Wednesday Journal 021622

W E D N E S D A Y

February 16, 2022 Vol. 42, No. 29 ONE DOLLAR

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JOURNAL

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@oakpark

of Oak Park and River Forest

Oak Park names Kevin Jackson village manager ‘sole finalist’

Fenwick grabs bragging rights Page 17

HIGHLIGHTING HERITAGE

Board to approve the appointment Feb. 22

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The surprise fourth finalist in the Oak Park village manager search has come out on top. Kevin Jackson, former deputy city manager of Long Beach, California, is set to become Oak Park’s first Black village manager.

“I am so excited about my pending appointment,” said Jackson, who was unable to comment further before publication.

Jackson comes to Oak Park after spending four years in Long Beach as deputy city manager, but he is not unfamiliar with the state of Illinois. He formerly oversaw the city of Champaign’s neighborhood services department, which encompassed such areas as affordable housing services and economic development, among others. He has also worked for the cities of Phoenix and Glendale in Arizona. Last February, the Long Beach branch of the National Association for Colored People honored Jackson as a “Black History Hero.”

“I’m excited for the very specific areas of experience he has that are really closely tied to our board goals,” said Scaman.

Such areas of experience include walking communities through citizen police oversight reformation, See JACKSON on page 14

MICHAEL ROMAIN/Equity Editor

ShaRhonda and Brian Dawson highlight their collection in the Oak Park Public Library’s Idea Box on Feb. 11.

The Broadview couple has been collecting Black cultural artifacts for years. Read story on page 11.

Special meeting on OPRF building projects yields frustration Board members, citizens want clarity on projects

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

District 200 board members are facing more questions than answers following

a special meeting Feb. 14 that featured a discussion on major maintenance plans at Oak Park and River Forest High School. Board members requested the meeting Monday night, hoping district

administrators could iron out the details of numerous long-term renovation projects before delving further into the See OPRF PROJECTS on page 6

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Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

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Boykin’s back, running vs. Preckwinkle for county prez Former county commissioner served from 2014-18

By BOB SKOLNIK

sales tax by a penny. When he ran for reelection Boykin was narrowly defeated in the 2018 Democratic primary by a Preckwinkle Former Cook County Board member and backed candidate, Brandon Johnson. In the Oak Park resident Richard Boykin is going to 2020 Democratic primary Boykin ran for challenge Cook County Board President Toni Clerk of the Circuit Court Clerk but finished Preckwinkle in the June Democratic primary. third in a four-candidate field capturing 25 percent of the vote.

“We will have an announceBoykin, a former chief of staff ment in a couple of weeks, but I for Cong. Danny K. Davis (D-7th think it’s safe to say that we’re in District), noted that he carried the race,” Boykin said in a teleOak Park, Proviso and Thornton phone interview last week. “The Township as well as all 18 Black petition passing has been going wards in the city of the Chicago exceedingly well. People are signin the Clerk of the Circuit Court ing our petitions and encouraging race. In 2015 Boykin flirted with us to fight for them. To make sure the idea of running for the U.S. that we have a much safer Cook Senate but ultimately did not run.

County and we have an affordable Cook County.”

Boykin said that he was proud of RICHARD BOYKIN Boykin’s plan to run for County his 2020 race for Clerk of the CirBoard president was first reported in the Il- cuit Court and noted that he received nearly linois Politico Playbook.

200,000 votes.

Boykin, a 53-year-old lawyer, served on the “I feel pretty good about it and I don’t think County Board from 2014 until 2018. During people will say Richard’s a perennial candihis time on the county board Boykin repeat- date,” Boykin said. “I’ve run for county ofedly clashed with Preckwinkle. He led the fices and that’s it.” opposition to the controversial sugared drink Boykin plans to emphasize crime and the tax that was quickly repealed and voted cost of living, including high Cook County against raising the county’s portion of the property and sales taxes, in his race against Contributing Reporter

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three term incumbent Preckwinkle.

“I want to make Cook County neighborhoods safer and I want to also make sure that people can afford to live in Cook County,” Boykin said. “We’ve had an explosion of car jackings, we’ve had an explosion of theft, and the county board president has abdicated her responsibility to protect the people of Cook County.”

He said that if Preckwinkle has not solved these problems in 12 years as county board president she never will do so.

“President Preckwinkle has done all that she can do,” Boykin said. “She’s been there for 12 years and if you can’t get it done in 12 years then, quite frankly, you’re not going to get it done.”

Boykin denied that his candidacy will be a personal grudge match against Preckwinkle and is an act of revenge for Preckwinkle backing a candidate who defeated him four years ago.

“I’m a bridge builder and this has nothing to do with that race in 2018,” Boykin said.

“This has all to do with the alarming rise in violence in Cook County, that I predicted, by the way, when I was on the Cook County board.”

Although Preckwinkle, who also serves as

the chairwoman of the Cook County Democratic Party, has easily won all her races for County Board president her popularity seems to have waned some over her years in office. Preckwinkle ran for mayor of Chicago in 2019 and although she made the runoff, she received only 26.3 percent of the vote in the runoff election against Lori Lightfoot.

Preckwinkle’s campaign spokeswoman said that Preckwinkle is running on her record.

“President Preckwinkle has shown exemplary leadership during her decade as county board president and looks forward to seeking reelection to a fourth term,” said Preckwinkle campaign spokeswoman Hannah Fierle in an email. “She has upheld the county’s legacy commitments to providing affordable, accessible healthcare to residents, advancing criminal justice reform and public safety, and in the last term, providing support and recovery resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is proud of the broad support she has earned for another term.”

Also gathering petition signatures and planning to run for county board president is Zerlina Smith-Members, a resident of the Austin neighborhood of Chicago and a longtime community activist.

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Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

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I

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This is Black history

grew up a church boy, so one of the preeminent symbols of my sacred childhood was the hand-held church fan. As president of the youth usher board, I dutifully administered these fans on countless hot Sundays for countless overheated congregants inside of that Baptist sanctuary in Maywood.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s face is on the front of many of those fans, which often include information about the sponsor organization or business that paid to have them produced, typically an area funeral home or the church itself.

I don’t know how those fans became so ubiquitous in the Black church, but they were and still are — and in seemingly infinite variation.

There are fans with the Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Fans showing King sitting in front of a painting of his mother, Alberta. Fans of John F. Kennedy. Fans of King flanked by Robert Kennedy and JFK. Now the Obamas, Barack and Michelle, have replaced King as objects of ubiquity.

But there’s something about that old monochrome church fan of King sitting seriously, poised, his eyes looking beyond the looker, as if he sees what we do not, that registers an emotion I’d imagine is similar to the feeling an architecture buff gets when walking through a Frank Lloyd Wright building.

Only I never knew this feeling existed in me until last week, when I visited the Brian and ShaRhonda Dawson Collection inside of the Idea Box at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. There, encased in a glass display box — and surrounded by other relics of Black life, such as a heavy Bible showing, on its back pages, the names of a Black family scrawled in ink (another relic from my childhood) — lay the old monochrome church fan bearing King’s sacred, solemn face.

The fan has a mysterious, shamanic aura, is both strange and familiar. It is beautiful and banal. It is tragic — a source of pride and a source of shame. I realize in the moment that despite having handled dozens, if not hundreds, of these fans in my youth, today I don’t possess a single one. The fan is a Black cultural objet d’art, with a provenance that is, by most Black people, unknown. That saddens me.

“We don’t think of our culture as being our culture,” said Juanta Griffin, the library’s new multicultural learning coordinator, who organized the Dawsons’ collection into the powerful exhibition that’s on display until early March.

“For instance, we don’t think about [the clothesline] as being a cultural element,” she said. “White folks see that as something to hang clothes on, but we know that’s a [double dutch rope]. That’s something cultural, but we don’t think like that. That is ours.”

As we were waiting for Brian to arrive, ShaRhonda gave me a quick tour of the space.

The air is pungent with Griffin’s deliberate curation. The room, scented, reminds me of any one of my aunties’ apartments. Typically, Griffin said, visitors are greeted with music, the kind that might have met your ears while cleaning on Saturdays or getting ready for church on Sundays (if you know, you know).

ShaRhonda shows me her first edition copy of Gwendolyn Brooks’ classic picture book, Bronzeville: Boys and Girls, which is illustrated by the legendary Faith Ringgold.

I’m saddened at the very real possibility that there are children, Black children, who have gone through Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School having never read her poetry.

“This all started with Gwendolyn Brooks because I realized that, in Chicago, I couldn’t find an authentic Gwendolyn Brooks at a bookstore,” she said. “They were all compilations and reviews. I wanted to find the actual stuff she did herself and so that put me on this journey of finding out exactly what our ancestors said.

“So Marcus Garvey I knew, but I didn’t realize his wife Amy had a PhD. She was the person who wrote his paper for 10 years.

She edited the paper and she wrote most of his speeches,” ShaRhonda said. “And she wouldn’t sell his actual copyright because she didn’t want it to get distorted by other people.

I’ve just been searching and searching. I wanted to see what they had to say about their lives.”

In the room, the immediacy of the Black present is intimately entwined with the not-so-distant past. Knotted and woven with ancient history, which by the way reaches back beyond our enslavement.

Griffin said she blended the Dawsons’ personal collection with artifacts from the Oak Park Public Library’s Multicultural Collection. For instance, a basket the Dawsons acquired from the Gullah, the rich Black culture based in the Lowcountry areas of South Carolina and Georgia, is displayed with African baskets Griffin got from the library’s collection.

“These are baskets from Botswana, Nigeria and Tanzania,” Griffin said. “They show the progression of the weaving and how they brought these skills from Africa into North America. So you can see how we were skilled when we came here.”

The African masks hanging on the walls have a powerful immediacy that I didn’t experience when I encountered similar masks displayed inside of the Art Institute of Chicago, which I visited a few years back.

“A lot of European people, when they see horns in a mask, think of the devil,” Griffin said. “No, when you see horns in a mask, usually that’s an agricultural mask and the horns are used to represent growth, the growth of a crop.”

It’s one experience to see these African masks silo-ed in the “Africa” section of a museum. It’s another experience to see them

MICHAEL ROMAIN

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

This hand-held church fan, showing a poised Martin Luther King Jr., is a staple object in many Black churches and currently on display within the ShaRhonda and Brian Dawson Collection at the Oak Park Public Library. situated a few feet away from the Martin Luther King church fan of your youth and to listen to your docent tell you that King’s DNA traces to the Mende people of Sierra Leone. I looked again at King’s portrait on the fan before returning to the arrangement of masks. I will never look at that fan or those masks the same way again.

ShaRhonda and Brian, who live in Broadview, have dubbed their project Brondihouse, an endearing portmanteau of their first names (they were dating back when that was still a thing, which may be happening again, because I Googled “Bennifer” for research purposes and it’s currently trending).

Unlike Bennifer, though, Brondihouse is a serious and mature cultural undertaking.

The married couple have two young Black daughters who are in school in the United States of America, which means that their minds are everyday under siege by the Myth of Whiteness and the myriad things that white people do to disabuse themselves of being responsible for its awfulness.

The irony, ShaRhonda told me, is that she’s been able to acquire much of her collection of first edition books by Black authors because they’ve been so devalued. She often buys them on eBay for bargain prices.

“Unfortunately, well fortunately for me, most white people don’t value Black books as much,” she said, laughing. “Black first editions are a lot cheaper than white first editions.”

Why, then, I asked myself, don’t Black people do more of this? Why don’t I do what the Dawsons are doing? Why, as Griffin pointed out, do so many Black folk accept the constant devaluation of our culture? It’s one thing for white folk to devalue our heritage, but it’s another thing for us to debase ourselves.

You can find part of the answer within the Dawsons’ collection, which is rich with the tension between heritage and progress.

Barack Obama’s glossy, posterized gaze hovers over an old “Vote Jesse Jackson President 1984” campaign flyer, hovers over Dempsey Travis’ An Autobiography of Black Politics, hovers over an original button from Harold Washington’s mayoral campaign and

a poster of Shirley Chisholm.

Black people are the world’s pre-eminent survivalists; so much so that an element of futurism is fundamental to our very existence. We are always finding ways out of no way, always seeking spaces of escape, of “making it out.”

But when we do “make it,” we often jettison those aspects of ourselves that, collectively, comprise our cultural lineage, our heritage. Hell, Obama wouldn’t be president if he didn’t publicly disavow and dismiss perhaps the Blackest things about his own personal history — the Black church and Black politics, respectively. Black people have also been conditioned to think that white culture is better than our own.

“Sometimes, in our communities we don’t value ourselves,” Brian said. “We don’t give ourselves a certain importance that we give to other communities. We give that power away, because we assign value to something that someone else says is important.

“You can drive right by Percy Julian’s house and not notice it. Why is that?

Because we don’t value it,” he said. “We have all of these things in our individual homes and the thought is that, maybe we should find a place for them. We can cobble together our own little place of value.”

Black history is Brondihouse, the Dawsons said. It’s not just a one-dimensional retelling of Dr. King or a haphazard recollection of slavery. Brondihouse, they added, is communal memory-building, a public act that is not meant to be housed inside of a single family home. Black legacy and culture shuns privatization and selfishness.

While explaining the exhibit, Griffin urged me to mention Lynn Allen, who administered what is now the Multicultural Collection back when it was called the District 97 Multicultural Center and housed at Percy Julian Middle School.

“She made it possible for me,” Griffin said.

“She was my bridge-builder and I want to make sure that she’s noted in everything because if it was not for her, this would not be.”

This is Black history.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

BIG WEEK February 16-23

Animal Tricks Thursday, Feb. 17, 6-7:30 p.m., Austin Gardens Environmental Education Center (Main Room) This exhibit lets humans know how animals survive in the wild, through things like mimicry and camouflage.

Play a game to see if you can spot that animal in its natural habitat, and create your own creature.

Recommended for kids, with 7 years old being the minimum age. $12-$15, 167 Forest Ave., Oak Park.

Kent Rose & the Remedies Sunday, Feb. 20, 1:30 p.m., FitzGerald’s There is no greater way to kick off a Sunday afternoon than hearing the melancholy voice of Rose against a traditional country music background. With a voice recalling that of Roy Orbison, he gives you the right kind of chill. 6615 KENT ROSE Roosevelt Road., Berwyn.

Black History of Early West African Civilizations Sunday, Feb. 20, 1-2 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library

All ages are invited to learn about the Black history of Early West African Civilizations in this interactive workshop led by ShaRhonda Knott Dawson of Brondihouse. This presentation deals with pre-colonial civilizations: The Ghana Empire and The Mali Empire, and their long-lasting impact on human history, continuing to today. We’ll discuss West Africa’s economies (gold and salt), the culture (griots and matrilineal society), and highlight the academic powerhouse, Timbuktu, and its impact on world civilization. Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Maplewood Distillery and Brewery Whiskey Tasting Friday, Feb. 18, 7-9 p.m., Pleasant Home The fine folks at Maplewood will be bringing samples of all sorts of whiskey to taste, try and enjoy. In addition to a history of the distillery and process for making, aging and tasting each variety, there will be a Q&A session after each tasting. Light refreshments will be served. $40-$53, 217 Oak Park Ave., Oak Park.

Through Tuesday, March 8, Main Library Idea Box This special exhibit explores the African-American experience through rare and precious artificats. This would include antique quilts, paintings, first edition books from prominent Black authors, Black political memorabilia, historical documents, and so much more.

To engage and interact with the items, visit the Idea Box during these open hours: Monday: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Tuesday: 2-5 p.m.

Wednesday: 2-5 p.m.

Thursday: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday: 12-3 p.m.

Writers Word Feast

Illinois Libraries Presents: An Evening With Jasmine Guillory

JASMINE GUILLORY

Black History Special Exhibit: The Brian & ShaRhonda Dawson Collection

Wednesday, Feb. 16, 7-8 p.m., virtually through Illinois Libraries Jasmine Guillory is one of the most promising voices in the field of romance novels. She will discuss her newest novel, While We Were Dating, and the modern rom-com. Author Morgan Rogers (Honey Girl) will join her in conversation.

Register at bit.ly/ILP_JasmineGuillory.

Sunday, Feb. 20, 1:30-4:30 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library This online meeting unites writers of all types and genres. Each writer will get a chance to read their story, poem, or novel chapter and receive feedback from the group. Then we will spend some time writing. Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Death Café Sunday, Feb. 20, 2-3:30 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library The Death Cafe is meant to bring comfort to those who have experienced loss, making one aware of life’s impermanent nature while cherishing the time we have.

Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Middle School Book Group (Grades 5-8): “The Girl From the Sea” Thursday, Feb. 17, 4-5 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library This month’s book: The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostert, a graphic novel about family, romance, and first love. Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Keys to a Successful Black-Owned Business Startup Tuesday, Feb. 22, 1-2 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library This educational webinar, presented by Phyllis Johnson (owner and CEO of PKJ Consulting), will discuss in detail how to plan your startup, grow your business, and succeed in your industry.

Presented in partnership with Equitable Foundation and SCORE Chicago. Register PHYLLIS JOHNSON at oppl.org/calendar.

TechGirlz Workshop: You Can Be a Photographer: Photography for Marketing Wednesday, Feb. 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library This workshop teaches students in grades 5-8 to insert special effects in their photographs, using free computer software (PIXLR) and a smartphone app called PhotoLayers. They will discover the impact made by editing photos and how the techniques are used in marketing and advertising. Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Preparing for a Job Interview Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2-3 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library Ana Granados, SERCO-Southwest Suburban Cook County American Job Center, discusses how to present yourself to a future employer. Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

FILE

Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison St.

Oak Park takes a crack at fixing village parking A longstanding problem

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Several games exist in today’s toy market that promise to help children grow cognitive thinking skills through the solving of traffic puzzles. Though the brand names differ, the premise is the same: children free up gridlocked parking lots by moving the tiny plastic cars into the right spot in order to free up others, with the ultimate goal of having an organized lot with cars parked in an orderly and accessible fashion.

The Oak Park Village Board played a higherstakes version of the game Feb. 14, first seeking to make sense of the village’s notoriously byzantine parking system and then move toward uncomplicating it. However, unlike the game, there were no set solutions.

“We have been hearing for decades that our parking is complicated,” said President Vicki Scaman.

In the old and cramped community of Oak Park, access to parking is fraught at best and inequitable at worst. Unraveling the red-tapetangled parking situation is an endeavor that the current village board inherited from the previous board. Back in 2019, the village board approved a pilot program testing specific changes to simplify Oak Park parking rules, but implementation was delayed due to the pandemic.

“It’s a lot of information,” cautioned Sean Keane, parking and mobility services manager for the village of Oak Park, before launching into the history of the program.

Staff presented three recommendations based on that pilot program to the sitting village board during the three-hour study session

5

Get Back On Your Feetat Belmont Villag A short-term residence at Belmont Village and caregivers with senior care needs. It

vacation travel, Get or forBack respite care foll can be a comfortable way toFeet introduce On Your Get Back senior family members.

Best of Village all, loved at Belmont On Yourreliable Feet A short-term residence at Belmont Village is a convenient, option for families supported by a well-trained, senior family members.

Best of all, loved ones responsive are cared caregivers with senior care needs. It’s the perfect solution for business or at Belmont Village The perfect temporaryand care solution for in a licensed community supported by a vacation travel , or for respite care following a hospital stay orwell-trained, injury. It also

A short-term Belmont is a A short-term residence at Belmont Village is aresidence convenient, at reliable optionVillage for families and caregivers with senior care needs. It’s the perfect option solution for for business convenient, reliable families or and caregivers vacation travel, or for respite caresenior following a hospital injury.

It alsosolution for with care needs.stay It’s or the perfect can be a comfortable way to introduce benefits oftravel, community living to business the or vacation or for respite care following Monday night: extending the time allotted for senior family members.

Best of all, loved ones are cared for in a licensed community pay-by-plate parking from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a hospital stay or injury. It also can be a comfortable implementing a supported dynamic fee structure; simpliby a well-trained, responsive staff. fying and standardizing daytime restrictions, way to introduce the benefits of community living to

including a three-hour parking time limit on weekdays; and improving access to night permit parking by allowing nighttime parking in forand families and in caregivers pay-by-plate spaces on all streets overA short-term residence Village is abenefits convenient, option living for families can be a comfortable wayattoBelmont introduce the ofreliable community to responsive staff. night parking zones.

• Fully furnished apartments and caregivers with senior care needs.

It’s the perfect solution for business “It’s important to note that parking meters senior family members. Best of all, loved ones are cared for in a licensedorcommunity • Fresh chef-prepared meals vacation travel, or for respite care following a hospital stay or injury. It also and enforcing parking meters is not meant to supported by a furnished well-trained,apartments responsive staff.

• Fully can • Housekeeping and laundry be a revenue generator, but rather a parking can be be aa comfortable comfortable way way to to introduce introduce the the benefits benefits of of community community living living to to management tool,” said Keane. senior family members.

Best of all, loved ones are cared for in a licensed • Fresh senior familychef-prepared members. Best of all,meals loved ones are cared for in a licensed community community • Personal care services The pilot tested standardized daytime parksupported by responsive staff. supportedtemporary by aa well-trained, well-trained, responsive staff.

The perfect care solution • Licensed nurse onsite around-the-clock • Housekeeping and laundry ing limits, vehicle license exemptions from and caregivers Medication management daytime limits, •dynamic and graduated pay- for families • Personal care services The perfect temporary care solution by-plate parking,• expanded night parking and • Fully furnished apartments Free scheduled transportation 7 days-a-week • chef-prepared Licensed nurse onsite around-the-clock for families and caregivers introduced license plate recognition technol- • Fresh meals • Fintess and social activities •• Fully Fully furnished apartments ogy. The boundaries of the parking pilot pro• furnished apartments furnished • Housekeeping and apartments laundry • Fully Medication management Minimum required gram extended •from Harlemstay Avenue to Oak Fresh chef-prepared chef-prepared meals meals ••• Fresh Fresh chef-prepared • Personal care services meals Park Avenue and South Boulevard to Harrison Housekeeping and laundry laundry transportation Free scheduled •••• Housekeeping and Housekeeping and laundry • Licensed nursecare onsite around-the-clock Street.

• Personal services

The perfect temporary care solution for families and caregivers

• Fully furnished apartments • Fresh chef-prepared meals 7 days-a-week Daily Rate Starting at $250* • Housekeeping and laundry • Medication management “This area was chosen by the village board because it contains virtually every parking • Free•scheduled transportation 7 days-a-week Fintess and social activities challenge you may come across in Oak Park,” • Fintess and social activities • Personal services • Minimum staycare required said Keane.

• Minimum stay required Coinciding with the program, the village surveyed 878 total residents between Sept. 27 • 1035 Licensed nurse onsite around-the-clock Madison St. to Nov. 15 of last year. The survey found that 52 Daily Rate Starting at $250* Oak Park,Starting IL60302at $250* Daily Rate percent of respondents lived in the pilot area, • Medication while 58 percent of respondents lived in single708-848-7200 management family homes and 42 percent in multi-family homes. Further findings include 66 percent of • Free scheduled transportation 7 days-a-week respondents utilize private parking.

1035 Madison St. Village trustees were all in favor of the Oak Park, IL60302 • Fintess and social activities first two recommendations, but the re708-848-7200 The Community Built for Life • 708-848-7200 belmontvillage.com sponse to the third was mixed as trustees questioned how allowing nighttime permit • Minimum stay required parking on all streets in overnight parking •• Personal Personal care care services services Licensed nurse onsite around-the-clock ••• Licensed Licensed nurse nurse onsite onsite around-the-clock around-the-clock *Rates based on availability & subject to change • Medication management •• Medication Medication management management Free scheduled transportation days-a-week ••• Free Free scheduled scheduled transportation transportation 77 7 days-a-week days-a-week Fintess and social activities ••• Fintess and social activities Fintess and social activities Minimum stay required ••• Minimum Minimum stay stay required required

*Rates based availability & subject to change *Rateson based on availability & subject to change *Rates *Rates based based on on availability availability && subject subject to to change change

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©2021 Belmont Village, L.P. | SC 0052076 | rev11.21

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1035 Madison St. 1035 1035 Madison Madison St. St. Oak Park, Park, IL60302 IL60302 Oak Oak Park, IL60302

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©2021 Belmont Village, Village, L.P. L.P. ||| SC SC 0052076 0052076 ||| rev11.21 rev11.21 ©2021 ©2021 Belmont Belmont Village, L.P. SC 0052076 rev11.21

zones would affect snow and leaf removal.

The board directed staff to get in the input of the public works department.

©2021 Belmont Village, L.P. | SC 0052076 | rev11.21

The Community Built for Life ®®® • belmontvillage.com

The Community Built for Life ® • belmontvillage.com

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Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

OPRF finance advisers reject using debt to fund projects School board members say more clarity needed on work and costs

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Members of District 200’s Community Finance Advisory Committee turned down the possibility of incurring debt to fund countless capital maintenance projects spanning the next decade at Oak Park and River Forest High School. Committee members met Feb. 3 via Zoom and discussed debt-based financing options that the school board and district administration have mulled over in recent months.

In that time period, school board members and administrators have tussled over the issue of incurring debt to pay for the district’s renovation projects, which among many things include roof repairs, field restorations and updates to bathrooms and plumbing and drainage systems. Some of that work may be combined with the district’s five-phase Imagine OPRF capital improvement projects. Phase 1 of Imagine OPRF, which sought to refurbish the high school’s south cafeteria, student resource center, welcome center and library, began in June 2020 and is set to wrap up by 2023. The first phase, which cost roughly $36.1 million, was funded through the district’s cash reserves.

The district’s school board has yet to finalize or approve plans for Phase 2, where the

OPRF PROJECTS

Concerns and criticism from page 1 district’s financing options.

In the last few months, the board and the administration considered incurring debt to fund waves of maintenance projects stretching over the next decade. Members of D200’s Community Finance Advisory Committee met almost two weeks ago to talk about options for taking on debt and advised against borrowing money at this time, citing the district’s healthy cash reserves and the need to learn more about which maintenance projects were being prioritized.

“We’re now an hour and 15 minutes [into the meeting, and] we have [yet] to talk about facilities and what the needs are,” said board member Kebreab Henry Monday night. “My thought was to discuss what has been proposed, what is necessary, what it means – ‘We need to do this part’ – and then do financial because we did not discuss facilities tonight.”

Henry, who sits on the finance advisory committee, said conversations about the district’s hefty list of maintenance projects have gotten off track and spiraled into conversations about renovations specific to the school’s swimming pools, which has

project will center on the high school’s aging athletic facilities.

As district administrators looked ahead to the next 10 years, they presented the board with a list of financing options, one of which included incurring debt. That meant the district could choose to issue a debt certificate or a debt service extension base (DSEB) to fund the costs of future projects. Debt certificates often rely on the school district’s general operating funds to pay back the borrowed money, while DSEB bonds lean on tax levies, impacting residents. DSEB bonds can be issued without a taxpayer referendum to help fund capital projects, according to school documents.

During the Feb. 3 meeting, committee members cited the district’s healthy cash reserves, which amounts to about $96 million, and agreed on the need to prioritize, list out and learn more about the school building’s needs. The committee initially met Jan. 18 but was in violation of the Open Meetings Act, as the agenda was not posted on the district’s website. The district released a brief explanation, saying it made an error and did not catch it in time prior to the Jan. 18 meeting. The meeting, however, was still recorded and can be found on the district’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube. com/c/OakParkandRiverForestHighScho-

olOfficial.

In an interview with Wednesday Journal, D200 school board member Tom Cofsky, who sits on the advisory committee, pointed to the district’s fund balance policy as part of the reason why the committee advised against considering taking on debt. One key part of the policy states the district should aim for an overall fund balance between 25% and 75% of operating cash flows, and currently, the district is “north or above” those targets, Cofsky said.

“Incurring additional debt at this time is not in line with that policy,” Cofsky said to the Journal, adding the committee also talked about revising the fund balance policy, especially when it comes to debt management.

Cofsky said the policy, as it stands, centers only on the fund balances and provides little guidance on handling debt.

Cofsky told the Journal that in some ways the conversations surrounding the financing of the high school district’s major maintenance plans somewhat lean into a “cart gets ahead of the horse” situation.

Board member Kebreab Henry, who also sits on the advisory committee, told committee members and administrators during the Feb. 3 meeting that he would have a better grasp on the district’s finances once he understands exactly what funds are tied to the

projects, including any changes to Phase 1 as it nears completion next year.

“Right now, it’s not clear,” he said. “It’s a lot of assumptions for me.”

The school board was slated to vote on the debt options during a Feb. 24 meeting, but Cofsky said that may now change based upon the advisory committee’s stance.

“The [committee’s] recommendation needs to come back to the board, and then the board needs to take it into consideration in terms of if there is any action required,” he said.

From Cofsky’s perspective, there needs to be more conversation before a decision can be reached.

“What needs to happen going forward – and I’m not exactly sure on the timing – is that we need to have a clear, forward view of what our needs are,” he said. “We need to match that with what our resources are and say, ‘OK, we need to spend this much money over this much time to do this kind of work for our students.”

“And, then we have this money available that we can earmark to that, and then we have to say, ‘What’s the gap?’ And how do we need to engage our community? I go one step at a time, and I know people like to get ahead of themselves, but that’s the process that I see.”

remained a source of contention between community members and District 200 over many years.

Some critics such as Oak Park resident Monica Sheehan have disputed the $14 million price tag for revamping the aquatic center, which includes installing an eightlane competition pool with three additional lanes and a diving area; a 600-seat balcony for spectators; additional storage space; changing area and deck repairs among many things. Those renovations makeup just a portion of Phase 2 of the district’s five-part Imagine OPRF capital project and have yet to be finalized and approved by the board.

Based on previous plans and initial discussions in 2018, Phase 2 was estimated to cost around $64.5 million and has not been updated since.

“Bottom line, the Imagine pool and natatorium are inequitable in terms of cost and size and need to be right-sized,” Sheehan said during Feb. 14 during public comments.

“They do not align with your strategic plan policy to ‘make fiscally responsible, studentcentered decisions that allocate resources to ensure excellence and equity for all.’”

Other residents joined Sheehan and voiced concerns over the board and administrations’ recent inquiry on issuing nonreferendum bonds to fund future capital projects, which they say would ultimately exclude or overlook community input.

“Trying to avoid a referendum is just wrong, and it will only increase community mistrust of D200,” said Judith Alexander, another Oak Park resident, told the board during public comments.

During the special meeting, board members Fred Arkin and Ralph Martire expressed frustration over administrators’ presentation and said they expected a breakdown of the district’s facility needs with an emphasis on the projects that take priority.

They talked about reexamining Phase 2’s plans to see whether it overlapped with the district’s other major maintenance projects.

Arkin also suggested bringing district Athletic Director Nicole Ebsen into the conversation and understanding the needs of the athletic department, staff and students.

Instead, presentations led by Superintendent Greg Johnson, Executive Director of Operations Ron Anderson and financial consultant Robert Grossi dove into the district’s current financial state, dispelling myths about the installation of an “Olympic-sized pool” and a run through of construction updates and a 10-year maintenance plan, including Phase 1 of the Imagine OPRF project, which is expected to be completed by 2023.

“I don’t see the term ‘need-based,’” Arkin said. “I don’t see the term ‘student-focused, and I don’t see anything having to do with an equity evaluation or an equity lens, and that’s very concerning to me.”

Board member Gina Harris also urged the board and administration to take another step toward transparency to counter the spread of misinformation with community members.

“I would love for us to get even more clear on our information that we share and how we share it because the misinformation is really challenging to hear right now,” Harris said.

Johnson said the board’s message was clear and apologized for missing the mark during the special meeting. He added that the presentation on the district’s 10-year maintenance plan is part of a “comprehensive approach,” and “that’s what we’re really trying to communicate here.”

“There are elements of that 10-year maintenance plan that have to continue to go on regardless of what happens with anything related to Project 2, and that 10-year maintenance plan is merely or actually completely designed to communicate what those needs are,” Johnson told the board.

“I think once we get a feel for what we want to do for Project 2, what it is, what is its scope, what needs are we exactly trying to meet with that, I think we’ll be in a better situation to figure out those cost benefits or those balances between how we want to deal with the various ways we could potentially fund it, and then that will have an implication on how we go about carrying the 10year maintenance plan.”

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Candycopia poised for spring arrival on Lake Street Oak Park family realizes a candy shop dream

APPROVED PROTOCOL #: _2020-1086

By MELISSA ELSMO A bounty of candy is headed to Oak Park courtesy of the Mason family. Patrick and Alycia Mason, along with their daughters Addison (11) and Campbell (8), are eager to bring Candycopia to a storefront in the historic Medical Arts building, 717 Lake St. Though they are still awaiting construction permit approvals, the forthcoming candy and ice cream shop is expected to open at the end of April and will be conveniently located across the lobby from a dentist’s office.

Eleven-year residents of Oak Park, Mason and his wife were looking for ways to invest in the community and often dreamed of opening a business “right down the street.” Inspired by visits to old fashioned candy shops while vacationing on Cape Cod, Mason began contemplating opening a similar sort of shop in Oak Park.

“I watched my kids run through the candy store and exclaim ‘Daddy, Daddy, look!’ and I started to ask myself how many more years I might have to witness this sort of unbridled joy,” said Mason. “Visiting the candy shop was really a highlight of those trips and I realized Oak Park needs to offer this kind of experience to residents and visitors.”

A decade ago, Mason stepped away from a fulltime career in corporate public relations and communications in favor of taking on part time freelance work and becoming the primary caregiver to his duo of daughters. Mason has the full support of his wife but admits his children “stoked the flames” on the idea of opening Candycopia.

“My friends are so excited about the shop,” said Campbell as she did a little twirl in the empty store front. “It will be filled with rainbow colored candy!”

A strong desire to feel like they were part of the fabric of the local business community led the Masons to their prime location in The Hemingway District near Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue.

After completing minor renovations to the shop, the family aims to bring a new kind of candy store to the community.

Dedicated to cultivating a sense of curiosity, discovery and wonder in young children and the young at heart, Candycopia will offer sweets from a collection of diverse-owned, ecoconscious, small batch candy makers.

Upon entering the shop, visitors will discover a counter boasting 100 jars of colorful gummies in different shapes, sizes and colors, including some vegan options, sold by the pound. The shop will also carry tried-and-true candy favorites, traditional candies in unex-

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SWEET TEETH: Alycia and Patrick Mason and their daughters Addison (11) and Campbell (8) are bringing an old-fashioned candy shop to Oak Park in April. pected flavors as well as harder to find retro candies that tap into the nostalgic nature of the business.

A carefully curated collection of artisanmade toffee, truffles, caramels and fudge will also be offered at Candycopia. A six-seat counter in the back will beckon guests to participate in immersive candy-flight experiences.

“If someone is a licorice nerd, we can put together a flight of three licorices made by artisans from different regions; if someone is super into caramels, we can put together a flight that shows the difference between burnt and creamy products,” said Mason. “We want to help people learn more about the candies they love by tasting them in a thoughtful way.”

The shop will also offer a small menu of “candy-forward” ice cream sundae creations featuring ice cream from Hershey’s Creamery (no relation to Hershey’s chocolate). Flavors like “graham central,” “banana pudding,” and

“cotton candy” will form the base for a variety of candy toppings and sauces.

“We have a sundae called ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ that will be topped with Baby Ruth chocolate bars and caramel corn said Addison. “And it has both caramel and chocolate sauces because a baseball game needs two teams.”

The Masons are committed to making Candycopia a joy filled space that welcomes everybody from any walk of life. As they wait for the permits to come through and construction to be completed, the family is working hard to discover candy-partners to celebrate at Candycopia – each selection they make is intended to bring a sense of wonder to their future customers.

“We want to be a place that raises up artisans by sharing back stories and celebrating their special products,” said Mason. “We see this shop as an opportunity to spread joy in the Oak Park community.”

Follow Candycopia on Facebook to stay up to date on their opening plans.

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We also need inspiring, funny, heartwarming and, at times, heartbreaking stories about our friends, neighbors and children. Perhaps now, more than ever.

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Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

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Oak Park Education Foundation selects new executive director

Achieving ‘aha’ moments the best part of education, says Latonia Baker

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

The Oak Park Education Foundation, a nonprofit that offers arts and science programs for students in Oak Park District 97, has named Latonia Baker as the new executive director. Baker, who joined the nonprofit last spring, was the foundation’s first full-time program director and now a successor for outgoing executive director Tracy Dell’Angela Barber. A press release reported Barber led the nonprofit for five years and said she is stepLATONIA BAKER ping down to pursue other opportunities.

Baker, who officially stepped into the leadership role Feb. 1, said she is eager to continue the nonprofit’s storied work, including engaging with local school leaders, students and families and expanding its learning programs.

“I feel like there’s a lot of commonality with our organization and District 97, and there’s just a lot of opportunities there that are open now -- and probably have been before -- but essentially are changing [to where] we can really work closely together,” she said, adding one of her goals is to find more ways to meet the needs of the district’s students who have disabilities.

Passionate about youth education, Baker came to the Oak Park nonprofit after an 18year run as a regional operations manager

for iD Tech Camps, a company headquartered in California that provides various virtual STEM programs for children and teens. Baker was also an adjunct professor at the American Academy of Art in Chicago where she established the curriculum for the school’s visual studies department and was once at the helm of a digital design firm that created 3D computer models and graphics for architecture and construction businesses, according to the nonprofit’s website.

Baker told Wednesday Journal that she was drawn to the Oak Park Education Foundation because its mission aligned with her personal values. The nonprofit, which formed more than 30 years ago, has developed a mix of programs that promote creativity and originality.

From spoken word to vex robotics, the nonprofit has sought to create a path for students to find those “aha moments” even during the pandemic, and those moments are crucial, Baker said.

“One of the things about the foundation is that they really want to encourage that love of learning, and I think that’s a part of what I like about youth education,” she said. Especially for children, learning is about discovery and possibility, an opportunity that could lead to careers – or not, Baker added.

“Either way, to me, it’s just really inspiring and just really a fun environment to be in. I just feel very fortunate right now. It’s like the best of all worlds,” she said.

Base Camp registration opens Registration for the Oak Park Education Foundation’s Base Camp, a popular summer youth program, opens on Feb. 16 and 17. For more information about the camp or the nonprofit, visit www.opef.org.

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Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

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Oak Parker a finalist in beer can design competition The window to vote on can designs closes Feb. 18

WE WANT YOU TO BE

HEART HEALTHY! West Suburban Medical Center encourages our community to take steps for a healthier heart during American Heart Month this February. Pick just one week to do the following.

#SelfcareSunday

Create a game plan for the week ahead – including time for exercise or other activity. Read up on the signs and symptoms of heart attack – for men and for women.

#MindfulMonday

Know your blood pressure numbers. Visit a local pharmacy where your blood pressure can be taken. Call your physician if your blood pressure reading is high and schedule a checkup.

#TastyTuesday

Try a heart healthy recipe with more fiber, less fat. Visit heart.org for some ideas.

#WellnessWednesday

Put your heart into your wellness routine. Take that walk around the neighborhood!

#TreatYourselfThursday

Treat your heart to something fun and/or relaxing to reduce any stress: dance, get a massage, play with the kids.

#Follow-throughFriday

Reflect on the steps you took this week and see if you can plan and keep your heart health focus going!

#SentimentSaturday

Reflect on someone or something for which you are grateful.

Center yourself with an intention on thankfulness.

So, this February establish a heart healthy practice. Your heart will thank you for it. Make sure and visit westsuburbanmc.com for more health tips and information.

3 Erie Court, Oak Park, IL 60302 866-853-2132, WestSuburbanMC.com Source: About American Heart Month: Ways to Get Involved|NHLBI, NIH © 2022 West Suburban Medical Center

as a “trophy cup,” takes front and center. The blue ribbon is attached to the unusual shape’s left. Inside the belly of the figure, a thin white line sits below three almond-shaped, forming a face with a Cheshire-like grin. Four boots

By STACEY SHERIDAN made up of sharp angles stand perfectly in Staff Reporter line underneath the navy shape. The threeeyed, four-booted creature is strange but inNext time you crack open a Pabst Blue Ribtriguing. bon beer, don’t forget to take a look at the can.

Smaller figures, including four-pointed It might just bear the design of Oak Park and white stars outlined in navy, and exclamation River Forest High School graduate Jeremiah points surround the central character. A navy Shalo. The graphic designer is one of 25 finaland white candy-striped border frames the ists in the Pabst 2022 art can contest. If Shalo composition. is among the 10 contest winners, PBR will fea“I like to make things a little strange,” Shalo ture his design this fall on millions of cans. admitted.

He would also score a $10,000 cash prize.

He finds flat, full graphic The 10 winning designs shapes more pleasing to the will be determined by popueye when it comes to beer lar vote on the Pabst Blue cans. The shapes become Ribbon website. Those of memorable and identifiable legal age can view all 25 deboth up close and at a dissigns and vote for their 10 fatance. Shalo believes that vorites. Voting ends Feb. 18. intricate lines and details, “I would be thrilled to which feature in many of the win,” Shalo said. other top 25 designs, do not A humble guy, Shalo read as well on cans as they hasn’t done much campaigntend to blur into the backing for votes. Luckily for ground.

Shalo, he has a very proud “I just think it hides the mother who does not mind most important elements,” promoting her son’s arthe said. work, including by reaching The most important eleout to the local newspaper. Jeremiah Shalo’s design ments are the brand and His friends have also been the product. Small details, sharing his PBR design on as wonderful as they are, do their social media accounts. not always help a product “I’m really shy about sharing my work, sell, whereas large shapes can be more memobut I’m trying to get better,” said Shalo. “It’s rable and recognizable, according to Shalo. an honor to have such supportive family and His passion for design, however, is rooted in friends.”

Oak Park, where his parents still live. Shalo Snagging a spot in the top 25 is a major feat was one of the many OPRF students to take in and of itself. Pabst received over 6,000 dedesign and art classes under the tutelage of sign submissions for the competition, accord- Melinda Novotny and Sandy Campbell. He ing to the beer company. A panel of judges called Novotny the reason he got involved in determined the 25 finalists. To increase his graphic design and Campbell the reason why chances, Shalo submitted five designs. The he continued pursuing art. one that landed a place in the top 25 came as a “I truly owe them big time,” he said of his surprise to him. high school teachers.

“Honestly, this was the one that I didn’t Shalo went on to study visual communicathink would get in. It was like, ‘OK, I’m just go- tions design at the School of the Art Institute ing to have fun with it, play around and then of Chicago, then worked for about four years submit it because there’s nothing to lose,’” he as a designer for a small media firm called remembered.

Varyer. He has since gone solo and now has For his other submissions, Shalo tried to his own studio in Wicker Park. create a backstory for the designs. The can The voting period is coming to an end soon, design that could potentially win him $10,000 but there is still time to vote for Shalo’s design. and be seen on shelves across the country was Pabst does not show how many votes each more “whimsical.” It was also the last design design has accrued, so it is unknown where he made for the competition.

Shalo stands in the competition. However, he The Pabst name and its blue-ribbon logo is happy to have made it this far, especially as prominently feature in Shalo’s winning de- a first-time competitor, and is grateful for the sign, which was done entirely in gray, navy encouragement he has gotten from his family and white, per contest specifications. How- and friends. ever, its overall composition is very much “I want to thank everyone that has supportShalo’s aesthetic. The design’s overall effect is ed me throughout my artistic career,” he said. simple but bold.

“And I would greatly appreciate any and all A large navy figure, which Shalo describes votes for my can design!”

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

11

Library celebrates ‘the all of us’ in Black History Month exhibit

Books, art and artifacts, displayed in main library’s Idea Box space

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Four years ago, ShaRhonda Dawson was on the hunt for “Maud Martha,” the first and only novel written by Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Dawson combed through nearly every bookstore in and around Chicagoland and even searched online, only to find interpretations of the Pulitzer Prize winner’s work, not copies of the first edition.

So, Dawson dug deeper.

While on the lookout for Brooks, Dawson stumbled on a first edition copy of “Poems of Cabin and Field” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first Black poets from the 20th century to gain national recognition, according to the Academy of American Poets. Inside the faded hardbound book, Dunbar’s poems are paired with photos, some of which depict homes hidden behind bare trees, a hunting dog barking up a tree and portraits of formerly enslaved people. What’s more was that those photos were taken by a group of Black students, Dawson said.

“And those photos are so beautiful,” she said. “Each one of them is beautiful, and the poetry is beautiful. So, holding it in my hand was a completely different story and feeling an experience … There’s so much more in the actual book.”

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Juanta Griffin shows off the Black History Month exhibit in the main library lobby.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

A friendship Valentine from 1896.

That book is one of the many Black artifacts and mementos from Dawson’s growing collection, which is now on display for Black History Month at the Idea Box inside the Main Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. Dawson, a former Oak Park resident and education advocate, recently teamed up with Juanta Griffin, the library’s multicultural learning coordinator, to create an exhibit celebrating Black history. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, opened earlier this month and runs until March 8. Exhibit hours vary each day and are listed on the library’s website at www. oppl.org.

A quick walk-through of the exhibit reveals a set of posters, including Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Con-

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Juanta Griffin pages through ‘Black Panther’ in the Black History Month exhibit at the Oak Park Public Library’s Idea Box.

gress and a candidate for president, next to dren’s boxing gloves; a faded playbill for “A civil rights icon John Lewis, who died almost Raisin in the Sun” with the late actor Sidney two years ago. Images of Barack Obama, the Poitier. One of the room’s corners is decorated nation’s first Black president, and Kamala with a handful of African masks and drums.

Harris, the country’s first female, first Black And in the center, there’s a 1970s board game and first Asian-American vice president, are on display called “Malcolm X: Stop the System hung above a small display of African dolls by Any Means Necessary.”

“It’s a great responsibility,” Griffin said, as and woven baskets. The exhibit – which features a mix of items from Dawson and the li- she reflected on her experience putting the exbrary’s collection – recounts the history and hibit together. “For me, I [had to make sure] I contributions of Black people in politics, so- present these things with dignity, with pride.

I’m responsible for the cial justice, music, arts culture and for my anand entertainment. cestors.”

Dawson and Griffin This work, to say the told Wednesday Journal least, is personal. that area residents have For more information on the “When you do Black donated items to their Oak Park Public Library’s Black History Month and you homegrown collection, History Special Exhibit and other work for an institution emphasizing the true events, visit www.oppl.org. Hours – and you’re Black – it’s meaning of community. for the exhibit are as follows: consuming. It’s chal“It is a community Mondays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. lenging work. We often collection,” Dawson to 2 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdisplay Black excelsaid. “It’s a collection of days, 2 to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and lence. That’s the push: love. It’s like all of this Sundays, noon to 3 p.m.

To display the best of is Black history. Black us,” Griffin said. history is American his“But in doing that, we tory, and I just love that.”

The two shared further that they consid- forget to display the fact that we’re breathing, ered the exhibit’s “energy,” as well as the the fact that we survived something that was messages behind the pieces on display. Look- meant to destroy us, the fact that our history ing around the room, Griffin said this was all started before something as tragic as slavery, about curating a space, especially for Black the fact that it keeps evolving: That’s the stopeople to learn about their history separate ry,” she shared. “That’s what I wanted to show from the tragedies. here.”

“We know the story of enslavement. We Picking up a book from a table, Dawson know the story of Jim Crow. We know about flipped through the pages that showcased the lynching, but there’s also joy in survival,” Robert Taylor Homes, a public housing projDawson said, pointing to an encased doll from ect in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the the 1800s and whose head was made out of a city’s South Side. Like Dunbar’s poetry book, pecan. “Somebody made that doll because we Dawson said that the photos in the book she couldn’t afford dolls at that time, and [that’s] held were taken by another set of students – what somebody played with. We still had to life the way they saw it, the way they knew it. hold on to our humanity and our creativity, “When you walk in here, I didn’t want and our children still needed to be loved.” people to feel the pain,” Griffin said. “I want Inside the Idea Box, there’s a glass case that them to feel the life. And, so when [Dawson] stands against a wall, featuring items like a just picked up that book and showed you, it’s vintage church fan with Dr. Martin Luther not the best of us. It’s the all of us. It’s the all King Jr.’s face; an old pair of Joe Louis chil- of us.”

Exhibit hours

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Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Housing Forward turns 30 this year Next chapter in the story of how it takes a village

By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter

Housing Forward is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Since the nonprofit’s founding in 1992 the agency known then as PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) has served 17,000 homeless people and has grown from an all-volunteer organization to one with a staff of over 70 and a budget of $13 million.

When the word got out in 1991 that members of the Community of Congregations, together with an informal group of clergy in Forest Park, were planning to open a homeless shelter, many residents in the tri-village area pushed back.

First, they said, we don’t have any homeless people in town.

And second, they argued that a shelter would attract homeless people from the city who would bring crime and disease along with them.

Rev. Dean Leuking was the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest at the time. “It was on my mind,” he recalled, “that people were homeless in River Forest and the reason was because people would knock on the church door telling me that they were homeless and hungry.”

When Leuking proposed that Grace become a site for the new outreach, the village of River Forest brought up several objections. Richard Mertens a lawyer and member of Grace tells what happened next.

“We ended up before the village board in River Forest over FILE the span of probably months. There was certainly some reluctance by the board to permit Grace to host the PADS folks over- Volunteer Samuel Muniz places bedding in the women’s section of a PADS shelter at St. John Lutheran Church in Forest night. They were looking at it from a zoning perspective saying Park, which served as the Friday site until 2020. that there was no permission in the zoning ordinance for such a use of property. floor with a separate section for women and children. Around problems, and services to help prevent homelessness.

“We took the position that, as a church, this was part of our 6:30, the dinner team would carry in food that was already preThat expansion necessitated enlarging the office space. calling, i.e. to minister to folks in need. We were a church espared and/or start cooking.

Mary Richie was the secretary of the agency’s board of directablished at that location and we were just carrying out what Clients entered the facility at 7:30 and picked out a mattress tors at the time of the transition. “At first,” she recalled, “our churches do. What finally happened after several months of for the night. That accomplished, the dinner team along with offices were in the basement of a church in Maywood, but untrying to sort through this, the village took the position that volunteers from the set-up team would serve the fortunately it flooded when it rained.” they could regulate the way in which we operated.

40-50 people sitting around tables set up along The organization moved to what used to be the convent at So the village enacted an ordinance with many with the mattresses.

St. Bernardine Catholic Church in Forest Park and then to its requirements like needing so many showers availWill Kasander was a member of the team from present location at 1851 S. Ninth Ave. in Maywood. able, having a room with specific dimensions, and First United in Oak Park. He has seen guests, as Perhaps the most significant event during this chapter was having certain sanitation facilities available.” they used to be called instead of clients, thank the hiring of Lynda Schueler in 2001 who has served as the Long story short, Grace complied with the stipuGod for another day when they wake up. agency’s executive director ever since. lations and hosted the shelter on a rotating basis “It surprises me because I would think wakHeidi Vance, co-owner of Team Blonde on Madison St. and for two years. ing up like that would be a difficult and frightencurrently Housing Forward’s president, used the words “nimRev. Greg Dell the pastor of Euclid Methodist ing thing,” Kasander said in an interview with ble” and “creative” to describe her board and Schueler.

Church and Juanona Brewster were elected as coWednesday Journal several years ago. “But many An example is a program they ran until 2017 with the West chairs, and several months of organizational meetof the guests wake up with a positive attitude and Cook YMCA called Interim Housing. Pursuing the goal of ings resulted in the creation of Tri-Village PADS. a cheerful disposition.” prevention, the program provided a SRO (single room occuThe new organization opened the doors of its “It was enormously gratifying,” said Nancy pancy) room for single men at a budget price. Phil Jimenez, first site in October of 1992 at First United Church Carleton Pennington, “to be able to connect them the director of the Y, described the program as dealing with of Christ in Forest Park. Mattresses were laid out with services beyond overnights. I was working the issue “upstream” from actual homelessness. on the floor, a meal was prepared and volunteers in child welfare at the time, and I was sometimes On Dec. 31, 2015, West Suburban PADS announced it was enAMY MORTON were in place to take care of the expected crowd. able to help parents locate children they had lost tering the new year with a new name, Housing Forward. Its PADS site captain But, to their disappointment, no one showed up. because their homelessness prevented them from mission had evolved to “transition people from housing crisis Housing Forward is not a religious organizabeing able to care for their kids.” to housing stability.” The name was changed “to better convey tion per se, but without local churches it would not In 1999 the nonprofit changed its name to West the comprehensive nature of its solution to homelessness.” have survived and grown as an institution — in the Suburban PADS, because its service area was exTony Mitchell, a member of the Housing Forward Board scope of its service area, in the number of clients panding from the three original villages to what of Directors and Unity Temple, said, “The most valuable and served, and in maturity as an organization.

PADS adopted a model that lasted for 28 years. It included an would eventually become 26 communities in the western sub- meaningful part of my week is the time I spend on Friday nights serving clients at one of Housing Forward’s overnight emergency shelter program that rotated every night. Until 2020 urbs.

During its first 15 years PADS evolved into an agency with shelters. Serving a meal, playing cards, or sharing a conversawhen COVID struck, the gym at St. John Lutheran Church in a $1.3 million budget and a professional staff of 15. PADS ex- tion, I get a unique opportunity to be with people who may Forest Park served as the Friday site for many years.

The routine at each site was the same. The volunteer site panded the services it offered from emergency shelter to in- have fewer material resources than many of us but hold a captain and the set-up team would arrive around 6 p.m. to set clude a day-time support center, case management for those greater appreciation for these gifts than most all of us. I’m up tables and arrange the mattresses for about 40 people on the suffering from substance abuse, mental health and medical humbled by their dignity and faith in a world that often offers

“There are a lot of people here who had everything going their way, and they became homeless.”

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

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Staffing/ Employees/HR Hiring new staff & filling open positions Staff retention Addressing employees changing needs Working short staffed

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Volunteer Betty Dvorak, center, served bowls of chili to homeless men and women at the PADS shelter in St. John Lutheran Church in Forest Park, pre-pandemic. them little of either.”

Amy Morton, a member of Ascension Catholic Church and the PADS site captain on the second Friday of the month, said, “I think that for me volunteering here makes homelessness feel real and very possible. There are a lot of people here who had everything going their way, and they became homeless. For me it’s there but for the grace of God go I. It makes me grateful for my safety net, grateful for my family and all the connections I have.”

“I know numerous families with alcohol, mental health, and employment challenges,” explained Maureen Crotty, another member of Ascension and a long time PADS volunteer.

“PADS enables me to be ‘part of a solution’ by providing the essentials of food and shelter. I am deeply grateful that on the second Friday of the month I can be a part of a supportive, caring network.”

Several young people came with their parents to volunteer at the emergency shelter.

Audrey Benzkofer is 8 years old and a member of Ascension Catholic Church, and her brother, 12, both admitted to being nervous the first time they volunteered, but Audrey added, “The rest was pretty fun.” Sam said, “It made me think that however tired I was, these people were 10 times more tired and they had a lot worse week than I had, even if I had a terrible week.”

The rotating emergency shelter site model proved sustainable for 28 years, until COVID-19 hit the area with vengeance, forcing the agency to pivot on a dime. On March 12, 2020 it shifted almost overnight from a congregate shelter model to housing clients in separate rooms in four different hotels in the area.

Vance recalled, “I’m so proud of how the board was nimble in supporting Lynda in making the literally life-and-death quick

changes caused by COVID.” The move to hotels was a life-saver in the short run but not sustainable organizationally or financially, even with help from FEMA. “The village of Oak Park,” Vance said, “approached Lynda about making the Write Inn the single location where all clients would be housed, a move which would be more sustainable in the long term, make it much easier for case workers to connect with clients, allow clients to get into permanent housing more quickly and improve their overall health.”

She said moving into the Write Inn opened up the possibility of creating 15 units (that can house up to 19 people) dedicated to Housing Forward’s Medical Respite Program which provides a place for homeless people who are going in for a procedure, such as a colonoscopy, and shelter for those with nowhere to go after surgery.

Lynda Schueler reported that at present 70% of the clients in the Interim Housing Program clients in the first year of that program are no longer homeless but living in permanent housing.

Vance also acknowledged that some homeless clients don’t fit neatly into the Housing Forward model which views clients as having a run of bad luck, needing a safe place to get back on their feet, and fairly quickly getting back to a job and their own home.

“For that very reason,” she explained, “we are building in Broadview a facility which for now we refer to as Permanent Supportive Housing Broadview (PSHB) for people who essentially cannot live unattended, can’t find the means to fund themselves and/or need more onsite case management.”

Housing Forward will celebrate this milestone at their Have-a-Heart Gala 2022 at the JW Marriott in Chicago on May 21.

3

Covid Safety

Maintaining public health, mandates & protocols Fear of infection

5

Cost of doing business

Funding Resources & Financial Health

Federal funding Financial planning Future funding

9

Shipping & receiving Access to goods Increase in costs

4

Government Relations

Build more community network Create collaborative future planning Open communications

6 Mental Health

Affordability Growth & expansion Uncertainty

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Supply Chain Distruptions

Impact of uncertainty Staff morale Work & life balance

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Safety and Security

Public safety Business safety

Covid Impact on Business

Lack of stability & control Planning for an unknown future Survival mindset Client experience

10 Local Issues Property taxes Diversity

Choose ommunity Learn more at oprfchamber.org

This list represents the collective voice of the OPRF Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors regarding the Top 10 concerns facing businesses in 2022.

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OP’s first Black manager from page 1 helping small businesses navigate economic recovery and incorporating sustainability into local government, according to Scaman.

“He also has some significant experience around affordable housing,” said Scaman.

Jackson’s “unique community engagement approach,” which she described as “being very present” and “meeting people where they’re at,” resonated with her personally.

Jackson beat out Interim Village Manager Lisa Shelley for the position, as well as Eric Johnson of Carpentersville and Lionel Lyons of Petersburg, Virginia. Those three were the original finalists in consideration before Jackson entered the picture Feb. 1.

Shelley told Wednesday Journal she intends to stay on as deputy village manager, the role she held before becoming interim village manager due to the departure of Cara Pavlicek.

“Lisa Shelley is an enormous asset,” said Scaman. “We’re exceedingly grateful for her many years of service.”

The village president was clear that the decision not to offer Shelley the position permanently was not at all due to a lack of ability or proficiency on Shelley’s part.

Rather, the village president felt Shelley

KEVIN JACKSON had not had the opportunity to acquire experience in the fields that made Jackson the preferred candidate.

“The reality is that Oak Park just hasn’t gone there yet,” said Scaman. “There were discussions that the previous board had avoided that this board is ready to engage in fully.”

The village board is set to approve Jackson’s appointment Feb. 22, so as to allow him time to settle his affairs before he and his family relocate to Oak Park. Scaman said Jackson intends to live in the village, although the village board dropped the position’s residency requirement.

“She’s like a singing ray of sunshine.”

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15

C R I M E

Oak Park Regional Housing Center burgled

Two Dell laptops were stolen from the Oak Park Regional Housing Center during a burglary of the nonprofit’s offices at 1041 South Blvd., which occurred sometime between 5 p.m., Feb. 7 and 9 a.m., Feb. 8.

The police report from the incident states that the offender or offenders could have gained access to the offices through a door that was possibly unlocked. The value of stolen laptops is estimated at $2,000.

Burglary ■ An Apple iPhone 13 Pro cellphone and a Vera Bradley gym bag containing clothes were taken from a 1995 Buick Century left unlocked outside the Shell gas station at 1 Harrison St. between 12:53 and 12:55 p.m., Feb. 11. The estimated loss is $3,000.

■ Someone broke into a black Hyundai Elantra that was in the parking garage at 1000 Lake Street and removed a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and the access key to the parking garage between 11:30 p.m., Feb. 11 and 9:55 a.m., Feb. 12. The estimated loss is $250.

Theft

■ Someone took 30 bottles of South African wine from an unlocked storage unit inside a building in the 1100 block of South Oak Park Avenue around 7 p.m., Feb. 7. The estimated loss is $400.

■ Two unknown individuals were observed removing the catalytic converter from a red 2008 Toyota Prius at 4:41 a.m., Feb. 8, in the 1100 block of Clarence Avenue.

The offenders fled in a light-colored sedan, traveling northbound on Clarence.

■ The catalytic converter was cut from a 2007 Toyota Prius while it was parked in the 200 block of North Kenilworth Avenue between 6 p.m., Feb. 8 and 8 a.m., Feb. 9.

■ Someone cut the catalytic converter from a 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander while the vehicle was parked in the 100 block of North Kenilworth Avenue between 4:30 p.m., Feb. 8 and 10:51 a.m., Feb. 9.

■ A package containing snow boots was taken from the front of a residence in the 400 block of Washington Boulevard between 1:15 and 1:25 p.m., Feb. 10. The esti-

Oak Park car accident helps solve string of Chicago burglaries

mated loss is $60.

■ Three Amazon packages were taken from the victim’s front doorstep in the 1000 block of Lyman Avenue between 1:16 and 4:27 p.m., Feb. 13. The packages contained two books, 16 floor protectors, 14 Velcro strips and a bag of 300 dice.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports, Feb. 8-14, and 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 Stacey Sheridan

Need a helping of

Merchandise found in trunk connected to burglaries

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

An Oak Park traffic accident led to the arrest of the ringleader of the group of burglars that hit several liquor stores, retailers and the flagship Burberry store in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. The burglars stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise and cash during the months-long string of break-ins. The group also reportedly dumped a stolen cash register outside Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Gold Coast mansion, according to prosecutors.

Tacarre Harper, 27, is charged with nine counts of felony burglary and was already on bond for three other felony cases in Cook County – one for robbery, one for burglary and one for illegal firearm possession, CWBChicago reported.

The lucky break for law enforcement came Jan. 17, when 27-year-old Emma Murphy was involved in a car accident in Oak Park, according to CWBChicago. A search

by Oak Park police turned up stolen merchandise taken by a burglary team that broke into a FootLocker in the 2700 block of North Narragansett around 1 a.m. that day.

Price tags were reportedly still attached to the goods.

Murphy was taken into custody by Chicago police, where she was linked to a Dec. 8 liquor store burglary for which Harper was already charged. During Harper’s bail hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis said Harper showed detectives pictures on his phone of the Burberry bags he had stolen from the luxury store. Harper reportedly also posted videos and photos of stolen Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Nike merchandise onto his Facebook account.

Call Jill at (708) 524-8300 or visit OakPark.com/subscribe

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All-American tacos, now in Forest Park Taco Bell opens on Harlem

I

just had my first tacos from In the All-American spirit Taco Bell. Unbelievable, I of innovation, Taco Bell has know, but we don’t eat a lot of worked with Frito-Lay/Pepsico quick-service food anymore to integrate the flavors of Doriand in the days when I did, tos’ corn chips (like Cool Ranch) Taco Bell did not have as many and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos with locations as they do now, so they Taco Bell’s version of Mexico’s weren’t as accessible. There’s most famous sandwich. But a brand new Taco Bell location this is an All-American snack, at 161 S. Harlem Ave. in Forest bearing only superficial resemPark, so I decided this was a blance to the Mexican variety. good place to try these popular How American are Doritos?

Mexican-ish and undeniably Let’s put it this way: they were American tacos. invented at Disneyland.

Early this month, the national In 2015, I read The Dorito EfLocal Dining chain rolled out two new tacos: fect: The Surprising New Truth & Food Blogger Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunchabout Food and Flavor, the main Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch and thesis of which is that industriFlamin’ Hot Cool Ranch Doritos alized food, like many Frito-Lay Locos Tacos. As with kid’s candy and many products, deliver the flavor that is processed ice cream products, Taco Bell menu items out of the ingredients. The manufacturers are powered by novelty, so they’re compelled of these products add new flavors to put to introduce new flavor combinations regu- taste back into the food and, in the view of larly to keep the eating public interested author Mark Schatzker, trick the human in what they’re offering. This is not the body into believing that it’s receiving necesapproach of, for instance, McDonald’s, the sary nutrients when all it’s really receiving worldwide leader of the fast food market, are lab-created artificial flavors. which tends to have very few specials and When Doritos first came out in 1966, their focuses on a stable list of menu offerings. “flavor” was “toasted corn,” like what’s

DAVID

HAMMOND

Photo by David Hammond

Taco Bell tacos

served along with salsa in a Mexican restaurant. When sales of Doritos weren’t quite what the makers were looking for, they flavored the chips with taco seasonings and sales took off. A few years later, they introduced Nacho Cheese-flavored Doritos, and sales continued to climb.

Doritos are tremendously popular. According to Statista, in 2020, over 99 million Americans purchased Doritos — that’s a

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third of the U.S. population. So when Taco Bell decided to incorporate Doritos into their hard taco shells, they knew what they were doing.

The two new novelty menu items with the extremely long names referenced above contain basically the same ingredients: lightly spiced beef, lettuce, cheese, nothing out of the ordinary. The addition of the word “Loco” in their names seems intended to suggest Dorilocos, the popular Mexican street food that’s starting to show up stateside, and which I reported on last August. The “Gordita” is a pita-type flatbread wrapped around the red taco shell made of Doritos — the advantage of the flatbread is that it holds the crumbling taco shell together, and there’s a pleasant textural difference between the soft bread and the crunchy taco shell.

These are not outstanding tacos; they are, at best, “not bad.” I do not, however, have a problem with the lack of “authenticity” evidenced by these tacos. They’re not like anything served in Mexico, but that’s not really a problem. They are prime examples of American-Mexican food, like fajitas, but that is certainly no reason to avoid them. I had to try them at least once, and now I have.

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17

SPORTS Fenwick girls rally to overcome crosstown rival OPRF Technical foul assessed after loose ball scramble a pivotal moment

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

A technical foul assessed against Oak Park and River Forest High School after a parent went onto the court to attend to her injured daughter turned out to be the pivotal moment in their game against crosstown rival Fenwick on Feb. 10, which the Friars ended up winning 45-39.

OPRF led the back-and-forth contest with 3:43 left after a three-pointer by Lilah Gery (game-high 17 points) and a basket by Reese Garland. Fenwick regained the lead after a basket by Audrey Hinrichs (team-high 15 points), but a scramble for a loose ball with 2:08 remaining resulted in the game’s biggest and most controversial moment.

Huskies guard Darnesha Fraley was wrestling a Fenwick player for possession when Fraley fell and hit her head hard on the court. Team trainers came out to check on Fraley, as did her mother, Kimberly Fuller. Afterwards, Fuller said Fraley had a bad headache and that her status for the state tournament was uncertain.

“It was like a bowling ball hitting the court,” said Fuller of her daughter’s blow to the head. “I ran out to the court -the first time I’ve ever done that -- and I was scared because Darnesha was holding her head and shaking.”

As Fuller and the trainers looked at Fraley, she asked her son to get her phone because she was planning to call an ambulance. But she then looked at the Fenwick student section, who she felt were being unsportsmanlike.

“A couple of students were laughing and pointing at my daughter, and I got irritated. I tried everything I could to not say anything,” Fuller said. “What if she had a concussion?

What if she had died on the court?”

Fuller said she yelled at the students and headed towards them, but was restrained by OPRF coach Carlton Rosemond.

Fraley was able to walk off the court with some assistance, but a referee hit the Huskies, who would’ve retained possession, with a technical foul.

That gave the Friars two free throws, which Mira Schwanke (10 points) converted, and possession of the ball.

“The referee told me he had no choice but to give us a technical,” Rosemond said. “I’ve coached for 20 years and I’ve never seen a parent not come onto the floor when their kid gets hurt.

[The referee] said [Fuller] yelled at him and that she couldn’t do that. I told him you’re taking the opportunity out of the

SARA JANZ/Contributor

OPRF’s Kiera Kleidon (23) and Fenwick’s Mia Caccitolo (2) chase down the ball during their crosstown showdown on Feb. 10 at Fenwick High School. The Friars made a late run to outpace the Huskies 45-39. girls’ hands. It’s a critical moment. But he said he had no choice. It was hard.”

Fenwick coach Dave Power, who was leading the Friars for the last time in a regular-season game on a night where Fenwick named the fieldhouse gym court after him, called the moment “an unfortunate play that marred the game.”

OPRF did manage to stop Fenwick on its possession and had a chance to tie, but Libby Majka missed a three-pointer with less than a minute to play. The Friars then sealed the game by making three free throws.

For his part, Rosemond was happy with the effort that the Huskies produced.

“A game like this, we would’ve lost by double digits earlier in the season,” he said. “But I’m proud of how we competed.

Crosstown rivalries are different from other games, and I’m glad coach Power and I were able to get this on the schedule. It

was a lot of fun and a great atmosphere.”

Fenwick used a 9-0 run over the final two minutes of the first half to take a 29-19 halftime lead. But OPRF scored the first nine points of the second half, then Martha Lipic scored six of her 10 points to give the Huskies a 34-33 lead after three quarters.

The Friars scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, but OPRF countered with a 5-0 run that gave the Huskies a 3938 lead with 3:43 remaining.

“That technical killed us,” Rosemond said. “It took the opportunity out of our girls’ hands to finish the game.”

Despite the loss, Rosemond felt glad to be able to coach against Power.

“I tweeted that it was an honor and privilege to share the sideline with a legend,” he said. “This man has done a lot for girls’ basketball.”

Season comes to an end at sectionals for OPRF gymnasts Sophomore just misses trip to state on vault

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Sophomore Violet Ruff received big lessons in her first season on the Oak Park and

River Forest High School girls gymnastics team from the veterans.

“I’ve just learned from them to push through even when it’s really hard,” Ruff said. “They’re just good role models and they always support the team. I learn from

them to always cheer, even when I see them have a rough day. Then when I’m having a rough day, I know that I can push through it and have a better day tomorrow.”

The Huskies were mostly focused on the future after their season ended at the IHSA

Sectional at Oswego on Feb. 7.

All-arounder Chloe Kratz was the only senior among the seven competing Huskies who also were all individual qualifiers. Ruff, See GYMNASTICS on page 18

18

Wednesday Journal, Month xx, 2022

S P O R T S

@ @OakPark

OPRF’s Dunson headed back to state wrestling championships Comeback win in wrestlebacks keys return trip to Champaign

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Oak Park and River Forest High School senior wrestler Jalen Dunson realizes the importance of his first state meet opportunity back in 2020.

“It was a good learning experience and it brought my confidence way up,” Dunson said. “I wouldn’t be the wrestler I am today if I hadn’t qualified for state sophomore year.”

Dunson is again headed back to Champaign after placing third at 120 pounds at the IHSA Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional on qualify with a top-four finish.

After there was no 2021 IHSA state tournament because of pandemic restrictions, Dunson overcame two COVID-related schedule breaks this season that significantly limited the Huskies’ matches.

Dunson (19-3) outlasted Mt. Carmel’s Jairo Acuna 6-4 in overtime for third place after beating Marmion’s Tyler Aters 5-3 in the preceding match with the state berth on the line. Dunson lost to Aters earlier this season by a major decision.

“I was just telling myself beJALEN DUNSON fore the match I’ve sacrificed so much time, energy,” Dunson Feb. 12 to said. “I’ve worked so hard so I deserved to be in that position to make it to state. I owe it

to my coaches and teammates because we’ve all been training hard all year through adversity.”

In the semifinals, Dunson was pinned by Sandburg’s undefeated Sammi Hayes (10-0) and moved to the consolation semifinals.

Dunson then was behind 2-0 against Aters (17-6) on a takedown just 41 seconds into the match but then rode Aters most of the final two periods. Dunson recorded two near-fall points in the second period to lead 3-2 and a takedown six seconds into the third to move ahead 5-2.

“I gave up the first takedown but then I had to bring myself back up,” Dunson said.

“It’s a six-minute match. It’s not decided in the first 40, 50 seconds of the match, so I just had bring myself back up, remember how hard I’ve been training in practice so win

the match no matter what.”

Six Huskies reached sectionals. Juniors Cooper Lacey (15-10 at 126) and Will Kelly (1310 at 132) were 2-2, junior Vance Domenz (10-10 at 170) was 1-1, senior Allyn Johnson (11-12 at 285) was 1-2 and freshman Ruben Acevedo (910 at 106) was 0-2.

After going 0-2 in 2020, Dunson hopes to earn all-state honors if not “top of the podium.” After reaching the sectionals of last year’s state-like tournament conducted by the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association, Dunson just missed its state finals. He then came one victory from All-America honors in summer Greco-Roman competition.

“I’m just going to let it all out [at state],” Dunson said. “I’m never going to get this opportunity back. There’s no next year so I have to put it all on the mat.”

Six Huskies advance to girls wrestling inaugural state finals Keydy Peralta, Trinity White are IHSA sectional champions

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The Oak Park and River Forest High School girls wrestling team placed second at the IHSA Andrew Sectional on Feb. 12 with 140.5 points.

“It was a really tough tournament,” OPRF coach Fred Arkin said. “It was as competitive as any boys sectional I’ve ever seen.

I’m proud of all of the girls. Everyone came ready to compete and battled.”

The Huskies had two individuals win their weight classes. Junior Keydy Peralta won at 145 pounds and improved her season record to 15-2, while sophomore Trinity White remained unbeaten in 20 matches en route to winning the 170-pound title.

“Trinity is a real competitor,” Arkin said.

“She likes to get physical and gets after it.

She kept her focus and composure today and

GYMNASTICS from page 17 juniors Maya Kim and Caroline Raducha and sophomores Jane Walker, Eleanor Wolski and Gabby Morales also advanced.

The Huskies finished sixth with 131.65 points, their lowest score this season, after a season-high 135.65 at the Downers Grove South Regional on Feb. 2 to advance to sectionals as a team for the fourth straight postseason.

Because there was no 2021 state series due to the pandemic, only Kratz, Lim and

was able to win. Keydy is rock-solid. She got two pins and took care of business. It was like another day at the office for her.”

OPRF had four other individuals to advance to the state tournament -- senior Bentley Hills (19-7) at 100 pounds; senior Bella Tyma (18-8) at 135; junior Sarah Ephstein (13-2) at 235; and senior Tiffany White (26-2), who took her first two losses of the season at 190 pounds.

“She was off her game today; I’m not sure if she was 100 percent,” said Arkin of Tiffany White. “But the important thing is that she qualified. … Tiffany is a great competitor and she’ll be ready to go for the state tournament. These losses will definitely fuel her.”

The Huskies have plenty of time to prepare as the first-ever IHSA state finals for girls, which will occur Feb. 25-26 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

“The only expectation I have is that we go down there and do our best,” Arkin said. “If we do that, things will work out.”

18-19 at the State Farm Center on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus.

Three Friars wrestlers advance to state

Trinity bowlers 11th at sectionals

Raducha previously had competed at sectionals.

“I think the girls were really nervous like way too much pressure this meet,” OPRF coach Kris Wright said. “Some girls put it together and did what they needed to do. Maybe in a month it’ll be a memory that we can kind of laugh at, but right now it’s kind of hard.”

Ruff had the Huskies’ highest individual finish, tying for seventh on vault (9.0), which was .15 from advancing to state with a top-five finish.

Another solid tuck Yurchenko vault

by Ruff equaled her regional score. Ruff hopes to upgrade to a pike Yurchenko for

next season.

“It was really cool. I was a little bit nervous but I landed it and I was super happy when I saw my score,” Ruff said.

Lim and Walker tied for 15th in allaround (33.225), Ruff was 18th (32.875) and Kratz was 29th (30.525).

Walker had the next highest finish with 14th on balance beam (8.325). Walker also tied for 22nd on the uneven parallel bars (8.05) and tied for 23rd on vault (8.55).

“I’d say the highlight was my beam routine because it just felt pretty solid.

I didn’t wobble so much so I was happy about that,” Walker said.

Lim and Kratz qualified in all four indi-

Fenwick High School’s wrestling team advanced three individuals to the IHSA Class 2A individual state championships after placing in the top four at the Deerfield Sectional on Feb. 12.

Senior Martin Paris (19-12) placed fourth at 160 pounds, while his brother, senior Conor Paris (27-6) also was fourth at 182, losing narrowly in the third-place match to Grayslake Central’s Matty Jens. Fenwick senior Jimmy Liston (32-4) placed second at 285, falling in the finals 7-4 to Andy Burburijia of Crystal Lake South.

The individual state finals take place Feb.

The Trinity High School bowling team placed 11th at the IHSA Sectional at Hinsdale South on Feb.12 with 4,108 pins.

Senior Cyanne Alvarez was the Blazers’ top bowler, knocking down 958 pins and finishing 42nd among individuals, followed by senior Isabella Saviozzi in 45th with 952 and senior Giana Gallo 55th with 872.

Freshman Olivia Cameron of Fenwick finished 24th individually with 1,066 pins, and senior Lorelei Kotwasinski (806) was 64th.

Oak Park and River Forest High School freshman Gracie Maidlow placed 53rd with 905 pins, and junior Audrey Maidlow was 61st (823).

vidual events. Lim tied for 18th on vault (8.7) and was 20th on uneven bars (8.15) and 26th on beam (7.85) and floor exercise (8.525). Kratz tied for 26th on vault (8.425) and was 32nd on uneven bars (7.4), 33rd on beam (6.75) and 34th on floor (7.95).

Morales tied for 19th on beam (8.05), Wolski tied for 28th on floor (8.45) and Raducha was 29th on vault (8.35).

“I think it’s good to learn [from sectionals] that nothing is guaranteed because [at regionals] we did so well,” Walker said. “[Sectionals] was a little bit different but we still tried really hard. Nothing is for sure.”

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

VIEWPOINTS

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M. Call Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at 613-3310 ktrainor@wjinc.com

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Schools need open-air classrooms p. 23

America reimagined!

One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence.

Charles A. Beard

E

American Historian, 1874-1948

very day, I sit pondering and asking myself, what is going on in our country? I feel like I am experiencing a combination of amnesia and déjà vu at the same time.

More specifically, I wonder to myself, “Where am I?” and at the same time, I think, “I’ve been here before!”

The political space is dominated by angry, hate-filled speech, accusations, and counter-accusations. Personal attacks, insults and so-called “alternative facts” dominate political discourse. The two major political parties have become warring tribes/gangs with their own colors — Red and Blue.

We the People are inundated daily with emails, text messages and snail mail asking for our allegiance and loyalty. Fearmongering, divisive rhetoric, and group think have replaced facts and independent thinking. The truly independent voter is forced to choose between the lesser of two evils.

Symbols are replacing dialogue.

Nazi and Confederate flags serve as loud non-verbal banners of hate.

There is even an attempt to imbue our American flag with hate.

“America, Love it or Leave It!” as a response to minority dissent has resurfaced. This sentiment has become the standard response to any protest — except when non-minorities attempt to overthrow our constitutional government. A coup attempt should never be dismissed as “legitimate political discourse.” Imagine our reaction to Putin describing invading Ukraine as “legitimate political discourse.”

While not perfect, America is still the lighthouse of democracy for the world. And yes, we’ve got a lot more to do in ensuring our great country lives up to the beautiful rhetoric so eloquently enshrined in our Bill of Rights and Constitution. I recall in my rebellious youth, my father, who was a pragmatic activist, told me to talk with his good friend, a Jamaican professor at my undergraduate university, who after listening to my complaints about life in the U.S. as a Black person, said to me, matter-of-factly, “Son, if you can’t make it here, don’t go nowhere else because this country is the closest you are going to come to finding the land of milk and honey.”

It was at that moment that I decided the patriotic thing to do was stay here and agitate to help my country live up to its powerful vision of “All men are created equal, endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

I have always considered myself a patriotic American. My people have fought, defended, and died for this country while suffering the most outrageous indignities up to and including domestic terrorism. So this flag belongs to all Americans, regardless of the ethnicity that comes before the hyphen —

KWAME SALTER

See SALTER on page 23

T

Warning: Disinformation may be bad for your health

here are two extreme approaches to the COVID epidemic: shut down everything, or ignore the whole thing. Of course neither position is defensible, but finding the golden mean between the two strategies requires an understanding of nuance and a respect for complexity. Thoughtful, well-informed people can disagree on where to land on the spectrum, but looking at the quality of our national dialogue on COVID issues, you might believe there is no middle ground.

Members of school boards all over the country are facing threats for their stances on COVID mitigation strategies for students. Legislators are subject to vituperative communications and demonstrations regarding policies to try to get COVID under control. Patrons at restaurants excoriate employees who are trying to enforce masking and vaccination mandates. Demonstrators gather outside of hospitals to demand unproven drugs like ivermectin be given to COVID patients. And it goes on and on.

DR. JAMES WHALEN

Fact-based responses

Some of these assertions are too ridiculous to comment upon. Others gloss over the truth. Masks may not be as effective as we would like, but they do reduce COVID infection in people who wear them conscientiously and correctly.

The CDC director was referring to a population of vaccinated people who died, three quarters of whom had four or more co-morbidities (the study looked at 1.2 million vaccinated individuals, 36 of whom died).

Vaccines have failed to reliably prevent COVID infection but continue to confer a high level of protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death.

One View

Public figures pile on The mindlessness of events like these reflect a startling lack of appreciation of the complexity of the issues surrounding the COVID pandemic, and the obliviousness is not confined to the masses. Public figures in the media and politicians also build on the stupefying avalanche of disinformation, sometimes with explicit mistruths, often with selective use of data: ■ A Houston physician blames the COVID surge in Texas on vaccinated individuals ■ A U.S. senator claims that masks are completely ineffective in protecting against COVID infection ■ A major news network edits a piece to “prove” that the director of the CDC states that co-morbidities, not lack of vaccination, were responsible for killing 75% of unvaccinated people. Hosts of a major cable “news” outlet seize on this, asserting this is further evidence of the government’s dissembling about the efficacy of vaccination ■ One commentator asserts that current vaccines have no effect against the Omicron variant.

Ignoring facts to make a point Selective citation of facts without additional acknowledgement of information that muddies a cherished position is another, subtler way of purveying disinformation. This is perhaps the most pernicious brand of truthtwisting, as facts, limited though they may be, are often presented accurately. Here is an example: A prominent surgeon from Johns Hopkins Medical School, is a strident opponent of requiring children to be vaccinated. He points out, accurately, that there are very few deaths in children from COVID and plays up the exceedingly rare vaccine complication of myocarditis in children. But he is silent about the broader societal impact of asymptomatic infection in children. Are they important vectors to spread the disease to a population more vulnerable to serious complications of COVID infection? They are. Are hospitalizations of children for COVID infections at an all-time high? Yes. Do children suffer long-term complications of COVID such as the “long haul” syndrome?

We don’t know, and this physician’s analysis is an example of making a point without a comprehensive look at important possibilities. A study out of Italy found that one-third of 129 children, age 6-16, had two or more lingering symptoms for at least four months after See WHALEN on page 23

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

O U R

V I E W S

A new village manager

L

ast week we lauded Oak Park’s village board for tipping over and upside down its long search for a new village manager. It was a bold step to reject two of three finalists, add a fourth name at 10 past midnight and then, last Friday, to announce it had in fact made an offer to the last-minute entrant, Kevin Jackson.

It was also a worthy accomplishment to hold onto Lisa Shelley, the current interim manager and the longtime number two at village hall. Shelley told the Journal late last week that she intended to stay at village hall as deputy manager.

Village President Vicki Scaman made a point of announcing that Jackson, the former deputy manager in Long Beach, California, had experience that closely aligned with the well-formed goals of the current village board.

Specifically Scaman cited Jackson’s work on citizen police oversight, small business recovery, walkable communities, local sustainability efforts and affordable housing. She also noted what she described as Jackson’s “unique community engagement approach.” For a board that has lusted after growing engagement with citizens but mostly fallen short, this will be a great virtue.

Thinking specifically of Shelley and Police Chief LaDon Reynolds — is he staying or is he going to be a U.S. Marshal? — we want to see Jackson urge both leaders into more intentional and regular public engagement. For her many strengths, Cara Pavlicek, the former Oak Park manager, was not keen on putting department heads front and center in the community. That should change.

For his part, Jackson says he is “so excited about his pending appointment.” Feb. 22 is the date this should all be finalized.

We’re ready for forward progress.

Small things worth noting Dressel’s Hardware, the Chicago Avenue destination for Oak Park and River Forest for 99 years, has been sold. The good news is that it will remain an independent hardware store, now part of a small family-owned chain — Olson Hardware.

Also good to see that Todd Dressel will remain, now as a staffer without the burden of being an owner.

Construction is underway at Lake and Lathrop in River Forest. A handsome, high-end condo and retail project has actually broken ground. Sure it took better than a decade to get here. We’ll allow for many complications, some external, some self-inflicted. Still it is a notable accomplishment and watching final financing get locked in, final permits pulled, this is a worthy moment to celebrate.

New Rebozo, the happy place overseen by the happy warrior, Paco Lopez, is starting its next 30 years as a destination local eatery with a half-mile move west on Madison Street. Sure it’s hard for Oak Park to lose New Rebozo. But it is all good as Forest Park’s downtown gains a gem, and Chef Paco finally has his own building and can guarantee his own future.

Oak Park is moving up the scale when it comes to edible bagels. This is no small thing. We’ve long touted the Daly Bagel on Chicago Avenue. Last week our Melissa Elsmo reported the venerable but not always ambitious Onion Roll on North Avenue has made a major investment in adding an on-site bagel bakery. Her conclusion? Pretty darned good and a giant upgrade. Next comes — when? — Fritzi’s Deli on Oak Park Avenue. Also anticipating a bagel worth chewing from this local spot. It’s all good.

Coming to terms with living in opposition

L

ately, I’ve been thinking a lot about our national divide, America’s ongoing “Culture Quarrel,” made even more pronounced by the pandemic. I decided to probe deeper into my column archive to see if it yielded any helpful insights. Here’s a selection: Our deadly game of Us vs. Them – April 28, 1999 (after the Oklahoma City bombing, right after Columbine High School): “Everyone these days seems to have a ‘Them’ or two. The only thing we seem to have in common is our eagerness to disconnect.”

We need to know the rules of engagement – Nov. 7, 2001: “We’re talking about the free exchange of ideas, not a free-fire zone. Our model for public discourse is not paintball.

You don’t aim your ideas at your ideological opponents.

You lay your ideas on the table, unprotected, to stand or fall on their merits. … Sneering at others’ ideas or mocking and insulting those who espouse them is not generally considered an effective rebuttal. … Haughtiness and name-calling are never adequate substitutes for a well-reasoned argument.”

There’s only one way to win, and that’s to stop fighting – Nov. 8, 2006: “That doesn’t mean ignoring our political differences. It doesn’t mean shutting up and avoiding people of opposing viewpoints. It means engaging one another in a different way. It means disarming and refusing to assume the worst about one another. It means actively listening to the other side and according them basic courtesy. It means knowing what you believe in and standing up for it, but not in a belligerent way.

It means surrendering your sacred stereotypes about the other side and refusing to put your words in their mouths (“What you’re really saying is …”). It means being curious about how the other person came to their point of view in the first place. There’s a story behind every deeply held belief, waiting to be told.”

Is politics determined by temperament? – March 7, 2007: “We all say we want to change the things we can, accept the things we can’t change, and have enough wisdom to know the difference. You might have noticed that progressives emphasize the first part of that formula, conservatives emphasize the second part, and everyone thinks they can tell the difference.

But if we spend all our time accepting the things we think we can’t change, we’ll never find out if we could have changed them. … Sometimes it takes a little wisdom just to recognize that you don’t have enough wisdom.”

Connection vs. division defines us – June 4, 2008: “We are supposed to be dedicated to the proposition that there’s only one kind of people, but Americans have traditionally insisted on two — Us vs. Them, Good Guys vs. Bad Guys. We seem to need an enemy to define who we are. As Dorothy Parker famously observed, there are only two kinds of people — those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don’t. Americans need to be the kind who don’t, but we aren’t. We’re not uniters, we’re dividers.”

The end of a 30-year filibuster – Nov. 19, 2008: “Conservatives made the free market our state religion and destroyed Americans’ belief in government.

They were wrong on both counts. … Government isn’t a necessary evil. Government is necessary, and if it’s necessary, it’s worth doing well. I’ve been saying this to conservatives for 30 years and every single time they dismiss it as if it were the height of naivete.”

Join the civility crusade – Nov. 30, 2011: “The nation’s current ‘culture war’ goes back at least to the Republican Convention in 1992. Pat Buchanan famously said, ‘There is a religious war going on in this country for the soul of America. It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we will one day be as was the Cold War itself.’

When you declare war on your fellow citizens, incivility is sure to follow, and it did. …

We need a civility crusade. Recognizing the limits of human nature, I suggest starting small and propose banning the words ‘idiot’ and ‘moron’ from our civic conversation. … I don’t see this conflict ending any time soon, but we can reduce the incivility if we agree not to make insults our default setting.”

First find something we can agree on – April 8, 2015: “The problem is we disagree on so much: abortion, guns, religion vs. science, church vs. state, the role of government, taxes, patriotism, immigration, sexual orientation, economic inequality, climate change. The list is long. No surprise that we have a hard time talking about them. The problem is we can’t find anything to agree on. That might sound obvious, but it’s the key. People who strongly disagree should not try to talk about their disagreements until they first find something to agree on. Something core.”

Trump’s gift: A new patriotism (‘Here We Believe’ lawn signs) – June 7, 2017: “This is the new patriotism, stating plainly and firmly what this country stands for. It’s good for kids to grow up around people who have the courage of their convictions and whose beliefs are welcoming, inclusive and affirming, which is what America is about. It’s a patriotism that honors more than our military might. It honors the courage to live in an open society. … Thanks, ironically, to Trump, a new patriotism is emerging on our front lawns.”

Extending a hand to Trump supporters – Jan. 20, 2021: “Join us, in being so much stronger together than we can ever be apart. Let us show the world that democracy is resilient, that we can come together, that we can repair the breach. That we can repair the bridges, physical and spiritual, that have collapsed, bridges that must be built, and rebuilt, from both sides. Let us set an example that our dream of democracy is tested and tough, that the soul of this nation may be contested, but never violently, only through honest, respectful dialogue. Join us in admitting our mistakes and atoning for them. Let us become a better nation by becoming better people. Let us show one another only the better angels of our nature. We have seen our lesser angels dominate for too long. We are capable of more. We can do better.”

But we have not done better and it’s discouraging.

I don’t know how to dialogue with those who believe the Big Lie about the last election and who believe the Jan. 6 insurrection was no Big Deal.

Maybe “opposed” is just who we are and we simply have to come to terms with that.

I do, however, believe we must stop using the term “culture war.” From now on, I’m calling it our “culture quarrel.” We aren’t enemies. We’re citizens who for a variety of reasons don’t trust one another and don’t trust our institutions.

We’re paying a price for that mistrust. And we won’t heal what ails us until the price is more than we’re willing to pay for living in the Divided States of America.

KEN

TRAINOR

V I E W P O I N T S S H R U B T O W N

by Marc Stopeck

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor and Publisher Dan Haley Senior Editor Bob Uphues Equity Editor/Ombudsman Michael Romain Digital Publishing and Technology Manager Briana Higgins Staff Reporters Stacey Sheridan, F. Amanda Tugade Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Food Editor Melissa Elsmo Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger, Stan West Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea Designer Susan McKelvey Business Manager Joyce Minich Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Development & Sales Coordinator Stacy Coleman Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

A statement against antisemitism

A

s part of a growing trend of public expression of hate in this country, antisemitic incidents are on the rise — whether in the form of violence, such as synagogue shootings; or recent targeted vandalism in Chicago and Lincolnwood; or casual everyday slurs, sometimes in the form of “jokes” heard in public, even in Oak Park and River Forest. In light of these attacks, we, the members of Interfaith Green Network (IGN), are stating publicly our support for our Jewish neighbors.

Founded 10 years ago to address climate change issues in Oak Park and River Forest, the IGN decries hatred and bigotry in all its forms. We welcome members of any faith. Our network includes Catholic, Protestant, Quaker, Baha’i, and Jewish congregations. We emphasize education and advocacy, while offering fellowship and mutual aid. By working together, we all have learned about religious traditions different than our own, and have found the important commonality that Earth care, or care of creation, is central to all.

Antisemitism is wrong. It is not somehow “more socially acceptable” than other forms of religious and/or racial prejudice, such as that directed against Muslims, or Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native-American people. The campaign to exterminate an entire people during the Holocaust was a particularly horrible episode in human history, a history cluttered with past and ongoing genocidal events. Sadly, a poisonous current of antisemitism continues to flow around the world, such that in few places can Jews go about their business, and especially worship, in peace, freedom, and safety. Here in the U.S.,

Christian churches often are open and welcoming in ways that Jewish congregations, with today’s increasing need for extra wariness and security, can only dream of.

Contrary to a common misconception, the U.S. was not founded as, and is not, a “Christian nation.” The Constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. The separation of church and state is a central pillar. Though the founders and many of their policies were crucially flawed, here they showed good foresight by circumventing the theocratic oppression and religious nationalism common at the time — and still afflicting other countries today.

To hate, to discriminate against, and to physically attack other people on the basis of their religion (often conflated with race, ethnicity, and culture), is literally un-American. This should go without saying, but our times are such that those of us who hold to these principles should be reminding everyone, loudly and publicly, what they are and why they are important.

At IGN we are committed to these principles.

Furthermore, transitioning to a sustainable, and hopefully just, low-carbon society will need everyone’s contribution. In our experience, a group of people from different backgrounds and faith traditions freely sharing their multifarious talents and abilities, is uniquely suited to this kind of work. Our diverse congregations are committed to supporting one another as we work in fellowship and good faith.

INTERFAITH GREEN NETWORK One View

Interfaith Green Network Oak Park

About Viewpoints Our mission is to lead educated conversation about the people, government, schools, businesses and culture of Oak Park and River Forest. As we share the consensus of Wednesday Journal’s editorial board on local matters, we hope our voice will help focus your thinking and, when need be, fire you to action.

In a healthy conversation about community concerns, your voice is also vital.

We welcome your views, on any topic of community interest, as essays and as letters to the editor. Noted here are our stipulations for filing.

Please understand our verification process and circumstances that would lead us not to print a letter or essay. We will call to check that what we received with your signature is something you sent. If we can’t make that verification, we will not print what was sent. When, in addition to opinion, a letter or essay includes information presented as fact, we will check the reference. If we cannot confirm a detail, we may not print the letter or essay.

If you have questions, email Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at ktrainor@wjinc.com.

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ADDRESS 141 S Oak Park Ave., Oak ParkIL 60302 ■ PHONE 708-5248300 EMAIL Dan@OakPark.com ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com Wednesday Journal is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $1.00.

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

‘F

Follow the data … and the feedback

ollow the science.”

We’ve heard that a lot in recent years. As OPRF High School District 200 considers spending plans and spending methods in renovating the school, we hope they will follow the data, and especially the feedback of residents.

During the November 2020 election, two advisory referendums about spending by our taxing bodies were on the ballot.

These were: Referendum 1: “Shall the Operating Cash Balances of local Oak Park Governments be limited to one-half year’s Operating Expenses, as measured at the start of the fiscal year, with the excess returned as soon as possible to the taxpayers through temporarily lowered taxes?” Election result: 74.27% or about 15,881 taxpayers voted in favor of the referendum. OPRF’s operating budget is approximately $80 million. Per the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), D200 only needs to keep $20 million in reserve (it currently has $96 million) to earn the highest financial rating from the ISBE. It recommends a school keep the equivalent of three months of its annual operating expenses in reserve to cover any possible funding delays during the year. That’s the purpose of a fund reserve, not to stockpile taxpayers’ dollars.

D200 had five times the ISBE recommendation at the end of fiscal 2021.

Referendum 2: “Shall any capital expen-

diture of $5 million or more by any local taxing body within Oak Park be subject to a binding referendum for approval or rejection by the voters?” Election result: Out of 21,383 votes cast, 77.24% or about 16,516 taxpayers voted yes.

Phase 2 of the Imagine Plan envisions a 600-seat natatorium and larger-than-necessary pool that would cost an estimated $65 million, and require demolishing the southeast corner of the building, which is structurally sound.

In 2016, D200 paid Fako Research & Strategies to complete a community survey about replacing the pools at OPRF. The results of that survey were: ■ $40 million pool plan: 46% for, 47% against, 8% undecided ■ $54 million pool plan: 37% for, 56% against, 7% undecided ■ $68 million pool plan: 27% for, 69% against, 4% undecided Imagine’s Phase 2 and its pool are still under board consideration at $65 million.

Its pool is just three meters smaller than the $54 million and $68 million pool plans presented in the Fako Survey.

In 2013, the D200 school board also commissioned Stantec Consulting Services to review the pool issue, resulting in the 2013 OPRF Competition Pool Upgrade/Relocation Study. Stantec’s Report recommended one 8-lane, 25-yard, standard-size high school competition pool in the East Pool/ South Gym to replace the two existing

JACK

POWERS One View

pools. Stantec stated that the school’s current 11-swim lanes are a luxury for a high school. This report was ignored (why?)

by D200 and the Imagine Group, which recommended a plan with a much larger pool and 600-seat natatorium.

The D200 board is currently considering two spending issues. One, to issue $20 million in debt certificates despite its $96 million bank balance to pay for ongoing maintenance. There is no need to incur debt, especially using a vehicle that carries higher interest rates than other borrowing methods. This would result in at least $320,000 in annual interest payments x 20 years = $6,400,000. How much tutoring and remedial academic help would $320,000 or more annually provide to close the achievement gap?

The other issue the board is considering is a 5% levy increase. This is the same district that in 2005 exploited a loophole so egregiously that it led to a 16% levy increase and a $130 million surplus in 2013, of which $96 million remains. This same district in 2019 voted to take $800,000 in retiring TIF money that it could have declined, returning it to the taxpayers.

This district now seeks to borrow $20 million by bypassing the voters, and to spend an estimated $65 million on Phase 2 and its 17-lane pool and 600-seat natatorium that voters have said any number of ways is not a priority and certainly not to be done without a referendum.

Enough. More than enough.

Jack Powers is an Oak Park resident.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

My Wednesday treasure

I look forward to a treasure that arrives in the mail on Wednesdays. This must be one of the finest community newspapers ever published, but it is also more. Over years, I have been amazed at the variety of topics and excellent, often lyrical, writing in Ken Trainor’s columns, there unfailingly each week. I learn new things and get thoughtful perspectives from those generous souls who take time to author views and letters.

With the arrival of Michael Romain’s brilliant writing, I feel like I am getting the equivalent of a post-graduate seminar in human culture, drawing from history, economics, and philosophy, as it has come down over the centuries and is playing out in our world today. Today, reading Romain’s column on Virgil, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and Black History Month, I am trying to remember what I might have learned in college about Virgil’s Aeneid. Whatever it was has been long forgotten. Thanks to this scholarly column, I now understand the importance of this ancient wisdom and its relevance to our present world — as well as the importance of a classical education, now becoming more rare.

Stephanie Ferrera Oak Park

Public transit needs attention in Oak Park-Forest Park

I have been staying in Oak Park and Forest Park for the past month for work, using public transit to get around. The communities are lovely, even in the cold and snow, but the condition of bus and rail stops could use some TLC. If as a society we are trying to ween ourselves off of fossil fuels, and we want to reduce overall congestion on our local streets, a clean, safe, reliable, and let’s dare say fun public transit system should be part of that equation. But tiredlooking el stations, like the Harlem station on the Green Line, which looks like it was built in 1962, is sad.

So are the litter-strung bus stops with electronic signs that display wrong information.

The attached photo was taken at 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday when service was still running but the sign was not working. Other times I’ve found information about when a bus comes inaccurate. Sometimes the sign counts down, the bus doesn’t show and the sign jumps to the next scheduled bus, and passengers are left shaking their heads.

These conditions will convert nobody to us-

ing public transit. In a politically progressive area, this should be a concern.

On another day after a snowfall and after the plows came through, I was walking east on Madison Street toward Harlem to catch the Pace 307 bus on Harlem. Everything, including the sidewalks, was plowed, but as I got closer to Harlem sidewalks were impassible.

Later that same trip I got off the bus on the southeast corner at Roosevelt to head over to the Jewel and I could not get close to the corner. Most bus stops are in bad shape, especially after snow. Passengers and bus drivers have to modify the pick-up location because conditions are pathetically dangerous.

If we are serious about climate change, we need to revisit the current state of public transit locally and think about how we can convert drivers to users in a practical way. The Harlem station needs a major league makeover and so, too, bus stops, especially after a snow.

Current conditions are simply unacceptable.

Bob Previdi

Philadelphia

PROVIDED

The Harlem station of the Green Line has seen better days.

V I E W P O I N T S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

Open-air classrooms for all schools I am proposing that all Oak Park and River Forest schools consider constructing permanent open-air classrooms, professionally constructed from sustainable renewable wood, in a forest-like setting as illustrated.

Such an educational amenity, designed and fully equipped for teaching and learning, would be appropriate for the teaching of the sciences, for botany and horticulture, for all class subjects, lectures, meetings, and broader use by the community at large.

The design concept is flexible and can be adapted and customized for any school’s needs and available site. Designed for social distancing of students when needed, having classes and lectures out in the open air and under a canopy of shade trees, surrounded by planters permanently constructed of timbers for longevity, a classroom such as this would provide a very meaningful and very memorable learning experience.

SALTER from page 19

PROVIDED

The author’s sketch of an open-air classroom for Brooks Middle School.

It would also be available for a wide variety of community uses. By providing a sense of place and permanence, such an amenity would be welcomed by teachers and students alike for decades to come.

For any Oak Park and River Forest school

that is interested in exploring installing an open-air classroom like this, I will be pleased to provide the custom design pro bono.

Richard Katz Oak Park

Maintaining our compassionate community LARRY CHRISTMAS

23

CARL SUBAK

Farewell to two good friends

It was a sad coincidence that two longtime friends, Larry Christmas and Carl Subak, died within weeks of one another. Larry and Carl maintained a friendship and a vigorous tennis competition with one another over many years despite a nearly 20-year age difference.

I came to know both through tennis and marveled at Carl’s tenacity, which belied his elderly status. Larry used to joke that they had moved beyond tennis and were perfecting the game of geriatric survival. The tennis players who follow behind them can only hope to emulate Carl’s longevity and their mutual friendship.

Oak Park will miss both, as will the local tennis community.

Ed Solan

Oak Park

We are proud to be part of the Oak Park community. We come together to help residents in need, and to support our neighbors. However, it will “take a village” to maintain the compassionate community that is Oak Park and build a safe future for all our neighbors.

We have made so much progress since March 2020, but our community is faltering. After nearly two years “in this together,” the pandemic continues to threaten our neighbors’ mental and physical health and requires ongoing vigilance and care.

So much has changed since our schools and offices closed abruptly in March 2020. We have gradually been able to resume our daily lives in so many ways, and will continue to do so. However, the path forward may not always be a straight line, and an equitable approach to recovery requires focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable among us.

Vaccination alone is not enough. We are lucky to have layers of mitigation that we can use as needed to respond to the evolving pandemic. We should be diligent and pro-active about when to use them. When needed, our mitigation strategies keep our schools open

and our community safe.

COVID has been unpredictable, and although cases are currently going down, there continues to be an extremely high rate of transmission.

This presents an ongoing risk to many vulnerable members of our community, including young children and immune-compromised people; our friends and neighbors. We can and should continue to protect them.

Unfortunately, frustration can lead to distrust in our local government and health officials. We ask Oak Parkers to remain united in support of our most vulnerable community members by utilizing layered mitigation strategies, including universal masking.

Now is the time to let our health experts lead. The Oak Park Health Department has the expertise and skills needed to safely lead our community through this next stage of the pandemic.

Please join us so that Oak Park can continue to be a community we are proud to be a part of.

Shaina Helm, LCSW, CADC Robin Kalish, MD, MPH Maria Pyra, MPH, PhD

be you Irish-American, Italian-American or African-American, et al.

Patriotism is not “my country right or wrong.” Rather, patriotism is being vigilant about calling out any slippage from what we say we are about and making sure that we become what we say we stand for, both at home and abroad. Having a “cold one” in one hand and a baseball cap in the other while waiting for the last stanza of our anthem does not equate to patriotism.

Patriotism is not just demonstrative, it is definitive. In other words, do you love your country enough to make sure it lives up to its stated goals? Are you man or woman enough to challenge America?

As an African-American, I have grown weary of decals and patches on attire displaying the American flag as a statement of exclusivity. I am proud to be an ActivistAmerican. I am emboldened to speak out and be a guardian of the American Dream as so clearly articulated by the Founding Fathers.

Kwame Salter is president of the Salter Consulting Group LLC and a former Oak Park resident.

WHALEN from page 19 infection. Symptoms included insomnia, fatigue, muscle pain, and persistent cold-like symptoms. Even though preliminary, these findings deserve to be part of any responsible analysis on whether children should be vaccinated.

Consequences Disinformation comes in many forms, including outright mistruths, tendentious manipulation of data, and willful simplification of complicated issues. In a simpering interview in November, the above physician repeatedly used words like “crazy” to characterize policies with which he disagrees.

This smug assuredness, characteristic of so much of the rhetoric on COVID challenges, compromises credibility,* and probably retards progress on meaningful solutions to the epidemic.

This commentary is as much sociological as medical. However, it is not hard to connect the rhetorical dots and feel that, if we had a reasonable and productive national discussion on the pandemic issues, hundreds of thousands of deaths attributable to COVID infections could have been prevented. *This same physician, in a simpering interview in November of 2021, confidently predicted the epidemic would be over in December. Early in 2021, he predicted that the U.S. would achieve herd immunity by April of that year.

James Whalen, MD, is a retired physician living in Oak Park. This viewpoint first appeared in his blog, The Medical Beat (medicalbeat.net).

24

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

O B I T U A R I E S

Jeanette Cannon, 75 Teacher and singer

Jeanette Frances Cannon (née Krema), 75, died on Feb. 5, 2022 after a long battle with a brain tumor. Born on April 20, 1946, in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, to the late Marie and John Krema, she grew up there and on Chicago’s Northwest Side. Although she lived in Oak Park and Forest Park after her marriage, she was a Chicagoan through and through, receiving her B.A. from Northeastern Illinois University and her master’s degree from DePaul. She taught for many years in Archdiocese of Chicago schools but also worked at Marshall Field’s, Marriot Hotels, and the Art Institute. She used her teaching skills while administering a youth education program for Lions Clubs International and in standardized test development for various publishers.

Her dedication to working with children extended to her volunteer work at the Chicago History Museum, which she dearly loved, and at the Oak Park Conservatory.

She loved to sing. Over the years, she sang with the Northwest Choral Society, the Oak Park/River Forest Symphony Chorus, and the St. Catherine/St. Lucy Parish Choir, among others. She sang for many weddings, too, including those of some of her friends and nieces.

Wherever she lived, worked, or sang, she made friends, many of whom were still her friends at the end. She was one of those rare people who actually loved her neighbor more than herself and proved it every day.

Jeanette is survived by Patrick Cannon, her husband of 35 years; two step-children, Patrick Jr. and Elizabeth Cannon (Boyd Klingler); two sisters, Mary Derdzinski (John) and Gerri Ciucci (the late Dominic); seven nieces; and too many other relatives and friends to count.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated for her at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19 at St. Catherine/St Lucy Church (38 N. Austin Blvd., Oak Park), preceded by visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m. Attendees must be vaccinated, boosted (if appropriate), and wearing masks. Interment will be private at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines.

Memorial donations in her name should be made to the Chicago History Museum, at www.chicagohistory.org.

Arrangements were handled by Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home in Forest Park.

Robert Hetzel, 81

Taught physics in Chicago Public Schools Robert “Bob” Paul Hetzel, 81, of Oak Park, died on Feb. 7, 2022, of complications from Parkinson’s disease at Caledonia Senior Living and Memory Care in North Riverside.

Born to Clara and Alois Hetzel in Plain, Wisconsin, his character was strengthened by the steady humor and sport of his 12 brothers and sisters.

His seemingly saintly reserves of patience served him well as a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, and teacher. After earning a B.S. in physics at St. John University in Minnesota (1962) and an M.S. in education from Northern Illinois University (1968), he taught physics for 35 years in the Chicago Public Schools, first at Chicago Vocational High School and then at Marie Curie High School.

After grading papers every night on the couch, he still had ample energy to devote to the people and causes he loved. A tireless advocate for peace and justice, he maintained a weekly presence above the I-290 Expressway to protest the Iraq war. He loved his weekly doubles tennis matches, a good euchre game with his siblings, ping pong with the kids, an afternoon run, blueberry muffins, and figuring out how to fix nearly anything around the

3117 S Oak Park Ave, Berwyn, IL 60402 (708) 788- 7775

Margaret Cribben, 86

Margaret A. Cribben has died.

She was the sister of Mark (Linda) and the late Mary Therese (late James) Collins, the late Robert (late Mary), the late Catherine (Merl) Schank and the late Patricia (late Jerry) Walsh; and the aunt and great aunt of many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Friday, Feb. 18 at Peterson-Bassi Chapels, 6938 W. North Ave. from 4 until 8 p.m. Funeral prayers Saturday, Feb. 19 at 9:15 a.m., then to St. Giles Church for Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m., followed by interment at All Saints Cemetery.

Sandra OliverNoesen, 87

Director of special ed for D97 Sandra (“Joey”) Oliver-Noesen, 87, most recently of St. Charles, died of natural causes on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. She began her career as a special education teacher at Mann Elementary School in Oak Park. Having many distinguishable talents, she was quickly promoted to director of Special Education for Oak Park School District 97, a position she held until her retirement in 1993. She took great pride in her family and enjoyed hearing about everyone’s successes, playing Cribbage and word games, and reading the paper daily. She loved fresh fruit of all kinds, raspberries and Rainier cherries being her favorites. A true role model to many, she was like a pearl, made from grit, but full of grace. She lost her father, Kenneth, at a very young age. Her mother later married Edward Morris, who, with Sandra’s mother, raised her as his own. Sandra will live in our hearts as a radiant soul.

Sandra was the daughter of the late Kenneth Dean Hurst and Helen Mae (Holm) Hurst; the sister of Donice Ruppel and Linda Jennings; the mother of son Kirk (Jan), grandson Kenny and daughter Julie (dec.

1961); son Scott (Laura), grandchildren Patrick and Julia; and daughter Kirsten (Doug) Pagacz. She was preceded in death in 2009 by her husband of 25 years, Thomas L. Noesen (children: John, Scott, Mark, Judy, Tom Jr., Ray, Steve, Mary and Laura).

Also preceding her in death were her first husband, Gerald D. Millhouse, and former husband, Frank Oliver.

A memorial service will be held in her honor at Chapel Hill Gardens West Funeral Home, 17W201Roosevelt Road, Oakbrook Terrace, on Wednesday, Feb. 16, from 4 to 8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations are appreciated to Sarah’s Inn, a shelter for women and children, at sarahsinn.org.

Robert P. Gamboney

Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory Kevin Kopicki

house. Behind his quiet façade, he was always ready to surprise you with a quip and unafraid to speak out for what he knew to be right.

Bob is survived by Dorothy “Dottie”, his wife of more than 50 years; his daughter, Lisa; his son, Steve; his grandson, Nico; his siblings, J (Sonnie) Hetzel, Betty (Merlyn) Brockman, Sister Marlene Hetzel, Carrie (the late Jerome) Ballweg, Patricia (Wally) Miller, Bernie (Jim) Grota, Dave Hetzel, and Tom Hetzel. He was preceded in death by his parents as well as his brothers Val (Jean), Francis, Ted, and Jim Hetzel.

A memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26 at Ascension Catholic Church, 808 S. East Avenue, Oak Park, as well as streamed live on the church’s YouTube channel.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 200 S.E. First St. #800, Miami, FL 33131, www. parkinson.org, or the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, www.bradyunited.org.

Arrangements were handled by Brian Powell Funeral Directors of Hinsdale.

Funeral Director Eric Kopicki

I am there for you in your time of need.

All services handled with dignity and personalized care.

Cell: 708.420.5108 • Res: 708.848.5667 An affordable option

Se habla Español

I am affiliated with Peterson-Bassi Chapels at 6938 W. North Ave, as well as other chapels throughout Chicagoland.

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

Growing Community Media

25

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

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

HELP WANTED LITIGATION ASSISTANT

HELP WANTED • NETWORK SPECIALIST Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class.

Specifications are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job.

DEFINITION To perform various network/system administration, computer support, and operational activities for the Village including computer system setup, configuration, and testing.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED Reports directly to the Information Technology Services Director.

EXAMPLE OF DUTIES: Essential and other important duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following: Essential duties and responsibilities 1. Ensure that best in class customer service is provided to both internal and external customers and also embrace, support, and promote the Village’s core values, beliefs and culture.

2. Configure, test, and deploy network systems, such as, firewalls, routers, switches, wireless equipment, network servers and storage arrays.

3. Configure, test, and deploy system servers, such as, file, print, Internet, e-mail, database, and application servers.

4. Configure, test, and monitor server and end-user systems for security, such as, user accounts, login scripts, file access privileges, and group policy management.

5. Configure, test, and deploy end-user systems, such as, workstations, laptops, mobile devices, printers, and software.

6. Test, configure, deploy, and support security systems, such as, facility access system, video & audio system.

7. Monitor and auditing of networks, systems, and user activities to ensure security and efficiency of systems. Create scripts and reports of detail activities for regular review.

8. Perform and participate in disaster recovery activities, such as, backup procedures, data recovery, and system recovery planning.

9. Assist end-users with computer problems or queries. Troubleshoot systems as needed and meet with users to analyze specific system needs.

10. Ensure the uniformity, reliability and security of system resources including network, hardware,

POLICE RECORDS CLERK

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Police Records Clerk in the Police Department. This position will perform a wide variety of specialized clerical duties in support of the Police Department including processing and maintaining documents, correspondence and coding reports; and to provide information and assistance to the public.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http:// www.oak-park.us/jobs.

software and other forms of systems and data.

11. Prepare, create and update user/technical procedure documentations and provide computer training.

12. Assemble, test, and install network, telecommunication and data equipment and cabling.

13. Participate in research and recommendation of technology solutions.

Other important responsibilities and duties 1. Train users in the area of existing, new or modified computer systems and procedures.

2. Participate in the preparation of various activity reports.

3. Travel and support remote facilities and partner agencies.

4. Operate, administer and manage the Village and Public Safety computer systems, including E-911 center, in-vehicle computer systems.

5. Prepare clear and logical reports and program documentation of procedures, processes, and configurations.

6. Complete projects on a timely and efficient manner.

7. Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

8. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

9. Perform related duties and responsibilities as required.

QUALIFICATIONS Knowledge of: Principals and procedures of computer systems, such as, data communication, hierarchical structure, backups, testing and critical analysis.

Hardware and software configuration of. computers, servers and mobile devices, including computing environment of Windows Server and Desktop OS and applications, Unix/Linux OS, VMware, iOS/Android.

Network protocols, security, configuration and administration, including firewalls, routers, switches and wireless technology.

Cabling and wiring, including CAT5/6, fiber network, telephone, serial communication, termination, and punch-down.

Telecommunications theory and technology, including VoiP, serial communication, wireless protocols, PBX, analog, fax, voicemail and auto-attendant.

Principles and methods of computer programming, coding and testing, including power shell, command scripting, macros, and

SANITARIAN

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Sanitarian in the Health Department.

This position will perform a variety of duties including education and enforcement activities for the promotion and protection of the public health environment.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http:// www.oak- park.us/jobs.

VB scripts.

Modern office procedures, methods and computer equipment.

Technical writing, office productivity tools and database packages.

Ability to: Maintain physical condition appropriate to the performance of assigned duties and responsibilities, which may include the following: - Walking, standing or sitting for extended periods of time - Operating assigned equipment - Lift 50 pounds of equipment, supplies, and materials without assistance - Working in and around computer equipped vehicles Maintain effective audio-visual discrimination and perception needed for: - Making observations - Communicating with others - Reading and writing - Operating assigned equipment and vehicles Maintain mental capacity allowing for effective interaction and communication with others.

Maintain reasonable and predictable attendance.

Work overtime as operations require.

Experience and Training Guidelines Experience: Three years of network/system administration in the public or private sector, maintaining a minimum of 75 Client Workstation computers. AND Training: Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in computer science or a related field. Certifications in Microsoft Server Administration, Networking, Applications and Cisco Networking.

Possession of a valid Illinois Driver License is required at the time of appointment.

Vaccination against COVID-19 strongly preferred.

WORKING CONDITIONS Work in a computer environment; sustained posture in a seated position for prolonged periods of time; continuous exposure to computer screens; work in and around computerized vehicles outdoor and garage facility; lifting heavy equipment, communication cabling and wiring into walls and ceilings.

PART TIME DELIVERY DRIVER

Local company looking for part time driver. Must be drug free and have a valid IL DL. Must be able to lift 75lb. $15/hr Email resume: HR@sievertelectric. com Quantitative Analytics Senior Associate, Enterprise Fraud Services (job code R-7937) to work in Chicago, IL. Opportunity to work from home. KeyBank National Association, apply online at www.keybank. com. Must reference job code. EOE

Established boutique law firm moving from Chicago Loop to Oak Park, and seeking experienced litigation assistant to work with senior partner.

Competitive salary and benefits.

Send resume to mkarson@laroseboscolaw.com

PART-TIME SEASONAL OPPORTUNITY

The Riverside Department of Public Works is seeking energetic, responsible, and motivated applicants who enjoy working outdoors. This is a part-time, seasonal position lasting from approximately May through September. Applicants will be expected to work up to 40 hrs. per week or as scheduled by staff.

Primary tasks will include, but not limited to: cutting grass, maintaining athletic fields, general facilities maintenance, flushing hydrants, reading water meters, installing water meters, assisting full-time employees, and other duties as assigned.

Applicants must be 18 years old, possess a valid Illinois driver’s license and high school diploma or equivalent.

Applicants will be subject to a criminal background check, pre-employment physical and drug/alcohol screening.

Applications can be downloaded from the Village website at www.riverside. il.us or picked up at the Riverside Village Hall located at 27 Riverside Rd, Riverside, IL 60546. Completed applications should be submitted to the Riverside Village Hall or the Riverside Public Works Department, 3860 Columbus Blvd, Riverside, IL 60546. Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled. Pay rate is $15/hr.

The Village of Riverside is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

PART-TIME FORESTRY INTERN

The Riverside Department of Public Works is seeking energetic, responsible, and motivated applicants who enjoy working outdoors. This is a part-time, Forestry intern position lasting from approximately May through September.

Applicants will be expected to work up to 40 hrs. per week or as scheduled by staff. Primary tasks will include monitoring of Village Trees for disease and insect issues, updating tree inventory records, maintaining woody and perennial plantings in parks and parkways, record keeping and administrational duties related to forestry operations, and assisting the Forester with various forestry related activities and ecological restoration.

Applicants must be 18 years old, possess a valid Illinois driver’s license and high school diploma or equivalent.

Course work and/or experience pertaining to urban forestry or a related field are desirable for the position. Applicants will be subject to a criminal background check, pre-employment physical and drug/alcohol screening.

Applications can be downloaded from the Village website at www.riverside. il.us or picked up at the Riverside Village Hall located at 27 Riverside Rd, Riverside, IL 60546. Completed applications should be submitted to the Riverside Village Hall or the Riverside Public Works Department, 3860 Columbus Blvd, Riverside, IL 60546. Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled. Pay rate is $15/hr.

The Village of Riverside is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

National Accounts Rep Get a job super close to home!

Top rated firm, Alpina Manufacturing LLC, founded in 1992, locally Manufacturing owned beautiful campus in Galewood, near Mars candy, 3 blocks north of Oak Park. We build and sell display framing systems to customers nationwide including Wal-Mart, Verizon, Circle K, Hospitals. We are seeking a college educated trainee to become an office professional.

Work is in person at our beautiful, safe, spread out, elegant executive offices in Galewood. We train, no travel, work in Galewood. Open to any backgrounds. Excellent pay, salary, benefits, friendly caring management, Oak Park owner. Please send resume to careers@fastchangeframes.com.

Visit www.fastchangeframes.com/careers for more details. 6460 W. Cortland Street, Chicago, IL 60707

SEASONAL FARMERS’ MARKET MANAGER

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Seasonal Farmers’ Market Manager in the Health Department. This position manages the Oak Park Farmer’s Market including the vendors that sell directly to the public within established guidelines. This is a part-time seasonal position with work from January-mid November and work required on Saturday’s from May through October.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http:// www.oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. Open until filled.

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Public Health Nurse in the Health Department. This position will provide professional public health nursing services including health education and promotion which includes disseminating information, making referrals, and counseling as well as managing caseloads, and performing a variety of tasks relative to assigned area of responsibility. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http:// www.oak-park.us/jobs.

Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. This position is open until filled with first review of apps 2/2/22.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

TAX PREPARATION SERVICES

JANITORIAL

Part-time. 5 days per week. Evening hours 5-9. $14-16/hr to start. Job located in Morton Grove, IL. Must have own transportation.

Call Larry for more information.

773-636-2505

COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Community Service Officer in the Police Department. This position will perform a variety of public service, customer service and law enforcement related duties and responsibilities that do not require the services of a sworn police officer; and to perform a variety of administrative duties. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oakpark.us/. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application.

Data Science Manager sought by Cars.com in Chicago, IL. Work with the Data Platform teams to improve the ML, Streaming, and Experimentation Platforms and contribute to the ML strategy. Telecommuting permitted. Apply @ www.jobpostingtoday.com #79541.

MARKETPLACE

WANTED TO BUY WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, flags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers – lead, plastic – other misc. toys.

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

MARKETPLACE CARS WANTED

ACCOUNTANT CLERK

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Account Clerk II. This position which performs a variety of accounting clerical duties involving financial record keeping and/or transactions including accounts payable and receivable and to provide a variety of accounting support to the Development Customer Services Department. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/.

CLASSICS WANTED CLASSICS WANTED Restored or Unrestored

or Unrestored Cars &Restored Vintage Motorcycles Domestic / Cars & Vintage Motorcycles Import Cars: Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette,Cars: Ferrari’s, Domestic / Import Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang & Mopars Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, $$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

Ferrari’s, James Jaguars,• 630-201-8122 Muscle Cars, Collector

In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year Mustang & Mopars OakPark.com | AustinWeeklyNews.com | RBLandmark.com | ForestParkReview.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com all makes,

$$ Top $$ WANTED Etc. CLASSICS

26

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

CLASSIFIED

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

RENTALS & REAL ESTATE

SUBURBAN RENTALS STUDIOS, 1, 2 & 3 BR OAK PARK & Best Selection & Service

FOREST PARK

708-386-7355

MMpropMgmt.com

OFFICE /RETAIL FOR RENT RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. * 1116 sq. ft. * 1400 sq. ft. Dental Office RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. * 960 sq. ft.

OAK PARK–6142-44 Roosevelt Rd. * 3 & 5 room office suites FOREST PARK–7736 Madison St. *2500 sq. ft. unit Strand & & Browne Strand Browne 708-488-0011 708-488-0011

HOME SERVICES

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

ELECTRICAL

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors • Home Re-wiring • New Plugs & Switches Added • New circuit breaker boxes • Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp • Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential • Commercial • Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. • Bonded • Ins. • Low Rates • Free Est.

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

FLOORS KLIS FLOORING INC.

New hardwood flooring installation & pergo. Sanding, re-finishing, staining. Low prices, insured.

Call: 773-671-4996 www.klisflooring.com

HANDYMAN Mike’s Home Repair Drywall H Painting H Tile Plumbing H Electric H Floors Windows H Doors H Siding Ask Us What We Don’t Do

708-296-2060

HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs • Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates

773-637-0692 Ask for John

HAULING

PETS While you’re away, your pets are okay . . . at home

cat calls

Oak Park’s Original Pet Care Service – Since 1986

Daily dog exercising Complete pet care in your home )PVTF TJUUJOH t 1MBOU DBSF Bonded References

524-1030

WOODWORK Terry's

Woodwork Restoration On-site refinishing of wood

and fiberglass since 1977.

Includes doors, woodwork, windows, staircases and new woodwork etc. All work done by hand. NO sanders. Your unfinished project my specialty!

References available.

Contact Terry Seamans at 630-379-7148 or terryseamans@yahoo.com

BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery.

708-848-9404

PAINTING & DECORATING CLASSIC PAINTING Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost • 708.749.0011

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

In re the marriage of BEATRIZ MIGUEL-VILLAOBOS, Petitioner, and FRANCISCO ORTIZ-FERNANDEZ, Respondent, Case No. 2022D000652.

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

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Room 802, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, in the City of Chicago, Illinois, on or before April 28, 2022, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk.

Published in Wednesday Journal February 2, 9, 16, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT OF RACINE COUNTY Case No. 21-CV-1437 Case Code No: 30101 NATHANIEL C. ERHARDT, Plaintiff, and, WISCONSIN PIPE TRADES HEALTH FUND, UNITEDHEALTHCARE INSURANCE COMPANY, Involuntary Plaintiffs, -v.ALLSTATE FIRE AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, J.C. MOVERS & LUMPERS SERVICES, INC., DAMILLON D. THOMAS, ERIE INSURANCE EXCHANGE, Defendants.

PUBLICATION SUMMONS THE STATE OF WISCONSIN TO: Damillon D. Thomas 215 Des Plaines Avenue Forest Park, Illinois 60130 THE PERSONS NAMED ABOVE AS DEFENDANT: You are hereby notified that the Plaintiffs named above have filed a Complaint for damages against you.

Within forty (40) days after the 16th day of February 2022, exclusive of the date just stated, you must respond with a written demand for a copy of the complaint.

The demand must be sent or delivered to the Court, whose address is: Clerk of Circuit Court - Racine County 730 Wisconsin Avenue, Racine, Wisconsin 53403 and to Gruber Law Offices, LLC, Attorneys Patrick K. Ritter and Nicholas L. Hermann, the Plaintiff’s attorneys, whose address is: 100 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2800, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53202.

You may have an attorney help or represent you.

If you do not demand a copy within forty (40) days, the Court may grant a Judgment against you for the award of money or other legal action requested in the Complaint, and you may lose your right to object to anything that is or may be incorrect in the Complaint. A Judgment may be enforced as provided by law. A Judgment awarding money may become a lien against any real estate you own now or in the future and may also be enforced by garnishment of wages or seizure of property.

Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 26th day of January 2022.

GRUBER LAW OFFICES, LLC Attorneys for the Plaintiff, Nathaniel C. Erhardt By: /s/Patrick K. Ritter Patrick K. Ritter State Bar No.: 1092393 Email: patrickritter@gruber-law.com

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

ADVERTISEMENT FOR NOTIFICATION OF BID FOR PROVISO SCHOOL DISTRICT 209 – CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PHASE 2 – SEQUENCE 1

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY ADVERTISEMENT FOR NOTIFICATION OF BID FORManager, for and acting on DIVISION Gilbane Building Company, Construction JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONbehalf of The Board of Education of Proviso Township High School PROVISO SCHOOL DISTRICT 209 – CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PHASE 2 – SEQUENCE 1 AL ASSOCIATION District 209, is receiving lump sum proposals from interested contractors Plaintiff, Building Company, Manager, Improvements for and acting on behalf of The This Board release of Education of Proviso forGilbane the Proviso SchoolConstruction District Capital Project.

Township High School District 209, is receiving lump sum proposals from interested contractors for the Proviso School -v.includes the following: District Capital Improvements Project. This release includes the following: MARY WOLFE, CITY OF CHICAGO PROVISO EAST (See specific PROVISO WEST (See specific Defendants PROVISO EAST (See specific bid packages listed below) bid packages below) bid packages below) 2019CH11236 classrooms and office spaces.

• Furnish andlisted install a new air conditioning system for the 2nd floor northlisted • Science Lab Renovations • Furnish and install a new air • Furnish and install a new air 1028 S AUSTIN BLVD • Asbestos containing remediation conditioning systemmaterial for the 2nd conditioning system for the 2nd OAK PARK, IL 60304 • Misc. Demolition floor north classrooms and office floor classrooms NOTICE OF SALE spaces.

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN • Asbestos containing material PROVISO WEST (See specific bid packages listed below) nd that pursuant to a Judgment of Fore• Furnish and install a new air conditioning system for the 2 floor classrooms • Science Lab Renovations remediation • Asbestos containing material remediation closure and Sale entered in the above • Asbestos containing material • Misc.

Demolition • Misc. Demolition cause on January 14, 2020, an agent remediation • New curtainwall 2nd floor south • New curtainwall 2nd floor south side. for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will • Misc. Demolition side. at 10:30 AM on March 8, 2022, at The PROVISO EAST HIGH SCHOOL BP DESCRIPTION BP# DESCRIPTION Judicial Sales Corporation, One South # Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 030R, Chicago, 02I ACM Remediation Work Proviso 23KRebid Mechanical Work - Rebid IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highEast/West est bidder, as set forth below, the follow02J Demolition Work 23M Mechanical Piping/Equipment ing described real estate: Work 06I General Trades Work 23N Mechanical Ductwork/Temperature Commonly known as 1028 S AUSTIN Controls/Equipment Work BLVD, OAK PARK, IL 60304 09H Acoustical Ceiling Work 23O Mechanical Insulation Work Property Index No. 16-17-331-015 09I Painting Work 26I Electrical Work The real estate is improved with a single 22G Plumbing Work family residence.

PROVISO WEST HIGH SCHOOL Sale terms: 25% down of the highest BP DESCRIPTION BP# DESCRIPTION bid by certified funds at the close of # the sale payable to The Judicial Sales 02K Demolition Wok 23P Mechanical Piping/Equipment Work Corporation. No third party checks will 06J General Trades Work 23Q Mechanical Ductwork/Temperature Controls Work be accepted. The balance, including 08C Storefront/Curtainwall Work 23R Mechanical Insulation Work the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned 09J Acoustical Ceiling Work 26J Electrical Work Residential Property Municipality Relief 09K Painting Work 31I Site Paving Work Fund, which is calculated on residential THEMonday, BIDDER”.

The documents will beon or about The bidbid documents will be distributed to bidders February 14, 2022. real estate at the rate of $1 for each distributed to bidders on or about $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount This contract calls for the An in person Pre-Bid Conference will be held on Monday, February 21, 2022 10:00 a.m. local time.

Monday, February 14, 2022. paid by the purchaser not to exceed construction of a “public work,” Individual site visits Proviso East – Friday, February 18, 2022 9:00AM-10:00AM, Proviso West – Friday, February $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, within the meaning of the Illinois An18,in person 2022 10:30AMPre-Bid – 11:30AM Conference is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No Prevailing Wage Act, 820 ILCS will be held on Monday, February feeat shall be paid by the mortgagee acThe2022 proposals will bea.m. due onlocal Thursday, March 3, 2022130/.01 at 10:00 a.m. time(“the via bidder’s prequalification etlocal seq.

Act”).

The account 21, 10:00 time. www.ibidpro.com. quiring the residential real estate pursuAct requires contractors and Individual site visits Proviso ant to its credit bid at the sale or by any subcontractors laborers, To bid – this project, bidders should register18, with Gilbane Building Company.toThepay qualification application and bid East Friday, February mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other proposals are to be completed online at www.ibidpro.com. workers and mechanics performing 2022 9:00AM-10:00AM, Proviso lienor acquiring the residential real estate services on public works projects West – Friday, February 18, 2022 whose rights in and to the residential real no less than the “prevailing rate 10:30AM – 11:30AM estate arose prior to the sale. The subject of wages” (hourly cash wages The proposals will be due on property is subject to general real estate plus fringe benefits) in the county Thursday, March 3, 2022 at taxes, special assessments, or special where the work is performed. For 10:00 a.m. local time via bidder’s taxes levied against said real estate and information regarding current prequalification account at www. is offered for sale without any represenprevailing wage rates, please refer ibidpro.com. tation as to quality or quantity of title and to the Illinois Department of Labor’s without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS To bid this project, bidders should website at: https://www2.illinois.

IS” condition. The sale is further subject register with Gilbane Building gov/idol/Laws-Rules/CONMED/ to confirmation by the court.

Company.

The qualification Pages/Rates.aspx. All contractors Upon payment in full of the amount bid, application and bid proposals are and subcontractors rendering the purchaser will receive a Certificate to be completed online at www. services under this contract must of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a ibidpro.com. comply with all requirements of the deed to the real estate after confirmation Act, including but not limited to, all Bid security in the form of a of the sale. wage, notice and record keeping bid bond in an amount equal to The property will NOT be open for induties. ten percent (10%) of the base spection and plaintiff makes no represenbid is required from all bidders.

The Proviso Township High tation as to the condition of the property.

Guarantee Bonds in the form of School District 209 and Gilbane Prospective bidders are admonished to a Performance Bond and Labor Building Company reserve the check the court file to verify all informaand Material Payment Bond in right to reject any or all bids. All tion. an amount equal to one hundred information submitted as part of If this property is a condominium unit, the percent (100%) of the bid will be this process shall be considered purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure required from the awarded Bidder. public information under the sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay State Freedom of Information The work will be done in accordance the assessments and the legal fees reAct unless specifically disclosed with the Contract Documents. quired by The Condominium Property on the applicable information by “FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If the Bidder. Challenges to such THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS this property is a condominium unit which exemptions shall be defended INVITATION TO BID MAY RESULT is part of a common interest community, solely by the Bidder.

IN THE DISQUALIFICATION OF the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall Published in Forest Park Review, February 16, 2022 pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS PUBLIC NOTICE Nicholas L. Hermann 605/18.5(g-1).

Notice is hereby given, pursuant State Bar No.: 1082796 IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR to “An Act in relation to the use of Email: nh@gruber-law.com (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE an Assumed Business Name in the POST OFFICE ADDRESS: RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION conduct or transaction of Business 100 East Wisconsin Avenue FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN in the State,” as amended, that a Suite 2800 Milwaukee, Wisconsin ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORcertification was registered by the 53202 DANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) undersigned with the County Clerk Telephone: (414) 276-6666 OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FOREof Cook County. Registration NumPublished in Wednesday Journal CLOSURE LAW. February 2, 9, 16, 2022 ber: Y22008592 on February 2, You will need a photo identification is2022. Under the Assumed Business sued by a government agency (driver’s Name of KNOTTIE GYAL WIGS PUBLIC NOTICE license, passport, etc.) in order to gain with the business located at: 805 Notice is hereby given, pursuant entry into our building and the forecloLAKE STREET PMB #119, OAK to “An Act in relation to the use of sure sale room in Cook County and the PARK, IL 60301. The true and real an Assumed Business Name in the same identification for sales held at other full name(s) and residence address conduct or transaction of Business county venues where The Judicial Sales of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: RHEin the State,” as amended, that a Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

NESHA J EAGINS 801 VAN BUREN certification was registered by the For information, examine the court file, APT 202 OAK PARK, IL 60304, USA undersigned with the County Clerk CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s of Cook County. Registration NumAttorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTPublished in Wednesday Journal ber: Y22008574 on January 26, AGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, February 16, 23, March 2, 2022 2022 Under the Assumed Business IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 Name of ADVENTURES WITH THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION ABUELA with the business located One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, at: 1001 SOUTH GROVE AVENUE, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE OAK PARK, IL 60304. The true and You can also visit The Judicial Sales real full name(s) and residence adCorporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day dress of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: status report of pending sales.

VIRGINIA MARTINEZ 1001 SOUTH CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. GROVE AVENUE OAK PARK, IL 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, 60304, USA SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 Published in Wednesday Journal 630-794-5300 February 9, 16, 23 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-19-08871 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2019CH11236 TJSC#: 42-331 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 # 2019CH11236 I3186705 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK TRUST N.A., AS TRUSTEE OF THE SCIG SERIES III TRUST; Plaintiff, vs.

GAD IKEANUMBA AKA GAD C. IKEANUMBA; 1030-32 NORTH AUSTIN CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION AKA 1030 -32 N. AUSTIN CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION AND HENRY SILVERMAN LIVING TRUST U/A/D AUGUST 26, 1996; Defendants, 11 CH 33740 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, March 14, 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: Commonly known as 1032 N. Austin Blvd., Unit 1N, Oak Park, IL 60302.

P.I.N. 16-05-314-031-1001.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a condominium residence. The purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by subdivisions (g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9 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 Ms. Mary E. Spitz at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Sottile & Barile, LLC, 7530 Lucerne Drive, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130. (440) 572-1512. ILF1810025 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3186451 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC DBA CHAMPION MORTGAGE COMPANY; Plaintiff, vs.

THOMAS QUINN, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR MARGERY L. NEFF; ARTHUR NEFF; SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF MARGERY L NEFF; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 19 CH 12930 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, March 21, 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. 16-18-130-020.

Commonly known as 831 Clinton Ave., Oak Park, IL 60304.

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.

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

CLASSIFIED

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

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

For information call Ms. Kathryn Bodanza at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Marinosci Law Group, PC, 134 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602. (312) 940-8580.

19-08226 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3186993

Bannockburn, IL, 60015 (847) 291-1717 For information call between the hours of 1pm - 3pm.. Please refer to file number 19-091229.

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

LOGS Legal Group LLP 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301 Bannockburn IL, 60015 847-291-1717 E-Mail: ILNotices@logs.com Attorney File No. 19-091229 Attorney Code. 42168 Case Number: 19 CH 9209 TJSC#: 42-495 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 19 CH 9209 I3187122

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, The sales clerk, LOGS Legal Group LLP Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301, Bannockburn, IL, 60015 (847) 291-1717 For information call between the hours of 1pm - 3pm.. Please refer to file number 20-094050.

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

LOGS Legal Group LLP 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301 Bannockburn IL, 60015 847-291-1717 E-Mail: ILNotices@logs.com Attorney File No. 20-094050 Attorney Code. 42168 Case Number: 20 CH 5941 TJSC#: 41-3442 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 # 20 CH 5941 I3187184

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.

Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.

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) 236-SALE 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. 14-19-08274 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2019CH12263 TJSC#: 42-209 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 # 2019CH12263 I3187191

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A. AS TRUSTEE FOR MORTGAGE ASSETS MANAGEMENT SERIES I TRUST Plaintiff, -v.ROLAND HERRERA, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF GEORGE HERRERA, LUKAS’S CONTINENTAL CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, CARY ROSENTHAL, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GEORGE HERRERA (DECEASED) Defendants 2021CH04435 403 N MARION ST APT 3 OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 11, 2022, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 24, 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 403 N MARION ST APT 3, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-07-101-017-1009 The real estate is improved with a 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.

Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.

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) 236-SALE 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. 14-20-06459 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2021CH04435 TJSC#: 42-403 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 # 2021CH04435 I3187429

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION MIDFIRST BANK Plaintiff, -v.TAKYRICA Q. STYLES A/K/A TAKYRICA STYLES, TAYLOR LAKE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION INC. A/K/A TAYLOR-LAKE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION Defendants 19 CH 9209 118 NORTH TAYLOR AVENUE UNIT 1 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 November 22, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 17, 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 118 NORTH TAYLOR AVENUE UNIT 1, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-08-122-038-1005 The real estate is improved with a condominium.

The judgment amount was $153,280.44.

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, The sales clerk, LOGS Legal Group LLP Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301,

27

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION CITIZENS BANK, N.A., FORMERLY KNOWN AS RBS CITIZENS, N.A. SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO CHARTER ONE BANK, N.A. Plaintiff, -v.JOEL A. VERHOFF, RAELIN M VERHOFF, RANDOLPH CROSSING CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, UNKNOWN OCCUPANTS Defendants 20 CH 5941 612 RANDOLPH STREET, UNIT 2 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 December 17, 2021, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 18, 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 612 RANDOLPH STREET, UNIT 2, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-07-408-026-1012 The real estate is improved with a condominium.

The judgment amount was $62,179.24.

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

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A. AS TRUSTEE FOR MORTGAGE ASSETS MANAGEMENT SERIES I TRUST Plaintiff, -v.MICHAEL J. HAYES, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF MARILYN F. HAYES, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, ROBERT J. HAYES JR., PATRICK J. HAYES, MARY TERESE BUDGE A/K/A MARYTHERESE BUDGE A/K/A TERRY BUDGE, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, GERALD NORDGREN, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR MARILYN F. HAYES (DECEASED), IMPERIAL MANOR OF OAK PARK CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, ELLEN YOPCHICK, JULIE HAYES, SUE BARRETT A/K/A SUSAN BARRETT Defendants 2019CH12263 425 HOME AVENUE UNIT 2B OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on December 16, 2021, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 18, 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 425 HOME AVENUE UNIT 2B, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-07-323-043-1012 The real estate is improved with a condo/ townhouse.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, 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

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION NEWREZ LLC D/B/A SHELLPOINT MORTGAGE SERVICING Plaintiff, -v.AMIN SAHTOUT, SCOVILLE COURT CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION Defendants 2019CH09264 500 WASHINGTON BLVD, UNIT 107 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 November 7, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 17, 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 500 WASHINGTON BLVD, UNIT 107, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-07-415-0271007 The real estate is improved with a 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

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

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

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

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

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) 236-SALE 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. 14-19-02481 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2019CH09264 TJSC#: 42-421 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 # 2019CH09264 I3187480

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

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

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

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

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-6699777.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark • Forest Park Review

28

Wednesday Journal, February 16, 2022

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Property transfers p. B12

Homes February 16, 2022

Real estate market continues to rev its engine What can home sellers and buyers expect this year?

By LACEY SIKORA

T

area to the south and west, he said, “The entire MLS area saw a 13.5-percent increase in sales. Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park percentage-wise just blew that out of the water.”

Contributing Reporter

raditionally, Super Bowl Sunday is considered the kickoff for real estate sales after a winter break for the holidays. As the market comes alive after the big game, the question on a lot of buyers’ and sellers’ minds is what the 2022 will hold for home sales after 2021’s record-breaking year.

According to John Lawrence, designated managing broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, 2021 was a “very good year in real estate.” He says that the tri-village area of Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park saw a 25-percent increase in homes sold year over year.

Noting that our region of the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) runs roughly from Lake Michigan on the east to Wisconsin on the north and to the Bloomington/Normal

Market time and multiple offers Monica Dalton, real estate agent with Compass Real Estate Oak Park, says that in 2021, homes sold faster and received multiple offers more frequently than in previous years.

“We saw a dramatic decrease in market time, and open houses had increased traffic,” Dalton said. “It wasn’t uncommon to have multiple offers before the first open house.”

Lawrence witnessed the same thing.

“Everything sold faster at every single price point,” he said. “We saw a lot of multiple offers.”

Lawrence also says that while many homes sold immediately after listing, a See REAL ESTATE MARKET on page B4

PROVIDED

1447 Bonnie Brae, River Forest, closed June 2021 for $1,450,000.

February 16, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B1

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BROKER ASSOCIATES ON AN OUTSTANDING YEAR

#1 OFFICE IN OAK PARK | RIVER FOREST | FOREST PARK WE CLOSED MORE VOLUME THAN ANYONE ELSE IN 2021* *Source: MRED

Swati Saxena

Patricia D. McGowan FOUNDER’S CLUB

FOUNDER’S CLUB

The Dita Group

Bethanny Alexander

Bobbi Schaper Eastman

Margarita Lopez

Saretta Joyner

Cathy Yanda

FOUNDER’S CLUB

FOUNDER’S CLUB

FOUNDER’S CLUB

FOUNDER’S CLUB

FOUNDER’S CLUB

FOUNDER’S CLUB

ARS

8 YE

2012

19

– 20

Baird & Warner Oak Park | River Forest | 1037 Chicago Ave | 708.697.5900 | oakpark.bairdwarner.com

B2 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ February 16, 2022

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BROKER ASSOCIATES ON AN OUTSTANDING YEAR

#1 OFFICE IN OAK PARK | RIVER FOREST | FOREST PARK WE CLOSED MORE VOLUME THAN ANYONE ELSE IN 2021* *Source: MRED

Catherine Simon-Vobornik CHAIRMAN’S CLUB

Arrick Pelton

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Bill Geldes

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Heidi Rogers

CHAIRMAN’S CLUB

Mary Carlin

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Anne Ferri

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Kevin Kirby

Steve Green

PRESIDENT’S CLUB

PRESIDENT’S CLUB

Maya Puentes

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Carla Taylor

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

James Salazar

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Ann Keeney

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Joanne Tienchai

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Kim Wojacki

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

ARS

8 YE

2012

19

– 20

Baird & Warner Oak Park | River Forest | 1037 Chicago Ave | 708.697.5900 | oakpark.bairdwarner.com

February 16, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B3

REAL ESTATE MARKET Volume, prices up from page B1 fair number sold before they even officially hit the market. When would-be sellers began prepping their homes for sale, buyers would request to see the houses and ended up making offers before the houses were officially for sale.

Record numbers Homes not only sold in bunches in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, they often hit record or near-record prices in 2021.

For attached housing, all three villages saw robust sales. Forest Park recorded the second highest sales numbers with prepandemic average prices. River Forest had the second highest number of attached units sold and Oak Park sold 106 more attached units than in 2020.

Calling the numbers for attached housing, “very solid,” Lawrence noted that detached housing saw the most impressive gains.

In Forest Park, Lawrence says the real story was pricing, with the average price of a detached home increasing by $47,000 to an all-time high for the village. The median sold price jumped 13.5 percent to $370,000 for single-family homes.

In Oak Park, a record number 624 detached homes sold, up from 534 in 2020 and the previous high of 544 in 2016.

“Last year, we approached the record,” Lawrence said. “This year, we blew it out of the water.”

Prices in Oak Park were up too. For the first time ever, the median price topped $500,000 for a detached house, hitting $503,525.

Like Oak Park, River Forest set an alltime record in number of detached homes sold, with 157 units sold compared to previous highs of 153 in 2020 and 2013. In addition, the median price of single-family homes jumped 14 percent in the village.

Both villages saw a big uptick in sales of homes priced at or over $1 million. In River Forest, sales in that category rose 62 percent with the village logging 47 high-end sales versus 29 in 2020. In Oak Park that

FO

R

SA

PROVIDED

721 Columbian, Oak Park, went under contract within seven days for the list price $1,070,000 in May 2021. number rose from 13 in 2020 to 23 in 2021.

Dalton said she continues to see more interest at the higher price points than in previous years.

“Agents are calling each other to see if they have anything coming the market, because there just isn’t a lot to see right now,” she said.

COVID effect Lawrence thinks a lot of the success on the high end is due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic on the market.

“People want more space,” he said.

He adds the recent uptick in sales are due to a combination of a number of factors.

“COVID has allowed people to live in different places because they no longer go into the office,” Lawrence said. “When you’re working from home, your space needs

LE

Looking ahead Both Lawrence and Dalton see another busy year ahead for 2022.

“In many ways, 2022 is even more competitive because buyers who were continually outbid in 2021 took a break and are back again in addition to buyers newly looking in 2022,” Dalton said. “The supply is just not keeping up with demand.”

Lawrence says supply and demand is at the heart of the local market.

“We’re not maximizing the number of units sold,” he said. “Plenty of people are frustrated that there’s not enough to see.”

Noting that the area continues to be desirable because it’s not in the city but you can easily get to the city, and because the housing stock is so great, Lawrence says that he thinks the next four months will be busy.

While he predicts there will be a typical bump of action after the Super Bowl, he admits, “It’s already busy now. Post-Super Bowl, it’s going to continue to be busy.”

Think local.

Selling, Buying Or Leasing - Let Me Put My 25+ Years Of Real Estate Experience To Work For You! Ken Van Santen | Realtor

315 Marengo Ave Unit 2E, Forest Park, IL 1 BED | 1 BATH | $87,000

change. People’s priorities during something like this shift. Finally, even though interest rates are rising, they are still very low, and borrowing money is pretty cheap.”

Dalton says she has seen a definite rise in people looking for larger homes with yards and says a home office has become a requirement.

“When you are cooped up in a condo or smaller home already, you notice what isn’t working about your living space,” she said.

“In addition, dedicated home offices became essential like never before. I ‘temporarily’ moved my home office to the living room because my husband needed more privacy, so he took over our home office.”

708.975.0210 ken.vansanten@bairdwarner.com www.kenvansanten.bairdwarner.com Residential - Multi-Family - Commercial

B4 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ February 16, 2022

HISTORIC BEAUTY!

The Housing Market is moving quickly.

Don’t get left behind!

With over 30+ years of real estate experience, Patti Sprafka Wagner offers her sellers

139 S GROVE, OAK PARK :: $1,179,000 :: 6 BED :: 4.5 BATH Majestic Victorian in central Oak Park Historic District.

KATHY & TONY IWERSEN 708.772.8040 708.772.8041 tonyiwersen@atproperties.com

Versatile Marketing Plans, a Vast Knowledge of the local market, and the Vision to help you realize your housing goals.

“Their stage presence and high energy shows leave crowds in awe the world over, allowing the duo to uplift and entertain all at once”

Contact Patti today for a Market Evaluation of your property--it’s a great time to sell!

Inventory is low and prices continue to rise. Take advantage of the low interest rates--we’ve been told they won’t last.

Patti Sprafka Wagner

Contact me 708-218-8102, 1pswagner@gmail.com, for a Market Evaluation of your property - You’ll find I’m a proven leader in the local market.

—Arts Midwest

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Masks and proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 test will be required at entry.

February 16, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B5

UNDER CONTRACT!

OAK PARK 3 BR, 2.1 BA

Greer Haseman & Chris Curran 708-606-8896 or 708-366-0400

OAK PARK

OAK PARK

Beautiful 2-level duplexed condo in the heart of downtown Oak Park!

Loads of sunlight and modern updates.

This newly renovated masterpiece of design, function and luxury is located in the heart of beautiful downtown Oak Park.

3 BR, 2.1 BA .................................................................................................................. $298,000 Steve Scheuring • 708-369-8043

OAK PARK

Oak Park Landmark, The Joseph D. Everett House.

Greer Haseman & Chris Curran 708-606-8896 or 708-366-0400

OAK PARK 3 BR, 3.1 BA

Greer Haseman & Chris Curran 708-606-8896 or 708-366-0400

3 BR, 1.1 BA .................................................................................................................. $455,000 Steve Scheuring • 708-369-8043

Steve Scheuring • 708-369-8043

UNDER CONTRACT! 1224 N. Oak Park Ave.

UNDER CONTRACT!

OAK PARK 3 BR, 2.2 BA

OAK PARK

Greer Haseman & Chris Curran 708-606-8896 or 708-366-0400

4 BR, 3 BA

Greer Haseman & Chris Curran 708-606-8896 or 708-366-0400

Now in our Second Century of Service

OAK PARK Amazing solid brick Tudor with pristine wood floors and classic architectural details.

1 BR, 1 BA ..................................................................................................................... $260,000

OAK PARK 4 BR, 2.1 BA

Greer Haseman & Chris Curran 708-606-8896 or 708-366-0400

To find a local expert, go to oakparkrealtors.org

Want to see your listings in Distinctive Properties?

Contact Marc Stopeck at 708.613.3330 or marc@oakpark.com B6 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ February 16, 2022

Coming Soon!

5516 W Hawthorne Ave., Berkeley 4 BR, 4 BA. Only 16 years young. Over 3,300 sq feet of living space. Attached 2-car garage, deep backyard and a partially finished basement.

Andrea “Bonnie” Routen | 708-544-8440 Andrea.bonnie@cbexchange.com

Fabulous New Listing!

1404 Kenilworth Ave., Berwyn 4 BR, 3.1 BA. Completely renovated home on a double lot! Contact me for more information. ..........$475,000 Michelle Miller | 708-334-5833 michelle.miller@cbexchange.com

Under Contract!

1135 Schneider, Oak Park This practically new, one-of-a-kind, two story condo has quality amenities and finishes. Highlights include kitchen with new appliances, 2 balconies and heated garage parking.

Just Sold!

715 S. Taylor Ave., Oak Park With low inventory and high buyer demand, NOW is the time to sell. I am here to make your buying and selling experience smooth and successful. Call for your real estate consultation today!

Under Contract!

111 S. Taylor Ave, Oak Park 4 BR, 2.2 BA. Welcoming American 4 square with 4 BRs up, a primary suite, and a first floor family room on an oversized lot. .............................$599,000

Joe Langley | Cell 708-243-0330 jlangley.realtor@gmail.com

Lisa Grimes I 708-205-9518 lisa.grimes@cbrealty.com

SOLD! 3150 Lake Shore Drive 15E, Chicago Gracious 2 BR Belmont Harbor condo with stunning views. Thinking of buying or selling in the city? Give me a call. I’d love to help you make your move!

TRULY SPECIAL! 147 N. Euclid #501, Oak Park 3 BR, 2.1 BA + den. Top floor unit, floorto-ceiling windows with amazing views, exclusive rooftop deck ...$799,000

One of a Kind!

201 N. Cuyler Ave., Oak Park EE Roberts Multi-Unit Property. Unique, tons of character & charm ready for a new owner! ....$579,000

Lisa Andreoli and Meredith Conn 708-557-9546 or 708-743-6973 teamgo2girls@gmail.com

Laurie Shapiro | 708-203-3614 Laurie.shapiro@cbrealty.com

Sue Canepa 312-203-0848 suecanepahomes@gmail.com

Stephanie Eiger | 708-557-0779 Stephanie.eiger@cbexchange.com

The Spring Market is Here!

Put my experience and expertise to work for you.

New and Improved!

253 Washington Blvd #B, Oak Park 3 BR, 2 BA. Incredible space can be found in this townhouse with attached parking and rooftop deck ...$379,000 Shea Kiessling | 708-710-5952 shea@cbexchange.com

Just Sold!

2593 Camberley 3-813, Westchester $349,900. Represented Buyer - under contract in less than 12 hours!

Patty Melgar Hooks | 708-261-2796 patty.melgarhooks@cbexchange.com

Just Sold!

317 Ashland Ave., River Forest Loved representing the buyer in this transaction. Are you considering buying or selling, please give me a call.

Sara Faust | 708-772-7910 sara.faust@cbexchange.com

Sandi Graves 708-752-6540 sgraves@cbexchange.com

COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM Oak Park 114 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park | 708.524.1100 The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2022 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Realty LLC.

February 16, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B7

HomesInTheVillage.com

189 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 (708) 386-1400

Featured Listings for This Week

Erika Villegas,

Oak Park $895,000 4BR, 2.1BA Call Patti

Oak Park $465,000 Multi unit Call Jane

Oak Park $425,000 4BR, 1.2BA Call Erika

Chicago $370,000 3BR, 1.1BA Call Erika

Oak Park $288,000 2BR, 2BA Call Kyra

Forest Park $265,000 4BR, 1BA Call Patti

Chicago $219,000 3BR, 2BA Call Erika

Chicago $139,900 5BR, 1.1BA Call Erika

Berwyn 3BR, 2BA Call Maria

Mike Becker

Managing Broker/Owner

Kyra Pych

Laurie Christofano

Maria Rodriguez

B8 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ February 16, 2022

Linda Rooney

Marion Digre

Morgan Digre

Kris Sagan

Jane McClelland

Leticia Cruz

Patti Sprafka-Wagner

Harry Walsh

Distinction

(di stingk’ shen) noun.

The act of distinguishing excellence; making a difference

Tom Carraher redefines the essence of real estate service.

CONDOS

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

Saturday, February 19 | Sunday, February 20 ADDRESS

OFFICE

LISTING PRICE

TIME

824 N Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$369,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sat 11-1 824 N Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$369,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sun 12-2

It is extremely rare to find real estate professionals who set themselves apart with distinction in everything they do... ...unless you select the professional who has distinguished himself by making a total commitment to excellence—Tom Carraher.

ADDRESS

OFFICE

LISTING PRICE

TIME

215 Marengo Ave, Unit 2D, Forest Park. . . Baird & Warner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $210,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sun 11-1

Call Tom Carraher at 708-822-0540 to achieve all of your real estate goals.

Tom Carraher

Realistic Expectation–Proven Results

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February 16, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B9

12

Wednesday Journal, January 26, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Event alert: Dine-In Elmwood Park Annual restaurant week offers deals to meet any craving

L

ooking to cure the winter blues? The Village of Elmwood Park is hosting its annual dining event Feb. 18-27. With 17 participating restaurants there’s sure to be something to satisfy even the pickiest eaters.

“We’ve got something for everyone,” said Angelo “Skip” Saviano, Elmwood Park Village President. “Whether you want a white tableFood Writer cloth experience with a nice bottle of wine or classic tavern atmosphere with appetizers and beer, you’ll find it at Dine-In Elmwood Park.”

Participating restaurants have put together menus to entice diners from the city and western suburbs to explore an eclectic variety of discounted menu options, specialty dishes, and pre-fixe menus throughout the village. Thanks to a vibrant collection of “restaurant row” establishments on North Avenue, Elmwood Park has carved out a niche as a dining destination among savvy food-lovers.

Our sister suburb to the northwest is known for providing authentic Italian meals and it’s no surprise that Dine-In Elmwood Park provides ample opportunities to get your hands on a slice of pizza, bowl of pasta, or a cup of artisan gelato. Over

MELISSA ELSMO

time, however, Elmwood Park eateries have grown to include Mexican, Japanese, and Cuban fare, as well as sunny breakfast spots and quaint corner cafes.

Check out a few of the hottest restaurant week deals for 2022!

Ashley’s Café, 7500 W. Grand Ave., is a geographical outlier, but offers a doozy of a discount to folks looking for a quick breakfast fix. The quaint gathering space boasts a daily selection of Do-Rite donuts. These chef-driven donuts are a popular Chicago creation crafted in small batches to ensure top quality in every bite. From Feb. 18-27 Ashley’s Café is offering a free cup of Dark Matter Coffee with the purchase any DoRite Donut — this restaurant week special is the ideal way to curb this classic food combo craving.

If you are seeking out classic Italian Elmwood Park vibes, look no further than Donny G’s, 7308 W. North Ave. The well-appointed eatery is known for hosting vibrant musical guests on the weekends that draw crowds, but it is the well-honed menu of Italian classics that keep customers coming back for more. Eager to satiate restaurant week participants, Donny G’s has created a duo of discounted meals to attract even more customers during this special week.

Lunch specials include a choice of lemon chicken, ravioli or a hearty meatball sandwich paired with a soup or salad for just $10. Dinner options, priced at $20, include a choice of chicken or pork chops Vesuvio and salmon and spinach with lemon butter sauce.

“These dishes give people something special to try if they are coming in for the first time and represent a great value for return

Lunch and dinner specials at Donny G’s come with a choice of soup or salad.

Complimentary bread and their signature dipping oil are a mainstay on every table.

All photos Melissa Elsmo

B10 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ February 16, 2022

Colorful sprinkles: Ashley’s Café is offering a free Dark Matter coffee with every purchase of a Do-Rite Donut during restaurant week.

Spizzico and Senor Jefe are offering discounts on sandwiches like the Italian beef and junior sized burritos.

Roast Pork from Café Cubano brings a homey feel and good value during the DineIn Elmwood Park event running from

Wednesday Journal, January 26, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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Massa and Gringo and Blondie are both owned by the Lollino family—look for indugent cemitas (left) and rich house-made gelato (right) to be offered by the family of veteran restauranteurs in Elmwood Park. customers,” said George Diamond, manager of Donny G’s. “The salmon on the dinner menu is a generous 10-ounce portion.”

Dinner entrees come with a glass of wine and choice of salad, or soup -- staff members recommend selecting the pasta fagioli. The simple soup is made from pasta and beans and proves to be ideal fare on a cold winter night.

If you are looking to explore other global offerings in Elmwood Park, deal-seeking diners would do well to visit Café Cubano, 7426 W. North Ave., for an array of lunch and dinner specials specifically created for restaurant week. Lunch specials feature a choice of two sandwiches and include rice, beans and plantains for just $12, while $20 dinner options come with a choice between ropa vieja, chicken fricassee and roasted pork with rice, black beans and plantain.

Roasted pork is a standout selection at Café Cubano; the meat is marinated and slow cooked until it is meltingly tender making it a cozy dish worthy of its enduring popularity on restaurant row.

New Star, 7444 W. North Ave., has been serving up Cantonese cuisine since 1954 and today the expansive restaurant serves Japanese, Thai and Hibachi fare to comple-

ment its traditional Chinese dishes. During Elmwood Park’s restaurant week, New Star is offering a substantial discount across all menus for dine in customers. No matter if you are craving spicy basil fried rice, a pick three maki combo, classic sweet and sour shrimp or a showy hibachi dinner New Star is offering a 10% discount to all patrons from Feb. 18-27.

Rocco Spizzirri, owner of Spizzico and Senor Jefe, rightly noted in September of last year that Elmwood Park’s government “will bend over backwards to help restaurants succeed.” Both of Spizzirri’s restaurants are participating in the village sponsored event by offering discounts on burritos, sandwiches, pastas and salads.

“We’ve worked hard to support restaurateurs and to grow our dining scene in Elmwood Park over the past few years,” Saviano said. “Patrons visiting our restaurants will find good food in a more intimate, local setting than they might find in downtown Chicago.”

Check out the full list of participating restaurants and plan to visit several of Elmwood Park’s diverse eateries during this annual dining celebration. These dishes are sure to warm you up!!

Bon Vivant Juice & Smoothie Bar 7334 W Diversey Ave • Elmwood Park IL 60707 • 224-442-0514 bonvivantchicago.us • Juiceyourimagination@bonvivantchicago.us bonvivantjuiceandsmoothiebar

Bon Vivant Juice & Smoothie Bar

ELMWOOD PARK

RESTAURANT WEEK FEBRUARY 18TH- 27TH

An array of Thai, Chinese and Japanese dishes are available at a 10% discount at North Avenue mainstay, New Star, in Elmwood Park.

February 16, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

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P R O P E R T Y

T R A N S F E R S

Linden Ave. home sells for $1,387,500

The following property transfers were reported by the Cook County Clerk from November 2021. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the clerk.

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

319 Linden Ave 812 Carpenter Ave 244 S East Ave 827 Woodbine Ave 835 Belleforte Ave 1109 Paulina St 1210 Fair Oaks Ave 918 N Marion St 1017 Linden Ave 132 S Humphrey Ave 411 N Oak Park Ave 928 Wenonah Ave 224 Clinton Ave 933 Clinton Ave 919 N Marion St 1014 Pleasant St 1005 S East Ave 323 S Taylor Ave 1137 N Euclid Ave 1201 N Harvey Ave 212 N Marion St 816 S Highland Ave 1176 S Taylor Ave 721 Ontario St 1029 Clinton Ave 509 N Marion St 1001 S Euclid Ave 126 S East Ave 636 S Euclid Ave 736 N Kenilworth Ave 618 N Humphrey Ave 829 S Lyman Ave 121 Le Moyne Pky 108 Bishop Quarter Ln 1048 N Austin Blvd 715 Thomas St 1118 S Harvey Ave 205 S Harvey Ave 425 Harvey Ave 601 S Ridgeland Ave 221 N Kenilworth Ave 225 S Maple Ave 1028 N Taylor Ave 219 S Maple Ave 1010 S Ridgeland Ave 1154 Gunderson Ave 6810 Roosevelt Rd 1182 S Cuyler Ave 403 N Marion St 1115 S Scoville Ave

$1,387,500 $937,500 $820,000 $783,000 $780,000 $775,000 $749,000 $675,000 $670,000 $610,000 $600,000 $595,000 $580,000 $565,000 $565,000 $550,000 $525,000 $525,000 $515,000 $507,500 $496,000 $472,500 $465,000 $460,000 $459,000 $455,000 $436,500 $435,000 $427,500 $420,000 $418,000 $405,000 $382,000 $380,000 $372,500 $355,000 $350,000 $345,000 $336,000 $320,000 $295,000 $290,000 $269,000 $255,000 $240,000 $231,500 $225,000 $225,000 $204,000 $200,000

Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 062886 Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 30097505 Kim Regina Ji Hyun Tr Goldstein Mitchell B Shunmugam Logan Tsi Prop Llc Pavlicek Wayne S Kunkel Thomas Tr Harmon Thomas P Hamilton Jared Drechen Martin J Tr 1223911 George Christopher K Tr Geselbracht Thomas F Padgett Marcus Monaghan Peter C Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 4409 Kucera William P Tr Joseph Shanna Shaw Ida Rosemarie Kapp Deborah Jane Tr Rapey Bryan Javor Kenneth Baronger Dev Llc Baker William H Tr Reimer Neil T Arteaga Gladys Barrick Sara Tr Florini Patricia S Tr Ramsey John T Spain Richard C Tr Gray Antoinette Cohen Jay W Vadakara Tom P Bork Willlam H Tr Jackson Kamal H Peppard Kevin D Martin Ronald E Davison Hazel Gdn Song Xiangyang Levell Charles E Jr Charest Jennine L Tr Sabatino Richard J Siciliano Donna R Richards Alexandra 1010 S Ridgeland Llc Williams Pearline Collins Zaniolo Albert S Tr Young Barbara J Largenterprises Llc Yu Jay

Swan Ryan Arora Sunil Dargis Ryan D Pope Kelly Wurtzel Wendy Betancur Juan C Kull Ryan Hess Jonah Amaro Marco Arendt Elizabeth Cedercreutz Claes Kettil F Gaimari Matt Fletcher Anais Farges Harris Megan Zobrist Jonathan Netisingha Kyle Langworthy Steven Clarence William Wertepny Aimee Morales Marco Gulley Nathan T Oliver Kevin Dillon Evan A Vargo Andrew Joseph Kessen Lynn M Geglio Alice Pitkiene Zivile Herlihy Samantha Rowoor Llc Mccormick Katharine Case Peter C Hess Matthew Arnoldt Kathleen Patricia Costello Michael Roenn Lisa Marie Von Tr Marx Christopher Warrior Const Inc Whitman Kamila Abrego Joshua E Sykes Nedra D Murdoch Karel John Shannon Susan Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8002386799 Mgp Contruction Inc Garcia Acencion Lenz Matthew Vsc Grp Llc Labor Personnel Llc Grandview Cap Llc Pendleton Barbara A Gray Andrew

B12 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ February 16, 2022

319 Linden Ave., Oak Park

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

444 Washington Blvd 1136 Ontario St 340 S Kenilworth St 110 S Scoville Ave 510 Madison St 929 S Oak Park Ave 1107 Holley Ct 456 Washington Blvd 1111 Holley Ct

$192,000 $165,000 $137,500 $130,000 $126,000 $122,000 $120,000 $115,500 $90,000

Singh Navneet K Gilbert John A Sr Balgermann Lauren Krzeszowiec Mark Us Bk Trust Natl Assn Tr Home Deals Chicago Corp Dydo John Paul Shannon James M Burns Anthony

White Megan Ziegler Amy Martinez Daniel Love Yakira Scharfenberg Oksana Bautista Maria L Cabada Crystal Buliox Teandria D Xfa1 Llc

1002 Monroe Ave 837 Clinton Pl 7711 North Ave 1534 Park Ave 710 Bonnie Brae Pl 215 Franklin Ave 334 Ashland Ave 554 Bonnie Brae Pl 1535 Park Ave 1410 N Harlem Ave 7919 North Ave 7348 Lake St 7211 W Division St

$1,725,000 $1,290,000 $1,100,000 $975,000 $850,000 $745,000 $689,000 $460,000 $298,000 $220,000 $212,000 $160,000 $125,000

615 Harlem Ave 111 Rockford Ave 635 Marengo Ave 7623 Roosevelt Rd 510 Ferdinand Ave 135 Marengo Ave 151 Rockford Ave 215 Marengo Ave 235 Marengo Ave 235 Marengo Ave 315 Des Plaines Ave 600 Elgin Ave 315 Marengo Ave 314 Lathrop Ave

$690,000 $615,000 $442,500 $415,000 $353,500 $320,000 $315,000 $231,000 $182,000 $174,000 $150,000 $139,000 $122,500 $109,000

RIVER FOREST Cappel Jeffery B Tr Jpm Const Contracting Inc Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 28039 1534 Pk Llc Handa Andrew Atkins Marc Tr Oneill Daniel B Tr Mcvey Richard D Costentino Robert A Tr Ward Janet Obrien Mary E Olmsted Tom Moore Victor H Tr

FOREST PARK Harris Joseph Smyk Jonathan C Tr Hamilton Torreya Nadeau James A Tr Stephany Michael Joseph Jr Gardiner Nathan Ams Future Llc Algenio Melvin F Tr Taylor Eric E Equity Trust Co Gdn Romero Julio C Largenterprises Llc Fujimoto Maria V Diaz Diane

Parks Thomas Tr Paterick Jamie Rose Ashu Llc 1534 Pk Apartments Llc Washam John Smith Julia Claire Grusecki Paul F Picchiotti Robert Dumaraog Sarahgin Johnson Rhonda Robinson Melicia Al Tekrebti Marwah Esposito Frank S

Parker Chadawn Bj Cohen Jay Flynn Scott William M&B Distribution Llc Lynch Matthias R Morgan Michael J Randall Jesse Labat Bell Charles Hyatt Michael L Taylor Eric C Gray Emma J Greene Janaya G Ontiveros Izamar Cox Darren