WednesdayJournal_060326 by Wednesday Journal

JOURNAL

Heritage House residents complain, manager defends

Resident leaders adamant about problems says it’s personal

By GREGG VOSS

Contributing Re

As president of the Apartments residents’ council, Irma Baker has to consider the safety and li lihood of not only herself, but of all the elderly tenants in the 200-unit building at 201 Lake St. in Oak Park

And she’s concerned. Or more accurately, she’s been concerned.

“I want a change for the residents and for Baker, a retired phlebotomist. “For the building, I want to see a change cleanliness. And the safety.”

As far as Baker is concerned, there’s plenty of work to do. Alle erything from lax security to bedbugs and rodents to drug use and squatters have do gged the property has led to alle gedly hundreds residential code violations.

It’s time for a change, has lived there for 20 years.

West Sub hospital CEO remains in charge

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN and JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporters

West Suburban Medical Center will not be getting a new owner at this time he judge presiding over a bid for a courtordered receivership said there was not enough evidence to support new management being brought in to attempt to reopen the hospital after West Suburban closed March 27 due to a year-long failure in the hospital’s electronic medical record billing system. After closing arguments on Friday from presentation for Rathnaker Reddy Patlola, the landlord for West Suburban, and Resil-

WEST SUB on pa ge 14

TODD BANNOR

Oak Park police fatally shoot man at Austin & Harrison tra c stop

Man had a concealed rearm with ‘defaced’ serial number, according to police

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park police fatally shot a man during a traffic stop Sunday evening near the intersection of Austin Boulevard and Harrison Street.

Officers discovered the driver of an SUV was carrying a concealed firearm during a “protective pat down” following the traffic stop, Dan Yopchick, Oak Park spokesperson, told Wednesday Journal in a statement Monday morning. Police had stopped the driver at approximately 9:10 p.m. and he was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center at 9:59 p.m. May 31, ac-

cording to the village.

The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force responded to the scene and is conducting the investigation, according to the village The driver has been identified as 38-year-old Christian Wallace of Chicago.

“During the stop, the driver was instructed by the officer to exit the vehicle,” Yopchick said. “The officer performed a protective pat down and, in doing so, discovered a firearm concealed on the driver’s person. A prolonged physical struggle over control of the firearm ensued between the officer and the driver.”

During that struggl e, the driver re portedly re gained possession of his firearm

before the officer fired his service weapon and shot the man four times, according to the village.

Oak Park officers administered first aid to the driver on scene until he was transported to the hospital. The Oak Pa rk of ficer was also transported to the same hospital for injuries he sustained during the incident and was released shortly before 6 a.m. Monday, June 1, according to the village.

A firearm with a defaced serial number was recovered at the scene, according to the village

The officer’s name will be released in accordance with department policy, according to the village

TODD BANNOR

Oak Park Police SUV at the Shell Station at Austin and Harrison, scene of a police-involved shooting the previous night.

D97 board member Perez resigns a er year in o ce

No reason was given for her departure

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Just over a year after being sworn in as a new school board member, Becky Pere z has resigned from the District 97 school board. Pere z, who works as a school psychologist at Oak Park and River Forest High School, was elected to the D97 elementary school board last year finishing second in a field of six candidates.

Pere z’s resignation from the D97 school board was announced at the May 26 school board meeting but was effective May 18. Pere z has not immediately responded to phone, text and email messages from Wednesday Journal asking why she resigned from the school board. Pere z was quoted in a statement posted on the D97 website as saying that she was proud ofher role in hiring incoming superintendent Terri Bresnahan.

“Serving on the District 97 board ofeducation has been an immense honor,” Pérez was quoted as saying in the D97 post about her resignation. “Looking back at what we have accomplished together, I am most proud of hiring Dr. Bresnahan, and I look forward to seeing her work alongside our talented staff. While I am stepping away from this for mal role, my commitment to the Oak Park community remains strong, and I will always continue to support our students, teachers, and schools.”

In the post school board president Cheree Moore praised Perez for her contributions during her one year on the school board.

“On behalfofthe entire board, I want to express our deepest gratitude to Becky for her

Becky Perez

unwavering dedication to District 97 and the Oak Park community,” Moore was quoted as saying. “Becky has been a true champion for our students and families, consistently bringing both expertise and heart to our work

While we will miss her leadership, we are incredibly grateful for her service and wish her the absolute best in her next chapter.”

After the May 26 meeting Moore said she didn’t know why Perez resigned from the board and said that Perez’s resignation letter did not give a reason.

During the May 26 meeting some other board members also thanked Perez for her service.

“It is no mean feat to serve on the board,” said board member Nancy Ross Dribin. “It’s

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a lot oftime and a lot ofthought power so I just want to say thank you for the time that she added that to the school board.

Perez is a for mer D97 employee. During her campaign for the school board last year Perez emphasized equity and serving students. She brought the insights ofa for mer employee and as a parent oftwo current elementary school students. Perez was the only Latina member ofthe school board and brought that perspective to the school board.

The board has 60 days to appoint someone to replace Perez on the board. That person will serve on the board until next year’s school board election. Those wishing to be considered to re place Pere z on the board must complete the District 97 Board ofEducation Vacancy Application and submit a resume and cover letter. All application materials must be submitted no later than 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The board intends to review applications and interview candidates during an executive session at its re gular meeting on June 9, 2026.

Jung Kim, board vice-president, said this would be a good opportunity for those who might be considering running for the school board to have an opportunity to serve on the school board without the hassle of running a campaign and trying to get elected. And ifthey like serving on the school board they could run in 2027 as an incumbent, Kim said.

“This is a good way to get a taste ofbeing on the school board,” Kim said.

Five seats on the D97 school board will be up for election in 2027. Pere z’s for mer seat will be up for a two-year term and four seats with four-year terms will be on the ballot. The seats currently held by Moore, Kim, Holly Spurlock and Gavin Kearney along with Pere z’s for mer seat will be on the ballot next year. Spurlock is currently serving her third term on the school board while Moore, Kearney and Kim are all in their second terms on the board. Pere z was the only current school board member who was in her first term on the school board.

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OPRF High School Class of 2026 graduates toss their caps in the air at the school’s graduation ceremony on May 31.

Shortfalls loom in 10-year budget forecast

Consultant identi es Oak Park’s general fund as vulnerable

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park’s Village Board Finance Committee met for the first time this year to review a consultant’s re port on the village’s long term financial health.

The Finance Committee, made up of several active village trustees and other volunteer community members, met May 21 and reviewed the findings of a Baker Tilly repor t on Oak Park’s next 10 years of financial planning.

T he village signed a contract with the consultant in 2024, with Baker Tilly reviewing years of village revenue and expenditures, planned capital projects and six village funds to produce the re port. Findings from the study included a detailed look at the village ’s g eneral fund, with Baker Tilly finding that “if adjustments are not made, annual shortfalls are expected to deplete general fund reserves by fiscal year 2030” as revenue is not currently projected to keep pace with expenditures.

“It’s just my perspective on having run these numbers is that the village enjoyed several years where it had significant sur pluses and was able to build up that fund balanc e, but I think economics-wise, we’ve kind of turned a corner there, and I don’t know whether the village is going to see these big surpluses anymore,” said Matt Stark, a manager at Baker Tilly. “What I’m modeling is that you’ re likely looking at some operating shortfalls as things are currently, so those will need to be addressed in your coming budgets.”

“If we want to provide that certain level of service, the revenue has to come from somewhere.”

KEVIN BUESO Village nance chief

“Unless you can come up with more revenue or cut some of your expenses, this is not sustainable,” said Stark.

Kevin Bueso, Oak Park top finance staffer, said bringing the report before the committee early in this year’s budget cycle was a way for the village to strategically plan for the future to avoid potential fund balance issues.

“It’s more saying this is where the village is at right now financially, and then if we as an organization continue on this spending pattern based on these assumptions, this is where you would end up,” Bueso said. “The primary objective behind this is to set the stage or set a habit of us coming to this finance committee early in the fiscal year, so that we can start these conversations, and we can provide the direction that departments need in terms of staffing, in terms of fees, in terms of what revenue to expect for the future. “

Addressing the general fund balance in the future could require the village to increase the property levy by more

than the 3% per year target it has long set if the village is to maintain its current services, Bueso said.

“If we want to provide that certain level of service, the revenue has to come from somewhere,” he said. ‘We’ re going to have to have conversations about we can no longer stick to that 3% increase on the levy side, for example, if we want to fund operations as they are.”

Oak Park’s budget surpluses had come largely as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, where the village saw special American Rescue Plan Act funding come in as the municipality operated with reduced staffing and fewer capital projects, Stark said.

“On the budget side it wound up being pretty positive for a lot of municipalities and school districts and whatnot, because their payroll was way below whatever was budgeted,” he said. “As we’ve come out of that time, everybody has been filling vacancies with recruiting as well as they can, so you’ re losing that lever. So there was a period of time where everybody was coming in way under budget, and everyone that I work with has been closing that gap ever since.”

The challenge now for Oak Pa rk and other governments

years after the pandemic is now how to catch up on necessary projects while maintain a balanced budget.

“We substantially limited levy increases based on that decreased spending,” said Trustee Brian Straw, who attended the meeting just hours after his federal protest misdemeanor charges were dismissed. “And now when we’re trying to catch up on deferred maintenance, get back to appropriate staffing levels, we have a reduced levy base, and it’s creating a structural deficit.”

Bueso also said Oak Park’s finance department is currently beefing up its staffing to help meet the village’s strategic planning needs.

“I do think we have a lot of things that are playing that are sort of coming together pretty well, one is the finance department building capacity,” Bueso said. “We’ re going to have a deputy CFO joining next week, a comptroller next month, and then a senior accountant next month as well. So we’re going to be full staf f, we’re going to be able to take some of this capacity.”

Oak Park’s finance committee will continue meeting over the rest of the year to finalize 2027’s budget and refine the village’s long ter m fiscal strateg y.

JILL WAGNER

Oak Park Village Hall

Kinslahger Brewing sets a table for garden bounty

Bring a cucumber, leave with tomatoes. And enjoy a beer

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Eats Reporter

Kinslahger Brewing Company, 6806 Roosevelt Rd. in Oak Park, is known for brewing new, innovative beers, but this summer they are twisting the idea of fresh in a new direction. Each Sunday they will put out a table in the tasting room for local garden enthusiasts to bring their bounty to exchange with others.

mer with all the other things in my garden.”

The idea of an exchange started to ripen in his mind.

“I thought it would be kind of fun to just put a table out there on Sunday,” he said. “And try to get the word out to folks that there’s a space where you can come and bring some of that stuff and hopefully other folks in the community will know that they can come by and grab cucumbers or some rhubarb or sage or floral or oregano or whatever it might be.”

Got too many cucumbers? Too many tomatoes? Here’s the answer.

“My wife is a gardener. I’m just the messenger,” first-time exchanger John Asta said. “She sent me here specifically to find out if she could get some lovage.” When asked if he was also taking the opportunity to get a beer too, Asta said, “I will take the hit.” Such a good husband

Kinslahger owner Keith Huizinga got the idea from experiences in his own garden last fall.

“I have a rather large perennial garden with a lot of herbs, oregano, mint, sage, lovage, things like rhubarb. I have two pawpaw trees in my garden. All the fruit will ripen at about the same time in about two weeks in September,” Huizinga said. “I started bringing pawpaws in and just giving them away to people. That sort of prompted in my mind I should do that in the spring and sum-

A purchase from the brewery is not required to take part in the exchange.

“Folks come in here to talk to their neighbors or friends and whatnot,” he said. “There’s no TVs. Nobody’s in here staring at the game. They’re here to talk to somebody else. This is sort of an extension of the community aspect of the industry.”

This intentionally community-building event is in line with other activities that the brewery fosters in its tasting room.

On the second Thursday of each month, they have a book exchange in association with The Pile Bookstore, 7117B W. Roosevelt Rd. in Berwyn. It’s a bring a book, take a book type of situation with some extras added by the bookstore. That exchange has developed into an informal book discussion group

“They know that there’ll be other readers here,” Huizinga said. “And they say, ‘Oh, hey,

I read this book,’ And so I’ve seen this sort of community and conversation developing around it.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be Kinslahger without a new beer to talk about as well. This summer they are debuting “Featherweight.”

“Stylistically, I’m calling it a white lager,” Huizinga said. “It is four and a half percent

alcohol, very light and dry. I use some rice in there and then dry hop it with a variety called Laurel which has this sort of orange blossom aroma to it. It’s light, super refreshing – not bitter, with a smooth, dry finish.”

Oak Park

Here’s to summer in the garden! And a way to share the bounty, if it outgrows your appetite

Oak Park

Vintage Car Show

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When: Saturday June 6, 2026

Time: 10am to 2pm

When: Saturday June 6, 2026

Time: 10am to 2pm

When: Saturday June 6, 2026

Time: 10am to 2pm

When: Saturday June 6, 2026

Where: OPRF Museum (Lake St. and Lombard Ave.)

Food:

Time: 10am to 2pm

Where: OPRF Museum (Lake St. and Lombard Ave.)

Food: Street vendors onsite

Where: OPRF Museum (Lake St. and Lombard Ave.)

Food: Street vendors onsite

Entertainment:

Man convicted of criminal trespass released to home con nement

By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter

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A man with a long history of sending threatening emails and other ominous communications and packages to people in River Forest and throughout norther n Illinois was released from jail into 24-hour home confinement May 28.

Ronald Haddad, 50, of Forest Park, had served nearly 10 months behind bars for violating the conditions of his federal probation after being convicted of criminal trespass to the River Forest Library. Last Thursday Haddad was released to the custody of his mother and ordered placed on both GPS and radio frequency monitoring.

The next day a Cook County judge also ordered him placed on electronic monitoring while his criminal case for aggravated battery to a police officer is adjudicated.

Haddad, for merly of River Forest, was released from prison in February 2022 after serving 85 percent of a 12 year sentence for domestic ter rorism involving threatening letters and packages with suspicious powders sent to numerous elected officials and business people

Haddad was arrested April 18, 2024 after entering the Lathrop Avenue library despite being banned from the premises. His federal probation officer, Bridgette King, told Judge Edmund Chang that Haddad had “viewed or printed out inappropriate material” at the library in December 2023 and had been warned that he’d be banned if he did so ag ain.

That January, when he received a written warning, King said, Haddad wrote “refused” on it. He returned to the library in April and was banned for three months He then returned again, printed some documents and “waited around to see what would happen.”

Haddad was arrested, and when he repor tedly became irate with police, was banned indefinitely. He was convicted on the trespass charge that July.

Haddad then alle gedly be g an sending emails to “the librarian, and everyone involved” with the trespass case. A “projectile” was sent to the library, and a dead rat was placed in the book return depository. Police investigated, but it could not be connected to anyone specifically. “The librarians and everyone at the library are in fear of what’s going on,” King told Judge Kendall.

At Haddad’s probation violation sentencing, Cathy Ruggeri, president of the River Forest Library Board told the judge that staf f had “declined to come to work because they are afraid.”

“We have had to hire security at great expense to the library. And we — unfortunately, we’re going to have to continue to have security now, going forward. That is going to be a great expense on our budget, but we need to do this for the safety of our staf f and patrons.”

Haddad derided Ruggeri’s testimony, saying, “What she just said lacks any relevance.” He went on to defend his behavior and insist he had good relationships with some library staf f.

In an email Monday, River Forest Library Director Emily Compton said the library paid off-duty River Forest police and a private security service a total of $11,809 in the months after Haddad’s ar rest and has spent another $35,468 on wages for tw o part-time security monitors.

Haddad will be under home incarceration 24 hours a day. Except for scheduled court appointments and medical appointments, he will not be allowed to step outside his mother’s apar tment door

“This might last a long time,” Chang warned Haddad. “In your mind you should think of this as indefinite.” Judge Chang set a July 6 status hearing on Haddad’s other pending federal probation violation for the aggravated battery to a police officer. The next morning Cook County Judge Sheree Henry also ordered Haddad placed on electronic monitoring. His next court date at Maybrook is July 22.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Preserve Oak Park Single Family Zoning

The Oak Park Board of Trustees is poised to fully eliminate all single family zoning.

That would allow any developer, by right, to knock down an existing home next door to yours and replace it with a six flat, or four, possibly more. We are opposed.

Most importantly, it would mark a monumental shift away from what has for over a century been a major factor making Oak Park the ideal community it is.

That would allow any developer, by right, to knock down an existing home next door replace it with a six flat, or four, possibly more. We are opposed.

It would guarantee the building of high priced unaffordable luxury residences.

By authorizing multi-family zoning, by right, everywhere, the Board would eliminate all incentive for any builder to undertake the substantial burdens inherent in accepting affordable Section 8 housing. That would devastate Oak Park’s best affordable housing program.

Most importantly, it would mark a monumental shift away from what has for over a century major factor making Oak Park the ideal community it is.

A developer recently receiving a zoning change for a single lot at 329 Home Ave. is now offering 3 three-story luxury townhouses priced at almost $900,000 each. That pattern will only repeat itself.

It would guarantee the building of high priced unaffordable luxury residences.

A local OP general contractor opposing this zoning change has already told the Board at public hearing that no builder using this option is going to be putting up affordable housing. And a lifelong OP building tradesman seconded that assertion.

The effects may not be immediate, but they will soon inevitably result in an avalanche of demolitions. Predictably, developers will swoop in with all-cash offers for homes on the market, and replace them with the most profitable housing possible— unaffordable luxury residences

By authorizing multi-family zoning, by right, everywhere, the Board would eliminate all any builder to undertake the substantial burdens inherent in accepting affordable Section That would devastate Oak Park’s best affordable housing program.

Once it starts, it will be an onslaught.

The theorists espousing it resemble those proposing “trickle down” economics for decades. They always urge that the most “solid economics” provide the key to success: “Put money into the hands of the very wealthy, and it will flow down to the rest.”

A developer recently receiving a zoning change for a single lot at 329 Home Ave. is now three-story luxury townhouses priced at almost $900,000 each. That pattern will only

It has never worked.

Now: “put money into the hands of wealthy developers, and we will benefit from affordable housing.”

It is the developers of top priced housing who will benefit.

The Board can abolish single family zoning.

But it cannot repeal the laws of economics or of the marketplace. The naked truth is that this proposal will not result in affordable housing.

A local OP general contractor opposing this zoning change has already told the Board at that no builder using this option is going to be putting up affordable housing . And a building tradesman seconded that assertion.

The Board must do better.

It must develop really effective programs that will actually and truly promote affordable housing.

Such a momentous change as this is essentially an experiment, one that should not be undertaken by a simple majority of the Board.

It is so monumental as to demand consideration and decision by the voting population of OP at large.

It demands a referendum.

We must demand it of the Board.

The effects may not be immediate, but they will soon inevitably result in an avalanche of Predictably, developers will swoop in with all-cash offers for homes on the market, and with the most profitable housing possible— unaffordable luxury residences

John

Chapin, Jim Gilchrist, Kevin Kell, Frank Stachyra, Frank Vozak

Once it starts, it will be an onslaught.

The theorists espousing it resemble those proposing “trickle down” economics for They always urge that the most “solid economics” provide the key to success: “Put money into the hands of the very wealthy, and it will flow down to the rest.” It has never worked.

Now: “put money into the hands of wealthy developers , and we will benefit from affordable It is the developers of top priced housing who will benefit.

Part-time experienced seamstress to work directly with designer. Must have sewing machine and be local.

The Board can abolish single family zoning. But it cannot repeal the laws of economics or of the marketplace. The naked truth is that this proposal will not result in affordable housing.

John Chapin, Jim Gilchrist, Kevin Kell, Frank Stachyra, George Uslenghi, Frank Vozak

HERITAGE HOUSE

Concerns

and complaints

from page 1

“We’ re ghetto,” she said. “I want to be safe and be confident. I didn’t move into this building to be like this.”

But there is another side to the story, according to Jeffrey Richards, president and CEO of Pacific Management Inc., which operates Heritage House.

“Some of the things we hear, we’re not,” Richards said, “We’ re not slum lords. It seemed like things were working well at the property for the last year. The association is bringing up a number of issues now. I can’t tell you they are accurate.”

Building security concerns

Heritage House, which was constructed in 1978, is owned by Heritage House Associates LLC with Wellness America the managing member. It is a federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 rental subsidized property. In simple terms, Richards said, residents pay a portion of their income towards rent and HUD pays the remainder. He said there is a waiting list of about 400 people to move in

The 14-floor building features an atrium with a skylight and two sets of entry doors, the interior of which are operated by a key fob system. Between those sets of doors is the building management of fice.

A library, community room and fitness center are tucked into the right side of the first floor upon entry, along with a laundry room. A security desk with a computer monitor showing feeds from cameras located within and outside the building is located near the set of elevators.

On Monday afternoon, the security desk was unoccupied, as it usually is during the day. According to Richards and Tommie Brown, a broker and onsite building manager, security arrives at 5 p.m. until 9 a.m. the following morning Monday through Friday with 24/7 security on weekends.

Why no security during roughly business hours on weekdays?

“You have maintenance walking around, you have us walking around, do you really need security?” Brown said. “We say no.”

Baker says yes.

“I don’t understand how they can say we don’t need security,” she said. “We need security for safety. I would like for us to have security around the clock.”

The reason Baker said, is that access to the

building isn’t all that difficult. Anyone can walk through the street-facing front doors, then get buzzed in by a resident … or simply wait until someone enters or leaves and slip in through the inner doors.

“People do it all the time during the day,” she said.

Once in, it’s anybody’s guess where an outsider will go. Baker said once a man slept for days in the library

“Not true,” Brown said. “And we have a camera,” gesturing to the globe-like device on the ceiling.

Baker: “Yes, it is true.”

She said she saw a man sitting in the hallway on the 10th floor between apartments 12 and 13 about six months ago, looking at his phone. She called security and called out to the man, who moved.

“I walked around the hall, I didn’t see him anymore,” she said. “I was told he was in the library, he came out of the library, he left his coat outside in the atrium, and I asked the security guy the next day, whose coat is that?

“It sat there for two days. I took the coat and put it behind the washers in the laundry room.”

Drug use is also a concern for Baker, especially marijuana, but that’s a thor ny issue for Pacific Management.

“On the marijuana, once we legalized it that’s what everybody says, ‘It’s legal,’” Brown said. “But it’s not legal in a federally subsidized building.”

Richards added, “We can’t help it if your grandkids or kids come here and then go in the stairwells and start smoking weed

day Journal to the village in mid-May indicated that there were 32 code-compliance violations noted May 3, 2023, including issues like recaulking around bathtubs, ovens that didn’t work and kitchen faucet drips.

But the village produced no list of violations for 2024 and just one for 2025 which was for security cameras around the building that were inoperable. Neither the 2023 or 2025 lists indicated whether those violations had been corrected, The FOIA request was denied partially due to rules re garding revealing private and personal information.

Additionally, a code violation citation was issued by the village to Pacific Management in fall 2025 for failing to provide water at 110 de grees Fahrenheit to the entire building. The fine was $300, but once again, it isn’t clear whether the issue was corrected or the fine was paid.

A separate FOIA request asking for documentation of where Heritage House currently falls on the village of Oak Park’s rental licensing code tiers, which are labeled Gold, Silver, Bronze and Conditional, wasn’t responded to by press time

That’s absolutely happened. And I’m like, what do we do about that? Do we start putting cameras up in all the stairwells? It’s a tricky thing.”

Sharp focus from Trustee Taglia

Jim Taglia is an Oak Park village trustee and served in that role from 2017-23 before being reelected in 2025. Like Baker, he’s concerned and perceives that there are many problems beyond security at the property

“People have to have a decent place to live,” he said, “the security of living in an apartment free of bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, rats. The proper heat, the proper ventilation, the ability to use hot water and use washers and dryers and use the library so someone foreign isn’t there. Those are the basics where they aren’t hitting the mark.

“Then it’s also the safety. The way this so-called security works, they are 50 feet from the door and don’t stop anybody who comes in. You have people sleeping in the hallways. If I owned that building, I assure you I would have security telling me who’s there.”

One question Taglia has is whether HUD is monitoring the property. Wednesday Journal outreach to Jacqueline Sheard, the HUD representative overseeing Heritage House, was referred to the HUD press office, which did not respond to several requests for comment.

The extent of code compliance violations from the village isn’t clear. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Wednes-

“We are Gold with them,” Brown said, meaning buildings with excellent code compliance are renewed every four years. Jonathan Burch, assistant village manager for neighborhood services, could not confir m where Heritage House falls within those tiers.

Is Heritage House a safe place?

Another challenge: Baker and the residents’ council meets the first week of each month. While Brown has attended meetings in the past, she does not now due to their negativity. Richards said he started going in her place, but due to his busy schedule, can’t make all the meetings.

“I don’t think it’s healthy for Tommie to be there, and that’s the honest to God truth, because it can be very negative,” he said.

Baker has another point of view.

“She doesn’t like to answer questions,” she said. “I think she should be there and listen to what residents’ complaints are.”

Countered Richards: “The problems we’re dealing with now aren’t financial problems, they are interpersonal problems. (In December) I thought some of the bridges and some of the animosity was calming down. The next thing I knew we had somebody going before the village board.”

What does the future of Heritage House look like?

“Every trustee is aghast,” Taglia said. “We’re going to focus on this place and make it better, one way or the other. Those people need a decent place to live.”

TODD BANNOR

Heritage House garden and parking lot

Oak Park police arrest man for attempted kidnapping

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park police arrested a Chicago man on attempted aggravated kidnapping charges last week.

Police arrested the 28-year-old in connection with an attempted kidnapping investig ation stemming from an incident in the 500 block ofBelleforte Avenue on April 25, according to police. The man was held for bond hearings, according to police.

The victims in the incident were two Oak Park residents, one adult and one child, according to police.

Battery incidents

Oak Park police are investigating multiple battery incidents in the village over the last week, according to police.

Shortly after 6:10 p.m. May 12, an Oak Park juvenile girl was walking in the 200 block of South Euclid Avenue when a man

approached her from behind and punched her in the face several times according to police. The man was last seen running west on Randolph Street, according to police.

Shortly before 9 a.m. May 26, a man was panhandling in the 100 block of Chicago Avenue when an Oak Park resident asked him to leave the premise, according to police. The man then became aggressi struck the victim in the face, before fleeing east bound on Chicago Avenue, according to police.

These items were obtained from Oak Park’s Police Department re ports dated May 20–27 and re present a portion ofthe 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 ofa suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, police have provided us with a detailed a description ofthe suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

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Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw addresses repo rters at the Dirksen Federal Building moments a er the federal criminal charges against him were dismissed on May 22.

Feds promise reforms as ‘Broadview 6’ collapse impact spreads

Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have spread to Loretto Hospital fraud case, tainted prosecution cited

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

vealed several improper actions by prosecutors during the grand jury phase of the case. Since the case was dismissed, Sheri Mecklenburg the original federal prosecutor on the case has been fired from her new posting, the group’s defense attorneys have pushed for sanctions against the government and alle gations ofmisconduct have cropped up in other high- profile cases.

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Leadership ofthe Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney’s Office have promised refor ms in the wake of its high-profile case against Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw and several other political figures collapsing at the 11th hour last week.

The pledge for “sweeping refor ms” from U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros came Wednesday less than a week after his office’s criminal case against the so-called “Broadview 6” anti-ICE protestors fell apar t when unredacted transcripts re-

After seven months ofprosecution, the trial for Oak Park’s Straw and his codefendants 45th ward Democratic committeeman Michael Rabbit, Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, who fell four points shy ofwinning Illinois’ 9th district congressional primary last month, and Andre Martin, who worked on Abughazaleh’s campaign staf f, had been set to begin May 26. The charges were dismissed May 21 after U.S. Judge April Perry’s review of grand jury transcripts revealed that Assistant U.S. Attorneys had polluted the case by imper missibly “vouching” for the strength

of evidence during the grand jury process, communicating with grand jurors outside of the sessions and dismissing grand jurors who dissented from the government’s narrative, according to defense attorneys.

Now, attorneys for Mahmood Sami Khan, one of the for mer Loretto Hospital executives charged in connection with $800 million in alle ged fraud at the West Side hospital, filed a motion this week alleging that the same misconduct that derailed the Broadview 6 case occur red in Khan’s grand jury sessions, which Mecklenburg was also involved in.

Attorneys for journalist Don Lemon, indicted earlier this year and the Southern Poverty Law Center, facing a federal fraud case, have also cited the Broadview 6 case in recent filings.

Boutros addressed the misconduct alle gations in a press release Wednesday, saying that the Northern District would undergo “the most substantial and significant internal changes to the office’s grand jury procedures in decades” in response to the alle gations.

“Everybody who has handled high-stakes corporate cases knows that in addition to the importance of thorough, honest, and objective investigations, there must also be remediation, reforms, and process improvements to allow organizations to accept responsibility and make sure that the same mistakes don’t happen again. What I have for mulated and thereafter implemented on Tuesday of this week are among the most sweeping refor ms to address root-cause issues in the Northern District of Illinois’s federal prosecutorial practices and procedures, especially as they relate to the grand jury and grand jury disclosures. They also make the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office among, if not the leading district in the country on grand jury disclosures.“

“Beginning in December 2025 and continuing up until the pretrial conference on May 18, 2026, the defense had been requesting the disclosure of the grand jury transcripts in this case,” Parente wrote. “At every turn the government opposed these requests and criticized defense counsel for ‘histrionically speculating’ about misconduct in the grand jury. The government used this court to dismiss counts, file a superseding information, all without ever disclosing a single reason behind its mysterious shell game. As this court is now aware, all of this was done to attempt to conceal what occurred in front of the Grand Jury. The de gree of misconduct that occurred in the Grand Jury in this case is nauseating.”

“As this court is now aware, all of this was done to attempt to conceal what occurred in front of the Grand Jury. The degree of misconduct that occurred in the Grand Jury in this case is nauseating.”

CHRIS PARENTE Defense attorney

The defense is looking for sanctions that would allow the defendants to recoup all of the hundreds of thousands in legal fees they’d accrued over the months of litigation, according to the filing.

The defendants were originally charged under a felony conspiracy statute that carried the potential for a decadelong prison sentence. That original felony conspiracy charge had been dropped earlier this month, and the government had already abandoned its case against two of the original defendants.

The Broadview 6 case stemmed from alle gations that the defendants were part of a crowd that had illegally blocked an ICE agent from driving into the federal immigration agency’s detention facility in Broadview last September.

Mecklenburg, the original lead prosecutor in the case, was fired by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin from her new posting as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the wake of the transcripts coming to light. Mecklenburg had led the prosecution on the case since its start.

The statement comes after defense attorneys for the Broadview 6 started the process of pushing for sanctions against the government over the grand jury violations. Straw’s attorney Chris Parente filed a motion Friday asking Perry to order the prosecutors on the case to preserve “any and all emails, text messages, voice messages, documents, notes, and records of any kind” pending a potential judicial investigation into their conduct.

“Senator Durbin ag rees with Judge Perry’s concerns about this deeply flawed prosecution,” a spokesperson for Durbin said in a statement to media confirming her termination. “Our office had no knowledge of this alle ged misconduct until yesterday’s re porting. While the Senate Judiciary Committee doesn’t directly employ Sheri Mecklenberg, because of the gravity of the charges in this case, her detail from the Department of Justice has been ter minated.”

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WEST SUB Still in charge

from page 1

ience Healthcare CEO Manoj Prasad, who manages the hospital, Cook County Judge Patrick Stanton said he would deliberate over the weekend on whether to appoint a new receiver for the safety-net hospital. On Monday, Stanton told the court room that Friday afternoon he met with Patlola and Prasad’s lawyers late into the evening to develop a plan to reopen West Suburban.

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He did not share details ofthat plan before delivering his ruling Monday morning, denying Patlola’s bid for a receivership.

Maintainingbrainhealthstartsearly. Belowtipsarealllinkedtoreduced riskofcognitivedeclineandcan helpkeepthebrainsharp regularphysicalactivity abalanceddiet socialengagement mentalstimulation simplehabits—likewalkingdaily, reading,orlearninganewskill—

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“There was an implied claim that the hospitals declined because Dr. Prasad was CEO,” Stanton said. “There was no evidence of fered that Prasad caused these problems,” or that granting a receivership would fix those problems.

“I believe there’s a framework in place that leads to the reopening ofthe hospital,” Stanton said during his decision. He added that the court shares the beliefthat the hospital needs to reopen.

It’salsoimportanttorecognizethe earlysignsofmemoryloss.These mayinclude forgettingrecentlylearned information repeatingquestions difficultymanagingfinances strugglingtofollowconversations misplacingitems experiencingchangesinmood, personality,orjudgment. Whileoccasionalforgetfulnessis normalwithaging,consistent patternsofthesesymptomsmay indicatesomethingmoreserious.

It’s also important to recognize the early signs of memory loss These may include forgetting recently learned repeating questions difficulty managing finances struggling to follow conversations misplacing items experiencing changes in mood, personality, or judgment While occasional forgetfulness is normal with aging, consistent patterns of these symptoms may indicate something more serious.

Prasad and Patlola bought West Suburban and Weiss Memorial in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood in 2022 from Pipeline Health for $92 million. Before selling the hospitals, Pipeline filed for bankruptcy, reporting nearly $70 million ofnet losses between West Sub and Weiss from Aug. 2021 to 2022 alone.

how they would manage West Suburban better than Prasad has.

Following a third-par ty review of contested financial records, Stanton said Friday that there was no evidence to support the alle ged largescale misappropriations by Prasad.

Williams added, “Our politicians, they haven’ t really been behind us. T hey want this to go away. T hey don’ t care that they gave him millions ofour taxpayers’ dollars.”

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The case is the result of dueling lawsuits between Patlola and Prasad, with the former business partners disag reeing about what the official hospital lease was and Patlola accusing Prasad of“misappropriating” $35 million, including a $10 million loan from the state of Illinois.

But Patlola’s lawyers couldn’t prove that hospital money had been misappropriated, Stanton said.

West Suburban employees ofall levels, West Side activists and faith leaders had consistently attended the half-dozen hearings on the matter over the last month. Many left cour t disappointed on Monday.

“Both ofthem are bad actors,” said Sylvia Williams, furloughed director of nursing at West Suburban, ofPrasad and Patlola after Monday’s decision. “Neither one of them know what they ’re doing.”

Through tears, Williams lamented the hearing process

But le g al disputes between Patlola and Prasad aren’t yet finished, as Stanton said he’s still unclear about which lease is in place.Re presentation will meet again at the Daley Center June 22, when Stanton said the parties will dive further into the dispute between Patlola and Prasad over West Suburban and Weiss’ leases.

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After a May 8 hearing — where Patlola’s lawyers brought three witnesses to the stand, including a for mer hospital executive who testified that Prasad moved money around into different accounts in part to keep income from showing up in his divorce proceedings — Stanton said Monday that neither ofthe witnesses revealed evidence ofmismanagement of funds. Patlola’s team didn’t call to the stand its suggested receiver Michael Flanagan or a re presentative of Insight Chicago, which Patlola had proposed should take over management ofthe hospital, to testify to

“Moneys were moved around, not necessarily stolen, but we know it was not given to the hospital,” Williams said.

“But that’s not what the court was about. ... There was not enough evidence that receivership was war ranted.”

Williams added that she’ll keep fighting for West Suburban, though she’s wary that any ofthe furloughed employees will want to return to work at the hospital.

“He still hasn’t fixed anything. The hospital closed in March, and the HVAC system is still broken. ...What about the community? What about the patients?”

In his closing argument on F riday, Patlola’s lawyer Scott Kaplan grounded the request for rece ivership in the claim that Prasad had defaulted on the leases for West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, its River Forest campus and Weiss Memorial by not paying rent or property taxes. But Prasad’s counsel maintained that the lease ag reement governing the properties only required Resilience to pay Patlola $1 a year in rent, a claim Patlola’s camp has repeatedly denied

On Monday, Stanton said that Patlola signed Prasad’sversion ofthe lease, but Patlola said he didn’t remember ag reeing to $1 a year.

“Ramco never enforced the lease as written,” Stanton said of Patlola’s holding company that oversees the West Suburban and Weiss properties.

TODD BANNOR

Manoj Prasad

Carnivore joins up with Carnival Grocery

Ar tisan butcher to move in with local grocer; opening of new Pete’s Market nearby a factor

By ADAM SIEMER Contributing Reporter

Carnivore Oak Park, the artisan butcher and fish market that has operated in the Pleasant District since 2014, is closing its doors at 1042 Pleasant St. and merging into Carnival Grocery at 824 S. Oak Park Ave. The move is expected to be completed by early July

The partnership brings together two locally rooted businesses that share more than a similar name. Arthur Paris, owner of Carnival Grocery, and Erik Williams, founder of Carnivore, say the merger is in response to the pressures facing in-

Pete’s Market opening at Oak Park and Madison Street.

“Banding together with another local merchant to merge our businesses will make us both stronger,” Paris said. “We’ll have one rent payment, one property tax payment, one electric bill, and we can combine our customer base.”

For Williams, the path to this partnership was rock y to say the least. Ea this year, Carnivore launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised nearly $34,000 from more than 300 community donors to help the shop cover deferred maintenance and overdue vendor payments. The response was whelming, but the timing was brutal.

The GoFundMe funds went first to debts ow small farm vendor there wasn’t enough left to cover an overdue ener bill. In late March, ComEd cut power to the shop. To make matters worse, Williams was hospitalized at the same time with an n infection. T he shop went three and a half weeks without full electricity, and a significant amount of product spoiled.

T he experience made the math undeniable. “I can’ t ask people for all this,” a grateful Williams said. “I have to find some other way to make this functional.”

That other way turned out to be Paris. T he two had known of each other since both set up shop in Oak Park around the same time; but they only got to know each other in recent months as talks progressed.

When Paris proposed bringing Carnivore’s operation inside Carnival, Williams called it “a stunning idea.”

“Every time that we’ve sat down and talked about it, it just makes sense,” Williams said.

Paris, for his part, sees Williams as a rare find. “Erik is an artisan-level butcher and chef,” he said. “Very few guys have both culinary skills and butcher skills.”

`The buildout at Carnival will reconfigure the store’s existing meat section, removing part of the front island to create a dedicated alcove for Carnivore’s counter. Customers can expect the same faces, the same phone

number, and the same house-made products, including Williams’s 30-plus sausage recipes, smoked salmon, and locally sourced proteins from Illinois far ms like Kilgus Far mstead. Carnivore gift cards will be honored at the new location.

A full lunch progr am featuring Williams’s burg ers and seafood sandwiches is a longer-term goal, pending a kitchen hood installation that would require installing sprinklers in the entire building

To mark the launch, the team is planning a celebration in Carnival’s parking lot with g rilling, beer vendors, and a first look at the new setup.

Williams said he is most excited about focusing on what he does best. “To leave behind the things that historically we’re not that great at doing, but then be able to do the things that we are great at doing,” he said — the butchery, the sausage-making, the relationships with local far mers, and the one-on-one service that keeps customers coming back.

Carnival Grocery is located at 824 S. Oak Park Ave. Paris also operates locations in Lincoln Park and Edgebrook.

ADAM SIEMER

Erik Williams, Carnivore owner, and Arthur Paris, ow ner of Carnival

ADAM SIEMER

View of butcher counter within Carnival where Carnivore will be integrated later this summer

Ben Protess, OPRF grad wins Pulitzer at NY Time for Trump reporting

Gave

dad a heads up after recapping his son’s Little League game

By JESSICA MACKINNON Contributing Reporter

Ben Protess, OPRF ’02, brought his wife and kids to the New York Times’ newsroom in early May for the celebration honoring his team’s 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Re porting.

“It was special to have them there to see our team’s hard wo rk reco gnized and rewarded. T hey have definitely suf fere d through my missed family events and my talking on the p hone with sources durin g vacations and holidays and weekend s,” he said.

Protess has been a New York Times reporter since 2010, originally covering business. He now focuses on public corruption and its impact on society. Since 2017, he has been almost exclusively focused on President Donald Trump

Protess has written and/or collaborated on articles about Trump’s connections to the cryptocurrency industry, his personal legal problems, and how other countries have attempted to influence foreign policy by investing in Trump ventures. The Times’ investigative team has also detailed how donors got pardons, jobs and access.

Being an investigative re porter is not for the faint-hearted, perhaps especially in the cur rent political climate, but Protess maintains that it’s not his job to make people happy and he’s okay with that.

“Our job is to tell the truth — and sometimes that really pisses people off. But it’s also our job to understand that sometimes what we write can cost people their jobs or re putations. It’s important to handle our work with care and empathy. I want to make sure that the subjects of our stories have every opportunity to respond to what we are writing before we publish, ” Protess said.

While he gets plenty of unhappy feed-

back, Protess says he also hears a lot from readers who are grateful that he and his team pushed through threats to truth.

Protess acknowledges the mainstream media has been accused by some segments of society of leaning toward the political left. He is adamant that nothing could be further from the truth. He insists his team’s mission is to hold anyone in po to account, re gardless of their politics, and to pursue truth and follow the matter where they lead.

“I know there is an image, fueled interested parties, that the media is an extension of the political left. It benefits a lot of people in power for the American public not to trust the media. And when the facts aren’t on your side, the next best thing is to attack the messenger,” Protess said.

Growing up in Oak Park, Protess had some great teachers who encouraged him to write, but he didn’t seem destined to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning re porter. He wasn’t on the staf f of OPRF’s Trapeze, although he recalls freelancing a couple articles. He attended Northwestern University as a social policy major and did a public interest fellowship with a community newspaper in North Lawndale, a disenfranchised neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side.

“North Lawndale needed a great paper and great re porting to hold local officials accountable and to serve as a source of entertainment. I grew up seeing the inte gral role the Wednesday Journal had in our community and it was a key point of inspiration,” he said.

Protess intended to go to law school following graduation — until he bombed the LSAT exam. Fortunately, he applied to and was accepted by Columbia University’s journalism school about the same time he received his LSAT score, a stroke of luck he refers to as a blessing in disguise.

“I knew I wanted to do something that had an impact on the world. I didn’t know what path I’d take. And journalism was in the blood of my family, so it was a natural option to explore,” he said.

Ben’s brother, Dan, is a filmmaker who has written and produced documentaries about Chicago’s gun violence, the politics of parole and the work of Chicago’s peacekeepers. His father, David Protess, is an acclaimed investigative re porter who has dedicated much of his career to freeing or exonerating wrongfully convicted people.

His mother, Joan, is a lawyer and mediator; he credits her with teaching him how to use empat hy to earn the trust and goodwill necessary for making people feel comfortable opening up to him. Both parents ser ve as guides for what he does now as a re porter

“My father is someone committed to righting wrongs, seeking justice and holding the powerful to account. He taught me that the highest calling in investigative re porting is to shine light on injustice or wrongdoing,” Protess said.

His father points out the differences in his and his son’s approaches to their work.

“I undercover evidence that frees the innocent, while my son exposes the guilty I’m more of a crusader and Ben lets the facts speak for themselves,” David Protess said.

David is justifiably proud of his son’s Pu-

litzer — but he found out about it only after talking with Ben for a half hour about his grandson’s Little League g ame.

“Ben is the coach of his son’s Little League team, li ke I was the c oach of hi s team. He c alled me and deconstructed a pa rt icularly i ntense g ame. His son’s team was losing by one r un at the b ottom of the last i nning. T he b ases we re loaded and one of his pl ayers hit a gr and slam to win the g ame. It was only after I ask ed him if anything else was going on that he said, “Oh yeah, I won the Pulitzer,” David said, laughing . T he media landscape has changed dramatically in just the 18 years that Protess has been re porting. T he explosion of digital media allows re porters to present their stories through live blogs, videos and graphics. He admits it can be challenging to keep up with all the formats re porters are expected to feed, especially given that the news never stops. But he believes that readers ultimately benefit from the changes

While his father in convinced that this year’s Pulitzer is just the first of many, Ben remains focused on re porting the unvarnished truth and letting it speak for itself.

SARA KRULWICH/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Ben Protess celebrates in the New York Times newsroom with the team that shared the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. Center, (Le to right) Ben Protess, Eric Lipton and David Ya e-Ballany

Shape

Help Shape Public Policy

• Aging in Communities Commission

• Board of Health

• Board of Fire and Police Commissioners

• Building Codes Advisory Commission

• Citizens Police Oversight Committee

• Civic Information Systems Commission

• Community Development Citizens Advisory Committee

• Community Relations Commission

• Disability Access Commission

• Environment & Energy Commission

• Farmers’ Market Commission

• Historic Preservation Commission

• Housing Programs Advisory Committee

•Liquor Control Review Board

• Plan Commission

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• Zoning Board of Appeals

Applications are accepted year round. All commissioners must be residents of Oak Park at the time of their appointment and for the full duration of their term. Unless noted, volunteers serve a threeyear term, with opportunity for reappointment. Visit www.oak-park.us/volunteer to sign up! Contact the Village Clerk at clerk@oak-park.us for more information.

Deal Us In: Welcome to the 52nd Annual A Day in Our Village!

Oak Park, shuffle the deck and get ready to play your best hand—the ultimate summer tradition is back! We are thrilled to welcome you to the 52nd annual A Day in Our Village festival, happening this Sunday, June 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in beautiful Scoville Park.

If you’ve caught a glimpse of this year’s festival logo, you already know we are dealing a winning hand for our 52nd year. Featuring a playful 5 and 2 card design. The design is a fun, upbeat nod to a classic 52-card deck, representing 52 in-

Welcome back to Scoville Park for the premiere summer event in Oak Park

credible years of our diverse community event.

Whether you are a lifelong resident who remembers the very first festival or a brand-new neighbor or visitor looking to discover what makes our community tick, this day is for you. A dedicated core group of volunteers has been working hand-in-hand with The Village of Oak Park and Park District liaisons to make sure this year’s celebration is absolutely unforgettable.

We have lined up an incredible day packed with local flavors, live music to keep you grooving, all while you are engaging with over 150 different local businesses, non-profits, groups, and government officials. Best of all? The Foam is back again in 2026! The Park District of Oak Park is bringing massive foam cannons right to the center of Scoville Park to create a whole new generation of fun. We’ve also expanded the event again by closing down On-

SUPERBSTARS

SEASON-ENDINGCONCERT

tario Street for a massive, high-energy youth and family zone.

We have the music, we have the food, and we have the fun—now we just need the final card to complete the deck: YOU! Come on out this Sunday to catch up with old friends, meet your neighbors, chat with your elected officials, and celebrate everything that makes Oak Park such a great place to live, visit, and explore!

Can’t wait see you there!

— Michael Stewart & the Day in Our Village Volunteer Committee

SUPERBSTARS

SEASON-ENDINGCONCERT

SUPERBSTARS

NIKKI CHOOI V o n MIO NAKAMURA JAY FRIEDMAN

Conductor

SUNDAY,JUNE14,2026 at 4:00PM

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ALEXGROESCH

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GROESCH - PianoConcertoNo.1 (WorldPremiere) MioNakamura,soloist

SUK -Pohádka(Fairytale)

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TICKETS $30throughJune13|$35atthedoor Freeforstudentsthroughcollege

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MICHAEL STEWART

in Our Village

52nd A Day in Our Village Festival

Sunday, June 7, 2026 • 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Most sites are accessible to those with disabilities.

Public restrooms (also accessible) are located just west of the Scoville Park Tennis Courts. Disabled Parking is typically located on Oak Park Avenue, north of the loading/unloading Zone on Oak Park Avenue. Some adjustments could be made based on this year’s roadwork on Oak Park Avenue. For more information on A Day in Our Village, call 708.358.5408 or e-mail community@oak-park.us.

A Day in Our Village is an event, organized by volunteers, to celebrate the vitality and the rich advantages of our diverse community, and provide the opportunity for all residents, their families, and friends to come learn about the myriad of organizations (civic, cultural, social services, religious and business) and share in this Oak Park experience.

Participants................Booth #

Festival Committee Liaisons

Volunteer Chairpersons

Greg Kolar

Festival Chair, Activities Chair

Michael Stewart

Festival Co- Chair, Publicly

Cory Kohut

Festival Co-Chair, Refreshments/ Restaurants Chair

Bev

Hospitality

Bill

Fundraising

Jai

Info Booth and Video

Young Oak Parkers will want to check out activities for kids hosted by the Park District of Oak Park on the north side of the park along Ontario Street between Oak Park Avenue and Grove Avenue — which will be closed to vehicle traﬃc during the event.

Ontario Street area: The Park District of Oak Park is sponsoring Prime Time Racing! Put your racing skills to the test as four or six competitors will race two foot long radio

Cassandra Adediran

Village of Oak Park, Community Relations Coordinator, Entertainment, DAVY Awards

Erik Jacobsen

Village of Oak Park, Communications Manager

Tom Fulton

Village of Oak Park, Public Works Street Supervisor

Susan Crane

Park District of Oak Park Special Events Manager

Suzy Antell

Oak Park Public Library, Deputy Director Joe Kreml

controlled cars around a twenty-six foot banked track! The Park District is also planning giant tic tac toe, giant connect four, giant bubbles and more.

Join the Park District of Oak Park in the center of Scoville Park for a fun, Fantastic Foam Party! Cool oﬀ with foam blasting from the Foam Cannon. Make fun hairdos, dance to the music and enjoy some good old fashioned fun. Please bring a towel and dry clothes as you will get wet.

Village President Vicki Scaman

Village Manager Kevin Jackson

Chief of Police Shatonya Johnson, Oak Park Police Department

Oak Park Public Work Department

Oak Park Fire Department

of Oak Park, Media Production Manager

Scoville Park Stage

@Lake St. & Oak Park Ave

Here’s the line up of entertainment for Sunday, June 7, 2026

11:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.

Reverie Stone - Americana/Roots/Country 12:30 to 1 p.m.

Cote Lind & Company - Pop 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. Toy Robot – Rock

Food Court @ Library Plaza, Scoville Park & Grove Avenue

Domino’s Pizza - Pizza by the slice Do Not Forget Your Lunch Box : Hot dogs. Polish, Italian Beef, Burgers Veggie Burgers, Snow Cones

Taco Motora Food Truck – A variety of Mexican food and soft drinks

Kyber Pass - A variety of Indian Food FitzGeralds & BabyGold - Serving beer and wine and Kiddie cocktails

Candycopia - Assorted Candy, Located on Ontario

Crumb Crusher Cupcakes

Zemi Coﬀee Cart - Serving coﬀee

Oak Park Police Department

Communications Department, Village of Oak Park

Finance Department, Village of Oak Park

Park District of Oak Park

Oak Park Public Library

• Thanks to all of the volunteers who made this event possible for the last 52 years!

Old-Fashioned Service And The Latest Science For People And Their Pets

Sear’s Pharmacy is Oak Park’s local, family-owned drugstore, committed to knowing all of our customers - and their pets. We provide friendly, reliable service, the highest quality prescription and over the counter medications, and custom compounded pet medications.

•Superior customer service and delivery within 24 hours

•Nearly all insurance accepted, alternative payment options

•Coupons, discounts, alternative and generic options

•Comprehensive medication review with every refill

•Custom packaging for your unique needs

•MedSync, so all prescriptions refill at the same time

Working with veterinarians and pet parents, Sear’s pharmacists custom compound medications to match the dosage form, strength and flavor your pets need to keep them in the best of health.

With Sear’s Pharmacy, you’ll save time, lower costs and improve your whole family’s health, all while getting the personal, attentive service you’ve been missing.

This

Same mission. New chapter. Stronger

Homes

Oak Park homeownership more a ordable but possibly harder to attain

Local Realtor compares Oak Park to other similarly situated western burbs

By LACEY SIKORA Real Estate Reporter

We recently re ported on the percentage of homes locally that are selling above asking price. Local Realtor Scott Berg has seen this in his practice and decided to do a little market research of his own. What he found surprised him and points to Oak Park being an interesting anomaly.

Berg notes his research was prompted his close family ties with others in the real estate industry, particularly his cousin in Willowbrook. Berg says, “We talk five times a day, and he’s telling me stories of what happening in that area. It did feel like Oak Park is tighter than they are.”

Those casual observations led Berg to pull 12-month MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data) data comparing Oak Pa rk to five other western suburbs: Wheaton, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Naperville and Hinsdale. He wasn’t expecting the results. Oak Park posted the largest year-over-year tightening of any of the six other suburbs. In Oak Park, there is a 1.2-month supply of homes on the market, down from 1.4 in April 2025.

ddition, Oak Park, along with Wheaonly two suburbs where the avhome sold above its original list price ear. Oak Park is also the most median in the comparison group at $430,000 for a single-family home

In the analysis on his website, Berg wrote, “Tight markets often produce sharp price appreciation. Oak Park’s did not — at least not in the way the headline suggests. The

median sale price held steady at $430,000, unchanged from the prior 12-month period. By contrast, Elmhurst’s median rose 13.1%, Wheaton’s climbed 6.2%, and Downers Grove gained 3.3%.”

Another stat that stood out: Oak Park active listings of single-family homes are down 15% year-over-year, while Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Naperville and Hinsdale all saw their inventory increase in 2026.

Berg says, “The western suburb market isn’t moving in one direction anymore; it has split, and Oak Park is firmly in the tightening camp.”

According to Berg, for buyers, all of this means that “Oak Park remains the most accessible entry point into the in-demand inner western suburbs.”

See HOUSE MARKET on pa ge 27

Local Realtor Scott Berg

HOUSE MARKET

Smaller

lots than Wheaton

from page 25

In his analysis, Berg sees several factors at play in Oak Park’s statistics. He sees the lower median Oak Park single-family home price as a reflection of Oak Park’s unique make-up. “Oak Park is laid out more like a north side neighborhood than suburbs like Wheaton. Our lots are a lot smaller. To a certain extent, that’s where the af fordability comes from,” he says.

In terms of the tightening market, he notes that during the Covid-era boom in housing prices and sales , Oak Pa rk didn’t do as well as far out suburbs like Naperville and Downers Grove. When people could work remotely all of the time, they were happy to move far away from the city to get more land and more house.

Now, with workers going back into the office at least a few days a week, close-in suburbs with shorter commutes are highly appealing while demand for far away suburbs might have tapered of f.

The tightening market could also be due in part to the changing face of who is buying and who is selling locally.

Berg says, “One part of the local market that’s almost completely gone is the upgrade buyer.” He points out that people might be able to sell their home that they purchased for $400,000 for $800,000, but they also trade a 2% interest rate for a 6% interest rate on a more expensive home. “People can’t wrap their heads around it,” he says.

Older homeowners are more likely to stay put as well. Berg says some of that stems from Covid-era restrictions leaving their mark. Today, seniors and empty nesters are more likely seeking space and access to a yard that they

Oak Park ranks second-tightest of the six suburbs studied.

can’t get “living in a box.”

In his practice, Berg is seeing more and more grandparents want to stay in or move into Oak Park to be near their grandkids. “They still want space. They might have an adult kid who wants to stay with them for a while.”

He says smaller but still good-sized homes are hard for this demog raphic to find locally. In the past 12 months, zero four-bedroom ranch homes sold in Oak Park, and one sold in River Forest. More bungalows hit the market, but they might be too small for many in this group.

Berg says, “The problem is, people who are downsizing from a family-size home, they still want space. People in their 70s want a ranch house, but all of the developers and

OAKPARKEXPERT.CO M Oak Park is the most a ordable of the six suburbs in the comparison.

flippers are looking to pop a top on them to create more living space and make more money.”

While reco gnizing that it’s not easy to downsize in Oak Park, Berg isn’t sure that initiatives like Governor JB Pritzker’s BUILD Act will solve the problem. “It might make it more crowded here and it will bring more people to the schools, but that will just raise our homeownership costs in the end,” he says, noting that the schools are the largest driver of local property taxes.

He’s not sure there’s a natural end in sight to the tight market that will make people happy. “I don’t think we’re getting out of this until interest rates fall. The other way out is a recession, which no one wants.”

Only Oak Park and Wheaton averaged above 100% over the past 12 months.

C

ONSCIOUS A GING

Designing lives worth living longer

VIEWPOINTS

Have you ever been part of an organ recital? You know, when more than two people over the age of 60 get together, part of the conversation sometimes turns to what’s wrong with different parts of their bodies or brains or feelings. Some ask, “don’t we have anything better to talk about?” Sometimes the answer to that question is “no.”

MARC BLESOFF

Recently, I was comparing notes with one of my neighbors about our mutual falls around the house and yard We’ve both been slipping a bit more often. Then they brought up memory problems – can’t think of the word we want, don’t remember the item we needed at the grocery store or what’s the name of that movie? These may not be dreaded “problems” or the start of dementia; they might just be completely normal “still-being-alive” realities. But it would be nice to know.

My neighbor asked their primary-care doctor for a way to assess their memory, or a way to get some kind of memory baseline to compare future assessments – to see how memory things are actually going. The doc suggested a neuro-psych evaluation and gave them a referral and a phone number to call to make an appointment.

My neighbor called. It was the wrong office, but they eventually got a different phone number to call. The second office took my neighbor’s information, said they had no appointments for a neuro-psych evaluation available at this time, put them on a waiting list, and assured they’d be contacted as soon as one opens up

Neighbor asks, “How long?” Person says they cannot predict. Neighbor asks, “Why can’t you predict how long I’ll have to wait for an appointment?” Person says the waiting list is too long and last year they were predicting six months to a year, but it turned out to be longer than a year’s wait, so now they don’t predict at all.

Hold on, longer than a year to get a basic memory assessment? More of us are having questions about our memories or some other health concerns. Every day in the U.S. more than 10,000 people turn 60. Is our health-care system keeping up?

And it’s not just health care. Housing. Transportation. Education. As our population shifts dramatically, are the basic ways our lives and communities and cultures are organized able to keep up? We’ve added more longevity to our species in the past 125 years than all previous civilization.

Our systems seem unable to address the realities of this new phase. Yes, the need to effectively deliver basic services is important and sometimes we meet a moment when thinking outside the box is necessary.

Much of our system seems to have become performative – trying to maintain appearances rather than accomplish fundamental shifts in order to meet the needs of all our people

Maybe we’re asking the wrong question.

Not how do we organize or support all these longer lives. Rather, how do we design lives worth living longer?

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M.

Call Viewpoints editor

Ken Trainor at 613-3310

Email: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org

Tunes, dining and dancing al fresco

Summer is here and that means we all get to be outside more and participate in two of my favorite summer Oak Park activities: Concerts in the Park and Thursday Night Out. Concerts in the Park, organized by the Park District of Oak Park and sponsored by various local establishments, takes place on Sunday nights at Scoville Park (Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The first concert of 2026 will be on June 14, featuring the All-Female classic rock band, The PriSSillas.

be serenaded by The Half-Brits, a Classic Rock band, and Bardware, a Funk/Jazz group

The final concert of the season on Aug. 27, called “Dog Days of Summer Night” is sponsored by the Animal Care League.

When I attended these concerts last year, Scoville Park was full of lawn chairs and blankets. Children were doing cartwheels near an older gentleman using a walker There were singles, families and couples joined by several well-behaved dogs, listening to and dancing to a salsa band. The final concert of the season will be on Aug. 30, featuring Harmonix, a Rock/Pop/Party Cover Band. For information on performers each week, readers can go to www pdop.org.

Thursday Night Out begins this week on June 4 with Jazz Night Out, sponsored by WDCB Radio. Each Thursday, Marion Street is closed to car traffic between Lake Street and North Boulevard. The street is filled with people of all ages, from babies to older adults, in addition to well-behaved dogs on leashes. There are often two sets of music, the first set from 5 to 7 and the second from 7 to 9. The music includes rock, folk, blues, reggae, Latin and country. A schedule of the musical acts can be found at https:// thursdaynightout.com/music.

Did you know that Thursday Night Out will celebrate their 20th birthday on Aug. 6? We will

These nights out often include children’s activities like balloon making and art activities. Especially if the weather is hot, younger kids frolic in the Marion Street fountain.

Various food and drink options are available at Thursday Night Out. The first is a four-ticket, dinearound booklet for $25, featuring specials from more than 20 local restaurants and stores

Another food option is to order food directly from an area restaurant and bring it back to your table. I often call and order while I’m listening to the music instead of waiting for the food to be prepared at the restaurant. You can get food from Q-BBQ or Kyuramen restaurants and sit at their outside tables. Concertgoers also bring food from home or other restaurants

During Thursday Night Out, Marion Street is filled with round tables and chairs. I have found that many of the tables are occupied unless you arrive near the beginning of the evening. I’ve enjoyed sitting at tables with people I know and people I don’t know. However, I often bring my own lawn chair. This allows me to move to different locations and get to Thursday Night Out later in the evening and still get a seat.

I look forward to seeing you and hearing some good tunes this summer

Joy Aaronson is an Oak Park resident who writes stories for Wednesday Journal/Newswell about her favorite things in the village.

FILE PHOTO

Odds and ends with some a bit odder than others:

“Two bad actors”: After a Cook County judge on Monday left Manoj Prasad in charge of the Resilience Healthcare empire of shuttered hospitals, a for mer staffer at West Sub told our reporters that both Prasad and Rathnaker Reddy al owner of the empire, were “two bad at is correct.

aveled West Sub, once a stellar ommunity hospital, remains in the swirl, circling the drain. The judge said there was no evidence that Prasad had looted either est Sub or the previously-shutdown ss Memorial in Uptown. On that basis, the judge ruled that Prasad should remain the CEO and suggested that Patlola could done much better in running West unning West Sub into the ditch? long believed that for Patlola these failed hospitals would ultimately be a profitable real estate play. The Weiss property in the city clearly has redevelopment prospects. The River Forest campus of West Sub could be another re gional hospital’s outpost in that highly insured neighborhood. Or it could be a midrise?

As for Prasad as CEO of nothing, he should never get the benefit of any doubt. He let the billing system of the hospital flail and sputter for a year. He has made his preeminent excuse for why West Sub abruptly shut down in March that the hospital did not bill 90% of its revenue for a year. What kind of moronic CEO lets that happen?

So yes, two bad actors, a shuttered West Sub failing the West Side and Oak Park, and dim prospects for a way forward. There are more court dates to come. The somnambulant state of Illinois is presumably investigating how it kept shoveling millions to a hospital operator who could not generate an invoice. And reports begin to circulate of criminal investigations

Hands off the wheel: A friend on Sunday took me for a spin in his new self-driving car. I got to sit behind the wheel not that I had much to do Yes, it was a Tesla. Yes, I am deeply troubled

But it was a remarkable experience. I had expected to feel fully unnerved. But once the damned machine smoothly merged us onto the Ike at Harlem, my impulse to seize control eased

And that was part of the message from my friend. He said that at a somewhat advanced age he had lear ned not to drive 80 mph and to be patient as the machine stayed at the limit, found a parking space at the Jewel and has never sounded its hor n at a putz driving its own car.

News from NEWSWELL Chicago: Two pieces of news from your local nonprofit newsroom. On June 10 we’re hosting a town hall at Oak Park’s main library to answer your questions about our new ownership structure. Come and ask Max Reinsdorf, our general manager, any curious, impertinent question you’ve got. Veterans Room at 7 p.m.

Also, we are welcoming Emma Bradford, the first of our three paid summer inter ns. Emma will be covering stories for both our Austin Weekly News and Forest Park Review.

With A Day in Our Village looming Sunday, I’m revisiting my column from 2010. You can also find it in my book, “Ou Town Oak Park: Walk with Me in Sear of True Community”:

Passing the tents in Scoville Pa this Day in Our Village, the that fits is “adjacency.” In a land locked town like ours, everything is “next to” everything else. Elbo to elbow, shoulder to shoulder, you ca separate or segregate. Isolating is w the problems start — and when they star to fester

A day in our adjacenc y West Sub meets brick wall

Adjacency leads to connection. Scoville Park is adjacent to our eyecatching public library, directly west. To the north, the park is adjacent to First Baptist Church with its large stained glass window that includes Jesus, but also Abraham Lincoln and George Washington Carver. To the east is the for mer Oak Park Club, now private condos, but once upon a time a “country club.” It may have been exclusive, but it was right in the middle of town — next to everything

TRAINOR

A Day in our Village

To the south is the modernist, prairie-style Masonic building, now known as “Scoville Square,” across from the very old-world looking, orange-brick, stairstep building modeled on the town hall (Rothaus) in Frankfort, Ger many. Old World meets New World at a single intersection.

The crossroads of Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue is the community “epicenter,” where an informal pedestrian parade takes place on beautiful weekend days, such as this first Sunday in June, perfumed by linden and catalpa blossoms, all observable from the large picture windows of the bakery/coffeeshop that affords the best view of the gathering space across the avenue.

From the stools that line these “windows to the world,” you can sip a cup of tea or coffee and study Oak Park’s “adjacency” in the sloping village green of Scoville Park, topped by the Peace Triumphant World War I monument, fronted by the Horse Fountain, which anchors the brick entry plaza where commuters, students and sundry passersby stop to rest on benches and schmooze

Once the private estate of early settler James Scoville, this natural, high-ground ridge afforded a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. When his descendants were ready to move on, did they sell the property to some ambitious developer, looking to make a killing on the real estate market? No, they deeded it to the village for a park and, a cen-

tury hence, during the annual Day in Our llage celebration, we can appreciate their foresight. If you need a refresher on our local history, stop by the Historical Society booth and find out why “Scoville nstitute” is engraved near the entry the adjacent library (which James ville established as Oak Park’s first ibrary on that spot, abutting his estate). A Day in Our Village is an “expo” of loanizations, their booths crammed next to one another, so that residents, non-residents and prospective residents an amble by and sample all this village has to offer. And it offers a lot. Walking along the Oak Park Avenue sidewalk this Sunday, you can see Friends of Oak Park Dogs next to the 19th Century Club, next to the Pleasant Home Foundation, next to the Secular Jewish Community and School, next to the West Suburban Special Recreation Association, next to West Suburban Temple Har Zion, next to the Er nest Hemingway Foundation and on and on.

From my perch across the street, you can see many shades of skin, young and old, new parents and empty-nesters, stroller-pushers and dog-walkers, coffee-sippers and water-guzzlers, the fancy and the plain, the fit and the round (and every body in between), shade-lovers and sun-worshippers, Sox fans and Cub fans, liberals and conservatives and libertarians, rich and poor and what’s left of the middle class, nicotine addicts and caffeine addicts and sugar addicts and media addicts and fresh-air addicts, four-wheelers and two-wheelers and two-leggers, the church-going and the church-leaving, same sex and opposite sex, the bussed and trained and driven, individuals and couples and foursomes and small herds, the wired and wireless, tattooed and tanned and sunscreened and carefully face-masked, hand-holders and hands filled, the flip-flopped and well-heeled, the graceful and the waddlers, the harried and the unhurried, the buttoned-up and buttoned down and unbuttoned, capped and helmeted, shaved and shorn and bald, the groomed and the breezeblown, the staged and the spontaneous

There is just enough room for everyone at the intersection of Oak Park and Scoville Park, all living adjacent to one another, hand in hand, link by link, counting on each other, seeing eye to eye, as we do every day in our village.

This is our adjacency agency, our superpower: Living next to one another creates a tighter bond

And it leads to a stronger community

That’s the theory anyway — awaiting activation

About Project 3/Act 3

The OPRF school board is slated to receive cost estimates for Project 3, now marketed as Act 3, at its June 11 meeting, after getting their first look at its schematic design last week.(1) Act 3 is the third of five projects comprising the Imagine Plan, an ambitious renovation of the school estimated at $219 million in 2018, a now-acknowledged lowball figure.(2)

MONICA SHEEHAN

One View

The construction costs of Project 1, Project 2 and its geothermal system total $156.7 million. That doesn’t include $20 million in debt-certificate-borrowing costs incurred by Project 2 or the $16.5 million outdoor track & field project. (3 & 4) The latter wasn’t part of the Imagine Plan, but that’s another story.

The Imagine Plan is the product of the Imagine Group, for med by the then-superintendent in 2017. She tasked the group to “imagine” the possibilities in creating a renovation plan. There was no budget. Due to cost, it’s an unbuildable master plan.(5 & 6)

According to the current OPRF newsletter, Act 3 “may” go to referendum. May go to referendum? Best practice should be the default action, not a possibility, but the board has avoided bond referendums. It issued non-referendum bonds to build a 50-meter pool in 2015. Voters responded by petitioning them on the ballot. The board circumvented referendums to build the Imagine Plan by funneling the mountainous cash reserve of overtaxed dollars, money that should have been returned to taxpayers, into the capital fund.(7 & 8)

The board used a second loophole to fund Project 2 and its 37-meter pool, issuing “lastresort” debt certificates against the advice of its Community Finance Committee. Taxpayers must repay them, $3.2 million annually,

despite being denied a vote on the borrowing. Their repayments will clog the operating budget for 19 more years.(9, 10 & 11)

The Imagine Foundation is behind on its promised $12.5 million for Project 2, having given $4 million to date, with its completion three months away. Accordingly, significant philanthropy funding appears unlikely for Act 3.(12)

Putting funding aside, the overarching question is whether Act 3 should be considered now. Money is tight all around, even at OPRF. Its finance chief recently sent a memo to department heads asking how they’d cut 5% from their budgets next year if needed.(13)

In a recent letter, Business & Civic Council of Oak Park cited Project 3 and other looming projects in underscoring that our taxing bodies’ failure to coordinate spending has resulted in “unsustainable tax increases,” eroding affordability in our community, referencing the 2018 Taxing Bodies Efficiency Task Force Report. It recommended a moratorium on referendums until 2030 to slow tax growth and that referendums be placed on general election ballots to maximize voter participation.(14 & 15)

OPRF’s promotion of Project 3/Act 3 now comes across as tone deaf, as it would further drive out income diversity regardless of how the project’s funded, just as OPRF’s inflated levy, never reset after extreme overtaxation, and higher-than-needed levy increases have made the district less affordable for many.(8, 16 & 17)

Sources for this essay can be found in the online version at oakpark.com.

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

Oak Park

Beneath the trees, quiet streets unwind

In Oak Park’s shade, small comforts I find The morning light through old windows

The corner café with its warm glow Neighbors waving as they walk by Library benches where kids read Tulips swaying in the evening bree ze

Porches wrapped in ivy green Stories being shared, gentle and unseen

Every quiet path and street holds little joys I can’t explain It’s in these moments that Oak Park whispers, I know you

Frida Marinoﬀ

2026 graduate of Julian Middle School

A plea for fairness

Along with Ken Trainor [My infatuation with Israel, Viewpoints, May 20], I oppose Israel’s right-wing gover nment and support a two-state solution. So do most Jewish-Americans. I appreciate that he cares about Israel and his acknowledgement that antisemitism always lurks below the surface in America — something I did not fully recognize until a few years ago.

We do disagree about the recently defeated advisory referendum (purportedly on the right to boycott Israel), but I’m writing to take issue with his characterization of Linda Vasquez’s letter [True progressives care about Palestine, Viewpoints, May 6] and how he dealt with it in the first place.

In her letter, Vasquez calls her referendum opponents “Zionist groupies.” She also implies that they are white supremacists and makes the false assertion that AIPAC organized and financed referendum opposition. (The referendum was actually aimed at an obscure state law, as Trainor notes, but it doesn’t exactly “blacklist” companies boycotting Israel. It prevents state pension funds from investing in such foreign entities.)

Trainor ran the letter without requiring verification of AIPAC involvement or even noting that it was unsubstantiated. In its rebuttal [How democracy works, May 13], the local Jewish Community and Friends for Democracy states that it has a budget of zero and never worked with AIPAC. JCF4D notes that Vasquez draws here on the ugly trope of shadowy, allpowerful Jewish forces pulling strings

Trainor ran Vasquez’s letter complete with derogatory references to the referendum’s opponents. What if a letter used the N-word or pejorative references to Blacks or Muslims? I’m certain Trainor would never run it verbatim.

Apparently in response to JCFD’s letter, Trainor made no apology. Instead, he wrote a column characterizing the letter as an expression of pain rather than hate. But her motivation should be immaterial here. She wrote a letter with a false assertion and derogatory references.

As JCF4D put it, the local Jewish community should be treated like any other (minority) community. The issue is fairness, not feelings.

Judith Alexander Oak Park

A sustainability touchdown for D200

OPRF High School’s rebuilt physical education facility on Scoville Avenue may be visible to all, but a major achievement of the Imagination Foundation’s Project 2 is literally buried, under neath the turf on the school’s renovated football field: 270 geothermal wells provide 100% of the heating, cooling, and ventilation for the new building – all of it clean energy

The geother mal system will generate zero climate-heating emissions, yielding an expected 442,500 fewer pounds of atmospheric carbon annually compared to a natural gas system, and further reductions will be achieved with the upcoming installation of rooftop solar. These reductions are essential to D200 realizing its ambitious climate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 45% of its 2012 levels by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Moreover, the geothermal system will save the district roughly $385,000 per year

in utility costs. Those savings gradually will offset its price tag of $12.5M, which was already partially covered by a $3.5M state grant.

The District 200 Board of Education and Superintendent Greg Johnson deserve congratulations and thanks for prioritizing sustainability and the wellbeing of its students and our community Their environmental leadership should serve as a model for other school districts and municipalities, demonstrating that climate-smart investments are feasible and that they return dividends to those who invest in them.

Join Oak Park Climate Action Network in celebrating this achievement at a ribbon-cutting for the geother mal system, on Wednesday, June 17, at 3 p.m., on the OPRF football field.

Wendy Greenhouse Oak Park Climate Action Network member

SHRUB TO WN by Marc Stopeck

Repercussions from ‘Broadview 6’ continue

The can-you-top-this derby continues in the U.S. Attor ney’s Office in Chicago. Last week, Chicago U.S. Attor ney Andrew Boutros fell on his sword and admitted in open court that the grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment of the “Broadview 6,” including Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw, were tainted by Assistant U.S. Attorney misconduct on his watch.

In the wake of that embarrassment, Boutros this week announced “sweeping” changes in how his office approaches grand juries. How sweeping? He’s announced a round of training for all AUSAs on proper grand jury etiquette. Hmm.

finding that Donald Trump sexually abused her in a dressing room in the mid-1990s.

I have looked in my crystal ball and predict that all this drama will not end well for Boutros.

First, he failed to legitimize a political prosecution of the Broadview 6, as I believe he was instructed to do by the Justice Department.

Second, his office failed to cover up the wrongful grand jury misconduct by effectively hiding the inflammatory transcripts from Judge Perry’s purview as the Broadview 6 case fell apart.

And now, Boutros is distancing the office from prosecuting E. Jean Carrol who is high on the list for President Trump’s revenge tour

WEDNESD AY

of Oak Park and River Forest

Viewpoints Guidelines

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

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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.

That would have been big news for the Chicago U.S. Attor ney’s Office last week, because Judge Perry has not yet ruled on the request by Straw and other Broadview defendants for sanctions against the office. See, they incurred lots of attorneys’ fees defending against the admitted misconduct.

As if things couldn’t get stranger, Boutros issued a statement saying his office “has never opened” a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll. You know, the woman who was awarded $83.3 million by a civil jury in New York after

I predict Boutros will decide to “move on” from his current job rather than face further scrutiny from Judge Perry and attorney ethical committees as well as the wrath of a vindictive President and a Justice Department anxious to do his will (see e.g. for mer Attorney General Pam Bondi).

Source:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/us/chicago-prosecutor-andrew-boutros html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Jack Crowe, an Oak Park attorney, is a Wednesday Journal columnist

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

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

■ 350-word limit

■ Must include ﬁrst and last names, municipality in which you live, phone number (for veriﬁcation only)

‘ONE VIEW ’ ESSAY

■ 500-word limit

■ One-sentence footnote about yourself and/or your connection to the topic

■ Signature details as at left

JACK CROWE

Don’t weaken single-family zoning

To the Oak Park Village Board, I am writing as a concerned resident to strongly oppose any proposal that would eliminate or substantially weaken single-family zoning protections throughout Oak Park. Oak Park’s character, stability, and longter m desirability are rooted in its thoughtfully balanced neighborhoods. Families chose to invest here with the understanding that residential zoning standards would preserve the scale, density, and livability of our community. Abruptly opening the door to widespread multi-unit redevelopment in traditionally single-family areas threatens to permanently alter that balance without adequate public support or demonstrated benefit

Supporters of these changes continue to frame them as “af fordable housing” measures, yet recent development patterns in Oak Park tell a very different story. Time and again, older, naturally affordable housing or modest homes are replaced with significantly more expensive units that are out of reach for working families, seniors, and many longtime residents. Luxury rentals and highend condominiums do not solve af fordability concerns. They accelerate them.

Residents are also justified in wor rying about the cumulative impact on parking, traf fic congestion, overcrowding, infrastructure strain, storm-water management,

and the gradual erosion of neighborhood character. These concerns are not rooted in resistance to progress. They are rooted in practical realities and the desire for responsible planning rather than sweeping policy changes with ir reversible consequences.

What is especially troubling is the speed and scope of these proposed zoning shifts compared to the limited level of meaningful public eng agement. Decisions of this magnitude should not be pushed through by a small group of officials without broader community consensus. Policies that fundamentally reshape the future of Oak Park deserve far more transparency, public discussion, and direct resident input before implementation.

Oak Park has always been a diverse and vibrant community precisely because of its mix of housing types and carefully planned neighborhoods. Eliminating single-family zoning protections risks undermining the very qualities that have made this village attractive, stable, and economically strong for generations I respectfully urge the village board to reject these proposals, pause any further action toward abolishing single-family zoning, and prioritize a process that genuinely reflects the voices of Oak Park residents.

Vanessa Mustang King Oak Park resident and business owner

‘Planned’ development, not fait accompli

It appears the village of River Forest has learned that transparency is essential when considering new development. Residents have been invited to attend meetings, review materials, and submit comments regarding the proposed Madison and Ashland development.

Transparency, however, is not the same thing as representation.

The role of elected officials is not simply to listen to residents. It is to genuinely weigh community input alongside other considerations and work toward outcomes that reflect the interests of the people they serve.

That is why I was troubled by the village’s recent Madison Street Development newsletter. While the proposal has not completed the Planned Development process and still requires public hearings and approvals, the newsletter repeatedly describes what the project “will” accomplish for River Forest and why the village “must” move forward. The tone reads less like an update and more like an endorsement.

Reasonable people can disagree about whether this particular development is the right fit for the site. But residents

A memorable Memorial Day

I want to thank everyone who attended the 101st Memorial Day Parade last week in River Forest. This is a very special community observance, and we were for tunate to have beautiful weather for it. Seeing our streets lined with families, friends, and neighbors filled me with pride as your village president.

As we all know, the true purpose of this day is not celebration. It is to honor and show reverence for those who gave their lives in service to our country, along with acknowledging our veterans who are still with us, and active members of the U.S. Ar med Forces

Anyone who has served deserves our fullest attention, gratitude, and support. I wanted to take this opportunity through our local paper, Wednesday Jour nal, to ensure these brave and honorable individuals receive the respect they have ear ned. In particular, I want to recognize our resident grand marshal, Donald Ferrone. Mr. Ferrone joined the U.S. Ar my Air Force Reserve in 1944, serving our country during World War II, and ul-

Kiwanis President Bill Piper, Grand Marshal

Donald Ferrone, Village President Cathy Adduci, and Park District President Lynn Libera

timately rising to the rank of corporal. He is one of the many brave individuals in our community

should not be left with the impression that a decision has already been made before the for mal review process is complete

Many of us have spent years raising concer ns about building scale, traffic, parking, infrastructure, and neighborhood compatibility. Those concer ns deserve more than an opportunity to be heard and should not just end up as a list of frequently asked questions. They deserve meaningful consideration and inclusion in any revised proposal.

The process may be transparent, but the negotiations that shaped this proposal have largely occurred outside public view. As the review moves forward, I hope village leaders remember that their responsibility is not to advocate for a predeter mined outcome, but to represent the community and ensure the final decision truly reflects River Forest’s long-ter m interests I, for one, hope the outcome remains genuinely undecided and that the community concer ns will be reflected in the ultimate outcome of this proposal.

Angie Grover River Forest

ho have served, continue to serve, or have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we are all able to enjoy, every day.

These individuals are the reason we gather on Memorial Day. I hope everyone took a moment to reflect on this dedication and sacrifice. Please review this year’s Memorial Day Honor Roll, which recognizes our community members who have served. You can view the Honor Roll here: vrf.us/ HonorRoll

I would also like to thank the dedicated volunteers who make this event possible each year: especially Bill Piper and Rick Gillis of Kiwanis, along with Karen Stille and the River Forest Park District, the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce, and our own firefighters, police officers, and village staff members.

I was honored to participate in this year’s River Forest Memorial Day Parade.

Thank you,

Cathy Adduci River Forest village president

Matt Avery Oak Park

Students Feeding Students (SFS) is a student-led initiative at OPRF High School to address the invisible food insecurity at the school. This spring, we put in multiple snack cabinets throughout the school that are accessible to everyone.

This is the first phase of a long-term ef fort to address hunger at OPRF High School.

We believe every student should have stigma-free access to food, and our philosophy is rooted in solidarity, not charity. With the support of over 100 individual community donors, state Senator Don

Snacks for students at OPRF

Harmon, and Beyond Hunger, we have been able to demonstrate the need and success of the snack cabinet program.

As of May 13, we have stocked 4 cabinets every day, with over 1,000 snacks a day. In total, we have distributed more than 12,000 nutrient-dense USDA smart snacks.

On May 21, we took a survey of 475 students and found that nearly 80% of students had seen the cabinets. And about 40% had taken a snack, or 1,300 students. The main reason students who knew of the cabinets hadn’t yet gotten a snack was that the cabinets were already empty.

We have established a community of care around the cabinets. Our student volunteers lo gged 110+ check-ins with the cabinets to ensure they operated smoothly. Students are treating the cabinets with respect, taking what they need, throwing away their wrappers in the trash cans, and looking out for each other.

Our project is the most ambitious one that currently exists in any high school across the country, and it can serve as a model for other schools. However, we can only continue this with the explicit financial support from the district. Our request

Take our car keys? Not so fast

Hold on a minute. You want us to give up our car keys because you think we are getting too old to drive? We’d be OK with it if we had a disability that impairs our ability to drive. But such disabilities can afflict anyone and “age” is not a disability.

In fact, while it might seem counterintuitive, when it comes to safely driving a car, age may be an advantage. The data bears this out.

Younger adults have more accidents and create more hazards on the roads.

Teenage males account for 72 percent of all U.S. traffic deaths. (Many more than teenage females.)

Speeding, alcohol and not using seat belts account for most accidents and the resulting injuries – behavioral issues, not biological issues.

The Illinois Secretary of State reco gnizes these statistics and is pushing to relieve older drivers from having to undergo driving tests every year. In fact, he is trying to eliminate driving tests for older drivers because they’ re not the ones causing the traf fic accidents! Driving experience counts!

So, don’t ask us to give up the freedom and independence driving our car provides just because we’re older or getting older. Please resist “ageism” and don’t ask us for the car keys before you ride around with us. Most of us can demonstrate excellent, safe driving skills.

Gene Armstrong, 85, Theresa Marousek, 75, Theresa Steinbach, 68, Jane Wood, 85, Ann Armstrong, 84 Participants in the ACE study on positiv e aging

e post o ce’s failure to forward

After enduring a persistent issue with the Oak Park Post Office on Lake Street for the past seven years, I have reached my breaking point. The post of fice has consistently failed to address the problem of forwarding mail to a temporary address

Despite requesting this service through the USPS online process to start in early May, I have received 10 incorrect deliveries to my home within 18 days, resulting in an error rate exceeding 50%.

I have made seven calls to the post office to report this issue, each time receiving varying excuses ultimately asking them to retrieve and forward my mail. However, this has only been done once after six days of delivery.

My frustration reached its peak last week when I called, presented my case, and was abruptly hung up on. I reported this incident in the mor ning, only to receive another incorrect delivery that afternoon. I had to request my neighbor retrieve the remaining four days’ worth of mail.

During my career I had a position in Total Quality Management and Process Improvement and I taught process improvement at a local college. One of the key principles I

emphasized was that the problem was not the individuals involved but rather the flawed processes in place. However, it was the responsibility of leadership to rectify these processes. In this case, the Oak Park Post Office’s leadership is failing in its duty

In other industries, short pre-service meetings, daily readiness sessions, and shift change reporting are conducted to ensure staff members are infor med of any changes These measures keep employees updated and enable them to provide effective customer service. It is unclear whether the Oak Park Post Office is employing this method or if it is being implemented ineffectively.

Fortunately, I have security cameras that allow me to monitor these incidents and attempt to rectify them. I am concer ned about the number of residents who are unaware of this ongoing issue and are missing critical documents only available through the U.S. Postal Service. Since for mal complaints haven’t worked, maybe the power of the press can contribute to lasting change.

Mark Schlosser

Oak Park

is modest (less than $200,000 for the entire school year). We are asking for administration and board consideration to address a basic human need and help us end the stigma around hunger and reduce food insecurity among students at our school. We urge school leadership to bring our proposal to the full District 200 Board of Education for a vote at the next board meeting to fund this initiative for next year.

Tra c-calming in the right place

I am respectfully pushing back on last week’s column by Nicole Chavas [Traffic-calming saves lives, Viewpoints, May 27] and One View by Elizabeth O’Brien [Thanks for trafficcalming measures], who each wrote in support of trafficcalming measures and chastised letter-writers who opposed the new right-turn-only at Ridgeland and Thomas, saying we valued convenience over the well-being of pedestrians. I am one of those letter writers, and let me be clear: This particular “traffic-calming” measure increases the number of cars traveling past Whittier Elementary School and the Dole branch library, which by definition increases risk.

It prevents cars driven by residents who had no reason to be near the school from traveling west and south, instead funneling them past the school and library.

It already has led to cars rocketing down the alley just east of Ridgeland, which empties onto the sidewalk where parents and children are approaching the traffic light at Augusta.

And that right-turn-only sign does nothing to stop the drivers who peel off of Ridgeland and Division and down Cuyler to try to avoid the light.

My neighbors and I have asked in vain for a bump out to prevent this traffic. Yesterday a speeding car nearly hit me as I was getting into my parked car in front of my home. Trust me, I want traffic-calming measures. I just want them to be in the right place.

Gianluca Maccaferri Oak Park

Kris Hansen Oak Park

Single-family zoning and a ordable housing

While I have raised concer ns about the effect of the end of single-family zoning in Oak Park, I believe that there is an even greater problem with this proposed change. The elimination of single-family zoning makes no requirement that a percentage of any new housing built under this change be truly af fordable housing.

I have great concern that, without

such guarantees, multifamily housing built in the for mer footprint of a singlefamily home will confor m to the profit motive, not community values and concern for the unhoused and underhoused, much less than residents in the “missing middle.”

Frank Vozak Oak Park

Premiere for a local composer

A local composer’s piano concerto will receive its world premiere on June 14 at Concordia University Chapel in River Forest, performed by the Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest. Oak Parknative Alex Groesch has been working on this piece for several years, and this season-ending concert will feature his first-ever piano concerto, starring the talented Chicago piano soloist, Mio Nakamura.

Groesch, who has been a member of the symphony since 2017, has been writing original compositions since high school. With this piece, Groesch was inspired to remind people that large-scale

orchestral music is still alive today in a world where everything seems to be pushed shorter and faster. He believes that bringing the community together to experience an original work is a worthwhile and meaningful endeavor. In addition to Groesch’s Piano Concerto No. 1, the symphony will also be performing Suk’s Pohádka (Fairytale) and Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, featuring violin soloist, Nikki Chooi. Tickets for the concer t can be purchased online at SymphonyOPRF.org or at the door.

Anne Gandolﬁ Symphony of OP&RF

A perennial savage

She arrived in North America in the 1700s, a deadly predator with but one desire … to vanquish all other flowering plants. The skullduggery of this zombie-like invader knew no bounds as her wily root system would choke out everything in its path. A true femme fatale of the botanical world with delicate white flowers and an exhilarating scent, she was toxic to man and beast.

Centuries later, Man still struggles to eradicate Convallaria Majalis with little success. His once-lush gardens, filled with Hosta varieties such as Undulata, Stained Glass, Patriot, Neptune and Guacamole, have dwindled in size. He digs and digs and digs to remove all evidence of her rhizomes, then bur ns the debris while Lily of the Valley lurks in the shadows.

DOOPER ’S MEMORIES

e ornery birds of my youth

The wild geese re in our neighbor’ Grissom had a large full of veg tracted geese. Many times during the year, his invaded by a number of Canad geese

I became fascinated watching these creatures. I pa ticed the broad, their necks and cheeks, and thei long necks and long le They ate like they had a siphon for a mouth, appearing to inhale the food they found They were very cautious. When the geese ate, two or three others stood guard against possible danger from cats, dogs, and humans.

One summer day, I was mowing near the oak tree when I heard the piercing screech of a jay, and I hit the dirt just in time. over me by about a foot, and I heard a thud he bird had not pulled up in time the porch. I ound and went to where the bird was lying in a I was certain that rage to get a el in order to dig a hole in ich to bury the bird, but when I came back to the place where the bird had dropped, it was gone

Carole Novak

Indian Head Park

Oak Park Writers Group (OPWG)

SEND LET TERS TO THE EDITOR

Ken Trainor, Wednesday Journal E-mail: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org

Please include name, address and daytime phone number for verification

Once Eric Bour ne, a neighbor boy, moved up to a goose with the intent of petting it. Suddenly, three geese ran at him, flapping their wings and honking. Eric took off running at an Olympian pace for his home. The geese did not pursue him for more than 30 feet, however. Whenever the geese departed, they flew as a group, and I marveled at their wingspan as they disappeared into the blue, only to appear again to fill up on all of the food they could ingest.

When I was in my teens, a nest of blue jays lived in the oak tree in our backyard. They were very noisy, squawking in loud, harsh tones whenever they were annoyed, which was often.

Rather perplexed, I returned to mowing when another jay swooped toward me, but I was able to quickly leap to my left, and the bird flew past me and landed about 20 feet away from me.

I wondered what the bird would do next, so I stood my ground and watched the jay as he stared at me with his mean, beady eyes After he stared me down, he gave me a tongue lashing and flapped his wings.

I wondered what was coming next, but the bird simply flew away to the east squawking all the way. Once again I resumed mowing, but at a faster pace wondering if I would be attacked again.

Well, I wasn’t attacked then or ever again Someone once told me that young blue jays make great pets. That may be true, but as adults they’re mean and dangerous

Updated rhetoric for RF development plan

This week, River Forest residents received the latest installment of the village’s Madison Development Newsletter. This installment appears to introduce a new justification for this oversized project by echoing the “housing ecosystem” rhetoric now common in Oak Park: encouraging longtime residents to leave their homes so others may move in. Missing from the newsletter public relations-drafted piece is the fact that neighbors have repeatedly raised serious concer ns about the scale, density, traffic, parking and placement of a five-story, 72-unit rental build-

ing at the end of a street lined with singlefamily homes

Residents should read this latest entry, along with the forthcoming Madison Street development proposal, with great care. If the updated proposal fails to meaningfully address resident concer ns, all River Forest constituents should ask questions at the Development Review Board, including why public input was solicited at all.

Deborah

Borman River Forest

Je rey Hill, 73

Songwriting ﬁsherman

Jeffrey Allen Hill, 73, for merly of River Forest, died on May 23, 2026, while on a fishing trip in Perla Ne gra, Mexico. Born in El Paso, Texas, on March 16, 1953, the first child of the late Charles Frederick Hill and the late Mary Lou Bennett Hill, the family moved back to Madison, Indiana, and he loved growing up ther remained a gregarious, small-town kind of guy, whether he was living in his hometown of Madison, River Forest, or his last home of Ellensburg, Washington.

A renaissance man, he was a successful paper salesman, in large part due to his big and warm personality, he also had an in-depth knowledge of music, poetry, philosophy, fishing, and sports. His of sense of humor ke pt others laughing whenever he was around.

He lived a passionate life. He and his son, Jacob, reveled in their enjoyment of fishing, ’60s music (especially the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Grateful Dead), and guitar playing and singing. He nur lifelong friendships with an annual party at his Brooksburg farm. Whether he was coaching Jacob’s sports teams, playing music, cheering for IU basketball, or fishing all over the world, he brought his enthusiastic spirit and generous heart. He was a prolific song and letter writer, and we cherish the magic of his words.

sent to: Whitefish Review, 311 E. 1st St., Whitefish, Montana 59937; or online at: whitefishreview.org/donate.htm

Gatherings to honor his memory will be announced at a later date

Margaret Kenny, 80

Byline Bank receptionist

enny

ly Phillips), 80, died on Friday, May 29, 2026. Born on June 23, 1945, , she over 30 years as a bank ptionist, most recently at Byline Bank in Oak Park

Her warm smile, kindness, and welcoming spirit left a lasting impression on count-

She was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Lucille Phillips; her sister, Mary Ellen Phillips; and her brothersin-law, Doug Peterson, James Kenny, Fred Reed, and Michael Kenny.

Visitation will take place on June 4 from 4 until 8 p.m. at Peterson-Bassi Chapels, 6938 W. North Ave., Chicago, and a funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday at St. Giles Church, 1045 Columbian Ave., Oak Park at 10 a.m., with private entombment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to the American Cancer Society.

Pat Schumann, 76 Salesman, teacher, mentor

dream about the future and reminisce about the past. They were always in tune

He supported Jeremy through every season and they shared a love of sports, classic rock, and play wrestling. He was extremely proud of Kelly and they would often argue politics, talk Bears football, and make funny faces at each other

Pat loved classic cars, Greek food, and good print jobs. He gave nicknames to everyone and often invented his own words. He was a natural perfor mer who could sing, dance, and tell a great joke. He was quick to offer you a quarter to scratch his back and if you asked him his favorite song of all time, he would start belting out “Act Naturally” by The Beatles.

Jeffrey is survived by his son, Jacob; his siblings, Deuce Hill (Julie), Beth Ann Hill, David Hill, and Christopher (Natalie) Hill; his partner, Sharon Cowdery; his one-time wife, Deborah Fish Hill; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and lifelong friends.

Donations in Jeffrey’s memory can be

man of deep faith, she was a memand St. Benedict in Fontana, Wisconsin. She will be remembered for her strength, independence, loving heart, quick wit, infectious laugh, and unwavering caring. She found joy in reading, spending time with her grandchildren, cooking, enter taining friends, and sunny days aboard the boat on Lake Geneva. Her love, laughter and wisdom, will be remembered and missed. Maggie was the wife of the late John (Tom) Kenny. To gether, they raised two sons in River Forest, Tim (Jamee) and Kevin Kenny. Her grandchildren, Hunter, Oliver, and River, brought her joy, as did her grand-pups: Clover, Gator, Brody, and Zoey.

BREAKING

Patrick Edward Schumann, 76, died peacefully on Sept. 28, 2025. Born on Dec. 15, 1948 in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, the sixth of eight to Chester and Lorraine (Sutliff) Schumann, he was a family man through and through. From his mother, he got his huge heart, helping anyone who needed it and always being a calm, loving presence. From his father, he inherited his dignity, humility, and sense of humor, believing that hard work paid of f, laughter is the only way through tough times, and that good people have good lives.

In 1973, he met his wife of over 50 years, Kristine. He always greeted her with a hug and a kiss. They loved to take long car rides, watch Hallmark movies and NASCAR,

A salesman, teacher, goofball, gentleman, mentor, friend, devoted brother, and greatest dad of all time, he is survived by his wife, Kristine (nee Leutermann); his children, Jeremy and K elly; his brother, Jack (Arlene); his sister-in-law, Jan; his sister, Jeanne (Joe Papania); his brothers, Jim (Sharon) and David; many nieces, ne phews, great-nieces and great-nephews, friends and colleagues, and his walking buddy, the family do g, Garrett. He was preceded in death by his parents Chester and Lorraine and his brothers Mike (Arlene) and Bill.

A memorial will be held at Peterson-Bassi Chapels at 6938 W. North Ave., Chicago, on Friday, June 19, from 3 to 6 p.m. with a service at 5 p.m. A burial service will be held at St. Joseph Parish Cemetery at 4th Avenue and Washington Street in Grafton, Wisconsin on June 20 at 11 a.m. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to either Northeaster n DuPage Special Recreation Association or Muscular Dystrophy Association.

SPORTS

Fenwick

so ball returns to state a er 12-inning win

Friars edge Lemont 4-3 at super-sectional

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Senior Sophia Leonardi was determined to reach base for the Fenwick softball team in the bottom of the 12th inning Monday.

“(Assistant coach Julianne Rurka) told me to take the first strike and then to bunt,” Leonardi said. “I just put it down and then I ran as fast as I could to first base. It was really close. I didn’t even look at the ball.”

When she sprinted again moments later, the feeling was unforgettable. Leonardi scored the winning run on sophomore leadoff hitter Kyleena Nowinski‘s one-out walkoff single to center field and the Friars outlasted Lemont 4-3 in 12 innings to win the Class 3A Benedictine Super-Sectional.

“It felt amazing. The thrill coming through my veins. I don’t even have any other words for it,” Leonardi said. “You saw me coming down the third-base line. My arms were up. It felt so awesome.”

Fenwick (22-11) advanced to the state semifinals at 12:15 p.m. Friday against Glenwood in Peoria. The Friars return to state after finishing third in 3A in 2024.

“It was intense. The girls dug deep. But they pulled through and that’s all that really matters,” Fenwick coach Valerie Jisa said.

“For the 12 innings, I was like, ‘We can’t stop now. We’ve gone this far. We’ve got to keep at it.’ I can’t believe we won again. I knew we could do it, but I’m a slow processor.”

Leonardi, senior Gianna Pescatore and juniors Bella Bigham, Alex Purta and Jordan Rossi remain from Fenwick state players in the 2024 third-place game or semifinals. With help from some new faces, Fenwick defeated Montini 4-2 Friday in the Glenbard South Sectional final to avenge last year’s loss in the sectional semifinals.

“It’s crazy to think we went down to state two years ago and now with this group of people; it couldn’t have been better,” Pescatore said. “I think our team chemistry compared to two

Fenw ick raises the plaque and celebrates their 4-3 victor y against Lemont dur ing the Class 3A Benedictine SuperSectional championship, June 1, in Lisle.

years ago was un-comparable, so I just really thought this year was the year.”

Fenwick appeared destined for downstate on Monday after freshman catcher Hailey Smith-Young hit her second homer of the game. The two-run shot after Purta reached on an infield er ror put the Friars ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth.

Down to its final out, Lemont (28-10) got a run-scoring triple to dead center field to tie the game

“(The game) was really nerve-wracking and honestly the team played great. We performed under pressure and I’m really proud of how we all did,” said Smith-Young, who leads Fenwick with 12 homers. “I’ve had a couple (two-homer games) this season. Those felt really good (on Monday). Sofia (Kateeb) pitched amazing. She hit her spots, was hitting corners.”

Kateeb had an impressive 15 strikeouts against an offense that scored in double figures 19 times this season. Lemont took a 1-0 lead in the third on a throwing error and RBI single. After Smith’s solo homer in the fourth, the Friars went ahead 2-1 with a leadoff triple and passed ball.

After her two homers, Smith-Young was intentionally walked her final two at-bats. That put runners on second and first with one out in the 11th, but an infield popout and

flyout ended the threat.

Leonardi led off the 12th with her bunt single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ayanna Bour n.

Nowinski singled off the first pitch and Leonardi scored with no play being made.

“Thank God it happened. It was crazy, all of the adrenaline, everything,” Nowinski said. “I was like, ‘I just need to hit a ground ball and then she’ll score.’ I’ve had a few hits, but that was definitely the most memorable one. It’s great because I wasn’t even originally on varsity. Doing that and helping the varsity team go to state is just insane for me.”

A leadoff fixture in the postseason, Nowinski began this season with the junior varsity and then became a dualroster player with the varsity. Jisa said Nowinski earned her varsity stripes during the team’s trip to Tennessee in early April

“She showed me that she was my leadoff,” Jisa said “She can’t pitch or throw but thankfully she’s still able to (be a designated player) and run and get on base.”

In the fall, Leonardi nearly went downstate in volleyball, but the Friars lost to Nazareth in the super-sectional.

“That was a big loss,” Leonardi said. “That was really sad because I’m playing volleyball in college (at DePauw). But this just made up for it.”

STEVE JOHNSTON

Huskies’ 4 x 400, Sibley-Diggs lead ve all-state performances

Johnson, Wilson also allstate as OPRF places top 10 for fourth year in row

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Oak Park and River Forest seniors Brian Jackson and Jonathan Sibley-Diggs perfor med extremely well Friday to reach event finals at the Class 3A boys track and field state meet.

They finished even better Saturday. Jackson anchored the 4 x 400-meter relay with juniors Keyante Johnson and Michael Degnan and sophomore Kelden Jones with an all-state second (3:16.18) in a school-record time for the second day in a row.

The Huskies were edged for the championship by Belleville West (3:15.04) and the 45.78 anchor split by senior Morquez Bulliner, who earlier won the 400 (47.20). Jackson’s 47.90 split would have finished fourth in the individual 400 finals.

“I was in about third place but I pulled through in the last 100 meters because (I thought), ‘This is my last race. This is my senior year,’” said Jackson, who will run at DePaul. “I wanted to make the best out of it and didn’t want to let my teammates down.”

Sibley-Diggs’ huge personal record of 18.12 meters/59 feet-5 1/2 inches in shot put earned an all-state sixth after being the 12th and last qualifier for finals. SibleyDiggs also was an all-state ninth in discus (51.03m/167-5).

“I threw some throws (in shot) I haven’t thrown. Discus didn’t go as planned but I’m still happy with the results becoming allstate,” Sibley-Diggs said. “Definitely being with the team was probably the best part (of state) but the PR was up there.”

The Huskies’ five top-nine, all-state performances tied for 10th as a team (20 points), the fourth straight top-10 finish for the 2024 3A state co-champions.

Johnson was sixth in the 400 (48.74) after a personal-best 48.26 in prelims. In the high

jump finals, junior Addis Wilson was seventh (1.98m/6-6) and senior Malik Griffee was 10th (1.93m/6-4).

“If you told me this would be a top-10 team at the beginning of the season, even halfway through indoors, I would have said you were crazy,” OPRF coach Tim Hasso said. “The kids showed up, even the events that didn’t advance (to finals). Those (4 x 400) kids were eyeballing a state championship. When you run into a buzz saw like (Bulliner), it is what it is. Places are places. But when your kids run their very best all season long at that moment, that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

The 4 x 400 was fueled by 3:17.16 in prelims, the third-fastest qualifying time that broke the 3:19.92 school record from 2015. Even a key injury to sophomore Moses Espinosa wouldn’t deny their goals

COURTESY OF DA N CHAMNESS

OPRF’s Jonathan Sibley-D ig gs competes in the shot put.

COURTESY OF DA N CHAMNESS

OPRF’s Keyante Johnson (middle) competes in the 400-meter race at the IHSA Class 3A boys track and eld state nals, May 30.

“We talked in (the warmup) tent, we’re going to do 3:16, and then the next day we went 3:16,” Johnson said. “We knew what it took to win and it was a big accomplishment.”

Jackson overcame late-season injuries that ke pt him from his 400 potential. He was 17th in prelims (48.80) but then split in the 57s for the relay.

“My teammate Keyante was able to push me. I was able to push my teammates,” Jackson said. “We gained a lot of confidence. Before the (4 x 400 Saturday) we had a prayer that we were going to do well.”

Sibley-Diggs joins 2024 graduate and shot state champion Kaden Garland as the Huskies’ only all-staters in both throws at the same state meet. Sibley-Diggs plans to walk on at Illinois State

“When I saw I was seeded 12th (making shot finals), I looked at coach (Ty Garland, Kaden’s father) and was just so happy I made finals,” Sibley-Diggs said.

On his first throw Saturday, Sibley-Diggs’ 59-5 1/2 easily passed his 57-1 previous best from indoors as a junior. He followed with a 57-5.

“Everything was perfect (on the PR). I looked at the video,” Sibley-Diggs said. “It all finally clicked, the PR I had been waiting for a year and a half now. That’s the best place to do it, too.”

Johnson enjoyed a breakthrough first track season. He’s often praised Jackson for accelerating his progress.

“There was a lot of competition and it really pushed me. I knocked almost a second and a half on my season-best in the 400 so I think that speaks for itself,” Johnson said. Other state competitors were seniors Emilio Nery (29th in 200, 22.45) and Jaylen Runnels (34th in 100, 11.29), sophomore Gavin Lazewski (28th, 3.95m/12-11 1/2) and junior Kevin Wangerow (32nd, 3.80m/12-5 1/2) in pole vault and the 4 x 100 relay of Jones, Johnson, Nery and Runnels (20th in season-best 41.99).

“This is going to go down as one of my favorite teams. To perform on the biggest stages, sectionals and state, just a gritty group,” Hasso said.

In 2A, Fenwick state competitors were senior Cameron Garrett in the 200 (23rd, 22.81) and 100 (31st, 11.13), junior Dillon Noble in the 300 intermediate hurdles (30th, 46.12) and 110 high hurdles (35th, personal-best 17.49), junior Adrien Dubois (22nd in 400, personal-best 50.93), the 4 x 100 of Garrett, junior Noah Diaz, sophomore Landon Johnson and Dubois (31st, 43.89) and 4 x 800 of junior Burke Burns, senior James Kieswetter, sophomore Wolfie Bergetz and senior Jason Garza (33rd, seasonbest 8:32.52).

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village and Park District of Oak Park will receive sealed Bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL

60302 Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday, 8:30 am to 12:00 p.m. local time until 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 for the following:

Village and Park District of Oak Park

2027 Comprehensive Tree Maintenance

Bid Number: 26-111

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

A mandatory pre-bid meeting shall be held on Wednesday, June 10 at 10:00 a.m. at the Public Works Center in Oak Park. Bids received from bidders who do not send a representative to the pre-bid meeting shall not be considered.

The Village and Park District of Oak Park reserve the right to issue proposal documents and specifications only to those vendors deemed qualified. No bid documents will be issued after 2:00 p.m. on Monday, June 22, 2026.

Published in Wednesday Journal June 3, 2026

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois

60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. local time until 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2026 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2026 Village of Oak Park Traffic Signal Cabinet Controller Replacement Project

Bid Number: 26 -116

Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oakpark.us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700 during the above hours.

Public Information Meeting

Scheduled by Village of Oak Park

The Village of Oak Park (“Village”) will hold a public information meeting concerning the proposed improvement of Ridgeland Avenue between Augusta Street and North Avenue. The public information meeting will be held on June 9, 2026, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, at the Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park Illinois, 60302. The meeting will be held in Room 101. All persons interested in this project are invited to attend this meeting. Persons with a disability desiring to participate in this meeting should contact the person listed in this Notice prior to June 4, 2026 to make arrangements for participating. The contact may be by telephone, in writing, by fax or by telecommunications device for the deaf (TTY).

This is a federally-funded project, the public information meeting is being held in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements and the Illinois Department of Transportation’s public involvement policy.

The proposed improvements are primarily to resurface the pavement throughout the project area. In addition, varying combinations of medians, curb bump-outs, and left-turn restrictions will be implemented at Ridgeland Avenue’s intersections with Thomas Street, Berkshire Street, Lenox Street, Greenfield Street, and LeMoyne Parkway to increase pedestrian safety. Some street parking will be removed to enable these intersection improvements. The existing traffic signals at Division Street and Lenox Street will be upgraded.

The Village is seeking public comments on the effects that the proposed improvements to Ridgeland Avenue between Augusta Street and North Avenue will have on Taylor Park. Taylor Park, which is under the jurisdiction of the Park District of Oak Park, is a significant, publicly owned park. As such, it is subject to protection under Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966. For the proposed improvement of Ridgeland Avenue between Augusta Street and North Avenue project, the Village intends to seek a finding from the Federal Highway

Administration that these effects constitute a Temporary Occupancy and therefore do not constitute a Section 4(f) use based on a determination that the project will not adversely affect the features, attributes, or activities that qualify Taylor Park for protection under Section 4(f).

Effects of the proposed improvement of Ridgeland Avenue between Augusta Street and North Avenue project on Taylor Park will include temporary disruptions to pedestrian access routes in Ridgeland Avenue right-of-way that connect to internal sidewalks within the park. Mitigation will include ensuring Taylor Park remains accessible through other entrances. Detailed documentation describing the impacts and mitigation associated with the effects of the proposed improvement of Ridgeland Avenue between Augusta Street and North Avenue project on Taylor Park will be available for review at the public information meeting, or prior to the meeting via the contact information at the bottom of this notice.

The meeting will be conducted on an informal basis. Representatives of the Village will be available from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Representatives will answer individual questions and record comments for those in attendance. Verbatim comments will not be recorded. The Village representatives will address topics such as the need for the project, the design alternatives under consideration, roadway system changes, pedestrian safety improvements, and the tentative construction schedule. Preliminary reports, including environmental documents and an engineering analysis with drawings, maps, and aerial photography, will be available for inspection and viewing during the entire public information meeting time. The same material is currently available for review and inspection at the Oak Park Public Works Center at 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302.

For more information, contact Abby Spentzouris, Village of Oak Park at 708-358-5700, publicworks@oakpark.us, or 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302.

Published in Wednesday Journal, June 3, 2026

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

On Friday, June 5th at 12:00p.m.2:00 p.m. a meeting conducted by Brookfield-LaGrange Park School District 95 will be taking place at S.E. Gross Middle School, 3524 Maple Ave. in Brookfield, in 2nd Floor Conference room. The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss the District’s plans for providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private and home-schools within the District for the 2026-2027 school year. If you are the parent of a home-schooled student who may have or has been identified with a disability and you reside within the boundaries of Brookfield-LaGrange Park School District #95, you are urged to attend. If you have further questions pertaining to this meeting, please contact Mr. Dean Pappas, Director of Student Services, at 708-588-8863 or dpappas@district95.org

Published in RB Landmark June 3, 2026

PUBLIC NOTICE

The River Forest Park District has placed its 2026-2027 Combined Budget and Appropriation Ordinance on file for public inspection. Said Ordinance may be examined on the River Forest Park District website. A public hearing on said Ordinance will be held at 6:30pm on Monday, June 15, 2026, at the Depot, 401 Thatcher Avenue, River Forest, Illinois.

Published in Wednesday Journal June 3, 2026

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION CHARLES SCHWAB BANK, SSB Plaintiff, -v.-

EMILY RENO, BRIAN RENO, HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK S/B/M TO TCF NATIONAL BANK

Defendants

2025 CH 09450

718 N. RIDGELAND AVE. OAK PARK, IL 60302

NOTICE OF SALE

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on March 31, 2026, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 6, 2026, 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: Commonly known as 718 N. RIDGELAND AVE., OAK PARK, IL 60302

Property Index No. 16-05-308009-0000

The real estate is improved with a single family residence. The judgment amount was $108,824.02. Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 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.

For information, contact JOHNSON, BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 30 N. LASALLE STREET, SUITE 3650, Chicago, IL, 60602 (312) 5419710. Please refer to file number 25 1660. 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.

JOHNSON, BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES, LLC 30 N. LASALLE STREET, SUITE 3650 Chicago IL, 60602 312-541-9710

E-Mail: ilpleadings@johnsonblumberg.com

Attorney File No. 25 1660

Attorney Code. 40342

Case Number: 2025 CH 09450 TJSC#: 46-842 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 # 2025 CH 09450 I3287974

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