WednesdayJournal_030426

of Oak Park and River Forest

Progressive lane in the 7th is crowded

Pr the W suppo primary race to succeed Danny Davis as the gressional District. sive didate field in the primar the age for C tive R leader Anabel Mendo

Collins seems to ha port ists.

ficials, including two Oak Board members and fi the Oak dorsed Collins

“I think she has the campaign infrastructure and the I think in such a cr that’s an important said Oak Derek Eder who is suppo along with his colleague Jenna Leving Jacobson.

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Fourteen members of the Oak Park community, most of them parents of elementary and middle school students attending Oak Park Elementary School District 97 schools, made public comments at the Feb. 24 District 97 school board meeting urging district officials to take further steps to protect students from enhanced federal action targeting undocu-

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Prosecutors narrow allegations in Oak Park trustee’s ‘Broadview 6’ trial

Brian Straw will go before a jury on federal conspiracy charges on May 27

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staf

With less than three months Park Trustee Brian Straw’s federal protest trial the prosecution is nar scope of its conspiracy alle Following a recent tion questioning the evidence the go ment had to support the first amendment implications of the case, U.S. Judge April ecutors meet with the defense to define what part of the federal conspira they intend to prosecute the co-defendants on, according to court said they’d drop the pa that alle ged that Straw and the others had plans to injure a federal officer.

Earlier this month, May 26 as the trial start date in the federal conspiracy case that and his five co-defendants pa a protest at the Broadview ICE Detention Facility last fall. The jury trial in the case is expected to last at least a week, attorneys said in court last month.

TODD

elements of the conspiracy ntended to prosecute on, layout for the alleged conand name “unindicted coconspirarticulars. The attorneys included a video-still appearing to into the van from their claim.

“For example, as depicted in the image the gover nment in lear Defendant Brian Straw pushed by an unknown individual from his backside,” attorneys wrote. “Mr. Straw needs to understand acts it claims he onspiracy Surely ould acknowledge annot be literally pushed he basic infor macy began and the known unindicted coconspirators is necessary and essential for Defenmulate their defenses and avoid dy given the potential for multiple alleged conspiracies based on the particular charge.”

Straw is one of several progressive political figures indicted on felony conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer charged in connection with a confrontation between anti-ICE protestors and a vehicle driven by a federal law enforcement agent during an early morning protest outside the Broadview ICE Detention Facility last September, according to U.S. Northern District of Illinois court documents. Straw’s codefendants in the case are 9th District U.S. Congressional candidate Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, Chicago alderman staffer Catherine “Cat” Sharp, 45th ward Democratic committeeman Michael Rabbit, musician Joselyn Walsh and Andre Martin, who works on Abughazaleh’s campaign staff.

The indictment alleged that Straw and his co-defendants were among a crowd of protestors who blocked, pushed against and banged on a vehicle being driven by a federal agent into ICE’s Broadview Detention Facility the morning of Sept. 26. The prosecution said a side mirror and a windshield wiper on the agent’s vehicle was damaged

Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw holds sign at protest of ICE killings in Minneapolis at Lincoln School on Jan. 24.

in the incident and the car was vandalized, but none of the indicted individuals are alleged to have directly caused the damage themselves

On Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attor ney William Hogan reportedly told the judge his team plans to remove language in the indictment alleging the six conspired to injure an agent driving the van into the facility. Prosecutors also acknowledged during the hearing that the timeframe of the alleged conspiracy is limited to Sept. 26, that it was “spontaneous” with no evidence of a prior agreement between the co-defendants, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The hearing came two weeks after lead prosecutor Sheri Mecklenburg, withdrew from the case on Feb. 13, according to court records. The next hearing in the case is set for March 31.

This week, defense counsel had filed a motion asking the judge to compel prosecutors

Judge Perry did not grant the attorney’s motion for a bill of particulars.

Straw’s attorney Chris Parente told reporters after a hearing in January that the prosecution is a waste of the Justice Department’s time and that the gover nment is trying to invent a criminal conspiracy case out of people simply taking part in the same protest without prior coordination.

“That is an attempt by this administration, and potentially this U.S. Attorney’s office, to silence legitimate peaceful protest,” said Parente, who is an Oak Park resident.

“The gover nment will acknowledge that none of the six people charged did any of the damage they’re claiming. There’s no alle gation against these six, it was other people at the protest.”

The so-called “Broadview Six” are among 32 known defendants to have been charged with nonimmigration crimes tied to Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago’s federal court. Many of those cases fell apar t before reaching trial and the lone case which has reached a jury trial ended with an acquittal, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

BANNOR

First-time home buyers may get help

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

How can Oak Park help people buy their first homes when local prices keep climbing?

Oak Park village trustees heard village staff’s recommendations for programs to support people purchasing their first homes, with the hope of making more of those purchases happen within village limits. The board has hosted discussions on the topic periodically since the village adopted its “Strategic Vision for Housing Report” two years ago.

“This is a significant step forward towards advancing the Strategic Vision for Housing that was adopted by the board in 2024,” said Village Manager Kevin Jackson. “We’ll hopefully get direction from the board on the homeownership plan that’s being recommended by staff.”

ages across demographics, but the largest disparity is among Black Oak Parkers. According to the census data, 35% of Black Oak Park households own their home, compared to 41% of Black households across northeast Illinois and 43% of Black households nationwide.

There’s a 35% gap between the Black and white homeownership rates in Oak Park, which is five points larger than the gap that exists nationally. In 2023, people making 120% of the Area Median Income could afford less than 30% of the housing stock in Oak Park

“Those goals were specifically calling out the importance of addressing the affordability component of homeownership as well and a racial equity component recognizing the disparities that currently exist in homeownership rates in Oak Park and the access to home ownership here,” Burch said.

Oak Park Realtors Gover nment Affairs Director Michael Bailey also addressed the board, calling on the village to take a proactive approach to addressing the housing supply in the village. Bailey said that buyer support programs in a community with a dwindling housing supply is like “a gift card to a restaurant that has no reservations.”

That 2024 report revealed that there was a more than $230,000 gap between the median cost of a single-family home in Oak Park and what a household bringing in the median income for metro Chicago can afford. Homebuyer counseling and education programs, mortgage credits and a downpayment assistance program targeting new homebuyers were among the strategies village staff recommended for supporting potential first-time homebuyers in the village and addressing the ongoing affordability crisis

The proposed downpayment assistance program would seek to assist first-time homebuyers purchasing in the village, with the program providing households $6,000 to go towards downpayments. Many of the forgivable loans would likely support people buying condos, as condo purchases have been identified as a “gateway to homeownership” as the median cost for a single-family home in Oak Park soars past $550,000, increasing by more than 20% since last year.

“When moving is considered too expensive, residents stay put longer,” Bailey said. “When people stay in their homes longer, there are fewer homes on the market. With this in mind, staff recommendations for first time home buyer assistance must be coupled with efforts to unlock existing housing supply. The housing ladder is broken here in Oak Park. First time buyers, seniors and move-up families are affected most by the lack of housing mobility.”

On average, the entire available for-sale housing supply in Oak Park turns over completely in less than two months, while a healthy market sees that supply turn over across six months, Bailey said.

The proposed downpayment assistance program would cost $96,000 per year, for a total of $480,000 over five years, aiming to help approximately 80 households earning less than 120% of the Area Median Income in that span, Neighborhood Services Director Jonathan Burch said.

“There’s no silver bullet to fixing affordable homeownership in Oak Park,” Burch said. “It’s about cobbling together many different things.”

Burch cited 2022 Census Bureau data revealing that homeownership rates in Oak Park lag behind nationwide and regional aver-

Trustee Cory Wesley said the lack of housing supply would be the biggest challenge to a downpayment assistance program’s effectiveness

“I feel like this is a challenge, and I’m hugely supportive of this,” Wesley said. “I don’t see how that level of supply will allow us to take this program and make it meaningful.”

“The first issue we have, the bigger issue we have, is supply.”

The board did not vote on whether or not to approve any of the proposed programs, with more discussion of the initiatives expected at a future meeting

Residents learn about Oak Park’s zoning future

‘Shape Oak Park’ workshops shed light on village leaders’ plan to address housing through single-family zoning reform

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Residents had two opportunities to lear n about Oak Park leaders’ plans to remake the village’s zoning code, with hopes that the refor ms refresh the local housing stock.

The village has partnered with several consulting firms on a months-long community engagement effort supporting planned refor ms to the village’s zoning code, namely the potential elimination of all single-family housing only zones from Oak Park’s zoning map. Village leaders’ hope is that the reform would allow for more “missing middle housing” to be built in neighborhoods that currently only allow for single-family residences in response to high housing costs.

Missing middle housing is defined as “a range of house-scale buildings with multiple units – compatible in scale and form with detached single-family homes – located in a walkable neighborhood.” It usually looks like duplexes, triplexes or small apartment buildings that can accommodate a few families, often in blocks that also have single-family homes.

Oak Park’s village board voted last August to award a contract to Opticos Design, an architectural firm specialized in zoning reform, to study eliminating Oak Park’s singlefamily zones from the zoning map. The consultant group’s plan for the project hinges on a community-wide education and awareness campaign and analysis of how zoning reform would impact the village’s housing supply Oak Park residents were invited to par-

ticipate in two workshops on the topic, one at 7 p.m. Monday, March, 2 at the Community Recreation Center on Madison Street and another at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 4 at the Oak Park Main Library on Lake Street.

The workshops are meant to answer resident questions, gather feedback and make the case for how eliminating the village’s single-family zones could create new housing opportunities, according to Kristian Gist, who works for the village’s community engagement consultant for the project All Together Studios.

Gist said community engagement efforts over the last few months have included surveys, pop-up events and meetings with local real estate professionals.

“My role on this project has kind of been about how we make this highly technical conversation more accessible to someone who has no experience with zoning and maybe doesn’t know what the word zoning means and someone who’s like an expert,” Gist said.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve seen a lot of opposition towards updating the zoning code, more so just questions about it.”

“I would say that in comparison to other places we’ve worked with, Oak Park is being very proactive.”

While reforming zoning would be a major step, it likely wouldn’t yield massive shortterm changes. The refor ms would be made with “right sized development” and have guardrails in place so the types of new constructions could be built in residential neighborhoods, Gist said.

The village already has a lot of “missing

middle” housing types, particularly in south Oak Park. Oak Park also has relatively few tracts of developable land, so the impact of the refor ms would be more subtle than they’d be in other communities, Gist said.

“I think Oak Park is taking a leadership role here by updating the zoning, taking a look at it but it’s not in a way that this update is going to be huge,” Gist said. “It’s going to be small, subtle adjustments that allow for more housing adjustments that allow for more housing but still preserve Oak Park’s character, so it’s still a place where you can see the sky without the shadows of buildings casting down over you or wind tunnels.”

The engagement effort comes after village trustees have made it clear that reforming the zoning map was a legislative priority. Trustees have linked the village’s zoning code to the legacy of northern cities using zoning

codes to covertly enforce racial segregation through elements like single-family building requirements

Two trustees — Cory Wesley and Brian Straw — voted against ratifying the village’s zoning code last May in protest of the inclusion of the single-family zones. While the village board is required by state law to ratify the code each year, the trustees voted ‘no’ on the map to show how much reforming the code matters to them.

Following that conversation, Village President Vicki Scaman said the board was primed to make the transformative change.

“What I’m hearing tonight is when that comes forward to us in the (Requests for Proposals) that we will be ready to act,” she said in May. “I just think that we will be a pretty amazing group to host the conversation and the sense of urgency is heard.”

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Illinois State Police investigate Oak Park o cer’s self-in icted shooting

O cer shot himself inside the police station

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

The Illinois State Police are investigating an incident in which a for mer Oak Park police officer reportedly shot himself inside the police station at Village Hall.

On Wednesday, Oct. 16 at approximately 5:45 p.m., an Oak Park police officer sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound while inside the police station, village officials confirmed to Wednesday Journal last year.

The officer was hospitalized for his injuries but was eventually discharged.

The officer retired from the department on Jan. 23, 2026, “following more than 25 years of dedicated service to the village of Oak Park,” the village confir med this week.

Illinois State Police confirmed that its investigation into the incident is ongoing when ISP FOIA officer Sarah Wheeler denied Wednesday Journal’s Freedom of Information Act request for records related to the incident last month.

“ISP is still actively investigating this case,” Wheeler said in response to Wednesday Journal’s FOIA request. “ISP is awaiting information from outside agencies and investigating how the firearm was discharged, and the officer was struck. The release of the requested records at this

time would compromise the investigation by exposing information about the pending and fluid investigation including reports, suspect/witness statements, physical evidence, laboratory results and photographic evidence, and would jeopardize outstanding interviews being conducted.”

SMALL BITES

March is in like a lamb, out like lambchops

T.S. Eliot might think that April is the cruelest month, but April ain’t got nothin’ on March in my opinion. March lulls us with false spring, then wallops with freezing drizzle, grey days, and nary a flower yet to be seen (unless you look really, really hard for crocus.)

All that moaning to say, cold rainy days tell me to stay home. Don’t give in. There are places to go:

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

Opening up: Habibi’s Chicken and Falafel, a quick service concept from local chain Pita Pita Mediterranean Grill is now serving at 421 N. Harlem Ave. in Oak Park. This location was previously Slice Factory. Free, validated parking in the lots behind the spot, between Harlem and Maple avenues.

Closing down: Milly’s Pizza in the Pan has shuttered their Berwyn location at 6737 Roosevelt. Business was fine, but family time was getting pinched with two locations said owner Robert Maleski.

Three Oak Park restaurants won the village public health department’s Johnson Restaurant Awards in recognition of having the highest two-year inspection records: Publican Quality Breads, Rustico, Sugar Beet Co-op.

In other coveted-hardware news, Climate Ready Green Awards given out by Oak Park’s Environment and Energy Commission were presented to Happy Apple Pie Shop and Daly Bagel for leadership in advancing climate-centered sustainability.

EcoWilde is an ecologically driven floral, plant and recandling (they put new wax and wicks in emptied holders) biz. They just opened doors between Ciro and Carnivore at 1046 Pleasant St. in Oak Park

Speaking of those neighbors, Ciro has a shelf full of direct-from-Italy products for sale. Items include a hazelnut and coco spread that puts Nutella in its place.

I missed mentioning Black Restaurant Week deals in last month’s column, but I want to shout out to the local establishments that particiChicago’s Home of n & Waffles at 543 Madison St. in Oak Park, Rhythm & Blues Café at 7522 Madison St. in Forest , and TNT Rooftop Restaurant at 5405 W. Madison St. in Chicago.

Khyber Pass, 1031 Lake St. in Oak Park, celebrated their 30th year with a reribbon cutting.

There’s a new owner at Mickey’s Gyros & Ribs, 525 N. Harlem Ave. in Oak Park. No news on any changes in the works, but for now it’s business as usual.

The power went out at Espresso Café, 7501 Roosevelt Rd. in Forest Park. It’s back on now and they need to make up for lost revenue. Go get their house-made empanadas or a guava and cheese pastry!

U3 Coffee, 7430 Madison in Forest Park, is launching a year-long Meet the Artist series celebrating local artists and promoting community connection and conversation. Each ar tist’s work will be displayed in the café for six weeks.

Eats-out dined out at Little Owl Social Pub at 3747 Grand Blvd. in Brookfield. The burgers were spot-on and the tater tot nachos we ordered for the table were amazing too

O’Sullivan’s Public House’s request to use some of the sidewalk by their 7244 Madison St. address in Forest Park was approved. Café tables are planned for warmer weather. Please April, bring us fair weather!

But if you are still focused on the lamb, get that at Carnivore, 1042 Pleasant St., Oak Park

Got news, questions or ideas for this column? Email them to us at Eats@oakparkeats.com.

Play It Again dedicates batting cages to Eddie Sitzman

The Oak Park resident died last year and touched many communities in the western suburbs

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

The batting cages in the back of Play It Again Sports on Madison Street in Forest Park are now named after Eddie Sitzman, a beloved employee and community member in Oak Park and River Forest.

On Feb. 25, Play It Again dedicated its batting cages to Sitzman, an Oak Park resident who died last year at 21. Sitzman worked at Play It Again for over four years and loved hitting baseballs in the back of the store.

Erich Krumrei, owner of Play It Again Sports, said it wasn’t easy when Sitzman, who had Down syndrome, started work ing at the sports gear store, and he had a lot of conversations with his parents. But Sitzman soon became a vital part of the culture at Play It Again, where he worked a couple days a week cleaning and organizing inventory.

“We stopped trying to cater to his disability and cater to the person,” Krumrei said. And after a while, Sitzman found a routine and was always reliable, on time and lifted spirits. Krumrei said he’ll miss Sitzman’s sense of humor and how he gave him a hug before and after every shift.

“It was a huge, huge loss, not just for the business, but for all of us who work here, losing a friend and a colleague like that,” Krumrei said. “Eddie contributed to us being a good small business in the community, and it’s hard to have him gone.”

In addition to pasting Sitzman’s name on the wall of the batting cages, Play It Again is also displaying a framed jersey with Michael Jordan’s number on it, Sitzman’s name, and his quote, “Michael Jordan played one sport. I played them all.” His family remembered the quote after watching “The Last Dance” with Sitzman.

Sitzman won 59 Special Olympics medals for track and field, soccer, basketball, golf, floor hockey and powerlifting. He was also a Special Olympic Athlete leader, promoting and advocating for the organization.

“Everybody here knows Eddie as a really capable, confident, kind person and super competitive, just a natural athlete. He had that drive that really good athletes have that just makes a difference,” said his father, Mark Sitzman, at the batting cage dedication. “He was good at everything, and he

Eddie Sitzman’s parents Mark Sitzman and Cathy Morgan with Play It Again sta , Oak Park re ghters, Opportunity Knocks participants, and other neighbors and friends at the batting cage dedication on Feb. 25.

was super fun to be around for those reasons. But what you may not know is what he liked more than anything is hanging out with people.”

At Play It Again, Mark Sitzman thanked a room of about two dozen people from the church and schools their family attended, plus neighbors, participants from Opportunity Knocks and the Oak Park Fire Department staf f.

“He had a little group in every one of those communities. He just had a way of connecting with people,” Mark Sitzman said.

Eddie Sitzman was a part of School District 200’s Community Inte gration Transition Education program. CITE offers Individualized Education Program services, therapeutic support and vocational training to adults ages 18-to-22 years old with disabilities. With CITE, Sitzman volunteered weekly at the Oak Park Fire De partment, Wonder Works Children’s Museum, and was a teacher’s assistant at the Ascension School preschool and the Children’s

School’s kindergarten class.

“I think the aspiration of the program is really to create connections like the one that occurred here,” Phil Carmody, president of Opportunity Knocks — a River Forest-based nonprofit that teaches new skills and creates community among people of all abilities — told the Review at the batting cages. “I think the way Erich and his crew embraced [Eddie] and blended him in with their culture here, it speaks to their quality of care and the culture they have as a business.”

Carmody added that, from his administrative view, Sitzman was a natural leader and had a solid friend group at Opportunity Knocks.

“They create a presence that just wasn’t there before and have very dynamic personalities,” Carmody said. Sitzman was also involved vocationally with Opportunity Knocks and was dipping his toes into more administrative roles before he passed.

As a part of CITE, Sitzman visited the

Oak Park Fire Department every Thursday for a few hours. He wouldn’t go on calls, but helped with daily activities, like washing ambulances, training, and joking with firefighters over lunch.

“He fell right into our camaraderie. He was one of us,” said firefighter Nathan Holdman. He said that one of the things he’ll miss most about Sitzman is how he was able to put everyone at ease.

“Your guard came down a lot. One of the things I think we all keep up is a guard to protect us on calls, a shield, because we see bad things all the time,” Holdman said.

Sitzman passed away last July and, in August, was planning to attend Judson University in Elgin to study child development. He was granted Ruby Rainbow’s highest-level scholarship for his dedication to his community, his academic and extracurricular successes, and his positive re presentation of people with Down syndrome.

Krumrei said he promised Sitzman he’d hire him as a manager when he graduated: “He was always asking to do more things in the store,” Krumrei said.

“I think we learned a lot as a business and employees and friends, how to work well with somebody with disabilities and realize that he had tremendous potential to go on to do things in his life,” Krumrei told the Review. “Businesses, if they think about hiring somebody with special needs, it’s an investment, and it doesn’t happen overnight. It kind of puts everything in perspective, too. The day-to-day problems don’t seem that tremendous when you look at somebody like Eddie, who is just living his best life every single day.”

“For you to offer him the opportunity to be here,” Mark Sitzman said to Krumrei, “to give him that community and sense of belonging, you gave him dignity, and you gave us a sense that there’s hope for him for the rest of his life.”

“I’ve known Eddie all his life. He was an all-star in every category. He was so funny, smart, gentle and kind,” said Mia Toschi, who’s known Eddie’s mother, Cathy Morgan, since they were children. She came from Indiana for the batting cage dedication. “He was like, ‘I’m a great athlete.’ And he was not shy to tell you that. He was a remarkable kid and, as much as we miss him, he’ll be in our hear ts forever.”

JESSICA MOR DACQ

Don’t let the Illinois 7th congressional race be bought by big money and special interest groups

TWO CANDIDATES’

campaigns are supported by

AIPAC

the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, its mega-donors, and its PAC - the United Democracy Project.

Melissa Conyers-Evers

$2,800,000

AIPAC FUNDS

Fined $30,000 for misuse of Chicago city funds

Jason Friedman

$140,000 AIPAC FUNDS

Supported by big business and finance

What Does AIPAC Do in Elections?

• AIPAC has a $96 million dollar war chest devoted to elect candidates who will vote for unrestricted military aid to Israel’s destruction and ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

• AIPAC lobbied the U.S. Congress to give over $38 billion over the past 10 years for military aid to Israel – money that should have been used for housing, healthcare, and education in our communities.

• AIPAC supported congressional candidates who voted against the certification of presidential results after insurrectionists stormed the US Capitol on January 6th

Six candidates on the ballot to replace Congressman Danny Davis in IL-7 have signed a pledge from CJPIP and ICHR to not take money from AIPAC or affiliated groups.

For more information on AIPAC, the pledge, and the information here, see: cjpipforjustpeace@substack.com Committee for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel and the Illinois Coalition for Human Rights. This ad is for information only. CJPIP and ICHR do not endorse or support candidates.

7TH DISTRIC T DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

7TH DISTRIC T

from page 1

Because of her past campaigns against Davis in 2020, 2022, and 2024 C ollins has much higher name reco gnition than Showalter and Mendoza and a more established b ase of suppo rt Th at ’s something that Eder c onsidered when deciding whom to suppo rt .

“In such a crowded field name reco gnition is ve ry important c ompared to other ones,” Eder said. “There are practical things that progr essives who are involved in this c ampaign need to c onsider such as does your candidate really have a good chance of winning, how you t ry to achieve wh at yo want, it ’s less about the in dividual and more about p oli cy outcomes. We have be strat eg ic about how pick the p eople we want to re present us.”

C ollins cu rrently seems to be r unning third, b ehind frontrunners State Re p. Shawn Fo rd and Chicag City Treasurer Melissa C years-Ervin, in wh at little p olling that’s been done in the race

relative ly late and hasn’t raised much money

Catherine Larson, the c ampaign manager for Showalter, said that C ollins’s relat ively high standing in p olls is a product of her name reco gnition.

“Obviously p eople know her name bu t as we also saw she ended up not filing her F EC (Federal E lections C ommission report) until 16 days after the d eadline and when she did had, you know, it showe d that she has less than $5,000 c ash on hand And, to me, that shows the numbers in those polls are probably a ceiling.”

C ollins, who lives in S outh Austin and g ot her start as an a dvo cate for victims of g un violenc e, says her roots in the c ommunity give her an edge over the other young progr essives in the race.

But supporters of Showalter, Mend oz a and Dr iver say that wh i le they li ke C ollins, her p ast losses, and the new faces in the race, has convinced them that it is time to move on to someone new. Mendoza, an i mmi gr ation rights activist, and Showalter, a lawyer who has wo rked fo r the House Ju diciary C ommittee, the Department of Justice and the F TC have b oth impressed many activists with their knowledge, ener gy and commitment.

“This time around I’ve decided that I’m going to suppo rt Anabel,” said Oak Pa rk activist Scott S akiyama who had suppor ted Collins in past race s. “I think tha t there are a number of g ood progr essive c andidates in the race. Anabel, I think, aligns closely with where I am on the issues and I decided to move on from Kina in the election because I think it ’s unusual that, you know, that you win on your four th time, that’s wh at I’ ve heard.”

Supporters of Mendoza and Showalter point out that C ollins entered the race

and establishment vote wh ich is going to split amongst five p eople who have pretty strong bases, if you ask me.”

Showalter, who grew up in Oak Pa rk and went to Fenwick High School before going to c olle ge at New Yo rk Unive rsit y and law school at C olumbia, says hi s back ground in wo rk ing in Washington, D. C. gi an edge that none of c andidates have

“I think the person who wins this seat is a person who uniquely understands the struggles and yd ay economic realities at it means to be a West Sider and also folks who live in laces li ke Bellwood and Mayood and p laces on the south ide of Chicago that d eal with ry similar i ssues to Austn, ” ollins said. “While it ’s great to a progr essive b ase in Oak I think wh at my suppo rtve always understood is that one of the ke y reasons of why they supported my c ampaign is that I would be a re presentative living in one of the p oorest areas in this district and have that sense of urgency to g et those problems solved.”

C ollins and her supporters are asking progr essives to c oalesce around her as the March 17 election approaches

“Hopefully there are some c onsolidation ef for ts that take p lace in these final weeks because I think it c ould be a powe rf ul message sent w rit large across the dist rict of progr essives being serious about capturing the seat,” Collins said.

C ollins also said wh i le there is talk about progr essives splitting the vote there are also a number of more establishment c andidates in the race who will split that vote.

“I think that Reed and Anabel are brilliant and I think that they have great platfo rm s, ” C ollins said. “A nd I think that p eople are p utting a lot of attention on the progr essives in this race i nstead of looking at the diluting of the moderat e

“This seat, at this moment, needs somebody w big sw ings, fight for sive values, has the federa experience to do it on da one and there is nobody else in this field who has in the federal gove the last five year s, the last 10,” Showalter said. “Whomeve r wins is going to take offic in the m iddle of the tion and we need somebody how to do this job on day one Mendoza, the youngest c andidate in the race, has r un an energetic c ampaign. Sh e grew up in the West Lawn neighborhood of Chic ago and was able to attend the exclusive Latin School of Chicago because her mother wo rked there as an administrat ive assistant and the family qualified for discounted tuition.

the streets, i mmi gr ants and U. S. citiz ens ali ke I am the only c andidate in thi s race who brings years of experience on the front lines of the i mmi gr ants’ rights movement, having org anized s ide by s ide with i mmi gr ant youth, having led national c oalitions responsible for blocking tens of millions of our d ollar s going to I CE and C BP in 2021 and 2022. ” Mendoza said it is not a ba d thing that there are multipl e oung progr essives in the

“I think voters d eser ve a hoice,” Mendoza said. “I think that’s the sign of a healthy d emocra cy is when oters are able to be extremepicky about who they want present them. Everyone ho is seeking to r un, and that includes needs to do the wo rk to ear n c ontinue to expect p eohave to do the wo rk to ear n it.”

“I li tween two different West Lawn and the Lati School of said. “It was one of difficult experiences being one of only a few students of in that school, wo rk

attending a school that is extremely af investment looks li wh at having West La After Unive i mmi that she C ong ress.

“I b eli eve I bring a unique c ombination to this role that no other c andidate brings including, especially in the progressive lane of this race,” Mend oz a said. “A t a time when we are seeing IC E agents brutalize and murder p eople on

A nother c andidate with significant progr essive suppo rt is Dr iver, who ser ve s as the executive director of the powe rfu l Service Employees I nternational Union I llinois State C ouncil. Dr iver has b een endorsed by the C ong ressional Progr essive Caucus line,” Driver said. “I’m a labor leader, a coalition builder. T here is a big argument in the 7th District about who is the most progressive candidate in the race, who’s the right progressive. And I want to say for the record that you can’ t be progressive if you don’ t walk amongst the people, if you

ANABEL MENDOZA

ANTHONY DRIVER

REED SHOWALTER

NO WA R PROTEST

don’ t serve the people.”

Driver is a strong speaker and impressed many when he was one of many candidates who spoke at a meeting of the Democratic Party of Oak Park (DPOP) last fall.

“He not only talks the talk, he walks the walk,” said Driver supporter Wendy Epstein.

T he Democratic Party of Oak Park is staying neutral in the cong ressional primary.

“It is an impressive collection of candidates, f amiliar faces, new faces, they each bring some strengths to the race,” said State Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), the Democratic Party Oak Park Township Committeeman. “I think

all of them have impressed some of our members but there’s no consensus at this point. I’m just excited to let democracy happen.”

Re ga rdless of who wins the primar y S akiyama thinks that even if they do n’t win Mendoza, C ollins and Showalter all have promising futures

“I have a lot of respect for all three of those candidates,” Sakiyama said. “I think it’s exciting that people are excited to have progressive candidates that they really like that they’re not choosing the lesser of the two evils. I don’ t find it particularly frustrating. I think it’s good to build a bench of people here and, you know, if it’s not Cong ress for those folks maybe it’s something else in a year or two.”

Protest Sunday in Oak Park’s Scov ille Park

PHOTO S BY TODD BANNOR

Social Living with t Lisa Capone

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Livinginaretirementcommunity canofferseveralsocial advantagesforolderadults.These communitiesaredesignedto promotesocialinteraction, engagement,andasenseof belonging.Herearesomeofthe socialadvantagestolivingina retirementcommunity:

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River Forest librar y carves out a new community space

Once used for HVAC equipment, library debuts a room for all purposes

By JACKIE PISANO Contributing Reporter

Smartphones. E-readers. Home streaming services. The rise ofartificial intelligence search engines

In this ever-g rowing digital era, many people may assume that libraries are obsolete places as information and entertainment are seemingly right at our fingertips at home and on the go

S o c i a l E n g a g e m e n t : D a i l y a c t i v i t i e s l i k e o u t i n g s , f i t n e s s

c l a s s e s , h o b b y g r o u p s , a n d g a m e n i g h t s k e e p r e s i d e n t s a c t i v e a n d i n t e r a c t i n g .

SocialEngagement: Daily activitieslikeoutings,fitness classes,hobbygroups,and gamenightskeepresidents activeandinteracting.

S e n s e o f C o m m u n i t y : A c l o s ek n i t e n v i r o n m e n t f o s t e r s m e a n i n g f u l r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d

r e d u c e s l o n e l i n e s s .

SenseofCommunity :Acloseknitenvironmentfosters meaningfulrelationshipsand reducesloneliness.

Yet each year, public libraries across the U.S. are hard at work reinventing themselves as more than just quiet places filled with books, but as vibrant neighborhood hubs filled with free digital resources and entertainment, maker spaces, workshops and more, providing patrons ofall ages countless opportunities for social interaction and community empowerment.

B u i l t - I n S o c i a l N e t w o r k : L i v i n g

a m o n g p e e r s i n a s i m i l a r l i f e s t a g e m a k e s i t e a s i e r t o c o n n e c t a n d b u i l d s u p p o r t i v e n e t w o r k s

Built-InSocialNetwork: amongpeersinasimilarlifeLiving stagemakesiteasierto connectandbuildsupportive networks.

C o n v e n i e n c e : O n - s i t e d i n i n g , f i t n e s s , a n d c o m m o n a r e a s m a k e g a t h e

Convenience: fitness,andcommonareasOn-sitedining, makegatheringwithfriends simpleandaccessible.

S u p p o r t i v e E n v i r o n m e n t :

R e s i d e n t s s h a r e e x p e r i e n c e s , o f f e r

SupportiveEnvironment: Residentsshareexperiences, offeringemotionalsupportand encouragementtooneanother.

E a s e o f M a k i n g F r i e n d s :

And that’s why this winter, the River Fo est Public Library, 735 Lathrop Ave., has been excited to showcase its latest capital improvement project — a new community space, ADA-compliant bathrooms near the children’s area and updated Children’s Services staf f workspaces — with the intention that the significant building project will further support modern needs ofthe public and encourage both longtime and new visitors to stop by

F r e q u e n t e v e n t s a n d s h a r e d

s p a c e s n a t u r a l l y c r e a t e

EaseofMakingFriends: Frequenteventsandshared spacesnaturallycreate opportunitiesfornew friendships.

Emily Compton, who has served as the library’s director since January 2021, says a project ofthis scale is something the library had wanted to do ever since she came on board.

support from the library’s Foundation — $100,000 toward Phase 1 and $300,000 toward Phase 2, with additional funding from the library’s Capital Fund.

o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r n e w f r i e n d s h i p s

VisitCantata.orgformore seniorlivingadviceorcall (708)387-1030.

Visit Cantata.org for more senior living advice or call (708) 387-1030

But while the library was eager to moder nize building equipment and add a new space, creating room in the historic, landlocked building was a challenge.

“When I met with the operations manager, the first thing she asked me was, ‘Do you know what an air handler is?’ Compton said. “Before I started, the board and staf f knew they had to re place the air handler — 400 square feet ofmechanical equipment — and had wondered ifit was possible to capture more public space by re placing it outside.”

Funds for the project came from a combination ofa generous $100,000 patron bequest, Illinois State Library Grant and

According to Compton, Phase 1 of construction began in 2023, with village approval to build an exterior enclosure, rene gotiation ofthe library’s lease with the River Forest Park District, review of room occupancy codes and craning in new equipment.

During Phase 2, the library worked with Engberg Anderson Architects to create the final design for the new community room, staf f office spaces and a new bathroom, with construction beginning in 2024 and concluding this past September.

“We went from discussions about how to reroute ductwork to selecting paint, tile and furniture, which was much more fun,” she said.

And, at the beginning of February, renovations were complete and debuted to the public.

The new community room, which features modern lighting, a presentation screen, cabinetry and a sink, provides seating and accommodations for up to 26 people, offering locals a fresh, flexible space for programs, meetings and other public gatherings. When not in use by reservation, the room is available as a flexible walk-in space for studying and reading.

While the library knew it was working within the limitations ofan older building and square footage, Compton says “the wonderful problem” was the building’s popularity within the community, meaning excitement was buzzing for years around the project.

“From the beginning, we had dreams ofthe new Community Room being a flex space — a spillover play space for kids when the Children’s Room is busy, a second room in the building for library programs, and an alternative when our study rooms

JACKIE PISANO

7TH DISTRIC T DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

A er two decades working for Congress, Ehrlich seeks 7th District seat

Professor of public and environmental policy has worked for congressmen and as a watchdog

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

Editor’s note: Ahead of the March 17 primary, Wednesday Journal is profiling the candidates running in the 7th congressional district in Illinois. Whoever wins the November election will succeed Re p. Danny Davis, who is retiring after nearly 30 years in the position. This week, we re port on Dave Ehrlich.

Dave Ehrlich has taught graduate school classes on public policy for 21 years and worked for congressmen, or participated in the group that is Congress’ watchdog, for 22 years. And now he’s running for the 7th congressional district.

“I think it’s pretty incontrovertible that I do have more experience with both policy and in Congress,” Ehrlich said, compared to the race’s other candidates. He’s running for Congress because “ICE invaded, and I couldn’t just sit on the sidelines. I had to get involved.”

Ehrlich worked for Cong. Charles Rangel, who re presented New York City districts for 46 years and was the first African American to lead the Ways and Means Committee — the tax-writing body that drafts legislation for taxes, tariffs and social service programs. Rangel also founded the Congressional Black Caucus.

Rangel was one of the prime sponsors of the Af fordable Care Act and the main sponsor for the low-income housing tax credit, “which has provided 90% of af fordable housing in the U.S. over the last 30 years,” Ehrlich said.

“I would want to continue his le gacy. He was interested in the same kinds of issues that I’m interested in,” Ehrlich said, adding that he wants to lower the cost for ACA and expand Medicaid to cover more uninsured people. “I learned a lot of internal stuf f from him and also how to work within Congress.”

Ehrlich also worked for Claude Pe pper, a congressman re presenting the Miami

area who served as chairman of the House Rules Committee that has jurisdiction over the terms and conditions of debate on legislation on the House floor.

“He was one of the people who advocated getting into World War II before the rest of the world,” Ehrlich said. And he helped create the Lend-Lease Act that allowed the U.S. to sell or transfer defense equipment to allied countries. Ehrlich added that Pe pper was “Mr. Social Security” and advocated for the elderly and liberalism.

Ehrlich spent 15 years working for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which is the investigative and consulting arm of Congress.

“GAO is the watchdog of Congress,” Ehrlich said. The office analyzes most any part of federal government operations (aside from open market activities and the National Security Agency) to work with committees and get consensus from Re publicans and Democrats. “We’ re also trained to look for corruption, waste, fraud and abuse.”

Though Ehrlich no longer works for the GAO, he said the office has done 30-some investigations on the current Trump Administration, including ones involving the newly created Department of Government Efficiency and a brokerage firm that seemingly had insider information that Trump’s tariffs wouldn’t pass.

“I think reducing corruption will solve a lot of these other problems,” Ehrlich said.

Ehrlich’s platform

Over the last 21 years, Ehrlich has taught over 140 courses to over 3,000 students on climate and environmental policy. While teaching at UIC, Indiana University, the Illinois Institute of Technolo gy and DePaul University, Ehrlich said he often educates students about legislation that would help slow the effects of climate chang e, like a carbon tax and/or cap-and-trade plan.

A carbon tax would simply put a fee on fossil fuels, while a cap-and-trade would

set a le g al limit on how much gove ments and companies can pollute, and allow them to auction of f their emission permits, in an ef fort to reduce greenhouse g ases

“We could do it here in Chicago without having a national plan, which is what we’re going to have to do for the next couple years. We’re going to have to separate from the administration and do things locally,” he said.

Ehrlich is advocating for clean air, the lack of which affects lower income neighborhoods more than wealthy ones

Ehrlich cites a New York University study that shows that at least 80% of health disparities can be attributed to environmental and socioeconomic factors, while 20% is attributed to health and behavioral factors.

“Eating more ve g etables is good, having good health care and having good access to health care is great, but we need clean air and jobs,” Ehrlich said. “Lower income people benefit more through jobs and through cleaner air than wealthier people, but they still benefit too.”

Ehrlich also cites the need for more green infrastructure throughout Chicago, largely to help prevent flooding but also to increase property values

“The medium-term solution is infrastructure. It’s pretty cheap. You can get it done by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, block-by-block. T hey’re looking for example projects that they can showcase,” said Ehrlich, who ran for the MWRD board in 2012.

Ehrlich, who’s not taking any PAC or corporate money, also stresses the importance of refo rming campaign finances While candidates are limited to receiving $3,500 per individual per election, wealthy people can funnel money into 501c4s which can then give it to a Super PAC to fund elections. For example, the American Israel Public Af fairs Committee is a 501c4 that operates the United Democracy Project Super PAC, which recently com-

DAVE EHRLICH

mitted to spending $2.8 million on Melissa Conyears-Ervin’s campaign for the 7th district seat.

Without refo rm, “the people buying our elections will never be identified,” Ehrlich said. He said he’s seen cong resspeople spend hours a day making calls to raise money to pay party dues in order to be a part of certain committees. Some committee taxes can climb to millions of dollars per term, “which tells you how much time they’re spending on policy,” Ehrlich said of those who have to raise that money.

Ehrlich said, if elected, he’d hold a comment period for legislation in order to hear how his constituents feel about particular issues. He said, though not always implemented, a federal agency is supposed to have a comment period of 60 to 90 days for proposed re gulations from Cong ress. Before the agency decides how the law will be put into effect, it’s supposed to solicit comments and respond to everyone.

“When it c omes down to actually putting these laws into effect, you need specific re gulations, and you need to think about who’s going to respond, who isn’ t going to respond, how are they going to g et around the re gulations, is it going to go anywhere or are people just going to ignore it?” Ehrlich said.

Other Democratic candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring for Davis’s seat include Richard Boykin, Kina Collins, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Anthony Driv er Jr., Dr. Thomas Fisher, La Shawn Ford, Jason Friedman, Rory Hoskins, Anabel Mendoza, Jazmin Robinson, Reed Showalter and Felix Tello. Re publican candidates are Chad Koppie and Patricia Easle y.

Abstain from meat, not taste during Lent

What locals recommend that respects traditions

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Eats Reporter

For 40 days, the season of Lent is one of introspection as well as a variety of foods that respect the r ules, yet still please the palette.

For many Christians Lent is full of traditions that help focus the mind and soul. Growing up Protestant, I wasn’t privy to food traditions specific to Lent. Later in life I had the good luck to marry into a Catholic family and discover how the season can taste.

Elmwood Park, has several items to fit the season.

According to the Catholic Telegraph, “Roman Catholics must fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Additionally, they must abstain from meat on all Fridays during Lent.”

We asked local diners what their favorite local restaurant dishes are during this observation.

Many votes came in for Jimmy’s Place, 7411 W. Madison St. in Forest Park, which features Lake Victoria whitefish each F riday night during Lent.

Old World Pizza, 7230 W. North Ave. in

“Offering classic Lenten dishes like pepper & egg sandwiches and eggplant Parm sandwiches and pasta is important because it allows us to honor the traditions of our customers,” said manager Danielle Michelon. Also in Elmwood Park, Johnnie’s Beef, 7500 W. North Ave., serves up pepper & egg sandwiches on Fridays throughout the season. Taco Mucho, 220 Harrison St. in Oak Park, always has blackened fish tacos on the menu, but many diners seek them out at this time of the year

In Forest Park the shrimp Po’boy at Shanahan’s, 7353 Madison St., fits the bill. Berwyn Chicken Co, 7021 Roosevelt Rd. in Berwyn, rocks a Friday fish fry. Scratch Public House, 7505 Madison St. in Forest Park, and Scratch on Lake, 733 Lake St. in Oak Park, go all out with a Lenten menu: New England clam chowder, fried clam strips, filet-o-fish sandwiches, baja fish tacos and more. It’s hard to go wrong with these

bilities.

Blackened sh tacos at Taco Mucho

oin us at 1 pm on March 7, 2026 for our 30th Annual Forest Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade for a fun- lled day in downtown Forest Park. 65+ entries include bagpipers, Proviso East Marching Band, Irish dancers, local business entries, Medinah Shriner parade units, police & re departments & much more! e parade kicks o at 1 pm from Madison and Van Buren and travels east on Madison to Elgin.

Message from the Chamber St. Patty’s in Forest Park

We’ re not expecting half a million people like they are in Dublin, but attendance at our St. Patrick’s Day Parade is just as impressive for a town of our size…and we’re celebrating 30 years this year!

We host the parade early in March for a couple of reasons: to help ensure we don’t compete with local or city parades for entrants or attendance, and to drive business to Forest Park before the ‘official’ St. Patrick’s Day weekend celebration.

People often remark that the weather would be better if we moved the date up, but that’s not how Chicago-area weather rolls. For example, we’ve had 70-de gree weather on parade day, with temperatures in the 20’s the following Saturday and vice

versa…but Forest Park St. Pat’s Parade Day parade-goers are in it for the long haul so we always have a great turnout re gardless of the weather.

As with any event we host, sponsors are key to making the parade happen. Their support allows us create an entertaining line-up that includes entries like Medinah Shriner’s parade units who receive an honorarium for participating. Event sponsorship also supports the overall work ofthe Chamber.

Huge thanks to this year’s main sponsors: Title Sponsors: Village of Forest Park, O’Sullivan’s Public House; Metro Facility Solutions, Ironworkers Local 1, Laborers Local One, Mid America Carpenters Union, Ferrara Candy Co. and Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch. Four LeafClover Sponsor: SBC Waste Solutions. Advertising Sponsors: Burke Beverage, Fatduck, Our Planet Automotive, Grand Appliance and TV, Fenwick High School, Christopher B. Burke Engineering, McDonald’s, Chicago and Cook County Building and Construc-

tion Trades Council, U3 Co ffee, Currie Motors, LaShawn K. Ford, Re public Services and Scratch Restaurant Group. Shamrock Sponsors: Grace Lutheran School, The Original Hooters, Chicago White Sox, School of Rock, Dog Den Chicago, Jimmy John’s, Francesca’s Fiore Pizzeria & Bak-

ery, Spotless Carwash, Aperion Care Forest Park, Park District of Forest Park, Nourishing Those in Need, Robert’s Westside, River Forest Animal Hospital and Richard Boykin for Cong ress.

Happy parade day and happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!

LAURIE KOKENES DIRECTOR

Legal Notice

cookcountyclerk.com

OFFICIAL NOTICE OF ELECTION, SPECIMEN BALLOTS, REFERENDA/QUESTIONS OF PUBLIC POLICY & POLLING PLACES

AVISO OFICIAL DE ELECCIÓN, BALOTA DE MUESTRA, REFERÉNDUMS / PREGUNTAS DE POLÍTICA PÚBLICA Y LUGARES DE VOTACIÓN

OFFICIAL NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, by Monica Gordon, Cook County Clerk

that the Primary Election will be held in Suburban Cook County on:

que la elección primaria se llevará acabo en los suburbios de Cook County en:

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Martes, 17 de marzo de 2026

The Primary Election will be held in election precincts under the jurisdiction of the Election Division of the Cook County Clerk's Office.

La eleccion primaria tomara acabo en precintos de eleccion bajo la jurisdicción de la división de eleccion del Cook County Clerk's Office.

The Polls for said Primary Election will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Locations are subject to change as necessity requires.

Las urnas para tal eleccion primaria estarán abiertas de las 6 a.m. hasta las 7 p.m. Localidades están sujetas a cambio por necesidad.

At the Primary Election the voters will vote on the following contests and referenda questions. Referenda/Questions of Public Policy will be voted upon in those precincts of Cook County under the jurisdiction of the Cook County Clerk in which a Unit of Local Government has requested the County Clerk’s Office to place said referenda/questions of public policy on the ballot.

En la eleccion primaria los votantes votaran por los siguientes puestos y cuestiones de referendo. Referendos/Cuestiones de Política Pública serán votadas en aquellos precintos de Cook County bajo la jurisdicción del Cook County Clerk en la cual una unidad de gobierno local le ha pedido a la oficina del County Clerk que provea dicho referendo/cuestión de política pública en la boleta.

TOWNSHIP OF OAK PARK

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OFFICIAL NOTICE OF POLLING PLACES

The voting will be conducted at the following polling places for each of the aforesaid election precincts selected by the Cook County Clerk.

Las votaciones tomaran lugar en cada de los antedichos precintos de elección seleccionados por el Cook County Clerk.

TWPPollingPlaceName TownshipNameAddress CityZipCodeActive

8500001HATCH SCHOOL OAK PARK1000 N RIDGELAND AVEOAK PARK Y

8500002HATCH SCHOOL OAK PARK1000 N RIDGELAND AVEOAK PARK Y

8500003LONGFELLOW SCHOOL OAK PARK715 HIGHLAND AVEOAK PARK Y

8500004HORACE MANN SCHOOL OAK PARK921 N KENILWORTH AVEOAK PARK Y

8500005HORACE MANN SCHOOL OAK PARK921 N KENILWORTH AVEOAK PARK Y

8500006GWENDOLYN BROOKS MIDDLE SCHOOLOAK PARK325 S KENILWORTH AVEOAK PARK Y

8500007OAK PARK TOWNSHIP OAK PARK105 S OAK PARK AVEOAK PARK Y

8500008DOLE LEARNING CENTER OAK PARK255 AUGUSTA ST OAK PARK Y

8500009AMERICAN HOUSE OAK PARK703 MADISON ST OAK PARK N

8500010WHITTIER SCHOOL OAK PARK715 N HARVEY AVEOAK PARK Y

8500011DOLE LEARNING CENTER OAK PARK255 AUGUSTA ST OAK PARK Y

8500012PERCY JULIAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLOAK PARK416 S RIDGELAND AVEOAK PARK Y

8500013LONGFELLOW SCHOOL OAK PARK715 HIGHLAND AVEOAK PARK Y

8500014HORACE MANN SCHOOL OAK PARK921 N KENILWORTH AVEOAK PARK Y

8500015J L HEDGES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOAK PARK218 MADISON ST OAK PARK Y

8500016ADELE H. MAZE LIBRARY OAK PARK845 GUNDERSON AVEOAK PARK Y

8500017LINCOLN SCHOOL OAK PARK1111 S GROVE AVEOAK PARK Y

8500018HOLMES SCHOOL OAK PARK508 N KENILWORTH AVEOAK PARK Y

8500019GWENDOLYN BROOKS MIDDLE SCHOOLOAK PARK325 S KENILWORTH AVEOAK PARK Y 850002019TH CENTURY CLUB OAK PARK178 FOREST AVE OAK PARK Y

JULIAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLOAK PARK416 S RIDGELAND AVEOAK PARK Y

PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY OAK PARK834 LAKE ST OAK PARK Y 8500023OAK PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY OAK PARK834 LAKE ST OAK PARK Y 8500024OAK PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY OAK PARK834 LAKE ST OAK PARK Y

8500025 WASHINGTON IRVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OAK PARK1125 S CUYLER AVEOAK PARK Y

8500026BEYE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OAK PARK230 N CUYLER AVEOAK PARK Y

8500027WEST CENTRAL CHURCH OAK PARK1154 WISCONSIN AVEOAK PARK Y

8500028GWENDOLYN BROOKS MIDDLE SCHOOLOAK PARK325 S KENILWORTH AVEOAK PARK Y

8500029WEST CENTRAL CHURCH OAK PARK1154 WISCONSIN AVEOAK PARK Y

8500030 WASHINGTON IRVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OAK PARK1125 S CUYLER AVEOAK PARK Y

8500031OAK PARK CONSERVATORY OAK PARK615 GARFIELD STOAK PARK Y

8500032AMERICAN HOUSE OAK PARK703 MADISON ST OAK PARK N

NOTE: The letter (N) following the polling place address denotes that the polling place itself is not accessible to the handicapped although other parts of the facility may be accessible. An exemption has been granted by the State Board of Elections and signs are posted indicating if the whole building is accessible or if there is a special entrance.

NOTA: La letra (N) después de la dirección de un lugar de votación indica que el lugar de votación en sí mismo no es accesible para personas discapacitadas, aunque otras partes del edificio pueden ser accesibles. La Junta Electoral del Estado ha concedido una exención y hay carteles publicados que indican si todo el edificio es accesible o si hay una entrada especial.

Dated at Chicago, Illinois this 4th day of March 2026

Monica Gordon Cook County Clerk Cookcountyclerk.com

Freed from Bali prison, Tommy Schaefer back in Chicago to face U.S. prosecution

By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter

More than 11 years after he was ar rested in Bali for the murder of for mer Oak Park resident Sheila Mack, Tommy Schaefer is back in the United States.

Like for mer girlfriend Heather Mack before him, Tommy was released from Kerobokan Prison on the Indonesian island of Bali Tuesday, after being held at an immigration detention center for nearly a week. He flew back to Chicago Tuesday night.

Unlike with Heather Mack, U.S. authorities did not wait for him to step onto U.S. soil before taking him into custody. The Department of Justice said in a press release T hursday that Schaefer “was ar rested in international air space on a flight back to the United States.”

In a court hearing Feb. 26 Schaefer stood next to his defense attorney, Matthew Madden, in an orange jumpsuit and chained at the ankles, his hands clasped behind his back, before Federal Judg e Matthew F. Kennelly.

As Schaefer’s mother, Kia Walker, watched from the front row of the cour t g allery, Judge Kennelly conducted his arraignment, info rming him of his rights, the charges against him and the maximum possible sentence if he is convict-

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are full,” she said. “The new room is serving that purpose, and we are now better equipped to serve those who need a meeting space — from Scout troops and tutors to the work-from-home crowd who need to make a Zoom call. The new bathroom is perfect for families visiting Children’s,

ed. Schaefer waived a for mal reading of the indictment and entered a plea of not guilty. He also waived having a detention hearing, with the understanding he ca seek release on bond at a later date. Kennelly ordered him retained until further notice

After the hearing, Kia Walker strode past the assembled TV cameras and reporter waiting in the Dirksen Federal Buildin lobby and walked out of the building accompanied by two other women.

Schaefer is charged in a three-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and one count of obstruction.

Now 32 years old, he faces up to life in prison in the United States if convicted for conspiracy to commit the murder of 62-year-old Sheila Mack. Kennelly set a Jan. 11, 2027 trial date. Schaefer’s next in cour t status hearing is May 21.

Schaefer has known since at least early November 2021, in the wake of the ar rest of Heather Mack by the FBI, that he was under indictment. What he could not have known and will soon find out, is the extent of the breadth and de pth of evidence prosecutors have to use against him at trial. Still, he apparently believes he can re present himself in cour t.

Wednesday Journal arrived several min-

and the staf f office space is an attractive, collaborative space for our wonderful Children’s team. This renovation helped solve many problems that come with being a well-loved, smaller space.”

While existing patrons were excited for the project, Compton says the renovations also add to the library’s greater ef for ts in encouraging more locals to utilize the library.

“We knew from River Forest’s Comprehensive Plan that meeting space is limited

utes late to the arraignment. Both the Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune re ported that Schaefer’s attorney, federal defender Matthew Madden, told Judge Kennelly that Schaefer wanted to re present himself.

When Kennelly asked Schaefer if he’d allow a defense attorney to re present him at arraignment, the papers re ported, Schaefer asked the judge if “there is anything ne gative that would happen to me” if he re presented himself

When Schaefer admitted that “I’m not really sure how everything goes,” Kennelly urged him to use competent le gal counsel and Schaefer ag reed to that for the time being.

Schaefer will spend his time awaiting trial housed in the high rise MCC prison, just west of the Chicago Loop, in sterile

in the village, and we were thrilled to have a rare opportunity to better address that need,” she said. “Research from our own Strategic Plan said the same thing, that there is a desire for all-ages meeting space for small and large groups at the library.”

Compton adds that the library is continuing to work with Engberg Anderson Architects on a space needs analysis of the entire building, with the understanding that though the building is a traditional library for books, it is also a community space for

confinement, with no direct sunlight allowed by the angled slit windows into a 7 1/2 by 10-foot cell with a solid steel door. It is all a far cry from the pleasant if humid mid-70s and alternating rain clouds and sunshine he left behind on Bali. Schaefer’s for mer girlfriend, Heather Mack, who was named in the same indictment as him, ag reed to a plea deal. She was sentenced to 26 years in prison in January 2025 for her part in her mother’s brutal killing, which was alle gedly planned by the two lovers in order to obtain a $1.5 million trust fund. She is currently incarcerated in the medium security women’s prison in Hazelton, West Virginia, and is scheduled to be released 18 years from this March

gathering and enrichment.

“So far, so good — feedback has been very positive,” she said. “The Community Room is being used, and the comfortable furniture, AV setup and convenient sink are getting a great response. Our Children’s staf f, who were incredibly patient being displaced during construction, are happy and collaborating in their new space. I’m excited to see what future improvements we can make to even better serve River Forest.”

L.D CHUKMAN ILLUSTRATION

OPRF boys wrestling takes 4th at state

Miller, Campbell get All-State honors for OPRF girls

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

For Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling coach Jason Renteria, bringing home a dual-team state trophy was one of his main goals for his debut season. The Huskies fulfilled that goal by placing fourth in the IHSA Class 3A dualteam state finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Feb. 27-28.

“It’s huge. When I first started coaching,” Renteria said, “this was the thing I was looking forward to getting the most. The icing on the cake was being able to do it for my alma mater. Pushing these boys to the same standard I had and seeing them accomplish their goal is huge. A team trophy is very special to me. It’s always cool to see kids do well individually, but when it’s a team, everyone has to come together to make it happen, and that’s what makes it so much fun.”

OPRF needed to win its quarterfinal, Feb. 27, against Barrington in order to guarantee a trophy. The Broncos jumped out to a

13-10 lead after five matches, but victories from Lucas Albrecht at 215 and Pier re Nelson at 285 shifted momentum toward the Huskies.

“Lucas and Pier re stepping it up was big,” Renteria said.

The dual came down to the final match at 144. Senior Zev Koransky defeated Jimmy Whitaker 3-2, giving OPRF a 33-31 victory and advancement to Saturday’s semifinals.

The Huskies faced Montini Catholic and dropped five of the first six matches to fall into an early hole. OPRF won three of the next four, including victories from MJ Rundell at 113 and state champion Jamiel Castleberry at 126. But the Broncos got a technical fall, a pin, and a decision in the next three matches to seal a 42-24 victory.

“We lost a couple of tight matches and couldn’t overcome it,” Renteria said. “But it’s good to see how close we really are to the top teams with the boys we have.”

In the third-place match, OPRF lost to St. Charles East 34-30. But that didn’t diminish the season at all in Renteria’s eyes.

“All I can say is that I’m extremely proud

e Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling team displ ays the IHSA Class 3A fourth-place trophy in Blooming ton, Feb. 28. Pictured le to right are seniors Pierre Nelson, Isaiah Gibson, Zev Koransky, David Ogunsanya, Jeremiah Hernandez, and Aiden Noyes, and OPRF head coach Jason Renteria.

of the boys and how the season went,” he said. “I know it may not have ended the way the boys wanted it to, but overall it was a great season, not only in terms of awards but also how much they’ve grown and matured from the middle of November to where we are today.”

Koransky, Nelson, and David Ogunsanya are among several seniors who will be lost to graduation. But in Albrecht, Castleberry, and Rundell, OPRF has a good foundation to reload around next year.

“I have a very good feeling. We’re going to have a lot of guys back and we’ll have some more looking to fill shoes,” Renteria said. “This will add fuel to the fire.”

Girls state wrestling

At the state individual finals in Bloomington, Feb. 27-28, OPRF senior Isabella Miller reached the finals of the 140-pound weight class, facing Emma Durst of Sycamore. While Miller was pinned by Durst in 1:50 and lost the match, hers was a strong run at state

Miller defeated Alketa Picari of Metea Valley 10-5 in the first round. She then pinned Urbana’s Ricky Ivy with 18 seconds left to win the quarterfinal, then won

9-8 over Sasha Johnson of Antioch in the semifinal.

For her ef forts, Miller was awarded AllState honors. Also receiving All-State for her top-six state finish is senior Caliyah Campbell, who pinned Sycamore’s Frankie McMurtry with :29 left to win her firstround match. She lost in the quarterfinals on a 10-0 major decision to Kira Thompson of O’Fallon and was forced into the wrestlebacks.

Campbell needed a win in her first wrestleback to stay alive in the tournament and got it by pinning Iy’Jah Grant of Champaign Central at 1:49. In the next match, she defeated Cahokia’s Janylah Holman with a 12-3 major decision to guarantee a top-six finish.

Campbell lost the final wrestleback 7-3 to Anali Wilson of Morton, then dropped the fifth-place match 9-7 to Layla Spann of Plainfield South.

Fenwick senior Valerie Franco, the first girls’ wrestler from the school to reach state, went 0-2 at 190. She was pinned in her opening match at the end of the second period by Kimyra Patrick of Plainfield South, then lost by fall (2:52) in the first wrestleback to Brooke Stellhorn of Belleville West.

DA N CHAMNESS

OPRF senior wrestler Aiden Noyes grapples with St. Charles East’s Jayden Hernandez in a 150-pound match at the Class 3A dual-team third-place match in Blooming ton, Feb. 28. Noyes defeated Hernandez on a technical fall 15-0.

DA N CHAMNESS

Oak Park police make arrest in CTA Blue Line battery, robbery

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park police arrested a Chicago man suspected of robbing an Oak Park woman on the ramp to a CTA Blue Line station in the village

Police arrested the 32-year-old shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 on charges of robbery and aggravated battery. The man is now in Cook County custody, according to county records.

The man alle gedly shoved the woman into a wall as she walked up an exit ramp at the train station, before stealing the woman’s Bluetooth headphones and glasses and fleeing on an eastbound train. The incident occurred at 8:40 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23, according to police.

The total value of the stolen items was estimated at $500, according to police.

Green Line robbery

Oak Park police are also investigating a violent robbery re por ted on the Metra train in Oak Pa rk last week.

The victim, a Chicago woman exited the westbound train at the Oak Pa rk stop in the 1100 block of South Boulevard when she noticed that a jumpsuit and a pair of gym shoes had been removed from her bag. The only other people on the train cart were a man and a woman in their 50s or 60s who’d also exited the train at the Oak Pa rk stop, according to police.

The victim confronted the couple about the items. Then the man pulled her back onto the train car and punched her in the head with a closed fist, according to police.

The woman re por tedly tried to give the victim back the stolen items before the man stopped her from doing so, according to police. The suspects then fled southbound on Harlem Avenue, according to police.

These items were obtained from Oak Park’s Police Department re ports dated Feb. 23–March 2 and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these re ports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We re port 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 a description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

MIGRANTS

Seeking D97’s support

from page 1

mented immigrants.

The speakers implored the district to create school based safety teams, provide school facilitated legal support for families, put up clear District 97 signage around schools informing federal agents that they are not allowed on school property without a judicial warrant, provide rapid response training to district staf f, create a sanctuary policy, create a clear safety plan for transportation to and from school for vulnerable students and families, provide professional development to school staf f so that they are better able to deal with the trauma that some students are feeling, and provide psychological support to help students manage their anxiety and fear.

Some of the speakers said that other school districts, such as the Chicago Public Schools and an Evanston school district, have more robust policies and practices to protect vulnerable students than District 97 seems to have

Later in the meeting school board members discussed the issue and expressed a desire to work with parents and the community on these issues.

School board member Becky Pere z, who noted that her parents were undocumented immigrants for decades before becoming United States citizens, said she thought the district was already providing some of the things that the public commenters were asking for.

“I do hope to be able to respond to the community’s request to continue to have these conversations,” Pere z said.

Meghan Carter, the parent of a third grader and a first grader at Longfellow School, said that every District 97 school should have a designated point person trained to deal with federal agents and support vulnerable students and families.

“I’m here today because I’m concerned our schools are still not adequately prepared,” said Carter who is a member of Longfellow PTO. “I have no doubt that district staf f,

teachers, paraprofessionals and every school staf f person wants to do the right thing. I want the board to equip them to do that.”

Some speakers said District 97 should provide expanded transportation for vulnerable students, expand after school programs to keep vulnerable kids and families safe and provide remote learning options for students whose families are afraid to send them to school.

“As a Mexican American woman, I have been afraid to walk my daughter to and from school by myself,” said Christina Ocon, the parent of second grader at Longfellow School and a member of the Longfellow PTO. “I make sure that I always have appropriate identification that signals my American citizenship out of fear of being profiled.”

Two current and one for mer District 97 teacher also spoke urging the district to do more.

An emotional Nicole Mendez, a bilingual transitional teacher at Holmes School, spoke about the impact the federal action is having on students.

“This year we have witnessed firsthand how the fear of immigration enforcement has affected our students ability to learn and feel safe at school,” Mendez said. “Recently our community lost a fifthgrade student and his family after they were detained and forced to return to their home country in the middle of the school year. We also have students across the district and family members who are currently detained. These events have had a profound impact on our school community. Many impacted f amilies are afraid to leave their homes, leading to financial instability and the loss of work. Some parents are fearful of going to work, attending appointments and going to school events.”

Mendez said the impact on students has been noticeable

“In our classrooms we are seeing increased absenteeism, heightened anxiety and a noticeable decline in focus and academic eng agement,” Mendez said. “Students have expressed a strong need to process and talk about their feelings. However, a Spanish speaker social worker who was hired for this job was asked to work for a leave at a different school. T herefore, that person has

limited availability to meet with the students.”

Mendez called for the district to offer more consistent social work services for threatened students and f amilies, specifically having a Spanish speaking provider of these services

“Every child in District 97 deserves to feel safe, supported and protected at school,” Mendez said.

School board member Jung Kim said that the school district could not require staf f to undergo rapid response training but could offer it to those staf f members who are interested

“We can’ t have the district ask people to put themselves potentially in har ms way, right, but if people are asking for this training we can facilitate that,” Kim said.

Board member Venus Hurd Johnson said she was very impressed with the public comments and said that the district was already doing some of the things that were asked for. But she said that the district wouldn’ t be able to do everything that was asked fo r.

“We’ re not going to be able to allay all their concerns and we’re also not going to be able to do everything that was asked,” Hurd Johnson said.

Board member Gavin Kearney said he would like the district to host a town hall to discuss the issues and for the district to communicate clearly what it is already doing.

Like other board members Nancy Ross Dribin said she was impressed with the specificity of the asks by the public commenters and how they tied their demands to specific district policies

In a newsletter the district sent to parents after the meeting the district said it was already addressing student safety and other concerns in the wake of the federal activities.

“District leadership and the board of education are aligned in the importance of strong, well-established safety practices,” the district’s newsletter stated. “Throughout this school year, our team has been actively reviewing and strengthening protocols designed to guide our response to a wide range of situations and support safe school environments for all students.”

With May ower roots and a grim subdivide, Grove Ave. home gets new life

Kellogg family, and a bev y of contractors, saw the possibilities

By LACEY SIKORA Real Estate Reporter

When 403 N. Grove Ave. hit the market in 2023, one of unusual historic details about the home was the connection to Myles Standish, a pilgrim and signer of the Mayflower compact.

The first owner of the home, Albert H. Standish, was a direct descendant of Myles Standish, who arrived in America on the Mayflower. Albert Standish, a Civil War veteran from Michig an, purchased the land on Grove Avenue from John Schmidt in 1885 for $1,160.

We covered the home here: https://www. oakpark .com/2023/04/27/historic-homewith-mayflower-ties-hits-the-market/

The history of the house was one feature that captivated Oak Park residents Bri and Charlie Kello gg when they purchased the home for their family of five.

The house had been on the market for a year when they toured it. Bri says she immediately knew that it was meant to be her house, but she and Charlie realized it would take a lot of work to make the house into the home that she envisioned.

Previous owners had divided the home into multiple apar tments, and some of the

home’s original features had been removed or covered up. With the help of architect Christina Townsend, contractor Rick Easty of Heartland Construction Group, contractor Kevin Hibbits of McShane- Hibbits, and designer Robin Schwadron, the couple spent the better part of a year turn-

ing the house into their dream home. For the first stage of the project, they turned to Hibbits to help reconfigure the second-floor bedrooms. Charlie says the second floor still had remnants of the old

NEW LIFE

from page 29

apartment’s kitchen along with a warren of smaller rooms

“The concept was to make the three bedrooms livable so that we could move in,” he says.

Working with Schwadron, Bri got the closet of her dreams when a secondary room was incorporated into the primary bedroom.

Floral wallpaper, a lavender-toned paint and plenty of shoe storage make the space her refuge. Charlie got a wall of built-in closet space as well.

The house had an abundance of bedrooms but not an abundance of bathrooms. T hey gutted and renovated the original hall bathroom and added a new bathroom of f an area that houses a lounge room for their daughters and a guest room that’s proved perfect for visiting friends and family

“Anyone who has to be Chicago-adjacent stays here,” Charlie says.

When the bedroom stage of the project was finished, the family moved in and began renovations to the first floor, using what had been a separate apar tment on the third floor for their cooking and living. Charlie says, “We had a hot plate and a fridge, and that was it.”

Bri chimes in to correct him, “It was a double hot plate.” Even with a double hot plate, living as a family of five in the third floor was a challenge for the six months the first floor was under construction.

The first-floor makeover, spearheaded by Easty, required a lot of creativity. The en-

try featured vinyl flooring and a wall that cut of f the main staircase -- a vestige of the home’s days as a two-flat.

They removed the wall and recreated the lower part of the staircase by mimicking the original Victorian-era handrail on the stairs to the second floor. Marble flooring and the more-visible, stained-glass window on the stairwell gave Bri the big entrance she wanted.

The back of the first-floor was also completely reimagined. A bedroom and full

bath became the family’s TV room and a walk-in pantry.

The kitchen was gutted and expanded, encompassing a garden room that had included a spiral staircase to the second floor. The new space features cheerful blue cabinets, a square island, a breakfast area, powder room and a huge closet that serves as the family’s mudroom.

Throughout the kitchen and entry spaces, designer Schwadron chose colorful wallpaper, colors and accents that brighten

the Victorian home while highlighting the historic details like high ceilings and pocket doors that drew the family to the home in the first place.

The couple also updated the exterior paint job and added central air conditioning to the home.

One thing the Kello gg’s didn’t touch was the original fireplace which still bears Standish’s initials in the floral tile. Bri notes that the colorful tile surround is one of her favorite details in the house.

PHOTO S COURTESY OF R TITUS DESIGNS

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C ONSCIOUS A GING e avors and beauty of aging

VIEWPOINTS

My wife and I have been friends with Liz and her husband for over 35 years. Every so often, Liz and I get together just to catch up. A few weeks ago, we met to have dinner at Alice & Friends Vegan Kitchen, a local restaurant.

Liz has been a hard-working professional for over 40 years. During our conversation, she shared that she was going to retire next year. Congratulations!

MARC BLESOFF

She was honest about how, for the last several years, she’s always been the oldest person in the room at work – whether behind her desk or in a small meeting or in larger gatherings. She confided in me about the layer of condescension she’d been feeling for years, explaining that she works with smart, energetic, mostly good-hearted people, most of whom are 30 or 40 years younger than she is. They’re not in entry-level jobs, they just don’t have as much experience or “lived knowledge” yet.

Using fingers on both hands to make the “air-quote” sign, Liz explained how her co-workers seemed “suspicious” of her because of her age.

I understand what Liz was telling me. I don’t know what her age has to do with trust or lear ning. Again, what does the number of times the Earth has circled the sun since somebody was born have to do with anything?

Our meal continued – deep sharing along with tasty food and drink. Yes, the food was good, but I kept thinking about that bitter taste of ageism in the workplace in my friend Liz’s life. Many people taste it; perhaps you have: jokes about someone being “ancient,” “boomer,” or “grandma,” assuming older workers are less reliable, resistant to change, less productive or can’t learn new tech systems, and more. Even without ageist stigmas and prejudices, it’s hard enough to transition from one’s years of work toward another stage of life.

And then I noticed the message painted on the wall across the room, under the restaurant logo: “a 100% plant-based restaurant that celebrates the flavors and beauty of vegan cuisine.”

That slogan could be a lovely phrase about living – celebrate the flavors and beauty of aging!

Most of us are acculturated through life to believe that old is bad, young is good. But bitter is not the only flavor of aging. Of course, if that’s what you believe that’s probably the only thing you’re going to taste. Just like the varied flavors of a good meal, aging has the bitter and the sweet, and even the bittersweet.

Over dessert, our conversation shifted to the opportunities Liz was about to experience. And her mood and energy became a bit happier – maybe because of the dessert, but I think it was because of the conversation.

Liz’s palate has lots to look forward to Perhaps more time for her passion projects, or more time with grandchildren or friends, or discovering opportunities that she doesn’t even know about yet. Who knows?

Aging means still being alive – a wonderful thing. Different flavors … and beautiful.

This is Episode 3 in our series on the history of Oak Park housing as it relates to racial diversity and equity in the village.

In the first decades of the 20th century, Oak Park’s small Black community, which gathered in the Mt. Car mel Baptist Church congregation, confronted deepening white-supremacist beliefs. Their ability to thrive collided with the birth of racially exclusionary zoning policies, sponsored by the federal gover nment, national realty associations, and community planning experts.(1)

The village joined in these exclusionary housing efforts by adopting its first zoning ordinance in 1921. While (not openly) racially exclusionary, a feature declared unconstitutional in 1917, the ordinance mirrored models being promoted elsewhere, especially in the South, which were clearly racially motivated.(2)

Oak Parkers. There was a series of unexplained fires at the church. The incidents, which were never investited by village officials, occurred as ommercial investors looked for land velop south of Lake Street where Marshall Field opened its marquee department store in 1928.

Over the next several years other upscale retailers followed Fields. mong merchants making downtown Oak Park the hottest retail district West of Chicago, the Wieboldt store across Harlem in River Forest opened in 1939, claiming to be the largest department store in the American suburbs By 1930, under pressure from the dominant racial and economic interests, Mt. Carmel closed and the Oak Park Black population declined, dispersing to more hospitable neighborhoods in Chicago and Maywood.(4)

In Oak Park the use of private, racially and religiously discriminatory deed contracts and banking requirements bolstered the exclusionary aspects of the 1921 ordinance, as they would do in later zoning revisions in 1947. Both ordinances provided for most of the village to be zoned single-family housing, restricted multifamily housing to areas like the Austin and Washington boulevard cor ridors, and limited the height of buildings on main arterial streets to 2.5 stories.(3)

Plaque near the site of the former Mt. Carmel Baptist Church on Westgate in Oak Park

The African American Mt. Carmel Baptist Church was located just south of Lake Street and east of Harlem on Williams Street (now Westgate). The small group of Black congregants saw their church as the cornerstone for growing a larger community. Then pressure for commercial development pushed was brought to bear on Black

The devastating impact of the disappearance of Mt. Carmel is passionately told in “Historical Har ms to the Black Community of Oak Park and Suggested Repairs,” prepared and presented by the African American Reparations Task Force in 2024.(5)

“The members of Mt. Car mel Baptist Church wanted to access their piece of the American dream through property ownership. Had they been allowed to build and grow at Cuyler and Chicago and also on Williams St./Westgate, it is probable that a few years later they would have built a school nearby to educate Black students. A few years after that they could have purchased a multifamily investment property in another part of Oak Park. A few years later they may have purchased a house for their pastor As the church grew, Black residents could have

JOHN DUFFY

Listening in District 97

We were encouraged last week when a group of District 97 parents turned up at a school board meeting to raise concer ns about the district’s planning in support of migrant students, families, and, honestly, any Hispanic community member as ICE continues its deportation rampage.

The questions and demands made by these parents, and some staf f, were highly specific and well considered. T he response of most board members was also to find ways to engage with families and take credit for what the district has already done while acknowledging there is more to accomplish.

Though it may feel we in Oak Park are in a bit of an ICE lull, the reality is that the damage created by ICE in this village late in 2025 is still being felt profoundly and the intensity of its assault on these villages and our children could ratchet up tomorrow. Such is the reality of living under this helter-skelter administration.

Credit for listening, now on to further support

Eddie Sitzman’s well-lived life

Eddie Sitzman made a lot of connections in his short life. And the range of the small communities he became part of in Forest Park and Oak Park af fir ms the intentionally loving villages we live in.

Our Jessica Mordacq covered the dedication last week of the batting cages at Play It Again Sports in Eddie Sitzman’s name Sitzman, who lived well with Down syndrome, worked at the Forest Park sports gear shop over recent years. And he loved the batting cages that owner Erich Krumrei installed a while back in his Forest Park location.

Krumrei spoke with candor and care when he acknowledged some initial bumps as Sitzman joined the staff. “We stopped trying to cater to his disability and to cater to the person,” he said. Mark Sitzman, Eddie’s dad, knew that person best and said, “Eddie was a really capable, confident, kind person and super-competitive. He was just a natural athlete.” An understatement perhaps for a person who ear ned 59 Special Olympics medals across a wide range of sports

Mark also thanked the staf f at Play It Again for making for his son a place that worked for everybody

But the retail spot on Madison Street was just one of the local entities where Eddie was welcomed and made himself known. He was a re gular volunteer at the Oak Park Fire De partment, at Wonder Works Children’s Museum, in preschool classrooms at Ascension School and the Children’s School. He was a mainstay at Opportunity Knocks, the River Forest nonprofit, where Eddie was among the War riors. Eddie was also part of Oak Park and River Forest High School’s CITE program, which offers extended services to young people who have moved past the high school years.

Eddie was 21 when he died last year. His le gacy is large. His place in these caring villages is deep. And he is deeply appreciated

Discovering our ultimate concern

Religion, in the largest and most basic sense of the word, is ultimate concern. And ultimate concern is manifest in all creati ve functions of the human spirit. Paul Tillich

What do you care about most? What is y heart’s great desire? Your ultimate concern? Everyone has one, theoretically anyway, if you beli theologian Paul Tillich. The concept has always intrigued me, since I first heard about it in college

TRAINOR

According to one interpreter of Tillich I found online, “Every person has some concern that is of ultimate or infinite importance. … No human being is without some ultimate concern, and this means that anything could potentially become a person’s god. Money, success, sex, fame, justice, power, achievements, nationalism, and more can become gods of ultimate concern. As Tillich states, ‘Whatever concerns a man ultimately becomes god for him.’”

The quality of a person’s ultimate concern says much about them. You can say one thing is your ultimate concern, but how you live your life may say something very different.

If compassion is your ultimate concern, then you have something in common with the Dalai Lama, and most of us would expect to see it in the way you conduct yourself. If there is a disconnect between what you profess and how you live, then there is probably something else that is your ultimate concern. If you spend most of your time amassing wealth and power no matter the cost to others and your own soul, you would have more in common with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. I’ll say this for Trump: he knows exactly what his ultimate concern is. As ultimate concerns go, it is utterly appalling and de grading, but he knows what it is and pursues it without hesitation. Can the rest of us say that?

As long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a writer. Writing has been my highest priority — creative wordsmithing, longhand, hopefully not long-winded. I pursued a career where I would have to write — and even get paid for it. Not much, just enough to make a living. I have never veered from that path. But is it my ultimate concern? Even now in semi-retirement I don’t devote all or even most of my time to writing. It is not my single-minded preoccupation.

Other priorities compete for my finite time, attention, and energ y.

I want to love and be loved. I crave wisdom and meaning more than material possessions and

wealth. I want a long life because it takes that long to master living. At times I feel like I’m fighting a battle between writing and the rest of my

In the new year, I took inventory and made a list of how my time is allotted.

Housekeeping: Cleaning, straightening up, returning disorder to order, declaring war on dust.

Recreation: Reading, walking, biking, plays, movies, concerts and other ms of cultural enrichment — thinking is one of my favorite pastimes.

Socializing: Enjoying the company of those I had the good sense to befriend.

Grandparenting: Caregiving and caretaking, teaching and learning in mutual reciprocity, joyful observations and interactions

Continuing Education: Lifelong learning, steady input, feeding curiosity, finding stimulating minds who shift my brain to a higher gear.

Spirituality: Ditching ego to get better acquainted with a wider self, sifting through the ordinary to find the extraordinary, searching for reasons to believe there is something beyond mere matter.

Fitness: Eating that is more than compensating for a lack of fulfillment, exercise that isn’t boring, attending to an aging body and finding ways to extend its usefulness.

Technology: Social media, email, staying connected through “The Almighty Web” (the “ultimate” altar upon which so many now worship)

Causes: Worthy crusades like reducing gun violence and saving democracy.

Work: At its best, overlapping with creativity, meaning, financial compensation, education — ideally, a mission for better ment.

Life is time triage. The more concerns, the less time to devote to each. Focus shifts because life is full of surprises. It’s hard to stay on top of everything all at once, and even ultimate concerns get shor tchanged. Choices reveal priorities.

Being with those I love, loving and being loved, is where I want to be, probably where most of us want to be. As close to the divine as most of us come.

Writing about all this is a bonus blessing. The poet John Keats wrote that “Beauty is truth, truth beauty. That is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know.” Adding a measure of beautiful truth and truthful beauty to the world’s surplus would be enough to satisfy my “ultimate concern.”

For today at least.

For the time being …

SHRUB TO WN by Marc Stopeck

Ranked-choice voting works better

With Primary (St. Patrick’s) Day fast approaching and 13 left-leaning candidates still vying for Danny Davis’ seat, it is difficult not to be concerned about cancellation and turnout. Last week, Bill Dwyer’s article on the race observed that an ef fort has be gun in Oak Park to unify progressive support behind Kina Collins, yet in the same issue Viewpoints ran Scott Sakiyama’s letter endorsing Anabel Mendoza. Meanwhile, the incumbent endorsed La Shawn Ford, Cong resswoman Underwood supports Dr. Thomas Fisher, and yard signs supporting Reed Showalter abound.

It’s enough to make the average voter’s head spin more than a pint of green beer. And though the field is crowded and the district is diverse, I think our outdated single-choice voting system is to blame. It is a system built on scarcity rather than abundance. And it is time we embrace the alternative of ranked-choice voting. In a ranked-choice system each voter ranks her prefer red candidates — and then if no candidate reaches more than 50% of first choice votes, the bottom-performing candidate is eliminated and voters who chose that candidate first have their vote counted for their second

choice and so on until a candidate wins with more than half the votes. Ranked-choice eliminates the risk of cancellation because votes for lower-performing candidates eventually consolidate behind stronger candidates. It also incentivizes candidates to reach out to a broader swath of the public than just their base. Essentially, ranked-choice voting gives power back to the voters.

One heartening example of the benefits of rankedchoice voting is the recent New York mayoral election. In that election Zohran Mamdani and Brad Landers crossendorsed each other — leading to Mamdani’s historic win. What a breath of fresh air to have two candidates admit they’re on the same side and that either would be a quality choice!

On March 17, one lucky candidate will come away with 20-odd percent of the vote and be named the Democratic nominee (and presumptive Re presentative-elect). But I hope whoever wins will consider championing a more equitable system of ranked-choice voting in the future.

Allison Lantero River Forest

WEDNESD AY

of Oak Park and River Forest

Viewpoints Guidelines

e goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have su cient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it o en is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it.

We reser ve the right to edit submissions. We do not have time to allow the writer to review changes before publication. We also do not have time to do more than super cial fact-checking, and because of our national epidemic of misinformation and conspiracy theories, when writers include statistical evidence to support their opinions, we require them to include the source of that information, such as credible websites, print publications, titles of articles and dates published, etc. Be as speci c as possible so that we and our readers have some way of assessing the credibility of your claims. Links may also be included for the online version. We follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics: seek the truth and report it and minimize harm. As a result, we will do our best not to publish pieces that espouse doubtful or debunked theories, demonstrate harmful bias, or cross the line into incivility. While we will do our best not to engage in censorship, we also do not intend to be used as a platform for misinformation. Your sources for fact-checking are a critical step in keeping the discourse honest, decent and respectful.

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If we receive your submission by 5 p.m. on Sunday, you can expect your opinion to be included in that week’s paper (and online), space permitting.

Pieces can be submitted through our online form at oakpark.com or directly to Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor, ktrainor@wjinc.com. For the latter, we prefer attached Word les or plain tex t included in the email.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

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‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY

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Consider combined tax-bodies impact

In its 2018 report, Oak Park’s Taxing Bodies Efficiency Task Force war ned plainly that our six coterminous taxing bodies too often operate “as if in a vacuum,” failing to coordinate spending, long-term planning, or the cumulative tax burden placed on homeowners.

Among its most important recommendations was the development of shared 5-year financial plans built on common assumptions, along with the publication of combined tax-impact projections. Residents, the task force argued, deserve to understand the total cost of local gover nment, not just the portion presented by each individual district. The report emphasized that acting independently, without transparency about community-wide consequences, had already produced “unsustainable tax increases” and was eroding affordability.

Yet today, the Park District of Oak Park is pursuing a stand-alone bond referendum; District 200 is preparing its own for Part 3 of its facilities improvement project; the village is evaluating nearly $90 million in capital projects; and District 97 has unveiled a 10-year facilities master plan costing $86 million. There has been no joint planning, no shared financial modeling, no exploration of cost sharing, and no forecast of the combined tax impact. This is precisely the fragmentation the 2018 task force identified as a major driver of our growing tax burden.

The task force also recommended a moratorium on new referenda through 2030 to help slow tax growth after years of increases above the

rate of inflation. Its message was clear: Oak Park must break the cycle of escalating levies by coordinating across jurisdictions, not by continuing to raise taxes independently.

Instead, the park district has chosen to place its referendum in a low turnout, off-cycle election, contrary to the task force’s call for all taxincrease questions to appear during fall general elections to ensure broader voter participation.

The issue is not whether Oak Park should invest in its public facilities; it is whether we can continue doing so in a fragmented way that ignores the cumulative effect on homeowners, renters, seniors, and families. The task force war ned that the status quo was already undermining affordability and long-ter m community stability. That warning is even more pressing today

Before Oak Park voters are asked to approve another major bond issue, we deserve a full and transparent picture: the combined tax impact of all planned referenda, a coordinated capital plan across taxing bodies, and an honest evaluation of alter natives, including shared facilities or cost sharing. Without that, the Park District’s referendum represents not responsible stewardship, but a return to “business as usual,” the very pattern the task force urged our community to leave behind

Athena Williams, Bill Planek, Mike Fox, Marty Noll, Paul Beckwith, Frank Pellegrini, Gary Collins, J. Michael Williams, John Hedges, & Julianne Piotrowski Business and Civic Council of Oak Park

A pattern of delay and disrespect

On Thursday, Feb. 19, the Oak Park Plan Commission, village staf f, and a room full of engaged residents gathered in the village’s Council Chambers for a scheduled hearing regarding the proposed 10-story tower attached to the Boulevard Arcade building. We all showed up. The developer, however, did not — at least not with a finished proposal.

Instead, architect, consultant, and spokesperson John Schiess requested a continuance until March 12, saying, “We believe we are not prepared to deliver the best presentation here.”

This request comes even though the development team has had five months to refine their plans since the Village Board of Trustees’ Sept. 18 vote to allow the project to move through the next steps

This behavior isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a pattern. At one of the four meetings before the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) (March 2025), Mr. Schiess announced he was not ready for his presentation and requested a postponement. In all, the HPC commissioners held four meetings on this project at the developer’s request. Each time, Mr Schiess could have gone back to the drawing board and made some meaningful changes

Save Ridgeland Common’s pool & $40M

to the plans to meet the requirements for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA). Instead, he and the developer repeatedly appealed to the HPC with essentially the same proposal, with the inevitable result being another unanimous vote to not approve a COA.

This strategy shows a profound disrespect for our volunteer commissioners, our hard-working village staff, and the neighbors who take time out of their lives to participate in the democratic process.

In the next three weeks, which of the many aspects of this project that render this a building that does not work will the developer alter? The flawed car elevators? (1) The staging of the equipment, materials, and crane on and over South Blvd? (2) The lack of sustainability or affordable housing? (3, 4) The request for a height of nearly 118 feet in an area that allows a 60-foot maximum? The request for a 60% increase in unit density, from the permitted 15 units to 24 units? (5)

Will we find out on March 12?

Sources for this letter can be found at the end of the online version, oakpark com/Opinion

Oak Park voters will see a vaguelyworded referendum on the March 17 ballot in what will likely be a lowtur nout election:

“Shall the Park District of Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois, build and equip an indoor aquatics facility and issue its bonds to the amount of $40,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof ?”(1) The referendum fails to mention that the facility would be located at Ridgeland Common and result in the demolition of its 50-meter pool, leaving only one outdoor pool for Oak Park’s 52,947 residents (2) Park District of Oak Park (PDOP) Executive Director Jan Arnold says bond counsel gave them the referendum, disingenuously omitting that she and the board could have edited the barebones text.(3)

Uninformed voters may mistakenly assume that the referendum refers to the Com-

munity Recreation Center (CRC) and its planned Phase II (indoor pools) which PDOP promoted throughout CRC discussions (4) Yet five months before its groundbreaking, PDOP accepted a $1.78 million grant to make the CRC a net-zero energy facility which rules out indoor pools, according to PDOP.(3&6) Four years later after it placed this referendum on the ballot, PDOP disclosed to the public that Phase II isn’t a possibility.(1&3)

MONICA SHEEHAN One

View

Everything about this stealth referendum lacks transparency. PDOP “reportedly” discussed the proposal and referendum at a June 17 board retreat, though its agenda and minutes mention neither, prior to appearing six months later as “New Business” on the Dec. 18 agenda.(7&8) PDOP issued no news release before or after the June retreat and

none in advance of the December board vote. PDOP has since held three information sessions, all tightly-controlled meetings led by an external moderator with no direct questioning permitted from attendees (1)

If the $40 million referendum passes, already-overburdened taxpayers will be paying for the construction, operation and maintenance of 24-indoor swim lanes located a block from each other: Ridgeland Common’s proposed pool and the soon-toopen stretch pool at OPRF High School, whose board used a loophole to unethically bypass a referendum on its funding.(9)

If the PDOP referendum fails, it will send a message to OPRF to prioritize the community’s use of its new 16-lane pool. Other high schools share pools without issue. One example is Cape Elizabeth High School, near

my hometown of Portland, Maine.(10) Cape Elizabeth has no swimming requirement. The community enjoys use of the 6-lane pool even during the school day, and two groups often share the pool, according to the schedule (11)

OPRF can easily update its self-imposed, antiquated swim requirement, making time available for the community to use its pool during the school day, after hours and on the weekend. There’s no need for another indoor pool. Sharing taxpayer-funded resources is the optimal way for taxing bodies to maximize services and minimize costs to the community

Vote no on the referendum!

Sources for this letter can be found at the end of the online version, oakpark.com/ Opinion

Monica Sheehan is a 25-year Oak Park resident and former news reporter

Roberta Arnold Oak Park

Vote By Ma il alert

Taking one to three days for the U.S. Postal Service to postmark or just process mail is not new. We’ve heard anecdotal evidence this has been going on with Vote By Mail (VBM) ballots since at least 2024. What appears to be “new” is that this procedure was finally codified in December 2025 and made public. Our advice is to focus on what voters should do to protect their vote-by-mail ballots:

• Use secure drop boxes where available or return your vote by mail ballot directly to the election authority’s office

• Use drop boxes for this purpose at early voting sites

• Go inside the post office or postal retail site and request your ballot be postmarked

• Request and return vote-by-mail ballots as early as possible to avoid possible delays in processing.

• Consider the last day to put your VBM ballot in the US mail as March 10, 2026.

Judith Crown & Beverly Tuck Co-presidents

League

of Women Voters OP-RF

Commercial properties in River Forest

Over the past decade, neighbors here on the south end of River Forest have come together over the redevelopment plans for our small stretch of Madison Street. I have witnessed firsthand the time, talent, treasure, and emotional investment in expressing concerns and hopes for what will soon be our new neighbors

But unfortunately, those investments will not yield positive returns for those adjacent to the proposed 72-unit luxury apartment rental building. That is because the village specifically requested any proposed development maximize tax revenues to the village.

Could V3 construct a smaller building that is still profitable? Yes, of course — just look across the street. But in doing so, tax revenues would not be maximized on the site

Development, tax relief in River Forest

One of the most important responsibilities of any municipal government is to steward thoughtful economic development. In addition to providing new retail amenities, new housing options and other community benefits, development can have a profound impact on the property tax base over the long term. These considerations loom large as the village of River Forest evaluates the proposed development at Madison Street and Ashland Avenue.

Stabilizing property taxes is a guiding principle for the village. Like most residents, members of the village board have watched property tax bills rise year after year and are committed to using the tools of local government to help address the issue. While there are many factors that can determine an individual property tax bill, the main drivers are: 1) the levies established by local taxing bodies; 2) the overall tax base within each taxing body’s district; and 3) the assessed value of an individual property.

The village’s levy makes up about 12% of a River Forest property tax bill and the Cook County Assessor determines property values. So expanding the tax base through development is the one area where the village can make a real impact.

Development oppor tunities are rare in River Forest because we are a small, mainly residential community, and a significant amount of land is owned by tax-exempt institutions. This is why the village took decisive steps to foster development on the Madison Street property. We did so by acquiring all parcels between 2016 and 2018, demolishing and remediating the property, and actively marketing it to developers through the respected real estate firm,

Why “luxury” rentals and not condominiums? Rental apartment buildings of this size are assessed as a whole and not on a per unit basis. An “income approach” method is applied, meaning, the higher the rental rate, the higher the assessed value and thus the larger the tax bill. Plus, no homeowner exemptions apply.

We are one of just a few municipalities that are non-compliant with state-mandated affordable housing, but since the first and only goal is revenue generation, luxury rentals drive the most residential tax revenue. That means that this development will not address this longstanding matter and will do nothing to help our lower-salaried neighbors, such as schoolteachers, on the path toward homeownership and wealth building.

I strongly urge the LAF Neighborhood Association, if it still exists, to commission their own independent traffic and safety study of this proposed development. This may be the only option if there is to be any hope of reducing the magnitude of impacts the proposed development promises to impose on our safety, schools, and infrastructure. The money is doing all the talking right now, but the safety and welfare of our residents will speak louder (I hope).

Renee Duba River Forest

Source: Cook County Assessor’s Office

How commercial properties are valued, based on potential gross income https://www.cookcountyassessoril. gov/commercial/how-commercial-properties-are-valued

Victor/Viktor?

JLL, throughout 2025.

As a result of these determined ef for ts over 10 years, we now have a proposed development that is projected to pay approximately $600,000 in annual property taxes. As with other proposed developments, the village commissioned an expert analysis by its economic development consultant, Ryan LLC, to provide these projections.

This approach has proven reliable. In 2018, the village engaged with Ehlers & Associates to project that the then-proposed Sheridan senior living complex would provide $581,000 in annual property taxes. After its first full year on the tax rolls, the property paid $737,045.44. In 2024, it paid $775,646.96 (source: Cook County Property Tax Portal).

Of course, one new development isn’t a silver bullet, and it won’t suddenly cause a drop in anyone’s property tax bill next year. But the math is straightforward: future property taxes will be higher if the Madison Street property contributes nothing than if it contributes an estimated $600,000 annually to the tax base.

The Madison Street project re presents a practical ste p forward. It reflects a long-ter m strateg y pursued by successive village boards to strengthen the local tax base through responsible economic development – supporting our local schools, parks and public services, while helping moderate the tax burden residents will otherwise car ry in the years ahead.

Jessica Spencer Asst. Village Administrator River Forest

Here’s a question I hear a lot — “Is Trump a dictator?” The answer might lie in the survey below. Guess which category applies to President Trump, or to Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary?

Trump or Orban

Bullies media, universities, and non-govt. organizations (NGOs)

Uses justice system to punish opponents

Opposes immigration

Presides over his political party

Euroskeptic

Shifting power to the executive branch

Restricts civil liberties

Seeks to extend his stay in office

Uses democratic tools to consolidate power

Has issues with media freedom and political rights

If you put a check mark for both on each item, you win. The answer is yes to all. So what? Globally, Viktor Orban is considered a dictator. He has been in and out of government since 1998. He leads the ruling Fidesz Pa rty. He aligned Hungary with other authoritarian governments — Russia and China. Orban coined the phrase “illiberal democracy” to describe his government which, though re peatedly elected, disrespects the rule of law and civil liberties. Trump also holds grudges and celebrates ignorance and follows Orban’s lead.

The future will not be kind to either man. Trump has clearly demonstrated his dictatorial ambitions. Historians will wonder why it took so long for Americans to wake up and take action. It will look obvious in retrospect. Let’s fix our mess before it gets worse.

**Information was researched in Wikipedia, and excessive news-watching.

Karen Morris Muriello Oak Park

Guys, show some gratitude March 8

Valentine’s Day has come and gone. It’s been around a long time. In 496 A.D Pope Gelasius I named it. The oldest known written valentine is from 1415. By the mid-1850s mass produced cards came along. Hallmark came about in 1913. Hard to miss it when it comes around. Very commercialized, but there’s another day coming up soon: March 8. Unlike Valentine’s Day this observation focuses exclusively on women. It’s called International Women’s Day. Guys, when March 8 comes around, any special woman (or women) in your life ought to be shown you care More cards, candy and flowers? Maybe. At least a verbal acknowledgement. Appreciation and beyond.

If you are not familiar with IWD, it commemorates women’s fight for equality and liberation. This special date gives focus to women’s struggles for re productive rights, as well as against violence and abuse aimed at them. It started in the early 20th century. The designation of this day began as Working Women’s Day at the 1910 Inter national Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen. In 1922, Vladimir Lenin declared March 8 International Women’s Day. Educational, I will bet, for many. Has progress been made in the last hundred years or so? Well, yes and no. Here in the U.S. the women’s movement was part of 1960s protests covering gender and racial equality, along with the anti-war demonstrations. Those battles

are still being fought. Racism hasn’t stopped. War seems perpetual. As for women, who only a little over 100 years ago won the right to vote, there are now rumblings from higher ups in our gover nment that advocate for that right to be taken away. Keep in mind, it will be four years ago this June that Roe vs Wade was overturned. Not exactly a valentine sentiment. Creepy Ugly. Disgustingly sexist, to say the least. But this nastiness is all pending legislatively in what is called the SAVE act. You may have heard of it. It has to do with requiring a few layers of required identification in order to vote. Given that married women probably still take their husband’s last name, critics see the act as clearly wanting to deny women the ability to vote. As was the case until 1920. There’s a lot wrong with our current government. Both major parties are culpable in this backward-trending movement. Given that the 2026 mid-term election is in the crosshairs of the current administration, not to mention 2028, and the so-called “opposition party” is all bark and no bite, women are again on notice. We all are.

In the meantime, when March 8 comes around, think about what it stands for. None of us would be here if not for a woman. Show some gratitude!

Joe Harrington Oak Park

First tax bills due April 1

First installment property tax bills for tax year 2025 were mailed at the end of February. The first installment bill is 55% of a property’s total tax bill for the previous year, and will be due on April 1. Ordinarily, first installment bills are due on March 1. Since last year’s second installment bills were not due until Dec. 15, however, Illinois lawmakers determined that having another tax bill due March 1 could cause hardship, and they decided to extend the due date to April 1. Next year, first installment bills should revert to the familiar March 1 due date.

Taxpayers should note that first installment bills will not reflect homeowner, senior citizen, or other exemptions, nor will they reflect the impact of successful assessment appeals filed for tax year 2025. Exemptions and successful appeals will instead appear on second installment bills, along with any changes in the tax levies of local governments. Second installment bills will likely be due in the summer or fall of 2026.

Property owners who do not have mortgage companies paying their taxes can make tax payments by mail or online at www.cookcountytreasurer.com. Those wishing to pay in person can do so at the Cook County Treasurer’s downtown office or at any Chase Bank in the Chicago area.

Ali ElSa ar Oak Park Township assessor

Here comes the judge (candidates)

Below is a list of recommended judicial candidates. I compiled the list using the candidate ratings published by the Alliance of Bar Associations and the Chicago Bar Association. The Alliance consists of 13 local bar associations representing 13 different constituencies. This year there are only three contested races. Fortunately, all the candidates received composite positive ratings. For two of the three contested races, the candidate on my list has the highest composite score from all 14 bar associations. You can see the details of the composite scores at https://www. voteforjudges.org/#alliance-of-barassociations-ballot.

The list covers the judicial contests for all of Cook County, plus the 11th Judicial Circuit, which includes Oak Park, River Forest and other nearby suburbs. Unlike the county-wide contests, the Judicial Circuits are geographically limited. WJ readers who do not live in the 11th Judicial Circuit can find their Judicial Circuit at Injustice Watch. (https://2026primary.injusticewatch. org). They can also check the bar association ratings for their Judicial Circuit

at Vote For Judges (the above link).

Judith C. Rice

Steven Q. McKenzie

Luz Maria Toledo

Michael Cabonargi

Ava George Stewart

D’ Anthony “Tony” Thedford

Jarrett Knox *

Kim Prezekota

*Jarrett Knox and his opponent, John Carrozza, received the same composite ratings. For a tie-breaker I consulted Injustice Watch, which researches and reports on judicial candidates. I recommend Jarrett Knox because, in my opinion, his background, as reported by Injustice Watch, favors him over John Carrozza. According to Injustice Watch, Jarrett Knox has devoted his entire legal career to public interest work John R. Carrozza has done zero public interest work and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus, an organization that opposes abortion rights and samesex marriage. You can read the details at https://2026primary.injusticewatch. org/ (11th Subcircuit races).

Jim Poznak Oak Park

Questions for the River Forest board

Like the majority of River Forest residents, I support development of Madison and Ashland. Also like many residents, I have questions and concer ns

Why weren’t residents involved in the process earlier? The first meaningful public involvement was after the village board selected the proposed finalist. Why were deliberations of the seven developer proposals conducted via Executive Session where there was no opportunity for public input or any public record of the discussions?

Residents want to understand what each developer proposed and the rationale for selection or rejection of each of those proposals. Conducting this process behind closed doors erodes residents’ trust. And failing to even provide a full accounting of the deliberations erodes that trust even further. Public trust is already damaged from the Lake and Lathrop development, and the lack of transparency now by the village further compounds residents’ distrust.

The village has provided few specifics on its due diligence analysis of the finalist developer. The village has failed to recognize that, given the Lake and Lathrop development debacle, residents now demand more, not

less, information on due diligence efforts for any future developers.

This analysis should demonstrate not only that a developer has sufficient financing, but also a proven track record of delivering on its promises. Sales pitches always make grand promises, but many don’t deliver on those promises. Did the village’s due diligence include a review of past and pending litigation? Perhaps but we do not know for certain since few details have been shared with residents We would simply like to understand what was included in the village’s due diligence analysis, the results, and how it plans to mitigate any identified risks. There are always risks! While the village has outlined its process for review and approval of the finalist proposal, there’s no explanation as to why the village is moving at a speed that may not allow for sufficient public input. What’s driving the accelerated timeline at the expense of meaningful resident input and deliberation?

Is answering these questions fully and promptly too much to ask of our village government? I don’t think so Lucia Giudice River Forest

River Forest is consistently ranked among the most affluent communities in Illinois, with roughly 4,000 households, median home values around $676,900, and median household income of about $148,700, according to the district’s recent demographic report. Families invest here because of the community’s stability, quality of life, and, most importantly, its schools

River Forest’s reputation is not accidental. A recent ranking of Illinois’ wealthiest communities noted that the village attracts families in large part because of its quality of life and top-rated schools — identifying educational excellence as a key driver of demand and home values. That is why the conversation around teacher compensation is not fundamentally about af fordability. It is about priorities and values

Since 2020, reserves have consistently remained high enough to cover more than nine months of expenses — even in deficit

e numbers show this is a choice

years — followed by a combined operating sur plus of roughly $1.7 million over the last two years. Together, this track record reflects sustained financial capacity, not financial constraint.

Even looking ahead four years, reserves are projected to exceed $33 million — well above state recommendations. Closing the remaining compensation gap would require only a small share of that balance.

Put simply, solving the gap would use roughly one dollar out of every eight currently in reserve — while seven dollars remain — leaving about $29 million still in the bank and preserving a strong financial cushion.

Stable, experienced teachers are among the strongest predictors of student success When compensation keeps pace with expectations, it supports retention, strengthens classroom continuity, and reinforces the academic excellence families expect from

Why I support Friedman for Congress

The small business community in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District is still recovering from the pandemic, especially in historically underserved neighborhoods on the South and West sides, where oncevibrant retail corridors remain boarded up and forgotten.

Thirteen candidates are asking for your vote in IL-07. But if we are serious about revitalizing small businesses and electing responsive, results-driven leadership, there is no stronger champion than Jason Friedman.

I founded Takeout 25 to help local restaurants survive the pandemic and have served as an Oak Park village trustee In my experience, too many politicians struggle to translate their vision for economic growth into tangible outcomes, often forcing small business owners to fend for themselves.

One of my first conversations with Jason was about his plan to open a constituent service office dedicated specifically to supporting small businesses in our district. This office would provide handson assistance with SBA loans and grants, entrepreneurial development programs,

River Forest schools. Our teachers deserve to earn a living that reflects the importance of the work they do every day.

Strong schools are also central to the long-ter m strength of the community. Protecting academic excellence helps safeguard both educational outcomes and the long-ter m stability homeowners rely on.

River Forest has long set a high standard. Our schools reflect what this community values most — strong classrooms, experienced teachers, and a commitment to academic excellence. This moment is not simply about numbers. It is about aligning resources with the outcomes we want for our children and our community.

There was meaningful progress at the bargaining table, and I am hopeful the continued work has produced a lasting resolution that closes the pay gap, keeps compensation in step with inflation, and reflects how deeply this community values

its teachers. More importantly, our teachers should know this community stands with them. We see the work they do, we value the stability and excellence they bring to our classrooms, and we support fair, competitive compensation that reflects their impact.

When we invest in our educators, we invest in our children, our schools, and our shared future. And as parents and community members, we will continue to stand behind the people who show up for our kids every single day.

Sources:

D90 audited financial re ports and projections

D90 Geodemographic Survey (GeoLytics, 2025)

Money Inc.’s ranking of the richest places to live in Illinois community rankings Kelly Abcarian River Forest

Pick a re ason to vote ‘No’

and other federal resources to help aspiring and existing business owners bring their ideas to life

Investing in small businesses is foundational to making long-term progress with affordability, education, and public safety. Strong local businesses create goodpaying jobs, revive neighborhoods, attract investment, and encourage expansion of essential community staples like grocery stores and neighborhood retail. A thriving local economy generates the resources we need to support affordable housing, better public schools, and safer streets.

We have the opportunity to elect a new voice in Washington whose priority is building a future for the 7th District in which everyone can thrive, no matter your zip code

Jason understands that when small businesses succeed, our communities succeed. He has both the ideas and the experience to make that vision a reality. That’s why Jason has my full support as the next Congressman for Illinois’ 7th District.

Ravi Parakkat Founder, Takeout 25 Former Oak Park Trustee

With the March Primary Election, Oak Park voters need to decide whether they will approve the Park District of Oak Park’s ballot referendum for $40 million in bonds to fund the cost of a new indoor pool on the site of the existing outdoor pool at Ridgeland Common. Voters have a number of reasons for voting “No.”

• Do not want to lose an outdoor pool — seems a popular choice, judging from recent letters to Viewpoints.

• Do not like the wording of the ballot referendum, which fails to mention the loss of the outdoor pool.

• Believe that the park district is springing this referendum on the voters with limited notice and little time to consider. Here are some additional reasons:

• Have significant pool cost fatigue; taxpayers are already bearing the high cost of a new premium pool at OPRF High School, a block from Ridgeland Common.

• Inadequate ef for ts to consider viable alternatives, such as a use agreement with OPRF’s new pool or a retractable roof on the existing Ridgeland pool. At recent information sessions, the park district said it had some discussions with OPRF High School and that a retractable roof would have complications on where to place roof supports, but this attendee sensed that consideration of both options

was limited.

• The proposed funding is 100% debt. The finance section of the park district website provides six years of audited financial statements. The long-term debt of the park district ranges from a high of $24.5 million in 2021 to a low of $20 million in 2024 — $40 million in new bond debt would increase the debt by 200%. Let’s consider a good story: at the Feb. 25 information session, the park district confirmed that the total cost of the Community Recreation Center on Madison was $21.6 million. It provides very good amenities and is an excellent value to members, the number of which far exceeded expectations. It was funded by $15.6 million in grants and individual fundraising and $6 million from the capital improvement fund. No debt or additional burden on the taxpayers. Well done, park district.

So pick a reason and vote “No,” giving them the opportunity to develop a better plan for funding a possible pool. In addition to fundraising, I favor a retractable roof to provide for year-round use; if the Park District’s existing architect or structural engineer cannot figure things out, then find someone who can.

Bruce Mar tin Oak Park

Showalter is the best choice

I’m supporting Reed Showalter for Congress Reed has deep roots in our community. He is an Oak Park native with a deep love for, and understanding of, our community and communities across the 7th District.

He is a champion for progressive values. He has never wavered on his commitment to fighting against corporate power buying our economy and our democracy. He is clear on his values and he is someone I trust will never sell those values out for any cost. If you’ve met Reed, you know that he is someone who truly cares about people and about the policies that will affect them.

We all see what is happening in Washington right now. We have a lawless president who will do anything to hold onto power and hurt the people he doesn’t like. And we have a Cong ress that is not meeting the moment. That’s why I believe Reed is the person we need re presenting

us in Cong ress right now. He has worked in the federal gover nment for years, in Congress, at the FTC, DOJ, and White House National Economic Council. He knows how these institutions work, and he will use every possible lever to oppose the horrors of the Trump administration, hold this regime accountable, and start building coalitions for real progressive change when Democrats take back the House, the Senate, and the Presidency.

We are in a unique and scary moment in history. And when I think about who I want between my community and Donald Trump, Reed is that person. I can confidently say that Reed Showalter is the best choice for Illinois’ 7th District. I’m proud to support him, and I hope you will join me in supporting him as well.

Sarah Du y Oak Park

Carnivore’s act of kindness

I was sorry to hear of Carnivore’s struggle and need for a cash infusion. I want to re port an act of kindness by one of the Carnivore staf f members. This past autumn our 10-year-old pet dog became sick and eventually stopped eating. I continued to offer her the prescription dog food @ $6 can from the vet, which she refused. At the grocery store I bought bone broth, beef baby food, ground turkey and Frosty Paws to get some calories into her. She was not tempted by any of it, but continued to drink water. It crossed my mind to stop by Carnivore to pick up a small piece of fine quality beef to cook for our sick girl. After I explained the situation

Vote for statesmen, not politicians

to a worker at the counter who was cutting up meat, he selected a remnant he had just finished trimming. It was a large piece of high-quality steak, but not large enough to sell to the public. He wrapped it, handed the package to me, no charge. He said if my do g wouldn’t eat it, I should serve it to one of her human companions. When it was certain that our dog was mortally ill with internal bleeding, we made the decision to move ahead with euthanasia by the vet. Although it was a dark time for our family, this act of kindness by the Carnivore staf f person will always be remembered.

Gover nment works best when it’s in the hands of statesmen, not politicians We in the 7th District have the rare opportunity to help elect two pragmatic statesmen, not ideological politicians, to re present us in D.C.: Rory Hoskins in the House of Representatives and Robin Kelly in the U.S. Senate. They are the only two candidates on the March 17 Democratic primary ballot in the same league as such outstanding thoughtful, scandal-free, ethical, and independent practical statesmen like for mer Cook County Clerk David Orr (Harold Washington’s favorite alderman), and the late Senator Paul Simon, Congressman Ab-

ner Mikva, and State Treasurer and Illinois State Senator Dawn Clark Netsch.

To survive the next three years of the increasingly autocratic and dictatorial Trump re gime, we need to elect congressmen and senators who are more thoughtful than noisy, and more focused on governing realistically rather than engaging in mindless sloganeering and political stunts But first they’ve got to win their party’s nomination.

That’s why we would be astute on March 17 to vote for Rory Hoskins for 7th District Cong ressman to succeed Danny Davis and Robin Kelly to succeed Dick Durbin as U.S.

Senator. Both Forest Park Mayor Hoskins and 2nd District Cong resswomen Kelly represent all that can be right about elected officials

Every candidate for their nominations shouts they’ ll oppose Donald Trump. What distinguishes Hoskins and Kelly from the rest, is that they alone have shown they can actually govern in the thoughtful, independent, fact-based, pragmatic, and collaborative manner that is critical to actually succeed in a closely divided House and Senate

Both have consistently demonstrated they can work with elected officials of

Ford is the logical choice

La Shawn Ford is the best and only logical choice for us for Congress. Experience matters, especially now. Oak Parkers are savvy enough to know we can’t afford someone who needs to spend their first ter m learning the job. Legislating is a thing and it is different than being an executive. La Shawn has shown that he can get things done with legislation. Just ask the staffs at D200, D97, and D90, where he got us the incredibly important ability, through legislation he created and passed, to provide continuous, informed care across the districts, for our children who need it the most.

I first met La Shawn in 2003, before he decided to run for of fice, when he started

coming to our Howard Dean meetups in Oak Park. He’s been an effective progressive for us for almost 20 years. After he won, he immediately turned his state rep website into a job board, helping hundreds of people find work through difficult times. None of the people running against him have ever served in a legislative capacity. It’s different than, for example, running your own business, which is also a good thing, but it isn’t legislating, which is different than being an executive in government. I know because I have served in both branches

Each of the candidates talks about how they’re going to fight Trump, and that’s great, but which one can actually get things

done once they get to Washington? We just don’t have time right now for on-the-job training. Ford has represented part of Oak Park before and he’s done it well. We need a passionate progressive who knows how to work with their fellow legislators, not just talk about it but get things done. La Shawn is not a show horse, he’s a workhorse. That’s why you see dozens of legislators endorsing him. They know. This campaign is a job interview. Would you hire someone to move up to the next level who hadn’t done the job before, or someone who’s already shown he can get things done for us in that role?

Eric Davis Oak Park

varying views – an absolutely essential trait if our federal gover nment is ever going to work for the people again. So if you too are sick and tired of all the bombast and loud rhetoric, if you too want representatives in Washington focused on governing thoughtfully and independently of rigid or extremist political ideologies, join me in voting in the Democratic Primary for Rory Hoskins and Robin Kelly to achieve the change we need to preserve our democracy, civil liberties, and to MAAAMake America America Again.

Dan Lauber River Forest

Pedestrian perils

Something must be done about pedestrian safety. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been walking alone, or with my wife, or my young children, and we’ve very nearly been bowled over in the crosswalk by impatient drivers not paying the slightest bit of attention to pedestrians. I increasingly feel as if it’s safer to jaywalk when I know the roads are clear than wait for the light and risk getting run over by drivers turning left without looking. What can be done to make the streets around the village safer for those of us who walk?

Lily Danzig Oak Park

Barbara Purington Oak Park

No big donor money in 7th District race

As a resident of Oak Park, I am increasingly concerned about the growing role of large lobbying organizations in shaping elections in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District. Regardless of party affiliation or foreign policy views, we should all agree that elected officials must be accountable first to the people they represent.

One organization that has drawn significant attention nationwide is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its affiliated super PACs. Through direct contributions and independent expenditures, it has

invested heavily in congressional primaries across the country. When this level of outside funding floods a local race, it raises an important question: whose interests will ultimately carry more weight — those of district residents or those of major donors?

In the current race, both Melissa Conyears-Ervin and Jason Friedman have reportedly benefited from substantial financial support tied to AIPAC-aligned donors and spending groups. This is not about opposing advocacy in our political process. It is about ensuring that representatives elected in the U.S.

remain focused on the needs of their constituents — families concer ned about housing costs, public safety, health care, and economic opportunity here at home. Oak Park voters deserve confidence that their voices will not be overshadowed by outside spending. Our democracy works best when public service is guided by community priorities, not by the size of a political action committee’s checkbook.

Haj

Herbert Oak Park

Tim omas for committeeman

We are strongly supporting Tim Thomas for the position of State Democratic Committeeman for the 7th Congressional District. We have worked with Tim on various issues over the past 12 years. We know him to be a compassionate high school teacher. During conversations, he has shown that he cares about the total well-being of his students

He has demonstrated leadership skills as an UAW organizer and leader and as the current Oak Park Township Supervisor. In each situation, Tim has encouraged and developed people to take on leadership rolls and get involved. As the State Central Committee person, we know he will continue to use his skills to develop leaders and encourage involve-

ment. His opponent, Chris Welch, will only consolidate power like Mike Madigan. New leaders won’t be developed. The party will stagnate.

Paul Sakol & Hilda Schlatter Oak Park

Dealing with derelict buildings

Kudos to Wednesday Jour nal and reporter Brendan Heffer nan for the excellent Feb. 25 story on years of code violations preceding the big fire at the North/ Taylor mixed-use building. It was based on the kind of solid investigative work I always hope to see in WJ, all too rare in community newspapers. I also appreciate your Feb. 25 op-ed in Viewpoints on the building as the firetrap it became.

But I do take partial issue with your statement that the courts … simply “lacked the tools to bring the owner to the table.” The courts themselves are part of the difficulty in bringing problem building owners to the table. As Heffer nan reported, the village’s suit against the owner was dismissed in October 2024. Owners like Chhabria know the courts are lax on things like code violations. In addition to dismissals, they know they can receive months and years of continuances and other court delays. Court laxity was largely responsible for long waits in doing something about the derelict building that once stood at 6645 W. North Ave., which was ultimately torn down, as well as problem properties on Harrison Street, which has been thriving since effective action finally was taken against owner of those properties. This is

an excellent example of how derelict buildings can drag down a business district. Unfortunately, the North Avenue District has several such properties on both sides of the street, including the MegaFun building (6547 W. North), the partially demolished IHOP (North and Elmwood, a major eyesore), and the Monumental Building (6114-6118 W. North).

As you opined, the village may lack the tools to bring the owner to the table. But the village itself generally gives owners lots of time to deal with code violations. After attempting to work with these owners for months, enforcement begins with tickets and small fines. Heffer nan reported on this process. He wrote that the village found code violations as early as December 2022 (or perhaps earlier — there were problems at the North/Taylor building for 20 years, according to a for mer resident quoted in the article). Chicago is no better.

If Chicago and Oak Park want to help business districts struggling to revitalize, nothing is more important than dealing firmly and promptly with derelict buildings

Judith Alexander Oak Park

JOHN DUFFY

e story of Mt. Carmel Church

from page 31

purchased homes nearby and opened businesses nearby. The possibilities of what could have been are endless. What we know for certain is properties in Oak Park have increased in value exponentially since the early 1900s, and that wealth could have been in the hands of Black Oak Park residents if the village board had allowed its tax-paying Black residents to build on the lots they owned and for which they had a building permit.”

The disturbing developments around Mt. Carmel Church were sadly but the first instance in a har mful pattern that would recur again and again the rest of the century and into the new millennium. The demise of our first Black church (destroyed by fire on Christmas 1929) was the village’s first episode in a persistently racist set of policy decisions that by design and default contributed to the exclusion and the dispersal of African Americans seeking the amenities of suburban living that still bring people to Oak Park.

The next episode in our series will unpack how federal and local housing policies during the Great Depression of the 1930s aggravated the exclusion of Blacks and Jews from Oak Park

Sources can be found at the end of the online version at oakpark.com/Opinion.

Voting No on the indoor pool

The Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/1) and Attorney General’s opinions issued thereunder require that public boards conduct deliberations and take action in meetings open to the public. It requires a public board to give advance public notice and allow individuals to attend any and all meetings at which public business is discussed or acted upon, with certain very limited, specified exceptions. If I am to believe what I read in Wednesday Journal, the park board’s plan to demolish the 50-meter Ridgeland pool and re place it with an indoor 25-yard, war m-water pool, was conceived at a private board retreat last summer and hastily put on last December’s board agenda without prior public notice.

The wording of the March 17 referendum fails to mention that the proposed 25-yard pool will replace a demolished 50-meter Ridgeland outdoor pool. Board members have stated variously that that wording came from either their bond counsel and/or the Cook County Board of Elections. I am curious as to what details were provided by the board to either of those entities when said language was discussed.

Draw your own conclusions. Vote No.

Karen Mans eld Oak Park

Bill Schuler, 64

A ‘MacGyver,’ scuba diver and friend

lliam David

“Bill” Schuler, 64, rest Park, forOak Park, died peacefully in his sleep on Jan. 17, 2026, in Nassau, Bahamas in the company of his siblings. He was the middle child in amily of Ralph and Donna Schuler rest. He learned er and entertaining and was mischievous enough to keep life interesting.

Born on Feb. 28, 1961 in Oak Park and raised in South Oak Park, he loved competitive sports, played youth baseball and football, skied with the Blizzard Ski Club, and swam a powerful breaststroke. He graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 1979, where he contributed to the football, wrestling and swim teams. He also enjoyed playing racquetball and tennis. At the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana for two years, he was known for his gentle heart, his teasing, and a stoic disposition. His ability to fix or rig almost anything made him a “MacGyver.” He was thought to be the smartest and best-looking of the siblings.

A born entrepreneur, he started with mowing lawns and paper routes, then fixing small appliances and selling mattresses, landlording, remodeling, and creating a progressive home media solutions company. “King” was often a part of his businesses’ names, based on a nickname that stuck. His friends were as kind and humorous as he.

When he discovered scuba diving, it became his great love. Fearless, he swam with sharks on night dives at the Shedd Aquarium. He enjoyed trips to the Florida Keys, National Marine Sanctuary. Re gular lap swimming was his solace. He shared decades of his life with his

fiancée, Kathy Shea. He was lost when Kathy died in December of 2016. But he adored his nephews and nieces and their kids and took time to have special lunches, river kayak adventures and poolside scuba lessons.

Physically and emotionally strong, funny, stubborn as hell, incredibly kind, he was brother, helper, maverick, and friend. He was King Bill. The sea was calling, and he answered.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Donna Schuler, and is survived by his siblings Richard, Laura, Stephen, Stacy, and their partners, along with nephews and nieces, grand-nephews and -nieces, cousins, uncles, aunts, old friends, and his beloved dog, Tex, and cat, Trumbull.

A private celebration of life will be held in April for family and friends. His favorite charities are AnimalCareLeague.org and Imagine-Foundation.org. Memorial contributions are appreciated.

Maria Kane, 75 Lived a compassiona te life

Maria Luisa Kane (nee Bruno), 75, died peacefully on Feb. 28, 2026, in River Forest. Born on Aug. 25, 1950, in Ve ga Baja, Puerto Rico, she lived a life rooted in love, faith, and devotion. Her family will gacy of love, kindring faith. Her life was a testament to her compassion for others and her steadfast belief in the power of faith to guide and uplift.

Maria was the daughter of Roque Bruno and Carmen Rolon, both of whom preceded her in death. She was also predeceased by her brothers, David Bruno, Roberto Bruno, Manuel Bruno and her sister, Nereida Bruno Otero.

She is survived by her husband of 30 years, Daniel Kane, and her for mer

Memorial service for Burt Andersen

Unity Temple member Burt Andersen, a musician and physician, who specialized in singing the songs of Stephen Sondheim in his remarkable tenor voice right to the end of his life, died at the age of 93 on December 5, 2025. He was a great supporter of and participant in the Unity Temple Choir and music program.

husband, Ernesto Gonzales with whom she raised her children, Er nesto (Wanda), Carmen (Manuel), David (Maria) and Daniel (Wilma) Gonzales; her nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; and her brothers Roque Bruno and Manuel Antonio Bruno.

A wake will be held on March 4 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Peterson-Bassi, 6938 W. North Ave., Chicago.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Housing Forward of Maywood and St. Edmund Parish of Oak Park

Gene Liss, 65 A man of strong enthusiasms

Eugene Francis Liss, 65, died on Jan. 9, 2026. Bor n on March 13, 1959, he grew up in Oak Pa rk, and graduated from St. Edmund School and Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park. He studied hard and graduated from Illinois State University with a de gree in Financial Accounting and a minor in General Marketing, attained his CPA de gree, then went on to take the Series 7 exam, leading

to his life’s work as a Certified Financial Planner in both Califo rnia and the greater Chicago area.

A man of strong enthusiasms, he loved nothing more than being outside enjoying the sun, surf and sand in his beloved Souther n California, where he moved as a young adult, residing in Manhattan Beach and Huntington Beach for many years. He owned a succession of spor ts cars; was a major proponent of fine dining al fresco, preferably accompanied by a cold margarita and a view of the Pacific Ocean; was a lifelong dedicated Chicago spor ts team enthusiast, with a special love for the Chicago Cubs; and enjoyed and forever got a kick out of every dog he ever came across, especially his beloved Candy. He experienced a series of health setbacks in his later life that prevented him from participating in some of his favorite activities, but he always appreciated conversation and a good laugh.

Gene was the son of the late Eugene J. Liss and Constance L. Liss (nee Pusateri); the brother of Mary Liss and Holly A. Liss; the uncle of Elizabeth Considine; the ne phew of 10 aunts and uncles; and the cousin and friend of many.

A memorial service/celebration of life will be held on March 8 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Peterson-Bassi Chapels, 6938 W. North Ave., Chicago IL 60707. Donations can be made to the Animal Care League of Oak Park (animalcareleague.org) or Thrive Counseling Center of Oak Park (Thr ivecc.org)

A celebration of Burt’s life will take place at Unity Temple, Kenilworth and Lake Street, on Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m. The service will be live-streamed and recorded, and there will be a reception after the service. All are welcome to join us. WEDNESD AY

To run an obituary

Please contact Ken Trainor by e-mail: ktrainor@wjinc.com, or fax: 708/524-0447 before Monday at noon. Please include a photo if possible.

Trinity tramples Glenbard South, heads to state

Blazers basketball in state nals for fourth time

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

Four years ago, Trinity High School basketball seniors Zaria Goins and Chloe Santos were part of a top-seeded Blazers squad that lost to visiting Fenwick in a sectional final. Following two more losses in the sectional round, the duo is finally heading to the state finals.

Goins and Santos each turned in big-time efforts against Glenbard South in the IHSA Class 3A Concordia University Supersectional in River Forest, Monday night, to lead Trinity to a 50-36 victory which punched a ticket to state. This marks the first time since 2016 – and the fourth time overall in program history – that the Blazers will be playing on the season’s final weekend.

“It feels amazing. We’ve been training for this since freshman year,” said Santos, who finished with a team-high 14 points and six rebounds. “We’ve been wanting this and

we’re finally here.”

“It feels like a big accomplishment that’s well-deserved,” said Goins, who had eight points, six rebounds, and four assists. “I’ve been waiting to do this for all four years since that loss against Fenwick at Trinity my first year. Chloe and I talked before the game. We just knew this was something we’d been chasing for a long time. I told her to just be her, and I’m proud she did it with no hesitation.”

Goins set the tone early in the first quarter with a rainbow three from the right corner that gave Trinity (25-10) a 3-2 lead. The Blazers added four more points for a 7-0 run and stayed ahead throughout the remainder of the contest.

Trinity led 17-10 at halftime thanks to a suf focating defense that posed problems for Glenbard South (29-5). The Blazers’ athleticism and length severely disrupted the Raiders on offense as they made just 3-of-19 shots in the first half.

Trailing 30-23 going into the fourth quarter, Glenbard South made a push to cut Trinity’s lead to four points. But the Blazers had a strong response, going on

e Trinity High School basketball team punched its ticket to the IHSA Class 3A state semi nals with a 50-36 v ictor y over Glenbard South at the Concordia University Supersectional in River Forest, March 2.

another 7-0 run that gave them a 37-26 lead with 4:59 remaining. Afterward, the Raiders could come no closer than nine

“We just played together and we had to keep our composure,” said Trinity freshman Jazmyn Ratliff (six points). “We needed to make good decisions and trust each other.”

Keyera Gamble had 10 points and 16 rebounds and Destiny Sacluti added eight points for Trinity.

Trinity coach Kim Coleman has been building the program back up to a championship level and was emotional after the game.

“I can’t even put it into words,” she said. “It’s been eight long years of pushing these kids, not just this group but the groups that came before them. There are so many people who put so much work into this program. They believed in the vision.”

Coleman said she wasn’t sur prised with the terrific performances she received from Goins and Santos.

“I didn’t expect anything different. T hey knew what was at stake, they knew what it felt like their freshman year when we lost in a sectional final,” Coleman said. “They understood the assignment, they put us on their back s, and we followed their lead.”

T rinity may not have been in Monday’s supersectional if it weren’ t for the ef fort of Ratliff. Against Fenwick in the T rinity Sectional title g ame, Feb. 26, her threepointer with 6.2 seconds left gave the Blazers a thrilling 39-36 victory that resulted in an emotional court storm by T rinity students, parents, and f ans. T he shot was

shown the following day on ABC 7, Fox 32, and WGN.

“I was ready for it. I was ready to shoot and I knew it was going in,” said Ratliff, who had a team-high 12 points against Fenwick.

Avani Williams had a g ame-high 18 points and 10 rebounds for the F riars (1616), who had rallied from nine down early in the fourth quarter to take the lead with :59 remaining – only to see Gamble tie it of f an offensive rebound, then Ratliff apply the dagger.

“Tough loss, tough pill to take,” said Fenwick coach Lenae Fergerson. “Our girls played so hard and fought back. It came down to securing a rebound and we came up shor t.”

Fenwick loses seven seniors to graduation, but sophomores Williams, Eleanor Gibson and Lucy McAllister give the F riars a solid nucleus the next two years.

“I’m excited about next year. We have a strong sophomore class with some of them playing heavy minutes,” Fergerson said.

T rinity will meet Chatham Glenwood in the 3A semifinal at CEFCU Arena in Normal, March 6, at 10 a.m. T he g ame can be seen locally on The U, Channel 26.

“Let’s g et down there and enjoy the moment. Let’s go win one,” Coleman said. “We’ re blessed with so much gratitude for our school, our parents, our athletic director [Ken Trendel], and my f amily and friends. It takes a village; everyone has a hand in this.”

MELVIN TATE

STEVE JOHNSTON

Trinity’s Jazmyn Ratli (15) makes a pass against Fenwick during the Class 3A Trinity Sectional nals, Feb. 26, in River Forest.

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 20, 2026 for the following:

Village of Oak Park 2026 Redi Mix Concrete Purchase

Bid Number: 26-109

Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park. us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 3585700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal March 4, 2026

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified vendors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 for the following:

Village of Oak Park 2026 Emergency Vehicle Equipment

Bid Number: 26-108

Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park. us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 3585700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal March 4, 2026

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 20th, 2026 for the following:

Village of Oak Park 2026 Surface Hot Mix Asphalt Purchase Bid Number: 26-110

Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park. us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 3585700 during the above hours.

PUBLIC NOTICE

SECTION I REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Tree Pruning Services 2026

NOTICE TO PROPOSERS: The City of Berwyn (hereinafter City) is seeking Requests for Proposals for the project listed below. A Request for Proposal (RFP) packet is available at the City Clerk’s Office, City Hall, 6700 West 26th Street, Berwyn, IL 60402, or at https:ljwww.berwyn-il.gov/ governrnent/bids-rfps.

Sealed RFPs will be received at the City Clerk’s Office, until the time and date specified below, for: Tree Pruning Services 2026

ADDRESS PROPOSALS TO:

Attention of the City Clerk’s Office, City Hall, 6700 W. 26th Street, Berwyn IL 60402, on or before 10:00 a.m. on March 25th, 2026. Proposals shall be sealed and clearly marked on the front, “Proposal for Tree Pruning Services 2026.” Faxed or emailed proposals will not be accepted.

PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING

#2

Scheduled by The Village of River Forest

For Improvement of the Washington Boulevard Corridor

The Village of River Forest will hold a second Public Information Meeting concerning the proposed improvement of Washington Boulevard Corridor. The Public Information Meeting will be held in the Community Room on the first floor of Village Hall (400 Park Ave, River Forest, IL 60305) on Thursday, March 19th, 2026 from 4:00 - 7:00 PM. All persons interested in this project are invited to attend this meeting.

The purpose of this public meeting is to share information and gather community input on Phase I of the project, which includes preliminary engineering and environmental studies for proposed improvements along Washington Boulevard between Thatcher and Lathrop Avenues. The proposed improvements are intended to enhance safety and accessibility for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists.

Published in Wednesday Journal March 4, 2026

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES

ANNUAL OAK PARK TOWNSHIP MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

To the legal voters, and the residents of the Township of Oak Park in the County of Cook and State of Illinois, notice is hereby given that the Annual Township Meeting of said Township will take place on Tuesday, April 7th, 2026, being the second Tuesday of said month at the hour of 7:00 PM. at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois in the Veteran’s Room.

Published in Wednesday Journal March 4, 2026

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M26001367 on February 24, 2026 Under the Assumed Business Name of EFW ASSOCIATION with the business located at: 167 LINDEN AVE, OAK PARK, IL 60302. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: JOSHUA D. WOOD 167 LINDEN AVE OAK PARK, IL 60302, USA

Published in Wednesday Journal March 4, 11, 18, 2026

PROPOSALS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN: 10:00 a.m. on March 25th, 2026. Proposers shall submit three (3) paper copies and one (1) electronic copy in .pdf format on a flash drive of their proposal.

QUESTIONS: All questions and clarifications regarding this Request for Proposal (RFP) must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 18th, 2026 by e-mailing or calling the following City Representative: Nicholas Peterson, City Arborist npeterson@ci.berwyn.il.us pubworks.engineering@ci.berwyn. il.us

Published in Wednesday Journal, Forest Park Review, RB Landmark March 4, 2026

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M26001358 on February 23, 2026 Under the Assumed Business Name of NEXTGEN SOCIAL with the business located at: 2312 NORTH CLIFTON AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60614. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is:

ANTHONY RIVECCO 2312 NORTH CLIFTON AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60614

Published in Wednesday Journal March 4, 11, 18, 2026

This will be an open house–style meeting, and residents are encouraged to stop by at any time during the scheduled hours to review project materials, ask questions, and provide feedback. Village staff and members of the project team will be present to receive input, provide information, and answer questions. Those unable to attend in person may submit comments or questions via email to WashingtonCorridorProject@ primeraeng.com. Additional project information is available on the Village website or by visiting the QR code below:

The Village of River Forest is committed to ensuring accessibility for all participants. Persons with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to attend or participate in this meeting are encouraged to contact the person listed below by March 12th to make arrangements. The contact may be by telephone, in writing, by fax or by telecommunications device for the deaf (TTY).

For additional information, please contact Jack Bielak, Director of Public Works & Engineering, Village of River Forest | 400 Park Ave, River Forest, IL 60305 | 708-714-3551

Published in Wednesday Journal February 25, March 4, 2026

Submit events and see full calendar at oakpark.com/events

“Quality, A ordable, Independent Housing for Seniors”

Our beautiful 6-story building provides quality, a ordable, independent housing for seniors. We o er 75 studio and onebedroom apartments. Amenities include an award winning interior landscaped atrium, central meeting room, library, laundry facilities, computer learning center, internet access, electronic key entry system, parking, onsite management, and 24/7 emergency maintenance service. e Oaks is funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development through HUD’s Multifamily Housing Program. Monthly rent is based on the resident’s income, with individuals paying approximately 30% of their monthly income toward rent.

114 South Humphrey, Oak Park, Il 60302

For more information, please visit us at www.oakparkha.org or contact us at 708-386-5812.