Village Free Press 062922

Vol. VI No. 26 Retired Berkeley educator publishes children’s book, PAGE 9

JUNE 29, 2022

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D209 supt. gets another contract, PAGE 4

Report: Maywood manager created ‘culture of fear’

Report paints damaging portrait of former Maywood Manager Chasity WellsArmstrong’s tenure, manager effectively ousted

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

The tense, roughly year-long feud between Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker and his hand-chosen village manager, former Kankakee mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong, appears to have culminated in the manager’s ouster following the results of an investigation that painted her short tenure at the village’s helm as a disaster.

According to the report, which the village board made public on June 21, Wells-Armstrong “engaged in discriminatory conduct,” cultivated a workplace culture of fear and retaliation among lower level employees, and politicized the manager’s position — a role that is supposed to be apolitical.

The report recommended that the board See REPORT on page 8

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Officials break ground on Bellwood Senior Apartments The June 23 ceremony kicked off construction on the $30M building at 540 S. 25th Ave. in Bellwood

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Elected officials from various levels of government and developers broke ground June 23 on the Bellwood Senior Apartments, a $30 million, four-story, 80-unit building at 540 S. 25th Ave in Bell-

wood.

The apartments, which are meant to be “100% affordable” for area senior citizens, will replace a former Walgreens store that had sat abandoned for nearly a decade. The store was recently demolished to make way for the senior building.

“This is going to be the site of a [transformative] development,” said Bellwood Mayor Andre Harvey at the June 23 groundbreaking ceremony.

David Block, the director of development and principal at Evergreen Real Estate Group, the firm leading the project, said they’ve gotten funding through a variety of means, including tax credits and

the state’s COVID-19 Affordable Housing Grant Program.

Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) announced on June 17 that the grant program would entail the state setting aside $75 million in federal funds “to provide vital gap financing and complete underwriting for affordable housing developments that may have otherwise not been built due to financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Bellwood Senior Apartments is one of 19 affordable development projects across the state that will see some of that money, said Kristin Faust, the IHSee GROUNDBREAKING on page 10

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

West suburban mayors team up to address global warming At June 23 Cross-Community Climate Collaborative signing ceremony, officials vowed to 100% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

If the June 13 supercell storm that uprooted trees, downed power lines, damaged cars and ripped the roofs off of buildings is any indication of the hazards that await communities on a warming planet, a gathering of elected officials held last week was an indication of what local leaders plan to do about it.

Mayors from at least 10 west suburbs met June 23 inside of a conference room on the campus of Triton College in River Grove and took turns signing a memorandum of understanding that signals their commitment to joining the Cross-Community Climate Collaborative (C4).

The new initiative puts participating suburbs on the hook for achieving a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The memorandum that the mayors signed and that most of their village boards voted to approve isn’t legally binding and there’s no cost for any suburb to join. Participating suburbs include Broadview, Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Riverside, Maywood, Berwyn, Bellwood, Westchester and River Grove. Other suburbs may join in the weeks and months to come.

The C4 initiative is spearheaded by Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson, Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman and River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci.

According to the C4 memorandum, the initiative is designed to “bring together BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] and non-minority communities across income lines to share ideas, secure resources, and drive large-scale projects within and across communities that achieve agreed upon greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, equity, and

Oak Park President Scaman, Broadview Mayor Thompson and River Forest President Cathy Adduci, who spearheaded the Cross-Community Climate Collaborative (C4). Below, Mayor Thompson speaks at the June 23 signing ceremony.

sustainability goals.”

Mayor Thompson, who chairs the environmental committee of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, a local government advocacy organization that represents 275 municipalities in the Chicago region, said during a Broadview village board meeting on June 21 that the C4 collaboration targets the roughly two dozen municipalities in Oak Park, River Forest, Proviso and Leyden townships.

“This is really getting all the communities together to do something more local versus the whole region of Chicago,” Thompson said.

The C4 initiative will lean on two environmental consultants — Gary-based Urban Efficiency Group and Oak Park-based Seven Generations Ahead — that will provide a range of services for participating suburbs.

Mayors that signed the memorandum commit to a range of responsibilities. In addition to publicly endorsing the C4 initiative, they also agree to C4’s goal of a 45% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030 from 2010 levels and 100% reduction by 2050.

In addition, village officials in participating suburbs agree to participate in monthly “cross-community” team meetings, establish a sustainability working group or commission, and to raise awareness about the C4 initiative, among other responsibilities.

Thompson said although suburbs aren’t

committing any financial resources to C4, funding to pay for constant services and other costs could come from a variety of other places.

She said the West Central Municipal Conference, a government council that represents the 40 municipalities that comprise Chicago’s inner ring suburbs, is a possible source for either direct funding or a leverage for accessing other funding sources. Participating governments pay a membership fee to be in the Conference.

The Conference is one of 10 Chicago area government councils that have adopted the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Greenest Region Compact, which aims “for enhanced quality of life for residents; protection and stewardship of the environment and sustainable economic vitality,” according to the Caucus’ website.

Urban Efficiency Group has worked in Broadview and Bellwood for several years.

Most recently, the firm, which is minori-

ty-owned, helped Mayor Thompson create the Broadview Alliance for Sustainability, which focuses on a range of ways that the village can bolster its renewable energy infrastructure.

For instance, Broadview officials are planning to install electrical vehicle charging ports in its municipal parking lots along the village’s Roosevelt Road corridor.

During the June 23 signing ceremony at Triton, Darnell Johnson, the president of Urban Efficiency Group, said while there are many different climate initiatives, C4’s emphasis on equity is what sets it apart from the others.

“One of the things that’s very unique about this particular opportunity is the fact that it is truly built around making sure that equity is centered in all of the work that we do,” he said. “To make sure we are finding the gaps and the spaces that exist between more resourced communities and those that are less resourced.”

The C4 signing ceremony comes a few months after the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body comprising global experts on human-induced global warming, released its latest report.

“The [IPCC report] tells us that by the year 2030, we have to reduce global emissions by 45% from 2010 levels,” Gary Cuneen, the executive director of Seven Generations Ahead, said on June 23.

“If we don’t do that, then we run the risk of having global temperatures that increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times,” he added. “Now, if that happens, they tell us we are going to have a catastrophe on a level that is just going to be unprecedented.”

Cuneen said that the June 13 supercell storm that struck the Chicago area is just one extreme weather event within a week full of them — from monsoons in India and Bangladesh, to 100-degree temperatures around the country to “massive, massive wildfires” in Spain.

“Who knows what is going to happen next week or today,” Cuneen said. “All we know is that it’s just going to continue to happen unless we address this issue.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

NEWS briefs 6017.

Broadview village board OK’s cannabis dispensary owned by retired NBA players

Berkeley library goes fine free Last week, officials with the Berkeley Public Library, 1637 Taft Ave. in Berkeley, announced that the library will no longer charge overdue fines on most materials that patrons check out.

With Berkeley’s library going fine free, that means all eight of the libraries in the Village Free Press readership are now fine free, according to Swan Library Services, a group of 100 libraries in Illinois that share resources and allow patrons who reside in those libraries’ respective service areas to borrow from other libraries within the Swan network.

Berkeley library officials said the library’s fine free policy went into effect June 1.

“We are excited to be following the practice of many libraries around the country and removing this potential barrier to library services,” Berkeley Public Library officials explained in a statement.

“Removing these fines (while still requiring items to be returned) will allow for more people in our community to enjoy the materials offered by the library for education, enrichment, and inspiration,” library officials stated.

“Library users will continue to be charged for lost or damaged items, and we encourage users to bring back materials on time to make them available to others who would like to borrow them.”

With Berkeley now fine free, that makes all eight libraries in the Village Free Press readership area fine free institutions, according to Swan Library Services.

In their statement, Berkeley officials referenced a resolution passed in 2019 by the American Library Association that cited “mounting evidence that eliminating fines increases library card sign up and library use.

Berkeley library officials added that the suspension of fines comes as the library’s Summer Reading Program, which is available for young people of all ages, heats up.

For more information on Berkeley Public Library, visit berkeleypl.org or call (708) 544-

A cannabis dispensary operator owned by retired NBA players Al Harrington and Allen Iverson moved a step closer to opening a dispensary in Broadview last week.

During a regular meeting on June 21, the Broadview village board voted unanimously to grant a special use to Viola Brands for the operation of a cannabis dispensary at 1516 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Broadview.

The vote happened two weeks after the village’s zoning and planning board voted unanimously on June 7 to recommend that the village board vote in favor of the request.

Broadview village officials passed ordinances in 2019 that allow for the operation of two dispensaries — one in the Roosevelt Road commercial district and another in the Broadview Village Square shopping area — and a cultivation center in overlay district within an area zoned industrial.

Last year, Helios Labs, a licensed craft grower, announced that they plan on building a $14 million production facility in Broadview at a warehouse at 2150 Parkes Dr. During the meeting on June 21, David Upshaw, the village’s building commissioner, said that there will be no subsidies or tax breaks given to Viola Brands. The village will receive 3% of the dispensary’s gross revenue.

Some board members expressed concerns about the dispensary’s proposed location, which is less than a block north of the Broadview Public Library, 2226 S. 16th Ave. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson corrected Armour, saying that the proposed dispensary is not across the street, but in the Roosevelt Road commercial district. The library, she said, is in a residential district and across the street from housing. Upshaw said that state statutes only prohibit cannabis dispensaries from being located near schools and daycares.

Upshaw said that, despite the board granting the special use, there’s still a long process before the dispensary is granted a business license.

Renovated Berkeley gas station renews hopes for gaming license Now that it has completed renovations to its convenience mart, a gas station in Berkeley is now hoping that it can turn a former auto repair shop that’s on its grounds into a video gaming cafe.

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Letters

Responding to inaccuracies about candidate nominating papers A recent letter to the editor from Mary “May” Larry that was published on June 22 contained significant inaccuracies regarding filing of nomination papers to run for the office of Proviso Township Democratic Committeeperson.

First, because the Cook County Clerk is also a candidate for this office, the Clerk, before any hearings began, removed herself along with her legal counsel from serving on the Electoral Board which decides these nomination petition challenges, to avoid any appearance of impropriety. A representative of the Cook County Treasurer served in place of the Clerk, and independent legal counsel advised the Electoral Board that reviewed these nomination petitions.

Second, Ms. Larry and the Clerk followed the same signature guidelines as to the proper number of signatures, which was based on the Illinois law. Ms. Larry failed to file enough valid signatures, and her nomination papers were found to be insuf-

The Shell gas station at 5630 St. Charles Rd. in Berkeley now has a newly blacktopped parking lot, the installation of additional landscaping and a new facade, among other improvements.

Last year, the Berkeley village board voted unanimously in favor of giving the gas station a Class E liquor license, but only on condition that the improvements take place. The Shell also received a facade reimbursement grant through the St. Charles TIF district that paid up to $10,000 for the facade improvement.

Now that the improvements are complete, the gas station’s owners are hoping the village board reconsiders granting them a video gaming license, so that they can turn an accessory building, a former auto repair shop next to the convenience store, into a video gaming cafe.

When the Shell owners requested the video gaming license last year, village board members said that they did not want to allow video gaming in convenience stores.

“Instead they only wanted video gaming in establishments that had both a food component and liquor served to the customer,” according to a June 17 memo drafted by Berke-

ficient, which resulted in her removal from the ballot.

Ms. Larry’s challenge to the Clerk’s signatures was dismissed due to her failure to provide enough details for the Electoral Board to review. Ms. Larry’s lawyer, as well as the lawyer for the Clerk, were served the same day by email with a copy of the Electoral Board’s decisions. Ms. Larry then challenged both decisions of the Electoral Board in the Circuit Court, and both her challenges were overruled independently by judges after she received a full hearing.

The electoral system gave this candidate a full and fair opportunity to be heard, and the decisions made were based on facts, and upheld by reviewing courts. False attacks on the integrity of the election system undermines confidence in our democracy, is irresponsible, and misleads the community.

— Cook County Clerk Elections Department CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

ley Village Administrator Rudy Espiritu.

Espiritu said that if the board reconsiders its decision and grants the gaming bistro and Class A licenses, then a development agreement similar to the one drafted last year would be drawn up between the village and the owners, making the agreement contingent on whether or not the owners committee the proposed renovations.

Bellwood man among 6 Postal Service workers charged with loan fraud A Bellwood man is among six former or current U.S. Postal Service employees charged in Cook County Circuit Court with fraudulently seeking loans through the Small Business Administration for nonexistent businesses, Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced June 23.

Four of the defendants were charged with applying for fraudulent state unemployment insurance benefits while still employed by the Postal Service, Raoul’s office said.

The charges, which were brought on June 23, are among the first “based on an investigation by the Attorney General’s Task Force on See NEWS BRIEFS on page 10

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

D209 board gives supt. another 5-year contract

June 14 board vote came after historic strike and as complaints mount among teachers and students over Supt. James Henderson’s leadership

Editor and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Michael Romain Senior Editor Bob Uphues Digital Publishing and Technology Manager Briana Higgins Photographers Shanel Romain, Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead

By MICHAEL ROMAIN

Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea

Editor

During a regular meeting on June 14, the Proviso Township High School District 209 Board of Education voted 4-2 to give District 209 Supt. James Henderson his third contract in two years.

Board President Della Patterson, along with members Theresa Kelly, Rodney Alexander, and Sam Valtierrez voted for the new contract while members Amanda Grant and Ned Wagner voted against.

Board member Claudia Medina was absent.

The new contract comes three months after perhaps the longest teacher strike in the district’s history — a period of nearly three weeks when the superintendent repeatedly canceled bargaining sessions. Union officials said one of the main points of contention was the superintendent’s lack of good-faith negotiating.

Teachers, parents and community members have also lambasted Supt. Henderson’s overhaul of central office functions, with complaints pouring in over several months about the lack of administrative responsiveness, poor IT capabilities, regular fights that teachers claim are due to the superintendent’s decision to halve security personnel, staff shortages, employee churn, and a general lack of respect shown by Henderson toward teachers and students.

The overwhelming dissatisfaction among teachers and students with the superintendent’s job performance didn’t register with a majority of board members.

The initial contract, approved after he was unanimously hired by the board in August 2020, was for three years and paid a salary of $250,000.

His second contract, a five-year agreement approved in June 2021, included a salary of $262,500, an unspecified pension

Designer Susan McKelvey Sales Representative and Community Engagement Kamil Brady

Proviso Township High School District 209 Supt. James Henderson during a school board meeting earlier this year. Henderson recently got his third contract in two years, despite mounting criticisms among staff, teachers and students about his job performance.

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contribution paid by the district, $32,129 in annual health insurance premiums, a $12,500 annuity, and a $6,000-a-year vehicle allowance. That contract was voted on by all board members except Medina and Grant.

The district has not publicly released Henderson’s most recent contract, so the details were unavailable on June 21. During the June 14 meeting, board member Theresa Kelly said Henderson has shown that he “can move academics forward” and “we have not had any problems with Dr. Henderson.”

Board member Rodney Alexander framed the new contract as protecting a superintendent subjected to “personal attacks, discrimination and sheer hatred.”

Alexander said Henderson has kept the district afloat “flawlessly” and ushered in “fair contracts” for teachers and support personnel, before adding that for most administrations, “once your name is sullied,” future employment becomes difficult.

Wagner said, while he empathizes with what “he’s gone through the last couple of years,” he felt that the superintendent’s “very generous contract last year” should be sufficient to allow the superintendent to achieve the goals the board has for him.

Grant said that the board has not for-

mally evaluated Henderson and singled out a clause in the contract that would commit the district to a three-year payout “if Henderson is released for any reason at all — that’s money taxpayers are on the hook for.”

She added that the new contract also calls for an extra $31,000 annuity in addition to the district’s payments into Henderson’s pension.

“There is so much [in the contract] that I do not understand why we’d even consider giving this out, when we’ve made it clear there’s no money for teachers, or at least the teachers who already work here,” Grant said.

She was referencing the tense disputes between Henderson and the Proviso Teachers Union over pay increases during the nearly three-week strike and a measure the board approved on June 14 that would provide 19 recently hired outof-state teachers with a $7,500 retention bonus.

“We already have a contract in place,” Grant said. “This does not make sense to me, and I do not think this is a sign of any kind of healthy management that’s happening.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Sales Representatives Lourdes Nicholls, Marc Stopeck Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Development and Sales Coordinator Stacy Coleman Circulation Manager Jill Wagner | Email: jill@oakpark.com Special Projects Manager Susan Walker Publisher Dan Haley

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

HOW TO REACH US Village Free Press 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE: 773-626-6332 ■ FAX: 708-467-9066 VFPress.news TWITTER: @village_free FACEBOOK: @maywoodnews

The Village Free Press is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media, NFP. The print edition is distributed across Proviso Township at no charge each Wednesday. © 2022 Growing Community Media NFP.

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

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Broadview market brings taste of Philippines to Proviso Oriental Groceries, Foods and Markets, owned by Rodel Malanyaon, serves authentic Filipino dishes and dry grocery goods

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Rodel Malanyaon was working at Mercy Hospital as a radiology x-ray technician when the hospital was sold to Insight Chicago, a medical group, for $1 in April 2021.

Malayaon said his last day was June 30, 2021. He applied for a position at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, but his wife reminded him that COVID-19 was still around.

“My wife says, ‘You know there’s still a lot of Covid. You’re going to bring it to grandma. Why don’t you start another business,” Malanyaon recalled.

Rodel Malanyaon, the owner of Oriental Groceries, Foods and Markets, inside of his Broadview store. Malanyaon, a former radiology x-ray technician, said a lot of his clients are Filipino employees at nearby Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

So, he took his severance pay and opened Oriental Groceries, Foods and Markets at 1422 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Broadview. That was about a year-and-a-half ago, he said.

The store allows Malanyaon an opportunity to cook the food of his native Philippines, where he was born. He moved to America when he was 14 years old, he said.

While Oriental Market sells authentic Filipino dry foods, Malanyaon said he’s generated most of his clientele from the hot foods he sells at the store. They’re cooked in the adobo way, a method of simmering meats in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic that originated in the Philippines.

Popular dishes include Sinigang Na Bangus, a hearty, traditional Filipino stew made from milkfish (bangus) and vegetables; chop suey; Pancit Bihon, which is a dish made from thin rice noodles, vegetables and meats; and salt and pepper shrimp.

Malayaon said that, like many businesses, he’s faced some supply chain issues. For instance, he’s finding egg roll wrappers hard to come by.

Other challenges have included the weather. After the supercell storm hit the Proviso Township area on June 13, Malayaon was forced to close the market for at least a day.

But business is steadily picking up and

the market has become self-sustaining, he said. Before, Malayaon added, he was funding the business with his own money.

Although he’s no longer in the medical profession, he has a strong captured audience among the many Filipino medical professionals who work up the street at Loyola.

His wife, Merle, owns FMR Home Health, a home health agency, at 2122 S. 17th Ave in Broadview. Their 17-year-old daughter helps her father out in the kitchen.

It’s a family affair.

Oriental Groceries, Foods and Markets, 1422 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Broadview, is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s closed Monday.

For more information, call (708) 996-0081, visit the website at 3nsoriental.com/ or the Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/3nsOriental/.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Black-owned beauty supply opens in Maywood

Something Special Beauty Supply in Maywood is only supplier of Bronner Brothers products in the state

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

A new beauty products supplier who recently opened a location in the heart of Maywood’s busy strip of barbershops, beauty salons and clothing stores is bringing one of the most popular Black-owned hair products to the village.

Johnny Vaughn, the owner of JV Productions, had a grand opening for his new store, Something Special Beauty Supply, 901B S. 5th Ave. in Maywood, on June 25.

Vaughn, a Broadview resident, has nearly 50 years in the beauty business. In the past, he specialized in producing training

shows for hair industry professionals.

With the new space, Vaughn can bring the training and his exclusive line of Bronner Brothers Hair Products to his hair professional clientele.

“Maywood is rebuilding,” Vaughn said.

“This district is our business district and so its imperative that my wife and I open this business right where it’s suitable for barbers and hair stylists.”

Vaughn said he’s the only distributor of Bonner Brothers’ professional line of products in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

He only sells the products to licensed hair professionals.

Vaughn said he has a competitive edge over other suppliers who may sell Bonner Brothers products exclusively online. His prices are better than the others. He said he sells a complete line of Bonner Brothers products — which includes a relaxer, shampoo, two conditioners, setting lotion and scalp treatment, among others — for $149. Others sell it for $259, he said.

“I just got three salons hooked on it now

and they love it,” Vaughn said.

By day, Vaughn works as an admissions representative for Lincoln Tech. He owns the store alongside his wife, Nanette Vaughn, who is the president of Something Special. Johnny said Nanette is a licensed cosmetologist.

In addition to professional-grade beauty products, which also include equipment like clippers, Something Special also carries products for lay people, including headwear for military veterans (Johnny said he’s a military veteran himself) and his wife’s line of jewelry products.

The Maywood space, which is outfitted with salon chairs and a shampoo bowl, is flexible enough for Johnny to host the hair shows he would host in other spaces in the past.

“Most of the concerns from the hairstylists is that our hotel shows are too expensive,” Johnny said. “They’d say, ‘I have to travel there, park there. Why can’t you give me the hair I need?’ I took a lot of those concerns and said, ‘Hey, I’ll bring [the

shows] to you.’”

Johnny said now that the pandemic restrictions are relaxing, much of his clientele is starting to return to their shops.

“The pandemic changed everything,” he said. “A lot of our hairdressers stopped coming into shops. They were at home.

They’re just now starting to come back, so now the key point is to be able to service them. And then you want to serve them with quality products.”

Something Special Beauty Supply, 901B S. 5th Ave. in Maywood, is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, call (708) 834-4025 or email info@somethingspecialbeauty.com.

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

Pritzker to call special session on reproductive rights

news release that Democrats may also try to pass legislation to offer public funding for out-of-state residents to receive abortion services in Illinois.

“Right now, Illinoisans can already get an abortion in all nine months of pregnancy for any reason and use taxpayer dollars to pay for it. But that’s not enough,” he said. “Now, they want us to help pay for out-of-state residents to travel to Illinois to receive abortions and even allow non-physicians here to perform them.”

The Supreme Court’s decision is also certain to cause political fallout in Illinois because it came just four days before the state’s June 28 primary elections, and it is certain to be a top-tier issue going into the Nov. 8 general elections.

“For this primary on Tuesday and November’s general election, game on. This is on the ballot,” Sen. Christina Pacione-Zayas, D-Chicago, said at the news conference.

Gov. Pritzker makes announcement hours after Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker will call a special session of the General Assembly in the coming weeks to focus on legislation to strengthen women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health services in Illinois.

Pritzker made that announcement June 24, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court released an opinion overturning the landmark 1973 abortion rights case Roe v. Wade.

“We knew this day was coming,” Pritzker said at a hastily called news conference in Chicago. “The extremists on the Supreme Court have made an abhorrent decision, one rooted in partisanship, leaving an indelible stain on our nation.”

Pritzker had already been scheduled to hold a news conference Friday to highlight legislation he signed recently expanding access to medication that protects against HIV infection. But the Supreme Court’s decision, released shortly after 9 a.m., upended those plans and set off a flurry of reaction, both for and against the ruling.

“Today, Illinois Right to Life joins millions of Americans in celebrating the end of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that has denied over 63 million preborn children their most fundamental right: life,” the Illinois Right to Life organization said in a statement. “With today’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, states have regained the ability to protect preborn children and their mothers.”

Attorney General Kwame Raoul criticized the decision in a statement.

“I am extremely disappointed with today’s Supreme Court decision, which jeopardizes the health, the safety and the lives of millions of women in the United States – especially those who already have the least access to health care and other resources,” he said. “This single decision rolls back 50 years of court precedent and with it, decades of progress toward reproductive autonomy.”

Illinois is among the states with laws

Gov. JB Pritzker announces he will call a special session of the General Assembly to focus on reproductive health rights in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Blueroomstream.com

already on the books protecting access to abortion. In 2018, the state adopted a law allowing public funding of abortion through its Medicaid program. And in 2019, lawmakers passed the sweeping Reproductive Health Act which, among other things, enshrines abortion access as a “fundamental right” in Illinois law.

Finally, during last year’s veto session, lawmakers passed a bill repealing the state’s Parental Notice of Abortion law, removing the last legal restriction on abortion in Illinois.

Friday’s Supreme Court decision will have no effect on those laws. In fact, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion, specifically pointed to Illinois and other states as being unaffected by the decision.

“Today’s decision therefore does not prevent the numerous States that readily allow abortion from continuing to readily allow abortion,” he wrote. “That includes, if they choose, the (friend of the court) States supporting the plaintiff in this Court: New York, California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon,

Washington, and Hawaii.”

But Illinois’ laws stand in stark contrast to those of some neighboring states that already had so-called “trigger laws” on the books that would either ban or severely restrict access to abortion upon reversal of Roe v. Wade.

“Let me make this explicit and clear to women throughout our state, throughout the Midwest and our nation – Illinois will be a safe haven for the exercise of your reproductive rights,” Pritzker said. “In Illinois, Roe v. Wade is still the law and it will remain the law as long as we have a pro-choice legislature and a pro-choice governor.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what types of legislation lawmakers would pursue in a special session.

One that is likely to come up, though, is House Bill 1464, which prohibits state regulators from revoking or suspending the license of a health care provider solely because they were sanctioned in another state for performing abortions. That measure passed the House this year but requires action in the state Senate.

Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie, of Hawthorn Woods, suggested in a

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

7

Suburban Cook County gets first probable monkeypox case Cook County public health department announced June 25 that suburban resident likely has virus, but risk of spread is low

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Three weeks after the Chicago and state public health officials announced the first probable case of monkeypox in Illinois, the Cook County Department of Public Health has reported that there has now been a probable case reported in the Cook County suburbs.

The county’s public health department made the announcement on June 25. They said the probable case was reported in a resident of suburban Cook County, but did not identify the suburb.

“The risk to residents of suburban Cook County remains low, but we want individuals to be aware of the signs and symptoms of monkeypox so that they seek medical care if

they develop,” stated Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, the county health department’s chief operating officer.

According to a statement released June 2 by the Illinois Department of Public Health, monkeypox is a “rare, but potentially serious viral illness, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus family, and typically begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes, and progresses to a rash on the face and body.

“Most infections last 2 to 4 weeks. Monkeypox is typically endemic to parts of central and west Africa, and people can be exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game, or having contact with an infected animal or possibly animal products.”

Health experts began noticing multiple reported cases of monkeypox in countries around the world, including the United States, earlier this year. In May, the first U.S. resident tested positive for the virus after returning from Canada.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of June 24, there were 26 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Illinois — the third-highest state total in the nation behind California (56) and New York (35).

There were 201 total confirmed cases in the United States.

“Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can spread monkeypox, but early data from this outbreak suggest that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up a high number of initial cases,” state public health officials said.

County public health officials explained that monkeypox is spread through “close physical contact with bodily fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc), or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact.

“This includes anyone with prolonged skin-to-skin contact and bodily fluids, such as through crowded settings or sexual contact.

Anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk.”

Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, muscle aches and backache and rash that looks like pimples or blisters appearing on the face, in the mouth and on other parts of the body.

Anyone who has symptoms, particularly a rash that is consistent with monkeypox,

should stay home if feeling sick, contact a health care provider as soon as possible to schedule an evaluation, avoid skin-to-skin contact with others, inform sex partners about any symptoms, wear a well-fitted mask and answer all questions honestly if contacted by public health officials, the Cook County health department said.

In a statement on June 3, Loyola Medicine officials said that the medical institution was taking precautions in the wake of the state’s first probable case of the virus.

“All of our physicians are monitoring patients closely for signs of monkeypox,” said Dr. Kevin Smith, the chief medical officer at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood. “Our infectious disease and emergency departments are ready to respond and initiate precautions to keep the community safe.”

Dr. David Slade, Loyola Medicine’s associate medical director, said while “there is no specific treatment for monkeypox,” antivirals “developed for use in smallpox may prove beneficial. Typically, the smallpox vaccine is protective against monkeypox.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Memorial Park District is LIVE! To register for activities, passes and rentals online, visit www.mempark.org.

Memorial Park District is LIVE! To register for activities, passes and rentals online visit www.mempark.org.

8

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

REPORT

Major allegations from page 1 terminate the manager “with dignity” before launching a national search for her permanent successor, recommendations that the village board has already started to implement. On June 21, for instance, the board signaled that Wells-Armstrong’s employment was basically over as they took measures to launch the search for her replacement.

The report’s conclusions are ironic, considering that the investigation was initiated in April after Wells-Armstrong alleged that Mayor Booker, in cahoots with the village’s attorney, Michael Jurusik, had created a hostile workplace.

In a four-page response to the investigation, Wells-Armstrong called the report — conducted by attorney Carrie A. Herschman of Herschman Levison Hobfoll PLLC — “libelous” and said Herschman’s investigation was an attempt to “strip me of my dignity and the respect I deserve as an employee and citizen of this country.”

The board tapped Herschman on April 6 to conduct the investigation into Wells-Armstrong’s allegations about Mayor Booker based on the recommendation of Jurusik. Wells-Armstrong fired Jurusik’s law firm, Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins (KTJ), in April and replaced KTJ with Odelson, Sterk, Murphey, Frazier and McGrath.

Odelson had worked with Wells-Armstrong when she was mayor of Kankakee and, according to Herschman’s report, Wells-Armstrong had been getting free legal advice from Burt Odelson, the firm’s founding partner, before she ousted KTJ. During the June 21 regular board meeting where her report was distributed to attendees, Herschman denied that she had any connection to the village of Maywood or to KTJ. And Booker said in an interview earlier this month that Herschman was asked by board members about her possible connection to KTJ and that she adequately addressed their concerns during a closed session.

“Pursuant to my retainer agreement, I reserved the right to remove myself if anyone interfered with my investigation and also to follow the evidence,” Herschman said on June 21. “I did that.”

Wells-Armstrong, however, stated that Herschman “investigated me, not my complaints regarding the conduct of Mayor

Booker and Attorney Jurusik,” adding that, in her opinion, “Herschman was either incompetent or that the preordained result was my professional lynching.”

Wells-Armstrong also alleged that Herschman “denied me the opportunity to share my perspective or defend myself,” a claim that Herschman countered in her report. Herschman said that she sought to interview Wells-Armstrong as “the first step” in her investigation, but was rebuffed because the manager thought that Herschman was affiliated with KTJ. “Following assurances that I was, in fact, independent, and not affiliated with” KTJ, Wells-Armstrong “agreed to be interviewed,” but not until about three weeks after the initial request, according to Herschman, who added that she conducted a follow-up interview with Wells-Armstrong on May 31, but only after the manager initially resisted doing so.

Herschman said that she interviewed 25 people during the investigation, including village employees, every trustee and most department heads. She said she also reviewed documents like emails sent

by Booker and Wells-Armstrong, watched board meetings online and attended part of one in person.

According to Herschman, all “witnesses who feared retaliation” from Wells-Armstrong were her subordinates and that “none of the witnesses were concerned about retaliation” from Mayor Booker.

Herschman stated that Wells-Armstrong’s use of the term “hostile work environment” to describe her complaints about Booker were used “in the lay sense” and not “as the concept is understood under the law.

“In order to state a claim for a hostile work environment, the employee must demonstrate that the alleged hostile work environment is based on a protected characteristic — for example, race, gender, and/ or age — that is so severe and pervasive it alters the workplace. Here, the Village Manager fails to allege any discriminatory conduct that would be actionable under state and/or federal law.”

Herschman stated that it was actually Wells-Armstrong who created a hostile work environment — a “culture of fear and intimidation” — that might have prompted employees to pursue legal action against the village.

“I have conducted many workplace investigations and have never encountered a workplace like this one, that is uniformly afraid to cooperate with me,” Herschman stated in her report.

“Retaliating against a witness who par-

ticipates in an investigation such as the instant investigation states a claim for retaliation under both state and federal law,” she added. “Moreover, retaliation claims account for more than half of all employment discrimination claims filed at the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission].”

Examples of retaliation by the manager included Wells-Armstrong moving a department head’s office to the basement when he answered a question from the mayor at a committee of the whole meeting that Wells-Armstrong did not like.

Herschman also reported that the manager removed a department head from weekly leadership meetings “because she believed the individual was providing” Mayor Booker with information, and publicly shamed and berated employees she felt were disloyal to her.

In addition, Wells-Armstrong allegedly made “disparaging remarks about race and perceived sexual orientation” and “frequently threatened to physically harm Mayor Booker when expressing her feelings toward him.”

In her response to Herschman’s report, Wells-Armstrong said that, during her tenure, she was “an advocate for staff when previous leaders, arguably, abused their power with excessive discipline, refused to acknowledge the efforts of employees and made little effort to demonstrate an appreciation of staff.”

The manager added that she fought for business owners seeking licenses, gained control of budget spending, held department heads accountable for budgets and tasks, and “even recovered $100,000 in taxpayer funds that was paid to a vendor who charged the Village for services that were not provided.”

From ‘besties’ to a beef Herschman’s report outlined how the relationship between Mayor Booker and Wells-Armstrong soured since she was hired by the board last year in lieu of a competitive search at the strong urging of Booker.

At the time, some trustees objected due to Wells-Armstrong’s inexperience and the lack of a competitive hiring process.

Wells-Armstrong had no prior municipal management experience and no degree in a field having to do with municipal management, but Booker reassured enough trustees that she met the minimum qualifications for the job outlined in the village’s ordinances.

Wells-Armstrong has said that her relationship with the mayor before her hiring was limited to interactions at gatherings

of municipal officials. But in the early days of her tenure in Maywood, according to Herschman, the relationship between the mayor and the manager was strong.

“All witnesses agreed that the relationship between the Mayor and the Village Manager was very good in the beginning — describing them as ‘besties’ and expressing surprise at the demise of their relationship.

According to Herschman, the mayor and manager were initially “aligned in hiring and firing decisions, save one. The Village Manager sought from the start to replace the former Village Attorney [Jurusik] with the attorneys she used in Kankakee [Odelson].

“The Mayor objected, wanting to keep the former Village Attorney. The Mayor objected, wanting to keep the former Village Attorney, who had held the role for twenty years.”

Wells-Armstrong also “repeatedly sought assurances” from Booker that her two-year contract would be extended, but Booker “would not provide her assurances because he believed her job performance was subpar. He was dissatisfied with her ability to complete tasks.”

Some of Booker’s complaints involved the manager’s alleged failure to adequately address resident concerns on the MyCivic application, a mobile phone app designed to capture resident complaints, so that village employees might address them. The mayor also complained about problems with the village’s website, among many other complaints.

According to Herschman, Wells-Armstrong invited Booker on a trip to Michigan, where she frequently vacationed, so the two “could concentrate on resetting their relationship.” The mayor agreed, but the trip, which was paid for by Wells-Armstrong, “was a failure,” Herschman concluded.

The relationship deteriorated to the point that the manager eventually blocked the mayor from her personal cell phone and insisted that she only meet with him when other trustees.

During a special meeting on March 9, Mayor Booker attempted to force Wells-Armstrong’s resignation, but was blocked by a board majority. According to Herschman, Wells-Armstrong made allegations about workplace hostility against Booker and Jurusik on March 22 and March 25.

Herschman stated in her report that Wells-Armstrong provided more than 70 emails throughout the investigation to support her claims, but that those emails

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

9

VILLAGE people

Rose Marie Maiella, retired educator, publishes children’s book

By SHANEL ROMAIN Staff Contributor

Rose Marie Maiella didn’t have to wonder what she was gonna do after retirement. At 69 years old, she has self-published and illustrated her first children’s book and is looking to release the second one next year.

She sat down with Village Free Press to give a glimpse into this second wave of her life.

What’s your background?

I always worked with children. I was a preschool teacher for 18 years and have been in the field working with children for just about 40 years.

Is that what gave you the desire to write a children’s book?

The desire was hidden for many years.

With me working around children all the time, I saw their little antics and developed stories by taking notes over the years.

There are so many stories that I have.

When was the first time you sat down to actually write your first book? And

how long did it take for completion?

About three years ago is when I first sat down to write it and it took about a year to complete due to Covid, plus it was my first time trying to illustrate.

When it comes to illustrating, did you have a natural knack for drawing, or were you trained?

I have a natural knack for it, but I also took courses in high school, made portfolios of my work, and recently took a painting course at Triton.

What mediums did you use to illustrate?

Pencil, coloring pencils, cutting and pasting. I went out and got decorative papers for the background. I had no experience in this, but I thought to myself, ‘Well that’s a pretty background,’ so I would draw and then paste my drawings on the background paper.

I didn’t know that this type of art (pasting and mixed media) was a real thing to do until later on.

What is the purpose behind your “did not demonstrate that the Mayor was mistreating her. Instead, the emails provided demonstrated that she, not the Mayor, sought to weaponize the political divides in Maywood.”

Herschman added that Wells-Armstrong alerted only Trustees Isiah Brandon, Miguel Jones and Aaron Peppers — all board members politically aligned with Brandon, who unsuccessfully ran against Booker for mayor last year — and refused to speak to Booker’s political allies on the board, who include Trustees Melvin Lightford and Antonio Sanchez.

In Herschman’s report, Trustee Shabaun Reyes-Plummer, the board’s only female member who was appointed by Booker to fill the trustee seat he vacated when he became mayor, is lauded for her decision to “vote based on her conscience,” when she voted with the majority of trustees to block Booker’s attempt to oust Wells-Armstrong on March 22.

At the time Reyes-Plummer, along with other trustees who blocked the attempt, argued that it was unfair to force Wells-Armstrong’s resignation after she had just

moved from Kankakee to Bolingbrook in order to comply with the village’s residency requirements and when she had been on the job for less than a year.

“Every Trustee, including the Mayor, expressed his shock that Trustee Reyes-Plummer — the Mayor’s ‘girl’ — would vote against his March 22 request to end the Village Manager’s employment,” Herschman writes. “The idea that a Trustee would make a decision based on their own view of the matter at hand — rather than their political affiliation — was shocking.

It must not be.”

Wells-Armstrong effectively gone The board voted 5-2 on June 2 to suspend Wells-Armstrong, primarily due to Herschman’s investigation, which cost nearly $100,000, according to board members. Trustees Brandon and Pepper voted against the suspension. Some trustees said they did not know what the June 2 special meeting would be about before it was called.

Maywood Police Chief Elijah Willis was appointed interim village manager on June 5 while Wells-Armstrong was on

Rose Marie Maiella, pictured inside of her Berkeley home in June, holds up her children’s book, “Whistleman,” which is about a little boy’s faith and his desire to learn how to whistle like his PaPa.

Shanel Romain

children’s book?

As a Christian author, I want to touch children’s hearts through literature and through true events that I have experienced while working with them. I also want them to know who their maker is.

I have quite a few books inside of me about the prayers of children. There are a lot of stories I have accumulated and mo-

leave. Willis initially declined the offer before he accepted. Booker said the chief will only serve in the role briefly, until they vote on an interim manager to fill the role on a longer term basis while a third-party conducts a competitive search for a permanent manager.

During the June 21 meeting, which lasted well after midnight, the board did not formally appoint an interim to replace Willis.

Booker said the appointment is on hold until two reference checks are completed. The mayor said that he is fully confident that Wells-Armstrong won’t be returning to the manager’s job.

In her statement, Wells-Armstrong addressed what she called the “unfortunate circumstances of my separation from Maywood,” arguing that she was a reformer who “challenged the status quo” and “challenged practices that were not beneficial or productive.

“I spoke truth to power. Those actions made me popular among some and very unpopular among others, e.g., those who benefited from the broken system and lack of accountability.”

ments of seeing God answer prayers in the classrooms.

Maiella’s first book, “Whistleman,” is a “Christian children’s book about a little boy’s faith and his desire to learn how to whistle like his PaPa. The book can be found on Amazon.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com Wells-Armstrong also seemed to indicate that her brief tenure in Maywood will have ramifications in the future.

“The impact of her ignorance of the Village of Maywood and what I contend was a hatchet job on me will have serious ramifications for all involved,” Wells-Armstrong wrote.

After recommending that the village board terminate Wells-Armstrong, Herschman recommended that the board notify the community that the village manager is no longer employed with the village “and thank her for her service,” that trustees vote “based on their own assessment” of how the vote will impact the village and not based on political affiliation, and be “respectful of others time.”

She also recommended the board update the personnel manual, establish a Commission on Community Relations and “adopt rules and procedures for processing complaints against the Village, any department of the Village, or any Village official or employee.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

10

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Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

GROUNDBREAKING Housing coming soon continued from page 1 DA’s executive director.

“One of the things Covid did is it eventually brought rising construction prices, so we were ready to come to the table and make the deal, and all of a sudden the prices and interest rates went up,” Faust said at the June 23 groundbreaking ceremony.

Faust said the state’s creation of the grant funding allowed IHDA to fulfill its commitment to projects like the Bellwood Senior Apartments, despite the rising construction costs and rising interest rates.

“That money [from the COVID-19 Affordable Housing Grant Program] is going to help create 1,000 new units of affordable housing and [the Bellwood Senior Apartments] is the first deal that we are closing with that money,” Faust said.

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (4th), whose district encompasses Bellwood, said the state tries each year to allocate “at least $100 million into the space of affordable housing. I am pleased and grateful to know that some of those resources

A rendering of the Bellwood Senior Apartments, located on the site of a former Walgreens store, recently demolished, at 542 25th Ave. in Bellwood.

Courtesy Weese Langley/Weese Ltd. Architects

landed here in the village of Bellwood.”

State Rep. Will Guzzardi (39th), the chairman of the state legislature’s housing committee, said the state put another $150 million into this year’s budget — money that is “designed to close those [financing] gaps and bring to fruition projects like this.”

Block said the project’s other funders

include Bank of America and IFF, community development financial institution.

IFF provided early funds for the project.

Bank of America has committed to lending roughly $28.5 million to the project, said a Bank of America representative who attended the groundbreaking.

The total estimated cost of the project is about $30 million, Block said in a Febru-

ary interview. According to officials, the construction could take between 12 and 18 months.

“The best thing we can ever do to have stable communities is to have affordable housing,” said First District Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, whose district includes Bellwood. “If people don’t have anywhere to live, you’re not going to find peace and tranquillity — you’re just not.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

NEWS briefs continued from page 3 Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud,” the office added.

Raven Daniel, 28, of Bellwood, is among the six people facing 65 felony counts, including “theft by deception, state benefits fraud, loan fraud, wire fraud and forgery,” Raoul’s office said.

“Thousands of Illinois residents and small businesses were forced to rely on unemployment benefits and loans from the SBA during the height of the pandemic,” Raoul stated.

“Thieves who intentionally took advantage of the situation to steal money from the government also slowed the processing of legitimate claims.”

Raoul explained that his office partnered with the FBI to establish the Task Force “in response to increased reports of alleged unemployment insurance benefits fraud throughout Illinois and nationally.”

Iconic Art Institute lions undergoing cleaning in Forest Park The iconic lions that stand in front of the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue have been transported to Forest Park. They were removed from the museum on June 14 and

brought to the Conservation of Sculpture and Objects Studio at 900 Des Plaines Avenue.

The studio’s director, Andrzej Dajnowksi, will oversee a thorough steam cleaning of the sculptures. They will then apply a protective wax coating that will make the lions shine.

Dajnowski was not at liberty to discuss the project but Shannon Palmer, the museum’s assistant public affairs director, provided some details. She said the lions last underwent a conservation process in 2001 and the current treatment will take more than a month.

Each bronze sculpture weighs over two tons. They have stood in front of the BeauxArts building since May 10, 1894. The sculptor, Edward Kemeys, was America’s foremost animal sculptor. He described the north lion as being “on the prowl” and said the south lion is “in an attitude of defiance.” In 2015, the lions were voiced by actors from Steppenwolf Theatre. Francis Guinan spoke for the south lion and Tracy Letts for the north lion.

They portrayed, “gently feuding brothers.”

The lions have since been silenced but their presence is powerful. Kemeys was self-taught and started by studying zoo animals. Then

he took trips to the American West to study animals in the wild. He hunted and dissected some of them to learn their skeletal structure and musculature. The Art Institute lions are modeled on African lions.

Dajnowski was the logical choice to undertake the conservation effort. He has restored many of the city’s outdoor sculptures, including the mounted horsemen located just south of the lions on Michigan Avenue. He is currently working on the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He also restored the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument in Forest Park, along with the Death of Cleopatra statue by Edmonia Lewis.

For the next month or so, there will be two empty plinths in front of the art museum.

But, after Dajnowksi completes the conservation, the lions will again add their luster to Michigan Avenue.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Village Free Press | June 29, 2022

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID ASBESTOS ABATEMENT For BELLWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY Sealed bids for the Asbestos Abatement at Bellwood Public Library, 600 Bohland Avenue, Bellwood, Illinois, 60104, will be received at the Bellwood Public Library, 600 Bohland Avenue, Bellwood, Illinois, 60104, until 11:30 a.m. on the 14th day of July, 2022. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the above stated time and place.

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: Y22009268 on June 8, 2022 Under the Assumed Business Name of HOME HEALTHCARE BY CHOICE with the business located at: 2131 SO. 17TH AVENUE P.O. BOX 6054, BROADVIEW, IL 60155. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: KATRINA V. TATE 53 TRIPP AVENUE HINES, IL 60141, USA

There will be a one time Pre-Bid Walkthrough in order for the contractors to review the project scope on Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. Attendance at this walkthrough is mandatory. Failure to attend will result in disqualification of the bidder’s bid. By submission of bid it is understood that the Bidder has satisfied this mandatory requirement.

Removal Specifications will be provided at the walkthrough by the Consultant, Midwest Environmental Consulting Services, Inc., 2551 N. Bridge Street, Yorkville, Illinois, 60560, Phone 630-553-3989. Bidders must call prior to reserve Removal Specifications. Bidders must pay $100.00 non-refundable deposit for each set of Removal Specifications.

Each bid must be accompanied by a Bid Guarantee in the form of a Bid Bond from a company with an A-1 best rating, in the amount equal to not less than ten percent (10%) of the bid and made payable to the client Bellwood Public Library, 600 Bohland Avenue, Bellwood, Illinois, 60104. No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of thirty (30) days after the bid opening date without the consent of the Owner. Checks or drafts of unsuccessful bidders will be returned as soon as possible as practicable 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.

Each contractor is to submit a lump sum bid and requested alternate bids for the entire project. Contractor shall include the cost the required performance and payment bond in this sum.

The Asbestos Abatement Contractor is responsible for all work outlined in this specification which is not bid as a separate contract, however, he will not be responsible for coordination of trades that are not part of his Contract.

The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any informalities in bidding.

Bellwood Public Library 600 Bohland Avenue Bellwood, IL 60104 Published in Village Free Press June 29, 2022

Published in Village Free Press June 15, 22, 29, 2022

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING LLC; Plaintiff, vs.

SANDRA M. KING AKA SANDRA KING; RICHARD G. KING AKA RICHARD KING; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 19 CH 13021 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, July 19, 2022 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. 15-06-304-023-0000.

Commonly known as 1026 Richard Avenue, Berkeley, Illinois 60163.

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 The Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Diaz Anselmo & Associates, P.A., 1771 West Diehl Road, Naperville, Illinois 60563. (630) 453-6925. F19100141 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3196251

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK TRUST, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR LSRMF MH MASTER PARTICIPATION TRUST II Plaintiff, -v.REMIRRA JACKSON, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF REGINA L. JACKSON, DAMON RITENHOUSE, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR REGINA L. JACKSON (DECEASED) Defendants 2019 CH 01782 2006 SOUTH 1ST AVENUE MAYWOOD, IL 60153 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 3, 2022, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 28, 2022, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 2006 SOUTH 1ST AVENUE, MAYWOOD, IL 60153 Property Index No. 15-14-323-0380000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

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 representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and

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

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

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

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-19-01081 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2019 CH 01782 TJSC#: 42-2219 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 # 2019 CH 01782 I3197298

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK NA; Plaintiff, vs.

CLEMENTE GARIBAY; Defendants, 19 CH 14624 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 Monday, July 25, 2022 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. 15-16-409-091-0000.

Commonly known as 737 Bristol Avenue, Westchester, IL 60154.

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 Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 19-043267 ADC F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3196714 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO LASALLE

BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR MERRIL LYNCH FIRST FRANKLIN MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST, MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-1 Plaintiff, -v.JANICE M. COLE A/K/A JANICE HARRIS, JOHNNY B. COLE, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. Defendants 17 CH 09897 2018 S 24TH AVE BROADVIEW, IL 60155 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 17, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 20, 2022, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 2018 S 24TH AVE, BROADVIEW, IL 60155 Property Index No. 15-15-316-0320000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

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 representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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verify all information.

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

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

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

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-17-09846 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 17 CH 09897 TJSC#: 42-2140 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 # 17 CH 09897 I3196945

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