W E D N E S D A Y
April 17, 2019 Vol. 39, No. 37 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Celebrating Seniors Special pullout section
D97 removes ‘too white’ mural … then a swastika Julian principal urges residents against drawing conclusions By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
In an email sent to parents on April 18, Julian Principal Todd T. Fitzgerald shared the “deeply disturbing and disappointing news” that school officials discovered a swastika on the wall of the fourth-floor boys’ bathroom last Thursday. “Based on the initial information we have collected from students and staff, we believe this reprehensible act was carried out sometime between second and fourth period today,” Fitzgerald wrote in the email. “We have already begun our investigation into this situation, and will keep the school community updated on the status of our efforts,” he stated. “In the meantime, I want to thank the students who brought this serious issue to our attention, and our custodial staff, for working quickly to remove the image from the wall.” Fitzgerald said that he would address the school on Friday morning about the swastika See MURAL on page 13
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
NEW BREW: Brewery co-owner Shawn Stevens inspects tanks in one of the cooler rooms at One Lake Brewing, which will open soon on Lake Street at the corner of Austin Boulevard in Oak Park.
One Lake brewpub nearly ready to open Oak Park entrepreneurs rehab old bank at Lake and Austin
By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
It’s been years in the making, but the new brewpub at the corner of Lake Street and Austin Boulevard — the name of the joint is One Lake — is almost ready to open. During a recent tour with co-owners Ja-
son Alfonsi and Shawn Stevens, construction teams were hard at work putting the final touches on the two-story (plus rooftop deck) brewpub that was originally built as a bank in 1920. The building has gone through several iterations – a funeral home, medical offices, a credit card processing office – since the
bank closed as the Great Depression hit in 1929. But none have attracted the kind of attention the brewpub is generating. Stevens said neighbors have been asking for months about when it will open. He and Alfonsi are still reluctant to give See BREWPUB on page 14