W E D N E S D A Y
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JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
May 30, 2018 Vol. 36, No. 20 ONE DOLLAR
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Gang burials a problem in western suburbs County begins work in preparation of new funeral task force By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
As the director of Smith & Thomas Funeral Home in Maywood, Ilene Johnson has participated in countless funeral processions, and in every one she sees the same thing — motorists attempting to get past the long line of cars, so they don’t have to be held up. “I see the expression on people’s faces,” she said with a laugh, describing the exasperated looks some give when they know they have to wait for the procession. Some don’t wait, swerving around the line of vehicles or breaking into the procession, she said. It’s one of the most dangerous moments in a funeral for everyone involved. “I call it ‘Beat the hearse’,” she said. Johnson and others say the processions are made even more dangerous when they involve the death of a slain gang member. Law enforcement officials have dubbed them “rowdy processions” — many of which pass through Oak Park and Forest Park along Roosevelt Road and Jackson Boulevard — because of gang members blocking traffic, threatening other motorists, hanging out of car windows and, in some cases, firing weapons. See TASK FORCE on page 13
Flag waver
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Members of Oak Park Girl Scout Troop 45639 wave flags and hold up signs in memory of service members who gave their lives in the nation’s war s during the 93rd Annual Memorial Day Parade in River Forest on May 28. For more photos, turn to pages 3 and 7 and visit online at www.OakPark.com.For more photos pages 3 and 7.
‘This is a civil rights issue’
D200 board votes on gender-related policy change, new procedures By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
On May 24, after District 200 school board members voted unanimously to revise an already existing policy to increase supports for transgender and gender-nonconforming students, most of the roughly
50 people gathered inside of the former second-floor library space at Oak Park and River Forest High School applauded, cheered and waved signs. “This is a life and death issue,” said board member Matt Baron more than an hour after the board heard public testimony from people who have pressed for the
policy change, along with accompanying procedures designed to enforce the policy. Transgender refers to people “whose gender identity is different from the way certain genders are stereotypically expected to behave” while gender-nonconformSee GENDER POLICY on page 10