Wednesday Journal 070120

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL

July 1, 2020 Vol. 40, No. 49 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal

of Oak Park and River Forest

New Julian principal Jeremy Christian Page 11

Admitting ‘failure,’ Fenwick creates equity committee New Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee formed as students, alum of color recount negative school experiences online By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

The Fenwick High School board of directors recently announced the creation of a board Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. The board approved the permanent committee at its June 15 meeting and appointed John Barron, the board’s chair, to serve on the committee, which “will be charged with addressing racial/cultural justice/equity issues” in a range of areas, according to a statement by Barron and President Richard Peddicord that was emailed to community members June 25. The committee’s focus areas will include “cultural inclusion and sensitivity training; policy and governing practices; curriculum; student, faculty and staff recruitment; admissions and financial aid; and community service. “In the wake of the killing of George Floyd and widespread protests around the country, Fenwick High School has also been asked to examine itself,” Barron and Peddicord said in the joint statement. “The outpouring of anger, pain and frustration from so many of Fenwick’s alumni and students of color over the past few weeks has been deafening. We have heard and are deeply saddened. See FENWICK on page 11

KABOOM!

Fireworks complaints skyrocket during pandemic By JAMES KAY Staff Writer

Sure, fireworks are outlawed in Illinois. But it has become an unspoken tradition in the state for residents to shoot contraband into the sky in the days leading up to Independence Day. Seems though that being cooped up during a coronavirus pandemic, residents in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park have taken their fireworks frenzy to a whole new level. West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center’s executive director, Brian Staunton, provided the number of fireworks complaints between May 25 through June 23. Based on his report, the volume of complaints has dramatically risen in 2020 com-

FILE

pared to the past two years. In 2018, there were eight complaints in Oak Park and none in River Forest and Forest Park. In 2019, there were eight complaints in Oak Park, seven in River Forest and three in Forest Park. In 2020, there have been 68 complaints in Oak Park, 23 in River Forest and 14 in Forest Park during that time period. “I have lived here for 52 years, and it has never been this bad,” said Oak Park resident Pat Koko. “For a period of time, I called the police and the person I talked to said that ‘it’s in Chicago so we can’t do anything’ so I waited a couple more days. But the fireworks have been coming every night so I called again and was given the wrong contact information to reach out to the area where it was happening. I gave up. It’s been awful.” Among those who are upset by the uptick in fireworks usage are pet owners who are angered by the late-night antics which See FIREWORKS on page 9

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Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

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Hemingway District businesses weigh in on Lake Street plans Work schedule narrowed from three to two options By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

As the village starts to reopen and businesses try to recover from the unexpected COVID-19 closure, Oak Park Village Engineer Bill McKenna met last week with Hemingway District stakeholders to discuss three scheduling options to carry out the planned improvements on Lake Street from Oak Park Avenue to Euclid Avenue. While Lake Street from Harlem to Austin is being rebuilt to varying degrees this year, the single block just east of Oak Park Avenue requires the most dramatic remaking of underground infrastructure and streetscaping. “I think the village is trying to be cognizant of everybody’s needs,” said McKenna. COVID-19 provided a boost for Lake Street improvement progress, as crews were able to carry out much of the work ahead of schedule during the height of the crisis when businesses closed, and people sheltered in place. During the outdoor meeting held June 25, McKenna and business owners were able to narrow down the available scheduling options from three to two, eliminating an unpopular third option altogether. The first option includes starting the improvements very soon, possibly mid-July with electrical work at the Oak Park Avenue-Lake Street intersection, which would still allow for outdoor dining. However, crews would have to shrink space at the intersection for safety and Courageous Bakery, 736 Lake St., would lose its outdoor dining on the frontage of Oak Park Avenue. The removal of curbs and area behind curbs would start Aug. 1 under the first op-

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

THEY’RE NOT DONE YET: The Lake Street improvement project hopes to ease the impact on the Hemingway District stakeholders. tion, triggering road and partial sidewalk closures, thereby ending all outdoor dining except for Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea, 702 Lake St. Work would finish in mid- to late October. Representatives from Fairgrounds and Courageous Bakery did not attend the meeting. The second option consists of delaying construction until after Labor Day to give restaurants and businesses the entire summer to try to recover profits lost during the shutdown. Under that option, crews would try to complete work by Thanksgiving but would most likely finish in early December. Eric Masoncup of Geppetto’s Toy Box, 730 Lake St., was concerned that pushing the start date to September would present weather difficulties for construction crews as the seasons

change. He also was concerned about a possible resurgence of COVID-19. “Starting in starting in September, now we start pushing weather, potentially, as well as the potential of another surge,” Masoncup said. According to Patrick O’Brien of Scratch on Lake, 733 Lake St., option two worked best for restaurants because it provides opportunities to extend outdoor dining. “For the restaurants, and I speak to the ones I know, sidewalks coming off, take the tables off the sidewalks,” O’Brien said. “Right now, that’s 100 percent of my dining.” Phase four of the Restore Illinois plan, O’Brien said, would allow him to have only 25 people eat inside his restaurant, combined

D97 supt. finalist for Wisconsin supt. job Carol Kelley one of two finalists at Madison Metropolitan School District

in his district to help deal with By MICHAEL ROMAIN the fallout from the COVID-19 Staff Reporter pandemic,” the digital publication notes. District 97 Supt. Carol Kelley The Cap Times adds that the is one of two finalists for the perWisconsin school district remanent superintendent position leased a statement explaining at Madison Metropolitan School its plans for engagement sesDistrict in Madison, Wis., acsions with staff and students, cording to a June 25 report by the “as part of a ‘Virtual Day in Capital Times, a Wisconsinite the District,’ which will inonline news site. District 97 ofCAROL KELLEY clude an online opportunity ficials have also confirmed that to get to know each candidate, Kelley is a finalist for the job. ask questions and provide feedback that According to the outlet’s report, Kelley is will aid in the board’s final decision.’” one of 33 applicants who applied for the poKelley has been superintendent at Dissition some two-and-a-half months after an- trict 97 for five years. She came to Oak Park other candidate from Texas declined to ac- schools after serving as a superintendent in cept the position after deciding “to remain New Jersey for three years.

When reached for comment on Thursday night, District 97 Director of Communications Amanda Siegfried said that the district is aware of Kelley’s candidacy for the Wisconsin position, but remains focused on the work ahead. “We are aware that Dr. Kelley is a finalist for the superintendent position in Madison Metropolitan School District,” Siegfried said. “District 97 will have no further comment until Madison completes its search process and selects its next superintendent. Our administration and transition planning team remain focused on the important work ahead as we prepare for the 2020-21 school year in Oak Park.” CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

with outdoor dining restaurants will have a better opportunity to recoup lost revenue. “We’ll want the extra four weeks,” O’Brien said. The third option delays construction completely until spring of 2021, with work starting in March and likely ending in June. Stakeholders ultimately nixed this option. Under option three, the construction would likely take longer than three months due to weather. The third option would also cost the village more money. “The village is probably going to incur over $100,000 in extras for spring material, winter labor rate increases, and the new material I gotta buy is gonna be more expensive,” McKenna said. The village engineer said he preferred option two. “The perfect option for me, which seems to strike a balance, is that Labor Day option because I think we could get it done by Thanksgiving,” he said. Due to COVID-19’s impact on businesses, McKenna said the village will defer plans to rebuild the Hemingway District portion of Oak Park Avenue from the dirt up until at least 2022 to give Hemingway District businesses an extended period of time to recover. McKenna will present the final two options to the village board during a public meeting July 5; ultimately, the board of trustees will decide which option to pursue. People can make a plea to the board to choose a certain option in public comment during the meeting. Regardless of what option is chosen, the duration of work on that stretch of Lake Street is expected to last three months and will involve closing Lake Street from east of the Oak Park intersection to west of the Euclid intersection. However, the plan allows Oak Park Avenue traffic to continue except when laying the bricks, which will take three to five days.

Oak Park Village Hall reopens, limited hours Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison St., reopened to the public June 29 with precautions in place to protect visitors and village staff from contracting COVID-19. Such precautions include limiting in-person service operations to Monday through Thursday. Fridays, the hall will be closed to the public. The building will close each day at 5 p.m. The hall will open at 9 a.m. for senior citizens and those at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. It will open at 10 a.m. for all other members of the public. Everyone who enters village hall is required to wear a mask that covers both the nose and mask. Disposable masks will be available inside village hall for people over the age of two who do not have one. Visitors are also required to practice social distancing. No more than eight people at one time can occupy the lobby of village hall.

— Stacey Sheridan

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

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Amid racial reckoning, Oak Park police contract comes up for negotiation this fall

Trustees say they hope successor contract to current patrol officers’ pact, which expires Dec. 31, rises to current moment of reform By STACEY SHERIDAN

policing. “I think that this contract negotiation with police officers is one tool that we can use in the process to transform commuIn the wake of the recent deaths of nity safety,” she said. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Buchanan said she’s willing to listen to Black citizens at the hands of police, what citizens would like to see advocated the nation has its attention fixed on law for during the negotiation process. enforcement, how police officers conduct “I don’t pretend to be an expert on policthemselves and the disciplinary actions ing. I’m listening, I’m reading,” she said. taken when officers fall out of line. “I am very open to people emailing me and Oak Park is no exception. calling me who want to educate me about That makes the upcoming negotiations the changes they want to see in a police on a new contract with patrol officers in contract.” the Oak Park police department especially When it comes to the police department, timely. The current contract expires Dc. Buchanan would like to see a change in 31, 2020. Negotiations will begin in early how Oak Park views community safety. September. “I am interested in seeing an innovative In interviews Monday, some members transformation of how we look at commuof the village board said they hope the nity safety that involves more funding gonegotiations reflect the urgency of the ing to social services, and less national moment. funding going to police who go Oak Park Trustee Deno out on calls that they are not Andrews said, given the curtrained for,” Buchanan said. rent climate, citizens have a Those include calls related “bigger appetite” for diving to mental health, drug overinto police contracts and undoses, loitering, homelessderstanding what they entail. ness and other issues that “If there are things that other agencies may be more can be improved, that would equipped to handle. increase transparency and Buchanan had an interestimprove the opportunity for ing reason for wanting to justice, I think the board negotiate officers working would probably be favorable overtime. Working hours is to those measures,” he said. Andrews said he also always discussed during each believes public confidence in contract negotiation process. police oversight, as well as “One thing I would want transparency, are necessary. to see is the hours worked “I think that the public because they’re put on exneeds to know that there is tended shifts, they do a lot of transparency in disciplinary overtime, and that is going to matters, and the public needs contribute to poor judgment,” to have confidence that whatBuchanan said. ever oversight mechanism In addition to overtime, we have in place can easily Buchanan would like to see DENO ANDREWS stand up to public scrutiny,” the contract address mental Village Trustee he said. health and include care proviAndrews also encouraged sions for officers. citizens to meet with trustees “Psychological science says to see that their interests when you witness a trauare represented during the matic event or participate in a collective bargaining process. Negotiating traumatic event, your physiology takes like sessions are held privately with the village six to eight hours to calm down,” Buchanan board being updated only in executive said. “If we wanted to be really innovative session. in policing, we would really pay attention to “We’re going to have to meet with the what an officer is expected to do after seeing public individually as trustees,” Andrews or participating in a traumatic event.” said. “If the public wants input, the public Whether it can be accomplished or not in should be communicating with elected ofnegotiations, Buchanan would like police ficials earlier rather than later.” officers to abandon the code of silence and Trustee Susan Buchanan said Monday speak out against officers who exhibit transthat there are other opportunities, in adgressive or dangerous behavior. dition to contract negotiations, to change Buchanan, like Andrews, believes greater Staff Reporter

“I think that the public needs to know that there is transparency in disciplinary matters, and the public needs to have confidence that whatever oversight

mechanism we have in place can easily stand up to public scrutiny.”

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

PLACE OF RESPECT: Oak Park police take a knee on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, during a moment of silence outside of village hall in Oak Park. transparency into cases of police misconduct and discipline is necessary. “That’s something that’s going to help break this code and help break the toxic masculinity that comes with some police officers and their behavior,” Buchanan said. “It will help hold them more accountable. It will help decrease the militaristic approach to policing to community safety.” Negotiations on the successor agreement cannot begin until 120 days, roughly Sept. 1, before the current contract expires on New Years’ Eve. “Collective bargaining or labor relations in the state of Illinois are all governed and subject to the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act and in that act, there is an Illinois Labor Relations Board,” said Oak Park Village Manager Cara Pavlicek. “Everything we do is in accordance with that state agency.” Lisa Shelley, deputy village manager, will represent the village of Oak Park during negotiations. Shelley has been chief negotiator for the majority of Pavlicek’s tenure as village manager. Representatives from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 8 will represent patrol officers. Oak Park officers Joseph Nash and Dustin Troik, of the FOP, did not respond to requests for comment. Oak Park village trustees and the mayor do not participate directly in the negotiations but decide what contractual changes they would like negotiated. “Because Oak Park is a manager form of government, the elected officials don’t sit at the bargaining table,” said Pavlicek. “As the policymakers, they establish the perimeters

of which management, the respective departments and HR have to work within.” The village board would have the ability to direct Shelley to negotiate the terms of the officer misconduct disciplinary process in the successor agreement, because the current agreement includes disciplinary measures. The current contract stipulates a certain measure of privacy be afforded to officers during the disciplinary process. Whether discipline should be a more public matter can also be negotiated, as can the measures of discipline per infraction. However, according to Pavlicek, discipline for police misconduct is governed primarily by the state of Illinois. “Generally, as an organization, we have always negotiated what we think is in the best interest of both labor and management to be transparent about a log and a history,” she said. The village board has yet to discuss terms of the negotiation in executive session and staff has yet to provide recommendations. “It’s really hard to put forward a negotiating position in the media before you start a negotiation,” said Pavlicek. During a June 22 meeting, the board of trustees made a commitment to evaluate certain aspects of police department operations, particularly its use-of-force policies and to engage the community in conversations about community policing. “We don’t yet know what we don’t know in terms of what can be improved, where it can be improved,” said Andrews. “It’s really early.”

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Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

BIG WEEK July 1-8 “Edible Gardening Checklist for Success” Access this free eBook from Oak Park’s Deep Roots Project. It walks you through every step of edible gardening and has tips for gardeners whether they are experienced or new to edible gardening. From how much to water to a list of plants to attract beneficial insects, there is a lot to learn in this earth-friendly resource. Written by Estelle Carol with help from the Deep Roots Education Team. Access book: deep-roots-project.org/1-edible-gardening-ebook-intro

Queer Stitch Group

Free Testing for COVID-19

Emergency Response Volunteers Needed

Sundays, 3 to 6 p.m., Zoom with Dye Hard Yarns Members of the LGBTQA+ community who also knit, crochet and partake in fiber arts are invited to join for connection, friendship and discourse. Email for meeting info: Team@DyeHardYarns.com

Community-based state testing sites are open to everyone regardless of symptoms or other criteria. Anyone who has been part of a rally or protest is recommended to be tested according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Appointments, doctor referrals or insurance are not needed. Public health officials say testing is critical to identify new cases and prevent further spread. To find a testing site, go to: dph.illinois.gov/testing. Local sites can be found by typing in your zip code.

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers are needed in the Village of Oak Park. MRC needs medical and non-medical volunteers ready to help in emergency situations with logistical planning, record keeping, health awareness campaigns, staffing first-aid stations, providing emergency care, distributing medication and vaccinating residents. CERT volunteers play a vital role in local disaster response and recovery activities. More/apply: oak-park.us/emergencypreparedness

Climate Change: Is It Already Too Late?

Coffee Monday

Monday, July 6, 1:30 p.m., Zoom with the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association Dr. Jason Funk, principal and founder of the Land Use & Climate Initiative, and Amy Rosenthal, director of the Field Museum’s Keller Science Action Center, will debate the Climate Change issue. Rosenthal will offer a realistic assessment, highlighting current impacts and the ongoing lack of political will to address this problem. Funk will describe how to change course. Free; donations appreciated. Register: ncca.memberclicks.net/events-calendar

July 6, 10 to 11 a.m., Zoom through the River Forest Public Library Join Rachel Watson from HOPE Fair Housing Center, who will discuss adults with disabilities and their rights to have grab-bars, railings and ramps in their homes and grants to pay for these modifications. Held the first Monday of each month, bring you hot beverage and snacks and join the conversation as you get to know your neighbors and learn about things in the community. Brought in partnership with River Forest Township. Register: riverforestlibrary.librarymarket.com/events/coffee-monday-zoom-1

Summer Art with Gene Ha

NAMI Family Support

Many Voices Book Discussion: “Queenie”

Wednesdays, July 1 through July 22, 2 to 3 p.m. Zoom through the Oak Park Public Library Continue to join creator of the Mae comic book series, learn basic steps artists use to develop their own comic books and design your own comic strip this summer. Grades 1-8. Free. Supplies, such as pencils, paper, black markers, are needed. Register for each Wednesday event: oppl.org/calendar

Tuesdays, 7 p.m., WebEx Drop in anytime to a virtual support group that offers hope and shared experiences for family members with a loved one with a mental health condition. To join, create a free login at webex.com, then enter meeting number 291 478 541, password: Connect. Brought by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Metro Suburban. For more on NAMI’s family services, call: 708-5242582 X108, or email: bockus@namimetsub.org

Wednesday, July 8, 7 to 8 p.m. Zoom through the Oak Park Public Library

Writers’ Word Feast Sunday, July 5, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Zoom through the Oak Park Public Library Bring your words and words yet to be written to this writers’ group for all types and genres. Each writer has a chance to read a story, poem or novel chapter and receive feedback from the group. Every first and third Sunday. Register: oppl.org/calendar

Crafting with Maria Tuesday, July 7, 2 to 2:30 p.m., River Forest Public Library Facebook and Instagram pages All ages are welcome to make a craft project every Tuesday. Watch live or find it a few days later on the River Forest Library’s YouTube Channel. Here you will find previous projects like wax-paper garlands and paper embroidery. You can also learn how to make a no-sew cloth mask.

In Candice Carty-Williams’ novel, Queenie, a young Jamaican-British woman in London finds she is often compared to her white middleclass peers and she makes a series of questionable decisions after a breakup before challenging herself to figure out who she wants to be. Part of the Many Voices, Many Stories summer reading program. Register: oppl.org/ calendar

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

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Oak Park is stuck on policing

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ast week top officials in the River Forest Police Department live-streamed a social justice forum. There’s another session scheduled for July 8. Chief Jim O’Shea and his deputies laid out details on how incidents of use of force have played out in the village in recent years. Among the specifics discussed was the use of a taser on a suspect nine times since 2017. Also spelled out was the local data from the Illinois Traffic Stop Study. This state mandated reporting records of all traffic stops and specifies the race of those pulled over. In 2018, presumably the most recent year the statistics have been reported, River Forest cops stopped white drivers 1,618 times and minority drivers 2,744 times. Quite a discrepancy given the low percentage of Blacks living in the village. During the session, though, officials made the case that a statistic I never knew existed, the Estimated Minority Driving Population, reports that minorities make up 59 percent of local drivers, which is in range of the 63 percent of overall traffic stops for people of color. Now you can trust this information or you can hold to the perception that River Forest cops heavy up on Black drivers passing through town between the city and Maywood. But at least we have the statistics and the official police interpretation. Good for River Forest and its police leadership for being out front on the critical issue of police accountability at this critical moment. Over in Oak Park, the progressive bastion of timidity, things are mainly quiet — as in crickets quiet. The only public discussion was a train wreck of a village board meeting last week which produced heat, no light and an outcome — “Let’s hire a consultant to audit the police department” — that I believe could use a forensic parliamentarian to sort out if all seven members of the village board knew what they were voting on. A side note to Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb, a person I admire: A male elected official can never tell an elected female official to “calm down.” Never. That directive was aimed at Trustee

Arti Walker-Peddakotla. A side note to Trustee Walker-Peddakotla: Listen to your colleague who said you are winning the discussion of community safety. What was a bold, and to many unsettling, demand months ago that Oak Park fully rethink policing and focus on community safety is now the only conversation on the nation’s table — OK, other than the pandemic, an economic collapse and Trump as president. So take the win, shape the conversation, draw in the multitudes of white Oak Parkers who, for the moment, have their eyes open to the reality of systemic racism. Meanwhile, back at the seeming decision by the board to ask the manager to craft a Request for Proposal to hire a consultant, which everyone agrees might take three months to accomplish, I have to ask, is this really the right way to go? Or is this a defensive crouch meant to avoid more chaotic board meetings? A simple thought: Let’s listen. Let’s start by listening. Let’s start by having faith that Oak Park residents, in the right and welcoming setting, can share their policing experiences, what troubles them, worries them for their kids, satisfies them. Let’s see if we can pull off the same listening effort with our police officers. This will be harder for so many reasons. But where do Oak Park officers feel threatened? What sort of calls would they like to offload or add on more expertise? And out of listening — and likely we need a paid consultant to facilitate these listening sessions — we can focus on what isn’t working, where the friction lives. It might not, for Oak Park, be in use of force. Both Walker-Peddakotla and Chief LaDon Reynolds seemed to agree last week that use of force is not a primary issue. But let’s get the chief talking more, and opening up the citizen complaints and the disciplinary outcomes, about what he says is the most common issue: Courtesy. Now what on earth does that mean? What sins does that cover? Let’s find out. Let’s listen. Let’s talk. Let’s innovate. And let’s start right away.

DAN HALEY

A simple thought:

Let’s listen. Let’s start by listening. Let’s start by having faith that Oak Park residents, in the right and welcoming setting, can share their policing experiences, what troubles them, worries them for their kids, satisfies them.

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Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

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ART BEAT

Work from Hemingway’s with NPR host Peter Sagal By MICHELLE DYBAL Arts Editor

A new member benefit, offered to those at the Society level, emulates what Ernest Hemingway, the Pulitzer Prizewinning American writer, did himself and is an answer to those feeling stir crazy with libraries and many office spaces still closed — work from Hemingway’s at the Birthplace Home in Oak Park. Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me host Peter Sagal gave it a try on Monday, June 22. Sagal’s radio show is a current event quiz show with celebrity guests. It airs on NPR, WBEZ locally, Saturdays, 10 a.m., and Sundays, 11 a.m. For those who sleep in on the weekends, there is a podcast of the episodes. According to the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, which runs the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home, the great American author worked from his living room, bedroom, dining room and loft space. His first novel, The Sun Also Rises, was

written in 1926 while Hemingway was quarantined on the French Riviera in a two-bedroom home because his young son had whooping cough. Also on lockdown with Ernest — his wife and mistress. Those wanting to work like Hemingway (sans the multiple love interests), or Sagal, can purchase a Society Membership, then schedule a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday to work in the home, 339 N. Oak Park Ave., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Only one person is allowed to work each day and a number of work areas are offered. There is also free wi-fi. Four different Society level memberships, ranging from $250 to $1,500, qualify for this member benefit. The Birthplace Home is currently closed to in-person tours on Work From Hemingway’s days, so there is limited contact with others while at the home. The Foundation has continued regular live tours virtually. More: hemingwaybirthplace.com/ work-from-hemingways

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

HOME SWEET WORKSPACE: Peter Sagal, NPR’s ‘Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me host, checks out what it’s like to work in Ernest Hemingway’s Birthplace Home.

Oak Park couple capture impact of 19th Century abolitionist Owen Lovejoy preached race equality from Illinois’ pulpits By JANE ANN MOORE and WILLIAM F. MOORE Guest authors

We were captured by Owen Lovejoy and his ability to build an effective coalition based on moral imperatives. Our book, Owen Lovejoy and the Coalition of Equality: Clergy, African Americans and Women United for Abolition, was published in December. African Americans, activist women and clergy formed a succession of Illinois antislavery political parties under the collaborative leadership of Owen Lovejoy and others — Liberty Party (1846), Free Soil Party (1848), Free Democratic Party (1852), the early Republican Party (1854) and official Republican Party (1858), which lead to the election of Abraham Lincoln. Similar coalitions exist in the Civil Rights movement, in Oak Park and in the Black Lives Matter movement today. When we began as co-pastors of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in DeKalb, established in 1854, we found it had an unusual covenant. All members promised “to treat all brothers and sisters in Christ with tenderness regardless of the color of their skin.” Where did this covenant come from? Colleagues pointed us to the Rev. Owen Lovejoy of Princeton, Illinois. Lovejoy preached to his Congregational

Church that there was a spark of the divine in every person. He also taught that religion and politics should be closely related; one’s values should shape public policy. First Congregational Church’s covenant then was a repudiation of the nation’s great sins of slavery and racism. Ten years before, in 1846, three political abolitionist groups in northern Illinois formed a coalition to confront slavery, the Fugitive Slave law and Illinois Black laws and to obtain human rights and equality. That May, clergy, Black people and women hosted the North-Western Liberty Convention in Chicago. Six thousand antislavery advocates from Illinois and surrounding states attended the rousing, three-day conclave. The well-known African American orator James Bibb, fugitive enslaved person and son of a Kentucky state senator was the dramatic keynote speaker. Owen Lovejoy, the Fourth Congressional District nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives, followed with rhetorical and leadership skill. This coalition included antislavery white ministers and laymen who organized formal church associations and political parties in Illinois; white women who formed antislavery societies that supported political parties; and African American men and women who gathered in congregations, debating societies, sewing circles and organized petitions and campaigns. As radicals, they intended that slavery should be abolished and equality attained. As political abolitionists,

they agreed the best way to break the spell of the slave power” was through the constitutional process. After the Liberty Party divided, they spearheaded the Illinois branches of the Free Soil, Free Democratic and Republican Parties. John Jones of Chicago led the state’s African American group and worked closely with Frederick Douglass at the state and national levels. Mary Brown Davis of Peoria was the prolific journalist for the female societies. Lovejoy rescued dozens of Black fugitives. Then he helped rescue millions of enslaved people by introducing and pushing national bills. Flanked by the coalition, Lovejoy worked closely with Abraham Lincoln from 1855 until his Presidential victory in 1860. In U.S. Congress, from 1859 to 1864, the Hon. Lovejoy chaired three major committees in the House and interjected energy into other progressive bills. During the Civil War, the expanding coalition sustained the original antislavery core of the multifaceted Republican Party, supporting Lincoln against all retrograde naysayers. And slavery ended. In the 20th century, other equal rights movements emerged. In the 1950s the Civil Rights movement began with Black clergy and their colleagues. Then, radical white clergy and activist white women came on board. We moved to Oak Park recently to be close to our family. But as early as 1965, we heard

from a Yale Divinity School friend, Joyce Beisswanger, that a coalition was forming in the village. African Americans wanted to move into Oak Park but no owner would sell to them. Distressed, Beisswanger and neighbors began meeting on how to make housing available to Black families. Religious leaders supported the challenge and Black people volunteered. They created discussion groups, passed leaflets to Lake Street shoppers, interviewed real estate folks and tested sellers’ responses. They collaborated to prevent blockbusting and to set the stage for official assurances that property values would be preserved, thus creating a unique racially integrated community. Lee Brooke wrote about this period, 1964-1973, in his 1996 report incorporating Joyce’s notes. We are all the beneficiaries of the coalition’s vision. Today we witness another brilliant coalition. Led by African American women, Black Lives Matter is ascending into a powerful, international force for justice and equality. “Owen Lovejoy and the Coalition of Equality: Clergy, African Americans and Women United for Abolition” is available from the publisher University of Illinois Press: press.uillinois.edu/books/ catalog/53chg8df9780252042300.html. The Moore’s have also written “Collaborators for Emancipation: Abraham Lincoln and Owen Lovejoy” and edited Owen Lovejoy’s “His Brother’s Blood, Speeches.”

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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‘My body is a monument’

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n 2018, New York City officials ordered the removal of the Central Park statue of J. Marion Sims, the so-called father of gynecology. Sims is perhaps best known for perfecting, in a grotesque way, the widely feared speculum — “the cold, clicking, duck-billed apparatus that lifts and separates the vaginal walls so a near-stranger can peer inside,” Rose Eveleth wrote of the instrument in a 2014 Atlantic article. Eveleth explained that the idea for the modern speculum (there had been iterations on the basic idea for centuries prior) “came to Sims while treating a white patient who had been thrown from a horse. After he helped her ‘reposition her uterus,’ he had an idea. He fetched a slave, had her lay on her back with her legs up, and inserted the bent handle of a silver gravy spoon into her vagina.” I learned about J. Marion Sims on Monday evening while interviewing Dr. Michelle J. Alexandre, an Oak Park physician who owns and operates a small family medical practice in Melrose Park that she said is on the brink of closure because of mounting debt and chronically late Medicare reimbursements. At least 90 percent of Dr. Alexandre’s patients are Black and Brown and poor, she said. They can scarcely afford yet another loss of medical care. Last year, nearby Westlake Hospital — a roughly century-old community hospital that was one of the

few places, say, a mentally ill homeless person who speaks only Spanish could go and feel understood — was bought by California investors and promptly closed down. Dr. Alexandre, 48, said the hospital’s closure left many patients lost and confused. They didn’t know where to go, so they came to her for guidance. When COVID-19 forced the state into lockdown in March, Alexandre’s clinic closed for a few months before reopening in early June — but not before thrusting her patients, yet again, into a state of pained confusion. She wants the state to do something to staunch the bleeding and relieve the pain before she’s forced to close her clinic (perhaps the government can start by paying the backlogged Medicare reimbursements it owes her, she said). J. Marion Sims and his dreaded contraption came up while we were talking about the connection between racism and Black pain. Whether it’s Sims experimenting on slave women or Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck — both instances involved white people offloading physical pain onto Black people. Too often Black pain — a fundamental

fact of racism — is obscured by euphemisms and monuments, which are the opiates of white people, prompting them to doubt that our pain is even real, as opposed to one of their “Hollywood-movie ectoplasms,” as Ralph Ellison once said. “What is a monument but a standing memory? An artifact to make tangible the truth of the past,” writes Caroline Randall Williams — whose white male ancestors raped her Black female ancestors — in her powerful essay, “My Body is a Confederate Monument,” which appeared in this past week’s New York Times. “If there are those who want to remember the legacy of the Confederacy, if they want monuments, well, then, my body is a monument,” Williams writes. “My skin is a monument.” Dr. Alexandre said the myth that Black people have higher pain thresholds has even taken hold in our own heads. “A lot of times with African-American and Latinx men, there’s a level of machismo — they don’t want to come to the doctor,” she said. “You’ll even see it with parents who bring their kids to the doctor and say, ‘Stop crying! I’ll give you something to cry about.

MICHAEL ROMAIN

You’re a big boy, you can handle it.’ We’re taught not to feel pain or even express pain, so it’s something that’s very deeply rooted.” The Oak Park physician felt that rich, monumental legacy of whites discounting Black pain while she was in labor with her third child. Doctors at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where she delivered all three of her daughters, sent her back home, she told me. “My daughter was almost delivered on the Eisenhower Expressway,” she said. “Could that be because of race? ‘Oh, you’re fine, you’re fine. Just go home.’ If they did that to me, a physician, what are they doing to my patients? As a Black female physician, I owe it to my community to be here because, a lot of times, you’re not going to be believed. … Even with George Floyd — ‘We’re not hurting him. He can take it. He’s faking it.’” Dr. Alexandre — who has dipped into her personal savings and mounted the burden of debt and risked financial insolvency to save a place she feels obligated to be — carries the weight of racism’s present and its past. It is exhausting. “I think society is tired,” she said. “That’s why we’ve seen the protesting and rioting. We’re tired of this. We don’t want to take this anymore.” And it hurts. CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

River Forest police hold social justice forum June 22 heavy on process, but department’s top brass open themselves up for scrutiny

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

Amid growing racial unrest across the county over police-involved killings of Black citizens, relatively quiet River Forest is coming out of its shell. On June 22, the village’s board unanimously passed a resolution affirming the village’s “principles regarding the relationship between the community and law enforcement.” Two days later, the River Forest Police Department hosted a Police and Social Justice Public Forum that was livestreamed on Facebook. During the roughly twohour forum, River Forest Police Chief Jim O’Shea and several other ranking officers outlined the department’s policies and protocols on training, use of force and traffic stops, among other areas. The department’s top brass said that 30 percent of River Forest Police sworn supervisors are female while nearly 18 percent of the department’s 28 sworn officers are female. Nearly 29 percent of River Forest’s 28 sworn officers identify as minority. When pressed to be more specific about the percentage of Black and Latinx officers on the force, Commander James Greenwood said that he didn’t have those specific percentages

at hand, but said that one officer identifies as biracial while four civilian staffers identify as Hispanic or Latino. Department leaders said that there have been just two use of force incidents involving police officers so far this year — down from 12 in 2019 and four in 2018. None of those incidents involved deadly force. Greenwood said most of those use of force incidents entailed “somebody passively resisting and needing to be given a little bit more hands-on techniques used by officers to place them under arrest or be detained.” Between 2017 and 2020, nine use of force incidents required the use of a taser, according to department data that was presented in an accompanying PowerPoint slide. “We don’t adhere to automatically or immediately going to force, which isn’t authorized,” Greenwood said, adding that officers are also required to “summon aid for people if they required medical attention.” He said that if a “person is requesting treatment, they’re given treatment” and if an officer observes an obvious injury to someone, the officer is required to request medical attention. Department leaders said that all 28 officers complete training throughout the year in a variety of areas, including fire-

arms, human rights, de-escalation, racial profiling, hate crimes and use of force, among other areas. So far this year, they said, River Forest officers have attended 304 training courses and completed 998 hours of training, or an average of 36 hours of training per officer. They said that the COVID-19 pandemic has required them to utilize online training more than in-person training. In 2019, they said, the department’s 28 officers attended 635 training courses and a total of 4,438 hours of training, or an average of 159 hours of training last year. In 2018, officers attended 421 training courses and completed 2,486 hours of training that year, or an average of 89 hours of training per officer for the year. The department’s total training budget for fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 20201 was $23,320, $21,745, $32,960 and $33,950, respectively. From 2012 to 2021, department leaders said, average dollars spent on training per officer increased by roughly $1,200 a year. The department cited data from the Illinois Traffic Stop Study, which breaks down the percentage of traffic stops by race. In 2018, the study found that River Forest Police stopped white drivers 1,618 times and minority drivers 2,744 times. The depart-

ment said the reason 63 percent of stops that year were involving minority drivers is because minority drivers comprise around 59 percent of the community’s Estimated Minority Driving Population. The report, however, does not break down traffic stops by the percent of Black and Latinx drivers who were stopped by River Forest Police. “The River Forest Police will continue to build trust with the community,” said Chief O’Shea near the end of the forum. “This is always ongoing and needs to be earned every day. We are open to the opportunities of new roles in the community and are also ready to relinquish others to those better qualified. We have our eyes and ears open to the realities or perceptions that diverse and devalued populations want to share with us and want to work together to resolve.” River Forest Police will host another Police and Social Justice Public Forum on Facebook on July 8. To watch the June 22 forum, visit the village of River Forest’s Facebook page (@ VillageofRiverForest). You can also access the PowerPoint slides presented during the forum by scrolling through the video’s comment section. CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Oak Park youths lead Black Lives Matter rally

To ‘prevent the infection of racism’ is the goal By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Youth of all ages and their families gathered at Fox Park, 624 S. Oak Park Ave., on Saturday, June 27, for a Black Lives Matter rally and protest specifically geared toward educating the younger set on the need for racial equity and empowering them to fight for it. The rally had COVID-19 screening and water on hand to prevent dehydration, supported by Loyola Medical Center. The rally started off by addressing police brutality toward Black people with a call and response chant; one side of the park yelled, “Am I next?” to which the other side replied, “Not on my watch!” Sharing messages of unity and justice, local organizers and political figures spoke to the crowd, which consisted of about 200 socially distanced and masked people carrying signs. Representative La Shawn K. Ford and Oak Park Trustee Arti Walker-Peddakotla were among the speakers, as was the event’s lead youth organizer Chloe Jennifer Leach. Leach is also a member of Revolutionary Oak Park Youth Action League (ROYAL), a youth-based organization committed to social justice. “We have to start standing up for one another,” Leach told the crowd. “We are our ances-

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

BUILDING IMMUNITY THROUGH COMMUNITY: Youth rallied on Saturday, during Black Lives Matter: A Mother’s Fear and a Father’s Promise at Fox Park in Oak Park. tors’ dreams.” The youth attendees then broke out into groups based on age to discuss social issues and how to become a better ally, led by Leach and other teens. The young people then returned to their parents to share what they learned. “Anytime you have young kids involved, that means they have approval from the parents,” said Ford. “It’s going to take everyone

in this fight for justice.” Ford was particularly pleased to see the vast array of youth who attended. The children participating in the rally ranged from toddlers in diapers to teens in high school. “I saw one toddler put a sign in the ground that said, ‘Love everyone,’” Ford said. “That’s beautiful. He’s been raised to love, regardless of the color of a person’s skin.” Children, with their natural honesty and

openness, also have the ability to broaden the minds of their parents, Ford believes. “They have a major impact on their parents,” he said. “As much as we want our children to listen to us, I think parents listen a lot to their children too.” The death of George Floyd, a Black man from Minnesota who was killed while in police custody, has caused a national reckoning over systemic racism in American society, particularly law enforcement. “Now we have a movement in the United States to take a new path toward making sure that we have fairness, equity and justice in this country,” Ford said. Intergenerational discussions regarding racism, both blatant and subtle, can shape the way American citizens choose to grow from the ugliness of its not-so-distant past, he said. “All these young people, whether you’re black or white, may have had grandparents who did not understand love for all people,” Ford said. “Now, I think people are trying to be understanding.” The idea for the youth-led rally came from Oak Park resident and father of three, Khari Reed. Reed and his wife wanted to safely include their very young children in Black Lives Matter protests. “I think we are clean slates when we are born and then racism is poured into us,” Reed said. “This is us educating kids to give them the tools to prevent the infection of racism, to identify it and to strike it down.”

Pride flag thefts bring neighbors closer Six flags taken from one block over a series of days By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Kids in the 200 block of South Harvey Avenue have been drawing rainbows on sidewalks in support of the LGBTQ community after the block had a string of six pride flag thefts – all of which were reported to the police. “It felt really nice to see the kids out in front of my house drawing a rainbow flag on the sidewalk,” said Greg Raub, who lives on the block with his husband. Raub also sits on the board of Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association (OPALGA+). The rainbow flag thefts started the night of June 16 when two flags were taken, and the flagpoles broken. “The first time it happened, I guess I kind of wrote it off as a

prank,” said Raub. Police officers came to the neighborhood to investigate. Raub sent out a block email alerting neighbors to what happened. “At least two people replied and said, ‘Well we need to show our support. Where can we buy flags?’” said Raub. “Within a couple of days, there were a couple more flags flying.” But the flag thefts continued. Sometime during the night of June 23 and the early morning hours of June 24, two more flags, one of which belonged to Raub, were stolen. Both flagpoles were also damaged. Flags from the first two incidences were recovered a block away tangled in bushes. On June 25, two flags went missing again, including one that had been previously stolen and rehung with hooks. “It was literally ripped down,” said Raub. “The flag was ripped.” The thefts began to feel less coincidental and more like targeted

homophobic sentiment, especially considering the timing during June which is LGBTQ pride month. “That’s the only thing I can think of at this point,” said Raub. One household had both a rainbow and American flag flying; while the pride flag was stolen, the American flag was left hanging. The 200 block of South Harvey Avenue is particularly family-oriented, with about 18 children under the age of 10 living there. After the block’s third instance of pride flag thefts, kids began to drawing pride symbols with a particular color scheme. “All the families with kids, they brought out their sidewalk chalk and went around the block coloring rainbow flags and rainbow designs,” said Raub. “It was very nice.” “The LBTQ community has had high visibility for a long time (in Oak Park),” said Raub. “But yes, this kind of thing still happens. It’s hard to understand.” These particular rainbow flag

KIM FOTZLER/Contributor

LOVE TO THE RESCUE: Local kids rose to the occasion along with the rest of the 200 block of Harvey after Pride flags were stolen by someone who has no pride. thefts could be considered a hate crime. If caught, the perpetrator or perpetrators could face felony charges. Raub said the Oak Park Police Department has been very responsive and taken the thefts seriously, patrolling the area with greater frequency. Despite the ugly nature of the flag

thefts, the neighborhood’s show of solidarity with the LGBTQ community has made the experiences a bit more positive. Raub noticed people out walking stop to take pictures of the sidewalk rainbows. “As a gay man, it’s so good for me to see all the flags on the block,” Raub said. “It’s just nice to walk down the block and see all of them.”

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Pop up toiletry stand links Austin and Oak Park Local social worker and mother sets up ‘shop’ By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Every Thursday evening for the past four weeks, a group of neighborly Oak Parkers have been passing out personal care and toiletry products to members of the Austin community in need from outside Taco Bros restaurant on the corner of Chicago Avenue and Austin Boulevard. The popup pantry is the brainchild of London Black, a social work graduate student, who saw several Austin businesses looted following the death of George Floyd. “I noticed that a lot of convenience stores had been destroyed,” said Black, who lives in Oak Park but grew up in Austin, where she now works. Without convenience stores, Black realized, Austin residents had lost access to such necessities as soap, toothpaste, diapers and more. She took to social media to spread awareness. “I put up a Facebook post, and I said, ‘If you’re in for helping, please let me know,’” she said.

Over 90 people responded to the Facebook post alone, offering to donate items and help distribute. Within a few hours, people were dropping supplies off at Black’s home. “People have also sent money, so I’ve been using that money to replenish the things that we run out of,” she said. According to Black, diapers and baby formula go very quickly, as does soap and body wash. “I run out of toiletries every week,” she said. Other popup popular items include cold water and face masks to protect people against contracting COVID-19. The volunteer distributors also wear masks and gloves. Black expected the popup to last only while convenience stores were closed, but the popup maintains a steady flow of partakers each week. “It’s just helpful to have a load taken off, to have your expenses reduced by just a little bit,” she said. Two of the popup’s biggest helpers

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

HELPING HANDS: Mason Black, 8, and Cameron Black, 10, help set up their mom’s toiletry giveaway station each Thursday at Austin Boulevard and Chicago Avenue. are Black’s young children; her son and daughter distribute supplies alongside the adults. “They enjoy it and I enjoy having them there,” she said. The popup has accumulated enough supplies to keep it operating at least through the middle of July.

While she came up with the idea, Black credits those who gave their time and assistance to support Oak Park’s neighbors to the east. “It’s been a success because so many people have been willing to help and chip in,” she said. “It shows how big of a difference we can make if we all work together.”

Block parties are back but with a new set of rules

No more than 50 people allowed By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Now that phase four of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan has started allowing for larger gatherings of people,

FIREWORKS

Vets, dogs impacted from page 1 are impacting their animals’ stress levels. The residents we spoke to say they have heard fireworks go off as early as 7 p.m. to as late as 3:30 a.m. “I have a shelter adopted dog frightened to death by the fireworks,” said Oak Park resident Laura Bruzas. “We have tried meds, a thunder jacket, and everything else to help with [the dog’s] stress. It doesn’t work and you cannot plan for it. These people are terrorizing dogs by using illegal fireworks like M-80s and M-100s. It needs to stop.” With fireworks coming from all over the

Oak Park Public Health Director Mike Charley has announced neighbors can host block parties – offering a semblance of summer normalcy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ability to have block parties comes with restrictions put in place to prevent further spread of the virus. According to Charley’s order issued June 23, block party attendance must not exceed 50 people. Bounce houses and petting zoos are prohibited. Chairs and tables must be at least six feet

apart and block party participants should also maintain at least six feet distance from each other. Chairs, tables and other frequently touched surfaces must be disinfected several times during the party. Charley’s order also requires all attendees to wear face coverings at all times, except when eating or drinking. When eating and drinking, attendees must maintain six feet of distance between non-immediate household members.

People should not share food or drinks with people outside of their households. Charley’s order also discourages potlucks and “self-service of shared foods, including hot bars, cold bars and buffets.” The order encourages single-use napkins, plates, utensils and condiment packets. Block parties should have hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol available to attendees. Handwashing stations are encouraged.

Chicago Area, there is difficulty in pinpointing every location where fireworks are being lit off. Forest Park resident Geoff BinnsCalvey has tried to cordially stop those using fireworks but has come up empty. “I went for a walk and saw a group of guys in Berwyn shooting off fireworks behind a McDonald’s,” said Binns-Calvey. “I told him I hadn’t called the cops and I wanted to talk to them as neighbors first. One of them showed me what he had and that it was the last big one they were going to set off. And by the time I got home, they were still at it. They had no idea that the debris was falling on the roof of the gas station.” A worker at the Shell station confirmed there wasn’t any damage to the building. However, there was one incident in Berwyn where a driver, Richard Camacho, was driving on the 2600 block of Clinton when a

group of people had lit off a firework. They tried to stop him from driving by it, but it ended up shooting off three feet from Camacho’s car. “It was definitely something louder and bigger than most of the loud and big ones we keep hearing,” said Camacho. “Even other neighbors came out thinking an explosion happened. The shock of it set off my car’s airbags and disabled the car. It is currently in my garage and I cannot drive it until it is repaired by the insurance.” Camacho was in his car with his children who were unharmed by the accident. His car has been impounded and it cost him $250. Outside of the physical harm fireworks have brought to the area, Forest Parker and ex-Marine Mike Close told Forest Park Review that he knows veterans who have been impacted by the barrage of fireworks that

sound similar to explosives being set off. “If I can see the fireworks and I know they are coming, they won’t bother me,” said Close, who served in the Marines from 196667 during the Vietnam War. “I would react if I heard a whistling sound, you would find me under my bed. But I belong to a group of veterans who flew spotter planes and they are able to talk about it and understand and help each other through this.” Even with complaints piling up, there are some residents who believe they aren’t doing any harm by using fireworks. “I don’t think people should spark them at 2 a.m. but with the times we are living in right now, we should be able to do this safely,” said one River Forest resident who requested anonymity. “As long as no one gets hurt, I don’t think we are doing anything wrong.”

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DEAR DEER: The Deer Management Committee in River Forest is seeking input from residents on the issue of culling the deer herd in the forest preserves.

Deer culling survey online Residents can weigh in until August 31

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

Apartment living with congregate services

114 South Humphrey Oak Park, IL 60302

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his property with its architecturally award-winning atrium, provides seniors and persons with disabilities with parking, library, laundry room, wellness center and other conveniences. A service coordinator is on staff to assist tenants who may need additional services. The units are studio and one bedroom, each with electric appliances, tile bath, and wall to wall carpeting. Modern fire and safety systems are installed in each apartment and common areas of the building. There are 8 accessible one bedroom units for the mobility impaired. The Oaks is owned and operated by the Oak Park Residence Corporation and is funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development through the 202/section 8 Program. Residents pay approximately 30% of their monthly income for rent. For additional information, please visit our web site at www.oakparkha.org or contact us at 708-386-5812.

After several meetings discussing the intricacies of gauging residents’ opinions on deer in the village, the Deer Management Ad Hoc Committee finally approved a resident survey at its June 23 meeting. The survey, which will gather data the committee will use to make its recommendation on deer control to the village board, is available online at vrf.us/news/item/334. A paper copy is available through the village by calling 708-366-8500 for those without internet access or the technical savvy to fill it out online. Residents will have until the end of August to complete the survey. The village contributed $3,000 for a postcard mailing to all residents in town, letting them know the committee is looking for input. The committee will also have a link to the survey from the village website and will share it on River Forest-related Facebook groups. Developing the survey was a surprisingly contentious endeavor, with multiple meetings dedicated to debating word choices and survey-answer order to make sure “leading language” wasn’t an issue. At the June 23 meeting, some members, including Ron Lemar, expressed frustration at the lengthy conversations regarding language and survey questions. “We went on and on about all these questions on this survey like we were curing

cancer or something,” said Lemar, noting that he wanted a more direct question on the survey asking whether or not residents wanted culling. Committee Chair Tom Cargie pointed out that if individual members weren’t completely happy with the final version, it’s a good sign of compromise. One particular point of interest, which spurred final discussion about survey questions before the committee voted to approve the questionnaire, centered on how many deer would potentially be culled and how that would be determined. Board members wanted to make sure it was clear from the survey that the herd of deer in the River Forest area would not be entirely culled. Member Katharine Christmas said, “I don’t mind putting something in that talks about limited numbers. The problem is that since we don’t know how many deer there are, we can’t put in an accurate percentage. The forest preserve hasn’t done a proper analysis of Thatcher Woods. … We don’t know what’s in there.” Cargie said the Forest Preserve District will ask the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for 50 deer tags, which would allow the culling of that many animals. But the IDNR, he said, will decide how many deer should be culled, if culling is the decision the village board ultimately makes. “The DNR will provide inferential evidence that there is overpopulation based on the condition of the habitat,” said Cargie. “There was never going to be a deer count.”

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Percy Julian Middle School gets new principal Jeremy Christian to replace Todd Fitzgerald effective July 1

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park has a new principal. During a special meeting on June 29, the District 97 school board approved the appointment of Jeremy Christian to replace Todd Fitzgerald, who resigned to take a superintendent position in Komarek School District 97 in North Riverside, D97 officials announced. Christian’s tenure will start July 1. Before coming to Oak Park, he was an assistant principal for four years at Naperville Community Unity School District 203. He most recently served as principal of Richland Junior High School in Crest Hill, D97 officials stated. Before those tenures, Christian worked for two years as a dean of students at Proviso East High School in Maywood, six years

FENWICK

Equity Committee from page 1 “It is clear that we have failed our students of color, and all of our students, in many ways,” they added. “If we are to educate our students -- as our vision statement reads -- ‘to serve as compassionate leaders, committed to justice and peace in a changing global society,’ we must change.” The committee’s first meeting was scheduled to take place June 30, a day before Wednesday Journal’s print deadline. “An alumnus from the class of ’03, who has spent the bulk of his professional career working with issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in education, has agreed to moderate the initial meeting until a chair is formally named,” the statement reads. The committee’s formation comes at a time when institutions across the country are conducting self-evaluations when it comes to race and equity, and when Black people are growing more and more vocal about their treatment by these institutions. Earlier this month, an Instagram account — Being a BIPOC Friar (beingabipocfriar) — called for Black, Indigenous and People of Color students and alumnae from Fenwick to “share their stories about racism.” Within six days, the account has amassed 150 stories and counting, and garnered more than 1,300 followers. As of Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday Journal could not successfully identify the account’s creator. In an account that is emblematic of the stories that have been shared, one commenter, who identifies as Class of 2020, writes that their 13-year-old sister “had to

gram (School Using Coordias a teacher and dean at Bolingnated Community Efforts to brook High School and four Strengthen Schools), “while years as a teacher and dean at focusing on enhancing learnWalther Christian Academy ing outcomes and sense of bein Melrose Park, D97 officials longing for African American stated. students and their families,” Christian has a bachelor’s deofficials said. gree in English from Elmhurst In a statement, D97 Supt. CarCollege, a master’s degree in ol Kelley welcomed Christian secondary education from Conto D97, describing the admincordia University Chicago in istrator as an “engaging and River Forest, and a master’s deJEREMY CHRISTIAN accomplished educator with a gree in educational leadership proven track record for fosterand administration from Beneing growth and success of all students.” dictine University in Lisle. Kelley said she believes Christian’s “expeIn their statement, D97 officials referenced Christian’s experience with creating rience, leadership and passion for learning programs that address racial equity. will be a tremendous asset for Julian and In Naperville, for instance, he worked the entire District 97 community as we work with parents to create the SUCCESS Pro- to advance our vision and promote greater

sit there and watch white children prance around the stage in brown face for the musical West Side Story.” When they brought the issue up to a leader of the group producing the play, they write that they were dismissed. During a phone interview on Tuesday, Peddicord identified Caleb Fields as the 2003 alumnus who will moderate the committee’s first meeting. Fields manages teacher diversity for Denver Public Schools. Peddicord said that some details about the committee, such as the length of members’ terms, still need to be ironed out, but added that, since the committee will be part of the board’s governance, it will be empowered to make binding decisions that affect school policies and procedures. “We’re internally calling it the DEI committee and Dei is God in Latin,” Peddicord said. “That is very much at the heart of a Catholic school that believes diversity, equity and inclusion are the work of God in this point in our history and we take it very, very seriously. The fact that those letters refer to God is a great reminder to all of us in our community.” When asked about the Being a BIPOC Friar Instagram account, Peddicord said that he is aware of its existence. “It’s very painful to hear people’s experiences of things that took place at the school,” he said, before urging students and alumnae with those experiences to send them to the committee’s new email: inclusion@fenwickfriars.com. “It’s sad,” he said of the accounts of racism at Fenwick. “We really want to do better and to respond to people’s experiences. We think creating this committee is one step in that direction, but there are going to be a lot of steps that need to be taken.” CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

equity and inclusion in our schools.” In the district’s statement, Christian said that he looks “forward to meeting our students, partnering with our families and ensuring that Julian Middle School is beyond successful within all of our efforts,” Christian said. “As principal, I will work tirelessly to ensure our students are safe, diverse thinkers, and future leaders of their communities.” Christian was hired as part of a principal search process that included parents/guardians, staff members and students. “I want to thank the parents and staff members who were instrumental in selecting the next principal of Julian Middle School, as well as the students who provided valuable feedback through our survey and candidate interviews,” Kelley said. CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Voices of People of Color at Fenwick Here are some excerpts of the accounts shared to the beingabipocfriar Instagram page. They have been lightly edited for readability. Full disclosure: None of these accounts have been independently verified by Wednesday Journal. ■ Not a story, but can we talk about how Fenwick (both the student body and administration) do absolutely nothing to ensure a safe environment for students who are POC [people of color]. For the most part, I was the only Black girl in my classes. I was the only Black girl on the swim team and one of the few Black people BFG as well as track. We as minorities and POC are expected to go out of our way to make sure white students are comfortable, but what about us? For four years, I had to be uncomfortable and it cost me so much trauma and pain in the end. (Class of 2018) ■ Definitely won’t miss the week after spring break where not only would wealthier students talk non-stop about their vacations, but would also come up to me and compare their tan to my skin color, saying, ‘I’m almost as dark as you!’ (Class of 2016) ■ I remember when I found myself in a conversation with whites students talking about how they planned to, or thought about, claiming to be BIPOC on their college applications to get accepted [into college] or to get a better financial aid package. I tried to explain how messed up that was, but, of course, affirmative action came up and I just quit.

(Class of 2018) ■ In my moral theology class, I heard countless times people saying that Black people do not have any fewer rights than white people and that Black people and other minorities are just trying to take away rights from white people, so that they can get to the top. They also said that affirmative action is completely unfair and that so many Black people are stealing spots away from people who actually worked hard to get into college. (Class of 2020) ■ It wasn’t until our senior year that people stopped getting me mixed up with the other Black women in our class. (Class of 2020) ■ There was an immense amount of support [among] the sophomore class last year for the institution of hard ‘r’ Fridays. This lack of respect for [people of color] and for the word itself, and its history, disgusted me. As a white male, I was very uncomfortable around these individuals who would sling the hard ‘r’ on Fridays. (Class of 2022) ■ In my American History class junior year, a certain teacher chose to fetishize BIPOC regularly as ‘examples’. He would routinely ask me, a white student, to imagine what it would have been like if he were my ‘master’ and I was his ‘slave’. He would also ask how I would feel if I were to be ‘conquered’ by him similar to how conquistadors conquered indigenous peoples in the U.S. Lastly, he would ask me how it would feel if I were a ‘jewess’ and he was a Nazi officer who had ‘that power’ over me.” (Class of 2015)

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Popify Pops are perfect pandemic fare Hyper-local artisan popsicles are available by porch drop and block drop

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

Becca Martin and her husband Russell have a love of travel and a passion for artisan ice cream. Focusing on their two small children may have curbed their wanderlust in recent years, but their affection for frozen treats was reflected in the smiles on their children’s faces each time the ice cream truck rolled around. Inspired by unique flavor combinations they experienced internationally, the duo set out to create all-natural, small-batch popsicles both adults and children would love. Martin and her husband spent the next several months in search of the “perfect popsicle.” “To help turn out a quality pop I turned my home freezer down as low as it would go,” said Martin. “Once it hit -5 degrees the freezer fan froze.” Despite a few bumps in the road, their experimentation paid off — today Popify Ice Pops boast big flavor and a limited ingredient list. Popify’s popular strawberry pop is made with nothing more than fresh strawberries, agave nectar and lemon juice. Reminiscent of a classic fudgesicle, the Salted Chocolate Pop is vegan and made of coconut milk, coco powder and salt. Martin indicates the pop is especially popular among adults who embrace a dairy-free diet. Popify collaborates with Todd and Holland Tea Merchants to make tea pops. Utilizing the Forest Park tea shop’s s loose Lavender Earl Grey Tea, Martin and her husband created a

popular Arnold Palmer Pop. Additionally, the tea shop’s Strawberry Fields blend with notes of apple and hibiscus forms the base for Popify’s Pretty in Pink pop. The rosy hued pop is augmented with organic cane sugar and fresh lemon; it has become one of Popify’s signature flavors. “The pandemic has made it hard to source some ingredients,” said Martin. “Looking at tea versus fruit gave us an alternative.” Popify also collaborates with Oak Park’s Rare Bird Preserves to craft their Blackberry Cherry pops. Rare Bird connoisseurs are likely familiar with their cherry-lime preserves. Martin collects the tart cherry juice byproduct from Rare Bird and uses it as a base for their blackberry cherry pops. While the business owners had visions of participating in festivals and farmers markets to grow the business, COVID-19 concerns dashed those plans and even disrupted plans to bring their pops to block parties and other events. They opted to try delivery on a smaller scale to bring pops to local residents. Limited delivery slots sold out quickly and Popify cannot meet current demands for their pops. Interested parties should expect to wait 2 to 3 weeks for a porch delivery. “People seem to appreciate having something fun and unexpected to enjoy during this time,” said Martin. People interested in getting in on the Popify action should follow them on Instagram and Facecbook and join their mailing list to stay up-to-date on all popsicle related news.

Rethinking Gaetano’s Longtime Forest Park restaurant transforming into a gourmet Italian market By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

“I think we should expect a second wave of the virus,” said Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto matter-of-factly. “I hope not. I understand restaurants are hungry, but it is most likely going to happen.” Di Benedetto acknowledges his fine dining restaurant was doing a fairly robust carryout business, but two issues plagued the meticulous chef. “My food is made to go from the kitchen to the customer,” said Di Benedetto. “A car ride is worse than a slow server.” More important than carry-out concerns, Di Benedetto had very realistic concerns about COVID-19. The majority of Gaetano’s regular customers are between 40 and 95 years old and part of the high-risk demographic. “I have a 17-year relationship with these people,” said Di Benedetto. “They are like

family to me and I would prefer they stay home and stay safe.” Di Benedetto admitted he felt as if his career had all but disappeared in the midst of the pandemic. Interaction and education are key ingredients in his cuisine; sharing a piece of history or a cooking method as people enjoyed a dish that was missing from his carryout business. “When this situation took out the creativity and interaction from my cooking, I was left with something that felt cold,” said Di Benedetto. “And then I’d put food in a plastic container. People were supportive of the business, but it wasn’t the same.” Faced with viral resurgence worries, concern for vulnerable customers and an uninspiring carryout business, Di Benedetto acted swiftly. He shuttered his namesake restaurant and began reimagining his culinary future. The chef settled on transforming his fine dining restaurant into a gourmet food market that blends his love of cooking and science.

COURTESY OF POPIFY

POP-CYCLE: Made from tea and lemonade, Arnold Palmer pops, make use of loose tea from Todd and Holland Tea Merchants in Forest Park. Look for the Popify bike around town this summer. “Flash drops” of unique or one-time only flavors are occasionally announced for same day delivery via social media. Early in June Popify’s orange soda cream pop, made from Sprecher soda extract and vanilla ice cream allowed the creative duo to veer away from their standard pops. “Flash sales are fun because we usually sell out of pops before the window closes,” said Martin. “Flavors like the orange soda pop are too fun to resist making.” Porch drops, block drops and birthday party preorders are also popular ways to snag some of these artisan pops. You may

even catch a glimpse of their whimsical pop bike around town. “Our pops have provided a nice connection to the local community,” said Martin, “We love seeing how people react to the them. Kids wait on the porch for their delivery and people honk and wave when I ride the pop bike around town.” While the Martins have been shelteringin-place they are eager to expand their reach in Oak Park and get their wait times down. Most importantly they are committed to bringing their popsicles to people on hot summer days.

Local Italian food connoisseurs should expect Chef Gaetano’s Artisan Foods to make its initial debut in the next month and gradually expand over time. The gourmet food market will maintain the coveted Italian Q certification indicating quality and authenticity. The market will be divided into two distinct sections. The back of the shop will be a devoted USDA inspected meat production facility. Meats, sausages, salamis, and assorted charcuterie produced in the space will be sold in the front of house market and used for distribution to other markets. Di Benedetto has also been researching vegan meat production for several years and will produce those items on site as well. “Pork is referred to as the meat with one hundred different flavors so salami making is about finding the harmony of meat flavors.” said Di Benedetto. “My vegan meats and cheeses are more scientific, and this space will be a launching place for all these products.” The front of the house will feature a salt cave for dry aging prime meats that can be cut to order in the gourmet meat market. Counter service will include house made pastas and sauces. An assortment of artisan cheeses from Italy, Spain, France, and the United States will complement an array of house made spreadable cheeses, cheese mousses and pates. A bakery will flank the counter service area

where Di Benedetto intends to offer focaccia and his signature pizza. The pizza dough, made from organic ancient grains, will go through a 50-hour fermentation process to develop complex flavor and an airy texture before baking in a new state-of-the-art pizza oven. Pizzas can be cooked to completion on site, but customers will be encouraged to purchase par cooked pizza and finish baking it at home. “Our pizza will be a hybrid between a Roman Pinsa and a Sicilian pizza,” said Di Benedetto. “The dual cooking method allows the dough cook at a low temperature before crisping it up at high temperature at home. That way it will be perfect every time.” Additionally, the front of the house market will feature a wine shop and Di Benedetto’s line of house made liquors like limoncello, pistachio-cello, and coffee-cello. Di Benedetto envisions a colorful grab-andgo market and intends to keep his staff small at the outset; he is working to employ people affiliated with Housing Forward, the nonprofit focused on housing issues. “Finally, this will be a combination of all my 43 years of experience,” said Di Benedetto. “It’s cooking plus science and I feel inspired again.” The bakery section, including pizzas, will be the first section of Chef Gaetano’s Artisan Foods to open in the coming weeks.

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C R I M E

Man with mysterious liquid robs 7-Eleven 7-Eleven, 240 Chicago Ave., was the subject of an armed robbery June 22. A man entered the store at 8:15 p.m. asked for cigarettes, then showed a bottle containing an unknown liquid and a rag and demanded cash. The man took cigarettes and $70 from the register. He was last seen traveling eastbound on Chicago Avenue. The estimated loss is $100.

Robbery A man approached the victim and ripped the victim’s right pant pocket, taking cash, while another man stood look out on the CTA Green Line in the 300 block of South Boulevard at 1 p.m., June 22. The two men fled from the train as the doors opened and left the platform eastbound to street level. Estimated loss is $55. ■

Burglary ■ Someone broke the front passenger side window of a vehicle parked in the 500 block of South Maple Avenue and took a debit card and a small amount of cannabis from inside between 10 p.m., June 18 and 5:40 a.m., June 19. ■ An Apple MacBook Pro, an Apple Series 3 watch, four textbooks and cash were taken from an unlocked 2012 gray Kia parked in the 300 block of North Austin Boulevard between 8:28 a.m. and 8:48 a.m., June 26. Estimated loss is $2,000.

Motor vehicle theft ■ Someone took a 2015 black Volkswagen Passat using a key left inside the vehicle between 8:05 p.m. and 8:13 p.m., June 21 in the 1100 block of Erie Street. The estimated loss is $8,000. ■ A man was observed taking a vehicle, using keys left inside, at 4:21 a.m., June 24 in the 800 block of Kenilworth Avenue. The vehicle was last seen traveling eastbound on I-290 from Austin. The estimated loss is $10,000. ■ A man was observed taking an unlocked maroon 1998 Ford F-150, left with keys in the ignition, parked in the 600 block of North Oak Park Avenue at 9:05 a.m., June 26. The estimated loss is $10,000.

Theft ■ Someone took a rainbow flag from a resident’s front porch and damaged the flagpole between midnight and 6:30 a.m., June 23 in the 200 block of South Harvey Avenue. The flag was found near Harvey Avenue and Randolph Street. Estimated loss is $30. ■ Someone took a rainbow flag from a resident’s front porch and damaged the flagpole between 9 p.m., June 22 and 6:15 a.m., June 23 in the 200 block of South Harvey Avenue. Estimated loss is $50. ■ A rainbow pride flag was taken from a front porch in the 200 block of South Harvey Avenue between 10 p.m., June 24 and 7:30 a.m., June 25. The estimated loss is $6. ■ Someone took a FedEx package containing a MacBook

Pro laptop, after signing for the package using the victim’s name between 2 p.m., June 2 and 7 p.m., June 24 in the 100 block of South Harvey Avenue. Estimated loss is $1,500. ■ The catalytic converter was cut from a vehicle parked in the first block of Flournoy Street between May 22 and June 25. Estimated loss is $1,500. ■ Various sculptures and miscellaneous computer equipment were removed from a resident’s back deck at 12:02 p.m., June 26 in the 800 block of Lake Street. Estimated loss is $2,000.

Criminal damage to property ■ Someone tried to pry open the driver side window and damaged the window trim of a vehicle parked in the 100 block of North Humphrey Avenue between 5 p.m., June 24 and 5:45 a.m., June 25. Estimated damage is $100. ■ Someone damaged an Oak Park resident’s window by shooting at it at 9:17 a.m., June 26 in the 100 block of South Humphrey Avenue. Estimated damage is $200.

■ These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports June 22-29 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

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home of the brave HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

15

Homes

NEED TO REACH US?

oakpark.com/real-estate email: buphues@wjinc.com

George Thatcher House, 543 Edgewood Place, River Forest

On the edge Take a tour of available homes River Forest’s Edgewood Place By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

B

link, and you might miss it. River Forest’s Edgewood Place is a street that runs for just two blocks. On the edge of the Forest Preserve and just off Lake Street, the curving street sees more deer per day than cars and is home to some of the area’s most architecturally significant homes. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the

Chauncey Williams House and the Isabel Roberts House, and other notable architects designed homes on the block as well. Three homes on the street recently hit the market, and each offers a take on a moment in time. The George L. Thatcher House at 543 Edgewood Place is listed for $898,000. Built in 1898, the home’s original owner was one of the sons of David T. Thatcher, the first white settler of River Forest. An attorney, George Thatcher studied law at then-Chicago University and later served as the village’s attorney. Current owners Larry and Denise Dohman have lived in the Victorian home for over 30 years. See EDGEWOOD PLACE on page 17

506 Edgewood Place, River Forest PHOTOS BY ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

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Generations of Excellence since 1958

708.771.8040 • 7375 W. North Ave., River Forest DonnaAvenue Barnhisel 7375 West North Dan Bogojevich MANAGING Anne Brennan River Forest, Illinois 60305 BROKER/OWNERS Karen Byrne Calkins 708.771.8040 Kevin Tom Carraher Andy Gagliardo

Tom Poulos

824 BONNIE BRAE • RIVER FOREST

COMPLETE REIMAGINATION of a 1923 Burma built Estate Home into a totally redone 2020 beautiful house. Top of the line highest quality throughout. Features 5 bedrooms, 4 full and 2 half baths, a fireplace, vaulted ceiling, family room, 1st FL office, mudroom. LL has 2 large family/game rooms..............$1,549,500

520 N OAK PARK AVE • OAK PARK

THREE STORY GRAND VICTORIAN on 100 x 218 lot in the heart of the Frank Lloyd Wright district. This estate features 6 Bedrooms, 2 Full baths, 3 fireplaces, many historic details including double front entry doors sourced from the Historic Pullman Estates section of Chicago. ...................................................................$743,000

RIVER FOREST HOMES

STUNNING CUSTOM BUILT HOME on a corner lot. The elegant interior offers fine detail and wonderful space throughout. Impressive foyer, beautiful staircase, serene master suite, two laundry rooms, fully finished impressive LL. Offers incredible value and luxury from top to bottom! ........................................................................................$1,895,000 BURMA BUILT BUHRKE HOUSE combines Tudor revival & chateau style architecture elements. Gorgeous décor and attention to detail found in house and landscaped grounds, extends to fabulous in ground pool and patios. Perfect for entertaining. ................. $1,795,000 SPECTACULAR HOME offers modern/elegant architectural design, tasteful decor and impeccable attention to detail, featuring 4 bedrooms and 5 full baths. Music room, private office, butler’s pantry, family room. Full basement w/wet bar, game room and rec room. .......... $1,395,000 BEAUTIFUL, CLASSIC HOME offers everything for today’s modern living. Custom-built has highest quality finishes. No detail was missed. Brick, stone exterior, wrap around porch, eleven-foot ceilings and oversized windows. LL has 2K ft of living area................$1,385,000 LOVELY BRICK HOME offers wonderful space with beautiful views of spectacular lot! Original details with two story foyer and hardwood floors. This elegant home is beautifully constructed and large enough to accommodate family and friends for years to come. .........$1,375,000

Pat Cesario Joe Cibula

Don Citrano Alisa Coghill Kay Costello Maria Cullerton Julie Downey Kurt Fielder Yvonne Fiszer-Steele Ramona Fox

Laura Gancer Lisa Grimes Dan Halperin Sharon Halperin Greg Jaroszewski Vee Jaroszewski Noa Klima Jack Lattner

Iris McCormick Vince McFadden Elizabeth Moroney Colleen Navigato John Pappas Rosa Pitassi Sue Ponzio-Pappas Jenny Ruland

Laurel Saltzman Laurie Shapiro Tom Sullivan Debbie Watts George Wohlford Nancy Wohlford

415 N CUYLER • OAK PARK

710 N ELMWOOD • OAK PARK

N EW LI S T I N G!

N EW LI S T I NG!

LOVELY TRADITIONAL OP HOME offers Prairie style updates, hardwood floors throughout, and wonderful space! Features include wood-burning fireplace, family room, updated cooks kitchen, plenty of closet and storage space, and spectacular large backyard w/fire pit and pond. ...........................................$749,500

LOCATION! STYLE! STUNNING! This home has it all, from the perfect layout on the 1st floor to the 4 BRs on the 2nd floor. Welcoming foyers, cozy LR with wood-burning frpl, open updated kitchen, and family room. LL has full fin family/game room + separate storage and laundry room. .................................$569,000

Have a Safe & Fun 4th of July! ELEGANT CRAFTSMANSHIP can be found throughout this 5 BR French Normandy home. Sophistication is evident from the moment you walk in the door. Impressive foyer, formal LR with fireplace and built-in benches, family room, separate formal DR, updated kitchen, home office. ..................................................................................$1,199,000 STATELY HOME situated on an oversized lot with circular drive and attached garage. This home boasts an expansive LR with 8.5’ ceilings and fireplace, formal DR, 1st FL fam rm, and kitchen with breakfast room. Hardwood floors, library, lots of storage, impressive lower level. .........................................................................................................$1,075,000 ELEGANT HOME located on a picturesque River Forest block! This stately 5 BR, 3 full/2 half bath home includes four floors of living with two finished family rooms, a large study and three fireplaces. Large sun-drenched rooms with elegant cove molding and windows. In-ground outdoor pool. ............................................................... $879,000 CONTEMPORARY HOME with 3 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths. 1st floor features include an expansive foyer, unique bamboo floors, multi-faced gas fireplace, office, updated kitchen & family room. 2nd FL includes a laundry and office/or nursery. Finished basement. In-ground pool. Great updates.................................................................................. $789,000 LOVELY SPLITLEVEL HOME offers newly refreshed contemporary style and wonderful space. Home offers three bedrooms, three brand new bathrooms, beautiful front entryway, vaulted ceiling family room, sun room, game room, deck, spectacular backyard, attached two car garage. .......................................................................................$609,000 STUCCO BUNGALOW located in central RF. This move-in ready home offers 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths and retains its vintage detail such as hardwood floors, beamed ceiling, and original woodwork while offering a modern and contemporary feel. First floor living and finished basement......................................................................................... $549,000

OAK PARK HOMES

FABULOUS BRICK HOME has it all! Extra-wide lot with 4 BRs, 4-1/2 BAs. Private office, open kitchen, breakfast room, family room, Butler’s bar, master suite w/sep sitting room, finished bsmt w/full wet bar & media room, private backyard, garden and pond. ........$999,000

BEAUTIFUL SIDE ENTRANCE COLONIAL with 4 BRs, 2 full & 1 half BAs, center family room, cooks’ kitchen with mud room, gas fireplace, built-in shelving & art glass windows. Beautiful woodwork & hdwd flrs. Finished LL. Front & back heated walkway............. $639,000 CLASSIC ROW HOUSE with 5BRs, 4BAs completely updated throughout with stunning architectural detail including restored and preserved woodwork, art glass, elaborate molding and trim, gleaming oak floors, soaring ceilings, grand rooms, and contemporary mechanicals and amenities..........................................................................$598,000 CLASSIC OP HOME on large corner lot in Harrison Arts district. This four BR, three BA home boasts four levels of living space. Tall ceilings, hardwood floors, vintage leaded glass windows, updated kitchen with breakfast bar. Finished 3rd floor, newly finished basement. ... $549,000 MEDITERRANEAN INFLUENCE HOME offers 5 BR’s/2BA’s, 2 story LR with WBFP, beamed ceiling, French doors and original 1920’s terra cotta tiled floor. Dramatic staircase leads upstairs. New finished bsmt. The yard has patio and charming pergola. Tasteful decor found thru-out the house..........................................................................$539,000 CLASSIC CHARACTER & VINTAGE CHARM are found throughout this 3BR/2.5BA side entrance Dutch Colonial home in Historic Oak Park. Expansive LR with crown moldings, fireplace with built-in bookshelves, hardwood floors, first fl den/office, eat-in kitchen. Finished rec room in bsmt. ...........................................................$525,000 CLASSIC OP HOME with classic features and modern finishes to compliment. Dark mahogany woodwork, hdwd flrs. Wood-burning fireplace, upgraded kitchen, and den/sitting room, large master BR, fantastic amount of windows. Finished basement...................$502,000 CLASSIC AMERICAN 4 SQUARE offers a sunroom, art glass windows, built-in bookshelves, decorative fireplace, beamed ceilings and built-in hutch in DR, kitchen with breakfast bar and family room, hdwd flrs on both levels. Come make this home your own!....$347,000 TWO BEDROOM BUNGALOW in Historic OP has hdwd flooring and natural trim work. The spacious living room leads to the formal dining room with built-in buffet. Granite counters in the eat-in kitchen has access to the adjoining 3 season porch/den/office. ...........$239,900

Shop for homes online at GagliardoRealty.com

Randy Ernst • 773-290-0307

830 FOREST • RIVER FOREST

FABULOUS MOVEIN READY custom home built in 2003 offers 4 BRs, 2 full/2 half baths. Features include an open floor plan, Butler’s pantry connecting kitchen with the LR/DR combo, fam rm w/wood burning fireplace, 1st FL private office built for 2. This house has everything you need and want! ....................$1,195,000

837 S HARVEY • OAK PARK

BEAUTIFULLY UPDATED 3 BR American Four Square located in the heart of the Arts District in Historic OP! Vintage features include arched entryways, hardwood flooring, art glass windows, sunroom, kit/breakfast rm combo, mud room, refinished backyard deck, fenced yard and two-car garage. ........................... $420,900

DUTCH COLONIAL with rehab already started, already gutted. Originally 2 bedroom, but now open to new floor plan and added BRs and BA. Could be a flip or great home to live in. ........................$185,000

CONDOS/TOWNHOMES/2 FLATS RIVER FOREST 3BR, 2-1/2 BA. Two garage spaces. ........... $479,000 RIVER FOREST 2BR, 2BA. Open concept floor plan.............$269,000 OAK PARK Two Flat ...................................................................$530,000 OAK PARK 3BR, 2 full / 2 half BA. Move-in ready! ...............$449,000 OAK PARK 3BR, 2 full / 2 half BA. East facing balcony..........$419,900 NEW LISTING OAK PARK 3BR, 2 full / 2 half BA..............$379,000 OAK PARK 3BR, 2-1.2 BA. Exceptional vintage beauty! .......$299,000 NEW LISTING OAK PARK 3BR, 2-1/2 BA.......................... $289,000 OAK PARK 2BR, BA. Large formal dining room. ....................$180,000 OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. Great space!............................................$174,000 NEW LISTING OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. ..................................$124,500 FOREST PARK 3BR, 3BA. Super cute & ready for you!.........$315,000

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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EDGEWOOD PLACE Hidden treasures from page 15 Denise believes there may have been only four owners in the home’s 100-year-plus history. “The people before us lived here 30-some years, and the people before them lived here that long, too,” she said. Larry Dohman notes that you are steeped in history before you even enter the home. He describes a large stone block, directly off the street, with the initials GLT carved into the stone. “It was to keep ladies’ gowns from getting muddy when they stepped out of their carriages into the dirt street,” Larry said. “It’s a pretty unique feature.” The home maintains much of its original charm, including two sets of pocket doors, inlaid wood floors, four fireplaces, leadedglass windows and a broad front porch. While the home is quintessential Victorian, Larry Dohman says that doesn’t mean its rooms are small and dark. With 11-foot ceilings on the first floor, 10-foot ceilings on the second floor and tall windows, he says the house is graced with large rooms as well. “The rooms are very spacious, unlike most Victorians,” he said. “It’s a very bright and airy home.” Over their years raising their family in the home, the Dohmans tackled a lot of projects, from the kitchen to the bathrooms, along with many of the spaces in between. They say the home flows particularly well between indoors and out, and in the days of social distancing it provides plenty of room for distanced gatherings on the wide front porch and the back deck. While the architect of their home is unknown -- it’s possible Thatcher oversaw the design himself -- the Dohmans have enjoyed being in the midst of homes designed by Wright and other architectural giants such as William Drummond and Tallmadge and Watson. Larry also says the location can’t be beat, citing the home’s location within walking distance to Metra and Keystone Park’s tennis courts and baseball fields. “You’re 10 miles from the Loop, but you feel like you’re living in the country,” Larry said. “There’s no through traffic, and it’s very quiet.” As their children are grown with children of their own, the Dohmans listed the house for sale with Jan Raspatello of @ properties. “We’re looking forward to seeing another family enjoy this house,” said Denise, “hopefully for another 34 years.”

‘A house to grow up in’ Architect William Drummond designed 555 Edgewood Place, and the commute to work must have been easy as his own home was located at 559 Edgewood Place.

The Badenoch House, 555 Edgewood Place, River Forest ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

The home at 555 Edgewood Place, built in 1925, is known as the Badenoch House, after its first owners. Nena Badenoch was an author who described designing the house in an article for Better Homes and Gardens Magazine titled, “A House to Grow Up In.” In the article, she lays out several tips for designing a house that fosters happiness for its inhabitants, both young and old. Chief among her ideas were flexible rooms that could accommodate younger children and then adapt to their needs as teens. High on her list of necessities? A bathroom solely for the children. She writes that “an extra bathroom for the children

makes the hour just before breakfast and just after dinner a time of good temper and peace rather than one of rush and irritation.” Parents today can likely relate. Coldwell Banker realtor Sandi Graves, who is listing the house for the longtime owners, recounts another story in the home’s design, saying that during one site visit between Drummond and Badenoch, Badenoch found a four-leaf clover. They decided to commission an art glass window of the clover to grace the front of the house. “The house was built for a family with children,” Graves said. “It was meant to be a fun, family house.” All the attributes that Drummond designed for the Badenoch family make the home an ideal spot to raise a family almost 100 years later. Spacious rooms, that children’s bathroom, a library and a basement rec room

make the indoors live large, and the park-like lot allows for plenty of outdoor access. After 47 years raising their family in the home, the current owners are looking to downsize and are asking $895,000 for the home. Graves says the couple loved seeing their daughters off to the River Forest schools when they were young and enjoyed the easy access to Thatcher Woods for frequent dog walks. “It’s a lovely home that’s ready for its next family,” Graves said.

Contemporary take While it may not be listed in a historic architecture guide, a third home on the market on Edgewood Place offers a more contemporary take on a family house. Built in 1997, the 3,900-square-foot home at 506 Edgewood Place boasts five bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen and an open floor plan. Listed for $1,239,999 by Robert Picciariello of Prello Realty, the home still might make the history books in River Forest in spite of the fact that it is the only newly built home on the block. The current owners purchased the home from Chicago Cubs All-Star pitcher Carlos Zambrano.

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SPORTS EXTRA

Girls wrestling gets state tourney after strong year Will be implemented in 2021-22 season By JAMES KAY Sports Editor

While high school programs in Illinois wait to hear if there will be a fall sports season, the wrestling community received the news last week that girls wrestlers will have their own state tournament in the 202122 season. Because girls wrestling will have its own state tournament, it will no longer be considered an “emerging sport,” making Illinois the 25th state to sanction the sport. The Northwest Herald first reported that the IHSA held a virtual meeting on June 15 to announce the news. “It’s very exciting, especially for all the girls around the state who we all admire for going out and trying a new sport where girls traditionally haven’t wrestled,” said Assistant Executive Director Sam Knox. “Just

looking at our numbers over the last few years and seeing the number of participants grow very quickly, I think most in the wrestling community knew that getting to a state series for the girls was a matter of time.” In an interview with Wednesday Journal last year, Fred Arkin, who is a co-chair of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association steering committee and one of the boys and girls wrestling coaches at OPRF, said the state has seen the number of certified girls wrestlers rise from 641 in 2018-19 to 835 (across 250 schools) in 2019-20. With a state tournament on the table for the 2021-22 campaign, those numbers are projected to rise. Knox confirmed that there aren’t more details to release on where the state tournament will eventually occur or what the format will look like when it does happen. “For right now, we just said that ‘we are going to do this,’ and then over the next year and a half or so we’ll get all the details ironed out,” said Knox. Arkin is excited by the result but wishes the tournament could have been implement-

PHOTO BY JAMIL SMART

TAKEDOWN: OPRF’s Tiffany White (above) was one of the many bright spots for Huskie girls wrestling this past season, winning over 17 matches in the 2019-20 campaign. ed for this upcoming season. “I’m incredibly excited, but it’s a little bittersweet,” said Arkin. “I say that because the girls that have been competing for a couple years who were going to be seniors are not going to have the opportunity to have their own tournament. But we are going to continue to grow our team. We have 13 girls who are freshmen and sophomores so we will

have a chance to grow. I can tell the girls are excited.” For the 2020-21 season, girls wrestling will continue its format that it had last year with participating at boys’ tournaments. This past season, Arkin had put together a schedule that featured 16 all-girls tournaments and the school’s first ever all-girls dual meet against York High School on Jan. 21.

District 200, former baseball coach reportedly settle lawsuit Details not available yet, school board puts off vote By JAMES KAY Sports Editor

Physical education teacher Chris Ledbetter and Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 have apparently reached a settlement in an employment discrimination case lawsuit filed by Ledbetter in Cook County Circuit Court in December 2019 and removed to U.S. District Court in February. Judge Joan A. Lefkow noted in the court record that the parties had agreed to a settlement at a June 10 hearing. Details of the settlement were not made available. In addition to the high school, Athletic Director John Stelzer, and the school’s former principal, Nathan Rouse, were named as defendants in the lawsuit. School board members were expected to approve the settlement agreement at their June 25 meeting, but the action item was moved to the next regular meeting. Ledbetter’s attorney, Thomas C. Cronin, did not return Wednesday Journal’s inquiries on this matter. District 200 board President Sarah Dixon Spivey and Karin Sullivan, OPRF’s executive director of

Communications and Community RelaLedbetter also alleged his rights were tions, said the district can’t issue a comment violated when Rouse and Stelzer “required” until the board approves the settlement. him to apologize to the athletic department, Ledbetter had been seeking in excess of his colleagues, coaches and assistants. $50,000 from the district after he claimed As a result, he claimed to have “sufthe school violated his rights under the fered substantial damages as the result of Americans with Disabilities Act. Ledbet- [Rouse and Stelzer’s] unlawful actions, inter is a recovering addict and, according to cluding the loss of his job as Head Varsity a March 11 court filing by the [coach] and the loss of other andefendants answering Ledbetcillary jobs, damage to his reputer’s complaint. According to tation, substantial economic the complaint, Ledbetter beloss, severe emotional distress, lieved that was the reason he and other physical and mental was removed as OPRF’s varsity injuries.” baseball head coach after 17 In its answer to the complaint, years. the defendants also denied that In the complaint, Ledbetthis happened. ter claimed he had been sober Ledbetter stated later in his complaint that, after he had since 2017 after completing a taken three days off for the flu, treatment program to assist CHRIS LEDBETTER OPRF started asking about his him with his dependency ismovements during the school sues. During that time, OPRF appointed an interim baseball head coach day and that his colleagues were asked if he had engaged in illegal drug use. while he took a leave of absence. When he returned to the school the folAccording to court documents, after a month back at the school and leading sum- lowing week, Ledbetter was put on adminmer workouts, OPRF “prepared and of- istrative leave. He alleged that Rouse and fered a renewed contract for Ledbetter to Stelzer “required him to take an immediserve as Head Varsity Boys Baseball Coach ate drug test.” Ledbetter claimed to have passed the drug test he took the day after for the 2017-18 season” in late July of 2017. The school denied in the complaint that a his three-day absence but was told to resign before the results were in. contract existed.

OPRF denied all of these claims. Ledbetter was brought back as a physical education teacher but was not reinstated as OPRF’s baseball head coach. Joseph Parenti’s interim tag was removed, and he has been the head coach of the program since Ledbetter was removed from the position. On the same day, March 11, that the defendants filed their answer to Ledbetter’s complaint, Stelzer and Rouse also filed a motion to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim. They argued, as individual defendants, that the ADA “does not allow for liability against individuals who are not ‘employers’ as defined by the act.” They go on to argue that “employers” are defined by the ADA as “a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has 15 or more employees ... and any ‘agent’ of such person,” which, they argue, would clear them of Ledbetter’s claims that they violated the ADA. Two days later, President Trump declared a national state of emergency due to the global outbreak of COVID-19 which put this matter on hold. At the June 10 hearing, Lefkow apparently was slated to render a decision on the motion to dismiss. With news of the settlement, that issue became moot.

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

VIEWPOINTS

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M. Call Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at 613-3310 ktrainor@wjinc.com

C O N S C I O U S

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Dominican’s response to DACA ruling p. 24

A G I N G

Anti-ageism should partner with anti-racism There is a touch that takes a lifetime to achieve. Locking this touch away is like stripping from ourselves part of being human.

Dr. Bill Thomas

A

From the movie “Alive Inside”

few weeks ago, the Wabi Sabi Film Festival presented a free digital screening of the movie Alive Inside. It was a powerful and successful event. People were moved. Heartfelt expression was the theme of the post-movie discussions. Aside from highlighting music therapy for people living with dementia, the movie is a graphic commentary on the state of “nursing homes” in our country. Dr. Bill Thomas was interviewed on-screen about his groundbreaking approaches in Eden Alternative elder living. His quote above is from the movie. Alive Inside is both a hopeful and scary movie. Over the past four months, I’ve been scared. Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic scared me, it has prompted me to fear and deny my aging and dying. This, in turn, has pissed me off. Not a great way to be — scared and pissed off. I cannot know what is going to happen in my own aging and dying, but I do know it is going to happen. Fearful speculation can be downright unhealthy. People with a balanced view on aging live an average seven years longer than people who fear and deny aging. My being scared and pissed off will not delay or deter any of what will inevitably happen. It will, however, inhibit my own conscious aging and help cultivate internalized ageism. Internalized ageism causes us olders to lock ourselves away, just as our society locks away our older people in “nursing homes.” Today that is completely the opposite of what is called for. Today we must be anti-ageist. And today, for us olders who are white, it is in our own interest to be anti-racist. I compare my scared and pissed off to the day-in-and-day-out scared and pissed off of Blacks and other people of color in this country for the past 400 years. It is insufficient for us olders to raise our consciousness about ageism without fighting against it. The same is true about racism. Olders who are white need to do the hard work to become anti-racist allies. Let’s enlist our own anti-ageist allies as well. The “touch” that Bill Thomas refers to in the quote above is more than just a momentary physical act. It is also a way of being that takes a lifetime to achieve. And it is a way of knowing. It is a quality of mind that, as Frank Ostaseski has said, “senses what is needed without relying solely on rational processes.” In this sense aging is noetic. I wrote here last year that, as we age, our rhythms change and not only do we have the opportunity to get closer to being the person we’d like to be, we also have the opportunity to become better acquainted with our intuition. We can start to “know” what is really important. My colleague Evalina Everidge notes that as olders, many of us know the importance of an honest self-inventory of our implicit bias, not only about ageism, both cultural and internalized, but to racism and all forms of marginalization. As older people, we have an important contribution to make in shaping a new future in partnership with the younger generations.

MARC BLESOFF

TOM DECOURSEY/Contributor

IT MATTERS: “Black Lives Matter” adorns Scoville Avenue, south of Lake Street between Ridgeland Common and the OPRF High School athletic field. The Oak Park Area Arts Council worked with the artists who were granted permission by the village. Oak Park police blocked off the street while they worked.

Racism: where the past is present

W

illiam Faulkner wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” I’ve been thinking about that quote in relation to the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, particularly in my Oak Park community. A corollary might be that racism is not something that happens out there. It is something in here, something nearby, personal, proximate. In November 1950, Percy Julian, the renowned Black scientist, and his family were moving into a new home in Oak Park at the corner of Chicago and East avenues. Arsonists firebombed the house. Nine months later, someone threw a stick of dynamite into the house. Julian told the Chicago Tribune, “But the other night, my little girl knew fear for the first time in her life. She remembered the bomb and asked someone to come into her bedroom to comfort her so she could go to sleep.” Julian hired private security guards to guard the house after Oak Park police would not do so. Julian’s home is one mile from my home. This was not an isolated incident. During the 1919 race riots in Chicago, 23 of the 32 people killed were Black, and Irish American residents of Bridgeport burned down more than a 1,000 nearby Black-owned homes. In 1951, a mob of 4,000 attacked an apartment building in nearby Cicero, where a Black tenant had moved in. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr., who had moved into an apartment in Lawndale to focus on Northern racism and unfair housing practices, was stoned by white rioters in Marquette Park, not far from Midway Airport. King said, “I’ve been in many demonstrations all across the South, but I can say that I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hostile and as hatefilled as I’m seeing in Chicago.” After rioting that followed the April 4, 1968, assassina-

tion of King, Mayor Richard J. Daley ordered police to shoot to kill suspected arsonists. In June 2009, a noisy group of Black men shouting “Black Power” interrupted the funeral of an old white man at my parish, St. Giles. The deceased was 89-year-old Edward Hanrahan, a longtime resident of Galewood and River Forest. In 1969, Hanrahan was the Cook County State’s Attorney and ordered a police raid on the home of Fred Hampton, a 21-year-old activist and Black Panther. Hampton, who grew up in Maywood, had criticized a police “war on black youth.” The police shot and killed Hampton, who was sleeping in his bed. Neither Hanrahan nor the police faced criminal charges for the murder. In 1982, the U.S. Justice Department, Cook County and Chicago, paid $1.82 million to settle civil claims. In October 2014, a Chicago police officer near Midway Airport fired 16 bullets killing Laquan McDonald, a teenager, as he ran away from them. Police hid videos showing the shooting and lied in police reports. McDonald is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, three miles from my home. As shown on video and confirmed by witnesses, on Wednesday, June 3, outside the Jewel in River Forest, one mile from my home, local resident Robert Palley, a prominent local real estate developer, allegedly attacked a black woman after he used racial insults. He is charged with a felony hate crime. On Sunday June 7, at the Brickyard Mall, two miles from my home, a video shows a Chicago police officer pulling a black woman out of her car and kneeling on her neck. Not only is the past not past, racism is present and proximate. In a sign of atonement, St. Giles is flying a large Black Lives Matter banner outside the church which names Black victims of police crimes, including Laquan McDonald.

JACK CROWE

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

O U R

V I E W S

Supt. Kelley’s next step

W

e’ll know in the coming weeks if Carol Kelley, currently superintendent of Oak Park’s District 97 public elementary schools, will be named to the same role in Madison, Wisconsin. We reported last week that Kelley is one of two finalists for the post. The community can then say bon voyage after Kelley’s five years here and look forward to a lost year with an interim superintendent or it can say an awkward, “Gee, too bad,” and pretend it’s business as usual. Like a lot of parents and staff within D97, we have a hard time reading Carol Kelley. We don’t doubt her commitment to racial equity as the central tenet of this district’s mission. She has, over time, become more explicit and open in talking about the profound challenge of building equity in a system built on white privilege. That’s good. But that conversation is loaded with such extreme jargon, educational babble that it is hard to connect the words to the classroom, to the kids in those classrooms. Perhaps it is her interesting background as an engineer, but disconnect persists, as the jargon does not penetrate beyond the district’s bureaucracy. In her years in Oak Park, Kelley has benefited from near constant support from the elected school board. The board has allowed Kelley to fully remake the administration of the district not simply in those slotted into posts, but in the fundamental structuring of the district. It might be brilliance, but it is distinctly Kelley’s. And the near total turnover of top staffers on Madison Street and the perpetually spinning door among the 10 building principals is dizzying. Our point is that Supt. Kelley has built an educational apparatus to her specifications, we are only at the start of the execution of the vision she has built the apparatus for, and now we know her preference is to depart. Tough to swallow, hard on already shaky morale. And it is about certain that the next superintendent, and, we’d assume it won’t be Kelley for more than another year, will not be content to pilot the top heavy, top down craft she built. Turning this district is a long-term project that demands vision but also inclusion, data but also connection, urgency but also patience. It demands a deeper commitment than Supt. Kelley has shown by looking elsewhere so early in the mission.

Fenwick’s racial reckoning

To its credit, Fenwick High School has shattered the façade of racial well being at the college prep school on Washington Boulevard. With our divided nation taking stock of just how deep are the racial wounds perpetuated by institutions of all varieties, Fenwick’s board of directors on June 15 created a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. The committee was inevitable as the school heard, unbidden, the chilling and painful testimony of its graduates of color in the days following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In a letter from the chairman and the president of the school they wrote, “The outpouring of anger, pain and frustration from so many of Fenwick’s alumni and students of color over the past few weeks has been deafening. We have heard and are deeply saddened. It is clear that we have failed our students of color, and all of our students, in many ways.” Until institutions admit the systemic racism woven into the heart and the history of an unexamined culture there is no hope. Confession though is the essential starting point for a very painful process. We applaud the students and graduates who are speaking about their experience in what will be a long process.

Pride is indestructible

You can rip down a pride flag. You can rip down six pride flags on a single Oak Park block. Knock yourself out. But your retrograde homophobia is obsolete. Your cover-of-darkness nonsense just rallies good hearts and good neighbors as we see this week on the 200 block of South Harvey where pride flags have multiplied and the kids on the block have covered sidewalk squares with rainbows and well wishes. Now get back under your rock.

J

What have you learned?

uly 1 is the first day of the second half of the year. A good time to take stock. The first half of 2020 has been … well … interesting to say the least, harrowing to say the most, certainly disruptive. A half-year to remember. Pandemic panic, economic shutdown, a rendezvous with reality on racism. Police reform? The beginning of the end for Donald Trump? Too early to tell, but there is cause for cautious optimism. No one will ever forget the first half of Double20. And the second half could be more memorable still. Let’s hope we’ve learned something. Did we learn anything from 9/11? Did we learn anything from the 2008-09 Great Recession? What a waste it would be if we go through all this and don’t learn anything. Double20 will either mark the American Renaissance, when we overcame our double vision and finally focused on fulfilling this nation’s immense promise — or it will mark the beginning of our rapid decline into irrelevance on the world stage. Double years are rare. We only get one every century. 1919 featured … a pandemic (also the Black Sox scandal). In 1818, well, Illinois became a state. Illinois doesn’t get much respect, but things have generally gone better in states where people listen to what government health experts are telling them. We learned that a prerequisite of good government is having a plan, communicating that plan clearly, and then following the plan. Fortunately, blue states like Illinois have that kind of government. And villages like Oak Park and River Forest followed the plan. We’re friendly, but we keep our distance. We wear our masks without complaining that our civil rights are being violated. We don’t equate paying attention to your government with surrendering your civil liberties. Unlike red states. All across the Southeast and Southwest, people are suffering COVID-19 spikes, essentially because of their distrust of government. Their leaders locked down too late and then opened up too early. They didn’t have a plan to follow. They didn’t listen to the health experts. They listened to Donald Trump who never wears a mask. I’ve learned plenty in 2020: That I don’t miss being a consumer to the extent that we were consumers before — i.e. pressured to spend more and more and more because the economy depends on it. I learned we need a different kind of economy — a more democratic economy that works for us instead of the other way around. Actually, I knew that before, but this confirmed it.

I learned how many of my fellow villagers I’ve never seen because in the last four months, far more of them were out walking or biking or jogging or picnicking in the parks or sitting on benches or on front porches, so I laid eyes on them at last. It was nice to make their acquaintance (and their dogs). Where they were before coronavirus hit is anyone’s guess. Working, I suppose, in far-flung locales. I’ll bet a lot of them learned that life is better when you don’t spend so much of it commuting. And that home is not such a bad place to hang out. I learned this country has glaring shortcomings and inequities when they weren’t covered up by the distractions of living in a hyperactive culture. I learned we badly needed a break from that frenetic pace, and that I’m in no hurry to rejoin it. I would rather keep living the way I’ve been living for the past four months. I learned there is a lot about the world as it was that I don’t like and much about this slower-paced world that I do like. I gained a new appreciation of sunlight and silence and even “carriage walks,” that long forgotten part of our infrastructure, serving some forgotten purpose, which run along the curb in many places, just wide enough for one person to walk as we perform what one writer calls “the pandemic do-si-do,” our efforts to amiably avoid each other on the main walkways. I learned that hiking to the Desplaines River and back starts to feel normal after a while. Thanks to my walking buddy’s FitBit, I learned that we ambled the length of the Great Barrier Reef, or 1,400 miles, most of it this year. I learned that, putting one foot in front of the other, you can really get someplace, even if it’s just within a few miles of home. I learned to appreciate the progression from winter through spring into summer, in all its abundant flowering, in a more intimate fashion than ever before. I’ve learned we experience this pandemic in very different ways. What have you learned? The biggest thing I learned is what it’s like to have death lurking everywhere, surrounding us, so immediate, so close. It was instructive. What it’s like to feel so vulnerable. Living with low-level, ever-present fear. It made me realize how much I don’t want to die — not now — and by extension, how much I still want to live. And once you know that, once you shrug off your indifference about living, what then? That’s what I hope to learn in the second half of 2020.

KEN

TRAINOR

Hail and farewell, Pieritz

Pieritz Brothers Office Supply on the corner of Ridgeland Avenue and South Boulevard is closing the end of June. As longtime customers, we express our farewell with the following: Dear John and Deb, We can fully understand your decision to retire from your business. There will be things, especially customers, that you will miss. Know that we will miss our in-person chats at your wonderful store. One of my favorite memories is bringing our little grandchildren in to experience the old adding machines and typewriters. If you didn’t

have something like a blue ink pen for lefties, you were happy to track it down and order it. Also, you had the most unique windows — and coming from an old Magic Tree Bookstore owner who knows what goes into making creative windows, that’s high praise. So, thanks for all those years. You made Oak Park special with your artistic little shop full of big and small wonders. Now go and have a great time and be sure to sleep in lots.

Iris and Vic Yipp

Oak Park

V I E W P O I N T S

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A review of ‘public safety’ is needed

n Oak Park, we are proud of our history of being a leader on issues of diversity. Unfortunately, at times it seems that we as a village have decided the progress we made a generation ago was sufficient. Back in October, the Oak Park Village Board voted unanimously that it would “work to break down systems of oppression” and ensure that “everyone has what they need to thrive.” During its June 22 meeting, the board voted to begin community conversations regarding policing, taking a tentative step in that direction with what has the potential to be a top-to-bottom review of public safety in Oak Park. The review, however, should not be considered complete unless the board also reconsiders what “public safety” means. Public safety should not be confused with policing. We live in a world of complex problems — many of which do not require dispatching an officer with a badge and a gun. Over the past decade, the police budget has grown by more than 55 percent. In 2020, Oak Park budgeted nearly $26 million to the Oak Park Police Department, and the village board is considering spending more than $40 million on a new police station. The village currently has 23 officers per 10,000 citizens, tied for the second-highest ratio in communities with more than 34,000 residents in Illinois.

Because of the continued growth of the Oak Park police, they have become something of a “help desk” in Oak Park. Just a few weeks ago, I opened my back door and found an injured bird lying on my back porch. Nobody was in immediate danger and no laws were being broken. I was, however, concerned about what would happen if let my dog out. When I called animal control, the voicemail directed my call to the Oak Park police non-emergency number. Dispatch offered to send a uniformed officer to my home, which I politely declined. This problem repeats itself every day across our village as our police are asked to respond to calls ranging from disabled cars to mental health crises. As a village, we are simultaneously asking our police to do too much and, at the same time, not delivering the services necessary to ensure that “everyone has what they need to thrive.” Instead of building and budgeting for a model of public safety that is founded on policing, Oak Park should work to be a leader in reimagining public safety for the 21st century. Now is the time for the village board to live into the values that they proclaimed in the Updated Diversity Statement on Oct.7, 2019. The village board should ensure, through a comprehensive review of the public safety budget, that “everyone has what they need to thrive.”

BRIAN STRAW

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor and Publisher Dan Haley

One View

Senior Editor Bob Uphues Staff Reporters Michael Romain, Stacey Sheridan, Maria Maxham Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Sports/Staff reporter James Kay Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, John Hubbuch, May Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger, Stan West, Linda Francis Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designers Mark Moroney, Javier Govea Business Manager Joyce Minich Advertising Design Manager Andrew Mead Advertising Designers Debbie Becker, Mark Moroney Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Advertising Sales Marc Stopeck

I

Unfair taxes contribute to racism

t’s time for faith leaders to speak up. A hard but important truth is now clear: white silence about systemic police abuse toward Black people is violence. For too long, many of us have remained silent about pernicious forms of racism. It’s high time to examine several deep structural inequities in American society, including the systems of voting and taxation. While Illinois is a national leader in providing access to voting, our state lags the nation on taxation. Illinois is one of four states that still mandates a flat tax through its constitution. While overt racism seeks to prevent poor (often Brown and Black) people from voting in other states, here in Illinois, racism quietly masquerades as tax fairness. Worse, our state constitution ties the hands of legislators when it comes to revenue, allowing millionaires and billionaires to pay less in taxes as a share of their income than middle- and lower-income families. A flat tax appears fair on the face of it — everyone pays the same percentage to the state on their declared income. But drill down and look what families pay toward other kinds of taxes. The poor end up paying twice the percentage of their income in taxes — and are struggling just to make ends meet. Here in Illinois, there’s a huge gulf between the average Black family’s income and the average white family. Black people typically bear a much greater tax burden relative to their means than their white peers. This November, citizens of Illinois can right this wrong. At the top of the ballot is a Constitutional

amendment to allow our elected legislators to set a more just taxation system. I’m sure some people will accuse me, as a minister, of being partisan. But taxation is not a partisan issue, just as access to voting is not. These are moral issues. Budgets and taxes shape the power structures in our society, and our democracy gives us the opportunity to voice our values and what we believe is right. You may call me political, but I call it faithfulness to conscience. Silence about moral issues contributes to oppression. To stay silent is to support the status quo. Silence implicitly expresses satisfaction with the way things stand today. Most houses of worship take a position with their silence — and that silence harms the most vulnerable. At present, schools in poorer communities aren’t funded adequately. Lack of state revenues led to drastic cuts in education, higher education, and human services. Increased tuition and fees have impacted students of color disproportionately. It’s time to create ways to invest in all our young people. A fair, progressive tax is an obvious step that will lead to more equity and fairness. I call upon faith leaders, houses of worship, and people of conscience to join me in publicly affirming the referendum on a fair tax. It’s a religious witness to call out the racism promoted by our wider culture and society. None of us have the right to remain silent. Rev. Alan Taylor is senior minister of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Front Desk Carolyn Henning, Maria Murzyn

ALAN TAYLOR One View

Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

About Viewpoints Our mission is to lead educated conversation about the people, government, schools, businesses and culture of Oak Park and River Forest. As we share the consensus of Wednesday Journal’s editorial board on local matters, we hope our voice will help focus your thinking and, when need be, fire you to action. In a healthy conversation about community concerns, your voice is also vital. We welcome your views, on any topic of community interest, as essays and as letters to the editor. Noted here are our stipulations for filing. Please understand our verification process and circumstances that would lead us not to print a letter or essay. We will call to check that what we received with your signature is something you sent. If we can’t make that verification, we will not print what was sent. When, in addition to opinion, a letter or essay includes information presented as fact, we will check the reference. If we cannot confirm a detail, we may not print the letter or essay. If you have questions, email Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at ktrainor@wjinc.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY

■ 250-word limit

■ 500-word limit

■ Must include first and last names,

■ One-sentence footnote about yourself,

municipality in which you live, phone number (for verification only)

your connection to the topic ■ Signature details as at left

Email Ken Trainor at ktrainor@wjinc.com or mail to Wednesday Journal, Viewpoints, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 708 613 3300

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

D

Where are the studies?

DACA ruling is good news, but more is needed

ominican University’s response to Department of Homeland Security vs. Regents of the University of California (in support of undocumented students): It was almost 15 years ago that Dominican University first began providing academic and financial support for undocumented students. Those early efforts to advance immigration reform were single-minded and optimistic. Today, the response of the academic community to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is more complicated. SCOTUS’ decision to block the rescinding of DACA provides enormous relief, hope, and continuing opportunities for thousands of young adults, for which we are all deeply grateful. And we are especially proud of the advocacy of Dominican students and alumnae/i in this regard. But the Court’s ruling is a procedural one, not an endorsement, and its impact is temporary, which means the pathway to citizenship for alternatively documented and undocumented students remains unpaved.

Still, the current momentum for change is hopeful. The diverse and increasingly unified voices of the anti-racism movement rightfully take us to task for our lack of progress — and demand an end to discriminatory practices in education, health care, housing, employment, and the like. Dominican University seeks to be a leader in this equity journey — to more aggressively reform its offerings so that a Dominican education is inclusive and excellent for all students, as outlined in our strategic plan and in the action steps of our Sanctuary Campus Covenant. We will continue to vigorously support our undocumented students and advocate for constructive immigration reform. Ultimately, it is the tenacity and drive of thoughtful, courageous students that is at the heart of all this. As Dominican higher educators, our charge is threefold — to consistently challenge issues of systemic injustice, to encourage the rigorous study of these issues, and to provide students with the understanding, space and empathy to take action. Donna Carroll is president of Dominican University.

DONNA CARROLL One View

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

I read your article on “Slow Streets” [‘Slow Streets’ gets push from Transportation Commission, News, June 17] and the background information presented by Bike Walk Oak Park on the village’s website. One thing that is missing: Why? In particular, why these streets? Normally, if someone wants to do something in the village, like build a condo building, the first thing everybody demands is a traffic study. What is going to be the effect on surrounding neighbors? Let’s apply this normal Oak Park community standard to the Slow Streets project. First, where is the study stating Oak Park’s existing neighborhood sidewalks are inadequate for its citizens to walk on? Second, where is the study showing how many citizens walk down each block of Oak Park every day? How many cars drive down each block every day? How many delivery trucks drive down each block every day? How many people bike down each block every day? Once we know the answers to these

questions, we begin to have an idea as to whether any blocks should be selected to be a slow street. Then we can look at what will the effect be on blocks neighboring the street in question. Will there be a detrimental impact resulting from increased traffic brought about by the adjacent “slow” street? I live on a street where several times a day adults from multiple daycare centers walk their little preschoolers past my house. How come they don’t warrant a “slow street?” How come an area surrounding every daycare center in Oak Park does not warrant a “slow street?” How come every grade school doesn’t warrant a “slow street?” What is the purpose of a slow street? Oh, wait, I know: somebody else did it so we should do it. Has anybody on the village board actually thought about this, or are they just dazzled by some pretty pictures?

Alan Krause

Oak Park

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V I E W P O I N T S

Make River Forest’s plan stronger

In the protest march on June 14, River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci marched together with our village trustees as many River Foresters lined Washington Boulevard in support of justice for people of color. Adduci told Wednesday Journal, “River Forest does not tolerate hate. We’re trying to work through our bigotry and racism. As we work with our neighbors and friends, I’m hopeful that River Forest is embracing this movement and knows how important it is.” In the June 7 New York Times, Yaryna Serkez addresses the question, “Who is Most Likely to Die From COVID-19?” The answer: People with the lowest incomes, at a higher risk of severe illness if they contract COVID-19 because of the physical environments in which they live, plus systemic health inequalities, cause risk factors for low-income people of color to be two or three times higher than the median. This injustice has grown worse over the past few decades. Out of several policies that would help improve health outcomes for lowincome people of color, one — affordable housing — was the subject of a weak plan recently passed by the River Forest Village Board, in haste, and in spite of overwhelming public support for a stronger plan. Now River Forest can take concrete steps to “work through our bigotry and racism” by making sure that our affordable housing goals are not just met but exceeded.

Suzanne Haraburd River Forest

O B I T U A R I E S

Shirley Davis Reid, 82

Longfellow School teacher Shirley Davis Reid, 82, died on June 21, 2020, with family by her side in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born on June 22, 1937 in Columbus, Ohio to Henry & Marie Davis, she received her bachelor’s degree in Education in 1986 from the University of Illinois Chicago. She raised six children and taught for 13 years at Longfellow Elementary School in Oak Park. She loved games, playing piano, reading, singing, writing SHIRLEY DAVIS REID and cooking. She was also a devoted Catholic and served as a dedicated service lector. After retirement, she was an active member of the American Association of University Women, serving as Venice chapter president, then Florida state president. She started the Florida state chapter of Tech Trek, a camp for young girls in STEM, and served as camp director. Shortly after moving to Philadelphia, she was nominated “floor captain” at the Watermark Retirement Facility. Family and friends remember the way she lit up any room she was in and her ability to connect with any person she met. She loved people. In her last moments, she gifted her family by opening her eyes and smiling. Shirley Reid was preceded in death by her sons Rodrick Reid and Rodney Paul Reid. She is survived by her husband, Ralston Reid; her children, Terri Folan, Gail Scott, Rhonda Reid, and Ralston Reid Jr.; her grandchildren, Taylor Tindal, Rachel Folan, Nya Tindal, B.J. Tindal, and Rebecca Folan; and her great-grandchild, Leah Padilla. She was also preceded in death by her

siblings, Albert “Bill,” Mildred, Ruby, and Barbara Jean Davis. Visitation was held on June 29, followed by a service. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only 50 people were allowed. Interment was at Assumption Cemetery in Wheaton. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the American Association of University Women: Education & Training of Women, AAUW.org. Arrangements were handled by Leonard Memorial Funeral Home in Glen Ellyn.

Diane Pochyly, 85 Gourmet, Realtor

Diane Pochyly, 85, a 50-year resident of River Forest, died on June 20 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. A lifetime resident of the Chicago area and a successful realtor in the Oak ParkRiver Forest area, she was an active participant in community affairs. She served on the board or committees of the Women’s Association of the Chicago Symphony, Arts Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Infant Welfare Society. She was a founding member of the Village Arts Associates. Diane most enDIANE POCHYLY joyed time with family. She was a dedicated gourmet and loved trying new recipes. Her library included 200 cookbooks. Other favorite activities were painting in oils, indoor gardening, working out with her trainers, the theater, and especially her book club. A celebration of her life will be held when the coronavirus pandemic allows for normal social interaction. Diane Pochyly is survived by Donald, her high school sweetheart and husband for 63

Robert P. Gamboney Funeral Director

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years; her children, Christopher, Jonathan (Leeanna), and David (Michelle); her grandchildren, Ellen, Kathryn, Samuel, Julia, Jennifer, Megan, and John; her brother, Ronald (Barbara) Dilelio, and her sister, Gabriella Tischna.

Madeline Roberts, 31

OPRF High School graduate Madeline Emily Roberts, 31, died on June 14, 2020, after a long struggle with mental illness. Born on Nov. 1, 1988, she was a lifelong resident of Oak Park, attending Holmes Elementary School, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School, and graduating from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 2007. She attended Loyola University New Orleans and earned an associate’s degree from Triton College. She enjoyed small local shops and had worked at both Careful Peach Boutique and Pumpkin Moon. A talented artist, she is remembered MADELINE ROBERTS for her creativity in illustrating her MadCat Studio greeting cards for all occasions. Madeline is survived by her parents, John and Katie Roberts; her sister, Jamie Roberts (Thomas Baker); her aunt, Deborah Pieritz (Mary Eisenlohr); her cousin, Mary Walsh; her fiance, John Byrne; her kitten, Charlie; and her many friends. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Marion and Al Pieritz, and her favorite cats, Etch and Eddie. Contributions can be made to Thrive Counseling Center (https://www.thrivecc. org/donate/) or CatVando (https://www. catvando.org/donate/). Arrangements were handled by Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home.

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Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM New local ads this week

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River Forest Public Schools District 90 Student Support Services - Vacancies for the 2020-2021 School Year For detailed qualifications requirements and job duties, please visit our website at https:// www.district90.org/about/ employment for our complete list of employment opportunities. District 90 is seeking qualified and experienced student support educators for the following positions: • Special Education Support Teacher (Willard Elementary School) • Special Education Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Coordinator (All D90 Schools) • Speech and Language Pathologist (Roosevelt Middle School)

General Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Education License with endorsement in field of study, a Master’s Degree is preferred and successful teaching experience with students in a classroom setting is preferred. General Duties: Provide excellence in education by developing and implementing activities that encourage students to be life-long learners. Possesses knowledge of District policies and regulations relating to areas of responsibilities. Create an environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the developmental maturity and interests of each student. Application: Apply online at www.district90. org. Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90.org. Please do not send hard copies of supporting documentation, i.e. cover letters, resumes, licensure, etc. to River Forest Schools District 90; instead, upload these materials onto the online job application system for proper processing.

River Forest D90 has an opening for a 2nd Grade Teacher for Willard Elementary School. Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Elementary Grade School Endorsement. Successful Teaching Experience is preferred. A Master’s Degree is preferred. Job Duties: The teacher will be responsible for teaching the curriculum and working cooperatively with colleagues including: grade level teammates, the Student Services Team, other faculty and support staff. The teacher will be responsible for building relationships with students, supervising and managing the class, effectively teaching the curriculum to meet the individual needs of students, evaluating individual student’s progress, and communicating progress with children and parents. Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90.org. Please do not send hard copies of supporting documentation, i.e., cover letters, resumes, licensure, etc. to River Forest Schools District 90; instead, upload these materials onto the online job application system for proper processing. HAPPY KIDD’S WEST INC. 6928 W 16th St Berwyn, IL 60513 We are seeking a Director and 2 teachers. Director must be qualiďŹ ed and have Associate’s degree or equivalent. Teachers must be director or teacher qualiďŹ ed. Mon. thru Fri. working with Infants to 6 yrs old. Compensable salary negotiable based on experience. Call 773-619-5545 or fax resume to 773-728-5437. BILINGUAL (SPANISH/ENGLISH) CASE MANAGER The Proviso Public Partnership,nfp is looking for a Bilingual (Spanish-English) Case Manager. Duties and qualiďŹ cations include: • Ability to complete screenings via phone and telehealth • Part-time position - 20 hours/ week- $15-$20 per hour based on experience • Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services, Social Work, Psychology or other related ďŹ eld • Computer Literacy For more details about the job, please email admin@pppnfp.org

Application Developer sought by US Bank Nat’l Assoc in Chicago, IL to design, test & develop SW. Req Master’s/CS or rltd tech ďŹ eld & 3 yrs dev’ing & implmnt’ing appls; or Bach/CS or rltd tech ďŹ eld & 5 yrs dev’ing & implmnt’ing appls. Must have 3 yrs (w/ Master’s) or 5 yrs (w/ Bach) w/ C#, VB.Net, ASP.Net, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MVC, jQuery, jQuery UI, Angular, Knockout, Bootstrap, Visual Studio, code versioning tools, TFS, SQL & MySQL. Apply online www.usbank.com.

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OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT THERAPY OFFICES FOR RENT Therapy ofďŹ ces for rent in north Oak Park. Rehabbed building. Nicely furnished. Flexible leasing. Free parking. Free wiďŹ ; Secure building; Friendly colleagues providing referrals. Shared waiting room; optional Conference. Call or email with questions. Shown on Sundays. Lee 708.383.0729 drlmadden@ameritech.net

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ITEMS FOR SALE BUMPER POOL TABLE $29.00 708-488-8755 LENOX CHINA 5 piece place settings Lenox china, Tuxedo pattern IRISH CARDIGAN Men’s size large. WATERFORD GLASSES Colleen pattern, 2 water goblets, 2 wine glasses, 5 double old-fashioned glasses 708-386-6160 LYON & HEALY MUSIC CABINET Doors slide vertically. LP and music storage. Black. 708-488-8755

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Find the best employees with Wednesday Classified! Call 708-613-3342.

NOVENAS NEVER FAIL NOVENA May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised, adored and gloriďŹ ed throughout the world, now and for-ever. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I put my trust in you. Holy Mary Mother of Jesus, pray for me. St. Theresa child of Jesus, pray for me. St. Jude, helper of hopeless causes, pray for me and grant this favor I ask. Say this prayer 9 times a day for 9 days .R.B PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (NEVER KNOWN TO FAIL) Oh, most beautiful ower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me, herein you are my mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor in my necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, show me herein you are my mother. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and publish; your request will be granted. R.B. PRAYER TO ST. JUDE May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, gloriďŹ ed, loved & preserved throughout the world now & forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. St. Jude worker of miracles, pray for us. St. Jude helper of the hopeless, pray for us. Say this prayer 9 times a day for 9 days. By the 8th day your prayer will be answered. It has never been known to fail .Publication must be promised. Thank you Jesus. Thank You St . Jude. R.B.

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PUBLIC NOTICES OAK PARK TOWNSHIP NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED ANNUAL TOWN MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to the legal voters, residents of the Township of Oak Park, County of Cook, and State of Illinois, that the Annual Town Meeting of said Township, will take place in the Township of Oak Park, at the hour of 6:30 p.m., on Tuesday, JULY 21, 2020, for the transaction of the business of the Township; and a Moderator having been elected, will proceed to hear and consider reports of officers, and decide on such measures as may, in pursuance of law, come before the meeting, following this agenda: I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Procedures for Meeting IV. Supervisor’s Annual Financial Statements V. Township Year In Review VI. Election of Moderator VII. Resolutions to Come Before the Electors

PUBLIC NOTICES

STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division. In re the marriage of Dashira Marit Contreras, Petitioner and Raul Berrios, Respondent, Case No. 20 D 003191. The requisite affidavit for publication having been filed, notice is hereby given to you, the above named Respondent, that a Petition has been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, by the Petitioner, Dashira Marit Contreras, for Dissolution of Marriage and for other relief; and that said suit is now pending. Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Room 802, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, in the City of Chicago, Illinois, on or before July 15, 2020, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition. DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk. Published in Wednesday Journal 6/17, 24, 7/1/2020

VIII. Adjournment This action was necessitated by the Executive Order of the Governor of the State of Illinois, suspending large meetings due to the COVID19 .Pandemic, which caused postponement of the original April 14, 2020 Meeting date. All interested citizens, groups, senior citizens and organizations representing the interests of senior citizens are encouraged to attend. PLEASE NOTE: BY ORDER OF THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK, MEETING CAPACITY IS LIMITED TO 50 PERSONS ON A FIRST COME BASIS. PLEASE HAVE YOUR VOTER ID CARD WITH YOU IF YOU INTEND TO VOTE ON ANY OF THE RESOLUTIONS. Oak Park Township does not discriminate on the basis of handicapped status in the admission or access to, or employment in its programs or activities. Those needing special accommodations are asked to provide 48 hours notice. Given under my hand in the Town of Oak Park, County of Cook, State of Illinois, this 24th day of June, 2020. Gregory P. White Oak Park Township Clerk Published in Wednesday Journal 07/01/2020

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given by the Board of Education of Riverside Brookfield High School District 208, Cook County, Illinois, that a tentative budget for said school district for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020, will be on file and conveniently available at the school district’s administrative offices at Riverside Brookfield High School District 208, 160 Ridgewood Road, Riverside, Illinois, from and after 8:00 a.m. on July 1, 2020. Notice is hereby given that a public hearing on said tentative budget will be held at 7:00 p.m. on September 8, 2020, at Riverside Brookfield High School District 208, 160 Ridgewood Road, Riverside, Illinois. Published in RB Landmark 07/01/2020

PUBLIC NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICE LAW OFFICE OF LINDA EPSTEIN Attorney for Petitioner 722 W. Diversey Parkway Ste. 101B Chicago, IL 60614

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park –Office of the Village Engineer, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302– will receive electronic proposals until 1:00 p.m. on Thursday July 16, 2020 for Project: 20-6, PAVEMENT PRESERVATION. Bids will be received and accepted, and bid results posted via the online electronic bid service listed below. In general, the improvements will require the following construction: Asphalt surface patching, Fiber modified crackfilling, microsurfacing, thermoplastic pavement marking, alley patching, 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 July 2nd, at 4:00 p.m. Plans and proposal forms can be found at https://www.oak-park.us/yourgovernment/budget-purchasing/ requests-proposals or at www. questcdn.com under login using QuestCDN number 7176424 for a non-refundable charge of $30.00. 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. All prospective bidders must prove they are pre-qualified by the Illinois Department of Transportation by providing a certificate of eligibility to the Engineering Division at which time a password will be issued for access to the online bid documents. 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 July 1, 2020

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park –Office of the Village Engineer, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302– will receive electronic proposals until 11:00 a.m. on Thursday July 16, 2020 for Project: 20-3, SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS. Bids will be received and accepted, and bid results posted via the online electronic bid service listed below. In general, this contract includes sidewalk angle-cutting, removal and replacement of public sidewalk, combination curb and gutter, driveways, and PCC base course; pavement adjacent to curbs, adjustment of drainage structures, buffalo boxes and all appurtenant work thereto. Sidewalk sequencing during the work and adherence to the completion date is of emphasis for this project as outlined in the plans and proposal forms. Plans and proposal forms may be obtained via the electronic service starting on Thursday July 2nd, at 4:00 p.m. Plans and proposal forms can be found at https://www.oak-park.us/yourgovernment/budget-purchasing/ requests-proposals or at www. questcdn.com under login using QuestCDN number 7171114 for a non-refundable charge of $30.00. 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. All prospective bidders must prove they are pre-qualified by the Illinois Department of Transportation by providing a certificate of eligibility to the Engineering Division at which time a password will be issued for access to the online bid documents. This project is financed with local Village funds and federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and thus is subject to all federal rules, regulations and guidelines, including DavisBacon and Related Acts, Section 3, and Equal Opportunity requirements. Locally funded phases of the project are 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 July 1, 2020

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR MASTR ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGES TRUST 2007-1, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-1 Plantiff, -v.ELLEN M. RAVITZ, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 18 CH 03457 123 S. EUCLID AVENUE 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 February 13, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 16, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

Commonly known as 123 S. EUCLID AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-07-400-0160000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence. The judgment amount was $657,505.06. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. 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. Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption. 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 15-1701(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, Alexander Potestivo, POTESTIVO & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 223 WEST JACKSON BLVD, STE 610, Chicago, IL, 60606 (312) 263-0003. Please refer to file number 109484. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE 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. 109484 Attorney Code. 43932 Case Number: 18 CH 03457 TJSC#: 40-924 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 # 18 CH 03457 I3151695

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 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088 E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com Attorney File No. 7865 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 13 CH 07379 TJSC#: 40-1775 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 # 13 CH 07379 I3151648

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, D/B/A CHRISTIANA TRUST, AS TRUSTEE FOR NORMANDY MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2016-1 Plaintiff, -v.LATANIA LOVE A/K/A LATANIA R LOVE, A/K/A LA TANIA LOVE, KENNETH LOVE A/K/A KENNETH R LOVE, MIDLAND FUNDING LLC, LAKEDRA LOVE A/K/A LAKEDRA GARDLEY-LOVE, A/K/A LAKEDRA C. GARDLEY, A/K/A LAKEDRA C. LOVE Defendants 13 CH 07379 933 ELGIN AVENUE FOREST PARK, IL 60130 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on July 10, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 10, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 933 ELGIN AVENUE, FOREST PARK, IL 60130 Property Index No. 15-13-414-0290000 The real estate is improved with a orange brick one story single family home with a two car detached garage. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. 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

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY AS TRUSTEE FOR HIS ASSET SECURITIZATION CORPORATION TRUST 2007OPT1, MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-OPT1; Plaintiff, vs. CHARLES T. GRANT; JUANITA J. GRANT AKA JUANITA LACOURT; PRAIRIE PLACE AT 6436 ROOSEVELT CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 19 CH 14415 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Thursday, July 23, 2020 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-18-428-043-1019 & 16-18428-043-1064. Commonly known as 6436 Roosevelt Road, Unit 311, Oak Park, IL 60304. The mortgaged real estate is improved with a condominium residence. The purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by subdivisions (g)(1) and (g) (4) of Section 9 of the Condominium Property Act Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. For information call Law Clerk at Plaintiff’s Attorney, The Wirbicki Law Group, 33 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603. (312) 3609455. W18-0641 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3151594

Wednesday Journal, July 1, 2020

Win e

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OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

en per C ter u S

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105 E. Roosevelt Rd., Lombard 630-629-3330

On Sale July 1st thru July 7th, 2020 Right reserved to limit quantities and correct errors.

After Instant Savings Must Buy 2 - Mix or Match Bacardi Rum

Superior or Gold Sale Price $16.99

11

99 1.75L

Dewar’s

“White Label”

Scotch

99

Bud Light or Truly Seltzers

10

99 12 PK

PLUS Get a Bag of Chips for 1¢ E) (ALL ITEMS ABOV

Don Q Rum

Cristal or Gold

11

99 1.75 L

PLUS Get a 2 Liter of Coke for 1¢

Casamigos Blanco Tequila

29

1.75L

Bombay Sapphire Gin

99 750ml

Sale Price $26.99

2199 1.75L

Grey Goose Vodka

Sale Price 49.99 $

44

99 1.75L

Apothic Wines

Assorted Types

6

Beck’s Beers

9

Goose Island

12 PK

15 Pack Cans

999

Mike’s

Hard Lemonade

1199 99 12

Michelob ULTRA

12 PK

Stella Artois Pabst

99 750ml

Blue Moon 12 Pack Bottles

99

12 Pack PLUS Get a Bag of Chips for 1¢

12 PK

Blue Ribbon Beer

10 99

(PABST ONLY)

6

99

PLUS Get a Bag of Chips for 1¢

E) (ALL ITEMS ABOV

30 PK

LIQUOR SPECIALS Crown Chi-Chi’s Royal

Ready to Drink Cocktails ..1.75 L 8.99 Distillery No 209 Gin..........Compare to $29.99 750ml 12.99

Luksusowa

Vodka from Poland ...... 1.75 L 13.99

Evan William’s

Bourbon ...................... 1.75 L 19.99

Burnett’s

Vodka .......................... 1.75 L 10.99 After $2.00 instant rebate

The Pogues

Sale Price $24.99

1999

HOLIDAY BEER BUYS!

Irish Whiskey ............ 750ml 21.99

Glenlivet

Founder’s Reserve

Scotch .......Regularly $56.99 1.75 L 39.99

Whisky

Original Only

19 99 750ml

Courvoisier V.S. Cognac

44

99 1.75 L

HOLIDAY WINE SPECIALS!

Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve

Chardonnay 2017

8

99 750ml

LOWEST PRICE N! IN TOW

Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling 2018

4

99 750ml

SUMMER “BLOW-OUT” WINES SPECIALS - WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Columbia

Angry Bunch

Reve de la Mer

Regularly $11.99

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Chardonnay 2016..... 5.99 12 for $48

Lodi Zinfandel 2016 .............................. 9.99

Rosé 2018 ................................................... 9.99

Cline

B.V.

Conundrum

Regularly $14.99

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Cashmere White 2018 .......................... 7.99

Carneros Chardonnay 2015 ............ 9.99

White Blend 2016 ................................ 12.99

Savas

Ghost Pines

Cambria

Regularly $12.99

Regularly $17.99

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Bordeaux Rouge 2016 ......................... 7.99

Zinfandel 2016 ......................................... 9.99

Julia’s Vnyrd Pinot Noir 2015...... 12.99