W E D N E S D A Y
August 12, 2026 Vol. 47, No. 7
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Enrichment Guide
local schools | early learning | tutoring programs
Education Guide Page 15
Israel boycott petitions submitted, then challenged
Johnson, Pritzker, Davis turn out to celebrate $25M investment By BILL DWYER Staff Reporter
See CTA GREEN LINE on page 24
and
of Oak Park and River Forest
Fully accessible Austin CTA Green Line station ‘reopens’ The newly renovated and fully accessible CTA Green Line station at Austin Boulevard was officially “re-opened” Friday morning with Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson among those celebrating. The $25 million renovation project includes a new elevator, an escalator, an accessible ramp, and other elements of the station reconstructed to comply with modern standards. The station’s boarding platform was also extended to the east and a second, non-handicapped accessible station entrance built a block away at Mason Avenue. Funding for the project came from the federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) and Illinois’ Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan. STP provided $20.3M in funding and Rebuild Illinois provided $5.3M for a total budget of $25.6M.
Summer 2026
Education
Oak Park electoral board will review signature challenge By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
BILL DWYER
Cong. Danny Davis speaks during the reopening of the Austin CTA Green Line station, as Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson look on.
Community canvassers representing Oak Parkers for Free Speech collected more than 3,500 signatures in support of a proposed November advisory referendum regarding whether Illinois should repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boycott Israel. The notarized signatures – far more than the minimum required number of about 2,000 – were collected over 12 weeks and the group met an Aug. 3 village of Oak Park deadline for submission. But one objection to the petition signatures was filed by the Monday, Aug. 10 deadline, which will prompt a three-member village electoral board to determine whether See ISRAEL BOYCOTT on page 25
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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Mike’s Place Bar landlords put building up for sale
W E D N E S D A Y
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
General Manager Max Reinsdorf Staff Reporters Hector Cervantes, Bill Dwyer, Jackie Pisano, Bob Skolnik, Gregg Voss
Problematic Roosevelt Road nightclub has now reopened
By BILL DWYER
Sports Reporters Melvin Tate, Bill Stone
Staff Reporter
The owners of a building housing Mike’s Place, a Berwyn nightclub notorious for loud, disruptive and belligerent patrons requiring repeated calls for police intervention, have put the building on the market. The nightclub was open on Saturday, Aug. 8. At 10:30 p.m. there were 6 to 8 people gathered near the front door. The city of Berwyn had ordered Mike’s Place closed for 30 days starting in June after owner Micheal Lapinard acknowledged a slew of ordinance violations dating back nearly two years, including public disturbances that shut down traffic on Roosevelt Road and required a response on more than one occasion by all on duty Berwyn and Oak Park police officers. Neighbors in Oak Park have reported gunfire, fights, and all sorts of nuisance behavior at closing time over the past several years. The bar was allowed to re-open for business on July 7, but it appears it did not immediately open following the 30-day suspension, and things have remained quiet at the site. One day before the bar was scheduled to re-open, it posted a detailed help wanted solicitation on its Facebook page for people to “Join the Mike’s Place Team.” The posting said the bar was hiring bartenders, bar backs, cooks and security personnel. “Keep our guests and team safe and sound,” it read. That same night, the bar posted on its Facebook page for the first time since May 14. The 6317 Roosevelt Road LLC has owned the building since 2013. Berwyn resident Pablo Quintana and far south suburban resident David J. Shewmake are the listed managers of the company. Neither man could be reached for comment. A number for Shewmake was inoperative, and a contact number for Quintana could not be found. The building was put up for sale around mid-July, with an asking price of $675,000. The wording of the real estate posting
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News Intern Sydney Lovan Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Contributing Editor Donna Greene Columnists Marc Blesoff, Nicole Chavas, Jack Crowe, Vincent Gay, Mary Kay O’Grady, John Stanger, Josh VanderBerg Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck Editorial & Digital Design Lead Javier Govea Design and Production Associate De Sergio Villalona Designer Susan McKelvey Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls Marketing & Advertising Associate Emma Cullnan FILE
Mike’s Place, 6319 W. Roosevelt Road, Berwyn presents the building to potential owners as a restaurant opportunity, touting its full kitchen and bar. According to public records, in 2022 Quintana and Shewmake paid off a 2019 mortgage on the building and entered into a $200,000 promissory note that comes due in July 2027. Public records show Shewmake has been an owner of the property since prior to 2010, and that he owns numerous properties throughout Cook County. Shewmake owns multiple large properties in Cook County through Four Feathers Properties, Rodzilla Properties and several other LLCs tied to Rodzilla Properties. According to public records, Quintana, who had lived in Berwyn since at least 1996, sold his 2,200 square foot Euclid Avenue home in June for $550,000. Problems at the 6317-19 Roosevelt Road location go back at least 20 years. Wednesday Journal headlines in June 2007 noted, “Rowdie Roosevelt bar patrons challenge OP, Berwyn cops,” and that area residents were “tired of fights, noise.” A subsequent
story reported that Oak Park police were adding foot patrols near the bar and that a “pro-active neighborhood group of Oak Park and Berwyn residents was being formed. In January 2008, Berwyn’s mayor publicly threatened the revocation of the bar’s liquor and business licenses. Oak Park and Berwyn residents living near the bar and police from both communities are not the only ones who have had problems with the bar. Shewmake himself has allegedly been a victim of at least one bar owner at the site. In a 2010 Wednesday Journal article he said the previous bar owner who rented from him left the place “in shambles,” with “about $100,000” in damage to the interior, along with months of unpaid rent. “As soon as we have all of the damages in order, I’m going to file suit,” Shewmake said at the time. “We’re business owners, we’re landlords and we’re happy to have a tenant, of course, and this should be a tenant that’s a lot more responsible than the last two we had there.”
Legal Notices Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Operations Associate Susan Liss Babin Social Media and Digital Coordinator Maribel Barrera Senior Advisor Dan Haley
H OW TO R E ACH US P.O. Box 6670, River Forest, IL 60305 ■ PHONE (708) 613-3300 ■ EMAIL dhaley@newswellchicago.org ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com
CIRCULATION Jill Wagner • jill@oakpark.com • (708) 613-3340 PRINT/DIGITAL ADVERTISING Lourdes Nicholls • lourdes@oakpark.com • Ext. 3329 Emma Cullnan • emma@oakpark.com • Ext. 3304 CALENDAR EVENTS calendar@wjinc.com Wednesday Journal is published weekly by NEWSWELL Chicago. Periodicals postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS No. 10138). Wednesday Journal NEWSWELL Chicago is located at 1011 Lake Street St 307, Oak Park IL 60301. The newspaper is available at newsstands for $2. Annual subscription rate in Cook County is $65 and $105 outside of Cook County. Advertising rates available by contacting our office. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Wednesday Journal, NEWSWELL Chicago P.O. Box 6670 River Forest IL, 60305. © 2026 NEWSWELL
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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Oak Park finance committee discusses value-based investments and tax levy increases Tax levy policy will move forward for village board review By SYDNEY LOVAN Reporting Intern
Capital improvement projects, competitive salaries and benefits, and already agreed upon goals for the fire and police pensions could lead to a property tax levy increase of up to 9% for the village government, according to village Chief Financial Officer Kevin Bueso. Oak Park’s village board will still have multiple opportunities to reduce that increase by making hard choices. Oak Park’s village finance department is doing a deep dive into its financial framework to review, update and strengthen policies that direct its overall standard operating procedures. At the finance committee meeting on Aug. 6, Bueso and Deputy CFO Louis HallMakarewicz presented drafts for the tax levy, investment and external agency policies. This is just one piece of the larger
FY2027 budget process puzzle. A finalized budget proposal is typically shared with the village board to discuss in October before additional public input and a final vote in November. The village board members on the committee voted to recommend the tax levy draft to the village board but kept the investment and external agency policies for further discussion before they are ready to move forward.
Tax levy policy The tax levy draft policy outlines a recommended framework for the finance department to follow when creating its overall budget presentation but does not represent the tax levy itself as that is a decision made by the board. The draft states the intended purpose is to “support structural balance, align recurring revenues with recurring services, fund legal and contractual obligations, advance board goals and priority projects, and clearly communicate the effect of the levy on taxpayers.” The recommended structure in the policy outlines a 3-option presentation with the planning floor, a 3% levy hike, the planning
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Nedaa Alwawi reads a statement written by Annie Wilkinson about value-based village investments at Oak Park’s finance committee meeting on Aug. 6. ceiling, greater than 5%, and a middle option. Any levy adopted outside of the range would need to include additional information like the reason, taxpayer impact and a five-year funding plan according to the draft text. “What this is allowing us is saying we’re going to come back to the board with a proposed tax levy with these scenarios, and saying if you approve as a board 3% this is what it will get you. If you approve a 5%, this is what will get you,” said Bueso. Oak Park’s policy levy is comprised of four purposes: debt service, fire and police pensions, corporate operations and the public library. As one purpose increases, it has to even out at the cost of another. The village has committed to fully fund the police and fire pensions by 2040, so that amount is already set for future planning, said Bueso. The Oak Park Public Library is managed by an independently elected board but its tax levy is run through the village government. Bueso outlined other 2027 budget increases that will add pressures to the levy such as a 3% increase in staff salaries from an already approved union agreement. “Running some numbers right now in
order to maintain our level of service and add on a few of the programs and initiatives that I have mentioned, this levy would have to go to about 8.5 to 9% in order to meet those demands,” said Bueso. “Or look at then reducing the scope of those initiatives and those services or reducing what the main level of service that we are providing as a governmental unit, what that would look like.” The increase does only account for a small portion of the total property tax levy as Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and High School District 200 account for the majority. President Vicki Scaman, who attended the meeting via Zoom, pointed out that the board has had the most consistent, lowest levy increases in modern history, since she was elected in 2021. In 2023, there was a 0% increase in the tax levy which created somewhat of a deficit that would require almost double-digit increases to make up said Bueso. “We levied zero because we could, because we didn’t need the levy, and I understand the impacts for subsequent years, and you know, we levied because we didn’t See OP FINANCE on page 22
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
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Straw scoffs at Broadview 6 prosecution’s ‘mistakes were made’ apology Says Department of Justice can’t be trusted to investigate itself
By BILL DWYER
can be trusted to ensure accountability within its own ranks is simply not credible,” Straw said. “The Office of Professional ResponsibilOak Parker Brian Straw, one of six former defendants at one time charged by fed- ity, which Boutros notes he has made a reeral prosecutors with conspiracy related to ferral to has lost more than 45% of its staff a Sept. 26 demonstration near an ICE de- and its director during the Trump admintention facility in Broadview, is scoffing at istration,” Straw said. “So in a time where comments made by Chicago U.S. Attorney referrals to OPR and judges, noting a raft of issues amongst prosecuAndrew Boutros in a recent tors are at an all-time high, court filing. OPR has been both gutted On June 16, Straw’s attorand beheaded and can’t be ney, Chris Parente, filed a relied on to provide real acmotion asking Judge April countability.” Perry to allow them to conThe Broadview 6 indictduct discovery following disment came only after three missal of their case, for the grand jury sessions, during court to hold an evidentiary which several grand juhearing on sanctions and rors openly questioned the discovery, or to designate a prosecutor’s arguments, Special Counsel “to investiand prosecutors committed gate and, if warranted by the several violations of grand facts, prosecute responsible jury procedural rules, inpersons for criminal conBRIAN STRAW cluding twice talking with tempt.” grand jurors outside the Boutros objected to it all in a 52-page brief on Aug. 4, while acknowl- jury chambers. All charges against two of the defenedging that “mistakes” were made in the prosecution of the so-called Broadview dants were dropped in March. In May prosSix case. He argued against both discovery ecutors dropped the lone felony charge against Straw and the other three, for conbeing conducted and the appointment of a special prosecutor, saying his office has spiracy, leaving just a single misdemeanor taken steps to address the alleged prosecu- count of forcibly impeding a federal agent. That charge was dropped days later, after torial misconduct. Should Perry still decide a special coun- Boutros took the rather remarkable step of sel is needed, Boutros said, that person appearing before Perry and admitting that prosecutors in his office had made “signifishould come from within the DOJ. “Although the mistakes in this case are cant errors” during the extended grand jury regrettable, this is not one of the ‘rare situ- process. Responding to Boutros’s motion on Blue ations when a prima facie case of criminal contempt has been made out,” Boutros Sky on Aug. 4 Straw said, “The full brief said. “And so, this court should reject for- is remarkable. While the U.S. Attorney atmer defendants’ request for a hearing on tempts to downplay the misconduct, he adthese matters or to appoint another attor- mits to discussing the incident with Main Justice as early as Sept. 27 and having the ney to investigate alleged misconduct.” Straw, who is an attorney and also an Oct. 9 grand jury transcript as early Oct. 14.” Straw and others have alleged that Oak Park village trustee, was having none of it, saying justice requires accountabil- Boutros’s office is doing all it can to avoid ity and transparency, and that the current any further court hearings on a matter that has gained national attention. Sunday night, DOJ can provide neither. “The idea that this department of justice Straw’s face was on the television screen Staff Reporter
as comedian John Oliver took the DOJ to task for its legally questionable behaviors on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. “If the justice department were to pay our attorney’s fees as they’ve suggested they will do, they will argue, as they have (previously) that we have no standing to conduct discovery in the case,” Straw said. In that case, Straw said, “a special counsel should be appointed to ensure accountability and transparency. (Boutros) argued in its motion that if the judge is going to direct that someone conduct such an investigation, it should have DOJ appoint a lawyer to do so. But we do not believe that the DOJ has any credibility to investigate its own conduct,” Straw said. “Especially when this U.S. attorney, on the day when all of this misconduct came
to light, sent an office wide email in which he called the same prosecutors ‘courageous heroes.’” Asked if he was saying that the fox would be guarding the hen house, Straw took several seconds, then replied, “I think that’s an accurate summary.” Straw and his fellow former defendants have until Aug. 18 to respond to Boutros’s motion, although Straw wondered whether that would be enough time to respond fully to Boutros’s lengthy 52-page brief. Once all the motions and responses and replies are on Judge Perry’s desk, she will consider them all and take an indeterminate amount of time before issuing a ruling. Straw declined to hazard a guess as to when that might be or how Perry would rule.
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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Towards Honest Outreach For Public Feedback On Single Family Zoning Upcoming shortly are the public engagement efforts by Opticos Design, Inc., the village’s consultant, scheduled under its contract amendment to achieve outreach and public feedback on its proposed changes to the zoning ordinance of the Village of Oak Park. Addressing that adequately requires, and will be aided, by first addressing its prior efforts under the original contract. Very few attended, likely since public notices of it never reached them, which itself reflects a failure. But all of the materials it has posted describing it, and the results, on the village website and other sources permit a sufficient analysis. A considered evaluation is that it represented nothing but an effort to promote Opticos’ own proposals for specific zoning changes under a decision already made, though only in broad outline, by the Board of Trustees to change the zoning code. It primarily addressed Opticos’ proposals for replacing single family zoning with multi-unit zoning. In doing that, it might be considered a yeoman’s job of doing exactly what Opticos was hired to do under its contract proposal: a promotional effort—and very little more. One participant’s reaction summed it up in a terse phrase that Opticos reported to the VOP which says it all: “Decision already made… We’re only asked for input on what flavor.” The grave shortcoming of those efforts is that there was no effort to get feedback from the public beyond “what flavor,” such as asking the judgment of the participants on the merits, as a whole, of the Opticos proposal to eliminate single family zoning, and whether or not they judged them likely to be effective in achieving the stated goals of affordable housing, or even simply whether they approved or disapproved of them. As for specifics, Opticos’ “outreach” effort in two public meetings on March 3 and March 5, scheduled just days after its notices of the meetings went out via “Social Post & E-Newsletter blast” produced predictable results: 32 participants at the first, and 52 at the second. That can only be judged a failure. It’s other major public outreach, consisting of its “pop-up” tables and displays at three public outdoor events over last Christmas’ holidays (which pumped up its numbers, though still a quite insignificant sample), at which passers-by (including families towing children along) were asked, for example, to place beans or tokens in a series of jars to express their preferences between various “flavors” of multi-unit zoning change. To characterize that kind of effort as effective public feedback, unfortunately, consists of wishful thinking unconnected with reality. In short, the result of the original effort by Opticos was that the project remained completely under the radar of a vast percentage of Oak Parkers. The success of these efforts ought to be measured against the promises of Opticos’ original contract proposal: “Community engagement efforts often fall short because many stakeholders don’t know that the process is happening, eyes glaze over when they see the [word] ‘zoning,’” “Gone are the days of only relying on evening community events over the dinner hour and hearing from the same thirty people.” “All Together [an Opticos partner agent] will lead...directly supporting the implementation of the Strategic Vision for Housing Plan and advancing missing middle housing.” Measured against these promises, the results were only a very moderate success, even at promotion, but otherwise, as already noted, a failure. A turn to the upcoming efforts scheduled for late August ought to begin by commenting on Opticos’ hour-long “Presentation” of its recommendations to the Board of Trustees at its July 28 meeting. Surmising that it was a preview of the roadshow it is about to embark on, it appears to be more of the same—an effort to promote, or “sell” the public on the changes proposed by Opticos, and nothing more. In a forest of promotional detail, while watching, one experienced the very “eyes glazing over” that Opticos promised against. But, in the public comments after its presentation, many very well thought out and specific, its representatives experienced some of the very negative public reaction that it had escaped, by design, in its original promotional efforts. Public comments were even more vociferous at the prior Board meeting of July 21 that deserve watching on the video, as were those in the myriad instances of public feedback over many weeks in letters to the editor in the local Wednesday Journal newspaper (WJ). The Board of Trustees has made it clear it does not want “more of the same”—that it wants real public feedback of a kind that cannot possibly come from that. Trustee Straw has been quoted in the WJ (7/29) as favoring “a real open hearing town hall forum strategy”; and Board President Scaman has stated, at the June 16 Board meeting: “I just want our community to hear that the engagement is not just to check a box. The engagement is to agree or disagree—to know the opinions of as much of our community as we can hear from.” That is a clear call for something
other than more of the same of what we have had from Opticos so far. That something other must apply both within the Opticos presentations (promotion), and concerning what has so far been left out (opposing viewpoints). Assessing the genuineness and even the honesty of both requires relying on a concept from federal securities law expressed in the SEC’s famous Rule 10 (b) 5—that a statement is defined as misleading and objectively deceptive if it omits material information necessary to make it NOT misleading. First, within the Opticos presentation. Perhaps the most important item is the fact that builders have repeatedly informed the Board that all new construction replacing single family homes with multi-units will be consistent with the largest profit motive—luxury housing—and therefore will not contribute any “affordable housing.” Any presentation promoting changes supposedly designed to bring about affordable housing, but omitting that fact, is objectively misleading and deceptive. The next most important omission from all of the presentations by Opticos is any scientifically rigorous and realistic economic analysis of whether its actual proposals are likely to achieve the stated goal of “affordable housing,” a disconnect that leaves the promotion of the proposal looking like a mere statement that “Housing is unaffordable; we must do something—anything!” Next in order of magnitude in its impact is from page 20 from the official recommendations of Opticos, but buried within the fine print. Unlike the entirety of the first 19 pages, which is concentrated on two to four flats, this proposal essentially swallows all that precedes it by making the vast majority of properties in Oak Park eligible for six flats. Any presentation that concentrates on two to four flats and does not emphasize, or even acknowledge that is objectively misleading and therefore deceptive. Particularly egregious in this regard is the document used at the July 28 presentation entitled “Oak Park Zoning Update Conversion Guide.” It lists as the first of the “Key Changes” for most single family zones: “Allow 1 to 4 units.” But it completely omits the most important fact of all of the page 20 recommendation: six flats will be permitted on most properties that were previously in single family zones! The glaring omission of this material fact from the document makes it patently misleading and deceptive, and it ought never be used again by Opticos in promoting its ideas. It is no small irony that the computer filename for the document labels it a “Cheat Sheet.” Of particular concern here is the online tool Opticos has promised, yet to be unveiled, that will permit visual comparison of a property’s new zoning status with its current housing. Any online tool that omits a display of what a six flat will look like on a property eligible for one will be grossly misleading and objectively deceptive. Next, Opticos’ proposal (p. 15) asks the Board to consider exceptions to the building height limitations by giving “height bonuses” to certain developers for meeting conditions not stated. A height standard that allows for higher heights is not a limit—the highest possible under a height bonus is the actual “limit.” Therefore, any discussion in the promotional presentation of the height limits in the new ordinance that omits the possibility, or likelihood of higher limits than the height “standard,” is objectively deceptive. Buildings will be higher; a 40 foot four flat could tower over a neighbor’s house with a 20 foot roof line. The “Cheat Sheet” omits this fact too, making it equally deceptive. In addition, all of Opticos’ presentations have included explicit claims that any building changes will be spread out over such long times as to be “incremental,” implying: hardly noticeable. That is a fact that nobody can possibly know, and should be dropped as promises worthy of a used car lot. It omits and ignores the likelihood that permitting builder demolition of existing single family homes by ordinance as a matter “of right” can attract an avalanche of developers who will do demolitions and replacements promptly and in droves, as a promising avenue and incentive to achieving huge profits by doing just that. Any continued repetition of these contrary empty assurances is objectively deceptive and baseless. It must also be mentioned that, although Opticos has suggested that the VOP consider disincentives to demolitions in the form of as yet undefined fees, the actual Opticos recommendations for the text of the ordinance do not include that, and so at present this point is illusory. Next must be considered the elimination of the overnight parking ban addressed on p. 26 of the Opticos recommendation. It states there that the matter “should be studied carefully and discussed publicly” as part of the goals, a study and discussion that has yet to take place, even at the Board. Opticos further suggests that either the VOP must eliminate the ban, or builders of new housing, whom the ordinance would permit to build multi-unit dwellings with no off-street parking in order to reduce construction costs, will likely build off-street parking, anyway, thereby increasing the cost as well as unaffordability—and defeating the whole purpose. Any presentation promoting the ordinance’s supposed effect of aiding affordability which omits this important countervailing factor is objectively deceptive.
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
Further, the Opticos recommendations include a suggestion that the VOP consider both a “Pilot Program” of very limited size (p. 10), and a “test” of its effectiveness (p. 11). But the actual proposal for the ordinance does not include either, and the Board of Trustees has voted for the recommendations “as is,” i.e., without such a program. The same could be said of the fact that the staff of the VOP itself, in evaluating the Opticos recommendations and giving its assessment to the Board has included an “alternative 2,” which is to delay action on these recommendations to allow additional public engagement (presumably including the upcoming by Opticos) and the formation of a Housing Task Force on “affordable housing,” presumably more realistic and effective than Opticos’ simple zoning code proposals. The Opticos presentation ought to include discussion of the possibility of both, including slowing down the process to allow the public greater time to study and digest the proposal and its likely consequences—and reporting the public preferences on that. Next is something that has been omitted from Opticos’ previous promotional efforts: counter arguments that the public has a right to know, raised in myriad well thought out and compelling letters in the WJ, as well as in the preponderance of public comments at the Board of Trustees meetings. It would do well for Opticos to survey them and include them in its feedback report, but it may be suggested that they can fall into several main points. What is important here is that, without giving equal time to these, the Opticos outreach will consist only of promotional “sales” effort in favor of its own proposals, which, by this, the most glaring omission, will render it objectively misleading, and deceptive. First is the likely harm to current homeowners in OP from the Opticos proposal—if it works—as demonstrated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in its study: “[…] in each land-use relaxation scenario where rents fall, house prices also fall …” “Therefore, while lowering housing costs through zoning reforms may help first-time homebuyers and lower-income renters, it comes at the expense of … current homeowners.” Even proponents admit that this harm is the very design of the program and a factor that is a chief impediment to public support. Omitting this important likelihood or possibility of harm from any Opticos “sales” presentation makes it objectively deceptive. That is the negative result which will arise from the effort, if it works. But there is ample reason to believe it won’t, and will even make housing unaffordability worse—that is, backfire. And the likelihood of that arises from another factor also recognized by the Bank: prevailing market factors such as very high housing demand can outstrip and overwhelm any effects achieved by zoning changes and density increases. Oak Park has that very factor: there is no need to summarize here the extreme desirability of OP that will assure a veritably inexhaustible demand for both its new multi-unit housing as well as for already existing single family homes. That macroeconomic factor dictates that flooding Oak Park with new luxury housing will do nothing to prevent additional demand that will continue to drive up prices of existing homes. Omitting this factor identified by the Bank from any discussion while insisting the proposal will increase affordable housing in Oak Park will make it a mere sales effort that is objectively misleading and therefore deceptive. Besides the factors unique to Oak Park, there are others, more global, that also militate against the Opticos zoning changes “working.” The persistent negative market factors resulting in housing unaffordability which realistic policies ought to address are the ordinary macroeconomic ones such as construction costs and the severe housing shortage that drive up prices, and most importantly, the nationwide inequitable distribution of wealth. The negative factors driving up prices will all continue in effect and themselves constitute a compelling reason to conclude that the entire Opticos zoning effort won’t work. Omitting, from any discussion of affordable housing, these negative factors that will make the prospect of success ephemeral will render any Opticos presentation a mere promotional effort that is, in fact, objectively misleading and deceptive. Those can only be addressed with national policies of economic reform that actually put more money into the hands of the lower income brackets, available to apply to their housing cost. They include revoking the billionaire/trillionaire tax cuts of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that draws money from the rest of the population to put it in their pockets, and replacing it with an equitable tax code that lowers taxes for all; refundable child tax credits and/or child care refundable tax credits, restoring the Obamacare subsidies; universal health care (Medicare for all); a low-income home purchase refundable tax credit; and many others—as if a new “New Deal”—policies that are beyond the power of anything that a local municipality can do to affect housing costs in the least. In contrast to the zoning approach, realistic policies that put actual money into the hands of those that need it make a zoning approach a noble effort that is little more than wishful thinking unrelated to reality. Also, there is the effect that every demolition of a single family home in favor of a multi-unit dwelling will have on market value and prices of the remaining ones. It was recognized by Opticos itself
that it “will reduce the supply of relatively attainable housing and increase pressure on housing costs” (p. 22). That is, such a reduction in supply is actually a factor tending to drive prices up—not reduce them. In short, the project may very well “backfire” and make matters worse. Omission of that risk or likelihood from Opticos’ presentation will render it a mere promotional or “sales” effort, and, in fact, an objectively misleading and deceptive one. These counter arguments, and the public’s reaction to them, demand equal time. Then there is the matter of the mechanics: the number, scheduling, and format of the public outreach sessions that Opticos is about to engage in. The VOP has just enlarged its contract that will increase fees to it by $61,000—a sum that surely deserves a better effort than we have seen so far. That effort is to include an important one before the meetings themselves. That is, Opticos has engaged to send every household a mailer informing them of something. It should not just be a notice of meetings. Why? The majority of the Board of Trustees rejected a referendum, insisting that the matter is just too complicated to be decided by a simple yes/no question (at some level, it’s not). But surely there is some way to avoid that by the very public engagement Opticos has been contracted to do—for example, in a detailed survey to be mailed to every household. If designed to address all of the questions raised above, and do so fairly, surely that is the best possible way to get real feedback that the Board says it really wants and could not get in a referendum. In short, why not just ask? Next to consider are the meetings themselves, beginning with the announced format and venues. Opticos’ contract addition calls for six such meetings. Two of them now scheduled are: two hours at the Farmers’ Market (Aug 29), and an hour and a half at a Scoville Park concert (Aug 30). It defies belief that anyone would think that getting anything from those like the real feedback of what the public as a whole thinks of crucial matters discussed above, or any significant part of it, is anything other than a joke. If it were not so serious, it would be altogether risible, and unworthy of Opticos and its outreach partner, All Together. Those two meetings will be simply a wasted effort. The same criticism might be made to a third meeting, an hour and a half virtual one (Sept. 3). In the time remaining after the Opticos presentation, how many people will be able to furnish Opticos with significant feedback in a large enough sample to be truly representative or revealing? The only potential merit to such an event is giving some opportunity to those who could not attend other efforts in person. The remaining three meetings (Aug. 27, 29, & 30) are at large and accessible public indoor venues. That is what all of them should be (other than the virtual one), for a total of five, giving the public ample choices to fit their schedules. And they ought to be far more spread out over time than a single weekend, to accommodate persons who may still be enjoying summer travel. (They ought to be simulcast, too). That would be real opportunity for feedback consistent with the Opticos promises of extensive efforts that would reach far more than the “same 30 or so people” (such as showed up at its March 3 meeting), a result Opticos disavowed in its contract proposal. That leaves the length and format. A simple presentation, however long, would not produce any feedback. For that, sufficient time is needed for the public to offer their opinions, and respond to whatever Opticos presents. And most importantly of all, the only realistic format that would allow that is a “townhall” style of meeting that allows the public free voice to whatever opinions people want to convey to the Board of Trustees. As Board meetings have proved, that takes time, and a lot of it. Two Board meetings have had close to an hour of public comments each with only 15 to 30 participants. A realistic opportunity for real feedback of a wide sector of the public would demand something on the order of two to three additional hours after the Opticos expected hour-long presentation—or rather, as long as it takes for all people remaining who want to voice their views. The results of all that could then be categorized and tabulated by Opticos for reporting the complete outcome of its efforts to the Board. The public needs the opportunity to say: We hear your arguments. We understand them. But we are not convinced they will be either effective, or good for Oak Park or Oak Parkers, if not even harmful. In short, the public needs the opportunity to turn down the entire project, and to say “Go back to the drawing board.” Anything less will lend itself to public scorn as a sham, a pro forma effort, mere going through the motions just to “check the box,” and not the true identification of the public’s views the Trustees asked for and were promised. It would, instead, make Opticos look like a tool hired not just to promote a project, but also to keep the public from expressing its true judgments on its merits. A cruel jest. Daniel Beach, Jim Gilcrist, Cynthia Jared, Kevin Kell, Frank Stachyra, George Uslenghi, Frank Vozak
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
Happy Apple Pie Shop finds happy landing with Easterseals After over a decade, founder Michelle Mascaro is stepping away By LILLIAN ALI Reporting Intern
Since its inception more than a decade ago, the Happy Apple Pie Shop has had two goals: employ people with and without disabilities and, in the words of founder Michelle Mascaro, “make really delicious pie.” “It’s very, very difficult for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to find work,” said Mascaro. Mascaro and her wife were thinking about their daughter Emma, who has an intellectual disability, when they founded the shop. By establishing Happy Apple Pie, Mascaro aimed to create more employment opportunities for disabled people and inspire other businesses to do the same. Mascaro founded the business in 2015; work started to establish its current location a year later. That location — 226 Harrison St. in the Oak Park Arts District — is itself unique. Mascaro worked with the owners of the building to ensure a fully accessible space for all her employees: Furniture is easy to move, the bathroom is fully accessible, the front door is automatic and the space is open enough for employees and customers to see one another. Mascaro has led the award-winning pie shop in Oak Park since its opening day. Now, she is stepping back from the bakery. Her retirement has been a long time coming — she has been searching for a new owner since early last year. It wasn’t until she was approached by the Chicago area chapter of Easterseals, a nonprofit that supports people with disabilities, that Mascaro felt able to sell. Sara Ray Hallman, the president and CEO of the Easterseals serving Chicago and Rockford, said Happy Apple Pie’s social enter-
prise mission and core philosophy aligned well with Easterseals. Easterseals already runs a similar social enterprise in Chicago, HB Threads, which also employs people with disabilities to help them develop career skills. “This seemed very much like a natural fit for us,” Hallman said. “We were very likeminded in the way that we thought about serving people with disabilities.” For Mascaro, Easterseals’ mission and experience with similar enterprises was an important factor in her decision. Mascaro was looking for a buyer who would be able to run the shop without a lot of help from her. With Easterseals, Mascaro says there is a plan to transition her away from long hours on her feet, which her doctor has advised was a good idea. It was also important to Mascaro that her employees be allowed to stay at the shop, which Easterseals agreed to. “They had the sense of community, I believe, that will still engage all of our customers and create a community-oriented space,” said Mascaro, who said she is looking forward to watching the business she founded grow.
TODD BANNOR
Owner Michelle Mascaro at The Happy Apple Pie Shop on March 21, 2025.
What’s next for Happy Apple Pie? Easterseals is already planning on expanding Happy Apple Pie’s operations, bringing on new staff in addition to those retained. Among the planned expansions is a partnership with Dark Matter Coffee to offer coffee and espresso beverages. Easterseals is also partnering with Sarah Stenger, who coowns Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, and Michael Ciapciak of Bang Pie and Biscuits in Logan Square. Pastry chef Margie Sprehe will take over the shop’s day-to-day operations. Throughout the transition, Mascaro and Sprehe will work together to transition Happy Apple Pie’s operations. “We want to make sure we have a true understanding of what the operation is currently like before we come in and suggest
TODD BANNOR
Michelle Mascaro (center) and her crew, (left to right) Louise Blaue, Ryan Gravely, Renner Eschenroder and Kelly Morrison in 2025. any changes,” Hellman said. “We want to be respectful of that history and trajectory.” Hellman says Easterseals is working to acquire permits for some renovations, including some that will allow for the installation of an espresso machine. Once permits are secured in the next few months, Hellman says they will be able to announce an official reopening date, which will follow a brief period of closure.
Even with new offerings, pies will still be the core of Happy Apple Pie. The sign in front of the shop, which draws customers from all over the Chicago area, reads simply: “Pie Today.” “I could write a book about what ‘Pie Today’ means to people,” Mascaro said. “It’s homey, it’s comfortable, it may invoke memories for you, it may create memories for you. It just means ‘come on in.’”
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
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Oak Park couple to close Wishbone after 36 years August closing date likely for the West Loop restaurant
By JACKIE PISANO
focusing entirely on attending to guests coming in to enjoy one final meal. While the Nicksons don’t have an exact When chef Joel Nickson and wife Julie closing date for Wishbone, their goal is to refirst opened the doors at Wishbone in 1990, main open through the end of August — both they entered into the Chicago restaurant to say goodbye to their loyal customers and scene with a clear mission: serve up comfort- ensure all of their employees land on their ing Southern cooking favorites in a remark- feet with new opportunities. Wishbone first opened in 1990 at 1800 W. ably down-to-earth atmosphere. With menu favorites stretching from Grand Ave. with 23 seats, nine stools and cheesy grits and red beans and rice, to chick- six paintings done by Joel Nickson’s mothen and waffles omelets and Cajun shrimp, er, Lia. In 1992, Wishbone moved to 1001 W. Wishbone became a local favorite, drawing in Washington with an expanded 170 seating seemingly everyone capacity — relocatfrom neighborhood ing to the West Loop regulars and suburas one of the area’s ban day trippers to early participants in local politicians and the emergence of the celebrities. neighborhood from Now, after nearly blighted commercial four decades of disharea to one of Chiing out their famouscago’s hottest culily savory, down-home nary spots. In 2018, dishes, the longtime Wishbone relocated Oak Park couple is the restaurant to its officially winding current location. down operations and In addition, the closing their West restaurant also esLoop eatery, now lotablished Wishbone cated at 161 No. JefNorth in Roscoe Vilferson St. lage. Run by Joel 212 S Marion Street Fl G On Aug. 3, the Nickson’s brother, Nicksons announced Guy, the location Oak Park, IL 60302 COURTESY OF THE NICKSONS Wishbone’s closed its doors in Bus:clos708-383-3163 ing on social media Joel Nickson 2019 after 20 years www.colinfane.com and the restaurant’s in business. And hywebsite, garnering perlocally, the NickMonday & Friday 9am-5pm reactions from thousands of fans ranging sons operated Wishbone in Berwyn at 6611 W. Tues/Wed/Thurs 9am-7pm from shock and sadness to an outpouring of Roosevelt Road (adjacent to historic FitzGermessages expressing gratitude for meaning- ald’s), which closed in 2011 after a five-year Saturday 9am-12pm ful memories and a unique sense of camara- run. derie between patrons and staff. When asked about the decision to “There was not one specific thing that shut down Wishbone entirely as opposed to Colin Fane, Agent happened — it was really the accumulation selling the business, the Nicksons say they Colin Fane, Agent 212 S Marion Street Fl G of all the pressures that come with running never actively pursued a sale Street of their busi212 S Marion Oak Park, IL 60302 Fl G the restaurant,” Joel Nickson said of the ness. Instead, their intention was to bring Oak Park, IL 60302 Bus: 708-383-3163 Bus: 708-383-3163 decision. “After 36 years, we are ready for a this chapter of thewww.colinfane.com restaurant to a close in a www.colinfane.com change. It was an extremely hard decision, thoughtful way. Monday & Friday 9am-5pm Monday & Friday 9am-7pm 9am-5pm Tues/Wed/Thurs but we also knew we did not want to wait un“As for the possibility of family taking it Tues/Wed/Thurs 9am-7pm Saturday 9am-12pm til we had no choice at all.” Delia, are very Clay and over, our children, Saturday 9am-12pm Due to a massive rush of customers fol- happy in their own successful careers — lowing the announcement, Wishbone has which are not in hospitality,” Julie Nickson officially ceased all carryout and delivery or- said. “However, our oldest son Tyler is and ders, reservations and new catering orders. has built an extraordinary career as a chef. Before closing for good, the Nicksons are He served as Jimmy Buffett’s private chef Contributing Reporter
through the final years of his life and now travels internationally cooking for private clients. We are enormously proud of what he has accomplished, and we would never expect him to step away from that career to solve the challenges we are facing now.” The Nicksons say that because Tyler has a deep connection to Wishbone, it is possible someday he may decide to bring the restaurant back in a new form and on his own terms. “That would be his vision, not an obligation,” they said. Looking back, the Nicksons agree the most enjoyable part of owning and operating Wishbone has been the relationships they’ve developed with their customers over all these years. “I have met every kind of person at Wishbone,” Joel Nickson said. “To run a restaurant for this long, you really do have to enjoy being around all different kinds of people. I also liked that every day was different. It was never boring. There is also something satis-
fying about being responsible for your own decisions. When you make a mistake, at least it is your mistake.” Julie Nickson added that while she will miss spending time with Wishbone’s customers, she is relieved to be moving on from the challenges of business operations. “Of course, it was a lot more enjoyable when things were easier, and everything was working the way it should,” she said. “When the rough times begin to outnumber the good ones, it becomes a lot less fun — and that was part of realizing it was time.” Though the Nicksons are saying goodbye to Wishbone and the West Loop, they aren’t going too far as they plan to stay put in Oak Park. “We love Oak Park and have no plans to leave,” Joel Nickson said. “It is home. It is the longest either of us has ever lived anywhere, and it is where we raised our three children. Neither of us is retiring, but we honestly don’t know what comes next, which is exciting.”
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
Prasad, medical consultant seek to intervene in West Sub lawsuit
attached a copy of an Amended New layers of conflict, added andPrasad Restated Operating Agreement he said and Patlola signed in February 2022. He players surface in battle for healleges that he as Resilience and Patlola as Ramco had agreed to set the hospital’s rent hospital at $1 until such time as it attained stronger
By BILL DWYER Staff Reporter
West Suburban Hospital CEO Manoj Prasad was one of two parties to file papers in court Monday formally seeking to intervene in the lawsuit between Resilience Healthcare, of which Prasad owns 60 percent, and Ramco Healthcare, owned by Reddy Rathnaker Patlola. The other party seeking to intervene is S&T Consulting and Management, which says it contracted with Resilience in August 2025 to manage West Sub’s emergency room and its mental health services. S&T says it has the right of first refusal to take over the emergency room operations if the hospital re-opens.
Manoj Prasad intervention In his brief, Prasad’s attorney, Travis Richardson, argued that under the operating agreement between him and Ramco owner Patlola, Prasad has the right to make “all decisions relating to the management and operation of Resilience Healthcare.” The brief termed Ramco’s interests “diametrically opposed to (Prasad’s) and not identical to Resilience.” Richardson says Prasad also has an individual interest “in defending himself against Ramco’s previously stated baseless allegations of fraud and misconduct.” Prasad also objected to Ramco’s choice of receiver, attorney Michael Flanagan, saying he had a “glaring conflict of interest” due to having participated in Patlola’s pre-litigation lobbying of State of Illinois officials for financial assistance to help keep West Sub open. Prasad also seeks to block anyone being able to authorize any payment of rents by West Sub that he says “Ramco falsely alleges it is owed…”
financial footing. Prasad said Ramco’s lawsuit, if successful, would adversely affect his interests in Resilience, and “The appointment of a receiver to manage the hospitals would strip Dr. Prasad of his role as manager and adversely affect his property rights.” Richardson argued that Prasad “has independent and unique interests in this matter that the existing parties do not represent.” Prasad’s primary interests are, Richardson wrote, “to protect his right to continue to manage the hospitals, to ensure that the hospitals are not required to pay improper rents that are inconsistent with their lease terms, to continue defending himself against Ramco’s allegations that he committed fraud and mismanagement, and to become (a full participant in) any ultimate agreement so that he can personally protect his interests.” “Defendants do not have the interest in vigorously defending Dr. Prasad against the personal attacks Ramco made on him in the Complaint and Receiver Motion,” Richardson wrote. Prasad, he said, “has a distinctive drive to defend himself against these false accusations of serious misconduct.” Additionally,” Richardson argued, “it is likely that the receiver’s plan for the operation of the hospital would diverge from Dr. Prasad’s, threatening to undo the extensive work he has already completed to manage the hospitals.”
S & T Consulting and Management Intervention S&T told the court it seeks to intervene “based on its substantial contractual and financial interests that are directly affected by the outcome of this litigation.” Its interests, S&T says, echoing Prasad,
SYDNEY LOVAN
Manoj Prasad, CEO of West Suburban Hospital, leaves court at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago after a closed-door settlement conference on July 2. are “not adequately represented by existing parties” in the lawsuit, including Ramco/Patlola and Resilience/Prasad. S&T, which was incorporated by Mohammad Tariq Siddiqui on Sept. 23, 2024, says it has a contractual right of first refusal to operate and manage West Suburban Hospital as well as Weiss Memorial Hospital, and that it “operated and managed certain departments of (West Sub) pursuant to a service agreement dated August 15, 2025…” S&T further states that it “successfully operated these departments from Feb. 15, 2026, to March 27, 2026 when the hospital ceased operations.” During the brief period it managed West Sub’s ER, S&T says, it “invested substantial resources, developed operational infrastructure, established vendor relationships, and built institutional expertise specific to the hospital’s operations.” S&T says its service agreement with Resilience gives it a contractual right of first refusal to operate and manage the hospital, noting, “if (Resilience) exercises its rights under the lease to subcontract the operation and management of the hospital to a
third party, defendant must first offer such opportunity to S&T on substantially the same terms.” The service agreement, which was entered into on Aug. 15, 2025, was, S&T says, “in recognition of S&T’s ability to effectively run and manage hospital operations, and the party’s mutual intent to continue to provide care and operational efficiency should the hospital reopen. “The outcome of this litigation will directly determine whether, when, and under what circumstances the hospital may resume operations,” S&T said, contending it “will suffer immediate and irreparable harm if it is not permitted to participate in this litigation to protect its contractual interests.” “This matter is set to be settled despite (Prasad) claiming that he does not agree to the settlement terms and in violation of his ability to offer similar terms and conditions to S&T.” S&T argues that Resilience ” has no legal duty to protect S&T’s right of first refusal and may prioritize its own interests over those of S&T.” Therefore, they argue,
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
Paperwork snafu disqualifies River Forest 14U baseball team from World Series Leaders of Elmhurst Little League take blame for registration error By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter
The Elmhurst/River Forest 14U baseball team was eager to participate in the Junior League World Series this week in Taylor, Michigan for the fourth consecutive year. The team, which had four River Forest residents participating, had plenty of momentum after winning the Central Region last week in impressive fashion and felt confident about their chances in this year’s tournament. Unfortunately, the team will not get an opportunity to make a run at the World Series title. On Aug. 6, the Little League International Tournament Committee announced in a press release that a player on the team should not have been eligible to play in the postseason. As a result, the team was disqualified from participating in the World Series and that Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, the team Elmhurst/River Forest defeated for the Central Region Championship, would instead represent the region. “Upon the review of a protest filed against the Elmhurst Youth Baseball Little League, the Little League International Tournament Committee has verified that a player on its Junior League Baseball team is ineligible to play as outlined in Little League Official Regulations, Playing Rules, and Operating Policies,” Little League said in the release. “Upon review by the Little League International Tournament Committee, in conjunction with the Central Region Office, the Tournament Committee has ruled the player ineligible and therefore has deemed the Elmhurst Youth Baseball Little League’s Junior League Baseball Tournament Team ineligible to participate further in the International Tournament and will forfeit its last played game.” When contacted by Wednesday Journal, Elmhurst/River Forest 14U head coach Rob Fleming sent a text message containing a statement from Elmhurst Youth Baseball, which reads as follows:
“The Little League International Tournament Committee has ruled that a player on Elmhurst Youth Baseball’s 13/14U Junior League team was ineligible under Little League regulations and has determined that the team may not continue in the International Tournament. “That player was ruled ineligible because Elmhurst Youth Baseball failed to complete required registration documentation. It was our administrative responsibility, and we did not meet it. It was not the responsibility of any player on the team. No athlete on this roster had any role in it, any knowledge of it, or any ability to prevent it. “To our players and their families, we are sorry. You trusted us with their season, and we did not do what was required to protect it. That is on us. No explanation makes it right, and we are not going to offer one. We are heartbroken that your season has ended this way. “Our hearts are with these young men and their coaches. They earned every opportunity they received on the field, and our coaches did right by them all season. What ended their season was our failure, not theirs. “On Aug. 6, the President of Elmhurst Youth Baseball met personally with the families to explain the situation and answer their questions. Elmhurst Youth Baseball confirms that no player on this team had any role in the administrative failures that led to this decision, and that no player was told anything other than that he was cleared to play. “Based on the information available to Elmhurst Youth Baseball, there is no indication that the board, as a body or individuals of the board, has knowledge of or participated in any improper conduct or wrongdoing. This was an unfortunate set of circumstances whereas there was a misunderstanding in communication between Elmhurst Youth Baseball and Little League. “Out of respect for the privacy of the families and children involved, Elmhurst Youth Baseball will not be making any further public comment regarding this matter. We ask our community to keep the focus where it belongs – on the accomplishments, sportsmanship, and resilience of these young athletes.”
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
ART BEAT
Oak Park Community Theatre debuts ‘Peter Pan’ in the park The show is free for the performers and the audience By SYDNEY LOVAN Reporting Intern
Blankets, lawn chairs and a chorus of laughter filled a quiet corner of Carroll Park with the opening weekend of Peter Pan, the first-ever show put on by Oak Park Community Theatre. Sean Kelly, an Oak Park resident and lifelong thespian, began the creation of Oak Park Community Theatre about a year ago when he realized there was a gap in affordable and accessible performing arts options. “I want it to be as inclusive as possible,” said Kelly. “That means to me a space where people of all ages and people of all neurotypes are gathered together to put their hands on a shared piece of art.” With the help of local organizations, businesses and community members getting involved with the production of the
show, his vision became a reality. The group rehearsed throughout the summer, going between venues such as Good Shephard Lutheran Church and Oak Park Arms Senior Living Community. “It really doesn’t take a whole lot if we all give a little bit of what we already have, be that material or space or time or a little bit of money,” said Kelly. Kelly not only created the group and directed the show but also wrote the adaptation of Peter Pan they performed. He said he felt other versions of the show were a bit unfair, painting an incomplete picture of what it means to be a child and adult. With this version he wanted to show “how what we really need is each other because each of us is missing something that the other one has.” The mixed-generational cast helped hammer home this sentiment as people spanning decades and all acting levels per-
SYDNEY LOVAN
Oak Park Community Theatre’s performance of ‘Peter Pan’ on Aug. 9. formed alongside one another. “I think just like getting to work with kids has been a really interesting experience, because I just love the way kids see things, and their perspective on the world,” said Lindsay Chyna, who plays Wendy and is studying theatre at Roosevelt University. “That’s something that I would just love to bring into future shows, just that kind of excitement and wonderment of the magic of theater.”
SYDNEY LOVAN
Hank Goodrich plays Peter Pan during a fight scene.
SYDNEY LOVAN
Captain Hook’s pirates
For Jessica Woodburn, it offered an opportunity to step on stage again, this time with her son. Woodburn stopped acting in 2020 when he was born and had been looking for something to do together because she could tell he has the “performance bug.” When they saw a poster for auditions, she knew it was the perfect fit. They even get to act in the same scenes as she plays Captain Hook and he plays the tail of the crocodile. “It just absolutely puts the community in community theater,” said Woodburn. “The world can be really rough outside, and when you’re able to join together and create something and see everybody else’s perspective on a story and sharing what a story means to you, it’s really helpful to understand that you’re not alone.” The opening weekend was a success drawing a full crowd and complete with an ice cream truck open during intermission. The audience is encouraged to interact with the show as they sit around the marked “stage” in the grass. The show is free to attend and there is one more weekend of shows on Aug. 15 and 16. “I’m hopeful that in years to come, we’ll just continue to build a community of artists around this project who want to do that kind of thing, add a little of themselves, so that once everybody puts a little of themselves into it, it all adds up to this incredible spectacle,” said Kelly.
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
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Outdoor Shakespeare opens at Moore-Dugal House Wright-designed home provides an unusual setting By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
After I did an interview Friday afternoon in Forest Park, I burned a few hours writing at Kribi before heading to watch Forest Theatre Company’s free outdoor Shakespeare performance of “All’s Well That Ends Well” at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Moore-Dugal House in Oak Park at 5 p.m. I stopped at the Aldi on Harlem for green grapes and a cherry kombucha and got to the venue early. I brought my own blanket, but there were several chairs set up for guests. Richard Corley — who founded Forest Theatre Company in 2021 with free outdoor Shakespeare — showed me to a seat front-and-center, though the actors faced all sides of the audience. Though I’ve seen Forest Theatre Company plays before, I’ve yet to experience an outside Shakespeare production, let alone one backlit by such a beautifully historic house. I remember disliking reading Shakespeare in high school but forgot how different, better even, watching it performed is. “Shakespeare is meant to be listened to. It’s not really meant to be read,” said Michael Roush, who lives in the
JESSICA MORDACQ
The cast of ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’
JESSICA MORDACQ
Actors use the balcony as a backstage area.
Moore-Dugal House and is renovating it, after the play. “I love that ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ isn’t done a lot. It’s a lesser-known play, so it’s great to get to see something new. It’s always ‘Romeo and Juliet.’” It’s just like Corley told me in an interview before the production, that this is how Shakespeare intended his work to be consumed: outside, during the day without microphones. I thought the lack of microphones might make hearing the actors difficult, but the acoustics were shockingly good and I could make out most every word. Even if I didn’t understand all of them, the emotions and stage direction provided necessary context — the type my eyes couldn’t even have fathomed at age 16. The only time acoustics were an issue was when a helicopter passed overheard, and the actors paused momentarily for it to pass. There was a small stage in front of the Moore-Dugal House, and actors exited stage through a tall gate on the side or the house or used the front door. Actors even used the balcony upstairs during a couple scenes, projecting down across the yard in a way that did make me feel like I was in “Romeo and Juliet.” “It took a lot of planning to manage all that,” Roush
JESSICA MORDACQ
The Moore-Dugal House is the venue for Forest Theatre Production’s outdoor Shakespeare performance this year. It’s the first time the event is being held in Oak Park and marks the beginning of a partnership with the owners of a historic Frank Lloyd Wright home. said of actors using the Moore-Dugal House as a backstage area. “It’s wonderful to have the audience here and I’m really excited to keep going for the next three weeks.” He added, “We’re already talking about other things we could do here.”
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
Rain cancels volunteer gardening, but information session is a success
Despite wet conditions, behavioral health groups show up for a conversation on crisis resources By EMMA BRADFORD Intern Reporter
On Aug. 1, the Cook County Health Office of Behavioral Health, Austin Coming Together, Austin Garden Collective and BUILD Chicago hosted a “Let’s Grow Together” event at BUILD’s headquarters in Austin for a morning of gardening, community connection and learning about behavioral health resources available in the community. The gardening portion of the event was supposed to be from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., when these organizations would have the opportunity to connect with the neighborhood while helping care for local community gardens. However, as rainy conditions persisted from the night before, working outdoors was not ideal, Goyal said, so they were forced to cancel that programming. The information session was held from noon to 1 p.m. at 5100 W Harrison St. to inform participants about local behavioral health crisis resources available to individuals and families seeking support. Speakers from NAMI Chicago, UCAN and CARE answered questions about how they work within the community and how they can better address one another’s gaps in services. Swati Goyal, a community mobilization coordinator for the Cook County Health Office of Behavioral Health, said the event was created to pair behavioral crisis resources with community service. Rather than just doing their typical tabling, Goyal said they wanted to show up in the community and participate in activities together to better educate community members about available resources. Another attendee was the Department of Public Health’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement Program (CARE), an alternative to 911 response, said Tiffany Patton-Burnside, the senior director of Crisis Services. “Our qualifiers are no violence, no weapons, no physical injury, no active suicide attempt,” Patton-Burnside said. “Other than that, CARE team, as long as we’re available on scene, you will get a licensed clinician and an EMT.” In scenarios with safety implications, law enforcement is the first to show up and stabilize the situation; after that, behavioral health crisis teams co-respond to the scene. “It’s not that we don’t show up; we’re just not the first people to show up,” Patton-Burnside said. Everyone who CARE responds to gets a needs assessment, along with a psychosocial assessment and any needed de-escalation, Patton-Burnside said, but the needs assessment is done “in an effort to find out what really is going on.” The CARE team is capable of transporting to hospitals, as well as to alternate destinations like living rooms, a crisis stabilization unit, or even a Walgreens “because solv-
EMMA BRADFORD
Behavioral crisis groups gather at BUILD Chicago in Austin on Aug. 1. ing the problem means getting you to your prescription or taking you to your aunt’s house because the problem is a little bit more family related, and we need to get you someplace safe,” Patton-Burnside said. “The team does all of those wonderful, amazing things just to ensure that we peel back the layers of the purpose of the crisis,” she said. “Just because a person has a mental illness, that’s not usually the crisis. The crisis is four other things that have happened on top of the mental illness that have now caused this person’s life to be unmanageable. So, the goal is for us to get you back to manageability and decrease that likelihood of this particular crisis from happening again.” The program currently operates Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will extend to 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. this fall. While the mayor’s goal is to eventually have the team available 24/7, 365 days a year, Patton-Burnside said, they just don’t have the resources yet. CARE responds to individuals throughout the city with about a dozen refitted small ambulances. While it is restricted by the city limits of Chicago and, for now, operates for six-and-a-half hours, five days a week, other groups, such as UCAN, do what they can to provide as much support as possible. Randy Sadler, senior vice president of Therapeutic and Clinical Services at UCAN, said their services are avail-
able as south as Bronzeville, as east as the lake, as west as Harlem, and as north as Evanston and Skokie. While they don’t have emergency transportation, Sadler said they make up for it by having many team members across Chicagoland. UCAN provides mobile crisis responses and a myriad of mental health services for the uninsured and underinsured, Sadler said. He added that it is spaces like the one created on Aug. 1 that allow these organizations to get together and learn what one another does. “I’m just curious how the people in this room can all work together to help activate what is here in different ways and get strategic about it because there are some holes,” said Chamika Moore, development director at Austin Garden Collective. “We do have a lot of resources at our disposal, so how can we work together collectively to bridge those gaps and give the help to the community that needs it?” She said there has been an influx of mental health and behavioral health issues in and around Austin. “I’m just hearing opportunities for people to connect in different ways, to make what is available work better for the community,” Moore said. Emma Bradford is an intern for NEWSWELL CHICAGO through Report for America’s Local News Internship Program.
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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‘The Scattering,’ st 1 YA horror novel by Forest Park author Mark Benson’s Sept. 1 book release party will feature gallery with art by local high schoolers By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
The protagonist painter of the young adult novel “The Scattering” has the same dream every night for five years — that he knows how his family will be killed. The idea came from one of the author’s own dreams and was the only scene that stayed the same over six drafts. Following his first self-published book “Isaac in the Sky” last November, Forest Park resident Mark Benson wrote his second young adult novel, and first horror book, “The Scattering.” It will be released at The Book Loft in Oak Park on Sept. 1 — an event that will include works from over two dozen local high school painters, each inspired by a different page from the book. “I’m going to be happy when someone comes by and buys a book from me, and I sign it for them,” Benson said. “But when I glance up and see someone sliding cash to one of these painters and walking out the door with their canvas, that’s going to be the best part.” He added that many of these young artists might not have shown or sold their art before. Benson got the idea for the release-day art showing from a pivotal gallery scene he wrote into “The Scattering” and wanted to engage the community in promoting the novel. So, he contacted art teachers from local high schools and will have 25 participating painters from Fenwick, Morton East, Morton West and other schools. Benson wanted to include local painters after writing his main teenage character as a painter. “I always write characters who are really talented or accomplished in something. I like smart characters. I just find them more interesting,” Benson said. In “The Scattering,” after the protagonist wakes up from his nightmare, he’s colorblind and can no longer paint. The story unfolds as he encounters a vengeful spirit and works to reverse his family’s fate. “I don’t think it’s a book where you read it and you get scared while you’re reading it,” Benson said. “I hope it’s a book where a couple days later you realize you suddenly turn on the light switch a little quick and you’re like, ‘Why did I run upstairs a little faster?’”
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Mark Benson and the book cover for “The Scattering” The book includes ghost stories inspired by those Bernson heard growing up. “Chicago is one of the best ghost story cities around,” Benson said. He grew up in the south suburbs, near Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery and has lived in the western suburbs most of his adult life. “My stepdad was constantly reading Stephen King novels. He would read them and then decide when I could read them.” Though there are spooky elements in “The Scattering,” Benson said the more important takeaway is the main characters’ change in relationships in navigating his nightmare and the colorblindness that ruined his future as a painter. “It’s a ghost story, but the interpersonal relationships among the living are way more important than anything that has to do with ghosts,” Benson said. “I want real characters that people can attach themselves to and say ‘I know what that character is going through. That’s real. I felt that.’” While Benson wrote previous novels in first person, “The Scattering” is his first book in third person. This story “was bigger than I was allowing it to be, and I was being caught by first person,” Benson said. “I felt like the world was too expansive.” Benson also got into method writing during “The Scattering.” He often visited the setting of a scene in the book to write that scene, like a coffee shop or cemetery.
“I’ve acted out the entire book every time. If I’m [writing] a conversation, I have to do it out loud,” Benson said. “I have to get up and move around. I really got into the visceral nature of method writing.” Benson has enjoyed writing since high school but started drafting young adult novels from short stories about a decade ago. “When you’re writing short stories, you’re always kind of on the lookout for which story can’t be short,” Benson said. And since he started writing short stories, he’s composed them for a young adult audience, largely because he wanted to create relatable teenage characters for his daughter to look up to. “I would refer to them as beautifully broken characters, characters who are real,” Benson said. “I read stuff where I felt like some of these characters are being portrayed as being heroes and people to admire, but they were not.” Benson wrote “The Scattering” before he drafted “Isaac in the Sky,” which came out last year, and he wrote in less than a month after visiting the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. When he’s not writing, Benson manages restaurants at Brookfield Zoo, sells Disney vacations and does educational programming for NASA. Find a copy of “The Scattering” at free library boxes in Forest Park, Oak Park and River Forest. Learn more at the release party at The Book Loft, 1047 Lake St., on Sept. 1 at 6:30 p.m. or by visiting www.authormarkbenson.com.
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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Hospital security says there are frequent threats of this nature By SYDNEY LOVAN Reporting Intern
West Suburban Medical Center received a bomb threat early Wednesday morning that was determined to be unfounded, according to the Village of Oak Park. The Oak Park Police Department responded to the call at 7:15 a.m., on Aug. 5, where they met with the hospital’s chief of security to confirm the threat. The chief of security “related the hospital frequently receives calls of this nature,” however, this incident was the first time a bomb threat on WSMC was
reported to Oak Park Police this year, wrote a village spokesperson in an email to Wednesday Journal. It was advised that no evacuation procedures were necessary, and police did not independently search the building as department policy only deems a search necessary if the threat is considered credible or at the request of the property manager, in this case the chief of security. The hospital abruptly ended patient care in late March of this year, and the Village of Oak Park shut down the building completely in June after its last working elevator failed. Resilience Healthcare owner and hospital CEO Manoj Prasad and Reddy Rathnaker Patlola, his business partner and landlord, remain at the forefront of attention surrounding WSMC with ongoing legal battles.
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OP FINANCE Invest or divest from page 4 need more money,” said Trustee James Taglia who was on the board in 2023. The whole village board will discuss, review and vote on an actual levy increase percent at a later meeting this fall. “We have to make the difficult choices,” said Scaman.
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Investment Policy The only public comments heard at the meeting pertained to the proposed investment policy calling for the village board to divest from banks that support other organizations they do not feel aligned with village values. Current investments include about $58 million in Huntington Bank and $5 million in Byline Bank which is structured through a certificate of deposit ladder across more than 200 banks. “Village residents are becoming concerned as we learn that some of the bank
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holdings village investments fund fossil fuels, private prisons, and ICE detention centers, war profiteering, and firearms,” said Dean Christ at the meeting. A statement written by Annie Wilkinson and read by Nedaa Alwawi cited three major banks, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, that are included in Oak Park’s direct fund investments through Byline Bank as specific examples to divest from. These banks have historical ties to private prison industry leaders GEO Group and CoreCivic which manage the majority of ICE detention facilities currently. “We have to put our money where our values are,” said Pam Tate, a core organizer for Oak Park Climate Action Network. The draft policy includes background information outlining explicit valuebased language Trustee Derek Eder shared outlining “racial justice, economic justice, human rights, LGBTQ rights, public health and safety, peace, and environmental sustainability,” as priorities to guide investments. Elements of the language were incorporated into the policy in ways that adhere to the Illinois Public Funds Investment Act and Sustainable Investing Act, but the finance department asked for more guidance to clarify the divestment and decision-making processes. Eder suggested at the meeting that the policy could take the state language saying sustainability factors will be considered a step further by clearly stating it will be upheld, not just a factor. Another overall suggestion was to make the outlined quarterly reports more frequent with monthly reports. Bueso said the staff ’s approach is to leave the policy broader and outline more specifics in the Standard Operating Procedures that will follow. He also confirmed that the investment platform has the capability of divesting from certain CDs to align with the final policy though it may take time to transition. “It’ll take a bit of time for us to divest from these companies, so we’re probably going to add asking a bit of time to do that, and that’s probably going to be anywhere between 90 to 180 days,” said Bueso.
External agency policy Call us at 708-447-5092 to learn more about sheltered care and memory care at Caledonia Senior Living.
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The Village of Oak Park gives financial support to external agencies, also referred to as partner agencies or outside organizations, through grants, contributions, loans of local funds and various
other avenues as part of each year’s budget. External agencies are defined as “any non-profit organization, sister government entity, or other outside organization that requests or receives discretionary village funding under this policy” by the village’s fiscal structure and policy manual. For many years the village has provided funding to these agencies which include support for the arts, tourism and housing. The proposed policy adjusts the structure of funding to a one-year basis allowing for an annual review by the board instead of the multi-year contracts that are currently common practice. This change would make this process similar to the annual appropriations process individual departments already follow. “The primary purpose of this document is to establish a consistent and transparent framework for evaluating and approving discretionary village funding requests from outside organizations,” said Hall-Makarewicz, “Our goal is to prioritize single-time, well-justified assistance over recurring commitments.” The draft policy does not mean funding on a multi-year basis is out of the question and serves more as a framework for consistency and transparency in the process of allocating these funds. The transparency would be a two-way road by giving a clearer understanding of the metrics used to make funding decisions and allowing the board to have a clearer view of the needs of each organization. The current multi-year agreements will not be impacted until it is time for renewal, confirmed Bueso at the meeting. The finance committee did not vote to refer this draft to the whole board just yet, as there were multiple points of clarification requested to be implemented before it is finished. “I wouldn’t want this policy to create uncertainty in those partner agencies around our commitment to continuing those relationships,” said Trustee Brian Straw. Revisions that will be made include tightening the definition of external agency and exploring a tiered review system to differentiate the process between multi and one-year requests. “The intention is to make the review part of the annual process, not necessarily to change any of the funding decisions that are being made, just to create a space to have conversations with the board,” said Hall-Makarewicz.
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
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From parent advocate to operations director River Forest Community Center’s Farrer takes burden off executive director By BOB SKOLNIK Staff Reporter
Parent, advocate, board member and now employee. In the past year or so Leslie Farrer has had a variety of relationships with the River Forest Community Center, the organization that runs a popular childcare program at the River Forest Civic Center building at 8020 Madison St. First, she was a parent with a child in the childcare program. Then last summer she became an outspoken advocate for the Community Center at meetings of the River Forest Civic Center Authority, which was trying, ultimately successfully, to wrest control of the Civic Center from the Community Center which had basically run the building for decades as its largest tenant. In October Farrer was appointed to the Community Center’s board of directors. This year she applied for the Community Center executive director job. She didn’t get that job, which went to Jonathan Livingston, but last month Livingston and the Community Center board hired Farrer to a new position at the Community Center, director of operations. In that role Farrer replaces the Community Center’s long time bookkeeper Jane Brennan who retired a couple of months ago and a former office manager who left earlier this year. “I am doing all of the bookkeeping, so all the accounts payable, accounts receivable, I’m handling all the social media, I am going to be taking over processing a lot of the payroll, working with the front desk team, we’re going to be reorganizing the office,” Farrer said. “Anything that comes up that’s not directly related to the childhood program.” As an employee Farrer had to quit her position on the board of directors. Farrer said she met Livingston last winter and was immediately impressed. Once she found out that Livingston applied to be the new executive director, she said that she thought that Livingston was the best person for the job replacing long time executive director Dick Chappell. “He impressed me the first time I met him,” Farrer said.
BOB SKOLNIK
Leslie Farrer addresses the River Forest Civic Center Board of Managers on July 28. Livingston began his tenure as executive director in late May. He soon realized that he needed help. He wanted to focus on big picture things, such as beginning an aggressive fundraising campaign for the non-profit that had never before done much fundraising. The Community Center is in the midst of a campaign to celebrate its 51st year of existence by raising $51,000. It has raised $13,107 as of Aug. 10. Without a bookkeeper or office manager, Livingston, with a background in academia and consulting, found himself bogged down by a lot of mundane operations things. ““I was doing two jobs or more at once,” Livingston said. “It created a task load for me that was just not sustainable.” He realized quickly that he needed help. “On top of being executive director I had been doing all the operational and financial, accounts payable work it was just too much, I was just drowning in it, it was clear as day that I needed an operations director so that I could really focus on, really prioritize the things I that needed to ensure that the organization stays healthy and continues to be healthier,” Livingston said. Farrer was, however, hired in July and began work at the Community Center on July 27. Livingston has already noticed the difference. “It’s just been a night and day difference to have that sort of help,” Livingston said.
Livingston said Chappell focused on operations when he was the executive director of the Community Center. He said that is not typically the focus of an executive director. Farrer, who grew up in northern Michigan, moved to River Forest in 2020. She was initially trained as a pastry chef, and earned an associates degree in restaurant, culinary and restaurant management from Northwestern Michigan College in 2008 before earning a certificate in pastry arts from the French Pastry School. She worked as a pastry chef in Chicago for eight years, including four years at the Trump International Hotel and Towers from 2008 to 2017, but more recently has worked in operations and bookkeeping. “I love the team here,” Farrer said. The Community Center has 27 employees, 14 of whom are full time. The Community Center continues to operate out of the River Forest Civic Center, a building that the Village of River Forest looks set to take over in September. Livingston and the leadership of the Community Center have been supportive of the Civic Center Authority dissolving itself and turning the building over the village which seems to be better positioned to raise the money necessary to perform needed upgrades, a new roof for one, on the 70-year-old building. “I think it’s going to be fine,” Farrer said. “I think they’re doing it to support everybody here.”
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
CTA GREEN LINE
Nora Leerhsen, the acting president of the CTA said public transit “is about connecting people to opportunity, and every accessible station brings us one step closer to a Chicago where everyone can travel from page 1 freely.” Leerhsen expressed pride that the CTA The extensively renovated rapid tran“worked very hard to keep this station sit station, which is heavily used by both open for the last 18 months as we did conWest Side and Oak Park residents, had not struction to support the community and seen any improvements since it was rebuilt make sure that we put our riders first.” when the train tracks were moved from Leerhsen also echoed the comments of street level in 1962. several elected officials, who stressed that One person standing to the side observaccessibility barriers do not affect just the ing Friday’s events was Oak Park Village physically disabled. Trustee Brian Straw. He noted that many The ADA improvements, Leerhsen said, Oak Park residents use the Green Line as benefit riders with wheelchairs and elwell. With the new Austin station, 110 of derly adults, parents with baby strollers, CTA’s 146 stations, 75%, are wheelchair and people traveling with luggage. She also accessible. The only other station in Oak mentioned the connectivity that the Green Park with wheelchair access is two miles Line serves, noting that the Austin station west, where the Harlem Avenue station is is served by three PACE bus routes, includaccessible via the Marion Street entrance. ing a line that goes to Midway Airport. Straw said he’s looking forward to the Mayor Johnson was one of several speakCTA planning renovations at the Ridgeers who said that “accessibility is opportuland Avenue and Oak Park Avenue Green nity,” and that the ability for all citizens to Line stations. get from place to place impacts the region’s economy. “This new $25 million station will transform the daily life for residents of Austin and those of us who live on the West side with the new stairs, ADA accessible ramp and elevator,” he said. “Accessibility is a fundamental right and it is our responsibility to ensure that every resident and visitor can move freely through our city,” Johnson said. “Residents rely on our transit system every single day to go to school, work, doctors’ appointments, grocery stores and to see their little ones.” Johnson said the new transit station is “a powerful symbol of a commitment to investing in the West Side and all the community areas of Chicago that have been historically denied investments and neglected for far too long.” “Today we tell the people of Austin that their neighborhood actually matters,” BILL DWYER Johnson said. Gov. JB Pritzker speaks as Chicago Mayor Brandon Cong. Danny Davis, who Johnson looks on. lives just a few blocks from
Austin station renovated
BILL DWYER
The renovated Austin CTA Green Line station. the station, is retiring in January. He took the moment to reiterate his “ardent support” for both public transit and accessibility for the disabled and the elderly. And also took the opportunity to crow just a bit at his role in earmarking the federal funds that eventually were approved in legislation passed during the Biden administration. “We gotta know that our work is always unfinished,” Davis said. “We’ve done a lot, but I can tell you there’s so much more to do and I could never be at a public gathering without mentioning how hard it is to keep going forward and never going backward.” Pritzker has made funding transportation projects a center piece of his administration since being elected in 2018. Through his Rebuild Illinois Capital Program. A total of $2 billion of state funding is going to Chicago transit projects. Pritzker said that “every single rider of CTA transport is important to our economy,” and that “that is why investing in transit has been among my highest priori-
ties through Rebuild Illinois, the most robust infrastructure program in our state history.” “The Austin Green Line station opened more than 125 years ago, and generations of riders have passed through these platforms,” Pritzker said, “but the investment needed to maintain it along with a growing city, haven’t really kept up for our communities. And our economy has paid the price, Illinoisans with disabilities have paid the price, and that’s not right.” Pritzker, who is running for re-election as Illinois governor, and who is widely assumed to be preparing a subsequent run for U.S. president, offered a 30,000-foot view on public transit and how Illinois officials responded to the many challenges. “Too many cities and states responded to the challenges of their transit systems by cutting service, by raising fares and asking riders to accept less,” Pritzker said. “Illinois chose to invest, modernize and build. It’s the right thing to do for our people and for our economy.”
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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ISRAEL BOYCOTT
Process for electoral board
According to the village, the Illinois Election Code requires the village’s municipal electoral board to hear and issue a decision on any objection to petitions for from page 1 public questions. In this case, Village President Vicki Scaman will be chair of the electhat objection will be upheld. toral board; Village Clerk Christina Waters Michael Kasper, an attorney with the Chicago government-relations law firm will serve as secretary; and Jim Taglia, the Kasper, Holmes & Dring, is representing longest-tenured village board member, will objectors. In a call from Wednesday Jour- also participate. However, Scaman is out of state on a pernal, Kasper would not comment on the basonal matter and she said Tuesday morning sis of the objection. “I have a long-standing pattern of not she is still working to determine whether she will be able to participate via commenting on my cases,” Zoom. She added the village athe said. torney will determine whether The Jewish Community her remote participation would and Friends for Democracy be legal. group noted in a prepared “No one has contacted me from statement to Wednesday village hall,” Scaman said. Journal that “the objectors If not, the pro-tempore replacein this matter are private ment will likely be Trustee Chicitizens and registered Oak buike Enyia, she said. Park voters. Taglia said Tuesday morning “While they have no forhe hadn’t seen the objection. mal affiliation with Jewish “The electoral board is focused Community and Friends on the process and whether the for Democracy, we support process is followed and correct their decision to object as and appropriate. That’s what the an integral part of the demfocus is, not the subject of the refocratic process. Illinois law erenda,” he said. “My understandhas long allowed objections ing is I will be on it if it happens.” to ensure only petitions The electoral board can only meeting legal requirements JIM TAGLIA determine the procedural viabilreach the ballot. Oak Park village trustee ity of the petitions on the basis “Jewish Community and raised in the objection. It does not Friends for Democracy review or decide on the substance (JCFD) believes that quesor legality of the proposed refertions about a longstanding enda question. Middle East conflict do not belong on a Aug. 17 is the deadline for the village local Oak Park ballot. Most importantly, this ballot measure is divisive and dis- board – not the electoral board – to adopt an tracts our community from pressing lo- ordinance initiating a public question. If cal issues like access to health care and the electoral board sustains the objection, it may remove the question from the ballot. affordable housing.”
Signatures challenged
“The electoral board is focused on the process and whether the process is followed and correct and appropriate. That’s what the focus is, not the subject of the referenda.”
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The Illinois Election Code notes the electoral board’s decision “shall be final subject to judicial review.” The village also said Aug. 27 is the certification deadline, or the final day Waters can submit the public question to the Cook County clerk so that the question can appear on the November ballot. A certified copy of the question is the finalized, unchangeable version of the question that allows the Cook County clerk to prepare the ballot in advance of the Nov. 3 election.
‘The process is the purpose’ Caren Van Slyke, a leader of Oak Parkers for Free Speech, was a canvasser and said the community response to its outreach was generally positive. “I think people were really surprised and shocked Illinois has a law that has an antiboycott thing to it,” she said. “We explained what that law did, shielded Israel and only Israel and gave it impunity for its human rights abuses. We wanted it to be on the ballot, we thought the public should have say in this and they were enthusiastic about that.” Still, Van Slyke said there was pushback, and in some cases it was “vitriolic. “It’s sad, but I will say it’s very few,” she said. “I also take as a good thing, that it was so few, because I think it’s a really good thing that we can have a discussion about important issues in Oak Park. “I also felt that some of it was pretty vicious and unbecoming to our community. It was small but really unpleasant.” Jesse Bauer is a co-organizer of Oak Parkers for Free Speech and was another canvasser. “I think 90 to 95% was positive,” he said. “Most people were really surprised. That process of educating the public was well worthwhile and getting it on the ballot is important because people didn’t know this. “We’ve said the process is the purpose.”
25
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
Homes
NEED TO REACH US?
email: dhaley@newswellchicago.org
That ’70s house River Forest house offers a design that stands out By LACEY SIKORA Real Estate Reporter
When 820 Ashland was built in 1971 in River Forest, it stood in stark contrast to its neighbors: large, traditional-style homes built in the 1910s and 1920s. With a semi-circular driveway connecting to a garage at the front of the lot and a modern home built around a circular atrium beyond that, the house was also large but threw traditional architecture on its head. In 2023 when the River Forest Historic Preservation Commission discussed adding significant properties to the list of historic properties in the village, commissioners included the home as a noteworthy building less than 50 years old and classified the style as Modern Eclectic. An architect, whose name is not known,
designed the home for an artist friend. Today, Kim Wojack of Baird and Warner is listing the house for sale for the owners, who purchased it from that artist in 2002. Wojack notes that the audience for the home might not be large in a village dominated by historic architecture, but she thinks there is a pool of interested buyers who will appreciate the architect’s design and a way of living that’s different from a traditional floor plan. She points to architect Errol Kirsch’s house on Fair Oaks Avenue in Oak Park. Designed in 1982 for the architect himself, the home draws many people to the block for its distinct design. At 820 Ashland, the exterior of the garage is faced with panels made up of stones. Wojack says it’s a maintenancefree exterior that you don’t see much.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAIRD & WARNER REAL ESTATE
The circular atrium resembles an internal gazebo.
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
The semi-circular driveway offers entrance to the garage on both sides. The garage is connected to the entrance of the home with a breezeway, offering an entry to the home that’s protected from the elements. Once inside the home, the interior of the home is flooded with light and natural wood. A circular center room can serve as a formal living space or a lounge beneath the two-story atrium with light pouring in from the windows at the top. A library to one side of the center room has floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with a library ladder. The first floor also offers a perk unusual in these parts: not one, but two bedrooms with en suite bathrooms. One bedroom, currently used as the primary bedroom, has two closets and a newer bathroom with a doublesink vanity. Wojack notes, “Everyone seems to be looking for a primary on the first floor now, so this gives you a lot of options.” Currently used as a family room, another room on the first floor also has a closet and a private, full bathroom and could be used as a bedroom or second living space. Updated in 2002-03, the kitchen is open concept and has a powder room. The living room has access to the backyard. On the second floor, two bedrooms share a bathroom; a third bedroom has a private bathroom; and another room serves as an office and overlooks the center room below on the first floor. Another perk of a house designed in the modern ages is the full-height basement. A large laundry room can also serve as a backup kitchen with room for a refrigerator and appliances. A workout room and a sauna of-
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAIRD & WARNER REAL ESTATE
820 Ashland, River Forest fer plenty of space for exercise and recovery. A large family room operates as both a game room and a television room. The basement level also has a full bathroom and plenty of room for storage.
Wojack, who notes that her clients are downsizing, says the five-bedroom, fivebathroom house has a lot going for it. The inside is move-in ready, and the home offers a lot of space.
Its unique style is a real part of its appeal, she says and adds, “It’s just really interesting. There’s nothing else like it.” The home hit the multiple listing service on Thursday, Aug. 7 at $1.2 million.
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Shrubtown p. 31
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VIEWPOINTS
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M.
Call Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at 613-3310 Email: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org
Stop calling us racist!
normally talk about urban policy issues with a data and history-heavy approach. This month will be a bit different. I wholeheartedly support the housing policy changes the village board is considering. In fact, I fear they will not go far enough. But I am hopeful we will successfully deliver a meaningful amount of new housing in Oak Park. When I explain why I support building more housing, the number one response I get is: “Stop calling us racist!” First, I’ll be up front. I deeply believe that single-family zoning, the form of zoning we have here in most of Oak Park, was implemented for the purpose of keeping a large portion of Oak Park white. You might argue about the intentions, but in the single-family areas of Oak Park, that is also its present-day impact. Single-family homes are expensive and, because of racial disparities in income and wealth, these neighborhoods are far less accessible to minorities. Try the block party test. If you live on a block with only single-family homes, how many nonwhite faces do you see at your block party? And it goes deeper than race. How many blue-collar workers do you see? How many retirees stayed instead of moving someplace cheaper after their kids left? How many young, single adults live on your block? Statistically, you are probably a white homeowner with kids, as are most of your neighbors. That’s not diverse by any measure. And this was the intended outcome when single-family zoning was implemented more than a century ago. You might argue that this is not your intention when you propose keeping the system just the way it is. You aren’t a racist. You like diversity. You don’t support segregation. I get it. But we can see the impact of this system all around us. Whatever our personal intentions, preserving the system also preserves its consequences. Once we understand those consequences, each of us has to decide what responsibility we bear for changing them. Some will reject the evidence entirely because acknowledging that a system can perpetuate segregation without requiring racist intent begins a genuinely difficult journey. When I first read The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, I was stunned to learn the role that I myself was playing in this unjust system. Like everyone else, I came here for the schools. I had no idea of the history and was dumbfounded to find that segregationist policies had survived a century of reform, even in this uber-progressive burb. Rothstein left me wondering what I could possibly do to address the historic inequities I was now contributing to. Well, I’m doing that now, writing these words, passionately arguing and organizing for change to the best of my ability. I’m doing what I can. I’m not interested in giving you a label. I’m asking you: knowing what this system has done and continues to do, what will you do? Who will you choose to be? Josh is a passionate urbanist and entrepreneur who’s lived in Chicagoland for 30 years and has called Oak Park home for over a decade.
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Barbara Furlong chaired the Task Force Housing Subcommittee. Later she would serve as a village trustee from 1989-1993 and village president from 1997-2001.
Sherlynn Reid served as the highly esteemed Oak Park Director of Community Relations from 19771999. She and her family were the first Blacks to purchase a home with a conventional loan following passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Ordinance.
JOSH VANDERBERG
O A K
P A R K
H O U S I N G
H I S T O R Y
A task force on racial diversity This is the 10th installment in a continuing series on the history of Oak Park housing as it relates to diversity and equity. n the late 1970s Oak Park received an All American City Award and was touted in the national media as a model for successful racial integration. Still, in the early ’80s village leaders saw a need to review integration programs and recommend changes. An accelerated Black migration into Oak Park, deepening conflicts around school integration and intractable housing challenges could not be ignored. So in 1984, 27 villagers, 20 white and 7 Black residents, including people from business, finance, real estate, apartment owners and civic leaders, though not one renter, researched and developed the Task Force on Racial Diversity Report to assess the progress of managed integration. While praising village efforts from 1964 thru 1984, the report called for major reforms in our schools, in the real estate industry and in building code enforcement (1). The 1980s baseline
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The Task Force provided fundamental data on housing and racial inclusion. Oak Park’s Black population had grown rapidly and median home values increased more than regional averages, doubling in the 1970s from approximately $26,000 to $52,000 in 1980. Blacks were .2% of village residents in 1970, 10.8% in 1980 and by 1984 18%, demonstrating an openness to Black renters and homeowners. Nonetheless, other facts questioned the success of the central goal of the 1973 Diversity Statement and the 1973 and 1979 Comprehensive Plans, which stressed racial dispersal — that success in integration required interracial housing throughout the village. Instead, census tracts showed extreme differences in racial patterns — varying from 1.6 % Black residents in some tracts to 25% in others. Black home ownership by tract varied from 1.3% to 9.7%. Rental data by tracts showed a low of 2.2% Black renters to 46%. The report noted that
JOHN DUFFY
One View
See JOHN DUFFY on page 34
V I E W P O I N T S
OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM
Become a HungerHero!
On Oct. 24 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, an organization with which I volunteer (Feed6 in partnership with the Chicago Wolves) will be managing a meal-packing event called HungerHeroes! It will benefit food insecure veterans in Northern Illinois. This event should be of interest to Oak Park and River Forest residents because the 100,000 meals we will pack get donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and then to organizations like our own Beyond Hunger. The meals we will pack provide 9 grams of protein and are shelf-stable, which is why Beyond Hunger can keep a supply on hand. I would be honored to work with my neighbors in the fight against hunger by 1) raising at least $1,200 and 2) fielding a team of 9-12 volunteers (age 8 to 80!). Believe it or not, 100,000 meals will get packed over the course of just two 2-hour shifts. And that $1,200 we will raise will pay for 3,000 meals. To learn more about Feed6, go to https://www.feed6.org. You can donate through that webpage. Please annotate your donation with “HungerHeroes!” and the name of your village. And if you want to be part of a team, please email relling@feed6.org. When you do, please specify whether you prefer the 9 a.m. shift or the 2 p.m. shift and let me know if you made a donation. We can do this and we should do this because the people who will benefit live right in our own neighborhoods.
Ron Elling
Oak Park
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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The balm of roadside wildflowers
ith the blooming of Queen Anne’s Lace and its annual sidekick, chicory, along our roadways, summer for me reaches full flower. This year I’ve been appreciating roadside wildflowers more than
ever. Weatherwise, we haven’t had the greatest of summers. Climate change is the culprit — intense heat and humidity, flooding, more tornadoes, and wildfire smoke from Canada. We’ve had some fine weather, too, but for much of this, my favorite season, I have felt confined indoors. But summer is outdoor time, so when going outside becomes intolerable, I take a drive and contemplate the unfolding season through my windshield — a climate compromise, being outside yet inside the air-conditioned comfort of my car (which, alas, contributes to more climate change). But thanks to Lady Bird, “nature” parades past just beyond the windows of my mobile four-wheeled compartment. Lady Bird Johnson, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s wife, one of the lesser known but more admirable of this country’s “First Ladies,” made it her focus in the decade following the completion of the Queen Anne’s Lace Interstate Highway System to “beautify” the new roadside embankments with wildflowers unique to each state. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Center, located at the University of Texas in Austin (www.wildflower.org), the First Lady who was known almost exclusively by her peculiar nickname (bestowed by a nursemaid during childhood, her given name being Claudia) “saw roadside restoration as an opportunity to bring ecological richness, plant and animal biodiversity, and regional identity to what might otherwise be unhealthy, homogenous areas lined with billboards and invasive species.” She championed the newly developed Head Start program as well, but passing “The Highway Beautification Act” in 1965 was her primary achievement (the billboard industry objected strenuously). Some states take the program more seriously than others, and I’m not sure where Illinois ranks, but 60 years on you can still find plenty of wildflowers along our roadsides, making the chore of driving during an under-the-weather summer a more aesthetically pleasing experience. And queen among the wildflowers in our local eco-system (though technically an invasive plant introduced by the English) is Queen Anne’s Lace, a lovely bloom with a somewhat grisly back story. It is a tall-ish umbrella of interconnected tiny white flowers, giving it the look of a circle of lace on a stem. In the center (usually) you will find a dark red floret which, according to the folklore of not-so-merry old England, commemo-
rates one of several Queen Annes, who pricked her finger while “tatting” a piece of lace, causing a drop of her blood to blemish the fabric’s center. That’s the tamer version. In the telling I first heard, the red droplet came from a different Queen Anne — Henry VIII’s wife Anne Boleyn — who was beheaded for the crime of not producing a male heir, causing her royal blood to mar her lacy collar (England has a famously bloody royal history). Folklore notwithstanding, this exquisite wildflower has caught on in the Midwest, making its way into front and backyard gardens — almost as much in vogue as the omnipresent hydrangea in modern landscaping. But Queen Anne’s Lace, first and foremost, populates our roadways — along with chicory, a “drought-resistant” blueish/purple flower that flourishes in the distressed soil along heavily traveled roads (and whose roots can be roasted to create a coffee substitute). Keeping company with these two annual anchors, you might also find a sprinkling of sunflowers, purple coneflowers, blue forget-me-nots, bachelor’s buttons, bull thistles, bee balm, ADOBE STOCK milkweed, black-eyed Susans, yellow buttercups, and daisy fleabane. You may not find all of these along our highways (which, nationwide, comprise 17 million acres), but in their various combinations, they constitute a vibrant visual bouquet across Northern Illinois. As America became an automobile-centered culture in the 1950s and ’60s, Lady Bird Johnson gave us something to look at, state by state, reflecting pride in local flora. Even as we cruise by in our climate-controlled vehicles, insulated from the oppressive heat and humidity of summer, we can still enjoy glimpses of nature’s beauty flowing past in our peripheral vision, nodding, bobbing and swaying in car-generated breezes on a sunny summer’s afternoon, as drivers glide from point A to point B — beauty barely noticed but perhaps subconsciously registered, even appreciated if we pay attention, all thanks to the First Lady with a peculiar moniker, Lady Bird. Summer’s peak at night each August is a chorus of crickets serenading a rising moon. During the day, it is the lazy sway of lace with the dark red droplet in the center. Each year I salute summer’s impermanence by savoring this perennial display of short-lived beauty, fragile flowers with their deep, hearty root systems returning year after year to delight anyone whose fixed gaze remains unglazed during our long days’ journeys into night. An answer to our restless, road-weary longings and musings. Blowing in the wind.
KEN
TRAINOR
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wrote my senior thesis about Oak Park. Here’s what I learned: Oak Park’s history of managed integration is more complicated – and more significant – than you might think. Tucked inside a yellow manila folder inside a grey archive box inside the backroom of the Oak Park-River Forest Historical Society sits a memo dated Jan. 21, 1964. Harris Stevens, then-village manager, wrote to the Community Relations Commission that “a negro family is moving into Oak Park on Thursday of this week.” He anticipated a stir in the village. Just a few months prior, a Black violinist was told by the president of the board that she could not play with the Oak Park-River Forest Symphony Orchestra, a racist act that brought local and national condemnation. The double-bombing of Black scientist Percy Julian’s home in 194950 was not yet a distant memory. Stevens and Police Chief Fremont Nestor were prepared to “be on hand at all hours” to deal with any potential disturbances. Sitting down in a coffee shop in Bridgeport with Lloyd King, son of the couple mentioned in the memo, Leo and Vera King, I learned that those disturbances included a brick thrown through a second floor window shattering glass on third-grader Lloyd, overnight graffiti of racial slurs on the garage, and a potato shoved into the exhaust pipe of the family car. Oak Park certainly did not live out the progressive reputation I grew up with. In the 1960s, Oak Park was at an inflection point. Residents saw Chicago’s changing urban fabric stretch from Garfield Park to Austin. They recognized the disinvestment and redlining that followed white flight, locking out these communities from vital economic resources. They were put on alert when UIC sociologist Pierre deVise predicted Oak Park was next up for white flight. Would Oak Parkers resist integration or flee to further suburbs? The answer was more complicated: man-
For the first five years of my residency at the Emerson, elevator issues have been frustrating. It was common for one of two elevators to be out of service for a few hours or a day or so.
V I E W P O I N T S
Oak Park’s managed integration aged integration. So how did Oak Park confront this pivotal moment? This was one of the questions I set out to answer in my award-winning Columbia University senior thesis titled, “It Takes a Village: Managed Integration and White Flight in Oak Park, Illinois 1963-1980.” As a born-and-raised Oak Parker, I realized that existing academic narratives about white flight, the phenomenon of white residents fleeing urban neighborhoods as Black residents began moving in, did not fit squarely with a suburb like Oak Park, which found a way to both integrate Black residents into a formerly almost entirely white suburb and maintain increasing housing prices. As a history student, I wondered if the story I was told about Oak Park growing up, namely that we triumphed over segregation, was more complicated. Combining these two mindsets, I got to work. What did I find? Grounded in the archives of the Historical Society and the Oak Park Public Library and over a dozen oral history interviews, my research sought to redefine how we look at this period of Oak Park’s history. I argue that Oak Park’s strategy of “managed integration” is best viewed as primarily a strategy of defense against white flight, not primarily a strategy of community integration. Integration focuses on the safe, just, and equal entry of Black residents into the neighborhood. “Managed integration” adds the caveat that this entry cannot perpetuate an exodus of white residents or a decline in property values, a caveat that is fundamentally incompatible with the equality implied by integration. While there were individual actors who sought integration above all else, by-and-large Oak Park’s strategy focused on preventing white flight, landing it squarely in the managed integration camp. Oak Park’s first assertion of managed
integration came in the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Ordinance. Community activists pushed village hall to pass a local ordinance that banned discriminatory real estate practices, defeating a reactionary group that sought to block the proposal by implementing a binding popular referendum which never came to fruition. It was the work of these activists – Black and white – that guaranteed Oak Park would become integrated. However, the ordinance enshrined “managed” in Oak Park’s conception of integration. If a section of the village was becoming too integrated, residents could file an “exemption location” request, which if approved voided the Ordinance’s antidiscriminatory protections in the name of preventing Oak Park from developing “racially identifiable” areas. It was not just the village government that was concerned about white flight. The Oak Park Housing Center (OPHC) was, and still is, a key community organization that serves as an intermediary between people looking to move to Oak Park and local landlords and realtors. The OPHC helped move thousands of people into the village in the 1970s. Core to its philosophy was “dispersal,” or the encouragement of Black clients to spread out across the village, because too many Black residents in one area was seen as risky for neighborhood stability. While never preventing Black residents from renting in an area, this philosophy embodies the spirit of “managed” integration in its acceptance of a racist framework – that too many Black residents in one area was risky for the neighborhood – and sought to find a “workable” solution within that framework. Additionally, I found that Black clients throughout the 1970s had a significantly lower chance than white clients of successfully being placed within village limits by the OPHC. These two examples, alongside several
TED SCHMIEDELER One View
Those elevators at the Emerson
The past 11 months have been intolerable as we have been serviced by one elevator for eight months. Only three months have we had two elevator service. The east/freight elevator was out of service four months in the
fall of 2025. It was down again mid-January to mid-February 2026. Late March 2026 the second elevator went down and remains out of service — 4½ months! This is definitely a safety issue. Response from local manage-
more outlined in my thesis, reveal that while successful in creating a geographically integrated community, the foundational elements of managed integration – monitoring where Black residents lived, dispersing them across the village, and slowing down their entry – imposed a racist double standard on Black residents. These elements are best viewed as part of the umbrella community defense, not an integration that centered on equality and justice. Only Black residents, not Croatians, Catholics, Communists, Cubs fans, coffee-drinkers, nor any other socially constructed category of people were subjected to these regulations. Oak Parkers accepted racist frameworks and tried to find a pragmatic solution within them. Perhaps they believed they had no other choice in a city ravaged by white flight and a country gripped by racism. Regardless of the reasons, racist double standards based on ancestry constituted an undeniable element of Oak Park’s managed integration. As we tackle current problems facing the village, we must look back and learn from our history. The 1960s and 1970s were the inflection point that produced the Oak Park of today. We must recognize both the good – the civil rights marches, the straw buyers who helped move in Black residents, the shared kitchen-table conversations – and the racism implicit in managed integration policies implemented during this time period. We cannot let pride in our progressive reputation blind us to engaging in the necessary and sometimes uncomfortable work of building a village that is equal and just for all. Ted Schmiedeler grew up in Oak Park and graduated from Columbia University in May of 2026. His senior thesis, “It Takes a Village: Managed Integration and White Flight in Oak Park, Illinois, 1963-1980,” received the Undergraduate Education Committee Prize, an award given to a thesis of excellence written in any field of history.
ment is a shrug of the shoulders and an AI-generated apology. We’ve heard nothing from higher up. Sigh!
Elaine Labuz Oak Park
V I E W P O I N T S S H R U B T O W N
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
by Marc Stopeck
W E D N E S D A Y
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Viewpoints Guidelines
Support our OP Film Festival
The window is closing to support the Oak Park IL Film Festival and be listed in our program. The deadline is Aug. 20 for your name or ad to be in the printed program, though you can still be listed on our website after that. The festival of films with Oak Park connections opens at the Lake Theatre, Sept. 16, focusing on, and including an interview with, Tavi Gevinson, and continues with juried independent films, special features and food at Madison Street Theater that Saturday and Sunday. It’s an often heard expression at nonprofit performing arts events that ticket sales only cover less than half our expenses and it is true for us as well. The rest must come from generous donors and business sponsors. On Aug. 19, you can go to the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association to view some winning films from past festivals and make a donation there. Selections include comedy, drama and documentary shorts. All the directors
will be there for a Q&A. We are thankful to the NCCA for donation of the space. For details see our website. This year we are grateful for financial support from the village of Oak Park and especially state Senator Don Harmon, but more is needed from the community to support our continued growth. We have also received an anonymous donation for a stipend for a publicist, so you can be sure your statement of support will be seen by even more than the hundreds who attended last year. Individual donations of just $25 or business sponsors of $100 or more are listed in the program. Benefits go up from there. Food vendor donors are also wanted and we do publicize the source of the donations. To see the options and the festival details go to http://www.opilff.org. Thank you for supporting this local cultural treasure.
Joyce Porter
Executive director, Oak Park IL Film Festival
The goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have sufficient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it often is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it. We reserve the right to edit submissions. We do not have time to allow the writer to review changes before publication. We also do not have time to do more than superficial fact-checking, and because of our national epidemic of misinformation and conspiracy theories, when writers include statistical evidence to support their opinions, we require them to include the source of that information, such as credible websites, print publications, titles of articles and dates published, etc. Be as specific as possible so that we and our readers have some way of assessing the credibility of your claims. Links may also be included for the online version. We follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics: seek the truth and report it and minimize harm. As a result, we will do our best not to publish pieces that espouse doubtful or debunked theories, demonstrate harmful bias, or cross the line into incivility. While we will do our best not to engage in censorship, we also do not intend to be used as a platform for misinformation. Your sources for fact-checking are a critical step in keeping the discourse honest, decent and respectful. All submissions must include your first and last name and the municipality in which you live, plus a phone number (for verification only). We do not publish anonymous letters. One View essays should include a sentence at the end about who you are. If we receive your submission by 5 p.m. on Sunday, you can expect your opinion to be included in that week’s paper (and online), space permitting.
Pieces can be submitted through our online form at oakpark.com or directly to Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor, ktrainor@newswellchicago.org. For the latter, we prefer attached Word files or plain text included in the email. LETTER TO THE EDITOR ■ 350-word limit ■ Must include first and last
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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Limiting ‘pretextual’ traffic stops by police
The following letter was sent to the Oak Park Village Board and Village Manager Kevin Jackson on July 28: Dear President Scaman, Trustees, and Manager Jackson, I am writing as a Fellow of Law Enforcement at Awake Illinois to strongly oppose the village’s effort to limit so-called “pretextual” traffic stops, as well as the events surrounding the July 14 board meeting. The precedent your board is about to establish will not stay limited to your village — it will be closely watched by every municipality in Illinois considering similar measures, which is why I felt compelled to reach out. There is no legal concept of a “potential” or improper traffic stop when an officer has legal grounds to make one. The U.S. Supreme Court clarified this in Whren v. United States (1996), ruling that a traffic stop is lawful so long as an officer has probable cause to believe a traffic violation has occurred, regardless of the officer’s underly-
ing motive. What some now call “pretextual” stops is, in reality, routine, court-approved investigative police work — a tool officers use daily to intercept illegal weapons, drugs, and wanted individuals before more serious crimes happen. I recognize that this proposal comes after the tragic death of Christian Wallace on May 31. I do not take that loss lightly and understand the community’s grief. However, the released footage clearly tells a different story. This was not reckless policing. It was an officer trying to survive an encounter he could not have foreseen when he initiated a stop for a minor moving violation. If this is being used as a reason to ban proactive stops across the village, the board is taking the wrong lesson from it. I was also deeply troubled by the board’s decision to adjourn the July 14 meeting so that the village president and trustees could join a walkout and a moment of silence
in support of a narrative that, to many observers, appears to show sympathy for the individual involved rather than for the officer who was injured while doing his job. Whatever the intention, the optics were clear, and they conveyed a message to your police department about where this board’s loyalties lie. If Oak Park proceeds and becomes the first Illinois municipality to officially ban these stops, I believe the consequences will be severe and long-lasting. Morale within the department will decline immediately. Officers who already feel unsupported will experience it even more. Recruitment will become more difficult in a state that, in my professional opinion, is already the hardest place to be a police officer, due to how unfriendly our state legislature has been toward law enforcement. Retention will decrease. Few officers will want to pursue a career in a village where its elected leaders walked out of their chambers
Incipient Trumpian rot
Signs of infestation in Oak Park of all places (for Harris: 90% vote in 2024). To start with, at the very core of Trumpian rot is bigotry, plainly so. In 2015/16 Bone Spurs crashed the GOP, Lincoln’s party, as The Great Emancipator of Hate, asserting that Obama was not U.S.-born. The KKK was on board immediately (the Fall 2016 edition of their publication, “The Crusader”). About 10 years later this degenerate — who praised Nazis in Charlottesville in 2017 and has vandalized our White House, our international standing, and our democracy — posted on social media a depiction of the Obamas as apes (2026). Such has been his decade-long response to the provocation “endured” by future MAGA during those eight years (2009-2016+) when our country was blessed with an elegant, articulate, family-values Black guy at the helm. So the stage was set for a racist, as overtly crude and vicious as any in American history. But the “rot” that is the focus here is not primarily conventionally understood bigotry, but an infestation adjacent to it — that is, the directly connected animus toward democracy. The link is self-evident: democracy is grounded in our 1776 pronouncement of the equality of all, endowed with inalienable rights. The bigots reject equality and, with that, are hostile to democracy. Representative democracy — which we justifiably expect to flourish in Oak Park — is predicated on an ethos that our elected officials will be receptive to the
policy preferences of their constituents. That “receptivity” — legally non-binding for sure — begins with “curiosity.” In voting against an advisory referendum on zoning changes, the five trustees demonstrated an undeniably disgusting incuriosity that is antithetical to democracy’s legitimate operation. Their unsuitability for continued public service as trustees is manifest: the equivalence of a teacher who doesn’t like children, a physician too bored to listen to the symptoms of patients, or a bus driver subject to seizures. Obviously, these are folks in the wrong line of work. The strategies to ensure welcomed diversity of housing are likely technical, but also varied. Additionally, there is nothing “nuanced” about the appropriateness of a survey to measure popular support for a zoning change (one that, btw, objectionably smacks of ex post facto law). An advisory referendum would provide the opinion survey presently lacking. This owner of a townhome located in a mixed-usezoned neighborhood will be a one-issue “no” voter for the re-election of any of the village trustees who have so stunningly demonstrated such a contemptible, anti-democratic indifference to public opinion.
Gregg Mumm
Longtime monthly SPLC contributor and resident since 1992 in an Oak Park townhome community that faithfully operates democratically, New England style
rather than participate in a discussion supporting one of their own. Crime will increase as a direct and predictable result of officers losing a legitimate, court-approved tool for proactive policing. You are elected officials whose primary responsibility is public safety. I understand the pressure you face from activists and Cook County officials who, in various ways, have used the threat of blocking the new police station or targeting department leadership as leverage. However, I ask you to consider who bears the cost when this policy fails: not the activists, not the county officials, but the residents you serve and the officers you are elected to support. I urge the board to rescind its consideration of this ordinance and instead reaffirm support for the Oak Park Police Department and the men and women who serve there.
Chief Tom Weitzel (Ret.)
Fellow in Law Enforcement at Awake Illinois
Kudos to Forest Park’s post office
I would like to give a hearty shout-out to the staff of the Forest Park Post Office. As a 36-year Oak Park resident, the Forest Park Post Office has become my go-to post office. What makes it so amazing and sets it apart from other local post offices is the staff. They are friendly and helpful to everyone who comes in. I just left from a visit where one of the workers helped an elderly man figure out how many stamps he needed to mail an envelope and patiently waited as he counted out the stamps he already possessed. He was not even making a purchase and got full-service treatment and courtesy. The staff never fails to ask how my day is going and they do it in a way that is not perfunctory – they genuinely want to know how my day is going! I have struck up many a conversation with their staff and they never fail to make my day. In a world that has become increasingly divided and contentious, the Forest Park Post Office staff continue to be a bright and shining spot. My faith in humanity and the simple goodness of people is restored every time I make a trip there. I highly recommend, Oak Parkers, the 10-minute drive to their Desplaines Avenue location. You will be glad you made the trip!
Kris Johnson Oak Park
V I E W P O I N T S
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The affordability question
Of all the issues the Oak Park Village Board could be addressing — traffic, noise, leaf collection, green space, pest control, administrative staffing, crime — it has chosen to allocate time and resources to the most contentious, zoning. Zoning is contentious because it acts on both the demand for, and supply of, housing, one of the most important considerations in every household. Moreover, the zoning argument is easily conflated with other issues, including affordability and racism. Can we put the racism argument aside? In Oak Park we all live in racially integrated neighborhoods precisely because we welcome residents of all races and ethnicities. The affordability question is more complex. On the one hand, reducing restrictions on singlefamily ownership may increase the supply of housing by a relatively small amount over time by permitting more small dwelling units to be constructed. Those new units may be marginally more affordable for people willing to live in small units with high taxes per square foot in exchange for the privileges of living in Oak Park, such as
decent schools, relatively safe and attractive neighborhoods, racial diversity, and walkability. On the demand side, however, zoning changes pit existing property owners against developers and neighbors by putting property values at risk. Their neighbors, though, worry that their property values will decline because of higher density next door, which adds noise, reduces green space and natural light, and invites vermin, parking contention and traffic congestion. Poorly executed changes in zoning may ultimately destroy the very amenities that make our community inherently valuable. Thus, we are at high risk of robbing the Peters who have already invested in our homes, neighborhoods and schools to pay the Pauls who have not. Giving this village board the sole power to change fundamental zoning rules that have underpinned the success of this community risks unleashing a destructive downward spiral in property values. And it does not reduce village costs or tax rates.
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A referendum refused
Jim Farrell
The Viewpoints section in your Aug. 5 edition included a letter from former village trustee Robert Milstein, encouraging an advisory referendum on the elimination of single-family zoning. Trustee James Taglia proposed such a referendum at the July 21 meeting, and the board rejected it in a 5-1 vote, despite overwhelming support for a referendum by residents who spoke during public comment. Not only will there be no referendum, but the five trustees who rejected the referendum also gave clear signals that they support the proposal to include multi-unit buildings in every neighborhood in the village, effectively ensuring that it will move forward. No doubt, Oak Park is an expensive real estate market, and that is because it is a desirable community. The effects of eliminating single-family unit zoning — increased density, traffic, overnight on-street parking, and the end of historic preservation districts — will change that. The trustees’ goal may have been achieved, though even that is uncertain, and at what cost? Although there may not be a referendum on this particular question, board elections are scheduled for 2027 and 2029. Voters will have the opportunity to replace those who opposed the referendum and who support this radical rezoning plan. Electing trustees who represent the will of the voters will facilitate repeal of this plan to eliminate one of the features that makes Oak Park desirable.
26-year resident of Oak Park Urban and Public Finance Economist
Oak Park, 31-year resident
Bicycle safety on Harvard Street
Last year my neighbors heard the presentations at the Village Transportation Commission’s meetings for the bicycle lanes on Harvard Street. We expressed opposition and concerns to removing all the parking and installing the painted bike lanes on each side of Harvard Street. Our objections were often portrayed as being “against bike safety.” We in south Oak Park are genuinely concerned and want to promote bicycle safety. The painted bike lanes pose safety issues with the 57 driveways and 44 alleys that intersect Harvard. The Transportation Commission repeatedly cited their use of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) guidelines in their recommendations. But the proposed bike lane plan conflicts with NACTO’s recommendations for the conditions on Harvard Street. Please Google search: “What bicycle system is recommended by NACTO and is safer at streets with intersecting driveways and alleys? Are the painted bike lanes at the curbs or bike boulevards safer at driveways and alleys?” Search the internet and you will find that Bike Boulevards are safer than painted
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
bike lanes according to NACTO. This fact was not presented by the Transportation Commission. Protected bike lanes are mentioned as safe, like those on Madison Street with raised edges flanking the bike lanes not being proposed and impossible on Harvard. NACTO says “obstructed views” at the intersections compound the safety issues. This is the case at many alleys and driveways, with wide mature trees, opaque wood fences and an occasional parked car on a driveway apron obscuring views both for a bicyclist riding and a driver backing out crossing the bike lane. This is even worse when the bicyclist is a child who is lower to the ground. We have knocked on doors and obtained signatures from over 600 concerned neighbors asking for further review by the village before the implementation for safety concerns. We have felt left out of the process and these safety concerns and budget issues were not addressed in public presentations. Please consider employing the “Bicycle Boulevard” on Harvard Street and not the painted bike lanes for safety’s sake.
Mark Klancic Oak Park
Larry Howe
Who benefits?
As a former resident of River Forest (we moved to a small college town in Ohio a couple of months ago), there are many things I miss: great neighbors, a vibrant community, terrific schools, proximity to the many things the village has to offer, etc. What I don’t miss is what seems to be an orchestrated lack of concern by the village board when it comes to matters that most impact residents, like high-rise developments deeply affecting the neighborhoods in which they are proposed, the cutting down of beautiful, mature trees, etc. As a matter of interest for a place we dearly loved living, I keep my finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the
village, and one has to wonder about the deaf ear turned to homeowners when voting on such things. As every cop show on television opines when trying to solve a crime: Who benefits? Clearly not the residents, when a development is unanimously approved after a kangaroo-court version of “listening” to the concerns of the local population. Is it all about the money? It usually is. Hmmmm ...
Michael Dickson
Former longtime resident now living in a small town where elected officials actively engage with the community
How about an advisory referendum?
While it is true that we cannot have a binding referendum about zoning, we can have an advisory referendum that the Oak Park Village Board agrees to accept.
Whatever the result, we the citizens of Oak Park could feel that we were heard.
Terrie Rymer Oak Park
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V I E W P O I N T S
JOHN DUFFY Progress report from page 28 36% of rental buildings remained all white and that western sections of the village had few Black residents (2). In recent years, housing experts assign much of this variability to the single-family zoning ordinance, which barred multifamily units from more socio-economically exclusive sections of the village (3). Without casting blame, the Task Force recommended increasing testing by the Housing Center to ensure realtors were not directing whites to predominantly white neighborhoods and Blacks to neighborhoods with a greater percentage of Black residents. The report also recommended amping up training and racial integration counseling for realtors and multi-unit building owners and managers and creating and funding an East Village Association to revitalize East Oak Park to attract more whites. However, when village officials encouraged realtors to share data on clients and where realtors showed property, realtors refused to cooperate (4). Ongoing complaints eight years later about more discriminatory racial steering led the Community Relations Commission to call for even more testing of realtor practices. Building code enforcement In the first years of racial integration the village prioritized property maintenance. The Task Force took up this issue, citing an aggravating factor around code enforcement. Inspections were not frequent enough, response from code violators was
often slow, and the system for collection of fines was inefficient. The report made several recommendations, including more inspectors, improved training, a shortened inspection cycle and stiffer penalties for repeated violations. The most promising reform in housing was the development in 1985 of the village’s Diversity Assurance Program, still operating, which provided loans, grants and other assistance for rehabbing multi-unit buildings if owners listed openings with the Housing Center and accepted counseling and training around management practices and racial integration (5). Education The Task Force’s most startling findings and recommendations came from the education subcommittee, headed by Luther Benton. The entire Task Force Report from the start declared District 97 elementary schools as the most important player in achieving racial diversity then and in the coming years. The subcommittee, in sync with community concerns about how racially integrated schools were not working for many Black families, set forth a list of recommendations that have continued to this day. The agenda zeroed in on racial equity within schools as being equal to, if not more important, than interschool integration. The Task Force recommended each district address intra-school segregation (tracking and fixed ability grouping) in the curriculum, continue to aggressively sponsor multicultural training and instruction, expand the hiring and retention of more Black teachers, and implement fair disciplinary practices. In the key area of expanding learning opportunity,
Send letters to the Editor Ken Trainor, Wednesday Journal E-mail: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org Fax: 708-524-0047 Please include name, address and daytime phone number for verification.
O B I T U A R I E S D97 chose to a provide high-status curriculum for all students in its 1990 Strategic Plan — a reform OPRF High School District 200 would not adopt until 2022. At the conclusion of the 1992 review of progress on Task Force recommendations, the director of the Community Relations Department, Sherlynn Reid, provided villagers a serious caution, likely shaped by her reflection on tumultuous racial developments in the ’80s and early ’90s in schools, and in the discriminatory denial of the sale of a village church to a Black congregation in 1988. Reid bemoaned the lack of awareness by most residents of the scope and efforts of the village racial integration work and warned “that a general lack of commitment in the achievement of racial integration goals requires a concentrated and aggressive effort if the gains of the last 20 years are to be sustained” (6). In that work two deep challenges persisted. The first was how to maintain housing affordability for all income and racial groups, as median home prices soared from $132,000 in 1980 to $219,000 in 2000 (7). Affordability was a foundational goal of the village comprehensive plans of 1973, 1979 and 1990. It was indispensable for ensuring racial and class diversity in the village. The second hurdle was ensuring racial integration throughout the village. This meant the continued dispersal of Blacks across Oak Park and not reaching the dreaded “tipping point” that could create white discomfort, fear and retreat. It remained a strategy rife with moral dilemma and ever-increasing doubt. Sources for this installment can be found online at oakpark.com
Bern Wheel, 96
Housed Vietnamese boat people Bernard Francis “Bern” Wheel, 96, of Oak Park, died on July 16, 2026. Born on Aug. 13, 1929, in Burlington, Vermont to Irene Abair and Alfred Wheel, he attended St. Joseph School, Cathedral High School, and St. Michael College, all in Burlington and took full advantage of the Vermont outdoors. He was an Eagle Scout, and for eight years was the waterfront director at Holy Cross Camp run by the Diocese of Burlington. He also led hiking trips up Mt. Mansfield, and enjoyed snowshoeing during the long Vermont winters. He also attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and the Grand Séminaire de Montréal in Canada. Ordained a diocesan priest at St. Joseph Cathedral in Burlington, he served for 17 years in the Burlington Diocese prior to leaving the priesthood, then set out on a cross-country trip, traveling to the West Coast and winding his way back to Chicago, where he had much earlier taken a gap year with friends. In Chicago, he met Marie Keefe at a gathering in Hyde Park, the neighborhood where he lived. The two married on the Feast of St. Ignatius in 1970 and became residents of Oak Park, Marie’s hometown. He worked as an accountant at Chicago Osteopathic Hospital and then at Urban Gateways. In the late ’70s, moved by the plight of the Vietnamese boat people seeking refugee assistance, he and Marie decided to take action. Over the course of 10 years, they welcomed 14 people, ranging in age from 11 to 80, into their home, providing them refuge while helping them acclimate to life in the U.S. As longtime parishioners at St. Catherine-St. Lucy Parish, they set the standard for steadfastness regarding their connection to parishioners and those served by the parish. They were respected for their quiet leadership and guidance. Generous and joyful, one of Bern’s hobbies was learning Esperanto, an intentional global language designed to promote world peace. Bern was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers, his in-laws, Marie’s siblings, and three nieces and nephews. He is survived by Marie, his wife of 56 years; 39 nieces and nephews; and the extended families of the many Vietnamese individuals they housed. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Edmund Church in Oak Park on Aug. 13 (which would have been Bern’s 97th birthday) at 11 a.m. Visitation will immediately precede Mass, starting at 10 a.m.
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Cal Meineke, 77 Primary care physician
Dr. Calvin Meineke, 77, died of natural causes at his home in Palos Park on Aug. 6. Born in 1948 in Austin, Minnesota to Merton and Jeanne Meineke, his father, who served in the Navy during World War II, worked in a meatpacking plant; his mother raised Cal and his 10 siblings. He married Valerie Moravec, of Berwyn, at age 19 and completed his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and his medical degree at UIC, specializing in internal medicine. They welcomed their first son in 1975 and moved to Oak Park, where they opened a family medical practice. Val worked as the practice’s office manager. For over 40 years, Dr. Meineke was the primary care doctor for generations of Oak Parkers, Chicagoans, and west suburbanites. He ran his practice according to his belief that primary care is critical for patient well-being and that health care is a human right. He refused to sell his practice to a hospital or medical group that would have inhibited his ability to place the needs of his patients first or provide affordable care for self-pay patients. After raising four children together, Cal and Val divorced in 2007, and he married Ewa Sukiennik (née Koniec), who also managed the practice and whose family had been close with Cal’s for decades. They moved to a home in Palos Park that became their sanctuary and the gathering point for their family. He was a source of reassurance, calm, and counsel to the people in his life. He spent his golden years delighting in his grandchildren and staying involved in the lives of his patients. He had innumerable interests, but violin-making would become his second vocation. He spent late nights in his basement wood shop in a quest to understand the physics of stringed instruments. Contrary to common practice among violin-makers, he believed the instrument must be assembled and tuned as a complete system. Cal was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers; and his first wife,
O B I T U A R I E S Valerie. He is survived by his wife, Ewa; his children, Jeffrey, Gregory (Amanda), Lewis (Analeah), and Julia (Nicholas); his stepchildren, Agnieszka (Daniel), Eliza (David), and Adam; seven grandchildren; and eight siblings. A memorial service will be held at Cheney Mansion in Oak Park on Aug. 30. Visitation will take place from 1 to 3 p.m., with memorial service to follow.
Alistair Bernard, 30
William Alistair Bernard, 30, of Leesburg, Florida, formerly of Oak Park, died on Aug. 9, 2026 after a tragic motorcycle accident. Raised in Oak Park, he later moved to Tennessee, and eventually central Florida. From a very young age, he had a keen sense of adventure and curiosity, and possessed an extraordinary ability to put things together. At the age of 8, he replaced the water filter in his grandmother’s kitchen, with no assistance. He was active in Boy Scouts and loved monthly camping trips. Much to his family’s dismay, the Boys Scouts gave his fertile mind more ideas for getting into mischief and blowing things up. As a teenager, he could be found in his clubhouse, working for hours on his motorized bicycle, fixing a lawnmower or making a potato gun. There was more than one accidental fire in that clubhouse, but always being prepared, the fire extinguisher was handy. He largely taught himself how to weld metal in the backyard. Known for his quick wit and sense of fun, he lived life with enthusiasm. He was an avid gun collector and enjoyed target practice, karaoke, fishing, and derived great satisfaction from tinkering with anything mechanical, especially cars and motorcycles. His remarkable ability to diagnose and fix complex mechanical problems was a trait shared by his father and stepfather. Alistair attended both Oak Park and River Forest High School, and East Leyden High School, graduating in 2014. A natural at working with his hands, he embarked on a welding career for 10 years. More recently, he channeled his passion for craftsmanship into kitchen remodeling. He had a deep Christian faith, sparked by Young Life in High School and was active in Absolution Anglican Church of Leesburg, Florida. He enjoyed political debate, sometimes annoying those on opposite sides, but all was eventually
forgiven. Survivors include his parents, Thomas (Krys) Bernard and Amy (Michael) Hasegawa; his siblings, R. Spencer Bernard, J. Clayton (Jaime) Bernard, and Clara Bernard; his grandparents, George and Shelly Uslenghi; as well as aunts, uncles and cousins. Memorial services will be forthcoming at Absolution Anglican Church in Leesburg, Florida and First Presbyterian Church of River Forest. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Young Life, and Absolution Anglican Church of Leesburg, Florida.
Joy Donahue, 82 Librarian and avid reader
Joy E. Donahue (nee Birmingham), 82, a longtime resident of River Forest and Oak Park, died on Aug. 1, 2026. Born on Sept. 4, 1943 and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, she spent summers on Pine Island, Lake Vermilion, Minnesota. Initially a teacher, she earned a Master of Library Science degree at Dominican University and was a familiar and always helpful librarian at River Forest Public Library. An avid reader, she was a member of many book clubs. She was a tireless volunteer for numerous organizations and causes, serving underprivileged communities. A devout Catholic, she had a gentle presence but was incredibly smart and witty. She enjoyed the orchestra, travel, prayer groups and meeting up with her many circles of family and friends. Joy was the wife of the late Donald F. Donahue Jr.; the mother of Donald (Dana) Donahue III, Margaret Donahue, Emily (Steve) Tazic, and the late Jennifer Mary Donahue; the grandmother of Ben, Lauren and Matthew Donahue and Jane, Teddy and Violet Tazic; and the sister of Jim (Connie) Birmingham and Connie (Jim) Galles. She was preceded in death by her brother, the late Bill (the late Sally) Birmingham; her brothers-in-law, the late Dan (Judy) and the late Bob (Brenda) Donahue; and she was the aunt of many nieces and nephews, and a caring cousin
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and loyal friend. A requiem Mass was held at Our Lady Immaculate Church, 410 Washington Blvd., Oak Park, followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. at St. Luke Church, 7600 Lathrop St., River Forest, IL. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joy’s memory to the Misericordia Heart of Mercy Home (www.misericordia. com). Arrangements were handled by The Original Kuratko Family, Brian D. Kuratko - Director.
Tom Pohl, 73 Champion golfer
Thomas J. Pohl, 73, died on May 20 after a long illness. He grew up in Oak Park with his three brothers, Bill, Richard and Patrick, and attending Ascension Grade School and Fenwick High School. He met Susan, the love of his life, in 1972 at a New Year’s Eve party. They started dating a few months later and married in 1980. They had their son, Andrew, in 1987. Tom was a playful and attentive dad, especially enjoying those sweet years. He worked many years in the construction industry, owning his own company. He loved music and attended many concerts with Susan over the years. He had a reel-to-reel recording device and recorded his favorite artists. He and Susan loved to travel, especially to Hawaii, going there several times over the years. His other love was golf ! He started learning to play as a very small child and played as often as he could. Even as he became more ill, he still played occasionally with brother Patrick and best buddy, Pat P. Tom won first place in a World Golf League competition in Florida on Feb. 26, 2005. He was so proud and happy about that accomplishment. He enjoyed eating Susan’s great cooking and watching his beloved golf on TV the last few years. He will be greatly missed. A memorial visitation was held on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at Linhart Funeral Home in Berwyn.
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
SPORTS Three OPRF wrestlers earn All-American honors A new feeder program, Huskie Wrestling Club, is also a benefit
By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter
When the Oak Park and River Forest High School wrestling team won three state championships last decade, it enjoyed a stellar reputation nationally as several of its wrestlers garnered All-American status. If this year’s results at the U.S. Marine Corps National Championships, held in Fargo, North Dakota, July 10-18, are any indication, the Huskies are well on their way to re-establishing both state and national prominence. Three current and former OPRF wrestlers gained All-American honors. Rising senior Jamiel Castleberry, who won the IHSA Class 3A 126-pound individual title at February’s state tournament, won the 132-pound title in the Greco-Roman division. His classmate, MJ Rundell,
COURTESY OF DEVANIE HOWARD
OPRF High School rising senior Jamiel Castleberry celebrates his 132-pound GrecoRoman championship at the U.S. Marine Corps Fargo Nationals.
who himself won the 106-pound state title as a sophomore, was the Greco-Roman champion at 120. In freestyle, Castleberry finished seventh at 132, and 2026 graduate David Ogunsanya was eighth at 165. OPRF coach Jay Renteria, who is about to enter his second season leading the Huskies, was pleased with how his wrestlers performed on the national stage. “I’m extremely proud of the boys and the way they wrestled this summer,” he told Wednesday Journal. “Fargo is one of the biggest tournaments in the business. It allows everyone in the country to compete against each other. It’s more than being good at wrestling, you have to be tough. It’s really cool to see MJ, Jamiel, and David kick it up another level and show everybody how good they are and to see how good OPRF is.” Renteria understands that his program is not quite up to the level it was in the previous decade. But he feels OPRF is on its way back to meeting the lofty standards that they once maintained. “I tell the guys it’s all about the progress we’re making,” Renteria said. “We’re steadily seeing solidified progress.” Renteria was especially thrilled to see Castleberry and Rundell win national championships, calling it a feather in the program’s cap. “This is MJ’s third national title, which I know he’s extremely proud of. This is Jamiel’s first time going to Fargo and to see the results he’s had is truly incredible. I’m so proud of them. Really cool part is that MJ and Jamiel are students of the game; this is not the end-all, be-all for them. They’ll be back to work soon after taking a break to refocus.” Renteria was also happy that Ogunsanya ended his prep career on a high note. He’s eager to see how Ogunsanya, who will wrestle at Cornell University this coming season, fares at the next level. Moreover, the presence of 2025 OPRF graduate Joe Knackstedt, currently wrestling at Cornell,
SUBMITTED BY DEVANIE HOWARD
Oak Park and River Forest High School wrestlers Jamiel Castleberry (left), David Ogunsanya, and MJ Rundell earned All-American honors at USA Wrestling national competition this summer while representing Oak Park and River Forest on the national stage. OPRF coach Jay Renteria is second from the left. should be of great benefit for Ogunsanya. “It’ll be cool to see them reunite and to be able to lean on each other a little bit,” Renteria said. “It makes things a lot easier for David to have someone from back home.”
Huskie Wrestling Club After having Beat the Streets Chicago as its feeder program for the past few years, OPRF now has a new one, the Huskie Wrestling Club. It’s actually a merger between the Little Huskie Wrestling Club, founded in 2012, and the Southside Outlaws Wrestling Club, created by Renteria’s late father, Jason. “When I started college at Nebraska, my father wanted to give back. That was one of the reasons I came home to the Southside Outlaws,” Renteria said. “We’re trying to do something really special with OPRF
and make it for the community. I’m excited, and the cool part of the merger is that we’re bringing in a lot of (OPRF) alumni; a lot of them want to give back because of what wrestling means to them.” Renteria has long believed that wrestling should be fun, not life or death, and he wants to instill this characteristic into the OPRF program. “Kids wrestle better when they’re relaxed. They know you’re looking out for them and want them to be better than you,” he said. Registration for the Little Huskie Wrestling Club is currently open, with the first practice scheduled for Sept. 1. Programs are available in the following categories: Tots (ages 5-6), Little Huskies (8-12), Huskies Elite (10-14), Huskie High School (1418), and girls. For more information, visit huskiewrestling.com.
S P O R T S
OAKPARK.COM
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OPRF’s Davis hits heights in high jump Rising sophomore finds instant success in track and field event By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter
By her admission, rising sophomore Maya Davis of Oak Park and River Forest High School considers herself to be a sprinter at heart. But she’s quick to appreciate the success she has achieved in the high jump, an event she tried for the first time in February. “I’ve always been a sprinter and long jumper but I wanted to try something new coming off an injury,” Davis told Wednesday Journal. “It just clicked for me.” Indeed, it clicked to the tune of winning both the indoor frosh-soph championship and the outdoor varsity championship at the West Suburban Silver conference meets this spring. She admitted to being surprised by the instant success, but she’s also grateful for the encouragement and support shown by OPRF assistant track
and field coach Tim Bannon, who oversees the high jump and pole vault for both the girls and boys programs. “It was really unexpected. I hadn’t tried it before, but my coach kept telling me that he thought I would do well,” Davis said. “It turned out really well and I’m very grateful to my coaches pushing me in that direction. Coach Bannon is a great coach. He doesn’t yell at the athletes, he’s very respectful and takes time to understand your thought process throughout the sport, whether you need help with something or have doubts. He really has a great understanding of not only the athletes, but of the sport as a whole.” For his part, Bannon saw Davis’ high jump potential not long after she came out for the event. “It came out of nowhere,” he said. “We try to introduce athletes to as many new events as possible and try to see what they like and are good at. Maya had run in middle school but hadn’t tried (the high jump). “Her first indoor meet, she jumped five feet, which is exceptional for a freshman, right under the (state) qualifying standards. I realized that she’s got talent. High
COURTESY OF NICOLE MCCANN-DAVIS COURTESY OF NICOLE MCCANN-DAVIS
Maya Davis prepares for a high jump.
Maya Davis with Elevated Academy Track Club coach Dave Rogers.
COURTESY OF NICOLE MCCANN-DAVIS
Rising sophomore Maya Davis of Oak Park and River Forest High School goes over the high jump bar during the AAU Junior Olympics, August 3. jump is a technical event and you’ve got to have a lot of different elements in sync. She worked very hard on all of them and got better and better.” As the WSC Silver outdoor meet approached, Davis was promoted to varsity, and it paid immediate dividends as she won the high jump with a height of 1.62 meters. “The WSC Silver is one of the top conferences in the state, and Maya won the varsity high jump as a freshman, which is remarkable and terrific,” Bannon said. Unfortunately, Davis got injured later in another event at conference and wasn’t able to compete in the sectional, depriving her of the opportunity to qualify for state. But after recovering, she set out to hone her new-found high jump success this summer. In June, Davis, competing for the Elevated Academy Track Club, set a personalbest mark of 1.65 meters in the Age 15-16 Division at the American Amateur Union Central District Qualifier and won the Jane Dickens Invitational with the same height. In July, she qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics with a second-place finish at the Region 13 Qualifier, and at the Junior Olympics held at Drake University
in Des Moines, Iowa, August 3, she placed fifth with a height of 1.63 m. “It was a really exciting experience,” said Davis of the national meet. “I never thought I would go to nationals in the high jump; it was really unexpected. I’m just grateful to have that experience.” Davis, who also plays flag football at OPRF, added she’ll use the Junior Olympics as a learning experience as she goes forward with the high jump. She credits her parents – Nicole McCann-Davis and Phillip Davis, Bannon, and Elevated Coach Dave Rogers as the reasons for her success. “My parents have really pushed me in sports since I was young. That’s how they’ve raised me,” Davis said. “When I started doing track, I decided to take it seriously, and my parents found a club for me. They’re at every meet and practice supporting me and are there if I need any advice. I can count on my parents to help me reach my goals and become the best person I can be.” Bannon believes that the best is yet to come for Davis. “She’s a great young lady with a lot of talent and she works hard,” he said. “She wants to get better and I think she’s got a great future.”
38 Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026 HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI • Deadline: Monday at 5 p.m.
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON 20262027 BUDGET
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PUBLIC NOTICES
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NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS
may submit your comments in writing to Christian Luis no later than 12:00 Noon on the date of the public hearing, at cluis@vrf. us or by mailing them to 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305. In preparing your comments, please discuss whether or not you believe the application meets the standards that the ZBA must consider when reviewing the application. Those standards are available on the Village’s website at http://www.vrf.us/ ZoningVariation.
Notice is hereby given by the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of River Forest, Cook County, Illinois, that sealed bids will be accepted for: FY 2027 Tree Trimming Program This project consists of the trimming of designated parkway trees throughout the Village. The bidding documents are available for download starting Monday, August 10, 2026, at: www.vrf.us/bids Bids must be submitted by Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at: Public Works Department, 2nd Floor Village of River Forest 400 Park Avenue River Forest, IL 60305 The bid proposals will be publicly opened and read at that time. Proposals will be considered not only on the basis of cost, but also on past performance, experience and ability to perform the work. No bid shall be withdrawn after the opening of the Proposals without the consent of the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of River Forest for a period of thirty (30) days after the scheduled time of the bid opening. The Village of River Forest reserves the right, in receiving these bids, to waive technicalities and reject any or all bids.. Published in Wednesday Journal August 12, 2026
PUBLIC NOTICE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS Public Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) of the Village of River Forest, County of Cook, State of Illinois, on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. in the First Floor Community Room of the River Forest Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois on the following matter: Application #27-0001 Description of requested major variation: 1st floor addition to their residence. Applicant: Andrew & Jennifer Stein Address: 632 Bonnie Brae Pl, River Forest, Illinois You are receiving this notice because our records indicate that you own property within 250 feet of the proposed development site. You are welcome to review the application, to send correspondence, attend the public hearing, submit evidence, and provide testimony at the public hearing. For your comments to be considered by the ZBA and the Village Board of Trustees in their decision, they must be included as part of the public hearing record. If you cannot attend the public hearing but would like to provide input on this matter to the ZBA, you
A copy of the application is available to the public at Village Hall and on the Village’s website at http://www.vrf.us/ ZoningVariation. Elements of the application may be amended during the course of this process and interested persons are encouraged to stay apprised of the progress of the application by also viewing ZBA meeting agendas and packets, which are also available at the Village Hall and online at www.vrf.us/ meetings, and are published no less than 48 hours prior to any public meeting. Once the ZBA concludes the public hearing, its members will make a recommendation to the Village Board of Trustees that a major variation be granted, with or without conditions, or that it be denied. The Village Board of Trustees has up to 60 days to begin consideration of the ZBA’s recommendation. You will receive notice of the meeting of the Village Board of Trustees no less than seven days prior to the meeting date where the ZBA’s recommendation will be considered. Any questions regarding this application or the major variation process may be directed to the Village of River Forest, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois 60305, cluis@vrf.us, (708) 3668500. P.I.N. 15122100100000 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 1 IN THE SUBDIVISION OF BLOCK 12 IN QUICK’S SUBDIVISION OF THAT PART OF THE NORTHEAST ¼ LYING NORTH OF LAKE STREET OF SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. Published in Wednesday Journal August 12, 2026
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC NOTICES
CALENDAR NUMBER: 19-26-Z HEARING DATE: 2026
September
2,
TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS CALENDAR NUMBER: 20-26-Z HEARING DATE: 2026
September
2,
TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302 APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) will conduct a public hearing on an application filed by the Applicant, U.S. Bank, seeking a special use permit for a drive-through facility associated with a financial institution, pursuant to Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance, at the property located at 44 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-08-322-034-0000 (“Subject Property”), in the MS Madison Street Zoning District. The Applicant is also requesting variation from Section 8.4(I)(6) of the Zoning Ordinance, in order to allow one of the two proposed drive-through lanes without the required adjacent bail-out lane. A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302 APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) will conduct a public hearing on an application filed by the Applicant, JohnEvar Strid, seeking a variance from Section 9.3(B)(8)(a) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance in order to allow an interior Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) within an existing legal nonconforming two-flat structure at the property located at 535 S East Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-18-203030-0000 (“Subject Property”), in the R-3-35 Single-Family Residential Zoning District. A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may also sign up to participate in-person in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses by submitting a crossexamination form or by emailing Zoning@oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing. The public hearing may be adjourned by the Board to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.
All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may also sign up to participate in-person in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses by submitting a crossexamination form or by emailing Zoning@oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing.
Published in Wednesday Journal August 12, 2026
The public hearing may be adjourned by the Board to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.
LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed Bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, 2026 for the following:
Published in Wednesday Journal August 12, 2026
Village of Oak Park 2026 Root Collar Excavation Bid Number: 26-121 Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website http:// www.oak-park.us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700 during the hours above. Published in Wednesday Journal August 12, 2026
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Board of Education of Oak Park Elementary School District Number 97, Cook County, State of Illinois, that it will hold a public hearing on its proposed budget for the 2026-2027 school year on the 22nd day of September, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. The hearing will be held at the District Office, 260 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302. Such proposed budget shall be on file conveniently available for public inspection from and after August 12, 2026 in the District Office of Oak Park Elementary School District 97, between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm. The Board of Education intends to adopt the proposed 20262027 budget following the public hearing. Cheree Moore President Board of Education Oak Park Elementary District 97 Dated: August 12, 2026
School
Published in Wednesday Journal August 12, 2026
LEGAL NOTICE OAK PARK DOCTOR DEPARTURE In accordance with Illinois state regulations, notice is hereby given that Dr. Susan Vierling of Retina Institute of Illinois, is leaving the practice located at 715 Lake St, Oak Park, IL 60301. All patients may retrieve their medical records Retina Institute of Illinois located at 715 Lake St, Oak Park, IL 60301 or by calling 847-297-8900. Dr. Vierling last day at the practice will be September 15, 2026. It is important for existing patients to schedule an appointment within the next 30 days either with one of Retina Institute of Illinois doctors or an outside eyecare doctor to ensure they are receiving ongoing care. Published in Wednesday Journal August 12, 19, 26, September 2, 2026
PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M26001868 on July 23, 2026 Under the Assumed Business Name of MARGOO & CO. with the business located at: 9035 27TH ST., BROOKFIELD, IL 60513. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: BRIDGET MASSENGILL 9035 27TH ST BROOKFIELD, IL 60513, USA.
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M26001868 on July 23, 2026 Under the Assumed Business Name of MARGOO & CO. with the business located at: 9035 27TH ST., BROOKFIELD, IL 60513. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: BRIDGET MASSENGILL 9035 27TH ST BROOKFIELD, IL 60513, USA. Published in RB Landmark July 29, August 5, 12, 2026
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals.
To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.
Public Notice:
Your right to know... In print • Online
Published in RB Landmark July 29, August 5, 12, 2026
Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com RBLandmark.com ForestParkReview.com AustinWeeklyNews.com PublicNoticeIllinois.com
Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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Wednesday Journal, August 12, 2026
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