WednesdayJournal_061726

Debate on Israel boycott returns to Oak Park

New e or t for November advisory vote

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

Bills in the state Senate and House of Re presentatives that would amend the Illinois Pension Code to remove the requirement to include businesses that boycott Israel on its list of restricted companies for investment has become a topic of fierce discussion in Oak Park.

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

$84.6 million. That’s the projected cost of the third major stage of plans to renovate and moder nize Oak Park and River Forest High School.

At the June 11 OPRF District 200 school board meeting, the district presented the projected cost for what school officials are calling Act 3 — the proposed demolition and rebuilding of the southwest corner of the building that will expand classrooms, plus spaces for the

performing arts and physical education. On June 25, the school board will vote on the proposed scope and budget for Act 3, which it appears likely to approve based on the June 11 discussion.

For Caren Van Slyke, one of the leaders of Oak Parkers for Free Speech, which supports the bills and is attempting to place an advisory referendum question about the matter on the village’s November election ballot, a change makes financial sense for Oak Park state pensioners. See ISRAEL BOYCOTT on page 13

COURTESY OF OPRF Rendering of OPRF renovations

The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest presents

From Oak Park to Shrubtown: A 35 year cartoon journey

Come join us as the Oak Park River Forest Historical Society presents cartoonist Marc Stopeck reflecting on 35 years of his iconic local cartoon, Shrubtown, in the Wednesday Journal. Stopeck will share cartoons spanning his career and discuss the recurring themes in his work, his creative process, and the role of satire in a community newspaper.

June 25, 2026 • 7pm

Oak Park River Forest Museum

129 Lake Street in Oak Park

Audience members are encouraged to bring copies of their favorite cartoons (if they still have them). You will also have the opportunity to ask Stopeck questions, offer up angry criticisms and demand explanations for cartoons that left you confused, baffled and/or offended. Find out

Police investigate antisemitic vandalism at Home Ave. development

Language and a gurine allegedly making the Nazi salute

By ELIZABETH SHORT Contributing Reporter

The Oak Park Police Department is investigating an act of vandalism that included antisemitic language and imagery. The vandalism occurred at the 327-329 Home Ave. property, currently developed by 327 Home Ave., LLC.

A neighbor of the property, who asked to remain anonymous, said she initially saw a chair on the lawn next to a tree on June 5 around 5 a.m. when she was walking her dog. On the chair, she recalled seeing a metal cross, a pile of poker chips, and an action figurine holding a gun.

John Schiess, the architect of the threeunit townhouse development, later said he thought the figurine was doing the Nazi salute

T he neighbor said she saw two stakes pointing at the tree, and other stakes lying on the ground that wrote “NO” twice. “This was weird,” she remembered thinking. At the time, she thought it was a message ag ainst taking down the tree

On Tuesday morning, the neighbor noticed the chair had moved forward on the lawn. She also saw that somebody had written “NO!” on the development sign. T hen, she said she saw stakes laid on the lawn spelling out “NO JEW.” On the back of the sign, she saw that somebody had written “NO JUIF” in dark ink (Juif is Jew in French).

She said she also saw a toy coffin and the same pile of poker chips on the chair, and the cross was now taped to the tree T he situation was “very upsetting” and “shocking,” the neighbor recalled. She remains confused about the incident and the message. “What are they trying to accomplish,” she said.

She took photos and sent them to Schiess

“Somebody spent quite a bit of time and energy to send out this hate message,” said Schiess. He re ported the incident to the police. Schiess also said the village

around the property

Neither Gary Collins, the property owner, nor the architect are Jewish, but Schiess said he has Jewish ancestry.

According to a Thursd ay statement from the village government, the police department is canvassing the area, reviewing security camera footage, and collecting physical evidence. “The department takes all re ports of hate-motivated vandalism seriously and is dedicating additional resources to this investigation,” wrote the village spokesperson in a statement.

On Thur sday, the neighbor said there was an object added underneath the development sign, which she thought was an ur n.

When years back the 327 Home Ave. developers proposed a zoning change to build more units, some neighbors advocated ag ainst this chang e. Schiess said those disag reements were always “respectful and civil.” T he current 3-unit proposal is currently in the village ’s review process Schiess said neighbors who had opposed

“very helpful” when it came to dealing with the vandalism, including the neighbor who initially found the vandalism.

“I believe there’s always a silver lining in most things, and that this is one of those,” he said. “That the community comes to g ether and disavows the ugliness of this.”

Schiess has worked in Oak Park since the 1990s and currently lives in Rive r Forest. “I’ve never, never seen anything like this,” he said. “It saddens me that this ugliness lives among us,” he wrote in a statement to Wednesday Journal.

“Acts of antisemitism have no place in Oak Park. Our village prides itself on being a welcoming, diverse community and incidents like this one are deeply painful, not just for those directly affected, but for our entire Jewish community and all residents who value inclusion,” Vicki Scaman, village president, said in a statement. “I want our Jewish neighbors to know that they are valued and supported here. We do not tolerate hate in any form.”

PROVIDED

An act of vandalism using antisemitic lang uage and imager y occurred at 327-329 Home Ave.

WEST

As nal elevator fails, Oak Park closes West Sub campus

Fire ghters carried dialysis patients down ve ights Thursday

By DAN HALEY Contributing Reporter

West Suburban Medical Center’s entire Oak Park campus was closed June 11 by Oak Park building officials as the final functioning elevator in the complex failed. Firefighters were called to carry dialysis patients down from the hospital’s fifth floor when the elevator stopped operating. Sean

Lintow, Sr., the village’s chief building official, said he saw at least three patients being carried down on “special lifts.”

Lintow said the hospital has a total of28 elevators, none of which are currently functional. He said the village will require that at least two elevators are brought back into use and then pass inspection by Oak Park’s contracted elevator inspection fir m.

In the meantime, no member ofthe public

is allowed into the building. Only hospital employees working in building maintenance, engineering or security will be allowed on site

The nonprofit PCC Wellness, a longtime tenant ofthe professional building, had been operating three clinics in that building but “is working urgently” to relocate those services, said a source at PCC.

Village officials said they saw no other activity in the building Thursday when they

walked the building’s halls

Manoj Prasad, CEO of Resilience Health the owner of West Sub, shuttered the hospital in late March. He has claimed that he was gradually reopening clinics within the hospital though that has been difficult to confir m. Prasad had initially said he had a plan to reopen West Sub by June or July depending on his ability to collect millions in unbilled services

West Sub closure has electeds rethinking oversight

Critical of CEO Prasad and for-pro t health- care

By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter

In the wake of West Suburban Hospital being locked down by the Oak Park building officials last week after its last working elevator failed, several local elected officials voiced their concerns regarding the hospital’s current management and the impact ofprivate ownership ofessential medical resources on average people

Oak Park firefighters were seen at the facility June 11 carrying a dialysis clinic’s patients down multiple flights ofstairs when the elevator failed.

PCC Wellness in Oak Park has -- or had -- three clinics in the now shuttered West Sub professional building. Communications

Director Melissa Chrisfield said the sudden closure had PCC staff scrambling to find alternatives for their patients on just hours notice.

Three Oak Park area elected officials -- 1st District Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps, 78th District State Rep. Camille Lilly and 8th District State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford say state officials have learned a hard lesson through the ongoing West Sub debacle.

Speaking at the DPOP gathering Saturday, Stamps called the behavior of West Sub CEO Manoj Prasad “inhumane.” She said when she and others met with Prasad last year to discuss his decision to close West Sub’s obstetrics department, his explanation “was gibberish…” She added, “it’s my under-

standing he’s getting away with it.”

Lilly was equally blunt in her assessment ofPrasad’s professional qualifications, saying, “he did not know how to run a hospital.”

In addition to her elected position in Springfield, Lilly has long served as an administrator at Loretto Hospital in Austin.

Lilly said the problems at West Sub run deeper than managerial incompetence and debt. She said the problems with critically important medical providers being taken over by private for-profit entities has its roots in 2015 state legislation crafted by the Illinois Hospital Association that “reduced our vetting of community hospitals throughout the state.”

“Whether we’re talking about hospitals or schools, the moment that stops being fi-

nancially (viable) to whoever owns it, then they can get out ofthe game,” Stamps said.

Ford said he believed “private hospitals should be treated the same in terms of re gulation as public “safety net” hospitals, but added, “The problem is, you can’t force them to provide more money. You can’t take (over) a private business.”

“I think there will be … a process (put) in place to monitor the health ofthe hospital,” Ford said. “We didn’t have enough oversight on the hospital. (Prasad) closed the hospital in one day. That’s unacceptable.”

“There’s no doubt that state has learned a lesson with Dr. Prasad’s ability to run rampant and be irresponsible with state and federal funds.”

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Faith leaders urge reopening of West Suburban Hospital

Activists say the closure risks lives, call on elec ted o cials to support hospital

By ELIZABETH SHORT Contributing Reporter

Over 50 community members gathered in the Columbus ParkRefectory Tuesday morning, calling for the reopening of West Suburban Medical Center. Representatives from The Concerned Clergy to Save West Suburban Hospital, the Leaders Network Chicago, and the Chicago Medical Society were in attendance, as well as additional faith leaders, care providers, and residents.

West Sub’s emergency room and inpatient services have remained closed since the hospital was shuttered in late March. The community meeting fell on the 76th day ofthe closure, activists repeated during the meeting. Speakers said the closure risks Chicagoans’ lives and exacerbates existing health inequities.

“This is our moment to stand together. We need to save our hospital. … The closure of West Suburban is not merely a business decision, it is a public health emergency. It is a moral issue. It is a justice issue,” said Rev. Ira Acree, pastor ofGreater St. John Bible Church in Austin.

issue and years ofunpaid debt to the state, is in Oak Park but primarily serves Austin and West Side residents and is one of the few safety-net hospitals in the area. Now, according to Bishop Dwight Gunn, most ambulances are taking people to the Community First Medical Center in Portage Park, which is 34 blocks and over four miles away from West Sub.

“When a mother suffers a stroke, when a father has a heart attack, when a child experiences seizure, when grandmother suffers an aneurysm, every second counts,” Acree said. “A five minute trip to the emergency room should not become a 20 minute ride across town. Those lost minutes can become lost lives.”

Dr. Vishnu Chundi, a for mer West Suburban physician, said the community deserves better care. He called on the gover nor, state legislators, and other elected officials to protect the hospital.

Other speakers had similar messages. “We have not heard the type ofoutcry that we should be hearing from our elected officials… We need to rise and raise the temperatur ” Gunn said.

an at-

hange hospital leadership and reReWest Prasad has told workeopen the July eved lace hen asked ifhe thought this Gunn ownmillionaires ommunity is suffering,” Gunn said. “We think that there needs to hange in leaddon’t believe that this current leadership, this private ownership, is the method in which we should be

operating a safety-net hospital, because they are simply there to make money, and they’re not there for the good of the community.”

At the end ofthe meeting, roughly 20 members ofthe clergy stood behind Gunn in sup-

port ofsaving West Suburban. “We need to reimagine to make sure that we are addressing all the necessary concerns for this community, and the time is not tomorrow,” he said. “The time is now.”

ELIZABETH SHORT

Over 50 community members gathered in the Columbus Park Refector y to suppor t reopening West Suburban Medical Center.

Heritage Hous complaints leave villag looking for new to

A nuisance ordinance would give Oak Park more ways to force compliance

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

With frustration rising over conditions at the Heritage House senior highrise, Oak Park’s village board may soon be considering a nuisance residential property ordinance that would provide the village greater means to compel property owners and management to maintain their buildings.

At the June 9 village board meeting, assistant village manager and neighborhood services director Jonathan Burch discussed the idea within the context of the issues plaguing Heritage House, 201 Lake St., which is operated by Pacific Management Inc.

The board received an update that night on compliance measures at the property from village code compliance manager Tina Brown for the property that is owned by Heritage House Associates LLC with Wellness America as managing member. It is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 rental subsidized property.

Residents have expressed concerns about myriad issues, including rodents, bedbugs, inadequate garbage dumpsters, not enough maintenance personnel, lax building security, drug use and outsiders entering the building unfettered.

“Many other towns have adopted things specifically related to nuisance properties with additional authorities and obligations for property owners once they are identified as a nuisance property in a locale,” Burch said, “which in turn allows for additional enforcement activities.”

Burch said the next day that the village technically has a nuisance code, but its provisions date to 1981. Other municipalities have adopted more residential-focused codes, which focus on “choosing some measure of what issues trigger, determine spe-

cifically what would be those thresholds and what we’d be looking tive) plan.”

How long it would take to draft a potential ordinance for board clear from Burch, though he said he anticipates “less time … I think it the residents and the board.”

Board support for proposed ordinance

At the board meeting, Vicki Scaman supported the idea of a sance residential property ordinanc only for Heritage House but other suspect properties in the village

But Heritage House was the primary thrust of the discussions, tended by a host of residents and suppo ers.

“What we’re hearing is the House needs that next level,” Scaman said. “They need greater accountability. They need potentially (a different) management company for that location.

“Let’s please do what we can to bring that nuisance ordinance forward as quickly as possible. Unless (residents) are calling the village, they are getting ignored. But the village itself is being responsive.”

That was corroborated by Brown’s report, which noted that 533 property maintenance violations were found in 2023, with 100% compliance achieved by January 2024. In 2025, an inspection of one-third of the building’s units revealed just 22 violations.

“So there was as lot of progress made,” Brown said, noting the village began issuing straight citations for property maintenance violations, not warnings. That improvement waned, however. In May, a complaint-driven inspection resulted in seven citations with fines that could range from $20 to $750, determined by the village’s office of adjudication. A hearing on the matter will be held at 1 pm. July 23.

“In summary, while certain issues periodically reoccur, property management at Heritage House has been consistently responsive to the village and proactive in ad-

dressing re ported matters,” she said. “We are often told they are unaware before the resident comes to the village. Also, when compared to other large multifamily buildings with 200 or more dwelling units, the Heritage House has not had a significantly higher number of property maintenance complaints.”

‘I’m stunned’

Village resident Carl Spight, who doesn’t live at Heritage House, was one of several public commenters at the June 3 meeting and said Brown’s re port fell short.

“I’m stunned,” Spight said. “I’m stunned by the re port about Heritage House. It doesn’t give you the flavor, the sense of the pathology of the quality of life at the Heritage House … These are our grandparents and our parents and brother and sisters. The residents are family. I would now know that by the re port.

“I don’t understand why the board and the village management, the aging com-

mission, is so feckless to improving the quality of life of the residents of the Heritage House. There needs to be a robust discussion of the issues that been summoned up. What’s going on here?”

Spight’s remarks resulted in gallery applause, similar to that later in the meeting for trustee Jim Taglia’s comments about the status of Heritage House

“If there is a way that this board could throw the book at these guys, I would be all behind that,” he said. “What I’ve seen here, I’m embarrassed. No should feel unsafe. And (residents) are telling me they don’t feel safe walking around. It’s hard to believe this is happening.”

Fellow trustee Derek Eder placed the issue within the lens of a math problem, saying the “cost of inaction is less than the fines they would get for not doing anything. It is our responsibility as a board to change the equation. We should make it extremely expensive for them to not maintain this building.

“Let’s make it a numbers game.”

TODD BANNOR

Heritage House atrium viewed from third oor

Roosevelt bar closed by Berwyn a er repeated issues

Mike’s Place problems spilled over into Oak Park, shuttered until June 17 hearing

By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter

A Berwyn bar with a years-long history of complaints from both Berwyn and Oak Park residents was ordered closed on June 9, pending the continuation of a liquor license suspension/revocation hearing next week.

According to an 11-page complaint, the joint business and liquor license hearings related to Mike’s Place, 6319 W. Roosevelt Rd., seek “to revoke the … liquor license and business license” of the bar for a litany of violations

Mike’s Place has a history of loud, rowdy behavior and fights between departing customers late at night. That chaos has regularly spilled into neighborhoods across Roosevelt Road in Oak Park. For years residents of the 1150 blocks of Cuyler and Highland Avenues and elsewhere in south Oak Park have complained of ongoing noise, disrespectful bar patrons parking on their streets, public urination and lawns littered with beer bottles and food waste in the morning. There have also been guns discharged on Oak Park streets

Berwyn authorities have suspended liquor and business licenses at Mike’s Place twice since May 2021, once for two weeks for “noise disturbances, violent street fights, parking problems” and other violations. In March 2023 the bar was closed for four days due to “nude/semi-nude dancers” who allegedly solicited prostitution.

Robert Lovero, Berwyn’s mayor and liquor commissioner, granted a continuation requested by attorney Robert Ford on behalf of Lapinard. Lovero scheduled the next hearing for Wednesday, June 17 at 1:30 p.m., and said the bar must remain shuttered until then.

In a brief huddle in the public seating area within earshot of a reporter, Lovero told Ford that any time period that the bar was closed pending the next hearing date would be taken off the length of any suspension that might ultimately be imposed

The latest complaint seeking suspension or revocation lists a total of 29 separate Berwyn police incident reports since January 2025 — 15 within the first five months of 2026 — detailing a variety of offenses committed inside and outside the bar. Besides disturbing the peace and the bar repeatedly having no registered manager on duty, the incident reports include numerous batteries to individuals, a false fire alarm, large unruly crowds aggraesisting olice, and two incidents olving handguns.

Oak Park police have towed scores of cars in the past year, after the writing of parking violation tickets proved ineffective. But disruptive and violent incidents have continued to occur. Three Berwyn residents present at the June 9 hearing said they were concerned with the disruptive behavior of Mike’s Place patrons and owner Michael Lapinard’s failure to effectively address the problems. The only notice of the hearing was on an Oak Park group’s Facebook page. No other citizens, including from Oak Park, were present June 9.

“Now, I’m wondering.”

tacy Hendricks has rk near 11 years. he said there has always at 6319 er the ver the the bar was at t a new any means,” she he problems, she een “Conontinuous. It’s een a battle for all .”

“We’ve had shootings in front of our house, we’ve had riots in front of our house,” Hendricks said. “To be honest, we’ve hit brick walls everywhere we’ve gone to fight this.”

Last month, at the urging of Village Trustee James Taglia, Hendricks attended a meeting in Berwyn and played the audio of a shooting near Oak Park Friendship school on Roosevelt Road in December 2025 that resulted in a window being shot out. No one was ever charged in the incident.

“It was rapid fire,” Hendricks said. “Like 60 shots.” She said she didn’t feel her presentation had had any effect, but in light of the recent hearing, she said,

“I’m very hesitant, but I’m somewhat optimistic as well,” she said. She can’t be at the June 17 hearing, but expects several neighbors to be present, and hopes others show up.

Taglia, who characterized Lovero as “an old style, no-nonsense, take-charge mayor,” said Oak Park officials “already have a close relationship” with Berwyn officials

“But with the volume of complaints from Oak Park residents and the persistent issues we’ve had with Mike’s Place, we want it to be even closer,” he said. Village President Vicki Scaman and Chief of Police Shatonya Johnson, Taglia said, “recognize the benefit of working hand-in-hand with our colleagues in Berwyn on a common problem and will continue to do so.”

The problems seem to be increasing in frequency. In the latest incident cited by Berwyn officials, on May 23, which was captured on Oak Park police body cameras, Oak Park officers observed an argument turn into a “violent fight between two female Mike’s Place patrons” outside the bar at 1:30 a.m.

Berwyn police say a man named Kevin Buford “falsely identified himself as the owner” and did not tell police that the fight was between customers of the bar. In fact, officials say, Buford directed police a block away to Roosevelt and Highland Avenue, despite the bar’s security guards being captured on Oak Park police body cams “actively involved in the dis-

turbance as it starts in front of the establishment.”

Just before closing time on March 28, 10 Mike’s Place security guards required assistance from numerous Oak Park and Berwyn officers to disperse a large crowd. A similar incident had occurred the week before.

Three weeks later on April 19, police dispatch issued a call for all on duty police officers from Berwyn and Oak Park to respond to 75 people outside the bar at 2 a.m. blocking traffic on Roosevelt Road and refusing police orders to disperse.

The potentially lethal behavior of some Mike’s Place patrons is reflected in a January 18, 2026 incident in which police were called to the bar after a 911 caller said a woman threatened “I will shoot this place up” and said she had a gun.

The woman, a Stateville Prison corrections officer who lives in far south suburban Dolton, was arrested. She had punched the bar’s door man, and later allegedly displayed a handgun when the bouncer followed her to her car to take down the license plate. Police recovered a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun from the cup holder on her center console

After denying brandishing a gun, the woman then acknowledged she “put the pistol on her right hip but never displayed the firearm at the bouncer.”

She was charged with battery, but no weapons violation, although police say her FOID card was revoked on Jan. 20.

Mike’s Place, 6319 W. Roosevelt Road, Berwy n

BILL DWYER

Michael Lapinard, owner of Mike’s Place

with t Lisa Capone

YOUR BEST LIFE withLisaCapone

Understanding Alzheimer’s

D90 Supt. Condon talks past, fu

Retiring superintendent is

looking forward to ‘spending fewer evenings away from home’

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

JunemarksAlzheimer’s&Brain AwarenessMonth—atimetoraise awarenessabouttheimportanceof brainhealthandsupportthose impactedbyAlzheimer’sandother formsofdementia.

June marks Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month a time to raise awareness about the importance of brain health and support those impacted by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia

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

Maintaining brain health starts early. Below tips are all linked to reduced risk of cognitive decline and can help keep the brain sharp regular physical activity a balanced diet social engagement mental stimulation simple habits like walking daily, reading, or learning a new skill

On June 30, Edward Condon will retire as superintendent ofRiver Forest School District 90. He’ll be replaced by Janice Pavelonis from Carbondale Elementary District 95. Condon discussed his accomplishments at District 90, the Board ofEducation’s approval ofa new four-year teacher contract in March, and what’s next for him in an interview with Wednesday Journal, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Can you provide some general background about your career prior to joining District 90?

child; to foster open, transparent communication; and to maintain financial stability and remain good stewards ofthe taxpayers’ investment in our schools

munity at the forefront oftheir gover nance decisions

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.

I worked in the state of Virginia as a social studies teacher, high school assistant principal and middle school principal before moving back to Chicagoland in 2003. Then I worked as a principal at Butler Junior High School in Oak Brook before beginning as the superintendent for River Forest District 90 in 2011.

Do you recall your first day on the job at District 90? Were you nervous, excited, etc.?

Since the district is committed to continuous improvement, the work to accomplish these goals was always ongoing. I am extremely thankful to the many individuals who have been instrumental to our continued progress on each of these goals over time.

What have been the most satisfying parts ofthis job, where you feel like you made a big difference?

How challenging were the recent teacher contract negotiations for you?

Ifyouoralovedoneareexperiencing anyofthesesigns,consulta healthcareprofessional.Early detectioncanleadtobetterplanning andimprovedqualityoflife.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these signs, consult a healthcare professional Early detection can lead to better planning and improved quality of life

VisitCantata.orgformore seniorlivingadviceorcall (708)387-1030.

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

Both excited and nervous. When I arrived on the first day, I found all the summer school staff gathered in the parking lot. It turns out that the schools had lost power due to a thunderstorm the night before, and my first official action was to cancel summer school classes that day. Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be a foreboding sign of things to come

At that time, what overarching objectives did you have for the district? Do you feel like you’ve accomplished those objectives?

Throughout my service in District 90, I have been dedicated to four foundational goals: To work collaboratively with the faculty, staf f and administration to build consistently on our foundation ofacademic excellence for all students; to implement programs and curricula focused on belongingness and the development ofthe whole

It has been satisfying to ensure that faculty and staf f have the resources that are needed to do their work, including quality curricula, professional development, appropriate instructional materials, safe and clean classrooms, effective school leaders, social-emotional supports and time to work and plan collaboratively

By far, the most important element in our work is the quality and authenticity of the relationship between the educator and student. This is the greatest prerequisite to success in teaching and learning. At heart, the role ofschool administration is to ensure that teachers have what they need to do their job well and fully. I am proud ofthe amazing faculty and staf f for the way they accomplish that, and ofour administrative team for the way they set the table. We are also for tunate to have a dedicated and responsive board of education leaders who support excellence and keep the needs of students, staf f, f amilies and the larger com-

The reality is that teachers deserve to be paid markedly more than they earn in our country, especially considering the importance oftheir role in fostering a well-educated, democratic society. In River Forest, our supportive community has funded outstanding schools for a very long time, and it is critical that we invest these resources responsibly to support excellent schools moving forward. Finding the balance between acknowledging the extraordinary importance and value of our outstanding teaching staff and the need to preserve finite assets for future generations is not easy. However, I am pleased that the final agreement provided a teacher salary adjustment to help us remain competitive while not creating an unsustainable financial burden for the commun ity.

What’s next?

I am looking forward to traveling, enjoying more time with family and spending fewer evenings away from home. I have been granted the opportunity to collaborate on some education-related projects that are meaningful to me. These include coordinating mentoring supports for new superintendents in West Cook County and developing a leadership cohort for educators from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in school administration roles in Illinois.

Gegg Voss PHOTO CREDIT

Dr. Ed Condon, with students atLincoln School.

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I grew up with two brothers who were very popular. As a result, they attracted the attention of many girls - some of those girls were very forward. They would call our house phone or make uninvited visits to speak to my brothers. Both were quite unusual for the 1970s. Sure, my brothers enjoyed this attention at first. But they quickly lost interest and would ultimately brush these girls off. I watched their reactions and vowed I would never be like those girls. I would never chase a boy. And I didn’t - until I was forced to.

I went to an all-girls Catholic high school - Mother McAuley. A big part of McAuley culture was attending formal high school dances. These dances were not like today where groups of students attend together. McAuley’s dances were formal affairs with proper dates. If you wanted to attend, you needed to ask a boy to go with you. It wasn’t quite chasing a boy, but it felt a little like betraying my constitution. Then again, worse than a girl breaking her pride to ask out a boy was a girl sitting home alone with her pride intact. In other words, it was time to ask a boy out on a date.

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Attending an all-girls school was great for academics, activities, and school spirit. But it put us at a disadvantage when it came to socializing with boys. Those formal dances helped boost our confidence. Asking a boy on a date a few times a year gave us a chance to build courage, take initiative, and understand dating from a boy’s perspective.

That hard-won courage is not as easy to come by today which is why I sympathize with today’s phenomenon of boys not asking girls on dates. A study found that 45% of young men (18 to 25) have never approached a woman in public and asked her out.

People of older generations say they just don’t understand why boys and young men don’t just walk up to a woman and start a conversation. The answer is more complicated than a lack of confidence.

Young men today are operating in a social environment that differs dramatically from the one I grew up in. Despite going to an all-girls school, there were still plenty of opportunities to cross paths with boys and have in person conversations. Today, young people communicate primarily through a screen. Although dating apps have made connecting more accessible, they have also made it easier to avoid the risk and awkwardness of putting yourself out there.

Approaching a stranger takes a specific set of skills: tolerating awkwardness, handling rejection gracefully, being willing to look a little cringe. These are skills built through practice. Yet talking in person and reading facial expressions are being used less than ever, leading to increased anxiety in face-to-face interactions. Compounding the shortage of social skills, young men worry their rejection will be filmed and posted on social media for the world to see. Add the fear of misreading a situation or crossing into “creepy” territory, along with unrealistic expectations, economic pressures, and social-media comparison, and it is no wonder many young men feel stifled in the dating department. Ironically, a study found that 74% of women under 25 actually wish men would approach them more often face-to-face.

Is there a solution? What can a young man do to make approaching women not only less intimating - but dare I say - fun?

Lead with curiosity instead of performance. Focus on conversation and connecting rather than trying to impress the girl. Treat rejection as a learning opportunity and not a personal slight. A few practical steps:

1. Practice Talking to Everyone - talk with cashiers, classmates, coworkers, neighbors, etc. Once you can comfortably talk with anyone, approaching someone you’re attracted to becomes much less intimidating.

2. Set Tiny Goals - Don’t start with “get a date.” Start with making eye contact, smiling, and introducing yourself. Success should be measured by taking action, not by the outcome.

3. Join Activities That Create Repeated ContactJust as it is easier to make friends through recurring activities, it is also easier to approach someone you’ve seen around a few times. (Intramurals, volunteer groups, hobby clubs, religious organizations…)

4. Learn to Handle Rejection - “Not interested” does not mean “there is something wrong with me.” Everyone gets rejected one time or another. It makes the eventual success that much sweeter.

5. Put Down the Phone More OftenA surprising amount of social confidence comes from simply being present. Cultivate a little FOMO for touching grass and engaging with the world around you.

6. Improve Yourself for Your Own BenefitExercise, dress well, develop interests, and build competence. Respecting yourself builds confidence.

For some of us human connection gets easier with baby steps. Talking to one new person each week for five minutes can create a flywheel for a whole new social life.

Estate planning works exactly the same way. I never would have danced with Pat if I hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask - and you’ll never have a finished estate plan until you take the first small step. So take it. Do one thing this week to get your estate plan started and watch it compound into a completed plan before you know it.

Create your estate plan today!

‘A crock of s---t’: transcripts show grand juror skepticism in Broadview 6 case

Straw and Parente pushed for transcripts to be released

By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter

Recently released transcripts from the October 2025 grand jury that eventually returned an indictment against the Broadview 6 ICE protestors show a grand jury deeply skeptical of the gover nment’s argument for a finding of probable cause, with some jurors openly derisive of the prosecution.

Grand jurors repeatedly expressed concer n over the definition of conspiracy presented by Sheri Mecklenburg and Matt Skiba, assistant U.S. attorneys. Jurors questioned their continued attempts to obtain an indictment after their first two attempts failed. Mecklenburg repeatedly characterized the opinions of jurors who disagreed with the government’s case as “feelings” rather than considered opinions

More than 190 pages of grand jury proceedings from three days last October were released to the public in the wake of the dismissal of charges against the six defendants, including Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw. Straw and his attorney Chris Parente were at the forefront of efforts to force release of the transcripts and are seeking sanctions for the misconduct of prosecutors.

Throughout the three sessions, Mecklenburg and Skiba avoided presenting any direct evidence of any express agreement by members of the “Broadview 6” to assault or impede an ICE agent’s vehicle, insisting that the six defendant’s actions were sufficient to prove the existence of a conspiracy

On several occasions, Mecklenburg referred to Skiba as “Professor Skiba,” suggesting an added gravitas or weight to his presentation. On one occasion, she engaged Skiba in a question and answer session, as if he were a witness

The second session on Oct. 16 began tense and stayed tense, when a juror asked, “Do you have unlimited tries?”

“Do we have — what did you ask?” Mecklenburg said. “Unlimited tries,” the juror repeated. “Like you keep coming back as many times as you want?”

“Well, I don’t think we have to worry about

that. I think we’re going to be just fine,” Mecklenburg said. “I think the saying is the second time is the charm,” Skiba quipped.

But Mecklenburg wasn’t happy. “Wait, wait, wait. You just responded like, well, maybe I do. Do you?” she asked a juror.

“I mean I’ll listen,” the juror replied.

“Do you have an open mind for deliberation and returning a verdict if the facts meet the law,” Mecklenburg asked. “Yes,” the juror replied.

“Okay. Is there anybody here who feels differently?” Mecklenburg asked. “Because if you do, then you shouldn’t deliberate with the — so you – you took a — you know, you have a duty to — to have an open mind and see if the facts fit the law and you don’t get to decide if you like the law or you don’t.”

Things then boiled over when a grand juror asked, “Are you actually presenting any new actual facts or just a different viewpoint on your side?”

“Okay. I’m feeling the skepticism already,” Mecklenburg said. “Are you going to be able to listen with an open mind? Tell me the truth.”

“I — no,” the juror replied. “Okay. Then you have to go,” Mecklenburg told him.

“I heard this case like last week and I thought it was a crock of shit then and I still think it is,” the juror told Mecklenburg, who replied, “Okay. Thank you for your opinion for everybody.”

“Uh-huh,” the juror said. “I kind of had that impression from last week, but thank you,” Mecklenburg said.

“Do you have any evidence other than the (inaudible),” the juror asked Mecklenburg, who replied, “Have a good evening.”

“Pardon me?” The juror said. “I’m (inaudible) — no new evidence?”

“I didn’t say there is no new evidence (Inaudible.),” Mecklenburg said, adding, “If you feel that you can’t be — then excuse yourself That’s fine.”

Other jurors were skeptical as well. One asked Skiba, “So, the act of mirroring someone else doing, impeding without talking and expressly agreeing, we’re going to do this together, at the moment, you’re saying that constitutes conspiracy? So I see them pushing, I’m going to push too. That’s a conspiracy you’re saying?”

“Yes,” Skiba answered. “Under the law?” the juror asked. “And that’s — yes,” Skiba

replied.

“One, it’s an overt action. They — it’s not they are just thinking in their head, I want to be part of this. They took some actions They were — you know, there was a concerted ef fort to block this, Agent A, from doing his job.” There was, Skiba said, “a conspiracy implied by the conduct of the co-conspirators.”

But the second time was not the charm; the grand jurors retur ned another no bill.

Oc tober 23

Mecklenburg tried a third time to obtain an indictment a week later. But first she made an extraordinary admission to the grand jurors, acknowledging that she’d had communication with two grand jurors outside the jury room. One appears to have been the juror who termed her case “a crock of shit.”

One juror, she said, “apologized to me from last week, and I told (him) that I accepted his apology. I wasn’t mad. I understand people have feelings. (He) said at that time that he did have feelings, and he’s sure that he’s right, but he shouldn’t have walked out the way he did.”

Mecklenburg said she was approached by another juror, who said, “I’m sorry. I under— I can apply the facts to the law. I understand that people have feelings, but we have to apply the facts to the law.”

“And I said, ‘That’s true. That’s exactly what we’re asking you to do,’ something like that, to the best of my recollection,” Mecklenburg said.

She then reiterated her contention that

some grand jurors were not being “open minded” and able to deliberate fairly. She asked the jurors to “be honest” with their fellow jurors

“What I am going to ask is that you’re all here. You all stay,” Mecklenburg said. “You all listen, and then when your — it is your time to deliberate, that you be honest with your fellow Grand Jurors. If you still feel like you are operating from feelings that prevent you from deliberating fairly with your fellow Grand Jurors and from applying the facts — the law to the facts here, then tell your fellow Grand Jurors that you can’t deliberate.”

One grand juror asked Skiba yet again to elaborate on “what it means to conspire,” to which Skiba replied, “A conspiracy is an express or implied agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime.”

“Do you need to do any advanced planning?” a juror asked. “No,” Skiba re plied. “A conspiracy can be based on the spontaneous actions, plus the overt acts of the coconspirators.”

Mecklenburg returned yet again to her implied contention that there is only one conclusion grand jurors could reasonably reach, and that if they did not see the case the way she did, it was because they were allowing their emotions to override the facts.

“I ask that you deliberate with each other in good faith,” Mecklenburg told them. “If anybody still feels that you can’t, then you have to be honest with your fellow Grand Jurors and tell them that your feelings about this are too strong, that they will not allow you to apply the fact — the law to these facts.”

Straw, Parente join WJ Conversation on June 25

Brian Straw and his attorney, Chris Parente, will join moderator Charlie Meyerson for a conversation about their Broadview 6 experience in an event hosted by Wednesday Journal.

The conversation will be held June 25 at 7 p.m. at the 19th Century Club, 178 N. Forest Ave. There is no charge for admission.

BILL DWYER

Brian Straw

Oak Park withholds bodycam footage of police shooting at request of state police

Scaman looks for ‘earliest oppor tunity’ to release footage

By DAN HALEY Interim Editor

In response to multiple Freedom of Info rm ation Act (FOIA) requests and inquiries from media outlets including We d nesd ay Journal, the village of Oak Pa rk on We d nesd ay afternoon i ssued a statement explaining why it has yet to release p olice bo dy c amera footage from the May 31 encounter in wh ich a Chicago man was shot to death by an Oak Pa rk p olice officer during a fight to alle gedly disar m the man.

At a village b oard meeting on June 9, there we re public c omments from three p eople raising c oncerns about the d elay in releasing the body camera footage.

Christian Wallac e, 38, had b een p ulled over on Austin Blvd. at Harrison St. on a moving violation. He exited his car at the request of the still unnamed officer, and during a pat down a c oncealed we apon was found. In the ensuing scuffle the Oak Pa rk officer shot Wallace four times Vi llage President Vi cki Scaman, in the statement, said the village was c ommitted to transparency and had hoped to be able to c omment on the video footage shor tly after it was shown to members of Wallace’s family

However, the village said it was fol-

lowing directives from the I llinois Stat e Police Public I nte g rity Task Fo rce wh ich the local department c alled in to c onduc t i ts investi gation of the incident.

“ISP has indicated c oncerns about the i nte g rity of i ts investi gation if any associated footage we re to be released at thi s time. T he Vi llage of Oak Pa rk i ntends to release the footage as soon as it is allowe d p ending the c ompletion of elements of the investi gation,” read the statement from village spokesman Dan Yo pchick. Scaman, in the written statement, said, “My heart g oes out to the f amily and friends of Christian Wallac e. In the interest of f ull transparency, I had hoped to be c ommenting on the release of related video footage i mmediately following the f amily‘s private viewing. However, I do reco gnize the importance of respecting the inde p endent investi gation being led by the I llinois State Police Public I ntegrity Task Fo rc e. T herefore, I do suppo rt waiting for the earliest o pportunity in the process that release of footage would not i nterfere with the wo rk of investi gator s. I remain committed to a speedy and transparent process for the sake of Christian Wallac e, his f amily, the officer and for Oak Pa rk .”

Gregg Voss contributed re porting to this story.

C ORRECTION

The print version of a Wednesday Journal news story re garding the Oak Park police involved shooting of a person on Austin Boulevard on May 31 did not include an update that was published in the online version of the story.

The correct statement reads: “The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has not yet decided if it will bring any charges against the Oak Park police officer, the village confirmed Thursday afternoon.”

We re gret this omission.

ISRAEL BOYCOTT

Democracy or divisive?

from page 1

She said those pensioners have lost millions due to the advent of the 2015 law under for mer Gov. Bruce Rauner that instituted the requirement to bar pension fund investment in companies that boycott or divest from Israel for any reason, including human rights concerns

“If this law is repealed, our pension fund will be able to do what’s fiduciarily responsible,” Van Slyke said, adding her organization views the issue as a matter of free speech as outlined by a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Not so fast, countered the Oak Park-based Jewish Community and Friends for Democracy

In a series of prepared statements to Wednesday Journal, the organization said this debate should take place in Springfield, “where elected officials are accountable to their constituents.

“If supporters of this bill want to change state law, the appropriate path is to engage their members of the General Assembly,” it said, “not to collect signatures on Oak Park street corners.”

Referendum voted down in April

On April 28, at Oak Park township’s annual town meeting, residents voted down 352 to 134 a non-binding referendum that asked if they supported the right of individuals and organizations, including state contractors, to boycott, divest and sanction Israel.

That should have been the end of the debate, said Rabbi Adir Glick from Temple Har Zion in River Forest, because there is a larger issue.

“There was a vote at the township which was clear,” Glick said. “Our community feels threatened by all of this.”

Van Slyke suggested there is more nuance to the issue. For one, the question for the village ballot would be different, focusing on whether the state of Illinois should repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boycott Israel.

“We want all of Oak Park to decide on a very specific issue, which is repealing this law and we’re using the village process,” she said.

To that end, Oak Parkers for Free Speech members are currently canvassing for signatures to file a petition for a referendum

Village President Vicki Scaman said Monday that, “I don’t want to get ahead of the board discussion on it.

“It is strange to me that it exists … why there would be restrictions in the state law from 2015,” she said. “I am extremely supportive of democracy and listening to our voters. I always want to hear from our voters where their concerns are.”

‘That is divisive’

The Jewish Community and Friends for Democracy noted in its remarks to the Journal that “the decision to rebrand and pursue a different procedural path may be legal, but it is difficult to characterize it as anything other than a do-over after losing a fair vote.

“That is divisive,” it said. “It disregards the wishes of the community that showed up, and it uses Oak Park as a vehicle for a pressure campaign that has nothing to do with local issues our township and village actually

Many faith traditions involved in e ort

Van Slyke, who is Jewish, disagreed.

She said Oak Parkers for Free Speech includes those from many faith traditions, like Christians, Muslims and Jews

“The one thing that is very important is, we see this as a unifying issue in our community, because all kinds of backgrounds are involved in this campaign.

“This is about our American right to free speech.”

The Jewish Community and Friends for Democracy contended that the petition drive for the referendum on the November village ballot is the local face of the national Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

“BDS rejects the two-state solution and even opposes joint Palestinian-Israeli organizations working toward reconciliation,” it said. “Oak Parkers should know that this movement singles out Israeli citizens and institutions for boycott based on national origin, regardless of their politics or beliefs.”

PROVIDED

economic pressure based on national origin.”

Dan Goldwin is chief public af fairs officer for the Jewish United Fund in Chicago and worked with residents in Oak Park township to defeat its April 28 referendum question.

“We feel this is a fool’s errand and does not belong on the November (village) ballot,” Goldwin said, noting a supportive vote that would have no impact on state law. He also said that similar tactics are being deployed in 11 other municipalities around the state.

He echoed Glick’s concerns about local ramifications, especially in light of recent vandalism that included antisemitic language and imagery that occurred at the 327329 Home Ave. property, currently being developed by 327 Home Ave., LLC

“The incident at the private home last week is frightening,” Goldwin said. “This initiative does not bring people together. We all know the polarization in our country. As people get more riled up (with) the rhetoric, you’re splitting everyone into two camps.

“This initiative is a misplaced ef fort.”

Van Slyke said there is no such local affiliation with a national movement.

“What we’re linked to (is) historic boycott pressure that was successful in the move against apartheid,” she offered as an example. “Economic boycotts are part of the nation’s history. That’s what we’re connected to.”

As for where this issue is headed as summer bleeds into the fall, Oak Parkers for Free Speech member Jesse Bauer said he sees the issue being on the ballot and estimates that more than 90% of the people he’s talked to are supportive.

“I think some people are surprised or in disbelief that this law is on the books,” he said. “That is a very common response “ What of the concerns of potential community division?

“I would say that claims of division are often weaponized to shut down change,” he said. “Those claims always happen in response to calls for justice and rights and progress. I’m obviously concerned about acrimony in the community, but I also feel this is a little bit of a trope. People always say that.

“This is what democracy looks like – engagement. We’re not looking to be divisive.”

Glick has a different point of view.

“My message to everyone is to check their biases,” he said. “People want to ride the vilification of Israel and broadcast it at village events and pass resolutions to vilify Israel, but there are consequences

“Hate provokes hate. That will only lead to more attention and more hate between neighbors and friends of our beautiful village.”

Rebekah Levin collects petition signatures at Day in Our Village.

OPRF CONTRACT S AND CONSTRUCTION

OPRF inks 5-year teacher pact tying raises to CPI

Contract also aims to reduce teacher absenteeism

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Teachers at Oak Park and River Forest High School and the OPRF District 200 school board have approved a new five-year teachers contract that for the first time ties raises to the increase of the consumer price index (CPI). The school board unanimously approved the new contract at its June 11 school board meeting while OPRF teachers voted to approve the contract on May 29.

“We are excited to reach an agreement that continues to fairly compensate our teachers for the excellent work they do for our students on behalf of our community each year,” said Audrey Williams-Lee, school board president, and Andrew Brown, Faculty Senate president, in a joint statement posted on the OPRF website. “This five-year contract allows the district to stay within its budget, while helping us to remain competitive as we work to recruit and retain exemplary teachers.”

The Faculty Senate is the OPRF teachers union and represents all certified staff members at the school who are not administrators. Brown did not respond to an email asking how many teachers voted in favor of the new contract and how many voted against approving the contract.

A key provision of the new contract is the link to CPI in the last four years of the contract. Since the school district’s main source

of revenue, its property tax levy, is limited by Illinois law to the annual increase of CPI or 5%, whichever is less, many suburban school districts have been moving for years to link teacher raises to CPI.

In the upcoming school year teachers at OPRF will receive raises in base pay ranging from $750 to $3,100 with, in general, the least experienced teachers getting the biggest raises. Teachers with 25 years of experience or less will get raises of at least $2,600 next year. Teachers with a masters degree and 25 or fewer years of experience will receive base raises of $2,900. Teachers with 30 or more hours of graduate work beyond a master’s degree with receive base raises of $3,100 next year

The starting salary for a first year teacher with only a bachelor’s degree will be $66,448 next year. A teacher with master’s degree and 10 years’ experience will earn $98,548 while a teacher with 30 graduate school hours beyond a masters degree and 25 years’ experience will earn $151,048. According to the most recent Illinois School Report Card the average pay for an OPRF teacher was $115,217. When step increases and increases in base pay are added together overall increases in pay next year for OPRF teachers will range from around four percent to approximately seven percent with less experienced teachers getting the highest percentage raises

“Our goal was to make sure that we’re being very competitive with how we pay to both retain and attract good teachers and also to be fiscally responsible,” Williams-Lee said in a telephone interview.

In the remaining four years of the con-

tract raises in base pay, which does not include automatic step increases teachers get by advancing one year on the salary schedule, will increase by flat amounts tied to CPI. If CPI is 1.5% or less base pay will increase by $1,250. If CPI increases by 1.6% to 2.9% base pay will increase by $1,500. If CPI increases by 3% to less than 4% base pay will increase by $1,750 and if CPI increases by 4% or more base pay will increase by $2,000.

Linking raises to CPI was a key goal of the administration and school board.

“That was something that was important to us for this contract to be competitive and be fair and fiscally responsible,” said Williams-Lee, who along with board member Graham Brisben were members of the district’s negotiating team.

The new contract also includes provisions to limit benefit costs. Any faculty member who retires no later than the first year they are eligible to retire will receive a lump sum of $5,000; the previous incentive was $15,000. 403(b) match contributions have been reduced from 4% to 3% for Tier 1 Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) employees and from 4% to 3.25% for Tier 2.

The district’s contribution to health insurance premiums has been reduced by 1% for both single and dependent coverage across all plans in years two through five, while dental insurance premium contributions are reduced by 10% for single coverage

The contract also includes provisions designed to reduce teacher absenteeism which has been an issue at OPRF. According to the Illinois School report card nearly 45 percent of OPRF teachers missed at least 10

days of school in the 2024-25 school year. Sick leave has been restructured to enhance attendance, with teachers now receiving 10 regular sick days instead of 15, as well as a non-replenishable bank of 90 emergency sick days that require documentation. Teachers taking zero to three sick days during the year are eligible for attendance incentives ranging from $600 to $300.

“Focusing on teacher absenteeism was a priority and is a priority of ours,” WilliamsLee said.

A win for teachers is that OPRF will offer tuition reimbursement for teachers to attend graduate school.

Money for tuition reimbursement will come from an annual pool of money that increases from $130,000 in the first year of the contract to $150,000 in the fifth year. In order to receive tuition reimbursement, professional growth plans and pre-approval will be required so that coursework aligns with district goals and strategic priorities.

One OPRF teacher who spoke with Wednesday Journal but asked that her name not be used voted against approving the contract.

“I see it as mostly losses and not many gains,” the teacher said.

The contract was hammered out over 10 negotiating sessions over a three month period.

“It was respectful,” Williams-Lee said. “People were open and listened.”

Williams-Lee said that she thought it was a very solid contract.

“We were able to meet the needs of both the Faculty Senate and the school in a way that was affordable for us and to have a contract that is sustainable,” Williams-Lee said.

Johnson’s new 4-year OPRF contract will take him to re tirement

Superintendent touts progress but says, ‘work left to do’

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Greg Johnson, the superintendent at OPRF, is getting a new four-year contract that is anticipated to keep Johnson at the helm at the school until he retires on June 30, 2030. At its June 11 special meet-

ing the school board unanimously approved a new contract for the 51-year-old Johnson subject to an amendment to clean up some language regarding the district’s payments of Johnson’s pension contributions.

Johnson’s current contract was not scheduled to expire until next year but school boards that want to keep their superintendent often don’t let the superintendent enter the final year of their contract without an extension in place or a new contract.

Williams-Lee said the school board wanted to make sure that Johnson stayed at OPRF

“He’s a good superintendent,” Williams-Lee said. “I

“If the board is pleased with the performance of the superintendent it’s very common practice to renew the contract before that last year starts and we are pleased with Greg’s performance so that led us to renew his contract,” said Audrey Williams-Lee, OPRF school board president, in a telephone interview.

See JOHNSON on pa ge 17

GREG JOHNSON

OPRF CONTRACT S AND CONSTRUCTION

ACT 3 Performing Arts upgrade

from page 1

“We’re really excited about bringing this process forward,” said OPRF District 200 Superintendent Greg Johnson when he introduced the June 11 presentation by Gilbane’s construction manager Jeremy Roling. “This is a significant build, but it is one that is certainly needed for our programming to get caught up to the quality of the programming that the students are producing here.”

Though Act 3’s demolition is tentatively planned to begin in 2028 and be completed in 2030, final approval will not place until December. That’s when the school board will have to determine how to pay for the project. A likely funding option is an April 2027 bond referendum that would give voters the chance to determine whether or not the project goes forward — something that did not happen with the first two stages of the project.

“We haven’t had any of those discussions yet because we are focusing on understanding the cost,” said School Board President Audrey Williams-Lee in a telephone interview.

Act 3 construction would create new and larger music classrooms and practice spaces, a new black box theater, plus storage space for music and theatrical equipment. School officials say that the current performing arts spaces, which were built in 1967, are outdated, too small, and not tailored to modern technology and teaching practices. Act 3 would also include new physical education spaces like a cardio room, a multipurpose gym to replace the existing West gym, and adaptive physical education gym and locker rooms. The mural on the West Gym wall will be preserved.

In Act 3, performing arts space will be more than doubled, going from 10,612 square feet to 22,224 square feet. Band, orchestra and choir practice spaces will be two stories tall to allow for better acoustics.

Act 3 comes on the heels of Project 2, an approximately $102 million demolition and rebuilding of a new swimming pool, physical education and athletic spaces in the building’s southeast corner. Construction is expected to be completed this summer. Project 1, which included new student commons and added 15 new classrooms, was completed in 2023 at a cost of $42.2 million.

After the schematic design for Act 3 was completed in May, the initial cost estimate came in just over $100 million. But the admin-

istration and architects worked with Gilbane on “value engineering,” reducing the estimate to $84.6 million to make the project more affordable and an easier sell to taxpayers.

“We have done work throughout the past several weeks to whittle this down to a point where it is fiscally responsible to bring forward, based off the design elements that are within it, without sacrificing the programming that has been identified along the way,” Johnson said.

Significant savings come from changing the acoustic system from a double slab “Cadillac” system to a cheaper, but still good, single slab system that is projected to save about $4 million by using less steel.

“You’re not going to get Carnagie Hall acoustics, but you will get significantly better acoustics than you have now,” said Alyson Sternquist, the lead architect on the project.

Johnson said that none of the changes will impact the student experience. Other moves to save money include using cheaper flooring in some spaces.

“There’s nothing in here that’s extravagant or more than it should be,” Sternquist said of Act 3 designs that are based on function.

Actual construction costs are estimated to be nearly $74.8 million. An additional $9.7 million includes payments to architects, the construction manager, and furniture, furnishings and equipment.

Though the total cost is now projected at $84.6 million, that number is likely to change by December as the design development phase is completed. The estimate includes a built-in escalation factor of approximately $10 million, accounting for increases in the costs of materials and labor through the midpoint of the project in 2029.

Other than replacing the seats in the school’s auditorium, Act 3 doesn’t include major changes to the auditorium or the Little Theater. But architects also gave estimates for major upgrades to those spaces, just to give the administration information about what those costs might look like in the future. The estimate for a new ceiling, house lighting, wall finishes and new stage in the auditorium was estimated to cost just over $8.6 million — which the administration is not looking to pursue in the immediate future.

Alternate plans to not demolish the current West Gym would save a little more than $7.7 million, but that idea was rejected because it would not allow for the performing arts spaces to be as large as desired.

A century of Goldyburgers

‘Never had a bad one’ for that long is saying something

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Eats Reporter

When Michael Sullivan bought Goldyburgers in 1981, he became only the second owner of this now century-old institution at 7316 Circle Ave. in Forest Park. The Goldstein family opened it in 1926, during Prohibition, when serving alcohol was illegal.

“Everybody was paid off, I suppose, in those days,” Sullivan said.

Serve alcohol they did. Originally an ornate wooden bar ran down the wall in the front room. The back room, where the current bar is, was the Goldstein’s family home. A black and white photo shows Barney and Joe Goldstein waiting to serve customers. And if you look closely, you can see numbers on an awning behind them.

“This is a 26 game,” he said. Indicating a popular Chicago-created dice game that was played in bars from the 1910s through the 1950s. “You’ ll see it in old TV shows, The Untouchables They used to put a girl behind there and you’d roll dice and win drinks and food.”

Once the Volsted Act was repealed and Prohibition ended, things kept jumping at Goldyburgers.

“When beer came back, they tore the house out and they used to have bands and dancing. It was a big open room. It was quite the place in the day,” he said.

The Goldstein’s menu was more extensive than today, serving steaks and lobster, but the burgers have remained a constant. Their motto: “never had a bad one.” Those continue as the restaurant’s watchwords today Burgers are a big part of the menu, along

with a dozen other sandwiches and a variety of salads. Fried food complements those entrees, including an “armadillo egg,” which is a breaded and fried jalapeno, wrapped in cheddar cheese. Shrimp baskets and a Friday fish fry round out the offerings.

The most often ordered appetizer is “probably the cheese balls,” Michael’s son, Mick Sullivan, said. “On a very rare occasion we run out of them. You tell a table that we’re out and it’s like you shot their dog.”

Mick and Michael run the place together these days. Another family member, Bailey Sullivan, is also in the food biz. She is executive chef at Chicago’s Monteverde restaurant and also a contender for the 2026 James Beard award for emerging chef

Back in the ‘80s Forest Park had a built-in customer base that extended beyond its borders. “When I bought this place, there were no bars in Oak Park,” Michael Sullivan said of the neighboring town’s dry legacy. “Forest Park has always been a great bar and restaurant town. It’s where you could get a drink.”

Soon after the purchase, Sullivan wanted to convert what was a vacant gas station next door into a beer garden, but Forest Park wasn’t ready to go that far.

“It was like maybe ’82. They wouldn’t let me serve alcohol out there, so I opened it anyhow. I cleaned it up and had a place for people to sit, but I was calling it my root beer garden,” he said. After about a year the village relented and “we were the first beer garden in Forest Park.”

Over the decades, Goldyburgers has bur-

nished into a local institution. “It’s basically a family restaurant and sports bar. We get customers from people in their 90s down to newborn babies. We’ve got our good group of re gulars. It keeps things lively,” he said. “The nicest people come in here. You get everybody, a lot of doctors, lawyers, trades people. We get the gamut. What’s really nice about this business is the people you get to meet along the way. I’s just a real nice community around here.”

Sullivan never imagined that he’d be carrying the Goldstein’s creation over the century mark.

“They were a wonderful family that had it for 55 years, which I thought was nuts that anybody was in this business for that long.,” he said. “And now I got 45 in it myself, so time flies when you’ re having fun.”

A recent proclamation by the village of Forest Park celebrated the century in business and suggested that this establishment is one of the oldest burger joints in the entire Chicago area. For more than a hundred years, it’s a comforting thought that there’s always Goldys and you’ll never get a bad burger.

Here’s to the second centur y:

7316 Circle Avenue, Forest Park

Hours: Monday-Wednesday, 5 p.m. – 1 a.m. Thursday-Sunday, 11:45 a.m. – 1 a.m.

Michael & Mick Sullivan

D97 appoints Vincent Gay to school board

Placed fourth in 2025 election

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Fourteen months after failing to get elected to the District 97 school board, finishing fourth in a field of six candidates competing for three seats, Vincent Gay was appointed Monday to the school board to fill the vacancy created when Becky Pere z resigned her seat on the school board last month for unexplained reasons.

The school board chose Gay from a field of 11 other plicants for the position. The school board voted 4-0 to point Gay at a special meeting held June 15 and Gay then immediately took the oath of office. Gay will serve on the school board until at least April 2027, when the seat will be among four other seats up for election.

plications from a number of highly qualified candidates who demonstrated a strong commitment to public education and service to the Oak Park community,” said Cheree Moore, board president, in a press release issued after the special meeting.

“The board was for tunate to receive ap-

JOHNSON

Contract to retirement

from page 14

think he does a really good job with the school and the community so we’re pleased to keep him at OPRF.”

Johnson told Wednesday Journal that his salary will be $294,580 next year up from the $286,000 annual salary he is making this year, an approximate 3% raise.

OPRF has not yet released a copy of the new contract to Wednesday Journal because the changes have not been made and the contract has not been signed yet. Since the contract is intended to be a retirement contract it is expected that Johnson will receive 6% annual raises, the maximum that a district can offer an administrator without incurring a penalty payment from the Illinois Teacher Retirement System. Those hikes in the final years of the contract are a common method of maximizing a retiring educator’s pension. Pension payments are based on the average of an educator’s highest four annual salaries. Johnson confirmed to Wednesday Journal that he plans to retire when his new con-

Gay has worked in education since aduating from Temple Unirsity in 2003. First, he taught S. history, mostly Advanced Placement, in Montclair, New rsey, a suburb of New York City, that is similar in many ys to Oak Park

Gay came to Chicago in 2009 worked as an administrator in the Noble Charter Neteventually serving as the principal of two high schools, Baker Colle ge Prep High School and Goldner Colle ge Prep. In 2020, in search of a new challenge, Gay went to work for OnYourMark a company that provides high dosage, mostly virtual tutoring

tract expires in 2030.

“I do anticipate that at the conclusion of this contract I will retire,” Johnson said.

Johnson, who grew up in Elmhurst, is completing his fifth year as the superintendent at OPRF. He came to OPRF in 2017 as the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction after serving as the principal of Champaign Centennial High School.

After two years as an assistant superintendent Johnson was promoted to associate superintendent before succeeding Joylynn PruittAdams as superintendent in 2021.

focusing on reading to elementary school students. There he works in sales and manages partnerships with school districts around the country.

“I have a lot of experience wo rk ing in and around schools,” Gay told We d nesday Journal in an i nterview after bein g swor n in .

Gay, 45, has lived in Oak Park for 11 years and has two sons, one a rising sophomore at Oak Park and River Forest High School and another who will start sixth grade at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School this fall.

Gay is for mer co-president of the Whittier School PTO and also served on a principal interview committee when his oldest son attended Lincoln School.

He also coaches youth sports, volunteers as an eighth-grade sexual health educator, serves on the board of the SlowFire Arts Foundation, and writes a monthly column for Wednesday Journal focused on education, youth spor ts, and civic life

Johnson said that he is eager to continue his work at OPRF.

“I’m excited to have a new contract and eager to continue the work that we have been engaged in for the last few years and this is always an exciting and, honestly, a fun and rewarding community to work in,” Johnson said. “It’s been a fascinating and interesting nine years that I’ve had so far here and I really look forward to continuing a lot the good work that we’ve done.”

“We need to continue to work to close that achievement gap and we see some progress there but we still have a lot of work to do.”

GREG JOHNSON OPRF supt.

School board member Fred Arkin, who is the only current school board member to have served with a superintendent other than Johnson, said that Johnson has been a good superintendent.

“I think he’s handled himself well,” Arkin told Wednesday Journal. “I’m very impressed with his willingness and ability to communicate with the community. I think he has developed into a very strong superintendent and I think he excels in many areas.”

Johnson said he plans to continue work to close the achievement gap, the gap in the academic performance between white and Asian students and Black and Hispanic students. Four years ago, under Johnson’s leadership OPRF initiated an Honors for All freshman curriculum in which most freshmen take Honors classes in core subjects other than math in an attempt to boost the number of Black students taking Honors and Advanced Placement classes. Results have been mixed thus far with a somewhat higher percentage of Black students

T he school board interviewed three of the 12 people who applied to fill the vacancy. Gay said he thought his experience r unning for the school board helped him make a good impression.

“Having been a candidate I had thought through what board service looks like,” Gay said.

C ORRECTION

In a June 10 Wednesday Journal story headlined “D97 hands 8th grade D.C. trip back to parents” it was stated that prior to 2023 eighth grade trips were org anized by the Brooks and Julian PTO’s. That is not correct. Prior to 2023 the D.C. trips were organized by parents, sometimes working with the PTO’s, but not by the PTO’s themselves.

The Jour nal re grets the er ror.

taking Honors and AP classes but, according to the Illinois School Re port a vast achievement gap remaining between the performance of Black and white students on state mandated standardized tests. In the most recent school re port card the gap stood at 43.7 points, the difference in the percentage of students meeting proficiency standards, in English Language Arts and 57.5 points in math.

“We need to continue to work to close that achievement gap and we see some progress there but we still have a lot of work to do,” Johnson said. “That will continue to be a focus of ours for sure.”

Under Johnson’s leadership the physical appearance at OPRF has changed with the demolition and rebuilding of the southeast corner of the building to be completed this summer with a new swimming pool, new third floor gym and a host of other improvements. And now Johnson is leading the effort to get a plan approved to rebuild the southwest corner of the building to improve performing arts classrooms and practice spaces.

“We’ve done a lot of good work here and there’s been a lot of progress for the district from where we were nine years ago to where we are now and there’s a lot of work left to do,” Johnson said.

VINCENT GAY

Garden Walk o ers access to local gardens of all sizes

Two public gardens among 9 gardens on walk

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

It’s a sign that summer has finally returned when the Garden Walk comes to town. The walk, sponsored by the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory and the Garden Club of Oak Park & River Forest, takes place on Sunday, June 28 and features seven private gardens in Oak Park and River Forest, as well as two public gardens Proceeds from the walk benefit the missions of the

two organizations. The Garden Club uses their proceeds to fund yearly scholarships for OPRF graduates headed to colle ge to major in horticulture, conservation, environmental studies, forestry, landscape design or botan FOPCON employs their proceeds to support projects that benefit the Oak Park Conservatory, including educational and recreational programming for children and adults.

See GARDENS on pa ge 20

TODD BANNOR

LEARN BY DOING: Rhonda Ditzel and her frontyard garden on June 9.

TODD BANNOR

Rhonda Ditzel’s backyard garden

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GARDENS

Public and private from page 18

Many motivations for local gardeners

Rhonda Ditzel is an Oak Park gardener whose garden will be included on the walk. When she mo south Oak her garden slate.

“Everything was straight-lined. I just wanted to soften things,” she says.

She began using rocks line curving den beds. “We didn have a lot of money then, so we ting plants from and neighbors,” she says.

herself, says that she began to incorp rate some favorite plants, like Coral Bells, which provide texture and color.

She says much of her gardening skills have been gained through trial and er ror and notes that you can’t be afraid to mo plants. “Year after year, you start learning more and more,” she says.

In River Forest, Realtor Tom Honeycutt became an unexpected landscape designer when he and his wife moved from the city to a house in the suburb in 2020. r really had a coming from the city, and then Covid hit. Our house came with a sprinkler system, so I decided to start ing on the rd,” he says.

Those hostas and lilies took of f and filled in her garden. Years later, when a big tree fell in their front yard, they had more funds to address the changing needs of an area that now gets a lot more sunlight.

Ditzel, who does all of her gardening

Before long, the neighbors started noticing the new guy who was work yard five hours a day. New friendships became a welcome side effect to his hours designing his yard

Before long, Honeycutt was offering his landscape designs to a select group of friends and neighbors -- one of those neighbor’s homes will also be featured on the garden walk.

Honeycutt, who used to own an aquarium business, says he likes to think of his

Garden at United Lutheran Church.

plants as “land corals.”

He works to create dimensions and groupings and he loves to include rocks in his work. After losing a large tree in the front yard, his wife suggested they add a patio to the area. Now, he has more ways than one to be outside and connect with his neighbors.

One of the public gardens on this year’s walk is the United Lutheran Church Memorial Garden in Oak Park Working with designer Leaf & Spade, the church’s garden committee began working on the space in 2025.

Ruth Prescott, who chaired the committee, says they were inspired by a for mer pastor who suggested creating a memorial garden at the church

“We all decided that the front of the church would be much more welcoming if we made it a community space,” she says.

Today, there are winding pathways and benches to sit and enjoy nature. Illinois native plants fill the space. A historic piece of the church’s original steeple adds a sculptural element.

Three people have been inter red in the garden, and a family donated a tree in honor of their deceased daughter, making the space a haven for contemplation.

The garden was a recipient of a grant from West Cook Wild Ones, and Prescott says their help designing with native plants has also made the garden a spot to observe bees and birds.

Know before you go

The Oak Park Conservatory and the Garden Club of Oak Park & River Forest’s Garden Walk take place on Sunday, June 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets are $20 when purchased before June 27, and $25 afterwards. Children under 12 can attend for free. Tickets can be purchased online at https:// gcoprf.org/

Tickets are also available by mail. Make checks payable to GCORPF and mail to GCOPRF, PO Box 5633, River Forest, IL 60305. Mail orders must be received by June 21.

The day of the walk, ticket sales and garden guide pickups take place at both the Oak Park Conservatory, 615 Garfield St., Oak Park and at the Cheney Mansion, 220 N. Euclid Ave., Oak Park between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. All ticket holders must come to one of these locations to exchange their tickets for a guide that will provide garden addresses and be used to gain entry to the gardens.

Tickets are non-refundable, and the walk will not be cancelled due to inclement weather

During the walk, the Garden Walk Committee will host a drawing to further support their mission. Tickets will be available for $5 for one, or $20 for five The winner need not be present to win.

TODD BANNOR

TODD BANNOR

Garden at United Lutheran Church

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M.

Call Viewpoints editor

Ken Trainor at 613-3310

Email: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org

OA K P ARK HOUSING HISTOR Y

e lion of managed integration

The eighth installment in a series on Oak Park housing history as it relates to diversity and equity:

Roberta “Bobbie” Raymond, in her 26 years of heading the Oak Park Housing Center (OPHC), epitomized the moral and practical policy tensions around race, housing and power in Oak Park. Her actions and beliefs as the lead voice of managed integration demonstrated that, as much as Oak Park was breaking new ground on inclusionary housing 60 years ago, it continued to face persisting contradictions around race, democracy and class interests — in our schools, housing reform, policing, and in the usually unspoken but persisting question of how many Blacks should be included and fully welcome in Oak Park.

JOHN DUFFY

One View

Until her recent death, Raymond never hesitated in proclaiming the exceptionalism of Oak Park’s historic narrative For the majoritarian community, she represented who we claimed to be, what we said we aspired to, and what we actually did right into the new millennium.

On her retirement in 1996, village and regional bankers, realtors, municipal officials, and voluntary groups posted statements of praise and gratitude in a 16-page supplement published by Wednesday Jour nal on July 31. The testimonials were a celebration of both Raymond and the proclaimed success of managed integration reflected in the vibrant, cosmopolitan, highly desirable community Oak Park had become with its ever-escalating housing prices and rents For her admirers, Raymond was the keystone linking the racial stability and economic success that civic and business leaders had worked to achieve since 1968 (1).

A dedicated, relentless architect

Raymond was the central architect of the fundamental strategies for reversing or at least checking how the real estate industry fueled the decades-old racist practices of blockbusting and panic-peddling that contributed to massive white flight from Chicago neighborhoods on the West and South sides. Raymond, as much as any individual, worked directly with white and Black families and apart-

See JOHN DUFFY on pa ge 26

VIEWPOINTS

My night at

On June 7 of this year, I did something so unique you probably don’t know anyone else who has ever done it. I appeared on stage at the Tony Awards! If you had told me two years ago that was going to happen I would have laughed in your face. I couldn’t have imagined any way I could even attend the awards, let alone appear onstage

the Tony Awards

sure that our booth at A Day in Our Village would go on without me. They texted me a photo when it was set up, so I wouldn’t have to worry.

One View

While I do act, even if I could I have no interest in acting in New York. How I got on stage had nothing to do with acting. I was a low level co-producer of Death of a Salesman, the most successful play of this year

How I got involved was a happy accident that I followed up on. One of few incidents where I was in just the right place at the right time, for one moment, and it changed my life. I sent my investment and went out for the play’s opening. I was totally wowed by how fabulous the production was and felt certain it would be up for several Tonys.

I immediately made travel plans, even before it was announced that it was nominated for nine! I spent a lot of time choosing my dress, accessories, etc. I wanted to look my absolute best. I kept thinking something would go wrong, as such an incredible thing couldn’t actually happen.

I have to thank several people for making it happen for me. First, my friend who connected me to the production. Also the Oak Park Illinois Film Festival team, who made

Then on the night of the ceremony, there were others who helped, by delivering my tickets to my hotel, offering to switch seats with me so I would be close to the aisle when the Best Revival Award was announced, and the gentleman behind me who offered to escort me for the run up to the stage.

I worried about tripping on my long dress, but I actually made it up to the stage safely and remembered not to stand behind anyone tall.

I also want to thank so many friends who sent me screenshots from the broadcast. I attended the after-party and was disappointed not to see any celebrities. I never did get to meet the cast. I won’t be getting an actual Tony, but will order a reproduction in the mail as a souvenir. It was still wonderful.

I asked my contact if I could say that I had won a Tony and he said “Why not?” It just goes to show, as I said in my book, Mastering Senior Life: Thriving and Surviving, that your life doesn’t have to wind down when you are a senior You should keep looking for your next adventure, because you never know what will happen.

Joyce Porter is a longtime Oak Park resident and patron of the arts

JOYCE PORTER

Joyce Porter (inset, far right) and posing beneath the Tony Award logo (above)

Making antiques cool

Odds and ends with some a bit odder than others: It’s vintage now: There was an extended period of time back in the 1970s and into the ’80s when both Forest Park and Oak Park had serious retail underperformance issues. This manifested itself in storefront after storefront being filled with fairly trashy antique stores/junk stores/self-storage units disguised as junk stores

ems with legit antique furniture and Mostly though, they boasted chipped china and costume necklaces

y, as the confidence level in these , real stores paying more rent d out the so-called antique stores. It was invigorating retail entrepreneurs, and later restaurateurs, lining Madison Street est Park. They also found well-heeled ers wanted retail options, too. in the world of Amazon, where actual etail is tough to come by and there are only so many fitness places to fill storefronts, Foris seeing an uptick in antique shops oming back to Madison. But, says David King, the retail leasing agent who dominates rts, don’t call them “antique shops.” These are “vintage shops,” he says And if you curate them correctly, King says younger folks love them.

West Sub needs a lift(s): The Jour nal got a tip late last week that Oak Park’s building department had totally shut down the West Suburban Medical Center campus in Oak Park. Not that there was much going on there after CEO Manoj Prasad shut down the inpatient and ER portions of the place in late March

But there were still a few doctors and clinicians working in the medical office building. One was a dialysis provider. When Oak Park firefighters were called to carry multiple dialysis patients down five flights of stairs because the only working elevator at West Sub had gone out, the village shut it all down.

There have been lots of numbers floating around that define West Sub’s unraveling: Patient census, millions in unbilled services, the halving of the medical staff. But in an interview with Sean Lintow Sr., Oak Park’s top building official, he said the failed elevator meant there were no longer any functioning elevators on the campus. I asked him just how many elevators there were at West Sub. “Twenty-eight,” he said.

More than two dozen elevators, all of them busted.

How do you suppose that small problem fits into Prasad’s plan to reopen West Sub either this month or next month?

Journal’s down a columnist: Congratulations to Vincent Gay on his appointment Monday to the District 97 school board. He narrowly lost the election the last time around. And his appointment to fill a vacancy is a smart move by the school board.

That said, the Journal has now lost a wonderfully bright and relatable voice from our ranks of opinion columnists. Thanks, Vincent, for a year’s worth of terrific columns

Do something!: Once again, the head of the union local for firefighters in Forest Park, Travis Myers, showed up at a council meeting and urged/cajoled/shamed the council to find some way to raise funds to ease the burden on overworked firefighters/paramedics. What will it take for this council to face up to its looming financial crisis?

When I was in grade school at Ascension, I would often gaze out the window was the peak of the Ba Boom, early ’60s. Wi many students in each class, the nuns couldn’t keep track of everybo I got away with it. I liked school, but was more fascinated by whatev was going on outside. People on the sidewalk or in their cars on their way somewhere. They seemed free as opposed to being stuck behind a desk.

I wondered what it was like to be free. Truly free. School was re gimented, the school day full of rules. Summer was freer, but we still had to come in when Mom called and when the streetlights came on. No negotiating. I thought it must be wonderful to be an adult.

Free enough to feel free TRAINOR

that come with love are liberating. at is the paradox of responsible freedom, our return on love’s labors

Just as we can’t be happy all the we can’t be free all the time. What it would take to attain that totality wouldn’t be good for us or anyone else. Happiness comes only in small doses, as does freedom.

Now I know that the adults in the wonderland outside my classroom window were probably wishing they were free — from cares and concerns, errands and chores, appointments and responsibilities, the friction of life. Most of us don’t lead friction-free lives where we do only what we truly want to do. For one thing, not everyone knows what they truly want to do, so total freedom looks overrated.

There’s a difference between being free and feeling free. Being free is when you have nothing you have to do — and the opportunity and wherewithal to do whatever you want to do, which includes doing nothing in particular. But feeling free doesn’t necessarily follow.

In moments when we find ourselves “free,” there is a certain amount of “Now what?” We feel more secure within the confines of our life — like Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, who used to look around the “friendly confines” of Wrigley Field and say, “Let’s play two today.”

Nonetheless, the desire for freedom seems hardwired within. We desire it even if we don’t know what to do with it when we get it.

There are two kinds of freedom: responsible and ir responsible. Responsible freedom doesn’t come at the expense of others’ freedom. Irresponsible freedom is D. Trump sitting on the tip of the pyramid, having exploited an already cor rupt system to the point where he can pretty much do whatever strikes his fancy. But it comes at a price, like any deal with the devil: it makes him the loneliest person in the world. Not many would trade places with him. If you’ re incapable of love and no one loves you and no one sympathizes with your plight, you have achieved the most terrible freedom of all.

So limited freedom looks a lot more appealing. Freedom isn’t free were told, but the limitations

famous “Four Freedoms” include freedom from want, and freedom from fear. But “freedom from” only gets us to the place where “freedom to” begins. It’s up to us and our creativity to use those moments for fuller living. For some, it’s travel. For others, it’s gliding downhill on a bicycle simulating the sensation of flight, or enjoying a picnic lakeside with friends and family, or taking an entire after noon to read a good book.

Looking back on those classroom moments, the people I wondered about probably weren’ t feeling free, but I was — free enough to imagine what life might be like for me when I was older.

Free enough to walk home in the gloamin’ collecting fireflies with my eyes and inhaling the perfume of linden blossoms

Free enough to keep good company in the morning with songbirds

Free enough to know when to accept and when to resist

Free enough to tell people what I think, if I think it might make a difference, and even if it doesn’t

Free enough to listen to someone who disag rees with what I believe

Free enough to enjoy being with others who enjoy living

Free enough to wish I could free the wind when it gets tangled in the trees and feel grateful when it g razes my cheek as it passes

Free enough to reco gnize what’s good for me even if I didn’t choose it

Free enough to laugh in the face of bullies and console those facing sor row

Free enough to notice the elderly couple who walk circles in the park and never seem to run out of things to say to each other

Free enough to feel eternity in a Saturday morning and peaceful re pose in a Sunday afternoon

Free enough to lend a hand or extend a hand or hold a hand

Free enough to see the goodness in people before they leave us

Free enough to see beauty where I didn’t see it before

And free enough to keep gazing out the window, and wondering.

SHRUB TO WN by Marc Stopeck

Investing in OPRF’s students

The District 200 Board of Education deserves our gratitude for its thoughtful, collaborative approach to addressing OPRF’s facility needs and its commitment to responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. As a member of the OPRF High School Facilities Committee, I have seen firsthand how consistently the board, administration, and facilities team center students in every decision. I have also witnessed the care, transparency, and diligence that have shaped this process. Over the past six years, we have made significant investments in our school facilities We have renovated or added more than 80 classrooms and labs, built a Student Resource Center that did not previously exist, and reimagined our physical education spaces. These projects were not simply about bricks and mortar; they were about creating environments that support learning, foster belonging, and promote the well-being of every student who walks through our doors. They were investments in students.

It is now time to make a similar investment in our performing arts programs

In December 2021, I attended my first Prisms of Winter concert. My daughter, then a member of Ms. McGuire’s choir and now a 2025 graduate, was performing. I had no idea what I was about to experience. The finale brought together hundreds of students from choir, band, orchestra, and extracurricular groups. The auditorium filled with musicians and singers, and the entire space seemed to vibrate with talent,

energy, and joy. It was one of the most moving experiences I have had as a parent in this community

That evening made clear to me the extraordinary value of OPRF’s performing arts programs — not only for participating students, but for the entire community. What surprised me was learning that these exceptional programs operate in facilities that are undersized, overcrowded, not fully accessible, and do not meet modern sound and safety standards. In many ways, their success reflects what they have achieved despite these limitations

Participation in performing arts has grown significantly since these spaces were designed, and our facilities have not kept pace. Just imagine what these students and educators could accomplish in spaces designed for today’s needs.

We can and should have thoughtful conversations about cost, priorities, and financing while recognizing that fiscal responsibility and investing in students are not competing values

At OPRF, we often speak of “Those Things That Are Best.” Providing performing arts students with facilities that match the excellence of their programs is one of them. I hope we continue this conversation with respect, collaboration, and a shared commitment to what is best for current and future students

Alison Welch Oak Park resident and OPRF parent

WEDNESD AY

of Oak Park and River Forest

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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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The following testimonial was delivered during the Oak Park Village Board meeting, June 9, before the board approved a proclamation recognizing national Gun Violence Awareness Day:

Iam a wounded survivor of gun violence, after being shot at point-blank range while on a run here in Oak Park. I want to speak to the experience of existing as a survivor in 2026, to give tangibility to something that, even to the most empathetic, can only exist with immeasurably great distance from their reality

ALISON GERARD

One View

Gun violence is complicated. And those of us forced into this nar rative are incredibly aware of that. It exists at the intersectionality of all that America is, and all that we ourselves are.

My own reality is that I would not be who I am without gun violence. My voice would be different. I would not have the same career path. I would not be in law school, a future attorney. In many ways it was gun violence that was the catalyst for the opportunities I have today, and it was gun violence that has given me purpose to showcase my strengths. That doesn’t mean

Surviving gun violence

that gun violence did not steal a massive piece of myself from the person I was before April 21, 2020.

Whenever I share my story, it’s always met with a reply about how strong and inspirational I am. Because I made it look easy. Because I had to make it look easy But very few have seen the bad days. The day I woke up paralyzed from the waist down. When getting out of a chair, or bed, or of f a toilet wasn’t possible. When I finally got my legs to move, but then couldn’t figure out how to stop them. When the pizza dough was too warm to use because I couldn’t get up quickly enough to put it in the fridge, and I threw the whole pan across the kitchen in complete frustration, breaking almost everything in its path. I couldn’t even drive to the store to get more. When the man following me in his Lexus caused me to sprint to Ridgeland Commons so I could have my panic attack in public … for safety

When the sky is just the right color, or just the right part of that song plays before I manage to hit the skip button and I instantly smell my bur nt flesh and gunpowder. I feel the scrapes on my palms as I set myself down on the concrete and my le g starts buzzing again. I see the pool of my blood growing beneath me, the smell of

Grateful and inspired

The Oak Pa rk Village Board approved three important Proclamations Tuesday evening, June 9. I am grateful for these commitments to take action commensurate with our community values on: Pride Month

Juneteenth (June 19, 2026)

National Gun Violence Awareness Day

As a gun violence prevention advocate, I was pleased to have the opportunity to attend the gun violence presentation and be encouraged by the proclamation, which began:

“WHEREAS, we renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the hands of people who should not have access to them and encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our families and communities safe …”

The comments made by two respon-

dents were powerful and moving. Alison Gerard shared her story of trauma, ongoing struggl e, and healing while being shot while jo gging in Oak Park in 2021.

Rev. Michael Hayes, a chaplain at Loyola Hospital for gun victims and their families, shared these inspiring words of encouragement Tuesday evening:

“We will fail this moment if we make of it an occasion to memorialize our sorrows. Let us rather choose to own in this moment our birthright to a community of har mony and soaring hopes. Let us beat our swords into ploughshares, our spears into pruning hooks and let us study war no more.”

I say “Yes!” to these powerful words!

Lois Thiessen Love Gun Responsibility Advocates Oak Park

iron growing stronger as I quickly fashion that kind stranger’s belt into my tour niquet once more in my mind.

Then there are the days when a news reporter interviews a newly inducted member into this godforsaken club and I spend two days lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, raging with the fire of a thousand suns because I hear their screams. I hear my own mother’s scream. There are the days when that light switch doesn’t switch off.

For survivors, all we were left with was to fight in whichever way we could. Some of us punched. Some of us screamed. Some of us lear ned to walk again, others lear ned to walk alone, carrying a memory the rest of the world will never know the weight of. All of us wake up knowing that, just by waking up, we are fighting. Those of us blessed with the ability and privilege to do more, do more. We fight for small bits of progress without letting perfect be the enemy of good. We learn and we educate. We listen and we speak. We show up We persist.

Every one of us has quietly picked up the pieces that were left and put ourselves back together again, the best way we knew how. And although we find pieces less frequently the more time that passes, we spend the rest of our lives picking something up here

or there because grief is never linear. We do it for ourselves. We do it for each other. We do it for our friends and for our loved ones. We do it for the ones we won’t encounter in this lifetime again except when the breeze moves through the trees just so We do it for the version of ourselves who never saw it coming

Sometimes I do still feel like the girl I was before I was shot. I even sometimes feel like the same 16-year-old girl, driving with the windows down, blasting “Fall Out Boy.” I wonder what she’d think if she knew … that she’d have to fight of f an assailant, fight for her life, and then spend her life fighting the national institutions — justices, executives, and legislatures — who not only condone this by sitting on their hands, but in many ways justify our lives as some sort of necessary sacrifice for a delusion of freedom while offering hollow platitudes to patch over the unsightly bullet holes in our bodies — to make themselves feel better, not us. But one day, at the tipping point, we know we will overcome because we’ve already overcome so much, together.

Alison Gerard is an Oak Park resident. She is a member of both Moms Demand Action (OP/Austin chapter) and Ev erytown Survivor Network

Not a pretty picture

In a recent village newsletter, we heard from Trustee Lisa Gillis re garding the proposed Madison Street development. She twice points out that building a 72unit structure amid the beautiful older homes is a reflection of “our” village’s long-term goals.

Whose goals are these? The 2019 VRF Comprehensive Plan states:

“The village of fers architecturally and historically rich neighborhoods, treelined streets, excellent schools, attractive and well-appointed parks ... with most of the village’s commercial uses existing along its perimeter corridors.”

The Madison/Ashland corner is supposed to be used for commercial use consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Not only is this proposed building completely out of sync with the Comprehensive Plan, it is also extremely

unattractive, and certainly would never be considered acceptable to an aesthetic architect. I would think that an aesthetic architect would have been consulted in the planning if our elected village representatives truly cared about the beauty of our village

Trustee Gillis believes walkability is an asset here. It is a vague ter m. In reality, does it matter where a person chooses to walk, bank, and eat? Numbers are one thing, reality is another in this case. This goes for transpor tation as well. This proposed apar tment complex would be quite a walking distance from the Metra. Give some thought as to the traffic and noise pollution as well, Trustree Gillis, and take a realistic look at the whole picture. It’s not pretty.

Jayne Gould River Forest

Celebrating 35 years of Shrubtown

For years I have really enjoyed the Shrubtown cartoons of Marc Stopeck. Their quality would merit inclusion in the Chicago Tribune or Chicago SunTimes, if in fact they even had editorial cartoons — which they don’t. So we’re pretty fortunate here in the villages that Marc’s wit and artistic talent have merged to give us the opportunity to laugh at ourselves, and to lear n about more difficult civic subjects via the medium of his cartoons.

However, I was very surprised to lear n

that Marc has been contributing these gems for 35 years! His cartoons, and Wednesday Jour nal itself, are gifts to all of us, and congratulations to both of you.

By the way, Marc Stopeck will talk about his 35 years of Shrubtown at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, at the Oak Park River Forest Museum, 129 Lake St. in Oak Park, sponsored by the Historical Society of Oak Park-River Forest. I look forward to being there.

Martin Berg Forest Park

Lack of leadership

In a recent One View by River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci [Courts are holding housing progress hostage, June 9, 2026], she claims vital housing developments in Illinois are stalled due to judicial delays. She states, “River Forest’s experience at the Lake & Lathrop site is an unfortunate and frustrating example of how prolonged litigation can undermine local efforts to add housing and revitalize key corridors.”

President Adduci’s One View is a false flag and a deflection of responsibility for a failed development that she allowed to occur under her leadership.

A June 4 village newsletter to residents states, “Village President Cathy Adduci addressed Judge Kyriakopoulos directly, urging the court to impose fir m deadlines and hold both litigating parties accountable for what she described as ‘dysfunction, unnecessary banter, lies and delays.’”

Had President Adduci followed her own advice and held the developer to fir m deadlines and accountable for “dysfunction, lies and delays,” this prolonged litigation could have been avoided. River Forest residents and businesses wouldn’t need to “shoulder the consequences of stagnation” and continue to look at an eyesore in the middle of our beautiful community.

Since 2016, under President Adduci’s leadership, extension after extension was granted to a developer who failed to meet

Raining on a recent newsletter

I read the latest installment of the Madison Street Development Newsletter with curiosity. I had hoped to learn something new. Instead, no news — just word salad. The author claims our village will continue to “focus on investing in projects that support our long-term goal of a sustainable, walkable, and transportation-oriented community.”

Sustainability: laudable, as our planet struggles under the weight of global war ming and climate change. But “walkable” and “transportation-oriented” in the same breath?

“accomplish most of their daily errands and activities such as shopping, visiting the bank, going for coffee and dining out without relying on a car.”

deadlines due to self-imposed delays

Time after time, President Adduci sided with the developer against the financial interests of residents, even when such breach of contract gave the village the legal right to reclaim the property and identify a reliable developer to complete the project.

Instead, at President Adduci’s urging, in 2022 the village board relinquished property rights to the developer who never proved to be a good-faith partner. Unsurprisingly, slow progress continued and by May 2023, Beverly Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit against the developer.*

Residents are right to question whether the same leadership that offered failed promises and assurances at Lake & Lathrop will yield a more fruitful outcome with the Madison development.

Development is essential to River Forest’s financial health, but it is essential that it be managed with transparency, right-sized for the community and done in partnership with a financially stable and ethically minded partner. The 10-year saga of lost opportunity and revenue at Lake & Lathrop demands continued community engagement.

Source: May 9, 2023 – Wednesday Journal reports that Beverly Bank files a lawsuit against the developer for $4.2 M, https:// www.oakpark.com/2023/05/09/lake-andlathrop-lender-files-suit-to-recoup-cash

Patty Henek

River Forest

The author claims the address of this proposed high-rise building scores an enviable 91 out of 100 “Walk Score.” This socalled “Walk Score” is slippery. Type in any River Forest address not within blocks of our borders with Oak Park, Forest Park, or Elmwood Park and the “Walk Score” drops precipitously, with the website conceding the address is “car-dependent” and that “most errands require a car.” It’s unclear what algorithm Walk Score, “a walkability services company,” uses in arriving at a number

All that aside, the author asserts residents of a high-rise building on Madison could

Let’s look at that statement: Sure, Forest Park has an enviable array of eateries, but what kind of commodities do consumers need on a regular basis? Groceries and pharmacy. The nearest super market/drugstore combo is a mile away. (Have you ever toted bags of groceries for a mile? I did, and only because I had no choice: I was a 20-year-old student without a car.) When you dig deeper, claiming this address is walkable is illusory.

A village that promotes sustainability: admirable. A walkable village? Maybe, for some folks living near the borders. Transportation-oriented? Well, yes: we’re equidistant to both major Chicago airports, we can get downtown in 18 minutes on Metra, etc

But lump it all together and say this illconceived rabbit warren serves what she claims is River Forest’s long-term goal? As the saying goes, “Don’t ___ on my le g and tell me it’s raining.”

Kathryn Jandeska River Forest

anks for supporting science

After a pair of NASA legends recruited me into the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador program, to do educational programming, I decided to host a telescope event in Oak Park

I told myself, “If 25 people show up, that’s a win and I’ll do more.”

Over 200 people showed up.

Ten years and 99 events later, I just want to say Thank You to this community for supporting science. I’m so grateful to you all. I hope you’ll come to my 100th event, all about Artemis, from 7 to 8 p.m. June 25 in the Veterans Room of the Main Library.

Mark Benson Oak Park

Clarity needed

In the article on OPRF High School’s support/tutoring programs [OPRF delays changes to tutoring, teaching supports, News, June 10] I wasn’t clear on what exactly is going to happen. Are they abandoning the current program before creating a new one? I hope the school is

getting input from students, teachers and counselors — the ones in the trenches — to see what these people think is needed or what will be more successful. A little clarity would be helpful.

Joan Slanina Oak Park

JOHN DUFFY Managed

integration

from page 21

ment owners to launch the first wave of integration in the late ’60s and early ’70s (2).

Raymond’s master’s de gree study of housing se gregation at Roosevelt University in the late ’60s concluded that white flight (in fear of Black residents) was not inevitable. She stressed that deliberate, preventive local gover nment actions could check white flight while of fering whites and Blacks the economic and social benefits of inte gration — the ideal espoused in the mainstream national and re gional civil rights movement (3).

With others, Raymond proposed doable measures that were adopted in the ’70s when fears of Black migration to Oak Park peaked following passage of the federal Fair Housing Act (and Oak Park’s local ordinance) in 1968 and the 1973 Village Diversity Statement, passed by trustees, pledging to be a welcoming place for all.

With civic and religious allies, Raymond swayed Oak Park elites to back the creation of the Housing Center and make it the engine for managed inte gration and racial distribution moving forward (4).

The bold actions of Raymond were vital for convincing whites to remain in Oak Park while promoting the practical and idealistic goals of inte grated living. In response, the national media heaped praise on the village and the OPHC. The imme-

Bill Monaco, 69 Youth sports coach

William R. “Monz” Monaco, 69, a longtime resident of Oak Park, died on June 14, 2026. Born on June 19, 1956, he was heavily involved in the community through his support and coaching of Oak Park Youth ts (football, baseball and softball), Windenwick High School (football and softball). “Monz” had a long career as an

diate success of the village’s strategies brought thousands of whites and Blacks and many Asian Americans to the village, although thousands of whites also left in an out-migration process that continued through the ’80s (5).

Raymond the antagonist

Like archetypes in any community’s grand narrative, Raymond has been both praised and criticized. Over the years I interacted with her many times socially and politically. Our exchanges over school equity-centered policy issues were acrimonious In the ’80s, education activists, including the leadership of courageous Black teachers, like Ella Pappademos and Betty Smitherman, moved beyond inter-school integration metrics to take up intra-school equity concerns, especially around ability grouping and curriculum tracking (6). Raymond was relentless in telling equity advocates to desist from challenging what education historians call “second generation segregation.” She authoritatively insisted that equity activists’ efforts would frighten away middle-class white families who were essential to the success of managed integration. In the ’90s she rebuked similar efforts in District 200, led by African American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education (APPLE) in coalition with students, the NAACP, and the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Alliance (7). Raymond even told Black leaders that the high school did not need APPLE, which was founded by Gerald Clay in District 97 in the 1980s and then brought to D200 by Wyanetta Johnson and other

PROVIDED

Raymond with a sign directing clients to the Housing Center’s o ce to it s early location at First United Church.

Black leaders (8).

The anchoring critique of Raymond and the OPHC was its central strategy of racial steering — convincing whites to move to neighborhoods with a higher percentage of Black residents and Blacks to move to neighborhoods that were mostly white. Critics for decades, including the 2024 citizens inquiry into reparative action for past racial harms (9), have rejected racial steering and the dispersal of Black residents. For them steering was as morally tainted and culturally harmful as the practices

OBITUARIES

Options Trader working with many great friends. He was an avid Chicago sports fan and loved adopting the college teams of those he loved.

Bill was the husband of Terri (nee Mueller); the father of Courtney (John) Valleau and Patrick Monaco; the grandfather of Brooke and Hailey; the brother of Jane Monaco, Joseph Monaco, Robert (late Carol) Monaco and the late Thomas (Jane) Monaco; and the uncle of many.

A memorial visitation will be held on Monday, June 22, at Ascension Church, 808 S. East Ave., Oak Park from 10 a.m. until time of the funeral Mass, 11 a.m. Inter ment private

In lieu of flowers, memorials to Misericordia Home are appreciated (http://www

used by realtors and bankers in the past and still today to exclude Black and other racial minorities from white communities (10).

Years after she left the OPHC, Raymond, while acknowledging the tight legal line the Housing Center walked with steering, continued to defend its core strategy as morally sound. She defended it as affirmative steering, necessary for the greater good of racial integration. Still, from the ’80s into the 2000s the list of dissenters grew. It eventually included prominent and respected Oak Parkers like Sherlynn Reid, the retired and heralded head of the village’s Community Relations Department, local and regional NAACP leaders like Jaslin Salmon and William Simpson and D97 school board members.

Raymond, never naming her critics, dismissed these respected villagers as being uninformed on what it took to accomplish inte gration. She insisted they were naïve to believe that the strategies of racial steering and dispersal of the village’s Black residents and students were no longer needed (11).

Despite her critics and the alleged moral flaws of managed integration, Roberta Raymond remains the most significant individual in the prevailing narrative on Oak Park’s modern housing history (12).

*Sources can be found in the online version of this article at oakpark.com/Opinion.

John Duffy is an Oak Park resident, retired high school instructor, and a member of CEEE (Committee for Ex cellence and Equity in Education).

misericordia.com/giving/donate-online). Arrangements were handled by ConboyWestchester Funeral Home.

Carol Harris, 78

Physical therapist, artist and volunteer

Carol Harris, 78, of Oak Park, died in peace on May 9, 2026. Caring for others, learning, and a sense of adventure were the keys to her life. Born on Aug. 12, 1947, she was raised in

Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, the daughter of the late Eugene and Elaine Lieberman and sister of the late Martin Lieberman.

After earning her bachelor’s de gree in physical therapy from the University of Wisconsin in 1969, she worked for a time at Michael Reese Hospital before supervising the PT depar tment at Illinois Children’s Hospital School (now the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education) where she treated children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and other disabilities. After moving to Oak Park, she worked as a physical therapist at home health agencies in the western suburbs, and also at Oak-Leyden Developmental Center. In 1989 she earned her master’s de gree in occupa-

Bobbie

tional therapy from Rush University and began OT work with home health clients before transitioning to the local school districts.

As a dedicated volunteer, she became involved in Meals on Wheels, Pick-A-Pet, Brookfield Zoo, Riveredge Hospital, and later the Dole Branch of the Oak Park Public Library, where she was eventually added to the permanent work forc e.

An avid reader, she traveled with her mother to locations as diverse as Alaska, Yucatan, Israel, Italy, and France. With Gene, the love of her life, she often traveled out west to national parks and to Canada. She also loved the North Woods of Wisconsin, where hiking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing were favorite activities.

Her creative side was expressed through arts and crafts. A serious potter, she sold her works at local ar t fairs, and was a member of the Oak Park Clay Artists Guild. She also practiced painting, drawing, sculpture, weaving, needlework, and sewing.

Carol was the spouse of Gene Harris. A memorial service will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 27, at Heritage Funeral Home, 3117 S. Oak Park Ave. in Berwyn. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made in Carol’s name to the Oak Park Public Library, the Animal Care League, or Meals on Wheels.

Daniel Errichiello, 43 River Forest resident

Daniel John Errichi, 43, died suddenly on May 28, 2026. Bor n Aug. 20, 1982 in Bele, Washington, he and his parents drove back to River Forest, here they were from. He had his mother’s teacher. He attended Easter n Illinois University at 17 and completed 3½ years as an IT technician. He married Megan Maloney and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, then moved back to River Forest.

Daniel is survived by his parents, Carl and Betsy (nee Kloock); his sister Ashley and Ozzie Villegas; his brothers, Dominic (Anna) and Daryl (Cathy); and his sister, Paula (Charlie) Westberry; and many nieces and nephews.

His ashes will be buried with the rest of his family

There will be no services

OBITUARIES

Dennis Boughton, 75

Dreamer and mechanic

Dennis Martin Boughton, 75, died peacefully on June 10, 2026. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he spent his teen and many of his adult years in Califor nia. From his parents, he inherited humility, a sense of humor, an understanding of the value of hard work, and a kind, calm, loving presence. A dreamer who enjoyed his career as an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, he was an avid reader, a chess player, lover of animals and good food, adventure, the ocean, mountains, and being with family.

Dennis is survived by his sons, Brian (Gretchen) and Max; his daughter, Grace; his for mer wife, Julie; his sisters, Rebecca Boughton and Collinda Fields; his grandchildren, Bethany Chenoweth and Zachary Boughton; his great-grandchildren, Sylas, Lilah, and Azriel; his aunt, Ruth Given; his brothers-in-law, Howard Kahn and Jeffrey Kahn; his mother-in-law, Ellen Kahn; and many cousins, nieces and ne phews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth and Lucy Boughton; his brother, Mark Boughton; and his beloved granddaughter, Olivia Grace Boughton.

A memorial service was held on June 14 at Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion, 1235 N. Harlem Ave., Oak Park. The family will sit Shiva at the f amily home at 1835 N. Neva Ave. in Chicago, starting on June 14.

As is customary in Jewish tradition, and in lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial contributions be made in Dennis’ memory to the Parkinson’s Foundation (Parkinson.org) or to the Humane League (humaneleague.org).

May his memory be a blessing.

Bobbi Davis-Santo

Brought people together

Roberta “Bobbi” Davis-Santo, 84, died peacefully, surrounded by family, on June 10, 2026 after a brief but sudden illness.

Born on Jan. 27, 1942, Bobbi believe

everyone deserved to be seen and heard. She had a remarkable gift for making people feel important. She was vibrant, funny, artistic, adventurous, generous, nur turing, and fiercely inde pendent.

In the final years of her life, she found a special pur pose at The American House in Oak Park, where she created and led a discussion group called Chatter Matters every Tuesday and Thursday evening. She wanted people her age to know that their voices still mattered and that their stories deserved to be told. She had a way of bringing people together.

She loved making jewelry and sharing her creations. She had an adventurous heart and a passion for travel. She could be wonderfully stubborn, her determination matched by her generosity and compassion.

Bobbi was the daughter of Henry and Catherine Meier; the mother of Mimi, Kate (Bob), and Joe (Dina); the grandmother of Chloe, Quinton, Abby, and Bella; the step-grandmother of Cole; and the aunt and godmother of Kelly.

Bobbi’s family will carry forward her example: to listen well, love generously, welcome others warmly, and make sure everyone feels seen and heard.

A visitation will be held on June 18 at 10 a.m. at Ascension Catholic Church, 808 S. East Ave., Oak Park, followed by a Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Following Mass, a procession will travel to All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines for interment.

Family and friends are then invited to celebrate Bobbi’s life at The American House, 703 Madison St., Oak Park, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the 7th Floor Bistro Café.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to Red Nose Day in support of children living in poverty. Contributions may be made at https://rednoseday.org.

Kevin ornton, 76 Ascension & Fenwick grad

of Arts de gree from the University of St. Thomas (’71) in St. Paul, Minnesota. He married Mary Catherine (Katie) White on July 22, 1972, and the couple raised eight children in their homes in Oak Park (’72’87) and Villa Park (’87-’20) before retiring to Tyler, Texas. He worked for several leading book publishers in Chicago before bringing his exper tise to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. There he found his most rewarding professional work, editing books on the beauty of his Catholic faith.

An ardent lover of music and literature, he spent thousands of hours reading the classics to his children and grandchildren. J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Laura Ingalls Wilder were on re gular rotation, as were his own le gendary tales of Mike Seahunt and The Lake Swamp Monster. He enjoyed the outdoors year-round, leading Sunday excursions to hike, skate, and cross-country ski. Summers found him rooting for his White Sox, losing golf balls, and savoring beach time with family in Michigan.

In Texas, he and Katie found a welcome community. They sang the Liturgy of the Hours together each mor ning and attended daily Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

In recent weeks, he experienced a sudden onset of esophageal cancer. He faced these trials with his usual wry wit and deep faith. He spent his final days surrounded by his family. Katie, his anchor and the love of his life, held his hand to the end.

vin John Thornton, 76, died on June 9, 2026, in Tyler, Texas. Born on June 22, 1949, in Chicago to John Arthur Thornton and Patricia Mooney Thornton, he ew up in Oak Pa rk, attending Ascension enwick

High School (’67) and earning his Bachelor

Kevin was preceded in death by his father and mother. He is survived by his wife, Katie; his children, Patrick (Jessica), Clare McCor mack (Patrick), Matthew (Kristi), Hope Scarborough (Brady), Charles (Mary), Margaret Versaci (Vincent), Jack (Clare), and Luke (Jane); 38 grandchildren (with one on the way); 4 great-grandchildren (with two on the way); and his siblings, Mary Pat Collins (Joseph), Susan Wemple (Peter), Nancy, William (Madeline), Patrick (Heather), Brian (Aura) and John (Pamela).

A Requiem Mass was held on June 16 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, followed by inter ment at Rose Hill Cemetery under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Hom e.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to the St. Vincent DePaul Society at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, Texas.

SPORTS

Fenwick boys basketball shows promise

Young Friars go 3-1 at Riverside-Brook eld summer event

By MELVIN TATE

Contributing Reporter

After ending the 2025-26 season with 10 consecutive losses, the Fenwick High School boys basketball team is relying on an infusion of talented young players to help tur n things around. At the 23rd annual RiversideBrookfield Summer Shootout, June 13-14, the Friars displayed teamwork and chemistry in winning three of their four games.

“As a team, we played well. We got into a groove and felt good,” said Fenwick rising sophomore Corey Griffin, one of five returning players from last year’s varsity who participated this weekend

Rising senior Luke Vongluekiat, another returnee, added: “It was pretty good. I feel we could’ve picked up some things better, but as we start to play together more, we’ll jell more as a group and pick things up.”

Peoria Central was tough, especially in the first half as the Friars allowed 41 points in an eventual 64-41 defeat. Incoming freshman Noah Marshall, younger brother of for Fenwick football and basketball standout Nate Marshall, had a team-high eight points Griffin had seven points, and Vongluekiat and rising sophomore Donnie Rogers added six points.

Saturday’s nightcap was much better as the Friars pulled away in the second half a 61-34 victory over Metea Valley. Griffin led with 15 points. Rising senior Ryan Murra scored all 11 of his points in the second half and rising senior T.J. Cole added eight.

“(Peoria Central) was tough,” said wick coach David Fergerson. “But the guys responded and bounced back. We’re jelling together and growing; that’s what it’s about.”

On Sunday, Fenwick notched a pair of rsus Burlington Central, and 60-56 over

(13 points) scored the winning basket in ertime in the first game. Marshall had a team-high 17 rebounds, and added 12 points on 4

d his butt of f, and Noah is a phenom. Everyone’s gonna be knowing him sooner than later t know how much ep him a sergerson said.

In the Thornwood victory, Griffin had a team-high 13 points. Murray had nine ongluekiat and rising junior Danny Lange eight gers seven. received solid play this weekend from in-

coming freshmen Elijah Gordon and Mickey Prah, rising sophomores Isaac Apaza and Major Staley, rising juniors Azael Meza Herra, George Tsitovich, and Luke Walhford, and rising senior Colin Good.

Both Griffin and Vongluekiat like how things are going for the Friars this summer, but they also know there’s more work to be done in preparation for the upcoming season.

“We’ve just got to play calm as a team,” Griffin said. “Individually, I need to understand the situation we’re in, whether we need a bucket or get everybody calmed down. We also need to talk more on defense; we can all guard, but we need to work as a team on defense.”

“We definitely need to get better at communication,” Vongluekiat said. “Individually, I need to stay calm under pressure.”

In addition to providing production during the games, Fergerson is counting on

Griffin and Vongluekiat to provide leadership for his young team.

“It’s big. We’re younger, so we’re trying to mix the older guys with the young guys to show them,” Fergerson said. “We’ re playing well and doing a solid job, so we’ve just got to continue to grow. That’s all I care about.”

Fenwick continues summer action this weekend at the Romeoville Pre-Live Shootout, June 18-20. The event, which takes place at the Romeoville Athletic and Event Center, has a $10 daily admission fee. More infor mation can be found at romeovillelive.com.

OPRF boys basketball

Also at Romeoville this week will be the Oak Park and River Forest High School boys basketball team. Last weekend, the Huskies went 4-0 at the Midwest Crossroads Showcase in downstate Normal.

IAN McLEOD

Fenw ick’s Noah Marshall makes his way up cour t during game action at RBHS on June 13.

IAN McLEOD

Fenwick’s Luke Vongluekiat blows past a Peoria defender.

TA TE ’S T AKE

e 2025-26 sports year in review

Plenty of athletic memories made this season

FBy MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

enwick baseball’s 4-0 defeat to Crystal Lake South in the IHSA Class 3A supersectional, June 9, officially brought a close to the 2025-26 high school sports season.

Fenwick, Oak Park and Ri Forest, and Trinity provided plenty of thrills – and a pair of state champions – in athletic competition. My Tate’s fers my “Tatesies” awards, the best of the best this year. So without further ado, let’s get started:

Male Teams of the Year: Fenwick football, OPRF boys volleyball

Fenwick football won its second state title in five years. In the 6A playoffs, the Friars rolled past Kennedy, Rolling Meadows, and Burlington Central in the first three rounds before edging past Nazareth Academy in the semifinals (more on that below) and knocking of f East St. Louis in the title game.

OPRF boys volleyball deserves equal reco gnition in this category. The Huskies (31-6-1), top-ranked in the state for the majority of the season, reached the state final before losing to Glenbard West in three hard-fought sets. Moreover, junior Jimmie “Trayce” Chrusfield III, one of the top prospects in the Class of 2027, participated for USA Volleyball’s U19 team at the NORCACA tournament in Canada; the team took home a silver medal, losing to the host country in the final.

Female Teams of the Year: Fenwick softball, Trinity basketball

For the second time in three years, Fenwick softball finished third in 3A. Unlike two seasons ago when the team was experienced, this year’s team had a lot of freshmen and sophomores. Coach Valerie Jisa has done a great job in rebuilding the

Friars, and the future looks really bright.

Things are also in great shape with Trinity basketball, ich finished third in the Class 3A state tournament.

Seniors Zaria Goins and Chloe Santos along with junior Destiny Sacluti provided good, steady play and excellent leadership. The Blazers (26-11) also got a huge boost from a talented underclassman group: freshmen Ijeoma Conley, Jazmyn Ratliff, and Destinie along with sophomores ra Gamble and Danae Hickman.

Boys’ Game of the Year:

Fenwick football doesn’t get downstate without a scintillating 28-27 semifinal victory at Nazareth, Nov. 22. Trailing late by seven points to a team that seldom tastes defeat at home, especially in the playoffs, Fenwick needed a big play and got it when Josh Morgan made an interception deep in his territory. On the Friars’ ensuing drive, Jamen Williams hit Jake Thies twice on deep receptions, then scored on a QB sneak to tie the game and ultimately force overtime.

Fenw ick Defensive Lineman Luke Leone hoists the championship trophy with team

mates at Victor y Rally celebrating the school winning the Illinois Class

Championship

led by Avani Williams, rallied to take a twopoint lead going into the final minute

Fenwick struck first in the overtime as Williams found Tommy Thies for an 11yard touchdown. Nazareth countered with a score on its possession, but instead of kicking the PAT, the Roadrunners opted to go for two and the win.

Nazareth’s Charles Calhoun went up the middle, then tried going outside to his left. But Jake Thies met him at the line and brought him down to secure victory for the Friars as their student body rushed the field in pandemonium.

Girls’ Game of the Year:

In front of a packed house at Trinity’s Sister Michelle Germanson Gym, Feb. 26, the Blazers, top-seeded in their own 3A sectional, led third-seeded Fenwick by nine early in the fourth quarter. But the Friars,

Two of Trinity’s younger players came up big when it was needed. Gamble scored of f an offensive rebound to tie the g ame.

Then after Fenwick was called for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, the Blazers got an opportunity to win.

After Trinity worked the ball around the perimeter, Ratliff found herself open in the right cor ner and made a three-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining to give Trinity a thrilling 39-36 victory for the sectional title.

Other notable highlights from this season:

■ OPRF junior wrestler Jamiel Castleberry won the 3A state title at 126 pounds. In the dual-team state finals, the Huskies finished fourth. In girls wrestling, OPRF seniors Caliyah Campbell and Isabella Miller earned All-State honors, and Fenwick senior Valerie Franco became the program’s first-ever state qualifier.

■ Fenwick sophomore and River Forest resident Michael Doherty finished fifth in the 1A boys tennis state singles tournament to receive All-State honors. OPRF junior Lucy Stein took fourth in the 2A girls tennis state singles tournament to gain All-State honors.

■ OPRF girls soccer won a 3A regional for the second consecutive year. The Huskies boys track and field team set a new school record for the 4 x 400 relay at the state meet, finishing second in a time of 3:16.18.

■ OPRF (4A), Fenwick (3A), and Trinity (2A) girls volleyball all reached the supersectional round in the same year for the first time ever.

■ Trinity soccer’s Grace Ramel ended her three-year varsity career with 115 career goals. She helped lead a resurgent Blazers team to its first regional championship since 2016.

■ Finally, the Fenwick girls hockey team was runner-up to New Trier in the AHAI state tournament.

TODD BANNOR

-

6A Football

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park --Office of the Village Engineer, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302-- will receive proposals until 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2026 for Project: 26-21, Temporary Diverter Installation. Bids will be received in person at the Public Works Building at 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 and the bid opening will be held at 11:00 a.m. in the 2nd floor conference room at the Public Works Building. This contract includes the installation of sixteen temporary traffic diverters at ten intersections within the Village and all appurtenant work thereto.

Plans and proposal forms may be obtained by requesting the documents via email (Christopher.welch@oak-park. us) starting on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue plans and specifications only to those contractors deemed qualified. No bid documents will be issued after 4:00 p.m. on the working day preceding the date of bid opening.

The work to be performed pursuant to this proposal is subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, 820 ILCS 130/0.01 et seq.

THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK Bill McKenna Village Engineer

Published in Wednesday Journal June 17, 2026

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT

DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE OF MINOR CHILD

STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY.

Request of Shirley Smith to change name of a minor child Case Numbe 20264002709

There will be a court date on my Request to change the name of the minor child from: Zion Terrell Pickett to the new name of: Zion Elias Smith

The court date will be held: On July 14, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Maywood Courthouse, 1500 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, Cook County, IL in Courtroom # 111.

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park --Office of the Village Engineer, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302-- will receive electronic proposals until 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 9th, 2026, for Project: 26-06 Pavement Preservation. Bids will be received and accepted, and bid results posted via the online electronic bid service listed below. In general, the improvements consist of various sized asphalt patches, concrete work on Austin Boulevard, crack sealing, micro-surfacing application, petroleum maltene-based rejuvenator application, and thermoplastic pavement marking removal & application, and all appurtenant work thereto. The work will take place in various locations throughout the Village of Oak Park.

Plans and proposal forms may be obtained via the electronic service starting on Thursday, June 25th, at 10:00 a.m Plans and proposal forms can be found at https://www.oakpark.us/your-government/ budget-purchasing/requestsproposals or at www.questcdn. com under login using QuestCDN number 10250430 for a non-refundable charge of $64.00. The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue plans and specifications only to those contractors deemed qualified. No bid documents will be issued after 4:00 p.m. on the working day preceding the date of bid opening. The work to be performed pursuant to this Proposal is subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, 820 ILCS 130/0.01 et seq.

THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK Bill McKenna Village Engineer

Published in Wednesday Journal June 17, 2026

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLNOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT, PROBATE DIVISION ESTATE OF Leslie Morris Golden, DECEASED.

NO. 26 P 3596.

Notice is given of the death of the above named decedent. Letters of office were issued to Bruce P. Golden, 943 Forest Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302, as Independent Executor, whose attorney of record is David I Susman (9543), 6968 W. North Ave., CHICAGO, IL 60707

Notice to Heirs and Legatees

Notice is given to Cheryl Balaban, Beth Balaban and Susan Balaban, who are heirs or legatees in the above proceeding to probate a will and whose names or addresses are not stated in the petition to admit the will to probate, that an order was entered by the court on 05/28/2026, admitting the will to probate.

Within 42 days after the effective date of the original order of admission you may file a petition with the court to require proof of the will by testimony of the witnesses to the will in open court or other evidence, as provided in section 5/6-21 of the Probate Act of 1975 (Ill. Compiled Stat. 1992, Ch. 755, par. 5/6-21).

You also have the right under section 5/8-1 of the Probate Act (Ill. Compiled Stat. 1992, Ch. 755, par. 5/8-1) to contest the validity of the will by filing a petition with the court within 6 months after admission of the will to probate. The estate will be administered without court supervision, unless under section 5/28-4 of the Probate Act (Ill. Compiled Stat. 1992, Ch. 755, par. 5/28-4) any interested person terminates independent administration at any time by mailing or delivering a petition to terminate to the clerk.

Claims against the estate may be filed in the office of the clerk in Room 1202, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL, or with the representative, or both, on or before December 9, 2026, or, if mailing or delivery of a notice from the representative is required by section 5/18-3 of the Probate Act of 1975, the date stated in that notice. Any claim not filed on or before that date is barred. Copies of a claim filed with the clerk must be mailed or delivered by the claimant to the representative and to the attorney within 10 days after it has been filed.

E-filing is now mandatory for documents in civil cases with limited exemptions. To e-file, you must first create an account with an e-filing service provider. Visit http://efile.illinoiscourts.gov/service-providers.htm to learn more and to select a service provider. If you need additional help or have trouble e-filing, visit http://www. illinoiscourts.gov/FAQ/gethelp.asp.

Published in Wednesday Journal June 10, 17, 24, 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.

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION

WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF CSMC 2021-RPL4

TRUST Plaintiff, -v.-

PATRICIA M. HOOKS F/K/A PATRICIA M. MELGAR, MARK A. HOOKS, WASHINGTON PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. Defendants 2025 CH 08998 715 WASHINGTON BLVD, APT. 1D 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 4, 2026, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 7, 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 715 WASHINGTON BLVD, APT. 1D, OAK PARK, IL 60302

Property Index No. 16-07-418021-1004

The real estate is improved with a condominium.

The judgment amount was $162,819.52.

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 Alexander Potestivo, POTESTIVO & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 223 WEST JACKSON BLVD, STE 610, Chicago, IL, 60606 (312) 2630003. Please refer to file number 316583.

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.

POTESTIVO & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 223 WEST JACKSON BLVD, STE 610 Chicago IL, 60606 312-263-0003

E-Mail: ilpleadings@potestivolaw. com

Attorney File No. 316583 Attorney Code. 43932 Case Number: 2025 CH 08998 TJSC#: 46-1250

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 08998 I3288451

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

A Community Conversation

Thursday, June 25 • 7pm 19th Century Club • 178 N. Forest Ave, Oak Park

LIFE AFTER THE BROADVIEW

THURSDAY, JUNE 25 AT 7 PM

Join Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw and attorney Chris Parente for a candid conversation about the Broadview 6 case, the dismissal of all remaining charges, and the personal, legal, and civic impact of a prosecution that drew national attention. Moderated by veteran journalist Charlie Meyerson, the discussion will explore what happened, what was learned, and what comes next. Free and open to the public.

19th Century Club (178 N. Forest Ave., Oak Park)