W E D N E S D A Y
January 14, 2026 Vol. 46, No. 28
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JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
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Toni Preckwinkle on West Sub’s fiscal crisis Page 12
U.S. Bank Mrs. Johnson’s extraordinary life opposes plan for Advocate for equity, for students, Wyanetta Johnson changed OPRF police station at Madison branch I N
M E M O R I A M
By DEBORAH BAYLISS Contributing Reporter
Wyanetta Johnson was a pioneering Black leader in Oak Park who brought change to Oak Park and River Forest High School through passionate, loving advocacy and a will of iron working to bend an institution which for decades did not know what to make of her. Mrs. Johnson, or “Grandma” as many called her, died on New Year’s Day. She was 86. Johnson’s advocacy, centering on opportunity and equity for all students and families in need of support, stemmed from the sense of fairness her parents instilled in her, Dorise Monroe, a daughter, said. “She wanted to make sure people were treated fairly whether poor Black, poor white, poor Hispanic, poor Asian. It didn’t matter to her,” Monroe said. “She just had a heart for people. No matter where you went, somebody knew her.” Born April 18, 1939, in Wyatt, Missouri, to Lem and Estel Gilliam (Johnson), Wyanetta Johnson, grew up in Charleston, Missouri with her sister Lottie Horton and Bernice Johnson, a first cousin, who preceded her in death. Mrs. Johnson and her husband Forrest had seven children. They moved to Oak Park from North Sheridan Rd. in the early 1980s to be closer to their children and grandchildren. That move See WYANETTA on page 13
Bank vows to challenge Oak Park board’s redevelopment of site for a new station By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
PROVIDED BY FAMILY
Wyanetta Johnson, education advocate and mentor
U.S. Bank officials are “disappointed” by Oak Park leaders’ plan to acquire and convert the bank’s Madison Street branch into the future home of the Oak Park Police Department. The village is looking to take over the U.S. Bank building located at 11 Madison St. with the plan to redevelop it into a new police headquarters. The building is only two blocks from Oak Park Village Hall, where the Oak Park Police Department has been based for decades. While village leaders had lauded the acquisition and redevelopment plan as a way to deliver the OPPD a modern police station at a lower price point, the bank said this week that it had never planned to close the branch when it put the building up for sale. U.S. Bank officials released a statement on the See BANK on page 18
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