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Crime
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“Unfamiliar enough to be surprising, and yet familiar enough to provoke swinging hips and nodding heads… It’s the best of both worlds.” —Paste Magazine
10.17.21 RANKY TANKY
“Ranky Tanky” translates loosely as “Work it!” or “Get funky!” In this spirit, the South Carolina-based quintet brings to life the soulful songs of the Gullah culture –a bone-deep mix of spirituals and gutbucket blues that mark the low country mainland and Sea Islands.
SUNDAY, October 17, 2021 | 7:30 p.m. events.dom.edu
CRIME Gun found in backpack ung into car by unknown man
Forest Park police recovered a backpack containing a handgun, 21 rounds ofammunition and a bag of cannabis from the pavement in the 1000 block ofDesplaines Avenue on the night ofSept. 24 after responding to a report ofshots fired on that block at about 9:05 p.m.
While police did not report finding any evidence ofshots fired in the area they did get a second call around the same time from a Chicago couple who were driving with their two small children southbound on Desplaines Avenue when they encountered a man standing in the middle ofthe street waving both arms.
As the vehicle slowed down, the man reportedly grabbed onto the driver’s side door frame and attempted to get into the car, saying, “He’s trying to kill me.” At some point, the man threw his backpack into the vehicle, which drove away. The passenger inside the vehicle then threw the backpack out of the window before calling police.
According to police, a second witness reported seeing a man matching the description given by the couple enter a red sedan driven by a woman. That vehicle traveled through the rear ofa building in the 1000 block ofDesplaines Avenue and left the area in an unknown direction. Police reported they did not receive any calls from any possible victim of a crime.
Knife allegedly brandished on train
A 54-year-old Chicago man was given a local ordinance citation for assault after he allegedly brandished a knife during an altercation with a 33-year-old Plainfield man aboard a CTA train at the Forest Park Blue Line terminal, 711 Desplaines Ave. on Sept. 27 at about 12:15 a.m.
According to the police report, the victim was waiting for the train to depart the terminal when the offender took a speaker from him. When the victim confronted the man to get his speaker back, the man allegedly pulled out a knife from under his train seat and followed the victim, who called police, to the terminal’s exit.
The victim told police that he just wanted his speaker back and did not want to press charges. Police recovered the item, but ticketed the offender.
Vehicle break-ins
■ A resident of the 1100 block of Elgin Avenue called police to report that during the overnight hours of Sept. 27-28 someone entered her unlocked vehicle, which was parked in the rear ofthe property and removed a wallet containing her driver’s license, Social Security card, medical cards and a debit card. ■ During the overnight hours ofSept. 2728, someone entered a vehicle and removed allergy medicine. While the owner reported locked the doors before leaving the vehicle overnight, she noticed the rear hatchback was partially open the following morning. ■ Police responded to the 1000 block of Harlem Avenue on the morning ofSept. 28 after a resident called to report that overnight someone entered an unlocked vehicle parked on a rear apron and removed a wallet containing identification and multiple credit cards.
Four small purchases totaling about $20, had been made using one of the cards at three different businesses. ■ A resident ofthe 1100 block ofHarlem Avenue called police on the morning of Sept. 28 to report his car had been burglarized and that a security camera had captured the incident.
The video showed that at about 3 a.m. three people walking northbound in the alley and pulling car door handles in the parking lot behind the building. One ofthem is then seen picking up a rock and breaking a small passenger side window to gain entry. A second person then enters the vehicle and takes an OGIO gym backpack containing Adidas running shoes, a Nike shirt and Nike shorts.
Distracted driving leads to crash
Forest Park police ticketed a 45-year-old Chicago man for using a cellphone while driving and damage to village property after he crashed his 2013 GMC Denali into the landscaped concrete median in the 7400 block of Roosevelt Road on Sept. 29 at about 2:45 a.m.
An officer responding to the scene reported the median to be cracked in several places along its length and shrubbery damaged or ripped out from the roots. The driver reportedly told police, “I was on my cellphone calling my wife, and I got distracted.”
Police reported that the driver did not appear to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Sept. 24-30, 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 Bob Uphues
Open House Chicago’s suburban side trip
Chicago Architecture Center’s event will include Oak Park, Austin sites
By LACEY SIKORA
Contributing Reporter
When Open House Chicago returns for the weekend of Oct. 16-17, the Chicago Architecture Center will be devoting a weekend to showcasing the architectural wealth of Chicago for the 11th time.
In 2020, the pandemic forced an entirely virtual format, in which visitors could use the OHC app to explore the exteriors of architecturally, historically and culturally significant sites and participate in self-guided tours or trails on certain themes.
This year, the walk is back with a more in-person focus. While the app will still facilitate tours throughout the city and provide bonus information, many of the sites will be open for in-person access this year on Oct. 16 and 17. For the entire month of October, participants can use the OHC app to access the free, self-guided history and architecture tours throughout Chicago.
Adam Rubin, director of interpretation for the CAC, says that the weekend is still a bit condensed from its peak of 2019 when roughly 250 sites were opened to the public. This year, the weekend focuses on about 100 sites, and Rubin says the pared down itinerary will help the average Chicagoan narrow down the number of sites to visit more easily.
“The sites will be open with site-dependent safety measures, and the OHC app will return with a few new trails and some new voices,” Rubin said.
While the vast majority of sites are in the city itself, Rubin said Evanston and Oak Park both made the cut of nearby suburbs that deserved a presence.
“Oak Park is always going to be a destination for Open House Chicago,” he said. “First of all, a lot of people from Chicago haven’t had the chance to visit Oak Park yet or they may be new to the city. Even if sites feel very familiar to someone from Oak Park, they are new to someone. “The draw of a very dense collection of Frank Lloyd Wright houses is always going to be there. Add in an amazing setting in which you can drink craft beer, and the fact that some people really want to visit religious institutions, and Oak Park has a little something of everything.”
The official Oak Park sites on this year’s OHC are the West Suburban Temple Har Zion, 1040 N. Harlem Ave.; Pleasant Home, 217 Home Ave.; One Lake Brewing, 1 Lake St.; the Oak Park River Forest Museum, 129 Lake St.; the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Ave.; and First United Methodist Church of Oak Park, 324 N. Oak Park Ave.
In Austin, sites include Austin Community Family Center, 501 N. Central Ave.; Kehrein Center for the Art, 5628 W. Washington Blvd.; and St. Martin Episcopal Church, 5710 W. Midway Park.
Two of the OHC app’s trails, as the bonus self-guided tours are named, focus on Oak Park and the Austin community.
Back for a second year is the “Frank Lloyd Wright: Portrait of a Young Architect” trail, which focuses on seven of Wright’s homes designed in the early part of his career and life in Oak Park.
In Austin, “ The Grand Residences of Frederick R. Schock” will focus on that architect’s work in the community. CAC docent Karen Clapp narrates the tour with input from a few current owners of Schock houses. Rubin says those voices from the Austin community make the audio “feel more personal this year. Last year, we didn’t have the audio commentary, so this tells you more about what it’s like to live there.”
He points out that the Oak Park and Austin trails dovetail nicely for someone looking to make a day of the West Side. “Both tours are telling a story about a relative narrow period in the architect’s life,” Rubin said. “There is a parallel element -- both look at what kind of community each architect was trying to build. Someone visiting the area in one day would find them very complementary.”
In addition to the local trails, Rubin highlights a few others that cover specific areas of interest in a city with much to discover. Rubin said that some of the trails expand the focus of OHC beyond traditional architecture to foster historical knowledge and multicultural awareness. A tour in Hyde Park will focus on sites where the Obamas lived and worked. A tour inspired by the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire will include sites that survived the fire to tell the story of the fire and its impact. A tour focused on preservation in Chicago will cover a few local sites that are preservation success stories and some that are more precarious. Another tour will consider the stories of the Potawatomi tribe, through the eyes of visual artist Andrea Carlson, who examines public art works and the erasure of the Potawatomi from the city. An event with the scope of OHC tends to expand the Chicago Architecture Center’s audience, and Rubin states that at the end of the day, it is a civic event that helps grow people’s appreciation for the city they call home. “It builds an understanding of the city and its past while also helping a lot of people feel pride in the city of Chicago,” he said.
PHOTOS BY ERIC ALLIX ROGERS First United Methodist Church of Oak Park (above and right), 324 N. Oak Park Ave. Pleasant Home, 217 Home Ave.
KRIBI COFFEE
OK for events
from page 1
when new rules might be in place within weeks.
In its application, Kribi asked to hold open mic nights every first and third Wednesday of the month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., specifically mentioning Sept. 15, Oct. 6 and Oct. 20. It also mentioned live gallery showings every second and fourth Monday of the month, as well as live music performances, private food tasting events and “private coffee cupping and tasting” events without giving specific dates. The application didn’t give specific times for those events, stating only that they would all end no later than 9 p.m.
Commissioner Ryan Nero wondered whether the license is only good for the specific dates or if the village allowed them to do the events indefinitely. Mayor Rory Hoskins said the question illustrated why the change was needed, since it’s currently “a very ambiguous section that’s probably not suited for today’s need.”
Section 3-4-1 of the village’s municipal code requires a license for “any building, hall, room, grounds, picnic grove or enclosure where the public may be admitted, with or without the payment of a fee or charge, for the purpose of witnessing or engaging in an amusement,” with “amusement” defined as “any public show, theatrical exhibition, circus or any other entertainment offered, operated, presented or exhibited to the public.” But while the code has specific regulations for billiard halls, movie theaters, bowling alleys, racetracks and coin-operated jukeboxes, it doesn’t give any specific requirements for musical performances, gallery shows and open mics.
Hoskins said that, while the village did consider an ordinance revising those regulations, “there were some questions about it and we didn’t take it up.” He said he was still interested in having the council develop one, but in the meantime, they had to work with what they had.
“We’re still in the circumstance where we have to approve or deny each application,” Hoskins said.
Nero agreed he didn’t like the current situation and he wanted to see something better.
“I’d [want] us getting back together and straightening it out, sooner rather than later, so we can have a more consistent approach,” he said.
In the meantime, Nero saw no reason to reject Kribi’s application, since they were following the rules that are currently in place.
“They’re following our system,” he said. “They can’t help that our system is wonky right now. We’ll continue to clean up the ordinance, we continue to clean up the language, and until then, we got what we got.”
Commissioner Jessica Voogd said that ambiguity about the timing of the events in Kribi’s application bothered her. Byrnes argued that it made more sense to wait until the ordinance is revised, since it would give all applicants a level playing field. But Commissioner Maria Maxham said that she would prefer to approve the application before the dates when Kribi wanted to hold their events passes.
The council agreed to try to figure out the new regulations before the next village council meeting, which will take place Oct. 11. In the meantime, applications will be processed as is. They also broadly agreed that Kribi’s application will only be good for the specific dates within the document, and anything that doesn’t have specific dates would require another application.
The village council approved the application by a 4-1 vote, with Byrnes voting against. He told the Review that he still believed that approving Kribi’s application before the new ordinance is in place was a mistake.
“We should have the ordinance in place before we approve anyone,” he said. “I think we should have a level playing field, [so that] everybody goes by the same ordinance.”
Jacques Shalo outside Kribi Co ee
MELISSA ELSMO
