Elgin Avenue residents get lawyer to push Crystal Car Wash complaints
Since the business expanded in M locals want noisy vacuum station removed
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
This May, Crystal Car Wash Harlem Ave., was looking to expand its vacuum stations across Lexington Street for the second time in three year But the initial Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, which w been the first step of approv expansion, and the following one cancelled, leading village staf f dents to believe the extension of the car wash is once again dead in the water.
Crystal Car Wash did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Also in the spring, three Elgin residents who live behind the car wash got legal re presentation in an ef decrease the sound of new vacuums a potential expansion, and to argue that
By JESSICA MORDACQ porter
Village Clerk Vanessa village is now hiring th the changing of the is looking to restructure the clerk’s office and create a finance department. council meeting, commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to contract a human resources consultant from MGT Impact Solutions through February. The manage the clerk’s office operations, like those insurance open enrollment and income tax documents for staf f. The consultant will also
on pa ge 10 See CAR WASH on pa ge 6
Mark Denny, Sukrat Baber and Mitchell Ashcro in front of the vacuum stations across the alley from their homes on the 900 block of Elgin Avenue.
Mayor Nathaniel George Booker
State Senator Kimberly A. Lightford
Mayor Ronald M. Serpico
Mayor Andre Harvey
Mayor Rory Hoskins
Mayor Katrina R. Thompson
Great Chefs gather to raise funds for Proviso scholars
Annual event draws chefs, local leaders and students for a good cause
By JILL WAGNER Contributing Reporter
The annual Great Chefs event for the 209 Scholarship fund was held at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 Union Hall in Hillside last Thursday. The theme “Educated Guest” celebrated the work of student scholars and featured 10 Forest Park restaurants including Jimmy’s Place, NRebozo, Twisted Cookie, Submarine Tender, Habrae Thai Café & Eatery and Rhythm and Blues Café.
The 209 Scholarship was founded in 2021 to honor, reco gnize and provide scholarship opportunities to help students from Proviso Township achieve their educational or technical dreams beyond high school.
The event is the premiere fundraiser for the scholarships, board member Jeremy Horn said. “The goal for this night is to raise $20,000 and this money will go directly, I re peat, directly, to the seniors graduating from Proviso East in Maywood, Proviso West in Hillside or PMSA in Forest Park,” for the 2026 scholarships.
The event not only featured great food, many community leaders were present. “Local celebrity bartenders” included April Baker, a local realtor; Jenny Barbahen, District 209 school board president; Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins; John Lyons, a District 91 school board member and Forest Park Commissioner Maria Maxham. Tara Stamps, 1st District Cook County Commissioner; April Senase, Proviso West Trades, STEM and Manufacturing Teacher and Noelle Robinson were speakers who spoke passionately on supporting students and community.
Noelle Roinson, Proviso East Lady Pirates basketball coach and author, shared the keynote address and challenged students in the room to “show up for yourself, even when it is hard,” and reminded adults that “mentorship matters.” She said that we can all be Educated Guests, because “every room you walk into you have the power to influence it – with your presence, your
words and your example.”
The 209 Scholarship has awarded nearly 50 Proviso students’ scholarships and renewal scholarships to support the young scholars. Through the generosity of the businesses, individuals and work of the committee, the 209 Scholarships include the Overcoming Adversity honor which awards students with GPA at least 2.0 and academic improvement over time with determination to succeed and Persistence Pays which is awarded to students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher with consistent academic excellence both academically and in
extracurricular activities.
“These students want an opportunity not just to better themselves but to inspire their families. We have to invest in these schools and love in these schools and when you do that amazing things can happen,” said Horn.
Every year at least nine new scholarships are awarded, three for each school, reco gnizing the resilience and determination to build a successful adult. The energy and spirit of the night is summed up by Horn, “This right here, giving these scholarships to the next generation is really what I am passionate about. When the community is with students 100% amazing things can happen.”
All photos by ALEXIS ELLERS
Trunk or treat
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
Trick or Treat!
Halloween is a night of magic, mystery, creativity and transforming into whatever you desire to be. And with each Halloween, parents have the “talk” with their kids about safety, whether with crossing the street or checking their candy.
We also take safety seriously, which is why each Halloween, we choose to cease our operations earlier than normal to avoid working on properties or traveling through town, during trick-or-treating hours. Not only do we want to avoid driving along crowded streets, we also do not want to disrupt the experience with our work.
For years, this has enabled our employees to share these enjoyable and memorable experiences with their own families.
So, on this Halloween, from the entire McAdam Landscaping family to yours: have fun, be safe, and TRICK OR TREAT!
Decorated cars with open back hatches lined the parking lot at the Park District of Forest Park on Saturday for the annual Trunk or Treat event. In costumes ranging from sweet to spooky, children and parents visited the car trunks full of candy to get their fill of tasty treats the weekend before Halloween.
Evelyn Lindquist of Forest Park br ings a buddy along. Elfego and Luanna Roman of Forest Park walk the Candy Land trail.
Emilia Desai of River Forest picks candy out of the hood of a car. Jassiel Cruz-Angel of Forest Park chooses a treat.
Natalya Ocana of Forest Park.
Photos by ERIC A BENSON
Scott McAdam Jr.
16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame sees 20 new inductees
Players, teams and parks were honored at a ceremony Saturday
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
Over 400 attendees gathered at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace on Saturday to induct 20 individuals, six teams and two parks into the 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame in Forest Park
John Doss, who served as commissioner for the Park District of Forest Park for over a decade, was awarded manager of the year. Doss currently coaches Circus, which won this year’s No Glove Nationals tournament in Forest Park. When Doss played 16-inch softball, he won a National MVP award and Major All-American multiple times.
Frank Lentine won the presidential service award. Lentine is already in the Hall of Fame for his 27-year softball career, but this award reco gnizes him for his support and dedication for the Hall of Fame. Lentine also won the Frank Holan award at this year’s induction ceremony.
The Chicago Jets were also inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Jets played from 1976 to 1985 and won 22 Chicago championships, six major tournaments and the 1985 USSSA State Tournament.
New inductees will join over 700 athletes in the 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame, which reco gnizes those with careers spanning back nearly 100 years ago.
Above: 2025 inductees to the 16-Inch So ball Hall of Fame
Le : e 1985 Jets from bottom le to top right: Dale Hopkins, Bradley Trychta, Bobby Glover, Clarence Cass, Pat Carroll, Keith Dickens, Ricky Lewis, Chris D’Agostino, Robert Placek, Kenny Dower, John Zullo, John Clausen, Joey Alvinito and Gene O’Keefe
CRIME
Passing driver threatens to kill dogwalker
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
On Oct. 22 before 9 a.m., police were dispatched to the 100 block of Circle Avenue for a disturbance. The caller said someone in a white car was screaming at passersby and threatening to kill people. While looking for the vehicle, the witness waved down police in the 100 block of Brown Avenue He told police he was crossing Randolph with his dog when a car nearly hit him. He said he waved his arms at the driver in a confused manner, then the driver started following him and threatened to kill him. The man said the driver got out of his car and threatened to shoot him, though the victim didn’t see any weapons. The victim said he entered a Brown Street residence with the resident’s permission, and the man drove away. Two witnesses corroborated the account, but no one was charged at the time of the police report
Aggravated assault
Police were dispatched to 7600 Madison St. on Oct. 21 for a report of someone with a gun. The caller said that a woman driving a blue Nissan pointed a firearm at him near the intersection of Madison and Circle. Police searched the area but couldn’t find the vehicle. The vehicle was registered to an Oak Park apartment, where police went to confront the driver. The
woman said she was driving on Madison when another driver displayed gang signs at her and tried to cut her off. She leaned out her window, and she and the man had a verbal exchange. She said she has a concealed carry license but didn’t have a gun on her at the time. No one was charged.
Criminal damage to property
On Oct. 21, police responded to 200 Harlem Ave. for a possible shooting. The caller said she was driving near Harlem and Randolph when she heard a loud pop and saw that her rear windshield wiper stopped working. When she parked the vehicle in the 1000 block of Ferdinand Avenue, she closed the door and the rear windshield shattered. The woman said she wasn’t aware of what could’ve led to the incident.
Domestic battery
Police were dispatched to Mt. Sinai hospital on Oct. 21 for a delayed domestic battery report. There, a woman said she was walking with her boyfriend in the area of Harlem and I-290 when they started arguing. She said her boyfriend punched her, then pulled out a kitchen knife and sliced her leg just above the knee. She said she lost consciousness and, when she awoke, an unknown person drove her to Indepen-
dence and Harrison and called the police. Both the woman and her boyfriend are unhoused, and she said she didn’t want to sign complaints against him.
On Oct. 22, police responded to a Ferdinand Avenue residence after someone called 911 and hung up. The resident told police that the fighting man and woman were still inside. Police reported that the woman had a rip in her shirt She told them she was drinking with the man whose residence it was when she got a call from her ex-boyfriend, whom she shares a child with. Her ex came to drink with them but became irate and accused her of stealing his money. He then lunged at her with a box cutter and sliced her shirt Police reported that the man who lived there was uncooperative and said he heard the two arguing but didn’t see the physical altercation. The ex-boyfriend was charged with one count of domestic battery and one count of aggravated assault.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated Oct. 21 - 23 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest
ERIK DEBAT
CAR WASH
Noisy vacuums
from page 1
the current car wash isn’t grandfathered into the village code because of the noise from the vacuum stations added to the east and west sides of the building.
“Really, what we want is a discussion, and there has been some,” said Sukrat Baber, an Elgin Avenue resident who lives behind Crystal Car Wash. He added that his attorney has been talking to the Crystal Car Wash’s attorney. “One of the things that we would like is for the vacuum [stations] on the west side to be removed.”
According to village code, businesses can’t disturb the peace with excessive noise between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. But Crystal Car Wash’s 24 free vacuum stations, which have vacuums and compression hoses that blow water of f vehicles, run until the business closes at 9 p.m. That’s because, for decades, Premier Car Wash previously existed at the same address, and when Crystal Car Wash opened in 2018, the village grandfathered it into the version of the code that Premier followed, one before noise restrictions were created
Mitchell Ashcroft and Mark Denny also live behind Crystal Car Wash on Elgin Avenue and said they were never disturbed by Premier Car Wash customers or noise. But Premier, they said, only had two coinoperated vacuums on the east side of the building.
In a letter sent to the Planning and Zoning Commission and village officials in May by Baber’s legal re presentation, the lawyer argued that if Premier Car Wash was a legal nonconforming use, then con-
struction of new vacuum stations violates Section 9-9-3 of the village’s zoning ordinance that prohibits the expansion of nonconforming uses. If Premier Car Wash was a previously approved conditional use, Crystal Car Wash violates Section 9-10-7 of the zoning ordinance, which requires a conditional use to comply with the plans for the conditional use, the lawyer argued
Steve Glinke, head of building and zoning in Forest Park, declined to comment.
“The operation that they’re currently running here is unlawful and not grandfathered as to the current state of the business, not grandfathered as to the nuisance, the noise and several other matters,” Baber told the Review.
Baber said construction of Crystal Car wash was dubbed a “remodel,” but Ashcroft and Denny say they saw how Premier Car Wash was demolished and its footprint expanded.
“Even if you have a legal nonconforming use, which we don’t believe it is, you still can’t be a nuisance pursuant to the code. You still have to make sure that the folks in the neighborhood are not bothered by excessive noise. You still have to make sure that setbacks and other things that were not a nonconforming use before the current code are being followed,” Baber said.
Baber said he contacted village staf f about the excessive noise of the vacuum stations when he first moved to Forest Park last summer, and they suggested he speak with Glinke. Baber said Glinke told him to direct his noise complaints to the police department.
“We have re peatedly called the police because of particular instances, either where the hoses get choked or people are playing loud music,” Denny said. “The police will come out sometimes. No one has ever been cited.”
Correction
A story in last week’s newspaper headlined “Forest Park police talk public safety, panhandling,” re ported on Forest Park police and businesses meeting to discuss public safety issues. The story incorrectly stated the number of police and fire de ployments to 711 Desplaines Ave. About 80 to 90% of Narcan deployments occur at the CTA station. We apologize for the er ror.
The car wash’s neighbors re port cases of public urination, people throwing things in their trash, parking in their parking spots and lining up in the alleyway to use the vacuum stations.
Last year, Elgin Avenue residents called the police 45 times for issues at Crystal Car Wash, according to a self-kept log outlining hundreds of complaints since 2017. This year in January through April, there were 38 calls for incidents at the car wash, including alle ged damage to property and noise complaints. Baber said, since then, “the noise hasn’t changed.”
While police have told Ashcroft, Baber and Denny that they’ve given warnings to car wash customers, it’s the Elgin Avenue residents who have been banned from the car wash property.
Baber said he’s emailed multiple videos of how loud the vacuums are to Crystal Car Wash owner Neil Rembos and village staf f, and Forest Park police came to his door to say that car wash staf f alle ged Baber was tampering with the vacuum stations and harassing employees, so he’s prohibited from the property. Baber denies the accusations.
Ashcroft and Denny have also been banned from the property after being accused of harassing the car wash’s employees.
“I went out there once to ask the employees to fix the compression hoses because they ke pt running, and it was so loud they couldn’t hear me. I was gesturing like this,” Denny said, waving his pointer finger with his thumb out, “They had me on videotape making the trigger motion, so they filed a complaint against me.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Denny hired a lawyer and accepted a $75 settlement from Crystal Car Wash.
Baber said he reached out to village staf f
again after his lawyer’s letter in May but didn’t hear back.
Ashcroft and Denny said they previously attended a town hall with their neighbors, who signed a petition voicing their complaints, but never heard back from village staf f. They added that village staf f once came to their block of Elgin Avenue to hear residents’ concerns, and Crystal Car Wash leadership attended a neighborhood meeting to hear complaints and show specs for new equipment that would decrease noise.
“But all of a sudden, that turned conditional,” Ashcroft said. He said Crystal Car Wash presented the same specs to the village when the business first sought to expand across Lexington Street in 2021 and needed conditional use approval to do so.
In 2022, the Planning and Zoning Commission tabled the vote about whether to approve a conditional use permit, suggesting that Crystal Car Wash do a noise and traffic study.
According to Ashcroft and Denny, Crystal Car Wash did both studies. The car wash proposed constructing walls that block sound, as well as quieter vacuums and pressure hoses. According to the residents’ lawyer, the business said an expansion wouldn’t yield additional vehicle trips, since most visitors are existing customers, and that most traffic will travel across Lexington Street from the existing facility.
Baber said the traffic study was “insufficient, for lack of a better word, including this proposition that, ‘Well, it’s loud around here anyway. There’s all this ambient noise.’” Baber added, “There are busier parts of the day, but once you get to dinner time, when I would love to have dinner with my family in my backyard, we do not hear Harlem. We hear the car wash the whole time until 9 p.m. every day, 365 days a year.”
All hands in for Halloween
ese River Foresters o er a sweet treat, but it’s not candy
By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter
Bewitching yard transformations aren’t unusual this time of the year. But in front of one River Forest house, 706 Ashland, the homeowners don’t scare so much as they share their love of puppet theater. This is their fifth year to put on a show while everyone is out walking the neighborhood
“It’s a way to have fun for ourselves and give to the community in a way that is joyful on Halloween,” homeowner Kristina Wilson said. “Make it a little bit more than candy.”
They pick a theme with a spooky season vibe. In years past it’s been a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” sing-along. Another time it was Frankenstein putting on the Ritz. This year they are going all-in on the sensation “K-pop Demon Hunters.”
“We just couldn’t resist,” Wilson said. “We had to ride the K-pop wave.”
Wilson’s first collaborator was husband Jason Jeunnette. They both grew up in suburbs further to the west but met in New York They moved back to the area to raise their children closer to family. A few years on, they decided to turn their yard into a puppet theater. Neighbors Jennifer Samples and Janie Crick Heredia joined in later.
“This is my first time being with this group,” Crick Heredia said. “I was a spectator that was like, can I be in your puppet club?”
“We all went to theater and performing arts school,” Samples said.
For the whole troupe, the puppetry lets them flex their theater muscles. For Jeunnette, he gets to do theatrical lighting again. For Samples, it’s sewing and painting
“All our lives have gone from theater
school to just, you know, all the different places they’ve gone,” Wilson said. “This is a nice time of year where our kids get to see what we did with our younger years before they were born and how what we do affects other people.”
The puppet versions of K-pop stars begin their singing and dancing routines at 4:30 p.m. and shows repeat until trick-or-treating time ends at 7 p.m. Each performance lasts about 10 minutes. The performers plan to pack in approximately 10 repetitions over the course of the night.
“Kristina likes to say they are every 15 minutes, but it’s more, because anytime there’s a group of kids, she’s like, oh, there’s people, let’s go, let’s go,” Samples said.
“I sort of think you can’t keep an audience waiting,” Wilson said.
“It’s a workout. You don’t realize how much arm strength you need to like hold a puppet up for 10 minutes,” Crick Heredia said.
“And then on top of that, you’ re moving around. You have to be energetic. You have to keep those kids entertained,” Wilson said.
Safe Steps for Fall Day
Autumn brings crisp air and colorful leaves — but also new safety risks. A few simple steps can help keep you and your loved ones safe at home:
Clear outdoor paths: Sweep or rake wet leaves from steps, driveways, and walkways to prevent slipping.
Improve lighting: Replace dim bulbs, add motion-sensor lights outside, and keep indoor hallways and entryways well lit. Secure floors inside: Remove clutter, tuck away cords, and use non-slip pads under rugs. Wear safe footwear: Choose shoes with firm, non-skid soles instead of socks or loose slippers.
Use support when needed: Keep railings sturdy and add grab bars in high-risk areas like bathrooms.
Taking these precautions helps reduce fall risks and keeps your home safe and welcoming all season long.
Visit Cantata.org for more senior living advice or call (708) 387-1030
RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR
Puppet pals Jennifer Samples, Janie Crick Heredia, Jason Jeunnette (masked) and Kristina Wilson.
DONALD WILSON
Puppets enthrall trick-or-treaters
Housewares, golf bags, clothing, holiday decorations, music CD’s, bike, and more. Too much to list.
With food supplies dwindling, Kiwanis plan November food drive
Volunteer, donate to support neighbors
By JILL WAGNER Contributing Reporter
With the rising c the federal Supplemental Nu trition Assistance Pr (SNAP) becoming a alty in the current stalemate in Washington, the local food pantr and food banks ar being stretched to meet the needs of man neighbors.
The Kiwanis C Forest Park is work a part of the solution in est Park and is planning communitywide food dri called Bushels of Food. The current pantry shelves that regularly and consistently supply basic supplemental food are almost bare and the need to boost the food supply available in town to support our local families, individuals and seniors who are experiencing food insecurity is very high People are encouraged to donate to one of the many Food Baskets set up in Forest Park including O’Sullivan’s,
Twisted Cookie, and Mac Daddy. Volunteer Mike Thompson will visit, pick up and de liver re gularly throughout the month to help the immediate needs facing the community.
I
The Forest Park Kiwanis Club is stepping in to host a communitywide food drive with pickups at houses on Nov. 15. The club is hoping to get volunteers from the commuanize block by block, ondo, apartment by tment micro drives that help sustain the food supply through the drive and beyond Kiwanis Club of est Park has been serving the community er a hundred years and takes great pride in up the community through service. If you are looking to contribute to Kiwanis or be a part of the team meeting the needs of families in need, this is the time to step in to get our pantry fully stocked. However small the act of compassion or grand the gesture, every contribution will make a difference. The Kiwanis is looking for helping hands, food donations and financial contributions to carry the community’s food supply through the especially challenging winter months.
FINANCE
help the village develop a new HR coordinator role, as it works to separate such functions from the clerk’s office.
Currently, the clerk’s office is its own department, and the finance director works within the clerk’s office. But village staf f want to rename the government entity as the finance department, with Finance Director Letitia Olmsted serving as department head. And the next village clerk will re port directly to the finance director. Village staf f is also suggesting that, with the hiring of a new village clerk, human resource duties be separated from that position and designated to a new HR coordinator role. T hough the clerk’s primary responsibilities are maintaining official records and collecting fees, Belmonte also effectively served as the village’s HR lead, overseeing employee onboarding, coordinating staf f benefits, managing employee insurance and pay-
roll. T he new HR coordinator will re port to the village administrator.
At the Oct. 14 council meeting, Commissioner Maria Maxham said the village clerk and HR coordinator will likely be two separate positions moving forward.
“This is a part of a pretty big process in place to re place Vanessa Belmonte now that she’s gone. She had been doing basically two jobs as village clerk and also being in charge of the HR function,” Maxham said. “This person coming in is going to give assistance to us re garding HR, but also guidance in the overall look and feel and future of the department.”
Commissioner Michelle Melin-Rogovin thanked village staf f for “being very strategic about, how do we function as a village now, and how can we think about the functions that we have and what we need going forward?”
Following Belmonte’s retirement, the clerk’s office will be closed daily from 2 to 3 p.m. until Monday to allow staff to have a lunch break. It will remain open from noon to 2 p.m. during the standard lunch hour.
“We wanted to make sure that people who would be coming on their own lunch hour still had access to village hall ser-
vices in the clerk’s office,” Village Administrator Rachell Entler said at the Oct. 14 meeting. “Right now, the village also has a staf f member out on medical leave and will remain closed at that time until she returns.”
New village treasurer
As a part of the creation of a finance department, at the Oct. 14 village council meeting, commissioners approved a recommendation to appoint Olmsted as
village treasurer. At the Oct. 27 meeting, commissioners officially approved Olmsted for the new title.
Though Olmsted has long fulfilled the duties of a village treasurer, the title of village treasurer will allow her to act as a signatory on behalf of the village
Mayor Rory Hoskins recommended the appointment ahead of the Oct. 14 meeting, saying in a memorandum to the village, “Tish has been serving as the village’s finance director, where she has demonstrated professionalism, diligence, and strong financial management. The statutory duties of the treasurer substantially overlap with the responsibilities she already fulfills as finance director. Combining these roles under her leadership will streamline operations, maintain consistency and ensure continued accountability in our financial practices.”
Melin-Rogovin also praised Olmsted during the Oct. 14 meeting.
“Director Olmsted has been an outstanding contributor to our village staf f,” Melin-Rogovin said. “Her leadership with the village finances has been exemplary, and I think this is an excellent move for the village.”
Anabel Mendoza is youngest candidate running for 7th District Congress
e 27-year-old works at a youth-led immigration nonpro t, wants to see a new generation in o ce
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
With Rep. Danny Davis retiring after nearly 30 years representing Illinois’ 7th congressional district, 18 candidates have declared their intentions to fill his seat. The Democratic primary will take place March 17, 2026, and contenders are currently circulating nominating petitions.
Hyde Park resident Anabel Mendoza is among them. She’s 27 years old, the youngest in the race, and works for the largest youthled immigrant nonprofit in the country. Her career and lived experience inspired her to run for Congress
Since graduating from Northwestern University, Mendoza has provided direct services and advocacy for immigrants, working with undocumented youth and those who have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. Mendoza said the recent presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) terrorizing Chicago residents without accountability influenced her to run for Congress and move from full-time to part-time in her day job.
“This was a moment, with the political climate, where I didn’t feel like I could be taking a step out of that work,” Mendoza said. “What I do for work every day is part of why I’m running.”
She added that working in immigrant rights has taught her to navigate complex legislation and processes
“There are so many functions and mechanisms of Congress and of elected offices that everyday people have been, I believe, deliberately not told about. We don’t get that understanding of what Congress actually can do and accomplish,” Mendoza said. “We see Republicans or the Trump administration dusting off a rule from the f*cking 1800s and
using it to ram through their agenda. Clearly, there are ways.”
Mendoza was also inspired to run for Congress by her upbringing in West Lawn. She said she recently learned that, during her childhood, her working class Latino parents once had only $9 to spend on her and her two siblings between paychecks
“There were times when my mom and dad deliberately chose to skip lunch and dinner to be able to feed me and my siblings,” Mendoza said. “This many years later as an adult, I see that there are millions of people who are facing the same pressure, and sometimes even worse. Nothing has changed materially enough where people have actually seen improvements in their life, and in fact, it’s actually rapidly going the opposite direction.”
The main priority of Mendoza’s platform is increasing affordability for her constituents, many of whom have told her about working two or three jobs to scrape by.
“There are so many parents like that who I get to meet when I’m in Austin, in North Lawndale, in Garfield Park, and they share these stories with me,” Mendoza said. “Affordability and the price of living is the biggest thing I have heard is on people’s minds.”
That includes the high cost of groceries, utility bills and rent. If elected to Congress, Mendoza said she would fight for legislation for rent control, so people don’t spend over 25% of their income on it, and to restrict large rental companies from pricing out residents from their neighborhoods.
“We need to make life livable for the people and the families who have been in these neighborhoods and have made these neighborhoods amazing,” Mendoza said.
That also includes affordability of health care, which Mendoza calls a “human right for everybody, regardless of your immigration status and regardless of where you live.”
“One of the things I want to fight for at the federal level isn’t just health care for all, but relieving people’s medical debt the same way we continue to fight for student debt relief,” Mendoza said, “which I will fight for as someone with a lot of student loans.”
Mendoza added that she’d also have an aggressive approach to gun legislation.
“Making sure that we are investing in common sense gun legislation is so important,” she said.
Growing up in West Lawn, Mendoza remembers times when she was playing outside and her parents called her in because there was a shooting down the street.
“There are countless families on the South and West Side that have been shattered by gun violence, and I’ve talked to them,” Mendoza said. And she’s met with several community leaders in gun violence prevention who don’t have the sustained federal funding to make an impact at a larger scale
“Congress has always held the power of the purse to be able to fight for resources and transformational investments to come back into the South and West Side,” Mendoza said. “That is why we need a fighter in Congress, someone who isn’t going to take ‘No’ for an answer, someone who is going to fight just as hard as this gover nment often fights to fund a genocide abroad and bring that funding here. Because if we have the money to fund a genocide abroad, if we have the money to give ICE and Customs and Border Protection $170 billion of our taxpayer dollars, then I know we have the money to fund our communities.”
“We have operated it in this country, thinking top-down economics works,” Mendoza added. “From what I’ve seen, it just keeps the rich richer. Real investment is standing shoulder to shoulder with your community and lifting from the bottom up.”
Mendoza said increasing affordability and decreasing gun violence would vastly help the South and West Side, but also the rest of the country.
“The seventh district tells a national story,” Mendoza said. “In Congress, you’re representing this district, but the things that you fight for affect the entire country.”
The 7th district is far reaching, from the western suburbs to the Loop to the South Side of Chicago. Over 40% of the district is Black, 30% white, and nearly 10% Asian and 10% Hispanic.
“One of the things that this district tells the story about nationally is not just income inequality, but the racial wealth gap in this country.”
Mendoza gives the example of Englewood, a predominately Black neighborhood, where the median household income is just over $29,000.
“In the same district, you have Streeterville — one of the richest, if not the richest, part of the city, where the median household income is well into the six figures,” said Mendoza of the predominately white neighborhood. “One of the things I have been fighting for on my platform, and that I will absolutely make a conversation in this campaign, is reparations for the descendants of enslaved people.”
Though she’s had people tell her that support for reparations will lose her votes, Mendoza said the racial wealth gap is tied to decades of intentional economic disinvestment from the South and West Side
“You have had generations of families that have been deliberately left behind, while everybody else grows their wealth,” Mendoza said. She added that providing more opportunities to these families would improve
PROVIDED
Anabel Mendoza
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Proviso o cial challenges Mitts for 7th District State Central Committee seat
No candidate has led to challenge Welch so far
By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter
Mary “May” Larry, the Proviso Township committeewoman since 2022, has filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections to be on the ballot in March 2026 for Democratic State Central Committeewoman (DSCC). Bar ring any for mal objections to her petitions, she will face Chicago’s 37th Ward Alderwoman Emma Mitts in that race.
T he Democratic State Central Commit-
tee requires a committeeman and committeewoman to be elected or appointed. As of the end of filing on Monday, no candidate other than Emanuel “Chris” has filed for the DSC committeeman office.
Larry, who has r un unsuccessfully for Maywood village president or village trustee four times since 2013, according to the ISBE, filed nomination petitions Monday mor ning in Springfield.
Mitts, 70, has defeated all challengers in numerous contested races for her 37th ward aldermanic seat, including respected activist Tara Stamps, who was appointed to the Cook County board in 2024.
In April 2024, Mitts was appointed by the 7th District congressional committee
township political leader and Cook CounDeeds Karen Yarbrough. Candidate petition filing will continue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Nov. 3. Following that deadline, any interested party may file an objection to any candidate’s petitions for numerous reasons. T he deadline for filing objections is five business days after the last day of the filing period.
Growing Community Media will be reviewing nominating petitions from Larry and others as soon as they are made available by the ISBE after necessary processing. This is a de v eloping story the paper will be following.
MARY “M AY EMMA MIT TS
Disbursements Greater than $2,500 – May 1, 2024 – April 30, 2025 (Unaudited): 34 Publishing Inc: 3,200, A Lamp Concrete Contractors Inc: 52,031, AA Rental Center: 2,652, Action Transmission & Auto: 17,356, Addis Auto Parts Inc: 15,364, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC: 4,562, Advanced Window Corporation: 15,330, AEP Energy: 16,477, Agilant Solutions Inc: 9,053, Air One Equipment Inc: 20,446, Album Group Inc.: 7,280, Alexandra Kagstrom: 3,750, Alliance Pension Consultants LLC: 21,050, Alliant Insurance Services Inc - 8377: 9,005, Allied Benefit Systems: 2,850, Amalgamated Bank of Chicago: 715,954, Amazon.com: 24,364, Amazon Capital Services: 27,423, AMS Electric Inc: 21,980, Animal Care League: 10,065, Arlington Heights Ford: 16,327, ArtReach Educational Theatre: 2,500, Assa Abloy Entrance Systems US Inc.: 9,320, AT&T: 35,125 , Axon Enterprise Inc: 22,125, B&F Construction Code Service: 41,565, Baker & Taylor: 102,540, Battery Service Corporation: 3,781, Baycom Inc: 2,901, BC Body Craft Inc: 34,325, Berwyn Garage: 17,765, Blue CrossBlue Shield of Ill: 1,809,967, BMO Bank NA: 7,888, Bolder Contractors Inc: 782,689, Book Reporting Service: 3,613, BP: 3,868, Brookfield North Riverside Water Commission: 20,285, Burke Engineering LTD, Christopher: 993,902, C.O.P.S. and F.I.R.E Personnel Testing: 8,600, Cairo & Sons Roofing Contractors Inc.: 6,160, Caliber Collision: 7,018, Capital One Bank: 75,221, Cargill Salt Road Safety: 29,056, Cary Morgen Labor Arbitration & Mediation Services: 3,465, Case Lots Inc: 10,370, CDC ENTERPRISES INC: 83,815, CDS Office Technologies: 31,151, Cengage Learning, Inc: 7,550, Centurion Plumbing Company: 279,450, CFA Software Inc: 2,800, Checkpoint Press Inc: 2,604, Chicago Cubs: 2,600, Chicago Tribune Media Group: 5,052, Chicagoland Paving Contractors
LEGAL NOTICE
Annual
Inc: 44,322, City of Chicago: 2,153,915, Clean Net of Illinois, Inc.: 39,299, Clear View: 58,171, Cloudpermit Inc: 9,500, College of Du Page: 23,480, Colley Elevator Co: 7,928, Com Ed: 85,139, Comcast: 11,764, Commercial Tire Service: 20,305, Constellation Energy Services Inc: 37,047, Cook County Dept of Public Health: 23,100, Cook County Treasurer: 8,393, Core & Main LP: 67,855, Costco: 3,001, Current Technologies: 6,302, Currie Motors Chevrolet: 10,992, DACRA Adjudication System: 46,278, Dancing Cranes Yoga: 5,200, Dandan, Tariq: 41,644, Davis Tree Care: 94,384, DELL MARKETING LP: 13,668, Digitech, Advanced Data Processing Inc: 84,897, Doors by Dave Inc.: 7,250, Dost Valuation Group LTD: 6,500, Drury Lane: 3,301, Eagle Uniform Company Inc: 4,072, EBSCO Information Services: 6,862, Elevator Inspection Services: 7,826, Elmhurst Chicago Stone Company: 12,328, Emerald Site Services LLC: 56,250, Engberg Anderson Inc: 9,834, Enchanted Castle: 2,660, ESO Solutions Inc: 7,223, Factory Motor Parts Co: 46,096, Fidelity Security Life Ins Co: 10,051, Fire Service Inc: 55,692, Firefighters Pension Fund: 262,749, First Ayd Corp.: 4,335, First Communications: 9,115, First Fence Inc.: 6,950, Fleet Safety Supply: 46,328, Forest Park Arts Alliance: 4,140, Forest Park Chamber of Commerce: 41,500, Forest Printing Company: 38,626, Franzen Plumbing Inc: 14,706, Freedom Lifted: 3,500, Frontline Public Safety Solutions: 4,631, GFC Leasing – WI: 5,126, Gordon Food Service: 2,520, GPG Strategies LLC: 20,000, Grant Writing Consultants LLC: 20,000, Grimes Michael: 4,000, Growing Community Media NFP: 4,260, Guardian: 90,809, Haiges Machinery Inc.: 10,299, Health Endeavors SC: 9,839, Heavy Metal: 10,492, Hilco Real Estate Appraisal LLC: 4,000, HOME DEPOT CREDIT: 4,703, Hoppe James: 3,100, Hoy Landscaping:
19,418, HP Inc.: 12,045, HR Source: 49,620, IL Dept of Healthcare and Family ServicesGEMT: 886,333, Illinois Alarm: 13,440, Illinois Communications Sales Inc: 63,361, Illinois Counties Risk Management Trust: 196,966, Illinois EPA: 6,000, Illinois State Police: 11,415, Image Trend: 3,445, Infrasearch Inc: 24,600, Interstate Billing Services Inc: 186,932, ITsavvy LLC: 10,604, J.G. Uniforms: 2,839, James Rachlin: 5,572, JC Licht LLC: 9,556, Jensen’s Plumbing & Heating: 22,990, Joel Kennedy Constructing Corp: 1,047,636, Kanopy, Inc: 4,169, Kashima, Courtney: 16,697, K-Five Hodgkins LLC: 6,543, Kimball Midwest: 5,505, Kinetic Energy Inc.: 5,354, Klein Thorpe & Jenkins: 9,382, KMI Force: 6,450, Konica Minolta Premier Finance: 7,103, Kuusakoski US LLC: 5,511, Lakeshore Recycling Systems LLC: 21,924, Lakeview Bus Lines Inc: 6,516, Lauterbach & Amen LLP: 59,205 Lemeer Design LLC: 3,195, Lewis University: 3,600, Libraries of Illinois Risk Agency: 22,084, Library Furniture International: $7,335, Lindco Equipment Sales Inc: 11,383, Linde Gas North America LLC: 9,869, LinkedIn Corporation: 4,500, Living Fresh Market: 6,763, Local 705 I.B of T. Health & Welfare: 369,545, LPS Pavement: 36,450, Lyons Pinner Electric Co: 210,360, M&J Asphalt Paving Company Inc: 24,500, MABAS DIVISION XI: 10,500, Mango Languages: 3,501, Marlin Leasing Corporation: 3,949, Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire: 2,768, McAdam Landscaping: 58,573, McCann Industries Inc: 4,430, MES I Acquisition Inc: 11,861, Mesarina Jose: 6,259, Midwest Tape: 32,915, Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone PLC: 2,500, Miller Dan: 13,452, Mobile Beacon: 4,015, Mohr Oil Company: 197,282, Morton Salt Inc (MSI): 57,081, Murphy Construction Services LLC: 3,000, Nardulli Concrete Inc, J.: 734,858, Nardulli Construction Company Inc: 45,514, National Power Rodding
Corp: 3,000, Nelson Systems Inc: 4,828, New York Times: 3,016, NICOR: 11,331, North East Multi-Reg Training: 7,035, Northwestern Center for Public Safety: 4,500, Office 8: 4,801, O’Herron Co Inc, Ray: 42,387, Orange Boy, Inc.: 4,250, OTM Water Services: 11,700, OverDrive, Inc: 8,854, Paramount Theatre: 4,398, PCS for People: 4,495, Peterson-Bassi Chapels: 12,700, Pitney Bowes Inc: 37,325, Playaway Products LLC: 7,062, POLICE PENSION FUND: 261,032, PowerDMS Inc: 7,165, PremiStar-North: 26,027, Printing Store, The: 2,710, Proxit Technology Solutions Inc: 13,020, Purchase Power: 3,842, PuroClean of Oak Park: 6,300, Quill: 35,124, R A James Construction Inc: 6,570, RAILS: 3,024, Regional Truck Equipment Co: 21,148, Reliable Fire & Security: 4,044, Renogy: 4,219, Republic Services #551: 1,015,049, RestaurantsGeneral: 9,103, RoadSafe: 2,986, Robert R Andreas & Sons Inc: 24,645, Rohlfing James: 11,000, Ron Tirapelli Ford: 57,050, RPC Solutions, LLC: 3,864, Russo Power Equipment: 5,625, Rydin Decal: 4,809, S&D Prime Maintenance: 9,382, Salsbury Industries Inc: 6,737, Schaeffer Mfg Co: 3,568, SCHAUERS HARDWARE: 7,032, Schick Joe: 6,143, Senat, Anastasie M.: 5,775, Shales McNutt Construction: 24,571, ShineAwn Incorporated: 2,964, Signature Transportation Group: 31,403, Smithereen Pest Mgmt Services: 16,025, Solaris Roofing Solutions, Inc.: 6,923, Special T Unlimited: 10,281, Springbrook Holding Company LLC: 54,557, Stanard & Associates Inc: 23,516, Standard Equipment Co.: 20,985, Standard Insurance Company: 10,399, State TreasurerIDOT: 15,831, Stefl Inc, Tim: 8,897, Storino Ramello & Durkin: 172,501, Suburban Laboratories Inc: 8,393, Suburban Mailing Services Inc: 21,081, Sutton Ford Inc: 194,340, SWAN: 30,350, Synapse Networks Inc: 20,048, Taylor’d Systems LLC: 31,388, Techno Consulting Inc: 69,142, Tecorp Inc: 219,344, Telcom Innovations Group LLC: 6,931, Terminal Supply Co: 3,441, The Fireside Theatre: 5,679, Thomas Corey: 4,675, Thomson Reuters-West: 5,785, Today’s Business Solutions Inc.: 5,696 Total Parking Solutions Inc: 80,583, Traffic Control & Protection: 6,070, Traffic Logix Corporation: 6,337, Traynor, Raymond: 17,685, Triangle Environmental: 7,075, Triggi Construction: 257,546, True North Software LLC: 13,000, Uno Construction Co Inc: 110,136, Utility Concrete Products LLC: 5,692, Vargas, Martin: 8,380, Vector Solutions: 3,277, Veregy Central LCC: 829,957, Verizon Wireless: 9,638, Vernon Library Supplies: 8,350, Vigilant Solutions LLC: 4,000, Village of Forest Park: 228,008, Village of Oak Park: 3,621, Wesley Sherry: 8,324, West Central Municipal Conf: 31,992, West Cook County Solid Waste: 211,199, West Suburban Cons Dispatch Center: 903,906, WESTAF: 2,750, Wholesale Direct Inc.: 4,985, Witmer Public Safety Group: 2,624, Woodlake Occupational Health: 3,547, Xerox Financial Services: 18,188, XTreme Graphics Lettering: 3,080, Zarnoth Brush Works Inc.: 2,776, Zeigler Ford North Riverside: 13,620
Disbursements less than $2,500: 342,724
TOTAL: 19,786,236
Salaries – May 1, 2024 – April 30, 2025 (Unaudited):
$25,000 and Under: Kathryn Alexander, Ida Bailey, Donald Bolton, Kamara Brown, Tyler Brown, Terrance Bryant, Courtney Busch, Edward Canady III, Nimat Christian, Ajah Crittenden, Tamara Cuchna, LaDonna Daniels, Melissa De LaTorre, Jan Detert, Gerald Dillon Jr, Marque Dotson,
Alexander Dowdle, Ewelina Dudek, Johnny Edwards, David Finlay, Michael Fluker, Robert Fuller, Tionna Gause, Jessica Girardi, Justin Harris, Deirdre Haughey, Raissa Herscovitch, Cory Howard, Bernadine Hunt, Jabreal James, Brenda Jimenez Cruz, Heather King, Kenneth Knack, Kristina Kobela, Jacob Lessing, Roberto Marquez, Maria Maxham, John McNally II, Christoper Moravec, Ivan Moreno, Albert Natase, Ryan Nero, Sean O’Mara, Daphane Patterson, Barbara Pellettiere, Celia Pereira, Nicole Petrey, Scott Popelka, Jacqueline Rice, Toni Rice, Mia Richardson, Dominic Robinson, Tori Robinson-Thomas, Giovanni Rodriquez, Michelle Roque, Maxwell Russ, Angelica Sanchez, Michael Sinisi, Latessa Smith, Samantha Smith, Karl Solms, Paul Stamatakos, John Sutfin, Cade Tomkins, Georgia Tsaganos, Dana Valentino, Brian Volakos, Jessica Voogd, Darius Wade, Henry Wagner, Donovan Wasilevich, Tracy Wilson, Pollyann Zagar
$25,000 to $49,000
Samantha Amador, Samantha Bahena, Brandon Betancourt, Urszula Blonska, Martricia Bowers, Mario Foster-Flores, Siobhan Gartland, Rory Hoskins, Te’Lynne Howery, Gabriel Jenkins, Mohammed Khan, Frank Laschiazza Jr., Monet Lewis, Kristen Lovett, Christopher McCanick, Millicent Merrill, Dennis Raleigh, Cristina Robles, Sharon O’Shea, Elizabeth Shlah, Christine Vilutis, Talheyah Webb, Marie Weinbrecht, Karen Wiebe
$50,000 to $74,999
Christie Bassaloff, James Becker, Martha Buehler-Sullivan, Matthew Cline, Claudia Corzine, Joseph Decosola, Casey Dougherty, Matthew Dowdle, Meghan Dowdle, Daniel Dudek, Susan Farnum, Morna Flanagan, Scott Frey, Alicia Hammond, Deborah Harris, Grayson Hendrix, Wendy Keohane, Francis Lane, Skye Lavin, Frank Marasco, Daniel Michaels, Sandra Nutley, Jon Pankey, Brenda Powers, Rafal Radomski, Megan Roach, Dylan Ryan, Gavin Tappenden, Robert Topps III, Maribel Torres, Joel Zavala
$75,000 to $99,999
Adrian Alicea, Cristal Avila, Matthew Bakke, Adrian Bala, Richard Barger, Bernie Berroa, Steve Brhel, Michael Campbell, Phillip Chiappetta, John Ryan Doss, Luis Galvez, Steven Knysch, Kevin Kraus, Michael Marasco, Dora Murphy, George Prescott, Paul Richards, Patrick Scollard, Danylle Stark, Collin Thomas, Szymon Wiewiora
$100,000 to $124,999
Jospeh Aftanas, Vanessa Belmonte, Karen Dylewski, Steve Glinke, Steven Herigodt, Kenneth Hriensaitong, Mitchell Kempka, Richard Lovett, Benito Marti, Travis Myers, Michael O’Connor, Laura O’Donnell, Letitia Olmsted, Kyle Piotrowski, Brian Printz, Victoria Rakowski, Daysi Riglos, William Shanahan, Elton Shemitraku, Connor Solms, Salvatore Stella, Antonio Torres, Ryan Winkoff
$125,000 and over
Jesus Arroyo, Lauren Battistoni, DeAires Blackwell, Andrea Caines, Thomas Cannon, Christopher Chin, Phillip Damato, Louis Davini, Nicholas Defors, Rachell Entler, Kenneth Gross, Lindsey Hankus, Aaron Hannan, George Hickey Jr., Michael Kinder, Arleta Kochan, Mark Maylath, Daniel Miller, Daniel Pater, Nichola Petrovic, Bobby Reid, Brendan Reilly, John Reilly, Timothy Ryan, Joseph Schick, Humberto Soto, Michael Spagnolo, Adam Stasinopoulos, William Toth, Brian Valtman, Anthony Villasenor, Andrew Weber
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
OUR VIEW
Smart moves at village hall
The retirement of a longtime member of management in a very small organization is always an opportunity to rethink roles and realign responsibilities.
Forest Park is not missing that opportunity with the recent retirement of Vanessa Belmonte as village clerk. Over time, a range of duties had gravitated to the clerk’s office that were far beyond the official municipal record-keeper job description. Most notably, the complex and ever-shifting human resource functions of Forest Park’s municipal gover nment had landed in the clerk’s office.
Now, following the reorg put forward by Village Administrator Rachell Entler, Forest Park is elevating the talented and hardworking Letitia Olmsted to the newly created head of a finance department with the to-be-hired village clerk reporting to the finance director. The village council also took the logical step of appointing Olmsted as the village treasurer
While the village is contracting a consulting firm to oversee HR and to make recommendations on HR issues for the next several months, it will eventually hire for an HR coordinator post that will report to Entler. Employee benefits, hiring, onboarding and exiting staff, and payroll are critical duties that require an increasingly professional approach.
The mayor and village council were enthusiastic in adopting these well-considered steps
That noisy car wash
Three residential neighbors of Crystal Car Wash on South Harlem Avenue hired an attorney last spring. Their collective goal is to put a finish to the perpetual roar the car wash and its many free vacuum stations create just across an alley from their homes on Elgin Avenue.
The residents, who sat for an interview with the Review last week, say their attorney is having discussions with the attorney for car wash owner, Neal Rembos. Are there compromises to be found? Remains to be seen. Notable though that a core part of their argument is that the village erred in its interpretation of code when it decided that Rembos’ car wash business was grandfathered in, as the same location had long been a car wash.
Mitchell Ashcroft, Sukrat Baber and Mark Denny maintain you can’t grandfather in an active nuisance and, further, that the original car wash was effectively demolished and replaced with a different business that included two dozen free and noisy vacuum stations
At some point, it seems village gover nment will need to revisit this issue, do some effective negotiating and bring some level of relief to neighbors with a legitimate complaint about their quality of life.
OPINION
ICE water in their veins vs compassionate cops
The juxtaposition of a presentation on homelessness in the Forest Park business districts by Police Chief Ken Gross on Oct. 14 and the behavior of ICE agents in the Near West Suburbs provides us with a striking case study regarding how to balance the fir m enforcement of the law with compassion.
I could not find the word compassion in any of the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) documents available to me online. The closest I found was in an ICE document: “ICE detention standards ensure that detainees are treated humanely; protected from harm; provided appropriate medical and mental health care; and receive the rights and protections to which they are entitled.”
HOLMES
According to the front page Review article last week, Mayor Hoskins contends that in this neck of the woods, ICE agents are not walking that talk. He accused the ones operating in Bellwood of being “poorly trained,” “shattering constitutional nor ms,” and “causing irreparable damage.”
I’ve always been a fan of the way our FPPD does business and the presentation by Chief Gross confirmed that opinion. The second of 12 slides said that the Chief would emphasize safety, compassion and legal compliance.
And the word “compassion” here does not mean lenience. It means officers will cite or arrest you if you break the law, but they will do so with professionalism, courtesy and respect. The 20 merchants present in village hall seemed to agree that the Chief’s talk was matched by the way FPPD officers walk.
Here’s an interesting thing about the law: In our society many laws are designed to prevent perpetrators from endangering the safety of citizens while other laws protect the rights of suspected perpetrators.
The American legal system is realistic about human nature in the sense that we don’t expect everyone to treat everyone else humanely and have compassion out of the goodness of their hearts. That’s why we have codes like the Bill of Rights which gives people who are not being treated humanely legal recourse
Far too often parents don’t treat their children humanely and with compassion. That’s one of the reasons we have DCFS
Unfortunately the laws created to protect citizens are misused by those who are appointed or elected to enforce them.
The story in the Review last week is one of literally thousands we’ve seen in the media or online documenting abuse of power by ICE agents, their supervisors and those who appoint them, going all the way to the Oval Office.
Chief Gross noted that laws, no matter how well intentioned, can tie the hands of the police and prevent them from intervening in situations where harm is being done For example apparently many of the homeless population around here have become a nuisance to merchants trying to run their businesses. The problem, the Chief explained, is that the law has erected so many hurdles to jump over that it restricts the ability of law enforcement to do that job.
Say a homeless person is loitering for hours in a store on Madison Street and their behavior is discouraging customers from patronizing the business, so the owner calls the police. Before officers can legally remove the person, they will ask, “Have you posted a no trespassing or no soliciting sign?”
Next step, sign a written complaint. Next, be willing to show up in court.
We’re all for due process, right?!
Another problem, in Chief Gross’ opinion, is that legislation like the SAFE-T Act goes too far on the compassion side of the balance. For example, the elimination of cash bail might be meant to uphold the rights of poor people, but what frustrates police officers is that they can’t detain bad actors when the law allows them to be back on the street hours after, sometimes committing the exact same crimes.
Sometimes teachers face a similar challenge.
When I was in teacher training, we were encouraged to read a book titled, Don’t Smile Till Christmas, in which author Kevin Ryan collected the first-year experiences of high school teachers, as they pit their ivory-tower idealism against the harsh realities of teaching.
One commentator, who agreed with Ryan in principle, wrote, “Establishing your authority within the classroom does not require coldness and lack of positive emotion, though I accept it requires a degree of professional distance and the recognition that the focus has to be a productive working relationship and not a friendship. These young people have their friends — they don’t need another.”
That ter m professional distance is really important. Teachers can and should at some point reveal some of their humanity to their students, but the goal is not intimacy.
The same holds true with cops. I don’t want or need Chief Gross to be my buddy in the name of compassion or treat me differently because I’m in a wheelchair. That kind of relationship would compromise his ability to do his job.
Interim Executive Director Max Reinsdorf
Sta Repor ter Jessica Mordacq
Senior Audience Manager Stacy Coleman
Contributing Editor Donna Greene
Contributing Reporters Tom Holmes, Robert J. Li a
Columnists Alan Brouilette, Jill Wagner, Tom Holmes
Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead
Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea
Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza
Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls
Marketing & Adver tising Associate Emma Cullnan
Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan
Circulation Manager Jill Wagner
Operations Associate Susan Babin
Social Media and Digital Coordinator Maribel Barrera
Special Projects Manager Susan Walker
Senior Advisor Dan Haley
Board of Directors
Chair Eric Weinheimer
Treasurer Nile Wendorf
Deb Abrahamson, Mary Cahillane
Steve Edwards, Judy Gre n, Horacio Mendez, Charles Meyerson, Darnell Shields, Audra Wilson
HOW TO REACH US
ADDRESS: PO Box 6670, River Forest, IL 6035
PHONE: (708) 366-0600
EMAIL: forestpark@wjinc.com
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Forest Park Review is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. © 2025 Growing Community Media NFP.
A LOOK BACK IN TIME
News from Harlem, October 1898
The Harlem Post was a local weekly newspaper printed in German for the local German population. Its first edition was published on Sept. 12, 1895. The paper’s Oct. 6, 1898 edition contained not one, but two ads for undertakers who also dealt in furniture.
Chas. F. Drechsler, Undertaker and Embalmer, at 108 - 110 Lake St. in Oak Park, advertised that nightly visits would be promptly attended to, as well as furniture and carpets. Services also included storing, transporting, re pair and reupholstering of furniture, as well as renovation of mattresses.
And A. Wenter, Undertaker, located at 209 Lake St. in Oak Park, advertised that he also had a significant stock of furniture and luggage, and that reupholstering and re pair work was completed promptly.
Translated by Uli Leib
ANABEL MENDOZA
Youth movement for 7th District
from page 11
the overall economy. “Reparations is an investment in our communities. It’s also an investment in our entire city. It would mean billions of federal dollars from the federal gover nment.”
That money could impact the entire 7th district, from the South and West Side of Chicago to neighborhoods along I-290.
“My goal is to bring all of these communities together, and I believe I’m uniquely positioned to do that given my experience, not only growing up and being a lifelong Chicagoan, but someone from West Lawn, someone from an immigrant family, someone who is Latina, someone who has lived on the South Side and lived on the West Side,” Mendoza said. “There are so many similarities in our plights, and there are so many similarities in what we are facing.”
Mendoza said the Chicagoland area is seeing these shared stakes right now, as ICE raids have unfolded throughout the city — like the one in South Shore last month, where federal agents ambushed an apartment in the middle of the night and illegally detained its
residents
“What happened in South Shore is a perfect example that the immigration enforcement that is escalating right here in our own city is what’s binding us, regardless of whether we are undocumented, a U.S. citizen, whether we are Latino, whether we are Black, whether we are Asian — we all have shared stakes in this,” Mendoza said. “I think there’s been a wrongful narrative that this is really only a targeted attack against immigrants. In this moment, immigrants and undocumented communities are the top of the spear for this administration, but it’s very clear if they don’t actually care if you’re an immigrant or not.”
Mendoza said the reason that governmental bodies haven’t been able to stop the Trump administration is because “we haven’t built the kind of leverage that actually speaks their language and makes them feel threatened.” The way to do that, she added, is by using collective labor power to boycott industries that financially impact the administration.
“Part of uniting this community isn’t just some hollow slogan. It’s not just a platitude. I mean it as our strategy in this moment. How do we show that we have shared stakes, we have shared experiences? And through that, we also have shared labor power, and we have always been the ones — as working and mid-
dle class, but predominantly working class — to keep the gears turning in this country,” Mendoza said. “We’re building a movement that is ready to meet this moment. When we see that the most disenfranchised communities also have the most courage, then we better match that courage.
“I think what our generation is bringing to the table in this particular political moment is a level of moral courage that has long been hollow in our political system,” Mendoza said. “We have seen how politics has neglected us. We have seen the stagnation. We have seen people with our own Democratic Party who have stood in the way of progress. We need a new generation,” Mendoza added, something she represents in the 7th district congressional race. “I genuinely see being the youngest as my greatest strength in this because I know I have the most energy and fresh perspective and new ideas, but also the mentality that is not trying to replicate the status quo.”
Other candidates include Richard Boykin, Jerico J. Brown, Kina Collins, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Anthony Driver Jr., Dr. Thomas Fisher, Jason Friedman, La Shawn Ford, Rory Hoskins, Danica Leigh, Tekita Martinez, John McCombs, Jazmine Robinson, Emelia Rosie, Reed Showalter, Felix Tello and William Volny.
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT, FOURTH DISTRICT THE VILLAGE OF MAYWOOD Plaintiff(s) vs. STELLA STRICKLAND; UNKNOWN HEIRS OR LEGATEES OF ANNIE MAYS; UNKNOWN HEIRS OR LEGATEES OF STELLA STRICKLAND; U S BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as Trustee of NRZ RECOVERY TRUST; COUNTY OF COOK; COOK COUNTY LAND BANK AUTHORITY; UNKNOWN OWNERS; UNKNOWN OCCUPANTS; and NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant(s).
Case Number: 20244007288
Sheriff Number: 250034
NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALE OF REAL ESTATE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on August 26, 2025, the Sheriff of Cook County will on November 6, 2025 at the hour of 1:00 p.m. at Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Outside Room LL06, Chicago, IL 60602, or in a place otherwise designated at the time of sale, County of Cook and State of Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described premise and real estate mentioned in said Judgment: COMMONLY KNOWN AS: 1412 South 7th Avenue, Maywood, Illinois 60153
P.I.N.: 15-14-133-011-0000
IMPROVEMENTS ON THE PROPERTY: VACANT LOT
The Judgment amount was
$5,543.25
Sale terms: Sale shall be under the following terms: payment of not less than ten percent (10%) of the amount of the successful and highest bid to be paid to the Sheriff by cashier s check or certified funds at the sale; and the full remaining balance to be paid to the Sheriff by cashier’s check or certified funds within twenty-four (24) hours after sale. The subject property is subject to real estate taxes, special assessments or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff or to the Cook County Courthouse and in “as is” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.
If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid.
Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser shall receive a Certificate of Sale, which will entitle the purchaser to a Deed to the real estate after Confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and Plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the Court file to verify all information. For information, examine the court file or contact Plaintiff’s attorney:
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
Kaylee M. Hartman of Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, Ltd., 120 S. LaSalle St., Ste 1710, Chicago, Illinois 60603, (312) 984-6400
This is an attempt to collect a debt pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
I3274584
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
NEWREZ LLC D/B/A SHELLPOINT MORTGAGE SERVICING
Plaintiff, -v.-
JOSE G. ROMERO, GEMA A. ROMERO, BYLINE BANK, SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO COMMUNITY BANK OF OAK PARK RIVER FOREST, CROWN ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC, LVNV FUNDING, LLC
Defendants
2023 CH 02946
812 HUGH MUIR LN MAYWOOD, IL 60153
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on June 10, 2024, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on November 10, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:
Commonly known as 812 HUGH MUIR LN, MAYWOOD, IL 60153 Property Index No. 15-02-322-0160000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
The judgment amount was $183,864.65.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in ‘’AS IS’’ condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.
Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.
The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.
If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).
IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, contact CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC
Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 241-6901. Please refer to file number 22-087686.
THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION
One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-
SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
CHAD LEWIS
ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC
6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018
561-241-6901
E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM
Attorney File No. 22-087686
Attorney ARDC No. 6306439
Attorney Code. 65582
Case Number: 2023 CH 02946
TJSC#: 45-2479
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Case # 2023 CH 02946 I3274606
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC Plaintiff, -v.-
HOMER E. ARMSTRONG, PLATTE VALLEY FUNDING, L.P., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendants 2025CH01485 639 RICE AVE BELLWOOD, IL 60104
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on August 11, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on November 13, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:
Commonly known as 639 RICE AVE, BELLWOOD, IL 60104
Property Index No. 15-09-315-0500000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in ‘’AS IS’’ condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.
Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).
IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300
E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com
Attorney File No. 14-25-00824
Attorney ARDC No. 00468002
Attorney Code. 21762
Case Number: 2025CH01485
TJSC#: 45-2101
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
Case # 2025CH01485 I3274771
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION CITIGROUP MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2022-RPl BY U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE
Plaintiff vs. HILLERY TAYLOR-YOUNG A/K/A HILLERY JOANNE TAYLOR-YOUNG, UNKNOWN OWNERS GENERALLY, AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant 25 CH 1934
CALENDAR 59
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on November 24, 2025, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-10-118-014
Commonly known as 43 South 20th Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153. The real estate is: single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.
For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Altman, Strautins & Kromm, LLC d/b/a Kluever Law Group, 200 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1880, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (312) 236-0077. SMS001399-25FC1 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3274826
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC F/K/A QUICKEN LOANS, LLC F/K/A QUICKEN LOANS INC. Plaintiff, -v.WAYNE WASHINGTON, DESRI H. WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Defendants
2022 CH 11715 1444 MORRIS AVENUE BERKELEY, IL 60163
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on June 25, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales
Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on November 20, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: LOT 150 IN J. W. MCCORMACK’S WESTMORELAND, BEING A SUBDIVISION IN THE WEST 1/2 OF FRACTIONAL SECTION 8, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, NORTH OF THE INDIAN BOUNDARY LINE, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Commonly known as 1444 MORRIS AVENUE, BERKELEY, IL 60163 Property Index No. 15-08-105036-0000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
The judgment amount was $300,141.11.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours.
The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in ‘’AS IS’’ condition.
The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.
Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.
The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.
If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).
IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in
order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.
For information, contact JOHNSON, BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 30 N. LASALLE STREET, SUITE 3650, Chicago, IL, 60602 (312) 5419710. Please refer to file number 22 0025. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc. com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
JOHNSON, BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES, LLC 30 N. LASALLE STREET, SUITE 3650 Chicago IL, 60602 312-541-9710
E-Mail: ilpleadings@johnsonblumberg.com
Attorney File No. 22 0025
Attorney Code. 40342
Case Number: 2022 CH 11715 TJSC#: 45-2599
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Case # 2022 CH 11715 I3274849
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.
The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.
This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals.
To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-6699777.
GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA
18
Forest Park Review, October 29, 2025
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
MCLP ASSET COMPANY, INC.,
Plaintiff, -v.BEATA AVILA; FILEMON AVILA; MEB LOAN TRUST IV; Defendants. 2022CH05568
430 S La Grange Rd, La Grange, IL 60525
NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE
IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on 8/19/2025, an agent of Auction. com, LLC will conduct the Online Only auction at www.auction.com, with the bidding window opening on December 1, 2025 at 10:00 AM CDT and closing on 12/3/2025 at 10:00 AM subject to extension, and will sell at public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate.
Commonly known as 430 S La Grange Rd, La Grange, IL 60525 Property Index No. 18-04-330014-0000; 18-04-330-027-0000
The real estate is improved with a Single Family Residence. The judgment amount was $429,968.64 Sale Terms: Full Sale Terms are available on the property page at www.auction.com by entering 430 S La Grange Rd into the search bar. If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, the winning bidder must pay the full bid amount within twenty-four (24) hours of the auction’s end. All payments must be certified funds. No third-party checks will be accepted. All bidders will need to register at www. auction.com prior to placing a bid.
The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a certificate of sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property, prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by the Condominium property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9 (g)(l) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by the Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701 (C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information, contact Plaintiffs attorney: Diaz Anselmo & Associates, LLC (630) 453-6960 please refer to file number 1496-180706. Auction.com, LLC 100 N LaSalle St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60602 -
872-225-4985 You can also visit www.auction.com. Attorney File No. 1496-180706 Case Number: 2022CH05568 NOTE: PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, YOU ARE ADVISED THAT PLAINTIFF’S ATTORNEY IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. I3275153
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION Plaintiff, -v.-
ADELYN V ANDERSON, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS AGENCY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Defendants 2022 CH 09721 1708 WASHINGTON BOULEVARD MAYWOOD, IL 60153
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on June 3, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on December 9, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:
Commonly known as 1708 WASHINGTON BOULEVARD, MAYWOOD, IL 60153
Property Index No. 15-10-323004-0000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
The judgment amount was $245,940.54.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours.
The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in ‘’AS IS’’ condition.
The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.
Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.
Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.
The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).
IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.
For information, contact CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ
SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 241-6901. Please refer to file number 22-044489. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION
One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc. com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
CHAD LEWIS ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018 561-241-6901
E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM
Attorney File No. 22-044489
Attorney ARDC No. 6306439 Attorney Code. 65582
Case Number: 2022 CH 09721
TJSC#: 45-1460
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
Case # 2022 CH 09721
I3275329
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION MCLP ASSET COMPANY, INC. Plaintiff, -v.-
CHRISTINA M. SERRANO, OLIVIA
MEDELLIN Defendants
2023 CH 07058
2308 STRATFORD AVE WESTCHESTER, IL 60154
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIV-
EN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on August 28, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30
AM on December 1, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:
Commonly known as 2308 STRATFORD AVE, WESTCHESTER, IL 60154
Property Index No. 15-29-209037-0000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
The judgment amount was $326,460.04.
Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in ‘’AS IS’’ condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.
Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.
The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).
IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.
For information, contact CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 241-6901. Please refer to file number 23-133284. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION
One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc. com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
CHAD LEWIS
ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ
SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018 561-241-6901
E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM
Attorney File No. 23-133284
Attorney ARDC No. 6306439
Attorney Code. 65582
Case Number: 2023 CH 07058 TJSC#: 45-2253
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
Case # 2023 CH 07058 I3275289
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Plaintiff, -v.-
Zedrick Burrell a/k/a Zedrick Preston Burrell Defendants. 2025CH01974
532 CLAYTON RD, HILLSIDE, IL 60162
NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on 8/25/2025, an agent of Auction. com, LLC will conduct the Online Only auction at www.auction.com, with the bidding window opening on December 1, 2025 at 10:00 AM CDT and closing on 12/3/2025 at 10:00 AM subject to extension, and will sell at public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate. Commonly known as 532 CLAYTON RD, HILLSIDE, IL 60162 Property Index No. 15-08-317022-0000
The real estate is improved with a Residential Property. The judgment amount was $229,826.07 Sale Terms: Full Sale Terms are available on the property page at www.auction.com by entering 532 CLAYTON RD into the search bar. If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, the winning bidder must pay the full bid amount within twenty-four (24) hours of the auction’s end. All payments must be certified funds. No third-party checks will be accepted. All bidders will need to register at www. auction.com prior to placing a bid. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a certificate of sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property, prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by the Condominium property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9 (g)(l) and (g)(4).
If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by the Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701 (C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information, contact Plaintiffs attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES PC (630) 794-5300 please refer to file number 14-25-01154. Auction.com, LLC 100 N LaSalle St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60602872-225-4985 You can also visit www.auction.com. Attorney File No. 14-25-01154 Case Number: 2025CH01974 NOTE: PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, YOU ARE ADVISED THAT PLAINTIFF’S ATTORNEY IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. I3275423
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC Plaintiff vs. CONRAD BOND AKA CONRAD BOND SR; ALICIA BOND; SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; CAPITAL ONE BANK (USA), N.A.; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendant 24 CH 8337 CALENDAR 62 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on December 8, 2025, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-16-103-036-0000. Commonly known as 3607 Monroe St., Bellwood, IL 60104. The real estate is: single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Diaz Anselmo & Associates P.A., 1771 West Diehl Road, Suite 120, Naperville, IL 60563. (630) 453-6960. 6706-207388 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3275572
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