Forest Park Review 121119

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Vol. 102, No. 50

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REVIEW DECEMBER 11, 2019

Holiday events PAGES B21-B26

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Forest Park mourns mother of three 28-year-old killed on Dec. 6 in apparent murder-suicide

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

Lauren McDonald, 28, was the victim of a tragic murder on Dec. 6. She was killed by Kenneth L. Nelson, a 28-year-old from Joliet, who then shot himself.

Lauren’s children attend Forest Park schools, and she was an active member of the community.

Friends, relatives and residents are working to set up formal avenues through which people can assist her family.

The shooting took place on Dec. 6 at 5:10 p.m. when police officers were called to the 1500 block of Harlem Avenue in Forest Park with reports of two people down in the street.

Officers found McDonald and Nelson in the street, one in the curb lane and one partially on the sidewalk. Paramedics pronounced them both dead at the scene. Each had suffered gunshot wounds to the head.

It is believed that McDonald exited the passenger side door of a vehicle that had been traveling southbound on Harlem Avenue. Nelson then exited the driver side door and shot her before turning the gun on himself. A gun was recovered at the scene.

Forest Park Police Chief Tom Aftanas said the case is being investigated as a murder-suicide and that McDonald and Nelson were in an on-and-off relationship, but few other details are available at this point.

The Major Crimes Taskforce is assisting with the investigation.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

STRENGTH THROUGH FAMILY: David Gordon with his wife, Caitlin, 15-month-old Amaya, and Dante (11), Thalia (15) and Damian (12), want to raise awareness about colon cancer.

Family struggles with difficult diagnosis Colon cancer increasing in the under-50 crowd

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

At 35, David Gordon was strong and healthy. He loved playing at the park with

A good neighbor has your back.

his kids. His wife, Caitlin, said he’d go to the park to play soccer or football with one of his three older kids (the youngest, at only 15 months, is too young for serious sports), and he’d end up with an entire team of children who wanted to play.

“People like to be around him,” said Caitlin. “He’s magnetic.”

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used to volunteer for Big Brother, and he was a foster parent. Now he has four children of his own.

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For years, colon cancer had been considered largely an old man’s disease. The See GORDON on page 13

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019 F O R E S T PA R K

Kindness can heal broken families

T

here’s a dark side to our holiday celebrations. Many of us have families that are broken. My birth family is broken. First of all, we’re down from nine “kids” to six. Of the survivors, some are close. Others are estranged or separated by distance. I was reminded about broken families when I watched the movie, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

This is not a typical “holiday movie.” It focuses on broken people and broken families and how Mister Roger’s brand of kindness can heal them. I could definitely identify with the main character, a troubled journal-

ist. OK, I’m not as troubled as this guy, but I have some of the same tendencies.

Like him, I can hold grudges, feud with family members, and I’m a former master of the silent treatment. I can stubbornly hold onto hurts and refuse to forgive people who hurt me.

When you watch a character like this, it’s obvious their anger is hurting them more than people they resent. But they can’t see it.

The journalist is assigned to write a profile of Fred Rogers. He is skeptical about the folksy host. To his credit, he doesn’t set out to write a puff piece but asks penetrating questions. Rogers is unafraid

JOHN RICE

A

L O O K

B A C K

I N

XXXX Remember Bishop’s Chili, a successful Chicago restaurant opened by Mary “Ma” Bishop in the 1920’s on 18th and Damon?

Her son, George branched off and continued the family business by opening a second location to the west in Forest Park at the intersection of Roosevelt and Elgin in the 1950’s.

Joe Janouch, Vice President of Bishop’s was interviewed in 1992 and said, “I think some of our success comes from the fact that we’ve kept this a family business and we’ve stuck to one recipe all these years.”

Janouch was careful not to reveal the secret mixture that gave Bishop’s chili its spicy kick.

He only shared that the secret recipe included meat, beans, onions and spices. The chili does not include tomato paste, flour or brown sugar.

This favorite restaurant on the south end of town expanded west again in 1970’s to Westmont.

In the early 1990s, Bishop’s Chili, after 36 years in Forest Park, was demolished to make way for Walgreens, now at the corner of Roosevelt and Harlem, which fills the corner all the way to Elgin.

to reveal character flaws and his own family’s problems. He also goes to extraordinary lengths to heal the journalist and his broken family relationships.

I was comparing notes with friends about the brokenness of our families. One grew up in a large feuding family in Forest Park.

Now that they are adults, there’s even more division in his family. “We put the ‘dys’ in dysfunctional,” he joked.

It’s not uncommon for large families like his to fall apart, especially when the parents are gone. It also happens in smaller families.

A Forest Park friend told me his brother hasn’t spoken to him, since they disagreed about the invasion of Iraq. Politics can divide family and friends, especially during these toxic times.

There are also families that keep it together, no matter how tough the circumstances. I have cousins who lost their dad at a young age. Their family could have easily fallen apart. He credited his older sister for saving the family. She has hosted Thanksgiving every year since their dad died in 1978.

That kind of hospitality is extraordinary, but we all know people who host family parties year after year. It’s a lot of work and expense but they don’t complain.

When I was growing up, my family hosted holiday parties out of necessity. There were so many of us, we never got invited anywhere. Besides, we loved it. We had two ovens cranking and our table set with fancy china.

The strangers we invited really made the feast special. We hosted priests, teachers, foreign students, and other people who had no place to go for the holidays. They kept us on our best behavior because we never fought in front of strangers.

Inviting strangers and hosting parties are examples of the simple kindness Mr. Rogers advocated. He knew how to heal people, especially children. He dealt with some dark issues on the show. He felt that by exposing fears, we could deal with them in a healthy way.

So if you’re feeling a bit broken this holiday season, this movie could help. It shows how kindness can heal our souls. It also shows the courage it takes to be kind to people who have hurt us.

Even the Holy Family was broken. An unmarried pregnant teenage girl and her humiliated husband-to-be showed how healing can occur under the most difficult circumstances.

T I M E . . .

■ John Rice is a columnist/private detective, who has seen his business and family thrive in Forest Park. He thoroughly enjoys life in the village and still gets a thrill smelling Red Hots, watching softball and strolling through cemeteries. Jrice1038@ aol.com

REVIEW Contributing Reporters Tom Holmes, John Rice, Bob Skolnik, Jackie Glosniak, Robert J. Lifka Columnists Alan Brouilette, Jill Wagner, Tom Holmes, John Rice, Senior Editor Bob Uphues Editor Maria Maxham IT Manager/Web Developer Mike Risher

Editorial Design Manager Claire Innes Editorial Designers Mark Moroney Ad Design Manager Andrew Mead Ad Designers Debbie Becker Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Advertising Manager Dawn Ferencak Ad Sales Marc Stopeck Inside Sales Mary Ellen Nelligan Client Engagement Natalie Johnson Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Distribution Coordinator Wakeelah Cocroft-Aldridge Front Desk Carolyn Henning, Maria Murzyn Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs Publisher Dan Haley Associate Publisher Dawn Ferencak Business Manager Joyce Minich

HOW TO REACH US ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 708-366-0600 ■ FAX 708-467-9066 EMAIL forestpark@wjinc.com ONLINE ForestParkReview.com TWITTER @FP_Review Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Forest Park Review,141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302-2901. Periodical rate postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS No 0205-160) In county subscriptions: $22 per year. $38 for two years. $54 for three years.

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

Portillo’s workers organize for change List of demands includes $15 minimum wage

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

On Nov. 21, Portillo’s workers, demanding a $15 minimum wage at all Illinois restaurants and other improved working conditions, held a rally and press conference outside the River North restaurant location on Ontario Street in Chicago.

After speaking, a group of employees brought a petition inside the restaurant, but managers there refused to take it and asked the employees to leave. The petition was signed by over 600 employees from multiple Portillo’s locations, including Forest Park, and was brought to the Ontario Street location because it is the flagship restaurant.

This action follows many months of alleged mistreatment

by Portillo’s management of employees. In fact, according to Mary Salas, a longtime employee of Portillo’s who spoke at the rally, conditions for employees within the organization have declined since Dick Portillo sold the company in 2018.

“We want to improve Portillo’s,” said Salas during the press conference. “But the company that bought Portillo’s seems to not understand that what makes our restaurants fantastic is the people who work here. The people, the workers and the clients are the ones making Portillo’s fantastic and profitable.”

Over this past summer, Portillo’s employees met with Arise Chicago for help organizing to improve their working conditions.

Arise is a Chicago-based and faith-based organization that assists employees in organizing to demand better working conditions, recover lost wages and eradicate harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Formed in 1991 by a group of religious leaders, the goal was to address systemic poverty in the Chicago area.

Shelly Ruzicka, communications director at Arise, said that after Portillo’s workers reached out to the organization over the summer, Arise spent several months talking to them about their complaints and educating employees

ORGANIZED FOR CHANGE: Employees from Portillo’s restaurants through Illinois are demanding improved working conditions, including a $15 minimum wage. about their rights. The organization helped the employees form a workers committee to coordinate efforts and communication between different Portillo’s stores in Illinois, including the Forest Park location.

Together, Arise and Portillo’s employees came up with a list of 10 demands. In addition to the $15 hourly minimum wage at all Illinois locations, demands included eliminating the wage cap, establishing a seniority pay scale policy, lowering the costs that employees pay into health insurance, increasing the number of sick days, and improving the absence and rescheduling policy.

Unlike other fast-food restaurants with high turnover, Portillo’s has a lot of long-term employees. Many of them, including Salas, have worked for the company for over 10 years. They look at it as a career, not just a job, and they want to be compensated appropriately for the time they have been with the organization.

In September 2019, over a hundred workers brought the list of demands to corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, said Salas. Portillo’s response? They reportedly hired a high-paid consultant, whom the employees allege used threatening tactics to scare them into silence.

According to Ruzicka, the consultant was “very highly paid” and used “immigration scare tactics” to intimidate workers.

As a result, the employees held the Nov. 21 rally and press conference at the flagship store in downtown Chicago. At the rally, Rev. C.J. Hawking, executive director of Arise, said their organization was “inspired by these workers and how they have chosen to educate themselves about their rights.”

A man at the rally held a sign in support of the Portillo’s employees. It read: “Intimidating your workers is worse than putting ketchup on your hotdog.”

As of publication, Portillo’s headquarters had not responded with comment on the situation.

Village proposes 4.6% increase in tax levy Council will vote to approve tax hike request on Dec. 16

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

The village of Forest Park is proposing a 4.5 percent increase in the total village levy amount over last year, and the library fund is proposing a 5 percent increase for the fiscal year, beginning May 1, 2019 and ending April 30, 2020. For the village, this will bring in an estimated overall 4.6 percent increase of $346,911 over last year.

Forest Park, which is a non-home rule

entity, is subject to the (Property Tax Extension Limitation Law) PTELL, which states that the levy is limited to 5 percent or the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. For 2019, CPI is 1.9 percent.

However, municipalities can also capture to full assessed value of new construction and often ask for in excess of the CPI in order to do so. Cook County will likely ratchet down the village’s levy request next year when the value of new construction is known.

In the end, Forest Park’s actual levy is likely to be closer to the CPI’s 1.9 percent.

In the 2019 levy is a provision allowing for greater employer pension contributions to the Firefighter’s Pension Fund. This year’s

amount is $144,253 and is not subject to the PTELL cap.

The levy estimate for 2019 for the village is $5,869,551, and the levy estimate for the library is $1,966,938. Including both village and library, the total property taxes extended or abated for 2018 were $7,489,578. The estimated total property taxes to be levied for 2019 are $7,836,489, which represents a 4.6 percent increase over the previous year.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), social security, and fire and police pensions account for 51 percent, more than half of the total village levy amount, although the IMRF fund collection will decrease by 2.9 percent and the Social Security fund by 4.4 percent, while the police pension and fire pension levy amounts will both in-

crease by 1.1 percent.

Property tax dollars are used for many other expenses, either in full or in part, including: salaries in all departments, including the mayor’s salary at $30,000, police and fire department management and officer salaries, Community Center salaries, $10,000 for each of the four commissioners, and a portion of forestry expenses in the village.

A public hearing to approve the levy increase will be held on Monday, Dec. 16 at 6:45 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Village Hall at 517 Desplaines Ave. If approved, the levy must then be filed with the County Clerk no later than Dec. 31.

The County will then decide whether the levy amounts will be honored.

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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Proviso East students pay homage to Fred Hampton Contests held on 50th anniversary of Black Panther leader’s death

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

In the days and weeks after the assassination of Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton, the racial tumult between black and white students at Proviso East High School, where Hampton graduated just three years earlier in 1966, grew to such a fever pitch that administrators canceled classes until after Christmas.

This year, which marks the 50th anniversary of Hampton’s assassination, a multiracial coalition of students at Proviso East tapped their various talents to pay homage to the civil rights leader, who wasn’t much older than they are when he was murdered in an unlawful police raid on Dec. 4, 1969.

The students competed in three different categories: oratory, essay writing and art.

Each category was sponsored by The Need to Know NFP, a local nonprofit dedicated to spreading awareness about African American history in Proviso Township. Wintrust Bank, which recently opened a new branch

Photo by Shanel Romain

STILL REMEMBERING: George Bunn, a history teacher at Proviso East, gives a presentation on Fred Hampton and his impact in the community earlier this month. in Maywood, sponsored cash prizes for each of the winners.

“The students had to search and study former Black Panther Party Illinois Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton’s life and work with the NAACP, the Panther Party and the Rainbow Coalition,” said Proviso East English teacher Jennifer Moore, describing the oratory competition. She said the contest took place in October and was judged by members of the Maywood Toastmasters club.

“The competition was so steeped in excel-

lence that when senior Marseilles Burton emerged as the winner, there was a one-point difference between her and the second- and third-place contestants,” Moore said, adding that Burton will receive a $500 cash prize.

“Prior to the contest, students were given a Fred Hampton quote and asked to interpret the quote, within the context of Hampton’s life, and express their thoughts on what it will take to end racism in the United States in a three- to five-minute speech.”

“Do you fight hate with hate?” Burton

asked the audience. “No, you fight hate with love. Hate confines and separates us while love liberates and unites us. Solidarity helps bind people together as one and that is what we need right now.”

Don’tae Buford won the essay contest.

Rhonda Sherrod, the president of The Need to Know NFP, said that 17 students at the school submitted essays in October that were judged by Dr. Kenneth W. Warren, the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of English at the University of Chicago.

Francis Vazquez, a senior at Proviso East, won the $250 first-place prize in the art competition for his piece, a graphic novel titled “Fred Hampton’s Legacy.” Senior Kaela Delgado won the $100 second-place prize for “Fred Hampton – Life and Legacy” while three students — juniors Vanessa Fulgencio, Kaylen Griffin and senior Michael Julian — won the third-place $50 prize. The students’ artwork was on display during a temporary exhibition at the high school that was open to the public last week.

“I did a lot of research on him and learned quite a few things,” Vazquez said. “I found out that his son grew up to be an activist like him. The police took the approach of trying to eliminate these revolutionaries altogether to try to silence everyone. You can kill the revolutionary, but you can’t kill the revolution.”

C R I M E

Four-car accident on Roosevelt Road According to Police Chief Tom Aftanas, a car driving west on the 8200 block of Roosevelt Road at 5 p.m. on Dec. 4 didn’t react quickly enough when traffic slowed. Although the driver slammed on his brakes when he noticed traffic was stopping, he rear-ended the vehicle in front of him. That vehicle, in turn, struck the car in front of it and then crossed over the double yellow lines, striking an oncoming car.

The original car responsible for the first rear-ending jumped the curb on the north side of Roosevelt, crashing through the cemetery fence and knocking over a headstone.

Two of the drivers suffered minor injuries, and one was transported to Loyola Hospital. Two vehicles suffered extensive damage and had to be towed. No arrests were made.

Cultural diversity mural defaced again On Dec. 8 at 10:57 p.m. defacement of one of the Circle Avenue bridge murals was reported for at least the seventh time. According to the police report, unknown offenders used a paper towel to smear chocolate brown paint onto the cultural diversity mural on the east wall of the bridge. By the time the officers arrived, citizens had already cleaned up the paint, which was still wet. A paper towel also wet with brown paint was discovered on the east pavement between the Circle bridge and the Ferrara Pan Candy factory building.

Stolen license sticker on top of a stolen sticker A woman on the 400 block of Marengo Avenue discovered her stolen license plate sticker on a neighbor’s car and reported it to the police on Dec. 2 at 7:58 p.m. Police ran the license plate with the sticker and went to the owner’s home. They told the owner that they were aware that his plates had expired

in May of 2019 and the sticker wasn’t his. Although he originally acted surprised, he finally admitted that he knew who had stolen the sticker and put it on his license plate. He did not, however, want to “snitch” on that person. Police arrested him. When they removed the sticker, they found another stolen sticker underneath that one. The woman whose sticker was stolen did not want to sign a complaint against the man who had the sticker on his car.

Man stealing packages arrested for 35th time A man with a history of 34 previous arrests was apprehended by police on the 600 block of Grove Lane on Dec. 4 at 3:04 a.m. A male, who had been seen on prior occasions stealing packages in the area, was reported by a resident. When police officers approached the man, he said he lived in the condo complex, but his ID showed a Chicago address. Another man, who identified himself as the townhouse board president, approached officers with a woman. They told the officers that they had previously observed the offender taking packages from around the condo complex. Although the offender stated he was merely trying to alert residents to packages on their steps, when officers ran his name, they found his 34 previous arrests and that he was arrested by Oak Park police just two days prior. He was taken into custody and will appear in court in January.

Aggravated unlawful use of weapon A 21-year-old man was arrested on Dec. 5 at 12:09 a.m. for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was driving in an extremely reclined position, so the reporting officer was able to clearly see no seatbelt was being worn. When stopped, the

offender exited his vehicle and gave the officer his driver’s license. The officer reported a strong odor of cannabis coming from his car.

The offender began to argue about why he was pulled over, stating he had a video showing he was wearing a seatbelt. He continued to be argumentative and wouldn’t provide proof of insurance.

The officer discovered a cannabis “blunt” in the car, and the offender said he’d done nothing wrong and had nothing illegal in the vehicle. However, a search revealed a black 9 mm Smith and Wesson M&P Shield handgun, fully loaded with one round in the chamber and five rounds in the magazine, which was inside the gun. Officers placed the offender in handcuffs.

They discovered that the handgun had been reported stolen out of Oak Park during a residential burglary.

Inside the vehicle, officers also found a handgun case holding a Smith and Wesson M&P Shield magazine with seven live rounds of 9 mm ammunition and two boxes of ammunition, one empty and one containing 34 more rounds.

The suspect did not have a valid FOID or CCL. He was issued a felony for Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon and processed on charges of possessing ammunition without a FOID. He was also issued a local ordinance citation of possession of cannabis and a traffic citation for driving without a seatbelt.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Dec. 1-7, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

Compiled by Maria Maxham

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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Wine and wrap event

Couch Potato Friday

Let’s get together to wrap and have fun! Grab some friends, enjoy some wine and reserve a table to wrap. All wrapping paper, ribbon, tape and bows will be provided. Email to reserve a table at amyswinehouse7235@gmail.com. Tuesday, Dec. 17th from 7 to 9 p.m. at Amy’s Winehouse, 7235 Roosevelt Rd.

Come on out to Scratch Kitchen, 7445 Madison St., on Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. to chill out. Friends and Seinfield will be played, and bacon flavored popcorn will be served. The comfort food of the night is stuffed meatloaf.

Madison Stre Street Mini Market rke Saturday, Dec. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Lantern Haus, 7414 Madison St. Come to a unique, last minute artisan market to wrap up your holiday shopping. Enjoy the open-air photo booth, drinks and holiday cheer while shopping for gifts from local vendors and shops.

December 11 - 17

BIG WEEK Waffles with Santa Dec. 14 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at The Brown Cow, 7347 Madison St. Santa loves waffles for breakfast and wants to share them with you. Enjoy homemade Belgian waffles and a full waffle sundae bar, bacon, sausage and hot cocoa with Santa. Free photo op with Santa with the purchase of breakfast. Elf size (1/4 waffle) $5.99. Reindeer size (1/2 waffle) $8.99. Santa size (whole waffle) $11.99. No reservations required.

Mayor Hoskins’ Community Toy Drive Thursday, Dec. 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the American Legion, 500 Circle Ave. Please ease bring an unwrapped gift for kids aged 3 to 16 or a gift card for youth aged 11 to 16. Free food and soft drinks! If you’re unable to attend, you can still help by d. dropping off a gift at the Howard Mohr Community Center, 7640 Jackson Blvd.

Grown-up Game Night Spend an evening with the Forest Park Public Library (offsite) playing a variety of board and card games. Either compete against each other, or work with one another, playing games like Scrabble, Exploding Kittens, Flash Point or bring your own! December 16, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Park District of Forest Park, 7401 Harrison St., Building 4.

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

Anonymous gifting on the rise in Forest Park Giver benefits as much as recipient, studies show

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

Village Administrator Tim Gillian was surprised and moved when a Forest Park resident, who wished to remain anonymous, called the village saying she wanted to pay someone’s outstanding and overdue water bill. She didn’t have a specific person’s bill in mind; she simply wanted to help one random person who was having trouble this holiday season.

“She just wanted to do this wonderful thing for another person,” said Gillian. “Paying the water bill can be a big deal for some people.

This was a really kind act, and it’s important to take time to applaud seemingly little things like this that aren’t really little at all.”

At the Forest Park Public Library, anonymous giving allows patrons to clear a child’s or teen’s library card. A “giving tree” has paper ornaments that display the amounts of fines on patrons’ cards. Each patron is displayed anonymously on the tree, which is located by the information desk on the main level of the library.

According to Alicia Hammond, the library’s community engagement manager, this is the first year the library set up the giving tree.

“We randomly selected 50 kids and teens to anonymously be part of the program,” said Hammond. “The idea is that community members can select an ornament from the tree that represents a kid and lists their library fine. This is a nice way for our community to help kids in a small but significant way.”

In less than a week, over $200 of the fine and fees had been paid.

“We didn’t know the type of reception this project would receive, but we have been so happy with the results,” said Hammond. “The tree will be up until the end of December.”

Mayor Rory Hoskins is continuing the tradition of the village’s annual toy drive, started by Community Center director Karen

News that’s close to home

Photo provided

GIFT OF READING: Library visitors can anonymously pay off the library fees and fines of randomly chosen kids and teens through the end of December.

Dylewski and hosted by the previous mayor, Tony Calderone, for years. Toy are collected for the Forest Park Community Center to give, anonymously, to families that can’t afford gifts this year. Toys will be distributed as part of the Community Center’s Christmas meal delivery on Dec. 23. Unwrapped toys for kids age 3 to 16 or gift cards for kids age 11 to 16 can be dropped off at the Community Center (7640 Jackson Blvd.) or brought to the toy drive event, which is on Dec. 12 from 6 to 10 p.m., at the American Legion, 500 Circle Ave. Free food and soft drinks will be provided.

There is evidence that one of the best ways to increase happiness during the stressful holiday season is through giving. Stud-

ies show that giving — time, a donation, an anonymous gift — triggers a release of oxytocin which can, if only temporarily, provide a bump of pleasure.

One study reported in the journal Psychological Science shows that while human beings adapt to most pleasures and get decreasing satisfaction from them over time, this doesn’t happen from giving.

“The happiness we feel from eating the same food, from earning the same income, and from many other experiences quickly decreases as repeated exposure to an identical source of happiness increases,” wrote the researchers. But “the happiness we get from giving appears to sustain itself.”

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PAGE 10

LOTUS

Editor

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

9

Following advice to write novel about breaking rules Forest Parker’s ‘high-society’ party reflects book’s setting

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

The main floor of the Urban Pioneer Group, 7503 Madison St., was transformed into what could be a setting from author Ania Ray’s latest release: a swanky party in New York high society. The space was lit with fairy lights, wine and prosecco were served, and delicacies spread out on the counters for guests — most of them in fancy attire — to eat. The invitation, in fact, said cocktail attire was recommended.

Ray, the host and star of the evening, was celebrating the release of her first novel, The Cromwell Rules. In a blue, sequined cocktail dress, she mingled with guests and signed copies of her new book, which tells the tale of Lily Cromwell, a 27-year-old, high-society New York City socialite who is conflicted between the rules she’s always known — rules that have been enforced by her own mother — and her desire to rewrite the rules by which she’s been told she must live.

The Forest Park resident said she’s been writing seriously for the past three years, but she’s really always been a writer.

“I was the kid who was writing poems during math class,” she said. Writing — and editing — an entire novel, though, was a challenge.

“I’ve always had the desire to write a book,” she said, “but it’s difficult. You realize that once you sit down and do it. Wanting it isn’t enough. You have to put in the work.”

Ray worked on the book for about three years, including numerous edits and rewrites. She completed the first draft during National Novel Writing Month a few years ago, then focused on cleaning it up and perfecting it.

It’s often said that the editing part of the process is the most difficult, and Ray reached out to other writers for advice. She contacted one of her favorite authors, April White, author of the Immortal Descendants Series, to tell her how much she enjoyed reading the series and to ask for any advice she might have. White gave her the name and number of her editor, whom Ray hired.

“It was especially important for me to get an editor since I was self-publishing my book,” she said. “And I can’t even tell you how exciting it was to get advice from one of my favorite authors.”

She also hired a book coach through Author Accelerator, who gave her great advice in revising her book.

“The best advice was the old advice to show, not tell,” said Ray. “When I went back to revise, it surprised me how many scenes there were where I was telling something but not describing or showing it. Now when I’m writing scenes for my next novel, I’m more aware of this as I’m writing.”

Her next book, which she started last month, is a young adult story combining elements of science fiction.

Ray, a high school English and Language Arts teacher at De La Salle Institute in Chicago, is relatively new to Forest Park, but she said she loves it already.

“I love the small-town atmosphere,” she said. “There are smart people here. Kind people. Madison Street is gorgeous.” And releasing her first book in Forest Park, she added, “feels right.”

The Cromwell Rules is available at thecromwellrules.com.

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NOVELIST: Forest Park author Ania Ray celebrated the release of her first novel, The Cromwell Rules, on Dec. 8.

10

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

Photo provided

52 YEARS: District 91 Board President Kyra Tyler and Superintendent Louis Cavallo honored Robert Villasenor for his many years of service at a November board meeting.

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Gymnasium renamed in his honor The longest serving employee in District 91 history was presented with a plaque and renaming the Grant-White gymnasium in his honor at the Nov. 14 meeting of the D91 school board. Although the honoree — Robert T. Villasenor — was unable to attend due to illness, Superintendent Louis Cavallo and board members spoke highly of his work.

“As far as we know,” said Cavallo, “Mr. Villasenor was the longest-serving employee in the district. It’s quite an accomplishment.”

Villasenor served as custodian for over 52 years in Forest Park schools. As a result, he was honored for his service with a plaque, which will be hung in the newly named “Robert T. Villasenor Gymnasium”

at Grant-White school.

Villasenor began his professional career in 1967. Since then, he has worked in different buildings in the district, but his last 30 years were spent at Grant-White.

Bob Laudadio, superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, has also worked within the district for many years. He described Mr. Villasenor as an exceptional worker.

“Bob was extremely dedicated,” said Laudadio. “He not only showed up to work every day, he arrived early and stayed late. He was a true professional. He kept the schools immaculate.”

Another long-term employee of GrandWhite, Rosemary Moroni, also spoke kindly of Villasenor. “He was very committed to his job,” said Moroni. “He rarely took a day off. When it came to keeping the schools clean, he was a real pro.”

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

Annual Holiday Walk warms up Madison Street The Forest Park Chamber of Commerce hosted the town’s annual Holiday Walk on Dec. 6 along Madison Street. One of the chamber’s most loved events, this year it brought over 1,000 visitors. Live window displays, horse-drawn carriages, face painting and ice sculptures by Nadeau’s Ice drew crowds out to celebrate. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived by fire engine to light the tree with Mayor Rory Hoskins. Paulson’s Paint and the Forest Park fire fighters sponsored face painting.

Sky High Balloon Guy, sponsored by Montessori Creative, twisted balloons to amaze kids and adults alike at Urban Pioneer Group. The Park District of Forest Park supplied s’mores ingredients in Constitution Court, and Bella Angel Music students caroled up and down the street.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Clockwise from top: Visitors enjoy free cookies outside Twisted Cookie (7401 Madison St.). Families enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride.

Canine Jackson Regan greets Santa Claus. Children watch the train exhibit. Hannah Miller performs in the window at Schauer’s Hardware (7449 Madison St.).

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

GORDON

Difficult diagnosis from page 1 kind of illness your uncle or your neighbor’s father or your grandfather might get. But over the past decade, doctors and researchers have seen a troubling trend — younger people, in their 20s, 30s and 40s, developing and being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at growing rates.

Age 50 has been the “colonoscopy age” for a long time. It was the milestone year marking not only the fact that a person is half a century old but also needs to start getting regular colon screenings to check for abnormalities.

In 2018, though, because of the sharp rise in colon and rectal cancer rates among young adults, the American Cancer Society lowered the recommended colorectal screening starting age to 45 for people of average risk.

“The guideline was changed, based in part, on new data showing rates of colorectal cancer are increasing in younger populations,” states the American Cancer Society website.

The American Cancer Society also presents this alarming information: “Once age is taken into account, those born in 1990 have double the risk of colon cancer and quadruple the risk of rectal cancer compared to people born around 1950.”

Although the rate of diagnosis of colon and rectal cancer has dropped in the United States since the mid-1980s, that drop is due to less older Americans being diagnosed. Despite the overall drop, “incidence rates have been increasing for adults under age 50,” says the American Cancer Society.

For David, the diagnosis was shocking. It seemed to come out of nowhere. He’d been feeling sick over the summer with a virus and bronchitis. He lost some weight but attributed it to his minor illness. In the fall, he had bad side pain and went to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with gallstones. The doctors said they thought they saw lesions on his liver as well but wanted to send him home to follow up with his primary care physician.

“I said no,” said Caitlin. “Lesions on the liver? That sounded serious to me. So we insisted that he stay and the doctors run more tests.”

On Oct. 30, David and Caitlin got the horrible news: David had stage 4 cancer. Stage 4 is the diagnosis given when the cancer has spread beyond the original organ involved.

In David’s case, it was now in his liver and lungs in addition to his colon. He had 12 tumors in his liver and cancer in the bottom of his left lung.

Two days later, he started chemotherapy.

“It’s crazy,” said Caitlin. “The doctors told

us that the stage of cancer he had should have made him bedridden. But days before, he was playing at the park with the kids and running around like the picture of health. Fifteen days before he was hospitalized, he had normal bloodwork. Two years previous, he had a normal CT of his chest because he thought he had a hernia. There were no signs.”

In retrospect, the doctors think the bronchitis he suffered in the summer could have been a result of the cancer spreading to his lung. But because he was so young and seemingly healthy, nobody thought that was the case.

Now David and Caitlin’s life has been completely upended. David, who was independently employed doing taxes and as an Amazon seller, has been too weak and sick from the chemo to work.

“It’s hard,” said Caitlin. “Really hard. I’m a case manager for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. I love my job, but it’s hard to support a family of six on my salary.”

The kids, age 15, 12, 11 and 15 months, have been receiving support through Wellness House in Hindsdale, a nonprofit organization that provides free counseling and support services for cancer patients and their families.

David’s first round of chemo — which involves a brutal schedule of drugs every two

We don’t want this to happen to another family.

weeks — will be over in January. At that time, the doctors will see where they are and decide on next steps.

“At this point, it’s about prolonging his life, not saving it,” said Caitlin. “The doctors have told us he’ll be on chemotherapy for the rest of his life.”

Chemotherapy has left him sensitive to cold, so he needs to wear gloves to take anything out of the fridge. He’s extremely weak, especially on Monday and Tuesday, after receiving chemo meds through a port over the weekend. Fortunately, he still has an appetite, so he’s gaining back some of the weight he lost.

“We don’t want this to happen to another family,” said Caitlin. “We never thought this would happen to us. He’s young. He doesn’t smoke. He had no symptoms or risk factors.

I want people to know that if they have any unusual symptoms, they should get them checked out. You need to advocate for yourself and seek out second opinions if you’re not satisfied with the answers you get.”

Caitlin’s sister set up a gofundme (bit. ly/369bNCz) for David and Caitlin’s family.

“The generosity has been so unexpected and amazing,” said Caitlin. “Knowing people care and having support eases the burden a little.”

But nothing can take away the reality of the situation for the family, whose lives have been affected irrevocably.

“Sometimes David says his goal is to be around long enough for our baby to remember him,” said Caitlin. “There really aren’t words for how hard it is to hear that.”

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

Representative Camille Y. Lilly, 6937 W. North Avenue, Oak Park 773-473-7300 staterepcamilleylilly@gmail.com

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Photos by Melissa Elsmo

SALMON SALAD: A menu newcomer, the salmon salad from Jim and Pete’s is a hit among patrons. (Below) Mostaccioli with Broccoli: Vegetarian diners can order pasta and broccoli Aglio e Olio at Jim and Pete’s.

78 years on the 7800 block

S

ince 1941, Jim and Pete’s, located at 7806 W. North Ave. in Elmwood Park, has been serving up old-world favorites with a modern twist. Current owner Michael Bucchianeri worked as a busboy at Jim and Pete’s as a teenager and subsequently filled every role imaginable at the restaurant before taking an ownership role in 1999.

Since then Bucchianeri has been fiercely committed to honoring the legacy of the 78-yearold restaurant.

Expanding on the shared vision of former owners Jim Sorce Jr. and Vito Brunetti, the enthusiastic owner completed an extensive remodel of Jim and Pete’s in 2017, making the well-appointed restaurant a stand-out on Restaurant Row in Elmwood Park.

The remodeled space has a warm ambience and fine finishes including exposed brick walls and a covered multiseason patio.

The resulting space Food Writer is suitable for both

MELISSA ELSMO

casual family dinners and special occasion celebrations.

“We want our guests to feel at home at Jim and Pete’s,” says Bucchianeri. “We appeal to couples looking for a date night, businesses looking to host a meeting, and people looking to host baby showers and birthday celebrations.”

A reliable arsenal of traditional Italian dishes like bruschetta, chicken Parmigiano, and linguini with clam sauce keep regulars coming back to Jim and Pete’s, while specialty menu items like giant housemade rigatoni with pine nuts, spinach and ricotta, and Italian Pork Chops with See JIM AND PETE’S on page 23

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Give a Taste of Donny G’s for the Holidays

Photos by Melissa Elsmo

SIDE SALAD: The house salad is a perfect precursor to any Jim and Pete’s entree. The dish features fresh arugula, romaine, and iceberg lettuce topped with tomatoes, cucumber and croutons with your choice of dressing. (Below) Bruschetta: Jim and Pete’s served up a memorable bruschetta made from toasted Italian garlic bread, diced tomatoes and fresh basil.

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JIM AND PETE’S Almost 8 decades from page 21 peppers and potatoes make a unique splash on the thoughtful menu. Cooks in Jim and Pete’s kitchen even whip up a memorable meatloaf, while their salmon salad, a new menu item, is born out of personal preferences.

“I would sit at the bar eating a salmon salad and customers would keep asking me about it,” says Bucchianeri, “so I decided to put it on the menu; it’s been a hit ever since.”

The hearty salad features fresh mixed greens topped with grilled salmon and garnished with red onion, tomato, olives, Fontinella cheese, fresh mozzarella and a savory Italian-style vinaigrette.

Longtime servers have made all the difference at Jim and Pete’s. Some employees have worked in the restaurant for more than 15 years, and Bucchianeri is quick to point out many diners make a request to sit in a certain server’s section.

“Our staff makes all the difference at Jim and Pete’s and we make a great team,” he says proudly. “The restaurant expansion has been as wonderful for our staff as it has been for our customers.”

Jim and Pete’s is a proud member of the Elmwood Park culinary community. While their expansion increased their visibility on North Avenue, Bucchianeri is quick to acknowledge all the village of Elmwood Park has done to support their local restau-

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Hot Holiday Tip: Jim and Pete’s offers full-service catering for onsite or offsite events in Elmwood Park and the surrounding communities. They are still booking events for the 2019 holiday season.

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

Dear Oak Park Residents and Surrounding Community, This year we are giving back to you with an amazing one time offer (in celebration of our 25th anniversary)!

Perfect for Christmas Gifts, a New Year’s Resolution, or just because!

Great for children, teens, and adults!

Special Holiday Offer! $248 per month

$199 for the first month!

Private Lessons in ANY subject we offer!

All Languages, All Instruments, All Subjects for Academic Tutoring! All AGES! Don’t forget to ask about our other programs and offerings:

• Before and Afterschool “Homework Cafe” at The International Mansion • Language and Fine Arts Preschool and Elementary School (Homeschool-style in School) • Our Recording Studio • Translations and Interpretations

LANGUAGES CURRENTLY OFFERED:

INSTRUMENTS CURRENTLY OFFERED:

ATHLETIC TRAINING CURRENTLY OFFERED:

SPECIALTIES CURRENTLY OFFERED:

Spanish, Polish, Chinese, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, E.S.L. (English as a Second Language), Indonesian, Korean, Hebrew, Swedish, and much more!

Piano, Voice, Harp, Banjo, Violin, Trumpet, Cornet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Drum Set, African Drums, Saxophone, Clarinet, Viola, Cello, Oboe, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Upright Bass, Electric Guitar, Bagpipes, Accordian, Harmonica, Recorder, Ukulele, Music Composition, Ear Training, Musical Theater, Music Therapy, Music Production, Recording Studio, All Band & Orchestra Instruments

Karate, Fencing, Soccer, Dance, and Personal Strength Training

Cinematography, Coding

ACADEMICS CURRENTLY OFFERED: Math, Science, Reading, Writing, SAT, ACT, IEP/ Dyselxic/Alternative Learners, Architecture, and Chess

Co-Founders, Maria Emilia and Brando

The Language and Music School At International Mansion

509 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 info@internationalmansion.com • (708) 524-5252 • InternationalMansion.com

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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OPINION O U R

T

V I E W

The gift of giving

he Bears’ Khalil Mack is rightly credited with quietly paying off the holiday layaway accounts of 300-plus shoppers at the Walmart in his Florida hometown. That was an $80,000 holiday gift.

But how about here at home? We report this week that Village Administrator Tim Gillian just got a call from a resident who wanted to anonymously pay the overdue water bill of a random fellow Forest Parker. How about that!

Over at the library, staff has put up a holiday giving tree. Each “ornament” displays an amount owed in fines on a local child or teen’s library card. Can’t take out books if your fines are overdue. Community members can choose an ornament and pay off those fines. In less than a week more than $200 in fines have been cleared. That means those kids can start reading again.

This is Forest Park in generous, inspiring, and anonymous action.

Hush up. Rise up.

On Friday evening, in moments of fear that we cannot come close to comprehending, a young Forest Park mom was shot to death on Harlem Avenue as she tried to escape a car driven by her murderer. That man, the driver, then turned the gun on himself and took his fragile life as well.

This is a moment for compassion, for generosity for a family of young boys left behind, for circumspection about what it means to be in community. Moments of stunning, disabling tragedy are when we define ourselves as a village.

So often we rise. How many Forest Park families have been supported in hard times by neighbors raising funds, often in a space donated by a local bar or restaurant. How many families forced out of a two-flat in a fire have seen clothing and kitchenware arrive unbidden?

Those are the golden moments. A neighbor and then a second neighbor, a PTO and then a business, the community center and then the firefighters. This is how we weave ourselves together. Looking forward. Looking out.

But last Friday, 19 days before Christmas, two hours before so many gathered on Madison Street for the Holiday Walk, we reacted on social media — in Facebook groups purporting to be about community — to the sirens, stalled traffic, news helicopters and, as always, incomplete information.

Forest Park didn’t used to be this way, said an early poster in a nod to a Forest Park that never existed. And we snarled on from there with cursing and unkindness.

Calling each other out, undermining a fledgling business.

We’re no fans of Facebook, most often we’re no fans of the comment board on our own website.

Give a thought. Say a prayer. Look up and beyond that first impulse to judge and belittle. Find ways to connect and to support a Forest Park family with needs we can only hope to touch.

Be generous and inspiring.

A few modest changes to Christmas

T

he dynamic of winter holidays feels a little different this year, which I’ll get to in a moment.

The front third of winter is always great because we have holidays. After New Year’s, though, we usually go into the much worse time of winter; the part of winter with nothing to look forward to. At least in December we have Christmas coming.

Thanksgiving through New Year’s is one long glorious period of festivity. Jan. 1 through May 1 has nothing to distract you from the fact that you don’t technically have to live here. I can’t speak for you, but I don’t decorate my house for Presidents Day, and I’ve explained before that St. Patrick’s Day is stupid. This is why I’ve long proposed that Christmas would be better-placed on something like Feb. 25.

Think about it! We would have Christmas lights and decorations and trees and parties and sweaters for two extra months! Two glorious, festive, tinselbedecked extra months. That’s three full months of the Christmas season, with benchmark parties for the new year and the Super Bowl, plus it stays light out later than 3:45 p.m. when it currently gets dark, which’ll ameliorate holiday-related depression.

After the big day (again, we’re thinking of it as Feb. 25), we’re within two weeks of pitchers and catchers reporting and within a month of the first nice day. There’s really no drawback to this idea.

I can’t even imagine Jesus would be mad about my moving His birthday back a couple of months; surely in the event of a second coming, He’d presumably have greater concerns than where the big day fell on a calendar that didn’t exist the last time He kept an appointment book. Besides, once I explained the idea, I’m pretty sure a guy from the desert who never experienced waiting for a train on a 6-degree day

would cut me some slack, even if said guy didn’t also have to maintain a reputation as the forgiving sort.

It’d be the end of the Real Dead Tree Era for sure. This is not a drawback; our Christmas trees pretty reliably saw Valentine’s Day when I was a kid, and they start to look a little thin by then. I love Christmas, but not enough to fetishize the past, so real Christmas trees are a tradition that needs to go. I don’t get the affection for something that drips sap that sticks to skin and drops needles that stick in your feet. Folks get all moony over “a real Christmas tree” yet no one romanticizes “a real icebox.” Screw that. I want the fakest of fake trees. Mine is hot pink and was delivered unto me by Amazon.

If we move Christmas to Feb. 25 in time for this year, you can even sit in front of your hot pink tree in your Christmas sweater talking about why candy canes are red and white and whether the stripe spirals up from the bottom or down from the top, because this year the sack Santa is dropping down our chimneys is filled with smaller sacks, each containing a present measured in grams (if you’ve been naughty) or quarter-ounces (if you’ve been nice.) Santa’s old-school, hence the pipe he holds tight in his teeth with smoke encircling his head like a wreath. This year, said smoke may smell vaguely like SC’s burning a wreath. That acknowledged, the cookies you leave out, made correctly, can leave Biggie C’s belly shaking like a bowlful of jelly for a couple of hours.

This means that even without moving Christmas to Feb. 25, for the first time in many, many years, I think we are all looking forward to January. So if a couple days into 2020 you’re still lacking in the ol’ Christmas spirit … maybe have a cookie.

Parts of this proposal first appeared in 2017, and are still a good idea.

ALAN

BROUILETTE

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

Season’s Greetings

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

Check First.

RELIGION GUIDE

First Congregational Church of Maywood

400 N. Fifth Avenue (1 block north of Lake St.) Come join us for Sunday Morning Worship at 11 am Pastor Elliot Wimbush will be preaching the message.

Refreshments and fellowship follow the service.

708-344-6150 firstchurchofmaywood.org When you're looking for a place to worship the Lord, Check First.

You’re Invited to A Church for All Nations A Church Without Walls SERVICE LOCATION Forest Park Plaza 7600 W. Roosevelt Road Forest Park, IL 60130

William S. Winston Pastor

Roman Catholic

Good Shepherd

Sunday Service 7AM, 9AM & 11:15AM Believer’s Walk of Faith Broadcast Schedule (Times in Central Standard Time) Television DAYSTAR (M-F)

3:30-4:00pm

Nationwide

WJYS-TV (M-F)

6:30-7:00am

Chicago, IL.

WCIU-TV (Sun.)

10:30-11:00am

Chicago, IL.

Word Network

10:30-11:00am

Nationwide

(M-F)

www.livingwd.org www.billwinston.org

West Suburban Temple Har Zion

1040 N. Harlem Avenue River Forest Meet our Rabbi, Adir Glick Pray, learn, and celebrate with our caring, progressive, egalitarian community.

Interfaith families are welcome.

Accredited Early Childhood Program Religious School for K thru 12 Daily Morning Minyan Weekly Shabbat Services Friday 6:30pm & Saturday 10:00am Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 708.366.9000 www.wsthz.org

188 South Oak Park Ave. Saturday Mass: 5:30 p.m.

Sunday Masses: 9:00 & 11:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m.

Weekday Mass: 8:30 a.m. M–F Holy Day Masses: As Announced Reconciliation: Saturday 4:15 p.m.

Parish Office: 708-848-4417 Religious Ed Phone: 708-848-7220 stemund.org

Worshiping at 820 Ontario, Oak Park IL (First Baptist Church) 9:00a-Worship 10:30a-Education Hour

All are welcome. goodshepherdlc.org 708-848-4741

St. Giles Family Mass Community

Lutheran—ELCA

United Lutheran Church

409 Greenfield Street (at Ridgeland Avenue) Oak Park Holy Communion with nursery care and children’s chapel each Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

OAK PARK MEETING OF FRIENDS (Quakers) Meeting For Worship Sundays at 10:00 a.m. at Oak Park Art League 720 Chicago Ave., Oak Park Please call 708-445-8201 www.oakparkfriends.org

Roman Catholic

Ascension Catholic Church

www.unitedlutheranchurch.org

708/386-1576

(708) 697-5000 LIVE Webcast - 11:15AM Service

St. Edmund Catholic Church

ELCA, Lutheran

Lutheran-Independent

Grace Lutheran Church

7300 W. Division, River Forest David R. Lyle, Senior Pastor David W. Wegner, Assoc. Pastor Lauren Dow Wegner, Assoc. Pastor Sunday Worship, 8:30 & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School/Adult Ed. 9:45 a.m.

Childcare Available

Grace Lutheran School

Preschool - 8th Grade Bill Koehne, Principal 366-6900, graceriverforest.org Lutheran-Missouri Synod

St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church

305 Circle Ave, Forest Park Sunday Worship, 9:30am Christian Education Hour 8:30am Wednesday Worship 7:00pm Wheelchair Access to Sanctuary Leonard Payton, Pastor Roney Riley, Assistant Pastor 708-366-3226 www.stjohnforestpark.org Methodist

First United Methodist Church of Oak Park

324 N. Oak Park Avenue 708-383-4983 www.firstUMCoakpark.org Sunday School for all Ages, 9am Sunday Worship, 10am Children’s Chapel during Worship Rev. Katherine Thomas Paisley, Pastor Professionally Staffed Nursery Fellowship Time after Worship

808 S. East Ave. 708/848-2703 www.ascensionoakpark.com Worship: Saturday Mass 5:00 pm Sunday Masses 7:30, 9:00, 11 am 5:00 pm at St. Edmund Church Sacrament of Reconciliation 4 – 4:45 pm Saturday Taizé Prayer 7:30 pm First Fridays Feb.– Dec. & Jan. 1 Rev. James Hurlbert, Pastor Roman Catholic

St. Bernardine Catholic Church Harrison & Elgin, Forest Park

CELEBRATING OUR 108TH YEAR! Sat. Masses: 8:30am & 5:00pm SUNDAY MASSES: 8:00am & 10:30am 10:30 Mass-Daycare for all ages CCD Sun. 9am-10:15am Reconciliation: Sat. 9am & 4pm Weekday Masses: Monday–Thursday 6:30am Church Office: 708-366-0839 CCD: 708-366-3553 www.stbern.com Pastor: Fr. Stanislaw Kuca

We welcome all to attend Sunday Mass at 10 a.m. on the St. Giles Parish campus on the second floor of the school gym, the southernmost building in the school complex at 1034 North Linden Avenue.

Established in 1970, we are a laybased community within St. Giles Roman Catholic Parish.

Our Mass is family-friendly.

We encourage liturgically active toddlers. Children from 3 to 13 and young adults play meaningful parts in each Sunday liturgy.

Together with the parish, we offer Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based religious education program for children in grades K-8.

For more information, go to http://www.stgilesparish.org/ family-mass-community or call Bob Wielgos at 708-288-2196.

Third Unitarian Church 10AM Sunday Forum 11AM Service Rev. Colleen Vahey thirdunitarianchurch.org (773) 626-9385 301 N. Mayfield, Chicago Committed to justice, not to a creed Upcoming Religious Holidays

Dec 1-24 Advent

Christian

12 Feast day - Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Christian

16-25 Posadas Navidenas 21 Solstice Yule

Hispanic Christian Christian

To place a listing in the Religion Guide, call Mary Ellen: 708/613-3342

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM New local ads this week

WEDNESDAY

CLASSIFIED

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

NEW!

Place your ad online anytime at: www.ForestParkReview.com/Classified/

YOUR WEEKLY AD

REACHES SIX SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES: OAK PARK, RIVER FOREST, FOREST PARK, BROOKFIELD, RIVERSIDE, NORTH RIVERSIDE, AND PARTS OF CHICAGO

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

Please Check Your Ad: The publisher will not be responsible for more than one incorrect insertion.

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The newspaper reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement.

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 | BY E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM HELP WANTED DRIVER PART TIME - ASAP Local Company looking for part time driver/receiving clerk. Must be drug free & have valid IL DL. Must be able to lift 75Lbs. Hrs 7am to 1pm. EOE $12/hr email resume HR@sievertelectric.com HUMAN RESOURCE COORDINATOR The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Human Resource Coordinator in the Human Resources Department.

The ideal candidate will have a high level of customer service skills, Will provide routine to complex office, clerical, and administrative tasks.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. This position is open until filled. Applications will be accepted until December 20, 2019.

PARKING METER TECHNICIAN The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Parking Meter Technician with the Development Customer Services Department. This position collects and processes parking meter monies; and performs a variety of semiskilled duties in the maintenance of Village parking meters and multiple pay station equipment. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www. oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application no later than December 20, 2019.

Senior Software Developer sought

by Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago, IL. Focss on stbl, sstainbl n extnsbl dsgn for all devlpd srvcs n apps. Reqs: BS in CS or rltd n 7 yrs exp in rltd occption. Also rqurs: Exp as prodct or team lead; Exp w/ C#/Microsoft SQL Stack; Knwldg of poplr dsgn/dev/tstng pttrns n frmwrks; Exp w/ dev micrsrvcs n cntainrztion usng dckr and .Net core; Exp usng systmtc n fct-bsd prcsses to dtrmne root cause n imprv ops n spprt for mssion crticl srvcs; Exp wrkng wthn gvrnng cntrls incldng chng mngmnt, incdnt mngmnt n contnuity mngmnt. Mst hv auth to wrk prmnntly in U.S. Applcnts snd covr lttr n rsum to Elizabeth Cosentino: 500 W. Madison, Ste. 450, Chicago, IL 60661.

TEACHER AND TEACHER AIDE MINI ME BUNCH seeks teacher and teacher aide to enhance and expand daycare serving children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Teacher must have at least AAS in Early Childhood Education. Minimum 1 year experience preferred in each position.

Must love children and be outgoing, patient, flexible. Contact 773-521-9499.

You have jobs. We have readers!

Find the best employees with Wednesday Classified!

Call 708-613-3342.

SUBURBAN REAL ESTATE NEW CONCEPT FOR MAYWOOD In this quiet residential neighborhood

902 S. 3RD AVENUE (2 blks W of 1st Ave & 1 blk N of Madison)

Reserve your own affordable 2 or 3 BR condo unit of 1000+ sq ft of living space being built on this historic site. You’ll benefit from a unique 12-year tax freeze and lower monthly living expenses from energy saving systems/appliances, and you can help design your own individual unit. Plans also include building 5 new townhomes onsite.

For details Call 708-383-9223.

SUBURBAN RENTALS 3BR 1 BA APARTMENT Recently updated, hardwood floors throughout, ceiling fans in every room. Kitchen w/ granite countertops. Garage parking 1 space, 2 spaces outside parking. Storage in basement. Washer & dryer on property free to tenants. Award-winning schools. Close to public trans, parks & shopping. $1500/mo. Elec. Included. Tenant pays heating & cooking gas only. 1 month req’d for security.

Jim 708-955-1684

CITY RENTALS APARTMENT FOR RENT 2 bedroom apt w 1/bath 2nd floor of 2 flat building in Austin area. $1200.

Call 773-576-5122 fredb60615@gmail.com

CITY RENTALS LOOK q

A MUST-SEE!!!

929-933 N. LEAMINGTON ST. BEAUTIFUL newly renovated Studios ($725 - $750) & 2-bdrm Apts. ($875 - $900) in quiet bldg.

Appls incld; tenant pays utilities.

Credit/bkgrnd check req’d. Sect.

8 Welcome! For private viewing, call 708-307-8178.

ROOMS FOR RENT AUSTIN CLEAN ROOM With fridge, micro.

Nr Oak Park, Super Walmart, Food 4 Less, bus, & Metra. $116/wk and up.

773-637-5957

COMMERCIAL RETAIL SPACE RETAIL SPACE–FOR LEASE A 1600 Sq Ft. Retail Space for Lease in Strip Mall: 321 S. Harlem Ave., Forest Park, IL. 60130. Vacated. Available Now. Upgraded. Formerly a Cleaners. End space. Heavy foot/road traffic area.

45-Space Parking Lot! For more details: Serious Inquiries ONLY: EMAIL: poppygator@yahoo.com CALL/TEXT: PB at: (708)250-7997

www.ForestParkReview.com

SUBURBAN RENTALS

M&M

property management, inc.

708-386-7355 • www.mmpropmgt.com 649 Madison Street, Oak Park Contact us for a complete list of available rentals throughout Oak Park and Forest Park.

Apartment listings updated daily at:

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT THERAPY OFFICES FOR RENT Therapy offices for rent in north Oak Park. Rehabbed building. Nicely furnished. Flexible leasing. Free parking. Free wifi; Secure building; Friendly colleagues providing referrals. Shared waiting room; optional Conference. Call or email with questions. Shown on Sundays.

Lee 708.383.0729 drlmadden@ameritech.net

GARAGE SALE Riverside

FEATURING MANY CHRISTMAS HOUSES 465 LONGCOMMON RD FRI 12/13 3PM TO 6PM SAT 12/14 12PM TO 3PM

Many Christmas lighted houses on display! Most in boxes, like new.

Also, Instant Pot in box used only once plus cookbook, antique wooden rocking chair, antique wooden side table, vintage Tonka and Buddy L metal trucks, many fishing lures in tackle boxes, 2 poles and a net, and 2 executive office chairs. Must see!

Great prices!

ITEMS FOR SALE 1999 ELIZABETH TAYLOR CLEOPATRA DOLL $70.00 Call 708-513-0087 1998-1999 HARLEY-DAVIDSON KEN & BARBIE DOLLS $80.00 for both Call 708-513-0087 CHEST OF DRAWERS & DRESSER WITH MIRROR $65.00 each. Dust proof drawers.

Blonde finish.

708-848-8755 HENREDON DINING SET Henredon Aston Court carved wood oriental dining table and chairs.

4 side and 2 arm chairs. Must see!

Claw foot, pedestal table. Negotiable.

773-640-3582 LENOX CHINA AUTUMN PATTERN Lenox dishes, Autumn pattern, service for 8, 5-piece place settings.

Made in USA. Negotiable.

773-640-3582 SCANDINAVIAN TEAK WOOD BOOKCASE Adjustable shelves. 6 ft 7 in high, 4 ft wide. Must see! $175.00 negotiable.

773-640-3582 SHEARLING COAT Brown shearling coat w/ attached hood. $149.00 708-848-8755

Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.

WANTED TO BUY WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, flags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers–lead, plastic–other misc. toys.

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

ELECTRICAL

HEATING / AIR CONDITIONING

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors • Home Re-wiring • New Plugs & Switches Added • New circuit breaker boxes • Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp • Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential • Commercial • Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. • Bonded • Ins. • Low Rates • Free Est.

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

HEATING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Furnaces, Boilers and Space Heaters Refrigerators Ranges • Ovens Washer • Dryers Rodding Sewers

FLOORS

HVAC

Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

KLIS FLOORING INC.

HUGHS

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

New hardwood flooring installation & pergo. Sanding, re-finishing, staining. Low prices, insured.

Call: 773-671-4996 www.klisflooring.com

GARAGE/ GARAGE DOOR

HVAC

Furnace repair– all makes.

Inspect furnace, vacuum burner.

Trouble calls, no heat or hot water.

708-612-4803

Serving all near-west Chicago suburbs.

Licensed • Bonded • Insured

Our 73rd Year

Garage Doors &

Smart Door Openers

Sales & Service Free Estimates

PAINTING & DECORATING

708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000

PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

CLASSIC PAINTING

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

www.forestdoor.com

Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

Licensed, Bonded, Insured, & EPA Certified Expert craftsmanship for over 50 years

HANDYMAN

WINDOWS

WINDOWS

(708) 652-9415

CURT'S HANDYMAN SERVICE Drywall Repair • Painting Fans Installed • Carpentry Trim Gutter Cleaning • Window Repair

FREE ESTIMATES Excellent References No Job Too Small

708.749.0011

Our acrylic storm window inserts will make your rooms warmer, and reduce outside noise

Mike’s Home Repair

708-296-2060 HAULING

Easy press fit from the inside

We can make for exterior or interior or both, any size to fit your window.

No need for expensive window replacement, low cost local install or DIY. Direct from manufacturer, we’re right up the street in Galewood, see our factory video. Owner is an Oak Park resident since 2008.

Call for a simple, free estimate, fully guaranteed or your money back BBB A+ rating.

sales@stormsnaps.com Alpina Manufacturing, 6460 W. Cortland St. Chicago Visit our website for easy online ordering or call us for info:

BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery. 708-848-9404

Work Guaranteed

Cold rooms, we have the solution!

708-488-9411

Drywall H Painting H Tile Plumbing H Electric H Floors Windows H Doors H Siding Ask Us What We Don’t Do

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME

773-202-8887 STORMSNAPS.COM ®

free local delivery

  

P

PB

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

CLASSIFIED

25

(708) 613-3333 • FAX: (708) 467-9066 • E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know

In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year ForestParkReview.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y19002681 on November 26, 2019 Under the Assumed Business Name of JOY XOXO with the business located at: P.O. BOX 22, BERWYN, IL 60402. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: JEANITA MOORE 3512 OAK PARK AVE BERWYN, IL 60402.

Published in Wednesday Journal 12/4, 12/11, 12/18/2019

LEGAL NOTICE SCOTT J. LEVY (32596) Attorney for Petitioner 1525 East 53rd Street, Suite 504 Chicago, Illinois 60615 STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division.

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

In re the marriage of MARCELO GONZALEZ-NUNEZ, Petitioner and MARIA MARTHA RUIZ, Respondent, Case No. 2019D-000393.

The requisite affidavit for publication having been filed, notice is hereby given to you, the above named Respondent, that a Petition has been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, by the Petitioner, for Dissolution of Marriage and for other relief; and that said suit is now pending.

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Room 802, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, in the City of Chicago, Illinois, on or before December 27, 2019, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk.

Published in Wednesday Journal 11/27, 12/4, 12/11/2019

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of Public Hearing Park District of Oak Park December 19, 2019, 7:30 p.m.

2020 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance Notice is hereby given that the Board of Commissioners of the Park District of Oak Park will conduct a public hearing concerning the adoption of the Park District’s 2020 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance on December 19, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. at the John Hedges Administration Building, 218 Madison St, Oak Park, IL, during the Board of Commissioners’ regular board meeting.

Dated: December 11, 2019 By: Commissioner Chris Wollmuth Secretary, Board of Commissioners Park District of Oak Park Published in Wednesday Journal 12/11/2019

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

RIVERSIDE TOWNSHIP The Riverside Township, Cook County, State of Illinois does hereby invite sealed bids for Elevator Modernization

business in the State of Illinois and shall be conditioned on the faithful performance and completion of the bidders contract.

the same insurance for the latter employees, unless such employees are covered by the contractors insurance.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK

ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

(2) Liability Insurance- Comprehensive form coverages on all operations, including property damage to property physically controlled, protective, products, and contractual liability, the motor vehicle liability owned, non-owned and hired.

Bidder must properly complete all work per standard quality practices and according to all local and national laws.

ALL SEALED BIDS WILL BE OPENED AT 1:00 PM on Monday, December 30, 2019 at:

Successful bidder must obtain all permits required to preform the work.

Riverside Township 27 Riverside Road Riverside Illinois 60546

Bidder must certify that it has not been prohibited or barred from bidding on or preforming work for the State of Illinois or any of it political subdivisions.

Bids must include the statements of work proposed and amount, units and unit costs for all work. A site visit is recommended (note any and all conditions that may impact the project); include any alternatives or exclusions; bids received after the indicated date will not be considered.

The Riverside Township reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

Bidder will be required to establish the reliability and responsibility of the persons or entities proposed to furnish and perform the work described in the bidding documents.

All sealed bids must be received at the Riverside Township offices, no later than Noon on Monday, December 30, 2019. Bids may be hand delivered or mailed to: Riverside Township 27 Riverside Road Riverside Illinois 60546 All bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope, with three copies of the bids enclosed.

The bidder shall set forth the price for the project including all labor, materials, fees, disposal and any and all other costs necessary to complete this project to the satisfaction of the Township Supervisor.

All bidders must comply with the Riverside Township Prevailing Wage Ordinance and the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act. Bidder must provide labor that will be in compliance with the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (820 ILCS 130/0.01). Questions regarding Prevailing Wage requirements may be referred to the Illinois Department of Labor at (312) 793-2800 or (217) 782-6206.

All bids in excess of $ 20,000.00 must provide proof of their ability to obtain a performance and payment bond.

The successful bidder, within 15 days of the date the contract is awarded, shall execute and deliver to the RiversideTownship Supervisor a performance bond in the sum of not less than one hundred (100%) percent of the established amount of the contract. The bond must be issued by a surety licensed to do

All bids must be signed.

Project Timeline: Successfully bidder must complete the project within 60 days after the contract is awarded.

The Supervisor may cancel the entire contract or any part thereof, if conditions over which she has no control and force the halting or reduction of the work.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS: Not later than the time of the award of the contract, and the execution of the surety bond, the successful bidder shall deposit with the Riverside Township Supervisor the following: (1) One (1) original and (1) copy, evidence Owner’s Protective Liability Insurance Policy naming the Riverside Township as the insured. The amounts of insurance shall be one million ($1,000,000.00) dollars per occurrence for bodily injury and one million ($1,000,000.00) dollars per occurrence for property damage.

ANY RESTRICTION OR LIMITATION COVERAGE AS RESPECTS PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. (2) Contractor’s insurance- The contractor shall furnish the Supervisor certificates, in duplicate, from the contractor’s insurance company evidencing insurance coverages required in the following paragraphs.

“This insurance specially covers liability assumed by the insured under this contract.”

The certificates shall stipulate that the insurance shall not be cancelled or changed while the work is in progress without thirty days prior notice by Certified Mail to the Supervisor.

The Contractor shall provide and maintain the following: (1) Workman Compensation, Occupational Disease and Employers Liability as required by the laws of the State of Illinois and to the minimum statutory limits prescribed by such regulations. If any of the work is sublet, the contractor shall require his sub-contractor to provide

PUBLIC NOTICES

SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS, VILLAGE OF OAK PARK

INVITATION FOR BIDS

Replacement of elevator control system, fixtures, door operator and related door equipment on the elevator located at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside Illinois 60546.

PUBLIC NOTICES

The insurance companies shall be licensed to do business in Illinois.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES: In addition to all other labor requirements set forth in this proposal during the performance of this contract, the contractor for itself, its assignees, and successors in interest (hereinafter referred to as the “Contractor”) agrees as follows: During the performance of this contract, the successful bidder will agree: (1) That it will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry; and further that it will examine all job classifications to determine if minority persons or women are underutilized and will take appropriate affirmative action to rectify any such underutilization.

(2) That, if it hires additional employees in order to perform this contract or any portion hereof, it will determine the availability of minorities and women in the area(s) from which it may reasonably recruit and it will hire for each job classification for which employees are hired in such a way that minorities and women are not underutilized.

(3) That, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on its behalf, it will state that all applicants will be afforded equal opportunity without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry.

(4) That it will submit reports as required by the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission’s Rule and Regulations for Public Contracts, furnish all relevant information as may from time to time be requested by the Commission or the contracting agency, and in all respects comply with the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Act and the commission’s rules and regulations for public contracts.

(5) That it will permit access to all relevant books, records, accounts and work sites by personnel of the contracting agency and the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission for purposes of investigation to ascertain compliance with the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Act and the Commission’s Rules and Regulations for Public Contracts.

Published in Landmark 12/11/2019

NOVENA PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (NEVER KNOWN TO FAIL) Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me, herein you are my mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor in my necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, show me herein you are my mother. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and publish; your request will be granted. RB

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE SCHEDULE OF REGULAR MEETING DATES OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK AND ITS BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES IS AS FOLLOWS FOR THE YEAR 2020 ======================================= VILLAGE BOARD (REGULAR MEETINGS) VILLAGE BOARD SPECIAL MEETINGS FINANCE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD PERSONNEL COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD REINVENTING GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD AGING IN PLACE COMMISSION BOARD OF HEALTH BUILDING CODES ADVISORY COMMISSION CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT COMMISSION CITIZENS POLICE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CIVIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS COMMISSION COMMUNITY DESIGN COMMISSION COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION DISABILITY ACCESS COMMISSION* ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY COMMISSION FARMERS’ MARKET COMMISSION FIRE & POLICE COMMISSION FIREMEN’S PENSION BOARD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE EDUCATION COMMITTEE HOUSING PROGRAMS ADVISORY COMMITTEE LIQUOR CONTROL REVIEW BOARD PLAN COMMISSION POLICE PENSION BOARD TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

1ST & 3RD MONDAYS, 7:30 PM 2ND & 4TH MONDAYS, 7:00 PM IRREGULAR, NOTICE POSTED 48 HRS. BEFORE MTG. IRREGULAR, NOTICE POSTED 48 HRS. BEFORE MTG. IRREGULAR, NOTICE POSTED 48 HRS. BEFORE MTG. 2ND TUESDAY, 7:00 PM 4TH TUESDAY, 7:00 PM 3RD THURSDAY, 5:30 PM 1ST WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM 3RD TUESDAY, 7:30 PM 2ND THURSDAY, 7:00 PM 4TH WEDNESDAY, 6:45 PM IRREGULAR, NOTICE POSTED 48 HRS. BEFORE MTG. 3RD WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM 4TH WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM 1ST TUESDAY, 7:00 PM 2ND WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM (No Meeting in December) IRREGULAR, NOTICE POSTED 48 HRS. BEFORE MTG. IRREGULAR, NOTICE POSTED 48 HRS. BEFORE MTG. 2ND THURSDAY, 7:30 PM 4TH WEDNESDAY, 7:30 PM 3RD WEDNESDAY, 7:30 PM 3RD WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM 4TH TUESDAY, 7:30 PM (No Meeting in December) 1ST THURSDAY, 7:00 PM IRREGULAR, NOTICE POSTED 48 HRS. BEFORE MTG. 4TH MONDAY, 7:00 PM 1ST WEDNESDAY, 7:30 PM

*************************************** UNLESS OTHERWISE DESIGNATED, MEETINGS ABOVE ARE SCHEDULED AT VILLAGE HALL, 123 MADISON ST., OAK PARK, IL. – FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CALL (708) 383-6400 * LOCATIONS VARY ******************* _________________________________ VICKI SCAMAN, VILLAGE CLERK Published in Wednesday Journal 12/11/2019

PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE IOWA JUVENILE COURT FOR DES MOINES COUNTY IN THE INTEREST OF E.S., CHILDREN No. JVJV005651 ORIGINAL NOTICE

) ) )

TO: ALL PUTATIVE FATHERS OF THE ABOVE-NAMED CHILD, BORN ON MAY 21, 2010 IN OAK PARK, ILLINOIS You are notified that there is now on file in the office of the clerk of court for Des Moines County, a petition in case number JVJV005651 which prays for a termination of your par-

ent-child relationship. For further details, contact the clerk’s office at 319-753-8272. The State of Iowa’s attorney is Erin E. Stensvaag, Assistant County Attorney, 100 Valley Street, Burlington, Iowa 52601, (319)753-8209.

You are notified that there will be a hearing on the petition to terminate parental rights before the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, at the Courthouse in Burlington, Iowa, on January 30th, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.

Published in Wednesday Journal 12/11, 12/18, 12/25/2019

Starting a new business in 2020?

Call the experts before you place your legal ad!

Publish Your Assumed Name Legal Notice in • Wednesday Journal • Forest Park Review • Riverside Brookfield Landmark • Austin Weekly News • Village Free Press Call 708/613-3342 to advertise.

Note: The attorney who is expected to represent the child’s parent(s) should be promptly advised by the parent(s) of the service of this notice.

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN COURT DUE TO A DISABILITY, CALL THE DISABILITY COORDINATOR AT 641684-6502. PERSONS WHO ARE HEARING OR SPEECH IMPAIRED MAY CALL RELAY IOWA TTY (1800-735-2942). DISABILITY COORDINATORS CANNOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE.

26

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

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In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year ForestParkReview.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com 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 LOANCARE, LLC Plaintiff, -v.JORGE BAUTISTA, ROSALIA SANCHEZ Defendants 2018 CH 06558 149 RICE AVENUE 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 October 2, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 6, 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 149 RICE AVENUE, BELLWOOD, IL 60104 Property Index No. 15-09-107-0930000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

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. 14-18-05678 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2018 CH 06558 TJSC#: 39-6480

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 # 2018 CH 06558 I3138437

ty-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. 14-17-17365 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2018 CH 05883 TJSC#: 39-6512 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 # 2018 CH 05883 I3138403

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION CITIMORTGAGE, INC. Plaintiff, -v.JESSIE BRUMFIELD Defendants 12 CH 019546 1526 N. AUSTIN BLVD. OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on September 11, 2012, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 7, 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 1526 N. AUSTIN BLVD., OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-05-106-020; 16-05-106-021 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

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. 14-12-14848 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 12 CH 019546 TJSC#: 39-7341 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 # 12 CH 019546 I3138921

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, JOHNSON, BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 230 W. Monroe Street, Suite #1125, Chicago, IL, 60606 (312) 541-9710. Please refer to file number 17-4977.

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.

JOHNSON, BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES, LLC 230 W. Monroe Street, Suite #1125 Chicago IL, 60606 312-541-9710 E-Mail: ilpleadings@johnsonblumberg.com Attorney File No. 17-4977 Attorney Code. 40342 Case Number: 2017 CH 06039 TJSC#: 39-6965 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 # 2017 CH 06039 I3139454

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR THE REGISTERED HOLDERS OF ABFC 2007-WMC1 TRUST ASSET BACKED FUNDING CORPORATION ASSET BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007WMC1 Plaintiff, -v.CLEVELAND ARMSTEAD, YVETTE PENNYMON ARMSTEAD A/K/A YVETTE PENNYMON, ILLINOIS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Defendants 2018 CH 05883 309 SOUTH 22ND AVE 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 October 3, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 6, 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 309 SOUTH 22ND AVE, BELLWOOD, IL 60104 Property Index No. 15-10-124-0110000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

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 twen-

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, D/B/A CHRISTIANA TRUST, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT AS TRUSTEE FOR PRETIUM MORTGAGE ACQUISITION TRUST Plaintiff, -v.AMALEK VICTOR SMITH, FELICIA C. SMITH Defendants 2017 CH 06039 439 HARLEM AVENUE FOREST PARK, IL 60130 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on October 16, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 21, 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 439 HARLEM AVENUE, FOREST PARK, IL 60130 Property Index No. 15-13-207-0190000 Vol. 163 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

The judgment amount was $177,615.33.

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/

P

Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

INC., REALTOR

27

(708) 366-8989 7342 MADISON ST, FOREST PARK, ILLINOIS 60130

9346 LANDINGS LN

317 ELGIN

1338 MARENGO

Bright two bed two bath on 4th. fl. with balcony in gated community w 24 hr. security guard. Ceramic tile fl. in kit and dinette.

Complex offers outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts and clubhouse.

Elevator building w/inside heated garage. coin laundry on 1st.fl. In Des Plaines, close to shopping, schools and highway.....................$149,900

2,450 S.F. OF LUXURY! Center unit! 4 floors of living!

Enormous master with a soaking tub and enclosed shower, walk in closet, and a private balcony. 2nd fl. offers 2 additional large bedrooms, walk in closet, storage, and full bath. 1st fl is all oak flooring, living room with a fireplace and eating area, and an eat in kitchen. Bedroom #4 is located in the fully finished basement with a family room area, and full bathroom. 1 space garage. This is the LARGEST TOWNHOME on the market IN FOREST PARK!! ....................................................................................................$389,000

First floor apartment completely remodeled with 2 bedrooms and duplex 3rd. bedroom and half bath and family room in the basement.

Second floor is two bedrooms and one bath. Outside parking for 4 cars.

Projected rent for 1st floor between ...............................$1375 & $1450

D L SO

D L SO

D L SO

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Alongside the extensive collection of introductory coding and engineering courses, Code Play Learn works on outreach activities within the community. With a newly established test preparation program, students can get the help they need to succeed on everything from HSPTs to SATs. They also enthusiastically execute a handful of enrichment programs in schools through their In-School STEM Field Trips, which can

Heath, our main instructor teaching LEGO Robotics be organized upon request.

Birthday parties are a huge hit with the kiddos, and this educational institution offers a trio of party throwing options. With SPHERO Coding, Gadget Creation, and Minecraft Modding inspirations, children of all ages can find elements to enjoy within each two hour birthday package.

Summer camps are also one of the many fun services available through Code Play Learn. For 11 weeks this coming summer,

kids can frolic and play during sports based activates balanced with exploring the exciting world of coding. Registration opens soon for this enticingly educational opportunity, so be sure to check out their website, codeplaylearn.com, while space is still available. You can also email inquiries to contact@codeplaylearn.com.

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Forest Park Review, December 11, 2019

HOLIDAY HIGH STREET MARKET Thursday, December 12th 2:00 — 6:00pm

Warm up with spiked hot chocolate, do some holiday gift shopping, enjoy seasonal activities hosted by local businesses and sing some carols around the fireplace.

Our Holiday High Street Market is an opportunity for neighbors and local professionals to gather together to toast the season.

Caledonia Senior Living is nestled in the Forest Preserve in North Riverside and is truly magical during the holiday.

2800 Des Plaines Ave., North Riverside 60546

CaledoniaSeniorLiving.org

To RSVP or to find out how your local business can participate please call

708.447.5092