Landmark 072920

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD Also serving North Riverside $1.00

Vol. 35, No. 31

July 29, 2020

Bike Week Brookfield rolls out week-long event to promote joys of cycling PAGE 3

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Madigan/ComEd saga hits home in Riverside PAGE 8

@riversidebrookfieldlandmark @riversidebrookfield_landmark

D95 revises reopen plan, will offer hybrid learning setup PAGE 10

VIP’s fracture leaves future in doubt

@RBLandmark

AIRBORNE

North Riverside mayor has split with party that’s slated him three times

By BOB UPHUES Editor

For more than 30 years there’s been no dispute that the most powerful political force in North Riverside has been the Voter’s Improvement Party, or VIP, for short.

Since 1989, the year Richard Scheck won election to the first of his five terms as mayor, the village board has been, and continues to be, dominated by candidates slated by VIP. But all of that appears to be changing.

Stung by a close call in the 2017 mayoral race and rocked by a 2019 election that saw two of its three candidates go down in defeat to independents H. Bob Demopoulos and Marybelle Mandel, VIP began to fracture.

In the subsequent fallout amid blame-placing for a lackluster 2019 campaign and the resultant humiliation at the polls, some longtime VIP stalwarts exited the party.

Mayor Hubert Hermanek Jr. confirmed to the Landmark that he quietly broke with VIP late last summer.

“There was a faction of VIP that I began having irreconcilable differences with,” said Hermanek in a phone interview last week. “I thought it’d be in everybody’s best interest to separate from the party.”

Hermanek has been slated by VIP three times, winning See VIP on page 12

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Riverside Swim Club was one place where folks were able to beat the oppressive heat and humidity on Sunday, July 26.

The club reopened to members on July 6 and is on track to break ground for a new facility there this fall. See story, page 7.

RBHS could eliminate class rank

School board vote on whether to abandon tradition slated for Aug. 11

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Class rank could soon be a relic of the past at Riverside-Brookfield High School. At its Aug. 11 meeting, the Dis-

trict 208 Board of Education will consider whether to eliminate class rank, following a growing trend among high schools.

In 2014, the Lyons Township High School District 204 Board of Education

voted to eliminate class rank, and the Class of 2017 was the last class to be ranked. Those opposed to class rank say it perpetuates inequities of race See CLASS RANK on page 15

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

Bike Brookfield reimagined in 2020 as week-long event

IN THIS ISSUE Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Socially distant self-guided tour highlights village’s bicycle-friendly offerings

Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

By JACKIE PISANO Contributing Reporter

Kosey Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

The COVID-19 pandemic may have wheeled Brookfield’s annual Bike Brookfield event off the calendar this past May, but thanks to collaborative efforts between the village and the neighborhood nonprofit bicycle advocacy group Cycle Brookfield, the wheels are once again in motion.

Brookfield is now preparing for not just a new day, but an entire week to celebrate cycling.

Since 2015, Bike Brookfield has been the village’s way of bringing people together to enjoy the fun of recreational biking, learn the importance of bicycle safety and show how getting around town on two wheels can put a whole new perspective on neighborhood travel.

The event, which has become an familyfavorite, typically features a kids’ bike rodeo promoting bike safety and a 10K community ride -- an opportunity for both seasoned cyclists and the occasional rider to explore all Brookfield has to offer, from picturesque nature areas along the Salt Creek Trail to the business districts and tree-lined neighborhood avenues.

But for an event that draws nearly 400 people each year, organizers knew that the risks associated with large crowds and emphasis on social distancing meant the regular Bike Brookfield event couldn’t take place as normally planned.

“Instead of just moving the one-day event, we said, ‘We really don’t want to see huge groups of people around each corner hanging out by a street sign,” said Christopher Valadez, a Brookfield resident and founder/ vice president of Cycle Brookfield. “We wanted to organize a truly safe event, but give people time to participate in whatever their comfort zone for cycling is.”

With that in mind, the village and Cycle Brookfield reimagined the event into Bike Brookfield Week -- a multi-day, interactive and self-guided ride through Brookfield in which participants have seven days to travel to 20 designated Bike Brookfield stations set up throughout the village.

Between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7, cyclists will be able to ride their bikes through the village, stop at the various Bike Brookfield stations and scan a QR code that will reveal bike-

Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Property transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Editor Bob Uphues Sports Editor James Kay Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designers Javier Govea, Mark Moroney Advertising Designer Debbie Becker FILE

REBOOT: Unable to host Bike Brookfield and its crowd of hundreds, as in 2017 (above), the village and a local cycling nonprofit have partnered to create a do-it-yourself, interactive cycling tour through the village between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7. centric information about the area around the station.

Codes will include insight into existing bike-friendly infrastructure (like designated bike lanes) and local bike servicing stations (like the new self-service bike repair station located at the Congress Park Metra stop), as well as provide an opportunity for user feedback as the village continues working to improve conditions for biking in town.

The first 200 participants to complete the entire virtual course will win a free Bike Brookfield T-shirt and be entered into a raffle to win additional prizes courtesy of local businesses. Prizes will be distributed to winners on Aug. 7.

Though this year’s event looks different, Valadez says the goal remains the same: creatively promoting a bike-friendly culture through the village for residents young and old.

“Beyond the idea of safe riding, the event shows how you can pass by schools, the library, stores and wherever people get to by car and show friends and neighbors new ways to get around,” he said. “It’s really

more of a festival than a bike ride.”

As in years past, the event will include outdoor stations at popular locations including the Brookfield Village Hall, Brookfield Public Library and local businesses.

Valadez hopes Bike Brookfield Week will also spread the word about Cycle Brookfield, the nonprofit inspired by Bike Brookfield.

“We just really wanted to inspire people to get out on the streets of Brookfield and ride their bikes,” Valadez said. “It shows people how they can really travel across town for recreation and exercise.”

And, the event is not limited to just Brookfield residents. Valadez says event organizers hope cyclists from across the area come to Brookfield to learn about what the village is doing to make the town friendly for everyone.

“We want people to take the time and enjoy the many areas of Brookfield as much as possible,” he said.

For more information on Bike Brookfield Week, including event logistics, visit Cycle Brookfield’s public Facebook page at https://bit.ly/2BFbJRA or by searching “Cycle Brookfield” on Facebook.

Advertising Sales Marc Stopeck Sales and Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Front Desk Maria Murzyn, Carolyn Henning Publisher Dan Haley Business Manager Joyce Minich

HOW TO REACH US ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 708-442-6739 ■ FAX 708-467-9066 E-MAIL buphues@wjinc.com ONLINE www.RBLandmark.com The Landmark is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $1.00.

A one-year subscription costs $30 within Cook County and $40 outside the county. Advertising rates may be obtained by calling our office. Periodical rate postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS 0019-585). Postmaster

Read it online at www.rblandmark.com

send address corrections to Landmark, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302. © 2020 Growing Community Media NFP.

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

BIG WEEK

On a mission …

Join Brookfield Public Library as its celebrates the 40th anniversary of the John Belushi/Dan Akroyd musical collaboration – The Blues Brothers – during the presentation “Beyond the Blues Brothers” via Zoom on Monday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m.

Film scholar Kelli Marshall will explore the movie’s backstories, mix of Hollywood genres and impact on Chicago-based film-making.

Register to attend by visiting brookfield.evanced.info/signup.

July 29-August 5

Common app essay workshop High school seniors, your final year is just around the corner and college beckons.

In preparation for submitting applications to schools who use the common application form, give yourself a leg up by attending “Rising seniors: Time to Shine – Your Common App Essay” via Zoom on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 6:30 p.m.

HelloCollege will help you plan and prepare a great essay for your college application. The program is being presented on Zoom. Visit riversidelibrary.evanced.info/signup/calendar to register and obtain access information.

RAC presents virtual artist talks

Virtual Scottish Festival and Highland Games

Riverside Arts Center has released a pair of videos, which can be seen on their new RAC YouTube channel, featuring Zoom chats with two artists whose work was recently featured at the gallery, Mayumi Lake and Stacia Yeapanis.

FlexSpace Director Liz Chilsen hosts both chats, talking with Lake about the artist’s creative practice, her work for the “Towards Luminescence” exhibit and her affinity for disco lighting.

In her conversation, Yeapanis talks about her choice to forego installing her own artwork in favor of hanging a Black Lives Matter sign in the gallery window -- identifying herself as a citizen rather than an artist.

You can search “Riverside Arts Center” on YouTube or visit the organization’s website at riversideartscenter.com.

The Chicago Scots, the nearly 150-year-old charity that operates Caledonia Senior Living and Memory Care in North Riverside, will host its annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games virtually for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The free, family-friendly event will take place on Facebook Live on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 2 p.m. It will feature a variety of demonstrations and performances, along with shout-outs to the community for their support during the past few months.

On Aug. 1 they’ll also open their Virtual Marketplace, where you’ll be able to buy unique experiences and Highland Games swag and support their mission. All proceeds benefit Caledonia Senior Living.

More info is available at scottishfestivalchicago.org.

And more The Lyons Township Assessor’s Office, 6404 Joliet Rd., Countryside, is open for property tax appeals through Aug. 14. Property owners who seek in-person assistance must make an appointment. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (closed for lunch noon to 1 p.m.) with extended hours until 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 4. Questions? Call 708-4828300, and choose Option 1.

North Riverside Public Library is offering the following virtual programs through Facebook Live, conference calls and the teleconferencing app Zoom.

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Programs include Talented Tuesdays every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. via Facebook Live on North Riverside Public Library’s Facebook page; Game Night Fridays every Friday at 7 p.m. via Zoom; and Seated Tai Chi Moving Meditation via Zoom on Aug. 3 at 6:30 p.m. RSVP to bodenl@northriversidelibrary.org or visit northriversidelibrary.org/events for all Zoom meeting access info.

Brookfield Public Library offers virtual classes and programs for patrons of all ages throughout the week. Most youth activities will be presented live on the library’s Facebook page at facebook.com/BrookfieldPublicLibrary. Events include literacy classes and Geek Labs, Zumba for Families and Mammals & ■

More. Youth Services will also host a weekly sidewalk art challenge on Sundays. Each week’s winner will receive a gift card to a local business. For adults, there’s Chair Yoga with Susan Wilkens of Dancing Cranes via Zoom on July 30 at 11 a.m. register for access info by visiting brookfield.evanced.info/signup.

Riverside Arts Center is offering Boredom Buster Boxes and Virtual Party Boxes to give the kids some hands-on fun. Each box all the materials needed to complete an art project and instruction sheets.

Order online and RAC will deliver the boxes to your front porch (no contact). Order at riversideartscenter. com/category/classes/kids-classes.

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You can also enjoy the annual Members’ and Kids’ Exhibition virtually. Visit the RAC website at riversiartscenter.com, scroll down the home page to the exhibit information and click the “download” button. The exhibition includes all manner of styles and media, from figurative and abstract painting to photography, sculpture, glass and ceramics.

Riverside Public Library offers virtual programs for adults, kids and families, including Sunrise Meditation on July 30 at 7:30 a.m. and Virtual Storytime presented via Zoom on July 31 at 10 a.m.

Visit riversidelibrary.evanced.info/signup/calendar to register and get Zoom access info.

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

P O L I C E

R E P O R T S

Cops warn of pre-paid debit card scam

Police in Brookfield, Riverside and North Riverside are warning residents not to be taken in by a scam involving purported pre-paid debit cards sent through the mail by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).

The cards in question are purportedly issued by Key Bank and a letter that comes with the card claims it has funds loaded onto it to pay unemployment benefits. The letter instructs recipients to activate the card by calling a phone number and establishing a PIN. However, the cards are being sent to people who have never filed for unemployment compensation. In one case, the card was issued in the name of a Brookfield man who was deceased.

On July 23, a 77-year-old North Riverside man contacted police after receiving one of the cards in the mail. He assumed it was a scam, since the mailing did not include his entire name and listed the wrong apartment number.

The man told police he had never filed for unemployment and had not activated the card.

Last week, five Brookfield residents called police to report they’d received similar debit cards, purportedly from the IDES. None of the residents had applied for unemployment benefits, according to police, and none activated the cards.

Riverside police on July 24, issued a press release warning that they “had taken several reports in recent weeks” about identical mailings to residents in that village. Upon activating the cards, victims were asked for personal identifying information. All of the cards in question in the Riverside cases also were purportedly issued by Key Bank.

“If you have not applied for unemployment in the state of Illinois, and have received a pre-paid debit card, DO NOT activate the card,” the Riverside press release stated. “Rather, file a report with police and report the fraud to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.”

More information about the widespread scam is available at tinyurl.com/yyw9uu28.

According to police, both vehicles were traveling side by side at 73 mph in a 35 mph zone while an unidentified third vehicle led the other two. Two police officers were able to stop the two vehicles that were racing side by side, an Audi Q3 and a Hyundai Sonata, one in the 7500 block of Cermak Road and one in the parking lot of Kohl’s in the 7200 block.

According to police, the drivers of the Audi and Hyundai are cousins, and one of them admitted they were racing one another. Police had no information on the third vehicle involved.

Street racing

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, July 2026, 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.

A 20-year-old Romeoville woman and a 22-year-old Joliet woman both were charged with aggravated speeding and street racing after an officer on patrol reported them racing their vehicles, along with a third whose driver got away, while eastbound on Cermak Road from Desplaines Avenue on July 21 at about 11:25 p.m.

Garage burglary North Riverside police responded to a home in the 2300 block of 10th Avenue on the night of July 22 after a resident called to report that someone had broken into her garage and stole an air compressor.

The victim told police that she was preparing to hold a garage sale and as a result was in and out of the garage frequently. The side service door had been left unlocked between July 20 and 21, when the victim believed the burglary took place.

Bank fraud A 45-year-old North Riverside man went to police on the morning of July 24 to report that someone had stolen his banking information and had his paycheck deposited into an unknown bank account.

The victim told police that he’d checked his checking account and observed that his paycheck for more than $1,000 had not been deposited by his employer. He contacted the company’s human resources department, which informed him that their records indicated he’d changed his direct deposit information online on June 29.

The victim told HR that he recently lost his cellphone, which had his personal and banking formation on it. His paycheck, according to the police report, was deposited into a bank located in Attica, Ohio. The victim contacted that bank in order to initiate a fraud investigation. The man’s employer also was conducting an internal investigation.

— Compiled by Bob Uphues

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

New program allows entities to buy, sell storm water credits Seen as way to spur private and public investment in green infrastructure

By BOB UPHUES Editor

As the frequency of “historic” rain events has picked up over the last decade or so – the Chicago area began seeing larger storms and more frequent street and basement flooding beginning around 2008 – local governments as well as agencies such as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago began tightening storm water management rules.

From the perspective of those looking to build new residential and commercial developments, those rules have meant increased costs to build underground storm water detention facilities or invest in green infrastructure to manage runoff.

In some cases, those costs have resulted in even relatively simple improvements – like repaving crumbling parking lots – being put off due to the cost of the storm water management requirements.

The village of Brookfield in recent months,

recognizing its strict rules were preventing some projects from getting off the ground, eased some of those requirements.

But, getting developers to invest specifically in green storm water management initiatives – rain gardens, permeable parking lots, green roofs and other strategies that divert storm water away from sewer systems – has still been difficult.

That’s where a new program resulting from a partnership by The Nature Conservancy and the Metropolitan Planning Council comes in.

Known as “StormStore,” the pilot program is a storm water credit trading initiative specifically targeting the Lower Des Plaines River Watershed, which includes the Landmark’s coverage area, and the Little Calumet River Watershed.

StormStore is intended to encourage the construction of sustainable storm water management infrastructure in areas that need it most. The program allows both private developers and public entities to ability to either purchase credits to satisfy a portion of their storm water requirements or create a market for others to purchase credits from them.

“This allows communities to take more control over how they’re managing urban flooding,” said Ryan Wilson, manager of water resources for the Metropolitan Planning Council, an 86-year-old organization devoted to, according to its website, “shaping a more

Ogden Ave. daycare approved in February off the table Former auto parts store up for auction next month

By BOB UPHUES Editor

A daycare center approved in February to occupy a former auto parts store on Ogden Avenue in Brookfield won’t be moving ahead and the building itself is now up for auction.

Caroline Sanchez, owner of Let’s Play Child Development Center, confirmed that she is putting off her plans to open a fourth location, saying the ongoing pandemic has made parents reluctant to send their children back into a group daycare situation.

“The pandemic is bad for us, because we don’t have any children right now,” said Sanchez, who operates one location in Cicero and two in North Riverside. “I can’t do one more if I don’t have children.”

Sanchez said her other locations are open and operating, but that enrollment is far below capacity. For example, she said, one of the two North Riverside locations has a maximum capacity of 98 children.

Right now, the location serves just 27.

“We need to wait,” Sanchez said of any plans for future expansion.

After its plans were approved by the Brookfield Village Board in February, Let’s Play Child Development Center was expected to purchase the property at 9101 Ogden Ave. and improve it.

Now, however, the building is on the auction block. The auction listing with AW Properties Global notes that the property comprises two lots covering about 10,000 square feet.

The building is about 6,000 square feet and most recently was home to a Carquest Auto Parts store. The minimum auction bid is $185,000 and online bids will be accepted between Aug. 17 and Aug. 19.

Sanchez said she is still interested in Brookfield as a location for a daycare center.

“I liked that place,” she said. “It was for us a big place, but I can’t do business right now if I don’t have children.”

equitable, sustainable and prosperous greater Chicago region.”

“It allows development to happen where there’s already [storm water management] capacity,” he added.

A developer, for example, could purchase credits from another entity within each specific watershed to help fulfill storm water management requirements. The deals are private, but they don’t replace a developer’s duty to address storm water runoff.

“For detention, they have to meet certain specific standards that take into consideration the site and sewers,” Wilson said. “This pilot does not give up that responsibility. You have to manage storm water onsite, and if you do that, you can send that capacity to another place.”

StormStore was made possible by a recent change in the MWRD’s own Watershed Management Ordinance. In May, the MWRD board voted unanimously to amend the ordinance to allow for storm water credit trading.

That change came after being shown the benefits of the credit trading program by the Metropolitan Planning Council and The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit with an international reach that’s focused on conservation issues for more than 60 years.

“About five years ago, The Nature Conservancy decided it needed to reevaluate what it considered ‘conservation,’” said Jen Jenkins,

natural infrastructure project manager for The Nature Conservancy’s Illinois chapter.

The group began focusing on urban spaces, creating an urban conservation team and coming up with a “greenprint” that assessed risk factors like urban flooding.

“We saw StormStore as a tool to encourage private investment in green infrastructure and make sure it’s going where it’s needed most,” Jenkins said. “It’s a tool to help redirect capital into those areas” that historically have suffered from disinvestment.

The program is also an opportunity for public entities such as municipalities, school districts and park districts to invest in green infrastructure, building additional capacity that those entities can sell to private developers seeking to meet local storm water requirements.

Riverside recently built a permeable paver parking lot for commuters, and Riverside School District 96, if the program had been available before now, might have taken it into account while planning for the ongoing work to expand buildings and reconfigure parking areas at its schools.

“You don’t have to rely on large pieces of land to add value and mitigate flood impact,” Jenkins said.

More information is available at the Metropolitan Planning Council’s website at metroplanning.org/work/project/48.

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Riverside Swim Club navigates a pandemic summer Health protocols in place to keep crowds down, maintain social distancing

By BOB UPHUES Editor

As the calendar approached Memorial Day, officials over at the Riverside Swim Club weren’t sure if they’d be able to safely open the swimming pool to members.

Even though the state of Illinois was moving toward Phase 3 of the governor’s Restore Illinois coronavirus response plan, it was no sure thing kids and families would be able to escape the summer heat poolside.

Complicating that predicament was the fact that the swim club was counting on dues from new members to help the private club come up with enough money to ensure it could land a construction loan for a major renovation scheduled to begin in September.

With August in sight, it’s all systems go at Riverside Swim Club. Families were welcomed back poolside – under new safety guidelines – on July 6.

Chris Porter, president of the Riverside Swim Club board of directors, said the credit for putting together the protocols for reopening goes to pool manager Tina Duve and pool director Angela Izzo.

“They really had to dig into all of the Illinois Department of Public Health regulations and took the best and brightest ideas they were seeing for other public facilities,” said Porter. “They came up with a program to keep our employees safe, and our members.”

Prior to opening the pool to families, club

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

RELIEF: Riverside Swim Club members take a cool break from the blistering mid-90s temperatures on July 26. The swim club reopened its doors to member families on July 6 after establishing protocols to avoid crowds. officials first opened it to adult lap swimmers on June 22 and modified its swim team program to see what kind of response they receive.

“It was a trial balloon, to see how we could execute adult lap swim and how well the swim team would go,” Porter said.

As for the swim team, it’s a practice-only program this summer – no competitions.

Swimmers and coaches are required to monitor their health and stay away if they display symptoms. Swimmers and coaches must maintain physical distance, parents are not allowed on deck during practice and locker rooms are off limits except for emergency bathroom use.

All people must wear masks as they enter and leave the pool area and no one is allowed to share drinks and equipment.

The introduction of general member use of the pool during regular hours came with special protocols to avoid crowding. At the start of each week, each member can book two time slots (for two hours on weekdays and three hours on weekends). If slots remain open, members can book more.

Each patron is given a deck area with two chairs, and those areas are separated from one another to maintain physical distance. With fewer people coming to the pool, the swim club’s staff is also leaner this summer.

“What we want to avoid is a crowd,” Porter said. “None of us was comfortable with something that looks like a party.”

Entry into the pool area is through what used to be the snack bar, taking locker rooms out of the equation. The food prep area is elsewhere and selections mainly include pre-packaged items.

With about five weeks left until the pool’s traditional closing date on Labor Day, the club’s leadership and members are looking toward breaking ground on the reimagined pool later this year.

“We’re still on track for fall,” said Porter.

Swim club representatives appeared before the Riverside Planning and Zoning Commission informally in June, where commissioners expressed interest in seeing the club reduce the amount of impervious surface onsite. The club is expected back in front of the commission for a zoning variation hearing in August.

Porter expressed confidence that the swim club would be able respond to those recommendations. The Riverside Village Board has the final say on the swim club’s request for any zoning variations needed to move the project forward.

“Nothing from the village has set us off course,” Porter said.

The ability to open for at least part of the summer was important in part, because the swim club gained 115 new members who were on board with the pool renovation plan and were attracted by the one-yearonly reduced bond to join.

It hasn’t hurt that the weather has cooperated all summer. June and July have provided plenty of “pool weather” – dry and hot.

“It’s been unbelievable weather,” Porter said. “Every week has been amazing.”

Riverside to launch commercial zoning update Project, funded by RTA grant, will have strong transit-oriented focus

By BOB UPHUES Editor

A long-anticipated update of Riverside’s commercial zoning code is about to get under way after village trustees voted unanimously on July 16 to create and confirm the members of an ad hoc steering committee for the project.

Riverside in 2018 applied for a Community Planning Grant from the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to address zoning in commercial areas along the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad corridor.

The RTA awarded the grant in 2019 and has since selected two firms to serve as planning consultants for the zoning update, Savoy Consulting Group and Egret and Ox Planning, which are in the process of creating a project schedule and gather-

ing data and documents.

The village’s steering committee for the commercial zoning update includes two members of the Riverside Planning and Zoning Commission, Jill Mateo and Jennifer Henaghan; Village Trustee Doug Pollock, who is the village board’s liaison to that commission; and Riverside resident Jeff Cermak, a commercial real estate investment consultant with 30 years in the business.

“We’re looking to have a kickoff meeting in the next couple of weeks,” said Sonya Abt, the village’s community development director and staff liaison for the project.

The transit-oriented zoning update –hence RTA’s interest and grant award -- is expected to focus mainly on the downtown commercial district and Harlem Avenue commercial area near the railroad corridor.

But, the update will also look at the village’s multifamily building district, the R-3 district just west of the downtown, bounded by the BNSF tracks on the south, Park Place on the north, Kimbark Avenue on the east and the Des Plaines River on the west.

“It’s more looking at the downtown area and Harlem Avenue and addressing development patterns to see if our bulk regulations reflect how development is happening now,” Abt said.

The village embarks on the zoning update at a time when some significant commercial parcels have been on and off the market downtown and are newly available near the Harlem/Burlington intersection.

Village trustees also recently amended the zoning code to provide for planned unit developments, which are typically larger

commercial, residential or mixed-use projects that normally wouldn’t fit into strict zoning rules.

The planned unit development process ideally provides a way for such projects to be built while satisfying overall planning goals for a particular district and/or the village as a whole.

It will take months for a preliminary draft of the update to be completed, and the ongoing pandemic will make it a bit trickier to ensure the public can provide feedback and input.

“We’re hoping this fall we’ll be able to try and have meetings to get public input, either in person or on Zoom,” said Abt, who added the consultants hired to guide the update will be creating a project website where the public can view documents and updates on where things are in the process.

8

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

ComEd/Madigan probe hits home in Riverside State rep’s family, local company CEO referenced in federal case

By BOB SKOLNIK and BOB UPHUES Contributing Reporter and Editor

The federal investigation into a years’ long bribery scheme involving Commonwealth Edison and Mike Madigan, the powerful Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, has hit uncomfortably close to home for one Riverside couple.

As outlined in the deferred prosecution agreement between the federal government and ComEd, the father of state Rep. Mike Zalewski (D- Riverside) was hired at Madigan’s request by a subcontractor of ComEd and paid $5,000 a month for little or no work.

Zalewski’s father, also named Michael Zalewski, was the longtime alderman of the 23rd Ward in Chicago. The senior Zalewski had resigned as alderman in May of 2018 with less than a year remaining on his term, so Madigan loyalist Silvana Tabares could be appointed to replace him and run for a full four-year term in 2019 as an incumbent. The payments began after the senior Zalewski resigned the aldermanic post.

Without mentioning any names, it is clear that the senior Zalewski is “Associate 3” mentioned in the filing and Madigan is Public Official A. Elsewhere in the agreement’s statement of facts, Public Official A is described as the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.

According to the statement of facts that is part of the deferred prosecution agreement, “In or around May 2018, Public Official A, through Individual A, asked CEO-1 to hire a political ally of Public Official A who was retiring from the Chicago City Council at the end of the month (“Associate 3”). CEO-1, in coordination with Senior Executive 1 and Consultant 1, agreed that ComEd would pay Associate 3 approximately $5,000 a month indirectly as a subcontractor through Company 1.”

Madigan has denied any wrongdoing, and

neither he nor anyone else has been charged with a crime in relation to the federal deferred prosecution agreement, which was announced by the U.S. Department of Justice on July 17.

The revelation that the senior Zalewski was being paid indirectly by ComEd for apparently doing little or no work has increased scrutiny on Carrie Zalewski, who is the chairwoman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, which regulates ComEd. Carrie Zalewski is married to state Rep. Mike Zalewski and is the daughter-in-law of former Ald. Michael Zalewski.

Some have questioned whether Carrie Zalewski should stay in her position or at least recuse herself from an ethics hearing for ComEd which the ICC has scheduled for July 29.

David Greising, the president and chief executive officer of the Better Government Association wrote in a Chicago Tribune op-ed last week that Zalewski should recuse herself from the ComEd ethics hearing.

“There are reasonable questions about her ability to be objective about ComEd’s reform efforts,” Greising wrote.

An ICC spokeswoman confirmed that Zalewski will preside over that hearing.

“The chairman is not planning to recuse herself because she has no conflicts, real or perceived,” said Victoria Crawford, senior public information officer for the ICC in an email.

“She will participate in the open meeting on July 29.”

The Zalewskis and Madigan have been allies for a long time. They come from adjacent wards on the Southwest Side of Chicago, although Mike and Carrie Zalewski moved to Riverside in 2010.

Carrie Zalewski had been a member of the state Pollution Control Board when newly elected Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker appointed her to the Illinois Commerce Commission last year and then quickly elevated her to the chairman, a position that pays her an annual salary of $136,800.

WBEZ has reported that, according to documents obtained in a public records request, Carrie Zalewski was one of 35 people named to state posts or hired by Pritzker after being recommended to him by Madigan. WBEZ also reported that Madigan took a special interest in keeping Zalewski on the Pollution Control

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Board when Republican Bruce Rauner was elected governor in 2014.

In published reports, Pritzker has said that Zalewski has done a good job as chairman of the ICC and that he has no plans to ask her to step aside. Carrie Zalewski is a lawyer who has an undergraduate degree in engineering.

Prior to joining the Pollution Control Board, she worked as a lawyer for the Illinois Department of Transportation.

In response to emailed questions form the Landmark about Zalewski’s appointment to the ICC, the commission’s spokeswoman said Zalewski’s appointment to the commission was the result of her qualifications, not political clout.

“Chairman Zalewski sought the position of ICC chairman on her own after Governor Pritzker was elected,” said Crawford. “She contacted his transition team seeking the position because after nine years on the Pollution Control Board, it interested her. Carrie Zalewski was appointed chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission on her own merits, due to her outstanding qualifications and experience. Any implication to the contrary is simply not true.”

Mike Zalewski said, via email, that he is proud of the job his wife has done at the Commerce Commission.

“Since Carrie became chair last year, she’s done an exemplary job and I’m proud of her,” Mike Zalewski wrote.

The state rep did not answer an emailed question about whether he thinks Madigan should resign as speaker or a question related to federal agents raiding his father’s house as part of their ongoing and wide-ranging corruption investigation last year.

Instead he referred to a public forum he did in Brookfield last November when he talked about ethics reform in Springfield. At that forum he alluded to the raid on his father’s house, saying that the issue was hitting close to home.

During that forum Zalewski also said that while Madigan has a poor public image he has strong support from House Democrats. He also discussed possible reforms, such as making state legislative posts full-time jobs and banning outside employment, stronger financial disclosure requirements, and a ban of state legislators lobbying local governments.

Head of Riverside firm also connected The Zalewskis are not the only ones with connections to Riverside who popped up in the federal deferred prosecution agreement with ComEd. Juan Ochoa, the CEO of Miramar International Group, a facilities management form which has its executive offices on East Burlington Street in Riverside, also makes an unnamed appearance in the case.

Both WBEZ and Crain’s Chicago Business identified Ochoa as “Board Member 1” in the deferred prosecution agreement’s statement of facts.

Beginning in 2017, Madigan allegedly sought Ochoa’s appointment to the ComEd Board of Directors and communicated that desire through an intermediary to ComEd’s CEO. In the face of internal opposition, the CEO allegedly asked whether Madigan would be satisfied with arranging a part-time job for Ochoa that would pay him the same amount, $78,000, as being named to the board of directors.

Madigan, through his intermediary, allegedly asked the ComEd CEO to “keep pressing” for Ochoa to be appointed to the board. Ochoa was appointed to the ComEd board in 2019, which was confirmed by an SEC filing from that April.

According to the feds, “ComEd appointed Board Member 1, in part, with the intent to influence and reward [Madigan] in connection with [Madigan’s] official duties.”

Ochoa resigned from his position on the ComEd board earlier this year, according to Crain’s. Ochoa did not respond to an email from the Landmark seeking comment.

He has deep political connections in Cook County, having served from 2007-10 as CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, also known as McPier, which operates Navy Pier and the McCormick Place convention complex in Chicago.

As reported previously in the Landmark, his Miramar International Group has won lucrative federal government contracts. Last September, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that Miramar had been awarded a $25 million contract to provide “facility support and maintenance services at various reserve centers located in California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.”

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

Street eats Brookfield took a swing at expanded al fresco dining in its downtown last weekend, and it received a warm welcome from restaurants and bars in the 3700 block of Grand Boulevard, almost all of whom participated in the program.

Public works crews barricaded the street at the Grand/Prairie/Fairview/Brookfield intersection and mid-block to provide a safe area for diners, who sat at tables set up on either side of Grand Boulevard in front of establishments.

The village left a 12-foot walkway down the center of the street to provide easy pedestrian access without having to crowd sidewalks and strung lights between light poles on either side of the street to provide a little nighttime atmosphere.

While some establishments, like Sebastian’s Whiskey and Ale House had purchased their own tables and chairs, the village helped out those without the ability to purchase or store tables by providing picnic tables from village parks.

The village plans to close off the 3700 block of Grand Boulevard to accommodate additional outdoor dining each Friday, Saturday and Sunday through at least Labor Day.

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10

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

D95 changes course, adopts hybrid learning model

District 102 also unveils its combo plan for remote, in-school instruction

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Families in both Brookfield-LaGrange Park School District 95 and LaGrangeBrookfield District 102 will have the choice to send their children to school for half days when school opens next month or keep their kids at home for 100-percent remote learning.

Officials from the two districts revealed their plans last week. At a special meeting on July 21, the District 95 school board listened to administrators outline and explain their plan for about two hours before unanimously approving the plan. District 102 released its plan on July 23.

The hybrid models ensure that class sizes will be small enough to maintain statemandated social distancing guidelines for students in a classroom. Students and teachers will have to wear face coverings inside the school building unless they have a medical reason not to do so.

District 95 originally planned to implement an in-person program this year, but that proved impossible to do while maintaining social distancing guidelines.

“We were trying to establish an in-person, all-in model and as we started to go through it, there was just no way to safely do it,” said District 95 Superintendent Mark Kuzniewski.

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Parents in District 95 had until July 28 to turn in a questionnaire and choose either the hybrid or remote option. If a parent chooses the remote option, the student will have to stay in the remote option for the entire first quarter.

If a family chooses the hybrid option the family can shift to the remote option with three days’ notice, but then must stay in the remote option for the rest of the quarter.

Kuzniewski said it was vital for parents to make their preferences known quickly, so that administrators could establish the cohorts and divide staff between the hybrid and remote options.

The district will, if parents wish, keep siblings on the same schedule, either morning or afternoon in the hybrid model, and try to take into account shared child care arrangements and geographical proximity.

“We will do the best we can to accommodate their preferences, but no guarantees,” Kuzniewski said.

District 102 Superintendent Kyle Schumacher also said that having students attend school for half a day, essentially splitting classes in half, was the only way in-person instruction could occur under the mandates issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

“We looked at the options that were available to us and how we could best meet the IDPH and ISBE guidelines for social distancing,” Schumacher said. “The only way we could do that and have kids in school was to reduce the number of students in our schools.”

Kuzniewski said he thought it was important to have some in-person instruction, although parents who don’t feel comfortable sending their children to school can choose the 100-percent remote learning option.

“It allows staff to have eyes on students every day,” Kuzniewski said.

Kuzniewski said in a survey compiled this summer, approximately 20 percent of parents said they did not want to send their children back to school this fall for in-person learning.

Another 28 percent said they were unsure about sending their kids back to school.

If parents in either school district choose the hybrid option, their children will attend either a morning or afternoon session in a classroom and spend the rest of the day learning remotely.

In District 95, the in-person sessions will last for 2.5 hours. In District 102 the classroom sessions will last for three hours.

Students will be grouped in cohorts and no more than 14 students will typically be in a classroom at the same time in District 95. In District 102, classes will be limited to 10 to 15 students.

Desks in classrooms will be set up so that students remain at least six feet apart. Students will not be allowed to share materials.

District 95 students in the hybrid model will be at school either from 8 to 10:30 a.m. or from noon until 2:30 p.m.

At Congress Park School in District 102, students who are in the hybrid model will attend school from 8:15 to 11:15 a.m. or from 12:15 to 3:15 p.m. Classrooms will be cleaned and sanitized between the afternoon sessions.

In District 95, special education students will get additional services between the morning and afternoon sessions.

Focus on core subjects In both districts, the in-person classroom instruction will focus on core subjects. At Brook Park School in District 95 students will start their day with a morning meeting and then have 45 minutes of instruction in math and 70 minutes of instruction in reading and literacy.

See D95 on page 13

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

11

COVID-19 cases trend upward statewide, locally Brookfield sees second-highest one-week total of new cases

By BOB UPHUES Editor

Mirroring a trend that’s playing out statewide since the beginning of the month, local communities are seeing new cases of COVID-19 in numbers not seen for two months.

While there were no new fatal cases reported in Brookfield, Riverside or North Riverside for the seven-day period ending on the morning of July 28, the percentage increase of new cases in Brookfield and Riverside was the highest those villages have seen since the beginning of June.

New cases in Brookfield jumped 12 percent week over week as of the morning of July 28, with the total of new cases increasing by 24 to 225.

That 24-case week-over-week increase was the second-highest Brookfield has recorded since the county began tracking data in March and the most since the seven-day period ending May 19, when 31 people tested positive for the disease.

In Riverside, six more people tested positive during the seven-day period ending Tuesday morning, the largest one-week total in that village since June 2. Riverside recorded just six new cases of COVID-19 dur-

ing the entire month of June.

In July, the village saw 16 new cases, bringing the total number of cases to 112.

The only bright spot for the week was in North Riverside, where the Cook County Department of Public Health reported only one new case for the seven-day period ending Tuesday morning.

In all, 87 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in North Riverside, including three people who have died from the disease. Four Brookfield residents have succumbed to the disease, along with two Riverside residents.

State totals rising Illinois’ seven-day rolling positivity rate for COVID-19 tests continued to rise through the weekend, reaching 3.8 percent — more than a full percentage point higher than it was at the beginning of the month.

The positivity rate for tests completed has increased for seven of the past eight days, ticking upward from 2.9 percent on July 19.

It’s the highest the rolling positivity rate has been since it was 4.2 percent on June 11.

That comes after one-day positivity rates of 3.7, 3.8 and 4 percent on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, respectively. Over that three-

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day span, the state averaged about 1,399 new have lingering health problems. Wearing a cases daily among an average of 36,537 mask, I advocate [for], because it is such a tests completed over the same period. simple thing to do.”

Speaking Monday in Adams County, Illinois Department of Public Health also which is in the state’s warnreported 31 more COVID-19-reing territory for COVID-19 lated deaths over the three day trends, Gov. J.B. Pritzker period spanning July 25-27, continued to urge Illinoisbringing total fatalities since ans to wear masks and avoid the pandemic began to 7,416 crowds. Those measures will among 172,655 confirmed cases. likely be necessary though at There have been more than least the end of 2020, he said.

2.5 million tests performed in the state and the recovery rate Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) from the virus is 95 percent for appeared alongside the govthose 42 days removed from a ernor at the Adams County positive test, according to the Health Department in QuinJ.B. PRITZKER IDPH. cy. She urged all residents to Illinois governor While Pritzker said the state wear face coverings, which is doing a better job handling a number of studies have the virus than its neighbors shown can help limit the and others in the South, it does spread of the virus. not take long for cases to spike.

The senator called mask“I can’t tell you what’s gonna happen Auwearing a “minor inconvenience” that is “so well worth it” to prevent spread of the lethal gust 10 or any date in August yet,” he said.

“What I can tell you is we’ve issued guidance virus.

“We learn new things about this virus ev- for what we know right now, but we’re all gonery day. But one indisputable fact is that it’s na have to keep watching.”

Jerry Nowicki of Capitol News Illinois highly, highly contagious,” she said. “Even those that get very sick, and don’t die, they contributed to this report.

“I can’t tell you what’s gonna happen August 10 or any date in August yet.”

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12

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

VIP

Campaign fallout from page 1 election as trustee in 2009 before two successful runs for mayor in 2013 and 2017.

He said he hasn’t decided if he’ll run as an independent for a third term as mayor or put together a slate.

“I’ll make a decision soon whether to run as an independent versus or with a different party or a changed VIP Party with different members,” Hermanek said. “But, a decision has to be made soon.”

In December or January, party chairwoman Sherri Belmonte confirmed that she left the party, although she’s still listed as chair of VIP’s political committee on the Illinois Board of Elections website.

Belmonte, who was in charge of VIP’s 2019 election campaign, acknowledged how much that defeat hurt.

“We didn’t run a great campaign and everybody knew that,” Belmonte said in a phone interview. “It was devastating. Whatever happened between the mayor and other members of VIP, they didn’t see eye to eye on how the campaign was run.”

Also rumored to have left the party was Belmonte’s father, Guy, who retired after two decades as North Riverside’s village administrator in March. But, Sherri said her father “didn’t really leave.”

“He just told the VIP Party he was taking more of a back seat approach to politics once he retired,” she said.

Sherri Belmonte worked as an administrative assistant in village hall starting in 2002 before moving to a new position in early 2020 in the records department of the North Riverside Police Department.

She chalked up her decision to leave the party to taking on the new job and working more nights as a clients’ rights counselor for the courts.

“If I can’t give it my all – it’s not fair to other people and it’s not fair to me – I don’t want to be going to political meetings,” Belmonte said.

What remains of the party membership has not met as a group since January, and the political committee has not raised any money or spent any of the roughly $12,000 in the party’s war chest for the past six months.

“We’re all trying to figure things out,” said Village Clerk Kathy Ranieri, whose mother, Charmaine Kutt, was a VIP Party co-founder and longtime village clerk. “We’re still a party trying to regroup.”

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t helped. Ranieri said some VIP members have met via Zoom to discuss the party’s future, but the inability to gather a full party has hindered progress on that front.

“Several people have expressed interest in joining,” Ranieri said. “We just haven’t gotten a chance to meet and discuss.”

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what was transpiring behind the scenes at the village board table. Hermanek remains friendly with many who remain part of VIP, like Ranieri and trustees Terri Sarro, Fernando Flores and Deborah Czajka.

“I still work great with the mayor,” said Sarro. “We didn’t see eye to eye on a few things, but those have been handled.”

But the trouble within the party recently popped into the open courtesy of a routine filing with the Illinois Board of Elections.

On July 15, longtime VIP member and treasurer Ken Rouleau – the village’s former fire chief, an elected member of the North Riverside Public Library Board of Trustees and still an employee of the village’s building department – notified the Illinois Board of Elections via an email that he was no longer affiliated with the party.

The date of the letter coincided with the deadline for the quarterly campaign disclosure filing for VIP’s political committee. Six days later, Ranieri, who is not listed anywhere as an officer of the party, though she has been a longtime member, filed the disclosure form.

Rouleau declined to talk about his decision to leave the party.

The uncertainty is a problem for the party, because there’s an important election on the horizon. In April 2021, North Riverside voters will select a mayor, clerk and three trustees.

Will VIP field a slate? Will the party even exist as VIP or rebrand entirely? Everything is up in the air with the period for collecting signatures for nominating petitions less than two months away.

“I don’t know,” said Trustee Joseph Mengoni, who has been viewed as a logical choice for VIP’s next candidate for mayor and has served as the party’s unofficial liaison with village hall.

Mengoni, whose professional life as an executive with UCP Seguin has been complicated by the pandemic’s threats to those living and working in the nonprofit’s group homes, said he’s not sure he’ll be running at all in 2021.

With UCP Seguin’s CEO set to retire in mid-2021, Mengoni said that could mean big changes for him personally and the nonprofit.

“I’ve got to figure out what I want to do at work,” Mengoni said. “Everything is up in the air with what’s going on.”

Asked to characterize his relationship with Hermanek, Mengoni said it was “cordial.”

While Scheck remains a presence in the party, all VIP members interviewed for this story said he is maintains a background presence as a consultant, not actively pushing party policy.

“He’s there if we have questions and for his history and political experience,” Mengoni said.

What the party needs most, they say, is younger members who want to be involved.

“We’re going to have to get together soon and decide where we want to go,” Mengoni said. “Are we going to change our name? All of the original [party] members have either passed on or moved on. We need younger, different people. Let’s see what we’re going to want to do.”

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

P R O P E R T Y

Brookfield home in Hollywood fetches $600,000

13

T R A N S F E R S

The following property transfers were reported by the Cook County Recorder of Deeds from May and June 2020. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the recorder of deeds.

Brookfield ADDRESS

PRICE

SALE DATE

3915 Arthur Ave. 3119 Sunnyside Ave. 3223 Prairie Ave. 4624 Prairie Ave. 4208 Maple Ave. 4210 Forest Ave. 3713 Grand Blvd, Unit 17 3104 Harrison Ave. 3223 Harrison Ave. 4023 DuBois Blvd.

4235 Elm Ave. 3131 Sunnyside Ave. 4239 Prairie Ave. 4225 Arthur Ave. 4005 Grove Ave. 3412 Oak Ave. 3122 Sunnyside Ave. 3419 Grand Blvd.

8629 Rockefeller Ave. 3628 Blanchan Ave. 3921 Sunnyside Ave. 3044 Forest Ave. 9115 Sheridan Ave. 8621 Parkview Ave. 4114 Prairie Ave. 9040 27th St. 4511 Blanchan Ave. 9108 30th St. 3915 Park Ave. 9500 Lexington Ave. 4529 Maple Ave.

$145,000 $342,000 $227,000 $260,000 $311,500 $305,000 $130,000 $425,000 $243,000 $236,000 $227,000 $265,000 $222,000 $315,000 $265,000 $273,000 $272,500 $275,000 $600,000 $248,000 $266,000 $259,000 $295,000 $617,500 $239,000 $267,500 $239,000 $245,000 $345,000 $365,000 Unknown

4/13/2020 4/01/2020 4/09/2020 4/08/2020 4/17/2020 4/17/2020 3/31/2020 4/01/2020 3/29/2020 4/08/2020 4/22/2020 4/27/2020 3/20/2020 3/23/2020 4/23/2020 4/25/2020 4/14/2020 5/08/2020 4/13/2020 4/27/2020 5/13/2020 4/24/2020 5/08/2020 5/15/2020 5/05/2020 5/14/2020 5/05/2020 4/30/2020 5/20/2020 5/18/2020 5/06/2020

D95 from page 10 Science, social studies, art and music will be taught completely remotely in District 95 and all elective classes will taught remotely.

At Congress Park School in District 102, students will focus on math, language arts and social emotional learning while in school, but they’ll also get 30 minutes of instruction a day in special subjects like art and music.

No bus service will be provided in

SELLER Loulousis, Penelope Macaluso, Anthony HPA Borrower 2018-1 LLC Pieta, Donald R Venvertloh, Christopher Pinta, Thomas J Mally, Mark J Slinde-Mally, Corine L Sundstrom, Craig D Zhu, Chunjie Chaput, Christine J Ochoas Prop Vilardo, Thomas Lewis, Robert D A&M Prop LLC Davis, Brad T Dehoyos, Arnoldo Jr Cooper, Owen B Orzech, Jay J Major Key Ent LLC Simpson, Susan M Twibell, Megan S Will, Kevin M Dahms, Richard C Quilty, James Mustari, June Blazek Howell, Justin R Oeser, Trude H TR Chicago Title Land Trust Co TR 8276 Miller, Peter TR Gianopulos, James A US Bk

BUYER Gonzalez, Joel Beauvais, Zachery S Ziccardi, Rebecca Kassim, Ramy A Mastroianni, Richard O’Dwyer, Daniel Mitchell Michael T Meyer, Amanda Daly, Grace Anne Vera, Jesus Costello, Peter Heraty, Rebecca Vlasek, Kevin Rivera, Anthony Whitt, Alex J Simpson, Paul Fron, Kenneth J Vega, Jaime Winston, Erika M Reyes, Kevin Mathew, Tony Steadman, J Lopresti, Charles III Marx, Jeremy S Herrera, Eduardo Rakyat, Trisha M Elias, Peter K Nikischer, Marisa C Hoffman, Alexander Larocco, Anthony Wilmington Sav Fund Soc

District 95.

“We just cannot safely provide bus transportation at this time,” Kuzniewski said.

Schumacher said there will be bus service to school for the morning session and bus service after the afternoon session in District 102.

Students who either cannot get home after the morning session or get to school for afternoon session can spend the rest of the day at school in a supervised session, doing their remote learning work at the school.

There will be no recess. In District 95 sack lunches to-go will be

8629 Rockefeller Ave., Brookfield ADDRESS

PRICE

SALE DATE

4529 Maple Ave. 3229 Maple Ave. 9117 Southview Ave. 4246 Forest Ave. 9519 Congress Park Ave.

$461,000 Unknown $175,000 $270,000 $138,000

5/07/2020 3/04/2020 5/07/2020 4/13/2020 5/27/2020

2511 Burr Oak Ave. 2352 9th Ave. 2313 2nd Ave. 2326 Park Ave.

$245,000 Unknown $245,000 $190,000

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given to students at the end of the morning and afternoon sessions. In District 102, lunches will be provided only to those students who stay the entire day.

Remote learners must engage Students in the hybrid model are expected to engage and do work daily at home in the remote portion of the day, but that will be generally without direct teacher interaction.

At S.E. Gross Middle School in Brookfield, students will stay in the same classroom throughout

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their session and teachers for different subjects will come to them.

At Park Junior High School in LaGrange Park, most students will stay in the same classroom during their sessions, but there might be some limited movement.

“When we can, we are going to leave students in the same classroom,” Schumacher said. “There may be times, just because we have different levels of math or language arts, when kids might have to move.”

Students in the 100-percent remote learning option and students doing remote learning as

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part of the hybrid or blended model will find expectations and standards to be more demanding than they were last spring when schools closed because of the pandemic.

“There will be much more feedback; there will be much checking in with us,” said S.E. Gross School Principal Ryan Evans.

And grades will count.

If a child in District 95 hybrid model tests positive for COVID-19, the child will be removed from the class and the entire cohort and the teacher will have to quarantine for 14 days.

14

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

Opinion KOSEY CORNER

THE LANDMARK VIEW

Why not a green approach?

A

new storm water management credit trading program resulting from a partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the Metropolitan Planning Council hasn’t gotten a lot of attention since it was announced back in June (see our story on page 6), which is kind of a shame.

We get it. Storm water management discussions don’t generally draw a crowd – unless it rains a whole heck of a lot and your basement floods. Then there’s the usual complaining about how sewers don’t work and questions about why some mythical Deep Tunnel tender slept through the flooding and forgot to flip the magic “floodgate” switch.

But real solutions for storm water management – building green infrastructure to direct rain water runoff away from the sewer system – that doesn’t have the same je ne sais quoi as asking the village to help me pay to install a check valve in front of my house.

We did a little asking around about what village officials thought of this new credit trading program – it’s a little arcane but you can find out more about it at metroplanning.org/news/8875/StormStore-MWRD-Pilotin-Cook-County – and we didn’t sense a great amount of enthusiasm.

It’s not for single-family properties. It’s for larger scale development, both private and public and it’s a way to both create capacity for storm water and provide a way to buy credits for capacity, because there isn’t the ability to create it in a specific location.

The pilot program, which is being rolled out in the Lower Des Plaines River Watershed (that’s us) and the Little Calumet River Watershed, is seen as a way to get desirable developments built while creating incentives to build storm water capacity in a sustainable fashion.

Maybe this is going to take a little time and education – the MPC and TNC are reportedly going to launch educational webinars about the program soon – but we see this as a real opportunity for local governments – municipalities, school districts, libraries, park districts – to initiate green infrastructure projects and actively include them in renovation projects and new projects.

They can encourage, as part of the plan review process, private developers to consider adding green infrastructure to their projects, with the added benefit of being able to sell any excess capacity in the form of credits to other developers.

If the last decade has taught us anything, it’s that these heavy rain events are becoming more frequent and more intense. In communities like Brookfield, Riverside and North Riverside where the traditional storm water infrastructure is a century or more old, systems just don’t have the capacity to handle all of that runoff, hence the flooded streets, yards and basements.

Municipalities have the opportunity here to be leaders in the field of storm water management, and the beneficiaries will be residents looking for relief. This isn’t going to happen overnight and no initiative is going to eliminate flooding completely, but this is an opportunity to change the thinking a bit.

We encourage our local governments to explore these opportunities when they present themselves, and maybe they’ll just catch on.

I

Of remotes and recipes never made

am an avid newspaper reader; I read it every day, some good stuff some not so good. My job today will to write you a feelgood column.

Do you ever lose the TV remote? Of course, and whose fault is it, with only two of us here? I knew it wasn’t me. After numerous prayers to St. Anthony, finder of lost things, I purchased a new remote.

Being technologically limited, I attempted and succeeded in completing the task of setting it up. I’m proud of myself but not yet ready to join the Geek Squad. Next day, the other person in the house misused the new remote and things were askew. When I regained my composure, I was able to, after many attempts, reset the remote. Guess who’s in charge now?

I also decided to go through those recipes that I have been cutting out with intention of making the dishes.

Threw out many since I don’t have all the ingredients.

Wish they would package small quantities of some items so you don’t have to purchase a pound when you only need two tablespoons.

So let’s go on to other food subjects.

Have you noticed there seems to be a resurgence of grilled cheese sandwich recipes accompanied by tomato

soup? Now, I’m not talking about the Kraft singles on Wonder Bread grilled cheese with Campbell’s tomato soup that we had on Fridays when we couldn’t eat meat.

I’m talking real grilled cheese sandwiches.

Save yourself the trouble of making it and go to Chew Chew or Sawmilly to get a grilled cheese. It is the best and you know you deserve the best. The bread is hearty and has a light crunch. When you bite into it, the cheese just melts in your mouth.

For dessert, how about some S’mores? You don’t need to roast a marshmallow on a stick over a fire. You can make them anywhere, many ways and easy. I’m finding many recipes.

The basic ingredients are the same and the gooey consistency is still there, no matter how they are made.

My friend Teresa Hall says she has an easy recipe, which I need to get. Of course, she can feel free to make them for me anytime, next to her lemon bars. If I get the recipe I will be glad to share.

In the meantime, I will continue to sort, save and toss recipes and make room for more recipes I probably won’t make. And I’m making sure I keep the remote close at hand.

JOANNE KOSEY

LETTERS

Medical society chief: Wear a mask Illinois made great strides fighting COVID-19, but it will take sustained effort and discipline to keep the virus under control.

Illinois doctors are asking everyone to take two simple actions when in public: always wear a face covering and continue to maintain social distancing.

The recent uptick in coronavirus diagnoses should give us all pause. We all want to return to normal, but in the near term “normal” includes wearing a mask that completely covers your nose and mouth.

Wearing a mask is important even if you don’t feel

OBITUARIES

Theresa C. Buckley, 90 Fashion illustrator, silk floral designer Theresa C. Buckley (nee Casey), 90, of Riverside, died July 18, 2020.

Born May 22, 1930, Ms. Buckley, prior to raising her family, enjoyed a career as a fashion illustrator. Later

sick. Many individuals infected with COVID-19 do not display any symptoms. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging everyone to wear a mask while in public.

The CDC cites growing research supporting the use of masks to prevent COVID-19 transmission.

One study used contract tracing to track client interactions when it was discovered two Missouri hair stylists tested positive for the virus. Both stylists had consistently worn masks while seeing clients in the days prior to their diagnosis, and none of their clients contracted the virus.

Based on the results of the contact tracing, the CDC believes that active mask use by the stylists and their clients was a critical factor in blocking the transmission of the virus.

We can do this, but we must commit to doing it together.

Robert W. Panton, M.D., president Illinois State Medical Society Chicago

in life, she spent many years at Marshall Field’s as the silk floral designer.

Nothing made her happier than gathering with family and friends to enjoy a homemade meal.

Ms. Buckley was the wife of the late Jack L. Buckley; the mother of Cathy (David) WhelSee OBITUARIES on page 15

THERESA C. BUCKLEY

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

15

OBITUARIES Continued from page 14 an, Lisa (Robert) Fry and Kevin (Heather) Buckley; the grandmother of Kevin, Lauren and Cate Whelan, Declan and Jack Fry and Emmet Buckley; the sister of the late James P. (late Peggy) Casey and the late Theady (late Helen) Casey; and the aunt of many nieces and nephews.

Services were held on July 27 at St. Mary Church in Riverside, followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside.

Memorials to Misericordia Home, 6300 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago, 60660 (www.misericordia.com) are appreciated.

Arrangements were handled by The Original Kuratko Family, Brian D. Kuratko, director.

Kenneth C. Freschauf, 68 Pepperidge Farm distributor Kenneth C. Freschauf, 68, more affectionately known as Dad, Uncle Kenny, The Bread Man and Grandpa Ken was graciously cared for by Seasons Hospice at MacNeal Hospital where he died from complications of end stage Parkinson’s disease at the age of 69 on

CLASS RANK Equity issue from page 1 and class and serves no useful purpose.

“In my opinion this is also an equity issue,” said District 208 school board member Ramona Towner.

Those in favor of eliminating class rank also say most colleges and universities don’t consider class rank in their admissions process. They also say class rank encourages students to sometimes try to game the system, making course selection decisions based on grades rather than interests. They also say that class rank can provoke needless anxiety and stress for some students.

“We don’t want students to compete against each other; we want them to compete against themselves,” said RBHS counselor Jim Franko at the July 14 meeting of the District 208 school board.

RBHS mulled a similar move a decade ago when then-Principal Pamela Bylsma announced a study to examine whether the school should eliminate class rank, using many of the same arguments being made today. The idea never gained traction, apparently.

One of the two new student representatives to the school board said class rank does motivate him to study more.

“Personally, I don’t see myself competing with myself really,” said rising RBHS senior Michael Ciszewski, who will join the board in an advisory capacity, along with Lily Adlesick, at the August meeting. “If I have competition from another person, I feel like

July 22, 2020. He was a Brookfield resident who formerly lived in Berwyn.

Born Sept. 14, 1951 to Raymond Freschauf and Gabrielle (nee Smith) Freschauf, Mr. Freschauf was a fiercely independent Pepperidge Farm bread distributor for over 30 years. He will be remembered fondly for his gentle nature, witty sense of humor, his kindness to stray animals -- all of whom he named Fred -- and his quest for a good bargain on just about anything.

Mr. Freschauf will be deeply missed by family and friends, including his surviving siblings, Joy, Robert and Gilman; his daughter, Karen; his former wife, Nancy; his daughter-in-law, Lora; his nieces, Julie, Karolyn (her husband KENNETH C. John) and Jennifer; FRESCHAUF his great-nieces and nephews, Sarah, Trevor, Steven and Anna; his longtime companion Karen and her family, Paul, Ray, Sarah, Emerson and Elliott among so many others.

I’m more motivated to work for it.”

For a long time, RBHS has honored the top 10 students in each class with medals at graduation. That tradition would probably come to an end if RBHS eliminates class rank.

Ciszewski, who said he ranks in the top 10 of the Class of 2021, contended that many high-ranking students want to keep class rank.

“Personally, I think we should keep it,” Ciszewski said. “But I spoke to a lot of students about this, and what I’ve seen is that the people that are in the top 5, 10 percent, 25, would rather keep it. They see it as getting a reward.”

But Ciszewski said many other students either don’t care or would like to eliminate class rank.

“Most students do want to get rid of it, or some don’t even know what it was,” Ciszewski said. “Many students don’t really care about it if they’re not in the top 5, top 10.

But the people in those percentages really do know they’re in those percentages and care about that.”

Board member Laura Hruska seemed reluctant to eliminate class rank, saying at the board meeting that the school should honor and recognize very high-performing students.

“Why would we want to take away an achievement,” Hruska said. “How do we also recognize that special group? I don’t want us to regress to the mean where everybody is equal.”

RBHS Principal Hector Freytas said that if the school board does eliminate class rank, it could adopt the so-called Latin model used at many colleges and recognize graduates as cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude graduates.

A celebration of life will be held in his honor at a later date. At the request of his family, in lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at michaeljfox.org.

DuPage Cremations Ltd. and Memorial Chapel, West Chicago, handled arrangements.

Justin J. Nitz, 48, of North Riverside, died suddenly on July 19, 2020.

Mr. Nitz was born Nov. 2, 1971. He attended Ames School and Hauser Junior High School in Riverside and was a proud graduate JUSTIN J. NITZ of the RiversideBrookfield High School Class of 1989.

A former caddy at Riverside Golf Club and a former seasonal worker for North

Riverside Public Works, Mr. Nitz was a voracious reader. He was known as the “movie critic” with his cousin Scott, with whom he would rattle off lines from the movies.

He loved playing video games with his nephews, fishing trips with his family in Wisconsin and going to Las Vegas with his friends. His biggest passion was spending time with family and friends. He will be missed by all.

Mr. Nitz was the son of Mary Lou Nitz (nee Sauer) and the late John Nitz, who was a retired North Riverside Police sergeant; the brother of Jason Nitz; the uncle of Hayden Nitz and Bobby, Gaby and Izzy Sauer; a cousin of many; and a dear friend of Diane Nitz.

Family and friends will be received at the Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home, 10501 W. Cermak Rd., Westchester, on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 from 3 to 8 p.m. with a chapel service, stories and eulogies at 6:30 p.m. Interment is private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the family would be appreciated.

Arrangements were handled by The Original Kuratko Family, Brian D. Kuratko, director.

Cum laude graduates would be those who graduate with grade point average of 3.0 to 3.49, magna cum laude would be those graduating with a 3.5-4.0 GPA, and those graduating with a GPA of above 4.0 would be summa cum laude.

Freytas said such a system would allow RBHS to recognize more students, and more minority students.

“How many Latino and black students have been ranked, let’s say, in the top 10, top 20, top 50,” Freytas said at the July 14 school board meeting. “I’ve seen a few, but this is an opportunity to include more of our changing student and changing demographic.”

The median grade-point average at RBHS is 3.3. The school uses a weighted gradepoint average, where grades in Advanced Placement and honors classes are given a higher weight.

After eliminating class rank, LTHS ad-

opted a system of honors graduates which recognizes the top 5 to 7 percent of students.

Class rank is becoming rare at highperforming suburban high schools in the Chicago suburbs. Other high schools that no longer rank their students include Barrington High School, Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South, Fenwick, Oak Park and River Forest High School, New Trier, Lake Forest, Stevenson and York to name a few.

Scott Eggerding, the director of curriculum and Instruction at LTHS, said that said that he has seen some positive effects from eliminating class rank there.

“While we have not seen any decrease of students getting into selective colleges, we have seen more students in the middle of the class get into higher-ranked institutions,” Eggerding said in an email. “We also have less competition among students to play GPA games to improve their ranking.”

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16

Sports

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

A

Do safety protocols not pertain to travel teams?

bout a week ago, I was browsing through Facebook and saw a former neighbor of mine post a video of his son mashing a double into the right-centerfield gap. At first, I was proud. I have been following his development as a baseball player since he was half the size he is now (I can report he is no longer the same pull hitter he was two years ago).

But then I watched the video again.

Along the fence behind the batter’s box was my neighbor’s travel team standing shoulder to shoulder.

No masks were worn. The home plate umpire was positioned behind the catcher prior to the pitch being thrown despite other leagues taking the precaution to move such umpire behind the pitcher to abide by social distancing protocols.

I wish this was the first instance I have seen travel teams take Illinois’ restoration plan as a mere suggestion rather than a strict guideline to stunt the spread of COVID-19.

Yes, Illinois has had relative success in

seeking to control COVID-19 cases and deaths, but this has not been the case for Illinois athletic programs. After seeing coronavirus’ impact on high schools like Lake Zurich, which had 36 students-athletes test positive for COVID-19 after opening practice up, the IHSA quickly backed out of its Phase 4 Return to Play guidelines that were too lenient to begin with.

Based on conversations I have had with Midwest high school coaches, I have been told travel teams from Iowa, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin are going in and out of each others’ states to participate in tournaments. Before the IHSA deferred to the Illinois Department of Public Health to determine what high school programs can do during the pandemic, teams were allowed to hold practice in and outdoors. There are players who participated in these out of state tournaments who came back and practiced with their high school teams.

This is not exclusive to baseball.

If you hop on high school basketball Twitter, you will find videos of prospects

JAMES KAY

Sports Editor

O

@RBLandmark

n March 6, the Riverside-Brookfield High School boys’ basketball team defeated Glenbard South 67-53 to win its 3A regional championship. But little did I know that the Bulldogs’ victory would be the last sporting event I would cover for the IHSA 2019-2020 season as COVID-19 would wipe out high school sports the following week.

Obviously, the last few months have been difficult for all of us as we have had to adapt to a new lifestyle, one that prioritizes social distancing, washing hands, and wearing masks for health and safety reasons. When COVID-19 became widespread, the country along with the world virtually shut down as spread mitigation became vital.

Here in Illinois, we have overall handled the virus decently, compared to hotspot states like California, Florida, and Texas where hospitalization rates and deaths have soared to record levels. But now, our numbers are gradually creeping up again,

working out indoors without a mask.

The gyms in those videos are populated with coaches and other players who are not interested in following protocols that benefit those who are more vulnerable to coronavirus.

At a certain level, I get why some of these kids are anxious to get back out on the floor.

AAU and other travel sports organizations provide a platform for athletes to turn one high end scholarship into several.

For lower level prospects, summer tournaments and showcases can be the difference between avoiding accumulating massive debt from student loans and using their talents to get free access to higher education. Families who put deposits down on their children’s travel teams before the pandemic also don’t want to feel like they burned money in a time where financial security is not a given.

With that said, there needs to be a reality check here.

There is still plenty we don’t know about coronavirus, including its long-term effects on our society. Younger people and

Travel

teams’ blasé approach to this is disheartening at best, life threatening at worst.

Make a decision, IHSA

and this has had a profound impact on the IHSA as it decides whether to start up its fall sports season on time.

I miss high school sports and would love to cover them this fall (especially football, which is my first love). In my opinion, each of the schools in our coverage area have the potential to have good teams this year, and I don’t want to miss out on it.

But in order for us to have friday night lights and other fall high school sports, we have to bring our COVID numbers back down like they were last month.

That means washing our hands regularly, maintaining social distancing and, most importantly, wearing masks.

That last part is critical; many feel that mask-wearing is political and restricts freedom. However, medical data does indicate that it significantly reduces the chances of the virus spreading. Moreover, while I may not have any symptoms, I

their invincibility complexes can carry COVID-19 and not suffer the ramifications of those in their practice environments that are at a greater risk. Hell, even if coaches, players and spectators are fine with contracting coronavirus that doesn’t mean they can’t indirectly pass it on to those who are following the CDC’s recommendations outside of practice facilities.

Even as someone whose job security is dependent on there being prep sports in the near future, I can’t imagine a world where travel teams are continuing their pre-pandemic circuits around the Midwest without there being ramifications for high school sports.

There are already talks about postponing the sports season until January (though there are many options the IHSA is contemplating) while travel sports haven’t skipped a beat since April.

Whatever happens in the coming weeks (or, more realistically, months), travel teams’ blasé approach to this situation is disheartening at best and a life-threatening safety hazard at worst.

know wearing a mask prevents those who are vulnerable to the virus from contracting the illness. It’s all about keeping people healthy so that we can return to some semblance of normal life.

Next week, the IHSA Board of Directors will meet to determine the fate of the fall sports season. Options include flipping fall sports to spring and vice versa. The problem with that is the IHSA runs the risk of having two spring sports seasons wiped out if things don’t improve over the next few weeks.

Another possibility is starting the sports year in January which would mean condensing all three seasons into a truncated year. Winter sports like basketball would start first, then fall sports like football in March, and spring sports like baseball in May. This could create an issue for multisport student-athletes as they would have

MELVIN TATE

Contributor

to bounce quickly from one sport to the next. However, this could be the best solution in order to have sports this academic year.

Finally, the IHSA is deferring to the Illinois Department of Public Health as to how to proceed with sports. My problem with this is that the IDPH has already set guidelines for club and travel teams which many high school student-athletes join during the summer - and they have been practicing and having competition.

On the other hand, IHSA schools have been very limited in what they can do; primarily, they can’t have physical contact during workouts. To me, this isn’t fair - either let the IHSA schools follow the same guidelines as the travel teams or shut down the travel teams if the IHSA teams are restricted.

In any event, the IHSA needs to make a decision soon one way or the other. It’s dragged its feet long enough while dangling the hopes of both the student-athletes and their coaches. Let’s make a determination and move forward.

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

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630-961-5662 SIDE TABLES & LAMPS 2 side tables with attached lamps and storage in base. 2 glass bas lamps w/ gold scrolling. 2 white ceramic base lamps w/ gold ecks. With shades 630-961-5662

SUBURBAN RENTALS

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

HANDYMAN CURT'S HANDYMAN SERVICE Drywall Repair • Painting Fans Installed • Carpentry Trim Gutter Cleaning • Window Repair

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HAULING BASEMENT CLEANING

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524-1030

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20003407 on July 17, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of AROB DESIGN with the business located at: 7445 ROOSEVELT RD. APT. 308-B, FOREST PARK, IL 60130.. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: ASAD ROBINSON 7445 ROOSEVELT RD. APT. 308-B FOREST PARK, IL 60130.

PUBLIC NOTICES

Published in The Landmark, July 29, 2020

708.749.0011

Published in Forest Park Review July 22, 29, August 5, 2020

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES PROJ. NO. 20030A

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS 001113 - 1 JULY 21, 2020 Sealed bids for Renovations at the Riverside Public Library will be received by the Riverside Public Library located at 1 Burling Road, Riverside, IL 60546 until 10:00 a.m. prevailing time on August 20, 2020.

Lump Sum bid proposals will be received for this project at the scheduled time of receipt of bids and will be publicly opened and read aloud at the above stated time and place.

Each bid must be accompanied by a Bid Guarantee in the form of a Bid Bond, Certified Check or Bank Draft in an amount equal to and not less than ten percent (10%) of the bid and made payable to the Board of Trustees, Riverside Public Library.

No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after the bid opening date without the consent of the Owner. Checks or drafts of unsuccessful Bidders will be returned as soon as practical, after opening and checking the bids. Successful Bidder must provide a Performance Bond and a Labor and Material Payment Bond in the full amount of the Contract, acceptable to the Owner.

Bids shall be submitted in an opaque sealed envelope clearly marked as SEALED BID and ad-

dressed to: Janice Foley Library Director Riverside Public Library 1 Burling Road Riverside, IL 60546 The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any or all bids or parts thereof, or waive any irregularities or informalities in bidding, that are in the opinion of the Owner, to be in the best interest of the Riverside Public Library.

This Contract is subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (820 ILCS 130/1 et seq.).

QUALIFICATION: Each Bidder must satisfactorily complete the qualification process described in Section 004395 -General Requirements of the Project Manual, by providing the required Qualification Documents.

The required Qualification Documents must be delivered along with the Bidder’s sealed bid at the same place and time required for the bid.

Contents of each Bidder’s Qualification Documents will be available for public review. The Qualification Documents will be reviewed by the Published in The Landmark, July 29, 2020

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Village President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Brookfield, Cook County, Illinois, that the sealed bids will be received for the following improvements: VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD CONGRESS PARK METRA STATION AREA REHAB Said bids will be received up to the the County of Cook in accordance Contractor to train and/hire lower hour of 10:00 a.m. Central Standard with the terms of the aforesaid income residents of the Project Time, on the 12th day of August agreement. Further, in compliance area and to subcontract with local, 2020, at the Village Clerk’s Office, with the Stevens Amendment to the small businesses is required on this in the Village Hall, located at 8820 Department of Defense AppropriProject.

Brookfield Road, Brookfield, Illinois ations Act of 1989, the (estimated/ An explanation of the applicable 60513 and will be publicly opened actual) percentage of the total cost federal requirements previously and read in the Edward Barcal Hall of this Project to be funded with mentioned is provided in the Special in the Municipal Building at that time. federal dollars is forty percent (40%) Provisions of the Bid Specifications. and the exact dollar amount of fedThe bidding forms and documents The successful bidder for the coneral funds which will be set aside are available from the Village webstruction of the improvement will site at www.brookfieldil.gov or from for this project will be based on the be required to file a performance Accurate Repro, Inc., 2368 Cor- contract amount awarded under bond equal to one hundred percent porate Lane, Naperville, IL 60563, this offering.

(100%) of the bid, with sureties to 630-428-4433, www.hitchcock- APPLICABLE FEDERAL be approved by the Mayor and the planroom.com. A non-refundable REQUIREMENTS Board of Trustees, which perforfee equal to Accurate Repro, Inc.’s All laborers and mechanics em- mance bonds shall be conditioned charge for printing the documents ployed by the Contractor or Subupon proper and faithful perforwill be charged for each request- contractor(s) on construction work mance by the Contractor of the work ed bid package. The Bid Package for this Project shall be paid wages specified in accordance with the may also be examined at the Of- at rates not less than those prevail- plans and specifications therefore, fice of the Village Manager, at 8820 ing on similar construction in the according to the time and terms and Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield, Illi- locality as determined by the Secconditions of the contract; and also nois 60513. The engineer has been retary of Labor in accordance with that the bidder and contractor shall authorized to refuse to issue plans, the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended, properly pay all debts incurred by specifications and proposals to any (U.S.C. Sections 76-276a-5), and the Contractor in the execution of person, firm or corporation that he shall receive overtime compensation the work, including those for labor or she considers to be unqualified. in accordance with and subject to and materials furnished.

Proposals must be submitted on the the provisions of the Contract Work The Contractor shall be required forms provided. No proposals will Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 to furnish sufficient insurance or be issued to bidders after 4:30 p.m.

U.S.C. Sections327-333), and the guaranty of indemnity to the Vilon the 3rd day of August 2020. All Contractor and Subcontractor(s) lage of Brookfield, Illinois, and the proposals or bids offered must be shall comply with all regulations County of Cook, Illinois, against accompanied by a bid bond, cash, issued pursuant to these Acts and any and all claims which might or certified check made payable to other applicable Federal laws and arise for damages to persons or the Village in the amount of not less regulations pertaining to labor stan- property due to the negligence of than five percent (5%) of the total dards. The Secretary of Labor has, the Contractor or Subcontractor(s), amount of the proposal as a guaranwith respect to the labor standards or their officers, agents, employees tee that if the proposal is accepted specified in this Section, the authoror servants, during the construction a contract will be entered into and ity and functions set forth in Reorof said improvement and until the the performance of the contract is ganization Plan Number 14 of 1950 said improvement has been finally properly secured.

(5 U.S.C. Section 133z-15) and Secaccepted as complete by the Village No bid shall be withdrawn after the tion 2 of the Act of June 13, 1934, as President and the Board of Trustees opening of the proposals without amended, (40 U.S.C. Section 276c). of the Village of Brookfield, the right the consent of the Village President to reject any and all proposals or and the Board of Trustees of the All contracts and Subrecipients bids is reserved. for the construction or repair shall Village of Brookfield for a period of include a provision for compliance Dated at Brookfield, Illinois this 30 days after the scheduled time of with the Copeland “Anti-Kickback 29th day of July, 2020. closing bids.

Act” (18 U.S.C. Section 874) as supVillage President and Board of The bidder is specifically advised plemented in Department of Labor Trustees that the Village is a Subrecipient of Regulations (29 CFR Part 3). the County of Cook of a grant purVillage of Brookfield Each bidder is required to comply suant to the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as with Equal Employment Opportunity for the Community Development By: amended, pursuant to an agreement Block Grants, a copy of which is entered into between the County of Village President Cook and the Village. Payments to on file with the Village Clerk and is available for inspection. the contractor will be made by the Attest: Village only after it has received the Compliance with “Section 3”, which Village Clerk. funds to make such payment from calls for affirmative action by the

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

RIVERSIDE PUBLIC LIBRARY INTERIOR ALTERATIONS

PUBLIC NOTICES

Owner and Architect to determine the lowest responsible Bidder.

Bidding documents are on file and are available on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Bid documents can be obtained electronically and reproduced at the contractor’s expense from the following: Cross Rhodes Reprographics, 30 Eisenhower Lane North, Lombard, IL 60148; Phone: 630-963-4700 A pre-bid meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m., prevailing time, on August 6, 2020 at the Riverside Public Library located at 1 Burling Road, Riverside, IL 60546. Prospective bidders are encouraged to attend.

After the pre-bid meeting, everyone is invited to visit the site, gather additional information, and ask further questions. Bidders not attending the pre-bid meeting can make a site visit on their own time during the library’s regular hours. Visitors are asked to sign in at the circulation desk. If the bidder requires access to a staff area, the bidder shall contact the Architect prior to the visit, to make arrangements for access.

Board of Trustees Riverside Public Library Riverside, Cook County, Illinois

LEGAL NOTICE SCOTT J. LEVY (32596) Attorney for Petitioner 1525 East 53rd Street, Suite 504 Chicago, Illinois 60615 STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division.

In re the marriage of JUAN RODRIGUEZ, Petitioner and LILIA CASTANEDA BRITO, Respondent, Case No. 2019D-000973.

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 September 1, 2020, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk.

Published in Wednesday Journal 7/29, 8/5, 8/12/2020

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20003755 on July23, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of LOLA PINK with the business located at:P.O. BOX 3725 OAK PARK, IL 60303. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: TATYANA QUALLS 1190 SOUTH KENILTHWORTH, OAK PARK, IL 60304 Published in Wednesday Journal July 29, August 5, August 12, 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY Request of Carlos Eduardo Rojas Case Number 20204002757 There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Carlos Eduardo Rojas to the new name of: Alex Rojas.

The court date will be held: on September 8, 2020 at 9:30 AM at District 4 Court, 1500 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, Cook County in Courtroom Number 0111.

Published in Forest Park Review 7/29, 8/5, 8/12/2020

Starting A New Business?

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PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20003782 on July 23, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of REITON IT PROS with the business located at: 1178 WENONAH AVE, OAK PARK, IL 60304. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: MATTHEW NOTIER 1178 WENONAH AVE OAK PARK, IL 60304.

Published in Wednesday Journal 7/29, 8/5, 8/12/2020

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20003700 on July 21, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of KATHLEEN LANE with the business located at:7243 ROOSEVELT RD STE A, FOREST PARK, IL 60130.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: KATHLEEN LIEFFERS 7243 ROOSEVELT RD STE A, FOREST PARK, IL 60130 Published in Forest Park Review July 29, August 5, August 12, 2020

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR FFMLT TRUST 2005-FF11, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005-FF11 Plaintiff, -v.BRIAN HOLLOWAY Defendants 19 CH 00561 125 SOUTH LOMBARD AVENUE 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 23, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on August 24, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 125 SOUTH LOMBARD AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-08-302-0150000 The real estate is improved with a yellow vinyl siding, one story single family home with a detached two car garage.

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, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. 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

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE 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.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088.

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.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088 E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com Attorney File No. 268445 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 19 CH 00561 TJSC#: 40-595 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 # 19 CH 00561 I3152370 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION AM SOLUTIONS LLC; Plaintiff, vs.

ARIEL CHAPMON; TAJ CHAPMON; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 19 CH 7196 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-10-431-012-0000.

Commonly known as 830 South 16th Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Law Clerk at Plaintiff’s Attorney, The Wirbicki Law Group, 33 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603. (312) 3609455. W19-0247 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3153023

The Landmark, July 29, 2020

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The Landmark, July 29, 2020

21 E. BURLINGTON ROAD, RIVERSIDE | MYBURLINGTONREALTY.COM | 708.447.7207

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1926 Berteau Ave, Chicago $695,000

59 East Quincy, Riverside $379,000

200 Addison, Riverside $565,000

7001 71st Pl, Nottingham Park $249,000

1429 Wells, Chicago $550,000

2024 S Walbash Ave, #305, Chicago $235,000

192 Waubansee Rd, Riverside $549,900

4441 Wolf Rd, #302, Western Springs $549,900

404 Selborne Rd, Riverside $479,900

123 N Cowley Rd, Riverside $645,000

172 Maplewood Rd, Riverside $649,900

321 Delaplaine Rd, Riverside $790,000

299 Longcommon Rd, Riverside $899,000

151 Bloomingbank Rd, Riverside $1,025,000

2920 Desplaines Ave, North Riverside $193,000 EN OP

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WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

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