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Vol. 102, No. 2

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REVIEW

How D91 PARCC scores compare PAGE 4

D209 unveils cost of facilities plan

PAGE 5

JANUARY 9, 2019

@FP_Review @ForestParkReview

Not a winter wonderland for the guys who salt, plow streets What it’s like navigating Forest Park through ice and snow By TOM HOLMES

guys because we were one of the only union shops left in the area, and union is expensive,” Owner Amy Thiesse said.

magine driving a dump truck loaded with salt at 25 mph down a busy street. The truck has a 250 pound blade mounted on the front and a salt spreader hoisted on the back. It’s the middle of a snow storm, and flakes are pounding your windshield; your wipers are working furiously to allow you to see even the front plow that is working in tandem. Six of the 15 guys who plow the snow for the Forest Park Department of Public Works — Steve Knysch, John Doss, Sal Stella, Paul Richards, Patrick Braniff and Michael Marosco — recently met with the Review, where they proceeded to take pretty much all of the romance out of snow plowing. “When I first started plowing,” Sal Stella recalled, “there was an adrenaline rush. But after many years and long hours, it gets to be tiring. It’s more like the boss calls in the middle of the night and you have to get out of a warm bed and plow for eight hours.” Snow plows occasionally plow in tandem, with

See THIESSE on page 11

See PUBLIC WORKS on page 9

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

SO LONG, OLD FRIEND: Owner Amy Thiesse sorts and throws away old parts stored at Thiesse Plumbing on Circle Avenue in Forest Park. The iconic plumbing business recently closed.

Thiesse Plumbing closes after 72 years Too costly to operate a union shop, owner says

By NONA TEPPER Staff Reporter

After 72 years, Thiesse Plumbing closed its doors for good in December 2018, with

the economic slowdown and demands of operating a union shop taking a toll on the small family-owned business. “Things were slowing down, and it’s hard to compete with all the non-union

I

Contributing Reporter

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

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March 21, 2019

Caring for Family Members Living with Dementia: Navigating the Ambiguity with Darby Morhardt, PhD, LCSW

May 9, 2019

A Family Member with Mental Illness: Help, Healing and Reasons for Hope

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

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Neighborhoods that self-improve and dream

knew nothing about urban planning, so I took a crash course by interviewing Bridget Lane. She has a degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. I found her views on Forest Park to be eye-opening and inspiring. For example, I thought our hodge-podge of housing — apartment buildings next to houses — was a liability, but Bridget sees it as an asset. She explained that Forest Park is a “pre-zoning” community, as zoning didn’t come into practice until the ’20s. That is when many communities introduced Euclidean Zoning, separating properties for specific use: residential, commercial and industrial. The problem is that the separation leads to suburban sprawl. It’s simply too far to walk from one sector to another, so residents are forced to drive. Forest Park, by contrast, is eminently walkable. Residents can easily stroll to shops, restaurants and bars. Many can walk to their jobs, or public transportation. “We are what every planning book advocates,” Bridget said. She loaned me a cutting-edge planning book to study. Sustainable Nation by Douglas Farr calls for communities to create “third places,” where people can gather between home

and work. These places should be within walking distance and provide an environment that inspires conversation. Forest Park is filled with third places. We have coffee shops, bars and other businesses that inspire conversation. The beauty of having all these gathering spots is that it provides more opportunity for chance meetings. I’ve often praised Forest Park for its serendipity. The way we run into people we know, or wanted to see. We also want a community that is ethnically and economically diverse. Bridget sees her block as a perfect microcosm. It has a mix of different housing values and income levels. It has a wide range of ages, from kids to seniors. Bridget prizes this kind of variety and would never want to be segregated in a 55-and-over community. Bridget sees Forest Park as being a “human-scale” community. Our medium- to low-rise structures help us keep this crucial scale. If we allow 20-story buildings, we will lose this asset. Sustainable Nation said that the “sweet spot” for new developments is 4-8 stories in height. High-rises also increase population density. Forest Park is already dense enough. Data shows there are over 11,000 people living within a half mile of Madison & Circle, while Oak Park has about 10,000 people living near Oak Park & Lake. Bridget sees our biggest challenge as keeping our human

JOHN RICE

scale, without losing density. As for our actual population, Forest Park is relatively small. Bridget believes we lack the population to be the sole supporters of our local businesses. Many of them rely on visitors from other communities to remain viable. This also applies to our Roos Recreational Center and other park district facilities that attract visitors from neighboring communities. She was first attracted to Forest Park, while studying the Madison Street reconstruction in school. She and her husband, Tom, moved here seven years ago. She fears that Forest Park will lose its feel if we imitate other towns. We don’t have pricey parking like many communities. No meters on Madison helps our brick-and-mortar retailers. Bridget believes these businesses should provide services along with products. Many Forest Park businesses follow this model. Bridget believes we live in one of the hottest residential neighborhoods and we shouldn’t trash what we have. Sustainable Nation says it in a different way: “Healthy neighborhoods invest in themselves. They get check-ups, self-improve, track their progress and, of course, dream.” ■ John Rice is a columnist/private detec-

tive, 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

A LOOK BACK IN TIME... FP YOUTH A LOOK BACK IN TIME... XXXXCOMMISSION April, 1988, Forest Park Youth CommisCommis sion staffed the “Kids Know” booth at the Forest Park Mall collecting anti-drug pledges for First Lady Nancy Reagan. Standing from left to right are Romel Smith, Cindy Lions, Brian Dunst, Michelle Becker, Charlotte Knez, Anne Labno, Kyle Entler, and Ryan Russ. In 1988, Forest Park’s Youth Commission (FPYC), was known for its youth-lead teen dances, movie days and sock hops. This youth leadership group planned, promoted, set-up and hosted events geared to teens in town. Chaired by Cindy Lyons, this youth ran out of the Howard Mohr Community Center. The FPYC met once every other month and with the help of adults, coordination of teen events were planned and executed. In addition the junior council sat in on the Village Council meeting, and each student represented a member of the council, and village departments.

Forest Park Historical Society

F O R E S T PA R K

REVIEW Staff Reporter Nona Tepper Contributing Reporters Tom Holmes, John Rice, Bob Skolnik, Jackie Glosniak, Robert J. Lifka Columnists Alan Brouilette, Jill Wagner, Tom Holmes, John Rice, Jackie Schulz Senior Editor Bob Uphues IT Manager/Web Developer M Mike Risher

Editorial Design Manager Claire Innes Editorial Designers Jacquinete Baldwin, Javier Govea Ad Production Manager Philip Soell Ad Design Manager Andrew Mead Ad Designers Debbie Becker, Mark Moroney Staff Photographer Alexa Roglas Advertising Manager Dawn Ferencak Ad Sales Marc Stopeck, Bill Wossow Ad Coordinator Nonna Working Inside Sales Mary Ellen Nelligan Event Coordinator Carmen Rivera 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. Out of county subscriptions: $30 per year. © 2019 Wednesday Journal, Inc. F O R E S T PA R K

REVIEW Share photos on Instagram using #fpreview or email alexa@oakpark.com. All photos become property of Forest Park Review for possible future use in print or digital capacities.

@ForestParkReview

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

How D91 measures up on PARCC test scores Forest Park generally above comparable districts in ELA, below in math By NONA TEPPER Staff Reporter

Field -Stevenson

2016 ELA

2017 ELA

2018 ELA

2016 Math

2017 Math

2018 Math

In 2018, the Illinois State Board of 3rd Grade 32% 35% 38% 33% 28% 38% Education rated Forest Park District 91 “commendable” for the first time, the 4th Grade 45% 32% (=) 41% (+) 22% 11% (-) 16% (-) second-highest designation possible, which 70 percent of districts in the state 5Th Grade 40% 48% (+) 46% (+) 24% 23% (+) 10% (-) achieved. D91 administrators were flattered at the high ranking, but “one of the questions that was asked was, ‘How 2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018 are our test scores so low yet we’re comGrant-White ELA ELA ELA Math Math Math mendable?’ as well as, ‘Where do we fall when compared to other districts?’” 3rd Grade 29% 25% 54% 41% 27% 58% said Supt. Louis Cavallo at a board of education meeting on Dec. 13. 4th Grade 37% 47% (+) 46% (+) 0 22% (-) 15% (-) The Illinois School Report Card offers 5Th Grade 33% 45% (+) 39% (-) 17% 5% (+) 22% (=) charted scatter plots comparing how districts with similar racial and economic makeups scored on the annual Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for 2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018 College and Careers (PARCC) test. At the FPMS ELA ELA ELA Math Math Math December meeting, Cavallo explained how D91 compared to similar districts, 6th Grade 20% 31% (-) 33% (-) 5% 16% (-) 6% (+) talked about how individual student groups scored year over year, and talked 7th Grade 25% 18% (-) 26% (-) 8% 4% (-) 18% (+) up what the district is doing to increase 8Th Grade 35% 37% (+) 23% (+) 8% 11% (+) 8% (+) PARCC scores. The district aims to raise scores in both English Language Arts Information courtesy of Forest Park District 91 schools (ELA) and Math by 10 percent by 2020. “The state has remained pretty Each percentage indicates the amount of students who tested as proficient in the subject. steady; you’re not seeing a lot of growth anywhere, where our scores have sort white students, they tend to do worse than rent eighth-grade class is enrolled in the of inched up in both categories each year,” we do with our white students.” course, and D91 expects to eventually enCavallo said at the meeting. “With some of Black students — 51 percent of D91 stu- roll all eighth-graders in the subject. the things we just got rolling last year and dents are black — likewise scored above The state expectation for students to unsome of the changes that we got rolling this their counterparts in comparable dis- derstand algebra is “much higher than it’s year, we are going to see improvement.” tricts in ELA, with 28 percent testing as been in the past; we’ve got to push up our As with most districts across the state, proficient. But they fell short in math, expectations,” Cavallo said at the meeting. an achievement gap exists between how with only 10 percent scoring as proficient, Math coaches now work in every D91 white students and those of color score slightly below most districts. building, including Forest Park Middle on PARCC. However, between 2017 and Hispanic students’ scores nearly mir- School (FPMS), which didn’t have a coach 2018, D91 was able to cut the distance be- ror the trends of black students, with 33 last year. tween white and black students in ELA to percent of Hispanic students testing as D91 also implemented a new math series 29 percent, down from 37 percent the year proficient in ELA, which is average com- this year among younger grades and, for before. The achievement gap in math es- pared to most districts, while 19 percent middle school students, the district has exsentially remained steady year over year. scored as proficient in math, below many tended the time spent studying math and “That’s less of a gap; that’s some im- districts. Thirteen percent of D91 learners is piloting a new curriculum. provement from last year,” Cavallo said at identify as Hispanic. “We have to make sure that our curthe meeting. “Math is our sticking point when it riculum is aligned, we did have a lot of Across the board, among racial groups comes to pretty much every group; we’re work done last year about aligning our and income status, D91 students also tend- above some but not where we would want curriculum around Common Core staned to score above comparable districts in to be,” Cavallo said. dards, [and] we had to revisit that again ELA, but fell short in math. Only D91’s When it comes to students categorized as this year,” Cavallo said at the meeting. white students deviated from this trend, low-income — 53 percent of D91 students “We went back and we’re looking at, ‘Are with white learners scoring above stu- are low-income — D91 was average com- there gaps?’ That’s half the issue. The dents in similar districts in both subjects, pared to other districts in ELA, with 29 per- other issue is how we teach them. It’s not with 57 percent testing as proficient in cent of low-income students scoring pro- enough to just cover that standard and say, ELA and 35 percent in math. Twenty-three ficient. In math, 12 percent of low-income ‘Yes we have covered that standard.’ They percent of D91 students are white. The students tested as proficient, which was a have to teach the standard in a way where state does not offer a numerical ranking little below the average of similar districts. [students] have a deeper understanding of where D91 falls but instead rates disIn order to raise math scores for all because that’s the way PARCC is measurtricts via scatter plots on charts. students, D91 implemented algebra for ing it. That is a huge piece of this. It’s not “Where we are, there are very few dis- the first time for eighth-graders this a multiple-choice question. They have to tricts above us at that point; most districts year, initially expecting only 25 percent be able to explain their answers.” are below us,” Cavallo said. “So in simi- of students coming in to be ready for the lar districts with the same percentage of CONTACT: ntepper@wjinc.com advanced course. Instead, half of the cur-

Advancing grade-level scores Below are bullet points on how students from each cohort at each school compared on PARCC scores as they advanced grade levels. Small class sizes, as well as the addition and subtraction of new students, could have influenced scores, Supt. Louis Cavallo said at the December school board meeting.

Third grade ■■ Thirty-eight percent of third-graders at Field-Stevenson Intermediate Elementary School scored as “proficient” in both ELA (English Language Arts) and math in 2018. At Grant-White Elementary School, 54 percent of third-graders tested as proficient in ELA, while 58 percent tested as proficient in math.

Fourth grade ■■ From third to fourth grade, students at Field-Stevenson increased their ELA scores by 6 percent, with 41 percent of now fourthgraders testing as proficient in ELA in 2018. Field-Stevenson fourth-graders’ scores in math dipped, with 16 percent testing as proficient in 2018, compared to 28 percent proficient the grade before. ■■ From third to fourth grade, students at Grant-White nearly doubled their ELA scores, with 46 percent testing as proficient in ELA in 2018, up from 25 percent of students the year before. Fourth-graders’ scores in math dropped between 2017 and 2018, with 15 percent testing as proficient in math in 2018, down from 27 percent who tested as proficient the year before.

Fifth grade ■■ From fourth to fifth grade, students at Field-Stevenson increased their ELA scores, with 46 percent testing as proficient in 2018, compared to 32 percent the year before. Field-Stevenson fifth-graders’ scores in math dropped one point, from 11 percent proficient in 2017 to 10 percent last year. ■■ From fourth to fifth grade, students’ scores at Grant-White in ELA dropped to 39 percent proficient, from 47 percent the year before. Grant-White fifth-graders’ scores in math flatlined at 22 percent proficient year over year.

Sixth grade ■■Thirty-three percent of sixth-graders at FPMS scored as proficient in ELA in 2018; 6 percent scored as proficient in math.

Seventh grade ■■ From sixth to seventh grade, students’ ELA scores dropped to 26 percent proficient in 2018, down from 31 percent the grade before. Eighteen percent of students tested as proficient in math last year, up from 16 percent in 2017.

Eighth grade ■■ Student scores in ELA increased to 23 percent proficient in 2018, up from 18 percent the year before. Student math scores also doubled, with 8 percent proficient in 2018.

Nona Tepper

Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

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D209 board releases full master facilities plan Vote on $77M phase one projects was scheduled for Jan. 8 By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

After more than a year of conference calls, committee meetings and public hearings, the Proviso Township High Schools District 209 Board of Education was set to take action on a proposed facilities master plan on Jan. 8 after the Forest Park Review’s press time. The range of capital improvements in the master plan runs the gamut, from life-safety maintenance projects, electrical upgrades and air-conditioning installation to classroom and lab upgrades and repositioning athletic fields. As a whole, the master plan encompasses possibly the most extensive capital improvement campaign in the district’s history and likely its costliest and lengthiest. District officials estimate that the plan could cost upwards of $100 million and could take nearly a decade to complete. A vote to approve on Jan. 8 would have set in motion a series of events, such as the initiation of pre-design and design phases of construction and the selection of a construction manager to oversee the capital work, that would directly apply to the master plan’s initial phase — the first, and most extensive, of three phases. During earlier conversations, district officials and architects from Perkins and Will, the firm hired last year to facilitate the master planning process, said that the first phase of work would feature projects that were listed as highest-priority among a consensus of community members, students and building administrators at the three campuses.

That first phase would cost an estimated $77 million and includes work at all three schools that could take until 2022 to complete. Around $48 million of that total expenditure, or 62 percent, would go toward improvements at Proviso East while $24 million, or 31 percent, would go toward improvements at Proviso West, and $5 million, or 7 percent, would go toward improvements at Proviso Math and Science Academy. The most expensive capital projects at East include nearly $12 million in second- and third-floor electrical upgrades, $3.5 million in parking improvements (including new parking on the east side of First Avenue) and a stadium reconstruction project costing $7.4 million. That project would include demolishing both the auto shop building and the current stadium before building a new stadium with an artificial turf field and a new running track. At PMSA, the biggest project is $4.5 million in parking lot and traffic control improvements, including the reconfiguration of the parking lot. During a school board meeting on Dec. 11, 2018, District 209 Superintendent Jesse Rodriguez said that the district already has on hand around $60 million to fund the phase one projects. He said that the other $17 million would be available through allocating three years of budget surpluses. The second and third phases of the master plan could take construction work into 2028. District officials estimate that the second phase could cost $20 million and last from fiscal years 2023 to 2025.

Courtesy Perkins and Will

MAJOR WORK AHEAD: Proposed first phase improvements at East are listed in the master facilities capital plan. District officials did not attach a cost estimate to the third phase, which could last until 2028, because it was too far out. Architects said that it’s difficult to determine cost estimates that are so far into the future, since factors like inflation and material costs could change tremendously. Major second phase work at Proviso East includes $8.2 million for constructing a new central student commons area, $5.3 million in plumbing improvements, $10.6 million in required health and life-safety work, and $4 million in athletic field renovations, such as restoring the tennis courts and reconstructing the baseball and competition softball fields. Major second phase work at PMSA includes $1.2 million in cafeteria improvements. To read the full plan, visit www.pths209.org. CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

1.19.19

LULA WASHINGTON DANCE THEATER

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events.dom.edu FREE PARKING BOX OFFICE (708) 488-5000

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

Community rallies to keep East grad in college More than $1,000 given so Kiana Walker can register for classes By NONA TEPPER

K

Staff Reporter

iana Walker spent the holidays this year working as a life skills trainer at Restorative Rehab Service in Carbondale, a firm that helps those suffering from neurological trauma live independently and develop life skills. When she wasn’t working at the rehabilitation firm, she was working as a cashier at Party City. But it wasn’t enough. Southern Illinois University, where Walker is enrolled as a full-time student, in addition to working two jobs, has a strict policy that students who owe the school more than $200 cannot register for classes. “It’s ridiculous. My tuition is $20,000, how are we going to get it under $200?” she said. “My freshman year I think it was like $500 and I didn’t have it, so my mom had to work endless hours to give me at least $400. She was still homeless at the time.” In December, Walker, a Proviso East High School graduate, reached out to Theresa Kelly, a District 209 school board member, to see if there were any resources available to help. Kelly put her in touch with 209 Together, a local service group that had awarded Walker a $1,000 scholarship in 2017, the year she graduated from high school. Officials from 209 Together partnered with the Best of Proviso Township community group and decided to start a GoFundMe to help Walker raise the money she needed to stay in school. “I don’t like to ask people for anything; I don’t like things given to me. I’ll usually just struggle until I get it for myself,” Walker said. “When they first gave me the idea, I was like ‘Uhh, I don’t know; it feels weird. I don’t know if this is going to work out.’ But then they convinced me to give it a shot and step out of my little shell.” 209 Together and Best of Proviso Township set up the GoFundMe, and Walker watched as contributions increased to $300 and then $500. But then after a few days, Walker received a text telling her that an anonymous individual had pledged to match donations of $250. Walker said she has no idea who it was. “I was just really shocked; it was really, really amazing. I bawled my eyes out the whole day,” she said. After two weeks, residents raised the $1,000 Walker needed — and more. The GoFundMe account is currently trending on the site at https://bit.ly/2H239ht and, as of press time, had raised nearly $1,100. The money will be used to pay down Walker’s account balance, so she can register for classes for the last semester of her sophomore year. “I really just want to thank every single person who has helped me since the beginning until now and who will continue to help me in the future. I’m very grateful to have such generous and blissful souls to do it out of the kindness of their hearts. I’m not their child, I’m not a person from the neighborhood, I’m just a random college student. “I honestly don’t know if I could thank them enough. They’re just giving me a chance at life to make something of myself and not go through any more of the hardships I went through in the past. It’s honestly just a true blessing.” Walker’s hardships began her sophomore year at Proviso East, when her mother’s partner left the family. Nedra wasn’t able to keep up with her bills and the family was evicted from their Maywood home. The Walkers bounced from couch to couch, as Nedra continued to work two jobs and slept in her car. At the same time, she was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a painful chronic illness that affected her hormones. “There would be times she thought about giving up on herself, so I had to stop her and witness that. It was very

Submitted photo

GOFUNDME GOAL: Kiana Walker works two jobs, but it wasn’t enough to keep her in school. difficult,” Walker said. By her senior year, Walker was living with friends in Chicago but still commuting to Proviso East every day. The school’s social worker arranged for a cab to get her to and

from school, Walker said. She would wake up at 4 a.m. and then return to the house more than 12 hours later. “The family I was living with, I was very grateful for them; however, the mom thought we were running game on her. She thought we were just playing,” Walker said. The friend’s family didn’t believe that Walker’s mom was working hard enough to support them and started bullying Walker. “I like almost committed suicide at their house. They made fun of my situation,” Walker said. “So I left her house and then I basically admitted myself at a hospital because I had a breakdown.” She stayed in the hospital for about a week “and then when I went back to school, everyone was very, very helpful and everything,” Walker said. “The social workers didn’t tell them a lot, just enough for my teachers to know what was going on with me. Everyone was very, very generous and very giving.” To stay focused, Walker reached out to her grandmother, Sandra, and the two would pray together, asking God to help her, her mother and brother get through this difficult time in life. But the experience still took a toll on Walker’s grades. By the time she graduated from high school, Walker was just above a 2.0 grade point average. She still dreamed of going to college and earning a degree in social work or psychology. Walker reached out to school counselors and the community, asking for help with the college application process. She applied to SIU, and is the first person from her family to pursue an advanced degree. Her mother continues to work two jobs but has found a stable apartment in Maywood. This Christmas, Walker paid one of her bills as a present. “Life is still hard, I try and help them as well as helping myself,” she said. “Without the love of my friends and community, I would never be where I am today.”

CONTACT: ntepper@wjinc.com

Proviso East class of ’03 launches scholarship Members of Proviso East High School’s class of 2003 have started a scholarship fund designed to assist graduating seniors at the high school in ways that go beyond attending two- or four-year college. The fund’s founder, alum Vau’ve Davis, said, “I was intentional about making sure that this not only helps students who have plans to go to college, but also that it helps those who have other aspirations, like starting a business or going to trade school,” said Davis, a philanthropic consultant. Eligible students who don’t plan on attending a two- or four-year institution must submit a plan for how they intend to use the funds. “I created this for students to use the money as they need it but also as an opportunity for our class to give back,” Davis said. “A lot of class of

2003 members are doing very well. This was an opportunity for us to do something as a whole.” So far, she said, donations to the fund have come from grassroots donors, but she hopes that changes soon, and that the fund can eventually attract more institutional financial support. She said the class will give out at least one scholarship this year for at least $250 — whether or not more students receive scholarships and how much those will total depends on how much money the fund takes in. Davis added that anybody — not just members of the class of 2003 — who wants to donate money to the fund can do so; however, seats on the scholarship fund’s committee are only open to Proviso East class of 2003 graduates. Applications are currently being

accepted. The deadline for submitting an application is March 1. A winner will be notified by June 1. The scholarship is only open to Proviso East seniors. Davis also explained that she and the current members of her scholarship committee, including Danielle Saleek and Jenise Davis, are open to helping Proviso East students in ways other than financial assistance. “We’re here to be a resource beyond the money,” Davis said. “If students need assistance with professional development, mentoring and other things, we’re here for that, too.” To get information on how to donate to the fund and/or sit on the fund’s committee, email an inquiry to provisoeastclassof2003@gmail.com.

Michael Romain

Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

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Jan. 9 - 16

BIG WEEK Flip Con Comics & Fandom Expo It’s time again for the Forest Park Public Library’s annual Flip Con Comics and Fandom Expo, where attendees can enjoy a cosplay makeup event, arcade game station and meet Gene Ha and Trevor Mueller. Fun runs from 2 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 12 at 7555 Jackson Blvd.

Kinky Boots Join officials from the Howard Mohr Community Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 23 as they travel to the Cadillac Theatre in Chicago for Kinky Boots, a play that stretches from a shoe factory in Northhampton to the catwalks of Milan. Lunch included at Hamburger Mary’s in Chicago. Cash bar available. $94 residents; $98 non-residents. Reservations required. Call the community center at 708-771-7737 to reserve your space.

Writers’ Circle: Working with an Authentic Voice Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum Beth Wetmore will lead a workshop for writers of all levels from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 9 at the Forest Park Public Library, 7555 Jackson Blvd.

Meeting of the G.K. Chesterton Society of Metropolitan Chicago Join book lovers for a discussion of “The Man Who Knew Too Much” from 2 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 12 at Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, 7419 Madison St.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Celebrate 20 years of Shakespeare on Navy Pier by listening to A Midsummer Night’s Dream from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 at Navy Pier. Enjoy an early supper at Carson’s after the musical. Cost $95 resident; $99 nonresident. Reservations required. Call the Howard Mohr Community Center at 708-771-7737 to sign up.

FOREST Mystery Writers of America Meeting

PARK

Art & Peer Support Group The Progress Center for Independent Living will hold its monthly peer support and art group from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 at 7521 Madison St.

Join fellow mystery writers for cake, crime and camaraderie at their annual Midwest Holiday Party from 12 to 2 p.m. on Jan. 13 at Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, 7419 Madison St.

REVIEW

Avoiding Financial Scams An SEC official explain how to protect yourself from investment fraud, scams and ways to check out your financial professional from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the Forest Park Public Library, 7555 Jackson Blvd.

How to Perform Market Research Officials from the Forest Park Public Library and the Women’s Business Development Center will review how to perform research methods to discover and size up your market. Fun runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 17 at the Forest Park Public Library, 7555 Jackson Blvd.

The Making of a Graphic Novel with Michael Moreci Michael Moreci, writer and creator of graphic novels, will discuss the collaborative process that goes into making a graphic novel from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 at the Forest Park Public Library, 7555 Jackson Blvd.

Need a Job? Discover online tools available at the Forest Park Public Library that will help you bridge your employment gap, explore careers, review your resume and more. Discover library services and resources from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the Goodwill Workforce Connection Center, 1900 S. Harlem Ave. in North Riverside.

Junction Diner Storytime Meet staff from the Forest Park Public Library at Junction Diner, enjoy lunch and receive a craft to do at home from 12 to 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 at 7401 Madison St. Ages 3 to 5.

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

Nadeau’s creates cool sculptures for Da Bears When the Chicago Bears made the playoffs for the first time since 2010, fans celebrated, but none quite like Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures in Forest Park, which partnered with the football team to install four, approximately 3,600-pound sculptures around Chicago on Jan. 4. The sculptures were inscribed, “Monsters of the Midway” or “Da Bears,” included a “Bear Down” emoji, and a bear’s head. High temperatures — Saturday reached the mid-50s with sun — nearly destroyed the four colossal ice sculptures by the time the Bears hit the field on Jan. 6, where they faced the Philadelphia Eagles. (No need to recall the final score). “The benefit of the warm weather is millions of people were out; they got to see it instead of driving by in the car. They were thrilled,” said Jim Nadeau, owner of Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures. He said the Bears called about creating the sculptures once they found out they were going to compete in the playoffs, leaving the icecarving firm about four days to design and carve the pieces. “It was a really herculean effort to pull that off in four days. New Year’s is the busiest day of the year. It’s been a hell of a week,” he said. In addition to simply creating the sculptures, Nadeau also had to work with the

Submitted photos

(N)ICE: Jim Nadeau poses with his crew at Pioneer Court. city of Chicago to get approval to install the ice sculptures on “hallowed grounds,” near Wrigley Field, Union Station, Pioneer Court and Millennium Park, he said. “We got up at 4 a.m. to set up, and they approved it that morning. That’s how tight getting the sculptures done between the playoffs and New Year’s was,” Nadeau said. This is not the first time the ice house has put the Chicago Bears on ice. Nadeau’s creates ice carvings for all their home games,

designing crashing helmets for the pregame brunch. Nadeau’s work has also been featured at the iconic “Zoo Lights” at Lincoln Park Zoo every year, birthday parties for billionaire Sam Zell, after-parties for the Chicago Blackhawks, and much more. “We do all the sports teams in Chicago. For a little building on Roosevelt Road in Forest Park, we really do some interesting stuff,” Nadeau said.

C R I M E

Three arrested for partying in parking lot Bar employees called police about the occupants of a Ford parked at 7400 Madison St. who were drinking beer and playing loud music. Driver Nikita Baker, 31, of Des Moines, Iowa, told police she and two passengers were leaving the parking lot soon to sing karaoke. She told police they had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis inside the car. Officers searched the Ford and found nine bags containing suspected cannabis in the passenger glove compartment, as well as a grinder. In the trunk, they uncovered a backpack that contained 20 bags of suspected marijuana and a digital scale. Baker was charged with delivery/manufacture of cannabis over 30 grams, possession of cannabis over 30 grams, possession of drug equipment and open alcohol. Also receiving felony charges were passengers Tanisha Davis, 32, of Lynwood, and Joseph Johnson, 29, of Chicago, for delivery/manufacture of cannabis over 30 grams, possession of cannabis over 30 grams, possession of drug equipment and open alcohol.

Manufacture, delivery of cannabis Officers spotted a Pontiac G6 speeding under the CTA Green Line viaduct about 4:02 p.m. on Dec. 31. Police curbed the vehicle on the 500 block of Harlem and asked Roberto Salgado, 26, of Stickney, why he was driving so fast. Salgado told police he was sick and just wanted to get home. Officers told him they could smell burnt cannabis inside the Pontiac and asked if there was anything illegal inside the vehicle. He told police there was possibly a “roach” inside the car,

and that he had smoked a “blunt” a few days before. Officers searched the Pontiac and found a “roach” in the driver’s cup holder and an e-cigarette containing suspected THC oil in the center console. In the back, they found a duffel bag with a plastic bag full of suspected methamphetamine. In the trunk, they found a grocery bag containing four bags containing suspected cannabis and 50 THC oil cartridges. Salgado was charged with felony delivery and manufacture of cannabis over 30 grams, felony possession of cannabis over 100 grams and possession of methamphetamine.

Juvenile nabbed after stealing car A 16-year-old Chicago juvenile stole a Jeep from the 800 block of Thomas about 1:54 p.m. on Jan. 1. The victim told police the car was running with its keys inside. Shortly after the theft was reported, police spotted the juvenile driving the Jeep east on Madison toward Ridgeland. When police attempted to stop the vehicle, the Jeep made a series of turns until it finally stopped in an alley off Madison, at which point the juvenile ran away. Oak Park police caught the boy near the intersection of Madison and Austin. At the police station, five bags containing suspected heroin were uncovered from his jacket. The juvenile was charged with motor vehicle theft and possession of a controlled substance.

Battery at the bar Police arrived at Doc Ryan’s Bar & Grill, 7432 Madison St., about 2:07 a.m. on Dec. 30, on a call that a woman had been passed out in the bathroom for at least 20 minutes.

Nona Tepper

As officers approached the women’s bathroom, a Desplaines man told officers, “This is my girl, what the [expletive] you want?” The man leaned in to the police officer, and the officer put his hand to the man’s chest. The officer asked him to back away and said he was performing a welfare check on the woman. The man started yelling, flailing his arms and threw beer. Officers restrained the man against the wall of the bar. As he was being processed at the police station, he reportedly resumed “a threatening stance” and told police, “I’m going to [expletive] you up,” according to the police report. He was charged with battery and resisting a police officer. The woman was removed from the bar, refused medical treatment and was released to her friends.

Three cars stolen ■■Sometime between 3:20 and 3:35 p.m. on Dec. 30, a Lexus was stolen from the parking lot of USA Beverage, 7200 Madison St. The victim told police he started his car to warm it up and left the keys inside. ■■Between 3 and 6:06 a.m. on Jan. 1, a Pontiac Grand Am was stolen from Thornton’s Gas Station, 601 Harlem Ave. The victim told police he left the car parked and running when he went inside the gas station. He took the train home, told his mother and then returned to the Forest Park Police Station to report the vehicle missing. ■■Sometime between 10 and 10:20 a.m. on Dec. 29, a Volkswagen was stolen from the 1500 block of Elgin Avenue. The victim said he turned his car on, locked the car with his extra key fob and then left the key in the ignition. These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Dec. 31-Jan. 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 Nona Tepper

Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

Empowering Gardens launches team building group The nonprofit’s employees foster friendship, share stories of the holidays during Empowering Garden’s first team building meeting By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter

Empowering Gardens Inc. (EGI) is a nonprofit. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have to make money and balance their books. What it means is that the organization’s primary goal is something else. EGI’s website describes the organization’s mission this way: “Providing people who have a broad range of disabilities with meaningful, long-term career-oriented employment opportunities in a business growing and creating excellent products for sale at competitive prices in the local market place.” That focus on developing the abilities of their employees, all of whom have disabilities, helps explain why Co-Directors Ana Solares and Richard Biggins recently gathered all seven of their employees around a table in the back of their temporary winter location at 7415 Madison St. to have a cup of

coffee and tell stories. Marissa Grott liked the concept of getting together to tell stories, saying, “These morning coffee hours and conversations give us an opportunity to be together in one space, share stories and really experience one another.” Sitting across the table from Grott, Biggins nodded as if to say, “She gets it.” Corporations might conduct story telling experiences with their management as a team building exercise with the goal of improving the bottom line. Solares acknowledged that team building is good for their business but added that their mission is centered on developing their employees’ skills so that eventually they will obtain work outside EGI in the marketplace. “I like to discover the talent each of our employees has,” she explained, “and polish it.” Darron Dillard made everyone at the table laugh as recalled how he experienced Christ-

mas as a child. “I used to watch my parents kissin’ and huggin’ until they saw me out of the corner of their eye and said, ‘What are you lookin’ at?’” He associated Christmas with getting toys, his father watching football on TV and his grandfather giving him cookies. Everyone groaned when he mentioned eating chitlins for Christmas dinner. Adam Barron explained how he enjoyed Christmas growing up Jewish. “I used to play Santa Claus when I worked for the park district,” he said. “I didn’t feel like an outsider because my mom used to go around to the schools and show the similarities—lighting candles, giving gifts and occurring in the winter—between Christmas and Hanukkah.” Elizabeth Hernandez smiled and said, “I get twice as many presents because December 25 is also my birthday.” Ryan Reyes appreciated the fact that his co-workers are willing to share unpleasant experiences associated with the holidays.

“It’s been nice,” he said, “to see how everybody deals with the holidays. They’re not perfect as you can see, but we do deal with them. Christmas isn’t like it was when we were children when we would take pictures of us with our presents.” Solares told one funny story and another that saddened her even though it happened over 20 years ago. The funny story was about the time when as a little girl she actually stole the baby Jesus from her Catholic church in Guatemala. The story that brought tears to her eyes also took place in that Central American country. “We were very poor,” she began. “No running water or electricity in our house. My mother and father decided that the only way to earn enough money to send me and my siblings to college was for them to leave us in Guatemala and go to the United States and work. “At the time, I didn’t understand the sacrifice my parents were making. All I wanted was to have them back,” she explained and added a thought about the holidays not always being perfect, saying, “That’s what life is, up and down. My heart goes up and down. When it’s a flat line it means you are dead, so as long as it goes up and down, you are OK.”

Snow plowing, salting by the numbers

PUBLIC WORKS Salt, snow from page 1 the lead plow pushing snow to the right of the driving lane and another plow pushes it further to the curb. Other times, they work alone. Often snow removal and ice remediation is done during the day, so the village doesn’t have to pay overtime. Workers agreed that plowing is easiest at night, however, since there are fewer cars on the road. Whenever and however, plowing the streets takes a lot of concentration. “You have to be careful to watch for bump outs along Madison Street and Roosevelt Road,” explained Mike Marasko. “Especially sewer lids that are a little above the street level. When your plow hits one you feel it. You definitely feel it. The whole truck comes to a jarring stop. Once you hit them, you never forget where they are.” Sometimes when there are collisions like that between “an immovable object and an unstoppable force” the blade on the plow actually breaks and the driver has to return to replace it at Public Works, 7343 15th Street. Drivers explained that you have to find a happy medium between driving fast enough to maintain your momentum and driving at speeds that are not safe. Steve Knysch told stories about driving one of the three Bobcats the department uses to clear sidewalks. Public Works uses Bobcats to plow sidewalks; they are slightly larger than a riding lawn mower and can be fitted with either a plow in front, or a bucket that fills with snow. “When there has been a light snow,” he said, “we put a V plow on the front and can go right down the sidewalk pushing the snow to the side. But when there has been a heavy snow, we have to put a bucket on the front and go back and forth, one bucket full at a time. After a heavy snow it can take 20 minutes to do just one block.” Drivers dump the snow collected in the bucket out of the public’s way.

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File photo

COOL JOB: The scariest area Bobcat drivers have to plow is the area over the expressway, since drivers often don’t make room for them. Knysch said that, like when trucks hit a sewer lid, Bobcats can hit a raised part of the sidewalk so hard that the impact actually shuts the machine down. He said that when the sidewalk is slanted, like for a driveway, or the Bobcat hits a patch of ice, the machine can slide off the sidewalk, get stuck in a snowbank or almost tip over. The scariest area Bobcat drivers have to plow is the bridge over the Eisenhower. At one point drivers have to cross lanes of traffic, and are forced to see if drivers will give them the right of way or not. Bobcat drivers are also tested along Harlem Avenue, where the sidewalk is not wide enough for the machine to fit, so drivers must go out on the street for a short time. Bobcats ride along Harlem at about six miles an hour, navigating semitrucks often barreling down the street at well over the speed limit. The guys who drive the trucks have a challenge that the Bobcat drivers don’t have, however, which is visibility. When the snow is wet and sticky, sometimes drivers have to periodically wipe the slush off the windshield because the wipers can’t handle it. Seeing what’s in front of you can also be challenging when you are the second plow in a tandem.

■■ The village employs 15 full-time workers to clear the snow. It has 11 trucks of varying sizes and three Bobcats that can be fitted with plows. ■■ The Public Works Department uses between 1,200 and 2,000 tons of salt in Forest Park every season. ■■ The 250 pound blades, which are fitted on the front of dump trucks, require two men to mount them. ■■ When the temperature dips to 10 below zero, sometimes salt by itself doesn’t melt ice, so workers add beet juice to the salt. Apparently it smells pretty bad. ■■ The covered salt storage facility at the Department of Public Works can hold up to 500 tons of the grain.

Drivers sometimes have to roll down the window on the door and lean out in order to see. The visibility along Roosevelt Road — particularly west of Desplaines Avenue — can be bad at night because the street lights are spaced far apart. The elements pose problems for the village’s snow plowers. But all agreed that “the hardest part of our job is the people we’re trying to clear the streets for.” “We’re trying to open the streets for them,” said Patrick Braniff, “and they don’t want to wait for us. Like we do tandems and a car will go in between the two trucks. Well, you know what will happen. The car will get salted from the truck in front and be in danger of being hit by the one in back.” Last year a car didn’t want to slow down for the plow in front of Braniff, so he pulled over to pass, hit a patch of ice, went into a spin and took out a light pole. Another time, right before Thanksgiving, the guys were removing the snow from the side of Madison Street and had sections of the street coned off. A few drivers actually drove between the cones to park, making it difficult for the crew to do their job and putting the workers at risk. “We try to be as careful as we can,” Marasko said. “Safety is number one.”

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

Local chef grows vegan cheese, raises bar for resticted diners Gaetano’s owner wants specialized food to appeal to everyone By LUCIA WHALEN

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Contributing Reporter

nyone with dietary restrictions knows the experience of restaurant dining can be far from easy. Fearful of ordering an item with hidden allergens and of inconveniencing the waiter and kitchen by requesting special dishes, the diner with dietary restrictions all-too-often settles for the safest (and most boring) item on the menu: salad. Gaetano’s Italian Restaurant is trying to transform the experience of dining out with dietary needs by offering a range of menu options for those with gluten, dairy, nut, and other food allergies. While those with dietary restrictions tend to avoid Italian food due to its heavy emphasis on pasta, cheese and cream, almost 90 percent of the menu at Gaetano’s can be made gluten free, with a large portion of vegan. “I don’t want to penalize anyone for having restrictions,” said Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto. While most restaurants offer allergy-free options, they often lack the flavor and excitement of traditional dishes. Di Benedetto said he is committed to providing culinary adventures withGAETANO out sacrificing the expertise and inDI BENEDETTO novation applied to other dishes. Executive Chef Rather than simply offering store-bought vegan cheese and gluten-free pasta alternatives, Di Benedetto has committed to creating all menu options in-house, applying the same traditional fermentation techniques used for other dishes. Most recently, he started applying the fermentation techniques used in dairy cheese-making to creating vegan cheese that is closer to the taste of real cheese. Gaetano’s offers a spread of vegan toppings and sauces, including parmesan, mozzarella, butter, and a tofu-based cheese. He is currently working on a vegan bleu cheese. “These are not the shredded packaged mozzarella cheeses you find on the market,” said Di Benedetto. Most storebought cheese, like the brand Daiya, is not cultured, or fermented. Dairy cheese gets its salty and acidic flavors through the process of fermentation, which uses good bacteria and enzymes to transform and preserve. Fermentation transforms milk to cheese, cucumbers to pickles, and crushed grapes to wine. It is cooking as science, as it requires carefully controlling temperature and pH conditions to ensure the proper transformation of flavors. The kitchen at Gaetano’s is filled with various forms of fermentation, from dough and cheese making to meat curing. Fermentation is an ancient practice used by most traditional cultures, and it is a staple of Italian cooking. However, according to Di Benedetto, most restaurants skip the fermenting process, as it takes time. Nutrition scientists have demonstrated the importance of healthy bacteria in diet, and the lack of fermented foods in the modern diet is believed to be a major contributor to health issues, especially digestive imbalances. Traditional cultures did not need probiotic supplements, as they ate plenty of fermented bread, meat and vegetables. The menu at Gaetano’s boasts an array of options for those with dietary restrictions, with items that even someone without allergies can opt for, such as King Oyster Mushroom Rolls, Cauliflower Tots, Potato and Mushroom Rolls, and Truffle and Cashew Fondue. Warm, gluten-free bread

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

VEGAN: Executive Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto offers different vegan cheeses and vegan butter at at Gaetano’s Italian restaurant on Madison Street in Forest Park. is served with vegan butter made in-house. Even the base sauces, all 18 of which are made in-house per the old French standard, are gluten- and preservative-free. Di Benedetto is experimenting with every part of the menu, and is even creating a vegan liqueur from coconut and almond milks. “Gluten free and vegan alternatives need to be made with more intelligence,” he said. Innovation is central to Di Benedetto’s approach. He sees his restaurant as a living art exhibit, and himself as the curator. The physical space, from the front doorway all the way to the back room, he designed and decorated with the goal of transporting the diner to Italy. The front restaurant space is painted in the courtyard design of an old Sicilian villa, with live plants hanging from the wall and stars dotting the painted sky ceiling. The menus reflect the same rustic aesthetic. Born in Sicily, Di Benedetto has been a chef for 40 years. While gluten-free food is often viewed as bastardizing fine cuisine, his perspective on cooking and eating changed

when he faced his own health problems in the form of mild food allergies. “I became obligated to discover a new way of eating,” he said. He changed his lifestyle and lost 110 pounds, reversing his diabetes. “I had to relearn what to put into my body,” he said, adding, “We need to relearn how to be healthy. Organic was the norm when I grew up, and healthy was the normal diet.” Di Benedetto’s lifestyle changes strengthened his commitment to use only natural ingredients in his cooking. The restaurant is focused on using whole foods from natural sources, and no ingredients used are genetically modified. His own health problems led him to create more options for those with similar struggles. “Don’t get me wrong, I love cheese,” he said, “but out of necessity, and because I experienced dietary challenges, I want to make more options available to customers.” Most of all, he said, he doesn’t want people with allergies to be shy: “I want people to be happy! So tell your server and we will show you options.”

Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

THIESSE

UNION BUSTING: A portion of the shop is has been cleared out inside Thiesse Plumbing on Circle Avenue in Forest Park. The business closed last month after 72 years in operation.

Three generations of plumbing from page 1 “It’s very sad. I feel like I let my dad down.” Thiesse Plumbing was started in 1946 by Leonard Thiesse, a born-and-raised Forest Parker who was the son of German immigrants. Leonard started the shop with his cousin Eddie Cohrs at a house on Circle Avenue. Eventually the business grew and moved to a two-flat at 7750 Monroe, with Thiesse Plumbing located downstairs and Leonard living upstairs. When he wasn’t working full-time at his business, he also served as the plumbing inspector for the village of Forest Park. He raised his son, Peter, with the same traditional German values he was taught: “You work, you save, you work hard, you do the best you can, you’re not lazy,” recalled Joyce Thiesse, the late Peter’s wife. After 30 years, Peter bought the family business. Peter married Joyce on Dec. 22, 1962, and just days later shipped off as a member of the Navy’s Seabees team. His first big deployment was out of the now-closed Davisville base in Rhode Island, where he was sent to Thessalonica in Greece to do desalination and communications work. As they crossed the Atlantic Ocean, there wasn’t much plumbing to do, so Peter volunteered to work in the ship’s galley, where he cleaned dishes and helped put food out for the officers. To keep their trays from sliding, officers would take a piece of bread, soak it in water, slap it on the table and anchor their plate on it. When the weather was bad, officers made their own fun. Joyce remembers Peter once smuggled live frogs onto the ship and put a little frog in each man’s salad. “They weren’t cooked. He said, ‘You never have seen so many people toss their salads.’” Around January 1964, Peter returned to Forest Park, and met his new son, Daniel, for the first time. The growing family lived in a house on the 7700 block of Adams Street, where sons Daniel and Andy and daughters Rachel and Amy were raised just a half block away from the plumbing office. “For the first five or six Christmases that we lived on Adams, Pete was not home on Christmas in the morning. Somebody needed him because they put something down a disposal they’re not supposed to. Same with Thanksgiving,” Joyce recalled. “But he loved his work and he loved being a plumber.” Amy remembers spending her summers riding around town in the Thiesse Plumbing trucks. When she wasn’t in the truck, she was in the office, helping her family keep the business running, or playing in the back with the company Bobcat and other equipment. “We didn’t have video games or anything like that, we just played outside, had sleepovers, things that the kids don’t do these days,” she said.

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ALEXA ROGALS/ Staff Photographer

“We grew up, Amy and I, like tom boys,” Rachel added. The kids would play hide-andseek in Thiesse Plumbing’s garage, hiding in the five vehicles there. The business grew and eventually Thiesse Plumbing bought out the old Melie Plumbing Company on Madison Street. Joyce left her teaching job to help out in the office, where she spent some 20 years. Eventually, Thiesse moved to 1223 Circle Ave. At some point in the 1980s, Peter served as head of the village’s Department of Public Works, “at the insistence of the village council,” Joyce said. “They wanted someone in there to run it who knew about it. But it became a problem to run Public Works as well as the plumbing business because it was like a conflict of interest because we did all the work for the village.” Peter didn’t want to spend too much time away from the family business and his pension from the plumbers union. After a few years with the Department of Public Works, he left but continued to work part-time as the plumbing inspector for the villages of Forest Park and River Forest. But it was not the end of his community involvement. He also served on the Forest Park District 91 Board of Education for about nine years, where he helped recruit Art Jones as superintendent. In that post, he

was also able to hand Rachel and Amy their diplomas as they walked across the stage during Forest Park Middle School’s graduation ceremony. “It was quite an honor,” Joyce said. The girls headed off to Proviso East High School, which turned out to not be a good fit for Amy. She ended up dropping out of school, earning her GED, and going straight to work as an X-ray technician. She stayed in that field for about five years. In the summer of 1997, “I was on a break from radiology. I was in between jobs and my dad asked me to come back and work in the office. I never left.” She was surprised that she loved the work so much, particularly working with her father. Her brothers had tried working with their dad previously but their personalities conflicted. “My dad was a very tough man to work for, a very strong-minded businessman, so it made it challenging to be a family member and have to work with him,” Rachel said. “Neither of my brothers, unfortunately, were able to find a way to work with him in that environment.” But Amy and her father shared a similar mindset on work ethic and passion for the business. By 2000, Joyce decided to retire. She and Peter bought a house in Buchanan, Michigan, about 110 miles from Forest Park. Peter

wasn’t ready to totally give up the business, though, so he’d work three days a week in Forest Park — staying at the house on Adams — and spend the rest of the week in Michigan, where he’d leave the house at 3 a.m. to get to the shop in time to receive copper deliveries. But with his health was declining, he was ready for full-time retirement. He sold the business to Amy in 2008. “We understood each other, had the same values, and that’s why I think we got along so well,” Amy said. “We’d have our arguments, but I’d always walk out and go around the block and come back.” When Amy took over, she computerized all of the business’s accounting and other documents. She eventually received Woman’s Business Enterprise (WBE) certification from Cook County, which gave Thiesse Plumbing a chance to secure jobs with government agencies and organizations required to contract a certain portion of their business to minority-owned companies. She was the first female Thiesse to own the shop, operating in a male-dominated field, and “I don’t think I gained as much respect as a man,” she said. Thiesse Plumbing was a longtime member of Local 130, a division of the Chicago Plumbers Union. Being a union shop allowed Joyce to feel secure about any medical procedure she ever needed or will need — “I’ve never had to pay a dime to a hospital,” she said — as well as retire comfortably. But as many shops transitioned to non-union labor, Thiesse Plumbing struggled to compete with their lower prices. Amy decided to close the business and go back into X-ray tech. “It’s a little heartbreaking to know that the business closed, but eventually I felt that that was going to happen,” Joyce said. “We were always a union shop. Peter always believed in that. We had a good life; Peter worked hard and provided well for us. It’s very sad, but I think we’ll all get over it eventually. It just won’t be the same. You’ll go down Circle and you won’t see the red awning anymore.” CONTACT: ntepper@wjinc.com

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

O U R

T

V I E W

Commendable but not good

he standardized test scores of the District 91 Forest Park elementary schools may not be all they might be. But if there were still letter grades being handed out, we’d give this district, its administration, faculty and school board, an A for Effort. The 2018 test results are in, and as usual Supt. Lou Cavallo took them on very directly and honestly at the board meeting in December. Even the superintendent wondered how the state could rate the district as “commendable” with test scores such as they are. There is progress. Reading scores are improving. The gap between students of color and white students has narrowed in Language Arts. The math scores are pretty much a horror show, though Forest Park is far from alone there. What’s always encouraging is the progressive and aggressive plans this district makes to address the very real shortcomings. Curriculums are continually updated. Textbook series are changed out. Specialized support staff are deployed. And the effort appears to be very collaborative between teachers in the classrooms and principals and the district office. Of course, none of this comes cheap. Forest Park taxpayers have been generous — and patient — in their financial support. The test score challenge is real. The declining enrollment is worrisome. The district has been weak in widely telling its story. But efforts on all fronts are underway and that is appreciated.

More the merrier

We like elections. Especially contested elections. They get the adrenaline flowing — the ideas, too. So what is just ahead in Forest Park is gratifying and exciting. Nine candidates for four seats on the village council. Two mayoral candidates. Two slates and an independent in Proviso’s District 209 high schools. And seven running for three seats on the District 91 elementary district board. This marks two shifts that are good for Forest Park’s democracy. First, we have covered way too many uncontested elections, particularly for the school board. We have seen too many people, good and sincere though they may have been, running for third and fourth terms on the school board and park board. Clogs up the works. Slows innovation. The other plus is that we have moved through the petitionchallenging period without a single candidate facing a petition challenge. That’s good; that’s healthy. Maybe all the candidates hired high-priced election lawyers to advise them. More hopefully, maybe Forest Park has moved past the moment where the first tactic to win an election was to disqualify an opponent’s candidacy on some sort of petition challenge. We don’t care how petitions get stapled. We don’t care if all the petition forms match. We care about having a choice of candidates and having competing ideas. The Review and the Chamber of Commerce are planning candidate forums for March. The Review is also discussing additional forums in cooperation with the library and the Village Free Press. Let’s have an election.

OPINION

A

My adventures in exercise-land

s part of my never-ending quest to become marginally adequate at something, I have begun taking spin classes. First of all, the name is misleading. There is no spinning, as I think of the term. “Spin” is the name given by fitness people to the act of riding a stationary bike while an attractive person in spandex yells at you over bootsand-pants music played at the volume of a modestly-sized airplane. There’s a lot to get used to with spin. I have written about Pilates before, some of which is at least familiar. Spin is new. I have used stationary bikes before — my family had the same rarely-touched stationary bike masquerading as a coatrack that every other family had in the early 1980s — but I am new to “interval training,” which involves going hard for a brief period, then “resting” for an equally brief period while your heart rate returns to normal. Except it isn’t really resting, and your heart does not return to a normal rate. Here is how it works if you are me: You ride along for a few minutes, then the drums start pounding and the instructor shouts “crank up that resistance and PUSH IT”! This is the first point I get worried because there are a number of dials and levers and buttons on this contraption, and everyone else is familiar with them and changes speeds and resistances and seat adjustments effortlessly, whereas I am always worried I’m going to touch the button and, rather than increasing the effort required to pedal it, cause the bike to fall apart like the Bluesmobile. I have a general fear of screwing up in exercise situations. I don’t want to try most classes. Restorative Yoga looks sleepy and like most of the exercise would be rolling my eyes. I am not in the Water Aerobics age bracket. I am both unsuited to and uninterested in the classes with names like “Body Blast,” as it seems like they ought to just name it “Suffer.” Zumba looks fun, but I am fearful of being YouTube Famous. (“Excuse me, sir, but are you ‘Fainting Zumba Guy’? Two million views? I knew it! Hey, guys, it is him!”) I liked weight training, but I am getting a shade old for it. At least, that’s what my doctor said when I asked her why both elbows and both shoulders hurt so much all the time. (I’d been hoping for a reason that could be treated, or at least wasn’t so depressing.) I sorta liked running, but I mostly did that while I was living in Florida, where the weather isn’t quite so wretched. I love Pilates, which is starting to love me back just a little, but doesn’t have cardio. So: Spin. So far, it’s pretty good. My legs are sore a lot, which is fine, even nice — I like when I have earned soreness — but I did have to ask the teacher a delicate question about what parts were supposed to hurt in the good way and what parts were getting maybe a little mashed in a way where I wasn’t sure it was the kind of pain that built character or burned fat. So I asked, discreetly and apologetically.

Turns out, to my great and amused surprise, that you kinda do build muscle from sitting on that hideously uncomfortable seat. I forget the name of the muscle she identified — the taint major or crotcheceps or something — but it does in fact toughen up after a couple months so you can sit on the seat for longer periods without feeling like you’re straddling a picket fence that turned out to be one half inch taller than you thought it was going to be. Why evolution chose to bless us with a muscle that toughens after a couple of months sitting on such an unpleasant piece of plastic I do not know, and while this family newspaper is probably not the place to speculate, I suppose they can just cut me off if they find tasteless my guess that the original reason we evolved that particular flex was to

ALAN

BROUILETTE

Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

L E T T E R S

I

Let’s take a look at that trash

think we need to deal with pollution. What do you think? Pollution can cause many health issues for humans, even cancer. In turn, changing behavior to decrease pollution contributes to everybody’s health as well as the health of the many life forms we share the planet with. We can individually decrease pollution by avoiding waste right here, right now. One way is to realize that in Forest Park, like in other places around the country and the planet, we have a big problem with trash addiction, where we produce a lot of polluting waste and promptly hide it, pretending it never existed. I personally think we should not hide trash but need to look at it carefully and think of what we need to do to trash less, especially because there is no “away” in “throw away” (the throwing part has too many negative consequences to list here). This addiction is becoming more obvious — with countries not accepting our carelessly handled recyclables since this past year. These are countries where we used to ship boatloads of materials, knowing full well most of them do not have the ability to process them, and so the materials end up in the ocean. Sadly, polluting at such scale was cheap. In the U.S., waste management facilities are now swamped in garbage, such as single-use plastic that nobody wants because there has never been a market for it. We live on the same planet and the trash is swamping us all, especially the plastic trash that does not decompose and pollutes the air when incinerated, the land when buried, and everywhere else when mishandled. I have been picking up trash in front of my house for 20 years now, and this has inspired me to be more mindful of what I consume. Some days I pick five pieces of trash from our front yard, some days 20. I have talked to village staff and to many

businesses in town, but see that not only has the “all you can waste” mentality not changed much, but trash piles have increased inside and outside the trash and recycling bins. This is why I think it is a good idea to look at the trash and invite my fellow garden trash-pickers who remove garbage from their yards every week to consider installing the free Litterati app on your phone, and with a couple taps, add whatever available information on what material, objects and brands you are picking up. I know many caring people in town regularly pick up trash from their yards. Let’s join forces and go a step further. If you are comfortable with using smartphone and computer applications in general, the Litterati app and its website are very userfriendly and well documented (see Litterati. org). Moreover, I have a challenge for us: to pick, snap, tag, and properly dispose of 10,000 items before Earth Day 2019. If each household in Forest Park picked, snapped, tagged and properly disposed of just three pieces of trash between now and then, we would be set. But remember, the challenge is not to put it away but to make it visible by adding the information to the worldwide Litterati database, and reflecting on what we can do to trash less and inspire others to do their part on this effort. If you do download and use Litterati, please consider joining the Go Green Forest Park Club within the app so we can look at the data together. If you need help installing or using the app, I will post meetup times during February in the Go Green Forest Park facebook group https://www. facebook.com/groups/gogreenforestpark. I am also happy to answer questions, but everyone should feel free to jump right in. Go Green Forest Park!

JULIETA AGUILERA One View

Julieta Aguilera is a Forest Park resident.

Your Hometown Podiatrist for 30 Years DR. LORI LIPKIN

Forest Foot Care CONSERVATIVE MEDICAL & SURGICAL TREATMENT OF: Orthopedic, Geriatric and Pediatric Foot Problems Diabetic and Vascular Foot Disorders

Board Certified ABPOPPM Medicare & Most Insurance Accepted House Calls Accepted Weekend and Evening Hours

Painful Bunions and Hammertoes Skin and Nail Disorders and Infections Heel and Arch Pain

7503 W. Madison, Forest Park 708/366-3770

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

RELIGION GUIDE Presbyterian

Check First.

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

ELCA, Lutheran

Good Shepherd

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

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

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.

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

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

744 Fair Oaks Ave. Oak Park 386-4920 Sunday Schedule Christian Education for All Ages 9:00am Worship Service 10:00am

Child care available 9-11am

fairoakspres.org 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

Fair Oaks

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 Sacrament of Reconciliation 4 pm Saturday Taize Prayer 7:30 pm First Fridays Feb.– Dec. & Jan. 1

Rev. James Hurlbert, Pastor

Roman Catholic

St. Edmund Catholic Church

188 South Oak Park Ave. Saturday Mass: 5:30 p.m. Sunday Masses: 9:00 & 11:00 a.m., 5:30 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

St. Giles Family Mass Community

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

Roman Catholic

St. Bernardine Catholic Church Harrison & Elgin, Forest Park

CELEBRATING OUR 107TH 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

Upcoming Religious Holidays

Jan 13 Maghi Feb 5 Chinese New Year 8 Nirvana Day Mar 4 Maha Shivaratri 5 Shrove Tuesday

Hinduism

Buddhism, Jain, Sikh Hinduism Christianity

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

Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

River Forest

FOOT CLINIC

7351 Lake St. (Just west of Panera Bread)

Do you wake up with heel pain?

H

Dr. Linda Lambert

eel pain is one of the most common conditions I treat" says Dr. Linda Lambert of the River Forest Foot Clinic. If you wake up having difficulty putting your feet on the floor, Dr. Lambert can help.

Heel pain or plantar fascitis is caused when the foot flattens out with weight bearing. Sometimes a heel spur forms where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone. A heel spur can be diagnosed with an in office x-ray. There are many ways to treat heel pain without doing surgery. Rest, ice, antiinflammatory medication, supportive shoes and stretches help in most cases. Custom made orthotic devices or cortisone injections may also be needed. Call Dr. Lambert, you don't have to live with foot pain. Aetna, AARP, Blue Cross PPO, United Healthcare, Healtspring, Humana, PHCS, Medicare Assignment & most other insurances accepted • CIGNA PPO

24 Years’ Experience • Se Habla Espanol • Free Parking

708.366.FOOT (3668)

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM New local ads this week

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

Deadline is Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.

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

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BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 | BY E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

App Dev-Mobile sought by US Bank Nat’l Assoc in Chicago, IL to design, test & dev SW. Req Bach/CS, CE or related tech field and 8 yrs exp. Req 4 yrs dev iOS apps w/Objective C & with Git; 2 yrs as tech lead/app architect; 5 yrs w/web techs HTML, CSS, & JavaScript; & 3 yrs in customer facing platform. Apply online www.usbank.com Req 180046606.

SYSTEMS ANALYST The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Systems Analyst in the Information Technology Department. Applicant will need to be knowledgeable and capable to apply the principles and techniques of various programming languages, database, computer programming, on-line programming and programming documentation. Additional skillsets include systems analysis and design techniques, such as database normalization, business analysis, workflow procedure, modular programming, stored procedures, and interface with operating system. Our technology environment consists of MS-SQL & Tools, Superion OneSolution CAD/RMS, CityView Permit, Licensing & Inspections, ERSI ArcGIS, Laserfiche and web software (Java, HTML, Adobe ColdFusion and Drupal).http://www. oak-park.us/ . Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application no later than February 8, 2019.

Application Developer I sought by PLS Financial Services, Inc.: Req BS in CS, EE, or Comp Eng & 3 yrs exp. as a .Net Developer performing software devp, customization, testing, and optimization projects using C#, ASP.NET, MVC, Entity Framework, LINQ, Web API, WCF, TFS, Git, ADO.NET, IIS, JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX, HTML and CSS. Position is in Oak Brook, IL. Mail CV to: Attn: Tracie Marcus, One South Wacker Drive, Floor 36, Chicago, IL 60606. EOE. COMMUNITY RELATIONS INTERN The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Community Relations Intern in the Community Relations Department. This is a seasonal position that will provide assistance to the Community Relations Department, provides intake and referral services for residents to community resources, assists in investigations of landlord/ tenant complaints, etc. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http:// www.oak-park.us/. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application no later than February 8, 2019. ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER PART-TIME Part-time Electrician’s Helper. Must have own transportation. Call for more info 708-738-3848. FULL TIME MAINTENANCE PERSON Downtown Chicago company looking for full time maintenance person. Good pay & benefits. Hours: Monday thru Friday, 7:30am to 4pm. If interested please call Tony at 312-942-2686 PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Parking Enforcement Officer in the Police Department Field Services Division. This position will perform a variety of duties and responsibilities involved in the enforcement of Village parking regulations; and to provide general information and assistance to the public. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http:// www.oak-park.us/. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application no later than January 25, 2019.

Selling your home by owner? Advertise in Wednesday Classified! Call: 708-613-3342

TEMPORARY RECEPTIONIST CPA firm in Oak Park looking to hire a temporary receptionist. Training to start as soon as possible, full-time hours until the end of April. Please send resumes to nicolehorras@ zscpa.com VISION THERAPIST (PT) Vision Therapist(PT) Late afternoon/evening hours (weekdays). Possible Saturdays. Work one on one with patients(typically children) to improve vision skills. Training provided. River Forest Optometrist– Fax resumes to 708-771-0513. No Calls.

SUBURBAN RENTALS

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT

2BR OAK PARK GARDEN APT 2BR Garden Apt near Longfellow School. Freshly decorated w/ hdwd floor, tiled bath and beautiful backyard. Rent includes heat, private parking, and washer/dryer on premises. $1300 plus 1 mo. security deposit. Background Check required. call 847-561-2677

OAK PARK PRIVATE OFFICE Private office (approx. 100 sf) for lease at 1100 Lake Street, Oak Park. Includes high speed Wi-Fi; coffee, tea and water service; nightly cleaning; corporate-style conference room; reception area; desk & chair. Parking in attached garage (with covered access to building) is free for first 1.5 hours or purchase monthly pass from VOP. $375/ month. Includes heat, AC, electric. Available now. Call 708-432-5703. For pictures and more info, search 6786092691 on Craigslist.

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 Large Sunny Room with fridge & microwave. Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $101.00 week & up. New Mgmt. 773-378-8888

SUBURBAN RENTALS

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 room. Call or email with questions. Shown on Sundays. Lee 708.383.0729 drlmadden@ameritech.net

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

GENEALOGY SERVICES

property management, inc.

708-386-7355 • www.mmpropmgt.com 649 Madison Street, Oak Park Oak Park: Studios, 1, 2 & 3 BR from $825 - $2,100 Forest Park: Studios, 1, 2 & 3 BR from $795 - $1,850

Apartment listings updated daily at:

Family History Research Helping You Get Started Getting Through Brick Walls

708-417-1241 abbyschmelling@gmail.com

PETS While you’re away, your pets are okay . . . at home

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.

Ceiling Fans Installed

cat calls

Oak Park’s Original Pet Care Service – Since 1986

Daily dog exercising Complete pet care in your home )PVTF TJUUJOH t 1MBOU DBSF Bonded References

524-1030

You have jobs. We have readers!

Find the best employees with Wednesday Classified! Call 708-613-3342.

HEATING/ AIR CONDITIONING

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

We make service calls! We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs 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

CLEANING

HANDYMAN

Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

Pam’s A+ Cleaning Service

Mike’s Home Repair

FLOORS

708-296-2060

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

Fall is here! Time to make a change? Take a moment to preview our detailed cleaning. For a free esimate please call 708-937-9110

KLIS FLOORING INC.

New hardwood flooring installation & pergo. Sanding, re-finishing, staining. Low prices, insured. Call: 773-671-4996 www.klisflooring.com

GARAGE/GARAGE DOOR

Abby Schmelling Genealogy Support Services

M&M

ELECTRICAL

Our 71st Year

Garage Doors &

Electric Door Openers

Sales & Service Free Estimates

(708) 652-9415 www.forestdoor.com

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

FREE ESTIMATES Excellent References No Job Too Small

708-488-9411

%,%#42)#!, (!.$9-!. 3%26)#%3 !LL 4YPES OF (OME 2EPAIRS 2EPAIRS )NSTALLATIONS 0ROFESSIONAL 1UALITY 7ORK !T 2EASONABLE 0RICES 0ROMPT 3ERVICE 3MALL *OBS A 3PECIALTY

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

HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs • Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates

773-732-2263 Ask for John

HAULING

708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000

ORGANIZING PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER Home organizer. Reasonable rates and privacy assured. Send contact info to Organizher c/o Hollywood Citizens Assoc P.O. Box 262 Brookfield, IL 60513

PAINTING & DECORATING

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

Find more Homeimprovement Pros on the next page.

CLASSIC PAINTING

Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

PLUMBING

708.749.0011

PLUMBING

A-All American

Plumbing & Sewer Service FREE ESTIMATES Service in 1 Hour in Most Cases

All Work Guaranteed Lowest Prices Guaranteed FREE Video Inspection with Sewer Rodding /P +PC 5PP -BSHF t /P +PC 5PP 4NBMM Family Owned & Operated

t Lic. #0967

Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

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PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE INVITATION FOR BID Showalter House 324-26 N. AUSTIN BOULEVARD Proposals will be received by the Oak Park Housing Authority at 21 South Boulevard, Oak Park, IL 60302 until 2:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019. Bid packages received will be opened on January 25th 2019. The sealed bid will be received for the following project; Remodeling of 324-26 N. Austin Boulevard (Showalter House), Oak Park, Illinois, including selective demolition, gypsum board partitions, doors and frames, ceramic tile flooring, cabinets, counter tops, toilet fixtures, toilet accessories, light fixtures, painting and other work described in the Bid Documents. Prospective bidders must be an IDPH Licensed Lead Abatement/ Mitigation contractor or have subcontractors performing the work that are certified. Bid Documents will be available from Jerry Gawlik, Oak Park Residence Corporation, 21 South Boulevard, Oak Park, (708) 386-6061. Bidders are urged but not required to attend a pre-bid meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 16th. to familiarize them with the project. Bids must be in a sealed envelope and clearly marked with job being bid. The Oak Park Housing Authority reserves the right to award the contract in its best interests, to reject any or all proposals, and to waive informalities in bidding. This project is assisted with funds received from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funds are Community Development Block Grant funds administered by the Village of Oak Park and subject to Federal Regulations including Fair Labor, Lead Based Paint (24 CFR Part 35) and Equal Opportunity requirements. A Performance Bond will be required for the general contractor to whom the project is awarded if the contract sum exceeds $100,000. Jerry Gawlik Director of Property Management (630) 240-4858 Published in Wednesday Journal 1/09/2019

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO BIDDERS VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD JANUARY 9, 2019 NOTICE is hereby given by the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Brookfield, Illinois that bid proposals will be received for the following project: 3415 MAPLE AVENUE– DEMOLITION AND ASBESTOS ABATEMENT Sealed bids will be received by mail or delivered in person up to 3:00 PM on January 22, 2019 in the Office of the Village Manager, Village of Brookfield, 8820 Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield IL 60513. Said bids will be publicly opened and read at that time. Bids delivered in person will be accepted weekdays between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. only. Bidding documents are available for a nonrefundable fee of $20.00 from the website: www.clarkdietz. com. You may access the document by clicking on the “bidding documents” icon located at the top of the page, then selecting “browse projects” to find the “Village of Brookfield–Demolition and Asbestos Abatement-3415 Maple Avenue” bid documents. Please complete a free membership registration to Quest. Contact Clark Dietz at (630) 607-1513 if you have any questions regarding the registration or the download process. No bidding documents will be issued after 4:30 P.M. on January 16, 2019. All bid proposals offered must be accompanied by a bid bond in an amount not be less than Five Percent (5%) of the total amount of the bid or a cashier’s check or certified check, made payable to the Order of the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Brookfield and in an amount not less than Five Percent (5%) of the total amount of the bid, as a guarantee that if the bid proposal is accepted, a contract will be entered into and the performance of the contract properly secured. No bid proposal shall be considered unless accompanied by such bid bond or check. Any bidder in doubt as to the true meaning of any part of the bidding documents may request an interpretation thereof from the Village. The bidder requesting the interpretation shall be responsible for its prompt delivery. The Contractor and Subcontractor shall comply with all regulations issued pursuant to Prevailing Wage Act (820 ILCS 130), and other applicable Federal Laws and regulations pertaining to labor standards. The Village of Brookfield reserves the rights to determine the lowest, responsive, responsible bidder, to waive irregularities, and to reject any or all bid proposals. BY ORDER THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD, ILLINOIS Published in RB Landmark 1/09/2019

Starting a New Business? Publish Your Assumed Name Legal Notice here! Call for details: 708/613-3342

PUBLIC NOTICES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING THE INTENT OF THE BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS OF THE PARK DISTRICT OF FOREST PARK, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TO SELL NOT TO EXCEED $600,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION LIMITED TAX PARK BONDS PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Park District of Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois (the “District”), will hold a public hearing on the 17th day of January, 2019, at 6:00 o’clock P.M. The hearing will be held in the Board Room of the Administration Building, 7501 Harrison Street, Forest Park, Illinois. The purpose of the hearing will be to receive public comments on the proposal to sell bonds of the District in an amount not to exceed $600,000 for the payment of land condemned or purchased for parks, for the building, maintaining, improving and protecting of the same and the existing land and facilities of the District and for the payment of the expenses incident thereto. By order of the President of the Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois. DATED the 27th day of December, 2018. Jackie Iovinelli Secretary, Board of Park Commissioners, Park District of Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois Published in Forest Park Review 1/9/2019

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids at the Public Works Service Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, until 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 18th, 2019 for the following BID 19-106 VILLAGE OF OAK PARK 2019 EMERGENCY STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL REPAIR REQUEST FOR PRICES Bid forms may be obtained from the Public Works Customer Service Center by calling 708-3585700 or by stopping by the office located at 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Information is also available from the Streets Superintendent, Scott Brinkman, sbrinkman@oak-park. us or on the Village’s website http://www.oak-park.us/yourgovernment/finance-department. The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue proposal documents and specifications only to those vendors deemed qualified. No proposal documents will be issued after 4:00 p.m. on the working day preceding the date of proposal opening. For more information call the Public Works Service Center at 708.358.5700. THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK Published in Wednesday Journal 1/9/2019

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION Plaintiff, -v.MARK E. HACKER, 215 MARENGO CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION Defendants 17 CH 06287 215 MARENGO AVE., APT 6-F 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 November 14, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on February 15, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 215 MARENGO AVE., APT 6-F, FOREST PARK, IL 60130 Property Index No. 15-12-426-0241038. The real estate is improved with a residential condominium. The judgment amount was $114,747.29. 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 in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. 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, contact Plaintiff’s attorney: HEAVNER, BEYERS

& MIHLAR, LLC, 111 East Main Street, DECATUR, IL 62523, (217) 422-1719 Please refer to file number 2120-13570. If the sale is not confirmed for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the purchase price paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee’s attorney. 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. HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC 111 East Main Street DECATUR, IL 62523 (217) 422-1719 Fax #: (217) 422-1754 CookPleadings@hsbattys.com Attorney File No. 2120-13570 Attorney Code. 40387 Case Number: 17 CH 06287 TJSC#: 38-8963 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. I3106468

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 December 18, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 31, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 209 DIVISION STREET, Oak Park, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-05-303-0190000; 16-05-303-020-0000. The real estate is improved with a single family residence. The judgment amount was $456,818.69. 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, contact Plaintiff’s attorney: JOHNSON, BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES, LLC, 230 W. Monroe Street, Suite #1125,

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION RMAC LENDING, LLC Plaintiff, -v.MI CASA ENTERPRISE, LTD, D’VILLEGAS, HOUSEFACTS INC. Defendants 2018 CH 10415 209 DIVISION STREET Oak Park,

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WANTED TO BUY TOP CASH PAID! FOR OLD MOTORCYCLES! 1900-1979 Dead or Alive 1-888-800-1932 FREON R12 WANTED: CERTIFIED BUYER will PAY CA$H for R12 cylinders or cases of cans. (312) 291-9169; www.refrigerantfinders.com

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 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

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Chicago, IL 60606, (312) 541-9710 Please refer to file number 18-1058. 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. 18-1058 Attorney Code. 40342 Case Number: 2018 CH 10415 TJSC#: 38-9909 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. I3108701

tial 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 or contact Plaintiff’s attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876 Please refer to file number 14-13-31429. 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. 14-13-31429 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 13 CH 027299 TJSC#: 38-9058 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. I3108981

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 or contact Plaintiff’s attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876 Please refer to file number 14-18-02388. 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. 14-18-02388 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2018 CH 03645 TJSC#: 38-7981 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. I3108819

GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-06-403-023. Commonly known as 815 NORTH EAST AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302. The mortgaged real estate is improved with a commercial building. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. For information call Mr. Ira T. Nevel at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Law Offices of Ira T. Nevel, 175 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. (312) 357-1125. 18-00922 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3109306

FUND SOCIETY, FSB, D/B/A CHRISTIANA TRUST, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT AS TRUSTEE FOR PRETIUM MORTGAGE ACQUISITION TRUST Plaintiff, -v.LINDA F. COLE Defendants 10 CH 36911 208 LE MOYNE PARKWAY 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 March 13, 2017, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on February 15, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 208 LE MOYNE PARKWAY, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-05-102-0290000. The real estate is improved with a single family residence. The judgment amount was $474,475.34. 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, contact Plaintiff’s attorney: HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC, 111 East Main Street, DECATUR, IL 62523, (217) 422-1719 Please refer to file number 2120-9146–FT. If the sale is not confirmed for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the purchase price paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee’s attorney. 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. HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC 111 East Main Street DECATUR, IL 62523 (217) 422-1719 Fax #: (217) 422-1754 CookPleadings@hsbattys.com Attorney File No. 2120-9146–FT Attorney Code. 40387 Case Number: 10 CH 36911 TJSC#: 38-9898 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. I3109170

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION Plaintiff, -v.JOHN B. BERGEN, ANNE BERGEN A/K/A ANNE MATERN BERGEN, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NA, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 13 CH 027299 128 S. LOMBARD AVENUE 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 November 14, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on February 20, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 128 S. LOMBARD AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-08-303-008. 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 residen-

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR BANC OF AMERICA ALTERNATIVE LOAN TRUST 2006-3 MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-3 Plaintiff, -v.GLADYS MYERS, BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., THE BOARDWALK CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION OF FOREST PARK, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF NELLIE A. TERRY, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, TIMOTHY CONNER, CARY ROSENTHAL, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NELLIE A. TERRY (DECEASED) Defendants 2018 CH 03645 235 MARENGO AVENUE #6E 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 1, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on February 15, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 235 MARENGO AVENUE #6E, FOREST PARK, IL 60130 Property Index No. 15-12-434-0441069. The real estate is improved with a condo/townhouse. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by

Attention! Home-improvement pros! Reach the people making decisions–your target demographic. Advertise here. Call 708/613-3342.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION LOAN FUNDER LLC, SERIES 1699; Plaintiff, vs. ECHELON REALTY INVESTMENTS CORP., SERENA G.VICTOR; VILLAGE OF OAK PARK; ALFONZO AND MANGELSON GROUP, INC. AKA AAMG FINANCE; Defendants, 18 CH 5978 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR CARISBROOK ASSET HOLDING TRUST; Plaintiff, vs. CARMELLA BROWN; SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF CARMELLA BROWN, IF ANY; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 17 CH 3789 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-21-216-044-0000 Vol. 0170. Commonly known as 1523 Bristol Avenue, Westchester, IL 60154. The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. For information call Law Clerk at Plaintiff’s Attorney, The Wirbicki Law Group, 33 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603. (312) 3609455. W17-0106 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3109298 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION WILMINGTON SAVINGS

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act., which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informedthat all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777. WEDNESDAY JOURNAL Forest Park Review, Landmark

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Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

INC., REALTOR

19

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

904 ELGIN

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D L O S

This top-to-bottom renovation offers the perfect marriage of high end updates and original charm. The attention to detail starts in the entryway with hand restored vintage wallpaper which leads to a gracious foyer, open living room, dining room and gourmet kitchen; all rehabbed with impeccable attention to detail. Custom built-ins compliment restored original woodwork on every floor. Large fenced in back yard with a new 2 car garage. ................................................................................. $777,500

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Two bedroom, One bath A vintage cottage set on a country like lot with it's mature pine trees and decorative tile work on the front columns and decorative corbels. This one owner home has withstood the test of time. Meticulously maintained, the home was converted to all electric in 1960. At this time, unlike almost all bungalows, every wall was opened up and insulated. A modern touch of space pac central air was installed. The present owner maintained a temperature of 72 degrees in the winter and 70 degrees in the summer. The average bill for heat, AC, hot water domestic elect. was $161 per month. It is understood from the current owner that there is oak flooring throughout the living room, dining room, and of course the bedrooms. The basement has surprisingly high ceiling height and is ready for the finishing touch. Also ready to be finished is the large open attic space. .. $ 229,900

1016 CIRCLE AVENUE little

Georgian needs your R E ideas and love! Jump D in at this price and UN RACT right add your creativity to T this little two bedroom CON one bath charmer. Living

room, eat in kitchen on the first floor and two bedrooms plus bath on the second floor. There is also an unfinished basement. Super lovely and private yard plus two car garage! Very close to blue line "L" stop, Forest Park aquatic center, brand new fitness center and tennis courts! .....................................................................................$179,900

D L SO

Six year young remodel top to bottom! Three bedrooms on the main floor and one in the fully finished basement. NEW plumbing/windows/HVAC/electric/and two car garage in 2012! Totally refinished kitchens and bathrooms! Granite counter tops, stone back splash, custom trim work. Just one block to the amazing park district tennis courts, aquatic center, and brand new fitness center! A short walk to the blue line "L" stop and downtown shopping, restaurants and night life! ......................................................................... $269,000

Excellence.. It’s quality health care for your entire family, close to home. Excellence is just the beginning.

317 ELGIN NEW LISTING! 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

CE I R P D E C U RED

7449 WASHINGTON

631 MARENGO

TWO BEDROOM 1.1 BATHROOMS. Kitchen remodeled 4 years ago, baths were updated with ceramic floors and tub surround bedrooms and living room are carpeted. Two sleeve A/C units . Newer kitchen appliances. Covered parking. Close to Madison business district restaurants and shops. ....................................................................................... $121,000

IT DOES NOT GET MUCH BETTER than this home! A true Forest Park gem that checks everything off of your wish list. Highlights include: walkable to everything the area has to offer, seemingly endless storage options, 4 large bedrooms on the 2nd floor, high ceilings, wide staircase, second floor laundry, full basement, brand new wood windows, brand new over-sized garage, hardwood floors, crown molding, granite, marble, stainless steel appliances, and 42" kitchen cabinets in eat in kitchen! This home is turn key and ready for new owners! $549,000

DER UN RACT T CON

Rush Oak Park Physicians Group welcomes three new physicians to Rush Oak Park Hospital From routine care to reducing your risk of disease, these compassionate, highly skilled doctors can help you get — and stay — healthy for life.

Amita Goyal, MD Internal medicine

• • •

Alexander Neuman, DO Family medicine

Accepting new patients Convenient same-day appointments Free valet parking

Call (708) 660-4636 today to schedule your flu shot or exam with one of our new providers.

Nikita Patel, DO Family medicine

20

Forest Park Review, January 9, 2019

In The Village, Realtors®

Harry Walsh, Managing Broker

Mike Becker

Oak Park • $728,800 4BR, 2.1BA Call Kyra x145

Oak Park • $725,000 4BR, 2.2BA Call Roz x112

Oak Park • $639,998 4BR, 4.1BA Call Keri x127

Oak Park • $469,000 3BR, 3BA Call Roz x112

Roz Byrne Joelle Venzera

Tom Byrne

Forest Park • $439,900 Multi unit Call Joe x117

Forest Park • $349,000 3BR, 4BA Call Harry x116

Oak Park • $424,500 2BR, 2.1BA Call Elissa x192

Berwyn • $315,000 Multi unit Call Laurie x186 Kris Sagan

Laurie Christofano

Oak Park • $269,800 3BR, 2.1BA Call Kyra x145

Elmhurst • $265,000 3BR, 2BA Call Roz x112

Linda Rooney

Marion Digre

623 N Lombard Ave, Oak Park Morgan Digre

Ed Goodwin

Forest Park • $150,000 3BR, 2BA Call Marion x111

Joe Langley

$375,000 • 3BR, 1.1BA

Oak Park • $110,000 1BR, 1BA Call Mike x120

Jane McClelland

Kyra Pych

Call Kyra x145

Keri Meacham

Mary Murphy

Steve Nasralla

Elissa Palermo