Forest Park Review 071520

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REVIEW

Rats!

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Library reopens PAGE 8

JULY 15, 2020

@FP_Review@ForestParkReview @ForestParkReview @FP_Review

Conflicts arise over D91 reopening plan Teachers’ Association concerned about safety, practicality

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

District 91 announced its plans for fall reopening last week, plans that include all-day masked instruction for students with many safety protocols in place.

However, some teachers feel trepidation about the new plan, and although Superintendent Lou Cavallo said the teachers were consulted prior to and while developing the plan, Forest Park Teachers’ Association (FPTA) President Susan Bogdan contradicts that assertion.

The reopening plans, announced and discussed during a question and answer session for parents during a July 9 school board meeting, may change, as Cavallo said he is meeting with the FPTA on July 14 to discuss the situation.

According to Bogdan in an email, “The teacher’s union did not have a role in the plan to reopen.” She said some teachers were involved in the Learning Loss Committee (LLC), a group that includes teacher representatives from all age groups and from the special education department. The group, led by James Edler, director of innovative instruction, began meeting before school was out in the spring to prepare for the district’s virtual summer school program, and the group continues to meet to plan for the possibility of a return to distance learning in the fall. However, said Bogdan, “the LLC did not discuss any part of the plan to return to school in person.”

See REOPENING on page 13

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

FULL OF LIFE

Etta Worthington (center) shows visitors her home vegetable garden, one of the stops in the Historical Society of Forest Park’s Garden Walk on July 11. See more on page 12.

Policy and perceived threat discussed at policing forum First-ever meeting of its kind opens public discussion

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

Discussion about perceived threat between citizens and their police department began to get heated and led Mayor Rory Hoskins to ask that participants

IN Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 THIS Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ISSUE Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

“lower the temperature” of the policing forum on July 9. During the meeting at village hall, police department leadership was forthcoming about policy and procedure, but some residents wanted a deeper discussion of systemic racism, despite a recently solid record of only

one officer-involved shooting in the department since 2017 and in over 61,000 9-1-1 calls.

It was the Forest Park Police Department’s first ever policy-related public

Homeless struggle during pandemic

Coffee shop remodeling

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PAGE 10

See POLICING on page 8

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

Kindergarten Screenings District 91 will be holding the 2020-2021 Kindergarten screenings by appointment only at Betsy Ross and Garfield schools on Tuesday, August 11 and Wednesday, August 12, 2020. You must register online before scheduling an appointment.

To make an appointment, families will need to email their school’s secretary with the child’s name, parent/guardian name, address, phone number and the child’s date-of-birth. Do not contact school secretaries before August 3rd since no one will be in the offices prior to that date. Secretaries will call families to set up appointments beginning Monday, August 3, 2020.

Families living south of I-290 go to Betsy Ross

- Patty Marino at pmarino@fpsd91.org or call 708-366-7498

Families living north of I-290 go to Garfield

- Diane Rice at drice@fpsd91.org or call 708-366-6945

Forest Park Preschool

District 91 is no longer accepting new student registrations for Preschool for the 2020-2021 school year. However, if your child is returning to Preschool, you need to register online. You will receive a mailing with online registration instructions and a code to access the Illuminate Home Connection parent portal to complete your online registration.

If you have questions, please contact the Forest Park Preschool secretary, Diane Rice, after August 3, 2020, at drice @fpsd91.org or call 708-366-6945.

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

Speaking in italics is to hard-filled for, Readers

A

n alert reader forwarded to me an article describing the most common grammar gaffes that keep coming up and what I can do to avoid them. I don’t know if she’s trying to send me a message but grammar I’ve always been real good at.

For example, I know we need to put in commas to prevent, in some cases, confusion. Even the Bible authors had trouble with this one. Isaiah wrote, “A voice of one calling, ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord.’” But Mark, trying to quote Isaiah, mis-placed the comma and wrote, “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord.” It’s enough to shake your faith.

Another gaffe is improper hyphenization. Book-authors often hyphenatewrongly. They write a novel about being a welder-trapeze-artist and expect the reader to be en-chanted.

Worse, the sentences they write – in the passive voice they definitely are. Even their

book titles are wrongly written: “The Trapeze Bar That Broke.”

You don’t capital-ize the small word, unless it’s a verb. In this case “The Trapeze Bar Be Broke” would be proper.

They, I’m talking about those who write, also don’t use italics correctly. I’m reading a sentence and it says, “Gustav cried his weld wasn’t holding.”

And I say – hey, Gustav, shouting is something you don’t have to do to me. There’s no excuse for raising our voices in our writing, unless, of course, WE’RE REALLY UPSET! Like when the writer uses wordy, unnecessary, superfluous adjectives and also over-modifies their verbs. They tell you the man with the cane walked slowly. Of course, he is, especially considering he’s on a very skinny tightrope. Or they say the night is dark. They’re always dark, unless you’re in Alaska or something and even there they’re inky-black for six months.

You see, I’m such a great grammatician, I just used two forms of “their” back-to-back.

JOHN RICE

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L O O K

B A C K

I N

■ John Rice is a columnist/private detec-

tive, who has seen his business and family thrive in Forest Park. He thoroughly enjoys life in the village and still gets a thrill smelling Red Hots, watching softball and strolling through cemeteries. Jrice1038@aol.com

T I M E . . .

Time for a swim Pool parties have been a staple in the lives of Forest Parkers for generations. This school pool party in 1993 featured many local kids who have grown up a bit and have kids of their own.

See if you can recognize any of these faces. For more photos, visit the Forest Park Review Historical Society blog and don’t forget to “Take Time for Fun!”

So much trouble that word causes. Too is another tough one. When I dictate my reports, I always spell out, t-o, because I want to charge the client for driving to Chicago Heights. I don’t want them to think that I happened to go there also, or that there’s more than one suburb that starts two hundred blocks south of Madison Street.

For some, especially young people, grammar is not for them. They don’t even spell out the words they’re using. “R U coming?” is like a question for them, when it should be, “R U coming?” because sometimes a shout is needed by you when they don’t ever answer their phones.

Grammar-learning is certainly important in Forest Park. When I hear school kids using their “outside” voices, in front of my house loudly sometimes: I tell them that sleepy I am, plus drowsy, and they should stop speaking in italics.

F O R E S T PA R K

REVIEW Editor Maria Maxham Contributing Reporters Tom Holmes, John Rice, Bob Skolnik, Jackie Glosniak, Robert J. Lifka Columnists Alan Brouilette, Jill Wagner, Tom Holmes, John Rice Senior Editor Bob Uphues Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designers Debbie Becker, Mark Moroney Sales and Marketing Representatives Lourdes Nicholls, Marc Stopeck Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Front Desk Carolyn Henning, Maria Murzyn Publisher Dan Haley Business Manager Joyce Minich HOW TO REACH US ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 708-366-0600 ■ FAX 708-467-9066 EMAIL forestpark@wjinc.com ONLINE ForestParkReview.com TWITTER @FP_Review Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Forest Park Review,141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302-2901. Periodical rate postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS No 0205-160) In-county subscriptions: $25 per year. $42 for two years, $58 for three years.

Out-of-county subscriptions: $33 per year.

Forest Park Review is published digitally and in print

by Growing Community Media NFP. © 2020 Growing Community Media NFP.

F O R E S T PA R K

REVIEW

–Jill Wagner

Photo by Lisa Grimes, school pool party, August 1993

Share photos on Instagram using #fpreview or email alexa@oakpark.com.

All photos become property of Forest Park Review for possible future use in print or digital capacities. @ForestParkReview

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4 Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

Rodents and derelict buildings cause complaints

The Hideaway a hideaway for rats?

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

The Hideaway, 7301 Roosevelt Rd., once known as a lively though slightly decrepit dive bar, has been closed since April 2014 when the village shut it down due to over 40 internal and external building code violations. Former owner George Grivas of Franklin Park died two years later, and with nobody to inherit the property, it’s sat at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Marengo Avenue, boarded up, but not, according to some residents, empty.

At least one resident who lives nearby said it’s not only an eyesore, but a haven for rats.

Daniel Riley lives on the 1100 block of Marengo Avenue, and he said between the Hideaway, the abandoned Pit Zone Barbecue location at 7247 Roosevelt Rd. and the American Postal Workers Union building at 7243 Roosevelt Rd., the rats are overwhelming the neighborhood, so much so that he’s spent thousands of dollars trying to protect his own property from rodents.

“I used to be real proud to tell people I lived in Forest Park,” Riley said in an interview on July 12. “But now I’m embarrassed and ashamed.” Riley’s lived in town since 1991, and he said he’s never seen rodent problems this bad before.

He said he’s called Mayor Rory Hoskins and Director of Public Health and Safety Steve Glinke about the rat situation several times, but he’s been told there are no signs

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

EYESORE: The building at 7301 Roosevelt Rd. has been boarded up for years, and some residents say it houses rats. of rat infestation inside the Hideaway.

“I challenge the mayor and Steve Glinke and John Doss [director of public works] and anyone else that makes decisions for the village to set up chairs, any time between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., and we’ll sit there and watch for rats. You’ll see,” said Riley.

The Review wanted to see. So we went out the night of July 12 around 8:30 p.m. With a flashlight, we walked around the Hideaway and the other two properties mentioned by Riley. Within less than 10 minutes, we’d seen four rats. One ran inside a hole in the Hideaway’s north wall. The others were along the sides of the old Pit Zone and Postal Workers Building, behind which the stench of garbage was overwhelming.

Of course, driving home, a rat ran across Circle Avenue, and rats can be seen in many places throughout the village.

Still, we called Glinke, who said the village would “double up” on rodent control in the area. The garbage in back of the Postal Workers Building will be cleared out, and the village will make a second call to the company that’s supposed to empty the grease waste behind the old Pit Zone. If that doesn’t happen soon, public works will take care of it.

Glinke said he’d have Smithereen, the rat control service the village uses, come out to inspect for rats and put out more traps.

Both Pit Zone and the Postal Workers Building aren’t currently in use. In May

2019 the water was shut off at the Postal Workers Building due to nonpayment. Glinke has reached out to the National American Postal Workers Union to get a status on the property. Pit Zone stopped paying for water in March 2020.

Glinke said for years there’d been “no clear path forward” for the village to deal with the Hideaway. Recently, because of the “slow deterioration of the structure itself,” the village had begun seeking legal advice on how to gain the title to the property to demolish it. But the legal path to do so, said Glinke, was complicated, especially since the owner was dead and there appeared to be no legal heirs.

He said he’s been inside in the past few weeks and saw no typical signs of a rat infestation, such as burrowing or chewed wires.

But despite that, said Glinke, the village will step up efforts in the area to try to reduce the rat population.

And, perhaps soon, the Hideaway itself will no longer be an issue. The Cook County Land Bank Association (CCLBA) was awarded the tax certificate for the property through the country treasurer’s 2019 scavenger sale of delinquent property taxes.

The current owners, said the CCLBA, “have until 9/5/2020 to bring the delinquent taxes current, unless there is an extension of the redemption date due to COVID-19. Once the redemption period has passed, the Land Bank will evaluate the property and determine next steps.”

The CCLBA, formed in 2013, operates largely through grant funding and revenues from transactions. Part of its mission statement is “to promote redevelopment and reuse of vacant, abandoned, foreclosed or tax-delinquent properties.” And they’ve got their sights set on the Hideaway.

Art walk will replace Garage Galleries this year COVID fears force committee to get creative

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

For years, the much-loved Garage Galleries summer event has been an opportunity for local artists to showcase their work while residents and visitors strolled through Forest Park garages and backyards. With COVID dangers and restrictions in place this year, however, the Forest Park Arts Alliance (FPPA) decided not to hold the event.

In June, the FPAA announced that “due to the uncertainty of the COVID crisis, the planning committee for Garage Galleries has made the decision to cancel the event for this year. We could not justify placing our hosts, artists and guests in a position which could impact their health.”

But they still wanted to find a way to give resi-

dents their annual local art fix. So they’ve teamed with the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce and will hold a still-unnamed art walk on Madison Street.

The planned week is August 22 to 29, and the event will feature Garage Galleries artists from past years displaying their art in storefronts up and down Madison Street.

Landlords and leasing agents of open storefronts are offering their windows to host art displays, which will be under lock and key. Lighting will be provided in the windows for evening viewing, and artists can include contact information in the windows so viewers wishing to purchase work can do so.

Socially distant viewing of the art will be guided by sidewalk markings in front of display windows.

The application deadline for artists is July 24.

Contact Lin Beribak at lberibak@att.net for more information.

File

A YEAR OFF: The annual Garage Galleries event is canceled this year due to COVID concerns. But an art walk along Madison Street is being planned instead.

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

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Eighteen vehicles given citations during rowdy funeral processions

Eighteen vehicles were given citations for reckless driving during several rowdy funeral procession on July 11 at the Harlem Avenue and Jackson Boulevard intersection. Police officers observed and recorded license plates of vehicles that were trying to block traffic by cutting off other drivers at intersections, taking up multiple lanes, and driving with occupants hanging out of open windows, doors, roofs and sun-roofs.

According to the police report, these actions “were without regard to the public, their passengers or themselves, everyone in danger of being seriously injured.”

and another on the back of his head. Both wounds were bleeding profusely.

Officers on the scene tried to piece together what had happened, but “all witnesses appeared to be intoxicated,” according to the police report.

Officers figured out that four or five subjects in their twenties or thirties began to argue with the victim. The argument escalated and became physical. Descriptions of the offenders were provided, including that one of the men was accompanied by a goat, which was wearing a service animal vest.

Subway did not wish to sign a complaint against the woman but will call the police if she returns to the shop.

Sleeping man on train robbed A man fell asleep on the Blue Line train and awoke at the Forest Park stop to find his bicycle and backpack stolen on July 9.

His backpack contained $800, money he said was from his government stimulus check.

Fight at bar; service goat present

Woman upset with social distancing smashes window

Salon robbed by suspect indicating he has weapon

Police rushed to Doc Ryan’s, 7432 Madison St., on July 10 at 12:23 a.m., for a battery that had just occurred. A fight had broken out and an injured man was punched in the face, then fell and hit his head on the curb.

Reporting officers arrived to find the victim lying on the ground, semi-conscious, and being cradled by his son. The officer observed a large laceration on the victim’s lip

A window at Subway, 7328 Madison St., was broken on June 10 at 9:13 a.m. when a customer, unhappy with the restaurant being roped off to comply with social distancing requirements, knocked over the barricade and some chairs and began yelling at store employees. She then left the store, but once outside grabbed a sign and threw it into the front window causing it to break.

Seva, a salon at 7505 Roosevelt Rd., was robbed on July 7 at 11:10 a.m. An employee working there at the time said she was in the back of the salon when she heard a male voice talking to a customer about pricing.

She heard the register open and ran to the front of the store, where she saw a man taking cash from the register.

She demanded he return the money, and

he placed his hand at his waistband as if to indicate he was carrying a weapon. Then he ran outside and fled the scene on a Divvy bicycle, last seen heading toward Taco Bell across the street.

Car window smashed The rear window of a vehicle on the 1000 block of Thomas Avenue was smashed with a piece of concrete some time between July 5 and 6. The owner of the car said she had “Black Lives Matter” written in sharpie on the back window and believes that was the motivation for the crime.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, July 6-11, 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.

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

Forest Park businesses benefit from PPP loans Living Word, car dealerships, landscaping company and others receive aid

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

The U.S. Small Business Administration released a database last week showing 38 businesses and nonprofits in Forest Park that applied for and received funds from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which helps businesses and nonprofits suffering from financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The PPP is part of the federal government’s CARES Act and was rolled out in March.

The list of Forest Park businesses and nonprofits receiving funds includes car dealerships, landscaping companies and notfor-profit organizations. The Forest Park Review reported in May that its parent company, the nonprofit Growing Community Media, had received a $242,500 PPP loan.

Recipients of the biggest government award were Remedial Environmental Manpower, Inc. (REM), a staffing services company at 7239 Roosevelt Rd. and Farmington Foods at 7419 Franklin St. Both received aid in the

$2M to $5M range.

Nonprofits benefiting from the loans include three related organizations: Bill Winston Ministries, Living Word Christian Center, and The Joseph Center. Other local nonprofits listed are Sarah’s Inn and Chicago Inner-City Business Development out of 819 Marengo Ave. All received loans in the $150,000 to $350,000 range, except for Living Word Christian Center, whose loan was in the $1 million to $2 million range.

McAdam Landscaping received aid in the $350,000 to $1 million range. President Scott McAdam said, “The money helped retain employees that might otherwise not be retained or re-hired because of the shutdown. We were very cautious in our re-hiring.

Once we received the money, we re-hired everyone.”

He added: “Our costs have risen greatly because of COVID-19.

Our crews have hand sanitizers and disinfectants in each vehicle. Our office is in a partial shutdown mode with many working remotely. We have the entire office area disinfected daily at all touch points and en-

FILE PHOTO

PPP RECIPIENT: McAdam Landscaping, which hosts an annual pumpkin party at its 2001 Desplaines Ave. location, was just one of the Forest Park businesses that received a PPP loan. try to the building is restricted to employees only. The only crew members that enter the offices are the managers and foreman unless something is necessary.

All are required to wear masks when on properties where client interaction could happen, and our employees are asked not to engage in discussions with our

clients but to refer them to the office. The foreman retains the same vehicle at all times. Our sanitation protocols have been in place since March 15.”

Database shows which Forest Park businesses received PPP loans The following businesses and nonprofit organizations applied for and received Paycheck Protection Program loans from the federal government as part of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the information below was contained in an SBA database released of those receiving loans in excess of $150,000.

Businesses receiving $2 to $5 million Organization Jobs retained Farmington Foods, Inc., 7419 Franklin St. 213 Remedial Environmental Manpower, Inc, 7239 W. Roosevelt Rd. 500 Businesses receiving $1 to $2 million Organization Jobs retained American Security Services, 1515 S. Harlem Ave. 328 Berkshire Nursing & Rehab Center, 8200 Roosevelt Rd. 167 Brookwood Builders, Inc., 7332 Harrison St. 30 Currie Motors Chevrolet, Inc., 8401 Roosevelt Rd. 65 Ideal Facilities Services, LLC, 7239 Roosevelt Rd. 110 Lakewood Carpentry Services, Inc., 1540 Hannah Ave. 62

Living Word Christian Center, 7306 Madison St. 147 Sievert Electric Service & Sales, 1240 Hannah Ave. 75 Sponte Sales, Inc., 7911 Roosevelt Rd. not provided

7501 Industrial Dr. 2XL Corporation, 7550 Industrial Dr.

Businesses receiving $350,000 to $1 million Organization Jobs retained

Bill Winston Ministries, 7306 Madison St. 27 Blue Rose Shoe Corp., 7415 Madison St. 48 Body Builders Discount Outlet, Inc., 1900 Desplaines Ave. 25 Chicago Inner-City Business Development, 819 Marengo Ave. not provided Classic Screen Printing (DBA EnergyTees), 1401 Circle Ave. 16 Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, 900 Desplaines Ave. 14 Dartmouth Business Services, 7243 Madison St. 46 Davis Tree Care and Landscape, Inc., 7459 Franklin St. 15

Body-Solid, Inc., 1900 Desplaines Ave. Curfin Oldsmobile, Inc., 8401 Roosevelt Rd. ICOMM, Inc., 7321 Madison St. McAdam Landscaping, Inc., 2001 Desplaines Ave. National Roofing Corporation, 1237 Circle Ave. Patrick Development Group LLC, 7311 Roosevelt Rd. Weinstein Wholesale Meats, Inc.,

55 20 71 80 42 33

28 17

Businesses receiving $150,000-350,000 Organization Jobs retained

Forest Agency, Inc., 7310 Madison St. 16 Forest Printing Co., 7214 Madison St. 21 GCC Company, LLC, 7520 Roosevelt Rd. 34 Illinois Dental Providers, 7235 Madison St. 10 Little Teeth Big Smiles, 1129 S. Harlem Ave. not provided Mohr Oil Company, 7340 Harrison St. 10 New Forest Home Cemetery, LLC, 863 Desplaines Ave. 19 Sarah’s Inn, 1547 Circle Ave. 32 The Joseph Center, 7306 Madison St. 12 Tim Stefl Inc., 1015 Troost Ave. 12 Wuensche USA, Inc., 801 Circle Ave. 23

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

Homeless residents suffer impact of COVID-19 Housing Forward provides room, reprieve

By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter

Kim has been homeless for six years and Anthony for three. You might have seen them panhandling on the ramps at Harlem and the Eisenhower.

Just like it has for many in Forest Park, COVID-19 has turned their lives upside down, and recently perhaps downside up.

One way they have been impacted is that they’ve lost several of their homeless friends to the virus.

Another way is that since the lockdown and stay at home orders went to effect, it’s been increasingly difficult to make the money they need. Anthony said there aren’t as many cars on the road, because people are either working from home or are unemployed. Those who are driving, he added, seem to be less willing to open their car windows for fear of being infected.

“For example, Sundays used to be the best day of the week for panhandling,” he said, “because people coming to and from church were very generous. Now, with everyone doing church at home, Sundays are the worst day.”

Kim said they have regular people who have gotten to know them by name and give them a dollar or two every time they drive by them on the ramp, but even those folks are giving less because they’ve become unemployed or are being more careful with their budgets. Some will occasionally hire them to do odd jobs like moving furniture.

On top of that, the 13 regular panhandlers at the Harlem ramps are experiencing competition from newcomers who have become homeless during the last few months.

“Not only are many of the newcomers more aggressive,” said Kim, “but they don’t follow the rules like the regulars do.”

What Kim meant is that the regulars have actually created an unwritten set of rules to govern how they do business, like not knocking aggressively on car windows and cleaning up their garbage.

Kim, in fact, will reprimand non-complying newcomers saying, “You’re making this town look terrible by shoplifting and leaving trash around. I live here. This is my town. Get out.”

“There are good homeless people and bad homeless people,” said Anthony, “just like the rest of the world. For example, last summer I was stabbed in the chest by a guy for the $10 I had.”

That is one reason the couple stays to themselves most of the time.

Another reason, of course, is the COVID virus. They have resisted going to the PADS shelters, because of their fear of being infected in the large groups at the shelters.

And riding the Blue Line all night is expensive and increasingly dangerous. So what Kim and Anthony have chosen to do is to

TOM HOLMES

ONE STEP AT A TIME: Kim (left) and Anthony have been impacted by COVID-19, from losing friends to the disease to finding it harder to make money. sleep for the last six months in a tent they set up in a secluded wooded area in Forest Park, a less than ideal situation, because it is cold in the winter and leaks when it rains.

Another reason they stay to themselves is that Kim is challenged with high anxiety which intensifies when she is in crowds. “I should be on medication,” she said. “I was when I was a teenager, but since I’ve been on the street I don’t have a doctor and I don’t have health insurance if I did.”

Anthony is very protective of Kim but added that there is a lot of mental illness among the people who choose to live on the street.

He said even if you do not have a diagnosed mental illness when you start living on the street, that life style quickly changes you. “When you have been homeless for a while,” he said, “it’s hard to get back into society, into a structured environment.”

Kim said there is a certain freedom that goes with being homeless. You don’t have to punch a time clock. You have don’t have to

follow rules in the workplace or your apartment building.

That said, Anthony cannot understand why anyone would choose the homeless lifestyle. Not only has he been mugged, slept in a tent which leaks in the rain and gone hungry when they don’t make money panhandling, he has also had serious health issues because of being so exposed to the elements.

During the recent stretch of 90 degree weather, he developed sun blisters which were actually bleeding and then got infected because he had to wear the same clothing several days in a row. He got treatment at a local ER and was told to stay out of the sun, which he couldn’t do because he and Kim are living each day hand to mouth. He put it this way, “When people have a home and they get the flu, they stay in bed, drink fluids they keep in the refrigerator and pass the time by watching TV. We have to get back out on the ramp and make a little money even though we feel terrible or we don’t eat that day.”

Last Friday, Kim and Anthony got the break they’ve been waiting for, a room at a local hotel. Housing Forward, the non-profit housing agency, is currently responding to COVID-19 by housing 120 homeless people in individual housing. “By the grace of God we got this hotel room,” said Anthony.

“Otherwise I would probably have wound up in the hospital.”

Along with being grateful that among other things he can take a shower and save a lot of money by microwaving food from the supermarket instead paying high prices at fast food places, the couple knows that moving into the more structured environment in Housing Forward’s program of getting people off the street, into their own housing and into employment will be a challenging adjustment.

“One step at a time,” said Anthony. “We’re going to have to take it one step at a time.”

D91 student registration must be done online Registration begins Aug. 3 with no in-person option

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

For the first time ever, District 91 student registration will be done completely online with no-in person registration option.

In a memo to families, the district communicated that “in response to COVID-19 and our ongoing efforts to reduce unnecessary

personal contact, we will be utilizing the Illuminate Home Connection (IHC) parent portal for online registration.”

This system is one some parents have previously used to look at students’ grades and assignments and communicate with staff members. However, login information has been reset. A new access code and login and registration instructions will be mailed to parents in mid-July.

Registration begins officially on Aug. 3.

School secretaries will not be available to answer questions until then.

For more information on registration for new and returning students, visit www. fpsd91.org/domain/615.

brought to you by

Helping Your Lawn Beat the Heat During our current stretch of dry and exceedingly hot conditions, proper irrigation of lawns is an urgent topic.

It is important for the overall health of the turf, as well as to mitigate potential insect or disease presence.

Scott Even when people McAdam Jr. irrigate their lawns, they can suffer from a lack of drought tolerance that stems usually from one reason or another— or some combination of the two: Mistake #1 – Watering at the wrong time During very hot periods, if you water in the middle of the day, then much of the moisture will evaporate without absorbing. Do it at night, and those dark, wet, and warm conditions can trigger fungal growth.

Mistake #2 – Watering on an improper schedule It is common to think that watering every day will help, but short, frequent irrigation results in shallow root systems that do not have drought tolerance. Instead, deep, infrequent irrigation is the key. Begin your irrigation around 3 or 4 a.m., for 45 to 60 minutes per zone, two times per week.

This will allow the surface moisture to dry during the day and mitigate disease pressures. The roots will grow deeper into the soil and improve the drought tolerance of the turf. And that, in turn, will provide enough moisture to keep your lawn looking green and healthy.

Follow us on

2001 Des Plaines Ave. Forest Park • 708-771-2299 www.mcadamlandscape.com

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

POLICING

Forum a first from page 1 forum not spurred by a specific incident or problem in the village. The goal of the meeting, according to Hoskins, was to hold a “narrow policy discussion” on use of force and Forest Park’s policy on that issue.

The timing of the meeting, which many residents reported not knowing about until several days before it happened, coincided with an important District 91 school board meeting where reopening plans for the fall were being discussed, a meeting attended by over 120 Zoom listeners. Because of the conflict and complaints of COVID-related concerns regarding meeting in person, Mayor Rory Hoskins added a Zoom component to the meeting so interested parties could watch remotely.

The meeting followed a format of Police Chief Tom Aftanas, Deputy Chief Ken Gross and Lt. Christopher Chin reading and then answering email and online-submitted questions from residents. That format was mostly devoid of conflict until Forest Park Against Racism (FPAR) founder Ayanna Brown, who had submitted a large number of questions for the forum, pressed Aftanas on an answer she later reported was “woefully insufficient.”

The particular question related to perceived threat and how the Forest Park police department is addressing and discussing that issue.

Aftanas answered, gesturing to Black members of the audience. “I don’t perceive

you as a threat,” he said. “Or you. Or the mayor as a threat. If you stood up and started screaming at me, and getting closer, that is a perceived threat, and it doesn’t matter if you’re African American, white, Hispanic.

A perceived threat can be also the type of call you’re responding to. Was it a violent offense? Was it a domestic battery? A robbery? When you get there and see someone that matches the description given by the victim, your senses are heightened… I hope that explains it.”

Brown responded: “It’s a culture that exists in police departments across the nation.

You may not have that perspective, but because it’s a reported trend and pattern, how are you addressing it in the department and having the conversation about why African Americans and African American men particularly are often are often perceived as threats? Answer the question.”

“Maybe I didn’t understand [the question] fully,” Aftanas said, “but it’s through training and policy and common sense.”

“How is the department supporting the process of developing common sense so that African Americans are not perceived as threats?” asked Brown. “Because apparently common sense isn’t common.”

Gross then addressed the residents on the topic: “I can’t speak for the whole nation. I can speak for myself and my department.”

He said that since May 2017, there have been 61,195 9-1-1 calls to the village. And only one officer-involved shooting.

“I think that shows we are not going out and executing African Americans,” Gross said.

That’s when Hoskins stepped in, asking to “lower the temperature” of the meeting.

“This is our first time doing this. I don’t

Library reopens to patrons Visits and services limited for now

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

The Forest Park Public Library announced it has “cautiously” reopened for limited in-person services.

Patrons are allowed to visit the library for up to 30 minutes at a time to browse the collections, use a computer or copy machine (to copy, print or scan) or check out books and movies. Vestibule pick up of items requested via phone or online and next-day print services will still be available.

Library staff has guidelines in place to ensure everyone’s safety. The building capacity will be limited to 41 people at a time, including staff, so a library staff member will be at the entrance to ensure that limit is followed. Visitors may have to wait until another patron leaves before being allowed to enter.

Social distancing of six feet is expected.

Furniture and tables have been removed or spaced to assist with keeping people separated. Elevators are limited to one person or family at a time. Restrooms are limited to two people or one family at a time.

Meeting and study rooms will not be available and studying or hanging out at the library won’t be allowed for the time being.

Masks are required for all patrons over two years of age. Nobody under the age of 12 can enter without a parent, guardian or responsible caretaker, and toys and games in the youth services are not available at this time.

To help with social distancing, fewer computers are available for patrons. Computers can be used on a first-come, first served basis, and sessions are limited to 30 minutes unless nobody else is waiting. In-person tech assistance will not be available. Copy machines, located on each level of the library, can be used, but assistance is not available at this time.

For more information, visit the library’s website at www.fppl.org.

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

POLICY DISCUSSION: The Forest Park police department hosted its first policy discussion on use of force on July 9. Deputy Chief Kenneth Gross and Chief Tom Aftanas (both seated in center) answered resident-submitted questions. want to turn it into anything antagonistic,” Hoskins said, stating that the department was “prepared for a limited discussion on use of force policies.”

“This is a good police department,” Hoskins said, although he stated that the topic of internal bias is not something the department has directly been trained on.

“Internal bias is real,” Hoskins said.

“Some people don’t understand it the way African Americans do.”

In an interview the following day, Brown spoke more about perceived threat and why it’s such an important topic in policing. Perceived threat, she said, is “subjective and is the linchpin of why so many African Americans are dead” at the hands of police.

“Police make judgment calls based on perceived threat regularly,” Brown said. “African American men are always perceived as a threat, which automatically escalates a situation. There is no positive record of African American men having positive relationships with the police.”

Brown said that in general, throughout the meeting, she found the answers of Aftanas and Gross to be “a bit Pollyanna.”

“We need to move past the great things we have done and the low incidence numbers and be proactive and preventative in steps in policy that should be taken,” Brown said.

She said she heard a lot of “idealisms on what we’ve done well.”

“Aftanas and Gross were very committed to their stories about what they, as individuals, don’t do. But what we’re fighting is a culture of policy that seeks to protect its own,” she said.

Brown said she gives credit to the mayor’s office for monitoring and taking questions via email and online and in setting up the meeting. “They deserve applause for effort,” said Brown. She said Aftanas’ response to a question about whether the department was

open to a citizens council or external review board was positive. And she was glad to hear body cams are coming soon to the Forest Park Police Department.

“I’m pleased to know the wheels are in motion for body cams,” Brown said. “But we need to make that happen with all deliberate speed.”

In an interview the following day, Aftanas said he felt the meeting went well.

“Overall, it was positive and can lead to more trust in the future if open dialogue is maintained and people continue to give us a chance and not assume we’re like the cops in Minneapolis,” Aftanas said. “Discussion is always good.”

Hoskins, too, said he thought the meeting went well.

“I feel good about the meeting and welcome criticism from residents,” Hoskins said in an interview. He acknowledged that residents still have questions after the meeting.

One outstanding issue is minority hiring and why the police department doesn’t have more Black or Hispanic officers. During the meeting and in the interview, Hoskins said the village is seeking legal advice about how to increase diversity in the force, despite the hiring process being largely dictated by state statute.

There will be more meetings in the future, said Hoskins, although dates and formats have yet to be determined.

“This is an ongoing issue that needs a long-term solution,” said Hoskins. “There is room for dialogue.”

Brown said she and FPAR are eager to follow up on a citizen’s oversight board and that being a small community doesn’t mean the town can’t “be a torch.”

“Forest Park is in a moment of opportunity,” said Brown. “We have the capacity to lead. We’re too damn small not to try.”

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

D209 scholars share stories of overcoming adversity This year, 209 Together awarded nine students $1,000 scholarships

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

This year, 209 Together — a group of parents and community members in Proviso Township High School District 209 — announced another round of scholarships that went to deserving students of the district’s three high schools.

The students are awarded in three different categories: Persistence Pays, Overcoming Adversity and Returning Scholars. The latter is a pool of funds that go toward past scholarship recipients who are eligible to receive $500 renewal scholarships.

The Overcoming Adversity scholarship is awarded to students with at least a 2.0 GPA who have demonstrated academic improvement throughout their high school experience. The Persistence Pays scholarship is given to students with at least a 3.5 GPA who have sustained academic excellence throughout high school.

This year, there were nine new scholarship recipients and 14 past recipients who received renewal scholarships.

In the five years that 209 Together has administered the scholarship program, the organization has given away more than $35,000 to students like Aaliyah Enter, who received an

COLLEGE BOUND: Aailiyah Enter (left) received an Overcoming Adversity scholarship from 209 Together and will attend Eastern Illinois University. Lisset Romero (right), headed to Aurora University in the fall, received a Persistence Pays scholarship.

Overcoming Adversity scholarship this year.

Enter holds down two jobs, working about 25 hours a week so she can afford a car and some extra money before heading off to Eastern Illinois University in the fall to major in business and finance and minor in cosmetology.

At Proviso East High School, the 18-year-old Maywood resident and aspiring entrepreneur was a member of the Pirateers dance team and Lead On Me, a club for student-leaders. She was in the National Honor Society and participated

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in other extracurricular activities. But she still managed to graduate 34th out of 309 students in her class and maintain a 4.1 cumulative GPA. The juggling act is difficult, but she welcomes the struggle, she said during an interview last week.

“It’s really stressful,” she said. “I really think it takes a strong person to be able to juggle all of that at once, but I’m glad I was chosen, because I think I can handle it. It’s hard, but I manage to find my way through.”

Lisset Romero, 18, graduated from Proviso West this year and is headed to Aurora University in the fall to major in nursing. The Stone Park resident said that she’s the first person in her family to go to college.

In an interview last week, she said throughout high school, she worked on Fridays and during the weekends while maintaining a busy extracurricular schedule at West, including participating in tennis, soccer and the Pre-Med Club, among others.

Romero said her Persistence Pays scholarship will go a long way toward helping her launch her studies and continue on the path to becoming an example for her 11-year-old brother and little cousins.

“I would be the role model for them that I never really had,” she said.

Meet the winners This year’s 2020 209 Together scholarship recipients, who received $1,000 each, included: Aaliyah Enter (East), Dionte Stallings (East), Catherine Clark (East), Tatianna Garay (West), Lisset Romero (West), Tamia Henderson (West), Fernando Ortiz (PMSA), Mariya Nemesh (PMSA) and Lauryn Coleman (PMSA).

The 14 D209 alum who received renewal scholarships include: Aaliyah Henderson, Alice Villalva, Anahi Soto, Diana Guzman, Erinique Robinson, Jazmyne Hayes, Kiana Walker, Kyra Taylor, Michelle Munoz, Moneesha Gay, Omolabake Oyetayo, Raneen El-Barbawari, Sonali Rajput and Trever Moore.

2020-2021 Online Registration

for All District 91 Students

Monday, August 3 (8:00 am) Friday, August 14, 2020 To learn more go to: fpsd91.org/domain/615

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

New name one of many changes for coffee shop Kribi Coffee, formerly Counter Coffee, tackles renovation … and social justice

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

In recognition of owner Jacques Shalo’s Cameroonian heritage, Counter Coffee’s name has officially been changed to Kribi Coffee Air Roasters, and other big changes are coming to the pioneering coffee shop this month.

Kribi Coffee, undergoing physical renovations, will be serving coffee out of Urban Pioneer Group until July 27 as remodeling of the 7324 Madison St. coffee shop takes place.

The flow on the main floor will be improved, and downstairs there will be COVID-spaced seating, with the option to add in more furniture in the future when it’s safe to do so. The downstairs kitchen and conference room will be removed, and a space for open mic nights and live music will be created.

The bright colored artwork on the north side of the building, artwork designed by Shalo’s son Jeremiah Shalo, who combined African colors with the Italian Memphis style of design, will be continued along the west side of the building where the large mural of a woman is now.

But, an art lover, Shalo refuses to paint over the mural. He’s looking for a new home for it and plans to remove the painted

boards and store them until he finds someone interested in reassembling and displaying the mural.

Shalo’s also commissioned Noora Patrick, a Cameroonian artist, to create custom works for Kribi Coffee, and the plan is to work with other Black artists in the future.

Once business reopens in the renovated space, Shalo will offer new and innovative food and drink creations, including coffeebased cocktails and rare beer and wine.

“We’ll have beers you can’t find anywhere else on Madison Street,” Shalo said.

He’s brought in a French pastry chef to help design the new menu, which will include eclectic snacks from other cultures.

And he’s planning to work with director of operations and “coffee guru” Amir Semsarieh, of Shalo’s Java Master International air roasting business, to come up with a Forest Park Blend.

Shalo made news just a few weeks ago when he began selling a Black Lives Matter Blend, created by Semsarieh. The bag was designed by Shalo’s son Jeremiah, who took inspiration from a collection of Cameroonian masks and historic Liberian stamps with ties to Shalo’s family’s Bamileke tribe.

The coffee shop’s new name pays homage to Kribi, a resort town and port in the south province of Cameroon. According to Shalo, it is known for white sand beaches, and it’s the perfect way to honor his family’s heritage, to incorporate their story into his business.

In the early 1900s, Shalo’s parents and grandparents left their inland village in the Bamileke region of western Cameroon, moving to coastal towns to escape capture and enslavement. They bought land where

File

FRESH: Amir Semsarieh uses the air roaster at Counter Coffee, now known as Kribi Coffee.

they cultivated and farmed cocoa and coffee. Shalo was born shortly after this.

Growing up on a coffee farm, he helped pick the green coffee beans. But he never tasted coffee until he was 16 or 17, just two years or so before coming to the United States.

“There’s an injustice around coffee,” Shalo said. “Many of the people who grow and pick the beans have no opportunity to taste or drink the finished product.”

Shalo’s spoken to the Review about the value chain of coffee before, and it’s something he’s intimately familiar with: the entire process that takes us from the farm where the coffee beans are grown to a freshly brewed cup in a coffee shop.

What fascinated him about the process was the fact that the farmers benefit so little financially. He said it made sense to him, though, since what we know as coffee, the richly aromatic dark beans and brew, comes from beans that don’t really have a smell or taste until they’re roasted. So the roasters see the most profit.

His vision became clear: If he could control the value chain, starting with farming the best beans possible, and roasting just before brewing the coffee, the finished product File would be the best possible.

VALUE CHAIN: In this 2019 photo, Kribi Coffee owner Jacques Shalo discusses the value chain of coffee.

And in controlling the value chain, he could also help undo some of the injustice he’d seen in the farming of the bean. Initially, his goal was to pay farmers more. But then he thought bigger.

“My new approach is to provide access to ownership to the farmers,” said Shalo.

“We’ll buy coffee from them, but also let some of the farmers have an equity stake in the operation.”

He said Kribi Coffee will focus on this farm collaboration concept, because the origin of coffee is of great importance.

“The green beans are at the heart of everything we do,” Shalo said.

Shalo’s been mentored by Zev Siegl, cofounder of Starbucks, for the past few years.

He reached out to Siegl in 2017 to talk about the process of air roasting coffee and his firm Java Master International, which he founded about 30 years ago. The air roasters allow Shalo, and those who purchase them from him, to roast coffee in a unique way, in small batches at a time, and just prior to brewing, creating coffee that’s less bitter and much fresher.

Siegl got in touch with Shalo, taking him on as a mentee, and encouraged him to get into the coffee shop business. Shalo had been researching and studying how his roasters changed the coffee-drinking and selling experience of others who purchased them, such as Whole Foods. But to really experience it and understand it, opening up his own shop was the next step.

He bought Counter Coffee from Jayne Ertel and Heidi Vance, owners of Team Blonde, in January 2019. He kept the name, he said, “for the community,” but he knew at some point he’d change it.

Shalo said working with the village administration throughout the process of planning the renovation has been great. “They’ve been helpful and accommodating,” he said.

As for the customers? “I am grateful. I cannot say enough good about them.”

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

Spray ground reopens for residents Safety rules in place

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

Forest Park residents hoping to cool off a little this summer can get wet at the park district’s spray ground, which reopened on Friday, July 10.

The pool and sand area are not open, and the spray ground has rules in place to safeguard those using it and park district employees running it.

The spray ground, open from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily, will grant admission every two hours, at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Only 50 patrons are allowed inside at a time and can stay for 90 minutes.

Once 50 people have been allowed inside, no more will be granted entrance until the next time block.

ASSISTED LIVING • SHELTERED CARE • MEMORY CARE • SKILLED NURSING

Masks must be worn when entering and exiting the spray ground and when social distancing is not possible.

Locker rooms will be closed but port-apotties are available in the area.

Chairs are not provided, but residents may bring their own and set them up inside one of the painted family areas.

Bathing suits are not required, but children in diapers must wear a swim diaper.

Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult 18 years old or above.

There will not be a lost and found; any items left at the end of the day will be discarded.

Open only to residents, a free pass is required and can be obtained at the park district office, 7501 Harrison St., during regular business hours. Visit the park district’s website at pdofp.org/sprayground-opensfriday-july-10/ for more information.

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

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

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Limited availability!

Kindergarten Screenings District 91 will be holding the 2020-2021 Kindergarten screenings by appointment only at Betsy Ross and Garfield schools on Tuesday, August 11 and Wednesday, August 12, 2020. You must register online before scheduling an appointment. To make an appointment, families will need to email their school’s secretary with the child’s name, parent/guardian name, address, phone number and the child’s date-of-birth.

Do not contact school secretaries before August 3rd since no one will be in the offices prior to that date. Secretaries will call families to set up appointments beginning Monday, August 3, 2020.

Families living south of I-290 go to Betsy Ross - Patty Marino at pmarino@fpsd91.org or call 708-366-7498 Families living north of I-290 go to Garfield - Diane Rice at drice@fpsd91.org or call 708-366-6945

Forest Park Preschool

File

TOO COOL: The spray ground at the park district is open for residents, with plenty of guidelines in place to keep people safe.

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District 91 is no longer accepting new student registrations for Preschool for the 2020-2021 school year. However, if your child is returning to Preschool, you need to register online. You will receive a mailing with online registration instructions and a code to access the Illuminate Home Connection parent portal to complete your online registration.

If you have questions, please contact the Forest Park Preschool secretary, Diane Rice, after August 3, 2020, at drice @fpsd91.org or call 708-366-6945.

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

Marigolds and masks Third annual garden walk a sold-out event The Historical Society of Forest Park hosted its third annual garden walk on July 11, the first where masks were worn and social distancing maintained. But despite COVID-necessitated rules, the event sold out and participants enjoyed a day strolling through Forest Park gardens.

Best in Show, an award given to the garden receiving most votes from participants, went to Tom O’Connell and Cameron Wilson for their backyard mural garden at 843 Circle Ave. At 1054 Thomas, visitors had a chance to see the Worthington Home Veggie Garden and watch a cooking demo from local chef Ashley Simone of Zesty Catering.

Ralph and Andrea DiFebo gave tours of their outdoor living space, which includes a pizza oven and three-season screen house.

Pam and Drew Fontana opened their yard for people to visit their sculpture garden, featuring pieces collected over the years.

Kathy Caldwell’s cottage garden at 821 Ferdinand St. is home to fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs.

And the Taylor Home Small Space Garden featured flowers and historical relics the owners found in the 116-year-old home they rehabbed.

ALEXIS ELLERS

BEST IN SHOW: The backyard oasis of Tom O’Connell and Cameron Wilson was voted best by attendees of this year’s walk.

ALEXIS ELLERS

DEMO: Etta Worthington (left) films daughter Ashley Simone as she does a cooking demo.

ALEX ROGALS

VOLUNTEER: Mayor Rory Hoskins, who volunteered to help staff the event, talks to April Baker during the Garden Walk on July 11.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

WALK THIS WAY: Sidewalk chalk directions during the Garden Walk ensured gardens had separate entrances and exits and kept people socially distanced.

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

Oak Park Eats positively encourages readers to think about the food and beverages they consume and seek our unique and memorable beer drinking experience while celebrating Kinslagher’s local partnerships with Carnivore, Opportunity Knocks, Daly Bagels, and Darr-B-Q. - Keith Huizinga, Kinslagher

Sip more at Kinslahger.com/ Keith Huizinga, Kinslagher

Keep up with Melissa Elsmo and what she’s cooking up at:

OakParkEats.com

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

OPINION O U R

V I E W

Chief, don’t talk. Listen

C

redit to the mayor. Credit to the police chief. Credit to Forest Park Against Racism. Credit to other citizens who turned out last week at village hall. It was billed as the first in a series of meetings between our police department and those being policed.

Except next time let’s do it differently. Do it better. The meeting last week took the awkwardness of the pandemic and ratcheted it up a few notches.

Everyone is sitting six or more feet apart. Everyone is wearing a mask. Not the ideal for heartfelt communication. Better than a Zoom meeting but not much.

Add in the requirement of only written questions, better in advance, better delivered online. The meeting bent a bit as organizers began collecting written questions from the room. But it never achieved a conversational tone. It was never a dialogue. It was the word from on high, the cops talking at citizens.

It was not about listening. And right now, if you’re a cop and you’re white -- and we’ve just defined the Forest Park police department – the only thing that matters is listening.

The planned focus of the evening was on the Forest Park police department’s policy on use of force.

That’s important. And maybe it is an acceptable bar that Forest Park cops haven’t shot a citizen since May 2017, 60,000+ 911 calls ago. We’re not sure how you decide if that is good or not good enough.

But the lost opportunity was to build on the intense energy of the “Meet Us at the Bridge” protest last month with the genuine good will that exists in Forest Park circles. We don’t need the use of force policy reviewed for us at this point by the department which wrote the policy.

We need the three leaders of the department to engage with these activist citizens, to ask open-ended questions on how Black and Brown people in Forest Park perceive their police force. Do they feel known and protected or do they feel policed?

We believe after observing last week’s meeting that the outcome of such a conversation could be outstanding. We say again that Chief Tom Aftanas is a good man. But to lead in this moment, to be the servant leader required, he needs a bit of an epiphany.

We don’t need to hear him say that he is does not feel a perceived threat when he encounters a black citizen. We need him to hear black citizens say they feel a perceived threat when they see him and his officers. We need him to feel that in his heart and in his head.

The message of this meeting was all about how well trained the Forest Park force is -- though Mayor Rory Hoskins acknowledged the department has not yet trained for implicit bias. We think it is all about relationships. And this, effectively, all white department needs to build relationships with its citizens of color.

These well-intentioned meetings can grow into the foundation of those relationships.

O

Tasty summer trends

its way into the air fryer, which is all the rage these days.

Once again, the beverage trends are very telling. While the Porn Star Martini, sangria, and cosmopolitans were all trending last year, only the mojito and pina colada have the staying power on the search trends for summer 2020. Both are rum based drinks, balancing sweet and savory in one glass.

The mojito’s combination of sugar, tartness of fresh lime, some soda water and the herbaceous mint flavor is refreshing. And its tropical buddy, the pina colada, satisfies with a flare for creamy and fresh flavors of coconut and pineapple. Either way, the Caribbean rum brings the islands to any home.

Perhaps the next trend might be a mojito + pina colada (Mojito-Colada), mashing the best of both flavors.

Additionally, the margarita was trending again this year. Any opportunity for people to soak in immunity boosting vitamin C from fresh limes seems like a good match for those with tequila taste buds.

While recipes for hummingbird feeders did I asked Forest Park resident Kimnot make the list this year, lemonade did. Such berly Adami-Hasegawa of Spritzers a simple refreshing drink. Lemon and water with Pritzker fame for a refreshing with the option of sugar. So easy and refreshsummer drink recipe. Here it is. ing when soaking in the immune boosts of sunshine and all its vitamin D. Pineapple Mojito In just the last day our locals have been trending toward lentils, asparagus, zucchini 8-10 mint leaves noodles, and sweet potatoes, making our 1/2 oz lime juice searches very healthy and delicious, especially 2 oz rum as our gardens are starting to burst with zuc3-4 oz pineapple juice chini.

Whatever your personal food trends have Muddle mint gently in the bottom of a glass. Add ice and set been these long summer days, I hope you are aside. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add rum, lime juice, and making the most of them, and keep searching pineapple juice. Shake until chilled. Pour into your glass with the on Google for more inspiration to take you to mint leaves and ice. Stir gently. Garnish with a pineapple wedge other worlds at home. and mint leaf.

ne year ago, Google shared a “Foodle,” an interactive map highlighting the food trends by region in America. It inspired me to check out the local trends, which was in the Oak Park Eats website, an offshoot of the Growing Community Media local news.

So it seems natural, since summer 2019 is so different from summer 2020, to look at the trends again, a year later, to see what food recipes locals are looking for today.

While the growing season is in full swing, one trend from a year ago shows up again, pickle recipes and even a dill pickle recipe.

This year, pasta salad is making its rounds, ribs, maize ear (forget the British “c” word for the native “new world” plant), and spice rub.

Just like summertime should.

I am perplexed by the trend of chicken parmigiana; while a true comfort food, it is traditionally cooked in an oven, that giant thing that takes up space in the kitchen every summer. Perhaps the comfort has found

JILL WAGNER

L E T T E R S

T O

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The Review will not publish phone numbers. All letters are subject to editing for space and content purposes and typically will be printed in the order

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E D I T O R

they are received. While the Review does not impose a word limit, we encourage comments be held to 300 words.

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

L E T T E R S

Schools should not reopen in the fall We’ve been hit by a devastating virus. Some of our citizens who were in perfect health until they contracted COVID-19 are being hospitalized, intubated and sometimes buried. In a rush to get back to normal, states are reopening too soon, tragically realizing their mistake only after more infections have occurred, and shutting down again to avoid more sickness and death. Citizens are ignoring social distancing rules, not wearing masks, gathering in large groups, and in some cases having “Covid parties” to see who can get infected.

Rates of infection are consequently skyrocketing, forcing out-of-towners to quarantine before visiting certain cities and states. Some experts predict that we won’t have a vaccine for several months – maybe longer. For all of these reasons, now is not the time to reopen schools.

Plans for reopening sound good…in theory.

Schools have included several safety measures in their reopening plans. To those who are not in the field of education, these measures may seem reasonable and effective.

Yet anyone such as myself who has taught for a while can see the gaps in even the best thought-out protocols. Social distancing, for example, is virtually impossible in several instances due to the size of many classrooms as well as the simple fact that kids like to move around a lot and congregate. Social distancing would also severely restrict the normal, second-nature interactions that occur throughout the day, such as working in groups, sharing materials, and speaking with teachers and classmates in close proximity.

Wearing masks is another appropriate preventative measure during a pandemic, but once again, the theory sounds better than the practice. Students could remove masks for many reasons – touching the mouth and the nose (as they often do), eating, sneezing, difficulty breathing, and simple discomfort.

Contact tracing is another good idea on paper, but will teachers and administrators really be able to identify everyone who has come into contact with an infected person during the course of a busy school day? And once these students and staff members are identified, they would have to self-quarantine for an extended period of time. These frequent extended absences would be extremely disruptive to the educational process. Still others have suggested reducing school attendance by offering A/B schedules. Granted, this measure may slightly reduce the risk of infection, but it does not eliminate it. As we have learned much too painfully, this virus is still here and it does not discriminate. Virtually no age or health group is left untouched.

And the list of necessary yet insufficient measures goes on and on. Daily temperature checks are important, but they are inaccurate indicators of infection, given that many people with COVID-19 are pre- or asymptomatic. Plus it’s time-consuming and unrealistic during bad weather. Do school officials really expect everybody in the building

to line up every day 6 feet apart in inclement weather to have their temperatures checked?

Then there’s the argument that ventilation in buildings reduces the potency of the virus.

Will windows remain open all year? Highly unlikely.

What about students and staff with underlying conditions? Will they be allowed to work remotely? What about family members of students and staff with underlying conditions?

What about the difficulty of finding substitute teachers who would understandably be reluctant to expose themselves to a deadly virus for extended periods of time? How many teachers and substitute teachers are in a high-risk group based on age or health? What about the lengthy checklists that these reopening plans entail?

Again, on paper it looks thorough, yet constant disinfecting, temperature checking, mask wearing and adherence to social distancing have to be implemented and monitored on a daily basis. Given the gravity of this situation, there is little room for human error, and administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, school nurses and custodians are already extremely busy with their normal duties.

A possible solution There is, however, another counterargument to be made, and a very valid one: some kids need to get out of the house, both for their own mental health and that of their parents.

Plus parents need to work, and not all of them can do so remotely.

Why not, then, convert school buildings and libraries into Remote Learning Support Centers? Families who choose to accept the risk that comes with sending their kids to school could do so, provided that enough teachers volunteered to work in these centers. Teachers who volunteered to take on this assignment could receive a stipend (or even hazard pay).

And if there are not enough teachers to staff these centers, then the district could fall back on remote learning for everybody.

Obviously remote learning is less than ideal, but it has four significant advantages over face-to-face instruction during a pandemic: 1.

People know more or less what it entails. 2. It provides greater continuity and consistency with what we have recently experienced and can be improved upon 3. It doesn’t come with a lengthy FAQ list (that often raises even more questions), and 4. (and most importantly), it keeps everybody safe.

It is often the case in the field of education that new measures are adopted and then quickly discarded without time to fully adapt to them. We risk making the same mistake by abandoning remote learning before fully reaping its benefits. And this time, the consequences of doing so are far more serious than before. This time, lives are at stake.

Sam Robinson, PhD Forest Park Resident

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

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Your Hometown Podiatrist for 30 Years CONSERVATIVE MEDICAL & SURGICAL TREATMENT OF:

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708/366-3770

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM New local ads this week

YOUR WEEKLY AD

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

WEDNESDAY

CLASSIFIED

17

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

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

Wednesday Journal Classified must be notified before the second insertion.

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

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

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

HELP WANTED

HAPPY KIDD’S WEST INC. 6928 W 16th St Berwyn, IL 60513 We are seeking a Director and 2 teachers. Director must be qualified and have Associate’s degree or equivalent. Teachers must be director or teacher qualified. Mon. thru Fri. working with Infants to 6 yrs old. Compensable salary negotiable based on experience.

Call 773-619-5545 or fax resume to 773-728-5437.

MEDICAL SERVICE MANAGER Dr. David Cavazos, D.C. LLC. Seeks Medical Service Manager.

Mail resume to 66 E North Ave, Carol Stream, IL

BETTY’S DAYCARE IS HIRING! We are looking for a qualified Assistant Director (also looking for qualified teachers and assistant teachers), must have a bachelor in Early Childhood Education. experience with Head Start is a plus. email resume to: bettydaycaremr.evans@hotmail. com or call 773-261-1433 Betty’s Daycare Academy Inc. 5725 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago Il. 60651

River Forest D90 has openings for Temporary Daytime Custodians starting August 25, 2020.

Responsible for cleaning of buildings and grounds, as assigned. A strong work ethic, interpersonal skills and custodial experience is required. Salary commensurate with experience.

For consideration, please send resume to Pam Jenkins, HR Specialist at jenkinsp@ district90.org.

You Have Jobs.

We Have Readers!

Find The Best Employees With Wednesday Classified!

Call 708/613-3333

River Forest D90 has an opening for a 2nd Grade Teacher for Willard Elementary School.

Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Elementary Grade School Endorsement. Successful Teaching Experience is preferred. A Master’s Degree is preferred.

Job Duties: The teacher will be responsible for teaching the curriculum and working cooperatively with colleagues including: grade level teammates, the Student Services Team, other faculty and support staff. The teacher will be responsible for building relationships with students, supervising and managing the class, effectively teaching the curriculum to meet the individual needs of students, evaluating individual student’s progress, and communicating progress with children and parents.

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.

River Forest Public Schools District 90 Student Support Services - Vacancies for the 2020-2021 School Year For detailed qualifications requirements and job duties, please visit our website at https:// www.district90.org/about/ employment for our complete list of employment opportunities.

District 90 is seeking qualified and experienced student support educators for the following positions: • Special Education Support Teacher (Willard Elementary School) • Special Education Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Coordinator (All D90 Schools) • Speech and Language Pathologist (Roosevelt Middle School)

General Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Education License with endorsement in field of study, a Master’s Degree is preferred and successful teaching experience with students in a classroom setting is preferred.

General Duties: Provide excellence in education by developing and implementing activities that encourage students to be life-long learners. Possesses knowledge of District policies and regulations relating to areas of responsibilities. Create an environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the developmental maturity and interests of each student.

Application: Apply online at www.district90. org. 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.

Advertise in Wednesday Classified. Call 708/613-3342

ROOMS FOR RENT AUSTIN CLEAN ROOM With fridge, micro.

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

773-637-5957

SUBURBAN RENTALS OAK PARK 1 BR APT 1 BR, LR, DR, KITCHEN, encl. back entry/porch. Laundry, heat incl.

Storage avail. Owner occupied 2 at. Quiet residential neighborhood. $1050/mo. Garage pkg $65/mo.

708-383-1512 OAK PARK: ROOSEVELT/ OAK PARK AVE. CORRIDOR 2BR 4RMS close to blue line. On site laundry, parking, heat & water incl. $1200/ month 708-383-9223

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

Lee 708.383.0729 drlmadden@ameritech.net

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. *1116 sq. ft. suite *569 sq. ft. with patio RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. *926 sq. ft.

OAK PARK–6597 North Ave. *598 sq. ft.

6142-44 Roosevelt Rd. *3 and 5 room suites Strand& & Browne Strand Browne 708-488-0011 708-488-0011

CEMETERY PLOTS 2 WOODLAWN CEMETERY PLOTS (2) Side by side Woodlawn Cemetery plots. Birchwood Section Lot 415 Part 4 Graves 3&4 unit D. $4,000 for both, includes transfer fees. I will meet at Woodlawn for transfer of deeds. Contact: 847-858-7726

ITEMS FOR SALE BUMPER POOL TABLE $29.00 708-488-8755 LENOX CHINA 5 piece place settings Lenox china, Tuxedo pattern IRISH CARDIGAN Men’s size large.

WATERFORD GLASSES Colleen pattern, 2 water goblets, 2 wine glasses, 5 double old-fashioned glasses 708-386-6160

SUBURBAN RENTALS

M&M property management, inc.

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

Apartment listings updated daily at:

ITEMS FOR SALE

ITEMS TO BE GIVEN AWAY

LYON & HEALY MUSIC CABINET Doors slide vertically. LP and music storage. Black.

708-488-8755

GARAGE/YARD SALES Brookfield

MULTIPLE FAMILY GARAGE SALE 9037 BARTLETT AVE SAT 7/18 AND SUN 7/19 9AM TO 5PM

Many Household Items, Frames, “Justice� Clothing, Shoes, DVD’s, Furniture plus Many Items all must go! Please Wear your Mask!

HOSPITAL BED We will deliver.

708-485-0929

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

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400 Lost & Found, Items for Sale, and To Be Given Away ads run free in Wednesday Classified. To place your ad, call 708-613-3342

CEMENT Residential Commercial Industrial Licensed Bonded Insured Free Estimates ¡ Veteran Owned

Drives Walks Patios Stamped Concrete Curbs/Gutters Garage Floors Foundations Parking Lots Water Control

devegaconcrete.com ¡ 708-945-9001

MAGANA

C O N C R E T E C O N S T RU C T I O N “QUALITY IS OUR FOUNDATION� ESTABLISHED IN 1987

COMMERCIAL ˜ INDUSTRIAL ˜ RESIDENTIAL

708.442.7720 '5,9(:$<6 Â&#x2021; )281'$7,216 Â&#x2021; 3$7,26 67(36 Â&#x2021; &85% *877(56 Â&#x2021; 6,'(:$/.6 612: 3/2:,1* Â&#x2021; 67$03(' &2/25(' $**5(*$7( &21&5(7( FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

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

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A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors â&#x20AC;˘ Home Re-wiring â&#x20AC;˘ New Plugs & Switches Added â&#x20AC;˘ New circuit breaker boxes â&#x20AC;˘ Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp â&#x20AC;˘ Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential â&#x20AC;˘ Commercial â&#x20AC;˘ Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. â&#x20AC;˘ Bonded â&#x20AC;˘ Ins. â&#x20AC;˘ Low Rates â&#x20AC;˘ Free Est.

708-409-0988 â&#x20AC;˘ 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts â&#x20AC;˘ 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park â&#x20AC;˘ All surrounding suburbs â&#x20AC;˘ Chicago area

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PETS While youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re away, your pets are okay . . . at home

cat calls

Oak Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Original Pet Care Service â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Since 1986

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

524-1030

AIR CONDITIONING/ HEATING AIR CONDITIONING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Air Conditioning Automotive A/C Refrigerators Ranges â&#x20AC;˘ Ovens Washer â&#x20AC;˘ Dryers Hot Water Heaters Rodding Sewers Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000

GARAGE DOORS Our 73rd Year

Garage Doors &

Smart Door Openers

Sales & Service Free Estimates

(708) 652-9415 www.forestdoor.com

FLOORS KLIS FLOORING INC.

New hardwood ďŹ&#x201A;ooring installation & pergo. Sanding, re-finishing, staining. Low prices, insured.

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

18

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

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

FREE ESTIMATES Excellent References No Job Too Small

708-488-9411

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

708-296-2060

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

773-637-0692 Ask for John

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE STATE OF ILLINOIS COUNTY OF COOK VILLAGE OF FOREST PARK I, VANESSA MORITZ, CLERK OF THE VILLAGE OF FOREST PARK, DO HEREBY STATE, that on Monday, July 27, 2020, at 6:45 PM at the Forest Park Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Avenue, Forest Park, Illinois, a public hearing will be held to consider the proposed adoption of the Appropriation Ordinance for fiscal year 2020-2021 for the Village of Forest Park. At the public hearing, all interested persons may provide comments concerning the appropriation of the sums of money the Village of Forest Park deems necessary to defray all its necessary expenses and liabilities. The appropriation document will be available for public inspection no later than July 17, 2020, in the Village Clerk’s Office at the Village of Forest Park, 517 DesPlaines Ave., Forest Park, Illinois.

Dated this 15th day of July, 2020 Vanessa Moritz Clerk, Village of Forest Park Published in Forest Park Review 07/15/2020

HAULING BASEMENT CLEANING

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

LANDSCAPING NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN UP

Evergreen trimming & more.

Hand weed removal.

Clean-ups.

Call 24 hrs.

708-447-1762

PAINTING & DECORATING CLASSIC PAINTING Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

708.749.0011

PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

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

ROOFING

MIDWEST ROOFING All types of roofing repairs Commercial - Residential Call for free estimate

773-637-0692

LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given of the availability of funding from a Village of Oak Park Business Assistance Loan Program using $300,000 in federal CARES Act Community Development Block Grant-Corona Virus funding. The program is focused on helping small Oak Park businesses that have been negatively impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19.

Oak Park Business Assistance Loans up to $5,000 each will be available to registered local businesses with 10 or fewer employees and average annual gross business receipts of less than $2,000,000. To be eligible, businesses must have experienced a 30 percent or more loss in revenue due to the COVID-19 outbreak. If the business retains at least one full-time-equivalent low or moderate income employee for the first three months after receipt of loan funds, the loan will be forgiven. Funds can be used for operating expenses including payroll and rent. Funds cannot to be used for equipment purchases, construction or expansion-related costs. Businesses that are chains or franchises are not eligible.

Participation in the Oak Park Business Assistance Loan Program requires the completion of an application form. All applications must be complete with signed and dated documents. Additional, more detailed information about the loan program, including the application form, can be found on the Village’s website at www.oakpark.us/covid19businessloan.

Loan applications may be submitted electronically to Business@ oak-park.us beginning at 9 a.m., July 28. No program applications will be accepted prior to this time and date. Loan applications submitted before this time and date will not be considered and must be re-submitted. Applications will be considered on a first-come firstserved basis for 30 days. Contact Jeff Prior with any questions or comments at jprior@oak-park.us.

Published in Wednesday Journal July 15, 2020

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF VIRTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING Date: Tuesday, August 4, on ZOOM Virtual Meeting Service www.Zoom.us About Zoom: It’s free for you to view! Watch it from your phone, tablet or computer, live when at the meeting time or later as a recording. Or alternatively, dial in just like a conference call.

Time: 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Virtual Location (will feature video presentation and drawings of the project): Zoom Invite Link: https://us02web.zoom. us/j/3124378292?pwd=N1BxOEd1SEhreVF3dGNDQWNmYitlQT09 or request link by email to Tim.Pomaville@AmbrosiaHomesInc.com Meeting ID: 312 437 8292 Meeting Password: ambrosia

Alternatively, just dial in like a conference call: Call 415-762-9988 at the time of the meeting. Use the meeting ID and Password above.

Subject Property Address(es): 261 Washington, Oak Park, IL Proposed Development: New construction, 5 story, 28-unit apartment building with 28 on-site parking spots Purpose of Meeting: Pre-Planned Development Submittal Discussion To submit comments call or email Contact: Tim Pomaville, Ambrosia Homes, 312-437-8292, Tim.Pomaville@AmbrosiaHomesInc. com If you can’t make the meeting: We will record it and post it on YouTube for you to watch later!

Published in Wednesday Journal July 15, 2020

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION NEWREZ LLC D/B/A SHELLPOINT MORTGAGE SERVICING Plaintiff, -v.JUANITA J. EDWARDS Defendants 2018 CH 05854 301 48TH AVENUE BELLWOOD, IL 60104 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on February 3, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on August 6, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 301 48TH AVENUE, BELLWOOD, IL 60104 Property Index No. 15-08-229-0010000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of

the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-17-05268 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2018 CH 05854 TJSC#: 40-1864 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 2018 CH 05854 I3152386

Starting a new business in 2020?

Call the Experts! Publish Your Assumed Name Legal Notice in Wednesday Classified.

Call 708/613-3342 to advertise.

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FKA THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A. AS SUCCESSOR TO JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR RESIDENTIAL ASSET MORTGAGE PRODUCTS, INC., MORTGAGE ASSET-BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2006-RZ2 Plaintiff, -v.JINKY G. BARREDO A/K/A JINKY BARREDO, ALBERTO VELASCO Defendants 18 CH 06920 1441 SOUTH WOLF ROAD HILLSIDE, IL 60162 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 17, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on August 3, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1441 SOUTH WOLF ROAD, HILLSIDE, IL 60162 Property Index No. 15-20-112-0450000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court

file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-18-05254 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 18 CH 06920 TJSC#: 40-1612 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 # 18 CH 06920 I3152553

ments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-19-04111 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2019 CH 05533 TJSC#: 40-1758 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 # 2019 CH 05533 I3152479

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS LEGAL TITLE TRUSTEE FOR TRUMAN 2016 SC6 TITLE TRUST Plaintiff, -v.EDILBERTO V. VERZO, MARCELINA C. VERZO, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 2019 CH 05533 300-302 NORTH CUYLER AVENUE OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 23, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on August 5, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 300-302 NORTH CUYLER AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-08-107-0090000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assess-

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION IL LENDING LLC, A FOREIGN LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; Plaintiff, vs.

PALAJI BROTHERS & POLLAK INVESTMENTS, LLC, A FOREIGN LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, AND ANY UNKNOWN OWNERS & NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 19 CH 14294 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-05-106-031-0000.

Commonly known as 6 LeMoyne Parkway, Oak Park, IL 60302.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection For information call Mr. Joseph R. Ziccardi at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Ziccardi Law Offices, 77 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602. (312) 372-3477.

INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3152055

Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

INC., REALTOR

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

611 CIRCLE AVENUE, FOREST PARK. LIST PRICE $479,000 THIS TRUE BRICK AMERICAN 4 SQUARE has been well loved over the years. After walking across the expansive front porch you walk into an updated beauty. To the left is the home's original parlor area. Across the hall, behind the oak handrail with iron spindles, is the formal dining room. The dining room opens up to an eating area/kitchen combination. High end cabinetry in both eating area and open kitchen provides ample storage. All stainless steel appliances stay. In the rear of the house is a huge family room and a full bathroom, one of three full baths! Upstairs you will find two graciously sized bedrooms, master suite, and two full bathrooms. The bedroom in the front of the house has an additional tandem space opened up to the bedroom area that ties in either as a study or room for an additional bed. This bedroom alone has room for three twin beds. The second bedroom itself is either a kids dream room or another room large enough for two beds. Across the hall is the second full bathroom. In the rear of the house is an enormous master with en suite bathroom. The master has a tandem room which was used as a nursery or could easily be converted into a marvelous walk in closet! The basement is unfinished and awaiting someone's finishing touches.

935 Elgin Avenue, Forest Park.

List Price $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.

1117 Marengo Avenue, Forest Park List Price $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!

337 Marengo Avenue, Forest Park List Price $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!

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Forest Park Review, July 15, 2020

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