenth.

The commemoration, which is now a state and federal holiday, observes June 19, 1865, when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 notifying the public that the enslaved people of Texas were free.

The order came two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation and a few months after the Civil War had officially ended, but Texas had still been under the military control of the Confederacy.

In Maywood, residents tempered their celebration with an awareness that the vestiges of slavery, white supremacy and institutional racism remain embedded in American society.

George Stone III read aloud General Order No. 3 after an African drum call. Stone is the president and CEO of Operation Uplift Inc., the Maywood nonprofit that operates the West Town Museum of Cultural History, 104 S. 5th Ave. The nonprofit hosted a Juneteenth pop-up sale and celebration outside of the museum

building that featured, along with the African drumming, comments by Pastor Wheeler Parker Jr., the cousin of Emmett Till who was with Till on the night the teenager was abducted in Mississippi in 1955.

“Today, as we celebrate, rightly, our nation’s acknowledgement of this National Day of Freedom becoming a federal holiday and as we honor the resilience and perseverance of our freed ancestors … we must never forget that their [dream of freedom] was not fulfilled,” said Stone, the president and CEO of Operation Uplift Inc. Stone said that after his enslaved ancestors were freed, their dream of liberation “became a general nightmare” of Black Codes, the Ku Klux Klan, redlining, “psychological slavery, self-hate, Black-on-Black crime,” subpar loans, redlining and the “killing of unarmed Black men by the police.

Stone also confronted the backlash among white lawmakers, many of them Republican, that has come amid the Juneteenth festivities, particularly in the form of legislation designed to blunt the notion that slavery and racism are central aspects of the country’s history.

“As we celebrate, our work continues,” Stone said. “We can’t allow our history to be rewritten in order to make it more palatable for the dominant society. We must tell our youth the truth.”

Wheeler acknowledged that even he had not learned about the significance of Juneteenth, a holiday that originated in Texas,

until he was older.

“Many of you all like me just learned about Juneteenth in the later years,” he said. “Uninformed people are not happy people … We have been fed a whole lot of erroneous stuff. If you know more about yourself you’ll feel better about yourself.”

In Broadview, hundreds of residents gathered at Schroeder Park, 2600 S. 13th Ave., for what was billed as a Celebrate Freedom Festival. During the festival, dozens of Black-owned businesses sold their products — from colorful handbags, balloons and artwork to sweet treats.

The two-day celebration, which started on Friday with a Fish Fry at Schroeder Park, marked the first time that Juneteenth was commemorated in Broadview since the village became the first, and so far, the only municipality in Proviso Township to make Juneteenth an official local holiday.

In Hillside, community members gathered at Jordan Temple Church, 4421 Roosevelt Rd., for an event that allowed residents ages 12 and up to get the Pfizer vaccine.

The event was organized by Deacon Daphne Walker, a community leader at Freedom Baptist Church in Hillside and the Beulah Brent Sisters Working It Out. Several other area churches — including Victory Temple Church of God in Christ in Broadview, Neighborhood United Methodist Church in Maywood and United Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Maywood — also participated.

The event was not an explicit Juneteenth

commemoration, but the race-based disparities that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic are vestiges of the institution that the Civil War was fought to end.

Myron Branch, a deacon at Freedom Baptist, said the pandemic disparities were a result of the disparity in resources between Black and white communities.

“We have clinics, but we don’t have major hospitals,” Branch said.

Walker said that, while the event falling on Juneteenth was just a coincidence, she was glad it worked out that way.

“It was the day that we were set free, so it’s great to see people come out and get vaccinated on Juneteenth,” she said. “I know there are a lot of Juneteenth events going on, so we were glad our event was one of them.”

Rev. Kevin McGee, who pastors Victory Temple, said he hopes Saturday’s vaccine drive helps increase both the number of people vaccinated and awareness about the vaccine’s benefits.

“Today’s event is important, because we need to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” he said. “A lot of work has been done to come up with a vaccine to provide us with a viable way for the society to return to some semblance of normalcy and the more people get vaccinated, the more we decrease the risk of virus spreading.”

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

After Lightford’s vow, Pritzker makes Juneteenth holiday Governor signs bill made possible through efforts of Sen. Lightford, Speaker Welch

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Last year on June 19, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (4th) announced in Broadview that she and state Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (7th) (who is now the Illinois House speaker) were going to push to make Juneteenth a holiday across the state.

“I’m going to do what I can and I know Rep. Welch will join me, as we request for the governor to make Juneteenth a state holiday,” Lightford said at the time.

Three days before Juneteenth 2021, it appears Lightford has kept her promise.

On Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker HB 3922, which makes Juneteenth an official state holiday. In Illinois, Juneteenth, which originated in Texas, will be recognized as National Freedom Day, effective Jan. 1, 2022.

“Just as Illinois led the nation as the first state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, in 2021, we are leading the nation in tackling structural racism head on thanks to the guiding vision of Leader Lightford, [Rep. La Shawn K. Ford], Speaker Welch and the entire Illinois Legislative Black Caucus,” Pritzker said. “It brings me exceptional pride to sign into law the declaration of Juneteenth as a formal state holiday in Illinois, making us one of the few states in the nation to give it the full status it deserves.”

In a statement, Pritzker said that Illinois will recognize the holiday throughout the state by “lowering all flags covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act to half-staff on Saturday, June 19. In addition, this year and henceforth, a Juneteenth flag will fly proudly over the State Capitol in Springfield.”

Juneteenth will also be a paid holiday for state workers and public school employees starting in 2023.

“Making Juneteenth a state holiday is a breakthrough in Illinois history,” Lightford said. “It reminds us that freedom and racial equality have always been a hard-fought battle for Black Americans and gives us

an opportunity to celebrate our culture and achievements.”

“Today, we can all stand proud that Illinois will officially recognize America’s second Independence Day,” said Welch. “As the first African-American FOREST PARK Mayor Rory Hoskins, Congressman Danny K. Davis, Speaker of the Sen. Kimberly Lightford, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson, Lt. Illinois House Gov. Juliana Stratton and Bellwood Mayor Andre Harvey during a of Representatives, this mo- Juneteenth event in Forest Park.

Courtesy Mayor Hoskins/Facebook ment will forever be a treasure in my heart, and I hope it will become a commemorate Juneteenth as a state holiday treasure for all Illinoisans. It’s a day of re- and today it happened,” said Ford. “Today membrance, but also a day of joy and per- is the first day for Illinois to officially recognize the pain of the black enslaved and a severance.” day to move forward with work to repair the “On June 19, 2020 Governor JB Pritzker harms for black people.” made a commitment that he would work CONTACT: info@vfpress.news with the General Assembly to pass a bill to

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

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Westchester Police get new contract Changes include lateral hiring policy, axing fair share

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

During a regular meeting on June 8, Westchester’s village board unanimously authorized a new collective bargaining agreement between the village and the Metropolitan Alliance of Police Westchester Patrol Chapter #651, the union that represents all of the department’s sworn patrol officers, except for sergeants, lieutenants, the deputy chief and the police chief, among other non-patrol officer personnel.

The new police contract comes several months after Gov. JB Pritzker signed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill into law in February.

The new contract runs retroactively from May 1, 2020 through April 30, 2023 and features some notable changes, including: higher wages, the introduction of a section governing the lateral hiring of officers, a new residency requirement, the removal of the fair share requirement for non-union officers, a new policy requiring the permanent maintenance of officer complaints,

TOWNHOMES

Snag in the road from page 5 property and soil conditions,” and agreeing to “meet in a public forum to discuss impacts to Ashley Woods Homeowners Association and Save the Prairie Society,” among other conditions.

Ashley Woods is a subdivision in Westchester near the development site and Save the Prairie Society is the nearly 50-year-old nonprofit chartered to preserve and restore the 80acre Wolf Road Prairie and buffer lands.

Representatives for Gallagher and Henry, and Continental Properties, the Wisconsin-based firm that will manage the townhome community they’re calling Springs at Wolf Prairie, have explained in their presentations to village officials that the development will generate an estimated $1 million in annual tax revenue and infuse an additional $12 million in annual projected resident spending in the local economy.

The developers also explained that the 180 multi-family development, which would include nine buildings, would have 325 residents at full occupancy, “30 of those being school aged children.”

The rental units would range from $1,300 for a roughly 600-square-foot studio to $2,400 for a roughly 1,400-square-foot 3-bedroom unit. The developers have argued that the townhomes will be a welcome addition to an area that currently has multiple abandoned homes that, according to Westchester Police, attract various nuisances.

and a section that prohibits officers from consuming cannabis on or off-duty.

Under the terms of the new contract, the starting salary for new officers has increased by nearly 8 percent, from $61,811 in 2018 to $66,560.69 in 2021. The maximum pay for veteran officers who have served at least 15 years in the department has also gone up by roughly 8 percent, rising from $90,123 in 2018 to $97,048.10 in 2021.

Unlike the old contract, under the terms of the new contract, officers must live within the state of Illinois.

The new police contract also requires “all public records and nonpublic records related to complaints, investigations, and adjudications of police misconduct” to be “permanently retained and may not be destroyed” in accordance with the Local Records Act. In the old police contract, these records were not required to be maintained in any file.

The change is consistent with some of the provisions in House Bill 3653, also known as the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity – Today (SAFE-T Act), which Pritzker signed on Feb. 22 after the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus wrote it and pushed it through both chambers in Springfield.

The new law, parts of which take effect in July, requires police departments in Illinois to maintain misconduct records. The law also requires police officers in the state to wear body cameras, ends cash bail for nonviolent offenders and bans chokeholds, among other features of the legislation.

Under the terms of the new contract, Westchester officers are now prohibited “from voluntarily possessing or using marijuana or cannabis in any form, on or off duty, even though Illinois law may permit certain individuals to possess and use marijuana and cannabis.”

Under the new contract, each officer involved in an “officer involved shooting” is required to submit to drug and alcohol testing, so long as testing is required by [the Police and Community Relations Improvement Act] or any similar state law.

The new contract also removes fair share, which requires non-unionized officers to pay a fee to the union for services rendered during collective bargaining and contract administration. Fees were deducted from non-union officers’ pay by the village and remitted to the union each month. That will no longer be the case.

One of the most notable features of the

new contract is the introduction of a section governing lateral hires, or the hiring of retired police officers and officers from other police departments. Westchester Police Chief Daniel Babich expressed his support for lateral hires to the village board back in December 2020.

At the time, Babich told the board that he was facing a looming manpower shortage. The problem with filling vacancies the usual way, he said, is officers need to go into one of the suburban police academies and COVID-19-related restrictions left fewer spots open than ever.

“You got 118 municipalities from Cook County alone and you got a limit of three to four academies that are taking people, but most of them now are already full and they’re not taking anybody,” Babich said at the time, according to previous Village Free Press reporting.

Under the terms of the new contract, new full-time officers hired by the village as lateral hires may begin working at a starting pay up to $80,919.69, which is what officers at level 4 of the wage scale are due to earn in 2021. The new lateral hiring section only applies to wages, not seniority.

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The developers said that if village officials approve their zoning requests, they would anticipate breaking ground in August, with all nine buildings completed by June 2023. The recent decisions by the village to hold off on granting the zoning requests, however, may impact that timeline.

Many opponents of the development are concerned about the environmental impacts of the townhomes.

Wolf Road Prairie is widely recognized as “one of the largest and best quality black soil prairies east of the Mississippi River,” according to the Salt Creek Greenway Association, an organization that works to preserve natural ecosystems.

Save the Prairie officials, along with other community members who are opposed to the development, have pointed out that Hickory Lane, the roughly 60-acre land area that includes the 15 acres that Gallagher owns and on which it plans to build the townhomes, is next to the old Sexton Landfill, which was closed in 1982. The Chicago Highlands golf course is to the west of Hickory Lane.

At the time, there were roughly a dozen homes in the area built between the 1940s and 1970s whose owners were possibly affected by toxic compounds from the landfill that leaked into Hickory Lane’s groundwater, according to Save the Prairie officials and Chicago Tribune reporting.

“The Forest Preserves acquired four of the twelve plots of Hickory Lane,” Save the Prairie officials explained in a statement. “One was converted into the [Forest Preserves of Cook County] police station. The other three were incorporated to Wolf Road Prairie, the houses quickly torn down and the land put to active ecological restoration, as will all of

Hickory Lane be if acquired as a nature preserve.

“There’s a fifth plot that is part of the nature preserve, but owned by us, Save the Prairie Society, and we actively house legal tenants on that property as a source of passive income.

All plots that have houses on them belong to the state and the village, and are beyond our jurisdiction or ability to manage.”

Save the Prairie officials added that they believe the best way to avoid those environmental and health hazards, and for the village to benefit from the natural ecosystem’s capacity for flood and pollution mitigation, is to avoid construction.

“The dolomite beneath those 15 acres might still contain a cocktail above the legal limit of certain carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and asphyxiate greenhouse gas compounds such as vinyl chloride, chloroform, and methane,” they said.

“And atop this, that dolomite beneath Gallagher & Henry’s property retains the groundwater and runoff which feeds the high quality, biodiverse wetlands on the [Forest Preserves] police station and in the southwest of Wolf Road Prairie. These wetlands and the surrounding prairie are the most effective and cheapest tools known to us for biodegrading and dispersing pollutants and pathogens alike, if their natural hydrology is maintained, which cannot happen if the land is developed.”

The proposed development also encountered some pushback from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

“In the petitioner’s presentation, he stressed numerous times that he’s focusing on the western boundary, Chicago Highlands — no mention of Wolf Road Prairie,” said Greg

Kelly, an IDNR site superintendent.

Kelly argued that the village should hold off on granting the developers the zoning relief until the issue of utility easements is cleared up.

“We have not seen any legal documentation as for the legal easements for the utility corridor,” Kelly said. “Until those documents are produced through IDNR and through the village, I think it’s prudent for the village to table this vote. Why go down that road if there’s not a legal corridor for utilities? It’s a moot point.

I’ve heard over and over that these documents exist, but for whatever reason they cannot produce them” Kelly also addressed the vacant dwellings on the Hickory Lane property, explaining that the properties will be addressed without Gallagher and Continental building townhomes on top of them. Kelly said the vacant homes “are indeed owned by [IDNR],” and that he’s working to transfer the properties over to the Forest Preserves District of Cook County.

“Their first act of business is going to be to tear down the dwellings,” Kelly said. “I know they attract nuisances. We’re doing everything we can to tear down those buildings.

We’re working hand-in-hand with Cook County and we feel like we’re going to get that issue resolved in short order.”

During the June 8 meeting, Westchester Village President Frank Perry said that he was trying to balance the interests of the developers with the concerns and interests of community members.

“We’re just trying to be fair to everybody,” Perry said.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

D209 makes history with required course Board approves curriculum for Black History course that’s required for students to graduate

By MARIA MAXHAM Forest Park Review

The Proviso Township High School District 209 board voted to adopt a Black history textbook and curriculum at its June 8 meeting. The recommendation to contract with Black History 365 (BH 365) for a total cost of $303,780 for textbooks and digital licenses was presented by Dr. Nicole Howard, assistant superintendent of academics and student services.

An advisory council formed in February and comprised of board members, community representation, administrators and teachers, was charged with “making program, curriculum, and policy recommendations to address issues of inequity,” according to an action item on the meeting agenda.

The advisory council came up with a list of what they wanted to see in a textbook.

“They want our students to understand that there is a huge impact with Black people, civilization and culture over time,” said Howard during the meeting. “It’s not

just about slavery. We want to reframe that discourse. And we want to make sure they understand that Black history did not start here.”

Understanding the structural impact of bias and discrimination and a thorough history from multiple perspectives with real stories were other aspects of Black history that the council listed as important.

The council also wanted a “variety of thought and perspective, including research and evidence-based information,” a sensitive and modern collection of photos, and questions to provoke and encourage independent thinking to promote “appropriate and meaningful social action.”

According to Howard’s presentation during the meeting, BH 365’s documentation of Black history begins in ancient Africa and continues to modern events and movements.

Not only does BH 365 come with a textbook, but the company also provides an eBook/app and has exclusive access to thousands of documents and artifacts from the Freeman Institute Black History collection, with pieces dating back to 1553, according to Howard.

Another feature Howard said the council liked is BH 365’s “Elephant Experience,” a chance for students to stop on important topics and get more deeply engaged.

“This is what as an educator really excit-

ed me,” Howard said. “With the Elephant Experience, the students have these places in the curriculum where they stop, they really think about what they just learned and how they can apply that to their lives. It sets up the engagement process … And that’s what’s really going to get all of our students, whether they’re Black or Brown or white, really involved in the conversation.”

The council took student engagement even farther, securing a dual-credit partnership through Dominican University. Seeking advice from experts in the field led them to Dr. Nkuzi Nnam, director of Black World Studies at Dominican University.

Nnam has offered D209 students the opportunity for a dual credit Black history course called Africa and African American Thought through Dominican University. Six teachers, said Howard, will be training with Nnam, and groups of students are slated to take the dual-credit course in the fall and spring.

Opportunities for students don’t end there. BH 365 itself has a student advisory committee, and according to Howard offered the chance for Proviso students to serve on that committee. “[BH 365] includes an advisory board of prominent African Americans who contribute to the content of the courses, and they have a student advisory board, and they contribute to the ongoing updates to it. And

they said that we can have a couple of spots for our Proviso students on their board as well,” Howard said during the meeting.

“It is hands down one of the best books in the country as it relates to teaching this kind of history for our students,” D209 Board President Rodney Alexander said during a Proviso Township Ministerial Alliance Network (PTMAN) breakfast on June 12.

“This is a graduation requirement. You must take this class and pass it in order to graduate,” Alexander said. “It is no longer an elective. I want to thank [PTMAN President Bishop Reginald J. Saffo] and [former PTMAN chairman] Bishop [Claude] Porter for bringing this to the board’s attention.

This was not a District 209 idea. This was a collaboration with PTMAN.” During the June 12 meeting, Saffo lauded the district’s efforts.

“We knew it would be a challenge moving forward,” he said. “We knew that God would enable you to get it done and because of your level of sensitive to the matter, we got the curriculum. And we understood how important it was for the students to have a real balanced education about our history, which is American history.”

Visit blackhistory365education.com for more on the new textbook and pths209.org for district news and information.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

Gilbane awards internships to D209 students Dulce Rivera and Mark Robinson to do paid summer work at Gilbane construction company

By MARIA MAXHAM Forest Park Review

Dulce Rivera from Proviso Math and Sci-

20 applications had been submitted by students, and she announced the two students who had been awarded the internships.

“I look forward to growing professionally and personally with this team and seeing the needs of our district come to fruition,” Rivera said at the meeting. She thanked her family for their support and Gilbane for the internship. “I am so excited to see how this opportunity will help me to grow,” Rivera said.

ence Academy (PMSA) and Mark Robinson

Robinson said he plans to go into the field

from Proviso East were awarded paid sum-

of architecture, so the opportunity at Gil-

mer internships at Gilbane, the construc-

bane will provide him with invaluable expe-

tion management company overseeing the

rience.

facilities upgrades at Proviso Township High School District 209 schools.

“I really thank God for allowing me to get this, and I thank Gilbane for the opportuni-

Earlier in the school year, Gilbane invited

ty,” Robinson said. He also gave a shout-out

D209 students to apply for the internship po-

to his principal, Dr. Patrick Hardy, for push-

sitions by submitting an application and an

ing him to pursue the internship.

introductory video.

FRONT ROW, FROM LEFT: Board vice-president Theresa Kelly, Proviso East student Mark Robinson, PMSA student Dulce Rivera. Back row, from left: Board member Sam Valtierrez, Gilbane project executive Michelle McClendon, board secretary Amanda Grant, board president Rodney Alexander, Proviso East Principal Patrick Hardy, board member Ned Wagner, Superintendent James Henderson.

Photo provided

Each student will be assigned to a school

the board meeting, and they will also be pro-

At the June 9 board meeting, Gilbane proj-

this summer, Rivera at East and Robinson at

vided with hard hats and work boots. The

ect executive Michelle McClendon said over

West. Both were handed safety vests during

students will be paid $15 per hour.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

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Komarek School celebrates start of renovation School officials, community members gathered for a groundbreaking on June 8

By BOB UPHUES Riverside-Brookfield Landmark

If the situation looked bleak back in April 2019, when the first of two bond referendums to renovate and expand Komarek School in North Riverside, which serves a small part of Broadview, went down to defeat in convincing fashion, the atmosphere outside the school on the evening of June 8 was literally sunny and bright.

About 75 parents; children; local officials, including Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson; and school leaders gathered inside the construction fencing that had gone up earlier that day and stood next to a large backhoe that had been tasked stripping asphalt from around the west building.

While ground technically had been broken already on the $22 million expansion and renovation – made possible by the March 2020 referendum passed by voters – those gathered on 13th Avenue in between the two sides of the campus were there to mark the ceremonial groundbreaking.

“We are so excited, we waited a long time for this,” said Joanna Santos, the mother of a ris-

improvement. But, she also referenced the state of the school’s old buildings. The oldest building was a two-room schoolhouse built in 1936. Six additions built between 1946 and 1970 brought the campus to its present look.

“A new building means you don’t have to worry about small things, like KOMAREK SCHOOL District 94 Superintendent Todd Fitzgerald something falling down (center), flanked by co-principals Caitlin DiLallo (left) and one day,” Seshadri said.

Diane Michelini, turns over a spade of earth during the Several different groups of people had a groundbreaking ceremony for the school’s renovation and chance to don hard hats expansion on June 8.

Bob Uphues and grab a shovel to turn over spadesful of earth spread out on the paveing second-grader and eighth-grader. ment of 13th Avenue, which in time will be For kids and their parents, the prospect of a vacated by the village and become enclosed fully air-conditioned school is one of the most outdoor campus space. attractive aspects of what’s coming.

But the trio awarded the honor of digging “The first couple of months for them, Au- their shovels into the earth first were Melisgust and September, are so hot,” Santos said. sa Obrock, Christian Rodriguez and Alan “They come home and they’re so tired, so it’s Myers, who had founded Citizens for District going to be good for them just be able to learn. 94, which campaigned door-to-door for both You can’t really learn when you’re dripping referendums and who sat on the steering comsweat and hot.” mittee tasked with building the broad support Sayali Seshadri, the mother of twin sec- that made the difference in 2020. ond-graders, agreed that the air-conditioning “We wanted to say thank you to everyone and overall better air quality will be a major in our community whose hard work and be-

lief in this project brought us to where we are now,” said Obrock, who was elected to the Komarek District 94 school board in April and will see the project completed during her term in office, during remarks before the ceremonial groundbreaking.

Obrock also announced that a time capsule would be sealed inside the cornerstone of the new addition to the school. While the school will be taking additional suggestions for a short time, the stainless-steel cylinder will contain photos of the groundbreaking, newspaper articles about the referendum and construction planning, a 2020-21 yearbook, notes from families and students and – indispensably for 2020-21 — a Komarek school face mask, among other items.

Komarek District 94 Superintendent Todd Fitzgerald, hired just after the successful referendum in 2020, singled out the steering committee for their efforts but acknowledged the wider support and participation in the planning process.

“Whether it was providing feedback and ideas to the builder and architects, communicating the needs of our school district to the North Riverside and Broadview communities, or garnering support for the passage of the building referendum in March of 2020, this project would not be possible without all of those people,” Fitzgerald said.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

PLCCA AND FREE COVID CARE GIVING FREE RAPID TESTING Free Rapid Testing will be given daily at PLCCA, 411 West Madison Street in Maywood Monday thru Friday from 8 AM to 6 PM. No insurance or appointments needed.

PLCCA Y COVID CARE GRATIS DANDO PRUEBAS RÁPIDAS GRATIS Los exámenes rápidos gratuitos se realizarán todos los días en PLCCA, 411 West Madison Street en Maywood, de lunes a viernes de 8 A.M. A 6 P.M. No se necesita seguro ni citas.

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

NEWS briefs

Sergio Brown, East football standout and former NFL player, returning to host summer football camp Former NFL player and Proviso East football standout Sergio Brown will be returning to his alma mater this summer to host his first-ever football camp. Brown’s camp will be held July 14 through July 17, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Proviso East High School, 807 S. 1st Ave. in Maywood. It’s open to young people ages 8 to 18.

“This is the first step in bringing back our football family to Maywood,” said Aaron Peppers, a Maywood trustee who coaches the varsity football team at East. Peppers was also the head coach at East when Brown attended the high school before going off to play at Notre Dame.

Brown was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He

eventually played for the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills before ending his playing career in 2016.

“Sergio has so much history here,” Peppers said. “Him giving back and recognizing where we are in our community is a beautiful thing. We relish the opportunity to share with our kids and to keep this going for as long as possible.”

Peppers said he’ll try to give every young person who wants to participate time to register, but may cut off registration a week before the camp starts.

Those interested in attending can register at: piratesfootball.eventbrite.com. For more information, contact Peppers at (708) 5166028 or email him at bigpep34@yahoo.com.

SUV carrying juveniles strikes utility pole, knocking out power In Maywood Some Maywood residents were without power on June 20 after an SUV carrying two juveniles struck a utility pole at the corner of 1st Avenue and Lexington Street in Maywood. The incident happened at around 7 p.m.

One resident who lives in the area said he was in his home when the power suddenly went out.

“I was upstairs and all of a sudden everything blinked and blinked again,” the person said.

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When he went outside, the vehicle, what appeared to be a green Ford Expedition, was on its side near a utility pole. Multiple witnesses who live on the north side of Lexington, between 1st and 2nd avenues, reported that they were without power. An officer in the area told one resident to contact ComEd while another officer told dispatch that the stop light at Roosevelt Road was out.

According to emergency dispatch records, two juveniles were in the SUV, but so far their condition, as well as the condition of the driver and the cause of the accident, isn’t known.

By around 7: 16 p.m., Maywood Police were attempting to clear the scene while the SUV was being towed. Police had also blocked off some southbound traffic on 1st Avenue.

This article will be updated if and/or when more information comes in.

Man dies in shooting in Maywood June 17 A man is dead after a shooting on June 17 in Maywood, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Jerry Haynes, 42, died of multiple gunshot wounds in a homicide that happened on the 600 block of South 17th Ave. in Maywood, the examiner’s office reported.

Maywood Police could not be immediately reached for comment on the shooting.

More as this story develops.

Man shot on Madison Street in Forest Park June 18 A man was shot on Madison Street near Franklin Avenue on June 18 around 4 p.m.

Police were called for a report of shots fired. They arrived to find a gray Jeep stopped in the roadway and a 21-year-old male who had sustained a gunshot wound to the back.

A 20-year-old female passenger was also present, and she had not sustained any injuries, according to a press release from Forest Park Police Chief Tom Aftanas.

The male victim was transported to the hospital, where he is in stable condition.

According to the press release, witnesses said the shooting took place on Van Buren Street just south of Madison Street. The shooting suspect was possibly driving a white BMW, which was last seen traveling southbound from the shooting location.

“This incident appears to be isolated and no reason to believe there is an imminent threat to the community,” said the police in their release.

The Forest Park Criminal Investigation Division is gathering information related to the incident, and anyone with information should contact 708-366-2425 or detectives@ forestpark.net.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

No relief for A1 bars, still must close at 11 p.m.

Bar owners and commissioners frustrated with lack of communication

By MARIA MAXHAM Forest Park Review

Extending the closing time for A1 bars, those that don’t serve food, was not on the agenda for the June 14 Forest Park village council meeting, much to the disappointment of tavern owners and employees who spoke out during public comment.

Although Village Administrator Moses Amidei and Mayor Rory Hoskins made no promises at the ad hoc bar committee meeting on June 3, it seemed like an extension of bar hours might make it to the council agenda.

And in fact, two other suggestions from the committee did make it onto the June 14 agenda: changes to amusement licenses and the immediate closing out of a liquor license upon closing of a bar or restaurant.

But no changes were made to the hours.

During the June 3 committee meeting, no members present were opposed to lengthening hours for A1 license holders, and suggestions ranged from Art Sundry’s proposal of closing at midnight every night to Connie Brown and Joe Sullivan in favor of 2 a.m. on weekends and 1 a.m. on weekdays.

“We understand and hear the differences of opinion on bar hours,” Village Administrator Moses Amidei said to the committee on June 3. He added that a conversation between himself, the police chief and village staff will allow them to come up with a recommendation based on everyone’s input.

Beginning on June 16, category A liquor license holders, whose revenue is at least 50 percent from the sale of food in their establishments, were allowed to go back to the amended bar hours of 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends, but A1 taverns that don’t sell food are still, according to ordinance, required to close at 11 p.m. every night until Labor Day, unless the village council has before it and votes on a change to that ordinance.

Public comment at the June 14 village council meeting was once more flooded with bar owners and employees, pleading with the village to consider the impact the early closing has had on their businesses. At least 11 bar owners, employees and residents spoke out against the prolonged early closure. One resident wrote a letter in favor of the early closings and how they’ve reduced noise and litter significantly.

Colin Jackson, who identified himself as a resident and manager of two bars in town,

questioned the logic and fairness of bars being punished for things people do on the streets, such as drinking in their cars.

“How far from a bar does someone have to be for bars not to be responsible?” he asked.

Jackson also brought up race, saying that it looks to him like the bars allowed to enjoy longer hours, those with the A licenses, have mostly white clientele, while those still forced to close early are more likely to have Black clientele.

Several employees and bar owners pleaded with the village council for more direction, for specifics on what they could do to bring about longer hours again.

“Tell us what you need,” said April Reed, a Mugsy’s employee who said her income has been reduced to a third of what it was prior to the early closure being instituted.

Lynn Sorice, who along with her husband Marty, owns several bars in town said, “We’re willing to do anything you want, but you’re not telling us what you want.”

Marty Sorice took it a step farther, saying he wants to know once and for all if village administration even wants the bars around anymore.

“What I want to know now is … do you want us in Forest Park or not? And if so, I want you to validate that we are honorable and that we’re wanted businesses.” If not, he said, it would be “painful,” but he like many other bars cannot continue to lose money and he would consider closing his doors and reopening elsewhere.

Duffy’s owner Joe Sullivan, who was part of the ad hoc committee that met twice to put recommendations together for the village council, said it was beginning to look like the committee suggestions were being ignored.

“Not one member of that committee asked that the current ordinance remain in effect,” Sullivan said. “The most conservative request that was submitted was midnight for operating hours. And yet still, here we are closing at 11 p.m. How is this even possible? Was the time spent by the ad hoc committee in vain and for show? It’s really hard to think that it wasn’t at this point.”

Mayor Rory Hoskins addressed the bar closure issue in his report toward the end of the meeting.

“To all the people who spoke during public comment, we hear you. We do,” Hoskins said. “The measure that we took in May was not intended to be punitive. It was intended to protect the street.”

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

Proviso Community Bank

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

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Leadership program seeking Proviso applicants

The Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation’s Leadership Lab is expanding westward

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

The Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation’s Leadership Lab is now accepting applications for its 2021-22 program, but this most recent cohort will be a lot different from the past, the Lab’s organizers said.

“We’ve really wanted to expand the experience,” said Jenny Yang, Leadership Lab coordinator.

This year, Yang explained, the program is looking to recruit fellows from beyond Oak Park and River Forest, including communities on Chicago’s West Side and in suburbs located throughout western Cook County.

During the program, participants meet once a month over 10 months for personal and professional coaching and skills development. This year, the sessions will be offered both virtually and in-person.

The deadline to apply is June 30 or until spots are filled. Tuition is $2,000, but scholarships are available based on need.

“One of our key objectives is to expand our reach,” Yang said. “We want to talk to fellows, give them leadership experience and provide them with a personal journal and help them curate that journey.

“You don’t have to be a mayor or in some high position in a company to be a leader.

We know anyone can be a leader and we want to make sure we meet them where they are because the skills we’ll offer are applicable wherever they want to serve.”

Yang said the program has evolved since its inception, adding that the Lab is “much more approachable, more actionable and more flexible” than in the past, when participants were largely drawn from Oak Park and River Forest.

“When this was started, it was really designed between the Community Foundation and Dominican University to be a leadership program that helped people become defined as community leaders and it was focused on the Oak Park and River Forest area,” said Cathy Yen, a longtime nonprofit executive and a Leadership Lab facilitator who has also completed the program herself.

“The program has come a long way since then,” Yen said, adding that the program is focused on “a bunch of C’s,” including competencies, coaching, context and COVID. Yen said, for those looking to apply, “your demonstrated commitment to the greater

good is more important than your resume.” She said the program typically attracts mid-career professionals looking to strengthen their core competencies and sharpen their core values.

DeRondal Bevly, a Leadership Lab mentor, said the program is particularly necessary in today’s fraught political climate.

“If you look at the energy that was kicked up as a result of the 2020 election, people were look- LEADERS WANTED: Antonio Martinez Jr., left, the Coming for an outlet to do something munity Foundation’s president and CEO. but just didn’t have the skills, the toolkit and the networks to Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation/Facebook be agents of change,” Bevly said.

“This program really fits the times to help those people who know they’re geographic region.

That regionalism is also consistent with leaders and have the potential, but don’t the Community Foundation’s evolving misquite know how to pull it out themselves.”

Yang said Leadership Lab fellows who sion, said Antonio Martinez Jr., the Foundacomplete the program get access to a re- tion’s president and CEO. “The big thing is that we realize the intersource library that’s available to all Lab participants and alumni. They also get to tap connectedness that we share with our surinto a network of more than 200 Lab alumni. rounding neighbors and communities,” he Yen said Leadership Lab’s desire to ex- said.

For more information on Leadership Lab pand its reach beyond two suburbs is consistent with an expanding definition of com- and/or to apply, visit: oprfcf.org/leadermunity, one rooted less in one particular ship-lab. municipal boundary than in a much larger CONTACT: info@vfpress.news

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF CITIGROUP MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2019-E Plaintiff, -v.REVALE BANKS, 1032 BELLWOOD AVE BUILDING ASSOCIATION, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF LOMETTA DAWN NEWSOME-BANKS, THOMAS P. QUINN, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR LOMETTA DAWN NEWSOME-BANKS (DECEASED) Defendants 2020CH03552 1032 BELLWOOD AVE UNIT E BELLWOOD, IL 60104 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on May 18, 2021, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 8, 2021, 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 1032 BELLWOOD AVE UNIT E, BELLWOOD, IL 60104 Property Index No. 15-16-116-0701005 The real estate is improved with a

Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

condo/townhouse.

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.

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.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876

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

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-20-02695 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2020CH03552 TJSC#: 41-854 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 # 2020CH03552 I3170012

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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

When life throws you a financial challenge, you’ve proven you have what it takes to ace it. Now it’s time to tackle your retirement savings at AceYourRetirement.org

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Village Free Press | June 23, 2021

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