Elswor th Carman, the new director, has ties to the librar y and Oak Park
By MICHAEL DRAKULICH Contributing Reporter
The Oak Park Public Library board has found its next executive director in Elsworth Carman, who is curr director of the Iowa City Public Library. The announcement of his hiring came March 27, just days before a highly contested local election which will determine who serves on the board he works for. Carman will begin his new position May 27.
But Carman isn’t completely new to Oak Park or the Oak Park Public Library. He served as manager of the threebranch library’s adult and teen services department and then as part of its experiences and initiatives team. Carman worked in Oak Park from 2011 to 2016. WEDNESD
After making changes to attract more police o cer candidates, Chief Shatonya Johnson hopes it can make up its 30-o cer de cit next year
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
The Oak Park Police Department still has a lot of ground to make up to reach its staffing goals, according to Police Chief Shatonya Johnson.
The department is presently short 30 sworn officers from its target for a fully staffed department, as the depar tment operates at more
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Beyond Hunger staff and Hatch Elementary Principal Mendez with the CAN DO Trophy (2024)
Elementary students dropping off food (2023)
Beyond Hunger staff member with high-need food items
Village President Vicki Scaman, Post O ce O perations Manager Greg Harris, Postmaster Kenya omas, OPRF Museum
TODD BANNOR
Executive Director Frank Lipo and Post O ce District Manager Je Drake at the unveiling of the Betty White commemorative stamp at the Oak Park Main Post O ce on March 28.
Betty White ‘forever stamp’ unveiled
Legendary actress honored with USPS stamp and Oak Park ceremony
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
It was a “golden” morning at the Oak Park Post Office last Friday, as U.S. Postal Service officials unveiled a new stamp paying tribute to the late Betty White.
Following a ceremony in Los Angeles March 28, the USPS held the local event in the village honoring the new forever stamp that pays tribute to the iconic actress, who was born in Oak Park in 1922 before her family moved to Los Angeles a year later. The stamps are now for sale in booklets of 20 and will always be available for purchase at the same cost as first-class mail 1-ounce postage, according to the USPS.
White Died in December of 2021, just a few weeks before her 100th bir thday.
“It’s unfortunate that postal stamps are issued after people’s deaths, we would have loved to do this while she was alive,” said USPS district manager Jeff Drake. “But it’s still an honor to do this and dedicate
this stamp to her wonderful life.”
Highlights of White’s long television career include her Emmy-winning performances as the beloved characters Sue Ann Nivens on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and Rose Nylund on “The Golden Girls.” She also hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2010.
Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman said she was honored to help celebrate White during Women’s History Month.
“Oak Park takes pride in being Betty White’s birthplace, celebrating her le gacy as one of Hollywood’s most beloved actresses,” she said. “Betty was a fierce champion of human rights, the treatment of animals as well as female entrepreneurship.”
Event attendees were treated to printouts of the stamp portrait, refreshments and angelic renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “The Golden Girls” theme song “Thank You for Being a Friend” by Kalind Haynes, a downtown Chicago USPS letter carrier and accomplished gospel singer.
The portrait on the stamp, done by illustrator Dale Stephanos, depicts White in her
later years flashing her signature war m smile. The portrait also contains a subtle reference to her activism on behalf of animal welfare causes like the American Humane Society and the Los Angeles Zoo, as White is shown wearing a paw print earing.
“Being remembered for Rose and Sue Ann and the others would be wonderful,” White told The Chicago Sun-Times in 1990. “But I also want to be remembered as a lady who helped the animals.”
While White only lived in Oak Park as an infant, several of her family members remained in the village for decades. White fondly recalled visiting the “old house on Taylor Avenue” where several generations of her extended family lived together as a child, in a letter she penned in response to an inquiry by local historians in 1989, according to Frank Lipo of the Oak Park River Forest Museum.
“I will let Betty have the last word today, in her own words,” Lipo said quoting the letter. “Betty wrote ‘P.S. I’m always careful to explain I was born in Oak Park, not Chicago.’”
WEDNESD AY
of Oak Park and River Forest
Interim Executive Director Max Reinsdorf
Digital Manager Stac y Coleman
Digital Media Coordinator Brooke Duncan
Sta Repor ter Brendan He ernan
Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor
Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora
Contributing Editor Donna Greene
Columnists Marc Bleso , Jack Crowe, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger
Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck
Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead
Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea
Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza
Marketing & Adver tising Associate Ben Stumpe
Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls
Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan
Circulation Manager Jill Wagner
Operations Associate Susan Babin
Special Projects Manager Susan Walker
Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs
Senior Advisor Dan Haley
Chair Eric Weinheimer | Treasurer Nile Wendor
Deb Abrahamson, Mary Cahillane, Steve Edwards, Judy Gre n, Horacio Mendez, Charles Meyerson Darnell Shields, Audra Wilson
Greg Smith takes over as permanent village attorney
Oak Park has hired an attorney from the rm that lled the interim village attorney role to do the job permanently
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
After nearly 8 months, Oak Pa rk filled i ts village attorney vo id earlier thi s month.
Greg Smith and the law firm Elrod Friedman LLP have been appointed Village Attorney for the Village of Oak Park following an action taken by the board during its March 11 meeting, according to a village release Smith is an economic development, land use, and local government focused attorney, according to the release.
“Appointment as village attorney for the village of Oak Park is an honor,” said Smith. “We are appreciative of the opportunity to continue to assist the village president, board of trustees, village manager, and village staf f in advancing the village’s most pressing matters. As a long-time village resident, I am keenly familiar with the village’s priorities and needs. I look forward to continuing the law department’s tradition of excellence.”
Smith will bill hourly for his work advising the village at “a substantial discount from the firm’s standard hourly rates re-
served only for its governmental for whom they serve as general counsel,” according to Oak Park spokesperson Dan Yopchick
Smith will work re gular hours in office at Oak Park Village Hall.
Elrod Friedman LLP also serves as legal counsel to the governments of Arlington Heights, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Highland Park, La Grange, Northbrook and Waukegan, according to Yopchick.
Lining up to vote early outside Oak Park Village Hall.
The firm’s staf f, including Smith, have filled in as legal counsel at the direction of Village Manager Kevin J. Jackson since July 2024, when longtime village attorney Paul Stephanides left his position to serve as the village attorney for Glen Ellyn, according to the village.
“The team at Elrod F riedman have been providing high-quality service for the village of Oak Park for quite some time, but especially in the interim capacity over the past seven-plus months,” said Jackson. “Their professionalism, diligence and responsiveness have ensured that we have been able to continu e operating at a high le vel.”
Early voting totals jump across suburban Cook County
Early voting is up across the suburbs compared to 2023’s suburban elections.
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
Early voting totals across suburban Chicagoland surged compared to the turnout in 2023’s spring municipal elections, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office.
Every other year, elections are held for local governments in Illinois, including races for municipal, school, park, library, township leadership positions. While 57,400 Cook Country residents voted early ahead of April 4, 2023’s election, 97,696 did so ahead of April 1’s suburban elections, according to election statistics.
day, March 17 and ended at 5 p.m. Monday, March 31. Here’s how the early voting numbers at west suburban polling places turned out compared to stats from 2023’s spring municipal election:
■ Brookfield Village Hall: Up to 2,156 from 1,651 in spring 2023.
■ Oak Park Village Hall: Up to 2,470 from 1,407 in spring 2023.
■ Maywood Public Library: Up to 1,060 from 578 at the Maywood Courthouse in spring 2023.
■ Pavek Community Center: Up to 978 from 513 at Berwyn City Hall in spring 2023.
■ Elmwood Park Recreation Center: Up to 1,347 from 835 at Elmwood Park Village Hall in spring 2023.
■ Lyons Village Hall: Up to 1,034 from 757 in spring 2023.
■ Cicero PSO Building: Down to 688 from 702 in spring 2023.
Early voting began the morning of Mon-
■ Cicero Community Center: Down to 507 from 521 in spring 2023
JILL WAGNER
GREG SMITH
Oak Park activists host local ‘Hands O !’ protest Saturday
By DAN HALEY Senior Advisor and Interim Editor
When Americans turn out Saturday to protest the actions of the Trump Administration during the nationwide Hands Off! event, Oak Park will be represented. Local critics of President Donald Trump and of his counterpart, Elon Musk, will gather at noon at Scoville Park, Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street.
Cynthia Breunlin, an Oak Park activist for a good long time, is more than ready to lead the protest but decided last week that she and other older activists in the village were not up for the trip to the Loop protest.
“Several of us who are older realized we could not get to the Federal Plaza,” said Breunlin, 77. So, spontaneously, she reached out to MoveOn.org, an organizer of the national event, sought its OK through its “Plan Your Event” feature and 24 hours later was recruiting a crowd. As of Monday morning, more than 250 people had re gistered to take part
“We hope to fill the park,” said Breunlin. “And we might wind up marching to Harlem.”
Four years ago, Breunlin and others organized Congregations Networking for Social Justice. It is now about 100 members strong and represents lay members of faith organizations in Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest. That group is the sponsor of Saturday’s Hands Off! protest.
“This is not along political lines,” said Breunlin. “But about our rights around our democracy, which are being taken away.”
She offered a lengthy list of issues protesters want Trump and Musk to steer away from.
“Our libraries, public lands, Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, the Education Department and our public schools, our bodies, Social Security,” she said.
Also joining in support of Hands Off! is the non-partisan Oak Park-River Forest League of Women Voters. So while reminding members in its March newsletter that “the league is about positions, not politicians or political parties,” it asked its members not to wear
“league paraphernalia” while protesting either in downtown Chicago or at Scoville Park Breunlin, who worked in housing programs for the village of Oak Park for 10 years, has been involved in fair housing issues across the metropolitan area for decades.
Asked why people who may feel overwhelmed by the news coming out of
Washington should turn out on Saturday, Breunlin said, the protest “empowers people to have a voice. We don’t need to educate people about the issues, but we do need to respond with moral outrage. In these times we must take action.”
And, she made the point, “Retirees should not retire.”
ould you like to get moving and take advantage of the super-hot real estate market? Retiree’s real estate specialist Roz Byrne of ROZ Real Estate facilitated the sale of an impressive 24 homes last year, and over half of them were the homes of seniors.
“I’ve held the Seniors Real Estate Specialist �SRES� designation since 2006,” says Roz Byrne, “My favorite group of people to serve are retirees and their families.”
Come to Roz’s upcoming appearances:
Tues April 8th at 10�30a
Ascension Casa Scalabrini in Northlake
Sat April 12th at 10�30a
Oak Park Arms in Oak Park
Weds April 30th at 10�30a
Central Baptist Village in Norridge
17th
POLICE STAFFING 30 o cers shor t
from page 1
than a 25% deficit from its ideal officer count. Johnson said she believes the department can get from its current staff of 86 sworn officers to its goal of 116 by “mid 2026.”
With that goal in mind, recruiting is part of her day-to-day year-round.
“We’ re just doing a huge push,” said Johnson, who took over as chief of police in October 2022 after more than 20 years with the department. “I am personally outside recruiting every day I’m not in the police department.
The department hired 18 officers last year and has hired three more so far this year, Johnson said.
The department had been down 35 officers in May 2024, ac cording to a report Johnson gave to the village board at the time During that meeting, Johnson had said it was the department’s goal to have 95 sworn officers on staff by the end of 2024.
that departments were operating with a roughly 10% officer staffing deficit on average.
In response to the hiring deficit, Oak Park has changed officer compensation and benefits to try and bring more police recruits into the fold, including salary increases, generous family leave offerings, $4,000 sign on bonuses to recruits who ear n spots as patrol officers, retention bonuses and approved hiring for lateral transfers from other police departments
Oak Park began 2019 with 106 sworn officers, but that year more than a dozen officers reached the top of the village’s pension scale after 30 years of service and retired. The department’s staffing hasn’t recovered since, as retirements and resignations have outpaced hiring, Johnson said.
“That trend has just continued,” Johnson said. “At the start of 2022 we had 103 officers, by the end of 2024 we were at 85.”
In response to the officer short fall, the department had to pull two community policing officers into patrol positions last year. Both of those officers will be returning to the community policing unit by the end of this month as some new recruits finish thei r training, Johnson said.
“We try to keep our o cers ahead of what’s going on in law enforcement. Because we are de nitely a police department that operates from a community policing set of measures.”
SHATONYA JOHNSON Oak Park police chief
Police departments nationwide have struggled with reaching their staffing goals in recent years. A 2024 report by the Police Executive Research Forum found that the total number of swor n officers nationwide had dropped by about 5% and a similar survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police last year found
“I believe we’re the first department in Illinois, or at least in Chicagoland, to offer 6 weeks paid parental leave to all officers,” ohnson said.
The starting salary for a new officer hire without experience is now just over $90,000, with a raise that kicks in after 18 months on the force.
Oak Park has also increased the frequency it offers its police exam, as what was once an annual test is now offered three times a year, Johnson said.
Another way that Johnson is ushing to make up the short fall is by recruiting more women to be officers.
“The goal is for 30% of our officers to be women by 2030,” Johnson said. “As opposed to just posting that we’re hiring, we’re actually going out and meeting people where they are.”
The department is also hiring for two new civilian positions — a community engagement manager who will work to develop the department’s online presence and community outreach work and a strategic intelligence manager who will assist the department with data analysis work, Johnson said.
While the department has a significant numbers issue to overcome, Johnson believes the Oak Park police department has made great strides to be an attractive place to work by improving compensation and maintaining a modern, professional culture where officers can grow
“We’re a family, we support each other but we also hold each other accountable,” she said. “We try to keep our officers ahead of what’s going on in law enforcement. Because we are definitely a police department that operates from a community policing set of measures.”
Oak Park police respond to armed robbery
Oak Park police responded to a report that a gun had been red in an apar tment building last week
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
Two Oak Park residents were robbed at gun point while walking in the village last week, according to an Oak Park police activity re port.
The two residents were walking on Iowa Street at 9:24 p.m. the evening of Friday, March 28 when two men exited a black sedan brandishing firearms and demanding that the victims hand over valuables. The victims gave over a wallet containing debit and credit cards and a cell phone before the suspects fled.
The cell phone was eventually recovered
but no apprehensions have been made, according to the activity re port
Reckless rearm use
Oak Park police responded to a re port the evening of Thursday March 27 that an Oak Park resident’s upstairs neighbor had fired a gun that sent a bullet through their ceiling, according to police.
No one was injured in the incident, according to police.
Aggravated assault
An Oak Park resident was walking in the 800 block of Garfield Street when a suspect threatened them with a knife, according to police
Battery arrests
Police ar rested a 33-year-old Chicago man on charges of domestic battery and
Co lin F ane, A gent
212 S Marion Street Fl G Oak Park, IL 60302
Oak Park police mobilized to monitor teen ‘trend’ event
Bus: 708-383-3163 www.colinfane.com
Monday & Friday 9am-5pm
Tue s/Wed/Thurs 9am-7pm Saturday 9am-12pm
More than two dozen law enforcement o cers were monitoring a gathering of teenagers over the weekend after a violent incident at a Chicago event
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
T he Oak Pa rk Police Department c alled on suppo rt from the C ook C ounty
S herif f’s Office to supervise a teen gathe ring in the village ’s downtown over the weekend . Oak Park police called for the extra support after they became aware of the event via social media posts. Roughly 70 teens attended the event in Downtown Oak Park the evening of March 29, which went on
violation of a protecti F y, harge with damage to gover nment property for damaging a light fixture at the police station, according to police
Police ar rested a 29-year-old Oak Park woman on battery charges for an incident that occurred in the 800 block of Lake Street at 4:12 p.m. March 27, according to police.
Police arrested a 47-year-old Oak Park man for domestic battery in connection with an incident in the 1100 block of Euclid
Colin Fane, Agent
212 S Marion Street Fl G Oak Park, IL 60302
Bus: 708-383-3163
Colin Fane, Agent
Colin Fane, Agent
without any incident, according to Oak Park spokesperson Dan Yopchick
212 S Marion Street Fl G
212 S Marion Street Fl G
Oak Park, IL 60302
Oak Park, IL 60302
Bus: 708-383-3163
Bus: 708-383-3163
www.colinfane.com
www.colinfane.com
Monday & Friday 9am-5pm
“After receiving notification, police made contact with the poster, local businesses, public transportation agencies (CTA/Metra) and other nearby jurisdictions,” Yopchick said. “This trend was not the first of its kind.”
With
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obtained from Oak Park Police Department re ports dated March 26–March 31 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 ha ve 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.
T he night before, a similar “teen takeover” event at a plaza in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood attracted hundreds of teens but ended with a 15-year-old shot in the leg, according to WGN.
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Medicaid cuts causes concern for Infant Welfare Society
Legislator outreach, donations crucial for Children’s Clinic
By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
Uncertainty around restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and announced cuts in late March to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are creating concerns locally, especially for the nonprofit Oak Park and River Forest Infant Welfare Society
According to John McIlwain, the organization’s executive director, any Medicaid cuts would likely have a deep impact for the IWS Children’s Clinic, which has provided medical, dental and behavioral health services to lowincome families throughout the entire Chicago area for more than a century.
McIlwain said approximately 30 percent of clinic revenues come from Medicaid, with Medicaid paying approximately 30 to 50 percent of the cost of providing patient services. The clinic serves approximately 3,000 patients annually.
The clinic is located at 28 Madison St., a larger, two-story building it acquired and refurbished in recent years to grow its services.
“There is great concern,” McIlwain said. “On a day-to-day basis, people are scared. They are concerned about what this means. This is a complex social issue.
“We’ve worked hard to assure we are here for them for their health and primary care needs.”
Oak Park-River Forest Infant Welfare Society medical director, Dr. Diane Butter eld, works with a youngster at the IWS Children’s Clinic.
John McIlwain
Rowena A brahams, IWS marketing director, a dded if Medica id c uts, however de ep, go forward, “we’d have to rais e more d onations and look for more gr ants. If Medicai d went aw ay, the other pieces of the pie chart would have to increase.”
Medicaid is federal funding distributed to states to meet the needs of citizens at the lower end of the economic scale, McIlwain said, to provide them fundamental access to healthcare. Cuts to Medicaid will “nar row the channel”
PROVIDED
care for residents who patronize the clinic.
“This is not the average Oak Parker,” he said. “These are people who working three jobs to care for their children.”
McIlwain said for local residents, the solution, at least of the moment, is to reach out to their legislators at the state and federal level to voice their concerns about the cuts. That includes U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Danny K. Davis, for example.
IWS is also accepting donations at its website, OPRFIWS.org.
“Twenty dollars could cover a portion of a visit for a child,” McIlwain said, adding a donation can even be designated to Medicaid reimbursement.
He also said that deferring healthcare to the future isn’t a viable option for patients, because when the issue is finally addressed, it will likely cost more to correct it.
Then there is the matter of the moral issue of life expectancy.
“As the federal government considers these potential cuts to Medicaid, I hope they realize that life expectancy in the Loop is approximately 84 years of age,” McIlwain
said. “If you jump on the Green Line heading west, just a few stops west of the Loop, in East Garfield Park, life expectancy drops to 67 years old. If they take the Green Line all the way to Oak Park, life expectancy improves to approximately 81 years of age. These proposed cuts will have real-world implications for the most vulnerable members of our society.”
While Medicaid cuts are the financial side of the story, there is the human side as well. For example, McIlwain was touring the clinic recently and there was a youngster with Down syndrome who was receiving dental care for the first time. The child was very upset, but McIlwain understood the level of service the clinic was of fering.
In fact, it was a textbook case of the clinic doing its job.
“It was a child who can’t get care anywhere else,” he said. “With the size we are, and the unique skill set, just being in the caregiving world, we are a unique entity.
“It was a powerful realization of how important this clinic is.”
Abrahams added that the other part to consider is how patients, and their loved ones, are treated.
“In terms of day-to-day basis, we hear their deep appreciation of the services we offer,” she said. “One of the benefits of the IWS Children’s Clinic is we treat our patients as if they are in a private clinic … specialized pediatricians servicing them, they have short wait times and they say it’s like a family
“They aren’t being shuttled from provider to provider. It’s a more consistent experience.”
OA K PARK-RIVER FOREST INFANT WELFARE SOCIET Y
Ex-Oak Parker now heads Smithsonian as Trump targets changes
Lonnie Bunch lived in Oak Park as director of the Chicago Historical Society
By DAN HALEY Senior Advisor and Interim Editor
torical Society. But it was too late to turn back.”
On Friday, a day after Trump signed another executive order, this one directing Vice President J.D. Vance to work with the museum’s board on “issues related to content,” Bunch sent a message to his staf f. In the memo he acknowledged the president’s executive order, and said he would work emphasized that the Smithsonian would remain true to its history of
In a lengthy interview with er in 2024, Bunch discussed this potential mogotiating the increasingly polarized poligrowAmeri-
“This is one of the most pare had, defilifetime. I would argue it’s the r,” he
Asked if the Smithsonian could move two new museon the history of Latinos in America and the other on women, ho won last November’s presidential election, he said, “The Smithabove t see anything
Bunch was also asked how long he would serve as secretary of the Smithsonian. as long as I want, unless they
LONNIE BUNCH
Flower gardens on village parkways win approval
Oak Park residents no longer need village consent to plant gardens on parkways in front of their homes as the village promotes native gardening
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
Oak Park has taken a new step in promoting nati dening in the village
On March 18, the village board approved a new ordinance to the village code allowing homeowners to plant gardens in the parkways in front of their homes. Previously, Oak Parkers needed approval from the village forester before they planted anything in a parkway — the stretch of turf grass between the sidewalk and the curb that is technically village property.
“This is just simplifying that process,” said Lindsey land Nieratka, Oak Park’s chief sustainability officer
The ordinance is tied to a new village public inform campaign promoting native landscaping in Oak Pa land Nieratka said. One of the key objectives in the village “Climate Ready Oak Park” plan is to convert 30% of Park’s land into “green infrastructure,” which are projects that use natural elements to build climate resiliency.
Native landscaping builds biodiversity by supporting linators and other for ms of native wildlife and can help im prove soil health and water retention, according to the village’s sustainability office.
Plants intended for parkway gardens do need to follow a few safety restrictions. They cannot obstruct fire hydrants or the roadway and cannot grow over 36 inches so as not to interfere with sightlines from the road, Roland Nieratka said.
“People driving need to be able to see anyone that’s on the sidewalk,” she said.
The public information campaign associated with the new ordinance has taken shape in the form of a collaboration with West Cook Wild Ones, a local non-profit dedicat-
FREEDOM TO PLANT: Parkway gardens have been given the green light in Oak Park.
ed to promoting native gardening techniques in Chicago’s western suburbs. In collaboration with the village and the Oak Park Public Library, West Cook Wild Ones hosted an information session on native gardening for Oak Park residents earlier this month, which brought in more than 200 virtual and in-person attendees.
Oak Parkers will also be able to take advantage of a discount at West Cook Wild Ones’ native plant sale this spring,
as village residents can take $20 off any order of plants more than $20. The discount is funded by the village and applies to any purchase from the plant sale, although the non-profit is encouraging Oak Parkers to buy plant kits specially designed to support the Monarch butterfly or absorb rainwater. Plants will be available for purchase through the sale until May 11 via West Cook Wild Ones website. Oak Parkers can access their discount using the code “OPPLANTS.”
WCo ee comes and goes and grows
Ten top food tips for April
elcome to Small Bites! This is the debut of a monthly column that will chew into timely tidbits, tastes and trends at restaurants and food businesses in the area. Keeping you abreast of more happenings than we can feature in articles. We invite chefs, restauranteurs and readers to send us your tips, questions and news to Eats@ oakparkeats.com. We’ll do our best to keep up!
U3 Coffee Roasters, 7430 Madison St., Forest Park, opened its doors.
Small Bites
The Coffee Shop, 163 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Pa rk, has closed. Owner Jose Balaguer said, “My life necessitated other plans but I hope someone can pick up the torch as we believe T he Coffee Shop Oak Pa rk is an inte gral part of the community.”
More than 40 varieties of BUBS, the Swedish candy craze are available at Candycopia, 717 Lake St., Oak Park. These gelatin-free, ve gan confections have a texture somewhere between a marshmallow and gummy. Flavor combos pair sour, sweet, fruity and sometimes salty. According to owner Alyicia Mason, these are the “it” candy of the moment. She says people are driving in from all over the Midwest
paspiros for mer location is transforming into enue, 728 Lake St.,
rean-focused menu will be curated by owner Minha Sung, who has a ee from the Culinary Institute of America and has both owned and worked in restaurants in the Chicago area. Sung plans both lunch and dinner service.
Crepas Culichi, 1101 Lake St., Oak Park has a new events space one door west on Lake Street.
Expansion is also under way at Wise Cup, 1018 La St., Oak Park. It is addin space next door in the for location of Einnim Creati Studios . Open is planned in April.
“I always envisioned creating a space that not only serves great coffee but also fosters community and creativity,” said Wise Cup owner Shivangi Khetarpal.
“This expansion allows us to better ser the community by adding more seating, introducing more Indian treats and host-
ing special events.”
Planting and gardening season is around the corner when Tomato Lady of Oak Park sells her seasonal bounty of heirloom and unusual seedlings: tomatoes, pe ppers, cucumbers, herbs, melons, etc. This year she is taking a dif ferent tack. Instead of pre-orders, she will sell all her sprouts in May. Check her social media for dates.
Tickets are going fast for the Forest Park Spring Wine Walk. Tickets to the April 12 stroll, go for $50. With admission you get to sip wines at 16 locations along Madison Street and savor locally prepared small bites – and score a complimentary bottle of wine from Famous Liquors. The saunter will happen rain or shine from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Boba tea purveyor The Wolf is adding an Oak Park location at 134 N. Oak Park Ave.
T he expansive menu of boba tea, coffee, snacks and sandwiches will be similar to its North Riverside location. T he Wolf prides itself on using quality ingredients imported from Taiwan. The storefront on Oak Park Avenue still has paper covering the windows, but opening is expected this spring.
Speaking of covered windows, the word from local commercial real estate agent David King is that the plywood boarded space at 105 N. Marion St. in Oak Park is still slated to be a Japanese all-you-can-eat BBQ concept from the owners of Kyuramen across the street. The opening of Gyumon has been delayed waiting on delivery of specialty, te ppanyaki grills from Japan.
Got news, questions or ideas for this column? Email them to us at Eats@oakparkeats.com.
Maze Branch Library is a civic jewel, a “third place” for sustaining an unusually active and cohesive community. And since the days of Adele Maze, the library has been an especially important gathering place for children and their parents and caregivers.
Maze’s “Little House,” finally defunct after many decades of supporting countless climbing toddlers and picture books, still stirs emotions in the hearts of many millennials.
Its creator, Mick Sullivan, curator of visitor experience at Frazier Museum in Louisville, Kentucky (a Smithsonian affiliate) and a multi-instrument musician who has fronted a slew of Louisvillearea bands, is a master interdisciplinary storyteller. Fresh from his latest success at WBUR’s “Me ga Awesome Super Huge Wicked Fun Podcast Playdate” in Boston, Mick is bringing this live, multimedia version of the podcast to Maze Library on Saturday, April 5 at 11 a.m.
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In the decade I worked there, I worked with Carolyn DeCoursey, now retiring after years of service, to start a successful book discussion group for elementary-age patrons, which we were told was the first such program in a Chicagoland library. The young people in those groups, though the first generation born into ever-present technology, became close through reading and talking about books. Now spread across the country, many are still good friends, and at least two eventually married!
Technology seems to consume ever more of our children’s time and eyeballs but also offers new avenues to bring young people together. One hot medium is the podcast, a way of bringing stories and ideas to youngsters that pairs especially well with books. Approximately half of all children, ages 3 to 12, listen to podcasts weekly, and parents credit them for stimulating further reading.
Why Maze? Mick is one of those millen-
nials who visited Maze on trips to visit his dear old aunt in Oak Park, and he always wanted to do something special in this very special space.
One of the best re garded (by the New York Times, School Library Journal, Today, The (London) Times, and The Guardian, among others) is a history/civics podcast that has inspired elementary-age kids for nearly a decade. The Past and the Curious uses humor and original music to tell stories from history, especially the accomplishments of women and people
The show at Maze is free and all ages are invited, especially kids 5-12 and their families. As the New York Times quipped in one of its several reviews, “Come for the delightful punny title and stay for the accessible but never dumbed-down history lessons,” with “zippy storytelling” that is “delightful and humorous.”
Elise Sullivan Wachspress is a former Oak Park resident, proud aunt and Maze Branch Library stalwart
Spring 2025
Enrichment and guide Camp
IAn Inspiring Opportunity for Gifted Students at Dominican University
t’s true. The needs of academically gifted & talented students can easily fall through the cracks as continued priorities on testing drive schools to teach to a standardized grade level response. The phrase genius denied refers to those who will suffer a profound gap between their fullest potential and what little is asked of them, particularly when one size
Summer enrichment programs for intellectually like-minded students provide inspiring opportunities for both academic and social growth. And quite often, a life defining experience. The Summer Gifted and Talented Program is hosted on the beautiful campus at Dominican University, where our classrooms are buzzing with ideas
Terra Incognito Studio and Gallery has proudly called Oak Park home for over 30 years.
Terra Incognito Studio and Gallery has proudly called Oak Park home for over 30 years. We welcome you to make it your studio as well.
Terra Incognito Studio and Gallery has proudly called Oak Park home for over 30 years.
Terra Incognito Studio and Gallery has proudly called Oak Park home for over 30 years. We welcome you to make it your studio as well.
Unplug your kids and let them get dirty at Terra Incognito Summer Camp!
We
Adult wheel throwing classes
We offer fun and educational pottery making camps for ages 5 and up. Summer clay camps provide young artists the outlet for exercising both critical and creative thinking through clay. If you want to nurture your child’s creativity, this is the place to be!
Adult wheel throwing classes
Kids classes and camps
Kids classes and camps
Private space rental with 24/7 access
Private space rental with 24/7 access
Birthday parties
Birthday parties
What Summer Camp Offers
> Skill to make functional pots and decorative clay art both on the wheel and by hand.
> Skills to decorate their creations using underglazes and glaze.
> Learn the firing process, leading to a full understanding of the entire operation.
> Low teacher-to-student ratio, every camper will get the attention they need.
Summer Camp Sessions
Corporate team building events
- Adult wheel throwing classes
Corporate team building events
Private parties
> Each session is 2 weeks long, Monday through Thursday, starting on Monday, June 9th. The cost per 2-week session is $340.
- Kids classes and camps
- Private space rental with 24/7 access
Give
Private parties
- Birthday parties
MORNING SESSIONS: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm (5-9 years old)
Give us a call and sign-up today!
- Corporate team building events
- Private parties
AFTERNOON SESSIONS: 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm (10 years old and up)
LOCATED AT: MELROSE PARK CIVIC CENTER 1000 25 Ave th
Registration Fee: $275 for EACH session ($50 two session discount) Ave
COME SPEND YOUR SUMMER WITH THE SHARKS! THIS JUNE AND JULY, OUR SHARKS COACHING STAFF WILL BE HOSTING A SUMMER CAMP FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 3RD-8TH AS OF THE FALL 2025 SCHOOL YEAR.
WILL BE HOSTING SUMMER CAMP IN GRADES OF THE 2025 SCHOOL YEAR.
MIGRANT BEA T
Trusting in the journey
By CELINE & DON WOZNICA Contributors
Don and Celine Woznica have lived in Oak Park for more than 30 years. Their years living and working with the poor in Nicaragua prepared them for their current work with the Migrant Ministry in Oak Park. Last Sunday, they delivered a sermon at Unity Temple about their ongoing journey and they agreed to let us print a portion of their talk.
Our Migrant Ministry mornings began in June of 2023 when there was a need for the migrants sleeping at the District 15 police station in Austin to take showers. Incorporating a very useful strategy called “nag-vocate,” it was arranged for the migrants to take showers at the closed rectory of St. Catherine/St. Lucy, which was being used as a Housing Forward shelter in the evening, but was free during the day.
As time went on, the Tuesday/Thursday ministry outgrew the St. Catherine-St. Lucy rectory, as we were eventually assisting up to 500 migrants a week. By this time they were coming from shelters from all over the Chicago area. They no longer needed to take showers, but instead were in need of clothes, coats, winter gear, shoes, boots, and bedding. We ended up having to expand into the church, tur ning the baptistry into Famous Footwear, and the choir room into a coats and blankets distribution center
We needed more space. The for mer St Edmund School building became available to us when the Children’s School that had been leasing it moved out. We moved in on Dec. 19, 2023. We now have an entire school building, and our ministry has really grown. In addition to the “free stores” for the distribution of goods, we have a breakfast area and a children’s playroom, and provide immigration support services (including assistance in completing the asylum application), social services, ESL classes, and health care To date, we have served over 18,000 migrants
That’s our program. That’s the impact statement regarding the services we provide and the numbers served in the various ministries. What about the larger impact, that which cannot be measured in numbers? What has this jour ney taught us, especially about trust?
The journey is rough right now. Many of the migrants we know are at risk of deportation. Temporary Protective Status is scheduled to end in two weeks and Humanitarian Parole will be ending on April 25. Many of our migrant brothers and sisters are legally in the U.S. because of those two programs. We have had three possible ICE sightings outside of Centro San Edmundo. We have a rapid response plan in case ICE tries to enter St Edmund, and we are putting the final touches on a terribly sad family action packet that, among other things, guides parents in filling out the document needed to assign temporary custody of their children, in case they are separated and the parents are deported
Things are rough, yet we keep trudging along in this journey, continuing to accompany our families, and
opening up every Tuesday and Thursday mor ning at 7 a.m. to welcome our migrant brothers and sisters. Despite the risks and pressures, we have decided to continue our journey, just as we did 40 years ago in Nicaragua. We made the decision then and now because we trust that it is the right thing to do and we gain strength from the people around us
We trust that the Migrant Ministry is the right thing to do because it is resulting in so much good — just like in Nicaragua when we recognized that the Nicaraguan Revolution was doing some pretty awesome things in improving the lives of the average Nicaraguan. The Migrant Ministry is doing good not only in the services we are providing and the number of migrants served, but also in the unity that is resulting. We are united, not only with our migrant brothers and sisters, but also with the diverse faith traditions within our own community We are not so siloed anymore! The Ministry is sponsored by the Catholic Community of Oak Park, but it is an incredibly interfaith effort, involving not only Unitarians, Christians, and Jews, but also the unchurched — and even one person who professes to the religion of Santa Claus — be good for goodness’ sake.
We continue in the ministry because just as the Maryknoll Sisters inspired and gave us strength 40 years ago in Nicaragua, we have been inspired and gained strength from the migrants. They share stories of amazing human resilience, kindness, generosity, and determination. These stories are like manna for our jour ney. The migrants trusted in their journey and we have learned from them.
We hold up the single mother who made the long trip with a toddler and a 9-year-old blind son.
Likewise, we hold up the mother who lost her husband in the Darien Gap but continued the journey with her three children so as not to shatter the dream they had shared. Her last image of her husband was him tossing their toddler son to her as the strong current carried him down the river.
We honor the migrants at District 15 who allowed the local houseless who hung around the station to eat first when meals were delivered, because “hung er knows no nationality.”
We celebrate the two migrant women who arose at 4 a.m. and walked from near the Morton Salt Shed to Centro San Edmundo (8.4 miles) to get needed clothing and supplies. And there are so many more stories …
Our present journey is tough. But it is nothing compared to the journey that our migrants undertook through seven countries and areas controlled by drug cartels and human traffickers
Our journey is different and admittedly stressful, but we see so much good in what is happening, gain strength from so many amazing people, and, as a couple, we have made it our jour ney. How can we not trust in this jour ney, despite its risks?
Thank you for inviting us to share some reflections with you this mor ning.
LIBRARY DIREC TOR
A year-long search
from page 1
His hiring comes after about a year-long search for a re placement following the divisive firing of Joslyn Bowling Dixon after less than two years in the position. The library board enlisted the help of professional search firm, Koya Par tners, to conduct a national search. According to a statement from the board, the search committee was led by library trustees Madhurima Chakraborty, Susanne Fairfax, Theodore Foss, and also Leigh Tarullo, the library’s interim co-executive director.
Matt Fruth, a longtime library board member, the current board president and a candidate for reelection in the April 1 election, acknowledged some might find the timing of the appointment awkward.
He said the library’s hiring committee did not want to move too quickly.
“We could have rushed and could have had someone in place by fall (2024),” Fruth said. “But the committee worked with Koya Par tners to make the process as thorough as possible.”
Fruth said he understands there may be criticism about the timing and that perhaps the hiring could have been put of f a little longer to get input from any newly elected board members. But, he said, the committee built a process with the search firm and collected input from the community and staf f. The process was transparent, and if any of the board candidates were unhappy, they didn’t say so publicly
Fruth said if the board had waited until after the new board is seated in May, it’s likely a new director wouldn’t have been hired until July and that could have meant losing out on potential candidates.
“That wasn’t a hypothetical situation. We lost out on a candidate between the second and third rounds of interviews. It happened and the board lost a good candidate who took another position,” he said.
The “staf f and community deserve the stability of a permanent director,” Fruth said. “The board as it is comprised didn’t want to drag out the process for another couple of months.”
Carman comes to the position in an interesting moment in terms of the board’s makeup and governance. Four positions on the seven-member board were up for election in the April 1 vote. (You can find up-to-date election results at OakPark.com.)
There were eight candidates vying for those open spots Two candidates were incumbents Matt Fruth, the current and long-time board president, and Maya Ganguly. The other six candidates are split between two slates. On one side are candidates Bruce Brigell, Megan Butman, and Daniel Suber. This slate was organized in part over its members upset over Bowling Dixon’s firing. They were public in their opposition to the firing and expressed their anger at public meeting s.
The other slate comprised Annie Wilkinson, Colin BirdMartinez, and Mika Yamamoto. This slate supported
Bowling Dixon’s firing.
So Carman’s new position may call upon his powers of building consensus, depending on the election results.
Carman said the position is exciting for several reasons. “Oak Park Public Library is an incredible organization with a history of dynamic, community-facing work and a mission and values that align strongly with my own professional and personal beliefs,” he said. In the time he worked in the Oak Park library system, he said those years were “formative” to his development as a leader. And after serving as director of two libraries in Iowa, he is eager to return.
Carman says he is all too aware of a growing call for certain books to be banned. He says he supports intellectual freedom and that public libraries are responsible for providing diverse and wideranging collections of material, in a variety of formats. He said he celebrates the ways community input influences what the library adds to its collections. Continuing to solicit the community’s input for how it adds to its collection ensures such a collection is reflective of the community the library serves. He said the library’s Collection Strate gy Statement is strong (https://www. oppl.org/about/policies/collection-strate gy-statement/).
“I look forward to learning more about how the current staffing structure supports DEI efforts and how a DEI director position could amplify that work in ways that benefit the community,” he said. “I see assessing this vacancy as a priority and anticipate working closely with the board and staff to explore options once I’m onsite.”
He also said the current national political landscape demonstrates the need for DEI initiatives. Having effective staffing models that help DEI and anti-racism work is “critical to long-term success.”
Carman knows he is walking into a potentially awkward situation with the board.
“Sta and community deser ve the stability of a permanent direc tor. The board as it is comprised didn’t want to drag out the process for another couple of months.”
MATT FRUTH Library board president
All eight candidates for the board in Tuesday’s election said they are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. They all said the new director should consult with the board and decide whether to have a DEI director on staf f. Carman says the library system’s commitment to DEI is one of the reasons he was drawn to the position. He is acutely aware that DEI initiatives are being done away with at the federal level.
Carman said re gardless of who was elected to the board, he sees differing opinions positively. And the key to facing the challenge of different opinions is to focus on the work of the library.
“When a board is committed to figuring out how to best serve its community, ag rees on core organizational values, and understands how library governance functions, there is a lot of room for active dialog, productive opinion sharing, and even disagreement,” he said. “Passion for the organization is a powerful anchor in bringing people together. As a library director, I see my role as supporting trustees by ensuring they have the resources needed to make infor med decisions, actively providing feedback reflective of staf f and community input, and working alongside them to identify effective ways to meet the evolving needs of both the community and staf f.”
Fruth commended interim directors
Leigh Tarullo and Suzy Antell for the work they have done over the past year during the search for a new director. Carman will start in his new role May 27.
Spring 2025 Design Trends Are Blooming at Divine Consign
Spring 2025 is all about light, livable luxury, and Divine Consign has the pieces to bring these trends home. is season, interiors are leaning into so curves, natural textures, and calming color palettes. ink muted pastels, organic shapes, and breezy linen fabrics that invite comfort and relaxation.
Mixed materials like marble and wood are making a strong statement, especially in co ee tables, consoles, and accent chairs. Woven details, rattan accents, and vintageinspired lighting are also trending, adding charm and texture to every room. Multifunctional furniture continues to shine, with compact dining sets, nesting tables, and stylish storage solutions perfect for creating space-savvy homes.
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Kellie Scott, Owner Divine Consign
Key Roosevelt Road site likely to remain military
The Illinois National Guard is con dent that the Army Corps of Engineers will approve its request to move to Forest Park
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
The Armed Forces Reserve Center building on Roosevelt Road will likely see a new military tenant this year.
The Illinois National Guard is confident that the Ar my Corp of Engineers, which owns the property at 7402 Roosevelt Road, will process its request and license the land to the Illinois National Guard indefinitely.
“We don’t anticipate any problems,” Rich Munyer, director of the construction and facility management office for the Illinois Ar my National Guard, told the Review.
The property transfer would put on ice hopes that Forest Park’s village gover nment has long harbored of taking ownership of the six-acre parcel for its own use, or for commercial or residential development.
If approved, the Illinois National Guard would station its drilling units at the old Armed Forces Reserve Center. All the Illinois National Guard’s units are drilling units, which train to de ploy to national emergencies or war. The Illinois National Guard has over 100 units, each made up of about 150 people, which move around to different home bases throughout the state. A few of these units could be stationed on the six-acre property on Roosevelt Road, housing 400 to 600 people.
The move comes years after the village of Forest Park expressed interest in the Roosevelt Road property – first when the Navy moved out of the area nearly two decades ago, and again in 2022 when the Ar my left. A large plot of land on a main thoroughfare is a hot commodity, since it’s close to downtown Chicago and has several nearby transit options.
“We’ve been looking for property in that area for quite some time, so when it popped up, we jumped on it. It’s ideal for our pur-
PROVIDED
A map detailing the location of the Armed Forces Reser ve Center, which is soon likely to be taken over by the Illinois National Guard.
poses” Brad Leighton, public affairs director for the Illinois National Guard, told the Review. “We do very well recruiting in the Forest Park area.”
Last year, the Illinois National Guard enlisted eight people from Forest Park, and has recruited six so far this year. Forest Park has a good number of young people who could join the National Guard.
“The population of that area is pretty youthful,” Leighton said, adding that 53% of the population is ages 15- to 29-years old. “A majority of the population is within our recruiting ages.”
And Forest Park is made up of about 53% females and 47% males, according to Leighton.
“We’ re recruiting more and more female soldiers. They’re becoming a greater percentage of our force,” Leighton said. “The diversity of the population is attractive to us as well.”
The Illinois National Guard is hopeful that, if the Ar my Corp of Engineers approves the transfer of its property in the next few months, it will assume financial responsibility for the upkeep and mainte-
nance of the building. Initially, this would include updating the building’s plumbing and HVAC, plus small re pairs to make the building functional. The Illinois National Guard would address larger alterations to the building in the coming years.
If all goes well, National Guard members could move into the building as soon as early next year.
Military on Roosevelt Road
On Roosevelt Road in what is now the Forest Park Plaza Shopping Center, a torpedo plant was built in 1942. The plant manufactured over 9,000 torpedoes and employed over 6,000 workers during WWII. It continued making weapons for the Korean War and Vietnam War.
In the ‘60s, the plant’s torpedo production decreased and it started focusing on research and engineering ef forts, according to the Historical Society of Forest Park. When the plant closed in 1970, it had produced nearly 20,000 torpedoes.
At the neighboring 7402 Roosevelt Road, the Navy Reserve Center continued serving
as a place to train Naval and Marine Corps reservists who lived in the area.
Because of a Base Realignment and Closure study, a federally approved process that restructured bases to improve efficiency and finances, the Navy g eared up to leave Forest Park in 2005 and transfer its reservists to another base
Around that time, village staf f and commissioners started discussing development options for the reserve center –including a new municipal building that could house all village services, or a commercial or retail space.
In 2007, the village for med a Local Reuse Authority, the first year that nowMayor Rory Hoskins served as village commissioner. Hoskins said one of the group’s early endeavors was to lobby the federal gover nment to g et control of 7402 Roosevelt Road. He added that, if the federal and state gover nment didn’t want the property, the local gover nment was likely next in line.
“We thought we’d be a prefer red potential recipient,” Hoskins told the Review. “I wanted us to be on the record for having an interest in it, in the event that maybe the [military] would sell it for $1or declare it surplus property. You just don’t know unless you ask.”
The U.S. Ar my Reserve Command took over the property in 2007. There, they trained and de ployed units for Ar my missions before leaving the building somewhat suddenly in June 2022.
“One of our police officers noticed a bunch of trucks coming out of the facility, a convoy that ended up at Portillo’s,” Hoskins said. When the officer asked what they were doing, they said the Ar my was clearing out.
Munyer said he was told the Ar my’s departure from Forest Park was because it had built a new reserve facility in the Chicagoland area.
In June of 2022, the Ar my Reserve started taking bids for its Real Property Exchange progr am to of fload the Roosevelt Road property. Through the progr am, a developer or municipality would’ve gotten the 7402 Roosevelt Road property in exchange for financing improvements on another military proper ty
While the village of Fo rest Pa rk was discussing whether to bid, C ommissioners Maria Maxham and Joe Byrnes voted against it because the village c ould n’ t finance improvements at a b ase outside Fo rest Pa rk and renovations to the Roosevelt Road site. Hoskins and C ommissioner Jessica Vo og d, on the other hand , said the p otential property exchange was
a big o pportunity for Fo rest Pa rk that c ould be f unded by Tax Increment Financing, state and federal money. C ommissioner Ryan Nero was absent at the village c ouncil meeting, and with a ti e vote, the motion failed .
About a month after the village council stalemate, the Ar my Reserve said it wouldn’ t allow environmental studies on the property until it was transfer red to a new owner. This sealed the deal for Commissioners Byrnes, Maxham and Nero to stop exploring a village takeover of the building, since it would be uncertain how much site remediation would be.
“We weren’ t able to determine what the costs of that would’ve been,” Hoskins said. “We didn’t have a plan. It came to us so quickly.”
Hoskins added that the Ar my may not have found any bidders for the Real Property Exchange progr am because “it’s an expensive endeavor … it just seemed like it was an incredible bureaucracy.”
Munyer said he doesn’t know what happened to the Real Property Exchange program. He said the Illinois National Guard expressed interest in the Roosevelt Road proper ty after the Ar my left it in 2022.
“When a Department of Defense-owned property becomes excess, other elements of the federal gover nment can – if they have a need that is justifiable – submit through their command a desire to get that property,” Munyer said.
According to Munyer, the Illinois National Guard’s request for the property was sent to the National Guard Bureau in Washington D.C. and is now with the Ar my Corp of Engineers, which will decide whether to approve it.
“Hopefully soon, they issue it to us, and it becomes our facility,” Munyer said. “It provides a local opportunity for those young people, not just in Forest Park, but all of the sur rounding municipalities.” Benefits of joining the National Guard include 100% free tuition at any state colle ge or university.
“We’ re super-excited about moving into Forest Park,” Leighton said. “We’ re going to put it to use and hopefully spur a little business in that community as well.”
T he Illinois National Guard coming to town would be “a good thing for the village,” Hoskins ag reed. “I see lots of future development opportunities along Roosevelt Road, and that’s why I thought it might be fit for the village at some point to gain control of the property if we could.”
“But the state is a great partner,” Hoskins said. “We have a g ood relationship with the state.”
Community Media’s Campaign for Democracy
Ovation Academy expands into Forest Park
Musical
theater group will be able to accommodate more classes, rehearsals and community engagement
By HECTOR CERVANTES Contributing Reporter
Ovation Academy for the Performing Arts is expanding into a new studio space at 7419 Madison St. in Forest Park
Founded in 2014 by Tina Reynolds, the Oak Park-based academy offers musical theater training for all ages. While Ovation Academy remains the anchor tenant at Madison Street Theater, the new space will provide additional room for classes, rehearsals, private lessons and summer camps. The storefront, for merly home to Centuries and Sleuths bookstore, had been vacant for over six months before Ovation secured the space.
A growing demand for musical theater programs post-COVID has driven Ovation Academy to seek a new, permanent space.
After years of searching, which began in 2022, they found a location in Forest Park, aligning with their goal of expanding within the community and providing greater access to the arts for local children, while fostering connections with neighboring organizations.
“We found a really good place. It’s a storefront, so we’re excited to be right on Madison Street,” Reynolds said. “We’ re also excited to welcome new people to Ovation and to expand, giving us a little more room than we currently have at the Madison Street Theater, where we are the anchor tenant.”
Madison Street Theater, a nonprofit performing arts venue, houses Ovation Academy, its educational program. As the theater expands and launches a new arts season, Ovation Academy has outg rown its current space.
To accommodate its growth, the academy’s new location will allow for additional rehearsals, classes and private lessons. The new space will support a wider range of musical theater programs, including Broadway Academy productions. This expansion aims to enhance arts education and provide more opportunities for aspiring performers in the community.
“We’re super-excited to ngage with the Forest Park community and I hope everyone comes to Madison Street Theater to see ‘Legally Blonde’” TINA REYNOLDS
Academy will have on the art scene in Forest Park and the surrounding Oak Park area, Reynolds responded that she sees Ovation as contributing to community building and prioritizing a safe inclusive environment that gives students a sense of belonging and empowers them beyond their after-school activities.
sion, especially since our Sweeney Todd cast has 50 high school students and Le gally Blonde has 55 middle school students. Fitting that many students together at Madison Street Theater can be a real puzzle, so the new space will make planning much easier,” Reynolds said.
This summer, the academy is expanding its offerings at Forest Park, including camps for younger and less experienced students. The new space allows Ovation to provide its full range of programs to younger and newer families, something that was previously impossible due to limited capacity at the Madison Street location.
“We produce around 11 to 14 musicals per year,” she said. “During that time, we also run a program called the Junior Theater Festival Company Members Experience, which is a more intimate and intensive group for performers ages 8 to 18. They participate in a musical theater festival, allowing us to expand and hold additional rehearsals. This gives us greater flexibility, and we’re really excited to be in Forest Park.”
“It’s a place for everyone, a place for people to find their voice. Within that community, we offer classes for kids and adults as well. We have a very popular adult musical theater class that takes place on Mondays, which is essentially musical theater for grownups. We’re excited to bring quality arts experiences to Forest Park and create a little bit of magic,” Reynolds said.
The new studio space, with its full dance studio and two smaller rooms, provides versatile opportunities for music classes and solo rehearsals.
When asked about the impact Ovation
“With productions like Le gally Blonde, the Musical Junior and Sweeney Todd coming up, the new space will help tremendously in preparing students for these shows,” Reynolds said. “We’re so excited for this expan-
“We’ re super excited to eng age with the Forest Park community and I hope everyone comes to Madison Street T heater to see Le gall y Blonde at the end of April. T hen, of course, there’s Sweeney Todd, which is especially exciting because it’s an all-high school cast. I know there are great progr ams at neighboring high schools, but these kids are truly the best of the best, and it’s going to be outstanding,” Reynolds said.
ERICA BENSON
River Forest resident Alice Bath and Ovation Academy Ballet Instructor Chloe Jancosek use the new studio space in Forest Park.
What you get for your money: condo edition
Home prices for attached homes continue to soar in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park
By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter
In 2024, single-family home prices rose at a rapid pace in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park. Attached housing prices rose as well, albeit at a slower rate.
In Oak Park, the median attached housing price rose 9.5%, to a median sales price of $213,500. In River Forest, the rise was 8.57%, to a median sales price of $260,000.
In Forest Park the increase was 13.42%, to a median price of $179,000.
An article in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune posited that if would-be buyers are put off by the high prices of single-family homes, it could pay to consider buying a condominium.
With that suggestion in mind, this week we take a look at what ’s on the condo market in the near-west suburbs.
In Oak Park, as of press time, there are 24 condos listed for sale. T he lowest priced condominium is at 125 Washington Blvd. For $119,000, a buyer can g et an 800-squarefoot condo with one bedroom and one bathroom. The vintage red-brick building offers touches like hardwood floors. T he listing touts the recently re placed roof and boiler and financially secure condo association. The
CO-LIVING: 839 Madison St., Oak Park
building is also FHA-approved, which means a buyer could finance the purchase with a Federal Housing Authority loan.
At the high end of the scale, 839 Madison offers three bedrooms and two bathrooms and 1,460 square feet $676,566. The unit is part of Oak Park Commons, a co-l ing community that is cu rrently under construction, with a planned completion date in the fall of 2025. The unit will include designer features like quartz counters; the building will offer community amenities such as a common great room with a library and electric vehicle charging stations in the garage.
River Forest currently has 10 condominiums for sale.
The lowest-priced unit is at 7200 Oak Ave., where $125,000 will get you a one-bedroom, one-bathroom space with hardwood flooring. Built in 1939, the brick building shares a yard space with another building.
At the upper end of the River Forest market, 424 Park Ave. is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit with 1,340 square feet. Priced at $282,500 the unit has been updated with hardwood flooring, granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
The unit comes with a dedicated parking space and a balcony.
CONDOS
More a ordable
from page 23
Forest Park currently has 10 condominiums listed for sale. The lowest price is a unit at 314 Lathrop for $105,000. The one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit in a 1977-building with an elevator that includes new wood floors, a new refrigerator and stove and “triple-sized” closet space.
At the top of the Forest Park condo market, 211 Elgin offers a condominium priced at $319,000 in an elevator building. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit includes 1,400 square feet of living space. The updated unit includes a terrace and a kitchen with stainless steel appliances.
Pros and con of condos
For buyers looking to edge into homeownership or leave the burden of single-family home maintenance behind, a condo can offer a path to homeownership without the burden of having to do the work yourself. And condominiums can offer an attractive lower price for entering the housing market or downsizing.
However, condominium ownership comes with a few different considerations than single-family home ownership.
Condominium buildings typically charge an HOA, or homeowner’s association fee, which is managed by a board to pay for common elements like roofs and boil-
ers. All of the units here have HOA fees ranging from $256 to $438. These fees are on top of property taxes.
Generally, the condominium board also pays for maintenance of common elements, like grass, garages and lobbies via HOA fees.
While HOAs are a mechanism for building management that can leave individual owners with fewer responsibilities, the associations set rules for individual owners on a
variety of issues from remodeling to pet ownership and parking restrictions.
In Illinois, buyers of condominiums are entitled to certain disclosures prior to purchasing a condominium. The Illinois Condominium Property Act governs disclosures which include information on the finances of the HOA, and pending legal actions or disputes and any defects or deficiencies in the common elements of the building.
7200 Oak Ave. Unit 4SE, River Forest
211 Elgin Ave. Unit 2G, Forest Park
424 Park Ave. #204, River Forest
314 Lathrop Ave #505, Forest Park
FAV ORITE THINGS
Sugar Beet Food Co-op has more than you think
When I told a friend who has lived in Oak Park for almost 30 years that I was planning to write a story about the Sugar Beet Food Co-op, she responded that she had never been there.
“Why would I go there? They only sell local produce and there is no parking,” she said.
JOY AARONSON
One View
She was wrong on both counts, as there is a parking lot across Grove Avenue as well as street parking, and the co-op sells much more than local organic produce.
I found Sugar Beet Food Co-op, located at 812 Madison St. in Oak Park, to be an impressive and clean grocery store. It is smaller than local “big box” grocery stores, but it sells much more than produce.
On a recent visit as I took my grocery cart up and down the aisles, I saw bulk candy, grains, and baking items, coffee to grind, frozen foods, dog food and treats, snacks, Publican Bread and other bakery products, and much more. I was impressed with the selection of food that is gluten-free and saw that the Simple Mills brownie baking mix that I often buy was cheaper than at our larger local supermarkets.
Sugar Beet Co-op at Grove and Madison
When I first read the word co-op in the title, I had visions of my college days and volunteering at a local co-op and bagging granola. Shoppers do not have to bag granola or volunteer.
Sugar Beet Co-op has 3,000 member/owner households who pay a one-time fee and get special discounts. And there are many more people (including this author) who are not members but shop there.
On a recent shopping trip, I saw a large selection of wines and beers, fresh soups, socks, and a large display
OUR VIEWS
Police short-sta ed
In a candid interview, Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson acknowledges that her force remains substantially understaffed while she becomes more hopeful that the 30-officer shortfall will be trimmed as this year goes on. Johnson now says she is aiming to be at full force by mid-2026.
It has been a dispiriting run as, over a number of years, the department has lost officers to both retirements and resignations. The department is budgeted to have 116 swor n officers. Johnson told our Brendan Heffer nan that the department started 2022 with 103 officers and ended 2024 with just 85 officers.
Certainly this is part of a national trend that has seen more police leave the field. Efforts at reforming and updating policing after the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis is rightly cited as a decisive moment. And Oak Park had a cluster of retirements, more than a dozen, just in 2019. There have also been a good number of officers who chose to leave the Oak Park department for other posts in policing. Johnson has told the village board that a few of those officers have now retur ned to Oak Park
Oak Park hired 18 new of ficers in 2024 and has added three more so far in 2025. However, coupled with continuing de partures, that has only narrowed the shortfall from 35 officers to 30.
Oak Park’s village gover nment was slow in making adjustments to sweeten recruiting and retention ef forts. Recently though, it has increased salaries, expanded family leave policies, created signing bonuses and retention bonuses. It also, finally, approved lateral transfers from other departments That’s only fair since Oak Park has lost a good number of cops through lateral transfers out of town.
Johnson describes the current recruiting ef fort as a “huge push.” She says she spends a considerable amount of her time directly recruiting new officers. The village now offers its police exam three times a year rather than once. And it has also put a push on recruiting women to the force with a goal of having 30% female officers by 2030.
We’re confident that the next village board will also make a new police station a top priority when it is reconstituted after this week’s election. Separate from the long debate on renovating village hall, there is a clear consensus that the windowless police station in the basement of village hall is obsolete and cannot make recruiting new officers any easier.
Parkway gardens
Good for the Oak Park Village Board for letting homeowners plant gardens on the parkways in front of their homes. This has long been a point of some tension. The village owns the parkways. The village wanted to protect its wonderful trees. Now with an eye on sustainability, Oak Park has blessed having homeowners rip out the grass on the parkways and instead plant gardens, preferably native gardens which will attract bees and butterflies and birds to do the good work of pollination.
This is the moment for this step. The West Cook Wild Ones are a worthy partner in the effort.
e lives of treasured people
One of my responsibilities over the last many years has been editing the obituaries for our brood of community weekly newspapers. You might think this would be a depressing chore. On the contrary, I frequently find it affir ming to read these final summations of other lives. When someone dies, family and friends rally, in spite of their sadness and grief. They gather to celebrate the life not just to lament the loss.
The obituaries I receive describe family members who are appreciated, often treasured. Their loved ones accentuate the positive. If a little hyperbole creeps in, they can hardly be blamed. As the Irish like to say, it’s the varnished truth. Loving the person who has departed, we want the world to know the best about them.
But it’s more than that. When a loved one dies, we come to know them in a fuller sense. They come alive for us in ways we couldn’t fully appreciate during the frenzied turbulence of everyday living. When their life ends, our lives pause too, long enough to see that they were more than we realized. It’s not until we lose them, and hear from others, that this becomes readily apparent.
I saved another, a couple of weeks ago, the one for Frank “Fafa” Pardus of North Riverside, who likewise lived to the ripe age of 81, although, as the obituary states, “Doctors said Frank wouldn’t live past 5. But he spent over 75 years proving them wrong.” He lived his last 48 years with his sister, Margaret, and her family, “in a home filled with love, laughter and warmth,” partly due to his generous presence there.
Frank had a daily ritual: “He’d slide his shoes on, zip up his windbreaker, and put on a ball cap before taking his long walk (avoiding every crack in the sidewalk) to his favorite spot on the corner of 7th Avenue and 24th Street. There, he excitedly waved at cars, happily chatted with neighbors, or simply sat for hours, soaking in the sights, sounds, and rhythms of life
Through the writing of the obituary, planning the memorial service, sharing stories and a lifetime of smiling snapshots displayed on easeled poster boards, the person we knew comes, paradoxically and vividly, to life
When I read obituaries, I often think, “This person knew how to live.” In some cases, I can’t imagine how they managed to fit all of it into one lifetime. With others, I marvel at what they were able to overcome, even if only for a time.
Some are unforgettable. Myrna Wolf, for instance, died in 2019 at the age of 81 after a full life. Her husband Dennis died the previous year, “after 46 happy years together.” Myr na was a medical transcriptionist at Oak Park Hospital and later Loyola Medical Center. “She enjoyed crossword puzzles, making quilts, and Bible studies.” Nothing extraordinary. A respectable, solid life.
As I read through the long list of those who survived Myr na, however, and those who died before her, I found tucked in discreetly at the very end, “and her twin sister at birth.”
One of the twins lived a long, full, happy life, but the sister with whom she shared a womb never got that opportunity. At the end of her life, Myr na and her family made sure that sister was not overlooked, which made this a double obituary. It moved me so much, I saved it
“Frank had a rare gift: he found joy in the simplest things. He loved toy cars, trains, puzzles, and light-up toys, especially the ones that sparkled. He collected snow globes, mesmerized by the tiny worlds swirling inside. When it came to foods, he was a man of simple pleasures: cake, chocolate, hot dogs, and his pivo (beer). And he never met a Shamrock Shake he didn’t love. Though he wasn’t a fan of pizza, he never once complained — because pizza meant family It meant a full house, lively discussions, and a table of familiar faces worth far more than the meal itself. It was here he loved reenacting his favorite Three Stooges bit, “Niagara Falls”; quizzed everyone about their car’s make and model (and whether they had gotten an oil change lately); and when words weren’ t needed, flashed a welltimed smirk that could light up the entire room.”
Frank’s favorite TV show was Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which he loved because Fred Rogers told him, “You are a very special person. There is only one like you in the whole world. There has never been anyone exactly like you before, and there will never be again. And people can like you exactly as you are.”
The obituary records that, as Mr Rogers predicted, “Frank was, without a doubt, loved exactly as he was.”
Mr. Rogers saw what most of us fail to see until a loved one dies: that we are all special, that there will never be another like us, that we all matter, and that all our lives are worthy of celebration, even the saddest stories. I find treasures in obituaries because they tell the tales of the treasured people in our lives, which we don’t fully realize until they’re gone — and then suddenly come fully alive
KEN TRAINOR
Frank Pardus
ElSa ar honored by assessment institute
On March 17, Oak Park Township Assessor Ali ElSaffar received the 2025 Marshall Theroux Memorial Award for being “a member of the Illinois assessment community who demonstrates high ethical standards, professional achievement, and dedication to the service of others.”
The Theroux Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Illinois Property Assessment Institute, was given at the institute’s state conference in Bloomington-Normal.
“I expected that other township assessors from Cook County would be honored at the awards banquet,” ElSaffar said. “But I had no idea that anyone had nominated me.”
In fact, two of ElSaffar’s Cook County colleagues had secretly nominated him for the award.
“The first inkling that I might be getting an award came when the presenter said the winner frequently writes tax articles for the local newspaper I thought, ‘Hey, that sounds like me …’”
[ElSaffar is a frequent contributor to Wednesday Journal’s Viewpoints section]
After the presenter noted the winner’s work on property tax legislation and his 17 years as president of the county’s Township Assessor Association, ElSaffar was pretty sure the award was going to him.
“But all doubts vanished when they put up a picture of my cute little dog!”
Walking his dog is a common sight on Oak Park Avenue
ElSaffar has served as Oak Park Township Assessor since 2001.
“After all this time,” he said, “I still like helping local residents with tax problems and also enjoy educating taxpayers and other assessors about the property tax system. To win an award for doing the work I love is pretty special.”
You can contact Ali ElSaffar, Oak Park Township Assessor, at 708-383-8005, aelsaffar@oakparktownship.org.
New panhandler campaign’s shortcomings
The village’s new “Make REAL Change, Not Spare Change” campaign claims to support unhoused residents, but its true priority seems to be discouraging panhandling in order to make unhoused individuals less visible. Contrary to what the village states, no one actually believes giving change to panhandlers addresses the root cause of homelessness. There is also no reason to believe that giving someone a few dollars will affect the amount of money the village will be able to solicit for this campaign.
Putting the primary focus on altering the behavior of direct giving contradicts the idea that this is about helping the unhoused at all. If the initiative can succeed in providing residents access to coordinated care and services, that will reduce panhandling.
All hands on deck for ‘Hands O !’
On April 5, Cong re gations Networking for Social Justice is joining a massive coalition of national and local organizations including: Indivisible, Move On, Common Cause, Color of Change and Social Security Works to organize a local response to the TrumpMusk billionaire takeover of our democracy.
We are coming together to say loudly and clearly, “Hands Of f!” our Medicaid, Medicare, Public Schools, Public Lands, Libraries, Social Security, VA, Clean Energ y, and more! Our gathering at Scoville Park (Lake Street
TMost distressingly, the campaign implies that these people are dangerous and criminal. The education component of this campaign focuses on what to do “in moments of aggression or feeling unsafe,” how to “set clear boundaries, if necessary,” and specifically informs us that selling candy bars is a crime. It begs the question of why would we want to help these criminals at all? The framing of this campaign is bizarre, because it can’t admit its priorities are not to help these people, but simply to get rid of them.
We can create effective and coordinated solutions that solve homelessness problems and treat people with dignity While we work toward those goals, we can also give people spare change if they ask.
Joe Bauer Oak Park
and Oak Park Avenue) on April 5 from 12-2 p.m. provides an alternative to the large “Hands Of f!” rally scheduled at Federal Plaza in Chicago. Make your signs and gather peacefully. As of this writing, 200 have re gistered.
Cynthia Breunlin Congre gations Networking for Social Justice Oak Park
e election, the day a
he Oak Park election is over. As of this writing, I have yet to vote, and certainly feel I should. Vicki or Ravi? This or that school board candidate? The cost of village hall updating and moving the police to a different site. Age limits on the sale of unregulated THC products Regulations on food trucks. And other issues that question how Oak Park might be made a more wellreasoned, friendly and safe place within which to reside.
JOE HARRINGTON
One View
Whatever the election results, some will be self-satisfied and others left grumbling about how voters got it all wrong. I hope the gasfueled leaf blower ban is enforced — for the sake of the environment and for the sake of my eardrums
But no matter what happens in the local election, Oak Park will still be a great place to live, if never a perfect fit for all. Much easier for democracy to work, writ micro than macro. Oak Park is very micro. The U.S. is uber macro And matters of leaf blowers, leaf bagging, THC sales, Vicky or Ravi, and the rest seem so quaint when contrasted with national policies, particularly those being propagated since Jan. 20, 2025.
The macro political stage has become quite a frenetic scene. I’d like to think the vast majority of Oak Park voters did not vote in favor of the 2024 icky election results. In just the last 67 days, the current administration has likely betrayed even those who voted for the outcome Keep in mind, the current U.S. population is 340 million and 77 million voted for what we now all have to process regarding how the gover nment is, well, governing. Never mind that 263 million of us did not vote for what has repeatedly been compared to early 1930s Ger many. Yikes!
Thus, my sense of being a voter-citizen for
our local election next week is severely under mined. I am very grateful to live in Oak Park, in Illinois, a state with a gover nor who is vocalizing his resistance to the current, legitimately referred to as “draconian,” governing policies. But as a Boomer who now has seen 14 administrations come and go, with number 15 (formerly #13) now residing, I have developed an approach-avoidance politicalpsychological disposition. As a critical-thinking citizen, I am not a stranger to political election outcomes that result in disappointment and disapproval.
However, the last 10 years in particular have left me exhausted from trying to understand how easily duped are much of the electorate. Who voted for this? Oh I know who, and they are getting nothing in return for their vote, although try explaining that to them. Voting against one’s best interest has been common for many election cycles. But now we have political scholars describing our current gover nment as akin to what happened in Ger many over 90 years ago. Again, yikes!
The fascist playbook is driving our evolving dystopia, true. But the German citizenry didn’t have smart phones, social media or the inter net to offer clarity about what were their gover nment’s intentions, local and far beyond its borders. What is our excuse for allowing one-fifth of our population to invite the hateful, petty and clearly incompetently dangerous actors to be on stage?
So while part of me still feels voting matters, and Oak Park is offering an opportunity to remain a voter/citizen, another part of me is not so sure about that. I do, however, want to have the gas leaf blower ban enforced.
Joe Harrington is a resident of Oak Park.
SHRUB TO WN by Marc Stopeck
Protect children’s health care from cuts
As the federal gover nment moves forward with restructuring the Department of Health and Human Services and cutting funding to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the impact on children’s health care cannot be overstated. These cuts threaten the health and well-being of millions of vulnerable children — many of whom rely on Medicaid for routine check-ups, emergency care, and essential treatments
At Oak Park-River Forest Infant Welfare Society (OP-RF IWS), a nonprofit serving the Chicagoland area, we see firsthand how access to quality health care can shape a child’s future. Since 1916, our cornerstone program, the IWS Children’s Clinic, has provided medical, dental, and behavioral health services to thousands of children age 0-21 from under-resourced households. Today, 90% of our patients rely on Medicaid and Medicaid funding accounts for nearly 30% of our revenue.
For these families, Medicaid isn’t just a gover nment program — it’s a lifeline. It ensures that all children receive essential medical, dental, and behavioral health care. It pro-
vides access to specialists who can diagnose and treat conditions early, preventing longter m complications Without this safety net, children will suffer.
As a community, we must raise our voices. We urge policymakers to reconsider these uts and protect the programs that safeguard our children’s health. If we fail to act now, we risk an outcome where fewer children receive the care they need — leading to worse health outcomes and greater long-term costs for our health-care system.
At OP-RF IWS, we remain committed to our mission to advance the health and well-being of children in need, regardless of their ability to pay. But we cannot do it alone We need public support, advocacy, and a collective commitment to ensuring that every child has access to the health care they deserve
The well-being of our children is not a political issue — it is a human one. Let’s stand together to protect their right to a healthy future.
John McIlwain Oak Park
WEDNESD AY
JOURNAL
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.
All submissions must include your rst and last name and the municipality in which you live, plus a phone number (for veri cation only). We do not publish anonymous letters. One View essays should include a sentence at the end about who you are.
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
■ 350-word limit
■ Must include rst and last names, municipality in which you live, phone number (for veri cation only)
‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY
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JOY AARONSON
Food for all
from page 26
of chocolate. There is also a grab-and-go selection of salads and sandwiches and a counter that sells smoothies and cups of coffee. Several women were sitting at a table drinking coffee and visiting.
Sugar Beet Co-op was founded in 2012 by Oak Park residents who sat around a dining room table and came up with the name Sugar Beet Food Co-op. The name spoke to local ag riculture and sustainability roots while focusing on the sweetness they hoped to bring to the community.
Their goal was to provide the community with more local and sustainable healthy food options and give more direct connections between customers and producers. The building opened in 2015.
I thought about Sugar Beet recently during the economic boycott day this winter. While our community has many inde pendent coffee shops, bakeries, stores, and restaurants, Sugar Beet is a place where you can buy staples. According to their website, “Sugar Beet Food Co-op emphasizes and celebrates local vendors, champions and supports businesses owned by people of color and women, and facilitates producers and local far mers becoming vendors.”
This column is called “Favorite Things,” and I like to ask about the favorite things from the people involved in the stories I write. Katie Fountain, general manager at Su gar Beet said, “One of my favorite parts of working at Sugar Beet is our deep connection with the community. We host the Oak Park Artisan Market monthly, featuring local artists, makers, and producers. It’s a fantastic way to highlight emerging entrepreneurs; several have even transitioned into becoming vendors in our store. A recent success story is Kindly Caramel, an all-natural, low-glycemic caramel made with dates, sesame, and sea salt.
“I also love that we offer programs designed to make healthy, local food more accessible for everyone. Our Food For All program provides a 10% discount to customers who utilize SNAP, WIC, or have a reduced/fixed income; they can self-identify to sign up. Customers who use their LINK card can use the Link Match program, which provides vouchers for fresh produce by matching up to $10 of LINK purchases per day.”
Katie says that “seeing our community-owned grocery store supporting our neighbors with healthy food options, fair prices, and a welcoming environment is fulfilling. These initiatives, and the passionate people behind them, make working at the Sugar Beet Food Co-op truly special.”
For more information, readers can call 708-948-7656 or go to their website at www.sugarbeet.coop Joy Aaronson is an Oak Park resident who writes stories for Wednesday Journal about her favorite things in the villa ge.
ALAN KRAUSE
OPRF’s motto unobfuscated
from page 26
leaves, and river re presenting our communities. The entire motto would not fit on the new crest, so he included just Ta Garista, to re present the motto’s main idea of seeking “The Best.” Over the years, many ha ve interpreted this shortened version of the motto to be a boastful statement about all things OPRF, rather than the aspirational goal it was meant to be.
A new school to house the growing enrollment and designed to give life to the motto was opened in 1907 at the corner of Scoville Av enue and Ontario Street. The new school with traditional classrooms as well as innovati ve facilities such as a library and science labs would grow quickly in the first two decades of the 1900s. Soon it would also include the Classics Room, the English Club Room, a band room, an auditorium, manual training rooms and a gymnasium. In 1913 the enrollment topped 1,000. The school has been a leader in many ways: adoption of the AP curriculum, early instruction in driver training, computer based instruction, world langua ges, African American studies, student television, equity and inclusion. Alumni are noted authors, performers, humanitarians, scientists, business leaders, educators, state champions and Olympic athletes. Each of these individuals has fulfilled the belief expressed by Mr. Hanna in the motto.
At the high school centennial in 1973, the motto was defined as “the willing and productive struggle against the ordinary and the limiting, in a broad spectrum of endeavors.” In the 50 years since the centennial, the high school has continued to evolve and change, reflecting the communities of Oak Park and River Forest. The challenge, howev er, for the entire school community remains as the motto proclaims: Nothing assuredly but what is the best.
Sticker shocked
I moved to Oak Park last year. It’s a wonderful place. Wednesday Journal has been a great way to learn what is happening here on politics and gover nment. But I am flabbergasted by the debate over building a new village hall and police headquarters. Both or just a new police HQ? $100 million or more? My shock is that this is just a village of 55,000 people. Will it be made of marble and gold? Is this the Ritz-Carlton of police buildings?
John Malott Oak Park
Janet Fiore, 82 Banker, job skills volunteer
Janet Fiore, 82, died peacefully, on Feb. 22, 2025, with her brother, sister and family by her side. Bor n on Aug. 22, 1942, in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, as a young woman, she moved to Chicago, where she had a successful career in banking. Although she spent most of her life living and working in Chicago, her home was always in Pittsburgh, where she retur ned often. After she retired from banking and until the pandemic, she volunteered with Oak Park-River Forest Township’s Job Skills and Readiness Program.
Janet is survived by her siblings, Margaret Constantin (James “Corky”) and Jimmy O’Donnell (Car mella); and many nieces and nephews, as well as great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Daniel and Margaret O’Donnell; her late sister, Patricia Adams; and her late brother, Daniel O’Donnell. Janet was loved by all who knew her, especially her family and wonderful friends in Chicago.
omas Tyler, 79 CPA, storyteller
Thomas Alan Tyler, 79, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, died on March 8, 2025, at Froedtert Hospital in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Bor n in Chicago on May 12, 1945, he was the son of Frank and Marion (nee Callan) Tyler, spent in Elmwood Park, and graduated from Fenwick High School. After high school, he spent three years as a Dominican seminarian at St. Pius X Seminary and Loras College, in Dubuque, Iowa; giving him a quiet, but deep sense of religion. He later attended and graduated from Loyola University Chicago.
He married Mary Langlois on Dec. 20, 1969, and they raised two children in River Forest, where they lived for almost 30 years. They moved to Eagle Lake in 2003, and then to Kenosha in 2020. He spent his career as a CPA and partner at Bansley & Kiener LLP, in Chicago.
He had a great sense of humor and loved to tell stories, holding court whenever the opportunity presented itself. His wisdom and advice were sought by many, and he was always eager to help; his kindness and calm were a source of comfort to all who knew him.
Tom is survived by Mary Tyler, his wife of 55 years; his
children, Danielle (Terri) Tyler, and Matthew (Katherine) Tyler; his five brothers and sisters-in-law; 34 nieces and nephews and other relatives; and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Alice (John) Hook and Marilyn Hughes. The family would like to thank the ICU nurses and doctors at Froedtert Hospital in Pleasant Prairie for their care during this time
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Tunnel to Towers at www t2t.org or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12 p.m. on April 26 at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, 23211 Church Road, Kansasville, WI 53139. Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Parish Cemetery.
Arrangements were handled by SchuetteDaniels Funeral Home & Crematory in Burlington, Wisconsin.
Mark Wallace, 32 Data specialist, trivia wiz
OBITUARIES
Church in Oak Park at 11:45 a.m., this Saturday, April 5, followed by a Memorial Mass at 12:45 p.m.
In his memory, donations are suggested to Thrive Counseling Center or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Ed Wygonik, 76 Psychology professor
Mark Allen Wallace, 32, of Oak Park, died on March 27, 2025, following a nearlifelong battle with major depressive disorder. Born on Dec. 11, 1992, he was a lifelong resident of Oak Park and a graduate of Rush Therapeutic Day School, Oak Park and River Forest High School, and DePaul University. He worked as an accounting and data specialist at Thrive Counseling Center in Oak Park. A dedicated Dungeon Master, he ran a nearly two-decade-long game for his close friends, was part of the many-times champion trivia team “The Real Slim Shadies” at Oak Park Brewing and at FatDuck Tavern & Grill. He will be remembered for his uncanny ability to remember everything he had ever read, and the desire to always be right (especially at trivia).
He is survived by his parents, Bill Wallace and Susan (Kevin) Collins; his siblings Sarah (Daniel) Magner, Daniel Wallace, and Erica Roman Wallace; his nephew & godson John Magner; his niece, Taylor Magner; and several uncles, aunts, and cousins. Visitation will take place at Ascension
Edward John onik, PhD, 76, eacefully on the March 28, 2025. n on June 9, 1948 in Pittsburgh, to Edward Sylvester and Betty (nee olk), he was the eldest brother. The amily moved to Naperville, where he attended St. Procopius Academy. He ee from Saint Louis rsity and was awarded his doctorate in rsity Chicago.
In 1990, he was hired as the first full-time, tenure-track faculty member in Roosevelt’s new MA program in industrial-organizational psychology. His students valued his pragmatic courses, which emphasized teamwork and applied projects, especially those in his specialty areas, employment testing and executive talent development. He served as the associate chairperson of both the School of Psychology and the Department of Psychology. He retired as associate professor emeritus of I/O psychology. Ed had a quiet presence but had a passion for social justice.
He married Mary Catherine Lowrey, the love of his life, on April 22, 1972. They raised five children, Eddie (Vanessa), Meg (Peter), Benjamin, Nicolaus (Erin) and Jesse (Kerry). The open-door policy he had in teaching extended to their home at 707 N. Oak Park Ave. Almost every teenager in Oak Park knew where the keys to the house, (and the refrigerator) were hidden and they could access them at any time.
Nothing brought more joy to his life than his grandchildren: Lucy, Lilly, Sydney, Vivian, and Ethan. One of his greatest delights was the publication of a book of short stories, Stories of Fairies, Gnomes, Sprites, and Dragons. The follow-up volume is now in press.
Every Fourth of July he and Mary Cath hosted an amazing BBQ. His Christmas
brunch was a thing for the ages. He was at his most peaceful in a chair on the beach in South Haven, Michigan, gently sleeping, an open book on his lap, his glasses perched on his nose, mouth slightly open, gentle snoring in harmony with the breaking waves. Services will be held on Friday, April 4 at St Giles Church. Inter ment Queen of Heaven Cemetery is private In lieu of flowers donations can be sent to the Salvation Army in Ed’s name. Arrangements were handled by Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home.
Philip Pittman, 87 CPA, genealogist
Philip Lewis Pittman, 87, died on Feb. 23, 2025 in Albuquerque New Mexico from advanced symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Born on March, 24, 1937 in Centerville, Iowa, he spent most of his est Des Moines, Iowa and U.S. Ar my, he lived in Chinon, France. He and his wife moved to Lake Mills, Iowa, then Racine, Wisconsin, then resided in Oak Park, Illinois for over 40 years until they moved out to Rio Rancho, New Mexico and finally Albuquerque, New Mexico for some amazing sunsets
Phil was a proud and loyal alum of both Valley High School in West Des Moines and Drake University in Des Moines (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration). Accounting, computers and data analysis were some of his various careers. After college, he joined the Ar my and worked in the finance section. He was stationed in Chinon, France where his college sweetheart, Carol came over and married him in 1960. He has been a lifelong member of the church where he very much enjoyed singing in the choir and serving as a lay leader and Sunday School director.
He inherited his love of family history from his mom and also considered himself an expert in accounting, even offering to do the books for the Ravenna Senior Living Center up to his final time on this plain. He also enjoyed singing the oldies during Karaoke.
Phil was extremely proud of those he is
survived by, including his three children and their spouses, Mike (Tara), Michelle (Tony) and Doug (Janice); his seven grandchildren, Joel, Kyle, Dillon, Grace, Tyler, Kodi and Jesse; and his three great-granddaughters, Abigail, Isabella and Arianna. He was preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Dorothy Pittman, and his wife, Carol Pittman (West).
A celebration of his life will be held on April 5, at McLaren’s Resthaven Chapel in West Des Moines, Iowa. Visitation with the family will start at 1 p.m. followed by a service at 2 p.m.
Please consider donations in Phil’s name to the Parkinson’s Foundation or the Alzheimer’s Association.
William Wigham, 75 Postal Ser vice worker, choir member
William (Bill) George Wigham, a longtime resident of River Forest, died on March 19, 2025 after a short illness. Born on April 30, 1949 in Chicago to Margaret Bradley and Paul Wigham, was named after his fraternal grandfather, William G. Wigham, who was a minister. Bill grew up on the West Side of Chicago and graduated from Austin High School. After a short mar riage, he joined the Ar my just as his father had and was stationed in Germany and Ethiopia.
Upon returning to the states, he got a job with the U.S. Post Office and worked at a number of different stations in the Chicago area before retiring from the station at O’Hare Airport. A fan of the White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks, he enjoyed playing golf with his father and his friends.
Bill was a member of First United Methodist Church of Oak Park and sang in the choir for a number of years. He continued as an active member until shor tly before his death.
A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church, 324 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 5, followed by a luncheon. Burial will be private.
SPORTS
Fenwick, Trinity girls take to the track
Friars, Blazers showed promise during indoor season
By MELVIN TATE
Contributing Reporter
The Fenwick and T rinity varsity girls’ track and field teams are ready for the outdoor season following solid showings indoors.
In the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference meet, March 21, Fenwick placed seventh with 31 points. Maeve Bonakdar won the shot put with a distance of 10.90 meters (35 feet, 9.25 inches). Mia Menendez was fifth in the 800 meters (2:21.70), followed by Mia Ba gato in sixth (2:22.85).
Juliana Gamboa was sixth in the 3200 (11:33.72) and Bridget Brunick 10th (12:14.28). T he 4 x 400 relay of Ba gato, Brunick, Gamboa, and Menendez placed four th (4:22.90).
“Our strength has been having a core group of young ladies who were committed to the indoor season,” said Fenwick second-year coach Latoya Zubowicz-Hill. “We look forward to watching that group lead during the outdoor season and see success from their indoor dedication.”
Fenwick has five returning Class 2A state qualifiers: sophomores Ba gato, Bonakdar, and Gamboa, and seniors Menendez and Kim Robles. Menendez qualified for the 800 and gained All-State honors with a sixth-place finish (2:16.18). Gamboa and Menendez ran on the F riars’ qualifying 4 x 800 relay with Robles being an alternate. Bonakdar finished 24th in the shot put (9.67 m), while Ba gato, Gamboa, and Menendez comprised three-fourths of Fenwick’s 4 x 400 relay.
Other F riars returning from last year’s sectional lineup are sophomores Daija Barnes and Teresa Urso along with senior Olivia Cameron in sprints and senior Emma Guira in the discus. Freshmen Brunick (distance and relays) and Molly Madden ( discus and shot put) are
the team’s top newcomer
“We have rienced success last derstand wh Zubowicz-Hill said.
While not identifying specific the season, Zub g eneral goal of culture of the pr deavor, she’s beefed up her coaching staf
“We celebrate our micro-wins and practice with the in competition,” Zub want to be w ladies who are as individual help the team
T rinity placed 12 meet with nine points. But the Blazers be lieve there we provide cause for optimism this spring.
“We always walk with the little wins that sometimes go unnoticed with such a competiti
Trinity first-year coach Erin Nelson. “I find that the girls use the indoor season to break of f the rust and really step into their stride when the outdoor meets start, so I am very excited for the next few months.”
Fenw ick sophomore Mia Bagato (r ight) competes at the Illinois Top Times
Senior Zoe Solberg placed fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.78 seconds. Freshman Karis Young, who Nelson identified as a top newcomer, finished seventh in the 60-meter hurdles in 13.22.
Sophomore Charlotte Houlihan, a returning state qualifier in the discus, showed her versatility by placing seventh in the high jump (1.37 meters). And senior Jade Morelli finished ninth in the 1600, running a personal best time of 5:54.10.
Junior Molly McGreal is a two-time state qualifier. She was part of Trinity’s 4 x 800
at Illinois Wesleyan University, March 28-29.
relay team two years ago, then qualified for the 3200 last year, finishing 18th. Juniors
Aaliyah Porter and Gioy Smart took part in last year’s sectional. Porter will run the 200 this year, while Smart competes in the 100 and 300 hurdles events.
“We have a lot of new ener gy on the team,” N elson said. “They want to wo rk to g ether to g et f aster and I c ould n’ t be more excited to see the teamwork they’ve
displ ayed this indoor season. ” N elson’s g oals for T rinity are simple: she wants the girls to enjoy themselves and have fun this season.
“I ask all the athletes to write goals fo r themselves r anging from meeting a new teammate to breaking their PR times,” she said. “A s long as the girls achieve their g oals, I b eli eve we ’re a b etter team for it.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN CHAMNESS
meet held
OPRF, Fenwick baseball hit the road for spring break
By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter
Both the OPRF and Fenwick High School varsity baseball teams spent spring break in Tennessee and Florida, respectively, facing stif f competition from teams across the country. While the Huskies and the Friars did not win all their games, they hope playing challenging schedules will help them as the season goes forward.
Here’s a look at how each school did:
OPRF
The Huskies played their first five games of the season in Tennessee last week and went 3-2. In the opener of the Warrior Spring Classic on March 24, they defeated Thompson (Alabama) 3-2. Timmy Leark singled in the eventual game-winning run, and Peter Farren posted the save.
On March 25, OPRF split a pair, shutting out Rogers (Alabama) 12-0 but falling to Blackman (Tennessee) 7-3. On the final day of the Classic, March 26, the Huskies gave up two runs in the bottom of the seventh to lose
the opener 2-1 to Southside (Alabama) but rebounded in the nightcap with an 8-2 victory over Gallatin (Tennessee).
“Realistically, we should’ve been 4-1. [Against Southside] we had a no-hitter going into the last inning. Things just didn’t go our way,” said OPRF coach Kevin Campbell, who thought the trip was an overall success given the circumstances.
“We learned a lot about ourselves,” he said. “We faced some of the best competition in the tournament. It’s always tough going up against teams that are 20-plus games into their season and you’re taking the field for the first time. It was a great environment, and we’re happy with where we’re at.”
Leark, Brady Green, and John Summers each hit .500 on the trip. George Holland (.375) belted two home runs and drove in a teamhigh five runs, and Ethan Moore (.385) legged out two triples
“We’ve got five guys hitting over 350, which is huge,” Campbell said. “We’re playing team ball, getting sacrifice bunts down and putting the ball in play.”
On the mound, Tucker Henry (3.50 earned run average), Joseph Kahn, and Daniel Kane
each notched wins, with Kahn and Kane not allowing any earned runs, and Darren Law got the save against Gallatin.
“Our pitching is super-young,” Campbell said, “but the juniors really stepped up on this trip. We’re excited.”
Fenwick
The Friars played three games in Orlando, Florida last week, winning the first contest before dropping the last two.
“Our annual spring break trip serves multiple purposes for both our team and coaching staff,” Fenwick coach Kyle Kmiecik said. “Most importantly, it provides an opportunity for our players to bond and grow closer as a team. This trip also allows us as coaches to learn more about our players, both on and off the field. We intentionally schedule strong competition to ensure our team is prepared for [Chicago Catholic League] games.”
On March 24, Fenwick (1-4) rolled to 12-2, five-inning victory over Packer Collegiate Institute of Brooklyn (New York). Twelve players collected hits for the Friars, and Johnny Buchman and JJ Obaldo each drove in a pair
OPRF so ball sizzles in the
By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter
Last week, the Oak Park and River Forest High School varsity softball team enjoyed a highly successful spring break in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, winning all six contests and maintaining its perfect record
On March 24, the Huskies blanked New Richmond, Ohio 10-0, then routed Dublin (Ohio) Coffman 17-6. The next day, OPRF shutout Westerville North (Ohio) 15-0 and defeated Kewaskum, Wisconsin 9-6.
The Huskies completed the sweep on March 26 with two more victories: 13-3 over Stow-Munroe Falls (Ohio), then 4-3 over Manchester (Ohio).
Unfortunately, the trip ended on a sour note for the Huskies as senior pitching ace Anna Topel suffered an injury against Manchester According to OPRF coach JP Coughlin, Topel was hit by a pitch and will miss the next few weeks
“Anna had successful surgery on Friday,” Coughlin said. “She’s hoping to be back by the end of the season. It’s kind of a bummer
to a really good trip.”
“All of us were completely devastated when we heard Anna broke her wrist,” said OPRF shortstop Elyssa Hasapis. “We’re just trying to do anything we can.”
In the circle, Topel is 4-0 plus one save and has yet to allow an earned run. She has 22 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched. Topel also stars at the plate, hitting 733 with two homers and nine runs batted in.
Topel’s absence will undoubtedly hurt the Huskies. But Coughlin feels his team has the depth to overcome her injury
“No one player is going to replace Anna,” he said. “We talk about depth, and it’s being put to the test. It’s a big challenge.”
OPRF (9-0) does have a potent lineup to cover the loss of Topel. The Huskies are batting 419 as a team and have hit 15 home runs. Hasapis has a .629 batting average; Julia Henderson .571; Gloria Hronek .516; and Maura Carmody 417. Henderson has driven in a team-high 14 runs, Carmody and Hasapis each have 12 RBIs, and Leia Hammerschmidt has 11 RBI
“As good as we’ve started, I think we can
of runs. On the mound, Matt Purta pitched four innings to get the win, allowing two runs on two hits with seven strikeouts Against Fayetteville (Arkansas) on March 25, Andrew Henderson went 3-for-3, and Ethan Gonzalez and Ryan Lazewski each had two hits as Fenwick had 10 for the day. But the Friars managed just one run in a 9-1 loss In the trip finale, March 26, against Winter Park (Florida), Fenwick trailed 7-0 in the top of the seventh inning. The Friars staged a late rally as Bryan Tunison Jr. had a two-run single and Aidan McConnell and Josh Morgan each had RBI singles. But Fenwick could not complete the comeback and lost 7-4, ending the game on a strikeout with the bases loaded
“We need to be more consistent in every aspect of the game,” Kmiecik said. “Our starting pitching has been solid, but we must refine our approach at the plate and maintain strong defense behind our pitchers. While our goal is to win every game, we reco gnize that success is a process and our record alone doesn’t define our talent, ef fort, or team chemistry.”
Fenwick visits Clemente on April 5, then welcomes St. Rita to the Priory, April 7.
spring
do even better [offensively],” Coughlin said.
“Our defense hasn’t been what it’s been the last couple of years, and we have to eliminate extra outs.”
In the circle, OPRF pitchers Molly Chambers (3-0, 6.86 earned run average), Gabriella Chesney, and Carolyn Rainey (2-0, 2.80) will need to elevate their games
“Carolyn stepped up and pitched fantastic to finish out [Manchester],” Hasapis said.
“We know all the rest of our pitchers can do the same when they’re asked to do it.”
Hasapis also likes the mindset OPRF has established early this season. She says the Huskies are focused on themselves, trying to improve each day, and that determination can help overcome unexpected obstacles that get in their path, like Topel’s injury
“We’re really just locked in,” Hasapis said.
“We believe that we can go really far, but we have to keep our mind in the present moment and not think too far into the future.
“We’re a really tight-knit group, and I think that helps on and off the field. The closer we can get throughout the season, the better we are as a team on the field.”
OPRF kicks off an eight-game homestand this week with games against Conant (April 2), Whitney Young (April 3), and St. Ignatius (April 4).
Fenwick/Trinity
Thanks to weather postponements and spring break, the Friars, coming off a thirdplace finish in Class 3A, the best in program history, have yet to play a game this season.
“Sadly, both of our games in March got moved due to weather,” Fenwick coach Valerie Jisa told Wednesday Journal via text message. “Hopefully not again this week. We’re super-antsy and eager to get on the field.”
Weather permitting, Fenwick hopes to start the season this week. The Friars visit Mother McAuley, April 3, and Morton, April 5, before hosting DePaul Prep, April 7.
Trinity (0-2) resumes its season, April 4, at Triton College versus Aurora Central Catholic. Abby Young leads the Blazers with a batting average of .600, with four others, Elizabeth Miehlich, D’Asya Collins, Aly Lopez, and Liv Trendel, hitting .500.
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC
Plaintiff vs. CHRISTOPHER RAY ETHERTON AKA CHRISTOPHER ETHERTON; JEANNE ETHERTON AKA JEANNE STEARNS AKA JEANNE SCHEMONIA; VILLAGE OF MELROSE PARK; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS
Defendant 24 CH 2755
CALENDAR
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on May 5, 2025, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-03-413-007-0000. Commonly known as 1301 N. 12th Avenue, Melrose Park, IL 60160. The real estate is: single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Diaz Anselmo & Associates P.A., 1771 West Diehl Road, Suite 120, Naperville, IL 60563. (630) 453-6960. 6706-200451
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION
WINTRUST MORTGAGE, A DIVISION OF BARRINGTON BANK & TRUST COMPANY, N.A. Plaintiff, -v.-
ARMANI GRIFFIN
Defendants 24 CH 04949 2501 SOUTH 18TH AVENUE
BROADVIEW, IL 60155
NOTICE OF SALE
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on February 10, 2025, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 13, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
Commonly known as 2501 SOUTH 18TH AVENUE, BROADVIEW, IL 60155
Property Index No. 15-22-124015-0000
The real estate is improved with a single family residence.
Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours.
The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.
Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.
The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.
If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).
IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.
You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.
MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION
One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE
You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc. com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.
MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC
One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
Chicago IL, 60602
312-346-9088
E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com
Attorney File No. 23-16277IL
Attorney Code. 61256
Case Number: 24 CH 04949
TJSC#: 45-520
NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
Case # 24 CH 04949 I3263630
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M25000281 on March 5, 2025 Under the Assumed Business Name of COOPERATIVE PHYSIOTHERAPY with the business located at: 949 GARFIELD ST, OAK PARK, IL 60304. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: MARA HUTTON 1108 MARENGO, FOREST PARK 60130, USA.
Published in Forest Park Review March 19, 26, April 2, 2025
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET
The Village of River Forest will hold a public hearing on Monday, April 14, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. in the 1st floor Community Room of the Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois concerning the Village of River Forest proposed budget for the fiscal period starting May 1, 2025 and ending April 30, 2026
A copy of the proposed budget is available for public inspection at the Village Hall during regular business hours or on the Village’s website at www.vrf.us. For more information, please contact Finance Director Rosemary McAdams at 708-366-8500
Published in Wednesday Journal April 2, 2025
PUBLIC NOTICES
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on 21 April 2025, at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Avenue, Forest Park, Illinois, the Planning and Zoning Commission will conduct a public hearing to consider a conditional use permit and site plan review to allow the construction of a selfserve vacuum facility in the B-2 Community Shopping District on the following described properties(s):
Parcel 1:
Lot 15 (except that part described as follows: beginning at the Southeast corner of said Lot; thence South 89 Degrees 11 Minutes 56 Seconds West (assumed) 5.00 feet along the Southerly line of said Lot; thence North 44 Degrees 11 Minutes 47 Seconds East 7.07 feet to the Easterly line of said Lot, said Easterly line being also the Westerly right of way of Harlem Avenue; thence South 00 Degrees 48 Minutes 23 Seconds East 5.00 Feet along said right of way to the point of beginning) in Block 1 in South Addition to Harlem, being a Subdivision of the East 1/2 of the West 1/2 of the South East 1/4 of Section 13, Township 39 North, Range 12 East of the Third Principal Meridian, in Cook County, Illinois.
Parcel 2:
Lot 16 in Block 1 in South Addition to Harlem in Section 13, Township 39 North, Range 12 East of the Third Principal Meridian, in Cook County, Illinois.
Commonly known as 7201 Lexington Street, Forest Park, IL PINs: 15-13-407-026-0000, 1513-407-034-0000
The applicant is CellTech, LLC
Signed:
Marsha East, Chair Planning and Zoning Commission
Published in Forest Park Review April 2, 2025
VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in Room 4 of the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider an application from the Petitioner, Patrick T. Leone, for a four (4) lot subdivision for property located at 28-30 East Burlington Street, Riverside, Illinois, in the B2RC Central Business District – Retail Core District. The application proposes combining the four subject properties.
Application No.: PZ25-0002
Petitioners: Patrick T. Leone Property Commonly Known As: 28-30 East Burlington Street, Riverside, Illinois PINs: 15-36-109-028-0000, 1536-109-029-0000, 15-36-109076-0000, and 15-36-109-0790000
Legally Described As: LOT 689 (EXCEPT THE SOUTHERLY 16 FEET THEREOF) IN BLOCK 5 IN THE 3RD DIVISION OF RIVERSIDE, BEING A SUBDIVISION IN THE WEST ½ OF SECTION 36, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS; LOT 690 (EXCEPT THE SOUTH 16 FEET THEREOF COVEYED TO THE VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE BY WARRANTY DEED RECORDED AS DOCUMENT NUMBER 10734538) IN BLOCK 5 IN THE THIRD DIVISION OF RIVERSIDE IN SECTION 36, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS; LOT 5 IN MILLER’S RESUBDIVISION OF ALL LOTS 688 AND 772 OF LOT 2 IN OWNERS’ RESUBDIVISION OF LOT 771 (EXCEPT THE SOUTHERLY 16 FEET OF SAID LOT 771) ALL IN BLOCK 5 IN THE 3RD DIVISION OF RIVERSIDE, BEING A SUBDIVISION IN THE WEST ½ OF SECTION 36, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINICIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS; AND LOT 773 (EXCEPT THAT PART LYING WESTERLY OF A LINE DRAWN PERPENDICULAR TO THE NORTHERLY LINE OF SAID LOT, THROUGH A POINT 167.31 FEET EASTERLY OF THE NORTHWESTERLY CORNER OF SAID LOT) IN BLOCK 5 IN 3RD DIVISION OF RIVERSIDE, IN SECTION 36, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
The above application is available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. During the Public Hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any evidence presented by persons interested to speak on this matter. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the proposed subdivision. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance by submission to the Village’s Community Development Department at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. the day of the public hearing.
The Public Hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
Dated this 2nd day of April, 2025.
Jennifer Henaghan, Chairperson Planning and Zoning Commission
Published in RBLandmark April 2, 2025
Submit events and see full calendar at oakpark.com/events
Goldschmidt, Market President and Denise Warren, Branch Manager
Commited to Financial Literacy
Byline has partnered with YEMBA, a local not-for-profit in Oak Park for four years now hosting workshops to young people centered on financial literacy. YEMBA and Byline have fostered relationships with Julien Middle School and Brooks Middle School in presenting financial literacy workshops after school in the Spring and at YEMBA headquarters in the summer.
To learn more about Byline’s commitment to our local communities, visit bylinebank.com/community
