Village Free Press_112421

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Maywood designer marks a year since opening store, PAGE 4

Broadview to get piece of $1B cannabis industry

Black-owned cannabis cultivation company Helios Labs to open $14M, 52,000-squarefoot facility in Broadview next year By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Ambrose Jackson, the CEO of Helios Labs, the new cannabis cultivation center that’s expected to open in Broadview next year, stood before a crowd of at least a few hundred people gathered inside of a massive warehouse at 2150 Parkes Dr. on Nov. 20. Once the roughly 52,000-square-foot, $14 million facility opens sometime over the summer, Helios will be producing a range of cannabis items at the Parkes Drive plant — everything from cannabis flour to infused gummy bears, said Jim Reilly, the company’s vice president of facilities. On Saturday, Jackson pointed out a series of what he considers to be some telling numbers that reveal a damning truth about his indusSee CANNABIS on page 2

Vol. V No. 47

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

YOUR LOCAL

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Proponents of a plan to rebuild the Eisenhower Expressway have renewed optimism in the wake of a federal infrastructure package being signed into law.

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Long-delayed Ike rebuild pushed with new federal funds Infrastructure bill breathed new life into dormant plan to remake the Eisenhower Expressway By ANDY VIANO Forest Park Review

With the stroke of his pen Nov. 15, President Joe Biden may have breathed life into a dormant plan to remake the Eisenhower Expressway, a plan its proponents argue would help clear stifling traffic backups,

create better and safer access to public transportation, and bring new economic opportunities to communities along the highway corridor that consist heavily of minority and low-income residents. State and local leaders calling themselves the Rebuild 290 Coalition, including Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch (7th district) and Senate President Don Harmon (39th) shared their optimism at a press conference Nov. 8 in Chicago, despite no public guarantees that any construction was imminent. Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins, Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker and Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson were also at the press conference.

“This legislation is critical for the future of Illinois and the rest of the country,” Welch said in a statement released after the media event. “It is the largest long-term investment in our infrastructure and will boost our economy by creating millions of jobs. This bill is also a major step forward in the fight against climate change, and paired with the work already done in the state legislature, Illinois remains a leader for the nation in a clean energy economy.” But the fact that the press conference came before the signing of the $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill and before the See EISENHOWER on page 3

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