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Sarah’s Inn Youth Voice Award winners PAGE 7

Desplaines Ave. bridge closing June 4 to 7 PAGE 12

JUNE 2, 2021

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First Thursdays will bring art stroll to Madison Spotlight shines on local artists and makers

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

Temporary art galleries and a focus on makers on Madison Street will put the spotlight on creativity and community as First Thursdays art strolls begin June 3.

A project between the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce and the Forest Park Arts Alliance (FPAA), First Thursdays are a chance for businesses and local artists to showcase and sell their creations. The art strolls will be held on the first Thursdays of the month from 6 to 9 p.m. Events through August are planned, but Christine Barnard, the chamber’s community outreach director, said they’re hoping to continue First Thursdays throughout the year.

Coming out of COVID-19, both the chamber and the arts alliance have been looking for opportunities to bring the community together again and focus on the organizations’ individual goals, and this collaboration is a chance for all of that to happen.

Temporary art galleries will be created in the windows of stores along Madison Street, and local artists will display and sell work there. June’s artists include Kimberly Adami-Hasigawa, Bridget Lane, Kristy Fleming, Emily Pfaff and Lin Beribak.

For the June 3 event, artwork of local artists will be displayed and sold at Urban Pioneer Group (7503 Madison St.), Jayne Boutique (7500 Madison St.), Grand Appliance (7440 Madison St.) and CenSee ART STROLL on page 14

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

PLAYGROUND BEATS: Jack Brown, 3, of Forest Park, plays the drums on Saturday, May 29, 2021, at Veteran’s Park.

Ad-hoc bar committee meets to discuss solutions to Madison Street problems

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

The ad-hoc committee appointed by Mayor Rory Hoskins to address the problems of crime allegedly stemming from bars on Madison Street met for the first time on May 27. The committee will eventually provide the village council with recommendations related to reducing problem behavior in the village’s main

IN Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 THIS Big Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 ISSUE Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

shopping and entertainment district.

Although Village Administrator Moses Amidei said he’d extended invitations to all liquor license holders, only about seven members of the public attended the meeting, including the Review and only several business owners.

The committee, which according to Amidei was put together by Hoskins based on commissioner recommendations, is comprised of seven members: Connie Brown,

owner of The Brown Cow; Kevin Harnett, owner of Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home; Art Sundry, owner of Café de Luca and several properties in town; Jim Watts, owner of O’Sullivan’s Public House; Joe Sullivan, owner of Duffy’s Tavern; and residents Steven Backman and John Cunningham.

Brown is the only woman on the comSee COMMITTEE on page 14

Hearing on Harrison Street apartments June 7

Proviso East’s Dr. Hardy hired at OPRF

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

Congratulations to Trinity’s Class of 2021

100% College Acceptance

$39.5 Million Awarded in College Scholarships Average of over $340K in scholarships per student.

For a full listing of college acceptances and scholarships, go to www.trinityhs.org/classof2021.

Leslie Alvarez* Karly Avila* Haven Barnes* Alyssa Beltrame Victoria Bermudez* Kaseyleen Bernardo* Jocelyn Bonet* Lillian Boockmeier Alexandra Burdick* Claire Bushe Larissa Cano Marissa Carrillo* Angelina Caruso* Aeryn Chapman Savanna Childress Nicole Ciserella* Nora Clements* Bridget Conneely* Claire Costello* Anna Cozad*

Alyssa Cruz* Kaalyn Daughrity* Giovanna DelSanto* Abagaell Diaz* Hilani Diaz* Madeleine Dickinson Abigail Divita* Annie Dubanski* Grace Ferenzi* Kathryn Foley* Annalyse Gallo* Anyssa Garcia* Julianna Garcia* Monica Garcia* Ahyana Gaskins* Kara Gorman* Elizabeth Greenberg* Annabel Halloran* Kayla Hawthorne Mackenzie Hepburn*

Faith Herman* Alexis Hernandez Rori Hill* Jessica Hoffman* Grace lammartino Dawn Jackson* Mary Jacobs* Ericka Kantor* Zoey Karabatsos Angeliki Karavitis* Grace Kedziora* Hannah Klein* Sarah Kopecky* Megha Kurian* Fiona Laffey* Reilly Leahy Abigail LeBlanc Caroline Leyden* Lysette Luna Mary Mangan*

Alyssa Marmolejo Paola Martinez* Sophia McAleer-Forte* Ellie McCampbell* Crystin McKay* Tea McKinney* Grace McNeill Emily Mendoza* Josephine Mendoza* Madeline Miller* Noelle Miniea Madison Monser* Emily Montelongo* Bridget Nelson* Emily O’Callaghan* Jessica Olmos* Celeste Ortiz* Jacqueline Ostiguin* Alexa Padula* Alexandra Petruncio

Josephine Poe* Kaylin Poston Rachel Powers* Emiliamaria Principato* Brianna Quinones Maria Raimonde* Emma Ramirez Carys Reed Sylvia Ritzier* Antonella Rivoir* Ariel Roberts* Ellery Rockey Andene Sambou Esmeralda Sanchez* Itzel Sanchez* Jada Santiago* Emily Schutt* Alaina Sekera Eriel Sexton* Katarina Sheirok

Eleanor Smith* Makenna Spearman* Colleen Stumbris* Gelse Tecalero* Audrey Thompson Maya Trella* Rebecca Urrutia* Karina Valdes* Kailani Vazquez* Kayla Vergara Arielle Wallace* Fiona Webb* Megan Werner* Makiyah Williams Alexis Wojcik* Leslie Zarco* * Indicates Full International Baccalaureate Diploma Candidate or International Baccalaureate Certificate Student

Celebrating 26 Years as an International Baccalaureate World School Trinity High School

7574 Division, River Forest, IL 60305

708.771.8383

www.trinityhs.org

A Sinsinawa Dominican College Preparatory School for Young Women Trinity May 2021 Grad Final.indd 1

5/25/2021 8:13:07 AM

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

Leaf blowers, backup beepers and cicadas, oh my!

A

s a person who is easily irritated by noise, I sure picked a loud town to live in. In Forest Park, our ears are constantly under sonic assault.

We have the relentless roar of the Eisenhower Expressway, the clatter of CTA trains and the noise of planes flying to and from O’Hare Airport. We are not alone when it comes to noise pollution — 97% of Americans are subjected to traffic and aviation noise.

Noise isn’t just a nuisance.

It can contribute to high blood pressure, dementia and depression. In 1972, President Nixon empowered the EPA to quiet the country but noise pollution has tripled in the last 40 years. The world is getting noisier and it’s affecting our health. The World Health Organization warned that, “Silence is a precious commodity that is disappearing.”

The constant noise from planes, trains and automobiles forms the sonic background of our village and we become accustomed to them. It’s the intermittent sounds that really annoy us. Leaf blowers, lawn mowers and motorcycles produce sudden high levels of noise that startle us.

These three devices operate in the 90-125 decibel range. Medical professionals warn

that anything above 85 decibels is harmful to our health.

The worst offender to our ears, though, are the back-up beepers on vehicles. Their piercing sound is over 100 decibels.

Beepers were first used at construction sites and they successfully prevented injuries and saved lives. But now we have beepers on backhoes, garbage trucks and delivery trucks.

Why? It’s not like we’re all living on a loud construction site.

If beepers are here to stay, they should be adjusted to the noise level of the surrounding area.

It’s not just machines assaulting our ears. Shouted conversation produces 90-95 decibels. We should be using our “inside voices” even when we’re outside. National parks have posted signs asking visitors to speak quietly. It’s even worse when the offender is shouting into their cellphone. In the old days, phone conversations were considered private. We even had phone booths to protect our privacy. (These booths also came in handy for changing into superhero costumes.)

Now we are subjected to a stranger’s conversation with another stranger. It’s impossible to block out. Noise isn’t just about sound. It has to do with power. The person

JOHN RICE

Let's Look Back!

shouting into their cellphone is dominating the space they occupy. It’s like the neighbor who plays loud music. They are taking over the soundtrack of our lives.

Loud music is another plague we face in Forest Park. We have an ordinance against motorists playing loud music that is increasingly enforced. When we’re dining al fresco on Madison Street, we are subjected to a parade of cars and motorcycles blasting music. The worst part is when they’re playing a song we like and the light changes before the end of the song.

Madison Street has also been under assault from loud late-night crowds. Noisy bar patrons triggered the 11 p.m. curfew for our bars and restaurants. The owners have already suffered so many hardships during the pandemic, it’s cruel to make them close early. The curfew was considered necessary, though, to curtail late-night noise and violence.

Even during the day, the noise level in my neighborhood is high. Jackhammers are 100 decibels, wood chippers are 110 decibels and power tools range from 91-113 decibels.

I’m not against construction or the disposal of fallen branches but these devices contribute to stress, heart disease and, of course, hearing loss.

If you think Forest Park is noisy now, wait until the cicadas emerge. They generate over 100 decibels.

Women's cycling and 'rational clothing' Forest Park public school teachers in 1892 posed for this photograph.

Seated: Miss Sophie Schmidt, Superintendent Frank Curtis. From left: Anna Rankin (with bicycle), Minnie Schroeder, Miss Boyd, Elizabeth White (after whom the Grant--White addition is named), Mr. Maltbe, Miss Doer and Maimie McCormick (with bicycle).

The Columbia Ladies Safety bicycle was a modern machine that allowed women to be mobile outside of the home so they were no longer in need of a horse or extensive walking. The "safety" frame accommodated skirts, but the most daring women wore bloomers, which were more practical. The "rational clothing" movement and bicycle craze went hand in hand, as women did away with cumbersome skirts and bulky undergarments.

Jill Wagner

F O R E S T PA R K

REVIEW Editor Maria Maxham Senior Editor Bob Uphues Equity Editor/Ombudsman Michael Romain Contributing Reporters Tom Holmes, John Rice, Bob Skolnik, Jackie Glosniak, Robert J. Lifka Columnists Alan Brouilette, Jill Wagner, Tom Holmes, John Rice Food Editor Melissa Elsmo Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Digital Strategist James Kay Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designers Mark Moroney, Javier Govea Sales and Marketing Representatives Lourdes Nicholls, Marc Stopeck Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Publisher Dan Haley Business Manager Joyce Minich

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

Kribi Coffee named among 10 best by Chicago Social Forest Park shop blends coffee beans, social justice

By MELISSA ELSMO Forest Park Eats

Jacques Shalo, owner of Kribi Coffee, 7324 Madison St., was surprised and delighted to learn his Forest Park Air Roastery had been named one of the 10 best coffee shops in Chicago by food and drink editors at Chicago Social.

In an article posted on May 5 Chicago Social editors announced, “Cameroon native Jacques Shalo has given a welcome jolt of caffeine and a vibrant sense of social awareness to west suburban Forest Park,” before bringing attention to Kribi’s unique air roasting technology and dedication to partnering with organizations aiming to end systemic racism.

“This was a real honor,” said Shalo. “I was pleasantly surprised by the quick recognition. It really has been something to watch this happen over such a brief period of time.”

Kribi Coffee is just 2 years old and joins notable Chicago coffee shops including Intelligentsia, Dark Matter, and Metropolis on the tight list of 10.

Since opening in January 2019, Shalo has been working to carve out a unique identity for his independent roastery in the congested and competitive coffee shop business. Shalo credits Kribi’s “four tenets,” freshness, method, sourcing, and giving back, for catching the attention of Chicago Social.

“Fresh coffee doesn’t start with brewing,” said Shalo who sources green coffee beans and air roasts them in small batches on site.

Kribi coffee sources historically significant coffees with a growing focus on beans grown in Cameroon. In addition to sourcing with regional specificity in mind, Kribi is dedicated to putting more money into the pockets of coffee farmers and donating to local social justice causes. A portion of every bag of Kribi’s Black Lives Matter blend is donated to Tutoring Chicago.

Photo ny Melissa Elsmo

TEN BEST: Jacques Shalo, owner of Kribi Coffee at 7324 Madison St., stands outside his coffee shop, which was named ten best Chicago coffee shops by Chicago Social.

Official Village logo to be displayed on the south water tower Extra money available in TIF fund to add new detail

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

The soon-to-be-repainted south water tower will display Forest Park’s official logo, after the village council unanimously voted May 24 to add the design for an additional $13,250 tacked on to the original contract amount of $674,200.

According to an agenda memo for the May 24 meeting, there is available money to add the logo in the TIF fund which is being used to pay for the project.

Original plans called for “Forest Park” to be painted in block lettering, following the water tow-

er’s current design. But the new public works director Sal Stella suggested adding the logo.

Village council approval was needed to change the contract with Tecorp, Inc., which was awarded the contract for the project in February. Though project bids were opened last May, the contract was not awarded until required license agreements for construction access could be reached with owners of the adjacent land.

The rehabilitation of the south water tower is currently underway and involves painting of both the exterior and interior of the tower, but according to Jim Amelio from Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd., the village’s engineering firm, the goal isn’t simply to pretty-up the structures. New paint is required every 20 to 25 years to prevent rust and preserve longevity, said Amelio during a February village council meeting.

Photo provided

FRESH NEW LOOK: The village’s south water tower will sport Forest Park’s official logo, shown in this rendering.

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

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Harrison St. apartment project gets smaller as hearing arrives June 7 continuation of Plan Commission meeting will visit amended plans

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

The continuation of the Plan Commission meeting scheduled for May 3, a discussion of amended plans for the 7400-7412 Harrison Street apartment building project, was postponed because a locally widespread Comcast outage would have made it impossible for Zoom participation.

The meeting continuation will now be held on June 7 at 7 p.m. The format, whether in-person or over Zoom, had not been announced as of May 26, but information will be posted on the village website at forestpark.net.

The continuation was decided upon during the March meeting, at which residents showed an outpouring of opposition to certain aspects of the proposed project, by 7400-7412 Harrison Street Properties LLC. Tony Kaldis, who owns the property of the planned development, is one of the members of that LLC. Opposition during the March meeting centered around a few key aspects of the project, including: unit count and density of population; traffic and parking issues; storm water management on site and the impact on the neighborhood; and roof top deck sound management.

The developers came back with an amended plan, cutting the number of units and addressing some of the other problems mentioned by residents.

Most notably, and in response to the issue of density, the developer has reduced the number of units from 57 to 48, cutting nine units from the plans.

Rendeing provided by Pappageorge Haymes

AMENDED PLANS: A rendering of the proposed apartment building on Harrison Street, across from the park district’s tennis courts Additionally, they have changed the unit types, completely eliminating studio apartments and two-bedroom/one-bathroom units. In the new plans, one-bedroom/onebathroom apartments (average size 891 square feet) make up 56.25 percent of the total units; two-bedroom/two-bathroom apartments (average size 1,190 square feet) make up 43.75 percent of the total number of units.

According to a revised description of the plan from the developers, “This modification also increases the minimum lot area per unit to 576 square feet and increases the parking/dwelling unit ratio to 1.41 parking spaces per unit.”

Traffic issues brought up during the April meeting have been addressed by the developer through proposal of a designated zone for deliveries and for ride-share pick-up and drop-off.

Additionally, Eriksson Engineering has done a more thorough traffic study and analysis, and the developers “continue to affirm the proposed residential use is significantly reducing the site’s contribution to traffic along Harrison Street.”

In terms of corner visibility, the developers point to four other instances on Harri-

son Street where there is a 0-foot setback, which shows, they say, “the proposed 0-foot setback in no way impedes the visibility of pedestrian or on-coming vehicular traffic.”

These other examples are at the intersection of Harrison Street with Hannah, Circle, Beloit and Ferdinand Avenues.

Stormwater management will include an underground storage system that will improve upon existing conditions, even accounting for the use of water from 48 units, claim the developers.

As for sound from the proposed rooftop deck, the developers provided minimum sound dissipation values from three different locations next to the proposed building; at each of these locations, volume from the deck would be 35dB or less. According to the developers, traffic and vacuums exceed 70 dB while a whisper is 30 dB and a quiet library is 40 dB. Therefore, according to developers, sound would not be a problem from the rooftop deck.

The developer states in the summary of the project that the area would be improved with the removal of an old auto repair garage, a defunct bar and lounge, and a restaurant, which are all “in various states of disrepair and due to age and deferred main-

tenance, would require substantial repairs or reconstruction in order to bring up to a safe and usable condition.” The summary report also states that the location wouldn’t be good for retail and that a recently completed market study shows the best use of the property would be housing.

“This is based on the current location, specific amenities of the site, access to Forest Park’s park and premiere outdoor space and easy access to transportation,” according to the report.

Pappageorge Haymes Partners is the architect on the project, and the developer has described this project as “a horizontal stretch of canvas for the passerby and onlookers creating a dynamic fluid movement that keeps the viewers interest akin to artwork weaved into the fabric of the neighborhood.”

The development would sit across from the tennis courts at the park district, in the current location of Forest Park Foreign Car Repair and previous locations of Oak Leaf Lounge and The Pines restaurant. The planned development will cover the entire block, minus H&R towing, on the southeast corner.

More asbestos ups price of Altenheim demo Total cost still running under original estimate

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

The price tag on the demolition of the Altenheim buildings went up by $28,635 on May 24 when the village council voted to make a change to the contract for additional asbestos abatement in the basement of one of the buildings.

The work, which will be subcontracted by KLF Enterprises, Inc. to Galaxy Environmental, includes removing asbestos from ductwork in a lower-level boiler room. The asbestos removal will be done per Illinois Department of Public Health, Cook County and OSHA regulations.

According to a letter to the village from Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL), the village’s engineering firm, the additional asbestos wasn’t included in the original report on environmental remediation for the property because that part of the basement was flooded when the initial survey was done.

With a previous change order to the contract in the amount of $12,950 for removal of debris on the property, which was made early on in the demolition process, the new total for tearing down the buildings is $588,555. The original contract was awarded to KLF Enterprises, Inc. in the amount of $546,970.

The amended total cost is still well below the engineer’s original estimate of $700,000. The reimbursement grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will repay the village up to $750,000 for the work.

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

Pivotal Proviso mental health institution turns 50 Center working to increase awareness of mental health resources

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Contributing Reporter

Fifty years after its incorporation, the Proviso Township Mental Health Center has been through its share of transition.

In 1982, the center’s name was changed to Proviso Family Services, or ProCare Centers for short. In 2000, the center was acquired by Resurrection Health Center, a traditional medical hospital.

Several mergers and acquisitions later, what began as the Mental Health Center is now known as AMITA Presence Behavioral Health — but the mission is still the same, said Rick Germann, AMITA’s vice president for Behavioral Health, during a recent interview.

And that mission? Treating and thinking about mental illness the same way society does physical illness — not as diseases arising out of personal deficiencies, but due to biological, environmental and chemical factors that affect human behavior.

“We started developing recovery-based programs back in the 1970s,” Germann said, before explaining that Joh F. Kenney’s Community Mental Health Act was a “game-changer” in community mental health. The legislation, he said, allowed for the creation of the Mental Health Center 50 years ago.

“We’ve stayed true to our roots of providing care for the most vulnerable in our society, but we’ve also expanded to treat any members of our community with mental health issues,” Germann said.

The Center still maintains its main health center at 1414 Main Street in Melrose Park and, but the integration into AMITA’s system has grown the Center’s service area well beyond Proviso Township and beyond its original focus of mental health.

There are now satellite facilities in areas such as Aurora, Evanston, Chicago and Downers Grove, he said. But all roads still lead back to Proviso and the original mission of the Center, Germann added.

“We’re one of the largest community-based mental health outpatient programs in the state,” he said.

Germann said the Center currently maintains three 24hour integrated living homes and has crisis workers in about a dozen different police departments.

Germann said the Center also collaborates closely with

We are Open!

SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor

FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH: (from the left) Terri Howe, Rick Germann and Sue Warwik, AMITA’s director of mental health, inside of their Melrose Park facility. other mental health providers in the area, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Metro Suburban and the nonprofit Housing Forward, in order to bolster its own offerings.

And any individuals experiencing a mental health crisis in the area can call the Center’s 24-hour crisis hotline at (708) 681-HELP (4357).

Germann said, despite the Center’s current expansive offerings, AMITA officials are working to increase awareness of mental health resources in areas of need.

“One important focus of our strategic plan is to train lay members to recognize the signs of suicide of depression,” he said.

Terri Howe, a behavioral health utilization coordinator with AMITA, said there’s a growing need for intensive mental health services, but people don’t often receive those critical services because insurers treat them differently than medical services.

“Some things that I would consider to be routine care for

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mental health clients aren’t covered,” she said. “It’s amazing to me we are not even in the same realm as medical benefits.”

For instance, Germann said, not enough psychiatrists accept Medicaid as a payment option because the rates are so low.

“Medicaid and Medicare should pay the same for a psychiatry visit, but they do not,” he said. “If Medicaid would align with Medicare, we would have a much different conversation and we could allocate much more into things like Housing and other community-based projects. Right now, we cannot.”

Despite some challenges, the Center is plowing ahead and looking forward to the next 50 years, Germann said, adding that the mother facility at 1414 Main Street in Melrose Park is currently undergoing much-needed renovations. The Center will have a formal event commemorating its 50th year on Nov. 9.

For more information, visit: amitahealth.org.

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

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Young voices address dating violence, social media, gender roles Sarah’s Inn Youth Voice Award competition spotlights high schoolers’ depth of thought

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

Alani Espinosa from Oak Park and River Forest High School and Daja Reeves from Whitney Young are the two winners of Sarah’s Inn’s inaugural Youth Voice Award (YVA) competition this year. Their spoken word videos showed an incredible maturity and authenticity of voice, said Carol Gall, executive director of Sarah’s Inn, a nonprofit working to improve lives of those affected by domestic violence. The organization is headquartered in Forest Park and serves people in the Chicagoland area.

“This year’s winners clearly painted a picture with words,” Gall said. “They were engaging to listen to and hear their perspective.”

But Gall said that she and the competition judges were blown away by all the pieces that were submitted. “It was amazing to hear youth speak so articulately about their thoughts on these topics,” said Gall. “It was tough to decide.”

The contest was open to high school students aged 14 to 18 and focused on themes of gender roles affecting dating violence, the effects of domestic violence on the community and the role social media plays in perpetuation of dating violence. Creativity and freedom of expression were encouraged, and 43 youth sent in submissions that included written work (such as essays, short stories and poetry), video (including dance song and spoken word) and physical art (painting, mixed media, photography).

Winners received an award and $2,000.

Seventeen-year-old Espinosa from Oak Park said the experience was rewarding aside from the money and recognition.

“It’s a really great honor to win, especially because it was the first time Sarah’s Inn held the competition,” Espinosa said.

“It was definitely a fun experience and I’m proud of how I pushed myself.”

Espinosa’s spoken word piece is entitled “See here, a feminist guide,” and Espinosa said she was particularly inspired by the competition prompts, which, she said, allowed freedom to express her ideas on the topic of feminism, which included challenging the way the feminism movement is seen and taught.

“As a Latina, it was very difficult for me to see myself in the traditional feminist movement, when I would learn about it in history class,” Espinosa said. That was the topic addressed in her spoken word winning entry

Photo provided

YOUTH VOICE AWARD WINNER: Alani Espinosa is one of two winners of Sarah’s Inn’s first Youth Voice Award competition for her spoken word piece. for the competition. The idea of womanism and its importance in the original feminist movement, said Espinosa, are important to her.

“The fact that the contest wasn’t just closed to relationship violence gave me the opportunity to reflect on gender norms and social media and how that impacts relationships in general,” Espinosa said.

Timing-wise, said Espinosa, the competition entry period coincided with the Sarah Everard movement, which inspired the hashtag #TextMeWhenYouGetHome and the global discussion of harassment and

fear. Espinosa said she saw support for women across social media, but she also saw people choosing not to say anything or to use the opportunity to shame women.

The theme of social media and its impact on gender stereotypes was one that Gall said was reflected in many of the 43 entries to the competition.

“It was really clear to all of us that the youth have so much to say about the impact of social media and how it perpetuates certain gender stereotypes and perpetuates negativity around self-image,” Gall said.

“We saw the theme that there is almost a

burden that social media has on youth in this day and age, which we found to be really interesting.”

Hearing and listening to the voices of young people is an important part of Sarah’s Inn’s work in prevention, as part of the organization’s mission is to break the cycle of domestic violence for future generations, said Gall.

“The premise and foundation of our prevention work is to really be out in the community and engaging young people around relationships, and what healthy relationships or unhealthy relationships look like, and making sure that they have the skills and the tools and the mechanisms to know that they have control over how they develop every relationship in their life, and how they can help manage those relationships from a very young age,” Gall said.

Gall said Sarah’s Inn has been actively doing prevention work for 20 years, but the competition was a chance to really shine a light on the important conversations that young people are having, but not necessarily having with adults.

“They’re seeing these things, and they’re experiencing these things, and they’re seeing friends and peers experiencing these things,” Gall said. “And they have something to say about it, and what they have to say is really important.”

Listening to and actively involving young people as part of domestic violence prevention isn’t a new concept to Sarah’s Inn. For 15 years, the organization has run a youth committee, open to high school age young adults. During COVID-19, said Gall, the twice-monthly meetings were held over Zoom, allowing youth who might not have participated in person due to scheduling or distance to become involved.

Typically, the Sarah’s Inn team bounce ideas off the youth committee members and engages them in helping with the organization’s mission. For example, during February, which is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, the youth committee members are asked to take over Sarah’s Inn social media, creating and sharing content, another way that Sarah’s Inn elevates youth voice and perspective.

“But I think we found, especially during COVID, the youth have really leaned in to Youth Committee, and have seen it as a source of additional support and resource to them,” said Gall. So much so, in fact, that although the regular meetings of the group are paused like usual for the summer, the committee members expressed the desire to stay together and will hold a monthly book club.

Sarah’s Inn Youth Committee is open to all high school students. Learn more at www.sarahsinn.org/youth-committee.

To see the winning entries from the Youth Voice Award Competition, visit www.sarahsinntv.org.

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

C R I M E

Subjects deny drugs changed hands After watching an apparent drug deal between a man on a bicycle and the subjects in a car in the parking lot of Spotless Car Wash on the 7300 block of Roosevelt Rd., police pulled over the vehicle and spoke to the subject on the bike on May 26 at 12:37 a.m.

While speaking to the police, the driver of the car allegedly changed his story, first saying he’d pulled into the parking lot simply to turn around, then stating that he was there to meet up with the bike rider, nicknamed “Checkman,” who he said owed him money. Because a hand-to-hand transaction had been observed by the officers, the three subjects in the car were removed from the vehicle and separated while police searched the individuals.

One of the subjects from the car had on his person a Newport cigarette box, inside of which were three small individually wrapped bags of what appeared to be cocaine. A similar bag of suspected cocaine was found on the bike rider. Both men said, however, that they had met up in the parking lot because “Checkman” owed money to the driver of the car, and the man with the Newport box of coke owed “Checkman” $10.

No drugs, they said, had changed hands.

Both men were processed for possession of a controlled substance.

According to a security guard at Walmart, the suspect had been observed carrying a television out to his van without paying. He then allegedly returned to the store, where he chose a larger TV and attempted to leave the store, but he was stopped by security. He set down the television and ran to his van, fleeing the parking lot. Security footage, however, revealed that he had successfully stolen two televisions and a bag of clothing for a total of $964.94.

Two television sets were found in the back of his van. He was positively identified by store security and released on bond with a July court date.

Graffiti found on CTA train

Man steals Glad, Febreze On May 26 at 8:27 a.m., a man was issued a citation for retail theft after allegedly leaving Walgreens, 7200 Roosevelt Rd., with products for which he had not paid. According to the police report, he’d taken $80.38 worth of items, including Glade and Fe-

breze products. He told police he had stolen the items because he has a drug addiction.

Television, clothes thief apprehended A man who had allegedly stolen two televisions from Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., was spotted and pulled over in North Riverside on May 25 at 11:27 a.m.

Police were called on May 24 at 12:20 a.m. to 711 Desplaines Ave. after a train car had been found defaced in the south “jungle.”

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, May 21-27, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded.

Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

Compiled by Maria Maxham

Our Community Needs Community Journalism It’s not just about crime reports and board meetings. We also need inspiring, funny, heartwarming and, at times, heartbreaking stories about our friends, neighbors and children. Perhaps now, more than ever.

Let's build community!

Read and Support the Forest Park Review.

Partner with us.

Donate at GrowingCommunityMedia.org Growing Community Media NFP is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

9

June 2 - 9

BIG WEEK Growing Food at Home Join the Forest Park Public Library on June 3 from 7 to 8 p.m. for a virtual workshop with master urban farmer Natasha Nicholes. The workshop will provide a chance to make a window sill garden and all the tools you need to grow your own food in containers in your backyard. Make-and-take kits will be available for registered participants to pick up before the session, which requires registration and is limited to 15 registrations. Learn more at fppl.org/events.

Raptor Ramble

Pride Friendship Bracelet Make and Take Kits

Join Tr Trailside Museum of Natural History, 738 Th Thatcher Ave. in River Forest, on Saturd Saturday, June 5 at 10 a.m. to learn about and ttake an up-close look at an owl or haw hawk. All participants are required to we wear masks and practice physical ddistancing. Registration is required.

Call 708-366-6530 or email trailside. museum@cookcountyil.gov to sign up for this free event.

Starting June 7, friendship bracelet kits will be available through the library on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.

Put a kit on hold by calling 708-366-7171 or stop by the library, 7555 Jackson Blvd.

Free Mental Health Support at NAMI NAMI Metro Suburban offers a variety of free mental health services for individuals and families in the western suburbs. Call 708-524-2582 or visit www.namimetsub.org for more information.

Breast Cancer Support Drop-ins are welcome at Rush Oak Park’s breast cancer support group run by Wellness House. Meetings are on Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m at Rush Oak Park, 610 S. Maple Avenue, Suite 2000 in Oak Park. This group provides an opportunity for breast cancer survivors to come together to exchange information and strategies for making decisions and navigating the breast cancer experience.

Visit https://wellnesshouse.org/locations/oakpark/ or contact Tasha Chasson at tchasson@wellnesshouse.org.

Forest Park Art Stroll On Thursday, June 3 from 6 to 9 p.m., join the Forest Park Chamber and Forest Park Arts Alliance to celebrate the first “First Thursday” art walk, featuring local independent artists and Madison Street’s artists and makers. Local artists will be displaying and selling their art at the following locations: Urban Pioneer Group - 7503 Madison Jayne Boutique - 7500 Madison Grand Appliance - 7440 Madison Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore - 7419 Madison

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

Former FPR photographer now at the White House Chandler West is now the White House deputy photography director

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Contributing reporter

Chandler West, 31, had just been hired in his new position as deputy director of photography at the White House when he was assigned the surreal task of photographing the “flip.”

“It’s one of the craziest things I’ve done since coming here,” West said. “My first job on day one [Inauguration Day] was to get to the White House and be there to capture the flip as it was happening. So I spent like four or five hours just standing in the Oval Office watching people physically carrying furniture out, putting in new rugs and hanging art.”

The moment was all the more surreal, considering that just six years earlier West was working in Oak Park as the staff photographer for Forest Park Review and Wednesday Journal — a job he held from late 2014 to mid-2015.

“The job I had at the Journal was truly one of my favorite jobs, probably second to this one,” West said. “I really liked the community and the way people get excited when we’d show up and say we’re from the Journal.”

After his stint in Oak Park, West was lured to New York for more editing and photography experience. He landed jobs in photo editing at the Daily Mail and Reinfery29 before a moment of serendipity changed his career. In 2016, he came across a job opening on the website of Hillary for America. He applied for the position of photo editor, not thinking he’d get it, considering he had no connections to the campaign.

“I assumed I’d never hear anything,” he said. “I was planning to move from New York to Washington D.C., to see what I could find down here and as I was packing up, I

Photo provided by The White House

INSIDE VIEW: Chandler West, once Forest Park Review’s staff photographer, now works in the White House. got a call from the campaign asking me to come in.”

West worked as one of roughly five staff photographers on Clinton’s campaign until it ended. What did he think of his principal subject?

“I met Hillary Clinton a couple of times, but I spent more time with other principals, since she had her own chief photographer,” West said. “So I wasn’t super-close to her personally, but any time I interacted with her, she was super-close and warm. She’s a very caring person. When people would get off the plane, she’d get off and check on things, asking if everyone had their bags and if they needed anything.”

After the Clinton campaign, West moved to California and worked roughly two years as a multimedia specialist with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropy established by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife.

Once campaign season picked back up in 2018, he moved back to D.C. and started doing freelance photography for the presidential campaigns of New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

“All of the candidates I’ve worked with are great,” West said. “I haven’t met anybody who is a jerk or anything, but [Booker] is one of the most personable and most engaging people. When we launched the campaign, I met him at 6 a.m. and hung out in his kitchen for most of the day. He was doing media calls. One moment, he gets off the phone after talking to his senior advisers and I’m kind of huddled in the corner of the room trying to not to make noise and he turns to me and says, ‘Hey Chandler, how do you think I did on that call?’ He goes out of his way to make sure everybody feels part of the process and engaged.”

West connected with the Joe Biden campaign just as the former vice president was gaining unstoppable momentum after his surprising landslide win in the South Carolina primary. West had cultivated a relationship with Biden

photographer Adam Schultz while working on the Clinton campaign (Schultz is now Biden’s chief White House photographer).

“By the time I joined his campaign, Biden was basically the presumptive nominee and the campaign was kicking into high gear and hiring more staff,” West said. “That’s when I got a call from Adam asking to help him keep up with everything.”

West said that’s been his job ever since. The days are long: “12 hours is probably a good day; sometimes they’re more like 15- or 16-hour days,” and the work is not always glamorous.

West helps manage a small staff of about six photographers who are charged with myriad tasks, not the least of which is ensuring that the White House “jumbos” (the large-scale prints hanging up throughout the house) are rotated with regularity.

Despite the tedium, he said it’s hard to be jaded in the new gig. On the morning of this interview, he had been taking photographs in the Rose Garden.

“A lot of the halls in the West Wing look just like any other office hallway,” he said. “Not all of it is super-grand.

A lot of it is doing normal office things. But then you get snapped out of normalcy when you hear the helicopters flying on the lawn, or the other day I was getting a COVID test down the hall in the medical unit and I realized John Kerry was in line ahead of me. So it’s this weird jumping back and forth out of those moments.”

And then there’s the daily commute.

“When you walk up to the building, it glows from the sunlight kind of bouncing off the white and it’s definitely something you never get used to,” West said. “I’ve worked with pastry chefs and security and other staffers who have been here for 20 years or more and they say the same thing.

It never gets old.”

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

11

Congratulations to Fenwick High School Class of 2021

College Choices

Anna Abuzatoaie ....................................University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Romania Salvador Aguilar ...............................................United States Military Academy Michael Ahrens .................................................................Dominican University Brock Alvers ..........................................................................Syracuse University Mateo Anaya ................................................................................. Triton College George Anderson....................................................................Bradley University Roseanne Androwich ......................................................... Saint Mary's College Michael Anisorac ...........................................................Arizona State University Julian Arenas..................................................................Arizona State University Julissa Arjon ........................................................................University of Arizona Juliana Armetta ............................. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Alexander Artz ....................................................................Valparaiso University William Atchley .........................................................................Butler University Evan Auriemma ....................................................................Elmhurst University Joseph Bacino ................................ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Francis Ballarin .................................................................. Marquette University Sofia Banuelos ...................................................University of Illinois at Chicago Mary Barshop ...............................................University of Wisconsin-Platteville Katie Bartlett ........................................................................Fordham University Brandon Basulto ................................................................ Marquette University Brian Basulto ........................................................................Monmouth College Savanna Basulto ................................................................Iowa State University Anthony Battaglia....................................................... University of Notre Dame Grant Benson ................................................................ Georgia State University Brent Bergnach ...................................................................................Undecided Ashley Bisaillon ..................................................University of Colorado Boulder Anna Bjorson ................................................... Indiana University Bloomington Vaughn-Regan Bledsoe..............................................................Duke University Tyler Bloom .........................................................University of Colorado Boulder Catherine Blum ................................................................... University of Dayton Alexis Bocanegra .....................................................................DePaul University Skylar Bogumil ............................................................Michgan State University Kyesha Bowers-Strong ..........................................................Augustana College Caitlin Brady .........................................................................Clemson University Dane Brazil...............................................Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Aidan Breslin............................................................... University of Notre Dame Melanie Brew .............................................................Loyola University Chicago Joseph Brocato................................................................ Miami University, Ohio Luke Brown................................................................. University of Notre Dame Peter Buinauskas ................................................................... Occidental College Tatum Burek ...........................................................................Providence College Olivia Buzil ..................................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Mary Cahill ......................................................................University of Michigan Angelina Cakuls .............................................................. Miami University, Ohio Jillian Calcagno .......................................................................College of DuPage Anthony Calistro ......................................................................DePaul University Meredith Callahan ........................................................... University of Alabama Jonas Capek .............................................................Illinois Wesleyan University Jerome Capozzoli ............................................. Indiana University Bloomington Tyler Cappelli.................................................... Indiana University Bloomington David Capron ...................................................................... Cedarville University Brendan Carey ................................................. Indiana University Bloomington Donna Carinato........................................................... University of Notre Dame John Carmody ............................................................. University of Notre Dame Gabriella Cavalieri .............................................................. Marquette University William Chioda ..................................................................... Belmont University Margaret Chudik................................................................ Vanderbilt University Luke Coffey ...................................................... Indiana University Bloomington Brianna Comstock .............................................................. University of Dayton Brendan Conboy .............................................................. University of Alabama Alison Conniff .................................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Nicole Conniff .................................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Conor Corcoran ..................................................................Saint Louis University Jason Cruz .......................................................................... Marquette University Isabella Czarny ...............................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Alexandra Dabkowski .................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Patryk Dabrowski .................................................Concordia University Chicago Damian Dalic ...........................................Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Elle Daly .............................................................................. Chapman University Caroline Darrow ...............................Holy Cross/Notre Dame Gateway Program Ava Del Giudice............................................................... Miami University, Ohio Adrian Delatorre ....................................................................Augustana College Yaroslav Demidiak ..........................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Marco Di Silvestro.................................................................. Edgewood College Emilio Dillon ............................................................ Southern Illinois University Bianca Dimailig .............................................................Northeastern University Jenna Dolsen........................................................................ Villanova University Anisa Dominguez ............................................Case Western Reserve University

Hayden Dondlinger ............................................University of Colorado Boulder Declan Donnelly ............................................................. Miami University, Ohio Anna Dray ................................................................... University of Notre Dame Edward Dugan ................................................. Indiana University Bloomington Lauren Dvorak ................................................................. University of Alabama Siron Edwards .....................................................................University of Arizona Daphne Embrey ......................................Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Michael Erwin III ................................................................ University of Dayton Isabella Facchini .....................................................................Auburn University Connor Fahey ..................................................................... Marquette University Anna Falls....................................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Matthew Falzone...............................................................North Central College Logan Ferjak ...................................................................... Marquette University Emmet Filbin ..................................................................... Marquette University Caroline Finn ....................................................... Florida Institute of Technology Gino Fioravanti ................................................ Parkland College/UIUC Pathway Mary Fitzgerald ...............................Holy Cross/Notre Dame Gateway Program William Foley ..................................................................... Marquette University Lily Freda .................................................................... University of Notre Dame Jackson Freund ..................................................................... Belmont University Lucas Gallagher ...........................................................Colorado State University Andres Gallegos-Valencia ............. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Cristian Garcia ................................ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Matthew Garcia ..................................................Loyola University New Orleans Cade Gawley ................................................................... Miami University, Ohio Therese Giannini .........................................................Loyola University Chicago Thomas Gibbs .................................................. Indiana University Bloomington Caden Gierstorf .............................. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ian Gies ........................................................................... Miami University, Ohio Katherine Gilboy ......................................................... University of Notre Dame Juliana Giuffre ..........................................................................Purdue University Jack Giura ............................................................University of Colorado Boulder Elizabeth Griffin .................................................................Saint Louis University Benjamin Groll...................................................Concordia University Wisconsin Campbell Guillen ...............................................University of Illinois at Chicago Wilhelm Gurski ...............................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Erin Halfpenny ....................................................................Texas Tech University Lauren Hall ......................................................................University of Michigan Paulina Harnisch......................................................... University of Notre Dame William Harrison.......................................................................... Boston College Belema Hart ......................................................................University of Chicago Hunter Heneghan ........................................................... Miami University, Ohio Vanessa Hernandez ...........................................University of Illinois at Chicago Matthew Hickey ............................ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Clare Hill...................................................................... University of Notre Dame David Hoban ............................................................. Coastal Carolina University Bryce Hopkins..................................................................University of Kentucky Todd Hutchinson.....................................................University of South Carolina Casserly Hyland .......................................................... Texas Christian University Isabel Hynes ............................................................... University of Notre Dame Isabella Ibarra-Bach ................................................ Harold Washington College Mary Jacobs...................................................................University of Pittsburgh Jelena Jaksic........................................................................ Creighton University Aidan Janc ...............................................Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Diego Jimenez ........................................................................Bradley University Grace Jisa ............................................................................ University of Dayton Erin Johnson ......................................................................Saint Louis University Catherine Kaiser.................................................................. University of Dayton Emilia Kapusta.......................................................................DePauw University Joseph Karris .................................................... Indiana University Bloomington Kathleen Keegan ........................................University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Patrick Kelly ....................................................................... Marquette University Gabriella Kiel...........................................................................College of DuPage Emmett Koch................................................... Indiana University Bloomington Jacob Korus ....................................................................University of Pittsburgh Julia Kozaczka .....................................................Loyola University New Orleans Owen Krippner .........................................................................Tulane University Ronan Kristufek .......................................................... University of Notre Dame Patrick Kronstein......................................................... University of Notre Dame Natalia Kuchinic........................................................................Tulane University Dylan Kupiec...................................................................... Marquette University Demetra Lagios .............................................................. Miami University, Ohio Mary Latz........................................................Saint Mary's College of California Cosmo Laudadio .............................................................. University of Alabama Tyler Lavin ........................................................................... Creighton University Lazaro Lazos ......................................................................Iowa State University Afia Leeming.........................................................................Fordham University Jordan Leibig................................................................. University of St. Thomas Samuel Leone .............................................................Loyola University Chicago

Blaire Lepore ......................................................................... Belmont University Sean Liston ...................................................... Indiana University Bloomington Alexandra Lombara .................................................................DePaul University Ciro Lombardo, Jr. ..............................................................Dominican University Sarah Lowery ............................................................................Carthage College Anders Luthringshausen ...................................Georgia Institute of Technology Justin Ly ......................................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Colin MacKinnon ......................................................................... Boston College Daniel Majcher .............................................................Northwestern University Kathleen Malchow ...................................................................... Boston College Leeza Maloney ................................................................ University of Alabama Aidan Markham..................................................................................Undecided Angelica Martinez ..............................................................................Undecided Logan Maue................................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lukasz Mazur......................................................................................Undecided William Mazzocchi ......................................................... Miami University, Ohio Jackson McAleer-Forte ..................................................University of Pittsburgh Joseph McAllister........................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Martin McCann .................................................................. Creighton University Connor McCarthy.....................................................................Purdue University Liam McCarthy .................................................... United States Naval Academy Declan McDermott ........................................................................Junior Hockey Rhianne McDermott....................................................... Miami University, Ohio Grace McGann ..........................................................................Tulane University Lucas McGarel ................................................................ Wake Forest University William McGee ................................................................John Carroll University Colin McHugh ................................ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Luke McKenna ............................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Martin McNaughton ..................................................Loyola University Chicago Cullen McTigue ..........................................................................Butler University Jacob Mejino............................................Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Rebecca Melero ......................................................................University of Iowa Madeline Miller ..........................................................Louisiana State University Frances Monroy ................................................................. Marquette University Ella Montesano.................................................................. Marquette University Arianna Moore ...................................................University of Illinois at Chicago Brian Moore ..................................................... Indiana University Bloomington Paloma Morales..........................................................Loyola University Chicago Jamie Moran .......................................................................................Undecided Charles Morrissey ............................................ Indiana University Bloomington Colin Morrissey .................................................................. Marquette University Maeve Mosbrook........................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Anna Mulcahy ............................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Martin Mullarkey III........................................................ Miami University, Ohio Ailish Mulvihill .................................................University of Southern California Aidan Murphy.................................................. Indiana University Bloomington Ryan Murphy .................................................................. Illinois State University Mary Rose Nelligan .................................................... University of Notre Dame Vivian Nguyen ............................................................Loyola University Chicago Isaac Novak......................................................................John Carroll University Benjamin O'Bryan ............................................................. Marquette University Thomas O'Connor ....................................................... University of Notre Dame Kaitlyn O'Donoghue .......................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Dmytro Olyva................................. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Jack O'Malley .................................................................. Miami University, Ohio Margaret O'Malley.............................................................Saint Louis University Ava O'Neill .......................................................................John Carroll University James Owens ..................................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Zachary Ozga ..............................................................Loyola University Chicago Robert Pauly ............................................................Illinois Wesleyan University Alexandra Pavalon ..........................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Alejandra Perez .....................................................Concordia University Chicago Nicholas Pethokoukis .....................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Jason Pierson ...................................................................... Creighton University Devan Pietrzak..........................................................................Tulane University Nikolas Poholik ..................................................................Saint Louis University Nicholas Polston .................................................University of Colorado Boulder John Prabhu ................................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Maria Quinn....................................................................Georgetown University Chelsea Quiroga............................. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Mackenzie Ramonez .......................................................... University of Dayton Edward Raniere ............................................... Indiana University Bloomington Krystyn Raza ............................................................................ Aurora University Emily Reyes......................................................................... University of Dayton William Ritchie IV .....................................................................Tulane University Landon Rivera..........................................................................DePaul University Jessica Rodriguez ...............................................................Saint Louis University Justin Rodriguez ............................................................. Illinois State University Grace Rohrbacher ........................................................... Miami University, Ohio

Marissa Rotolo ................................................................ Miami University, Ohio Stefen Ruiz .......................................................................... University of Dayton Jessica Saavedra............................. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Diego Salinas ................................. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Adam Samuelson .............................................................. Marquette University Andres Sanchez ..........................................................Loyola University Chicago Sophia Saunders ..................................................Loyola Marymount University Stefanie Scarlatis............................................................Northeastern University Joshua Schierl .................................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Lauren Schleiter...............................................................University of Michigan Joseph Schultz ............................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chloe Seavey ...........................................................................DePaul University Delaney Seligmann ..................................................................Brown University Narayan Sharma ............................................................Northeastern University Svitlana Shenyuk ...............................................University of Illinois at Chicago Rafal Sieklucki ................................................................ Miami University, Ohio Samuel Sikora ..................................................................University of Michigan Armoun Sinnung ........................................................Loyola University Chicago Jeffrey Smith ............................................................................DePaul University Anel Solares ........................................................................ University of Dayton Eduardo Solis .....................................................................Dominican University Julissa Soto .................................... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Liam Soule......................................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Peter Spina ..............................................................................Purdue University Isabella Stathas ..................................................Loyola University New Orleans Peter Tabet ............................................................................Fordham University Clydon Tare..........................................................................................Undecided Anton Torchia ................................................................ University of Mississippi William Toriello ................................................ Indiana University Bloomington Iris Tovias.....................................................University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Sarah Turcich ..........................................................................Providence College Katelyn Turner ............................................................. University of Notre Dame Beau Vanderlaan ......................................................................Brown University Jazlynn Vargas.............................................................Loyola University Chicago Lizeth Vargas...............................................................Loyola University Chicago Ryan Veach ...................................................................... University of Alabama Aristide Velliotis ........................................................................... Boston College Joshua Venable ................................................ Indiana University Bloomington Christopher Vollman ..................................................................Lewis University Griffin Vrdolyak ........................................................... University of Notre Dame Mary Ward .................................................................. Texas Christian University Lucas Waunn .......................................................Illinois Institute of Technology Colin Welsh ..............................................................................Purdue University William West ..........................................................................Auburn University Daniel Westerman ..........................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Maeve White ..................................................................... Marquette University Jake Wiktor......................................................... North Carolina State University Miles Wildermuth......................................................James Madison University John Williams ............................................................................Butler University Kaylee Wilson ..............................................................................Tufts University Claire Woods ....................................................................... University of Dayton Elizabeth Young ......................................................................University of Iowa Courtney Yungerman .....................................University of Wisconsin-Madison Kira Zielinski ................................................................................St. Olaf College Alessandra Zuleta .........................................................Northwestern University ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS 2020-2021 • ACT Composite 27.24 • 24 students recognized in the National Merit Program - 5 Finalists - 14 Commended - 5 National Recognition Finalists • 63 Illinois State Scholars, Appeals for 39 pending • 99 Presidential Scholars (68% of class) • 4 Evans Scholars • 2 appointments to the United States Military Academy West Point and the United States Naval Academy ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS 2020-2021 • 28 Friars to Play Collegiate Athletics • 6 NCAA Athletic Grant Awards • 2 Regional, Sectional, Super Sectional Championships (Most sports did not have a State Series due to Covid-19.)

• 40 All-Conference Athletes • 2 All-State Athletes • 3 Academic All-State Nominees

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

Father’s Day Sale!

4 -$10 LUSTRE wash for $31 4 - $8 ULTIMATE wash for $23 4 - $7 DELUXE wash for $19

Desplaines Ave. bridge over I-290 closing for the weekend

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

ENDS 6/20/21!

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The Desplaines Avenue bridge over the I-290 (Eisenhower) Expressway will be closed, weather permitting, for repair work, from Friday, June 4 at 10 p.m. to Monday, June 7 at 5 a.m. The work will be done by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).

Traffic will be rerouted to Madison Street, Harlem Avenue and Roosevelt Road, according to a press release from IDOT, and overnight lane closures on I-290 at Desplaines Avenue are possible.

“Motorists can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area,” said IDOT. The Blue Line station at Desplaines Avenue will remain open.

The project is part of a six-year, $33.2 billion plan to improve 2,779 miles of highway and 7.9 million square feet of bridge deck as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital program, according to IDOT. For local information, visit forestpark. net. More on IDOT projects can be found at idot.illinois.gov. Traffic and road conditions are available at www.gettingaroundillinois. com.

Spotless Carwash • 7802 Madison St. & 7343 Roosevelt in Forest Park 708-771-2945 • We Accept All Major Credit Cards

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Now safely moving new residents to our small, wooded campus.

Dr. Patrick Hardy hired at OPRF

A safe & smart choice.

Former Proviso East principal to serve as executive director for equity and student success

Choosing a community you can trust has never been more difficult.

Our community has an impeccable record of safety during the COVID-19 crisis and we will stop at nothing to make sure it continues.

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

We would be honored for your family to be part of ours.

CONTACT US FOR AN OUTDOOR VISIT 2800 Des Plaines Avenue, North Riverside, IL 60546 (708) 477-5092 | CaledoniaSeniorLiving.org

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Dr. Patrick Hardy, whose contract as principal of Proviso East was not renewed by Proviso Township High Schools District 209, has been hired as executive director for equity and student success at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

Hardy was one of dozens of administrators whose contracts were not renewed or who were reclassified under restructuring

by D209 Superintendent James Henderson. The district has hired Rodney Hull to

become the new principal at East.

The move not to reappoint Hardy upset many community members who felt that under Hardy’s leadership the culture and climate at East had improved DR. PATRICK HARDY considerably.

Hardy had been principal at East since 2015, when, according to the press release from D200, he was “hired to turn around a struggling school.” According to the release, he increased the graduation rate and the number of honor roll students, clubs and activities, and advanced placement courses.

Under Hardy’s leadership, the competencybased high school program was brought to East.

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

ART STROLL Coming June 3 from page 1 turies and Sleuths Bookstore (7419 Madison St.).

A focus will also be on makers permanently located in the village’s downtown district.

Makers include both those who create their own products, such as Accents by Fred (7519 Madison St.) and Tiffany Stained Glass at 428 Desplaines Ave., and those whose creativity extends to food and drink, such as brewery and restaurant Exit Strategy (7700 Madison St.), Twisted Cookie (7401 Madison St.) and The Brown Cow (7347 Madison St.).

“Celebrating artists is something people like to do,” said Barnard. “It’s another example of positivity in the town, which we all need at this point.”

The chamber held an art stroll last year, during the pandemic, with a map of storefronts along Madison Street where local artists’ work was displayed. But in the throes of the COVID-19 shutdown, it was a socially distanced event, an outdoor art exhibit over the course of several days, and Barnard said this year’s First Thursdays will be a little different.

COMMITTEE

Ideas for improvement from page 1 mittee.

Hoskins, on a U.S. State Department sponsored trip through the Abolition Institute to learn about current-day slavery in Mauritania and human-rights initiatives there, was unable to attend the meeting.

The committee has been criticized by some residents and tavern owners for being weighted with business owners who have taken a public stance against bars and for having no minority representation. There is also only one A1 liquor license holder on the committee.

Marty Sorice, owner of several bars in town, stated in comments read by Amidei during the meeting that the committee lacks diversity and that no problem bars have a seat at the table.

“I want everyone at the table,” Amidei said in response. “This process has to be inclusive.” He said he had been looking forward to more people in attendance and sharing their thoughts during the public comment section of the meeting, and he expressed his hope that members of the business and residential community would reach out to him with their ideas and thoughts.

Conversation between committee members and village officials Amidei and Police Chief Tom Aftanas was lively and extensive – the meeting lasted almost 2.5 hours – and focused on several topics.

First, several committee members favored taking a look at the long-forgotten “amusement” application, which requires liquor licensees to receive approval from the village commissioners and liquor commissioner prior to permitting “any public show, theatrical, animate or inanimate exhibition, mu-

An important change, said Barnard, was figuring out how to allow artists to sell their work and to create opportunities for people to interact with the artist. “A lot of people told us they wanted that,” Barnard said. Because the First Thursdays art strolls will occur during a three-hour period, artists can be present during the event to talk to visitors about their art.

“Forest Park is a community of artists and makers and we invite you to join us as we celebrate and support the arts,” said Laurie Kokenes, director of the chamber, in a press release. “This ongoing family-friendly event highlights both our maker businesses on Madison as well as independent local artists.”

Music and other art forms will “pop up” throughout the First Thursdays events, said Barnard. In June, performers from the Gasse School of Music are scheduled to play, and a classical guitarist may perform as well. The chamber and arts alliance are hoping to add spoken-word artists too.

For more information, visit forestparkstrong.com or the Forest Park Arts Alliance Facebook group at facebook.com/ groups/1395302483899525.

Photo provided

ART WALK: Artwork by local artists, including Lin Beribak (right), will be on display and available for sale during the June 3 art stroll on Madison Street.

sical, music, mechanical or manually operated entertainment device.”

If this bit of the village code were enforced, it could prevent establishments from using a DJ or any other form of entertainment without permission, which might cut down on some of the promoted events currently occurring. This, of course, is subject to review and approval by the village attorney.

Second, the idea of further breaking down the liquor license classifications was floated. Specifically, it was suggested that separating bigger bars from smaller ones based on occupancy might be a way to more accurately address issues related to larger spaces and crowds. Again, the village attorney would need to weigh in on whether or not this is a possibility.

Other ideas presented and discussed included: an ID scanning system that would allow bars to share information regarding problem patrons; ensuring bar security are professionally trained and regular so they form a rapport with customers and the police; requiring membership in a Forest Park tavern association, which would meet regularly; disallowing bars to hire promoters to draw large crowds to events; and putting port-a-potties on Madison Street to discourage public urination and to help societal issues such as homelessness.

Brown, Sullivan and Cunningham all said they wanted to see the bars allowed to stay open past 11 p.m. as soon as safely possible.

“There’s an urgency here,” said Brown, acknowledging that requiring A1 liquor license holders (bars without at least 50 percent gross sales from food) to close at 11 p.m. every night throughout the summer wasn’t a good long-term solution.

Cunningham suggested immediately halting all entertainment, such as DJs or live music, until Labor Day, while allowing all bars, not just A licensees, to stay open past 11 p.m. This, he said, might alleviate prob-

lem behavior or the issue of larger-thannormal crowds but still allow bars to stay open longer while the village has time to look at the amusement application, licensing and other possible solutions.

Sullivan, the only A1 license holder on the committee, made it clear that the 11 p.m. closing time would severely and irrevocably impact his business.

While no decisions or recommendations were decided upon, committee members weighed in on what they wanted to see in terms of bar hours.

Sundry said that he’d like to see all bars close by midnight every night, with later hours allowed only on holidays.

“If you’re looking to put every A1 out of business, 12 o’clock is the answer,” said Sullivan. “But if you’re looking to put every A1 out of business, I will walk out of here right now. Because 12 o’clock will work for no one … it will not work for business owners and it will not work for employees.”

Sullivan said he has an active patronage of industry people and non-white-collar workers who don’t get off work until 9 p.m., when they stop by for a drink. Closing at 11 p.m. every night presents a big problem for a bar like his that sometimes caters to a later crowd and has had very few problems with patrons since he bought the business not quite two years ago.

Harnett said that while bar owners talk about losing business, his funeral home is threatened too by problematic behavior from Forest Park Tap Room, his immediate neighbor to the west.

“What if we lose four funerals a month?

Or Café de Luca can’t get customers? We’re not the enemy,” Harnett said to Sullivan.

Brown said she saw no problem with allowing bars to stay open until 1 a.m. on weeknights and until 2 a.m. on weekends.

Aftanas said he supported a 2 a.m. closing time, if successful measures were put in

place to ensure officer and resident safety.

“We want a solution to allow you guys to stay open,” Aftanas said.

Aftanas also said that while there have always been issues with bar patrons on Madison Street, a new issue is the “open hostility” that people show to officers attempting to issue citations or break up fights. The need for extra police officers to patrol Madison Street on weekend nights has added up to thousands of dollars in overtime costs so far.

Committee members Sundry and Backman both said they hoped to look for a solution that cracked down on problem bars financially, because “digging into someone’s pocket gets attention,” Sundry said.

The ad hoc committee was put together after repeated and escalating problem behavior on Madison Street, which reached a tipping point for village officials on Mother’s Day when, in the early morning hours, police attempting to stop a man from choking a woman were allegedly verbally and physically harassed by a crowd of people, which grew to about 50 individuals and took close to half an hour to disperse. Following this, an emergency meeting of the village council was called, during which the council voted to temporarily change bar closure times to 11 p.m. nightly for all establishments for 30 days and until Labor Day for A1, A8 (event space) and brew pub licensees.

Chis Buckley of Mugsy’s, Matt Sullivan of Doc Ryan’s, Patrick Jacknow of Lantern Haus and Jimmy Jodoin of Jimmy’s Place were in attendance in the audience.

The next committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 3, at 10 a.m., a time during which the village attorney will be available to answer questions posed by committee-members. In addition to revisiting previously discussed topics, the issues of event spaces and liquor stores will be discussed at the next meeting.

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

15

A ‘shot in the arm’ for Unbreakable Fitness Local gym brings DEKA Arena fitness competition to town

By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter

The Olympic decathlon event might or might not take place in Japan at the end of July, but a DEKA Arena will definitely be happening right here in Forest Park on June 6.

The owner and trainer at John Hayley’s Unbreakable Fitness, 511 Madison St., expects in the neighborhood of 75 competitors from Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Indiana to gather at the Fitness Factory on Desplaines Avenue (across the road from McAdam Landscaping) to participate in the challenging test of physical and mental fitness.

Like the decathlon, a DEKA Arena has 10 events, but it does not include high jumping, discus throwing or racing.

Instead the 10 zones, as they are referred to, include “rudimentary movements” like riding a fan bike until you burn off 25 calories pushing and pulling a magnetic resistance “tank” 100 meters or jumping or stepping from the floor up on a 24-inch-high box and back down 20 times.

“No doubt DEKA is hard,” Hayley acknowledged, “but someone just getting started on their fitness journey will be able to complete DEKA. It’s just a matter of how long it will take them.”

The DEKA Arena will be held at the Fitness Factory which has much more space than Hayley’s gym to allow for more social distancing. Starting times will be staggered to provide even more precaution.

Angie Glover is a 50-year-old who has been participating in DEKA classes at Unbreakable Fitness for three years and has participated in two previous DEKA Arenas. “I don’t have the edge to be a competitive pro,” is the way she began her testimony on what she likes about the program.

“The best thing about John’s gym is that there is really no judgment. If you want to be pushed, you can get that moti-

John Haley vation. If you want to modify something, absolutely no one cares. ‘You do you’ and get stronger while you are at it with John there to support you.”

The event on June 6 will definitely be competitive, in part

because the participants will be competing against themselves. Progress is determined by how long it takes for participants to complete the 10-zone circuit. The time, called a DEKA Mark, is posted on a global leader board on which the times of the 10,000 people who have participated in the event are listed.

Although the competition is primarily “you against you,” Hayley said, it is fun to see how you stack up against the thousands of others who have done a DEKA Arena. It also gives each person involved a baseline for themselves by which they can measure their progress.

“We’ve invited other gyms,” he added, “to compete in our Battle of the Gyms where one local gym will be able to claim the title of ‘reigning champion’ and defend the DEKA Cup (our traveling trophy awarded to the gym that accumulates the most points during a single event).”

Jim Clancy is a 58-year-old who is competing in his first DEKA Arena. “A stronger body,” he testified, “is definitely a by-product of training for a DEKA. Above that, one’s mental toughness is pushed to the limit. Shutting out the voice in your head telling you it’s OK to quit is as challenging as the DEKA Zones!”

He added that it takes a village to get physically fit. “Conquering the DEKA,” he said, “is achieved through the strength of a like-minded community that encourages and pushes you to be better.”

Glover said that DEKA also has “functional” benefits.

“Working out,” she said, “makes it easier to lift my kids’ bikes into the car or chase them around. I am also setting an example that fitness is important for my two boys, who are 8 and 9.”

Hayley, who brought his business to Madison Street in 2017, has been a fitness coach for 20 years. He got interested in DEKA as a way to bring something new to his members, improve their experience, and keep them motivated.

Especially during the pandemic, he added, it has been a huge “shot in the arm” for both his business and his members.

For more information, go to the Unbreakable Fitness website or call 773-620-9015.

Photo by Eric Rejman

STRENGTH: DEKA competitors from John Haley’s Unbreakable Fitness, 7511 Madison St. | Photo by Eric Rejman

16

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

18

OPINION O U R

V I E W

Survivors.

That’s the Class of 21 Congratulations, class of 2021. This year sucked.

High school seniors and eighth graders in Forest Park’s public schools graduated over the past two weeks after a year unlike any other. They are the first and hopefully only classes to spend their entire last year learning remotely or in a strange hybrid mix of distanced and in-person learning.

Reports of higher than usual numbers of adults with depression and anxiety are not uncommon, and we’re learning more about the effects that the pandemic has had on youth.

It’s easy to say, “Kids are resilient. They’ll be fine.” And they mostly and hopefully will be. But there are still effects on our children that we certainly haven’t seen yet. An entire year of being away from their friends and social interaction and support was hard. Especially true for those who are moving on to next things. Drive thru and outdoor graduations were necessary and exciting in a wehaven’t-done-THIS-before kind of way.

But it doesn’t mean it is normal, that it brings the same closure, the same exhilaration.

If you’re a parent, maybe you got tired of pretending everything was going great. Maybe, when someone asked, you finally just said, “You know what? We’re having a really hard time. We’re not okay.” And maybe you were met with, “Oh my god.

Same here,” with understanding and relief to know this is difficult for almost everyone. We’re not all okay.

That’s real and it is okay.

So congratulations to the class of 2021. To the students. To those who finished with honors and those who barely passed. To those going on to college or starting jobs, and to those figuring out what they want to do next. To those ready to take on the world and those just catching their breath.

To their parents and grandparents and families, who lost jobs and friends and hope and still hung on. To the teachers, who struggled to take care of their own children and a classroom full of kids not their own. Who showed up and learned and adapted. Who helped and helped and helped these kids get through this year, never giving up on them. You were asked to do a lot. And you did it.

And to the students that didn’t graduate and to kids who have to repeat a year, and to their families: you did not fail. This has been a year unlike any other, and it’s enough that you are here right now. It’s enough that you’ve survived. We’re not all okay, and you are not alone.

L

Love languages for conservatives and liberals

ast Saturday, Pastor Walter Mitty, Asch and Dominique happened to walk into the Main Café at the same time. It was the first time they had been together in person for the weekly men’s fellowship breakfast in 15 months.

Alice, sporting an American flag apron, greeted them with, “Well, if it isn’t the bleeding-heart liberals club.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Dominique replied with a smile. “I see that you and the other servers are wearing aprons decorated for Memorial Day.” She put her hands on her hips and said, “Yeah, well someone in this town has to show a little patriotism.”

On their way to the big table in the back corner of the diner, Asch leaned over to Dominique and said, “That’s the first time anyone has called me a liberal.”

And Dominique replied, “For Alice, anyone who admires Liz Cheney is a liberal!”

Pastor Mitty tried to steer the conversation toward the Pentecost story and the gift of the Holy Spirit which he had preached on seven days earlier, but the six men sitting around the table wanted to keep coming back to Memorial Day. Asch started the conversation with a question. “Am I the only veteran at the table?” his eyes panning the six other faces.

“I never thought about it before,” confessed Eric Anderson, “but you’re right, Asch.”

That opened the door for the secretary of the Poplar Park American Legion Post to wax eloquent about the flag, motherhood and apple pie. “OK, so Alice is a curmudgeon,” he began, “but don’t let her grumpiness prevent you from hearing what she has to say. I mean, when was the last time we sang God Bless America in church? We used to have the American flag standing just to the right of the altar.”

“I’m only 25,” said Troy Williams as he spread grape jelly on his toast, “so I don’t understand why the American flag is such a bone of contention.”

Asch drew a deep breath. “Troy, the flag used to be a symbol that drew Americans together. Kind of a spiritual glue.

But now it seems like liberals — or at least the ones on the far left — are ashamed of it. Like they feel they have to apologize to the rest of the world for being citizens of a country, which thousands and thousands of people risk their lives trying to get into.”

“As you know, Troy,” said Dominique when he saw that Asch had paused to let someone else join the conversation, “I didn’t vote for 45 even though I’m a card-carrying Republican. Just like Asch, I wish Americans were more patriotic. Part of the problem is that the flag — like face masks, Birkenstock sandals, and cowboy boots — have become so politicized. If you hesitate to get a vaccine, you also get labeled as a believer in the Big Lie.”

“You mean sort of like what happened to Colin Kaepernick?”

“Well, yeah.” Dominique looked around the table at the six other heads nodding in agreement. “You saw the pictures of the riot on Jan. 6th, right? Remember how you saw the American flag right next to the Confederate battle flag?”

After thinking for a moment, Troy asked, “But isn’t that like letting those crazies define the meaning of what Asch said used to unite us?”

Mitty let the silence hang for half a minute as the men chewed on their hash browns along with what their youngest member said.

“Come to think of it,” Mitty said, “I saw President Biden on TV making some announcement and I thought I saw an American flag pin in his lapel. I have to believe he was making one small attempt to bridge the chasm created by the culture wars.”

“That reminds me of a book Trudi and I are reading,” Ryan Becker said as he folded his napkin and set it on the table. “It’s called The 5 Love Languages.”

Dominique nodded. “By Gary Chapman?”

“Right. What Chapman argues is that different people feel loved in ways that other people don’t, and if you want to nurture a relationship, you have to be kind of bilingual.

Like know your friend’s or spouse’s language as well as your own.”

Asch was intrigued. “Say more.”

“Well, Trudi asked me the other day if I really loved her, and I got defensive and listed all the things I do for her. She said she appreciated that, but what she wanted most was to spend an hour at least every other day just talking about how each of us is feeling.”

Asch’s jaw dropped and his eyebrows lifted. “Almost verbatim what Dorothy keeps telling me.”

“I wonder,” Ryan concluded, “if President Biden is trying to speak a love language that conservatives understand.”

“Maybe you’re onto something,” said Eric. “I wonder if that was hard for him to do, I mean knowing it would be a turn off to some in his party.”

A lightbulb went on at that moment in the head of the pastor of Poplar Park Community Church.

“Remember the Pentecost story from last Sunday?” he asked. “One of the things the Holy Spirit did was enable the disciples to speak to a diversity of people in different languages!”

“Even though it might not come naturally to them,” added Dominique.

“And even though,” Asch added with a semi-embarrassed smile, “it might have pushed them out of their comfort zones.”

“And the key,” thought Mitty, “is that you have to care more about nurturing the relationship than winning an argument.”

TOM

HOLMES

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BY THE WHOLE PEEING STANDING UP THING. SURE, I TAUGHT TO THROW STICK ATBUT FIRST I WAS AHIM LITTLE TAKENAABACK AND NOW HANGING OUT WITH HIM

BY THE WHOLE PEEING STANDING UP THING. IS ITHE BESTHIM PARTTOOFTHROW MY DAY.A STICK BUT TAUGHT AND NOW HANGING OUT WITH HIM IS THE BEST PART OF MY DAY. — EINSTEIN adopted 12-09-10 — EINSTEIN adopted 12-09-10

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

19

L E T T E R S

Good work on the Altenheim property Concerned Van Buren Citizens, a committee formed to advocate for The Grove Community, offers high praise for leaders of the village of Forest Park: Mayor Rory Hoskins and commissioners Dan Novak, Ryan Nero, Jessica Voogd and Joe Byrnes. Several campaigned on the promise to “deal with the Altenheim Property.” Now, through their concerted efforts, the decrepit buildings on the property are finally coming down! We say to them all: “Good Job!” Our committee represents residents who live across the street. We could not be more pleased. These dangerous structures have

been an eyesore in our neighborhood for years and years. Those performing the work are doing a terrific job, for which we are grateful. They are doing their best to not disrupt The Grove Community. Thank you!

As this demolition work moves toward completion, we look forward to the opportunity to work with all other stakeholders to determine what future uses of this large tract will best meet the needs and expectations of the village, The Altenheim and The Grove Community.

Gene Armstrong

Concerned Van Buren Citizens

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Public Notice: Your right to know In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year ForestParkReview.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 | BY E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM PUBLIC PUBLIC NOTICES NOTICES KOMAREK SCHOOL PRESCHOOL SCREENING What:

Preschool screening is designed to assess a child’s development and assist in identifying children who may require further evaluation to determine eligibility for special education services or those who may be eligible for a state-funded preschool program.

The screenings are by appointment, and at no cost to families.

When: June 24th, 2021 Where: Komarek School 8940 W. 24th Street North Riverside, Illinois 60546 Why:

Participation in the screening process does not guarantee a spot within the preschool program, but may put your child on the list of potential preschoolers for this year and/or next year. Your child must be at least two and one half years old to attend a screening.

If you have questions or to make an appointment, please call:

Contact Gail Anderson to schedule a screening appointment for your child.

(708) 447-8030 extension 101 or GAnderson@ Komarek94.org

PUBLIC NOTICES NOTICES PUBLIC ESCUELA KOMAREK - EVALUACIÓN PREESCOLAR DE INVIERNO Qué:

La evaluación preescolar está diseñada para evaluar el desarrollo de un niño y ayudar a identificar a los niños que pueden necesitar una evaluación adicional para determinar la elegibilidad para los servicios de educación especial o aquellos que pueden ser elegibles para un programa preescolar financiado por el estado. Las evaluaciones son con cita previa y sin costo para las familias.

Cuándo: 24 de junio de 2021 Dónde: Komarek School8940 W. 24th Street North Riverside, Illinois 60546 Por qué:

La participación en el proceso de evaluación no garantiza un lugar dentro del programa preescolar, pero puede colocar a su hijo en la lista de posibles preescolares para este año y/o el año que viene. Su hijo(a) debe tener al menos dos años y medio de edad para asistir a una evaluación. Si tiene preguntas o

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed separate bids will be received by the Oak Park Public Library (“Library”) for the following project:

thereof, or waive any irregularities or informalities, and to make an award that in the Board’s sole opinion is in the best interest of the District.

OAK PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY SECURITY RENOVATIONS MAIN AND MAZE BRANCH LOCATIONS OAK PARK, IL 60301

The site will be available for visits by appointment to be coordinated with Bulley & Andrews, LLC. Interested parties may inspect the existing conditions. Schedule an appointment with Bill Truty of Bulley & Andrews in advance if you wish to visit the sites.

STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division.

In re the marriage of BRUNILDA OTERO, Petitioner and IYAD ANWAR MOH’D MUSTAFA, Respondent, Case No. 2021D003027.

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

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Room 802, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, in the City of Chicago, Illinois, on or before July 6, 2021, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk.

para hacer una cita para su hijo(a), llame a:

Published in Wednesday Journal June 2, June 9, June 16, 2021

Gail Anderson (708) 447-8030 extensión 101 o GAnderson@Komarek94.org

Published in Landmark June 2, 2021

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BID GROUP 1 – ELECTRICAL and ACCESS CONTROLS Bids will be received until 2:00 p.m.

CST on Friday June 11th, 2021 at the Main Branch Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301, and will be publicly opened and read at 2:00 p.m. CST on that date. Bids shall be submitted in an opaque sealed envelope clearly marked: Oak Park Public Library Security Renovations 834 Lake Street Oak Park, IL 60301 Attention: Bulley & Andrews Project: MAIN AND MAZE BRANCH SECURITY WORK Scope of work for Bid Group 1 generally includes, but is not limited to: electrical, power, distribution, low voltage cabling, and access control.

All bids must be submitted in accordance with the bidding instructions contained in the Bidding Documents for the project. Bid security in the form of a bid bond in an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the base bid amount shall be submitted with the bid. Should a bid bond be submitted, the bond shall be payable to the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301. All documents and information required by the bidding instructions contained in the Bidding Documents for the project shall be submitted with the bid. Incomplete, late or non-conforming bids may not be accepted.

All bidders must comply with applicable Illinois Law requiring the payment of prevailing wages by all Contractors working on public works. If during the time period of work, the prevailing wage rates change, the contractor shall be responsible for additional costs without any change to the contract amount. All bidders must comply with the Illinois Statutory requirements regarding labor, including Equal Employment Opportunity Laws.

For additional information on the project, contact Bill Truty of Bulley & Andrews, LLC at btruty@bulley.com or 773-645-2086.

Dated: 5/20/2021 Bill Truty Bulley & Andrews, LLC Published in Wednesday Journal May 26, June 2, June 9, 2021

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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

Find Help Wanted & Marketplace listings on the next page!

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal-opportunity basis.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-6699777.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark • Forest Park Review

No bids shall be withdrawn, cancelled or modified after the time for opening of bids without the Library’s consent for a period of ninety (90) days after the scheduled time of bid opening.

The Bidding Documents for the project (which include the bidding instructions for the project and other related documents) will be available Monday May 24th, 2021 and are available for viewing/download online without cost or purchase on the Bulley & Andrews, LLC One Drive, located at the following link. No username or password is required. h t t p s : / / b u l l e y a n d r e w s - m y. sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/ btruty_bulley_com/Ep4N77OJkwtJt67lPDVsuggBHBgpHS8IJ0T1ffDzQA1PWg?e=DxkMYA A site visit/walk through is scheduled for 8 AM on Wednesday June 2nd.

It will take place first at the Main Branch Library then move to the Maze Branch at 9 AM.

local employees . . . happy employees!

Hire Local.

Place an ad on Wednesday Classified’s Local Online Job Board.

Go to ForestParkReview.com/classified today!

Contact Mary Ellen Nelligan for more information.

(708) 613-3342 • maryellen@oakpark.com

The Library reserves the right to reject any or all bids or parts

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

CLASSIFIED

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG MARKETPLACE

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER River Forest Public Schools District 90 is seeking a Part-time (FTE 0.77) Elementary School Physical Education Teacher.

Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Grade-Appropriate Physical Education Endorsement; successful teaching experience in physical education preferred; Master’s Degree is preferred.

Job Duties: The part-time PE Teacher will work in partnership with the full-time PE teacher to instruct students in Pre-K through 4th grade on how to develop habits of mind and actions that support good health, fitness and enjoyment of sport and play. The PE teacher will facilitate a learning environment that engages students in learning skills for sport and fitness, as well as SEL skills by growing confidence, sportsmanship and team spirit.

Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90.org. Please do not send hard copies of supporting documentation, i.e.cover letters, resumes, licensure, etc. to River Forest Schools District 90; instead, upload these materials onto the online job application system for proper processing.

BAND SAW WELDER TECH, GENL LABORER OPENINGS Local sharpening service has two openings: Band Saw Welder Technician and General Laborer position. Apply at 1233 Circle Ave. Forest Park, IL 708-209-1636

• Previous experience in account-ing, finance, or other related fields • High level of accuracy in data entry skills • Strong organizational skills

• Deadline and detail-oriented

YOUR OWN ISLAND! 5 Acres of total seclusion, only accessible by boat, make this island the ultimate Rock River Escape! There are two cabins on this island: one features full kitchen and living space, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom with laundry. The other is one bedroom with a kitchenette. The larger cabin has large windows overlooking the river and your property. Updated kitchen is open to the living room and dining area. Fall in love with the rustic charm of the guest cabin offering additional space for your family or guests. Island has it’s own electric, well and septic. Boat dock and furnishings included. Fishing Boat negotiable.

Details here: https://tinyurl.com/4zjuxwk2

SUBURBAN RENTALS OAK PARK & FOREST PARK

708-386-7355

MMpropMgmt.com

Apartment listings updated daily at:

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.

SPINET PIANO AND BENCH Baldwin spinet piano and bench. Light brown wood finish. $300 obo.

708-386-0087

• Proficient in Microsoft Excel • Proficient in QuickBooks

Benefits: Medical, Vision, Dental, Life Insurance, Short-term and Long-term disability and retirement plans, transportation subsidy provided.

Professionals: Quantitative Manager (job code R1154) and Quantitative Analytics Senior Associate (job code R-1152) to work in Chicago, IL. Opportunity to work from home. KeyBank National Association, apply online at www.keybank.com.

Must reference job code. EOE.

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

QUARTZ HEATER Patton tower quartz heater. Sun like radiant heat. 4ft tall x 6 in wide.

Excellent condition. $59.00.

708-488-8755

• Ability to prioritize and multitask

We are hiring Relationship Bankers in Oak Park, IL. Visit the link below to check out this opportunity to join a great team! https://wintrust.taleo.net/careersection/2/ jobdetail.ftl?job=2100424&lang=en You can also learn about other career opportunities nearby.

BLACK LEATHER COAT Beautiful black leather coat purchased at Saks 5th Avenue. Excellent condition. Size 6. $40.

708-488-8755

ESTATE SALE Oak Park

ESTATE SALE 803 S CUYLER FRI 6/4 SAT 6/5 SUN 6/6 9AM TO 6PM DAILY

Collectables (e.g., Kincaid, Grandeur Noel, Hawthorne Village, Pacconi), Christmas Items & Collectables, Household Items, Small Appliances, Furniture, Cabinets, Lamps, Tools, Candles, Vases – CASH ONLY PLEASE

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

R E N TA L S & R E A L E S TAT E

Best Selection & Service

DECK FURNITURE 48” white wicker table with glass top, 4 chairs with matching umbrella, smaller table and umbrella cover. Best offer.

708-528-0896

Qualifications:

Office located in Chicago. Candidates will be tested on all skill sets.

Qualified Candidates should send their resumes and salary requirements to humanresources@icl-na.com

ITEMS FOR SALE

HELP WANTED

ACCOUNTING CLERK

Responsibilities: • Accounting duties • Process invoices accurately and timely • Check the accuracy of business transactions • Perform data entry and administrative duties • Preparation of payable checks • Posting of checks and ACH payments • Create, edit and update spreadsheets in excel • Daily, weekly and monthly reporting

ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER Must have own transportation.

For more information CALL 708-738-3848

STUDIOS, 1, 2 & 3 BR

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Lost & Found, Items for Sale, and To Be Given Away ads run free in Wednesday Classified. To place your ad, call 708-613-334

OFFICE /RETAIL FOR RENT 1040 NORTH BLVD OFFICE Sub-lease, Move right in. Private furnished window office 10×15 @1040 North Boulevard, walk to CTA green line and Metra train. Asking $600m + 1m SD. Includes all utilities and internet. Note: this is a 2nd-story walkup space. Conference room available.

Call Michael @ 708 383-7900 LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION FOREST PARK HIGHLY VISIBLE OFFICE/STORE AVAILABLE FOR LEASE 1350 SF w/ AC & HIGHLY VISIBLE MADISON STREET EXPOSURE. 7607 Madison Street. Village parking lot next door. Bright, clean office. Great Madison Street exposure! Call Francis 708-383-8574.

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT THERAPY OFFICE OAK PARK Free wifi; flexible leasing, and offices nicely furnished right down to the Kleenex. Secure building & friendly colleagues, often giving referrals to other office mates.

Shared Waiting room, Conference room & option to join Peer Supervision Group. Ideal for new practice or 2nd location.

708-383-0729

RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. * 1116 sq. ft. * 1400 sq. ft. Dental Office RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. * 960 sq. ft.

OAK PARK–6142-44 Roosevelt Rd. * 3 & 5 room office suites FOREST PARK–7736 Madison St. *2500 sq. ft. unit Strand & & Browne Strand Browne 708-488-0011 708-488-0011

ROOMS FOR RENT Large Sunny Room with fridge, microwave. Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $125.00. New Mgmt.

312-212-1212

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNIT YMEDIA.ORG

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

ptimism.

We’ve got it. Stick with us.

In print. Online.

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

OAKPARK.COM

RBLANDMARK.COM

Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

INC., REALTOR

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

SOLD!

928 S. Kenilworth Ave. Oak Park ....................$275,000

SOLD!

Property has been owner occupied by the same family for 50+ years. 1st fl has spacious living rm and dining rm, kitchen and 1/2 bath. 2nd floor has three bedrooms and full bath. Stucco exterior and 2 car detached garage.

Great location in south west Oak Park. Needs some updating but livable as-is.

935 Elgin Avenue, Forest Park ........................$489,000 This is a money maker! This early 1970s brick four flat houses two one bedroom apartments on the top floor, a large three bedroom two bath apartment on the first floor, and a large two bedroom two bathroom apartment in the lower level. Tandem parking for 8 cars.

Meticulously maintained by the current owner for several decades.

The numbers work! This one really won't last long.

SOLD!

This 3 BR, 2.1 BA home has not been available in over 55 years.

It has been meticulously maintained within the same family for that time. This home offers two first floor good sized bedrooms and a large second floor master. Each floor has a full updated bathroom. The first floor living room, with it's vaulted ceilings, fill with sunlight pouring from the front foyer windows.

1117 Marengo Avenue, Forest Park .......................$263,500 What a great opportunity to get into Forest Park at an affordable price! This home offers four total bedrooms, two on the second floor and two on the first floor. The home is in perfect condition!

Living room, dining room, and eat in kitchen, plus a finished basement. Huge deck off the back of the house and a very large two car garage!

SOLD!

1028 Beloit Forest Park ....................$289,000

337 Marengo Avenue, Forest Park ......................$275,000 Fantastic location alert!! Just a stones throw from Madison Street shopping, restaurants, and night life makes this a very desirable piece of real estate! This is two flat is ready for some love and attention. Just stuck in time is all. Or a fantastic de-conversion to single family! So bring your decorating ideas, and be prepared to fall in love!

SOLD!

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

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Forest Park Review, June 2, 2021

SPONSORED CONTENT

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