RB football team introduces mobility training
Yoga techniques, with their calming methods, said to bene t teens’ mental and physical health
By STELLA BROWN Staff Reporter
This season, Riverside Brookfield High School’s football team has been trying something new to help its players: yoga
Stephanie Roldan, who owns and works out of The Treehouse, a wellness and fitness cooperative at 1 Riverside Road in downtown Riverside, has been running yoga sessions for the high school’s varsity football team this season after practices
A yoga instructor and wellness educator for 11 years, Roldan said the initiative has a myriad of benefits for the team’s teenage athletes
“These kids’ bodies can get overworked so quickly and so easily, and it can ruin their entire season,” she told the Landmark. “You can use the parts of yoga that
Trustees plan to choose between a 50-50 split or 100% cost coverage on Aug. 10
By STELLA BROWN Staff Reporter
While the wording for Brookfield’s November referendum question — which, if approved, would generate $2 million per year for road improvements and other municipal projects at no added cost to taxpayers — has been approved, uncertainty remains on the details of a possible program to re pave grav-
RB’s varsit y football players have been practicing yoga to improve their physical and mental health this season. See FOOTBALL MOBILITY on page 4 See ALLEY PROGRAM on page 8
New Dollar Tree opens in Brook eld
e development is part of the Energize Ogden initiative
By LILLIAN ALI Reporting Intern
The Village of Brookfield welcomed a new Dollar Tree last month on Ogden Avenue, at the site of the for mer CVS. The store had its grand opening on July 9, where village officials and Dollar Tree representatives held a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The new location reflects a broader movement within Dollar Tree, which plans on closing 75 stores and opening 400 new locations in 2026. The Brookfield store is one of 373 Dollar Trees in Illinois.
Chicago resident Miyoshi Dawson, who works in Brookfield, said the store was “convenient” and at a “good location.” Dawson was headed to Dollar Tree Tuesday morning to buy a phone charger and other goods.
Since the CVS pharmacy at 8911 Ogden Ave. closed in July 2023, village officials searched for another retailer to fill the 12,704-square-foot space. The village worked directly with the owner of the retail space and Dollar Tree re presentatives to coordinate the development, with the space’s owner ultimately opting to sell rather than lease the site.
Libby Popovic, the village’s head of community development, said the project was a great example of “cross-functional economic development,” where the village helped coordinate the building process and ensure the project maintained momentum. Village officials were keen on filling the empty space as part of the Energize Ogden plan, which the village board adopted in 2022.
“It’s really important for us to work on energizing Ogden and bringing meaningful retail there,” Popovic said. “It plays a key role in the overall Energize Ogden project.”
Energize Ogden is a long-term plan that aims to transform and redevelop Ogden Avenue. In addition to filling vacant and underutilized business spaces, the village hopes to ultimately redesign the avenue itself to improve road quality and safety from Eberly to Cluster Avenue.
The project, which is in its first phase,
e Village of Brook eld suppor ted the development as part of the Energize Ogden project, which involves lling underutilized retail spaces on the avenue. See DOLLAR TREE on page 5
LILLIAN ALI
e Brook eld Dollar Tree opened on Ogden Ave. last month, at the site of the former CVS.
LILLIAN ALI
FOOTBALL MOBILIT Y
Football calm
from page 1
work well for sports — the focus, the breath work, the mobility — to enhance strength and agility and help injury pr evention and their focus.”
T he instructor said the practice is “not new to elite sports,” with le g endary athletes like LeBron James and Walter Payton having supplemented their trainings with yo ga, but it’s “definitely newer to high school and anyone younger.”
While some may think the calmness of yo ga contradicts the intensity of sports training, Roldan said it actually complements it.
“It’s not the same-old, ‘I’m benching 250 pounds.’ It is softer,” she said. “It’s such a neat thing to see them calmer and quieter and focusing on their bodies. I g et a lot of kids with questions: ‘My hips hur t so bad. What do you think with this?’ We do a lot of mobility for hip movement so that they can move better, back to injury prevention. But also, if they g et a bigger
stride, and I can g et my hips to go wider, then I can g et a f aster [running] pace, and I actually get better.”
Roldan said she was brought on to help the team after sending her own children as teenage athletes to Hustle Hard, a sports training facility in North Riverside. She said one of the owners, Nick Santos, who had worked with the varsity football team at RB, contacted her to add in mobility training for the players.
“Last spring, we tried it once, just to see how it would go over with the football players, and it was so neat to see,” Roldan said. “I did a flexibility test. I was like, ‘I’m going to try to get you a little lower in your toe reach’ … If you can picture, I had them sit on the ground and reach toward their toes.”
Some might laugh at the image, but Roldan said the exercise was successful and re presented the proof in the pudding.
“I said, ‘Now, we’re going to do a bunch of stretches made to elongate the muscles in the backs of your legs and your hips and see if we can’t g et any change,’” she said. “I had a couple of kids who actually freaked out. T hey were like, ‘Oh my God, how did you do that?’ It was really cute because they were very sincere. I was like, ‘It’s not magic!’ It’s so neat to be able to
educate that way.”
Roldan gave kudos to Sam Styler, RB’s football coach, for allowing the prog ram to move forward. She said the school’s volleyball coach, Caitlin Staib-Lipinski, had recently asked her to bring her lessons to the volleyball team, too.
“Starting this past off-season, we were kicking around the idea. As summer camp started approaching, we met with Stephanie, and she laid out her plan and thought process and how she works with athletes,”
Styler said. “She’s worked with numerous high school athletes in the area. We figured, what better way to help our guys out than bringing in a yo ga instructor? It’s something I don’ t think many football coaches aren’t equipped to do.”
Styler said the benefits have been evident in the short time since bringing Roldan on.
“You can see the way that our boys are able to move their bodies and the flexibility in their hips, which is extremely important in the g ame of football,” he said. “Also, the way the team has come tog ether in this process. T hey’re so used to having their loud football coaches scream and yell, trying to g et them fired up. To have a nice, calming voice to come in and work
Brookfield Chamber of Commerce Business Spotlight
Lwith them very intently … Day in and day out, they always ask, ‘Is today yo ga day?’” Roldan said the exercises act as a form of bonding for the team.
“You’ re doing these weird poses to g ether, and you’ re all taking a nap to g ether in the middle of school. It does promote bonding inadver tently,” she said. “I tell them, ‘I’m not here to preach at you. I’m not here to teach you how to stand on your head. I’m here to teach you to listen to your body.’”
She said she was grateful to give the players more space for mindfulness and rest in the fo rm of shavasana, also known as the corpse pose — in which you lay flat on your back and rest for several minutes — in addition to the flexibility benefits of other poses.
“Especially more elite athletes are go-gogo-go-go. They are at school all day, then they go to practice, then they go to lifting, and then they have homework,” Roldan said. “I worked at Lurie Children’s for 13 years as a developmental therapist, so I know that our bodies need to stop. Shavasana gives us permission to stop. I try to give them a good three-to-five-minute shavasana because it gives them a minute to just be.”
Paisans Pizzeria - This ain’t your average pizza place
while never losing sight of the family values that started it all.
ocated at 3720 Grand Blvd., Brookfield, IL 60513, Paisans Pizzeria has been serving up delicious Italian American favorites while building lasting relationships throughout our community for more than 40 years. Founded in 1985, this family-owned restaurant has grown from humble beginnings into a local favorite that continues to welcome generations of families through its doors.
Paisans’ story began in a small corner storefront in Cicero, Illinois, where the first pizzas were baked in a single household oven. Through hard work, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to quality, the business has expanded across three generations
Today, Paisans is much more than a neighborhood pizzeria. Their extensive menu features handcrafted pizzas, Italian specialties, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, and more making it the perfect destination whether you’re stopping in for lunch, enjoying a family dinner, or celebrating a special occasion.
Planning an event? Paisans offers private event space that’s perfect for birthdays, showers, business meetings, family gatherings, and celebrations of all kinds. Their experienced team works to make every event memorable with outstanding food and friendly service.
Need to feed a crowd? Paisans’ catering services make entertaining easy, offering crowd-pleasing Italian favorites for corporate events, parties, graduations, and community gatherings.
For those busy nights at home, Paisans also offers convenient delivery and take-out, allowing customers to enjoy their favorite meals wherever they are. Guests can also relax in the full-service bar, making it a great place to unwind with friends, catch the game, or enjoy a drink alongside one of their signature meals.
What truly sets Paisans apart is its dedication to community. As a longtime supporter of local organizations and Chamber events, they continue to invest in the neighborhoods they serve while providing the exceptional hospitality they’ve become known for.
Whether you’re dining in, hosting a celebration, ordering catering, grabbing take-out, or having dinner delivered, Paisans Pizzeria combines tradition, quality, and family values in every meal they serve.
DOLLAR TREE
from page 3
is set to be “very” long term, Popovic said, though the establishment of the Dollar Tree was remarkably efficient. Once a user for the building was secured in March, the village’s building and development teams coordinated to approve plans expeditiously, making the business’ July 9 grand opening possibl e.
“I hope all of [the Energize Ogden projects] go this quickly,” Popovic said.
Popovic says the village does not have any specific numbers for how much sales or property tax revenue they expect, since the store opened less than a month ago. Based on communication with Dollar Tree staf f, Popovic said business has been good.
“They’ve been very busy. Every single day they’ve sold out of some items. So we anticipate that they’re going to be a very good addition to the village,” Popovic said.
Brookfield resident George Hernandez appreciated having a dollar store in Brookfield, considering high prices at other stores.
“At Dollar Tree you can come in and get a bargain,” he said. Hernandez also said the location was more convenient than stores like Kohls or TJ Maxx. “Everything else is far away.”
LILLIAN
e Brook eld Dollar Tree opened on Ogden Ave., at the site of the former CVS.
At 12, Savannah Serio is an international ninja warrior
She’s representing the United States at just 12 years old
By STELLA BROWN Staff Reporter
Savannah Serio has always been a climber.
“She’s been climbing forever, whether it was chain link fences or stuf f around the house,” her dad, Sonny Serio, told the Landmark.
He said he and his wife, Marissa Serio, enrolled Savannah at the Flipside Academy of Movement in North Riverside at just 3 years old, and she started competing once she turned 6.
“I started by climbing doorframes, and I got put in a little tumblers class,” Savannah said. “A couple of years later, the owner of that gym asked if I wanted to be on his competition team.”
Now, the 12-year-old North Riverside resident is set to re present the United States in the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships in Limerick, Ireland, from Thursday, Aug. 6, to Sunday, Aug. 9.
from Naperville, Anthony Battaglia, 17, from Warrenville, Claire Mattern, 11, from Naperville and Henry Mihajlovic, 11, from Libertyville.
She met the team through Big Time Ninja, the obstacle gym she now attends in Bolingbrook, where she said she transfer red after Flipside closed.
“When I was at Flipside, I had a lot of people from that gym who I competed with, and they’re actually my two best friends. It’s so much fun to train with the coaches. I’ve been there for [competitions] and it’s nice to get to know them,” she said. “Once Flipside closed down, all the other teammates came there [to Big Time Ninja], so it’s nice that I still have my Flipside friends at Big Time. It’s so much fun to exercise and train there.”
“I have all the faith in the world in he r, in her talent and her work ethic and her abilit y. ”
SONNY SERIO
Savanah’s dad
Typical courses involve multiple obstacles for competitors to traverse using their strength and speed, like those seen on the television show “American Ninja Warrior.” Savannah said her favorite obstacle is called “battering” and involves using a bent bar to jump between anchor-shaped elements hanging from above.
Savannah is one of five members on her youth team that’s competing in Ireland. The other members are Jeremy Lauf f, 16,
Savannah said she was excited when re presentatives reached out to ask her to compete in the World Championships and re present the country internationally.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” she said. “This year, it’s one of the biggest teams that they’ve had, and I have a lot of friends on it, so it’s pretty cool.”
Sonny Serio said he still hasn’t processed that his daughter is competing internationally at her young age.
“My wife and I have both been watching her do this stuf f since she was a little kid, and I still shake my head at the stuf f that [has happened],” he said. “I have all the faith in the world in her, in her talent and her work ethic and her ability, but I’m still blown away watching her. In so far as going to Ireland, Team USA, like she said, it’s not something that was ever on our radar. When you see that, and you get that call, it still hasn’t completely sunk in.”
He said the ninja community has opened
up and embraced his daughter.
“Everybody’s racing against each other, but one kid will come off the course and immediately go to the kid who’s running next or two or three down the line and say, ‘Hey, that obstacle over there is tricky. I got messed up, but if you do this, you’re probably going to get through it,’” Serio said.
“It’s a very wide-open community. It’s unlike anything that we’ve been around in sports.”
To other kids whose interests are piqued
by the idea of obstacle course racing, Savannah said to give it a try.
“I know I tried every sport before I found this. I tried football, baseball, soccer, basketball. I tried everything, and I didn’t stick with any of it. I’d always be asking my dad, ‘How much longer? Is it almost over?’” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to get to move around after school, sitting for eight, nine hours. I get to go hang out with some of my closer friends, and it’s so much fun.”
Savannah Serio w ill represent Team USA in the Obstacle Course Raci ng World Championships in Ireland Aug. 6-9.
For Chris is past prologue?
Facing ethical questions, house speaker has history in Proviso
By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter
On Nov. 12, 2001, young Hillside attorney Emanuel “Chris” Welch was sworn in as new member of the Proviso District 209 high school board.
The week before, the D209 board had signed an agreement to purchase a 9-acre parcel open land in Melrose Park for $2.8 million, with plans to build a magnet high school on the site
Following the new board’s organizational meeting, Welch and another newly elected board member joined two sitting board members in voting Mike Manzo out as D209 board president and installing Teresa Kelly as president and Welch as vice president.
for the district, with another 28% agreeing a magnet school was “very necessary.”
Chris Welch
The new board then voted to fire D209 lawyer Stanley Kusper and replace him with attorney Burt Odelson’s firm, Odelson and Sterk.
It then voted to void the prior board’s agreement to buy the 9-acre property, a golf driving range on 5th Avenue, immediately west of the Kiddieland Amusement Park
Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico, a mentor and key Welch political supporter, had adamantly opposed a school on the property
“Whatever we have to do on the village level, we’re not going to let this happen,” Serpico said in an October 2001 news article. “We’re not going to let them rob the village of Melrose Park of a valuable piece of property.”
In a 2011 interview, Manzo, a staunch political opponent of Serpico, said that Welch opposed the magnet school in Melrose Park because Serpico didn’t want it interfering with plans for a Costco store that was eventually built nearby
The motion to rescind the purchase agreement was voted on despite being placed on the agenda as “new business,” which Manzo angrily pointed out could not, under Illinois law, be acted upon at the same meeting at which it was introduced
Welch brushed aside that inconvenient
Almost 9 out of 10 people thought a magnet school was necessary or very necessary, and 80% said they believed it would enrich the learning experience throughout the district.
That July Welch opined that while the magnet school concept was a good idea, building a separate school building “is not a wise decision at this time.”
“Do the majority of the voters in Proviso Township support building a magnet school?” Welch asked rhetorically in a letter to the editor. He noted that Melrose Park voters had rejected a third high school by a 2-1 margin in November 2000, and Maywood voters said the same in April 2001, by the same margin.
“We also know that only 28% of the respondents in Mike Manzo’s poll say that a magnet school is very necessary,” Welch said, conveniently ignoring the other 61% who stated they believed a magnet school was “necessary.”
Manzo said the price tag for both the land acquisition and a newly constructed school would have been “about $18 million.” He said those figures were far more certain than renovating an existing building.
“With a new building, the costs are pretty predictable. There’s few surprises,” Manzo said. “With renovation of an old building, there are all sorts of surprises
office building in Forest Park as the new Proviso Math and Science Academy
The D209 board passed a resolution approving a $40 million bond issue to purchase the building at Roosevelt Road and First Avenue Opponents mounted a referendum campaign and gathered more than 7,500 signatures to place the issue before Proviso township voters. Welch fought the referendum, arguing that it would cause a delay in the purchase of the building and effectively kill the purchase contract.
In December 2003, the D209 electoral board, chaired by Welch, threw out 3,000 of the 7,500 signatures. Some signers, Welch ruled, were not registered voters, other signatures were ruled forgeries, and several hundred were rejected due to “invalid notary signatures.”
That left bond issue opponents 2,000 signatures short of qualifying for the ballot. Welch accused the leaders of the referendum drive of sour grapes and contended Manzo and others “would like to be back in office and have their friends and cronies build this school.”
Instead, Welch and his allies purchased and renovated the for mer Loyola Medicine office building. Along the way there were, as Manzo had predicted, numerous additional costs, which added up to millions of additional public dollars spent.
In September 2005 the new Proviso Math and Science Academy, at least $10 million over its initial $40 million budget, opened its doors to 126 freshman students Welch had also done Serpico’s bidding
The school district had absolutely no legal obligation to pay Serpico’s settlement, since he was neither an elected D209 official nor an employee. But Welch forced through a $1 million taxpayer-funded payment for his political patron.
‘That’s my recollec tion’
In Au g ust 2005, a local blo gger and newspaper c olumnist, Ca rl Nyberg , p osted that Welch’s brother, Billy Welch, had b een ar rested with a drug d ealer and then was indicted
Welch filed a lawsuit against Nyberg , alleging defamation, accusing Nyberg of “insinuation and c onjecture and guilt- by association type tactics.”
A 2006 de p osition documented how Chris Welch handled his brother’s c riminal arraignment. Welch’s testimony raises q uestions, de p ending on how one reads the de p osition, about either his leg al competence or his honesty
“(Billy) Welch had neve r been indicted for the c rime of drug d ealing and had N yberg chec ke d the a ccura cy of hi s statements, this info rm ation would have b een readily discove rabl e, ” Welch’s lawsuit argued
“… my brother is not a hoodlum; he d oes not hang around with drug d ealer s, ” Welch insisted in his de p osition.
ALLE Y PROGRAM
Who should pay?
from page 1
el alleys.
Following their third discussion of the details of the potential program, Brookfield trustees are planning on Aug. 10 to settle once and for all whether the village should cover 100% of the costs to re pa those alleys or if it should split construction costs halfway with block residents.
If approved, the referendum will allow Brookfield to establish a 25-year street improvement program at a cost of $1.2 million per year, leaving $800,000 to go toward an alley program or some other municipal initiative. If the referendum is voted down, village officials will have to find another funding mechanism to ensure Brookfield streets do not fall into disrepair over time. The $2 million will be collected without raising the experienced cost to taxpayers for Brookfield’s portion of the tax bill — about 15% — as it will go into effect the same time that previous bond debt to repair roads is paid of f. The external costs of issuing debt, like attorneys’ fees, will instead be funneled into the village’s road
“Everyone is a bene ciar y of the alleys, even if it is not the alley on their block.”
MICHAEL GARVE Y Village president
At the village board’s July committee of the whole meeting, trustees did not reach a consensus on which funding model the village should use for the alley program, which could be funded by that extra $800,000 per year as well as about $350,000 in funding from the village’s tax increment financing districts and annual grants from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
If the village covered 100% of the costs, it would, over time, save about $19 million — $114 million compared to $133 million — overall due to the costs associated with the special assessment process that is required when residents on a block come
A er heavy rains, water ponds in the comme rcial alleys north of 47th Street between Eberly and Raymond avenues, like many Brook eld alleys.
village, circulating a petition to residents on the block, holding multiple public hearings and, finally, awarding each alley’s bid individually to a construction firm.
According to agenda documents prepared by Finance Director Doug Cooper, since 2017, only two blocks have come together to repave their alley, covering all of the construction costs among themselves, about 80% of the total cost.
But the village-funded program could take up to 100 years to cycle through all the alleys if Brookfield does not solicit additional external funding. But, if costs were split with residents, Brookfield would reduce that maximum timeframe to about 60 years. In both scenarios, village staffers have said they plan to seek external funding that could significantly reduce either timeframe, making it hard to predict just how long the program would take.
During the 75-minute discussion, offi-
field’s alleys, will widely benefit residents in town. Assistant Village Manager Stevie Ferrari said about 70% of housing units in the village butt up against an alley.
“Often times, we have people say, ‘I don’t use the alleys in town. I don’t want to pay for alleys.’ Everyone is a beneficiary of the alleys, even if it’s not the alley on their block,” Village President Michael Garvey said. “Garbage pickup and also police and fire use alleys to get through for various purposes. In all scenarios, everyone benefits.”
Some trustees advocated for the village covering all of the alley costs in order to simplify the education materials related to the referendum question and avoid infighting among block residents should they disagree on whether to pony up to re pave their alley sooner than later.
Trustee Jennifer Hendricks seemed to oppose the cost-sharing program, which
ers. She said asking residents to cover half of the costs to repave alleys would make it even harder down the line to get a future referendum approved to issue bond debt to construct a community recreation center. The issue of funding street and alley improvements first arose during discussions about the rec center last fall.
The board also discussed how to educate residents about this very issue without reaching much consensus due to the unanswerable questions residents may pose about when their nearby alley may be repaved.
As the village is working with a consultant, Metro Strategies Group, on educating the public over the next three months about the consequences of approving or rejecting the referendum, trustees ag reed to have one more discussion about the alley program and its funding mechanism where they would reach a consensus.
FILE PHOTO
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Atourfoodpantry, womenregistrantsoutnumbermenbya 2:1 ratio Thismonth , womenhereandacrossthenationarestrugglingtoput foodonthetableformillionsoffamiliesthatarefoodinsecure .
DuringtheBrookfield 4thofJuly parade , ourfoodpantry illbe pushingshoppingcartstocollect non-perishablefooditems .
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Lastyear, federallegislationreducedS APfundingbyabout $186 billionoverthenext 10 years . Foodbanksexperiencedanimmediate reductionof $1 billion. Andnow, asof ay 1, anestimated 150,000 IllinoishouseholdswillbedeniedcontinuedfederalS APsupport .
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WELCH
from page 7
B ut Nyberg had checked the record, which showed that Billy Welch was with a drug dealer on Sept. 3, was arrested, and was later indicted on drug charges.
On Sept. 3, agents of a joint DEA/Chicago police task force observed an alleged cocaine dealer in the River Forest Town Center, handing a duffel full of money – as much as $140,000 – to an alleged wholesale coke supplier.
Law enforcement followed dealer and another man in a Cadillac Escalade to an apartment building on the 5500 block of W. Gladys on the West Side of Chicago and watched as the dealer took 22 pounds of cocaine from the trunk of the wholesaler’s car.
Agents stopped the dealer’s car on the 3800 block of Harrison, and when the two men were removed from the car, they discovered his passenger was Billy Welch.
The DEA affidavit stated that Billy Welch was within arm’s reach of a loaded 40 caliber handgun, two baggies containing 240 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of $29,766, and $23,500 in cash.
Chris Welch was his brother’s attorney at his Sept. 4 arraignment. The record shows
Judge Kevin M. Sheehan found probable cause to detain Billy, set a $30,000 bond and continued his case to Oct. 14.
On Sept. 26, Welch and the dealer were indicted by a Cook County Grand Jury, Welch for felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Chris Welch recalled those events quite differently when deposed, when he could recall anything at all.
“You were Billy Welch’s attorney beginning Sept. 3, 2003, right?” Chris Welch was asked under oath. “Beginning and ending Sept. 3, 2003,” Welch answered.
“You were his attorney for one day?” he was asked.
“Yes, I stepped up, the case was dismissed Sept. 3, 2003 against Billy Welch,” Welch answered
Welch was shown Exhibit 6 from the lawsuit and asked if it was a Grand Jury indictment of Billy Welch and the dealer, dated Sept. 26, 2003.
“Exhibit 6 says what it says,” Welch answered.
“You said that the case was dismissed on that day?” Welch was asked. “That’s my recollection,” Welch answered.
“Why is there an indictment naming Billy Welch?” he was asked
“I don’t know,” Welch answered.
“You have no idea why there would be an indictment against him if the case was dismissed?” Welch was asked.
“I don’t know,” Welch answered.
Asked if he’d talked to anyone in the State’s Attorney’s office other than at the hearing, Welch answered, “No.”
Asked if he’d ever inquired “with any government agency to determine whether or not Bill Welch had been indicted” Welch answered, “No.”
Did you ask Bill Welch whether he had ever been indicted?” Welch was asked. “Yes.” He answered.
“What did he tell you?” He was asked. “He said no,” Welch answered.
Welch quietly dropped his lawsuit against Nyberg.
‘Without factual basis’
Sometime around 2006, a new blog called the “Proviso Insider” went online. It called itself “A beacon of light in the Proviso darkness.”
The majority of posts either lambasted Chris Welch’s critics or praised his allies. The blog posts would put a positive spin on D209 news, however negative the actual situation might be. In March 2010, Welch posted “Proviso High Schools Removed From Financial
Watch List!!!”
“This feat is especially remarkable considering the financial crisis many schools are facing in the state of Illinois,” Welch stated, ignoring the fact that less than 1% of all high schools in Illinois were under state supervision.
Welch went on touting his successes and taking shots at his political enemies. On July 19, 2007 the Proviso Insider accused two lawyers who previously worked for D209 of having suborned perjury.
Melrose Park police commander Ric Cervone had been named in a federal indictment. The Insider posted, “Sources tell the Insider that Burt Odelson and Mark Sterk …. will be indicted next by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Sources tell the Insider that Mark Sterk was the attorney advising SD89 Board member Ric Cervone on how to lie to a grand jury.”
“Are Burt Odelson and Mark Sterk crooks?” The Proviso Insider asked. “Will they be indicted next?”
On Aug. 21, 2007 Odelson and Sterk filed a libel/slander suit in Cook County Circuit Court.
The Insider hadn’t always been so hard on Odelson and Sterk. In December 2006 an Insider headline trumpeted, “D209 Lawyer Burton Odelson Respected By All.”
“The Insider has learned that Proviso School District 209’s lawyer, Burton S. Odelson, is also the lawyer for the stars,” the website fawned. “Many think, without Odelson, Proviso would not have been able to secure and negotiate a deal for the Proviso Math and Science Academy.”
Welch denied any involvement or responsibility for the posts. That is, until a forensic examination determined the posts had been made from a computer at his law firm.
Odelson’s attorney, Michael Wall, said Welch had attempted to avoid liability for the Proviso Insider posts by alleging they were done by his law clerk Emily Robinson.
“She was told by Mr. Welch that he would take care of everything,” Wall was quoted in a March 18, 2012 news article. Robinson denied posting the defamatory comments, saying, “I didn’t do it at all.” She was not found liable for any actions
Welch filed for summary judgment, but Judge Eileen Mary Brewer denied his motion, and ruled he had committed “defamation per se.”
Welch faced with paying a $400,000 settlement demand, did for himself what he’d done for Serpico; used his role as D209 board president to successfully pry around $50,000 from taxpayers to cover his ongoing legal bills
But when he later attempted to have D209 foot another $40,000, as well as the $400,000 settlement, the state appointed Financial Oversight Panel blocked him, and he was forced to negotiate a new settlement using his own money
Welch also had to admit publicly that he had lied. Or in his lawyerly wording, that he had made “statements … which were made without factual basis.”
“The Subject Statements made on the Proviso Insider … are hereby unconditionally and unequivocally retracted and the Proviso Insider regrets the publication of those statements on the blog which were made without factual basis.”
‘The Prince of Proviso’
By law, members of school boards do not have any direct authority over district employees or the daily operations of the schools outside of their authority to cast votes at board meetings.
But by August 2010, Welch saw himself, according to numerous people associated with D209 or Proviso Township politics, as a major authority figure in and of himself, to be respected and obeyed.
“He wants to be the Prince of Proviso,” one source told this reporter at the time Welch reportedly became angry after two sisters who worked in senior positions at Proviso West high school rebuffed his attempts
to hug them at a football game. He responded with an angry text.
Alexis Wallace, the for mer principal at Proviso West before Welch had her transferred, sat down with the Forest Leaves in March 2012 to discuss her experience with Welch as D209 board president and a threatening text she’d received from him.
Wallace said she saved the text, making certain her phone was charged even after she got a new phone. The saved text confirms allegations made by Wallace’s sister, Dylester Palm, a dean at Proviso West, in her federal lawsuit against Welch for complaints similar to Wallace’s. (Palm later dropped the lawsuit, citing her inability to pay for the cost of legal representation.)
Wallace held out her old Blackber ry for the reporter to photograph. The phone number on the text was the same cell number that Welch had listed on his campaign filing documents.
“I allowed them to be employed!” Welch’s text read. “And I’m the board president! Period! End of conversation. Things better change now. I won’t tolerate disresepect.”
Welch then left no doubt that he saw himself as the primary authority at D209.
“I had a direct hand in helping them b here including u. No one else,” he said. “At the minimum, I deserve respect.”
In April 2027, Riverside will elect three Trustees to the Village Board.
FOIA denial helps Welch avoid accountability
In 2012 a FOIA was filed with the Hillside Police Department seeking any reports related to Welch’s alleged arrest in 2002 for an oft-rumored domestic battery.
That FOIA was denied by Hillside officials, who claimed that Welch, who’d been handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a squad car, had nonetheless not been placed under arrest.
A subsequent appeal was successful, and Hillside was ordered to release the documents. But the release arrived 90 minutes too late, after the primary election issue of a local newspaper had gone to print.
In that moment, Welch was working to move up oliticallys and was in a contested race for the Democratic nomination in the 7th Illinois House District. On election day Welch led Forest Park Commissioner Rory Hoskins by just 36 votes out of more than 40,000 cast in the 7th Illinois House Democratic primary. That narrow margin held
As has happened in numerous cases related to allegations concerning questionable behavior by Welch, the story made a splash – nearly 10 years later as Welch was seeking to replace Mike Madigan as the Speaker of the House. A handful of people expressed concern and vowed to get answers and hold people accountable.
The splash was followed by silence.
Embrace What's Next YOUR BEST LIFE withLisaCapone
Riverside needs someone like YOU on its Board of Trustees!
The Riverside Community Caucus is seeking residents who are interested in learning more about being a candidate in the next election.
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3. Email us with questions at recruiting@rccil.org.
Members of the Recruiting Committee will reach out to all potential candidates.
Nominations accepted through Aug. 31! rccil.org
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Stone Park man caught speeding on a revoked license
Brookfield police on July 23 arrested a 44-year-old Stone Park man after they caught him speeding.
Around 7:15 p.m., an officer was heading southeast along Grand Boulevard on patrol when they observed a black car traveling in the opposite direction at a “high rate of speed.” Using the squad car’s radar, the officer determined the car was traveling 40 mph in the posted 25-mph zone. The officer made a U-turn and pulled the car over near the intersection of Kemman Avenue and 30th Street in LaGrange Park
The officer explained the reason for the stop to the driver and requested his driver’s license and proof of insurance. The man said he had never been issued a license. The officer ran the man’s name through the police database and learned his license status was revoked due to a previous DUI charge.
The officer had the man exit his car and placed him under arrest before having his car towed and transporting him to the Brookfield Police Department. Police finger printed the man due to there being multiple arrest warrants for other people using his name as an alias. The finger printing confirmed his identity, police said.
Police charged the man with speeding, driving on a revoked license and driving without having been issued a license and set a Sept. 22 court date before releasing the man to his wife.
Stolen car wheel
On July 21, Brookfield police responded to a report of a motor vehicle burglary.
Around 9:30 p.m., an officer responded to the 4100 block of Arthur Avenue, where they met with the complainant, who said someone had removed her tire after the last time she had parked it around 6 p.m. that day, at which point all four tires were in working order.
The woman said that later in the evening, she had gotten into her car and tried to drive it when she heard a loud noise and the car abruptly stopped soon after it started. The woman said she got out and saw the backpassenger side tire and wheel assembly had been removed, with some wooden blocks positioned to support the car where the tire had been removed.
The woman told police she had not given anyone permission to access her car or remove the tire and that she had no idea who
would have done so. She said she and her sister had checked the area for surveillance footage but that the only camera that might have captured footage was inactive during the time of the incident.
Police did not take further action, according to the report
Catalytic converter theft
Brookfield police responded to a report of a potential attempted theft of a vehicle on July 20.
Around 6 a.m., police responded to the 9000 block of Jackson Avenue to meet with the complainant, who told dispatchers he had discovered a carjack underneath his car and observed what he thought could be blood nearby
The man reiterated the information to the officer and said the car had been parked in that location for two days. He said he believed an unknown person may have tried to steal the car between the previous day and that morning, as he had driven past earlier the previous day and did not notice the carjack then. The man said the thief or thieves did not gain entry to the car but that the carjack had punctured its floorboard and became lodged beneath the vehicle.
The officer canvassed the area to find Ring cameras that may have captured the incident. Of the two cameras they found, one did not record the incident according to the owner while police could not get in contact with the owner of the other camera.
Police provided the man with the police report number, and he said he needed no further assistance. Around 7:30 a.m., the man reached out to police to share that he had removed the carjack and discovered the car’s catalytic converter had been stolen.
Police did not take further action, according to the report.
These items were obtained from the Brookfield Police Department reports dated July 20-27; they represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.
— Compiled by Stella Brown
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John Muhlenberg, 94
Engineer who loved sailing and music
John Albert Muhlenberg, 94, of LaGrange Park, for merly of Oak Park, died peacefully on Aug. 1, 2026 at Lightways Hospice in Joliet. He had lived with Parkinson’s for many years. Nonetheless his sudden de cline shocked everyone. His wife of nearly 30 years, Elisabeth Muhlenberg, was by his side throughout and particularly during his hospice stay. Lightways was instrumental in making John’s last days comfortable and peaceful.
Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, he attended Wyomissing High school and served in the U.S. Army after the Korean War (1953-1955), spending much of those two years in Fort Hood, Texas. He deeply disliked the army, but made lifelong friends and achieved a kind of fame in the Signal Corps by slyly resisting authority enough to avoid getting promoted, but not too much to get court-martialed. His independence and rebellion against authority affected his entire life, including his educational career. He switched universities repeatedly, eventually receiving a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).
With the support of his first wife, Alba Muhlenberg, John finally found his niche at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). He graduated as a mechanical engineer in the 1970s and accepted a job at the Assocation of American Railroads (AAR), testing railroad equipment. He loved his job and retired in 1995 when the AAR moved operations to Colorado. He loved the outdoors, and relaxed, particularly after Alba’s death, by walking 5 miles after work. The greatest damage Parkinson’s inflicted on him was losing his ability to walk. He canoed wildwater races competitively with his cousin Ferd Thun, and spent years instructing sailing for Sail Chicago, passing the tough test to become a US Sailing Association instructor. With Parkinson’s, he discovered the wonderful Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing program.
Throughout his adult life he subscribed to the Chicago Symphony and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. For their first date he took his future wife Elisabeth to a performance of the Chicago Symphony. John and Alba did not have children. She died in 1989 of a chronic lung disease. John adored his two stepchildren Stephanie (Mathew) Hein and Martin (Terese) Broerman. He took special pleasure in all five grandchildren, Tim, Annelise and Erik Hein and Charlotte and Fritz Broerman. John was the fourth child of the late Charles Muhlenberg and Wilhelmina Thun Muhlenberg. His siblings, Nick, Mimi, Philip and Jerry all predeceased him. He was especially close to his sister’s family, her three children, the late Christopher Cherney, Mary Cherney and Kaethe Cherney and the children, Tim Cherney and Charlotte Grillot.
John chose to donate his body to science through the Anatomical Gift Association. A memorial service is planned for a later date at Plymouth Place.
OBITUARIES
In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation https://juddgoldmansailing org/donate/ or Lightways Hospice https://lightways.org/ make-a-donation.
Arrangements were handled by Inclusive Funeral Care, www.InclusiveFuneralCare.com.
Joan Schmidt, 91
St. Louise de Marillac parishioner
Joan Ann Schmidt (nee Metzger), 91, of Brookfield, died on July 30, 2026. She worked as a secretary in a medical office and was a longtime member and 10-year past president of the St. Louise de Marillac Catholic Women’s Organization, Bereavement Group and the Mixed Bowling League She had a passion for gardening, sewing, knitting, cooking, baking and garage sales
Joan was the wife of the late Virgil G. “Red” Schmidt, who died in 1990; the mother of Kenneth G. (Elaine) Schmidt, Linda M. (Edward) Mokry, Raymond J. (Janet) Schmidt, and Alan J. (Barbara) Schmidt; grandmother of Patrick (Kayla) Schmidt, Matthew (Cassie) Schmidt, Jennifer (Paul) Reed, Jessica (Richard Bulin III) Schmidt-Bulin, Katie Schmidt, Adam Mokry, Scott Schmidt, Kimberly Mokry, Daniel (Abigail Williams fiancé) Schmidt, Thomas (Katrina Vallort fiancé) Schmidt, and Nicholas Schmidt; great-grandmother of Madison, Madelyn, Autumn, Everett, Olivia, Connor, Bennett and Charlotte; sister of the late Donald (Barbara) Metzger, Ralph (the late Marcella) Metzger, and the late James (Dolores) Metzger; and the aunt and great-aunt to over 80 nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 5 from 3 to 8 p.m. at Hitzeman Funeral Home Ltd., 9445 31st St., Brookfield, IL 60513. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Aug. 6 at St. Louise de Marillac Church (Holy Guardian Angels Parish), LaGrange Park, at 11 a.m., followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside Memorials appreciated to Holy Guardian Angels Food Pantry, 4008 Prairie Ave., Brookfield, IL 60513; Misericordia Home, 6300 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago, IL 60660; National Brain Tumor Society, 55 Chapel St., Suite 006, Newton, MA 02458; Susan G. Komen, 13770 Noel Road, Suite 801889, Dallas, TX 75380; or The National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, NPCF P.O. Box 189, Box Elder, SD 57719.
Eleanor Wheeler, 95
Brook eld Public Library for 25 years
Eleanor H. Wheeler (nee Huguenard), 95, of Brookfield, died peacefully on July 28, 2026 at home. Born on April 16, 1931, the child of Clement and Irene (Harber) Huguenard, she grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana where she developed the values of hard work and learning that would guide her
throughout her life. She earned a bachelor’s de gree in Home Economics in 1953 from Saint Mary-of-theWoods Colle ge in Terre Haute, Indiana, then completed her Master of Science de gree in 1955 from the University of Kansas. She worked in research at the University of Illinois Champaign where she met her husband, Kevin Wheeler. They were wed on Sept. 8, 1956 and raised five children in a loving and learning environment. The Wheelers moved to Brookfield in 1971. She was a devoted member of Saint Barbara Parish. She worked for the Brookfield Public Library for 25 years until her retirement and was an enthusiastic genealogist who kept family stories alive and thoroughly documented her family’s history. She was an avid correspondent who connected through letter writing and touched many lives and made lifelong friends through her work at Brookfield Public Library
Eleanor was preceded in death by her husband, Kevin E. Wheeler; her son, Owen Wheeler; her grandson, Kyle Wheeler; and her brothers, Herbert Huguenard, Kenneth (Virginia) Huguenard, and Ronald (Cheryl) Huguenard. She is survived by her children, Hugh (Deborah) Wheeler, Paul (Amy) Wheeler, Neil (Janine) Wheeler, Kathleen (Keith) Nelson, and her daughter-in-law Cecily Mistarz; her grandchildren, Katelin Wheeler, Claire Nelson, Kevin Wheeler, and Kyle and Adriana Watson; and 14 nieces and nephews.
Memorials to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society are appreciated.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, Aug. 9 from 1 to 6 p.m. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, Ltd., 9445 31st Street, Brookfield, IL 60513. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Barbara Church , 4000 Prairie Ave., in Brookfield, at 11 a.m. Interment Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery, Alsip.
Anthony Donnamario, 80
Brook eld resident
Anthony Donnamario, 80, of Brookfield and Plainfield, die on July 29, 2026. Born on Dec. 29, 1945, he was the husband of the late Helen E. Donnamario (nee El rich); the father of Ralph, Anthony, George (Heather) and the late John Joseph Donnamario; the grandfather of Julia, Michelle Hope, Kiera Ann, Mia, Anthon Georgie, Ashley (George) Suljic and Mikki (Chris) Litrento; and the Ben and Vince Suljic
Visitation was held on Aug. 3, with funeral services on Aug. 4 at Ivins/Moravecek Funeral Home, 80 E. Burlington St., Riverside. Inter ment at Mt. Car mel Cemetery.
Sports
Brook eld 10-U baseball reaches state semi nals
By BILL STONE
Contributing Reporter
The Brookfield Minors 10-and-under allstar baseball team had momentum on its side after five straight victories en route to the District 9 championship, July 11. For the state tournament, the team overcame another type of adversity.
State didn’t begin until July 25 after wildfires seriously affected the air quality and resulted in the start date being delayed for a week.
“I didn’t like it because I just wanted to play baseball and it felt weird having to wait that long to play,” said catcher Keo Brown.
Once again, Brookfield met the challenge and made it all the way to the semifinals before losing to Elmhurst 9-5, Thursday, hosted by Roseland in Chicago.
Brookfield 10-U team members are Adonis Acevedo, Geno Belmonte, Brown, Lorenzo Creedon, Jack Dee g an, Dean Forest, Lucas Ginez, Cameron Glassi, Kiaan Hala, Louis Petronella, Leo Pilotto and Sebastian Walus. EJ Belmonte is manager with assistant coaches Jeff Creedon and Bill Glassi
“It felt good making it all the way to the semifinals. We pushed all the way,” Brown said.
“(Our state finish) felt really good because we hadn’ t won districts in a long time,” Geno Belmonte said. “I think we just got a little momentum to g et a little higher in the tournament next year. Maybe we can win districts again and see how we do in state.”
In pool play, Brookfield beat Ottawa 8-3, July 25, lost to Olney 6-5, July 26, and beat Rochelle 21-1 in four innings and South Holland 25-0 in three innings, both on July 29.
In the semifinals, Brookfield closed to 6-4 in the bottom of the fourth inning before Elmhurst answered with three runs in the fifth. Brookfield added a run in the sixth.
Pilotto (double) and Ginez each had two hits and Wi lus had two r uns batted in. Pilotto and Dee g an shared the pitching duties
Brook eld 10-and-under baseball District 9 championship team
“They took the (Elmhurst) loss well. Our defense was of f a little bit and we gave up some unearned runs, but the kids overall stayed pretty positive,” EJ Belmonte said.
“They made it to the Final Four. I think that’s why they were happy (overall). In their eyes, they got third place. They were excited about that. It was cool. I thought it was a fun experience.”
Just reaching the semifinals took perseverance. Because of rainouts, doubleheaders were needed the final day of pool play.
Brookfield completed its second-place pool clincher over South Holland in the wee hours.
“It lasted until like 10 or 11 p.m. I think we’ve done that before once but since we were playing baseball, we weren’ t that tired,” Geno Belmonte said.
Against South Holland, Wilus pitched a three-inning no-hitter with six strikeouts and two walks and had a triple and double. Creedon had three hits, including a triple, and four RBIs.
Belmonte was 4-for-4 against Rochelle with three RBIs. Wilus (2 doubles) and Brown added three hits apiece.
Pilotto (2-for-3) and Glassi each doubled and had two RBIs against Ottawa. Pitcher Deegan struck out seven in the first 3.2 in-
nings against Olney, which scored three in the top of the sixth.
During the one-week gap before state, Brookfield continued practicing at Overholt Field. Several players’ families also delayed scheduled vacations, resulting in the team being at full strength for state, other than the sidelined Forest, who also missed districts after undergoing an appendectomy.
“There were quite a few vacations that were put on hold,” EJ Belmonte said. “We just practiced all week at Overholt (to prepare). That’s how we handled it. (Our players) just want to play baseball.”
PROVIDED
Brook eld’s Fowler, Miller part of 294 Elite success at JOs
Lyons Aquatics water polo players among large group of area quali ers
By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter
Water polo player Evie Fowler of Brookfield received the ball from the goalie as a parent in the stands loudly counted down the final seconds before halftime From roughly 3/4 of the length of the pool, the 10-year-old heaved and scored a buzzer-beater for her longest goal ever
“I could hear that (parent) and I looked behind me and saw the clock was like five seconds so I shot it with all my power,” Fowler said. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought I missed. I didn’t think I was going to make it in, but I did.”
That was among many highlights for Fowler and Sebastian Miller of Brookfield from the Lyons Aquatics water polo program in helping their 10-and-under 294 Elite coed team finish fifth in the top-level Platinum Division at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics July 18-21 in Orange County, Califor nia.
The 10-U 294 Elite team had a 6-2 overall record for group play and playof fs among 48 teams. The 14-12 come-from-behind victory for fifth over Channel Islands United July 21 came after losing their July 19 group match on a shootout to settle a 9-9 tie.
“We came back and pulled it of f,” said Fowler, an incoming fifth grader at Brook Park Elementary School in LaGrange Park “It was challenging but really fun in a way that we still stuck into it and got fifth place. It was really great and also that team was really good. Their goalie had really long ar ms.”
The fifth-place finish is the highest for any Lyons Aquatics-based team at JOs in any age division. For Miller, 9, this was quite an experience for his first JOs and as the youngest player on the team.
The incoming fourth-grader at Central Elementary School in Riverside averaged about one goal per match. With 294 Elite trailing by two in group play, Miller’s backto-back goals helped spark the 13-11 victory over Yolo
“Especially in my first year, it was so sur prising that (all of) that happened,” said Miller, who had younger teammates during the re gular season. “It’s way dif ferent being the youngest person on the team but scoring goals. Most people wouldn’t expect a 10-year-old person like me scoring goals against really good goalies.”
Lyons Aquatics is based at Lyons Township High School’s south campus. The 294 Elite teams combined primarily Lyons Aquatics players with others from water polo programs throughout the Chicago area.
Ella Fowler of Brookfield was on the 12-and-Under 294 Elite girls team that was 10th in the Gold Division.
Lorenzo Tejeda of Brookfield was on the 14-and-Under boys team that was 24th in the Gold Division.
Other strong 294 Elite Gold Division finishes were by the 12-and-Under boys (14th), 18-and-Under girls and 16-andUnder girls (both 18th) and 16-and-Under boys (19th).
The 10-U and 12-U age groups have the option of entering
Brook eld’s Evie Fowler looks for a shot during 10-and-Under co-ed action at last month’s USA Water Polo Junior Olympics.
co-ed competition.
“It’s funner that I can make friends that are boys and friends that are girls,” Miller said. “(With 294 Elite) I liked how I could meet people from other parts of Chicago and I got to make friends, play with them and with other people when I was in Lyons Aquatics Also I liked how they changed the name (to 294 Elite). It didn’t feel like they were betraying their (club) teams They were just part of a whole new team.”
Doug Eichstaedt is the Lyons Aquatics head coach. Assistant coach Allegra Fowler is the mother of Ella and Evie and played water polo for Mother McAuley High School and the University of Illinois club team. Tom Fries, Allegra’s father, played at Brother Rice for Hall of Fame coach Moose Mulcrone.
“We are extremely proud of all of our players for putting in the work to achieve their goals,” Allegra Fowler said. “Years from now, these kids won’t remember the wins and losses, but we hope they will remember what we taught them -- work hard, have fun and play as a team.”
This was Evie Fowler’s third and final time competing at the 10-U JOs. Her team was 13th in 2025 after making her debut in 2024 with Ella among her teammates
“I like how there’s a community of people (in water polo).
It’s a small world and there’s people from different teams and we all went together and played hard,” Evie Fowler said. For Miller, this was first season ever playing water polo. Already a swimmer, Miller tried water polo and proved to be so adept he was promoted faster than most newcomers.
“The first day I loved it and I came back the second day,” Miller said.
“(I like) probably that it’s a sport on the water, which I’m good at. In swimming, you can swim against your teammates but in water polo you have your team. You’re working together, figuring out strategies together.”
Because the 2025 10-U team finished 13th, it received a higher seeding and didn’t have its opening match until 12:50 p.m. That allowed players to actually be around during breakfast hours at their hotel.
“Since we got 13th, we got to sleep in,” Evie Fowler said. Miller said he enjoyed one day just hanging out with the team on the beach.
Evie Fowler agreed
“Spending time with the team was the funnest part,” she said. “I didn’t really know this, but one of my friends on the team lives like an hour away from us. It was just amazing to see people from Evanston come and play (for 294 Elite). I was just impressed that they came.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMMY MILLER
Cornell-bound O’Brien makes progress from knee surgery
Nazareth Academy senior guard Towne commits to Northwestern
By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter
Emma O’Brien knows her debut for the Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.) women’s basketball team will be filled with emotion. Not only will the recent Lyons Township High School graduate be starting her NCAA Division I journey but that will mark her first competitive action since her season-ending left knee injury Jan. 9 at York
“I’ll be excited and definitely nervous but health-wise hopefully fine,” O’Brien said. “Definitely that first game I’ll be nervous, but that would have been there re gardless.”
The 6-foot-1 forward remains on track to recovery at roughly the six-month point after undergoing surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.
Going to physical therapy three times weekly, O’Brien said her shot “came back really easily.” She’s up to game pace with most basketball skills but still cannot have contact. The continued progress has her intending the play as a true freshman rather than redshirt.
“Hopefully I’m back around the midNovember, December area. That would be great,” O’Brien said. “There’s days I don’t want to do it but I would say it’s going pretty smooth in rehab. I’m looking at the big picture instead of just the little hurdles.”
A four-year varsity player, O’Brien finished third in LTHS girls basketball for career points (1,454), three-pointers (145) and steals (255) and second in assists (330). Even with her abbreviated senior season, she was named third-team Class 4A allstate by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and honorable mention all-state by the Associated Press.
A year ago playing summer basketball, O’Brien made contact with Cornell coach Emily Garner and made an unofficial visit in late August. O’Brien verbally committed a few weeks later and then made her official visit in September. O’Brien is enrolled in the business school and may possibly pursue a career in finance.
“Throughout my recruiting process, I
wanted to go to a high academic school and obviously Cornell has that. It seemed like a good fit,” O’Brien said. “And I liked the campus. It’s really pretty. My first contact with Coach Garner, I really liked her. I liked how she handled things in the recruiting process. I really liked her demeanor and the girls on the team.”
Last season, Cornell finished 9-18 (4-10 in Ivy League) after going 7-20 in Garner’s first season. O’Brien is among five recruits and five Illinois players with the others from Loyola Academy (two), Lake Forest and Maine South high schools
“There’s a good amount of girls from Chicago, which I liked,” O’Brien said. “Everybody (on visit) was very including and happy and really seemed to support each other which I liked.”
Sophia Towne
Senior Sophia Towne was coming of f dream season as the starting point guard for Nazareth Academy’s Class 4A girls basketball state championship, March 7.
Another great basketball moment came May 19. The 5-foot-10 Towne posted her verbal commitment to play for Northwester n Universit (Evanston).
“I feel like (Division I basketball) has always b the goal of mine and the Big Te (Conference) has always been the dream of mine so I’m glad,” Towne said. “I wanted to commit somewhere somewhat earlier. kind of wanted to go into my senior y knowing where I was going to I can pl the high school season not stressed out. I wanted to commit before the AAU’ July period (with Wisconsin-based Team Prime Nation) so I could pl ay more loose and stress free.”
following 18 seasons as head coach. Carla Berub e, who was named the new Northwestern head coach in March, coached Princeton the past seven seasons with five NCAA Tournament appearances and five Ivy League titles
Towne is considering majoring in communications. In all, she took seven visits mostly unofficially, such as part of basketball camps.
“When I visited (Northwestern May 12), I just honestly fell in love with the school itself. It’s a beautiful campus and the staf f was so welcoming. It felt like somewhere I could be the next four or five years,” said Towne, who was named second-team 4A all-state by the IBCA after leading the
Roadrunners with 75 three-point field goals and 141 assists and finishing second with an 11.1-point scoring averag e.
One of Towne’s most memorable g ames was the 54-42 super-sectional victory over Waubonsie Valley after the game was tied 37-37 with 6:26 remaining. Towne contributed 17 points with three threes.
“It was a super-intense environment and g ame and we all had an intense amount of pressure on us. That made us stronger as a team and honestly work as a team and succeed to want more,” Towne said. “I felt like the whole state r un prepared me for AAU season and confidence to play against good defenders and handle the ball with more confidence.”
T he Wildcats finished 8-21 (2-16 in Big Ten) last season and Joe McKeown retired
Nazareth’s Sophia Towne (5) works up cour t against Glenbard East’s Oliv
during the Sandburg Holiday Classic ursday, Dec. 26, 2024 in Orland Park.
STEVE JOHNSTON
ia Nee (20)
EMMA O’BRIEN
SOPHIA TOWNE
PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING
Notice is hereby given that the Village of Oak Park will hold Public Information Meeting #2 for the Bridging the Ike project in an open house format welcoming all community members to learn about the study and participate in the planning process. The project is examining opportunities for expanded bridge decking over I 90, which could accommodate new development, public plazas, and park spaces over the expressway
Date: Thursday August 20, 2026; Time: p.m.; Location: Veterans Room at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St, Oak Park. This meeting is ADA accessible
For more information about the public information meeting and ways residents can share their priorities for future bridge crossing improvements, visit https://engageoakpark.com/ike
Published in Wednesday Journal August 5, 2026
LEGAL NOTICE
The Village of Oak Park—Office of the Village Engineer, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, IL 60302—will receive PDF proposals via email, at aspentzouris@ oak-park.us until P.M. on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, for the following: Professional Engineering Services for Construction Engineering for the Ridgeland Avenue Improvement Projects. The Village is in need of phase III engineering services for two separate construction projects on Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Park, IL, planned for 2027 construction. One pr ro he locally funded Ridgeland Avenue Sewer Replacement Project, and the other project roject is the federally funded Ridgeland Avenue Improvements Project Section 24
The Request for Qualifications may be obtained from the Village’s website at h ttps://www. oa k- park.us/BuildingBusiness/Reques t- fo r- Pr oposal s starting on Thursday, July 30, 2026 For questions, please email Abby Spentzouris, at aspentzouris@oakpark.us.
THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK Bill McKenna Village Engineer
Published in Wednesday Journal August 5, 2026
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
You are hereby notified that a Public Hearing has been called by the Housing Authority of the Village of Oak Park, Oak Park, Illinois to be held at the Village Hall of Oak Park at 123 Madison Street, d and Madison), Oak Park, Illinois in Village Hall Council Chambers at A.M. on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, for the purpose of considering the following item of business:
To hear comments from the Public on the Public Housing Agency Plan.
The draft of the OPHA Annual Plan for 2027 along with the public’s comments will be considered by the Authority before adoption of the Annual Plan to be submitted by Wednesday, October 15, 2026, to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The draft plan is available for inspection at the following locations during normal hours of operation, Monday through Friday, .M.:
Oak Park Housing Authority, 21 South Boulevard Oak Park, IL 60302
Mills Park Tower, 1025 Pleasant Place Oak Park, IL 60302
Written comments will also be accepted prior to the hearing for inclusion in the public record
Address all comments or inquiries to:
Oak Park Housing Authority
Executive Director Re: PHA Annual Plan 2026 21 South Boulevard, Oak Park, IL 60302
Published in Wednesday Journa August 5, 2026
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
All real estate adver tising in this newspaper is subjec to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to adver tise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.
The Illinois Human Rights Ac prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or adver tising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any adver tising for real estate which is in violation of the law.
All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings adver tised are available on an equal opportunity basis
Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to ser vice animals
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Notice is hereby given by the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of River Forest, Cook County, Illinois, that sealed Proposals will be accepted for:
2026 Washington Blvd Phase II Design Engineering Services
The Village of River Forest is requesting proposals for professional engineering consultant services, for completion of Design Engineering for the development of construction plans and specifications of Streetscape improvements, traffic calming installations, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and roadway resurfacing along Washington Boulevard from Thatcher Avenue to Lathrop Avenue. Respondents must be able to demonstrate expertise with all aspects of roadway related engineering tasks and bicycle and pedestrian improvements, as well as familiarity with Invest in Cook grant funding along with ITEP grant funding requirements and their often required design, billing, and permitting procedures in consideration to similar projects.
Submittals should include the firm’s qualifications, project team, resumes, project approach, and recently completed related engineering work (high value will be placed on experience assisting municipalities with Phase II design engineering for improvements similar in scope)
The RFP is available for download starting Monday, August 3, 2026, at:
www.vrf.us/bids
Proposals must be submitted by Tuesday, August 25, 2026
a.m. to:
Village of River Forest
Attention: Jack Bielak P.E., CFM
Director of Public Works & Engineering
400 Park Avenue
River Forest, IL 60305
Proposals will be considered based on the criteria set forth in the RFP.
No Proposal shall be withdrawn after the opening of the Proposals without the consent of the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of River Forest for a period of thirty days after the scheduled deadline
The Village of River Forest reserves the right in receiving these Proposals to waive technicalities and reject any or all Proposals.
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: M26001868 on July 23, 2026
Under the Assumed Business Name of MARGOO & CO with the business located at: 9035 27TH ST., BROOKFIELD, IL 60513. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: BRIDGET MASSEN GILL 9035 27TH ST BROOKFIELD, IL 60513, USA.
Published in RB Landmark July 29, August 5, 12, 2026
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: M26001868 on July 23, 2026
Under the Assumed Business Name of MARGOO & CO with the business located at: 9035 27TH ST., BROOKFIELD, IL 60513. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: BRIDGET MASSEN GILL 9035 27TH ST BROOKFIELD, IL 60513, USA.
Published in RB Landmark July 29, August 5, 12, 2026
LEGAL NOTICE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given by the Board of Education of Riverside Brookfield High School District 208, Cook County, Illinois, that a tentative budget for said school district for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, will be on file and conveniently available at the school district’s administrative offices at Riverside Brookfield High School District 208, 160 Ridgewood Road, Riverside, Illinois, from and after a.m. on July 1, 2026.
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing on said tentative budget will be held at 00 p.m. on September 8, 2026, at Riverside Brookfield High School District 208, 160 Ridgewood Road, Riverside, Illinois.
Published in RB Landmark August 5, 2026
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHAN CERY DIVISION
Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc Plaintiff, -v.Derrick T. Broadway; Lesli Broadway; Defendants 2025CH08611 1028 MAPLETON 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 5/18/2026, an agent of Auction. com, LLC will conduct the Online Only auction at www.auction.com, with the bidding window opening on 8/24/2026 at AM CDT and closing on August 26, 2026 at AM subject to extension, and will sell at public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate.
Commonly known as 1028 TON AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No.
2025CH08611 NO PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, YOU ARE A VISED THAT PLAINTIFF’S ATTOR NEY IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY IN FORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE.
I3291045
To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.
Published in Wednesday Journa August 5, 2025
The real estate is improved with a Residential Property The judgment amount was $124,548.83 Sale Terms: Full Sale Terms are available on the property page at www.auction.com by entering 1028 MAPLETON AVENUE into the search bar. If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, the winning bidder must pay the full bid amount within twenty-four hours of the auction’s end. All payments must be certified funds. No third-party checks will be accepted. All bidders will need to register at www.auction.com prior to placing a bid. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a certificate of sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property, prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by the Condominium property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9 (g)(l) 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(gIF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN SION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 01 OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information, contact Plaintiffs attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES PC please refer to file number 14 Auction.com, LLC 100 N LaSalle St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60602 You can also visit www.auction.com. Attorney File No. Case Number:
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