Landmark 051023

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Vol. 38, No. 19

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May 10, 2023

Riverside Public Library unveils new makerspace PAGE 10

Also serving North Riverside

@RBLandmark

Brookfielder charged in ‘altercation’ outside LTHS PAGE 13

Riverside moves to acquire Harlem Avenue building Ownership of tax-delinquent commercial structure a bit murky

By BOB UPHUES

Majority rules

Editor

For fifirst rstt time time ever, ever women outnumber men on Riverside, Brookfield village boards STORY ON PAGE 8

BOB UPHUES/Editor

Brookfield trustees (from left) Jennifer Hendricks, Julie Narimatsu, Nicole Gilhooley and Katie Kaluzny gather in front of photos of the village’s all-male roster of village presidents on May 8.

The village of Riverside will move to acquire a tax-delinquent commercial building on Harlem Avenue through Cook County’s No Cash Bid Program after village trustees voted unanimously on May 4 to make that request this month.

The building in question is officially listed as 3250 Harlem Ave., but the one-story building comprises five storefronts, three of which are occupied by Comic Collector, Strive 4 Fitness and Psychic Readings with Sarah White.

According to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, the owner of record is a corporation called Harlem Jam LLC, whose managers are Jeanne See NO-CASH BID. on page 7

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023

D96 board members exit a transformed school district

Eight years on from instability at the top, the waters are clam in Riverside

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Eight years ago when Shari Klyber and Lynda Murphy were first elected to the Riverside Elementary School District 96 school board, the district was coming to the end of a difficult year.

The superintendent, Bhavna Shar ma-Lewis, was on her way out after only two years, forced out by a school board majority that had not hired her and didn’t really like her.

SHARI KLYBER Shar ma-Lewis and the school board president didn’t get along and contentious school board meetings often ran late into the night, typically concluding with extensive closed session discussion.

Eight months before Klyber and Murphy were elected, two school board members who supported Sharma-Lewis abruptly quit the school board.

Last week, Klyber and Murphy left a very different school board and district after serving on the school board for two terms. These days, there is little drama and the board members actually seem to like each other.

The superintendent that Klyber and Murphy helped hire, Martha Ryan-Toye, is a strong leader who seems to be respected by all.

As they left the school board last week -neither chose to run for a third term -- Klyber and Murphy took note of how much things had changed.

“It just wasn’t a very professional and productive setting, and I’m just really grateful that eight years later that feels like light years ago,” Murphy said. “Eight years ago I was mad that my kids played in a parking lot, I was mad that there was no full-day kindergarten, I was mad that our

school board was making headlines for ri- and formed a strong working relationship diculous things.” with Director of Teaching and Learning In addition to hiring Ryan-Toye, the dis- Angela Dolezal, who Klyber had voted trict began full-day kindergarten, built a against hiring because she was concerned major addition to Ames School and added about a decline in test scores in Dolezal’s minor additions to Blythe Park School previous district in Oak Park. and Hollywood School. Central School got Board member Stephanie Gunn said Klya new multipurpose room and elevator as ber and Murphy were role models for her the district’s ad- as she was thinking about running for the ministrative head- school board in 2021. quarters moved off “Seeing you both as the only two women campus to a build- on the board … as women, as mothers, as ing on Harlem Av- professionals, really did motivate me,” enue.

Gunn said.

And just last Klyber and Murphy have been replaced month, the village on the board by Salina Claps and Marlowe of Riverside ap- Djuric Kachlic who were sworn in on May proved plans to sep- 3. Claps and Djuric Kachlic, along with inarate parking and cumbent Wesley Murheid were unopposed LYNDA MURPHY play areas at the in the April election, the third consecutive Hauser Junior High District 96 school board election without School/Central School campus, which was any competition.

Claps, 41, is an investment analyst while especially important to Klyber and Murphy because their children attended Cen- Djuric, 43, is a clinical professor of pharmacy at UIC. Kachlic will tral. chair the school board’s edu“I am really proud of what cation committee while Claps we’ve done in eight years,” Murwill co-chair the personnel phy said. committee.

In 2015, Klyber won the final Wesley Muirheid will take school board seat up for election over as school board presiby just 24 votes. Although softdent as Hunt decided that four spoken, the former high school years as board president was science teacher had strong opinenough. ions and was not afraid to go her “I was happy to hand it off own way. to somebody else,” Hunt said.

Klyber cast the only vote LYNDA MURPHY Muirheid, 41, was the only against returning to partial inperson instruction at the start of Outgoing D96 board member person nominated for board president and he was elected the 2020-21 school year and she unanimously. Muirheid, a sealso disagreed with the decision nior underwriting director to end the COVID-19 mask reat Liberty Mutual Insurance quirement in 2022.

Company, said he got a phone “Shari, you always brought call from board member Dathe voice of the teachers to the vid Barsotti about a month meeting, so I definitely appreciated the perspective,” said outgoing school ago, asking whether he was interested in board President Dan Hunt, who finished being board president. That’s when he last in the 2015 school board race but was learned that Hunt was planning to relinquish the post. elected to the school board two years later.

“Apparently, the job sought me,” MuirheIn recent years Klyber and Murphy cochaired the district’s education committee id said.

“I am really proud of what we’ve done in eight years.”

IN THIS ISSUE Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Kosey Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Editor Bob Uphues Staff Reporters Francia Garcia Hernandez, Amaris Rodriguez Digital Manager Stacy Coleman Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea Designer Susan McKelvey Sales and Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls, Kamil Brady Business & Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner EMAIL jill@oakpark.com Publisher Dan Haley Special Projects Manager Susan Walker

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Steve Edwards, 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@rblandmark.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.

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023

May 10-17

BIG WEEK College Athlete Recruiting 101

JONATHAN VAN NESS AND KRISTI YAMAGUCHI

Absolutely fabulous

Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library, 3541 Park Ave., and Riverside Public Library invite you to join Illinois Libraries Present for a special virtual presentation “On Being Fabulous with Jonathan Van Ness and Kristi Yamaguchi” on May 17 at 7 p.m.

“Queer Eye” and “Getting Curious” star and ice skating superfan Jonathan Van Ness talks with his idol, Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi about skating, style and more.

Get a link to the presentation through the Riverside Public Library website at riversidelibrary.org/events. LSF Brookfield Library offers a link via brookfield.evanced. info/signup or you can watch a livestream in the Meeting Room at the library.

The Riverside-Brookfield High School Athletic Department invites RBHS parents and aspiring college athletes to a College Recruiting Presentation in the Little Theater of the high school, 160 Ridgewood Road in Riverside, on May 18 at 7:15 p.m.

Todd Kelly of Kelly College Consulting will discuss the recruiting process, levels of play, social media awareness, questions to ask when on campus, current climate and trends, academic eligibility, financial aid, camps, showcases and more.

The one-hour presentation is free of charge.

North Riverside Parks & Recreation invites you to submit your favorite recipe for the special cookbook it’s compiling to help celebrate North Riverside’s 100th anniversary in 2024.

Send recipes and a photo, if you have one, to recreation@northriverside-il.org. Add a note about yourself, how long you’ve lived in North Riverside, something about the recipe, who in the family made the recipe first, etc.

The deadline to submit is June 1. Call 708-442-5515 with questions.

And more The Frederick Law Olmsted Society invites you to its next Landscape Workday on May 13 from 9 a.m. to noon at Scottswood Common. Come for as long as you like. Supervised children welcome.

Service hour credits available. Bring work gloves and a bottle of water. All other supplies and snacks will be supplied. Look for the public works dump truck.

Nazareth Academy, 1209 W. Ogden Ave. in LaGrange Park, hosts a Pops Choir Concert featuring the Concert Choir and Progressions on May 11 at 7 p.m. in the Alexine Chapel. Free.

Riverside Arts Center, 32 E. Quincy St., ■

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North Riverside wants your recipes

presents “Everything Fades,” featuring the paintings of Natalie Shugailo at the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road in Riverside through June 30.

The township hall is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit riversideartscenter.com for more.

North Riverside Public Library, 2400 Desplaines Ave., presents After School Art Escape (child with adult) on May 11 at 4 p.m., Lego Club (children 8-under w/adult) on May 12 at 4 p.m., Crafternoons: Tissue Paper Flowers on May 13 at 1:30 p.m.; Makerspace Fun (grades 6-12) on May 13 at 1:30 p.m., Morning Munchkin Stories with Ms. Karen on May 15 at 10:30 a.m., Safari ABCs (child ■

Vivian Maier: Life and Afterlife Join author Pamela Bannos as she discusses her critically acclaimed book “Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife” on May 15 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road.

Bannos contrasts the mythology of Maier, an American street photographer whose vast body of work was discovered in 2007, as a “nanny servant” who moonlighted as a photographer with the artist who supported herself as a nanny.

Register to attend at riversidelibrary.org/events. with adult) on May 17 at 10:30 a.m. and Tai Chi on May 17 at 2:30 p.m. Register for programs online at northriversidelibrary.org/events-new.

Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library, 3541 Park Ave., presents Animals Everywhere Storytime (all ages with caregiver) on May 11 at 10:30 a.m., State Rep. Rashid Mobile Office Hours on May 11 from 2 to 7 p.m., Maker Studio 101 on May 11 at 7 p.m., ESL Conversation Practice /Práctica de Conversación ESL on May 13 at 11 a.m., Grownup Geek Lab: GlowForge Wind Chimes on May 13 at 2:30 p.m., Pajama Party Storytime on May 15 at 10:30 a.m. and Chair Yoga (virtual) on May 15 at 11 a.m. Call 708-485-6917 or visit online at brook■

field.evanced.info/signup to register for programs.

Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road, presents Crafting at The Spot: Hanging Paper Flower Ball on May 11 at 7 p.m., Introduction to Vegetable Gardening at Riverside Community Garden (400 Nuttall Road) on May 11 at 6 p.m., Friday Outdoor Storytime on May 12 at 10 a.m., Mindfulness Together meditation on May 12 at 11 a.m. and Little Hands Activity Time (ages 1-4) on May 16 at 9:30 a.m. To register for programs, visit online at riversidelibrary.org/events.

The Brookfield Elks Lodge, 9022 31st St., hosts its next bingo session on May 21. Doors open at 1 p.m. and games start at 2 p.m. with cash payouts.

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023

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Riverside board votes to change legal counsel Filippini Law Firm chosen to replace village’s longtime law firm

By BOB UPHUES Editor

Freshly sworn in just minutes before, the newly constituted Riverside Village Board made its first decision on May 4, voting unanimously to change its general legal counsel and the legal counsel that handles labor matters.

Out after 13 years in both those roles was the firm of Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, hired in 2010 during the administration of President Michael Gorman. The firm had assigned two attorneys for general government and zoning matters, including Riverside resident Michael Marrs and Berwyn resident Lance Malina. Anne Skrodzki had served as the labor counsel.

“We valued the work that both Lance and Michael did and their contributions,” Village Manager Jessica Frances said. “Whether the board brings them back on a special

counsel basis is potentially always an opportunity.”

Filippini Law Firm, based in Evanston, takes over as the village’s general legal counsel, while the Chicago-based firm Clark Hill PLC was hired as the village’s labor counsel.

After interviewing two firms for the role of village prosecutor, Riverside decided to rehire attorney Thomas Brescia for that job.

The small firm, which has four attorneys, specializes in municipal and land use law and counts Bannockburn, Grayslake, Volo, Long Grove and Crystal Lake among its municipal clients.

Attorney Robert E. Pickrell from Filippini Law Firm was seated at the board table at the Riverside Village Board’s meeting on May 4. According to the law firm’s website, Pickrell was an Evanston police officer before becoming a lawyer.

That’s quite a change from Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, an 85-year-old firm that employs

30 attorneys and has represented, according to its website, “more local governments in Illinois than any other law firm,” including municipalities, school districts, fire protection districts.”

Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins was interviewed for both general and labor counsel, according to Frances. Filippini was interviewed only for general legal counsel.

Marrs chalked up the move away from his firm to change being part of the business.

He said he learned of the changeable nature of municipal clients from one of the firm’s founders, Newell Jenkins, who also had been a Riverside resident who represented Riverside many years ago.

“While we are of course disappointed by the board’s decision to make a change, it has been an honor and a privilege for KTJ to represent the village of Riverside these past 13 years,” Marrs wrote in an email. “It has been an especially gratifying experience for

me given the fact that I live in town and have a vested interest in the village’s well-being.

Lance, myself and the firm wish the village the best going forward.”

The new labor counsel, Clark Hill PLC, has been around since 1890. It’s an international firm with more than 700 attorneys with offices in 25 locations in the U.S. and one each in Ireland and Mexico.

After issuing a request for proposals in January and receiving 15 submissions from interested law firms for one or more of the legal counsel roles, a committee of elected officials, including President Joseph Ballerine, trustees Edward Hannon and Doug Pollock and trustee-elect Jill Mateo, interviewed representatives from three firms for both general and labor counsel.

Those interviewing the prosecutor firms were Ballerine, Frances, Public Safety Director Matthew Buckley and Assistant Village Manager Ashley Monroe.

By Linda Sokol Francis. E.A.

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Offer in Compromise ‘’mills” Offer in Compromise or OIC “mills,” make outlandish claims, usually in local advertising, about how they can settle a person’s tax debt for pennies on the dollar.

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023

Equity committee at RBHS getting down to work

Mother Nature & Mother’s Day Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday and with spring’s early arrival in April it’s time to set roots with new plantings almost as beautiful as mom Scott herself. Annual flowers McAdam Jr. and accents, as well as organic soils and amendments – the time is now.

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But let’s not forget about other great options such as flowering shrubs, specimen ornamentals, and a plethora of perennials and flowers.

With the incorporation of plants like coneflower, hyssop, beebalm, and butterfly weed, you’ll also be gifting Mother Nature with plants that promote our pollinators. After all, the more we can help our pollinators, the more beautiful our world!

A very happy Mother’s Day, to all moms out there, including the one sustaining the world around us.

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26-person leadership team to develop action plan in 2024

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

The push to advance diversity, equity and inclusion at Riverside-Brookfield High School is moving into a higher gear. The school has established a 26-person District Equity Leadership Team (DELT) to lead the effort.

The team is divided into what is called “five strands of systemic equity.” Equity was added as a component to the school district’s mission statement in April 2021.

The strands are systems, teaching and learning, student voice, climate and culture, professional learning and family and community agency.

RBHS has been getting assistance and training in its equity push by consultant Dr. Ivette Dubiel of the firm Systemic Educational Equity. RBHS has paid the firm $16,000 since first engaging them in February 2021.

All the payments came from grant funding. Dubiel is providing systematic equity training to the RBHS staff, which has been ongoing throughout the school year.

Some of the 26 members of the DELT appeared before the school board at its April 25 meeting to give a brief overview of its work so far. Most of the work will be done next year. The school will develop an equity action plan which is defined as “an accountability framework to identify, measure and sustain actions to advance equity.”

One important step is to define the term equity for RBHS. That goal is supposed to be completed by December 2023.

“We are very early in the process,” said Superintendent Kevin Skinkis.

The school is surveying students about the culture and climate at RBHS and this month will create a student equity leadership team.

The student body at RBHS has become much more diverse in the last decade with a large increase in the number of Hispanic students. As of 2022 49.9% of RBHS students were white, 39.3% were Hispanic, 5.4% Black, 3.1% mixed race and 2% Asian.

BOB SKOLNIK

Several of the members of the new District Equity Leadership Team at RiversideBrookfield High School updated the school board on its work at their meeting April 25.

The faculty remains overwhelmingly white, with 87.5% of teachers being white, according to the 2022 Illinois School Report Card. About 8% of certified staff are Hispanic and about 2% are Black.

Although diversifying the staff is a goal, Assistant Superintendent Kristin Smetana, who is a member of DELT, cautioned that faculty openings at RBHS are few and that it will take time to diversify the staff, because there is typically not much turnover.

“We don’t have a lot of opportunity to do this,” said Smetana noting that the school hasn’t hired a new world languages teacher in nine years.

But the administration is taking steps to increase the diversity of new hires. It aims to create a recruitment video to encourage diverse candidates to apply and equity questions are asked of all applicants for teaching positions. The goal is to hire equity-minded staff.

The goal of the teaching and learning

strand is “to intentionally embed equitydriven pedagogy in curriculum, resources, instructional approaches, use and consideration of assessments, and academic programming for the purpose of advancing equity among all students,” according to a report presented to the Board of Education last month.

Members of the district equity leadership team will visit Fenton High School, Vernon Hills High School and the Glenbard and Niles high schools to see how they address diversity and equity issues.

School board member Ryan VenHorst, a teacher at Oak Park and River Forest High School, told the members of DELT they should expect exhausting but rewarding work ahead.

“You are about to embark on incredibly tough, incredibly rewarding work,” VenHorst said. “Expect a lot of push back, expect a lot of enthusiasm and expect a lot of non-progress to happen and keep your head down and keep going.”

The Landmark, May 10, 2023

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TUES - SUNDAY: NOON - 8PM • CLOSED MONDAYS 3250 Harlem Ave.

NO-CASH BID

Building code concerns from page 1 Anderson, of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Anthony McElligott. But the present ownership appears a bit murky.

Harlem Jam LLC was involuntarily dissolved in April 2021, a month after the village of Riverside placed a lien on the property for non-payment of the water/sewer bill from July through October 2020 in the amount of $566.

McElligott is a former Riverside resident who sold his Gatesby Road home in July 2016, the same year he switched ownership of 3250 Harlem Ave. to Harlem Jam LLC. Beginning in 2017, according to Cook County Treasurer records, the Harlem Avenue property became tax delinquent.

Riverside Village Manager Jessica Frances told the Landmark that the village has had no luck finding McElligott and that the tenants themselves don’t know exactly who their landlord is at this time.

“What we’re aware of currently is that they have no one to pay rent to and there are code-enforcement challenges on the property,” Frances said. “Part of this no-cash bid process is really to handle those issues, because right now the village is getting calls and there’s nothing we can do.”

Most recently, Frances said, the village had to respond to a significant water leak inside one of the vacant storefronts.

“We had to go in and get that turned off,” Frances said. “There’s been graffiti on the building and there’s been a number of things that, unfortunately, is a challenge because it’s private property, so there’s limitations as to what the village can do.”

For more than a decade, McElligott operated AAA Bartending School out of the 3250 Harlem Ave. storefront, but that space has been vacant since about 2017, which is also

GOOGLE MAPS

the year the property became tax-delinquent.

Subsequently, someone purchased the building’s delinquent 2017 property taxes.

Sarah White, who has leased the 3240 Harlem Ave. storefront for about a decade, said the tax buyer was a New Jersey property development firm, but she has had little luck contacting them.

Rick Lukes, whose Comic Collector store has called 3246 Harlem Ave. home for 36 years, told the Landmark he hasn’t seen McElligott in years. Asked who he calls when there are property maintenance issues, Lukes said there is no one.

“So far I haven’t had any issues, but if I did, I would take care of them myself,” Lukes said.

Shawn Groll, who has operated Strive 4 Fitness at 3242 Harlem Ave. since 2018, says he too got a letter stating that delinquent property taxes had been purchased, but remains in the dark about the ownership.

He said his boutique fitness gym will remain on Harlem Avenue for now, but he’s also preparing to eventually merge the Riverside operation into a new 7,100-square-foot location at 7905 Ogden Ave. in Lyons.

“We’ll still be in Riverside as long as we can,” Groll said. “Hopefully the town does do something for that area.”

The village has no specific plans for the future of the property, according to Frances.

“Our focus is really to address the code enforcement issues and challenges, so there is actually someone who’s a point of contact when issues arise, because right now there isn’t,” she said.

As to the possibility of simply maintaining the building and leasing the storefronts, Frances said that was something a future village board would need to determine.

“We’re not looking to get rid of businesses.

Our primary focus is the code enforcement piece. What do we do if we actually are successful getting that parcel, that’d be another conversation to be had at that point,” Frances said. “We appreciate those who have created successful businesses in that area.”

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023

Women now the majority on Riverside, Brookfield boards For first-time ever in palities.

Jessica Frances, who has been Riverside village manager since 2014, was hired as the both villages, women finance director in 2012. Her administrative team includes women in the roles of assistant trustees outnumber men manager in Ashley Monroe, finance director

By BOB UPHUES Editor

One of the first things a visitor to the council chambers in both Riverside and Brookfield notices is a wall covered with the photos of village presidents, from incorporation in the 19th century to the present.

Most are black-and-white portraits, framed and arranged in rows. All of those photos on display are of men.

“People comment on that,” said Jill Mateo, who was sworn into her first term in office as a village trustee in Riverside on May 4 after serving as the chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission for the past seven years. “It’s meaningful there are no women up there.”

Jennifer Hendricks, who was on Brookfield’s Planning and Zoning Commission for 13 years before being elected trustee in 2021, said she had a similar reaction in Brookfield.

“Whoa, that’s a lot of men,” said Hendricks when asked how that Wall of Guys comes across to women. “I guess it’s what I expected, and I guess we have work to do.”

No woman has been village president in either village, but within the past week both now have village boards which are majority female – for the first time in their centuryplus histories.

“This trend is building gender equality and our community is benefitting from it,” said Cristin Evans, who was sworn in to her second four-year term on the Riverside village board on May 4. “Women are natural problem-solvers and that translates into more responsive government. Women’s leadership and perspectives are essential to communities that thrive.”

It’s not just women taking on leadership roles as elected officials. In Riverside, Brookfield and North Riverside, woman hold some of the most important jobs in their munici-

in Karin Johns and village planner in Anne Cyran.

Brookfield Assistant Village Manager Stevie Ferrari, appointed to that role late in 2022, was promoted to the No. 2 administrative spot after transforming the recreation department during a four-year stint as its director.

Like Riverside, the head of the Brookfield Community Development Department, Emily Egan, is a woman, as is the planner, Kate Portillo.

North Riverside’s administrator, Sue Scarpiniti, served as the village’s finance director for two decades before taking on the top village hall job in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The village was also the first of the three to hire a woman, Deborah Garcia, as police chief.

Of course, women long have played prominent roles in those aspects of local governance, as members of volunteer advisory commissions, as elected school and library board members, leading local charities and school-related organizations.

And there have been two and sometimes up to three women serving on local municipal boards, but never four – never a majority, until now. The timing isn’t a coincidence.

After the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States in 2016, women were often those stepping up to organize leftleaning grassroots political organizations, such as Indivisible. They threw themselves into campaigning for the 2018 midterms and tasted success.

Evans, a member of Indivisible, and Megan Claucherty were among those stepping up to run and win elective office in Riverside in 2019.

“Decisions are being made at all levels of government on issues that disproportionately affect women, and those decisions are being made without enough women at the table,” Claucherty said. “This fundamental

BOB UPHUES/Editor

Jill Mateo is sworn into office as a Riverside trustee by President Joseph Ballerine at a May 4 village board meeting. imbalance is motivating women to run for office.”

In Brookfield, there’s been a tradition, at least within the PEP Party, which has held every seat on the village board since 2005 of women in the party recruiting female candidates.

The late Cathy Edwards, for example, encouraged Nicole Gilhooley to run in 2013. Gilhooley would serve two full terms as trustee and then sat out for two years before being encouraged to run again in 2023 – this time with an all-female slate, which included Brookfield Parks and Recreation Board member Julie Narimatsu and Katie Kaluzny, who was first elected in 2019, recruited by Gilhooley.

“She’s the one who pulled me in and cajoled me and talked me through it,” said Gilhooley of Edwards’ influence. “I don’t know if I could have done it at the beginning without her. She saw potential in me, and that meant a lot to me.”

Kaluzny was instrumental in recruiting both Hendricks and Narimatsu.

“We inspire each other,” said Hendricks.

“Women, I think, work actively to support each other and to raise each other up.”

Narimatsu, who has been a leader at her children’s school and joined the recreation board in 2020, was at first reluctant to run for trustee. Seeing people like Kaluzny and Hendricks at the board table “really tamped down my imposter syndrome a little bit.”

“I think women always feel that you have to be overqualified for the position you’re applying for,” said Narimatsu, a University of Michigan graduate with a law degree from Syracuse University who works as a program analyst in the Inspector General’s Office for the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency.

“It took a lot for me to get to this point,” Narimatsu said. “I just hope this group inspires people who might be reluctant leaders to come out of the woodwork and join commissions and run for office.”

But making sure women are represented as decision-makers in local government is a primary reason they decided to run for office at the municipal level.

During an interview in Brookfield on May 6, Hendricks pointed out a button she has had pinned to her jacket for the past couple of years. It’s a replica button from the suffragette era, when women – just a century ago, and more than century after the nation was founded – were still fighting for the right to vote.

The pin states, simply, “Votes for Women.”

“It reminds me all the time that this is not a right that we’ve had forever,” Hendricks said.

Gilhooley said she hoped her daughters seeing her in a decision-making role in their community would serve as an example. Mateo wanted to make that same impression – on boys.

“I think it’s great when the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts come sit in that there will be mostly women sitting there [at the board table],” Mateo said.

As for when one of the villages might see its first-ever female president, that is surely on the way.

“I sure hope it happens soon,” said Mateo, who said her husband, former Riverside Village President Ben Sells, encourages her to think about it on occasion. “But baby steps. I want to see how I am on the village board. Being on an advisory commission is one thing, making these decisions in another.”

The Landmark, May 10, 2023

9

Zoning hearings on tap LTHS teacher reprimanded for new developments in for derogatory language Reportedly not the first time the instructor has North Riverside been flagged for comments about students Commission to consider applications for chicken restaurant, tire store

By BOB UPHUES Editor

The North Riverside Planning and Zoning Commission on May 18 will conduct a pair of public hearings and solicit public feedback on two proposed developments to be built on outlots of neighboring commercial properties.

The hearings will start at 6 p.m. in the council chamber of the North Riverside Village Commons, 2401 Desplaines Ave. The first of the hearings is a request to change the zoning of the property at 7451 Cermak Road from B1 Retail Business to a B2 General Business in order to allow construction of a new fast-food restaurant called Pollo Campero in the northeast corner of the parking lot in front of Hobby Lobby.

Pollo Campero is a Guatemala-based chain with an all-chicken menu of meals, sandwiches and empanadas with about 350 locations in Central America, North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Most of its 80 locations in the United States are in California, New York City/ Long Island and the Washington, D.C., metro area. It has two locations in Illinois, both in Chicago, in the River North and Albany Park neighborhoods.

In late 2022, the company announced it was embarking on an expansion of its business in the U.S., where it hopes to have 250 locations by 2026.

The existing zoning for the Hobby Lobby property does permit restaurants as a use. The B2 General Business District allows both retail and restaurant uses and rezoning that parcel also would result in

it matching the zoning of the properties to the immediate east and south.

According to Pollo Campero’s initial petition for a public hearing, which it submitted last December, the roughly 0.7acre outlot would include a 2,518-squarefoot building with indoor and outdoor seating, a drive-thru and a 30-space parking lot.

If approved, the restaurant would be on track to open sometime in 2024.

Second pitch for mall outlot

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

A veteran Lyons Township High School teacher received a written warning, approved by the LTHS District 204 Board of Education, after referring to a student of hers as a “hood rat.”

On April 17, the LTHS Board of Education voted 6 to 1 to send what is called a Notice to Remedy to English teacher Katherine Karubas. A Notice of Remedy is a severe written warning and notice to improve that states if the teacher fails to improve her behavior, she can be suspended without pay or terminated.

School board member Michael Thomas cast the only vote against issuing the Notice

to Remedy. Thomas declined to comment when asked after the meeting why he had voted against the Notice to Remedy, which was approved without discussion.

The Notice to Remedy resolution only refers to “deficiencies in the conduct of a teacher.” The reasons behind the Notice to Remedy only became apparent after the Landmark and the LaGrange Patch submitted FOIA requests for copies of a memo LTHS Superintendent Brian Waterman sent to Karubas on April 11. Patch first published a story about the Notice to Remedy.

Waterman’s memo to Karubas stated that during a meeting with an assistant principal, Karubas referred to a student

Also on May 18, officials from The Feil Organization, which owns the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, will pitch the village a second time to deSee REPRIMAND on page 10 velop an outlot parcel in the mall’s east parking lot, south of Olive Garden.

In early 2020, the mall proposed constructing two buildings in that location, one for a fitness gym and another for general retail, but the COVID-19 pandemic put those plans on ice.

The mall is now proposing outlot construction of an 8,341-square-foot Discount Tire store south of Olive Garden, with a plan to develop a second, roughly 5,200-square-foot freestanding retail building south of that.

Plans submitted to the village by The Feil Organization in April also indicate they intend to build another roughly 4,775-square-foot retail building in what is now an overflow parking lot in the tu-fri 10-5 • sat 10-4 • sun/mon closed very northeast corner of the mall prop9207 broadway ave, brookfield, il 60513 erty, where Clover’s Garden Center leas708-485-5711 • keithforthebirds@sbcglobal.net es space each summer.

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023

Riverside Public Library unveils its new makerspace, The Spot Dedicated area will be renovated later this year

there is also information about the devices available, user guides written by Bravo and how-to videos.

“I really want this space to be where people can come in with their ideas and execute them,” Bravo said. “I’ve made sure that if someone wanted to use [a device] they have everything they needed to come in here and just execute their dream design.”

Diane Silva, the library’s assistant director and information services manager who played a key role in creating the makerspace, said much of the software needed to create designs that are executed on makerspace devices is web-based and free

of charge. People can use their own computers to make their designs or use the ones in the makerspace.

“The beauty of all this technology is that it’s been around so long that you really don’t have to design from scratch,” Silva said. “There’s free stuff all over the place for the Glowforge and 3D printer that you can download.”

The dedicated makerspace also gives the library a place to host classes. Silva said the makerspace has 10 laptop computers that can be used for those classes. This summer the library will offer, for example, a 3D printing minicamp for kids and

a Cricut minicamp for adults.

“So, kids can take a three-week course and Jordan and Nikki will teach them how to use the 3D printer, how to use Tinkercad [3D modeling software] to design a maze that then they can build and print with the 3D printer,” Silva said.

Unlike some library makerspaces, The Spot as presently configured is a bit makeshift – having been assembled outside of the library’s 2017 plan. But that will change later this year.

Later this month or in early June, the Riverside Public Library will seek bids to renovate The Spot to give it a real sense of purpose and belonging. A moveable wall separating it from the main meeting room means the entire space can be enlarged for bigger events, but the intention is to keep it a dedicated space day to day.

Part of the carpeting will be removed and replaced with laminate flooring that’s easier to maintain, and new tabletop work surfaces will be installed, along with built-in storage for equipment and materials.

The makerspace renovation is part of a larger project that will include the creation of a private two-person study room inside what is now a storage space and the construction of a partial wall to screen the genealogy area from the corridor to the restrooms.

Work is slated to start later this year, Foley said, and be completed in late 2023 or early 2024.

The improvements will be funded out of the nearly $250,000 remaining from a $1.5 million bond issue approved by voters in 2020 to renovate the lower level. Last November, the Riverside Village Board, through whom the bond had to be issued, voted to allow the library board to use the leftover funds for additional lower-level improvements.

shared with you on multiple occasions, after which you were given clear expectations and directives to improve your behavior,” Waterman wrote in his memo to Karubas. “These directives included refraining from using inappropriate and unprofessional language while performing your role as a staff member, refraining from using profanity as well as using racially or culturally insensitive language in any educational setting, interacting with students and staff in a professional

manner and building positive working relationships with students and staff members.

This improvement has not occurred.”

Waterman instructed Karubas to contact and consult with the school’s Employee Assistance Program about her “poor decision making and unprofessional conduct.”

She was also ordered not to use profanity or any racially or culturally insensitive language in any educational setting and to interact with students and staff in a professional

manner.

Karubas was further told to model such behavior for students and to build positive and professional relationships with students and staff and to be honest in her interactions with supervisors and district administrators.

Karubas began teaching at LTHS in 2005 and has also served as a girls gymnastics coach. She is currently teaching senior level English classes. Karubas did not reply to an emailed request for comment.

By BOB UPHUES Editor

Back in 2017 when Riverside Public Library officials were finalizing plans to renovate the building’s lower level, setting aside a dedicated area for a makerspace was not part of the plan.

At the time, makerspaces were still a novel idea in the library world, and according to Library Director Janice Foley, creating such a space was not something she’d heard much interest in.

That’s changed.

Last month, Riverside Public Library unveiled its new makerspace, which it has dubbed “The Spot,” in what is the rear half of the expanded public meeting room that was part of the 2017 renovation design.

“Libraries are not just books anymore,” said Jordan Bravo, coordinator for The Spot, who also works as a librarian in Information Services. He’s assisted by Children and Youth Services librarian Nikki Duran.

The devices in the space include 3-D printers, a Glowforge, a mold maker, a Cricut machine, an embroidery machine, a bookbinding machine, a button maker/graphic punch, desktop computers and lighting and greenscreen equipment for photo and video projects.

“I based everything off of research I’ve done on other makerspaces, not just in this area but across the country, because I really wanted to see what people really were using,” Bravo said. “I just wanted space where people could come and be creative.”

Anyone wishing to use The Spot’s devices must make an appointment, which can be done at riversidelibrary.org/spot, where

REPRIMAND

‘Unprofessional language’ from page 9

assigned to her roster as a “hood rat.” This was apparently not the first time Karubas made derogatory comments about students.

“Concerns about your use of inappropriate and unprofessional language have been

BOB UPHUES/Editor

Jordan Bravo (left), who is coordinator of Riverside Public Library’s makerspace The Spot, and Child and Youth Services librarian Nikki Duran, show off one of three 3D printers available to patrons.

11

The Landmark, May 10, 2023 ASSISTED LIVING • SHELTERED CARE • MEMORY CARE • SKILLED NURSING

PEOPLE

ASSISTED LIVING • SHELTERED CARE • MEMORY CARE • SKILLED NURSING

North Riverside officer recognized for DUI enforcement North Riverside Police Officer Josh Czerak was recognized by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM), a nonprofit organized by the victims of drunk driving crashes to combat driving under the influence, for having made 100 DUI arrests during his career.

Czerak, an officer with the department since 2017, was presented with a certificate of achievement from AAIM Executive Director Rita Kreslin during a brief ceremony at the April 17 meeting of the North Riverside Village Board.

On campus ■ Brookfield resident Abagail Roussin was recently initiated into the Western Illinois University chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, an all-discipline collegiate honor society. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10% of seniors and 7.5% of juniors are eligible for membership. Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

■ Marlena Barrido, of Brookfield, was inducted into the Mortar Board National Honor Society during the annual Tapping of the Mound ceremony at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa on April 7.

Mortar Board is a national honor society for students based on leadership, scholarship and service and is considered one of the highest honors that can be granted to seniors.

Barrido was also inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society at the same ceremony.

■ In February, Lyons Township High School students from WLTL and LTTV held their annual Rock-A-Thon fundraiser where during a 65-hour period they took to the airwaves to raise funds for their stations.

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In addition, Brookfield resident Jake Gripp, a senior who is involved with WLTL, won the award for Most Creative Program at the 83rd Annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Conference in New York City. WLTL’s faculty advisor, Chris Thomas, won Faculty Advisor of the Year.

■ Brookfield resident Bazil Bednar, a senior at Lyons Township High School, was among the members of the school’s Business Professionals of America club receiving recognition during the BPA State Leadership Conference in Oak Brook.

Bednar received honorable mention awards in the extemporaneous speech and human resource management competitions.

■ Brookfield residents Jocelyn Arellano (cosmetology), Alexandra Griffin (nursing assistant training), Katlyn Nicol (cosmetology) and Elizabeth OrahaRosa (professional cooking, baking and service) were among the Lyons Township High School students named to the Technology Center of DuPage’s A-Team for the first semester of the 2022-23 academic year for outstanding achievement in their respective programs at the school.

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023

P O L I C E

R E P O R T S

The Landmark, May 10, 2023

13

One charged after ‘altercation’ that left LTHS student severely injured School and police officials release few details, say investigation is ongoing

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

An 18-year-old Lyons Township High School student from Brookfield was arrested last week and charged with battery following what officials have simply described as a “physical altercation” in which two peo-

ple were injured on the afternoon of May 1 outside at the North Campus.

LaGrange police identified the student charged as James Hernandez Jr., who was arrested on May 5, four days after the attack.

The arrest was announced by the LaGrange Police Department in a press release.

The altercation also involved several juveniles, one of whom was reported to be severely injured. LTHS officials said on May 8 that they had no updates on the student’s condition.

According to a statement posted on the LTHS website and sent to families and the press on May 5, the severely injured student “continues to receive medical treat-

ment.”

One other juvenile was injured in the altercation, although those injuries apparently were not severe. The school has released little information about the incident, leaving many students and parents frustrated.

After a school board meeting on May 8, Principal Jen Tyrrell declined to answer questions.

The severely injured student was taken to a hospital immediately following the altercation, which happened outside Exit 7 on the west side of LTHS’s North Campus.

There is reportedly a video of the attack circulating among students. According to

two LTHS students who have seen the video, the attack is difficult to watch.

One student told the Landmark that you can see a lot of blood in the video, and another student told his mother that you can see someone repeatedly stomping on a student in the attack. The student who was severely injured was apparently targeted.

“This was an isolated incident and does not pose a threat to the community,” the LaGrange Police Department said in their press release. “The LaGrange Police Department has worked closely with school administrators throughout its investigation and will continue to pursue leads as the case develops.”

More vehicle break-ins in Brookfield Brookfield police responded to the 3800 block of Cleveland Avenue on the morning of May 4 after a resident called to report that someone had entered her unlocked vehicle, which was parked overnight on the street, and rummaged through the center console and glove box. Nothing appeared to be missing.

While investigating that incident, the responding officer noticed another vehicle with a door ajar parked on the street. The officer looked inside and saw the glove box and center console were open. The owner of that vehicle told police nothing of value appeared to be missing.

■ A Brookfield crossing guard called police on May 5 to report that while she was eating breakfast at a restaurant after working her morning shift at the Veterans Memorial Circle, someone entered her unlocked vehicle and removed her “Stop” sign.

Man scammed out of $550 North Riverside police continue to investigate a May 2 incident where a local resident was scammed out of $550 by two men claiming they could repair scrapes and dents on his vehicle on the cheap.

The victim told police he encountered one of the offenders at the 7-Eleven at La-

Grange Road and 47th Street, where they briefly chatted before the victim drove home to North Riverside.

As he pulled up to his home, the victim saw a black Chevy Silverado pull into his driveway and the man from 7-Eleven exited and addressed him as if they’d been longtime friends.

The man said it could cost thousands to repair the dents and scratches from the victim’s vehicle but that he could do it for $700. Another man associated with the first arrived on scene and began rubbing a substance on the victim’s vehicle.

The victim told them he didn’t have $700 but could pay $500 and write a check for the rest. The men insisted on being paid in cash and offered to take the victim to the bank to withdraw money.

The victim went with one of the men to the bank, withdrawing $550 and giving it to the offender who drove him back home.

At that time the man from 7-Eleven told the victim he needed to get his house tuck pointed and his driveway redone and suggested the victim take out a loan. The victim declined, the men left and the victim called police.

The white foamy substance one of the men had applied to the car, police said, appeared to be shaving cream.

DUI crash Brookfield police charged an 18-year-old Brookfield man with driving under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of a crash and other offenses after he allegedly drove a Ford van off the roadway and into a tree and speed limit sign in the vicinity of the intersection of Harrison and Lincoln avenues on April 28 at about 1:15 a.m.

The driver reportedly ran away and made a phone call to his mother to pick him up.

Police located him about four blocks from the crash scene at Garfield and Madison avenues.

The van had sustained heavy front-end damage and the driver’s door window was shattered. Police also reported observing a quarter-full bottle of vodka in the center console cup holder.

According to the police report, the driver’s blood-alcohol content was .19, which is more than twice the legal limit of .08.

Street racing ■ A 29-year-old Chicago man was charged with aggravated speeding on May 4 at about 5:30 p.m. after a police officer reported observing a motorcycle and a black Infiniti traveling northbound on First Av-

enue from 25th Street in North Riverside at speeds between 81 and 85 mph in a 35-mph zone.

The officer was able to curb the Infiniti while the motorcycle accelerated and continued northbound. The driver of the Infiniti was arrested and charged and his vehicle was impounded.

■ North Riverside police charged a 56-year-old Cicero man with aggravated speeding early on May 7 after a police officer on patrol at 2:25 a.m. reported observing two vehicles racing each other while eastbound on Cermak Road from Desplaines Avenue at 80 mph in a 35-mph zone.

The officer caught up with one of the vehicles, a white Kia, in the 7100 block of Cermak Road in Berwyn where he arrested the driver.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, April 28-May 7, 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

14

The Landmark, May 10, 2023

Opinion KOSEY CORNER

THE LANDMARK VIEW

Cannabis on the way

B

oth Brookfield and Riverside appear poised to welcome adult-use recreational cannabis dispensaries, probably later this year, and that will be a welcome source of sales tax revenue for villages always looking for a way to boost that revenue line item as they try to balance annual operating budgets.

In Brookfield, village trustees on May 8 got their first look at a proposal by The 1937 Group to bring a dispensary to the old Bambino’s property at 8863 Ogden Ave., and judging from the reception, it looks like that firm will have a special use permit to operate the dispensary after a vote by the village board on May 22.

Last month, the Brookfield Planning and Zoning Commission gave a unanimous recommendation to approve the special use permit, and trustees didn’t indicate during a presentation at the village board’s May 8 committee of the whole meeting that they have any objections.

In Riverside, not much has been going on in public regarding the possibility of a cannabis dispensary opening at 2704 Harlem Ave. But village officials have confirmed that Star Buds IL has said it will soon submit a plan to build out the vacant building. In Riverside, cannabis dispensaries are allowed by right and require no additional zoning relief as long as the building plans conform to the code.

Those businesses, barring any unforeseen hurdles, ought to be up and running within the calendar year once the villages sign off on the plans. You can expect those to become important destination businesses in those villages and a real boost for economic development.

Troubling silence

On May 1, two Lyons Township High School students were hurt – one of them severely, according to officials – in some sort of targeted attack outside the North Campus.

As far as we know, that student remains hospitalized and we’re hearing rumors of just how severely the student was hurt. There’s also apparently a video circulating, at least among students, which sounds very disturbing.

There’s been an arrest for battery, and our understanding is that police have identified suspects. At some point, hopefully sooner rather than later, school and police officials can clue in the public to exactly what took place on May 1. Is this something that could have been prevented? Where exactly did this take place? On school property or off ?

Families are sending their kids to school every day with the faith that they’ll be safe from harm. The lack of information may be having the opposite effect officials are trying to produce.

S

The parade of royal life continues

eventy years ago, a young girl sat mesmerized before the black-andwhite TV to view the coronation of another young girl, who became Queen Elizabeth of England, a title she would hold for seven decades.

The young Elizabeth assumed the title of Queen of England, following the untimely death of her father.

Seeing a real-life fairytale was entrancing -- a beautiful young princess about to be queen, a carriage gilded in gold, a crown symbolizing years of history. Her heavy royal cape was placed upon her shoulders; she was now queen.

Going down the long aisle she would meet her eager countrymen. On a balcony with her family, mother, grandmother, sister and beloved husband, Phillip, she smiled broadly as she waved her queenly wave.

Below the balcony were her faithful guards and troops, she would hold in her heart a love of her countrymen for the next 70 years.

The year is 2023, the girl watching the coronation of Elizabeth’s oldest son, King Charles III, is now grown and does not need permission to stay home from school to watch it. If you hadn’t figured it out,

that girl was me. Only now, the TV is larger and in color.

I watched the event with the same fascination of many years ago, only I had learned much more about the monarchy and the new king. Already, Charles is in his early 70s, and one can be assured there will not be a 70-year wait. Next in line is Prince William, King Charles’ oldest son.

William and his wife, Kate, are already displaying how they and their three children will bring a new dimension to the monarchy.

The colors were beautiful. The carriage was more than I imagined. The royal couple waved while conversing. I can only imagine what they were saying: “I do want to go to the bathroom!” “What do you think we’re having to eat?” “They messed my hair a little when they put that crown on.”

Did I enjoy it? Yes, I did. No apologies for enjoying the Royal Family and then a quick nap because it was Derby Day. I always make a bet, even if it’s only on paper. I can honestly say I’m glad no money changed hands. My horse is still looking for the rest of the pack. So that was my day, and the parade of life continues.

JOANNE KOSEY

LETTERS

Landmark off base on LT land sale The question is no longer whether or not LT acted improperly, they in fact broke the law. The AG issued a binding opinion on the Jan. 23 meeting and there are still six more to rule on.

No one is suggesting LT sell at a reduced price. That is a blatantly false statement. And to suggest Willow Springs would be getting a bargain at the expense of LT further perpetuates this falsehood. At who’s expense would it be to allow industrial, which isn’t legally permissible. How about you write a story from that angle.

SB990 establishes the price at the fair market value for

current zoning, which is meant to define the land’s true worth.

For example, I can’t sell my house for industrial, a casino, strip joint or junkyard. Why? Because it is zoned residential. So, it gets appraised based on current zoning.

That has been the standard approach when selling real estate forever.

And for RB Landmark to claim the uproar is purely political (“Rules for thee, not for me,” The Landmark View, May 3) is shameful. It is obvious you are in the hip pocket of LT with these shallow arguments and accusations.

All the surrounding communities and towns are against industrial and agree with the basic argument that the land’s worth should be based solely on an appraisal at current zoning. Simple.

LT has avoided requesting a zoning variance on purpose and planned to have a multibillion dollar global

OBITUARIES

Cathleen Buehring, 46 Elementary school teacher C a t h l e e n “Cathy” Buehring, 46, of Hinsdale and formerly of Riverside, died May 3, 2023.

Cathy earned her master’s degree in education from CATHLEEN BUEHRING Dominican University and taught elementary school for more than 20 years.

Despite significant physical challenges throughout her life, Cathy always presented a bright smile and a sunny disposition.

She enjoyed comedians and was a “Golden Girls” superfan. Cathy was a caring person who loved everyone. Her family was the most important part of her life and she especially enjoyed spending time with her niece and nephews.

She was the daughter of Barbara (nee Boker) and the late Patrick; sister of Patrick M. (Sara) and Jen Buehring (Nancy Minasola); aunt of Jack, Connor and Margee Buehring; niece of Richard (Sandy) Buehring, LaVerne “Dolly” (Jim) Marcello and the late Edward Boker, Arthur Jr. (the late Jean) Buehring, Mary Lou (the late Gus) Norde, Dorothy (the late Matt) Nobile, Joni (Jack) Izzo and Peggy O’Day; and a cousin of many.

Visitation is on Wednesday, May 10 from

LETTERS industrial company slap little old Willow Springs around to get their way. LT’s own lawyer stated there are “obvious” ways to get around Willow Springs’ resistance to change zoning. So, for RB Landmark to suggest that just because Willow Springs holds tough against a zoning change, that there is then no way industrial could be built there is promoting a falsehood.

This is why there is a coordinated resistance against LT; not because there is an effort to buy the land, as you suggest, at a bargain price, but to prevent an industrial development.

This is a grassroots community organized pushback on what clearly does not belong next to a school, park, and three surrounding neighborhoods, some of which have been here for 70 years.

3 to 8 p.m. at Sullivan Funeral Home, 60 S. Grant St., Hinsdale. Friends and family will meet Thursday, May 11 at St. Mary Church/St. Paul VI Parish, 105 Herrick Rd., Riverside for visitation from 10 a.m. until time of funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Interment at Resurrection Cemetery in Justice to follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Shriner Children’s Chicago, 2211 N. Oak Park Ave., Chicago, Illinois, 60707.

Joan M. Cambalik, 86 North Riverside homemaker

and Niko Villarreal; and the sister of Donald (Judy) Michaels and Kenneth (Sharon) Michaels.

Visitation is Tuesday, May 9 from 3 to 8 p.m. and Wednesday, May 10 from 10:30 a.m. to time of service at 11a.m. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st St., Brookfield. Interment is at Woodlawn Cemetery, Forest Park In lieu of flowers, memorials appreciated to a charity of your choice.

Send sympathy cards to Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st St., Brookfield, 60513, c/o the Joan Cambalik family.

Thomas A. Ruf, 58 Maintenance worker

Joan M. Cambalik (nee Michaels), 86 of North Riverside, died May 4, 2023. She was a homemaker.

JOAN M. CAMBALIK Ms. Cambalik was the wife of the late Robert M. Cambalik; the mother of Lynn (the late Alan) Plica and David (Barbara) Cambalik; the grandmother of Nicole (Nicholas) Conteduca, Kellie (Ruben) Villarreal, Elizabeth (Marc) Besteman, Keri (Mark) Schaefer, Robert (Katie Lukas) Cambalik; the great-grandmother of Jax Villarreal, Harper Villarreal, Frankie Conteduca, Noah Villarreal, Adriana Conteduca, Siena Conteduca Lucas Schaefer

Try interviewing people from Pleasantdale next time before reporting LT’s onesided argument that disrespects all the hardworking taxpayers of Pleasantdale.

BTW, using words like “berserk” shows your readers your bias right off the bat.

Fred Whiting

Willow Springs

Local lawmakers need to support SB1909 I am writing to express my deep concern about the harm caused by anti-abortion centers (also known as crisis pregnancy centers) in Illinois and to urge my sup-

Thomas A. Ruf, 58, of North Riverside, died May 8, 2023 in Oak Park.

Mr. Ruf was born Oct. 16, 1964 in Chicago. He worked maintenance in residential buildTHOMAS A. RUF ings and enjoyed sports, gardening, trivia and woodworking.

He was the of the late Marilyn (nee Ramp); the father of Nick Ruf, Melanie Ruf and Jack Ruf; the son of Anthony Ruf and the late Maria Ruf; and the brother of Liz (Bill) Rhind and Jennifer (Todd) Londo.

Visitation is Friday, May 12 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home, 2447

port for Senate Bill 1909, which would hold these centers accountable for their deception and harmful misinformation toward patients seeking abortion care.

Anti-abortion centers often masquerade as healthcare facilities, but in reality they are anti-abortion organizations that aim to deter people from accessing abortion services. These centers use deceptive tactics such as providing false information about abortion, exaggerating the risks associated with the procedure and even delaying patient appointments until it is too late to receive an abortion in the state.

These practices not only violate a pregnant person’s bodily autonomy to make informed decisions about their own bodies, but it also puts their health and wellbeing at risk. SB1909 would require anti-abortion centers to disclose their true purpose and services offered, as well as provide ac-

The Landmark, May 10, 2023

15

Desplaines Ave., North Riverside. Cremation is private.

Online condolences, photos and memories may be shared at KuratkoNosek.com.

Margaret K. Taschner, 78 LaGrange Park homemaker M a r g a r e t “Midge” Katherine Taschner (nee Steinbach), 78, of LaGrange Park, died May 6, 2023.

Midge was known by many for the help she offered MARGARET K. to all when she had TASCHNER worked for a local dentist, bank and hospital.

Ms. Taschner was the wife of Manfred “Murph” Taschner, the mother of Michele (John) Owen and Tracy (Jason) Klein, the grandmother of Regina Domer and the sister of Cathy (the late James) Smith.

She was predeceased by seven sisters and one brother, and she was the aunt of many nieces and nephews.

Visitation is Friday, May 12 from 3 p.m. to time of service at 8 p.m. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st Street, Brookfield.

Interment is private.

Send sympathy cards to Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st St., Brookfield, 60513, c/o the Margaret Taschner family.

curate and unbiased information to their clients.

This legislation is essential to ensuring that everyone in our state and those traveling to Illinois for abortion care from states that have banned abortion have access to honest and factual information about their reproductive healthcare options.

I urge House Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (21st District) and House Representative Elizabeth Hernandez (2nd District) to support SB1909 and take a stand against the deceptive and harmful practices of antiabortion centers if we want Illinois to remain a safe state for abortion access.

Everyone deserves to be able to make informed decisions about their bodies and their futures, and this legislation is a crucial step towards ensuring that right.

Eleanor Grano Riverside

16

Sports

The Landmark, May 10, 2023

LTHS badminton qualifies entire squad to state meet Lions exit sectionals with four top-4 finishes, including doubles title

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Lyons Township High School’s Elle Ownby is returning to the state badminton meet with plenty of company.

The lone returning 2022 qualifier is among six qualifiers – both doubles teams and singles players – after the Lions won their IHSA Sectional on May 4 for their first sectional title since 2013 and only their fourth ever.

The IHSA state finals are May 12-13 at DeKalb High School.

“My whole team deserves it. It was just awesome that we can all go as a team and celebrate this win,” said Ownby, who also captured the sectional doubles title with senior Aggie Driscoll.

“The first time I played with her, she’s definitely a great match,” Ownby said. “I was just set on her. It’s the best feeling because, obviously, senior year I want to end on a good note. Junior year was great. Senior year is even better.”

Top-four sectional finishers advance to state. Senior Sofia Garcia and sophomore Mia Graziano were third in doubles and junior Julie Senffner and sophomore Audrey

BILL STONE

LTHS qualified its entire lineup of two singles and two doubles teams for the state meet, including (from left) Audrey Shell, Mia Graziano, Sofia Garcia, Elle Ownby, Julia Senffner and Aggie Driscoll Shell were third and fourth in singles.

It’s the first time all four LTHS entries have qualified for state since 2010.

Under coach Sue McLenahan, the Lions’ 2013 and third-place 2014 state teams advanced both singles players and one doubles team. Those lineups included threetime state singles champion Stephanie Lin, now an assistant coach.

“That’s the goal, to get as many to advance as possible. We are ecstatic that they’ll all get to be together there,” McLenahan said.

Ownby and Driscoll (20-11) won their three matches in two games, including 2117, 21-8 in the final.

They opened the season going 6-0 at the Hersey Tournament and never looked back. They both played at the 2022 sectional but with different senior partners. Driscoll came one victory from qualifying for state.

“We were so close to [qualifying in 2022], but going senior year and placing first overall on top of that is just really nice,” Driscoll said.

Garcia and Graziano (13-22) also are a

new doubles team. Garcia hoped to be part of the 2022 sectional lineup but was sidelined by a mid-season foot injury.

“State is kind of the ultimate goal as a player so it’s rewarding,” Garcia said. “I’ve been part of the program ever since I was a young kid, playing LT badminton through summer camps, so just to be playing senior year [at state], this will be my last time.”

Graziano, the 2022 MVP for the sophomores, is among the team’s best smashers.

“It’s really rewarding because I just started last year. It’s a long way from last year,” Graziano said.

Senffner (16-16) and Shell (17-17) had an interesting third-place match against each other. Senffner won 21-14, 21-6.

“Honestly, it was more of a fun game.

Serious, but we definitely had our funny moments,” said Senffner, the Lions’ No. 1 singles player. “For the entire year I was practicing, and my whole goal was to get to state so [qualifying] means a lot of determination.”

Shell lost in the sectional semifinals to Urbana junior Andrea Li, the defending state champion. This season’s No. 5 singles player was near the bottom of the freshman lineup in 2022.

“I worked really, really hard to make it here to be able to play on the sectional lineup. I’m very grateful,” Shell said. “We all worked really hard. We were very lucky but we all put in the work hoping that this happened.”

Seniors anchor RBHS water polo squad Bulldogs face Brother Rice in IHSA sectional quarterfinals

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

BILL STONE

RBHS seniors Murphy Regan (left) and Brad Ruska

Senior Murphy Regan had his most memorable goal for the RiversideBrookfield High School boys water polo team last season.

Besides celebrating Senior Night

on May 4 with Brad Ruska, Regan had another goal he won’t soon forget. The defender converted a half-pool shot beautifully into the upper-left corner of the net to beat the buzzer that ended the third quarter.

“The farthest shot I’ve probably made. It really felt amazing shoot-

ing that,” Regan said. “I didn’t really think to aim or anything because there was like two seconds left on the clock. I kind of just got up and shot it and it went to plan for me. It was pretty nice.”

The Bulldogs’ small roster gave another inspired effort but were edged by

S P O R T S

The Landmark, May 10, 2023

17

Regan’s turn to be a lacrosse mentor at RBHS Senior, Bulldogs’ top player set to continue playing in college

Riverside-Brookfield High School senior Ava Regan has had a great lacrosse mentor since first grade.

Older brother Aidan is a 2020 RBHS graduate currently playing NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Regan will play Division III women’s lacrosse at Chapman University in Orange, California.

“I owe a lot of success in lacrosse to my brother. Growing up, he’s always been my biggest supporter and has taught me virtually everything I know,” Regan said. “When I was younger, I did try other sports, but lacrosse was just the one that stuck. Lacrosse is like a getaway for everything going on around me. I love the fast pace of the game and the friendships that I’ve made.”

These days, it’s Regan being the mentor.

The Bulldogs have had a challenging 0-11 season but with a young roster of eight juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen.

On Senior Night on May 1 against Rosary, Regan was the lone honoree. The Bulldogs lost 14-5.

“I feel our success is our ability to be able to have fun while playing despite the record,” Regan said. “The team has grown a lot throughout the season and I can see success for them in the future with consistent hard work. For me personally, this season has been more about enjoying my last year playing at the high school level.”

Regan has 21 of the Bulldogs’ 33 goals with two assists. Junior Mia Diaz (4 goals, 3 assists) and freshman Maggie Porter (3 goals, 3 assists) are the next leading scorers. Regan had a team-best 52 goals with four assists in 2022 and 51 goals and a team-best 14 assists as a sophomore.

The Bulldogs suffered a huge loss when junior standout Maggie Durkin (2 goals) suffered a season-ending knee injury two games into this season. Like Regan, Durkin has continued to be a guiding force as the Bulldogs’ co-captains. Regan also was a co-captain in 2022.

“It’s been pretty difficult. On the field, Maggie and I have a great connection and she’s such a talented player,” Regan said.

“Maggie still being at home games serves as a motivator for me. She’s able to see things that I can’t while on the field so it’s beneficial that we are able to communicate to the team what needs to change or stay consistent.”

Regan anticipates a picture-perfect opportunity at Chapman, which includes Geneva’s Olivia Holmes, her club teammate from True Lacrosse.

Regan has been accepted into Chapman’s

Metea Valley 11-9.

Regan, Ruska and junior Alex Jacobs each had two goals. Sophomore Avinesh Ponnappan and Rylan Bruno also scored.

Sophomore goalie Martynas Bieliauskas had 13 saves.

RBHS (3-15) is the No. 5 seed in the Lyons Township Sectional. The Bulldogs play No. 4 Brother Rice in the quarterfinals on May 10.

Regan has played water polo all four seasons, the last three on varsity. Ruska has played three seasons, two on varsity.

“I really enjoy just working with this year’s group. We really get to know each other since it’s smaller,” Ruska said. “We don’t always have everyone at practice, but

when we do, it’s high intensity and we all work together really well.”

The seniors truly are the veterans for a roster that also has only one junior in Jacobs. On May 4, the Bulldogs had their seven field players with just two subs.

“We’re not a quantity but a quality of players,” said RBHS coach Kevin Wolak. “[Regan and Ruska have] been leaders on the team, helping to teach the younger guys to kind of get them in our offense and help them progress a little bit quicker. In the game, they’re very good at communicating and being leaders in the water so they’ve helped out a lot.”

Ruska often plays in the hole position

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

IAN MCLEOD

Ava Regan (left) has 21 of 33 goals scored by the RBHS girls lacrosse team this season.

She’s the lone senior on the Bulldogs’ roster. nationally ranked film school and will major in creative producing, which focuses on business aspects and content creation of the entertainment industry. Regan hopes to pursue marketing for sports teams.

“It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Regan responded. “I love the location of the school. There’s so much to do around, and it’s California so the weather is beautiful.”

in front of the goal and has a team-high 31 goals. Regan has a team-high 12 assists.

Especially on May 4, Ruska found himself swarmed by numerous Mustangs.

“It was a little tougher in the middle, having two, three guys on me, but we got a bunch of outside shots, which I’m glad for,” Ruska said.

The seniors also are swimmers and used that opportunity to improve their conditioning, which has been improved by intense water polo practices to overcome the numbers game. Ruska finished his swim season with a personal-best by four seconds in the 100-yard backstroke.

“You just have to be in the water for basi-

cally all four quarters,” Regan said. “Definitely the games that have a pool that’s half shallow and half deep help. Just because we don’t have a lot of subs, those are the games we have the most energy in.”

Last season, Regan fondly remembers scoring a playoff goal against Lyons Township, which finished third in state.

Regan will attend Dayton and study business, primarily finance. Ruska will attend St. Louis University and study aeronautical science with hopes of becoming a commercial or private pilot.

“Right now I’m probably at 30 hours. I’ll have my private [operator’s] license soon,” Ruska said.

18 The Landmark, May 10, 2023 Growing Community Media

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Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

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BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG

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HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

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Brookfield neighborhood person needed for light housekeeping and probable future cat sitting References a plus Call 773-807-3402

SEASONAL FARMER’S MARKET ASSISTANT

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Seasonal Farmer’s Market Assistant in the Health Department. This position will provide administrative support to the Farmer’s Market Manager to allow growers and producers of food to sell directly to the public within established guidelines. This position requires work in inclement weather conditions; some heavy lifting of up to 50 pounds; walking or standing for sustained periods of time. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/jobs.

Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. Open until filled.

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The Landmark, May 10, 2023 19

CLASSIFIED BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the proposed Program Year (PY) 2020 Substantial Amendment to the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) Program Year (PY) 2020 Action Plan dated March 29, 2023, will no longer take place. The original proposal included additional funding allocations in the amount of $87,451 to be allocated for the following: 1) $78,166 for resurfacing, street lighting, and landscaping on Census Tract 8123.01 Block 2 and 2) $9,285 for alley improvements on Census Tract 8123 Block 1 and 8215.

Published in Wednesday Journal May 10, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 208 TIMELY AND MEANINGFUL CONSULTATION FOR PARENTS AND ADMINISTRATORS OF PRIVATE AND HOME SCHOOLED CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES In accordance with the requirements of Section 612(a) (10) of the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act of 2004 (“IDEA 2004”), Riverside Brookfield High School will conduct a Timely and Meaningful Consultation on Friday, May 19, 2023, at 10:00 AM at Riverside Brookfield High School, 160 Ridgewood Road, Riverside, Il 60546 The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how students with disabilities, who attend private schools or are homeschooled within the district boundaries, will be served by District 208 during the 2023-24 school year.

Parents and private school administrators who would like to attend should contact Kevin Baldus, Director of Special Education, at baldusk@rbhs208.net Zoom invitation will be forwarded prior to the meeting.

Published in RB Landmark May 10, 17, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE River Forest School District 90 (Required by the Illinois State Board of Education) In accordance with the requirements of Section 612(a) (10) of the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act of 2004 (“IDEA 2004”), the River Forest School District 90 will conduct a Timely and Meaningful Consultation on Monday, May 22, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. in the District 90 Administration Offices, 7776 Lake Street, River Forest, IL. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how students with disabilities who attend private schools or are homeschooled within the District boundaries will be served by District 90 during the 2022-2023 school year. Parents and private school administrators who would like to attend should contact Debbie Lubeck, Director of Student Services, at lubeckd@district90.org for additional information.

Published in Wednesday Journal May 10, 17, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICE HEARING DATE: May 31, 2023 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302 CALENDAR NUMBER: 03-23DRC APPLICANT: Christopher Bell ADDRESS: 1128-1134 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301 REQUEST: The Community Design Commission will hold a public hearing on an application filed by the Applicant, Christopher Bell, on behalf of Comedy Plex, seeking variances from the following sections of the Oak Park Sign Code relative to increasing the size of a projecting sign, allowing a portion of a projecting sign to be used as an electric sign and allowing two (2) projecting signs without public street frontage for the establishment at the premises commonly known as 1128-1134 Lake Street, Lower Level, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-07-119-015-0000 (“Subject Property”).

1. Section 7-7-15 (B) (1) (a), requiring that the maximum area of a projecting sign located within the Downtown Sign

Published in Wednesday Journal, May 10, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division.

In re the marriage of KARINA MONTOYA, Petitioner and EDER PACHECO, Respondent, Case No. 2023D003253.

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

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Room 802, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, in the City of Chicago, Illinois, on or before June 2, 2023, 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.

IRIS Y. MARTINEZ, Clerk.

Published in Wednesday Journal May 3, 10, 17, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE

Overlay District shall not exceed 24 square feet; whereas the proposal features a 50 square foot projecting sign on the south elevation of the building; and 2. Section 7-7-15 (B) (2), requiring one (1) projecting sign per ground floor establishment with frontage on a public street; whereas the proposal features two projecting signs with no frontage on a public street, respectively; and 3. Section 7-7-16 (3), requiring that electronic display screens are permitted as wall or window signs only, whereas the proposed electronic sign is a projecting sign at the premises commonly known as 1128-1134 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL. 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 public hearing may be adjourned by the Commission to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereo

This is a revised public notice, hereby giving the details that the Village of Oak Park Community Development Citizens Advisory Committee (CDCAC) will be meeting for applicant presentations, a funding recommendations determination meeting and a public comment for the upcoming Program Year (PY) 2023 project proposals submitted to the Village for federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant funds. PY 2023 will run from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.

All meetings will be held at Village Hall—123 Madison— room 101 and are as follows: Presentations, 5:30 -9:00pm on April 18, April 20 and April 25; Meeting to determine funding recommendations, 6:00pm on May 9, 2023. There will be a public hearing May 30, 2023 at 6:00pm to receive public comment on proposed funding recommendations.

All meetings are open to the public and reasonable accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities and non-English speaking persons as needed. Meeting specifics are subject to change; please send a message to grants@ oak-park.us to confirm details.

Published in Wednesday Journal May 10, 2023

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC Plaintiff, -v.UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF YVONNE ARROYO, DECEASED, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, VICTORIAN SQUARE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, CHARLES BIBB, CLARENCE AKBAR BIBB, MARIE LESTER, DOROTHY JEAN BIBB SINGH , THOMAS QUINN, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE TO YVONNE ARROYO, DECEASED Defendants 2022 CH 08025 1135 SCHNEIDER AVENUE, UNIT 2B OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on April 11, 2023, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on June 1, 2023, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1135 SCHNEIDER AVENUE, UNIT 2B, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-06-316-0301004, 16-06-316-030-1017, AND 1606-316-030-1018 The real estate is improved with vacant land.

The judgment amount was $269,229.40.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driv-

er’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, contact MANLEY DEAS KOCHALSKI LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, ONE EAST WACKER, SUITE 1250, Chicago, IL, 60601 (312) 651-6700. Please refer to file number 22-026600.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

MANLEY DEAS KOCHALSKI LLC ONE EAST WACKER, SUITE 1250 Chicago IL, 60601 312-651-6700 E-Mail: AMPS@manleydeas.com Attorney File No. 22-026600 Attorney Code. 48928 Case Number: 2022 CH 08025 TJSC#: 43-1638 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 2022 CH 08025 I3218771

purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g) (1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 7949876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-22-03237 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2022 CH 04036 TJSC#: 43-1809 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 2022 CH 04036 I3219832

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION Plaintiff, -v.MELANIE MARTIN, 300 CHICAGO CONDOMINIUM, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF HAZEL J. ANTHONY, GERALD NORDGREN, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR HAZEL J. ANTHONY (DECEASED) Defendants 2022 CH 04036 300 CHICAGO AVE 4N OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 17, 2023, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on June 13, 2023, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 300 CHICAGO AVE 4N, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-05-321-0341007 The real estate is improved with a condo/townhouse.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the

20

The Landmark, May 10, 2023

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