38 minute read
Big Week
Park District applies for $600,000 state grant to renovate Remembrance Park
By IGOR STUDENKOV
Staff Reporter
Remembrance Park, the small pocket park on Randolph Street, could get a major upgrade including a new playground, splash pads and a bocce ball court. That’s if the Park District of Forest Park is successful in its application for a $600,000 state grant aimed at improving local parks.
Park commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 15 to apply for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant to fund a little over 70% of the costs of improving the park at 7341 Randolph St.
Remembrance Park is one of four “pocket parks” the village government leases to the park district for a symbolic $1 a year, and the only one of the four that’s located north of the Eisenhower Expressway. As part of the lease, the park district took over responsibility for maintaining and improving the small parks.
Forest Park has six pocket parks, with the village retaining control of two of them -- Veterans Park, 631 Circle Ave., and the village dog park at 632 Circle Ave. Since 2021, the park district has been working with Naperville-based Hitchcock Design Group to figure out how to spruce up and improve the other four parks.
According to the preliminary design rendering posted on the park district website, Remembrance Park will get a new playground with a new play structure and a bocce ball pole on the west end, new swings in the middle and two new splash pads at the east end. The current wood chips would give way to a pour-in-place rubber surfacing with a large American flag painted over it.
Jackie Iovinelli, park district director, emphasized to the Review that they will maintain the existing memorials. The plan shows a new “memorial walk” with the relocated monuments.
The memorials honor Forest Park police and firefighters who have died in the line of duty and Richard E. Drane, a former police chief. There is also a memorial for those impacted by suicide.
Iovinelli said the project is expected to cost “approximately $850,000.”
The director told park commissioners that, if they get the grant, they will need to keep the features listed in the applications, but they would still be free to add other features. She said that, if the grant is secured, they would have a public meeting to give residents a chance to suggest ideas for the final concept.
OSLAD grants pay for property acquisition for new parks, as well as for renovations and redevelopment of existing parks. The renovation projects can get up to $600,000, and Iovinelli told the Review that the park district is going for the full amount.
On July 8, the park district received a $400,000 OSLAD grant to fund planned renovations of another pocket park, Reiger Park at 1526 Circle Ave. The construction work on that project is expected to start in the spring of 2023.
Iovinelli told the park commissioners that, as of Sept. 14, their grant application for Remembrance Park was “about 80%” complete, and they expect to be able to submit it in time for the Sept. 30 deadline.
“We are hoping to hear [if we got the grant] by the end of this year,” Iovinelli told the Review. “If that is the case, we should begin construction Fall 2023.”
Rendering of planned improvements for Remembrance Park (above). Reiger Park (below) is also due for an upgrade.
Snails and Tails cosponsored by Kiwanis Club
By IGOR STUDENKOV
Staff Reporter
Kids and their families gathered at Mohr Community Center, 7640 W. Jackson Blvd. on the evening of Sept. 22 to see some zoo animals and find out what Forest Park Pack 109 Cub Scouts have to offer.
Pack leader Steve Rummel, who also serves on the Forest Park School District 91 Board of Education, said Snails and Tails has been their biggest recruitment event for the past few years. He and the other pack leaders estimated that around 60-70 people attended it this year, which put them well in line with the average attendance. Rummel said they were pleased to see many kids express interest in scouting.
Pack 109 is open to kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. The pack is divided into “dens” based on grade level. Scouts learn outdoor skills, go on camping trips and take part in volunteer activities and events.
The pack organizes Snails and Tails with the help of the Kiwanis Club of Forest Park. Rummel said all animals at the events are domesticated, and the exact animals brought each year vary based on where they are in their breeding cycles and other conditions. He emphasized the families in attendance didn’t necessarily have to be interested in scouting, but they were always happy to answer any questions.
While Snails and Tails took a year off in 2020 due to the pandemic, it returned in 2021, and the number of attendees matched what they had before.
In an interview before the event, Rummel said that 70 people – 40 kids and 30 parents and guardians – registered for the Sept. 22 event.
“It was a popular event before COVID-19,” Rummel said. “I think [in 2021] we had similar numbers. I think people were really ready to get back out. This year, it’s the same thing.”
ALEX ROGALS/Sta Photographer (Top right) Kids hold baby chicks during the annual Forest Park Cub Scout Pack 109 Scales and Tales event at the Howard Mohr Community Center. (Right) Warren Jacknow balances a chinchilla on his head. (Below) Scouts interact with a furry friend.
September 28-October 5 BIG WEEK
The Life-Changing Magic Of Organizing Your Projects
Forest Park resident Burhan Syed teaches the basics of project management, stressing the ability to get projects done. Contact the library for registration info.
Fall Kitchen Series with Kristyn Slick: Perfectly Pumpkin
Batty about bats
Saturday, Oct. 1, 1:30 p.m., Trailside Museum of Natural History Learn all about our native bats and their interesting behavior. Ages 10 & up. Free, registration required. Call or email: 708-366-6530, trailside.museum@cookcountyil.gov. 738 Thatcher Ave., River Forest
The Odd Creature Show
Saturday, Oct. 1, 6 p.m., Outta Space
This combination art gallery and rock show features the paintings of Aaron Mitchell and the music of Dirty Green, Royal Son Of A Guns, and Maggie D. $10, 6840 32nd St., Berwyn.
Listing your event in the calendar
Forest Park Review welcomes notices about events that Forest Park community groups and businesses are planning. We’ll work to get the word out if you let us know what’s happening by noon Wednesday a week before your news needs to be in the newspaper. ■ Send details to Wednesday Journal, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, 60302 ■ Email calendar@wjinc.com
Krystin Slick demonstrates how pumpkins can enhance many a meal, from cookies to pasta. If you’d like to cook along with Krystin, recipes will be e-mailed to registered patrons. Contact the library for registration info.
The Real Pretenders
Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m., FitzGerald’s
This local band, featuring the vocals of Naomi Ashley, plays songs made famous by the Pretenders. 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn.
Create Your Own Spooky Horror Story!
This online event teaches you how to create your own spooky Halloween stories. Designed for ages 11-13. Register with the library for the special Zoom link.
Ford comes to Forest Park to talk bail reform, public safety
Promises help with addressing safety around CTA terminal, rowdy funerals
By IGOR STUDENKOV
Staff Reporter
State Rep. La Shawn Ford (8th), whose district currently includes a portion of Forest Park south of Roosevelt Road, met with village commissioners and public safety officials on the morning of Sept. 26 to discuss bail reform and village-specific safety concerns.
Ford, who has co-chaired the State Public Safety and Violence Task Force, is holding several meetings throughout the suburbs to get a better sense of what kind of safety concerns they face. Forest Park officials said they’ve been struggling to respond to emergency calls related to the Forest Park Blue Line CTA terminal and to rowdy funerals. Officials also discussed manpower issues and the expense of providing ambulance services to the uninsured. Ford said he would push for legislation to make it easier for villages to get Medicaid reimbursements and reach out to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to see if he could help on the manpower side.
The officials also spent much of the meeting discussing the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFET) Act, which will do away with cash bail effective Jan. 1, 2023. Instead, judges would have to decide whether to release people awaiting trial based on certain risk factors. While Ford said he had his own concerns about the particulars, he believed that, overall, the system was fairer, since it took money out of the equation.
Aside from Ford, all four commissioners, Mayor Rory Hoskins, Police Chief Ken Gross and Fire Chief Phil Chiappetta attended the meeting. Village Administrator Moses Amidei said that, because there were more than two elected officials gathering in one place, they held the meeting in a public meeting format.
Gross said “some of [their] biggest challenges” are responding to calls from the three CTA stations that serve the village, especially the Forest Park Blue Line terminal. He mentioned mental health crises, drug use and drug overdoses as major reasons for the calls. Chiappetta said about half of the individuals involved in those calls are homeless, and many of the homeless individuals use CTA trains as shelter.
He said around 30% of all ambulance calls are to transport patients from the terminal. Since his department only has one ambulance, this ties the vehicle up when other emergencies happen. If the patients don’t have Medicaid or private health insurance, the department is stuck with the bill, which is around $2,000 per call.
“We are on pace to 454 calls [by the end of the year],” Chiappetta said.
Ford said that given Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, the best approach may be to get uninsured individuals on Medicaid, which would pay the ambulance bills. Chiappetta responded this would still leave individuals who leave a hospital without sharing any identifying information, as well as patients who die and couldn’t be identified afterword.
After some discussion, the officials floated the idea of changing the law to allow the villages to be paid through Medicaid for ambulance service for individuals who can’t be identified, with Hoskins suggesting this would only apply to municipalities that have transit stations, and that municipalities would need to prove that the individuals in question did exist. Ford said he would be willing to pursue legislation to this effect – and suggested that Forest Park could get Chicago’s help with lobbying for it.
“Chicago would say -- well, we see it all the time, we’d love to get reimbursed,” he said.
Aside from Chicago and Forest Park, CTA serves six suburbs. Cicero and Skokie have two stations, Oak Park and Evanston have seven, and Wilmette and Rosemont have one. Ford said he would like to try to get something in by the upcoming veto session. The officials also discussed working with other entities to improve security. Ford suggested that he and Hoskins should reach out to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart first. “We will take all the help we can get,” responded Gross.
Turning to rowdy funerals, Gross said Forest Park struggled to respond to the issue. While some funeral homes alert them of funerals for gunshot victims – which are more likely to turn rowdy – others don’t. While they pulled over drivers in the past, they found it only escalates the situation.
“I’m a firm believer in bringing our resources together,” said Ford. “You shouldn’t have to do it by yourself. If it’s funeral coming from the City of Chicago, Chicago should help you. We have to figure out how we can coordinate our law enforcement to help those cases.”
Commissioner Joe Byrnes suggested requiring funeral processions to put up a surety bond. If the funeral procession gets out of control, they would forfeit the money. Ford also suggested having the family pay the police to provide security.
Bail Reform
The Pretrial Fairness Act, the bail reform portion of the SAFE-T Act, will replace cash bail with a system where the person is either released, released with conditions and/or restrictions or kept in jail until trial based on how much risk they pose to the community. Ford argued that it would be a fairer arrangement.
“Come January, [judges will] have two options – to keep you locked up or let you go, regardless of your ability to pay,” he said.” I think that’s going to make us safer.”
Ford added that he was worried that the judges’ racial biases may affect the decisions.
“Me, as a Black man, I could tell you -- I
would be afraid of a no-bail system based on the courts and the way the courts make trial decisions [about] Black men,” he said. “Are they not going to look at risk factors or are they going to lock me up?” However, he said he wouldn’t support doing away with the bail reform altogether. “We have time to make amendments to the act before it goes into effect in January,” he said. “Just for the record, there will be no repeal, but I think there is an acknowledgement that we need to do something to improve the SAFE-T Act.” Gross said he was worried about the parIgor Studenkov/Sta Reporter ticulars of issuing warrants against people La Shawn Ford, Rory Hoskins and Moses Amidei. who don’t show up state of electronic in court, as well as the monitoring. While he said he supports it in principle, he believed that there are currently no real consequences for violating the terms of the i-bond, and worried that it would get worse with the bail reform. Ford responded that it was a valid concern, and something the legislation may need to work on. “They won’t get released, because they’re a risk,” he said. “I think we need to do everything to make sure we implement the law right.” Chiappetta asked why the legislators were only now trying to fix issues with the bail reform. “Why didn’t you guys look at both sides of these before you passed it, instead of backtracking and asking people [about their concerns]?” he said. Ford said passage of the SAFE-T Act forced law enforcement to offer compromises instead of stonewalling – which, he said, they did at first. “If we didn’t pass something, we wouldn’t have gotten anything from law enforcement,” he said. “We wouldn’t have gotten a serious conversation.” Ford’s remarks on the justice system led the only resident in the audience – who declined to give the Review her name – to ask what he was basing that on. He responded that there are studies that show racial biases and asked her whether she believes that the justice system would treat her and his chief of staff, who is Black, the same if they were charged with the same crimes. “I don’t know,” the woman responded. Ford said that it was important to have those conversations. “If we can’t agree that justice system is biased, we’re at a zero,” he said. “It’s a nonstarter.”
CASH BAIL
Judges maintain discretion
from page 1 Short for Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, the SAFE-T Act was a broad-ranging initiative backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus in the wake of a nationwide reckoning with racism in the criminal justice system following the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.
It was passed by the Senate just before 5 a.m. after an all-day session on Jan. 13, 2021, then cleared the House hours later. Pritzker signed it a month later.
It has been amended twice, addressing law enforcement concerns about use of force standards, clarifying some pretrial matters and changing language about police body cameras. But provisions regarding cash bail have not been amended since the bill’s 2021 passage.
The goal of the Pretrial Fairness Act was clear: to move away from the existing wealthbased system of pretrial detention in favor of one based on an offender’s level of risk of reoffending or fleeing prosecution.
Keith Grant, a Lake County public defender and Pretrial Implementation Task Force member, said that citing and releasing people committing less serious offenses provides better outcomes, saves taxpayer money and frees officers to remain on the beat.
“We find that when defendants are detained even for as little as, research shows, three days, they can become destabilized to the point of lacking all of the social netting resources that they would have otherwise had,” Grant said. “Keeping people in custody when they don’t need to be actually creates a risk of harm to the community.”
The Loyola University of Chicago’s Center for Criminal Justice Research analyzed Illinois State Police data that showed that from 2020 to 2021, individuals jailed pretrial in Illinois spent an average of 34 days incarcerated.
The report predicted the numbers would decrease under the PFA for those committing lesser offenses while likely increasing for those held on more serious offenses because they can’t free themselves on bail. (See graphic above)
The report further analyzed U.S. Department of Justice data which showed that in 2019, 50 percent of jail detainees in Illinois were Black compared to 15 percent of the population at large; 33 percent were white compared to 76 percent of the population; and 14 percent were Hispanic compared to 18 percent of the population. The racial disparity numbers were driven by Illinois’ three largest counties.
Of those detained, 82 percent were being held on felony charges and 89 percent were being held pretrial.
The new law abolishes cash bail and provides for a presumption in favor of release for misdemeanors, traffic offenses and other petty offenses, provided a defendant is not deemed a risk to the community by the arresting officer. (See graphic opposite page)
Kane County Chief Judge Clint Hull, a task force member, said at a July town hall that the arresting officers will maintain similar discretion as they are afforded under current law.
“Do they pose an obvious threat to the community or any person or are they a risk to… their own safety?” he said. “In both situations, if they are, the police – despite the fact that this isn’t the most serious offense – (do) have the discretion to bring that person in to try to make sure that they can identify and address that issue.”
In most cases, individuals committing misdemeanors or petty offenses will receive a citation from law enforcement and a court date within 21 days.
Loyola University of Chicago’s Center for Criminal Justice Research shows the breakdown of Illinois’ jail population in 2019. See full report at tinyurl.com/2k72bjmx
Pretrial hearings
After the initial arrest, as under current law, judges will determine whether detention continues.
Under current law, bail hearings typically occur within 72 hours of arrest and last less than five minutes. Prosecutors detail the defendant’s charges and may recommend a bail amount. The judge then decides the conditions of their release, including how much money, if any, the defendant must post before their release from custody.
Under the PFA, the hearings will be more intensive. Defendants are given a right to legal representation and prosecutors can detail their reasons for continued detention.
“One of the primary goals of the law is to make sure that we’re having in-depth, detailed hearings when we’re taking away someone’s freedom,” said Sarah Staudt, an advocate with the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, which worked with lawmakers on the bill.
Prosecutors wishing to keep an individual detained would petition the court for pretrial detention.
Upon petition, the law requires an “immediate” detention hearing which could coincide with the defendant’s first appearance in court. If a continuance is requested and granted, the court would have 48 hours in serious felony cases to hold such a hearing.
The court would have the authority to detain an individual pending a continuance.
For pretrial detention to be ordered, the state must prove “by clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant committed the crime, poses a specific threat to a person or persons and that no other pretrial conditions can mitigate the defendant’s risk to that person or persons.
It’s a heightened standard that prosecutors have warned may be too difficult to meet within the short timeline, but advocates say is necessary to protect a constitutional presumption of innocence.
For lesser offenses, the court would have 24 hours to conduct the same procedure. The PFA makes no exception for holidays or weekends.
Limits to detention
State’s attorneys have been the most vocal critics of the law as written, arguing that it leaves too little leeway for judges to detain dangerous individuals in certain circumstances.
Among them is Republican DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin, who said he was not opposed to ending cash bail in principle.
“I want to stress, this is very fixable,” Berlin said. “I’m not one of the people out there saying ‘Oh, repeal repeal, just get rid of it.’ We can fix this. And we can fix it before January 1.”
John Curran – an implementation task force member, GOP state senator and former assistant Cook County state’s attorney – said he also didn’t oppose ending cash bail, but he saw several shortcomings with the system replacing it.
He, Berlin and other state’s attorneys have called on Illinois to emulate a system put in place in New Jersey in 2017, which eliminates cash bail but gives greater discretionary authority to judges to impose pretrial detention than does Illinois’ law.
“The first big difference is New Jersey doesn’t limit the number of offenses that are detainable,” Berlin said in an interview. “New Jersey allows judges to detain in any criminal offense, which would include misdemeanors. We believe that judges are in the best position to make decisions about who should be detained or not.”
While the PFA does not create categories of offenses that are “non-detainable” under every circumstance, it does, as written, create circumstances in which a judge would have no statutory authority to detain a defendant that doesn’t have a prior record or present a risk of fleeing prosecution.
Another Loyola University study estimated that a judge would not have been able to detain the defendant in 56 percent of arrests that occurred statewide in 2020 and 2021 had the PFA been in place.
From 2020 to 2021, according to the research, 193,387 people were admitted into jails statewide each year, with 90 percent held for some length pretrial. Due to varying lengths of pretrial detention, the report estimated there were between 13,827 to 15,994 people being held pretrial daily.
Once the PFA is implemented, between 44,000 and 70,000 individuals per year will be eligible for initial detention, the report estimated.
About 70 percent of those would be in relation to domestic violence or violations of order of protections, according to the study, which is one reason the SAFE-T Act had support from anti-domestic violence groups.
“If post-COVID trends continue,” the report reads, “that means somewhere between 89,000 and 115,000 individuals per year could not be initially detained under the PFA once the law goes into effect on January 1, 2023.”
A ow chart produced by the Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force shows how release by citation will work under the Pretrial Fairness Act. For more visit tinyurl.com/ya99dcv6
Detention standards
Curran’s and Berlin’s concern lies in the language beginning on page 370 of the 764page SAFE-T Act which lays out the specific circumstances in which a judge can order pretrial detention.
The language allows a judge to deny pretrial release if a defendant is a danger to an individual or the community and is accused of non-probational offenses such as firstdegree murder, as well as aggravated arson, residential burglary, stalking, domestic battery, certain gun offenses and several specified sex offenses.
While misdemeanors and other low-level offenses are generally non-detainable under the new law, all charges become detainable if the defendant is already on pretrial release, probation or parole.
The language also allows detention for individuals charged with a forcible felony “for which a sentence of imprisonment, without probation, periodic imprisonment or conditional discharge, is required by law upon conviction.”
The task force has noted that language specifically excludes offenses for which a defendant is eligible for probation. Berlin said that means, under the law as written, judges cannot order pretrial detention of an individual accused of second-degree murder, drug trafficking, arson, robbery, aggravated battery, threatening a public official and other probational offenses unless prosecutors prove they are a risk for “willful flight” from prosecution.
The willful flight standard, unlike the dangerousness provision, can be applied to anyone committing a crime greater than a Class 4 felony – which includes many property crimes and offenses such as aggravated DUI and driving on a revoked license – who is deemed by a judge as “planning or attempting to intentionally evade prosecution by concealing oneself.”
But because the law states that past nonappearances in court are “not evidence of future intent to avoid prosecution,” Berlin said it will be difficult to prove.
“I mean, you’ve gotta show that they’ve got a ticket to get out of town,” Berlin said.
Advocates, on the other hand, say the differentiation between the willful flight and dangerousness standards was intentional, although further changes may be forthcoming.
“If someone’s going to cooperate with the prosecution in a nonviolent case, we don’t want a situation where they’re being detained,” Staudt said.
Sen. Robert Peters, a Democrat and Senate co-sponsor of the law, said he’s open to discussions about amending the bill’s willful flight standards and detainable offense language based on the Pretrial Implementation Task Force’s recommendations.
“Anytime you take human life and you’re saying I’m going to take away their freedom, that should be somewhat of a higher standard,” he said. “What I again will say is that I’m willing to have conversations about the practices of this.”
Rep. Justin Slaughter, a Chicago Democrat and the law’s House sponsor, said language regarding detainable offenses in the existing bill is “misleading” and “unclarified,” and his plan is to address it in follow-up legislation this fall.
“We will have a system that prioritizes public safety, and we will have a system (in which)… there’s no such thing as a non-detainable person,” Slaughter said when asked about the goal of follow-up legislation at a Sept. 15 news conference.
He declined to go into specifics due to ongoing discussions.
Curran, who said he’s been pushing for such changes since January 2021, noted another section of the bill states that “at each subsequent appearance” in court, a judge must find that continued detention of a defendant is necessary “to avoid the specific, real and present threat to any person or of willful flight from prosecution to continue detention of the defendant.”
The task force identified the language as problematic, and advocates have said standardizing the language throughout the bill will be a goal of follow-up legislation.
Follow-up bill
Slaughter said lawmakers are working with the task force to address concerns. He’s currently sponsoring House Bill 5537, a 219page bill that, among other changes, seeks to standardize the detention language. It was filed in January, has no cosponsors and likely does not represent a final bill.
While court officials like Berlin have engaged lawmakers regarding potential changes, several others have raised broader alarms and pushed for a full repeal – an outcome unlikely with Democrats in control of the General Assembly and governor’s office at least through the PFA’s effective date.
At a news conference with county sheriffs earlier this month, GOP governor candidate and state Sen. Darren Bailey pushed for a full repeal and didn’t offer alternative amendments he’d work to implement. He said he believed repeal would be possible because he believed the Pretrial Fairness Act was tied to unspecified property tax increases.
At a Sept. 14 news conference, Pritzker reiterated he supports the new law but didn’t say when changes would happen or to what extent they are necessary.
“Are there changes or adjustments that need to be made? Of course,” he said. “And there have been adjustments made and there will continue to be. Laws are not immutable.”
NBA player, Maywood native Sterling Brown now a TV host
Brown is the star of ‘How Cool Is is,’ a STEM education and lifestyle show
By MICHAEL ROMAIN
Staff Reporter
Sterling Brown may be best known for his skills on the court, but that could change. If things go according to plan, the NBA forward could be the host of his own education and lifestyle show on a major TV network.
The show, “How Cool Is This,” will have Brown, a forward with the Houston Rockets, exploring “discoveries, happenings and innovation in the STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] world [through] a multicultural lens,” according to a statement released by the show’s producers.
In the premiere episode, which is available on YouTube, Brown visited the Lyndon Johnson Space Center in Houston and talked to astronaut Dr. Jeanette Epps about her training for a mission to the International Space Station.
In a recent interview, Brown said the show allows him to explore things that have interested him since he was a young boy growing up in Maywood.
“This is who I’ve been since I was a kid,” Brown said. “I’ve always been good with numbers and math and been interested in learning how things come about.”
Brown starred on the basketball court for Proviso East High School in Maywood but attended Proviso Math and Science Academy in Forest Park. He said PMSA nurtured and expanded his interest in STEM.
Larry James, one of the show’s coproducers and a longtime family friend, said the idea to make Brown a host of a STEM-friendly TV show catered to young people came about rather naturally.
“Sterling was reaching out to some kids in Dallas and it kind of dawned on us that they had no idea of his background,” James said. “Sterling is a gifted basketball player but he’s just as gifted in the arts, sciences d and math.”
James said he and another co-producer, Jon Marc Sandifer, a programming executive at Black Entertainment Television (BET), are shopping “How Cool Is This” around to networks. He said at least two major networks are vying for the show. James said he didn’t want to identify the networks while negotiations are still happening.
“There will be six markets for this show and one of the markets will be [Brown’s] own — Chicago,” James said.
He added that there will be additional educational awareness and outreach initiatives that will supplement the show’s mission to spark interest in STEM subjects among young people in places like Brown’s hometown of Maywood. James said, in addition to afterschool programming, they’re planning a STEM fair that will take place during NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah in February 2023. Brown said shooting the first episode with
Dr. Epps gave him a new perspective on NASA and the aeronautics field.
“It was good for me to see that,” he said. “It definitely gave me a lot more respect for that field.”
James said Dr. Epps was so impressed with Brown that she invited him to attend her launch.
“She most graciously invited him to be at the launch,” James said. “When she goes up there, she wants him there. I thought that was the greatest thing.”
Epps is currently being wait-listed, James said, adding
nterest in s coly e
that NASA still has to set a hard date for when she and her fellow astronauts will take off. Brown said hosting the premiere episode allowed him to hone his broadcasting chops. “When this opportunity presented itself, it was ther ndifer, at Black ,are shopping something I was already thinking about,” he said. “Being a host for this was an opportunity for me to get my feet wet and see what adjustments I need to make.” James said the larger message of the show, particularly for young people in Maywood and the surrounding suburbs, is that there are career options beyond sports and entertainment. “Everybody is aspiring to be basketball players or hip hop artists, and that’s really great, but don’t shun the other gifts you’ve been blessed to be given,” James said. “Give yourself the biggest shot possible and don’t shut the doors on anything.”
a li M J scho plann place du Salt Lake C Brown said sh
PROVIDED Astronaut Jeanette Epps and NBA player Sterling BrowA n at the Lyndon Johnson Space Ce C nter in Houston.
Cook County Clerk calls on veterans to be election workers
Yarbrough says there’s a ‘serious shortage’ of judgesand poll workers
By MICHAEL ROMAIN
Staff Reporter
Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, whose office runs elections in suburban Cook County, is calling on military veterans to sign up as election judges and poll workers in the Nov. 8 Gubernatorial Election.
“We have a serious shortage of judges and poll workers,” Clerk Yarbrough said during a press conference on Sept. 20. “We’ve seen our number of election judges shrink significantly in recent years.”
Yarbrough said the number of poll workers has fallen by 40 percent over the last eight years. She said she has about 4,000 people who have indicated their availability to work on Election Day but she needs at least 7,000 to cover every open position.
Polling place technicians make $365 and election judges make $200 for their day-long service. Anyone interested in working the polls can apply at cookcountyclerk.com/work.
Yarbrough explained that the pandemic and age are contributing to the reduction in polling workers in suburban Cook County. She said the average election judge is between 65 and 70 years old.
The clerk said 4,500 election judges showed up for service on Election Day in June compared to more than 7,100 judges who worked on Election Day in the 2018 midterm election — the last midterm before the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said the dearth of election workers is a problem across the nation, before pointing out that “an estimated 130,000 poll workers have stopped serving over the past three midterm elections across the nation.”
Yarbrough said the idea to reach out to veterans came after she realized just how much the county clerk’s office interacts with them through the Veterans Service Office in Chicago.
“These are tough times for democracy and those in the veterans’ community took many years out of their lives to fight for this democracy and we’re asking you to fight for this democracy again by serving on Election Day,” said Brian Cross, the head of the Veterans Service Office.
Ed Michalowski, the deputy clerk of elections, said while the clerk’s office saw about 70 percent of voters cast their ballots before Election Day by voting early or through the mail in the 2020 General Election and 2021 Consolidated Election, Election Day operations are still important.
He said the clerk’s office has reduced the number of precincts to keep up with worker shortages, but they still need to meet their goal of more than 7,100 workers to avoid overloading existing poll workers.
“If there’s one person in a precinct, we’re putting a heavy weight of democracy on their shoulders,” Michalowski said.
A. RAO, MD.
Real People, Real Results† : HAIR REMOVAL Before and after 3 treatments KAREN YARBROUGH Courtesy of Romeo & Juliette Laser Hair Removal Cook County Clerk For more HAIR REMOVAL information, visit www.cynosure.com
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LASER HAIR REMOVAL: all skin types Before and after 3 treatments Courtesy of R. Saluja, MDYOU in mind LASER SKIN TREATMENTS SUN DAMAGE · Laser Facial · Wrinkle Reduction · Rosacea Hair Removal that Suits You · Age and Sunspots Elite iQ not only offers personalized hair removal treatments, but it can · Spider Veins address a wide variety of common skin concerns as well! Treatments are quick, non-surgical and provide great results. · Onychomycosis · Wart Removal Before and after 4 treatments PRP: hair rejuvenation, natural ller Courtesy of E. Lach, MD MICRONEEDLING: scar reduction, wrinkle reduction, skin tightening LEG VEINS INJECTABLES: Neuromodulators (Botox, Dysport etc), Fillers (Juvéderm, Voluma etc)
Before & After 2tx Photos Courtesy of WIFH Intended for distribution in US only. † These before and after photographs are of a patient treated with Cynosure’s Elite family devices, not the Elite iQ device advertised herein. The Elite family devices have the same/similar capabilities as the Elite iQ device and so while individual results vary, similar results are expected. Like all medical procedures, not all patients are suitable for the treatment. A qualified practitioner is solely responsible for evaluating each subject’s suitability to undergo treatment and for informing those being treated about any risks involved with the treatment, pre-and postoperative care, and any other relevant information. Individual results may vary and are not guaranteed. © 2021 Cynosure, LLC. Cynosure, Elite iQ, Skintel, and Melanin Reader are trademarks and/ or registered trademarks of Cyno sure, LLC. Cynosure, LLC. Owns exclusive rights to photography. Use of photography without written permission of Cynosure is prohibited.
224.580.0615 • WWW.OPLSC.COM • CONTACT@OPLSC.COM Schedule your 715 LAKE STREET, OAK PARK • MONDAY — SATURDAY BY APPOINTMENT ONLY Before and after 5 treatments Courtesy of C. Arroyo, MD consultation today! 1. London. Shaving legs is women’s least favorite beauty chore. Daily Mail: 5 April 2013 2. Kilmer S., Lloyd J. Long-Term Laser Hair Reduction Efficacy: A Report on the Use of Long-Pulsed Alexandrite Lasers for Hair Reduction. *Individual results may vary and are not guaranteed. © 2020 Cynosure, LLC. All rights reserved. Cynosure is a registered trademark of Cynosure, LLC. Elite iQ is a trademark of Cynosure, LLC. Cynosure, LLC owns exclusive rights to photography. Use of photography without written permission of Cynosure is prohibited. Like all medical procedures, not all patients are suitable for the treatment. Talk to your medical provider about the risks and benefits of this procedure. A qualified practitioner is solely responPractice Name | Practice Location | Website | Phone # sible for evaluating each subject’s suitability to undergo treatment and for informing those being treated about any risks involved with the treatment, pre-and postoperative care, and any other relevant information. Individual results may vary and are not guaranteed. Model for illustrative purposes only and not an actual consumer of the product. 921-7041-010
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Radical Botanical o ers care for sick plants, classes for kids
By IGOR STUDENKOV
Staff Reporter
The first thing one notices about the plant store that opened two months ago at 7607 Madison St. is the sheer size and variety of plants visible through the storefront window.
“I literally get a crowd of people just taking a pause in front of my window and breathing,” said co-owner Carina Guerrero.
That is precisely what she and her partner, Robert Ungaro wanted to see when they opened Radical Botanical. They wanted to do more than just sell plants and heal sick plants. As the name suggests, they saw a store as an opportunity to help their customers, mentally and spiritually, and bring them closer to nature. Even before they opened a physical location, they got a positive response
Guerrero and Ungaro said they became interested in growing plants before they met each other, for their own, separate reasons. Guerrero said she’s been interested in plants since she was a child. About six years ago, she started out growing a rose bush, and she soon became interested in the farmto-table movement. Living in a “tiny Cicero apartment,” she began growing a few herbs, and bought books on plant growing at HalfPrice Books to get better at it. And while she sold some herbs and vegetables around the neighborhood and at her daughter’s school, she didn’t think about turning it into business until she met Ungaro.
Ungaro said he got into growing plants while working with fellow veterans. Taking care ofthe plants, he said, proved to be therapeutic, because it gives veterans “something to take home and take care instead of just themselves.”
But it wasn’t until after the two met that they thought about starting a business that would allow them to share the benefits they got from plants with the community.
“The overall mission is to create pockets of sanity and divinity in the community, in their house,” Guerrero said. “For them to have a resting place, to kind ofease the mind in the spirit when all the hecticness is going on. We live in the concrete jungle, instead of a natural place.”
While the “botanical” part ofthe name was self-evident, she said that the “radical” part reflected the “radical idea” that people could come to nature for healing. While she said she doesn’t want to disparage medical science, it shouldn’t be the only source of treatment.
A physical location at the River Forest/ Forest Park border made sense, since Guerrero grew up in the western suburbs and their daughter attended a school in River Forest.
“I got back, joined the American Legion down the street and decided that it’s the neighborhood where I wanted to open my plant shop with my queen,” Ungaro said.
Radical Botanical also offers classes where kids learn about the plant growth cycles and how to take care of them, mostly through hands-on learning – something that she said was inspired by her learning about plants from her grandmothers and passing that knowledge on to her daughter. Each class lasts around an hour.
“There’s no test, so don’t worry about that,” Ungaro added. “It’s just a simple 5-10 minute [lesson on] how the plant will grow in the future, and then they literally push it into the ground itself.”
Guerrero said they didn’t want customers to feel pressured to buy something, preferring instead to work with them and find the plant that’s right for them.
She also said she likes to see customers stay in touch.
“I don’t like when people just buy a plant and take it home,” Guerrero said. “If I was working at Home Depot, God forbid, and if they did not come back and tell me how the plant is doing, I’d be upset.”
