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ForestParkReview.com Vol. 103, No.42 No. 42

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REVIEW OCTOBER 14, 2020

Village releases trick-or-treating guidelines

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Review writer publishes first novel PAGE 8

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D91 will continue remote learning until Jan. 22 Majority of parents, staff expressed desire for remote

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

District 91 will continue with remote learning until Jan. 22, the end of the second quarter, and will re-evaluate prior to that for the rest of the school year.

At an Oct. 8 board of education meeting, Supt. Lou Cavallo said although he personally wants to bring students back at least one day per week for in-person learning, the decision was made to keep kids learning remotely for now.

In a communication to parents, he said the district would be looking at ways to bring small groups of children into the schools for in-person learning and would communicate those plans to parents as they were made.

During the meeting, Cavallo reported that 54.4 percent of parents, in a survey with a higher response rate than any other offered by the district, said they wanted to stick with remote learning as it currently is. And 67.5 percent of staff want to remain in remote learning.

In looking at different metrics to make the decision, Cavallo said that Forest Park’s COVID-19 positivity rate is extremely low. However, the town is relatively small, and it’s surrounded by towns with considerably higher positivity rates. To add to that, 83 percent of staff live in other towns, and “a good portion of our parents in Forest Park work outside the town,” said Cavallo.

Since Forest Park is less self-contained than a suburb like Naperville, the positivity rate alone isn’t sufSee D91 UPDATE on page 10

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Antonia Ruppert, the artist who designed the new mural on Sarah’s Inn, talks about her experiences as a supporter and client of the organization at the 40th anniversary kick-off event on Oct. 6.

Sarah’s Inn mural reflects ‘hope and faith’ Reveal kicks off Domestic Violence Awareness month, organization’s 40th anniversary

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

IN Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 THIS Big Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 ISSUE Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

A new mural on an outside wall of Sarah’s Inn Forest Park headquarters is both a celebration of 40 years helping sufferers of domestic violence and a beacon of hope for those in need of assistance.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Executive Director Carol Gall, Sarah’s Inn staff and volunteers, and community members gathered at 1547 Circle Ave. for the official reveal of the mural and the kick-off of the organization’s 40th anniversary

celebrations.

“Our story is one of hope and faith, and we tried to mimic that in our mural,” Gall said.

October is Domestic Violence Action month, an obviously significant time for Sarah’s Inn, whose mission is “to improve the lives of those affected by domestic violence and to break the cycle of violence for future generations.”

At the event, Gall said that DomesSee SARAH’S INN on page 9

D91 okays childcare agreement with village, park

Local group provides social assistance

PAGE 10

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020 SPONSORED CONTENT

Don’t let the COVID crisis become an eviction crisis Can’t pay your rent due to COVID? Oak Park Regional Housing Center is here to help!

By Athena Williams Executive Director

While you may not think about the Oak Park Regional Housing Center as a great resource for help on rental assistance, eviction mediation, we’ve pivoted fast to meet what is a critical need whether you live in Oak Park, on the West Side or in Proviso.

Finding housing, keeping people in their housing is what we do and we’re ready to help you.

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OVID-19 has challenged us to reexamine all the different parts of our lives.

We’ve spent the year quarantining at home, we’re wearing masks and keeping our kids focused on learning is now an extra job, assuming we’ve kept our real jobs.

Maybe, though, the biggest and most immediate worry is not being able to make the rent. And it’s confusing sorting out the different eviction moratoriums the state and the federal government have rolled out.

Athena Williams, Executive Director

OAK PARK REGIONAL HOUSING CENTER

While you may not think about the Oak Park Regional Housing Center as a great resource for help on rental assistance, eviction mediation, we’ve pivoted fast to meet what is a critical need whether you live in Oak Park, on the West Side or in Proviso.

Finding housing, keeping people in their housing is what we do and we’re ready to help you.

As the Housing Center’s executive director, I am intimately familiar with the struggles people are facing in making ends meet right now and I know people don’t

Sharon Eckhoff is the voice you hear when you call the Oak Park office of the Housing Center.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Something that people don’t realize is how critical keeping folks in their homes is, especially right now.

When people are evicted the most common recourse is to lean on others for housing support. That might work in a pandemic-free world but with COVID-19 this creates optimum conditions for spread. Removing people from their homes now would force people to pile into small spaces or couch surf around the community, exposing more people than necessary to COVID-19. The more people evicted means more COVID cases, which leads to more people getting ill, more people not being able to work, and if the rate of infections increases too much, we may be looking into shutting down again. Whether living alone, with roommates, or with your family, it’s a matter of public health safety to keep people contained in their current living arrangements.

OPRHC’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program is designed to help both tenants and property owners. Our efforts help facilitate conversations to temporarily The Housing Center has offices in both Oak Park and Austin. Anita Bailey, housing counselor , works in the lower monthly rental costs for Austin office on Lake Street near Austin Blvd. tenants facing financial hardship.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer As unemployment and job loss are plaguing our community, it’s necessarily know where to turn for help. OPRHC is a understandable that people need help navigating their resource, as our newest rental assistance program was finances right now, but that extends to our community’s initiated to help both tenants and landlords explore a landlords, too. They have mortgages that need paying. middle ground for rent payments during this COVID-19 We’re finding that both parties are usually open to creating pandemic. Renters have options, and they need to know a solution that works for everyone. that.

The full staff of the Austin office of the Housing Center includes Deboorah Williams, program coordinator; Anita Bailey, housing counselor;, Karen Barragan, secretary and Wilane Boone, senior housing counselor.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

The Center for Disease Control’s eviction moratorium, effective Sept. 4 to Dec. 31, 2020, will prevent landlords from evicting non-paying tenants for up to six to eight months, when under normal circumstances landlords can evict in just 60 to 120 days. This time extension puts Mom-and-Pop landlords — building owners who use rent payments to cover the cost of their own housing — in incredibly difficult situations. OPRHC’s intention is to make sure landlords are still receiving at least some rent money during the six to eight months tenants are at risk of eviction.

We have always helped our community with rental housing assistance, whether it be credit debt management sessions or lease amendments, but our current focus on rent status mediation is a pivot to help answer the problems COVID-19 has created. So if you and yours are fighting to make it, reach out and we’ll do everything we can to find a solution. Our phone is 708-848-7150.

Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

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What a great Indigenous Peoples Day!

e’ve been enjoying glorious weather this fall, which has made the pandemic more bearable. The crisis, in fact, has caused people to spend more time in nature than they normally would. We have an annual tradition of exploring nature in the fall.

On the holiday that used to honor a legendary explorer, we make a pilgrimage to Oregon, Illinois to visit the statue of Black Hawk, which soars above the Rock River.

The statue is formally known as “The Eternal Indian.” If that sounds politically incorrect, the sculptor, Lorado Taft said the statue, “Represents the unconquerable spirit of Native Americans.”

The statue has its own unconquerable spirit. It was dedicated in 1908 and has withstood our harsh climate for 112 years.

Wind and snow have damaged the statue over the years and it needed to be restored.

A group called Friends of the Black Hawk Statue Committee raised $600,000 for the effort and they were counting on a $350,000 grant from the state to complete the project.

Unfortunately, Governor Bruce Rauner failed to pass a state budget, so the money

was unavailable. As was the statue. It was shrouded in a black tarp from 2016 to 2018.

It was sad to see the statue shielded by a scaffold.

But the state grant finally came through, the scaffold was removed, and the restoration was completed in January 2020.

The statue is 48 feet tall and sits on 77-foot bluff above the river.

It is the second largest concrete statue in the world, after Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro!

No wonder there were throngs of people visiting it the day we went.

They were also drawn by the bright sunshine and the explosion of colors along the river. “The trees are in their autumn beauty and the woodland paths are dry,” W.B. Yeats wrote. We confirmed the paths were dry when we made our next stop on the pilgrimage at White Pines Forest State Park.

This park is unique if you consider that visitors ford a creek to enter it. It has spectacular rock formations and a carpet of pine needles. We climbed the hiking trail and crossed the creek on stepping stones.

Both proved to be a challenge.

The views made the hiking worth it, but we were saddened by the fact that the

JOHN RICE

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L O O K

B A C K

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F O R E S T PA R K

White Pines Lodge and cabins had closed due to COVID. Going there to eat was our reward for the hours we spent hiking the trails. The food was great and there was a quaint gift shop. The lodge used to host plays and weddings. Without these crowds, it could not survive economically. It was still worth the two-hour drive to get there.

But we don’t have to leave Forest Park to enjoy autumn. We have so much beauty around us. Many of us have favorite trees in town, maybe in our own yard, or in a cemetery. We watch as they burst into brilliant colors. The leaves are lovely to look at and provide that pleasant rustling sound after they fall.

Many of our fall traditions were cancelled this year: Casket Races, Oktoberfest, the Chicago Marathon. Even Halloween appears to be in jeopardy. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the season and glory in the great outdoors. Besides, we still have apple cider, pumpkins and enough nutmeg and cinnamon to make it through the holidays.

In the meantime, we can pay homage to the Black Hawk statue. Now that Columbus Day has been replaced by Indigenous Peoples Day, it makes more sense than ever. It will also save you a trip to Rio. ■ John Rice is a columnist/private detective, who has seen his business and family thrive in Forest Park. He thoroughly enjoys

REVIEW Editor Maria Maxham Senior Editor Bob Uphues Contributing Reporters Tom Holmes, John Rice, Bob Skolnik, Jackie Glosniak, Robert J. Lifka Columnists Alan Brouilette, Jill Wagner, Tom Holmes, John Rice Food Editor Melissa Elsmo Staff Photographer Alex Rogals 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 Publisher Dan Haley Business Manager Joyce Minich GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA Board of Directors Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer HOW TO REACH US ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 708-366-0600 ■ FAX 708-467-9066 EMAIL forestpark@wjinc.com CIRCULATION Jill@oakpark.com ONLINE ForestParkReview.com TWITTER @FP_Review

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REVIEW 1st row left to right: Joe Hafner, Henry Belling, Ed Zimmerman, Joe Rippin, Frank Holly, Ray Kelley, Carl Hoffman.

2nd row: Jim Charvat, Bill Von Kaenel, Frank Widman and Guy Ianozzi.

This photo was originally published in the Forest Park Review on Nov. 6, 1974 as a 50 year lookback.

The gridiron glory in this overgrown field was taken on the southeast corner of Roosevelt Road and Elgin Avenue circa 1923 (present day Walgreens). These boys were known as the Blue Circle Football team from the southside of Forest Park.

–Jill Wagner

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.

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

Village releases trick-ortreating guidelines Random door-to-door discouraged

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor≠≠≠≠

The village of Forest Park released its official guidelines for trick-or-treating, which will be allowed on Oct. 31 between the hours of 2 and 6 p.m.

All participants are encouraged to follow Illinois Department of Public Health and CDC guidelines.

Here are the village guidelines: • Residents who want to pass out candy can make it clear they’re doing so by putting up a “welcome trick-ortreaters” sign or being outside during the designated hours.

• Trick-or-treaters are asked not to go door to door or ring random doorbells looking for candy. If a house hasn’t made it clear the residents are passing out treats, it should be avoided.

• Candy or treats should be distributed from the front lawn or bottom of porch steps. Keeping off of porches

and sticking to the lawn increases social distancing.

• Everyone participating in trick-ortreating, including those passing out candy, should wear a proper face covering and practice social distancing.

• A Halloween costume mask doesn’t meet COVID protection standards, and a cloth mask should be worn as well. If breathing is impaired by combining masks, the costume mask should be discarded.

• Trick-or-treaters should stick with household members only, and social distancing should be followed from other groups or people out trick-ortreating.

• Collected candy shouldn’t be eaten until proper handwashing has occurred.

• If COVID numbers show an increase, the event could be modified or canceled.

The Forest Park Chamber of Commerce, Forest Park Public Library, and Park District of Forest Park are all hosting Halloween events.

Mortgage assistance relief available for suburban Cook County homeowners Deadline to apply is Oct. 16

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Contributing Reporter

Suburban Cook County homeowners who need assistance with paying their mortgages can apply for the Cook County Mortgage Assistance program. The application deadline is Oct. 16.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced the new program, which is funded by the federal CARES Act, during a press conference in Chicago on Oct. 8.

“By some estimates, up to 20 percent of mortgage-paying homeowners nationwide have missed a mortgage payment,” Preckwinkle said. “That’s 1 out of 5 households. As Congress seems no-

where near ready to approve continued unemployment benefits and even though nationally we’re facing the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression in the 1930s, we know that we have tremendous challenges.”

The new mortgage assistance program totals $20 million, with up to $10,000 payments going directly to mortgage providers. Eligible homeowners must live in suburban Cook County, have experienced COVID-19-related financial hardship, have income at or below $127,400 before and after their COVID-19-related financial hardship, have gone into mortgage arrearage after March 27, and cannot have accepted any other CARES Act emergency mortgage assistance funding, according to the county’s website.

To apply for the funding or to receive more information on the program, visit cookcountyil.gov/recovery.

Photo provided

GETTING CREATIVE: The Schlichting family, including Quinten (top right), Amelia (top left) and Kaleb (bottom) are setting up a PVC pipe slide to send candy from the top of their porch to trick-or-treaters down below.

Residents get creative The Schlichting family has found a creative way to give out candy: through a PVC pipe, through which they can slide candy down to trick-or-treaters.

Karrie Schlichting said her three kids, Quinten, Kaleb and Amelia, all love Halloween. When she showed them a picture online of a candy slide to pass out treats, they insisted on making one before decorating or doing anything else Halloween-related.

“They think it’s the best,” Schlichting said, who added that they’re still going to decorate the tube in Halloween style. One of her kids, she said, “is very COVID-worried, and he’s super excited that we have this and is hoping others will do things too.”

Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

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Stolen gun found under tree

A man found a gun on the 900 block of Thomas Avenue on Oct. 7 at 8:08 a.m. It was lying by a tree. He waited until police arrived.

The gun was an FNH FNX-45, loaded with 12 rounds, reported stolen out of Indiana.

Open alcohol citation A man “trying to catch a game on the radio” was given a local ordinance citation for open alcohol on the 400 Beloit on Oct. 8 at 7:34 p.m. when he was found drinking brown liquid from a clear bottle. He was also carrying a bag with an open bottle of Crown Royal Regal Apple.

Cigarettes stolen A man stole approximately 20 packs of Marlboro cigarettes from the 7-Eleven at 205 Harlem Ave. on Oct. 8 at 11:06 p.m. An employee reported that two men entered the store. One seemed to be trying to distract the employee while the second man walked around the shop. When the employee asked the second man to leave, he did, at which point the first man walked around the counter. He didn’t speak to the employee who was also there, nor did he imply anything.

He just took multiple packs of cigarettes from the wall behind the counter.

When the employee pushed the alarm, the subject fled, taking the unpaid cigarettes with him. The men were not located.

Reckless driving during funeral procession

Two tickets for negligent driving were issued to owners of cars in a funeral procession that made its way through town on Oct. 7 at 12:10 p.m. One of the cars was “driving recklessly, weaving from the parking lane to the left most double yellow,” according to the police report. The other was “weaving from the right lane and back, crossing the double yellow into oncoming traffic.”

Homeless man robbed on train A homeless man was the victim of theft on the Blue Line train on Oct. 5 at 2 a.m. Police were called to the station at 711 Desplaines Ave. to take the report. The victim said the subjects were wearing hoodies and masks and took his coat, which contained his new phone, wallet, cash, a restaurant gift-card, and his mother’s CTA permit card.

Suspects shatter door at U-Haul, steal vehicles Two subjects used what appeared in video to be a sledge hammer to break the glass door and gain entry to the U-Haul facility at 801 Harlem Ave. on Oct. 5 at 2:48 a.m.

Video showed three men jumping over the fence on the southwest side of the parking lot. Two of them made their way to the front door and broke it to gain entry. One of the

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men removed some keys for returned vehicles from the drop box. The men stole two U-Haul vehicles. Everything was captured on video.

Leaf blower stolen from grounds keeper’s truck A leaf blower was stolen out of the head grounds keeper’s truck at Proviso Math and Science Academy, 8601 Roosevelt Rd., on Oct. 8. He was doing his work and placed a STIHL white/orange leaf blower in the back of his pickup truck at 10:45 a.m. When he returned a short time later, the leaf blower was missing. It was valued at around $300.

Men steal, throw packages around A woman observed two young men throw-

ing packages around Marengo Avenue and Harvard Street on Oct. 5 at 6:27 p.m. Police located two Amazon boxes, one empty, with the address of a house on Circle Avenue. The resident on Circle Avenue said the packages were taken from her house. The empty box had contained items she’d purchased, which were now missing. Nothing was missing from the other box.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Oct.5-8, 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

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

October 14 – 20

BIG WEEK The New Future of Mental Health COVID-19 and Voting On Saturday, Oct. 17 from 1 to 3 p.m., the Village Free Press is hosting on online event to discuss voting and COVID-19.

The event will take place via Zoom and will cover topics like getting registered, voting safely, voter suppression, misinformation, what’s at stake and more. To join the Zoom discussion, register here: bit.ly/vfp-covid19-voting.

NAMI Illinois is holding its 2020 state conference virtually this year, on Oct. 16 and 17. The focus is on the dramatic increase in the need for services, as millions experience the challenges of anxiety and depression for the first time, and as the challenges facing those already living with mental health conditions are exacerbated.

Learn more here: namiillinois.org/nami-illinois-2020-virtual-state-confere namiillinois.org/nami-illinois-2020-virtual-state-conference/

Senior Essentials Giveaway The Ivy Foundation is hosting a give-away event for seniors, providing them with essential items on Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 902 Madison St. in Maywood.

Please enter on Madison Street from the west. More information is available at ifivyfoundation.org.

A Spooky Night In

Stand Tall with Sarah’s Inn Sarah’s Inn is holding Stand Tall, a premier event, extra special this year because it’s the organization’s 40th anniversary!

Stand Tall provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase Sarah’s Inn’s important programming, raise funds to support vital programs, and cultivate relationships in the community.

The event is free and takes place on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. Learn more at sarahsinn.org.

Pick up a kit from the library and enjoy a spooky night at home! The kit includes ingredients for a spiced pumpkin drink and spooky popcorn to enjoy while you watch a scary movie from the library’s curated list of recommendations.

Kits are available beginning Oct. 14 through Oct. 18. You must have a Forest Park Public Library card to pick one up. More information is available at fppl.org/events.

Virtual Lego Master Challenge On Oct. 17 from 1 to 2 p.m., the Forest Park Public Library invites you to think fast while participating in fast timed challenges. There will be a prize awarded for each round. If you want to play but don’t have Legos at home, the library will donate some to you. Email ys@fppl to request a grab-bag of bricks for the challenge (and to keep afterward).

To register for the event, head to fppl. org/events

Outdoor Charity Concert On Sunday, Oct. 18 from 3 to 8:30 p.m., come on out to Urban Pioneer Group for the B-Strong Charity Outdoor Concert, featuring three bands: Island of Misfit Toys (3 p.m.), Terry White and the Loaded Dice (5 p.m.) and The Bono Brothers (7 p.m.) Tickets are $50 and cover food, music and drinks. Visit facebook.com/UrbanPioneerGroup

Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

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D209 equity report shows progress, but disparities persist Report shows some improvements, but racial discipline disparity, among others, stands out

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

During the 2019-20 school year, the District 209 school board’s Student Achievement and School Innovation committee facilitated an equity study designed to be “an equity snapshot” of the district based on student and staff surveys, district data and data available through the Illinois State Board of Education’s website.

The study is perhaps the most comprehensive portrait to date of the state of equity within District 209 in a range of areas, including distribution of funding and resources, student achievement, school culture and climate, and disciplinary procedures and rates of discipline.

The study, which the district developed in partnership with Public Consulting Group Inc., a management consulting firm, was released in March.

The study showed some progress within the district. For instance, the percentage of students at Proviso East High School taking early college courses has increased 5.5 percent since 2016. And data shows the district spending about $1,000 more per pupil at Proviso East and Proviso West, where low-income and high-need students are concentrated, than at Proviso Math and Science Academy.

In addition, a survey of students and staffers at all three schools showed that 83 percent of staffers and 71 percent of students “believe that students have at least one adult who cares about them.”

Ninety-six staffers from all three schools participated in the survey. Most of the respondents — 77 percent — were teachers, and 55 percent of respondents worked at East. Overall, the response rate among district teachers for the survey was 30 percent. In addition, 732 students at all three schools responded, with the most (33 percent) coming from East, particularly students who live in Maywood and Melrose Park.

Public Consulting Group asked questions about “diversity, mentoring and caring, expectations, family engagement, student engagement, and finally equity in their school,” according to the report.

Most respondents were positive about staff’s approach to diversity, but the degree of positivity shared by staffers diverged from that expressed by students.

For instance, 70 percent of staffers thought that staff are “intentional about honoring cultural differences” while 73 percent “agree that staff treat diversity as an asset”

and 81 percent agree that “staff promote social acceptance among all students.”

Among students who responded, however, just 45 percent thought that “staff in our school treat student diversity as an asset and not a deficit.”

Most staffers and students who responded — 83 percent and 71 percent, respectively — thought that “students have at least one adult who cares about them.”

Around three-quarters of both staff and students surveyed said that they agree that teachers and staff hold students to

high expectations, regardless of their background, but roughly half of staffers and students who responded felt that students had “equitable access to courses at their schools.”

Only 42 percent of staff respondents agreed that students get the necessary academic support they require once they’re placed in classes, “regardless of their unique needs” and only 35 percent of staff respondents agreed that district programs and polices “to improve attendance focus more on student engagement and less on

punitive outcomes.”

The study also showed that in 2019, Black students at Proviso East and Proviso West were disproportionately under enrolled in Advanced Placement courses. At each school, Blacks are roughly 40 percent of the student population, but only around 2 out of 10 Blacks are in AP courses at each school.

English learners at East and West are also disproportionately under enrolled in AP classes compared to their overall proportion of the See D209 EQUITY on page 10

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The key to prevention is early diagnosis of diabetes, and regular foot exams from a podiatrist. Diabetics who receive regular foot care, including paring of calluses and debridement of thick fungal toenails, are almost four times less likely to undergo an

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These include boots, lightweight colorful athletic shoes, and dress shoes. Even patients who are not diabetic love the look and comfort of the footwear. Diabetic socks, slippers and compression hosiery are also available.

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

Private eye pulls from experience in first novel

John Rice’s ‘The Doll with the Sad Face’ published last week

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

“There’s a tendency for people, when they write their first novel, to make it autobiographical,” said John Rice, Review columnist and reporter, who released his first novel last week.

Rice said many of the characters in his book, The Doll with the Sad Face, are based on or inspired by people in his life, including his daughters and individuals he’s worked with over the years. And the main character, a private detective named Mike Sullivan, is “loosely based” on Rice himself.

Rice grew up working for the family detective agency that started when he was in third grade. “My dad, my mom, my brothers and sisters, we all worked there,” he said.

The book, which pulls from his own experiences, is a detective novel, but what he wanted to do differently from most other books in the genre is show what the business is really like.

“I thought it’d be interesting to combine domestic life with detective work because that’s what I’ve been doing for 40 years,” said Rice, who recently retired from his private detective business. “My goal was to show how the job really is because it is never portrayed accurately in movies or on TV.” In real life, most private detectives do work that might seem mundane to the average person.

“I’m not getting hit over the back of the head,” he said. “I’m not meeting beautiful women at every turn. I hardly ever get into fights.” The work he did as an investigator, and the work he writes about, is locating

“people who are very hard to find.” of injecting conflict and emotion into the Sometimes the job involved serving peo- story.” ple with papers or gaining their cooperation The problem with the skeleton, Rice said, as a witness. Sometimes it was to represent is that it didn’t really have a plot. So he and them in a case. his editor created a story arc, then figured “My basic job is to find people and connect out how to add emotion. Where to slow with them. So if there’s any gift that I have, down the action, where to add depth. it’s my ability to con“We tried to raise nect with strangers,” the stakes, increase Rice said. the difficulty and, The book’s origins you know, raise the go back to the ecomisery level, I guess. nomic crisis of 2008, And I think that’s efwhich hit his detecfective. I like stories tive practice hard. He that build,” he said. lost 75 percent of his After that, Rice had business and went three or four volunfrom getting 15 new teer test readers who assignments a month gave him feedback, to 30 the entire year. which helped him “My clients were firm up the structure. going out of busi“You know, when ness, or they couldn’t you write a book, it’s afford to hire me,” he like you can’t see the recalled. “Also, I had forest for the trees. I nothing to do.” didn’t have any objecSo he decided to tivity about it.” Havtry writing himself ing beta readers give out of the recession. advice was therefore That year, he wrote invaluable. about half the book, The next step is marketing the book, but it was really just Photo Provided and Rice is worka skeleton. ing with a social “I liked the skele- A REAL DETECTIVE NOVEL: Author John media professional ton, but I didn’t have Rice, who’s worked for 40 years as a private to help him develop time to flesh it out,” investigator, pulled from his own expericontent for various he said. Then his ences in his first novel “The Doll with the platforms. He’ll also business recovered, be filming a video at and the book was put Sad Face,” available on Amazon.com.

Centuries & Sleuths, aside — until about a year ago, when a friend in town volunteered reading a portion of the book, which his publisher says is an effective tool to sell to help him edit the book.

They met every two weeks, going over a books.

Rice says he’s very excited, but also nerchapter and planning the next one, using the skeleton structure Rice had already vous about his book being finished and recompleted as the outline. Working with an leased.

“You know, I’m actually kind of stressed editor was important, “valuable in terms

out, like a father of a newborn, basically.

And I don’t know what anyone’s reaction’s going to be to it. But my idea was that you can always please yourself and hope that readers will like it.”

He’s also not sure how people will take the similarities they might see between themselves and some of his characters, which he based on family and people who’ve worked with him over the years. And there are similarities in location too.

The setting? “It’s basically Forest Park,” said Rice. “But you know, I don’t name the town. I have McGaffer’s in there. I wanted to create the feel of this area.”

Rice is already the author of one book, The Ghost of Cleopatra, which was released in 2019. But The Doll with the Sad Face is his first novel. And he’s starting his second novel, which also borrows from his personal experiences.

This time, he’s pulling from his experience as chairman of the English Department at the French Business School in Chicago.

“I didn’t go to college. I had no teaching experience. And I was put in charge of hiring and firing, curriculum, everything. I call it a French-out-of-water story, I guess,” Rice said.

The experienced ended up being one of the best of his life, he said, and today he still communicates with some of the students he taught.

He didn’t speak a word of French, but he learned to find “common ground” with the students.

The school was located in the building that housed the Harrington School of Design at 200 W. Madison. The “glamour factor” of the school was extraordinary, Rice said, “like taking the Blue Line to Paris every day.”

He plans to work on this next book the same way he did with The Doll with the Sad Face. A chapter at a time, revising and planning with his editor.

Rice’s novel is available on Amazon.com at amazon.com/gp/product/1734151552.

COVID-19 deaths rise to 12 in Forest Park Rate of reported cases in town below suburban county average

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

A 71-year-old woman was the 12th Forest Park resident to succumb to COVID-19. Suffering from several underlying conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes,

hypertension, Parkinson’s disease and cerebrovascular disease, she died on Oct. 8 at Alden Town Manor in Cicero.

Prior to her death, the last Forest Park resident to die from COVID-19 was an 86-year-old man on Aug. 14. His underlying conditions included diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In total, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH), Forest Park has seen 315 cases of COVID-19 among residents as of Oct. 13, with a rate of 2,223 per 100,000 people.

This rate is relatively low compared to nearby towns. For example, Ber-

wyn’s rate is 4,248 cases per 100,000 residents. Maywood’s is 3,325. Melrose Park’s is 6,379. River Forest and North Riverside’s rates are lower, at 1,602 and 1,933 respectively as of Oct. 13.

According to CCDPH, there were nine new cases of COVID-19 reported in town last week, and the percent change in confirmed cases in the past two weeks in Forest Park has fallen by 32.1 percent. Forest Park’s rate of reported cases has been below the average rate for suburban Cook County.

For more information about COVID-19 rates and counts, visit the CCDPH’s tracking website at ccdphcd. shinyapps.io/covid19.

Graph from Cook County Department of Public Health

BELOW AVERAGE: Forest Park’s reported COVID-19 cases have stayed under suburban Cook County’s average in recent months.

Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

SARAH’S INN 40 years from page 1 tic Violence Action month isn’t just about awareness; it’s about taking action.

“We have a safe space here, but we can’t do this alone,” Gall said, urging people to take time to reflect on how they can take action and ask themselves, “How can I help end domestic violence?”

Artist Antonio Ruppert, the woman behind the mural’s design and creation, is an active supporter of Sarah’s Inn. She’s also a client.

“I felt like I had no hope,” said Ruppert about the time before she first came to Sarah’s Inn as a client. “I even felt like I had no voice.”

But the organization, she said, changed her life. “Sarah’s Inn is a house of hope.”

To conceptualize and design the mural, focus groups of clients, board members and staff met in July to discuss how to best represent the

organization. After pulling together concepts and ideas, Ruppert created the design, which took about a month to complete.

Part of Sarah’s Inn’s 40th anniversary celebration is their Stand Tall event, and Gall said they want as many people to attend the virtual event as possible. It’s a fundraiser with the goal of raising money to support Sarah’s Inn’s vital programs. But it’s also a chance for clients to share their stories and for people to learn more about the mission of the organization. More information can be found at sarahsinn.org.

HOPE AND FAITH: Sarah’s Inn Executive Director Carol Gall spoke about Domestic Violence Action month at the 40th anniversary kick-off on Oct. 6.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

Agreements for child care approved by D91

By MARIA MAXHAM Editor

At the Oct. 8 school board meeting, the District 91 school board voted to approve intergovernmental agreements for child care during remote learning between the district and both the Howard Mohr Community Center and the Park District of Forest Park.

The cost to the district, which is paying for the service, making it free to D91 families, is $165 per student per week. According to Superintendent Lou Cavallo at the meeting, the agreement also specifies the terms in regard to the district’s responsibilities, such as ensuring supplies are provided,

D91 UPDATE Staying remote from page 1 ficient to make the decision, Cavallo said.

Another reason to continue remote learning for now is that with flu season beginning, symptom screening for COVID will be complicated since many of the signs and symptoms of the flu are the same for COVID. And with holidays approaching, and people potentially gathering in greater numbers, COVID might begin to spread more than it has up until now.

Cavallo said he also talks regularly with other school districts, including the other District 209 feeder districts, most of which are planning on remaining remote for now.

Additionally, there have already been two cases of COVID-19 among D91 staff. If stu-

D209 EQUITY Disparities exist from page 7 student population. In 2019, English Learners were 15 percent of the student population at East and West, but roughly 8 percent and 4 percent, respectively, of the AP student population at each school.

Data also showed a disparity in discipline between schools. In 2019, the number of in-school suspensions at West (923) was three times larger than at East (322), and the number of out-of-school suspensions at West (414) was six times larger than the number at East (70). At PMSA, there were no in-school suspensions and “few instances of out-of-school suspensions” that year.

At East and West, Black students represented the largest proportion of

as well as having additional Chromebooks available in case issues with devices arise.

The district is also responsible for providing desks and chairs and a breakfast, lunch and snack for all children.

The community center and park district, among other things, agree in the contract to supervise the children, take temperatures before allowing entry to facilities, and conduct appropriate cleaning of the areas where the children will be.

The programs at both the community center and park district, which are providing supervised care to students and children of staff during the school day, are currently at capacity.

dents were currently in school, that would have resulted in at least two entire classes of students being quarantined, Cavallo said.

“We’re all devastated by what this is doing to our kids,” said Cavallo in referLOU CAVALLO ence to social and D91 Superintendent emotional needs of the students in the district. But in the interest of health and safety and following the desires of a majority of parents and staff, the district has made the decision to stick to remote learning until at least Jan. 22.

suspended students in 2019. At East, Blacks were 41 percent of student enrollment, but 75 percent of those students served in-school suspensions and 86 percent of those students served out-of-school suspensions. At West, Blacks were 43 percent, but 65 percent of those students served in-school suspensions and 70 percent of those students served outof-school suspensions.

Earlier this year, the D209 school board’s SASI committee identified four areas “as strong starting points for the district’s initial equity work,” according to a memo drafted by district officials in July. Those areas include promoting an inclusive climate, improving restorative disciplinary practices, increasing access to high quality and culturally relevant curriculum, including the study of Black history, and increasing “student voice, leadership and engagement in decision making.”

The committee is scheduled to give its first-year update to the board in April.

Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

11

Artisan food market on Madison Offerings include housemade items and wine

By MELISSA ELSMO Food Editor

Chef Gaetano’s Artisan Foods, 7636 Madison St., welcomed guests for its soft opening from Oct. 6 through Saturday, Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Six patrons are allowed in the store at a time as Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto gets his crew up and running. Expect extraordinary smells as you patiently peruse artisan breads, fresh pastas, premium meats, and house made sauces. An array of gourmet shelf stable ingredients and wines complement the house-made items.

Notable finds included house-smoked ricotta, fresh spinach and ricotta triangoli, and wild boar ragu. Gaetano’s Artisan Foods also offers enticing house-made pizzas; they are hybrid between a Roman Pinsa and a Sicilian pizza and benefit from a 50-hour fermentation and a dual cooking method.

MELISSA ELSMO/Food Editor

ARTISAN MARKET: Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto’s artisan food market features house-made and shelf-stable gourmet items. Wine is available too.

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

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Social service agency no longer a mystery PLCCA provides assistance to Proviso Township residents

By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter

The Review sent out a poll by email to 50 Forest Park residents asking, “Yes or No. Do you know what PLCCA is?”

Everyone who responded answered, “No.” PLCCA (Proviso Leyden Council for Community Action) at 411 Madison St. in Maywood is just a 10-minute walk from Empowering Gardens in Forest Park, yet few residents in town know that the nonprofit, with a focus on the low-income residents of Proviso Township and with a $7.1 million annual budget, even exists.

Here is just a sample of the 30 programs the agency offers:

Children The Debra Ann Porter Childcare Center serves children up to 12 years old of low-income working parents and is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Early Head Start (age 0-3) and Head Start (age 3-5) are federally funded, providing comprehensive child development programs for families within the income guidelines.

Youth The Illinois Youth Investment Program for ages16 to 24 accommodate 25 participants who want to become security guards. The training begins on Nov. 2 and will be led by instructors from a professional security training school.

Claudette Harrell, PLCCA’s executive vice president said, “This program is great because at the end of the training the participants get jobs, and hopefully some will be on a path to becoming police officers.”

Addressing violence PLCCA’s literature describes the Silence the Violence program as “a collaborative effort to address the problem of violence in our communities through a behavioral health approach. PLCCA provides clinical services while partners provide alternative resources for mentoring, enrichment and recreational activities.”

Special needs The Kidz ’N’ Klubs Golf Academy is a summer program

Photo provided

PROVIDING COMMUNITY: (From left) PLCCA Executive Vice President Claudette Harrell, PLCCA President and Founder Bishop Claude Porter, and Reverend John Harrell of Proviso Missionary Baptist Church. that provides minority, handicapped, economically disadvantaged and at-risk youth (age 8-17) from Proviso Township — in which Forest Park is located — with the opportunity to participate in a positive, enjoyable, and disciplined game of golf. The program will enhance their knowledge and skills, build their self-esteem, self-control, and self-motivation.”

Affordable housing PLCCA maintains four properties with a total of 54 units to offer affordable transitional housing for clients on the path to home ownership. The nonprofit also took the lead in the development, construction and sale of 23 single-family homes along the bike path in Maywood known as Pepper’s Path. The homes were sold at around $135,000.

The Phoenix Homes is a 73-unit high-rise at 401 Green St., built by PLCCA 20 years ago. Since it was funded by HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, residency is usually restricted to households earning 50 percent of the Area Median Income or less and with at least one member age 62 or over. Tenants pay either 30 percent of their adjusted monthly income or 10 percent of their unadjusted income or the housing portion of their welfare assistance.

Re-entry for ex-felons Re-Entry Services at PLCCA assist people recently released from incarceration and transitioning back into the community with behavior management, general case management, mental health, substance use education and social services.

Hunger Every day of the week since June, according to Harrell, an 18-wheeler pulls into the parking lot across from the Proviso Missionary Baptist Church at 1116 S. 5th St., filled with fresh vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy products to be distributed to thousands of community members as a way to blunt the effect of the coronavirus.

The daily distribution of food illustrates how the PLCCA model works. Harrell said that most of the funding for her nonprofit’s services come from federal and state government or from charitable organizations.

In the case of the daily food distribution, World Vision provides the funding and the delivery of the food and PLCCA, a 501c3 organization, takes care of the delivery of services.

Bishop Claude Porter is the founding father of the Maywood nonprofit. Since 1968 it has grown to an organization that serves 30,000 individuals and families every year.

The organization’s credo is “Providing a hand up, not a hand out,” which succinctly states Porter’s philosophy. A PLCCA information sheet explains, “PLCCA firmly believes the end result of our efforts will mean a family and community largely self-determined and therefore self-sufficient.”

Go to www.plcca.org or call 708-450-3500 for more information.

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News that’s close to home

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

OPINION O U R

V I E W

There’s no excuse, so vote

B

y now, early voting for the 2020 presidential election is under way all over the country. Perhaps you’ve seen some news coverage about large voter turnout and long lines of voters snaking around corners, with people waiting hours to exercise what is supposedly the most fundamental, sacred right in a democracy.

Perhaps you’ve heard of what’s going on in Texas, where a panel of judges just upheld an order by that state’s governor to limit the number of ballot drop boxes to one per county – whether that county has 20,000 people or 2 million or spans thousands of square miles.

It’s almost as if folks in charge of places like Texas are afraid of people being able to easily cast their votes.

Luckily, here in Cook County, Illinois – where heaven knows there are plenty of problems to be solved – that is not the case, so take advantage.

Voter turnout for this election, from all evidence so far around the nation, is going to be very high. So, if you haven’t already requested a mail-in ballot or if you have any concerns about mailing one in – be sure to schedule a time to vote early.

In suburban Cook County, early voting locations are open seven days a week beginning Oct. 19 through Nov. 2. That includes locations in Maywood, Oak Paek, Brookfield, Lyons, Hodgkins and Cicero, along with dozens of others.

The county has extended the hours for early voting to limit lines and wait times and provide for more physical distancing during these pandemic times.

For those of you who have requested mail ballots, you can cut out the middle man and place your mail ballot in a secure drop box that will be located at each early voting location – no hour-long drive for Cook County voters.

You say you’re not registered to vote? Well, that’s no problem either. You can register to vote at any early voting location (you’ll need a couple of IDs to do so, so check the county clerk’s website before you go) and, once registered, you can vote right away.

By voting early you can avoid any Election Day crush or unexpected weather-related cataclysm that might dissuade you from venturing out (it will be November, after all). Quite frankly, at least in suburban Cook County, there’s no reason not to cast a ballot, because it’s that easy to do.

It ought to be that easy everywhere in the nation. It’s not, and that itself is un-American.

J

Voices from Taylorville, Illinois

ournalists are supposed to be balanced, to view a story from all perspectives, but it’s hard to find Trump voters who are willing to take the risk of “coming out of the closet” in a village like Oak Park where four years ago 85 percent of the voters cast their ballots for Hillary.

So this reporter spent three days at the end of September in Taylorville, smack dab in the center of Illinois, where Trump yard signs outnumber those for Biden 4-1, Blacks comprise just 1 percent of the population. I visited because longtime Oak Park resident Al Corzine grew up there on a 300 acre farm and the town’s chief of police lived in Oak Park and worked in Maywood 10 years ago.

“Living on the farm in the mid-20th century was like living in an extended family,” Corzine related. “Everyone in the neighborhood helped one another. The farmers often gathered to bale hay, thresh wheat, or plant corn and soybeans.

The wives arrived at the host’s house with food dishes and to help prepare the noon meal. Whole families came, so there were kids to play with. It was in this vast prairie, where it seemed I could see forever, that I grew to manhood.”

Lots of things have changed in that town of 11,000 souls, a reality that provides part of the back story of how they look at life. The prairie is still vast. Corn and soybean fields stretch out to the horizon, but now, according to Taylorville Mayor Bruce Barry, a person has to farm at least 1,000 acres in order to make a living. The biggest operations, he said, have up to 30,000 acres. Gone is the small family farm. These days you need to invest millions of dollars to farm. Farm land around Taylorville sells for $11,000 an acre, and a highend tractor at the Case dealership costs $500,000.

Politics there have changed as well. A teacher named Gary said that before he moved to town 24 years ago, Christian County, in which Taylorville is the county seat, voted Democratic, because the blue collar workers in the coal mines and the big Firestone plant all belonged to unions.

When the mines closed and the manufacturing plants left the area, so did the good jobs, and locals decided that the Republican Party understood their needs better than the Democrats.

But it’s more complex than that. Mayor Barry said that Rodney Davis, who represents Taylorville in Congress, is a Republican but the person representing his town in the state senate, Andy Manar, is a Democrat, so he nurtures relationships with both. Gary, the teacher, said he has never voted a straight ticket in his life.

It seems the residents of that small town vote for the candidate more than for the ideology a party promotes. Mayor Barry said the issues important to him are jobs and roads.

Challenges like climate change are not on his constituents’ priority list, not because they don’t believe it’s real but because they don’t feel its effect in their everyday life.

Kim, who works in the mental health field, put it this way: “To be honest, I don’t think the president influences much that goes on in Taylorville.”

Abortion was not mentioned even once as an issue in the three days I was there. Guns, however, were. Mayor Barry explained, “I myself don’t own any guns, and as far as I know hardly anyone around here owns an assault rifle. What is big in Christian County is hunting, and many

people here really believe that the Democrats want to take away their shotguns and deer hunting rifles.”

Corzine, who says he understands the disillusionment his former neighbors feel with the Democratic Party, laments the disappearance of the way of life that was so good to him.

“Saturday afternoon and evening,” he remembers, “were for shopping and visiting. Families came to town to buy groceries, wander the stores looking for bargains, do their banking at First Trust, catch a movie, and eat at one of the many restaurants on the square. The sidewalks were teeming with people searching for friends and neighbors to exchange gossip and catch up on the latest news about one another.”

“Blighted” is not too strong a word to describe the present condition of the downtown businesses around the square which was a bustling hub for the county when Corzine was growing up. Now most of the economic action has moved out to the northwest edge of town with corporate franchises like Walmart and Wendy’s replacing retailers on the square.

Zillow reports the median home value is just $90,000, and Owen Laswell, the editor of the local daily newspaper, said that 55 percent of the children in the Taylorville schools qualify for free or reduced cost lunches.

Laswell argues that although part of economic stagnation is due to forces beyond the control of folks in the community, the county’s resistance to new businesses like wind farms and a large dairy operation is also responsible for the lack of progress.

Laswell, however, used the word “progressive” to describe Taylorville on social issues. For example, following the murder of George Floyd, roughly a thousand people demonstrated for Black Lives Matter in front of the courthouse on the square.

When seven members of the Methodist Church gathered to talk about their community after the Sunday worship service, Kim, the woman who works in the mental health field, shared her story. “When my [same sex] partner and I arrived in Taylorville 27 years ago, we would come to church and sit by ourselves, but the associate pastor broke the ice by introducing himself and from day one we have been accepted. Two years later, we adopted our first child from Guatemala, and he turned out to be autistic. A member of the church hooked us up with services and our son just graduated with honors from high school.

“I have been offered promotions in my field and we could have moved, but we said absolutely not because of our church, our schools, and this community. We have been accepted in every way possible.”

As it turns out, Dwayne Wheeler, the police chief in Taylorville, previously lived in Oak Park while working with the gangs and drugs unit in the Maywood Police Department. When asked why he chose to move from the Chicago Metro Area to a small town in the middle of corn and soybean fields, he replied first as a professional, saying that police work is largely the same in a small town as it was in Maywood, except for there being no gun violence in Taylorville, and that people in this small town respect the police and call when they see something suspicious.

TOM

HOLMES

Continued on next page

Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020 Continued from previous page Regarding the issue of defunding the police, he said he’d love to have a fulltime social worker if he could find the $70,000 a year to pay for one, because Taylorville, like Maywood, has issues like domestic health and mental illness to deal with.

And he gave similar personal reasons for moving here that Kim shared.

Relationships in a small community and the schools and sports. By “sports,” Chief Wheeler meant high school sports. What residents seem to value is not paying a hundred bucks to watch the best athletes in the world, but along with their friends and neighbors they watch their children and grandchildren.

Over and over, people mentioned that relationships, not high paying jobs or climbing the corporate ladder, are what keeps them in Taylorville. Many do commute to work in Springfield or Decatur, so in that sense they have the best of both worlds.

School and church are the two focal points around which life in this small central Illinois town revolve. Friday night the “whole town” attends the high school football game and Sunday morning they go to church.

Steven Ward, the 41-year-old director of the Taylorville Library added two more reasons why he and so many of his fellow residents love the town. “I’m a huge nature person,” he explained. “I don’t want to live in a concrete jungle.

I’m not a hunter and don’t own a gun, but I can drive five miles from where I live, sit somewhere in the woods and not see anyone for hours.”

And in Taylorville he can be a big fish, as they say, in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond. “I was a professor and librarian at MacMurray College,” he said, “but I felt like my impact was stifled. What drew me here is that I can have a bigger impact on this community.”

Ward summarized much of what I experienced during my visit when he said the town had a lot of diversity. He acknowledged that the town was almost all white, but that doesn’t mean it’s a monoculture like a corn field where every plant is identical to the one next to it.

Randy Miller offered a metaphor for Taylorville’s diversity. Out of one small studio on the main drag he runs five radio stations: WTIM, news, talk and agriculture; WMKR, mainstream country music; WSVC ’60s oldies; WRAN, classic oldies; and FM 101.1, new country music.

Ward added, “I see and hear people every day and it’s a mixture of different thoughts and perspectives. Sometimes it can be perceived [as a monolithic culture] from the outside, but from the inside it’s not like that at all.”

Visit us online at www.ForestParkReview.com

Waiting for our biopsy results

W

e’ve finally arrived at the part of 2020 that everyone thought was going to be the horrendous part of 2020, and early signs are that it is not going to disappoint.

This election is like waiting for the results of a biopsy.

Not the kind of biopsy where you’re waiting on “Is It Cancer?” or “How Long Do I Have?” or “Is It Maybe Just Fatty Tissue?” but more like the kind of biopsy where we are waiting to learn if there is either 1) nothing to be done but wait to die, or 2) “Well, it’s going to be a long, painful treatment with no guarantees.”

On the bright side, I still don’t have television or Facebook or Twitter, and I pay a couple bucks a month for a wonderful program called “AdBlock” that keeps me from seeing the kind of ads that I glimpse while throwing away all my mail, so I’m not marinating in this sewage like those of you who insist on participating.

I really don’t know how y’all keep up. I don’t care, mind you, but I’m still amazed.

I’m ready to rent a house in the woods and stay there until Nov. 4, when whoever has replaced Tom Brokaw in the media ecosystem announces that one of the candidates saw his shadow so now there will be six more weeks of lawyering and stunts.

Clearly, I need to think more cheerful thoughts. I occasionally feel a little bad when folks say they’re having a rough time of it in the pandemic. I’m doing OK, save for having added a modest amount of home-cooked weight. (Which, if we’re being honest, is really more about welcoming that extra flesh back from wherever weight goes when you lose it.) I know some folks who’re really struggling, though, and I feel bad when they ask me how I’m doing with all the isolation and distancing, because the answer is, “Pretty good.”

I mean, this hasn’t changed my day-today that much. I’m not super social. My bar days are largely behind me. Cutting back on restaurants was a needed choice. The pot vaporizer needs to be replaced a little more often, maybe, and I’m not traveling at all, but those are some pretty low-grade “problems” given what some folks are coping with.

I don’t feel sorry for those who have lost the state-sponsored daycare called “school,” be the mourner child or parent. I would have had such a better childhood if “school” had been an hour a day from home that the improvement defies metaphor. I would have traded years of my life to do fifth- through eighth-grade from home, instead of being tucked in that particular correctional institution on Lathrop. If your kids are elated that school is gone, I implore you to listen to them and see if you can’t learn something.

I dunno. I think I’m more exhausted than I think I am. I think maybe we all are. I think we all hit a tired wall a few weeks ago. The kind where, were America a tired toddler, you’d know you had maybe 10 minutes to get us into a carseat and asleep if you wanted to avoid the meltdown. There’s so little that isn’t at least tinged with COVID (bad) or politics (worse) to write about, and it’s so easy to just slap down 600 words of breezy, complaining douchebaggery and discharge the obligation for the month.

I’m not afraid to admit it, though: I’m wiped. So are you. So is everybody. This is enormously unpleasant. I’d say I need a break, but there’s no break. It’ll all be over eventually, but not soon. One foot in front of the other. No way out but through. I hope you and yours are well.

We’ll be OK, but we’re not OK now, and that’s understandable.

Hang in there. See you next month.

Peace.

ALAN

BROUILETTE

Need a helping of

Call Jill at (708) 524-8300 or visit ForestParkReview.com/subscribe

15

O B I T U A R Y

Barbara Kohnhorst, 71 Director of youth formation at St. Christopher’s Barbara Katherine Whiteford Kohnhorst, 71, of Forest Park, died on Oct. 8, 2020 after a three-year battle with a rare form of uterine cancer. Born on May 4, 1949, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to Russell and Audrey Whiteford, she graduated from Central Bucks High School in 1967. She had a natural ability to connect with and inspire toddlers, teens, seniors, and her wide circle of friends. A smart, funny, generous and kind person, she was always ready to share her time and attention. She was living in Jacksonville, Florida when she met Michael Kohnhorst. They were married on May 10, 1975.

In 1978, the family moved to Oak Park, where she focused on their children, Michele and Matthew, and their home life, while also working as a teacher’s assistant at Julian Junior High (now Middle School).

She had a simple rule for her family — dinner at 6, no excuses — the one time of the day the family could be sure to be together.

In the early 1990s, they became members at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Oak Park, the beginning of an almost 30year connection that transformed not just her life, but the lives of many area families.

The rector of St. Christopher’s, Rev. Paris Coffey, offered her a job as director of Children’s Christian Formation, which she accepted with relish. Her role expanded to include St. Christopher’s teenagers and over the years she planned, and sometimes accompanied, the teens on several summer pilgrimage trips to foreign countries.

Her ministry was transformative, but her family remained her center. Daughter Michele underwent cancer treatments during these years. “She loved fiercely,” Michele said.

Her lifelong pursuit of a healthy lifestyle led her to yoga and a 15-year career as a yoga instructor at various locations, including classes at St. Christopher’s and Gottlieb Fitness Center in Melrose Park.

Her family and friends have years of memories and her spirit will live on.

Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, her brother John and a son, Jason.

Survivors include her husband, Michael; her daughter, Michele (Tom) and son Matthew (Sarah); her grandchildren Caitlin, Benjamin, Katherine, Audrey and John; and her brother, Russell (Catarina).

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which limits large gatherings, the family is planning a small private service. A larger celebration of Barbara’s life will be scheduled when it is safe for family and friends to gather and remember how deeply she touched our lives.

16

Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM New local ads this week

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

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HELP WANTED

ONLINE ORIENTATION FOR PERSONAL ASSISTANTS Become a Personal Assistant and support people with disabilities.

Progress Center is offering free, online personal assistant orientations throughout the month of October.

Orientation dates include October 17, October 24 (Spanish Language), October 25, and October 30. After completing the orientation, you will be eligible to work with people with disabilities at $13.48 an hour. For more information, contact Rhychell at rbarnes@progresscil.org

HAPPY KIDD’S WEST INC. 6928 W 16th St Berwyn, IL 60513 We are seeking a Director and 2 teachers. Director must be qualiďŹ ed and have Associate’s degree or equivalent. Teachers must be director or teacher qualiďŹ ed. 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.

HELP WANTED ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER PART-TIME Part-time Electrician’s Helper.

Must have own transportation.

Call for more info.

708-738-3848

TEACHER AND TEACHER AIDE MINI ME BUNCH seeks teacher and teacher aide to enhance and expand daycare serving children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Teacher must have at least Associates’ degree in Early Childhood Education. Minimum 1 year experience preferred in each position. Must love children and be outgoing, patient, exible.

Contact 773-521-9499.

River Forest Public Schools District 90 is seeking an Infection Control Officer, Registered Nurse (6 Month Position) Qualifications: a) Certified Registered Nurse license required b) Appropriate Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s Degree is preferred c) Three years of successful infection control experience is preferred w/experience in a large institution, such as a hospital, school, or detention center.

Job Duties: Provide direct support to the Superintendent in the area of COVID-19 prevention, surveillance, tracking/tracing, and outbreak containment. The Infection Control Officer will be instrumental in facilitating the District’s successful transition to in-person classroom instruction at the elementary and middle schools. Emphasis will be on establishing and implementing an infection control policy across the school district, overseeing the tracking and tracing of all student/staff COVID-19 cases, liaison with the area pediatricians and local testing centers, and management of district database for a district dashboard. Apply online at district90.org River Forest Public Schools District 90 is seeking a Permanent Traveling Substitute Teacher for Willard and Lincoln elementary schools Qualifications: a) Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Elementary Grade School Endorsement b) Successful teaching experience preferred Job Duties: The traveling elementary substitute teacher will be assigned to classes at the elementary schools on a daily basis, as needed.

Apply online at district90.org River Forest Public Schools District 90 is seeking a Long-Term Substitute PE Teacher (November 30, 2020 – March 19, 2021) Qualifications: a) Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Grade-Appropriate Physical Education Endorsement b) Successful teaching experience in physical education preferred c) A Master’s Degree is preferred Job Duties: Physical Education Teacher will instruct a class in physical education in elementary grades and work cooperatively with other classroom teachers and support area staff. The teacher will be responsible for supervising and managing the class, effectively teaching the curriculum to meet individual needs of children. Apply online at district90.org

SUBURBAN REAL ESTATE LOCAL REALTOR ANGELIQUE Actively looking to guide BUYERS and SELLERS in the home buying/ selling process. The market is HOT right now. Call someone who will work diligently, honorably, and incredibly hard for you and your real estate needs. You are my priority, and it will show. I put in the work to stay current and educated on market trends in order to get you the most money for your property or the best deal on your new purchase.

Call/text/email me today! alohnes@daprileproperties.com 708-663-3028

SUBURBAN RENTALS FOREST PARK 3BR Jackson Blvd, 3 BR apt., 2nd oor w/dining room and breakfast nook.

New kitchen w/granite & stainless, new bath, central air, free laundry. 2 blocks to blue line, 2 blocks to Madison Street. 1700 + deposit & credit check required. Garage available.

312-802-8291 OAK PARK 2BR 2BA CONDO Condo for rent on a great location near downtown oak park: 2 bedroom 2 bath condo, only electric bill not included. $1600 a month, $1600 deposit. For more information please call 224-475-7929.

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

SUBURBAN RENTALS

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. *1116 sq. ft. suite *569 sq. ft. with patio OAK PARK–1053 Lake St. *Entire 3rd Floor, 1275 sq. ft.

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

GARAGE/YARD SALES Oak Park

GARAGE SALE 216 S CUYLER SAT 10/17 10AM - 2PM

House, garden, Xmas, Tools, LPs, VHS, foot brake bike, and much more!

ITEMS FOR SALE COLLECTION ITEM LLADRO STUDIOS About 30 years old. Madonna and Child by Martinez. No. 11. Inscribed in sculpture. Brown porcelain, aprox.

2 ft tall. $651.00 708-488-8755 LARGE FILE CABINET 36�W X 72� H. Grey metal. Three drawers. $15.00 708-488-8755

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:

Job Duties: The instructional assistant in Special Education will work with both general education and special education staff members to support learning for identified child(ren) with special needs. Responsibilities include instructing students in small groups and one-on-one settings. This will also encompass helping students to develop positive interpersonal relationships with peers and adults: utilizing and modeling school behavior management programs: and assist in communications between students, teachers and parents as requested. Apply online at district90.org

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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

NOVENAS PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (NEVER KNOWN TO FAIL) Oh, most beautiful ower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me, herein you are my mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to suc cor in my necessity (make request).

There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, show me herein you are my mother. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and publish; your request will be granted. CAC

PETS While you’re away, your pets are okay . . . at home

cat calls

Oak Park’s Original Pet Care Service – Since 1986

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

524-1030

CEMENT

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Place an ad in Wednesday Classifieds! Call 708/613-3342

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ELECTRICAL

Let an American Veteran do your work

COMMERCIAL ˜ INDUSTRIAL ˜ RESIDENTIAL

River Forest Public Schools District 90 has vacancies for Teacher Aides at Lincoln Elementary and Roosevelt Middle schools.

Qualifications: a) Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Endorsements; or Educator License with Stipulations with a Paraprofessional Endorsement. b) Successful instructional assistant experience is preferred in regular education or special education.

WANTED TO BUY

FLOORS KLIS FLOORING INC.

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HANDYMAN 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

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773-637-0692 ForestParkReview.com

Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

CLASSIFIED HAULING BASEMENT CLEANING

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

HEATING/ AIR CONDITIONING HEATING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Furnaces, Boilers and Space Heaters Refrigerators Ranges • Ovens Washer • Dryers Rodding Sewers Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

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HVAC HHHHHHHHHHHH H H H HUGHS HVAC H H H Furnace tuneup – H repairs on all models H H *clean burner *check H H H belts on blower H H H *check pumps on hot- H H water units & zone valves. H H 708-556-7895 H H Licensed • Bonded • Insured H H Serving the near-west suburbs. H H H HHHHHHHHHHHH

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PUBLIC NOTICES

(708) 613-3333 • FAX: (708) 467-9066 • E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

PUBLIC NOTICES SCOTT J. LEVY (32596) Attorney for Petitioner 1525 East 53rd Street, Suite 504 Chicago, Illinois 60615 STATE OF ILLINOIS ) ) ss COUNTY OF COOK ) Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division.

In re the Marriage of ELVIA MENDOZA, Petitioner, and JOSÉ ELIAS ZAVALA ÁLVAREZ, Respondent, Case Number 2020D-006515.

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

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Room 802, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, on or before October 31, 2020, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING Date: Thursday - October 29th, 2020

DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk.

Time: 7:00 - 8:30 PM

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004554 on September 23, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of NGREEN PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS with the business located at: 3013 S. WOLF RD #247, WESTCHESTER, IL 60154. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: NATALIE GREEN 2007 S. 8TH AVE. MAYWOOD, IL 60153.

Location: Virtual Zoom Meeting Subject Property Address(es): 203 South Marion Street, Oak Park, IL Proposed Development: Focus Acquisition Company LLC is proposing to construct a multi-family apartment building on the site located at 203 S. Marion Street. Join us virtually to see how the plans for the development are progressing and to get a preview of what will be submitted to the Village of Oak Park for consideration. Stop by at 7:00 PM to view the presentation by the development team.

Please reach out to the meeting moderator below with your name and address by October 28th to request a link to the zoom meeting.

There will be a Q&A session at the end of the presentation. If you would like to ask the development team a question, please inform the meeting moderator via e-mail by 5:00 PM on October 29th. We look forward to hearing from you.

Purpose of Meeting: Pre-Planned Development Submittal Discussion Contacts: Jim Prescott, Meeting Moderator jprescott@prescottgroupllc.com, (708)613-5855 Sally Prescott, Community Outreach sprescott@prescottgroupllc.com, (708)613-5855 Courtney Brower, Focus courtneyb@workwithfocus.com, (224)255-6175 Published in Wednesday Journal 10/14/2020

Illinois Classified Advertising Network WANTED TO BUY

FREON WANTED: We pay CA$H for cylinders and cans.

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Call 312-598-1758 or visit RefrigerantFinders.com

17

Published in Wednesday Journal 9/30, 10/7, 10/14/2020

Published in Forest Park Review 9/30, 10/7, 10/14/2020

LAW OFFICES OF MALIKA T. ASSAR, P.C., Attorney for Petitioner, 420 West Huron Street, 1st Floor, Chicago, IL 60654.

STATE OF ILLINOIS, COUNTY OF COOK, ssCircuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division In re the Marriage of Farzana Khan, Petitioner, and Mohammed Hussain, Respondent, No. 2020 D 006030.

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

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your Appearance to said Petition and Response electronically to said Petition with the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on or before November 3, 2020, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

Dorothy A. Brown, Clerk.

Published in Wednesday Journal September 30, October 7 and October 14, 2020.

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know Available to you 24/7/365 • www.ForestParkReview.com

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004770 on October 7, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of RACHEL SWANSON COACHING with the business located at: 1614 CUYLER AVE, BERWYN, IL 60402. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: RACHEL DOUGLAS SWANSON 1614 CUYLER AVE, BERWYN, IL 60402, USA

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE

Published in Wednesday Journal 10/14, 10/21, 10/28/2020

LEGAL NOTICE Dr. Linda Oster DDS. and Marion Street Dental, LTD. will be closing November 1, 2020. After November 1, inquiries handled by custodian at: MSD2020@mail.com Published in Wednesday Journal 9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14/2020

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004605 on September 24, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of DESIGN WORKS & GRAPHICS with the business located at: 1108 FERDINAND AVE, FOREST PARK, IL 60130. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: ROBERT KNUTH 1108 FERDINAND AVE, FOREST PARK, IL 60130

STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of HEIDI RUTH RUEHLE-MAY Case Number 20204004288 There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: HEIDI RUTH RUEHLE-MAY to the new name of: HEIDI RUTH RUEHLE The court date will be held: On 12/01/2020 at 9:30 a.m. at 1500 Maybrook Avenue, Maywood, Cook County Illinois in Courtroom # 112.

Published in Wednesday Journal 10/7, 10/14, 10/21/2020

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of BERNEITA B. HINES-WILLIAMS Case Number 20204004264.

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: BERNEITA B. HINES-WILLIAMS to the new name of: BERNEITA BRADDY HINES The court date will be held: On November 24, 2020 at 9:30 am at 1400 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, IL 60153 in Courtroom # 112 /s BERNEITA B. HINES-WILLIAMS Published in Wednesday Journal 9/30, 10/7, 1014/2020

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: October 29, 2020 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 12-20-Z APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on a special use permit application filed by the Applicants, Kizzie and Carlo Harris, to operate a day care center pursuant to Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance at the property located at 266 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Numbers 1608-119-025-0000 (“Premises”) in the NC Neighborhood Commercial Zoning District.

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/ commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent

due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning @oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 29, 2020. An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public hearing if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public hearing. Interested persons may also participate in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone.

The public hearing may be adjourned by the Board to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

Published in Wednesday Journal October 14, 2020

Published in Forest Park Review 9/30, 10/7, 10/14/2020

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: 20004498 on September 23, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of LAMAR’S T-SHIRTS with the business located at: 310 S. 7TH AVE., MAYWOOD, IL 60513. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: LAMAR DUGGER, 310 S. 7TH AVE., MAYWOOD, IL 60153 Published in Forest Park Review 9/30, 10/7, 10/14/12020

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004465 on September 22, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of SUGA BAKERS with the business located at 153 23RD AVE, BELLWOOD, IL 60104. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: KEELIE BANKS, V 153 23RD AVE, BELLWOOD, IL 60104 Published in Forest Park Review 9/30, 10/7, 10/14/2020

Starting a New Business?

Publish Your Assumed Name Legal Notice Here.

Call for details: 708/613-3342

PUBLIC NOTICE The Village of Oak Park is proposing a second substantial amendment to the Program Year 2019 Action Plan to enable the Village to receive and administer $279,647 in Round 3 Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 and facilitate assistance to eligible persons economically impacted by COVID-19. The main use for these CDBG-CV funds is to continue a business assistance loan program to create and retain jobs for persons that are low- and moderate-income ($250,000).

The potentially-forgivable loans are for up to $10,000 per Oak Park business that can comply.

A portion of these CDBG-CV funds will be used by the Village to administer the project ($29,647).

The proposed Action Plan substantial amendment is also listed on the Oak Park website under Housing-Grants and is available for public review and comment during business hours MondayFriday, effective October 15-19, 2020. Any comments can be submitted in writing by 5 p.m., October 19, 2020 to Mark Dwyer, Grants Supervisor, at grants@ oak-park.us. Reasonable accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities and non-English speaking persons, as needed.

Published in Wednesday Journal October 14, 2020

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: October 29, 2020 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 06-20-Z APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on an application for a variance filed by the Applicant, Hinsdale Bank & Trust, to operate a financial institution on the ground floor within 50 feet of a street line at the property located at 141-151 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Numbers 16-07-129-016-0000 in the DT-2 Hemingway Sub-District pursuant to Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance.

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent due to the

COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning @oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 29, 2020. An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public hearing if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public hearing. Interested persons may also participate in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone.

The public hearing may be adjourned by the Board to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

Published in Wednesday Journal October 14, 2020

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

CLASSIFIED Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know Available to you 24/7/365 www.ForestParkReview.com

PUBLIC NOTICES

(708) 613-3333 • FAX: (708) 467-9066 • E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@FORESTPARKREVIEW.COM

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE TO BIDDERS VILLAGE OF NORTH RIVERSIDE 2020 MFT SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS Sealed proposals for the improvement described below will be received at the office of the Village Clerk, Village of North Riverside, 2401 S. Des Plaines Avenue, North Riverside, IL 60546, until 10:00 a.m. on October 26, 2020.

Sealed proposals will be opened and read publicly at the office of the Village Clerk of the Village of North Riverside, 2401 S. Des Plaines Avenue, North Riverside, IL 60546, at 10:00 a.m. on October 26, 2020.

Availability” (Form BC 57), in duplicate, showing all uncompleted contracts awarded to them and all low bids pending award for Federal, State, County, Municipal and private work.

One original shall be filed with the Awarding Authority and one original with the IDOT District Office.

3. The Awarding Authority reserves the right to waive technicalities and to reject any or all proposals as provided in BLRS Special Provision for Bidding Requirements and Conditions for Contract Proposals.

4. The following BLR Forms shall be returned by the bidder to the Awarding Authority: a. BLR 12200: Local Public Agency Formal Contract Proposal b. BLR 12200a Schedule of Prices c. BLR 12230: Proposal Bid Bond d. BLR 12325: Apprenticeship or Training Program Certification e. BLR 12326: Affidavit of Illinois Business Office 5. The Contractor will be required to pay Prevailing Wages in accordance with all applicable laws.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK: Name: 2020 MFT Sidewalk Improvements Length: 1,340 Feet (0.254 miles) Location: Various locations throughout the Village of North Riverside Proposed Improvement: P.C. concrete sidewalk removal and replacement, P.C. concrete driveway removal and replacement, combination concrete curb and gutter removal and replacement, and all appurtenant construction.

1. Plans and proposal forms are available for download only from QuestCDN via the Novotny Engineering website, http:// novotnyengineering.com, “Bidding” tab, for a non-refundable charge of $30.00. Please contact Novotny Engineering (630887-8640) to obtain the QuestCDN password.

2.

Prequalification If checked, the 2 low bidders must file within 24 hours after the letting an “Affidavit of

P

By Order of: PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES VILLAGE OF NORTH RIVERSIDE By: Kathy Ranieri, Village Clerk (s) ________________

Published in Landmark October 14, 2020

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Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

INC., REALTOR

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

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

CONTRACT PENDING!

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

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

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

Meticulously maintained by the current owner for several decades.

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

SOLD!

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

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

1028 Beloit Forest Park ....................$289,000 This 3 BR, 2.1 BA home has not been available in over 55 years.

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

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

SOLD!

ONLINE and IN PERSON options for Private Lessons for Language, Music and Academic Tutoring.

In Person option for 2020/21.

Multi-Age K-5th Grade “Homeschool in School“ program

The Language and Music School At International Mansion 509 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 info@internationalmansion.com • (708) 524-5252 • InternationalMansion.com

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FPSD91 Principals Month ad (FPR) 101420.pdf Forest Park Review, October 14, 2020

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