By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter
By JESSICA MORDACQ porter
assed its most recent financial audit, officials say the village hasn’t ment in financial stability, rsation about avenues of new
9 council meeting, Lauterbach and Amen presented its annual audit of Forest . While the village passed, commissioners questioned just how serious its eneral fund this year — or money from taxes, fees and grants that are used for daily operational costs — decreased by
Leaders of an Oak Park music school have raised over $4,000 in community donations to support immigrant sta members
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
When two staf f members at an Oak Park music school abruptly stopped re porting for their shifts as the presence of immigration officers in the village grew, management at the school took notice.
School of Rock Oak Park soon learned that the two staf f members had stopped coming to work because they feared they’d be detained and deported as the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Midway Blitz mass deportation ef fort began ramping up in Chicagoland last year. Now, the music school has organized an ongoing fundraiser to benefit the staf f members, who are remaining anonymous, and their families, according to Amy Renzulli, the school’s owner.
The staffers didn’t ask for the fundraiser, and it took some convincing for them to accept the money, Renzulli said. Over its first two weeks, the fundraiser generated over $4,000 in community donations to support them.
“They’re proud, they have families, they want to work, they don’t want to have to rely on other people’s generosity, but they’re grateful,” Renzulli said
The school had also ke pt paying the staffers their wages, Renzulli said.
“We ke pt paying them while they were out,” she said. “It wasn’t that much money but it was something we could do.
Renzulli said the school had run fundraisers in the past to support staf f who’d lost their homes in fires and navigated serious health diagnoses, so leaning on the school’s community to help support staf f members missing work due to fear of deportation came naturally.
“I find that a lot of people are asking ‘what can I do’ and ‘how can I help,” she
said. “I think I’ve tried to do what I can with the resources that I have. And when I say resources I really don’t mean money, I mean the community that we’ve built.”
In addition to the two staffers, the school, which provides music education and perfor mance opportunities to children, teens and adults, has likely lost some students as fear of deportation intensified among area immigrants last year, she said. The school, run for the last 13 years out of a solid concrete building on Lake Street that used to house a roofing company, adopted a buzz-in door lock system years ago, which Renzulli said she’s thankful for after seeing images of immigration agents entering childcare facilities and local businesses to detain people.
As the fundraiser continues, Renzulli said she wants the school to continue fostering a safe, welcoming community for all.
“When you’re here, harmonizing, singing with each other, those are good vibrations and it can counteract what’s happening outside,” she said. “This building is a fortress and it’s a shelter and it’s a place that I think is really important right now.”
The following property transfers were re ported by the Cook County Clerk from November 2025. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the clerk.
500 Circle Ave
103 Des Plaines Ave
616 Circle Ave
617 Harlem Ave
1013 Ferdinand Ave
941 Marengo Ave
$950,000500 Cir Ave Llc Black Christopher
$575,000 Segal Tara K Frey Erin N
$499,000 Gordon Michael Serna Elizabeth Rojas
$475,000Reyes Frandizon JohnHarrell Tai A
$470,000 Franco Morelia Inc Strousse Teresa
$467,500 Starks Bernard Ronning-Arnesen Even
7204 13th St $450,000 Carpio Nicolas TrKeys At Fp Llc
7321 W 14th St $450,000 Virginia G Carpio Trust Keys At Fp Llc
627 Harlem Ave
$450,000 Gandol Anne E Castillo Curtis
1008 Lathrop Ave $450,000 Weatherford Laura L Salinas Christopher
540 Ferdinand Ave $440,000Mattax Elizabeth RoseReyes Antonio
1434 Circle Ave $410,000 Community Loan Servicing Llc Gallagher John
7501 Brown Ave $400,000 Willne Paul G Ott Beth Q Tr
1113 Elgin Ave $392,500 Lund Robert G TrArias Iii Gilberto
7241 Franklin St $379,000Ryu Andrew J Macroy Patrick Michael
1115 Ferdinand Ave $350,000 Doss John L Czopek Jeremy
930 Marengo Ave $337,000 Schultz Ronald L Hein Timothy P
1024 Ferdinand Ave $302,500 Wildcat Prop Invesments Llc Doss Alyssa
812 Thomas Ave $207,000 White Jennifer A Teruel Richard Aaron 1118 Thomas Ave $200,000Grandview Cap Llc Emr Cap Llc
7428 Washington Blvd $200,000 Chinn Michael Sanchez Diego
215 Marengo Ave $170,000 Quimbaya Luis F Baer Bethany L
7428 Washington Blvd $165,000 Guerrero Yessica Mendez Marlena A
7251 Randolph St$161,000Mcluen Dennis P De Arias Rosalva Martinez
300 Circle Ave
$158,000 Brown-Mister Tina R Kucheras Dmytro
320 Circle Ave $126,000 Terrado Mark AnthonyFernandez Abril Cano
7432 Washington St$118,500Mathew BennyAmbika Padmagirish Chandrasekharan
7301 Dixon St
$102,500 Calvo Marina Davalos Alvaro R
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$2.8 million in television ads supporting Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in the March 17 Democratic primary. That commitment far surpasses the spending of any of the 13 other candidates in the race, many of whom condemn the Super PAC money.
T he cash infusion could give ConyearsErvin an edge in the race but might also raise concerns among some voters.
T he first Conyears-Ervin ad paid for by UDP praises Conyears-Ervin as someone who understands the issues facing the voters of the 7th District and makes no mention of Israel, the Middle East or foreign policy
State Re p. La Shawn Ford, who has been endorsed by Davis to succeed him, said he had held discussions with re presentatives from UDP, including an in-person meeting last month. But Ford said he was unwilling to commit to suppo rting unconditional aid to Israel which was, he says, the requirement to get support from UDP
“I’ve also had meetings with the very people that’s spending this money,” Ford said. “They want you to say ‘yes’ to everything that they have requests for. T here’s no gray lines as it relates to their beliefs. It’s a yes or no. .... Don’t have a conversation; that this is what we want. We want you to vote with us in Washington 100% of the time, and we want to control our member, and that’s what this is about. And I refused that type of relationship. My relationship will, and always has been, to the constituents and re presenting the needs of the district.”
Anabel Mendoza, a self-proclaimed progressive candidate, said the Super PAC funding “is disgraceful. We’ve seen how AIPAC has infiltrated elections all across the country. Now they’re setting their sights on Illinois 7th District, that this seat is for sale. AIPAC and their shell PACs
have poured millions of dollars of dark money into our elections. And their goal is really simple. It’s simple, but it’s also insidious. It’s to buy seats. T hey want to be able to control who is in those seats, and they want to do so so they can bankroll g enocide and war crimes and violence and that is something that I will always stand against. So I think it is a disgrace that AIPAC is g etting involved and that there is a candidate in this race who is willing to sell out their values.”
Kina Collins ran unsuccessfully ag ainst Danny Davis in 2020, 2022 and 2024. She’s r unning again this year, again as a progressive candidate.
“This is not the first time that AIPAC has eyed this seat, as some folks would know,” Collins said. “They came in the 2024 race, and I was actually the only candidate in the entire state of Illinois that AIPAC spent money against, opposing. And I think that this is a perfect example of why we need campaign finance reform in our country.”
“I think it exposes the type of campaign that Melissa Conyears-Ervin is willing to r un,” Collins added. “It is not going to help her case that AIPAC is backing her.”
Ford said the UDP spending on behalf of Conyears-Ervin is an attempt by a special interest group to buy the election.
“This money dwarfs, or tries to dwarf, the voice of the voters in the 7th Congressional District, and it would tell you immediately who this candidate will be beholden to, follow the money,” Ford said. “This is them buying their candidate, literally.”
Ford said that he didn’t believe that the tactic would work. “It’s not a district that’s for sale,” he said.
In a statement issued by her campaign, Conyears-Ervin said that, if elected, she will work “to g et all dark money out of politics.” She said she had traveled to Israel and has seen threats it faces on its borders while also saying, “I believe the United States must do more to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” She said that if elected “nobody will tell me how to
7th District Congressional candidate Melissa Conyears-Erv
Oak Park Public Library
vote.”
Up until AIPAC announced its spending on Conyears-Ervin, it was widely believed that most pro-Israel donors connected with AIPAC were supporting Jason F riedman, a Jewish candidate in the race. According to an article in the left-leaning American Prospect magazine, more than 35 people who are donors to AIPAC contributed approximately $140,000 to F riedman’s campaign last year
T he American Prospect also re ported that AIPAC helped org anize online fundraisers for both Conyears-Ervin and F riedman, sponsored by something called Pro-Israel Network.
But now it appears that AIPAC’s related PAC, UDP, has shifted its support to Conyears-Ervin. F riedman’s campaign issued a statement Wednesday responding to rumors that he was being pressured to drop out of the race.
“I joined this race to fight and deliver results for everyone,” F riedman said in
a statement released by his campaign.
“The people of the 7th District deserve a re presentative with inte g rity, not career politicians with ethical baggage who sell out their constituents to the highest bidder. I won’ t be bullied, and I won’ t back down from doing what’s right -- not now, not ever.”
Reed Showalter, another progressive candidate in the race, has staked out a very anti-AIPAC and pro-Palestinian posture. He also condemned the UDP spending in support of Conyears-Ervin
“They are trying to buy a moderate who will fund continuing g enocide and war crimes overseas with just a wall of cash at the end that is going to say nothing about what her record or her positions on the Middle East are and entirely an attempt to buy their way into a member who will kowtow to everything they want to see,” Showalter said in a video posted to his campaign Insta gram account. “This is what co rr uption looks like.”
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
After the Forest Park Fire Department had to retire its ladder truck last year, at a recent structure fire in Forest Park, a mutual aid fire truck company was delayed. So Forest Park firefighters had to rescue a resident from a third-story window with a ground ladder, set at an unsafe angle against the burning home, according to Forest Park Fire Chief Lindsey Hankus
While that rescue was successful, it demonstrated the dangerous position the fire department is in following the retirement ofits ladder truck after 22 years ofservice because of its structural and mechanical failure.
Village commissioners unanimously approved to waive the bidding process for a new truck at the Feb. 9 council meeting, so that Forest Park can get a production slot for the vehicle — even though it won’t be delivered until September 2027. They also approved a $1.5 million loan from the Forest Park National Bank to buy the new ladder
truck, which will cost $2.5 million, according to a proposal for the purchase
According to the approved ordinances, there are a limited number offire trucks that will be manufactured in the next two years. In order to get one ofthese vehicles, the village bypassed the bidding process to OK the purchase ofa 100-foot ladder truck from MacQueen Equipment and agreed upon a large loan from the area bank.
“Forest Park Bank, our local community bank, because ofthe village’s relationship with them, was able to turn this around very quickly for us,” Village Administrator Rachell Entler said at the meeting. “This is certainly something that they knew was important to the village, and they made this happen in a way that a larger bank might not have.”
According to the ordinance authorizing the loan, the village will borrow the $1.5 million in about 18 months, when it gets the new fire truck. From that time, the loan must be paid back within 10 years. The rate ofthe loan will be based on the 10-year constant maturity U.S. Treasury Rate plus 2%, then multiplied by 0.7 to arrive at a tax-free rate
Ahead ofthe Feb. 9 council meeting, the Forest Park Fire Department sent commissioners its annual report for 2025.
Last year, the fire department experienced the highest number of calls in its history at 4,742 calls, 250 more than the prior year. In comparison, fire departments for River Forest and North Riverside — both of which have smaller populations than Forest Park — each had under 3,000 calls last year
In 2025, only 55 ofthe Forest Park Fire Department’s calls were for fires and over half were for emergency medical services. There were 540 calls to respond to the CTA Blue Line ter minus at 711 Des Plaines Ave.
According to the report, the fire department swore in two new members last year, but recruiting firefighters remains a challenge. The fire department’s facilities also need to be updated.
“The fire department continues to do a
really great job and serve this community, but it is not without a lot ofpressure on the members ofthe fire department, and there are a lot of challenges,” Commissioner Maria Maxham said during the Feb. 9 meeting Commissioner Michelle Melin-Rogovin also thanked the department for the report and Hankus for providing data to commissioners so they can advocate in Springfield on her department’s behalf.
“Our fire department is the second-busiest, single-house department in the State of Illinois,” Melin-Rogovin said, putting the number of calls in perspective. “The dedication ofour personnel is noted and appreciated by me, and I look forward to continuing to advocate for the services that our fire department needs with my colleagues.”
orest Home Cemetery is the final resting place of royalty. Buried here is Steve John, referred to as the “King of All the Gypsies.” John was a monarch who ruled over an estimated 50,000 Romany “subjects” in the United States. While John’s followers were U.S. citizens, they often deferred to John to settle disputes among themselves. An imposing figure with striking white hair, long side whiskers, and a distinctive white mustache, John traveled extensively to administer justice among the Romany community
He was born in 1861 and died in 1926. While John sometimes told authorities he was Brazilian, it is believed that he was born in Serbia. He and his wife, Queen Marie, had seven sons and five daughters. John said that he was the “seventh son ofa seventh son,” which endowed him with special powers.
Life for the Johns was eventful. In 1908, John and his wife were fined in Chicago for animal cruelty after they were seen dragging two exhausted greyhounds behind a “gypsy” wagon. The newspaper re port made a point ofmentioning that John paid the $50 fine from a “large roll of bills.”
In 1911, John was wanted in North Carolina for perjury. He was said to have lied to a judge about the kidnapping ofhis daughter, Flora, by the brother of a man who was a pretender to his throne. John said that the man had “enticed” his 16-year-old daughter away from home. But the man testified that John was lying about Flora’s age, that they had been married with John’s approval after he had paid John $3,000, plus the plus $250 for the mar riage feast. John avoided being sent to
By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Eats Reporter
Todd & Holland Tea Merchants understand that this time of the year calls for something warm in your hands to get through the dregs of winter.
Owner Laurie Jackson is happy to introduce people to tea, beyond the boxed teabag, at her Forest Park store at 7311 Madison St. The shelves are filled with black, oolong, green caffeinated teas and many herbals too.
“One thing we try to stress here is education and a lot of people focus on the tea ceremony,” Jackson said.
“There are different types of ceremonies, but what they all have in common is that the point is to sit down, to stop, slow down, think very deliberately about what you’re doing, about your day, about whatever it is that you want to.”
with the caffeine you need to achieve, but relaxing with a high-quality cup can be a ritual that brings more to the table.
Her shelves are full. A quick overview of the selection includes Jasmine pearls, Moroccan mint, champagne raspberry, orchid oolong, gunpowder pinhead extrafine, chamomile, rooibos and honeybush varieties. From around the world comes Assams, Ceylons, Darjeelings, senchas and more
When tea-curious customers come in, the staf f usually suggests a flavored tea to start of f. Todd & Holland’s original spice tea blend, with a cinnamon and orange profile, is often a first pour.
“It was the tea that started the business. It outsells every single lot of our teas,” Jackson said.
All true teas come from one plant, camelia sinensis. White, green, oolong, black and even matcha are all variations on that one leaf. The difference is made in how it’s processed and the amount of oxidation allowed. A vital thing to know is how to brew each.
perature, 170-185 de grees. Same thing with oolongs, and the blacks and the herbals are at 212 de grees. So if you put a green tea in 212 de grees boiling water, it tends to taste bitter. Green tea is a very fast stee p, like two minutes. Black tea will start to get a little bitter after five or six minutes. Herbal tea could be 10, 15 minutes and you’ll be fine. The longer you steep it, the more flavoring it infuses,” Jackson said.
Many people come into the store to explore the health benefits of tea. Jackson said she and the staf f are not equipped to dispense medical advice, but they do refer serious inquiries to Larrabee Herbs in Elmwood Park
“They have herbalists there. They’ll be able to say if you should focus on this herb or that herb. Then [Todd & Holland] can come and say, okay, this tea will meet those requirements,” Jackson said.
In addition to teas, herbal and non-caffeinated rooibos blends, the emporium also carries plain elements, such as peppermint, hibiscus and lemongrass. Those can be added to their other teas to boost the flavor in an individualized way.
Owner Laurie Jackson
teas have become popular, especially ones featuring their smoked teas. Desserts flavored with matcha have also taken of f too.
She has nothing against a morning cup
“Green tea is brewed at a very low tem-
But wait, what about a refreshing iced tea?
“A lot of the herbal teas, which are called tisanes, they are naturally caffeine. The same thing with the rooibos tea, which is red bush tea from South Africa. They all make for a nice cold brew. You can just take the pouch, drop it in with cold water overnight, and then the next morning you’ll have a pitcher,” Jackson said.
She also mentioned that mocktails using
“Tea is so versatile, whether you’re drinking it, whether you’re baking with it, or whether you’re just serving it on the side. It’s a very, very versatile drink,” Jackson said.
February 18, 2026
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
Editor’s note: Ahead of the March 17 primary, Growing Community Media is profiling the candidates running in the 7th congressional district in Illinois. Whoever wins the November election will succeed Rep. Danny Davis, who is retiring after nearly 30 years in the position. This week, GCM reported on Jazmin Robinson.
A senior-level human resources professional, Jazmin Robinson is running for Congress on her HEAL Act. It addresses the root causes of affordabilit and corruption with legislation for free health care and education, better access to gover nment, and a living wage — all paid by taxing the rich more.
“All candidates are kind of treating the symptoms of the dis ease, and I’m trying to cure Robinson said of the HEAL Act
health care, they’re paying a ton in childcare. Childcare is a mortgage payment.”
■ To amend access to government and fair markets by banning PACs and lobbyists
■ “If they have more influence on the government than the voter, that’s not a good thing,” Robinson said. “I’m the only candidate that I know of who’s only taking individual donations.” She cited a study done by Princeton University that shows how the bottom 90% of income earners have a near-zero impact on congressional policies
In her day job, Robinson builds and manages employee benefits, both nationally and globally. She protects workers’ rights and enforces fair treatment of employees by negotiating with vendors for medical, dental and vision insurance. She also deals with large insurance companies that deny employee claims and helps to educate employees when there are changes “I basically do the work of Congress in the private sector,” Robinson said. Robinson is focusing on leveraging obscure laws and identifying specific ways Congress can improve through her HEAL Act. It promises:
■ Free, quality universal health care
■ Free education. Some states offer free preschool, which could be implemented on a national level to keep kids engaged and out of trouble, Robinson said. Attending trade schools used to be free, covered for students by state funding, and many public colleges were founded as tuition-free institutions.
■ “When I see other candidates say, ‘I’m going to do housing’ or ‘I’m going to help bring back child credits,’ that’s not the root cause. How about just free childcare? We can afford it,” Robinson said. “Why can’t people afford housing? Because they’re paying a ton in
■ Robinson also wants to break up monopolies by amending multi-milliondollar contracts that Congress awards to one company, rather than splitting it between smaller businesses.
■ Create a living wage of at least $25 per hour. If elected, Robinson wants to give credits to small businesses to help them grow and hire a grant director and coordinator in her office to help small businesses and nonprofits apply for grants
The HEAL Act could cost up to $3 trillion per year for the federal gover nment and save families up to $95,600 a year. Robinson said it could be funded by a fair tax plan, like the ones the United States had under Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower.
“We were kind of in the same situation that we’re in now, where we have the ultrawealthy and the poor. When they did that fair tax system, it created our middle class,” Robinson said.
About $2.2 trillion of the HEAL Act would be funded by having large corporations, millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in taxes. A similar amount is already spent on Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and could be redirected to fund free health care for everyone
After President Donald Trump was elected to a second term and passed the Big Beautiful Bill, Robinson was looking for ways to be more politically involved. She thought of the tens of thousands of people who are going to die because they can’t afford health care and said none of the candidates had strategies to address it
“The other thing that frustrates me is these candidates are, like, ‘I’m going to bring back money to the district.’ But how?” Robinson said.
She specifically cites community project funding, where every congressperson annually gets $10-to-20 million to improve their districts’ infrastructure, public safety and economic development. Robinson suggested using community project funding to replace lead pipes and invest in 7th district libraries and schools
She named federal surplus personal property donations as a way to get laptops, furniture and vehicles that the federal government is no longer using into the 7th district. She said, in the bills that could accomplish these things, legislators can write earmarks that dictate that resources must go to those who need them most.
Robinson said corruption in politics starts at the ballot box. Democratic and Republican candidates have to collect so many signatures to get on the ballot. According to Illinois Policy, independent candidates running for the U.S. House are, on average, required to collect nearly 18 times as many signatures as Democrats and 23 times as many as Republicans.
“That’s why there’s no independent candidates,” Robinson said. “You need a lot of money, you need a coalition, and honestly, it’s very hard to get right. Who made those rules? It’s our Illinois State Assembly. La Shawn Ford’s part of that.”
Robinson added that, once elected, congresspeople can join committees that help to progress legislation.
“I can draft a law, but if I don’t get on a committee, we don’t put it up and vote for it, it doesn’t move anywhere,” Robinson said.
Members of Congress are expected to pay party dues in order to be a part of certain committees, she said. Some committee taxes can climb to millions of dollars per ter m.
“Where are you going to get that money if you don’t have a bunch of high donors? They tell you to call those lobbyists, PACs and the wealthy to ask for donations to give to the party and then you can get on the committee. But if you don’t do what those donors say, they’re going to primary [challenge] you and kick you out.”
That’s why Robinson wants to ban PACs and lobbyists, who have so much influence over career politicians
“We need to stop voting for candidates that we like or that we see a lot of in the media. We got to look at the people who have less money and look at their policies,” Robinson said, along with their strategies. “You’re electing someone in probably one of the most important offices in the world that’s going to drastically impact your life.”
Aside from eliminating PACs and lobbyists, Robinson said she’d serve differently from Cong. Danny Davis by hosting quarterly town halls and educating voters more.
“That’s the biggest thing is educating my constituents and telling them what I’m doing for them. Because if I don’t show you proof that this is what we did, we brought in funds, they’re going to be like, ‘What are you doing for me?’”
When it comes to unfair politics in her personal life, Robinson said she’s not been invited to more than one forum for 7th district congressional candidates. She said she was kept out of two forums in December, one hosted by the Illinois Chapter of Physicians for a National Health Plan, National Nurses United, The People’s Lobby and ISPC and another hosted by Proviso Dems and Speaker of the Illinois House Emanuel “Chris” Welch. She said neither organization invited her to join the forum or responded when she asked to be included
Most recently, Robinson said she wasn’t invited to the Bellwood Chamber of Commerce’s forum this month because of concerns about space and safety. The Chamber later said she could attend.
“These organizations are really doing such a disservice to voters by gatekeeping and excluding candidates from forums and are violating IRS regulations too,” Robinson said in an email.
Other Democratic candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring for Davis’s seat include Richard Boykin, Kina Collins, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, David Elrich, Anthony Driver Jr., Dr. Thomas Fisher, La Shawn Ford, Jason Friedman, Rory Hoskins, Anabel Mendoza, Reed Showalter, and Felix Tello. Republican candidates are Chad Koppie and Patricia Easley.
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
The premier hunger prevention agency for Chicago’s West Side and near wester n suburbs cleared another hurdle in its bid to establish a new headquarters at a defunct grocery store site.
told Oak Park’s Zoning Board of Appeals at a hearing Feb. 11.
The zoning board approved the food pantry’s application unanimously. Beyond Hunger needed to go through Oak Park’s zoning approval process in order to operate a warehouse and distribution facility in Oak Park
The planned facility will feature 6,000 square feet for warehousing space support, a large parking lot and much more, according to Hull’s application to the zoning board.
“This space will include a large amount ofwarehouse space, a client focused community market that will look and feel like a grocery store, a drive thru for our online market program, storage and staging for our home delivery program, and a cooking classroom/kitchen for food demos and cooking classes as well as social services space for our benefits access coordinator who helps the community sign up for benefits like food stamps and medical services,” Hull said.
Beyond Hunger has served people out of its location in the basement of First United Church at 848 Lake St. for nearly 50 years. Helping well over 70,000 clients over the last year, the charity has outgrown that space, Hull said.
Oak Park-based Beyond Hunger, which provides hunger reliefto people across 13 zip codes in Chicago, Oak Park, Forest Park and several other West Cook suburbs, has applied for special-use zoning permission from the village to take over the vacant building at 6209 W. North Ave. The charity is on its way to purchasing the blighted former home to several grocery store chains and a fitness center to turn it into its permanent headquarters, according to Beyond Hunger CEO Jennie Hull.
“We’ve needed a new home to bring all our programming under one roof,” Hull
Right now Beyond Hunger’s office and pantry hours are 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturdays. It is open for donations from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
The charity is considering revisions to the schedule ofsome of its programming like its food box pick-up program and its market program so as not to increase traffic in the parking lot that might impact the surrounding area, Hull said.
Beyond Hunger’s application will go before Oak Park’s village board for final approval in the coming weeks.
SPRING BREAK CAMP: STAGE READY! (3/30-4/3)
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ave you ever wondered what would have happened if you didn’t quit lessons as a child? Which instrument would you still play? Which songs would you enjoy, and who would you play them for? So many adults carry a nostalgia for the music they once knew—or never quite learned.
imagination. And when we play it, listen to it, or simply let it move through us, we also receive real emotional, psychological, and physiological benefits. Music transcends language, age, and even time, because it lives on past us, carried forward in every life we touch along our own musical journey.
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SUMMER WEEK #6: AUDIO ENGINEERS JR. Camp (7/20-7/24)
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Studies show that music serves a purpose in life far greater than the music itself. It challenges us to develop discipline, resilience, perseverance, patience, selfawareness, collaboration, and
At Oak Park School of Music, we hope to foster lifelong musicians who find a love of music for music itself— and for the life lessons it offers each of us, and everyone whose lives we touch along the way.
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North Carolina by putting up a bond of $1,000 – which the newspaper pointed out had been paid in cash.
In 1922, a suspiciously similar situation occur red. Paraska, one of John’s other daughters, was chased cross-country for years by her father until she was found in Myrtle Springs, CA. John claimed that at the age of 12, Paraska had been “stolen” by Jack Lee. Lee, a member of a rival family, told authorities that he had paid John $2,000 in gold to marry Paraska. Paraska meanwhile said that she married Lee because she loved him. Paraska then testified that she thought she was older than what her father had said and asked to have an x-ray to determine her age. The x-rays showed that she was, in fact, over 18. Paraska and Lee were then married by a justice of the peace and held a second Romany ceremony.
In 1924, John was fined $50 for violating public health laws when 14 sheep were roasted at an open-air fire during the wedding celebration for one of his sons and a “gypsy princess” in West Seneca N.Y. The newspaper account
stated that that John had “plenty of money.”
John owned property in Chicago and Detroit where he died unexpectedly of apoplexy. News of his death was re ported in newspapers nationwide. Articles described the John home being flooded with colorfully dressed mourners, lit by many candles, and that “the weeping of women ke pt up a dismal obligato [sic]…”
John is buried in a mausoleum which now also holds three others: his wife, a son, and his sister. On the roof of the mausoleum is a cross etched with the now faded words, “King Steve John.” There were rumors that John’s coffin was inlaid with jewels and the cement of the mausoleum was embedded with gold coins Because of these stories, the mausoleum was frequently vandalized and therefore had to be bricked shut.
When John died, the Detroit Free Press mentioned that he was to be buried in Forest Home Cemetery where other “kings” were inter red. Perhaps there are more members of royalty to be discovered here.
References: Archival newspaper articles from: Grand Haven Tribune, Buffalo News, The Sunday Standard, the Detroit Free Press, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Daily News, Daily Arkansas Gazette, Sacramento Bee, The Gridley Herald, The Oakland Tribune.
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
On Feb. 11, police responded to Luv2Smoke at 7507 Roosevelt Rd. for an armed robbery. Dispatch reported that a man pepper sprayed the clerk and stole several containers of $4,000 worth of Delta-9 hemp, which can be legally sold outside a dispensary, before fleeing on foot. Police canvassed the area and set up a perimeter around a shared courtyard in the 7400 block of Roosevelt, where they saw the suspect. He exited a unit and was detained. Police entered the unit, where they found a hole in the wall in the basement where someone had thrown clothes consistent with what the robber was wearing. He was charged with ar med robbery.
While patrolling the 7200 block of Roosevelt Road on Feb. 11, police saw several people on the sidewalk in front of REM staffing agency engaged in a verbal argument that looked like it was about to become physical. Police reported that one man was threatening two people and swinging a metal wire object. The man was belligerent and tried to further confront the others while police addressed him, then pulled away from handcuffs. Police reported that he smelled of alcohol and later found that he was on REM’s do-not-employ list. Another person at the scene said the man was threatening the manager and employees at REM. In fear of receiving a battery, he punched the offender once in the face. A witness confirmed the interaction, and neither wanted to press charges. The man was trespassed from the property, and police drove him to the Harlem CTA stop.
About an hour later, police were dispatched to REM again because the man returned. The manager told police that the man came back inside the business holding a large stickshaped piece of plastic and threatened employees. The manager wanted to sign criminal complaints, and the man was charged with assault, disorderly conduct, and trespassing
On Feb. 13, police were dispatched to Famous Liquors at 7714 Madison St. for a dis-
turbance and possible battery. Upon arrival, a man matching the given description was outside, and police detained him in handcuffs. The assistant manager of Famous Liquors told police that the man was banned for life from the business and that, when he came in, he started screaming and asked to go outside and fight. The man was charged with trespassing, assault and disorderly conduct.
Just before 4 a.m. on Feb. 13, police were dispatched to Our Planet Automotive Services on Madison Street for the burglar alarm. Police reported that there was a broken garage window with a large brick on the ground inside. In an alley off Madison, police found a man hiding under a stairwell with fresh cuts on his hands and a leg. The man said he dove through the broken window because he needed a cell phone, so he stole one from the office. Police recovered the phone and several checks and credit cards in various names The man was charged with burglary. Police responded to the U-Haul at Harlem and Harrison on Feb. 14 to meet with a man who said he was burgled. He said he started paying for a storage unit in November and used his personal titanium lock. According to the police report, U-Haul contacted him in December that his lock damaged part of the unit. When he returned to the storage unit this month, he saw that U-Haul put on a new lock and, inside, found his belongings moved around and about $450 worth of clothing missing. The man said he’s pursuing a civil lawsuit against U-Haul, but police charged no one at the time of the report.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated Feb. 10 -15 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest
revenue, cuts, or both?
from page 1
about $1.3 million, leaving $252,000 in the village’s fund balance. But in the village’s water fund, which covers the cost of running water across Forest Park every day, there was a $7.7 million increase for the 2025 fiscal year, or an ending net position of $39 million this year.
After Joe Laudont, a principal at Lauterbach and Amen, presented an overview of the village’s finances, Commissioner Maria Maxham asked about the village’s Moody’s Investors rating, a score based on a municipality’s audits. With the village’s current rating, it could be a credit risk.
Maxham also asked what it meant for the village’s financial standing to have a positive net position — the same question she emailed Finance Director Letitia Olmsted ahead of the meeting. With Olmsted’s permission, Maxham shared her response.
“I said, ‘Does this mean we should be optimistic?’” Maxham said. “And she said, ‘In my opinion, this does not show an improvement in financial stability.’”
Olmsted told Maxham that the village still needs to be financially cautious because its sources of revenue were largely one-time occurrences rather than longterm sources of money, because the village isn’t meeting its pension contributions, and has long-term debt on the horizon with projects like re placing its water reservoir.
“We need to think really hard abou t how we’re going to correct our nancial situation by increasing revenue, and we also have to think really hard abou t where we can cut. So this is my ask to the rest of the council, please cooperate with me on this.”
enues in 2026 will not offset expenditures, which are budgeted to increase by half a percent.
“We’re still not looking at improvements in either revenues or decrease in expenses,” Maxham said.
In her commissioner’s comments at the end of the council meeting, Maxham emphasized the need for the village to increase its avenues of revenue — especially since property tax is the village’s biggest portion of revenue, but 80% has to go into funding village pensions, which have been underfunded by millions of dollars for decades.
The village has been actively discussing new for ms of revenue for at least two years but hasn’t established anything that would supply a significant new cash flow
M ARIA MAXHAM Commissioner “We’re always looking for ways to increase revenues, and a big part of why I encourage you [commissioners] to take part in things like the West Central Municipal Conference is to help that dialog.”
Laudont ag reed with Olmsted and said that, in the village’s general fund, there’s not a balance of unassigned or unrestricted funds, meaning if all revenue stopped, the village wouldn’t have any money to cover operating expenditures. Maxham added that the audit re port reveals that rev-
As the village plans to soon have another open meeting to discuss its continual budget goals, Maxham asked commissioners to reconsider a tax on food and beverages at places of eating in Forest Park. Last August, commissioners tabled discussion about the restaurant tax after all four commenters at a public budget meeting said the tax would ne gatively impact restaurant owners in Forest Park.
RORY HOSKINS Mayor
According to Maxham, a 2% tax at restaurants and eateries in Forest Park could bring in $1 million of annual
revenue for the village.
“I am nothing short of be gging you guys,” Maxham said of establishing the places of eating tax during her commissioner’s comment at the Feb. 9 meeting. She asked commissioners to reach out to her or Olmsted about whether they’d entertain the new tax and share additional ideas of new revenue ahead of the next budget meeting in the spring.
“We need to think really hard about how we’re going to correct our financial situation by increasing revenue, and we also have to think really hard about where we can cut. So this is my ask to the rest of the council, please cooperate with me on this.”
In her commissioner’s comments, Jessica Voogd said: “I’m a strong proponent of not wanting all of the responsibility of creating new revenue to fall on the backs of residents.” She added that a restaurant tax would raise money from residents of neighboring communities who dine in Forest Park. “I look forward to having a conversation with all of you in the coming months.”
And during Mayor Rory Hoskins’ commissioner’s comments, he said that, as a part of the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority that takes effect in June, the village expects to be reimbursed about $1 million a year for the rising number of first responder calls to the CTA station on Des Plaines Avenue.
“It’s going to be an opportunity to hopefully realize new revenue. We didn’t plan on that a year ago,” Hoskins said. “It’s meaningful, it’s in the law, but now just has to be implemented. We’re always looking for ways to increase revenues, and a big part of why I encourage you [commissioners] to take part in things like the West Central Municipal Conference is to help that dialog, build the relationships with stakeholders at the state, county and federal level, and help to be more effective in our roles.”
Forest Park is broke.
Has been for years. And while it operates within the very real strictures of being a non-Home Rule community, it has done precious little to find new revenue sources or to make fundamental changes that might lower costs
This predicament was in sharp relief at the most recent village council meeting where the mayor and commissioners received the latest financial audit. The village and its hardworking finance staff did fine in the minutia of such an audit. All the columns added up. All the necessary documents were produced for the auditors.
But the underlying story is that Forest Park is sinking financially.
Credit to Commissioner Maria Maxham who keeps coming back to the reality that the village council has to take action. Now.
She put back on the table the obvious and overdue idea to impose a so-called “places of eating” tax. We’ ll call it a restaurant tax. Estimates are that it will raise $1 million annually. Most towns have such a tax. It is one of the limited taxes allowed to non-Home Rule towns. And it raises money from the many people in surrounding burgs who choose to eat out in Forest Park
Do this. Now.
Mayor Rory Hoskins noted that the new state budget will reimburse Forest Park approximately $1 million a year for its police and ambulance calls to the Blue Line CTA terminus on Desplaines. Hoskins gets credit for pushing this provision into the massive state public transit overhaul.
At the same meeting the council OK’d a plan to borrow $1.5 million from Forest Park Bank to effectively make a deposit on a new fire truck. In our experience, it is not normal to borrow money for a new piece of fire equipment. This is why towns plan and save and scrimp to have cash in reserve for these major capital investments. Not a working option right now for cash-strapped Forest Park.
Which brings us to our always unpopular question of why does Forest Park need its own fire department? It comes with its own decrepit fire station, costly equipment which might be duplicated by other local departments, and it carries its own administrative structure and the costs connected to that staffing.
Why can’t Forest Park sit with officials from North Riverside, River Forest, Maywood, and Oak Park and sincerely discuss the pros and cons of a regional fire protection district? There is pride that stops it. There are certainly logistical complications that would need to be approached with an open mind. But it is not an impossible leap from mutual aid to a regional department.
We are not hopeful this will happen. But something real has to happen to bring down fixed costs in Forest Park. It will bring pain to effect genuine change. But that’s what we elect of ficials to do.
In a recent poll 61% of American voters want ICE agents to not wear face masks because covering their faces and granting them immunity makes it hard to hold them accountable.
The framers of the Constitution included a series of checks and balances and a provision that the president could be impeached in order to hold the executive and all officials accountable
The founding fathers had a view of human nature which saw us mortal humans as flawed, especially when we have power. Lord the Acton’s famous 1887 dictum is a comment regarding human nature, i.e. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
I’m afraid that we progressives can be naïve when it comes to human nature. We are strongly influenced by the Enlightenment which emphasized reason, individualism, and scientific skepticism over traditional authority and religious dogma.
H. Richard Niebuhr in The Kingdom of God in America (1937) criticized liberal theology which was part of the intellectual foundation of the Social Gospel Movement a hundred years ago and the Progressive Movement today as creating “a God without wrath which brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.”
In other words no accountability.
The appeal of Liberal Theology is that it focuses on the goodness of us humans. If individuals commit crimes, we assume that the fault lies outside themselves —poverty, lack of education, racism, and insensitive toilet training
The Progressive assumption is that we humans are perfectible. All we need is to do is close the income gap, provide for healthy diets, fund good schools, teach the correct interpretation of history, eliminate racism, and overtur n Citizens United to create fertile social soil in which every flower will bloom.
The Enlightenment world view, in my view, can’t explain why Jeffrey Epstein went bad. He grew up with virtually all of his needs met in Maslow’s Hierarchy: Physiological, Security, Belonging, Esteem and Personal Accomplishment. He nevertheless chose to inflict terrible pain on many people. I spent over an hour online trying to find psychological, sociological or environmental explanations for his immoral, sadistic, cynical, criminal behavior.
Couldn’t find one.
Then I looked in the Bible.
In just the third chapter we read that Eve and Adam lost paradise because they fell for the serpent’s lie that if they disobeyed God’s laws they “would become like God.”
They were seduced into believing that they would not, should not be held accountable, that there was “a God
without wrath which brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment.”
Accountability puts restraints on our freedom and thereby frees us to live within the limitations that go with mortality.
In a Greek myth, Icarus flies too close to the sun — ignoring his father’s warning to not fly too high — causing the wax holding the feathers of his wings together to melt, which resulted in a fall to his death. Sound familiar?
Hubris. Conceit. Pride. Vanity. Self-importance. Pomposity. Sin.
President Obama in his Hiroshima Speech called it “humanity’s core contradiction; how the very spark that marks us as a species — our thoughts, our imagination, our language, our tool-making, our ability to set ourselves apart from nature and bend it to our will — those very things also give us the capacity for unmatched destruction.”
Karen Carpenter put the human conundrum this way when she sang,
All my love I give gladly to you
All your love you give gladly to me
Tell me why then, oh, why should it be that
We go on hurting each other
Making each other cry
Without ever knowing why?
We all need to be held accountable because we all choose off and on not to live up to the image of God, to use a biblical metaphor, in which we were created. The long confession I will say along with the congregation this evening includes some of the following sins, a few of which convict me
pride, envy, hypocrisy, apathy, self-indulgent appetites, exploitation of other people, neglect of human need and suffering, indifference to injustice and cruelty, contempt toward those who differ from us.
For us progressives that last one can sting
And tonight we will not blame any of those sins on dysfunctional parents, bad schools, racism or poverty. We will say, “By our fault, by our own fault, by our own most grievous fault.”
Fundamentally, this is not a negative view of human nature at all. On the contrary, it is an exalted view that we are confessing what we have not lived up to We have been created to be so much more than just “nice people.”
As our foreheads are smudged with ashes, we will be voluntarily putting ourselves in a place where we as individuals will be held accountable.
In the campaigns leading up to the primary election on March 17 candidates will blame our problems on the other candidates and broken systems. There will be little selfexamination or confessing. That of course is needed and appropriate.
Necessary, but not sufficient.
February 18, 2026
Interim Executive Director Max Reinsdorf
Sta Repor ter Jessica Mordacq
Senior Audience Manager Stacy Coleman
Contributing Editor Donna Greene
Contributing Reporters Tom Holmes, Robert J. Li a
Columnists Alan Brouilette, Jill Wagner, Tom Holmes
Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead
Editorial & Degital Design Lead Javier Govea
Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza
Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls
Marketing & Adver tising Associate Emma Cullnan
Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan
Circulation Manager Jill Wagner
Operations Associate Susan Babin
Social Media and Digital Coordinator Maribel Barrera
Special Projects Manager Susan Walker Senior Advisor Dan Haley
Board of Directors
Chair Eric Weinheimer
Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Mary Cahillane Steve Edwards, Judy Gre n, Horacio Mendez, Charles Meyerson, Darnell Shields, Audra Wilson
HOW TO REACH US
ADDRESS: PO Box 6670, River Forest, IL 6035
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Forest Park Review is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. © 2026 Growing Community Media NFP.
St. Bernardine Roman Catholic Church and School at Elgin and Harrison was dedicated on Sunday, April 30, 1916 with “imposing ceremonies.” Rev. George W. Mundelein, archbishop of Chicago; Rev. Father P.L. Biermann of St Nicholas Church, Evanston; Deacon Rev. Joseph Zimmerman of St. Benedict Church, Chicago; and Subdeacon Rev. Joseph Adams of St. Peter Church, Niles Center, were all in attendance. Rev. H. Haarth was the master of ceremonies, and Monsignor Joseph Rainer of St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin preached the sermon. Rev. Maiworm, pastor of St. Bernardine was the pastor at the time and hosted dozens of pastors that morning from several other parishes in the area.
A parade at 8:30 a.m., which included the 40-piece boys band from St. Mary Training School of Feehanville, Des Plaines and a procession with many “societies from the west side, Oak Park, Maywood, and La Grange, which walked to Washington Boulevard and Marengo to meet the archbishop,” and then returned to the church where a Mass was celebrated. St. Bernardine School opened in September of that year with eight grades of instruction.
On the other side of town, the early St. John Lutheran Church, which had been dedicated in 1873, suffered a fire (April 26, 1916), just days before this event. Fortunately, the new St. John Lutheran Church at 305 Circle had been built, and dedicated in 1914 and was accommodating the growing Lutheran community.
Jill Wagner
of St. John re - Forest Leaves, May 5, 1916
of St. John pre- reForest Leaves, April 21, 1916
We appreciated the coverage of the for um for District 7 candidates. Reed Showalter shows/demonstrates a very clear view of the big picture and the big problems. He has the wisdom, vision and varied experience to help gather forces to solve the big problems with targeted strategies. He seems wise beyond his years, with lots of fresh energy, and also possesses the courage to honestly answer charged questions, rather than using evasive “political speak.” What a relief. This shows his character. We are so impressed and excited to vote for Reed Showalter.
Gina Orlando Forest Park
STATE OF ILLINOIS
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY COUNTY DEPARTMENT –CHANCERY DIVISION
CRUNCH, INC., an Illinois domestic business corporation, Plaintiff,
v. AAIA RML, LLC, an Iowa limited liability company, LOAN FUNDER LLC, SERIES 39875, a Delaware limited liability company, ROC CAPITAL HOLDINGS, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and ALL OTHER UNKNOWN OWNERS, LIENHOLDERS, AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, Defendants.
Case No.: 2025CH11675
839 S. HARLEM AVE. FOREST PARK, IL 60130
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE PURSUANT TO 735 ILCS 5/15-1503 (LIS PENDENS)
The undersigned HEREBY CERTIFIES, pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/15-1503 that the above-entitled Complaint for Mortgage Foreclosure was filed and is now pending:
(i) The names of all plaintiffs and the case number are identified above;
(ii) The court in which said action was brought is identified above;
(iii) The names of the title holders of record is: AAIA RML, LLC
(iv) A legal description of the subject real estate is:
LOT 18 AND THE SOUTH 1/2 OF LOT 19 IN BLOCK 1 IN THE SOUTH ADDITION TO HARLEM, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF THE EAST 1/2 OF THE EAST 1/2 OF THE SOUTHEAST 1/4 OF SECTION 13, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
PIN: 15-13-407-024-0000
(v) The common address of the real estate is: 839 S. Harlem Ave., Forest Park, IL 60130
(vi) An identification of the instrument sought to be foreclosed is: that Mechanics Lien dated February 16, 2025, recorded with the Clerk of this Court and bearing Document Number 2406046000
Dated: November 19, 2025 CRUNCH, INC. an Illinois domestic business corporation, Plaintiff.
ALLEN GALLUZZON HEVRIN LEAKE, LLC
By: One of Its Attorneys
Prepared by and after recording return to:
Nathan W. Friedman ARDC 6340118 nfriedman@aghllaw.com
ALLEN GALLUZZO HEVRIN LEAKE, LLC
839 N. Perryville Rd., Suite 200 Rockford, IL 61107
815-265-6464
Published in Forest Park Review
February 18, 25, March 4, 2026
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC F/K/A QUICKEN LOANS, LLC F/K/A QUICKEN LOANS INC.
Plaintiff, -v.-
BRANDI CELEBRE MEANY, UNIT-
ED STATES OF AMERICA - SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Defendants 2023CH08406 2236 S 22ND AVE BROADVIEW, IL 60155
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIV-
EN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on December 15, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 18, 2026, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:
Commonly known as 2236 S 22ND AVE, BROADVIEW, IL 60155 Property Index No. 15-22-102084-0000
The real estate is improved with a residence.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 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.
Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act
of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.
The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).
IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.
For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876
THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION
One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc. com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300
E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com
Attorney File No. 14-23-03478
Attorney ARDC No. 00468002
Attorney Code. 21762
Case Number: 2023CH08406
TJSC#: 45-3226
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is
deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
Case # 2023CH08406 I3281792
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS INDENTURE TRUSTEE, FOR THE HOLDERS OF THE CIM TRUST 2021-R2, MORTGAGE-BACKED NOTES, SERIES 2021-R2 Plaintiff, -v.-
CECIL PURCHASE, SYNCHRONY BANK
Defendants 2025 CH 08596 910 N 8TH AVENUE MAYWOOD, IL 60153
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIV-
EN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on December 18, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 23, 2026, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:
Commonly known as 910 N 8TH AVENUE, MAYWOOD, IL 60153
Property Index No. 15-02-314013-0000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
The judgment amount was $233,965.16.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 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 assess-
ments 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 151701(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 CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 241-6901. Please refer to file number 25-302598.
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.
CHAD LEWIS ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018 561-241-6901
E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM
Attorney File No. 25-302598
Attorney ARDC No. 6306439
Attorney Code. 65582 Case Number: 2025 CH 08596 TJSC#: 45-3298
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Case # 2025 CH 08596 I3281821
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 LEGACY MORTGAGE ASSET TRUST 2021GS1 Plaintiff, -v.-
DIANE R. MUZZALL Defendants 2025CH07925 2100 S 8TH AVE MAYWOOD, IL 60153 NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on December 5, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 9, 2026, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 2100 S 8TH AVE, MAYWOOD, IL 60153 Property Index No. 15-14-324012-0000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence. The judgment amount was $369,623.78.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 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 151701(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 CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 241-6901. Please refer to file number 25-306907. 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.
CHAD LEWIS ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018 561-241-6901
E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM
Attorney File No. 25-306907
Attorney ARDC No. 6306439
Attorney Code. 65582 Case Number: 2025CH07925 TJSC#: 45-3122
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
Case # 2025CH07925 I3280886
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC Plaintiff vs. LAKASHIA D WRIGHT; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS AGENCY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; BANKERS HEALTHCARE GROUP LLC; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant 25 CH 3932 CALENDAR NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on March 10, 2026, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell, in person, to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-08-314-048-0000. Commonly known as 530 49TH AVE., BELLWOOD, IL 60104. The real estate is: single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a common interest community unit, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection(g-1) of Section 189.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% (or 25% if so ordered in the Judgment of Foreclosure) down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property is sold AS IS subject to all liens or encumbrances. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the circuit court case record, property tax record and the title record to verify all information before bidding. IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER THE ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(c) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC, 13010 Morris Road, Suite 450, Alpharetta, Georgia 30004. (708) 668-4410 ext. 52109. 25-292186 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3280894
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC
Plaintiff vs. AIDA I. ALEJANDRO; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS AGENCY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; DISCOVER BANK; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant 25 CH 6651 CALENDAR
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on March 16, 2026, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell, in person, to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-07-413-005-0000.
Commonly known as 427 E. END AVENUE, HILLSIDE, IL 60162.
The real estate is: 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 189.5 of the Condominium Property Act.
Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% (or 25% if so ordered in the Judgment of Foreclosure) down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property is sold AS IS subject to all liens or encumbrances. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the circuit court case record, property tax record and the title record to verify all information before bidding. IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER THE ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(c) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC, 13010 Morris Road, Suite 450, Alpharetta, Georgia 30004. (708) 668-4410 ext. 52109. 25-315808 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3281251
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
The Huntington National Bank Plaintiff vs. Linda Hall Defendant 25 CH 1474
CALENDAR 60 NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on March 16, 2026, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell, in person, to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-10-306-027-0000.
Commonly known as 228 SOUTH 18TH AVENUE, MAYWOOD, IL 60153.
The real estate is: 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 189.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% (or 25% if so ordered in the Judgment of Foreclosure) down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property is sold AS IS subject to all liens or encumbrances. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the circuit court case record, property tax record and the title record to verify all information before bidding. IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER THE ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(c) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Suite 1250, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 25001387
INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3281278
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC
Plaintiff vs. JAMES WARREN; DAMON RITENHOUSE AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR ROOSEVELT MCGEE, DECEASED, RUTH MCGEE DECEASED, RUTH WILLIAMS RAGGS, DECEASED; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND/OR LEGATEES OF ROOSEVELT MCGEE, DECEASED; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND/OR LEGATEES OF RUTH MCGEE, DECEASED; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND/OR LEGATEES OF RUTH WILLIAMS RAGGS, DECEASED; SERVICE FINANCE CO., LLC; CAPE COD FIVE CENTS SAVINGS BANK; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant 24 CH 5079
CALENDAR 62
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on March 17, 2026, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell, in person, to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-09-111-011-0000. Commonly known as 249 Marshall St., Bellwood, IL 60104. The real estate is: 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 189.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% (or 25% if so ordered in the Judgment of Foreclosure) down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No
refunds. The property is sold AS IS subject to all liens or encumbrances. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the circuit court case record, property tax record and the title record to verify all information before bidding. IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER THE ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(c) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Lender Legal PLLC, 1800 Pembrook Drive, Suite 250, Orlando, Florida 32810. 407-730-4644. LLS12998-IL INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3281434
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION SELENE FINANCE LP Plaintiff vs. LERETHA LOWERY; MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC.; STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant
22 CH 12600 CALENDAR 62 NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on March 23, 2026, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell, in person, to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-16-102-039-0000.
Commonly known as 812 Bellwood Avenue, Bellwood, IL 60104.
The real estate is: 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: At sale, the bidder must have 10% (or 25% if so ordered in the Judgment of Foreclosure) down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property is sold AS IS subject to all liens or encumbrances. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the circuit court case record, property tax record and the title record to verify all information before bidding. IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER THE ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(c) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Diaz Anselmo & Associates P.A., 1771 West Diehl Road, Suite 120, Naperville, IL 60563. (630) 453-6960. 1446-190321 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3281741
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