District 91
Jed Brewer is founder of Good Loud Media, a nonpro t that uses music as a tool
By HOPE BAKER Contributing Reporter
A newly-elected member of Forest Park’s District 91’s school board, Jed Brewer doesn’t have children in the district but he has a long background in helping others.
In addition to his new role, he is dedicated to meeting the needs of at-risk people throughout the country and the world as the founder of Good Loud Media, a nonprofit that uses music as a tool for public health communication.
“We work in communities that are historically under-resourced and underserved, and we use music as a way to begin conversations about physical health, mental health and community health,”
school board member
works with at-risk people locally and afar
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
There will be no residential zoning code updates in Forest Park for the foreseeable future. The decision came at the May 27 village council meeting. The village council had tabled the residential zoning code in October, when only Commissioner Ryan Nero voted to pass the amendments. When the question was brought up at the May meeting, Mayor Rory Hoskins and Commissioner Jessica Voogd voted against it, and Commissioner Michelle Melin-Rogovin abstained from the vote. She declined to comment on her reason.
Your News. Your Community.
Growing Community Media Spring Fundraiser 2025
Growing Community Media is looking for 500 new donors. Will you be one of them?
Forest Theatre and Madison Street Theater partner
Forest Park group and Oak Park event space launch rst year-round season together
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
If you haven’t already, dust off your picnic blankets and lawn chairs in preparation for the upcoming fifth annual Shakespeare in the Park, which will mark the end of Forest Theatre Company’s 2024-2025 run.
After this Shakespeare in the Park, Forest Theatre Company will launch its first year-round season – and its first in collaboration with Madison Street Theater in Oak Park – bringing together the only two yearround nonprofit theater organizations in the area to build up professional theater in the western suburbs.
“We can do a lot more than we can solo,” said Richard Corley, founder of Forest Theatre Company, of the new partnership. Madison Street Theater, which rents its space to other organizations, provides a stage and administrative support to Forest Theatre Company’s acting and production work.
“We both bring different points of view to the table and are looking to maximize what we can do for our community,” said Lisa Green, managing director at Madison Street Theater. “We can’t do this many productions from the ground up. We don’t have the resources,” Green added. “This is a known value to us. We know the work they produce is good.”
Their partnership started last year, when Forest Theatre Company, then Forest Park Theatre, put on The Misanthrope at Madison Street Theater. It was the group’s first indoor production since Corley started Shakespeare in the park in 2021, and it nearly sold out.
Shakespeare in the Park Aug. 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17
Marking the end of the 2024-2025 season, this year’s free Shakespeare in the Park play will be The Two Noble Kinsmen, perfor med outside at the Altenheim. The play is thought to be Shakespeare’s last, written just a few years before his death in 1616.
“It’s a beautiful play about friendship and the effects of war on love, friendship and mar riage. It’s also the queerest thing I think Shakespeare ever wrote,” Corley said. “He was open to love in all its forms,” he added, exploring “love between people of the same sex, how is that love different from loving a person of the opposite sex, how is it similar, how do we measure that?”
The Two Noble Kinsmen centers on two lifelong best friends who “talk to each other like they’re in love,” Corley said. It also stars Emilia, who’s only ever had one love in her life – a woman who died. When the two friends both fall in love with Emilia, she’s forced to choose between them.
Taking place in a patriarchal, misogynistic world, the play explores the power of women and explores questions Corley said society is still asking itself today: “We’re still unsure about things like sexuality, gender and what part the political system should play,” Corley said. “That’s why I want to do it right now.”
2025-2026 Season
Come fall, Forest Theatre Company will launch its first year-round season with Sophocles’ Electra, a play about justice and the law, Corley said. In Electra, a woman’s father kills her mother, and her brother is exiled. The woman waits for her brother to return to avenge their mother.
Corley said he’s been wanting to put on the Greek tragedy for years, specifically the rarely produced version adapted by American poet Ezra Pound, who lived much of his life in Europe Pound was arrested for treason in his support for Hitler and Mussolini, pled insanity, and helped translate Electra while in a United States hospital.
“The notion of war, revenge, treatment of the guilty and the innocent – those become very personal to him translating this play,” Corley said. He added that Pound includes American vernacular and idioms throughout the play, while leaving several Greek lines untranslated. “It doesn’t absolve contradiction but allows contradiction to be the nucleus of the play.”
At the start of next year, Forest Theatre Company and Madison Street Theater are putting on their first co-production with The Illusion. This play follows a lawyer who drives his son away, then travels to find a wizard, who tells the father visions of his son’s adventurous and perilous life. Corley said The Illusion covers themes of
loss and longing but is romantic and funny with lots of sword fighting and mystery. It’s also a re presentation of the company and theater’s new partnership.
“The theater itself is said to be an illusion about life,” Corley said. “I thought the community could celebrate the essential part of the theater with this play. It’s an announcement of our two theaters coming together.”
Green – who spent two decades as a photographer and has danced her whole life –doesn’t have a theater background but says she’s excited to learn more duction side of thing cially through The Illusion.
“It’s an interesting story and you don’t know where it’s going,” Green said. She added that Madison Street Theater puts on many musicals. And though she’s a self-proclaimed “musical nut,” Forest Theatre Company’s plays aren mulaic.
“It’s a departure from what tends to be ther that’s really exciting us,” Green said.
Corley said opening night of The Illusion benefit. For $125 per attendees get a wine tasting along with the play.
eral evenings where the company and its actors work with a chosen playwright on their script – all to develop Forest Theatre Company’s identity and support emerging Chicagoland playwrights.
The ef fort is an expansion of local theater at a time when other institutions are struggling. For example, Dominican University announced this year that it’s ending admissions to its theater arts program. But Corley and his wife teach at the University of Illinois Chicago’s theater program, am’s enrollment has increased – something that needs to continue to ts.
CORLE Y AND LISA GREEN
Next spring, atre Company is producing Man, a comedy set in 1885 at the end of War. The play tells the story of Bulgarian woman with a soldier fighting for Serbia, becoming tor n between two men.
Corley said Arms and the Man about the absurdity of He chose the pl of The Misanthrope, Arms and the Man.
Supporting local theater
In its 2026-2027 season, Forest Theatre Company will launch Classics Now, “our opportunity to find Chicago playwrights, support their work and bring their work to the western suburbs,” Corley said.
Forest Theatre Company will call for submissions of new plays. Throughout the season, Corley said there will be sev-
“We all want musicians and actors,” Green said of unding ams. “Where do you think Brad Pitt came t just fall of f the turnip truck and have these schools. You have to people can do
“This attack on free speech and the arts and ich are all a piece of a plan to centralr – has a chilling eferyone’s ability to for the arts,” Corley said. He added “theater is one of the first things autoworried as long as they have community support and funding. So, the ing on “building a patron base e doing as rest Theatre $30,000, including funds to pay all actors and crew e discussing want year-round high-quality professional theater in their lap, they have to support it,” Corley said. “We’ve got the art, the space, now we need the community.”
Forest Theatre Company is starting a subscription service that offers discounts on Thursday night previews of plays and on opening nights with hors d’oeuvres and a complementary drink. Visit forest-theatre. org to learn more.
RICHARD
ZEN MEDITATION RETREAT
Donate and double your impact with our $15K Match
Growing Community Media Spring Fund Drive ends on J 30. No, we haven’t reached our critical dollar goal yet. But have a little time and a brand new $15,000 Match from a ve generous supporter that is up and running.
If our readers come through, and I’m counting on you, we meet and even beat this Match. That will get us where we need to be as we start another year of good work. And who’s counting but this will be our 46th year of good work.
Right now, every dollar donated by a reader will be doubled. That is a lot of positive impact flowing into our small, hard-working newsroom. And be clear, every reader dollar goes straight to support a re porter’s salary, a freelancer fee, an assignment for our photographer. We know you are reading our stories. We
need you to help pay for them. sell ads. We sell subscriptions. We sell sponsorships. And now we need to sell you on becoming an investor in our newsroom. Reader support is the future of a thriving local nonprofit newsroom.
You know that local news is under stress. Whether it is the intentional undermining of a free press in a fragile democracy or the challenges of reinventing how we do business, our needs are genuine and immediate.
If you value what we do, then join in right now. It is easy and it will connect you even more with your hometown. That’s what we do. Connect. So donate. Right now. With gratitude,
Dan Haley Interim Editor
ZONING
Back to the commission
from page 1
Hoskins, however, told the Review that he would vote to pass the code changes if more commissioners wanted to.
“Given the fact that there wasn’t more unanimity among the council, I wouldn’t want to see something like that be implemented,” he said. “I wasn’t going to cast a tie-breaking vote for changes of that nature.”
Those in favor of change believe it would encourage appropriate development and by doing so help with the village’s finances. Those who are against it feel it would encourage density, add to flooding and not help the village as a whole.
The biggest changes to Title 9, Chapter 3 of the village’s code would have increased maximum impervious lot coverage from 40% to 50% in low-density R1 districts; allowed 80% lot coverage instead of 40% and defined no minimum setbacks from property lines in high-density R3 districts; and allowed twofamily dwellings in R1 districts, which would bring hundreds of homes into compliance with the code and allow hundreds of Forest Parkers to improve their two-flats.
“Seventy-six percent of the residential properties in Forest Park have one bulk feature – side yard setbacks, lot coverage – that are not compliant,” Director of the Department of Health and Safety Steve Glinke told the Review.
That’s over 2,100 of Forest Park’s 2,828 residential lots. If anyone living on those properties wants to refinance or implement any building changes, they won’t be able to because their properties don’t align with the current zoning code. “We write zoning compliance letters routinely. If we wrote them strictly according to the code, somebody couldn’t get financing.”
“They’re asking for something that the code doesn’t allow,” Glinke added. They can’t even go to a planning and zoning commission meeting to get conditional use. And Glinke said it’s stopped development for four homeowners who want to amend their residences With the rejection of the code, the residential zoning changes would have to go back to the planning and zoning commission before they can come back to a council vote. Glinke has been planning how to update batches of the code with the village’s planning services consultant of several years, Muse. Last year, they started rewriting parts of the code, to be reviewed by the planning and zoning commission, then the village council.
In an interview with the Review following the June 9 council meeting, Melin-Rogovin and Voogd reiterated that they wanted a political consensus among commissioners and residents, rather than residential zoning updates that seem to align with individual goals for the village.
“The flip side to that coin is what’s their opposition to it? All I’ve been hearing is it’s going to cause density and flooding,” Glinke said. “Give us some feedback. Provide me with some argument that’s based on something objective. You can’t just say ‘density, flooding.’”
At the May 27 meeting, commissioners had the choice of approving the residential zoning changes, amending them or rejecting them. The majority chose the latter
Melin-Rogovin and Voogd said they were still concerned about how the changes will impact the village’s stormwater management and density. They say they want to see documentation, like an audit, that says why this is a priority of the village, that residents actually want this change.
Glinke said an audit would cost the village tens of thousands of dollars that they don’t have “to invest in something that we pretty much have a firm hand on. I’m not asking anybody to say that Steve Glinke has the first and last word,” since consultants like Muse and the planning and zoning commission had a large hand in developing the residential zoning codes.
Glinke, though, isn’t worried about density or stormwater management, saying the latter is a part of construction on any property, as engineers and urban planners use best practices on a case-by-case basis.
“The guardrails are in place,” Glinke said. He added that “density and overcrowding are completely unrelated. Density is an urban planning metric. It’s what contributes to the local economy. The denser the population, the more walkable it tends to be, the more sustainable it tends to be.”
But Melin-Rogovin has concerns about decreasing minimum lot sizes and increasing allowable building sizes.
“This is going to change how our town looks and feels in the future,” she said. “They care about how they get around, how big their yards are, how big their neighbors are. When you start to talk about the real-life impact on your neighborhood, people care about it.”
To Glinke, the code updates will promote growth in the village and cater to what he’s seeing as Forest Park’s biggest buying demographic: retired people from neighboring villages who want to downsize and young professionals. Glinke said he’s seen few families with school-aged children buy property in Forest Park in recent years – something
he thinks the village would want to attract, given that its population decreased 3.4% from 2020 to 2024.
“We’re not looking to become like a hip version of Del Webb here,” Glinke said. Instead, he said the village should focus on singlefamily homeowners, who are more likely to invest in Forest Park by sending their children to local schools and engaging in village activities.
“Everybody has their idea of what an ideal town is, but in terms of best planning practices, that’s the direction Muse thinks the town ought to take,” Glinke said. “Forest Park is essentially a transient town. It’s three-quarters of multifamily housing and most of that is apartment buildings. Those people don’t put down roots.”
“All these things have a direct benefit to residents, whether they’re current residents or potential future residents,” Glinke added. “This is not zoning in a vacuum. This is community development. This is positively impacting median home value,”
Comprehensive plan
Voogd said the residential zoning code updates are in opposition to the village’s comprehensive plan. The village has had several conversations, even before the recent code updates were proposed, about when and how to update the plan, given that it is over a decade old
“It’s a little bit of a chicken or the egg at this point because the comp plan is old and it needs to be updated, but without updating it, how do we make recommendations?” Voogd said.
But with the village in a major deficit, Glinke said residential zoning changes are a potential place to ear n the village some money.
“It’s time to take broad strokes and get ourselves in a sound financial position. The zoning changes have that potential to contribute to the local economy in a positive and controlled way,” Glinke said.
At the last May council meeting, Voogd requested documentation for what infor med the residential zoning code changes. She told the Review that it’s standard procedure in other communities to have an audit or proposal of planned phases or recommendations of what needs to be updated. Many times, those involve community outreach.
“There is a codified basis or process for making these changes, and we’re not seeing that,” Melin-Rogovin said. “When we’re asked to make decisions about spending large amounts of money, making big changes, we have documentation to review, we have the basis of the recommendations that we can read and evaluate. We don’t have that.”
Both Melin-Rogovin and Voogd told the Review that their concerns about density, stormwater management and public engagement could all be addressed through such documentation.
“For me, it’s all one package,” Voogd said, since data collection leading to a recommendation would likely include impacts of stormwater and density. She said it would also include a public engagement effort
Though the planning and zoning commission held three public meetings last year – which were announced in the Review, on the village’s website and in its weekly newsletter – to discuss the residential zoning code changes before recommending the village approve them, no residents commented at the meetings and they weren’t recorded to be watched after the fact
While Glinke previously told the Review that residents have the responsibility to be engaged, Voogd said the village could be doing a lot more.
“The impetus should be on us not to do the bare minimum,” Voogd told the Review. Though future PZC meetings will be recorded and uploaded to the village’s website after, Voogd said other communities hang a banner announcement or send mailers and post cards when there’s a meeting. “I just want to make sure I’m doing my due diligence as their representative to make sure that I am fully infor med and not only understand what this is but understand the effects of it.”
Voogd said she’s sent information and examples of what documentation she’s looking for to village staff. Glinke said he hasn’t seen that.
Melin-Rogovin said it’s up to department staff and Entler to decide next steps. “I feel like we’ve provided a lot of input and specific information.”
But Glinke said he’s not sure what the next steps are.
“Based on the lack of feedback, I walked away from that meeting feeling like I didn’t have a direction from the board,” he said.
Glinke is drafting a position piece with Muse (the consultant) to send to elected officials, the Review, and to post on the village’s website in an attempt to address their remaining questions
“Then I’m either going to celebrate or tap out,” he said. “There are too many things that need to be done on a day-to-day basis. I can’t fight this fight anymore.”
Keep local news in Forest Park!
GOOD LOUD MEDIA
Jed Brewer
from page 1
Brewer said.
The organization works with communities throughout the United States, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Brewer founded Good Loud Media in 2021 after 20 years of experience in music, video, and audio production. His wife, Hallie Brewer, who has an extensive background is in healthcare, serves as the organization’s chief operating of ficer.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Brewer and his wife reco gnized a need for high-impact public health messaging in under-resourced communities.
“There are some communities where mass market health messaging just doesn’t get through very well,” Brewer said Brewer said generic TV commercials, ads on the radio and billboards are communications strategies that are not always effective in certain communities.
“We started with the COVID focus just because that was such an immediate
thing,” he said. “We did some outreach in particularly challenged neighborhoods of Chicago, but also in rural communities throughout the United States – areas where the use of personal protective equipment was statistically pretty low.”
In rural communities, Good Loud Media partnered with musicians in the country music space to create a ballad that would resonate with people.
“If we take music and a message and put them together in the right way, we can measurably improve people’s lives,” Brewer said.
Four years after getting started, Brewer said Good Loud Media is typically working on a half dozen projects at any given time. For those projects, the organization works with gig-based contributors, including musicians, producers, graphic designers, videographers and cinematographers.
They also work with subject-matter experts, such as doctors, lawyers, psychologists and social workers.
One example of a local project Good Loud Media has worked on is a track about Naloxone, a medication that saves lives of people experiencing an opioid overdose. In order to do this, Good Loud Media partnered with The West Side Heroin and Opi-
oid Task Force. Through this initiative, 10,000 people in Chicago were reached with life-saving information about Naloxon, including where to obtain it. They did this with the help of Chicago’s 106.3FM WSRB, which helped spread the word.
Outside the United States, Good Loud Media has partnered with mental health professionals and recording artists in Nigeria to embed mental health education into music.
“And then we work with radio stations, with social media and with dance clubs to get that music into people’s eardrums,” Brewer said.
At the moment, the organization is producing music that meets the needs of former child soldiers in Africa.
“There is a need all over the world for resources specifically for people in that situation, so that’s one of the projects that we’re working on in 2025 and beyond,” Brewer said.
Good Loud Media is primarily funded by private donors, so Brewer said they would love to be considered by anyone looking to add new charitable causes to their giving.
To learn more or to donate, visit goodloudmedia.org.
Contract for D91 youth interventionist not renewed
Colleague, former students speak in support
By HOPE BAKER Contributing Reporter
The Forest Park elementary school board voted 4-1 not to renew the contract of the middle school’s interventionist coach, Joy Kibir, for the 2025-2026 school year. The vote occurred during the board meeting on June 12. Monique Cotton-Yancy was the sole vote to renew Kibir’s contract.
Dr. Robert Hubbird, District 91’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations, said he could not comment on personnel matters, but affirmed the ongoing importance of the role. He said the district is actively posting the job opening and is working to fill the position in time for the next school year.
“The district and the board still value the position and see the position as something needed for the children,” he said.
At the beginning of the meeting, public comments were made in support of Kibir by a current teacher and for mer students.
Joseph Almaoui, a science teacher at Forest Park Middle School, spoke about the impact Kibir has had on students over the years.
“All the kids and teachers love her,” Almaoui said. “She’s impacted kids so much. She’s just a wonderful figure for our school.”
For mer student Natalie Castro, who is now a sophomore at the University of Illinois Chicago, said Kibir supported her through middle school and has remained a constant source of encouragement ever since.
“We would love for Ms. K. to continue working in School District 91,” Castro said. “She’s always been there for us to seek advice, if we needed anything. She has always been there for us, so we came here to support her.”
USDA cuts impacting Beyond Hunger
But potential cuts from ‘One Big Beautif ul Bill’ are equally concerning
By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
Federal cuts to the United States Department of Agriculture are indirectly affecting Beyond Hunger, the Oak Park-based food pantry.
But cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that could come in wake of passage of some form of the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act are equally concerning.
According to Jennie Hull, the new Beyond Hunger executive director, about 65% of the food pantry’s food comes from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Of that, nearly 30% is considered food from USDA
“When there are cuts to USDA, that impacts the food that food pantries receive,” Hull said. “Now we have to purchase that food.”
located at 848 Lake St.
SNAP, she said, is a food stamp program that is designed, in part, to work with food pantries.
“When people use SNAP, it stretches the amount of money further,” Hull said. “Grocery stores would get money back through SNAP and that supports the local economy.”
One in four people in Illinois are on Medicaid, she added, so cuts to that program could place families in a position of deciding whether to pay for medications or food.
Laura Gutier re z, Beyond Hunger board president, added that USDA cuts have created a domino effect locally.
“A good portion of our food comes from GCFD, which comes from USDA,” Gutierre z said, noting that the food pantry sometimes serves 300 families on Saturdays and up to 200 families on Wednesdays.
“Since Covid, our numbers have only increased in need,” she said. “We don’t want to serve people less food. We want to provide as much nutritious food as possible.”
Hull, who has worked for a decade in food pantries, said it remains to be seen how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could create further issues for Beyond Hunger,
“If you force people to make that hard decision (it will) increase demand for Beyond Hunger,” she said. “If they lose any of those benefits, suddenly that need goes up.
“It’s harder and harder to keep up with demands in a dignified way. We’re already seeing a giant need due to inflation.”
Gutier re z said the potential of SNAP and Medicaid cuts are “deeply concerning.
“We won’t know what affects us until something gets pushed through,” she said. “We just hear there are going to be major cuts. There’s only speculation.
“Until GCFD sees any concrete cuts, that means we’re going to have to do more purchasing power on our end.”
Both Hull and Gutier re z said community support is welcomed, and that can be achieved multiple ways beyond cash donations.
For example, residents could host a food drive and deliver the acquired items to Beyond Hunger.
“Donating is great, but dollars are hard for everyone, not only for the residents we’re serving,” Gutier re z said. “We rely a lot on volunteers. They have their children even volunteering. Also, participating in advocacy; calling your lawmakers. SNAP and Medicaid go hand in hand with getting families nutritious foods.”
JENNIE HULL
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Happy Chef employee beaten with a carving fork
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
darker than Illinois code allows. The car’s re gistration was expired, so police pulled the car over. Police re ported that the driver smelled of alcohol and had slur red speech, so they asked him to get out of the car. The man said he had a beer at Mugsy’s earlier and refused to take any standardized field sobriety tests. In his car, police found two open bottles of tequila and two empty gun magazines – though the man has a suspended firearms owner identification and concealed carry license for an active order of protection against him. Police took him to the police department, where he said he was having a panic attack and asked to be taken to Rush University Medical Center. Around 3 a.m., the man agreed to chemical testing. He returned to the police department, where he was charged with driving under the influence, operating an uninsured car, illegal transportation of alcohol, violating Illinois vehicle code and having an expired re gistration.
Battery
On June 13, Forest Park police were dispatched to Happy Chef on Harlem Avenue for re ports of someone wielding a hammer. They found an employee had locked himself in the restaurant and had a 6-inch-long, bleeding laceration on top of his head, according to the police re port. He also reportedly had contusions on his body and scratches on his neck. The employee told police that a man came in to pick up his order, left, then returned a short while later to complain about his half-eaten food. The employee told police he gave the man half of his money back. But the man wanted a full refund, threw the remaining food at the employee, then backed him into the kitchen aggressively. The employee said the man punched him in his torso and head, then grabbed the carving fork that the employee picked up for protection and proceeded to hit the employee with it. The employee reported that a second man got out of a car outside, and punched him several times, as the group ended up fighting in the Walgreens parking lot. The victim gave police the license plate of the car that the two offenders drove away in. The employee was taken to Rush University Medical Center. Security video that police retrieved re portedly shows a man hitting the employee on the top of the head. The offenders had not been located at the time of the re port.
Deceptive practices
On June 14, a woman told police she thought she was scammed out of $2,200 from a self-employed contractor. She said she had a verbal agreement with the contractor to fix the back deck of her Hannah Street residence, but never drew up a contract before paying. She said the contractor worked on her deck for two hours on June 9, then left and never came back. The contractor hasn’t returned several attempts to reach him. Police hadn’t yet contacted the man at the time the police report was drawn up
DUI
While on patrol in the early hours of June 15, police saw a car on the 7600 block of Jackson Boulevard with windows tinted
Police were dispatched to the Forest Park Public Library on June 17 to remove a man who had previously trespassed. Police escorted him out and gave him a notice of suspension for one year. Moments later, police were dispatched again to the library after the same man returned and punched someone in the face. The victim told police he was standing outside the library, offered the man a cookie, and then the man punched him. Police found the man at the intersection of Desplaines and Jackson, but when they tried to handcuff him, he repeatedly refused requests and tensed his body before they took him to the police station. He was charged with three counts of resisting officers, battery and obstructing his identification.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department re ports dated June 13-18 and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these re ports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We re port the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.
If your child comes out as transgender
One OPRF student’s advice on talking about coming out and how to hear the responses
By TEDDY N.
(Editor’s note: This essay was written by a rising junior at Oak Park and River Forest High School.)
Introduction
Every once and a while, I will get asked about how I came out as trans. Or why. Or what it’s “like.”
I’m not the best at describing this experience, but one analogy I’ve heard (that I think is pretty solid) is to imagine one day you wake up, and when you put on your shoes, you realize they are on the wrong feet. Every attempt to fix them fails. Maybe throw a rock in them for good measure. And all of a sudden, you are left to deal with this perpetual feeling of wrongness. With every step, you are reminded of this situation you’re in, and you think everyone can notice how you walk funny. Somedays, you can get used to it.
Your friends tell you they don’t even notice the mix-up. But then there are those other days, when all you can think about is those freaking Converses (Conversi?). All you want is to rip them off, because anything would be better than another step in those Doc Martens (I’m realizing how few shoe brands I know). And to make matters worse, many in society view the procedure to fix the shoes as something abhor rent. There are those attempting to ensure it is illegal to fix your shoes.
I can only imagine how you are feeling right now. But with all my heart, I thank you for taking this step. If anything, I hope these suggestions can provide a broad idea of your first thoughts if your child comes out to you, to help them feel safe and loved.
Suggestion #1
Your child is not dead, so do not mourn. I understand the feelings overflowing when such an event happens. When I came out to my mother, just the two of us present, there was a pause. Potent and fragile. At that moment, all I wanted was to weep, because the last thing I ever wished to do was cause her pain. Gently, I remember her looking up and asking:
“Do you not like being a girl?” In retrospect, the answer is pretty clear
now. But even then, while I was still reeling in my decision, I understood her meaning. Did she fail as a mother? Did she teach me to be ashamed of womanhood, to think of femininity as something to avoid?
No. I wasn’t able to find that simple word. But by presenting and pretending to be something I wasn’t, I only solidified my understanding: the life I knew was built of glass.
I am so grateful to have been gifted with the most incredible mother I could ever ask for, who’s compassion has guided me through this tumultuous experience more times than I can count. But I know others have not been so lucky. Time and time again I have heard stories from other queer youth, whose parents’ tears did not stop, who they would see clutching to baby photos or reminiscing on songs they played when their children were young. At that moment, all these kids wanted was to turn back time, hide in a closet and have everything go back to the way it was
But they knew that wasn’t possible. Grieving won’t bring your child back, because they never left.
I have been to a few funerals in my life. Loss can be a feeling that never truly goes away. Maybe you spent years planning a name, a future, and it all feels like it is slipping away
to consider -- as they are a major dispute regarding youth -- they are, simply put, not something to worry about right now. Because if your child tells you at dinner they are actually male, they are not coming home the next day with top surgery, a beard, and the heavenly voice of a prepubescent boy, cracks and all. Because being transgender does not equate to having surgery
And yet, it is often one of the only factors considered when a youth discusses aspirations for transitioning
What your child is actually asking for might be so much smaller than you imagined
Transitioning, a majority of the time, is social. It can be choosing a new name, using new pronouns. I hate to use the term “boy and girl clothes”, but maybe your child would like outfits associated with their newfound gender identity. Maybe they just want a haircut. I cannot encourage you enough to let them.
“Their smile, their jokes, the way they hug you? That will not change.”
TEDDY N.
But please understand, your child is the same one that loved dinosaurs when they were five, or who came to you in the middle of the night because of a monster under their bed. They are now simply telling you something bigger than their favorite extracurricular, or where they want to go to college. Their smile, their jokes, the way they hug you? That will not change.
They are asking you to hold their hand as they cross a new road, and to instead act as if you are viewing their eulogy is a stab in the heart. The baby you raised is still here, and you are meeting them more than ever before
Suggestion #2
Your child is not going to undergo a sex change operation overnight.
In the mainstream media, I recognize fear mongering on this topic is widespread, with even the current president implying you can have a gender-affirming surgery at school. While the medical procedures commonly linked to a transgender identity are viable
Even if it doesn’t make sense right away, to look in the mirror and finally recognize your reflection? To know your parents and friends see you for who you are? It is as if you finally found a missing puzzle piece, and the picture is finally whole
And yes, more likely than not they will eventually want to discuss more impactful options, and when they do, I implore you to listen to them. But that takes time. Doctors. Consultations.
Right now, they don’t need a medical evaluation. They need you.
Being transgender is not just about your body or future procedures. Even if you think you’re considering their wellbeing, to only focus on hypothetical medical risks is to completely ignore what they are telling you, and what they’re asking for right now. So be here in the present with them.
Suggestion #3
Know your child is scared.
It was one of the most monumental decisions I ever made, and I know the same is true for others I’ve talked to. However much you imagine your perfect coming out, and whatever media tells you about how rewarding it is, you never know what the reaction will be
Even if all they said was one sentence, understand how much bravery it takes. Behind “I think I’m a girl” is months of self-reflection as they determine who they are. Behind “I’m actually a boy” is time spent stressing about whether it was worth it to tell you.
Behind “I’m trans” is the decision that the potential consequences are insignificant to the opportunity to accept their intrapersonal identity
So recognize that. Be proud -- you have raised a child brave enough to value themselves even when the outcome may appear dire.
But also acknowledge this decision comes with fear, because they don’t know if you will still love them.
They’ve seen the news. They know there are those in power trying to erase their existence and diminish their identity as nothing but mental illness. And they know some of their classmates echo this sentiment. There is a chance to be public about who they are, classmates would isolate them, family members might harass them, all alongside an imbued understanding current politicians would prefer if they didn’t exist.
Try to imagine if when you turned on the TV there was an elected official arguing healthcare that could save your life should be prohibited. That your existence should be criminalized (though unfortunately, this reality applies to more than just those in the LGBTQ+ community).
Your child fears you agree with these sentiments. So make it abundantly clear you do not. Do not ignore what is circulating in the media but ensure this fear does not define them. Treat them as they are: not as your transgender kid, but your son or daughter who happened to be born in the wrong body They are not trying to confuse or har m you. They just need to know that they are still yours. That you will support them even when the world does not. That you will hold their hand
RF proves inclusive nature as 500 join 4th annual Pride Walk
‘Live authentically and be celebrated’
By LEAH SCHROEDER Contributing Reporter
For River Forest Village Trustee Erika Bachner, the months of planning that preceded the fourth annual River Forest Pride Walk were all worth it when she was approached by a young volunteer who shared that this was their first ever Pride event and the amount of support that they felt moved them to tears.
The Pride Walk, held June 2, was attended by over 500 community members
and several community organizations, including the River Forest Library and several religious groups. The event involved the raising of the rainbow Pride a walking parade beginning at and ending at Keystone Park
“Every year when we raise tha always emotional for me, and I think lot of people,” Bachner said. “It shows that River Forest is a place where people can live authentically and be celebrated who they are.”
Bachner said the event had an energetic and joyful atmosphere, with attendees waving Pride flags and enjoying Kona Ice from a nearby snow cone truck. But she also recognized the undeniable magnitude of the
event saying that it wasn’t “just a celebration,” it was a “time for people to feel seen and supported in the area.”
Megan Keskitalo, newly elected as a River Forest village trustee, has participated in the planning process for the event each PROVIDED Celebrating 30 years at this location
year since it began. Each year, more and more community members come to the walk, Keskitalo said.
“It tends to be a highlight of my year, because I feel like there’s so much acceptance and love and excitement in the community for the event and for the sense that everyone belongs and everyone has a place here,” Keskitalo said.
As an openly LGBTQIA+ elected official, Bachner reflected on her own experience growing up and said that has shaped the way that she leads initiatives in the community.
“We know the importance of being seen,” Bachner said. “When I was a kid, I didn’t really have that in the same way. To be able to see kids in the streets with the pride colors and feeling confident and strong and feeling like they can be an ally to somebody, all of that is just really, really important to instill.”
Keskitalo echoed this sentiment, saying she f eels “honored” and “grateful” to be pa rt of a “community that treasures our differences so much.” Going forward, Keskitalo said she hopes to include more c ommunity organizations in the P ride Walk and broaden outreach
prior to the event.
“I feel deeply grateful to live among the people of River Forest and to live in a community where everyone is welcomed, accepted and celebrated,” Keskitalo said.
“It’s especially important to see families and children at these events and to see how we’re teaching the next generation that love is stronger than hate, and that everyone deserves to be appreciated and celebrated.”
The ef for ts to create an inclusive community won’t stop after the Pride Month ends, Bachner said. The ef for ts are ongoing and year-round.
Bachner confirmed the Pride Walk will be held again next year. Year after year, Bachner said River Forest receives feedback from community members about how important they find the Pride Walk event.
“When we do this every year, it’s a powerful reminder that visibility matters,” Bachner said. “Seeing the hundreds of families, seeing the openly LGBTQIA+ elected officials in River Forest and then all the neighbors and allies, it’s a pretty clear message that everyone belongs here in our community.”
Queer youth founded safe summer space with OPALGA+ support
Local LGBTQ+ students and allies join the organization in the Youth Council’s
rst summer
By ELIZABETH SHORT Contributing Reporter
School pride clubs can provide an important safe space for LGBTQ+ youth. Queer students can find support and inclusion in these communities, which they might not find at home or elsewhere. These groups can also offer opportunities for LGBTQ+ youth and allies to organize, become involved in activism, and connect with the larger queer community. During the summer months, however, many of these groups become inactive and some queer
students are left without crucial support systems.
In April, colle ge students Emma Costello-Wollwage and the LGBTQ+ Youth Council of County to tackle exactly this issue. The Oak Park Area
L esbia n and Gay Association + (OPALGA+), which has a dvo cated for LGBTQ+ equality and acceptance in the Chicago area since 1989, sponsors the gr Kennedy are both previous the OPALGA+ Scholarshi dents in reco gnition of their a partnering with a Youth Council will
ing LGBTQ+ advocacy projects and groups while approaching these issues from a specifically youth-oriented perspective.
ich already has es to provide local LGBTQ+ youth with vital support systems during these summer months.
The group hopes to create a more sustainabl e and consistent commu-
LGBTQ+ students, who might also struggle with losing a familiar safe space ile transitioning between schools.
“Through the OPALGA+ Youth Council, a lasting space where LGBTQ+ youth feel supported, heard, and emto lead,” said Kennedy. “Our goal
is to create opportunities that reflect our community’s needs, encourages meaningful connection, and gives young people the tools to get involved — whether through service, advocacy, or simply showing up for one another.”
These groups become especially important during times of political uncertainty. As the federal government strips programs providing critical support to queer youth — the federal government announced it will be ending the national suicide hotline’s specialized support for LGBTQ+ youth starting next month — local organizations and communities can step in and provide a safety net.
The Youth Council “can be the time where queer students can re gain strength, hope, and feel a sense of community in the midst of a world that doesn’t always ensure LGBTQ+ safety and equality,” said Costello-Wollwage
EMMA COSTELLO-WOLLWAGE (she/her)
OPINION
OUR VIEW
Zoning failure
We are genuinely puzzled that a year-long ef fort to update Forest Park’s residential zoning code has effectively failed. At a village council meeting in late May, two commissioners voted to approve the changes, the mayor and another commissioner voted no and the fifth person, Commissioner Michelle Melin-Rogovin oddly chose to abstain from voting at all.
The outcome then was to defeat the proposal which had been well vetted by the planning and zoning commission and a village-hired consultant and then batted about by a village council and mayor who seem happiest when accomplishing nothing.
The changes proposed in this process are notable and necessary but not in any way radical. The objections raised by Commissioners Melin-Rogovin and Jessica Voogd are, while specific, off point. Both are focused on flooding issues which can be addressed on a permit-by-permit basis as new projects come forward. And their worries about increased density are just wrong-headed. Forest Park, within the reasonable bounds of this proposal, will benefit from some additional density. It will increase a declining population and boost badly needed property tax revenues
Forest Park is an inner-ring suburb with the assets of multiple rail lines, adjacency to downtown Chicago and high walkability. We are built for added density. And we should embrace it
Mayor Rory Hoskins’ decision to oppose the measure is beyond frustrating. “Given the fact that there wasn’t more unanimity among the council, I wouldn’t want to see something like that be implemented. I wasn’t going to cast a tie-breaking vote for changes of that nature,” he told the Review.
We’ve heard the “tie-breaking vote” argument from mayors and village presidents before We don’t buy it. Hoskins was elected just like the other commissioners to make decisions. He has one vote and he ought to use it.
More basically though, we are in this mess because of Hoskins’ infuriating lack of leadership. Updating, re pairing Forest Park’s long-flawed residential zoning has to be a priority for the village. They’ve spent a year or more working away at it using the appropriate tools of the zoning commission and the consultant Muse. Inevitably it was headed to the village council for a decision.
As has become usual, Hoskins’ direction to the commissioners was to go talk among themselves (without violating the Open Meetings Act). That is not leadership. That is an abdication of leadership.
So what is next? If this council has the gumption to revisit this important issue, it will mean fully starting over. Back to the planning and zoning commission, restarting community engagement ef for ts and then back to the council
No reason to bother if our elected officials cannot decide on their priorities and our mayor can’t articulate a vision for zoning in Forest Park
June 14: a showcase of di erent kinds of power
The parade in the nation’s capital on June 14 was an exhibit of military power. America’s military power is formidable, has preserved the Union and helped win two world wars. That Saturday I was not sure what the point was in displaying military power at this point in history. The image of a body builder admiring himself in a mirror kept coming to mind.
One week later, I realized that this display of military power wasn’t just for show when I heard the news that seven B-2 stealth bombers dropped fourteen 30,000 lb. bombs on three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran.
Since then, the debate has partly been about whether this display of power will change anything in that part of the world.
HOLMES
Forest Parkers also celebrated Juneteenth, remembering the event it commemorates, the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston were informed of their freedom, two months after the Confederacy surrendered and over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
Juneteenth was made possible by the use of military power during the Civil War and the ensuing phase of Reconstruction empowered Black Americans to participate in the political process.
More than 600 African Americans served in state legislatures, and hundreds more held local offices from sheriff to justice of the peace. Moreover, 16 African Americans served in Congress during Reconstruction, including two U.S. senators, Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce.
The beginning of the Jim Crow Era in 1877 marked the demise of all of those newly won freedoms when federal troops were removed from the South and stopped enforcing the gains made in the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution.
Military power, it seems, without being followed by cultural transformation is very limited in its ability to create lasting positive chang e. We did better in Japan and Ger many following World War II.
But getting back to June 14, it was also the day when 200 Forest Parkers joined with five million Americans to participate in the “No Kings” protests across more than 2,100 cities and towns that Saturday.
Call it “people power,” expressed in rallies, attempting to reverse what the protesters would call autocratic power and overreach by President Trump
What ef fect will people-power have? We’ll see in the 2026 midterm elections. We’ll see if the behavior of representatives and senators changes, but I’m sure that peoplepower had a positive impact on the 200 folks who participated in the protest.
There is another kind of power — which I witnessed in myself. What I experienced in myself was the power to stop feeling sorry for myself, stop wishing someone else would do something, get off my couch, step to the plate and take a few swings at the ball.
When I heard David Brooks contend that, in addition to the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, there is a fourth “branch,” called “we the people,” who also have power to act as a check and a balance to the abuses of the first three, I felt like the New York Times columnist was talking directly to me
I had a lot of excuses to take a pass on stepping up to the plate. I have never org anized a rally before; have a disabling disorder; right now am experiencing pain from a pinched nerve; have trouble communicating because of my disorder — to which I kept hearing a voice telling me to “do it anyway.”
On my high school baseball team the coach had me batting ninth in the order because I was the worst hitter on the team. But there I was. It was the bottom of the ninth, the score was tied, a teammate was on second base, and guess whose turn it was to step up to the plate?
For the purpose of this column I won’t tell you if I got the game winning hit or not, because that would speak to the question of whether I had the power to perform. What matters more in these fraught times, I think, is how many of us can access the internal power to step up to the plate and take three swings at the ball. I want to call that kind of power Liz Cheney power. She knew she would probably get “primary-ed” for participating in the hearings on the January 6 insur rection. Many cynical people decided that President Trump won that challenge, but I’m a person of faith who dares to believe that “in the long run” she and all of us we will come out on the winning side because she and thousands like her have found the power to step up to the plate.
There’s still another power I want to mention. Six days before June 14, Christians remembered when power was given to 11 frightened disciples, who left the safety of their “closet” and told the whole world what they truly believed
A LOOK BACK IN TIME
The Harlem Post was a local weekly newspaper printed in Ge rman for the local German population in what would later become Forest Park. Its first edition was published on Se pt. 12, 1895. The paper’s June 1, 1899 edition contained the following news about the monthly meeting of the school board:
‘The re gular monthly meeting of the Harlem School Board was called to order Friday evening by Fred Uhrig, the board’s president. All members were present. Payment for two invoices was authorized by the board: An invoice from Crawford Bros. in the amount of $5.00 for plumbing work, and an invoice from L. Kolzow in the amount of $33.46 for water hoses and other items. Payment for teachers’ and the janitor’s salaries for May were approved as well.
“And Adolph Peters’ German Butcher Shop, located at 141 Madison Street in Harlem recommended their outstanding meats, fresh sausages, cured meats, etc. at reasonable prices to the public in Harlem and surrounding areas.”
Translated by Uli Leib
& FRESHLOCALNEWS
Interim
Executive Director Max Reinsdorf Sta Repor ter Jessica Mordacq
Senior Audience Manager Stacy Coleman
Contributing Editor Donna Greene
Contributing Reporters Tom Holmes, Robert J. Li a
Columnists Alan Brouilette, Jill Wagner, Tom Holmes
Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead
Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea
Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza
Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls
Marketing & Adver tising Associate Emma Cullnan
Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan
Circulation Manager Jill Wagner
Operations Associate Susan Babin
Special Projects Manager Susan Walker
Senior Advisor Dan Haley
Board of Directors
Chair Eric Weinheimer
Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Mary Cahillane Steve Edwards, Judy Gre n, Horacio Mendez, Charles Meyerson, Darnell Shields, Audra Wilson
HOW TO REACH US
ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302
PHONE 708-366-0600 ■ FAX 708-467-9066
EMAIL forestpark@wjinc.com
CIRCULATION Jill@oakpark.com ONLINE ForestParkReview.com
Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Forest Park Review,141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302-2901. Periodical rate postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS No 0205-160)
In-county subscriptions: $38 per year. $70 for two years, $93 for three years. Out-of-county subscriptions: $58 per year. Forest Park Review is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. © 2025 Growing Community Media
DATE
REQUEST
NAME CHANGE OF MINOR CHILD STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY
Request of Laura Cadden to change the name of Minor Child Case Number 20254000863
There will be a court date on a Request to change the name of the minor child from: Aisha Omar to the new name of: Aisha Mairéad Cadden-Ocampo.
The court date will be held:
On August 19, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at the Maywood Courthouse, 1500 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, Illinois 60153 in Courtroom # 0111
Legal Notice for River Forest Public Library Community Room
By authority of the Board of Library Trustees, sealed bids will be received until 2:00 p.m., prevailing time, on July 15, 2025, by the Board of Library Trustees of the River Forest Public Library for the Community Room. Any bids received after 2:00 p.m. will not be accepted. The project consists of the renovation of the existing community room and workroom and the creation of a new family restroom in the youth department. The work includes but is not limited to: demolition, millwork, doors, partitions, interior finishes, fire protection, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, low-voltage systems, and Audio Visual.
found on the Village’s website https://engageoakpark.com/ bike-plan.
� July 14, 2025, 6�00 p.m. to 8�00 p.m. at Carroll Center, 1125 S. Kenilworth Ave., Oak Park, Illinois 60304
� July 16, 2025, 6�00 p.m. to 8�00 p.m. at the Park District of Oak Park’s Community Recreation Center, 229 Madison St., Oak Park, Illinois 60302
PURPOSE� The Village of Oak Park (“Village”) will conduct two open houses and public hearings on the Bike Plan Update which is a Village-wide transportation planning study that includes recommendations for the installation of on-street bicycle accommodations which may require the removal of on-street parking at multiple locations.
A copy of the draft Bike Plan Update document is on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Village Manager’s Office, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8�30 a.m. and 5�00 p.m., or can be
Published in
Information will be shared at the open house regarding the Bike Plan Update. Additionally, all interested persons will be given an opportunity to make comments of up to three minutes each at the public hearing, which will be recorded by Village staff by audio or video. Interested persons may also submit public comment by emailing transportation@oak-park.us or submitting the comments in writing to: Village of Oak Park, Attention: Village Engineer, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302. Comments made at the public hearing and received via email or in writing will be shared with the Village Board for their review.
If you require assistance to participate in any Village program or activity, contact the ADA Coordinator at 708.358.5430 or email ADACoordinator@oakpark.us at least 48 hours before the scheduled activity.
June 25, 2025
Legal Notice
Village of River Forest Development Review Board
River Forest, Illinois
Public notice is hereby given that a Public Hearing will be held by the Development Review Board of the Village of River Forest, County of Cook, State of Illinois, on Thursday, July 10th, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the River Forest Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois on the following matter:
Application # 26-0001: Amending Planned Development Ordinance No. 2643 Regarding Priory Park: Application to construct a splash pad, expand the south end of the Priory Center, and construct a picnic shelter.
The address of the property is as follows: 7354 Division Street, River Forest, IL 60305.
The applicant is:
River Forest Park District
Legal Description:
Park District Property –
Sub Parcel “E”
Responses shall be submitted in duplicate on or before the specified closing time in an opaque sealed envelope marked as noted within the Bidding Documents on the outside and addressed to: Emily Compton, Library Director, River Forest Public Library. Responses are to be mailed or hand delivered to the River Forest Public Library, 735 Lathrop Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305
A mandatory pre-bid site conference and walk-through for contractors will be held on July 1, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. at the River Forest Public Library, 735 Lathrop Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305.
Bid security in the form of a bid bond or certified check made payable to the River Forest Public Library equal to 10% of the base bid amount shall be submitted with the bid. Performance and Labor and Material Payment Bonds, and Certificate of Insurance will be required from the successful bidder.
The River Forest Public Library Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any or all documents submitted or parts thereof, to waive any irregularities or informalities in the prequalification procedures and to approve trade contractors and vendors to bid in a manner serving the interest of the River Forest Public Library.
All bidders must comply with the applicable Illinois Law requiring the payment of prevailing wages, and bidders must comply with the Illinois Statutory requirements regarding labor and bidding, including Equal Opportunity Laws. All bidders must comply with requirements listed in the documents.
Bidding documents which include Project Manual and Project Plans will be on file and may be obtained by bidders on June 23, 2025, after 12:00 p.m., for electronic distribution through BHFX Planroom website: http://www.bhfxplanroom.com. All communication should be directed to Shaun Kelly, Engberg Anderson, 8618 W. Catalpa Avenue, Chicago, IL 60656. (PH: 312-846-7646; EM: shaunk@engberganderson. com). Hard copies are available for purchase through the BHFX Planroom. All costs associated with printing will be borne by the bidding contractor or vendor.
Published in Wednesday Journal June 25, 2025
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
The easterly 200.00 feet of the westerly 505.00 feet of the following described tract: Of that part of the south half of the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 1, Township 39 North, Range 12, east of the third principal meridian, in Cook County, Illinois, described as follows: Commencing at the southwest corner of the south half of the east half of the northeast quarter of said Section 1; thence south 90 degrees east along the south line of said northeast quarter of Section 1, a distance of 221.12 feet; thence North 00 degrees east at right angles to the last described line a distance of 40.00 feet to the point of beginning, said point also being on the northerly right-ofway line of Division Street, as per document No. 8265055; thence north 00 degrees 10’ 00” east parallel with the west line of the east half of said northeast quarter of said Section 1, a distance of 661.14 feet; thence south 89 degrees 50’ 00” east a distance of 381.00 feet; thence south 00 degrees 23’ 06” west a distance of 105.71 feet; thence south 08 degrees 45’ 24” east a distance of 129.68 feet to a point of curvature, thence along a curve to the left having a radius of 150.00 feet, an arc length of 212.70 feet, thence south 75 degrees 14’ 32” east, a distance of 82.05 feet; thence south 00 degrees west, a distance of 22.50 feet; thence south 90 degrees east, a distance of 68.00 feet; thence south 00 degrees west, a distance of 255.60 feet to the northerly right-of-way line of said Division Street; thence north 90 degrees west along the northerly right-of-way line of said Division Street, a distance of 607.54 feet to the point of beginning.
All interested persons will be given the opportunity to be heard at the public hearing, the purpose of which is to take evidence on the Application for the Development Review Board and Village Board to consider. A copy of the application and meeting agenda will be available to the public at the Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, or at www.vrf.us.
Clifford Radatz Secretary Development Review
Board
Published in Wednesday Journal June 25, 2025
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION US BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST Plaintiff vs. UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF WILLIE G. HENRY; FLORENCETTA HENRY; TCF NATIONAL BANK; ANITA HENRY; COURTNEY HENRY; EBONEE HENRY; MERCEDES HENRY; TIARA HENRY; JACK LYDON, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF WILLIE G. HENRY; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF FLORENCETTA HENRY, IF ANY; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendant 17 CH 13529 CALENDAR 61 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on July 21, 2025, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-09-315-063-0000. Commonly known as 635 Rice Avenue, Bellwood, IL 60104. The real estate is: single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Codilis & Associates, P.C., 15W030 North Frontage Road. Suite 100, Burr Ridge, IL 60527. (630) 794-5300. 14-23-01315
INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3267950
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
ATHENE ANNUITY & LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY Plaintiff vs. UNKNOWN HEIRS OF JOYCE A. ROBINSON, CITY OF CHICAGO, CAPITAL ONE, N.A. SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO CAPITAL ONE BANK (USA), N.A., MIDLAND FUNDING LLC, RONALD ROBINSON, JUVONA ROBINSON, AMIR MOHABBAT AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant 23 CH 1793 CALENDAR 59 NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on July 21, 2025, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate:
P.I.N. 15-17-113-013-0000. Commonly known as 236 N. FOREST AVE., HILLSIDE, IL 60162. The real estate is: single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.
For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Law Offices of Ira T. Nevel, 175 North Franklin Street, Suite 201, Chicago, Illinois 60606. (312) 357-1125. 2300555
INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3267963
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION PARAMOUNT RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE GROUP, INC. Plaintiff, -v.-
SABRINA MCDADE Defendants 2024 CH 06544 1014 GARDNER ROAD WESTCHESTER, IL 60154
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on April 22, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 24, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:
Commonly known as 1014 GARDNER ROAD, WESTCHESTER, IL 60154
Property Index No. 15-16-416058-0000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
The judgment amount was $258,302.82.
Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours.
The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.
Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.
The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.
If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a
mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.
For information, contact CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 241-6901. Please refer to file number 24-224197. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc. com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
CHAD LEWIS ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018 561-241-6901
E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM Attorney File No. 24-224197 Attorney ARDC No. 6306439 Attorney Code. 65582 Case Number: 2024 CH 06544 TJSC#: 45-1129
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
Case # 2024 CH 06544 I3268586
Submit events and see full calendar at forestparkreview.com/events
Cognitive decline can steal the past, but it doesn’t have to steal the future. Pioneered to curb the effects of cognitive decline, Circle of Friends® is a unique, evidence-based program for building brain fitness. It was developed by Belmont Village in collaboration with the nation’s top universities and healthcare institutions — and it works. Residents enjoy a rich, therapeutic program of physical and mental activities designed to maintain brain function and build self-esteem.
