W E D N E S D A Y
July 29, 2026 Vol. 47, No. 5
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JOURNAL @oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
Scoville Park protest remembers the two latest killings by ICE Page 4
LemonAid marks 25 years with new direction OPRF Project
2 won’t meet school opening deadline
Sept. 11 event on River Forest block has raised $700,000 in 24 years By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
Carl Olson has a long history with LemonAid – since his literal birth in August 2001. That was a few weeks before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York. The residents on the 700 block of Bonnie Brae Place in River Forest wanted to do something – anything – to respond to the tragedy. The next year, six families launched LemonAid, a literal lemonade stand that raised $400 for Hephzibah Children’s Association. It’s 2026 now, and over the last quarter century, LemonAid has raised north of $700,000 for nonprofits and charities primarily throughout the Oak Park and River Forest area. Olson has been there for just about all of it. And ah, the memories. “I remember it being way smaller than it is now,” Olson said. “It was completely different day of. It was more private, I felt like, and I guess my favorite memory is at the end, after the entire block put on a really great show for all the charities, we’d gather as a block and we would sit and all watch a movie and celebrate a good job.” Most importantly, it was fun with a purpose that’s still paying dividends today, though this will be the last year in its present form. River Forest Township,
Most PE spaces will be complete by Sept. 1 By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter
SYDNEY LOVAN
LemonAid organizers and representatives from local charities take part in a happy hour meeting on July 23. which has been involved for many years in the event, is providing stewardship so it can continue in the future – whether on the 700 block of Bonnie Brae or elsewhere in the community. So in a way, it’s the end of an era, kicked off by a July 23 happy hour at 727
Bonnie Brae, which invited block residents and representatives from nonprofits and charities that have benefitted financially over the years from LemonAid. This year’s event will be on Sept. 11, of See LEMONAID on page 16
The new physical education wing in the southeast portion of Oak Park and River Forest High School will not be open when the new school year starts on Aug. 25, the school announced on July 27. [D]ue to unavoidable circumstances — including weather delays and regional trade-labor shortages — completing the entire facility prior to the first day of school is no longer feasible,” Greg Johnson, OPRF superintendent, wrote in an email addressed to the OPRF community Monday. “While our construction firm has worked diligently to ramp up and resequence work, a phased opening has become necessary.” Work began in the spring of 2025 on what is called Project 2. The project began with the demolition of the southeast corner of See PROJECT 2 on page 12