Big Week

November 10-16 BIG WEEK

Thanksgiving food drive

The Trailside Museum of Natural History is asking the public to drop o healthy, nonperishable food items Saturday, Nov. 13

from 9 a.m. to noon.

The event is held in partnership with Proviso Partners for Health and the Maywood Park District. Donations will be collected in the parking lot.

The Trailside Museum of Natural History is located at 738 Thatcher Ave. in River Forest.

Creative canvas painting

Get started on one-of-a-kind holiday gifts for someone special in your life at this Tuesday, Nov. 16 class presented by the Park District of Forest Park. This session runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at the park district’s administrative building, 7501 Harrison St., and is open to all guests age 10 and older.

All materials will be provided but the class will not be held unless at least ve people register before Monday, Nov. 15. Registration is open now at pdofp.org. The cost is $65 per person.

Build an automaton

Curious young builders can create their own cardboard pal at this event hosted by the Forest Park Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 11 from 4-5 p.m.

An automaton, a precursor to what one might conceive as a humanoid robot from science ction, is a gure that performs a predetermined action, in this case one that moves by turning a handle. Kids ages 8 to 10 will be building automatons out of cardboard, skewers, paper, glue and other supplies.

This is an in-person event and registration is open now by calling 708-689-6126. Because this is an inperson event, all attendees are required to wear a mask and social distance, regardless of vaccination status.

Tasty holiday platters

Forest Park chef and the charismatic mastermind behind Zesty Catering, Ashley Simone, is sharing tips for beautiful charcuterie, cheese and fruit platters at this pre-recorded video event on Forest Park Public Library TV on Monday, Nov. 15 from 7-7:45 p.m.

If you miss Monday’s broadcast, Simone’s class will remain viewable on FPPL TV (tv.fppl.org) after Monday’s session, and that’s also where you can catch more FPPL TV programming, including other courses led by Simone.

ASHLEY SIMONE

DR. DAVID FLIPPO

Virtual concert: David Flippo

Acclaimed performer and teacher, and Triton College faculty pianist, Dr. David Flippo will hold a virtual recital, performing jazz, classical and original compositions, on Wednesday, Nov. 17 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Pre-registration for this virtual concert held via Zoom is required and can be secured by visiting the college’s website, triton.edu.

SUBMIT YOUR EVENT

Laser dark side of the moon

Listen to Pink Floyd’s iconic Dark Side of the Moon album and enjoy an accompanying laser light show at Triton College in River Forest, Saturday, Nov. 13 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The show will be held at the Cernan Earth and Space Center and is part of an ongoing series. The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for kids and seniors, and free to Triton College students, faculty and sta .

For a complete schedule of upcoming Cosmic Light Shows, visit triton.edu.

D209

Supt. addresses ghts

from page 1

Nov. 3.

“Yes, some of our students have taken things that don’t belong to them, even vandalized property inside our buildings,” he said. “None of these things are acceptable and none of these things will be tolerated on our grounds.”

Henderson said so far this school year, there have already been 24 “fights or disruptions” at East and 15 at West, with more than 70% of those fights or disruptions involving freshmen and sophomores.

“Students have never had a chance to get activated to a high school learning environment because of the pandemic,” the superintendent said.

The superintendent said what’s happening in D209 is “happening all across the country,” before listing some of the steps the district is taking to address the problem, including partnering with mental healthcare agencies to confront the trauma, building a COVID-19 Task Force “to help students overcome obstacles,” partnering with Greek fraternities and professional men who will mentor students, and establishing a parent advisory group, among other things.

But the superintendent’s video message only addressed one aspect of what many people in the district have said is a multiplealarm fire that’s about more than student fights.

Teachers, staffers, parents, students and community members have also complained about the lack of responsiveness on the part of the school board and administration, shown in the district’s decision to no longer live-stream board and committee meetings and in the stories of teachers who say their calls and emails to senior administrators routinely go unreturned.

For his part, D209 school board President Rodney Alexander has said members of the teachers union have been disrespectful to board members, which he said is the main reason he decided to discontinue the livestreams.

The decision to stop live-streaming prompted two board members — Amanda Grant and Claudia Medina — to host their own listening sessions. The two events, which were not sponsored by the district, attracted roughly 100 parents, teachers and community members, with hundreds more watching them online. Grant’s session took place in Hillside on Nov. 1.

During those listening sessions, parents and teachers complained about not receiving communication about parent/teacher conferences and a lack of routine communication from the superintendent about the safety issues at East and West.

Carissa Gillespie, a teacher at Proviso West who attended both listening sessions, said she watched and discussed Supt. Henderson’s roughly 10-minute YouTube address with her class.

“One of the things that came out of our discussion today is that they’re not doing anything — they’re just talking about it,” Gillespie said during Medina’s listening session, held Nov. 4 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles hall, 446 Hannah Ave. in Forest Park.

“Today alone, we had two fights,” Gillespie said. “We’re becoming numb to it and that’s not normal. Is it all of our students? No, it’s definitely not all of our students.”

Gillespie and multiple other educators said COVID-19 is only part of the explanation. Another significant reason, she said, is the chaos that attended Supt. Henderson’s major restructuring, which teachers said has resulted in fewer support staff, such as social workers, deans, IT personnel and security guards, even as district administrators and consultants receive large salaries and sizable contracts for performance that is not measurable or held accountable.

Peter Scheidler, a teacher at PMSA, said at Medina’s town hall that students are deep into the school year without planners and that there’s even been a delay on getting out schedules. He said while trying to obtain the schedule, he sent an email last year to an assistant superintendent “who has since moved on.” The woman, he said, told him the schedule was already done but waiting to be approved.

“She couldn’t send it out because the superintendent had to approve it,” Scheidler said. “When you have people hired to do things, you should let them do those things and not make them run every single one by you. The model seems to be that nobody can move without some kind of approval.”

Nicole O’Connor, a counselor at Proviso West, also attended both Grant’s and Medina’s meetings. During Medina’s meeting on Nov. 4, O’Connor recalled a meeting with Supt. Henderson that prompted an abrupt disruption in counseling services.

“At that meeting, Dr. Henderson shared that the diversity of the district wasn’t acceptable … and at that time, he told us to sit and figure out which school we felt we could be moved to,” O’Connor said. “He asked us

River Forest FOOT CLINIC

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Former Francesca’s to reopen with simpler aim

Owner Scott Harris launching new casual pizza-centric concept, Fiore, on Madison Street

By ANDY VIANO

Editor

One of Chicago’s most renowned Italian chefs is returning to Forest Park with a new concept born out of the pandemic-related closure of Francesca’s Fiore on Madison Street.

Scott Harris, whose company now operates 14 Francesca’s restaurants and a handful of other dining spots, said the relaunched business at 7407 Madison St. will feature a simplified pizza-centric menu at affordable prices when it opens its doors, he hopes, by the end of the year.

The restaurant’s new name, Fiore, is both an homage to the now-shuttered business and a nod to the newly casual setting, Harris said with a laugh. Fiore is the Italian word for flower, or, in this case, the flour used in pizza dough.

“It’s going to be a place to hang out, have a piece of pie and a glass of wine for less than 20 bucks,” Harris said. “Everybody’s got 20 bucks in their pocket.”

Remodeling work is already underway on the building, which Harris owns, and which had housed Francesca’s Fiore as a fullservice traditional Italian restaurant. That business opened in 2001 before closing last October. In the months since, Harris said he’d attempted to rent the space but when those efforts were unsuccessful, he decided to reoccupy the restaurant himself.

In addition to a small dining space, one Harris said he anticipates will seat somewhere between 35 and 40 people, the kitchen at 7407 Madison will be used to produce the fresh pasta served at all Francesca’s locations and will house a company-wide bakery operation led by Leslie Tellez, an acclaimed pastry chef who most recently worked at Flora Farms on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.

It is yet to be decided whether the pastries will be sold directly to customers at Fiore, and Harris added that any bakery operation would not be up and running until well after the first of the year, around six weeks after the pizza restaurant opened its doors.

In an interview Nov. 8, Harris said he was “pumped up” about the new concept and said the layout and menu could expand throughout his eponymous company if it is successful in Forest Park. Scott Harris Hospitality currently operates 23 restaurants under six different flagships, including 14 Francesca’s locations throughout Chicagoland.

For Harris, the allure of the new Fiore is in its simplicity and its more cost- and health-conscious menu, quipping that “a big bowl of pasta” isn’t as popular as it once was, particularly among younger diners.

“It’s time to refresh,” he said. “A lot more proteins, a lot more vegetables, a lot more gluten-free items. The kids aren’t eating (the big bowl of pasta) anymore. They’re just not. I get it, I see it.”

The atmosphere figures to be more relaxed, as well, with Harris adding that the wine list will be made up of bottles priced $40 or less with by-the-glass wine served in mason jars. The building is being repainted a clean white inside and out, with the interior in simple reds and whites evoking the old-school Italian eatery look.

No business plan has been submitted to the village for review as of Nov. 5, according to Director of Public Health and Safety Steve Glinke, but Harris said Fiore will likely operate at somewhat reduced lunch and dinner hours, with a plan to close around 8 p.m. nightly, at which time the companywide pasta-making operation can kick into full gear.

Harris, who said he was a former Oak Park resident, expressed a fondness for Forest Park and a hope that his new restaurant would blend smoothly with the rest of the mostly small businesses operating on Madison Street, something he said was being taken into consideration as he weighed whether to sell Tellez’s pastries out of the storefront.

“I always loved that town,” Harris said of Forest Park. “I look up and down the street, there’s so many coffee and pastry shops … There’s so many mom-and-pop places, I don’t want to be digging into their business.”

If the remainder of the facility is not used as a retail bakery and/or coffee shop, Harris said he could imagine the space being made available for family rentals and “pizza parties,” a decision that he said could come in the next couple weeks.

State approves request to reopen Melrose Park hospital

Westlake will be revived as Woodlake by 2022, hospital o cials say

By MICHAEL ROMAIN

Equity Editor

Preparation is underway to reopen the shuttered Westlake Hospital, 1225 W. Lake St. in Melrose Park, as Woodlake Hospital. Westlake closed in 2019.

A company based in New Jersey filed an application with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board over the summer to reopen the Melrose Park hospital as a specialty hospital that would include 80 acute mental illness beds, along with drug and alcohol addiction services. Woodlake officials have said the hospital would create “at least 500 to 600 permanent jobs.”

The Review Board approved the request by Woodlake Specialty Holdings LLC in August and the hospital obtained its charter last month, according to a board member. Woodlake officials said they anticipate spending about $43 million to reopen the hospital by Dec. 31, 2022.

Woodlake’s local board of directors includes Bellwood Mayor Andre Harvey, who was recently appointed board chairman, according to a Nov. 4 Facebook statement by Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson, who is also on the board.

Proviso Township Clerk Anthony Williams, Maywood Trustee Antonio Sanchez, and Doug Olson of the Melrose Park Chamber of Commerce, are also board members. The hospital’s CEO, Shannon Jones, is a woman of color, Woodlake officials said.

During an Aug. 9 public hearing convened by the Review Board, Jones said the hospital will occupy about 270,000 square feet and feature “80 acute mental illness beds; 60 long-term care beds; 44 long-term acute care beds; three intensive care beds; three medical-surgical beds; and 40 comprehensive physical rehabilitation beds for the total of 230 authorized beds.”

“Woodlake will treat all patients […] regardless of their ability to pay,” Jones said. “It will do so by accepting Medicaid and through its Charity Care program. Similar to the Charity Care program provided by Westlake, uninsured patients at Woodlake can apply for financial assistance with certain individuals being deemed presumptively eligible due to their financial status. We are committed to retaining these policies for at least two years after the

hospital reopens.”

Glenn Kushner, the last president of Westlake who lives a block from the hospital, said he was impressed by the new hospital’s ownership.

“I can tell you after meeting with these people who own it, I was very impressed,” he said. “And this community sorely needs this type of facility once again. It is very sad to drive by and see an empty building like that. It’s terrible. And the nearest psychiatric facility really is Riveredge, and they’ve had to turn patients away because they don’t have enough staff there.”

Sanchez said he was born at Westlake, so the hospital carries added importance for him and his family.

“The void that this hospital created when it left [was] significant,” he said. “Now with Woodlake hopefully being allowed to operate, it would be such a tremendous help for multiple communities, not just Melrose Park.”

Jim Prister, the president and CEO of RML Specialty Hospitals, which has two locations in Hinsdale and Chicago, said while he supports the opening of Woodlake, he’s concerned about the institution adding more long-term, acute care (LTACH) beds.

Prister said there’s already a saturation of LTACH beds in the Chicago area and that Woodlake’s proposal for more “will only exacerbate an already over-bedded sector of health care in the Chicago area.”

Dr. Rupak Parikh, CEO of Advanced Rehabilitation Care, expressed support for Woodlake opening in Melrose Park, particularly as more and more people are affected by COVID-19 and the long-term health effects of the virus.

“COVID is here. We have a Delta variant,” Dr. Parikh said. “There are other variants that are to be expected. And there is something called long COVID in terms of the rehabilitation and medical needs that are going to be needed, not only in this community, but throughout.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park

FILE