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Landmark | 2021

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Vol. 36, No. 15

April 14, 2021

STORIES ON PAGES 6-7

Mengoni elected mayor in North Riverside landslide North Riverside United Party sweeps clerk, trustee elections By BOB UPHUES Editor

Two years ago, Marybelle Mandel humiliated the VIP Party topping a six-person field for three village trustee seats, while her running mate H. Bob Demopoulos came in second. The village’s ruling party crumbled in the wake of that defeat and the one that replaced it, North Riverside United, was no sure thing to rebound in two years with a slate of former VIP regulars among its ranks. But just an hour after polls closed on April 6, Joseph Mengoni declared victory as North Riverside’s next mayor in comfortable fashion in front of a throng of well-wishers at Tipster’s Village Pub. All of his running mates, including Clerk Kathy Ranieri, incumbent trustees Fernando Flores and Terri Sarro and former trustee See NR ELECTION on page 11

Walking in a wooded wonderland Once an impenetrable thicket, South Kiwanis Park undergoing a transformation

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

A CUT ABOVE: Larry Pulice, a volunteer with the Brookfield Conservation Commission, has spent the past two years removing buckthorn that had made South Kiwanis Park largely impenetrable. His efforts have made a dramatic difference in making that public parkland accessible. By BOB UPHUES

Editor

veryone in Brookfield knows about and most likely has spent many hours enjoying Kiwanis Park, the home of Brookfield Little League and the village’s annual (well, when there’s no pandemic to

stop them) Fourth of July picnic, the Fine Arts Festival and summer concerts. But, many longtime Brookfield residents might not know there’s another part of Kiwanis Park and even fewer probably have set foot in it. South Kiwanis Park, which runs along the east bank of Salt Creek south of the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad

right-of-way could be mistaken for a stray section of Cook County Forest Preserves. And until a couple of years ago, it was so overgrown with buckthorn it was not easy to enjoy as a natural haven. “It was an impenetrable thicket,” said Bridget Jakubiak, the chairwoman of See SOUTH KIWANIS on page 8

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The Landmark, April 14, 2021

After 6 months, in-person dining returns to Burger Antics

Limited hours and selfimposed standards guide gradual reopening By MELISSA ELSMO Food Editor

Consistent dedication to COVID compliance has paved the way to another opening day for Burger Antics, 3740 Grand Blvd. in Brookfield. After closing in response to a second statewide mandate in October 2020, the well-loved restaurant focused on chefdriven burgers, craft cocktails and heavy metal music welcomed guests back into their dining room on April 1. As many restaurants clamored to reopen as soon as possible and some openly defied orders to shutter dining rooms, Dan Velcich and his wife, co-owner and executive chef Brenna, opted to hold themselves to the highest possible safety standards. Their desire to be among the most conscientious restaurants in terms of addressing COVID safety concerns forced constant re-evaluation to keep their staff and customers safe. Despite ever changing circumstances, the Burger Antics team remained committed to keeping transparency at the forefront of their pandemic related decisions. “We have seen firsthand what COVID can do to people,” said Dan Velcich. “That really affirmed our choices to take this as seriously as we could. Each time our operations were impacted by COVID we were transparent about it.” Now staff and owners are enthusiastically open to 50-percent capacity as allowed by

IN THIS ISSUE Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Kosey Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Editor Bob Uphues Sports Editor James Kay Food Editor Melissa Elsmo Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designers Javier Govea, Mark Moroney Debbie Becker Sales and Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com MELISSA ELSMO/Food Editor

WELCOME BACK: Dan and Brenna Velcich, co-owners of Burger Antics in Brookfield, have held Burger Antics to strict safety standards throughout the pandemic and now are welcoming guests back into their socially distant dining room.

CDC guidelines, but are holding themselves to a stricter standard of allowing no more than six people per table. Burger Antics’ dining room is open Thursday through Sunday from 3 to 9 p.m. and tables are filled on a first come, first serve basis. The streamlined schedule lowers overhead costs and ensures employees are busy while keeping the restaurant as full as possible during peak business hours. “Business was huge this week,” said Dan Velcich. “Basically, we’ve seen every regular customer who supported us through the pandemic.” Since re-opening, the team has greeted familiar faces and top-notch burgers, house-made fries, hand-spun milk shakes and creative MELISSA ELSMO/Food Editor cocktails have startFresh steak burgers like the Midland, topped with house-made ed flying out of the Dijon, house-made pickles, English cheddar and caramelized kitchen once again. onions, are cooked to diners’ desired doneness. Though the menu

was streamlined during the pandemic to highlight Burger Antics’ most popular offerings, weekly burger specials like the Cajun Dane, featuring smoked Gouda, mushroom remoulade and house-pickled spinach, keep things fresh and interesting. “Burger Antics is about much more than food,” said Velcich. “It is amazing how the staff bounced right back. I am not sure we realized how much we all missed serving customers.” Before increasing business hours, Burger Antics looks forward to increasing capacity with sidewalk tables. If permits are approved, Burger Antics will gain 18 seats putting the restaurant at pre-pandemic capacity without overcrowding the dining room. With outdoor dining on the horizon, Velcich intends to be careful about balancing his robust carryout business with the dinein experience his customers crave. Patrons placing carryout orders will be given pickup time estimates based on how busy the restaurant is as at any given time. “We have many customers who want to support us, but don’t feel ready to patronize as dine-in customers, so we want to continue to offer carryout,” said Velcich. “It is a tightrope walk, but we want to make sure we give dine in customers the full Burger Antics experience.”

Publisher Dan Haley Business Manager Joyce Minich

Growing Community Media BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

HOW TO REACH US ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 708-442-6739 ■ FAX 708-467-9066 E-MAIL buphues@wjinc.com ONLINE www.RBLandmark.com The Landmark is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $1.00. A one-year subscription costs $34 within Cook County and $44 outside the county. Advertising rates may be obtained by calling our office. Periodical rate postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS 0019-585). Postmaster send address corrections to Landmark, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302. © 2021 Growing Community Media NFP.

The Landmark, April 14, 2021

BIG WEEK April 14-21

Kids’ poetry workshop

Riverside Public Library 1 Burling Road, invites elementary school students to take part in an Outdoor Poetry Workshop on Saturday, April 17 at noon. Celebrate National Poetry Month and get your poems ready for the annual Olmsted Society Poetry Contest. Connect with nature, play with words, brainstorm and have fun. Students will be split into two groups: grades 1-5 and grade 6-8. Bring a mask and a towel to sit on. Visit riversidelibrary.org/calendar.html to register.

Native gardening basics

West Cook Wild Ones wraps up its series on online lectures on native plant gardening with a “Native Plant Gardening Q&A” via Zoom on April 18 at 2:30 p.m. Native plant experts Monica Buckley of Red Stem Native Landscapes and Sarah Michehl of the Land Conservancy of McHenry County will answer your questions on how to get the most out of your Midwest garden. The program is free, but you must register at westcook.wildones.org.

Going green

Brookfield Public Library invites you to discover how to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle and how to incorporate ways to be sustainable during the special Zoom program “Living Green in the 21st Century” on Wednesday, April 21 at 6 p.m. Presenter Ann Terry has a certification in sustainable management from the University of Chicago and has consulted with many clients in sustainable developments. Registration is required by calling 708-485-6917, ext. 140 or visiting online at brookfieldlibrary.info.

And more North Riverside Public Library, 2400 Desplaines Ave., offers a number of virtual programs through Facebook Live (facebook.com/NRPL2400), conference calls and the teleconferencing app Zoom. For adults, the Writers Group explores who to “Build Your Author Platform” on April 15 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. You can also play Bingo on Zoom on April 17 at 11 a.m.; enjoy Stretching and Meditation via conference call (800-747-5150, code 1453322) on April 19 at 6:30 p.m.; and engage in some brainhealth activities during a WITS Workout on Zoom on ■

Gavin Dimit (from left), Natalie Niccolai and Mary Calabria in Nazareth Academy’s production of “Annie”

Naz spring musical ‘Annie’ virtual in 2021

Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park will share its spring musical, “Annie,” as a pre-recorded production with ticketed show times on Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17 at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, April 18 at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at nazarethacademy.com. Audience members will purchase tickets for specific performances and then watch the shows via the showtix4u.com website.

April 20 at 11 a.m. Register at northriversidelibrary.org/events-new for Zoom access. For kids there’s ABCs and 123s (ages 3+) via Zoom on Mondays at 10:30 a.m.; Story Safari (ages 3+) via Zoom on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.; and Lego Builders Club (ages 5+) via Zoom on Thursdays at 4 p.m. There’s also a special Zoom Razzle Dazzle Rain Stick Craft program for kids ages 3+ on April 21 at 4 p.m. Kids in grades 6-12 can play the Jackbox game Survive the Internet via Zoom on April 17 at 3 p.m. Call 708-447-0836, ext. 230, email youthservices@

Work on paper in marker, ink, watercolor and gold leaf by junior Isabella O’Brien.

AP Art Expo at RAC

Riverside Arts Center, 34 E. Quincy St., presents the Riverside-Brookfield High School Advance Placement Art Exhibition starting April 16 and running through May 15 in the Freeark Gallery. This year’s work was created by students who overcame the unique challenges posed by COVID-19 – learning art skills virtually and sharing explorations of materials, concepts and critiques in a screen’s eye view. The gallery is open by appointment by emailing to info@riversideartscenter.com. Gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m.

northriversidelibrary.org or visit northriversidelibrary. org/events-new for Zoom meeting access info. Brookfield Public Library offers virtual classes and programs for patrons of all ages throughout the week. Most youth activities will be presented live on the library’s Facebook page at facebook.com/ BrookfieldPublicLibrary. For adults, there’s also Chair Yoga via Zoom on April 15 at 11 a.m. For kids there’s Andertoons: Number Bots via Zoom on April 17 at 2 p.m. Draw robots using only numbers, Roman numerals and math symbols. Call 708-485-6917, ext. 130 or visit brookfield. evanced.info/signup to register for Zoom programs. ■

Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road, presents Sunset Meditation with Gina Barsotti on Zoom on April 15 at 6 p.m.; An Organized Family, a Zoom program showing families benefits of using resources like time and money efficiently, on April 20 at 7 p.m.; and Riverside Reads: “Shuggie Bain” by Douglas Stuart on April 20 at 2:30 outdoors, weather-permitting. Kids and parents can enjoy Outdoor Storytime on Friday, April 16 and Tuesday, April 20 at 10 a.m. Stories will be repeated from Friday on Tuesday, so pick which day works better for you. Storytime will be canceled in the event of bad weather. Visit riversidelibrary.org/ calendar.html for more info. ■

The Landmark, April 14, 2021

P O L I C E

R E P O R T S

Cops: Man took heroin before Harlem Ave. crash

A 30-year-old Justice man faces drugged driving charges after he reportedly was under the influence of heroin when he drove his car into another vehicle with its hazard lights flashing that had pulled to the curb in the 2900 block of Harlem Avenue at about 5:05 p.m. on April 6. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage and a 23-year-old Mount Prospect woman who was a passenger in the offending vehicle suffered a head injury. She was bleeding profusely at the scene, police said, and paramedics transported her to Loyola University Medical Center for treatment. According to police a 39-year-old Chicago man had pulled to the curb and engaged his vehicle’s flasher in order to write down the phone number on a sign advertising an apartment for rent on the block. Almost immediately after pulling over, another vehicle plowed into the rear of his. Neither driver was seriously injured. Police said the offending driver appeared confused, had pinpoint pupils and displayed signs of drug use. They also reported finding numerous hypodermic needles and syringes inside the vehicle. The man reportedly told police he had pulled in to the North Riverside Plaza parking lot at Harlem and Cermak to shoot up at about 2:30 p.m. and then fell asleep before waking up and driving away along Harlem Avenue. That was all he could remember about the crash, police said. In addition to DUI, police cited the man with several traffic citations.

Man allegedly threatened to burn down building A 32-year-old Brookfield man who allegedly threatened to burn down the apartment building where he lived and intentionally flooded his unit, dousing units below his, surrendered himself without further incident about an hour and a half after a resident of the building called police around 4:30 p.m. on April 6. It was the second time police had been called to the building in the 4500 block of Grove Avenue. Police initially responded at about 2:35 p.m. for a landlord-tenant dispute and had cited the tenant, who refused to leave his apartment and would not let police inside, for disorderly conduct and assault for reportedly threatening to burn down the building. Two hours later another tenant called to report water pouring into his apartment from an upstairs unit. The building owner told police the man from the prior incident was once again threatening to burn down the building, was breaking windows and throwing items out of them. Police evacuated the building and shut off the gas when the man allegedly began to light a magazine on fire, though there was never any sign of an active fire in the unit. At about 6 p.m. the man walked out of the building where police restrained him and placed him in an ambulance to be taken to a hospital for treatment.

Business burglary

Riverside police responded to Mollie’s Public House, 31 Forest Ave., on the morning of April 10 after a passerby called to report seeing one of the front windows broken out. Police contacted the business owner who reportedly told them except for the furniture, the inventory had been removed from the bar because it was no longer in operation. A security camera, however, captured video of the incident. According to the police report, at about 12:19 a.m. two people were seen walking around the building and up to the front door, as if casing it. At 12:42 a.m. one person is seen throwing a cinder block through the window and then crawling inside before crawling out, empty handed, three minutes later.

DUI crash in North Riverside North Riverside police charged a 41-yearold Berwyn man with drunken driving and other offenses after he allegedly drove off the roadway and struck some landscaping rocks in front of the residence in the 8100 block of 27th Street just before 3 a.m. on April 4. An officer reported that the vehicle had sustained heavy damage to the passenger side front tire and damage to the front end. The driver failed field sobriety tests, while a breath test revealed the man’s blood-alcohol content to be .174, which is more than twice the legal limit of .08, police said.

Bicyclist struck by car was reportedly drunk Riverside police continue to look for the driver of a Chevy Malibu that struck an apparently intoxicated bicyclist who was riding southbound in the 3000 block of Harlem Avenue on April 5 at about 5:30 p.m. The car took off, and the police located the bicyclist, uninjured, standing on the parkway with his damaged bicycle. Paramedics took the 41-year-old Berwyn man to MacNeal Hospital for evaluation due to his intoxication, police said. A witness told police a gray Chevy Malibu struck the bicycle, which was traveling in the curb lane, but that he didn’t get a license plate number and couldn’t see the driver due to the Chevy’s tinted windows. Village video cameras farther south on Harlem Avenue caught the gray Chevy’s license plate number, which registered to a Joliet resident. These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, April 4-11 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

— Compiled by Bob Uphues

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The Landmark, April 14, 2021

Challengers lead the way in RBHS school board race

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D208 president unseated as union support bolsters Gasca, VenHorst By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

The Riverside-Brookfield High School District 208 Board of Education will have a new president next month as William “Wes” Smithing was defeated in his bid for a re-election last week. Lorena Gasca and Ryan VenHorst, two challengers who were supported by the RBHS teachers’ union, finished first and second in the race while incumbent Ramona Towner won the third seat up for grabs in the fourcandidate race. Gasca, a North Riverside college access worker for Northeastern Illinois University, turned in an impressive performance, leading the field with 2,420 votes, according to the latest unofficial results from the Cook County Clerk on April 12. She finished 254 votes ahead of her running mate VenHorst, who received 2,166 votes. Towner, who had the first spot of the ballot, finished third with 2,015 votes, 128 votes ahead of Smithing. The day after the election, Gasca was still absorbing her achievement. “It’s very surreal to me still,” Gasca said. “I was hoping to win but I was never in my life imagining it would be first place.” Gasca and VenHorst ran as team with a joint Facebook page and campaign signs that were paid for the Illinois Education Association, the statewide teachers’ union, at the be-

hest of the RBEA, the union local that represents RBHS teachers. The RBEA also paid for 250 campaign signs and bought 5,000 door hangers for Gasca and VenHorst. That kind of financial support for school board candidates appears is unprecedented in recent RBHS elections. In other years, the RBEA often endorsed candidates but did not purchase campaign material for them. However, teachers felt disrespected by the school board and especially by Smithing and Towner. Smithing said the teachers’ union was out to defeat him. “It’s a bummer, didn’t go the way we wanted it to,” Smithing told the Landmark after the results were clear Tuesday night. “Obviously the Illinois teachers union spent some time and effort to unseat me for some reason.” Towner and Smithing teamed up late in the campaign with joint palm cards with the messages of “kids in school” and “no new taxes” highlighted. Smithing admitted that his slogan of “kids in school” didn’t resonate as he thought it would. He noted that only 28 percent of RBHS students are attending school four days a week as they have been able to do for about a month. “Seventy percent of the kids are not in school; maybe that’s not important to the community,” Smithing said. The Landmark has learned that a third candidate had been recruited to run with Gasca and VenHorst, but that person ultimately did not run. Gasca and VenHorst, a teacher at Oak Park and River Forest High School, ran on the slogan of community, collaboration and change, which was an implicit rebuke to the current school board, especially Smithing and Towner who tangled with teachers last year and ag-

gressively pushed for more in-person student attendance throughout the year. “I just think that this last year with the pandemic really just gave everyone some pause with what’s going on at RB,” Gasca said. Since the sides were clearly staked out many voters only voted for two candidates, either Gasca and VenHorst or Towner and Smithing, despite being able to cast three votes for three seats on the board. Towner may have finished ahead of Smithing because of superior name recognition -her ex-husband Michael Towner served two terms as a Brookfield village trustee -- and Smithing’s role as board president also may have hurt him. Jim Raffensperger, of Riverside, strongly supported Gasca and VenHorst but decided to use his third vote on Towner. Raffensperger said he held Smithing, as the president of the school board, responsible for the atmosphere at meetings and the general demeanor of the school board. “I really did not like the way that he antagonized the RB teachers and teachers’ union,” Raffensperger said. “Smithing was president. You got to vote for three and one had to go.” Late in the campaign Michael Towner called Gasca and VenHorst “union plants” in a Facebook post on the Brookfield Connections Facebook page and urged voters to vote for Ramona Towner and Smithing. But Ramona Towner did not join in that description of Gasca and VenHorst and sent a congratulatory email to Gasca and VenHorst after the election. Smithing has also reached out to Gasca and VenHorst. “I am really just looking forward to getting to know everybody who is currently on the board,” Gasca said.

Delegate Assembly candidates sweep in D102 Lone incumbent hangs to seat on in Komarek D94

By BOB UPHUES Editor

The District 102 Delegate Assembly flexed its muscles again on April 6, with all three of its endorsed candidates winning election to the LaGrange-Brookfield School District 102 Board of Education, according to unofficial results tabulated by the Cook County Clerk’s Office. On April 12, with all 21 precincts reporting, Edward Campbell, Jessica Mandra and Michael Melendez were the clear winners in the four-candidate race. Campbell, a Brookfield resident who led the school district’s effort to build a lab to test students for COVID-19, was the leading vote-getter with 1,613 votes. Mandra collected 1,558 votes, while incum-

bent school board President Michael Melendez had 1,521. Gertsen-Briand was appointed to the school board last November after Michael Thomas left to take a seat on the Lyons Township High School District 204 board. By that time, the Delegate Assembly had already made its endorsements, which meant Gertsen-Briand’s candidacy was not considered by the Delegate Assembly. She finished, unofficially, with 1,272 votes, nearly 250 votes behind Melendez for the third and final spot.

Narrow margin in race for final D94 seat The lone incumbent running to remain on

the Komarek School District 94 Board of Education hung onto his seat by finishing fourth in a five-person race that heavily featured new faces. Frank Savaglio (642 votes) edged out firsttime candidate Raul Jasso (574) by just 68 votes with all five precincts reporting, according to the Cook County Clerk’s unofficial vote totals as of April 12. Willie D. Merrill, whose thirdplace finish seemed secure on Election Night, appears confirmed as of April 12 with 668 votes. The top two spots were never in doubt, however. Melissa Obrock, who was a leader of the school’s two referendum campaigns, leads the field comfortably with 824 votes, followed by fellow first-time candidate Holly Neumann (772 votes).

The Landmark, April 14, 2021

JULIE SWINEHART

DAWN AUBERT

MICHAEL THOMAS

JILL GRECH

Swinehart tops the field for LTHS school board

Thomas, Aubert and Grech round out field in six-person race By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

In less than a month there will no white men on the Lyons Township High School District 204 Board of Education. That will almost assuredly be a first in the history of Lyons Township High School, which was founded in 1888. The new board seated next month will consist of six white women and one Black man. “That’s a big change,” said Julie Swinehart, who led the field of six candidates receiving 4,448 votes, according to the Cook County Clerk’s unofficial totals as of April 12. Swinehart is the first openly gay member of the LTHS school board. “I’m deeply honored to learn of the broadbased support for my LT school board run,” Swinehart said. Former District 102 school board member Dawn Aubert finished second with 4,080 votes. Michael Thomas, also a former District 102 school board member who was appointed to the LTHS school board last year, is believed to be the first Black member of the LTHS school board. He finished third with 3,718 votes. Thomas was the only incumbent in the field. Both Swinehart and Thomas graduated from LTHS. LaGrange resident Jill Grech claimed the last spot on the school board by finishing fourth with 3,407 votes. Falling short in the race were LaGrange Park resident and Plainfield school administrator Tim Albores, who finished fifth with 2,880 votes. Ricardo Martinez finished last in the field for the second consecutive election receiving 2,946 votes, though that’s 466 more than he received two years ago. Many voters in school board elections know little or nothing about the people they are voting for. Sometimes they make spur of the moment decisions at the ballot box and have trouble remembering whom they voted for minutes after casting their ballot. “I picked the ladies and the Latino man,” said one Brookfield man who declined to give his name after voting at the LaGrange Com-

munity Center on Washington Avenue. Ilene LeGros of Brookfield said she voted for Grech because she knows her but confessed that she knew little about any of candidates other than Grech, though she said she had read candidate profiles published by the Landmark. Judi Lundberg of Brookfield voted only for Thomas because she really wanted him to get elected and did not want to cast a vote for a candidate who might beat him. Lundberg said that she knows Thomas from serving with him on a committee to promote equity and minority student achievement in District 102. “He’s a good guy,” Lundberg said. “I know him very well. I have two Black children, so equity is an important issue for me in the schools. He’s really done a lot to champion that.” Albores, who also happens to be Hispanic, said that he wasn’t sure why he wasn’t elected, but noted that his name was last on the ballot. “Certainly, I think name recognition may have played a role in it,” Albores said. “I certainly think the other candidates likely just campaigned better. … I certainly feel confident in the abilities of the four going forward and applaud them for their win.” Martinez said he was not surprised at finishing last despite waging an active campaign this year and two years ago while continuing to be active between elections. Martinez didn’t think that being a male was a big factor in his two defeats. “I’ve been told that statistically women are more likely to get elected to school boards, but I think if it’s a factor it’s a small factor,” Martinez said. “I think it has more to do with your longstanding community involvement, living in the area for a long time, having a large network.” Martinez said he has lived in the district for just under four years. Martinez, who said that he is not likely to run for office again in the near future, said the new school board will be more representative of the community. “It’s good to be younger, more diverse and have a better representation of opinions,” Martinez said. “It’s something to be excited about, more progress.” LaGrange attorney Jill Beda Daniels was elected to a two-year term on the school board in a race that was uncontested after incumbent Jessica McLean withdrew her candidacy.

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The Landmark, April 14, 2021

SOUTH KIWANIS Saving the oaks from page 1 the Brookfield Conservation Commission, whose volunteers have been trying, slowly, to remove buckthorn for years. Small groups of five or six people, often members of the commission, “make a little progress each year.” “We’ve been doing this over several iterations of the commission,” Jakubiak said. “We’ve had volunteers from the commission, local scout troops, RB, LT [students]; the neighbors here have all pitched in considerably.” Up until about two years ago, the commission had managed to carve a corridor about 20 yards wide through the buckthorn thicket heading west from the 3800 block of Arden Avenue in the South Hollywood section of Brookfield. There’s now a woodchip path along that corridor, which serves as an unofficial entrance to the woods, which are otherwise hard to access. “I didn’t know it existed,” Jakubiak said. “I lived in this area my whole life and I had no idea until I joined the commission and we came here for a work day. And that’s kind of a common reaction. People are like ‘I didn’t know it existed.’ It’s like a hidden gem.” Now, if you walk into the woods along that woodchip path, you’ll no longer confront a wall of buckthorn, though there’s plenty of the invasive shrub left to remove. You’ll walk into a secluded but far more open woodland revealing towering, old oaks like those residents enjoy in the oak savanna section of North Kiwanis Park. “It definitely feels like your somewhere not in Brookfield when you’re here,” Jakubiak

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said. The transformation from buckthorn thicket to open woodland over the last two years is largely thanks to the efforts of longtime Brookfield resident Larry Pulice, who himself had no idea South Kiwanis Park existed until he was introduced to former Conservation Commission Chairwoman Lisa Lynott. “She invited me over to see what’s going on here and it just went from there,” said Pulice, who was busy cutting away buckthorn with a chainsaw last week before a succession of rainy days made the ground too muddy. It turns out this is one of Pulice’s retirement projects, and when the weather cooperates you can find him in South Kiwanis Park with his chainsaw at least two or three days each week, systematically cutting away buckthorn and applying herbicide (he’s certified to do that work) to the remaining stumps. Pulice retired a couple of years ago from the Brookfield Zoo, where he did exactly this kind of work on the grounds of the park -- woodland restoration and wetland reconstruction. “I still had a taste for it,” Pulice said. You might have thought that when Lynott showed Pulice the scale of the task confronting the commission, he might have begged off. Instead, he jumped in enthusiastically. “It attracted me like a moth to a fire,” Pulice said. “As long as I’m upright I’ll come out here.” Pulice said the area might have been open oak/hickory savanna or wet woodland -- it’s in the Salt Creek floodplain and parts of the woodland are under water almost all the time. He said he’s seen no sign of hickory trees these days, but there are still plenty of mature oaks. The problem is that the buckthorn is choking out any new oak growth. One of the main reasons for clearing out the buckthorn to allow oak saplings to survive and replace the old growth oaks in time.

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STEP BY STEP: Larry Pulice (left) and Brookfield Conservation Commission Chairwoman Bridget Jakubiak walk through one of the cleared areas of the South Kiwanis woods. They’re still trying to figure out how to get rid of the piles of buckthorn (at left) that are neatly stacked after they’re cut down. Removing buckthorn will also help am“They’re all fairly mature oaks and that’s why it’s so important [to remove invasive phibians, like frogs, thrive. Those species, Puspecies],” Pulice said. “Once the mature lice has found don’t co-exist with buckthorn, oaks are gone and there’s nothing to replace whose seeds, leaves, bark and roots are toxic. Last year, Pulice did a frog them, that’s it, you won’t see survey for Cook County, and any more oaks in this area. So his findings showed frogs and if we can start a new populabuckthorn just don’t mix. tion of oak trees that’d be great. “There were areas close to The problem was there wasn’t the Des Plaines River where enough light for the young oaks you would think there would to grow.” be a lot of frogs there, but there Removing the buckthorn has LARRY PULICE weren’t any,” he said. “And it other benefits. Letting in more was covered with buckthorn.” light also allows woodland One problem resulting from ephemerals, like trout lily and Pulice’s success in clearing red trillium, to thrive. The oaks out so much buckthorn is that also support wildlife. there are stacks of cut buckthorn piled up “It’ll help all the animals,” Jakubiak said. neatly in long rows inside the woods. The “Hundreds of different bug species rely on commission itself doesn’t have the resources the oaks, so we can get a new generation of oaks that will ensure their safety and well- to get rid of it all. “We’re trying to figure out what to do with being going forward. We have host plants for it,” said Jakubiak. “We’re thinking about the swallowtail butterflies starting to come up. village maybe come and chip it and maybe Just a lot of different habitat.” use it for more trails or something.” Victor Janusz, Brookfield’s forester, said he’s amazed at the progress Pulice and the commission have made in South Kiwanis Park. In the past, when the buckthorn yield was a bit smaller, volunteers would drag it to the curb along Arden Avenue and he’d send over a chipper. There’s so much now, said Janusz, that he’s trying to see if there’s a way to drive a chipper into the woods to get it closer to the stacks of buckthorn. Additional Suburban Chapel “Without the buckthorn, it is so much nicer, so much more welcoming,” Janusz said. Locations Available “It’s a lot of work. And for how few people Specializing in Pre Need they have and how much they’ve done, it’s & Veteran Care just tremendous. … Eventually they’re going to overcome and keep the buckthorn from coming back.” (708) 447-2261 | www.ivinsfh.com Jakubiak says the Conservation Commis-

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What the heck is South Kiwanis Park?

The woodland area south of the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad tracks between Salt Creek and Arden Avenue looks like random woodland, but is actually official Brookfield park land. It’s been something of an afterthought since Brookfield acquired the land in 1955, along with the more well-known and actively used Kiwanis Park property north of Brookfield Avenue, bounded by Salt Creek, Arden Avenue and Washington Avenue. The purchase in 1955 was part of a wholesale selloff of suburban land owned by the city of Chicago during the 1950s and 1960s and was part of the Gage Farm, a sprawling 1,060-acre property that in the 1860s included what is now the Cermak Plaza, Morton West High School, Costco and North Riverside Park Mall as well as much of Riverside and part of eastern Brookfield. The area known as South Kiwanis Park is pictured on Olmsted’s General Plan of Riverside in 1969, part of a large, neverbuilt subdivision contemplated west of the Des Plaines River. The owner of the Gage Farm was David

Gage, owner of the Tremont Hotel in Chicago, one-time president of the baseball team that would later be known as the Chicago Cubs and Chicago’s city treasurer. He also was a director of the Riverside Improvement Company. Gage sold some of the farm land for the development of Riverside, a real estate venture that ended up crashing after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the financial collapse of 1873. Gage was later found to have allegedly embezzled about $500,000 from the city’s coffers to prop up the financially failing Riverside enterprise. He was acquitted, but the court ordered him to surrender what remained of Gage Farm to make good the shortfall in the city’s accounts. From about 1916, the village of Brookfield leased at least the north end of the Gage Farm land from the city of Chicago for recreational purposes, naming it Kiwanis Park in 1936. In 1955, voters in Brookfield approved a bond issue to buy 32 acres of land east of Salt Creek outright from the city of Chicago. The village completed the sale in early 1956. — Bob Uphues

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sion always welcomes willing volunteers to help with their efforts, both in South Kiwanis Park and in the oak savanna cross the tracks to the north. Anyone wishing to volunteer can email conservationbrookfield@gmail.com and ask to be added to the commission’s volunteer list or be notified about events. They can also follow the Friends of the Brookfield Oak Savanna on Facebook. The volunteer restoration days are sched-

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uled once a month at either the oak savanna at Kiwanis Park or at South Kiwanis for about two hours at a time. The commission supplies the equipment and instructions. “A lot of the volunteers who’ve come onto the commission have never done any restoration work and they’re just learning on the fly,” Jakubiak said. “It’s kind of a miracle how successful we’ve been at passing the torch and keeping these two areas going with volunteer labor.”

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The Landmark, April 14, 2021

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BRACKETED: Sam Tomas, a sophomore at Riverside-Brookfield High School, holds up the NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket that placed second out of millions in the ESPN Bracket Challenge.

RBHS soph’s NCAA bracket places 2nd of out millions ‘Joke’ pick in play-ins key to 15-year-old’s success By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

A Riverside teenager placed second out of more than 14 million people who submitted entries to ESPN, the cable TV sports network, for its NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket challenge. Sam Tomas, a 15-year-old Riverside Brookfield High School sophomore, submitted a bracket that picked more winners than anyone else except for one person, Chris Jacobsen, a dentist from Lehi Utah. Tomas finished just 10 points behind Jacobsen. The bracket that got Tomas second place was entered as something of a joke. Tomas is a big Michigan State basketball fan -- his father Jerome went there -- and Michigan State played UCLA in one of the first four NCAA tournament play-in games. Under the bracket challenge rules, contestants don’t pick the winners of the play in games. Tomas hoped that Michigan State would win and he picked, with a lot of wishful thinking, the Spartans to make it to the Final Four. UCLA came from behind to defeat Michigan State in overtime and took that spot in the bracket. When UCLA made a remarkable run to the Final Four, Tomas reaped the benefit. “Of course, my team that I thought would win, Michigan State, didn’t go there but UCLA did,” said Tomas. “It worked out perfectly.” After beating Michigan State, UCLA won four more games, including an overtime win over second-seeded Alabama and then edged top-seeded Michigan to win the East Regional and advance to the Final Four. Ironically Tomas submitted three other brackets -- contestants can submit up to 40 Tomas said -- which he took more seriously, but the bracket that he submitted as a joke was the one that got him second place.

“A lot of it was luck,” Tomas said. But it wasn’t just luck. Tomas describes himself as hardcore college basketball fan. His knowledge led him to pick some upsets that boosted his bracket. For example, he picked 11th seeded Ohio University to upset fourth-seeded Virginia in the first round of the West Regional. That wasn’t just a guess. He knew that Ohio had an outstanding guard named Jason Preston and that they had only lost to Illinois by just two points in an early season November game. He also picked USC to make it to the Elite Eight, upsetting third-seeded Kansas along the way. In all, he picked chose of the eight teams that made the Elite Eight. Tomas also correctly picked Baylor to win the tournament. Tomas’s bracket was already doing really well, but he jumped from 47th place to a tie for third when UCLA upset Michigan to advance to the Final Four. Tomas’s success and the notoriety it has brought has been a surprise to him. He appeared on a minute segment of the Channel 2 news on April 3 during which he was interviewed from the living room of his house. He’s still shocked that he finished second. “It literally felt like a movie. It felt unreal because of the odds of this happening, I think it was .00002. This never going to happen to anyone that I know,” Tomas said. “I’ve been just taking in the moment.” Tomas didn’t win anything for finishing second. The names of those who submitted the top 1 percent of brackets to ESPN will be put into a drawing and the winner of the drawing will get an all-expenses paid trip for two to next winter’s Maui Invitational in Hawaii and $10,000 in Amazon gift cards. But since Tomas is under 18, he doesn’t think he is eligible even if he gets lucky again and wins the drawing.

The Landmark, April 14, 2021

NR ELECTION Result not close from page 1 Jason Bianco, swept into office with him by margins at of close to 2-to-1 over their opponents. “I think we prevailed tonight because the residents believed in us, they liked the message we were sending about the future and they know they can count on us to lead the village in the right direction for the next four years,” said Sarro. The Cook County Clerk’s Office was painfully slow to post suburban election results, but by about 9:50 p.m., those results started rolling in and they confirmed the extent of the blowout. Unofficially as of April 12, with all five precincts reporting, Mengoni had collected 842 votes to Mandel’s 506. Incumbent Mayor Hubert Hermanek Jr. tallied 453. Ranieri had 1,203 votes to Carmen Circelli’s 556 in the village clerk’s race, while in the race for three trustee seats, Sarro led the way with 1,153 votes, with Flores and Bianco second and third with 955 and 850 votes, respectively. The next closest trustee candidate in the seven-person field was Kevin Melvin of Mandel’s People Before Politics Party, with 543 votes. Rounding out the seven-candidate field were Melvin’s running mates Richard

BOB UPHUES/Editor

MAYOR ELECT: Joseph Mengoni (center) receives congratulations on his election as North Riverside mayor from well wishers at Tipster’s Village Pub on April 6. Wagner (495) and Sandra Greicius (488), followed by independent Allan Pineda (477). “This is shocking,” said Hermanek at his election night gathering at Bar-Tini Lounge on Desplaines Avenue just a half block from his office in the Village Commons. “Two years ago, VIP was dead and buried, and it’s the same people.” Mengoni said the disintegration of VIP

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was the culmination of a series of events, and that North Riverside United was not simply a VIP rebrand. “Over the years, they needed to move into the future,” Mengoni said. “Everything changes and that’s what we needed to do. Everyone was stuck in their old ways. “I think it was an eye opener two years ago. We needed to do more work, we needed

to really get out there.” North Riverside United campaigned doorto-door, visiting every residence in the village as a team, kept their direct mail pieces focused on the future and used social media to engage directly with voters through direct messages and making appointments to talk to them in person. “We campaigned all together, presenting a united front to show we were all working for the people,” Sarro said. Mandel’s People Before Politics Party also campaigned door to door, but in contrast with North Riverside United, their campaign mailers and literature were uniformly negative, with one late campaign piece devoted to painting the North Riverside Park Mall as a danger to the community where crime was “out of control.” “She ran a very negative campaign,” Sarro said of Mandel. “She didn’t talk about anything in the future. She just bashed everything that’s good about the village, and I don’t think that message was well received.” Hermanek, who collected nearly 900 votes when he ran against Mandel and Demopoulos in the three-way mayoral race in 2017, was stunned by his vote total. But, Hermanek accepted the defeat, saying he was proud of his record during his two terms as mayor. “I did everything I could for the village,” Hermanek said. “The village is much better positioned than it was eight years ago financially, ethically. I made a lot of accomplishments and I’m proud of them.”

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The Landmark, April 14, 2021

Local virus cases rise to January levels

More than 1,700 Brookfield residents have contracted disease By BOB UPHUES Editor

More than 20 percent of the state’s population has been fully inoculated against COVID-19, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, but the positivity rates also continue to rise, with Brookfield and Riverside seeing their number of weekly cases hitting levels not seen since January. As of the morning of April 13, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health, 47 residents of Brookfield were either confirmed or probable for COVID-19 during the prior week. That’s the highest one-week total in Brookfield since the period ending Jan. 19,

except that at that time the numbers were steadily falling after a spike that began last fall. The new cases pushed the number of Brookfield residents who have contracted COVID-19 to 1,737. Of that number 13 people have died since the pandemic began to sweep through the area in March 2020, with the most recent reported by the Cook County Medical Examiner on March 24. Nine of the 13 fatalities in Brookfield have come since Nov. 25, 2020, in the wake of the second wave of novel coronavirus infections. Northwestern University School of Medicine’s online COVID-19 dashboard is reporting that as of April 11, Brookfield’s seven-day positivity rate had jumped to 8.56 percent, a rise of more than 3 percentage points since April 5. The number of Riverside residents who have been confirmed or deemed probable for COVID-19 rose by 20 for the week-long period ending on the morning of April 13. That brought the total number of Riversid-

ers contracting the disease to 901, with three of those cases fatal. The last time Riverside saw at least that many new cases in a week was for the period ending Jan. 26, when there were 26 new cases. Again, that number came during a general downturn in new cases in early 2021. The number of new cases of COVID-19 during the most recent week (ending on the morning of April 13) in North Riverside tripled over the prior week. After averaging 4.3 cases over the past seven weeks, there were 13 new COVID-19 cases reported in North Riverside during the most recent week. In all, 554 residents of North Riverside had contracted the disease, with four people dying as a result. The seven-day rolling positivity rate for the 60546 ZIP code, which includes both Riverside and North Riverside rose to 6.07 percent as of April 11, according to Northwestern University School of Medicine, a 2-percent increase since April 5.

One-day record for vaccines Over the past seven days, 132,188 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered daily on average in Illinois as of April 12, an increase of more than 27,000 from the daily average one week ago. That average was driven upward by a oneday record of 175,681 doses administered Friday, the third day in a row the record was broken. Over 22 percent of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, as more than 7.2 million vaccine doses had been administered as April 12. All Illinoisans over the age of 16 may now be vaccinated, although Chicago vaccination sites are planning on expanding eligibility next week. More information about COVID-19 vaccines can be found at coronavirus.illinois.gov, or by calling 1-833-621-1284. Jerry Nowicki of Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report.

National Olmsted group objects to Riverside floodwall Riverside president says village taking ‘great pains to make sure this is historically appropriate’

By BOB UPHUES Editor

The National Association for Olmsted Parks, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicating to “rais[ing] awareness of the importance of the Olmsted legacy among public officials, community leaders, landscape design professionals, and academics” weighed in last week on Riverside’s proposed floodwall and urged local officials “to take a step back … and assess green infrastructure before proceeding.” In an April 7 letter addressed to the Riverside Village Board, Anne Neal Petri, the president and CEO of the National Association for Olmsted Parks, said the group had “serious concerns about plans by the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with design and construction of a massive floodwall,” calling it “contrary to the plans of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who designed Riverside at the request of town leaders in 1868.” However, it’s unclear what impact the group’s objections are likely to have on local officials, who said they were not approached by the organization and questioned the letter’s claims. “It’s factually in error,” said Village President Ben Sells, referring to claims in the letter that the floodwall, if built, would be 10 feet

COURTESY OF VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE

FRONTRUNNER? Riverside residents and some village trustees who commented on a preferred style for a proposed Des Plaines River floodwall appeared to favor an option that combined Olmsted’s walls in Boston’s Franklin Park and The Rockery in Easton, Massachusetts. tall and destroy “the picturesque entry at Forest Avenue,” perhaps “diminishing the integrity of the [National Historic Landscape]-designated landscape.” The village has not given the go-ahead for construction at this point and the design phase is in its early stages. It is unclear right now just how tall the wall will be at any one place along the river south of Forest Avenue, and there has been a levee along the Groveland Avenue bank for decades. Sells pointed out that the floodplain near the river now home to hundreds of residents in singlefamily and multifamily buildings was not part of Olmsted’s General Plan of Riverside. The 1869 plan

specifically blocks out that area with the label “land not belonging to the company.” Because the area along the river behind homes on West Avenue is private property, if the property owners wished to do so, they could build fences there (as some have done in side yards) by right. That the entry into Riverside from the Forest Avenue bridge is “picturesque” is also an open question; the property closest to the bridge south of Forest Avenue is a condo building whose parking lot is in the rear. On April 8, the Riverside Preservation Commission met to discuss the floodwall and remained skeptical of its linear aspect. They, too,

wanted more information on the height and suggested the village and Army Corps work harder to soften the visual impact of the wall on those entering the village. “I think if they were told the facts, they’d change their letter,” Sells said of the national organization. “We’re going to great pains to make sure this is historically appropriate. Preservation Commissioners resisted making a recommendation on a preferred design option for the floodwall, saying they had too many unanswered questions. In her letter, Petri recommended that Army Corps take “ecologically sensitive approaches” outlined in the Army Corps’ “Engineering with Nature” guidelines. The Army Corps’ project manager for the Riverside flood wall, Jeffrey Zuercher, responded in an email to Petri’s letter that the Army Corps is already incorporating “Engineering with Nature” guidelines, such as using native plantings, into this project. It’s not possible to build a full levee south of Forest Avenue, because there isn’t enough land, Zuercher said. “EWN is focused mainly on coastal and open landscape areas where land is abundant and the idea of a horizontal levee could be implemented across hundreds of acres to blend in with the land-

scape,” Zuercher wrote. “This idea is viable where land is not an issue, but in an urban landscape where land is minimal [it] is not feasible.” Sells said Zuercher has indicated that what might be possible is building a floodwall and earthing up the river side of the wall so it appears to be a levee from that aspect. The question is whether such a solution would withstand repeated high water events. The Riverside Landscape Advisory Commission was to have discussed floodwall design options at its meeting April 13 after the Landmark’s press time. The village board will take up the matter against its April 15 meeting at 7 p.m., which will be held virtually via Zoom. Sells said that it’s now unlikely trustees would recommend a specific design proposal that could be sent to the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office for review of its impact on the village’s landmark designation. But, with homeowners along West Avenue in limbo, Sells said he’d like there to be some resolution on the design and scale of the floodwall in the next couple of months. “At some point this has to be brought to a conclusion, because we have to move forward with the people on West Avenue,” Sells said.

The Landmark, April 14, 2021

RBHS, D96 exploring joint orchestra teacher position

Officials at Riverside-Brookfield High School and Riverside Elementary School District 96 are discussing creating a joint orchestra teacher position that could help keep popular RBHS music teacher Matthew Loeb at the high school. Last month Loeb’s position at RBHS was reduced from full time to half time because of declining student enrollment in music classes. District 96, which is the only RBHS feeder district with an orchestra program, is looking for a part-time elementary school orchestra teacher. District 96 students can

learn to play an instrument beginning in fifth grade. RBHS Superintendent Kevin Skinkis said that he suggested the job share idea to District 96 Superintendent Martha Ryan-Toye. “There is an interesting opportunity here,” Ryan-Toye said. “We need a [one-third time] orchestra teacher for elementary. ... It could be a perfect collaboration, and that’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Now administrators from RBHS and District 96 are trying to make the logistics and technicalities work. RBHS Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction Kylie

Lindquist and District 96 Director of Teaching and Learning Angela Dolezal are expected to talk this week about the position. “We’re trying to see if we can work out logistically, where maybe they would have a part-time teacher work at [District] 96 for half a day and then finish up at RB or vice versa,” Skinkis said. If the districts can work something out, the orchestra teacher would likely remain a RBHS employee. Details such as exactly how the teacher would be paid and which district would pay benefits still need to be hashed out. Loeb reportedly is interested in remaining

at RBHS. Many music students and parents pleaded with the school board to keep his position full time before the board voted unanimously to reduce the position to part time earlier this year. Students say Loeb is an excellent teacher and that the RBHS orchestra program needs stability after having had four different orchestra teachers in the last four years. Skinkis said that he hoped that a job-sharing arrangement could be finalized soon. “We’d like to have this wrapped up by the end of April,” Skinkis said.

— Bob Skolnik

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The Landmark, April 14, 2021

Our goal is 2,021 members for Growing Community Media during our Spring Campaign for Democracy And now we have a $10,000 match to make the race interesting!

Longtime readers Marilyn and Dale Fitschen and Sally and Lou Nieto have pooled their donations to convince you this is the moment to join the campaign for our independent community newsroom. In a democracy, there’s room for all opinions. Liberal. Conservative. Coffee. Tea. Print and digital. So whether you vote in person or by mail, whether you read the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark in print or online, we need you to become a member to keep the news coming. We cover seven neighborhoods from Riverside to Austin to Forest Park to Oak Park. Readers like you are stepping up to make sure their community gets the news it needs. Please become a member at a level that’s right for you.

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The Landmark, April 14, 2021

THE LANDMARK VIEW

Signs of hope … and concern

e’ve all been living with the COVID-19 pandemic for more than a year now, but with vaccines flowing into arms – the recent Johnson & Johnson hiccup notwithstanding – and nice weather pushing people outdoors and states beginning to relax restrictions it has felt like we’re getting the upper hand. But that complacency, much like the vaccines themselves, can have its own side effects. Right now, the principal side effect has been a troubling increase in the number of people testing positive on a weekly basis in our villages. The seven-day rolling positivity rate as of April 11 in Brookfield surpassed 8 percent, while in Riverside and North Riverside it was north of 6 percent. Compared to where those rates were a month ago – in Riverside’s case the seven-day rolling rate was below 1 percent on March 15 – that’s a worrying trend, and one that’s playing out across the state. This week the state opened up vaccinations to all residents over the age of 16 and Cook County is opening up tens of thousands of appointments each week at its mass sites, run with precision by the Illinois National Guard. There’s one at a former big-box store location at the Forest Park Mall, just up the street at Desplaines and Roosevelt. If you haven’t gotten your vaccination yet, please consider scheduling an appointment to do so. About 22 percent of the state’s residents had been fully vaccinated as of April 12, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health and the state has been on a record-setting roll for vaccinating people daily. With contagious variants of COVID-19 increasing the rate of infection, getting those vaccines is the way we get this pandemic under control for good. We all need to keep doing our parts.

Finding solutions

One lesson we’ve learned through the years is that when local government agencies collaborate, they can accomplish things they can’t by trying to find a solution on their own. The consolidated emergency dispatch center brought local police agencies closer together and during the past year they have operated on a “no boundaries” basis, allowing the closest free officer to respond to an incident in any of the towns. That same kind of collaboration led to the construction of the First Avenue bike path and was key to initiating further study of continuing that path south and west. Now another positive outcome looks probable due to collaboration by Riverside-Brookfield High School and Riverside School District 96. RBHS looked to have lost a popular orchestra teacher when they cut the position to half time last month. It turns out, however, that District 96 is looking for a part-time orchestra teacher itself and now the two school districts are working out details to share an orchestra teacher. If they can pull it off, that’s a win for both school districts, the students and the employee. More of that, please.

Opinion KOSEY CORNER

Mater Christi, Hauser press on with causes despite pandemic

he pandemic has affected everyone in various ways. Among those impacted have been community organizations, whose fundraising efforts have taken a big hit. Organizations are trying to use creative means to generate funds for their causes. Mater Christi Parish’s Holy Name Society transformed their annual Turkey Shoot raffle to a virtual Turkey Basket raffle. It was so successful they just did an Easter basket raffle, each raffle having 25 baskets. Hauser Junior High had just celebrated its 50th annual food drive when the pandemic hit in March 2020. While the resulting shutdown of the school cut short that effort, the food drive is back for its 51st year. Traditionally, the drive was held around Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Salvation Army, which would come with their trucks to load up the food, the big beneficiary. The drive was spearheaded by Mr. B. -- Mr. Butch Berwanger, a teacher at the school. Students were encouraged to obtain food products or get money donations. Competition was fierce between the sixth, seventh and eighth grades to bring in the most cans and cash. Some students went door to door, pulling wagons and

singing Christmas carols, to collect items while others collected them at events. Many a Mother noticed her pantry shelves going bare. Each year students would arrange an elaborate display of the donated items on the stage of the Hauser Jr. High. The public was even invited to come have a look. Things are a bit different now. The food drive for the last few years has taken place in spring. Kudos to the enterprising students who live on the 500 block on Selborne and their friends who were in front of their houses on Saturday, April 10 to not only collect non-perishable food items and money but give you a refreshing glass of lemonade and homemade cookies. I highly recommend the Snickerdoodles. Visit online at help-hauser-fight-hunger-2021.cheddarup.com to learn how you can donate to the cause. Remember, most organizations will accept donations even after an event has concluded. Ewe won’t believe it: Rose Zapletal of Rose’s Catering at the North Riverside VFW made 150 lamb cakes for Easter, 25 of which went into Mater Christi Easter basket raffle. We can attest they were delicious. Winner, winner Easter dinner. Now that was a lot of baa-king!

JOANNE KOSEY

OBITUARIES

Samuel A. Marinich, 82 Active in Mater Christi Holy Name Samuel A. “Sam” Marinich, 82, of Brookfield, died April 6, 2021. Mr. Marinich served in the U.S. Air Force and was active in Mater Christi Parish’s Holy Name Society and the Lyons Mustangs Athletic Club. He was the husband of Cecelia “Ce” (nee Gervase); the father of Tracy (Patrick) Briones, Maribeth Marinich and the late Teri (Jim) Goodman; the grand-

father of Shannon Goodman, Jennifer (JP) Byrne, Joshua (Alysha) Goodman, Samantha and Amanda Briones; the brother of the late Jack (Francine) Marinich; and an uncle and friend of many. Funeral services and interment are private. Gibbons Funeral Home, Elmhurst, handled arrangements.

SAMUEL A. MARINICH

To run an obituary Please contact Bob Uphues by e-mail: buphues@rblandmark.com, or fax: 708/524-9066 before Monday at noon. Please include a photo if possible.

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Sports

The Landmark, April 14, 2021

RBHS football falls to 1-4 after St. Francis defeat

Curtin encouraged by second half response By LAUREN RECCHIA Contributing Reporter

The Riverside-Brookfield High School football team finally took the field in front of their home crowd at the Kennelly Athletic Complex on April 9, but the Bulldogs could not quite get past a tough Wheaton-St. Francis team. The Bulldogs (1-4) fell to the Spartans 58-7 in the home opener. RBHS got themselves on the board with 3:56 to go in the second quarter, as junior quarterback Owen Murphy connected with senior wide receiver Luke Swiatek on a 5-yard pass to the right side to narrow the score to 27-7. The touchdown came after sophomore running back Ryan Novak drove the Bulldogs up the field with a 22-yard run followed by an 8-yard reception and 5-yard run to get the Bulldogs to the Spartan 5-yard line. “I knew I’d be open because they were blitzing the opposite side,” Swiatek said. “I knew Murphy was going to see it right away and we connected.” Murphy went 8-for-16 on the night for 53 yards and a touchdown, while Novak led the team in rushing with 27 yards on nine carries to go with two receptions for 15 yards.

Swiatek finished the night with one reception for 15 yards and a touchdown while Murphy notched 18 yards on two receptions. On defense, senior linebacker Jordan Medrano led the team with nine tackles, while sophomore defensive back Drew Swiatek had seven tackles. “We really bounced back in the second half and brought the fight,” Luke Swiatek said. “A lot of times we got them to third and long, and ultimately we fought the whole time, which is a positive.” RBHS coach Brendan Curtin said he was buoyed by the Bulldogs’ effort in the second half. A number of starters missing from the lineup also didn’t help any. “I’m proud of them as football players,” he said. “They took a step closer in terms of finding out what our identity is. “It’s been a tough season being down eight starters due to injury.” Luke Swiatek and his teammates were happy to be back playing in front of the home crowd and will continue to compete with determination to finish the season strong with two home games left. “It’s good to be out here with all my teammates, making everything count in this shortened season,” he said. “Everyone is going to be fighting in these last two games, just go out and do what we always do and play Bulldog football.”

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

ON TARGET: RBHS quarterback Owen Murphy (right) completed 8-of-16 passes for 53 yards and a touchdown during the Bulldogs’ loss to Wheaton-St. Francis at the Kennelly Athletic Complex on April 9.

LTHS girls eye West Suburban Silver water polo title

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

SHARPSHOOTER: Lyons Township’s Charlotte Land (11) rises up to shoot during the Lions’ 16-6 victory over Oak Park and River Forest High School on April 8 in Western Springs.

After having last season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lyons Township High School girls water polo team is very excited to be playing this year. “I tell the girls not to take this season for granted as we’re so lucky to be playing and to give it your all as if this were your last game of the season,” said LTHS coach Megan Jacobs. The top offensive players this season for LTHS are senior Allison Cabrera, junior Novalee Roberto and sophomore Emilia Mladjan, while sophomore goalkeeper Allison Schroeder is a player to watch. “Our team’s strengths are our positivity, effort, and fight not to give up, as well as our driving offense and team defense,” said Jacobs, in her first full year as head coach. “In order to get where we want by the end of the season, we need to improve our outside

shooting and counterattack.” On April 8, LTHS defeated visiting Oak Park and River Forest 16-6. The Lions view themselves as contenders for the West Suburban Silver title, along with OPRF and York. LTHS fell to the host Dukes 18-17 on April 1 in a nail-biter, but Jacobs is confident the Lions can win the rematch. She also feels the league is wide-open this spring. “After losing a whole season due to COVID-19, it’s really anyone’s game at this point, and we’re excited to capitalize on that and put our best efforts into growing as a team and winning more games as our season progresses,” Jacobs said. LTHS has a busy week ahead with matches on three consecutive days -- April 13 at home versus Morton, April 14 at Mother McAuley, and April 15 at Hinsdale Central. — Melvin Tate

The Landmark, April 14, 2021

S P O R T S

Youthful LTHS baseball will rely on speed and defense Lions face test in formidable conference opponents By MELVIN TATE and LAUREN RECCHIA Contributing Reporters

Lyons Township High School baseball will field a largely inexperienced team in 2021, but head coach Kevin Diete, who’s entering his seventh year with a career record of 110-48, is confident of his team’s chances for another successful campaign. “It was really hard to tell our seniors last year they’ll never be able to play a game for their high school again,” he said. “That being said, it leaves us with a lot of questions around the diamond. We’ll have to rely on a lot of players who don’t have varsity experience to get us another conference championship and a deep playoff run.” Three seniors that will be counted on for leadership in Noah Jouras, Harrison Kowalski and Emmett Scolari. The Lions are also looking for big things from juniors Charlie Breen, Jack McNamara, and Cooper Ohlson. The formula for success with LTHS baseball has long been relying on excellent pitching and defense while getting timely offense. And even with the inexperience, Diete doesn’t anticipate any deviation from it. “I think the two strongest areas of our team will be defense and speed,” he said. “Like most teams, we lack varsity experience, and we will need our role players to be disciplined and pay great attention to details in an effort to win more baseball games.” The West Suburban Silver is usually among the state’s top baseball conferences, and Diete

believes that will be the case again this spring, with Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, Oak Park and River Forest and York all seen as viable contenders along with the Lions. “The biggest lesson we’ve all learned from this is don’t take things for granted,” Diete said. “It’s a very easy saying that gets tossed around, but the only people who truly know what that’s like regarding a sports season are the 2020 seniors that didn’t get a chance to play their last year of high school.” LTHS is scheduled for 23 regular-season games, all within the West Suburban Conference. The Lions begin with a three-game series against Downers Grove North on April 13 (after the Landmark’s press time) at home.

Pitching a strength for RBHS in 2021 The Riverside-Brookfield High School baseball and softball teams were crushed having to sit out 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but both look to come back strong in 2021. The Bulldogs’ baseball team (21-11 in 2019) opened their season April 13 (after the Landmark’s press time) with a matchup against Wheaton-St. Francis, and will face some tough opponents within the Metro Suburban conference as well as some non-conference opponents. Coach Dallas Till said he felt confident that his team’s pitching will be one of the keys to success this season. “Pitching depth will be one of the strongest points,” he said. “We have several new additions to the varsity team and these newcomers will offer pitching depth and should be impact players.” Among the new faces on the Bulldogs this season are junior pitcher/third baseman Jack

Niekrasz, junior pitcher/first baseman Jax Giampietro and sophomore second baseman Rex Dockendorf. The Bulldogs’ returning juniors and seniors will be back on the field, providing leadership. Junior pitcher/shortstop Owen Murphy, junior catcher/third baseman Brian Twomey, junior pitcher/outfielder Sean McDermott, senior pitcher/shortstop Jeremy Fox, and senior pitcher/shortstop/third baseman Henry Rausch will be back for this strong RB team as they head into 2021. When the IHSA announced that the season could be played, Till and his team were thrilled to get back onto the field. “Obviously, we were elated,” Till said. “The kids did not get a high school baseball season last year and the experiences and memories are so important. Everyone is extremely excited to get back on the field and compete.”

Talent-laden Naz looks to contend again Since Lee Milano became baseball coach in 2000, the Roadrunners have been a consistent contender in IHSA Class 3A, having won at least 20 games in each of the past 11 seasons. The streak includes four state trophies: second-place in 2015, third in 2012 and 2018, and fourth in 2011. In 2019, Nazareth finished with a 29-9 record, losing in the 3A sectional final to St. Rita. Even after missing last spring due to COVID-19, the elements of another successful campaign are present for the Roadrunners this year, due to a senior class with numerous collegiate commitments and offers. “We have depth which creates great internal

competition,” said Milano, who has amassed 480 wins as Nazareth coach. Seniors Anthony and Joseph Milano -twin brothers who are Lee’s sons -- headline a list of top returnees from 2019. Anthony is a first baseman and Joseph is a pitcher. Both will play at Morton College. Infielder Wylder Guido is another player who will continue his career on the collegiate level at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Other seniors who have made collegiate commitments are infielder Justin Gutierrez (Loras) and Jack Ryan (St. Norbert). Another senior, pitcher/infielder Ryan Smith, is one of the top unsigned prospects in the state. He has several Division 1 offers. There is also a solid underclassman group led by sophomore outfielder Lucas Smith, who Lee Milano says would’ve started as a freshman on varsity had last season taken place. The Roadrunners are expecting another grueling season in the East Suburban Catholic Conference, which Lee Milano believes is the deepest in the state. Having been with the Nazareth program for 26 years -- the last 22 as head coach -- has allowed Milano to gain some perspective over that time, and he feels missing last season has taught his players a valuable lesson. “I believe the players learned not to take things for granted and appreciate what they have every day,” Milano said. The Roadrunners will play 34 regular season games beginning April 13 (after press time) with a home game against Reavis. Unlike most sports in this truncated IHSA sports year, baseball will have a state tournament, with regionals starting June 2 and the finals from June 16 through June 19.

RBHS softball eyes postseason success

Challenging schedule includes tilt with top-tier Marist By LAUREN RECCHIA and MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporters

The Riverside-Brookfield High School softball team (28-6 in 2019) begins its 2021 campaign against Timothy Christian on April 14. Coach Doug Schultz already likes what he sees with his squad, who have a tough conference and non-conference schedules, including a matchup with nationally ranked Marist. “We look like a typical RB softball team, which in my eight years of coaching means a strong offensive team that needs to focus on mental approach,” he said. “We’re excited, especially after losing our year last year, about getting back on the field and playing this year.” The Bulldogs will return junior pitcher/ third baseman Hanna Organ, senior Catch-

er/first baseman Isabella Garcia and senior pitcher/outfielder Emily Bloom, who were all starters as underclassmen two years ago. Junior outfielder Danika Apostolovich, along with freshman infielders Emily Organ and Zoe Levine and freshman outfielder Julia Madera, will be the new faces for the Bulldogs who will also be key contributors. “Our returning players will bring that varsity experience and we’re excited about that,” Schultz said. “Apostolovich will bring a strong bat to the lineup and all three of our freshman are going to be exciting to watch.” While last season’s aspirations of going downstate had to be put on hold, Schultz and the Bulldogs are ready to pick up right where they left off to have a historic season. “We feel a lot of relief that we will have a chance to play,” he said. “Losing last season was devastating for the program, but the announcement that there would be a season this year along with a state tournament was uplifting. We have a competitive team that can compete for regionals and sectionals, and it’s going to be a fun year.”

Naz looks to rebound from rough 2019 In 2017, the Nazareth Academy softball team placed third in the state tournament. But two years later with an inexperienced squad, the Roadrunners slipped to 12-24. However, in her second year as head coach, Vicki Sobol feels a reversal of fortunes is a good possibility this spring. “When we were able to have our first practice last month, our team naturally erupted into applause and cheers because we were excited to finally be back together,” she said. “The girls were so ready for last season; they couldn’t have worked harder. So now, we’re coming into this season with a sense of unfinished business.” The Roadrunners will have a very experienced roster this spring, including nine seniors who have been at the varsity level all four years. Three are committed to continue their careers on the collegiate level: Olivia Mardirosian (Gulf Coast State College), Emily Monahan (Loras College) and Toni Rodriguez

(Lewis University). Other players expected to see significant time this season are seniors Brianne Chrzanowski, Sam Glowacki, Allyson Layne, Gianna Lopez, Amanda Myers and Jamie Suppa; juniors Jazmyn Casas, Melisa Hadzic and Allison Mangan; and sophomore Ava Calderon. “Having so many returners is a great strength for us,” Sobol said. “Our seniors have made a huge impact on our program.” Nazareth feels that its experience in 2019 with a subpar record has prepared it for a bounceback year this spring. The Roadrunners hope that becomes a reality, because they play in the difficult East Suburban Catholic Conference, where they finished 2-14 two years ago. “The fact of the matter is that we underperformed for a number of reasons, one being that we had a really young group of girls back then,” said Sobol. “Going into play this year, we aim to be contenders for the ESCC title.” Nazareth opens its season with back-to-back home games, staring with Mother McAuley on April 14 and Wheaton-St. Francis the following day.

The Landmark, April 14, 2021

Public Notice: Your right to know PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

RBLandmark.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

HEARING DATE: May 5, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 01-21-Z The Zoning APPLICATION: Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on a special use application filed by the Applicant, Donn Todd, to operate a hand car wash and detail center, Miller’s Auto Detail LLC pursuant to Section 8.3 (“Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance at the property located at 248 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-08-319-022-0000 in the MS Madison Street Zoning District.

HEARING DATE: May 5, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 02-21-Z APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on a special use application filed by the Applicant, Sara A. Swiatlowski, to operate a physical therapy clinic, Real PT, LLC dba The Movement Guild pursuant to Section 8.3 (“Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance at the property located at 221 Harrison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-17-302-012-0000 in the HS Harrison Street Zoning District.

HEARING DATE: May 5, 2021

HEARING DATE: May 5, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 04-21-Z The Zoning APPLICATION: Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on an application filed by the Applicant, Michael F. Salerno D.D.S., P.C., seeking a variance from Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance, which section prohibits dental clinics/offices from being located within the first 50 feet of the street lot line at grade level or on the ground floor of any building within the DT-1 and DT-2 SubDistricts of Downtown, to allow an dental clinic on the ground floor within 50 feet of a street line at the premises commonly known as 1107-1109 Westgate Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-07-125-015-0000 and 16-07-125-035-0000 in the DT Downtown Zoning District.

The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www. oak-park.us/commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/ commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BID NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: May 5, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 03-21-Z APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on an application filed by the Applicant, Keith Criminger, seeking variances from the following sections of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance relative to expanding a structure devoted to a nonconforming use and allowing the maximum height of a principal structure to exceed 30 feet in height, to permit the construction of third floor addition with dormers at the property located at 1021 Wesley Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Numbers 16-18408-028-0000 in the R-4 SingleFamily Zoning District: 1. Section 15.2 (B) prohibits the expansion of a structure devoted to a nonconforming use. The structure is a legal nonconforming two-family dwelling unit located within a single-family zoning district; and 2. Section 4.3 (Table 4-1: Residential District Dimensional Standards) requires that a principal structure shall not exceed 30 feet in height. The proposed third floor addition is approximately 35 feet in height. A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/ commissiontv as well as cablecast

on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak. All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning@ oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 5, 2021. An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public hearing if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public hearing. Interested persons may also participate in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @ oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom webconference means or by phone. The public hearing may be adjourned by the Board to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

Published in Wednesday Journal April 14, 2021

LEGAL NOTICE STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division. Park District of Oak Pa0rk 218 Madison Street Oak Park, IL 60302

LEGAL NOTICE Invitation to Bid The Park District of Oak Park will accept sealed bids for T-shirt Services. The bid speciﬁcations will be available on the Park District’s website as of 10:00AM CST on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Copies of the bidding speciﬁcations are available via the Park District of Oak Park website at: http://www.pdop.org/bids-and-rfps/ Bids must be placed in a sealed envelope marked “T-shirt Services” and must be delivered on or before 1:00PM CST on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 to the Hedges Administrative Center. Immediately thereafter, bids will be opened and read. For further information, contact Maureen McCarthy at Maureen.McCarthy@pdop.org. By: Maureen McCarthy Park District of Oak Park, 218 Madison Street, Oak Park, IL, 60302 Published in Wednesday Journal April 14, 2021

Lost & Found, Items for Sale, and To Be Given Away ads run free in Wednesday Classified. To place your ad, call 708-613-3342

In re the marriage of DIANA ITZEL COSS y LEON, Petitioner and CARLOS BLADIMIR LOPEZ MUNOZ, Respondent, Case No. 2021 D 002918. The requisite affidavit for publication having been filed, notice is hereby given to you, CARLOS BLADIMIR LOPEZ MUNOZ Respondent, that a Petition has been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, by the Petitioner, DIANA ITZEL COSS y LEON, for Dissolution of Marriage and for other relief; and that said suit is now pending. Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your Appearance and Response electronically to said Petition with the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on or before May 12, 2021, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition. DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk. Published in Wednesday Journal April 14, April 21, April 28,2021

Attention! Homeimprovement pros!

Reach the people making decisions–your target market. Advertise in Wednesday Classiﬁed. Call 708/613-3342

The Board of Education, Komarek School District 94, 8940 W 24th Street, North Riverside, Illinois 60546, will receive sealed bids for: Additions and Renovations at Komarek School The Bid Opening will be on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 1:00pm at the Office of Nicholas & Associates, Inc. located at 1001 Feehanville Drive, Mount Prospect, IL 60056. At this time the Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud via video conference. Viewing instructions will be posted on the District’s website on the 6th day of May 2021. A Performance and Payment Bond in the full amount of the contract will be required. A Bid Security of 10% of the Bid is required with the proposal. The Contractor must pay the Prevailing Wage Rates for all work per Illinois Law. Bids shall be submitted on or before the specified closing time in an opaque sealed envelope addressed to: Joe Papanicholas, Project Manager, 1001 Feehanville Drive, Mount Prospect, IL 60056. Bidders are required to submit two (2) copies of an AIA 305-Contractors Qualification statement to the offices of Nicholas & Associates, Inc., 1001 Feehanville Drive, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 OR electronically to Joe Papanicholas (joe@nicholasquality.com) prior to the above bid date. There will be a Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting for all interested bidders. Location and time are as follows: Location: Komarek School located at 8940 W 24th Street, North Riverside, Illinois 60546 Date: April 20, 2021 Time: 3:30pm The Board of Education reserves the right to reject any or all bids or parts of thereof, or waive any irregularities or informalities, and to make the award in the best interest of the District. It is the policy of Komarek School District 94, to provide equal opportunity to all qualified businesses in the awarding of contracts and accordingly promotes the utilization of diversified businesses to the maximum extent feasible in any contract issued against this solicitation to bid. The bidder shall have a written sexual harassment policy in place in full compliance with Section 2-105 of the Illinois Human Rights Act. Bidding Documents will be distributed electronically, at no charge, on or after April 16, 2021. All questions should be directed to: Nicholas & Associates, Ph.847-394-6200 Fax.847-394-6205

Inc.

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Joe Papanicholas – joe@nicholasquality.com Published in RB Landmark April 14, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certiﬁcation was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y21006371 on March 23, 2021 Under the Assumed Business Name of THE PERIWINKLE PEACOCK with the business located at: 59 WASHINGTON BLVD, OAK PARK, IL 60302. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: BRIEANNE MARIE MALDONADO-CRUZ, 59 WASHINGTON BLVD, OAK PARK, IL 60302, USA. Published in Wednesday Journal March 31, April 7, April 14, 2021

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning@oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the main entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 5, 2021. An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public hearing if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public hearing. Interested persons may also sign up to participate in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @ oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone.

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

Published in Wednesday Journal April 14, 2021

Starting a new business? Call the expert before you place your legal ad! Publish your assumed name legal notice here. Call Mary Ellen for details: 708/613-3342

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www. oak-park.us/commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 05-21-Z The Zoning APPLICATION: Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on an application filed by the Applicant, OP Office Partners, LLC, on behalf of US Bank National Association, seeking a variance from Section 9.3 (E) (Automatic Teller Machines) (ATM) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance, which requires that outdoor ATMs must be attached to and physically part of a building occupied by a financial institution, to permit the re-installation of an ATM to a non-residential use building (not a financial institution) located at 1010 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Numbers 16-07-120-064-0000 in the DT Downtown Zoning District. A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www. oak-park.us/commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning@oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 5, 2021. An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public hearing if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public hearing. Interested persons may also participate in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom webconference means or by phone.

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

Published in Wednesday Journal April 14, 2021

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The Landmark, April 14, 2021

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841 Robinhood Ln, LaGrange Park $849,900 R ! DE ACT N R U T N CO

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8030 River Walk Dr, #4F, Lyons $195,000 R ! DE ACT N R U T N CO

294 Northwood Rd, Riverside $649,000

144 Scottswood Rd, Riverside $799,000

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G! IN T LIS

2310 Westover Ave, North Riverside $285,000 R ! DE ACT UN TR N CO

45 Longcommon Rd, Riverside $975,000

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G! IN T LIS

591 E Parkway Rd, Riverside $549,900 W NE

59 East Quincy, Riverside $369,000

4441 Wolf Rd, #406, Western Springs $1,050,900

273 Blackhawk Rd, Riverside $450,000

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354 N Delaplaine Rd, Riverside $469,000 AL NT E R

152 E Burlington St, Riverside $289,900

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8613 Rockefeller Ave, Brookfield $1,800/mo.

192 Waubansee Rd, Riverside $539,000 AL NT E R

320 N Marion St #2, Oak Park $2,550/mo.

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

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