9 minute read
Big Week
December 1-8 BIG WEEK
Paper Trees
Get your holiday crafting started at this in-person event at Forest Park Public Library, 7555 Jackson Blvd., on Thursday, Dec. 2 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Art teacher Christine Thornton of Hello Art Studio will lead the class in creating 3D origami paper trees and stars. Thornton is an experienced instructor and former elementary school teacher who opened her class-focused Arlington Heights studio in 2019.
The class at the library’s Austin Room is open to all ages and all supplies will be provided.
Holiday Walk and Festival of Windows
Forest Park’s marquee holiday event is set for Friday, Dec. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. on Madison Street.
Bundle up and head out to see live window displays, take a horse-drawn carriage ride, say hello to Santa and Mrs. Claus, check out this year’s ice sculpture and much more.
The Clauses will light the village’s Christmas tree at Constitution Court (Madison Street and Thomas Avenue) at 6 p.m. then take a sleigh ride to Forest Park National Bank at 7348 Madison St. where they’ll be for the next two hours.
Read more about the holiday walk in this week’s Review and online at forestparkreview.com.
Little Movers Dance Break
Get the kiddos moving and grooving at this Zoom dance party for pre-kindergarten little ones on Tuesday, Dec. 7 from 11 to
11:30 a.m.
The tunes will be blaring over Zoom throughout, so pop in anytime to join sta from the Forest Park Public Library, which is hosting the event.
Visit fppl.org to sign up and get a Zoom link emailed to you before the party begins.
Holiday Lights with Mannheim Steamroller
Get in the holiday spirit at Triton College’s Cernan Earth and Space Center with this hourlong music and light display on Saturday, Dec. 4 from
8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Hear a curated playlist of Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller songs set to accompany the thousands of stars and laser-light images. See a full playlist before you go at triton.edu.
Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for seniors (55 and older) and kids (2 to 17); and admission is free for Triton College students, faculty and sta with current, valid identi cation.
Make a Star Lantern
Learn to create a holiday craft perfect for home decorating at this both virtual and inperson class at Forest Park Public Library on Sunday, Dec. 5 from 2-3 p.m. The in-person portion of the event at the library, 7555 Jackson Blvd., is open only to kids between 9 and 13 years old. Families and those with younger kids can pick up kits at the library and create their project at home via a live Zoom teleconference or by watching a recorded video. The craft, a Parol lantern, is a star-shaped lantern traditionally used as a Christmas decoration in the Philippines, according to the library.
Those attending the class in-person are asked to wear a mask and social distance as some participants may not be vaccinated. Mia Manansala will be leading the class.
Pre-registration is requested via fppl.org or by emailing mmanansala@fppl.org.
SUBMIT YOUR EVENT
■ Have an event we should feature in the Big Week? Email event details (photo, time, place, cost & a brief description) to Andy@forestparkreview.com. The deadline for submissions is Friday at noon.
CRIME Hit-and-run crash leads to pair of arrests
Two men have been charged after allegedly fleeing from the scene of a hit-and-run crash near Interstate 290 and Harlem Avenue on Saturday, Nov. 20.
According to a report from the Forest Park Police Department, a woman’s car was struck by a gray Dodge Durango just before 7 p.m., and the Durango immediately took off following the accident. The woman decided to follow the Durango and did so until it crashed again, into a parked car, in an alley between Marengo and Elgin avenues. At that point, two men fled from the vehicle on foot.
A short while later, Forest Park police located one man, later identified as 26-year-old Ashford Johnson, of Chicago, and began a foot pursuit. An officer attempted to use a stun gun on Johnson but it was ineffective “due to the size of Johnson’s jacket.” Johnson was later apprehended and taken into custody. Police also allege Johnson tossed a handgun from his waistband during the pursuit. The handgun was later recovered.
The second suspect was arrested by Oak Park police.
Johnson has been charged with being an armed habitual criminal offender and faces two additional counts of resisting a police officer. He is being held at the Cook County Jail on a $250,000 bond. His next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.
The second man admitted to being the driver of the Durango, police said, and is accused of leaving the scene of an accident, operating a vehicle without a valid driver’s license, failure to reduce speed and driving with an open container of alcohol.
AK47-style weapon, two handguns found in bin
A man called police after discovering what he believed was a loaded AK-47-style rifle and two loaded handguns in a yard waste container in the backyard of a property in the 600 block of Marengo Avenue.
Police were dispatched to the location around 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 22 and pulled a black rifle case, a Draco brand AK47 pistol, and two Glock handguns, all three of which were loaded with a total of more than 50 rounds.
One of the handguns had allegedly been altered to allow it to fire as a fully automatic weapon. The second handgun had previously been reported stolen in Mississippi. A black AK47 rifle magazine was also located near the yard waste container.
Keys, cigar swiped from man’s pocket
Forest Park turned sour when he realized someone stole his car keys and a cigar out of his jacket pocket while he was inside a Madison Street bar on Nov. 21.
Forest Park police said the man arrived at the bar in the 7400 block of Madison around midnight, and when he left a short while later to head to his car, he realized he was missing his keys and a single cigar.
The man told police the items were in his jacket pocket and that he did not take his jacket off at the bar, leading the man to believe he had been pickpocketed.
The locked vehicle was towed from the scene to a location where the man was able to use a spare set of keys to get inside.
Man banned from cemetery
A 38-year-old man was ordered to stay away from Concordia Cemetery after becoming verbally abusive toward his ex-employer on Nov. 23.
Forest Park police arrived at the cemetery in the 7800 block of Madison Street before 10 a.m., where a manager told an officer a recently fired employee had returned to the property and was causing a disturbance.
The ex-employee left by the time police arrived but was later tracked down by an officer. When told to stay away from the cemetery, the man replied the message had been received “loud and clear.”
Thieves steal two TVs, leave two behind
Two alleged burglars in the process of stealing four TVs from the Forest Park Walmart were interrupted mid-theft but still managed to get away with half of their haul on Nov. 27.
Forest Park police arrived at the Walmart in the 1300 block of Desplaines Avenue around 8:25 p.m. and were told that a man entered the store, grabbed a shopping cart and headed toward the online order pick-up area. There, he allegedly loaded four TVs into his cart and pushed them out the door, toward a gold-colored van.
As the driver of the van exited the vehicle to help load the TVs, two Walmart employees confronted the men, who decided to take off with two of the four TVs still in the shopping cart. The two TVs that were stolen are valued at more than $1,100.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Nov. 20-27, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.
Compiled by Andy Viano
Man drove with gunshot wound in head, child in backseat
Additional details released on last month’s highway shooting that ended with crash outside North Riverside bar
By ANDY VIANO
Editor
A man with gunshot wounds to his head and back and a small child in the backseat of his car drove away from police before crashing outside a North Riverside bar on the night of Nov. 22, according to new details released by the Forest Park Police Department.
The unnamed man was apparently injured during a shooting near eastbound Interstate 290 and the Desplaines Avenue ramp around 8:15 p.m. When Forest Park police arrived, responding to a call of shots fired, they found a Chevrolet Impala stopped in the 800 block of Desplaines with the driver’s side door open.
An officer approached the Impala with his gun drawn and ordered a man in the driver’s seat to show his hands. When that man stuck his head and hands out of the car, the officer saw that the man was bleeding from his head.
For unknown reasons, the man then ducked his head back in the car and drove off. Forest Park police pursued the Impala before “it appeared the driver was no longer in control” and the car drifted across Desplaines Avenue, according to a police report. The Impala came to a stop after crashing between a light pole and Bar-Tini Lounge at 2433 Desplaines Ave. in North Riverside.
A pair of officers again approached the vehicle with guns drawn and saw a man slumped over the center console. They also saw a young child, believed to be around 5 years old, screaming and crying in the back seat. The child was able to unlock the doors and was removed from the car, apparently unharmed.
The man in the front seat, however, was “dead weight” and had his left leg pinned under the steering wheel. Officers eventually extricated him from the car and performed first aid on the sidewalk before he was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood with “serious injuries,” according to Illinois State Police.
Forest Park police said the man had gunshot wounds to his head and back.
Dashcam and bodycam videos of the incident have been turned over to the Illinois State Police, the lead investigative agency because the shooting apparently occurred on the highway or the exit ramp.
Illinois State Police did not provide an update, saying the investigation is ongoing.
