Wednesday Journal 092320

W E D N E S D A Y

September 23, 2020 Vol. 41, No. 8 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Oak Park mulls overnight parking tweaks as ban looms Trustees punt issue to Oak Park Transportation Commission for recommendations

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The Oak Park Village Board of Trustees decided to refer staff suggestions and other possible reforms to overnight parking to the village’s Transportation Commission in a 4-2 to vote during a virtual Sept. 21 meeting. Trustee Dan Moroney did not attend the meeting.

With the relaxation on the overnight parking ban expiring Sept. 30, staff brought forth two suggestions intended to increase the amount of available overnight parking for residents.

Development Customer Services Director Tammie Grossman said there’s been a “steady” and “concerning” drop in parking revenue since the village relaxed parking restrictions during COVID-19 – a reduction of about 80 percent.

The first suggestion was to extend the area of permitted overnight parking. Current policy states the overnight on-street parking zone is within 500 feet of buildings zoned in the R-7 district, a multifamily residential classification that includes Austin Boulevard, the Washington Boulevard corridor, the area around Pleasant and Marion, a section near Lake Street just east of downtown Oak Park and other smaller pockets throughout the village.

Staff suggested an extending overnight parking to within 750 feet of the R-7 district, with the TransSee PARKING on page 16

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

LIVE ON LATHROP: Drew Roberts’ The Niche performs an acoustic set for guests outside during the Friday Night Live music at Lathrop House Cafe in Forest Park.

Will Winberie’s become Wintrust Bank?

Chicago bank heads to zoning board

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Wintrust Bank subsidiary Hinsdale Bank & Trust is banking on opening a new Oak Park branch in the space that long housed Winberie’s restaurant, 151

N. Oak Park Ave., in the Hemingway District’s Scoville Square building.

“While Wintrust is a financial service holding company, it’s a huge believer that banking should be hyperlocal,” said Dennis Jones, Hinsdale Bank chair.

According to Jones, Wintrust has a “desire to be Chicago’s bank.”

“And if you desire to be Chicago’s bank, you ought to be in Oak Park,” said Jones, whose four children attended

Fenwick High School. Jones lives in Hinsdale.

Hinsdale Bank is one of 15 distinct banks under the Wintrust Bank umbrella. Hinsdale Bank itself has multiple branches, including one in Western Springs, Riverside and Maywood.

This October, Hinsdale Bank will go before the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to request zoning relief to operate See WINTRUST on page 16

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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S P O N S O R E D

Discover a trio of womanowned businesses in Berwyn

Berwyn bustles with a vast array of restaurants including a trio of woman-powered establishments that bring unique leadership and confident cuisine to the Berwyn dining scene.

Feel the good vibes at Juice Vibe Bar After putting out feelers for a commercial space in several suburbs, Annabelle Martinez found her way to an office space in Berwyn and fearlessly opened Juice Vibe Bar, at 2137 Oak Park Ave., just two months later.

Martinez, who grew up in the Berwyn-Cicero area, transformed the former medical office into an inviting space and introduced her arsenal of dairyfree, vegan, and gluten-free juices and smoothie bowls to health-conscious customers.

“I was inspired by Food Writer the juices found at mercados públicos [public markets]in Mexico.” said Martinez. “I wanted the atmosphere here to feel like Panama City, Miami or Mexico City.”

Juices like the Glow Up -- featuring carrot, orange, apple, celery and lemon -- are all made on the spot in an open kitchen at Juice Vibe Bar. All-natural ingredients and super foods like turmeric, dragon fruit powder, spirulina and matcha bring anti-inflammatory properties and beauty benefits to the menu and all juices can be enhanced with chia, collagen, or CBD for an additional charge.

The smoothie bowls served at Juice Vibe Bar are all named after famous Latina artists like Selena and Frida Kahlo. The Jenni bowl, named after musician Jenni Rivera, features a robust combination of almond milk, spirulina, blueberries, banana, coconut, granola, oats, chia seeds and Amaranthus.

“As a woman I think I am a natural multitasker,” said Martinez who employs a team of five women. “I also enjoy being a resource to

C O N T E N T

THE PLANT-BASED Chile en Nogada made an appearance as a daily special at Cien 100% Naturalisimo

Melissa Elsmo

ANNABELLE MARTINEZ, owner of Juice Vibe Bar, dreams of growing her business from within.

Melissa Elsmo

MELISSA ELSMO

Vivi Noa, started cooking in Havana when she was just eight years old. She perfected cooking steak and rice under her own mother’s watchful eye before emigrating to the United States in the 1980s. Today Vivi is the mother of eight grown children, four boys and four girls, with more than a dozen grandchildren.

Vivi, who says her favorite ingredients are “onions, garlic and love,” finds inspiration in the array of ingredients available at American markets, but her commitment to using natural ingredients and authentic preparation techniques remains intact.

Expect crisp empanadas, pillowy papa rellenas and cheesy Cubano sandwiches to complement an array of bowls on Café Media Noche’s menu. Round out a meal with a Cuban cortadito — an espresso shot made from Café Bustelo and tempered with steamed milk and sugar.

Follow Café Media Noche on Facebook and Instagram to keep track of their hours of operation -- they shift from week to week based on catering gigs.

Melissa Elsmo

Melissa Elsmo

Eating healthy does not mean you have to hold yourself back or deny the satisfaction of a good meal according to plant-based chef, Rossy Salto Ayala, owner of Cien 100% Naturalisimo, at 2709 Ridgeland Ave. in Berwyn.

“Food is medicine,” said Ayala. “I use this restaurant to bring attention to the lifestyle I live and want to encourage other people to live.”

Unbalanced health triggered Ayala’s desire to start a health journey of her own. During the process, she fell in love with the plant-based food movement and began developing the recipes that appear on her restaurant menu.

Cien 100% Naturalisimo has vegan versions of popular Latin dishes and other global fare.

To honor Mexican Independence Day, Chile en Nogada — a pomegranate topped poblano pepper filled with quinoa, faro, raisins, and almonds -- made an appearance as a daily special. Regular menu items include a flavorful mushroom panini, robust quinoa salad and decadent cheesecake for dessert.

Today, the restaurant is just over a year-old and Ayala is more than just the owner of the vegan centric eatery, she also is a dedicated holistic health coach. A Berwyn resident herself, she knew her restaurant was necessary and takes pride in the work she does.

“Before 100% Naturalisimo, there was no restaurant like this. There was no plant-based food readily available in Berwyn,” said Ayala. “I want to show people you can change your life by being healthy. As a woman, my empathy for my clients is special and I believe it’s important to give what you want to receive in life.”

BOWLS are a new favorite at Café Media Noche. Here arrzo con gandules, lechon and maduros, is served out in disposable container to be COVID compliant.

VIVI NOA (center) brings the Cuban food at Cafe Media Noche to life. She is flanked by her family/business partners Chasity (left) and Evelyn Noa (right)

Live life 100% Naturalisimo THE JENNI BOWL from Juice Vibe Bar gets its blue hue from Spirulina—a super food made of algae.

CIEN 100% NATURALISIMO owner, Rossy Salto Ayala, is committed to changing lives though plant-based fare and holistic health coaching.

others and hope to grow my business from within by training my managers to open their own stores down the road.”

A mother’s touch at Café Media Noche Nestled in the heart of Berwyn’s up and coming Depot District a small (yet mighty) restaurant is bringing a taste of Cuba to the western suburbs. A three-woman operation, Café Media Noche, located at 6836 Windsor Ave., focuses on Cuban fare in three forms: catering, food truck and pop-up restaurant.

“We’re serving tradition from the heart of our kitchen” says co-owner Chasity Noa of Café Media Noche’s approach to Cuban fare.

“There is a lot of impostor Cuban food out there, but we don’t cut corners here. Vivi cooks with integrity.”

Melissa Elsmo

Alex Rogals

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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Liberals, for the love of RBG, toughen up

he story of how Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week at 87, got her nickname — Notorious RBG (derived from the Brooklyn rapper Biggie Smalls, also known as Notorious B.I.G.) — is somewhat emblematic of our current national predicament.

In 2017, Ginsburg told NBC that the moniker was the work of a second-year student at NYU Law School (I pulled the following quotation from an article published by Bustle): Commentary “This young woman was, to put it mildly, disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision in the Shelby County case — the decision that held a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 no longer constitutional.

“She was angry, and then it came to her that anger is a useless emotion. It doesn’t win any friends or make any changes. So, instead of being angry, she would do something positive. And the positive thing she did was to put on that blog the announcement of my dissenting opinion in the Shelby County case, and then it took off from there.”

That young woman, Shane Knizhnik, is now a 32-year-old staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of New York City and the co-author of the New York Times bestseller “Notorious R.B.G.: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

With all due respect to the late, great Ginsburg, Knizhnik should’ve stayed angry for a little longer and avoided Tumblr. For far too long, liberals have met the amorality,

MICHAEL ROMAIN

duplicity, depravity and shamelessness of conservatives by being cool and hip or “going high when they go low.”

While mild-mannered, positive-thinking liberals decadently revel in their cultural hegemony, they look on haplessly, albeit wearing aviator sunglasses and sporting Timberlands or Notorious RBG T-shirts, as the likes of Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh take the whole country deeper into the abyss of environmental catastrophe, crippling wealth inequality and civil disorder.

We have to start acting like the threats we pay lip service during election cycles are real and meet them with the seriousness they deserve. I’m not saying we need to start acting like conservatives and Republicans, but at least understand their psychology in order to effectively counter their depravity.

The GOP will likely do everything in its power to confirm Ginsburg’s replacement, because it believes that the Supreme Court, even more than voter suppression, is the last rampart that separates the party’s idea of America (a place made for white, Christian men) from the current multicultural reality that Notorious RBG symbolized and to which Ginsburg dedicated her life.

This intense belief in the Supreme Court as white America’s end times bunker is what motivated Richard Nixon to deploy the White House and Justice Department to try to threaten two liberal justices into resigning, according to Adam Cohen’s insightful book “Supreme Inequality.” And when threats didn’t work, Nixon obsessed over the health of the court’s liberal justices, frequently asking aides “for updates on his colleagues’ medical conditions.”

When Justice Thurgood Marshall once checked into a hospital with pneumonia, “Nixon asked for a status report,” Cohen writes. “Marshall told a Navy officer, ‘Well,

Admiral, you have my permission to give it to him on only one condition: that you put at the bottom of it, quote, ‘Not yet.’”

If liberals, conservatives who aren’t crazy and everybody else who just likes life on Earth hope to avoid the nightmare of a Supreme Court with a 6-3 conservative majority, we have to meet the opposition not in the arena of culture, but in the arena of raw political power — not with positivity, but with realpolitik.

So, what exactly can regular folk like us do? We can call, write and email Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth — and demand that they use every procedural tool in the shed to slow down this appointment process to at least bide some time for a Hail Mary.

Meanwhile, if you have relatives or friends in states with Republican senators, tell them to help flood those senators’ office lines and inboxes and mailboxes with demands that they refuse to take part in this sham appointment process, if only because Trump will be hand-picking the judge that may help decide the fate of his re-election prospects.

You can also vote, make sure eligible voters you know vote and phone bank for Joe Biden by calling voters in critical swing states.

If you’re a lawyer, volunteer to protect the votes of others and, in general, just push as hard as you can for a Democratic House, Senate and presidency. And don’t forget about local seats of power like city councils and school boards and statehouses. Vote Blue up and down ballot.

This is a bleak moment for American democracy, which is all the more reason to lean into it passionately.

“Stay far from timid, only make moves when your heart’s in it,” Notorious B.I.G. once said.

I feel that. And I think RBG would approve.

Life after ‘America to Me’ “America to Me,” the docuseries about Oak Park and River Forest High School’s historic challenges with racial equity, may have aired two years ago, but one of its stars is still living with the film’s implications.

Viewers who tuned into the 10-part docuseries, which aired on Starz in 2018, may remember Jada Buford, the precocious aspiring filmmaker who is often seen challenging the racial assumptions held by her fellow OPRF students and even some adults while working on a film project of her own.

“Why do you think that dark is considered bad?” Buford pointedly asks one fellow student she’s interviewing.

Several years later, Buford is still asking those hard questions and challenging stereotypes. The 22-year-old graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in May, with a degree in Media, Journalism and Film Communications. She minored in African American Studies.

On Sept. 2, Buford finished a prestigious Television Academy Foundation fellowship in documentary/nonfiction television. Due to the pandemic, the program was administered remotely, with Buford completing seminars and virtual meetings from her home in River Forest.

With that career development under her belt, Buford has more time to think about her future plans.

“Right now, I’m trying to figure out if I want to be in Los Angeles or New York,” she said, adding that she’s looking into graduate degree programs in film production.

Buford said that being in “America to Me,” and witnessing director Steve James and his co-directors during the making of the Jada Buford production influenced her decision to pursue documentary filmmaking.

“Seeing Steve and the other directors produce something with me in it inspired me to do my own thing,” she said.

Buford said the recognition she’s received from being in the docuseries is somewhat bittersweet. Before the pandemic, when she’d travel to places in Washington, D.C., such as the Smithsonian Museum of African American History, people would recognize her from the Starz production.

“I didn’t think I’d be dealing with that after high school,” she said.

Overall, she said, she’s been satisfied with how the documentary presented her to the world, even though she realizes she can’t necessarily control lazy stereotypes generated by others.

“I made sure to express my concerns about not being perceived as the angry Black woman during the film and even afterwards,” Buford said.

“I was satisfied that I wasn’t shown in that light and that many of us were presented in multiple dimensions.”

Still, Buford said, she came across those critiques that traded in the trope of the angry Black woman when discussing her presence in the docuseries. She said she understands this reaction, since she’s lived and studied it for so long. In fact, she hopes to explore the issue in depth in her own documentary films.

“Right now, I’m researching Black narra-

tives in TV and how they affect how we’re seen in the world,” Buford said. “A lot of the content we see is created by white people, specifically white men, so there’s a lot of unlearning to do.”

Speaking of learning and unlearning, does she think the villages of Oak Park and River Forest learned from “America to Me” or from the recent civil unrest related to George Floyd’s murder in May? “No,” Buford said, without hesitation.

“I feel [the anti-racism demonstrations among whites in the area] are publicity stunts. People don’t want to be seen being anti-Black and are trying to appear anti-racist, but that should show in the work and the sense of urgency. I know students at OPRF and recent graduates who are still dealing with people saying the n— word or the fact that Black students have to compromise their learning environment, because they don’t know how to deal with those situations of whites saying that word or teachers not creating safe spaces for Black students.

I think [the film and recent events] have brought awareness, but as far as actions to change stuff ? It hasn’t happened yet. I’m hopeful, though.”

Michael Romain

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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BIG WEEK September 23-30

Move Me Soul Dance Company: Curtis Suite & Sour Saturday, Sept. 26, 1 to 2 p.m., Compound Yellow

This youth ensemble’s work represents a journey of the highs and lows of the Black experience in Chicago’s inner city and features music by Curtis Mayfield. Followed by an improvisation workshop with live drumming by Baba Eric.

Audience participation welcome. Held in the side yard with socially-distanced seating for 20. Masks required. $12, suggested donation benefits the artists. Tickets/more: facebook.com/compoundyellow/events. 244 Lake St., Oak Park.

Griefshare: Loss of a Spouse

Try-It Thursday: Zen Doodling

Sept. 26, 1 to 3 p.m., Zoom with Grace Lutheran Church of River Forest If you are grieving the loss of a spouse, this seminar may help. Register/more: 708-366-6900, gracechurch@graceriverforest.org.

Sunrise Ride for Justice Sunday, Sept. 27, 7 a.m., Columbus Park The event begins with a press conference at 8 a.m. Then enjoy a morning ride for justice (9 a.m.). Use your own bike or Lyft will provide free Divvy bikes for those who need them (limited availability). The ride travels through Chicago, Oak Park, Forest Park and Maywood. 500 S. Central Ave., Chicago. More: repford@lashawnford.com.

Last Chance: 2020 Census Respond by Sept. 30 Take 10 minutes to fill out census data and help your community get funds for important social services and projects, such as health clinics, fire departments, schools, roads and highways. Census results help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities each year. Oak Park still needs households to respond. Go to: 2020census.gov, or call: 844330-2020.

Thursday, Sept. 24, 4 to 5 p.m. Zoom with the Oak Park Public Library Students in grades 4-8, develop creative abilities that will allow you to calm the mind and body. Learn artistic techniques to help deal with school stressors and build on positive thinking. This includes engaging with peers to share inspiring visual designs.

Supplies: something to write with (pencils, pens, crayons, markers, etc.) and paper or request a Try-It Thursday kit. Register: oppl.org/calendar.

Medicare Educational Seminar Thursday, Sept. 24, 5 to 6 p.m., Zoom with the Oak Park Library Find out what Medicare covers, what it does not and potential out of pocket exposure. Learn about Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage Plans, Part D Prescription Coverage and cost saving strategies for the year ahead.

Presented by Ivan Morgan from Premier Medicare Benefits. Register: oppl. org/calendar.

Feast for Good

Spring for the Animals

Through Sept. 29 Support Housing Forward while dining locally with a portion of the purchase working to end homelessness. Whether ordering or dining in-person, mention Housing Forward so 10% – 20% is donated. Dine in at Cucina Paradiso (take out not available), 814 North Blvd., Oak Park, or get food from Big Guy’s Sausage Stand, 7021 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn. More: housingforward.org/events/ feast-good-fundraiser

Through Sunday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m., Virtually with the Animal Care League Here’s how to help homeless pets – make a donation, bid in the silent auction, buy items instantly and purchase raffle tickets. Auction items range from a stay at a Florida condo to local gifts cards. Instantly buy original art of an ACL shelter pet created by a Hatch 4th grader ($10). Raffle winners get to pick their prize. Participate/more: e.givesmart.com/events/iAA

Ulyssean Awards “A Most Beautiful Thing” Friday, Sept. 25, 6:30 to 9 p.m., Live Virtual Screening with One Earth This film chronicles the first African American high school rowing team, made up of young men, many of whom were in rival gangs from Chicago’s West Side. A post-film discussion features author and film subject Arshay Cooper, along with Chicago-area equity advocates. Hosted by the Park District of Oak Park, Parks Foundation of Oak Park, Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park Township, L!VE Cafe and RGW Consulting. Free; $8 donation accepted.

Also this week – “The Guardians” on Sept. 28. Tickets/more: oneearthfilmfest.org/live-virtual-screenings

Friday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Zoom with the Senior Citizens Center of OPRF Join in honoring this year’s three recipients - Stephanie Clemens, Galen Gockel and, posthumously, Marge Gockel.

Stephanie Clemens founded the Academy of Movement and Music in 1982 and she continues to teach. Galen Gockel has served as a board member of the Senior Citizens Center, and, as an elected official, he served on the boards of District 97 and the village of Oak Park. He was also assessor for Oak Park Township. Marge Gockel was an organizer of the Farmers Market. She was also responsible for recruitment, training and supervision of government observers for the League of Women Voters.

And she was involved in The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. Register by email: GilesRW@aol.com.

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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When banks look good

dds and ends with some a bit odder than others: Banking, not retail: The Journal continues its reporting on the rapid response in Oak Park village government to the harsh reality that retail stores are nearly impossible to find, that keeping the ones we have viable will be a heavy lift, that with winter ahead and outdoor dining going away, more than a handful of local independent restaurants will not survive this pandemic.

Last week the Zoning Board of Appeals said a unanimous yes to replacing a stretch of retail in Downtown Oak Park with some sort of giant co-working space. That we are betting on people emerging from their dining room offices to go share a common workspace with strangers to replace Bar Louie, Bruegger’s Bagels and a mattress store tells us plenty about where this is all going.

That’s why Wintrust Bank felt perfectly comfortable signing a lease for the lamented Winberie’s space at Oak Park and Lake even before it garnered final sign off from the village.

Good news that Wintrust, a terrific Chicago banking success, is coming to Oak Park. Having lost Community Bank to a sell-off to Byline Bank, Oak Park and River Forest will benefit from the heavy-touch approach of Wintrust. Had always heard that Wintrust fully expected to be the winning bidder for Community Bank. It wasn’t and so it is finding a new path into town.

Fifteen years ago, could be 20 years ago, the longtime owner of the Scoville Square building which will house Wintrust Bank fought and lost a bid to relocate an outof-state bank from an upstairs office into a storefront facing Oak Park Avenue. I served then as president of the business association and had no trouble whipping up opposition to that move among both our members and the village board.

In the last big rush of bricks and mortar bank branches in Chicago 10 years ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel finally put a moratorium on new banks as they were devouring prime retail space, were willing to pay high rents and yet contributed not a dollar

in sales taxes, liquor taxes, nor contributed much in the way of foot traffic.

No moratoriums in Oak Park, even as we watch local sales taxes wither in COVID-19 reality.

Of course, Columbus Park is next: Our sister paper on the West Side, the Austin Weekly News, reported last week that a trio of activists there have launched a petition to rip Christopher Columbus’ name from the large and lovely park at the city’s western border.

This was never a question of if, only of when the effort would launch.

West Side youth activists lobbied and protested with great effect to have the name of Stephen Douglas — slave owner — removed from that park. It will be renamed for Fredrick Douglass, the great Black leader.

I love Columbus Park. The gracious, welcoming Refectory on Jackson Boulevard has hosted more of the Journal’s holiday parties than any venue. The lagoon with older Black gentlemen fishing. The golf course which, through all the decades of racial fear and denial, still drew visitors from across the boulevard.

Now though, as our European-centric consciousnesses finally get challenged, it is clear that honoring Columbus for his savagery is just not proper. What will be the new name?

In the right moment we will be told.

Award-winning: Speaking of the Austin Weekly, worth noting that again this year the Illinois Press Association has named the Weekly the top community paper in the state. We’re proud of that. Proud of its editor, Michael Romain, who in addition to the West Side paper also covers equity and education for the Journal.

Have heard from so many readers, many of them middle-aged and older white readers, commending Michael’s weekly columns in the Journal. Eyes and minds are being opened through his wise writing on race, racism and equity.

Finally, Stacey Sheridan, our village government and business reporter, won the “Rookie of the Year” award for young reporters in the state.

We are grateful.

DAN HALEY

OPEN HOUSE Saturday, Sept 26 9:00am – 3:00pm TAKE A TOUR, GET A FREE DAY IN THE ARCADE

CROSSFUNCTION

AT THE BOULEVARD ARCADE 1033 South Blvd in Oak Park

ICONIC . PRIVATE . FLEXIBLE

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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Deputy clerk vies for Oak Park village clerk post

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Lifelong Oak Parker and seasoned civil servant Christina Waters has announced she is running to become Oak Park’s next village clerk. Waters currently serves as deputy village clerk under current village clerk and mayoral hopeful Vicki Scaman, whose term expires in April.

“With Vicki leaving, it’s a natural progression for me professionally,” Waters told Wednesday Journal.

The village clerk serves as a liaison between citizens and village government. The responsibilities held by the clerk include swearing in public officials, coordinating responses to public records requests, managing membership of citizen commissions and the posting of public meeting agendas and minutes, among other duties. The village clerk does not have the authority to vote on village board matters.

“I definitely feel like the village clerk plays a bipartisan role in the community and it’s a role for the people,” said Waters. “I’ve spent my life working for the people because that’s my passion.”

The village board just recently began discussing the future role and compensation of the village clerk. Any changes set by the board would impact the clerk elected next April.

While the village clerk is an elected official, the deputy village clerk is a member of village staff. This is Waters’ first time running for public office, despite a long career working in local municipal agencies, starting with the Park District of Oak Park.

“I worked for the Park District of Oak Park, from the age of, like, 16, up through my early 30s,” Waters said. “I was a facility attendant, I was a lifeguard, I was a soccer coach, a basketball coach.”

Waters was promoted to the newly created position of facility scheduling coordinator for the park district in 2007 and held that role for almost four years. In 2011 she became the park district’s facility scheduling and parks coordinator.

“It was really amazing to be a part of that transition at the park district, when we used to be more of like a community centered organization,” said Waters. “And then we went to a program centered model.”

She left the park district in 2014 to work as an administrative coordinator at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, formerly known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where she stayed for just shy of three years. It was in that time Waters recognized just how much she liked working for the community she lived and grew up in.

“It wasn’t until I went downtown, that I realized how much I missed being a part of my community in this way,” said Waters.

Waters began working for the village of Oak Park in 2017, serving as executive secretary to Tammie Grossman in development customer services. She also worked in the human resources department, before becoming deputy village clerk this past July.

Although Waters said she appreciates and loves being an employee, Waters is ready to work for the village in an elected capacity.

“I want to give back to this community as much as I possibly can because this is the community where I was born and raised,” Waters said.

Oak Park is also the community where Waters has chosen to raise her kids. A single mom, Waters has three children, all of whom are very involved in activities in Oak Park, especially softball and baseball.

Waters stays active in the community outside of work. Last year, Waters participated in the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation’s Leadership Lab. She’s also spent time volunteering in Oak Park schools and at the West Cook YMCA. Currently, Waters sits on the park district’s Citizens Committee.

If elected village clerk, Waters plans to continue along the path started by Scaman, whom she said has done a “phenomenal job” as clerk.

“She’s been really transparent. She works so well across government entities,” said Waters. “I would love to maintain that ability to work across government entities be-

Christina Waters cause it’s really important that we’re all working together.”

Waters wants to ensure people view the village of Oak Park as an accessible, welcoming place, where citizens feel comfortable going into government buildings and asking for help.

And as village clerk, Waters believes she is up to the task.

“I have worked as a resource for people.

I’ve built relationships around me and for the community,” she said. “I know I’ve done a phenomenal job bringing people together to work in community with one another.”

And her work for the Oak Park community isn’t finished, she said.

“I’m just getting started.”

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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River Forest explores equity and inclusion group

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

President Cathy Adduci began the village board’s Committee of the Whole meeting on the culture of equity and inclusion in River Forest’s civic bodies with a quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg who said, in an interview, that “justices continue to think and can change. So I am ever hopeful that if the court has a blind spot today, its eyes will be open tomorrow.”

Adduci said she hoped that if anyone participating in the Sept. 21 meeting had a blind spot, eyes would be opened after the discussion on equity and inclusion in River Forest.

That, Adduci said, is “the piece that we are trying to do tonight, internally, to look at our government, our administration, our police, and all of our internal workings to ensure that we’re striving for equity and inclusion.”

She hoped these conversations would result in actionable initiatives and actionable change, regardless of feelings of discomfort that might come up in the discussion.

And some discomfort did come up. Village Administrator Eric Palm described the village’s plan to take a look at equity and inclusion within all aspects of civil life, including all departments, such as police, fire, finance, public works and the administrations. Purchasing and procurement, said Palm will be looked at “through the lens of equity.”

That effort, he said, would be led by an advisory board of 10-12 community and staff members “to provide guidance, feedback, and advise the village board and administration” on issues surrounding equity and inclusion. Palm suggested that each trustee name someone for this advisory group.

At this point, Trustee Erika Bachner said a similar group had already been assembled. She and Trustee Katie Brennan had gathered a group of people around the time of the George Floyd murders, a group initially formed to spearhead the Twin Cities covenant with Maywood.

“We’ve identified a dozen folks in River Forest who are residents who with their diverse backgrounds coming to the issue of this work, make me proud,” Bachner said.

“They have said they would commit themselves to the process of looking at internal processes.”

Brennan and Trustee Patty Henek backed up Bachner, stating that a group like Palm was suggesting was already in place.

“They were reaching out to residents to be able to share their lived experiences, which is what I think is going to help inform any internal conversations,” Henek said. “It’s one thing to have policies on paper … but there’s a difference with how it actually plays out in real life. … That’s the group that

should start this conversation.”

A few trustees objected.

Trustee Tom Cargie spoke against the process by which the group was formed.

“It wasn’t a democratic process,” Cargie argued. “It was a process between you two [Bachner and Brennan]. Because you took the initiative without board authority, that established the pattern and composition of the committee. … We’re a board. We act in unison, as a body. Individual actions don’t become board actions.”

He later added: “I’m not normally a process guy, but here the process failed. I do think that two trustees shouldn’t choose all the people.”

Bachner responded that the committee’s work and formation has been “pretty informal” and “nothing is set in stone,” and Henek mentioned at least two conversations at the board table where this group was previously brought up. But Cargie said a vote was never taken.

Trustee Robert O’Connell agreed with Cargie. His understanding was the alreadyformed group was going to focus on the Twin City covenant. Using them for this new initiative, without vetting them the way committee members normally would be, is “rogue.”

“This has been bothering me too,” said O’Connell. “If we want to form a commission, we do it the way it’s supposed to be done.”

Trustee Respicio Vazquez made it quite clear that he appreciates the work being done and doesn’t necessarily object to anyone on the board formed by Bachner and Brennan. Part of his problem, though, is he doesn’t even know who’s in that group, which he also understood to be focused on the covenant agreement.

“I would like to know who these people are,” said Respicio. “I’m not against who the group is. I’m interested in hearing who this group is.” He added that listening to people, including the trustees, to set guidelines on what the needs are, should be a focused initiative.

Adduci said the solution might be to use the currently assembled group, and add members suggested by each additional trustee. “If the group has to be larger so the other board members feel they have contribution to it, that’s OK too,” Adduci said. She suggested the 10-12 already on the group, with additional suggestions by other trustees, would bring the group to 15-20 people.

“The bigger it is, the more difficult it is to manage,” Cargie said.

Brennan made the point that it’s important to make sure the majority of members of the board are from marginalized groups.

Adduci said approvals for any recommendations made by the group will always come back to the village board for a vote.

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

ART BEAT

Yep, that’s Oak Park on the cover of the New Yorker

Artist Chris Ware’s illustration recently showcased a Gunderson four-square

1, a New York Times 100 Notable Book of the Year, which Ware said he worked at “off and on for nearly 19 years.” His Building Stories is a treasure trove of Ware’s art in books, booklets, magazines, newspapers and pamphlets – 14 in all.

It was recognized as a Top Ten Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review among others. And, it is set largely

By MICHELLE DYBAL Arts Editor

“Last Days” is the title of artist and writer Chris Ware’s latest New Yorker cover. It depicts a large four-square home with people enjoying an end-of-summer gathering. Sound familiar? It could be any September neighborly get-together in Oak Park. But, with it being 2020, the diverse group wears masks and the chairs are spaced widely apart around the grill. Meat cooks away while the flag, in a tangle, hangs from the open porch.

“The house is an amalgam of details of the very standard Oak Park four-square as designed by Frederick A. Hill and Seward T. Gunderson, recognizable to anyone who’s familiar with the area,” said Ware, a resident of the village since 2001. “Since cartooning is essentially a sedentary vocation, I try to ride my bike around town as much as possible, and over the past months I’d occasionally pass ‘socially distanced’ neighborhood gatherings of folks sitting just pandemically far enough apart that the overall tableau seemed to stretch the idea of what a social event actually was, and it struck me as a sort of amusing yet melancholy image for a cover, especially as we head into the even more isolating months of winter.”

“At the same time, in our age of prevarications and polarization thanks to Trump and Fox News, where we’re all stuck to the edges of the political centrifuge, I found such scenes sort of inspiring and heartwarming — especially since I think that trying to find some center point is our last hope as a nation and a culture,” he said.

This is Ware’s 25th cover for New Yorker magazine. The artist began contributing in 1999 according to the publication.

“The New Yorker is about the last place in America where a drawing meant for reproduction can exist on its own terms just as a painting does in a gallery, and it’s not really any secret as to why — no headlines ever tell the reader what to think,” Ware said. “… It’s really the last place an artist working for print can exist on his or her own terms, which is why I think the New Yorker’s covers have something of a reputation — it’s because they show a respect for the visual intelligence of their readership.”

He also created covers for these times for the May 4 and April 6 issues. The April cover shows a hospital corridor abuzz with, presumably, COVID-19 patients, while an essential worker takes a break for a video phone call to say goodnight to her kids while their father-figure waves. It is called “Bedtime.”

“My daughter Clara, who’s a sophomore at OPRF, suggested that I made sure to remind the viewer/reader that the doctors and nurses pictured had families, too — which was good advice. Some of her friends’ parents are doctors, and a neighbor across the alley from us is a physician, so in thinking of them, the image sort of drew itself.”

While Ware does not feel art should try to communicate specific messages, he does believe it “can certainly impart feelings and especially inculcate empathy, which is the greatest superpower we have as humans, and the one we should always be trying to extend and to hone.”

For a scene like a hospital, accuracy also comes into play.

“One of my last real jobs — an essential one, unlike being an artist — was delivering blood to emergency rooms in Texas and I became familiar with the basic ways that hospitals

functioned, as well as got to know some of the nurses and lab techs, so it wasn’t a huge leap of imagination to draw a trauma unit,” Ware said. “Of course, Google image search helped, too. This said, I was terrified I’d get something wrong -- and probably did, but everyone’s been nice enough to not say anything.”

Ware is also known for his graphic fiction, including Jimmy Corrigan – the Smartest Kid on Earth and his most recent publication from September 2019, Rusty Brown, Part

in Oak Park according to Ware.

He said he is “politely disappearing for a good long while” to work on his next three books over the next few years, but that is not all. Ware is designing a jigsaw puzzle based on Building Stories and is involved in two museum exhibitions with planned openings in 2021. One, at Wrightwood 659, Chicago, will be on Adler & Sullivan’s Schiller building, in which Ware is designing the exhibition and catalog. The other, in June, is an early Chicago newspaper comics exhibit that he is co-curating at the Chicago Cultural Center. That is running concurrently with an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) about contemporary Chicago comics where his work will be shown. Ware’s art has previously been shown at the MCA; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and MoCa, Los Angeles. Ware’s art is at the Oak Park Main Library, too.

He is also involved in the restoration of a home in Riverside, purchased in 2017, where he and his family will move after Clara graduates from OPRF. “In the meantime, I’ve started transferring books and archival materials one bike ride at a time — the slowest move ever — but at least it’s good exercise,” Ware said of the trip to the house designed by Joseph Lyman Silsbee, Frank Lloyd Wright’s first employer.

To own a piece of Chris Ware art, prints of past New Yorker covers, including “Last Days,” are available online (condenaststore.com/art/chris+ware?searchType=artist name). His graphic fiction is sold at the Book Table, 1045 Lake St., Oak Park, (booktable.net). To purchase art close to home, visit the Oak Park River Forest Museum, 129 Lake St., Oak Park, (oprfmuseum.org) where images of the Oak Park Heurtley House, River Forest Purcell House or Historical Society Firehouse are available as posters, signed or unsigned, and limited edition Giclee prints, signed by the artist.

Photos by Jhenai Mootz

HE’S GOT IT COVERED: (Top) The current New Yorker cover depicts a scene from Oak Park. (Bottom, center) Chris Ware’s self-portrait.

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

No changes to Oak Park zoning hearings

Plan Commission, ZBA to retain exclusivity in holding public hearings

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Tempers flared Sept. 21 as the Oak Park village board of Oak Park discussed whether it should have the ability to directly hold public zoning hearings. Several members of the public, whose comments were read to the board, expressed concern that the board intended to abolish the Oak Park Plan Commission.

A motion to have the Plan Commission review amending the code failed, with trustees deadlocked in a 3-3 vote. Trustees Simone Boutet, Susan Buchanan and Arti Walker-Peddakotla voted against, while Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb and trustees Deno Andrews and Jim Taglia voted in favor.

Trustee Dan Moroney, who could have cast the deciding vote, was absent from the meeting.

“Why is this even up for agenda when it’s so controversial?” asked Boutet.

Abu-Taleb responded that “this whole thing has been blown out of the water for simply no good reason.”

The motion asked the board to vote to

refer to the Plan Commission a suggested amendment to the zoning code to “allow the village board the ability to hold public hearings when the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and/or Plan Commission are overloaded with requests.”

The idea was first suggested by Abu-Taleb on Sept. 8 as the two commissions had become overwhelmed with a backlog of requests due to canceled meetings during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown.

“We’re sending it to the Plan Commission to see if they think it’s a good idea for us or the ZBA to hear things when they’re too busy,” Abu-Taleb said during the Sept. 21 meeting. “Some things need to be done with a sense of urgency.”

The proposed amendment did not contemplate dismantling the Plan Commission.

Nor did it suggest the Plan Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals forfeit their authority to hold public hearings related to zoning matters.

“We are not abolishing the Plan Commission, as one of the trustees is going out there telling people,” said the mayor, referring to a Facebook post by Boutet made earlier that day.

The lengthy post, which started with “Grab the popcorn,” stated the board would be discussing a “proposal to remove the Plan Commission from review of development proposals” and that Boutet was strongly op-

posed to it.

Abu-Taleb said the proposed text amendment was misrepresented to the public to engender fear and distrust of government.

“It was presented to some people in the community in such a way that this board is hungry for power and is trying to abolish the Plan Commission,” said Abu-Taleb.

“That is not true.”

The mayor said each member of the board had a responsibility to de-escalate tension and not to engage in fearmongering.

In response, Boutet listed the dates of canceled commission meetings and asked why Abu-Taleb had not directed staff to hold the meetings if there was such a backlog of requests.

“The solution is not to take the power away from the commissions and bring it to this village board,” said Boutet, who accused Abu-Taleb of being “sexist” in his reaction to her, which was not visible to the public during the broadcast of the virtual meeting.

“You’re sexist for laughing at me right now, Anan,” Boutet said. “You never laugh at anybody else.”

Boutet stated the board neither had the capacity nor the reason to hold zoning hearings and that the board itself was already behind on initiatives.

“If you want speed in government, then we should have commission meetings,”

said Boutet. “This is not the solution to tell the Plan Commission to give us the work when we haven’t talked about the police, we haven’t talked about racial equity, we haven’t talked about the environment, we haven’t talked about the budget.”

Boutet said other Illinois municipalities had continued their commission meetings virtually during the statewide stay-at-home order.

Trustee Deno Andrews said he did not agree that the proposed text amendment undermined the Plan Commission and its authority.

“The motion is as clear as day,” Andrews said. “It’s a very simple request.”

Andrews said he was interested in hearing what the Plan Commission thought of the idea. He also admitted he did not actually want to conduct and sit through public zoning hearings.

“I don’t think I want to sit at the board table at the village board and have public hearings over buildings,” said Andrews. “I don’t necessarily think that that’s our place.”

Andrews also admitted that he wasn’t sure it was even a good idea.

“With that said, that’s not being asked of us to choose tonight,” Andrews said.

“What’s being asked of us to choose is to send it to the Plan Commission, the very commission that Simone you’re saying we’re trying to abolish.”

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Austin nonprofit debuts new space

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

By this time next month, the A House in Austin nonprofit organization is hoping to start holding classes at a house in Austin they can call their own. The nonprofit also recently a new executive director.

On July 6, 2016, Oak Park couple Erika and Bret Hilgart bought the two-story house at 533 N. Pine Ave. They envisioned it as not only a place where their burgeoning nonprofit could hold classes for Austin kids and adults, but as a resource for the Austin community, in general. But actually raising the money to renovate the building took time, and so did the renovations. The COVID-19 pandemic added its own complications.

On Sept. 12, A House in Austin held a ribbon-cutting, inviting the community to take a look inside the house, get some free ice cream and find out what the nonprofit has to offer. The kids taking classes got to cut the ribbon. The nonprofit still needed to touch up the interiors and bring in furniture, but they expect to start offering classes within the next 30 to 60 days.

Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, the class sizes will be limited and they will be taking several precautions to try to keep everyone safe, but A House in Austin hopes to be able to open to full capacity this spring.

Erika was inspired to start A House in Austin by her experiences teaching at West Humboldt Park’s Brian Piccolo Elementary Specialty School and her own struggles raising her three kids. Those experiences made her appreciate how important it was for parents to have support, especially in communities where they don’t have access to the resources Oak Parkers take for granted.

Before the pandemic, A House in Austin had been music, yoga and dance classes, many of which involved parents and kids working together. The organization also provided support groups. While the house was renovated, many of the classes and group sessions were held at the neighboring Original Providence Baptist Church, 515 N Pine Ave. Since the pandemic, the nonprofit has held most of its classes online and hosted music classes in the yard of an instructor’s home. Erika added that they’ve also done virtual home visits to support families, collaborated with 40 Acres Fresh Market on family meal packages, and distributed toys and supplies to families.

A House in Austin hired Jacquelyn Dortch, who grew up in Austin and currently lives in northwest suburban Mt. Prospect, as the new executive director. She said she has 25 years of experience working for nonprofits focused on child welfare, education and juvenile justice, and she wanted to work for a nonprofit that tried to address some of the inequity she witnessed in Austin.

“We’re really excited and we’re looking forward to really becoming a staple in the community,” Dortch said. “It’s about rewriting the tale of two cities and providing support, and nurturing support, in this community.”

In addition to hosting A House in Austin’s own programming, the nonprofit plans to work with other Austin nonprofit organizations and service providers who may not have space of their own.

Dortch explained that they don’t want to duplicate what already exists, adding that it was important for them to try to give Austin families an opportunity to access services without having to worry about transportation.

“A lot of programs for families are outside the community and we’re right smack dab in the middle of the community,”

she said.

Austin artist Vannessa Stokes is A House in Austin’s newest board member, having joined earlier this month. She said she was excited to be part of the nonprofit.

“A House in Austin is about creating stronger families and engaging and empowering people,” she said, adding that she’s familiar with the issues affecting Black families, especially the ones living on the West side.

River Forest village trustee and village president candidate Patty Henek, who has been on the nonprofit’s board.

“It’s been a long time coming, trying to get the house open,” Henek said. “I’m super excited that Austin residents are going to be able to participate in the program in their own community.”

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Fenwick names diversity, equity and inclusion director

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

Fenwick High School, 505 Washington Blvd. in Oak Park, recently announced that it hired its first director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The school also named two alumni to head up the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, which the school’s board of directors approved in June.

The news comes as Fenwick has vowed to revamp its curriculum in a way that is more culturally sensitive and inclusive, and to redouble efforts to raise scholarship funds for under-served students, administrators said.

Raymond Moland, who graduated from Fenwick in 1996, will be the school’s DEI director and a will also serve on the school’s leadership team. Moland will be responsible for developing and implementing diversity and equity initiatives across “all organization departments,” school officials said in a statement released on Sept. 16.

Moland, a Bellwood native, was on the school’s football, track and wrestling teams while at his alma mater. He’s been a senior dean of students at Fenwick for six years.

He also chairs the Health and Physical Education Department.

Moland attended Millikin University in Decatur, where he received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He has two master’s degrees — in teaching and learning, and in education leadership, with a principal’s endorsement — from the University of St. Francis in Joliet.

“Now is the time to be bold,” Moland said.

“Now is the time to lead.”

Moland said that he’s inspired by the support that Fenwick administrators are putting behind the initiative.

Administrators said Moland is currently researching options for school-wide cul-

tural sensitivity and inclusion training for all students, faculty, staff, administrators and board members starting in the 202021 school year. The school also created two new scholarships for students coming from two nearby schools that mostly serve young people on Chicago’s West Side and have embarked on a “multiyear, multidisciplinary curriculum change” this school year.

Moland said that the school “will be identifying areas of improvement and actively putting policy and processes in place to improve.”

Peter Groom, Fenwick’s principal, said that Moland had been working informally with administrators on diversity, equity and inclusion challenges while he was a dean of students.

“His new role enables him to help facilitate positive change in an institution that he loves,” Groom said.

Fenwick formed the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee in the spring following the civil unrest that resulted from the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in May. In addition to promoting Moland to DEI director, Fenwick also named two alumni to head up the DEI committee.

Last month, Fenwick named Shafondra Matthews, who graduated from the school in 2001, as the chairperson of the committee and Roberto Sepulveda as the vice-chairperson.

Matthews is a certified life coach who works in the area of training, awareness and communications at Discover Financial Services.

Sepulveda, a native of Melrose Park, is Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s campaign manager and political director. He’s the former manager of Global Inclusion and Diversity at SC Johnson.

Raymond Moland (left), Roberto Sepulveda (top right), Shafondra Matthews (below right)

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12

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

C R I M E

Spate of burglaries reported in Oak Park

■ Someone broke into a vehicle parked in the 1200 block of Edmer Avenue overnight on Sept. 15-16 and removed a laptop and loose change. The estimated loss is $800.

■ A blanket and a bicycle were removed from a residential garage whose side service door was left unlocked in the 300 block of South East Avenue between noon on Sept.

15 and 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 16. Estimated loss is $1,025.

■ Three men broke into an unlocked residence in the 800 block of Clinton Avenue around 7: 40 p.m. on Sept. 16 and took an Apple iPad tablet and cash before fleeing when confronted by the victim. The loss is estimated at $400.

■ Someone broke into a residential garage

with an unlocked side service door in the 1000 block of North Marion Street between 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 11 and 11 a.m. on Sept. 14 and removed a snow blower and two bicycles. Estimated loss is $1,004.

■ A man wearing dark clothing was recorded by a security camera breaking the lock of an outdoor shed at a property in the 100 block of South Humphrey Avenue at 3:50 a.m. on Sept. 15 and removing a snow blower and leaf blower from inside. Estimated loss is $870.

■ Someone removed a bicycle from an open garage in the 1150 block of South East Avenue overnight on Sept. 18-19. Estimated loss is $600.

■ Someone broke into a residential garage

by breaking a glass window and once inside, removed two bicycles during the overnight hours of Sept. 18-19 in the 200 block of South Elmwood Avenue. The estimated loss is $1,600.

Robbery A male juvenile removed the victim’s bicycle from his possession in the first block of Lake Street at 4:50 p.m. on Sept. 20.

Theft Chrome lug nuts were removed from a vehicle while parked on the street in the 300 block of South Grove Avenue between 6 p.m.

Support available for siblings of children with special needs Sibshops offering Zoom support starting this fall

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

COVID-19 may have forced Sibshops to change the way it delivers support, but after piloting Zoom-based groups this summer, the organization is launching fall programming.

Sibshops are peer-support groups for children with siblings affected by health issues, including developmental and mental health challenges. These groups are part of the Sibling Support Project, a national program founded in 1990 to address the concerns of siblings of people with special health, developmental and mental health concerns.

In Sibshops groups, children have an opportunity to talk to other kids, learning from and supporting each other.

Locally, River Forest Township, in partnership with Thrive Counseling Center, funds and sponsors Sibshops. The Oak Park and River Forest group, established in 2015, has served more than 50 first through seventh graders who have siblings with disabilities, physical illness or emotional and mental health challenges.

The mother of a 9-year-old participant said that with COVID keeping the entire family at home, the summer pilot sessions of Sibshops were an opportunity for her daughter to have a chance to interact with other kids, albeit on Zoom instead of in-person.

“It’s tough to have a sibling with special needs, and this has become her space,” said

the mother. “She really needs it because she is such a social person.”

Laurie Johnson, a Thrive therapist and Sibshops facilitator, said holding meetings on Zoom obviously eliminates some in-person aspects of the program, such as tag or making lunches together. Still, she said the switch to remote meetings has added some elements to the groups as well.

“The kids get to see each other in their homes or wherever they are. We had someone who was at their vacation cabin,” said Johnson. “That has enabled us to incorporate things like favorite items that they show and talk about. The kids have also been creative and adaptive about finding private space to be within their homes, such as a fort made from blankets.”

Mike Carmody, executive director of Opportunity Knocks, is one of the Sibshops facilitators, and he said it’s great to see the children open up, knowing it’s a safe place for them to do so.

“What we say, stays in here,” said Carmody, stressing the importance of confidentiality.

Sibshops launched its fall program on Sept.

19, and upcoming dates are Oct. 3 and 17; Nov. 7 and 21; and Dec. 8 and 19. All sessions run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and are open to children from 1st through 7th grade. The fee is $5 and need-based scholarships are available.

Space is limited with preference given to Oak Park and River Forest residents, but families from other communities are welcome to participate based on availability.

Advance registration is required. Contact ljohnson@thrivecc.org or call Laurie Johnson at 708-383-7500 ext. 409.

on Sept. 13 and 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 15. The estimated loss is $200.

■ These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports Sept. 14- Sept. 21 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded.

Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

RF investigators arrest man for bank, gas station robberies

By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

On Sept. 16, River Forest police investigators arrested David Divizio, a 49-year-old Chicago man, after days of surveillance in Chicago. On Sept.

18, River Forest Police Chief James O’Shea released a statement announcing the arrest and detailing Divizio’s history of crime in the village.

Divizio was responsible for three robberies in River Forest. In addition, he has a history of bank robberies, for which he previously served seven years in federal custody, and, since his latest arrest, is also being charged by Elmwood Park and the FBI for crimes.

Divizio’s crimes in River Forest began on Jan. 22, when he robbed Byline Bank, 7551 Lake St. Village of River Forest street cameras determined his direction of travel, and officers retrieved numerous items he discarded along the way. These items were turned over to the FBI for DNA analysis, which identified Divizio as the offender.

On June 21, he struck again. River Forest officers were called to the Circle K gas station, 7201 North Ave., for a robbery. Divizio fled, dropping items on the way which were recovered by officers and sent to the Illinois State Police Forensic Science Center in Chicago for analysis. Video surveillance showed the offender had the same tattoos as

Divizio.

A few months later, on Sept. 5, River Forest officers were called to Fifth Third Bank, 7727 Lake St., for a bank robbery that had just occurred. The offender was later identified as Divizio.

Street cameras showed him leaving the area in a Blue Cab, and investigators obtained a cellphone number for the call placed to the cab company. Surveillance video inside the cab allowed officers to determine Divizio was the offender.

Using evidence and information from all three of these incidents, River Forest investigators worked with the FBI to obtain an arrest warrant. They identified several locations frequented by Divizio and conduced several days of surveillance before arresting him on the 6300 block of North Avenue.

During an interview by River Forest investigators, Divizio provided a statement in which he admitted to committing the three River Forest robberies.

He was charged with attempted aggravated arson (a class 1 felony) and robbery (a class 2 felony).

Divizio was also interviewed by the FBI, Elmwood Park Police Department, Chicago Police Department and the Oak Park Police Department. The Elmwood Park PD also charged Divizio with multiple robberies, and the FBI and Chicago PD plan to file charges as well.

Divizio is in custody at Cook County Jail on $40,000 and $30,000 bonds.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Colin Fane, Agent

Environmental remediation at Lake and Lathrop site

212 S Marion Street Fl G Oak Park, IL 60302 Bus: 708-383-3163 www.colinfane.com Monday & Friday 9am-5pm Tues/Wed/Thurs 9am-7pm Saturday The9am-12pm IEPA approved the plan, but Pioneer

Construction expected to begin spring of 2021

needed to do additional testing of groundwater and soil to “further define the scope of work and extent of the treatment zone.”

This began in June, after foundation demoBy MARIA MAXHAM lition and site cleanup were completed, and Staff Reporter Pioneer conducted additional pre-remediaIt might look like nothing’s happening tion soil and groundwater testing to further on the southwest corner of Lake Street and define the scope of work and extent of the Lathrop Avenue in River Forest. The future treatment zone.

In the last week of July, soil remediation site of a proposed mixed-use condominium began, starting with the application of an project looks pretty much the same as it has industry standard treatment solution at infor some time now. jection points throughout the site. The soluBut a lot’s going on, including environtion is allowed to cure, after which soil and mental remediation, a slow process that’s soil gas samples are collected for analysis. not particularly exciting to watch. And VilSamples were collected in late August, lage President Cathy indicated in an email and once analyzed, a second phase of soil to residents that if all goes according to treatment, similar to the first, is planned. plan, construction will begin in spring 2021.

The IEPA will need to approve Phase II as “At times during the environmental State Farmwell. The end goal is achieving a “No Furcleanup process, it may appear that there is Bloomington, IL Remediation” (NFR) determination by ther minimal actual site activity,” said Sedgwick the IEPA, meaning the site is “clean” and 2001290 Properties, the developer of the proposed construction of the project can commence. project, in a Sept. 10 press release. “HowIn a Sept. 4 email to residents, Adduci proever, there is significant work going on bevided an update on the Lake and Lathrop hind the scenes with the numerous moving project, stating that the developer had subparts associated with the site work progresmitted all necessary documents to the vilsion. Environmental remediation is a long, lage, including building, structural, stormtedious process involving several rounds of water and civil engineering plans. testing, approvals, treatment and coordina“These items are currently under review tion with the Illinois Environmental Protec- by the village and its third-party consultion Agency (IEPA).” tants, and once signed off by our village According to the developer, the site has staff, a building permit will be issued to the been plagued with soil contamination for developer to begin construction,” Adduci decades, dating back to a dry-cleaning facil- wrote. She added that including the enviity located on the premises for decades start- ronmental remediation, the need for IEPA ing in the 1920s. approval, and ComEd’s moving of electrical Sedgwick has contracted with Pioneer wiring underground, the village anticipates Engineering and Environmental Services, spring 2021 construction. an environmental consultant, to oversee the Sedgwick said the condos offered will be soil remediation. Pioneer has “conducted a combination of two-, three- and four-bedextensive site testing in order to determine room units, providing “opportunities for loa more exacting level of detail for the exten- cal residents looking to downsize as well as sive environmental cleanup required,” ac- newcomers interested in joining the River cording to Sedgwick.

Forest community.” Each unit will have twoEarlier this year, Pioneer submitted a site car parking, direct access with a private elinvestigation, remediation objectives, and evator, and 10-foot ceilings. Pre-construction remediation plan report to the Illinois En- pricing runs from $629,900 to $1,474,900. vironmental Protection Agency (IEPA), the More information from the developer can first step in cleaning the site prior to con- be found at rf-lakestreet.com, and from the village at vrf.us/LakeAndLathrop. struction.

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

New project, less height near Unity Temple

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Lake Street may get another apartment building as Michigan Avenue Real Estate Group (MAREG) has plans in store for the U.S. Bank drive-up at 835 Lake St., just steps away from Unity Temple. The site is west of Oak Park Avenue and east of Kenilworth.

MAREG plans to construct a 6-story building with 84 rental units, 88 parking spots and a pedestrian entrance facing Lake Street, according to a letter sent to the Historic Preservation Commission. The developer has hired SPACE Architects to design the structure.

This plan follows a 2019 controversy when a different developer proposed a 300-foot residential high-rise for the site. Concerns over both height and the shadows it would throw over Frank Lloyd Wright’s nearly adjacent Unity Temple put a quick kibosh on the plan.

In the new proposal, “The ground floor consists of the residential lobby, residential fitness center, building management office, elevator, surface parking, waste and recycling center, bicycle storage, mechanical

and one self-serve ATM kiosk. The upper floors consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom units,” the letter to the commission reads.

The vehicular entrance will be located on the alley just south of the proposed complex to route traffic from the development away from Lake Street for the safety of pedestri-

ans.

MAREG will meet with the Preservation Commission Oct. 1. While the bank structure that currently sits on the lot is not historic and does not require the commission’s approval for demolition, the lot itself is in the Ridgeland-Oak Park Historic District.

As such, the Preservation Commission

must review the proposed building to ensure it fits within the district’s character, as well as the potential effects it may have on neighboring Unity Temple.

MAREG’s letter to the Historic Preservation Commission states that the “height of the building has been crafted so as not to eclipse the streetscape, and specifically not to impose on the visual space of Unity Temple.”

It further states that MAREG’s proposed structure’s massing and architecture is deferential to that of Unity Temple, as well as the main branch of the nearby Oak Park Public Library. The village of Oak Park’s design consultant, Wight & Company, contributed to the plans.

This is not MAREG’s first foray into Oak Park, nor its first dalliance with historic districts. The village board gave MAREG its approval to build a 5-story, 42-unit apartment building at 435 to 451 Madison St., despite failing to secure a positive recommendation from the Plan Commission. The Plan Commission felt the height and the massing of the building too large. The Madison structure will back up to the Gunderson Historic District.

Non-retail use gets downtown zoning board win

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Two new rulings by the Oak Park Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to allow for a non-retail use in space zoned specifically for retail provide a new layer to the discussion of whether Oak Park should relax downtown zoning due to the struggling retail industry.

The ZBA gave unanimous approval Sept. 17 for a request to convert the groundfloor space at 1120 Lake St. — formerly Bar Louie, Bruegger’s Bagels and Mattress Firm — into a co-working office space, as the property’s owners had failed to secure a retail tenant. A request to operate a driving school out of 103 N. Oak Park Ave. also received unanimous ZBA approval.

These are two highly topical decisions, considering the Oak Park Plan Commission, which hears zoning amendments, will soon discuss broadening the current zoning code to allow certain non-retail uses in the greater downtown area, as recently reported by Wednesday Journal. As the code currently stands, those buildings must maintain the front 50 feet of ground-level space for retail use.

“We’ve been having a hard time leasing the space,” said Antonio Vallado, who coowns the property with his brother. “We’re in hardship right now with the bank.”

Following the closures of Bar Louie,

Bruegger’s and the mattress store, the property’s entire first floor has been empty.

The Vallado brothers have failed to secure a retailer to fill the space, despite offering it in full or in parceled form, substantially decreasing the rent, switching brokers, aggressively marketing the property and presenting it at real estate conventions.

For this reason, the brothers decided to seek a zoning variance to lease the property to Venture X, a co-working office space company.

“This is one where the hardship seems pretty clear,” said ZBA member Steve Ruszczyk. “I’d be willing to support this one.”

Ruszczyk appreciated that the shared office space was of low impact to the neighborhood and called it an “interesting pivot from traditional retail.”

ZBA member Jim Lencioni agreed.

“This is a good alternative use and considering the recent article in the Journal,” said ZBA member Jim Lencioni, “this is one of the better solutions.”

Venture X furnishes its co-working space with Herman Miller furniture, which the Vallados believe fits very well in the architecture and aesthetics of Oak Park.

The property’s proximity to the CTA makes it ideal for a co-working office situation, according to the application.

The request to use the space as a

co-working office had the support of the building’s condominium association. The association’s president and one of its board members sent letters to the ZBA, advocating for its approval.

The zoning board also heard multiple people speak favorably of the idea to allow a minority-owned driving school to rent the storefront at 103 N. Oak Park Ave. in the Hemingway District. The commercial district at Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street makes up part of greater downtown Oak Park and shares the same retail zoning rules as that of 1120 Lake St. “We all know how much retail has changed, apart from in the pandemic,” said Nora Curtin, the property’s owner. “There’s no way to deny that.”

The owner of Excel Driving School, Rey Shallwani, plans to buy the property from Curtin.

“He’s looking to not just rent the space, but to purchase the space, so he’s looking to definitely have strong footing there” said Curtin.

Excel has a handful of locations in the western suburbs, all of which have been in operation for more than 10 years. Parents in the community, according to Curtin, have expressed a desire to have an Excel location in Oak Park.

The driving school Shallwani and Curtin both believe will increase traffic to the area, with a constant stream of new

customers to share with the surrounding businesses.

“Parents will go to the retail shops and, if you know anything about teenagers, they like to eat,” said Shallwani. “The restaurants are usually pretty happy to have us around there.”

Excel also has no need for parking because the students will be learning to drive and therefore will not be parking for any length of time.

“We’re never really taking up much parking space,” said Shallwani.

The request to allow a driving school was not supported by Jim August, co-owner of the neighboring Irish Shop. August sent a letter to the ZBA imploring them to uphold the zoning as it stands so that another retailer could operate out of that space.

“I welcome Mr. August to purchase the property if he would like and he is welcome to put in a retail business,” said Lauren Vula, Curtin’s real estate agent. “But unfortunately, the property has been listed for a little while now.”

The ZBA believed the case for the driving school was very strong and gave it its full support in a unanimous vote.

In addition to co-working space and the driving school, the ZBA also gave its approval for a special use permit application submitted by Montessori Academy Spanish Immersion Inc. to operate a daycare at 308 Madison St.

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

15

Victory Italian poised to open in October

Chef Joe Farina brings his Chicago-style Italian cuisine to Marion Street

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

Chef Joe Farina, known for his Chicagostyle Italian fare, is bringing Victory Italian to Oak Park. Set to open in the former home of Two Brothers Social Tap, 100 S. Marion St., Victory Italian is poised to bring throwback charm and an arsenal of classic Italian dishes to the Pleasant District on Monday, Oct. 19.

The Oak Park location will be a sister restaurant to Victory Italian’s River North establishment, as well as Victory Tap and Victory Meat and Seafood. The former lead chef for Rosebud Restaurants and current culinary mind behind Victory Restaurant Group, Farina grew up in nearby Melrose Park.

“Chef believes that Victory will be a wonderful compliment to the robust mix of culinary venues within Oak Park,” said Mary

Anne, Victory Restaurant Group brand manager. “To be able to open one of his locations alongside his favorites such as Poor Phil’s and Peterson’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream seems like the perfect opportunity to share his special brand of Chicago-Italian with a community he loves.”

Farina is committed to keeping Italian

food simple by letting the flavors of local and seasonal ingredients shine through. In addition to offering an array of signature dishes like burrata salad and crispy brick chicken, Victory Italian is known for serving up Italian inspired menu items with distinctly American origins, like spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parmesan. Victory’s

Wine Spectator Award winning wine list and classic cocktail assortment will round out the menu offerings.

Curious diners should expect to discover updates and cosmetic changes to the Marion Street space. Victory Italian’s décor will evoke the upscale, yet family-friendly vibe popularized by the Italian-American restaurants of the 1920s and 1930s. A chef ’s table will offer guests an interactive dining experience and bar seating will also boast open views of the kitchen.

Though excited to bring their vast restaurant experience to the Oak Park community, the uncertainty of opening during a global pandemic has been challenging. Victory Restaurant Group aims to remain fluid and ready to adapt to all necessary changes to open and run a business in these uncertain times.

“It is true that having an opening now has had its own set of challenges. We have had to be loose with the opening and sympathetic to all new and unprecedented factors that affect all of us at this time.” said Anne. “In the end, this flexibility is what has enabled us to retain our high quality of service along with safety for our guests and employees.”

One Lake cornered market for heaters. So it’s sharing

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

On a sweltering day in August, Jason Alfonsi, co-owner of One Lake Brewing, 1 Lake St in Oak Park, started thinking ahead to the next phase of outdoor dining. He anticipated acquiring heaters for the brewery’s rooftop deck would be the next COVID-19 related hurdle the restaurant would face.

“We went online looking for heaters and found most places were already sold out or experiencing shipping delays,” said Jason’s wife and One Lake co-owner, Kristen Alfonsi. “So, we hedged our bets and placed larger orders from three companies.”

Since businesses could not guarantee their ability to fill an order for 10 propane heaters, the Alfonsi’s placed an order for 30 heaters in hopes of getting the 10 they needed to adequately heat the roof deck. The couple even made a friendly wager on which heaters would actually arrive in Oak Park.

And then heaters started arriving.

Day after day the Alfonsi’s would find anywhere from one to three heaters packaged in enormous boxes waiting on their front porch. Despite the long odds all 30 heaters arrived.

“It was just hilarious,” laughed Alfonsi. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what are we going to do with all these heaters?’”

With a garage full of heaters, the Alfonsi’s

offered the excess at cost to Exit Strategy in Forest Park, Flapjack Brewing in Berwyn, Kinslahgher in Oak Park, Armand’s Pizza in Elmhurst and George Street Pub in Chicago. Ultimately Exit Strategy took eight heaters, while Oak Park Brewing took three, Armand’s took two, and George Street Pub took the remainder.

“I don’t know what restaurants are going to do if they wait to the last second,” said Alfonsi. “I know some places can’t afford to think ahead right now.”

The same heaters One Lake purchased in August for $300 were selling for $1,200 just a few weeks later according to Alfonsi. Today, even that is not an option -- the same heaters are now only available used for $750.

One Lake’s accidental heater hoarding added a bit of levity to the “COVID craziness” facing the business. The Alfonsi’s enjoy seeing their overflow heaters warming up patios around town.

“We are all pretty good friends in the brewing community,” said Oak Park Brewing owner, Jim Cozzens. “We are always looking for ways to help each other out.”

Whether sharing crowler cans, trading hops or loaning label makers, Alfonsi confirms behind the scenes cooperation is key in the brewery business.

“Ending up with so many heaters was an accident,” said Alfonsi, “but it felt good to help out our brewing community.”

Newest Triton board member appointed, sworn in

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

The newest member of the Triton College Board of Trustees was sworn in during a special session on Sept. 17, the college announced in a statement released Sept. 18.

Lisa Bickel, an elementary school teacher in Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview School District 89, was appointed to the role after former longtime board member Donna

Peluso resigned in August.

Peluso had served nearly 28 years on the board before she resigned for what a college spokesperson said was personal reasons.

In the college’s Sept. 18 statement, officials said that Peluso retired.

In August, the college opened applications for any candidates interested in being appointed to the board as Peluso’s temporary successor. Triton officials did not disclose how many candidates applied for the appointment.

Peluso could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday afternoon. A spokesperson for the college said that they’ll make someone available to offer more details about the selection process, but officials had not responded by Tuesday afternoon.

Bickel will serve in her appointed role on the board until Peluso’s permanent successor is chosen by voters at the next regular election for Triton board members in April 2021.

According to Triton’s statement, Bickel, who has lived in the Triton District all her life, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa. She has a master’s in teaching from Concordia University Chicago in River Forest and an English as a Second Language endorsement from Dominican University in River Forest.

She lives in Elmwood Park with her husband and two children.

16

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

By MICHAEL ROMAIN

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

D200 to change bus companies

Staff Reporter

The District 200 school board is poised to change transportation providers. The board is expected to vote to replace its current provider, Grand Prairie Transportation, with Hopewell Services, a division of First Student, at a regular meeting on Sept. 24.

During a Committee of the Whole meeting on Sept. 10, Carolyn Gust, the district’s purchasing and transportation director, told board members that the district could save roughly $65,000 in the first year. Grand Prairie’s contract expired on June 30.

Grand Prairie’s annual bid cost was $1,007,503 to service four in-district routes and 13 off-site routes — an increase of 2.5 percent over their FY 2019-20 contract.

“Over the summer, I reached out to other districts to compare renewal rates,” Gust told board members on Sept. 10.

“Our renewal rate requested by Grand Prairie was on the low end, but because of the economic situation and knowing

PARKING

Board reviews policy from page 1 portation Commission identifying where to extend.

Secondly, staff suggested increasing the number of parking passes people can have using the Passport parking app. People currently receive three passes for free each month, then pay $7 for the next seven passes up to 10. Staff recommended increasing that to five free passes a month, then 10 passes after that at $7 each.

Staff recommended no change to the price of permits, as Trustee Susan Buchanan clarified during the meeting.

“These proposals don’t change the price; the prices stayed the same,” said Buchanan.

WINTRUST

Commission has say from page 1 a bank out of the Winberie’s space. Currently, the location is zoned retail only.

Hinsdale Bank has been interested in opening a branch in Oak Park for many years, but felt the market cornered.

“Our niche hyper local community banking was being done well in Oak Park, through the Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest,” said Jones.

With the purchase of the Community Bank by Byline Bank, Hinsdale Bank found an opportunity to enter the Oak Park market and “redoubled” its efforts.

“Byline’s a fine bank,” Jones said. “I just don’t believe they have this hyper local feel

transportation providers were out there looking for business, and we hadn’t gone out to bid in a while, I decided to go out to bid and see if we could save any money over our contract.”

Hopewell’s bid was $942,916. The district is expected to enter a three-year contract with Hopewell that Gust said includes annual increases that are around $266,000 lower than Grand Prairie’s bid, or a savings of nearly $500,000 over the life of the contract.

Currently, Grand Prairie transports 11 Oak Park and River Forest High School students to seven off-site schools. If the district switches to Hopewell Services, the company will transport those students for a cost of $343,721 for the 2020-21 school year.

More special education students who were identified for on-site learning may return to in-person instruction in early October. Gust said that, if that happens, the annual cost would increase by $46,340 for the school year.

The state reimburses 80 percent of the district’s special education transportation costs.

Gust said that if students in the school’s general population eventually return to campus later in the year, Hopewell will include the additional routes at the original bid price.

Gust said that while Hopewell was the lowest bidder, she’s worked with the company in the past at another school district she worked at “and they did a fantastic job for us.”

She added that Hopewell will be disinfecting each vehicle on a monthly basis with an anti-microbial disinfectant that coats surfaces and eliminates the COVID-19 virus on contact. In addition, buses will be sprayed daily with a regular use disinfectant “before the route, throughout the route and at the end of the route.”

Drivers are required to have their temperature taken and self-certify that they are COVID-19 symptom-free before they can board the vehicle. Students are required to show that they’ve self-certified that they are symptom-free through the district’s Skyward student app.

Gust said that Hopewell is prepared to start transportation services this month.

“Nobody’s going to be saving any money.

They’re just going to be able to have more options on where to park.”

Trustee Jim Taglia was undecided regarding overnight parking, but he was open to receiving guidance from the Transportation Commission, noting that the complexity of the issue.

“I would definitely vote to refer it to them,” said Taglia, who eventually voted against doing so.

Trustee Deno Andrews also wanted to get the Transportation Commission’s input and mentioned the possibility of a premium parking pass that allowed for unrestricted parking in all areas.

“I think there’s room for that and I would like to see what Transportation commission felt about that,” said Andrews.

Staff did not recommend getting rid of the overnight parking ban in its entirety, but Trustee Arti Walker-Peddakotla stated

she wanted that option considered.

The two staff suggestions, Walker-Peddakotla believed, did not address the issue of equity as related to parking nor did it take into account the financial toll of paying for overnight parking.

“The added expense on top of renting, especially in an economic downturn, I don’t see this solving any of those issues,” she said.

Trustee Simone Boutet was interested in hearing from Oak Park Police Chief LaDon Reynolds on how a permanent removal of the overnight parking ban would affect public safety.

“There’s definitely an equity issue and a safety issue that we need to be balanced,” said Boutet.

Walker-Peddakotla also had a mind to send the issue to the Transportation Commission.

Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb believed that

Oak Park will never have a perfect solution that addresses all of its parking problems, because the village does not have enough street space to accommodate all of its vehicles. Abu-Taleb viewed village staff ’s suggestions favorably.

“It does advance the ball forward,” said Abu-Taleb.

The mayor also thanked Fenwick High School for building a parking garage to reduce the number of vehicles parked on nearby streets.

Abu-Taleb warned that a failure to accept the staff recommendations as presented would be detrimental instead of helpful to the citizens of Oak Park, because parking enforcement would resume before the Transportation Commission could give its feedback.

“If this fails, then we’re not helping the people who need help most,” the mayor stated.

of trying to provide the full range of banking services in this community.

Jones began discussions with the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation (OPEDC) in earnest last year. OPEDC has provided a letter of recommendation for Hinsdale Bank to the village of Oak Park.

According to Jones, they looked at several possible Oak Park locations, including the former Pier 1 spot on Lake Street near Harlem. None of the spots made sense.

Jones called the availability of Winberie’s location “serendipitous.” The lease was signed a couple of weeks ago.

“We think the Scoville Square space, which is in a building that’s on the national registry in a neighborhood on the national registry, while in a business district, sort of fits who we are,” said Jones. “It’s hometown banking.”

The Oak Park Historic Preservation Commission gave Hinsdale Bank its approval to

make minor changes to the space, including adding windows on its north side to give the interior more natural light. Hinsdale Bank has hired local architect Douglas Gilbert for the project; Gilbert previously served on the Historic Preservation Commission.

Hinsdale Bank intends to create a historical Oak Park display in the end window, which cannot serve as a true window due to safety concerns.

“We’re an organization that really likes to fit in; we don’t like to be heavy-handed in trying to get into a community because we intend to be there for a long, long time,” Jones.

Hinsdale Bank will not put in a drive-thru at the Oak Park branch. However, the space is roughly 5,000 square feet, making it conducive for traditional full-service banking.

“We have all those capabilities for people to bank digitally. But when it comes to small businesses, problem solving, trusted invest-

ment advisory and mortgage operations,” Jones said, “We still think it makes sense to have a physical presence.”

If all goes according to plan, Jones hopes the Oak Park branch will open in the first quarter of next year but says realistically, the branch will likely open in the second quarter.

“Right now, the banking in Oak Park is dominated by two large players, Chase and U.S. Bank and they’re very good,” said Jones. “We think our approach is just a little bit different, particularly as it relates to being community bankers.”

According to Jones, Wintrust and Hinsdale Bank intend to “enhance the fabric of the community,” while providing “top notch banking services” with an emphasis on hiring local talent. That goes for the Oak Park branch as well.

“The ideal person to lead that office for us will be an Oak Parker.”

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

River Forest trustees wrestle with Halloween River Forest is among many municipalities in the western suburbs and elsewhere wrestling with how to allow children to celebrate Halloween safely during a pandemic.

Village Administrator Eric Palm brought the issue to the village board six weeks before the Oct. 31 holiday to seek direction from elected officials. No decisions were reached after discussion, leading village President Cathy Adduci to schedule a vote on the matter at the Tuesday Sept. 29 meeting.

“With concern for the public’s safety in large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff is looking for direction from the village board of trustees on how to manage trick-or-treating this Halloween,” Sara Phyfer, management analyst/deputy clerk, said in a memo to Adduci and the village board.

Palm said officials from neighboring Forest Park and Oak Park have indicated they are “leaning against” allowing trick-ortreating but most municipalities are hoping direction will come from the Illinois governor’s office or the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“Even if we tell people not to do it, some will do it anyway,” he added.

Trustees Tom Cargie and Bob O’Connell raised the issue of enforcement.

“There will be kids everywhere,” O’Connell said. “How do you control it?”

In her memo, Phyfer noted that River Forest historically draws trick-or-treaters from others areas and that those children may not be aware of restrictions.

Trustee Patty Henek suggested coordinating with neighboring villages, noting that the village is likely to attract even more trick-or-treaters from other areas if River Forest is the only community allowing the practice.

“It’s important to send a message,” Henek said. “We will need to reimagine Halloween.”

“We need to set an example,” Bachner said, noting that social distancing will be “impossible” because “kids bunch together.”

“We can’t keep people from doing it,” Brennan said. “People will look to the village for direction.”

“How can we enforce it or control it?”

Adduci asked. “We’re going to have to work on what that means.”

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RF library director announces retirement

After 13 years, Sue Quinn, director of the River Forest Library, is retiring.

The library board has hired a consulting firm, HR Source, to help in the search for a new director. Joanna Bertucci (operations manager) and Amy Grossman (children’s services manager) will serve as interim codirectors until a new director is in place, and Quinn will work with Deborah Hill, president of the library’s board of trustees, to help with the transition to a new director.

Her last day in the building will be Oct. 20, but she will continue to consult as needed.

Hill speaks highly of Quinn. In a news release from the library, Hill said, “Under Sue’s leadership, the library has reimagined its role in the village to serve as a true community center. The board is grateful for Sue’s creative management of so many challenges, the latest being COVID-19, where safety and access were twin concerns. We wish her a well-deserved retirement.”

Quinn began her service at the library in 2007. Before becoming director in April 2016, she worked as the manager of Children’s Services, was head of strategic services, and served as assistant director of the library.

In 2019, under Quinn’s leadership, the library completed a renovation of the lobby,

providing patrons and staff with improved accessibility and more efficient workspaces.

Another challenge the library met head-on under Quinn’s guidance was a heating outage, which resulted in burst pipes and system damage.

But according to the press release, her management of the COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest challenge during Quinn’s tenure. She led the library in figuring out how to adjust services and offerings so the library could continue to offer services to patrons, in a safe yet efficient way.

As for her retirement, Quinn said it wasn’t an easy choice to make.

“This was a difficult decision for me,” Quinn said. “I have poured my heart and soul into the River Forest Library over the past 13 years. In return, my work here has provided me with invaluable opportunities to meet so many interesting people, learn from my dynamic colleagues and develop new skills. Above all, it has challenged me to grow as a leader.”

Quinn said she’s looking forward to free time, offering opportunities to spend with her family, including her dog, doing yoga, and reading.

Maria Maxham

18

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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Laurel Saltzman Laurie Shapiro Tom Sullivan Debbie Watts George Wohlford Nancy Wohlford Randy Ernst • 773-290-0307

1416 JACKSON • RIVER FOREST OPEN SUNDAY 122

217 N TAYLOR • OAK PARK OPEN SUNDAY 122

547 LINDEN • OAK PARK

N EW LI S T I N G!

N EW LI S T I N G!

BEAUTIFUL, CLASSIC HOME offers everything for today’s modern living. Custom-built home has the highest quality finishes. No detail was missed. Brick and stone exterior, wrap-around porch, eleven-foot ceilings and oversized windows. LL has 2,000 feet of living area. ........................................................................$1,295,000

RARELY AVAILABLE, “Cavalcade of Pride” award-winning home on 50 x 170 ft lot. Includes high ceilings, oak staircase, marble fireplace, separate formal dining area, spacious den/family room with stained glass and built-in bookcases, eat-in kitchen, and a large full basement with storage.......................................$639,000

COLONIAL REVIVAL STYLE with Tudor Revival influences built in 1909. This stunning six-bedroom home displays sophistication and tasteful elegant décor. It offers wonderful space for family and entertaining with beautiful views of the spectacular oversized corner lot. ......................................................................... $1,395,000

STATELY HOME located on a picturesque River Forest block! This 5 bedroom, 3 full/2 half bath home includes four floors of living with two finished family rooms, a large study and three fireplaces.

Large sun-drenched rooms with elegant cove molding and windows. In-ground outdoor pool. ......................................... $819,000

520 N OAK PARK AVE • OAK PARK

LOVELY BRICK HOME offers wonderful space with beautiful views of the spectacular lot! Original details with two story foyer and hardwood floors throughout. This elegant home is beautifully constructed and large enough to accommodate family and friends for years to come. ............................................................................................$1,299,000 ELEGANT CRAFTSMANSHIP can be found throughout this 5 BR French Normandy home. Sophistication is evident from the moment you walk in the door. Impressive foyer, formal LR with fireplace and built-in benches, family room, separate formal DR, updated kitchen, home office. ..................................................................................$1,100,000 GRAND SPRAWLING HOME with an abundance of interior and exterior living areas. 5 BRs, upstairs laundry, 3 full & 1 half BAs, 3 fireplaces, full basement with recreation room. Grand two story family room incorporated into an open plan kitchen. Hardwood floors throughout main level. ...................................................................$815,000 SPLITLEVEL HOME offers newly refreshed contemporary style and wonderful space. Home offers three bedrooms, three brand new bathrooms, beautiful front entryway, vaulted ceiling family room, sunroom, game room, deck, spectacular backyard, attached two-car garage .............................................................................................. $599,000 LOVELY BUNGALOW offers wonderful space for family and entertaining. Original details blend seamlessly with all the current updates.

Four BRs and 3 updated full baths on each level. Kitchen opens to family room. Full finished bsmt offers rec room, laundry area, bar & wine storage. ................................................................................................... $569,000 CITY LIVING CONVENIENCE in a charming village atmosphere.

This large Cape Cod is not a drive-by. Ten large rooms with four bedrooms, four full baths, and a huge 1st-floor family room with a wet bar.

Three-season room, and a kitchen with 42” oak cabinets. .....$565,000 PRICE REDUCED CENTER ENTRANCE COLONIAL offers wonderful space! Deep lot, large deck, and original details throughout the home. Features include large living room, sunny sitting room, hardwood floors, updated kitchen, family room, full finished basement, and a two-car garage. ...................................................................$440,000

CLASSIC OAK PARK HOME on a large corner lot in the Harrison Arts district. This four BR, three BA home boasts four levels of living space. Tall ceilings, hardwood floors, vintage leaded glass windows, updated kitchen with breakfast bar. Finished 3rd floor, newly finished basement......................................................................................... $549,000 GREAT MOVEIN READY HOME with 4 bedrooms. Features include an updated screened-in front porch with new hardwood floors, enclosed back porch that doubles as a mud room, all bedrooms with hardwood floors, finished basement with large living area, fenced yard, 2-1/2 car garage. ............................................................................ $439,000 TURN KEY LIVING awaits you in the 3 BR, 2 bath ranch all made up and ready to go! All new stainless steel appliances and granite counters highlight the twenty foot long eat-in kitchen. The expansive finished lower level practically doubles the size of the living space. Two car garage. ..............................................................................................$314,900 DUTCH COLONIAL with rehab already started, already gutted.

Originally 2 bedrooms, but now open to new floor plan and added bedrooms and baths. Could be a flip or a great home to live in. ............. ............................................................................................................$185,000

1301 PARK • RIVER FOREST

THREE STORY GRAND VICTORIAN on 100 x 218 lot in the heart of the Frank Lloyd Wright district. This estate features 6 Bedrooms, 2 Full baths, 3 fireplaces, many historic details including double front entry doors sourced from the Historic Pullman Estates section of Chicago. ...................................................................$650,000

RIVER FOREST HOMES

MODERN DREAM HOME centrally located on a corner lot with fenced in yard has plenty of entertainment space! Designer touches throughout the 6 bedroom, 6 full and 1 half bath home with beautiful LR, DR and large kitchen with open floor plan to the family room. So much more to see! ...................................................................... $1,699,000 BURMABUILT BUHRKE HOUSE combines Tudor revival & chateau style architecture elements. Gorgeous décor and impeccable attention to detail and care found in house and landscaped grounds, extends to fabulous in ground pool and patios. Perfect for entertaining. ................................................................................................$1,650,000 STATELY SOUTHERN COLONIAL blends old world craftsmanship with elegant modern updates ideally located. Grand foyer, elegant LR with fireplace, recently remodeled gourmet kitchen, mudroom, family room, large basement with den/office. Meticulously maintained and ready to move in.......................................................................... $1,599,000 PRICE REDUCED STUNNING FRENCH NORMANDY house that has been remodeled and refinished from top to bottom. New wiring, plumbing, hvac, all floors, generator, roof work, and more. Just drop in your furniture and enjoy, from the fantastic front entrance all the way to the basement...................................................................$1,349,000

OAK PARK HOMES

BEAUTIFUL SIDE ENTRANCE COLONIAL with 4 BRs, 2 full & 1 half baths features a spacious center family room, cooks’ kitchen with mud room, gas fireplace, built-in shelving & art glass windows.

Beautiful woodwork & hardwood floors throughout. Finished LL. Front & back heated walkway. ............................................................... $639,000

MELROSE PARK HOMES

WELL CARED FOR BEVERLY in great location! Features beautiful hardwood flooring in most rooms, remodeled master bath, updated kitchen, and finished basement with second kitchen for those large family parties! Freshly painted. Fenced yard. Absolute move-in condition!....................................................................................................$339,900 NEW LISTING SOLID BRICK PROPERTY with vintage charm in need of work. Great location! Corner lot with a two-car garage and fenced yard. Deck off the kitchen..................................................$219,900

FRENCH COUNTRY ESTATE built for flexible living. Fully renovated and expanded to preserve the feel and charm of a 1946 home, with all the conveniences of modern amenities and finishes.

Sits on a private, double lot. Large pool, 5 BRs w/BAs, 2nd Fl laundry, private office, finished basement......................$1,749,950

CONDOS/TOWNHOMES/2 FLATS PRICE REDUCED RIVER FOREST 2BR, 2BA...................$264,000 OAK PARK Two Flat ...................................................................$550,000 OAK PARK 3BR, 2 full/2 half BA. Move-in ready...................$425,000 OAK PARK 3BR, 2 full/1 half BA. Vintage beauty..................$285,000 OAK PARK 3BR, 2 full/1 half BA. Large BRs/ample closets. .$269,000 OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. Parking space included. .......................$124,500 PRICE REDUCED OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. ............................$110,000 OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. No stairs!...................................................$99,900 FOREST PARK 1BR, 1BA. Rare find! ..........................................$95,000 NEW LISTING MELROSE PARK Two Flat. ......................$264,900

Find that Fall Home!

Contact a Gagliardo Realty Associates Agent for a free market analysis

Shop for homes online at GagliardoRealty.com

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

NEED TO REACH US?

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

19

Homes

Work away from home

CrossFunction Flexible Workspace transforms historic building

By LACEY SIKORA

B

Contributing Reporter

efore COVID-19-related lockdowns caused the closure of places of business, Pew Research found that 7 percent of U.S. workers had access to flexible workspaces or the ability to telework. Post-lockdown, Gallup Research estimates that 62 percent of the American workforce is working from home.

While a work-from-home office has distinct perks, not least among them the ability to wear pajamas all day, six months into the work-from-home lifestyle, with school-fromhome, eat-from-home and Netflix-fromhome also taking up space in the house, a return to the office might be more looking appealing.

Many offices might not be ready to welcome employees back inside yet, but a new workplace option recently opened up in Oak Park. Like everything else in this world, the new business is pivoting due to the virus,

but finding its original plan might speak to more than wider-than-anticipated audience.

When Trent Stoner leased the Boulevard Arcade building on South Boulevard in Oak Park, the building checked all the boxes that he was looking for to start a new business.

He says that when he transitioned out of his job with Bridgestone, he was looking to create a second-act career in real estate and flexible, shared space for business and locals.

He started looking at available real estate in 2018 and says that it took some time to find a place with a history and a story that would also be suitable for CrossFunction Flexible Workspace -- his brand of space for both office and events.

“We wanted it to be close to transportation in a robust village,” Stoner said.

An ideal location would have restaurants and shops nearby and be located close to rail stations to provide easy access to and from the city.

He and his partners found the ideal location at 1033 South Blvd. Not only was it within walking distance to the Metra, CTA, dining and shopping, but Stoner says, “It’s a place with tremendous history.”

See CROSSFUNCTION on page 22

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

ADAPTABLE: Trent Stoner (top) jumped from a career at Bridgestone to one in real estate, establishing a business that provides flexible, shared spaces (like the first-floor library, above) for businesses and local residents.

20

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

UNDER CONTRACT

407 KENILWORTH, OAK PARK $2,000,000 :: 6 BED :: 4.5+ BATH Fabulous renovated Victorian with coach house & pool.

JUST SOLD

JUST SOLD

Partners for final week - Sept. 23-30!

814 North Blvd, Oak Park 708-848-3434 www.cucinaoakpark.com

Take out not available - dine in only.

900 FRANKLIN, RIVER FOREST

7204 IOWA, RIVER FOREST

$749,000 :: 4 BED :: 3.5 BATH Brick Colonial home. New kitchen & baths.

$574,900 :: 3 BED :: 2.5 BATH

E-commerce Bakery www.blackoutbakingco.com

Offer valid on September orders although shipping, free local delivery or pickup (at Fitzgerald's Fine Stationery, 111 N. Marion St. Oak Park) only on Tuesdays.

Dutch Colonial. Great home!

KATHY & TONY IWERSEN 708.772.8040 708.772.8041 tonyiwersen@atproperties.com

7021 Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn 708-317-5213 www.bigguyssausage.com

Help end homelessness all month & eat delicious food.

Please mention us when ordering so they know we sent you.

More info at www.housingforward.org/events

? t s i t r a l a c o l ou a

ONLINE & IN PRINT

Are y

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local artists work done by

9/21/2020 9:54:37 AM

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of original art s e g a im r fo g urnal is lookin o J y a d s six months. e t s n a d p rk of art that e o th w f l a o The We in ts g n ri e o v e n ve a the dramatic etc. If you ha 0@OakPark. , 4 y J h p W ra g to response to, it to f o o h e ,p ail us an imag , mixed media m s e g , in ip w h ra rs d e , d s a r re lpture potentially ou d Paintings, scu n a s u h it w e to share 20 Answer 0 2 e you would lik th in t n ri r in p sen to appea o h c e b l com. il w em selection of th a , s e g a im h enoug If we receive of October. d n e e th t a t u o ber 15, 2020. m te p e Book coming S y b y us your entr Please email

Send us an email, with your submission to WJ40@oakpark.com, by September 15, 2020

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

21

Work From Home!

Sunday, September 27th

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

ADDRESS

OFFICE

LISTING PRICE

TIME

1114 Lyman Ave, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re/Max In The Village. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $418,800. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 3314 East Ave, Berwyn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$499,900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:30-5:30 516 Malden Ave, LaGrange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$539,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sat. 12-2 1217 N. Marion St, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$575,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 319 S. Maple, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$598,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1125 Schneider Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . @properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $600,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1 217 N. Taylor Ave, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$639,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 1133 Chicago Ave. UNIT 3E, Oak Park . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$650,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 330 Home Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$650,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1 1215 N. Grove Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$650,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1416 Jackson Ave, River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $819,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 221 Keystone Ave, River Forest . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,295,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

I work from home setting appointments and opening new shopping accounts for a very large manufacturing/wholesale company similar to Sam’s Club and Costco.

It’s a great opportunity for stay-athome Moms, Dads, singles, retirees, or anyone looking for extra income. We are expanding rapidly.

There is no inventory and no collecting money or delivering products.

The hours are flexible and can be done alongside a full-time position as well as around your schedule.

CONDOS

Serious inquiries only!

(847) 530-5999

ADDRESS

OFFICE

LISTING PRICE

TIME

210 S. Lombard UNIT B, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$229,900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 217 N. Grove Ave. UNIT B, Oak Park . . . . . . . @properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$439,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2

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22

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

CROSSFUNCTION Open house Sept. 26 from page 19 The building was designed in 1906 by local architect E.E. Roberts as a one-story Prairie Style building. In 1922, Chicago architect Arthur Jacobs added a second story to the building, and it became a women’s indoor shopping arcade made up of boutique stores selling clothing for women.

Over time, the boutiques closed and the building’s façade lost much of its original design. From 2006 to 2008, owners Paul and Leah Beckwith and Rick and Laura Talaske restored the building, returning and rehabbing original details such as the exterior façade, the iron stair rail, tin ceiling and the Greek key-patterned tile floor in the lobby. A door to the vault of one-time tenant Madame Pankow Furs remains as well, although the vault itself has been removed.

Rick Talaske says that when his group purchased the building, the exterior had been “remuddled” extensively over time.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM With the help of the Oak Park-River Forest Historical Society, they researched what the façade originally looked like. Under the guidance if the village’s Historic Preservation Commission, they restored the façade to its 1920s version.

When Stoner leased the building in early 2020, it was with the intention of creating a flexible, boutique office space for small business professionals who might need a space for a few hours or days a week but did not want a commitment of a long-term lease.

That is still the primary draw.

“We make it easy,” Stoner said. “You just come in with your laptop and your phone, and you’re ready to work. There’s no need to worry about furniture, tech stuff or cleaning. And, you can scale up or scale down as your business needs change.”

The first floor features 12 offices with storage lockers and conference rooms, while the second floor also includes 12 offices of varying sizes in the spaces that used to house boutiques.

In total, CrossFunction offers members three lounges, two conference rooms and an atrium café. A first-floor coffee shop is in the next stage. Reception services are available

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

CH-CH-CHANGES: The Boulevard Arcade building as it appeared originally in 1907 (top left), after its 1922 renovation (bottom left), after its renovation prior to 2006 (top right) and after its most recent restoration (bottom right).

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and mailboxes provide a place to receive work-related mail.

Stoner also points out an unusual perk: a 600-square-foot sound studio designed by Rick Talaske when the building was renovated in 2006. Ideal for podcasts, recording or post-production work, the space adds a unique dimension to the building’s offerings.

“We purchased the building with the intent of adding a sound testing lab,” Talaske said. “Things have evolved in my business, and it wasn’t being used as much, but now it’s being put to excellent use by CrossFunction.”

In re-making the space into small offices, a lot of thought was given to creating an ideal work environment. Stoner says that the offices were designed to contain sound.

Sound clouds in the ceiling and cork flooring help diffuse noise, and new age phone booths offer places to make calls with complete privacy.

In the wake of COVID-19, CrossFunction has also implemented stringent cleanliness standards, including nightly cleaning service, air filters, distanced seating and plenty of touchless dispensers of hand sanitizer.

Stoner says that as people begin to tire from working from home, they might feel more comfortable returning to work at a place like CrossFunction.

“At 11,300 square feet, we have the whole building,” Stoner said. “In this post-COVID world, you’ll know everyone and limit exposure. No crowded elevator rides.”

As the pandemic significantly altered how people were conducting business, Stoner realized there might be more of demand for people looking to escape their home workplaces with a quieter, professional environment. He also saw an uptick in interest from non-business clients. A local college student has become a member and uses the space away from home to immerse in studies.

Stoner is looking forward to being a part of the Oak Park community. Already, CrossFunction has partnered with the Oak Park Art League to showcase art in the lobby on a rotating basis. Local groups can also rent conference rooms by the hour on a firstcome, first-served basis.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, CrossFunction will host a community open house outdoors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with small, socially distanced tours available.

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

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

VIEWPOINTS

23

The Census takes 5 minutes p. 29

Black lives have always mattered

G

KWAME SALTER

iven the incomprehensible debate over the assertion that Black Lives Matter, I thought I would share with my readers a powerful poem

by Margaret Walker written in 1937 over 83 years ago. Ms. Walker was only 22 years old when she wrote “For My People.” This poem gives the reader, regardless of color, a palpable sense of what Black life felt like and still feels like to my people. So, with love, I share this magnificent poem.

For My People For my people everywhere singing their slave songs repeatedly: their dirges and their ditties and their blues and jubilees, praying their prayers nightly to an unknown god, bending their knees humbly to an unseen power; For my people lending their strength to the years, to the gone years and the now years and the maybe years, washing ironing cooking scrubbing sewing mending hoeing plowing digging planting pruning patching dragging along never gaining never reaping never knowing and never understanding; For my playmates in the clay and dust and sand of Alabama backyards playing baptizing and preaching and doctor and jail and soldier and school and mama and cooking and playhouse and concert and store and hair and Miss Choomby and company; For the cramped bewildered years we went to school to learn to know the reasons why and the answers to and the people who and the places where and the days when, in memory of the bitter hours when we discovered we were black and poor and small and different and nobody cared and nobody wondered and nobody understood; For the boys and girls who grew in spite of these things to be man and woman, to laugh and dance and sing and play and drink their wine and religion and success, to marry their playmates and bear children and then die of consumption and anemia and lynching; For my people thronging 47th Street in Chicago and Lenox Avenue in New York and Rampart Street in New Orleans, lost disinherited dispossessed and happy people filling the cabarets and taverns and other people’s pockets and needing bread and shoes and milk and land and money and something — something all our own; For my people walking blindly spreading joy, losing time See SALTER on page 30

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

TOGETHER JUST ONCE: OPRF students lined up along Scoville Avenue, Sept. 4, to collect packets of materials they need for the start of remote learning.

Race and education in Oak Park, an introduction

First in a series of essays on educational equity in Oak Park: hite privilege, school and housing segregation, racial profiling, hostile, threatening and violent policing, a grossly inequitable judicial system and other historic racial injustices are indeed still with us in our local government, in our schools, and in our daily living.

They are America’s enduring obstacles to realizing a society with freedom and equality — a goal many today are calling racial equity. In coming to grips with racial equity today, James Baldwin offers us guidance and purpose for this Wednesday Journal series on race and education in Oak Park: “We don’t begin again as if there is nothing behind us or underneath our feet. We carry that history with us.”

W

JOHN DUFFY

One View

A half century of race and education.

The multiple episodes to follow will examine how, arising out of key developments in the 1970s, Oak Park schools today have come to boldly confront institutional structures, school culture, interpersonal relations, and other practices around race that stand in the way of realizing equity. Like all struggles for social justice, today’s efforts are rooted in past triumphs and failures.

Like all histories, this history is selective in examining key individuals, landmark events, and historic documents. It will explore moments, often forgotten or

unknown, that provide what good history often does — a better understanding about the roots of our present situation. These stories are at the core of who we are, have been, and still might become.

Integration, segregation, equity

Early episodes will a focus on how Oak Park came to reconcile historic tensions around segregation and integration. This tension appeared in District 97 soon after the village launched multiple efforts to end racial segregation in housing with what was called “managed integration,” starting in 1968. By the mid-1970s Oak Park had to figure out how to do the same for its schools. In those early years, major migration patterns changed in Oak Park. Whites left Oak Park in large numbers. African Americans and other racialjustice-minded families migrated here. They moved first in small numbers. Then, migration in and out of Oak Park expanded rapidly. In 1970, Oak Park had over 62,000 residents, including 132 African Americans. By 1980, the total population was 54,887 with almost 6,000 African Americans.

In the late ’60s and ’70s, courageous longtime Oak Parkers with new residents, led prominently by leaders of the faith-based community, acted boldly to create an integrated, welcoming community. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was social activists moving here — Black, white, See DUFFY on page 30

24

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

O U R

V I E W P O I N T S

The other side of the river

V I E W S

Equity upends process

C

an’t be by chance that the men of the River Forest Village Board were so fully focused, Monday night, on the process by which a group of volunteers had been assembled by two board colleagues this spring and summer to discuss issues of equity in town. Certainly isn’t by chance that the women on the board were the ones who had invited and welcomed the participation of those volunteers and wanted them included now as the village government works to formalize its equity efforts.

The debate Monday — during an ambitious village board discussion of how to build a village focused on equity issues — got somewhat stuck on whether the informally gathered but already formed citizen group should be the core of a new village commission to advise staff and the board on equity.

Veteran Trustee Tom Cargie defended his concern saying, “I’m not normally a process guy, but here the process failed.”

What process failed, Trustee Cargie? Looks like a win from here.

You have a dozen citizens ready to go, self-selected and reflecting the growing, but still elusive, diversity of the village.

Cargie and the other male trustees complained that this group had been formed only to work on the Twin Cities Covenant, the groundbreaking pact between River Forest and Maywood. So as long as they were sequestered on a special project, maybe it was OK? But making them central to a full-throated discussion of equity in the village requires what? That the mostly white village board recruit the people of color they’d like to see discussing equity?

Credit to trustees Erika Bachner and Katie Brennan for doing the nearly impossible in gathering these volunteers up in the first place.

Credit to Trustee Patty Henek for backing up the trustees. And credit to Village President Cathy Adduci for stating the obvious. A core of a committee was in place, trustees were welcome to nominate others to join in and let’s keep talking.

The path to equity goes through the discomfort of white people. And in this case, it seems to us, that the mostly white men on the board looked for the protection of “process” to avoid that discomfort.

Fenwick’s equity moves The racial reckoning underway in this nation is powerful and vast.

On a national level we are careening toward a presidential election where stark differences on race will fundamentally define the outcome and the future of the country.

But the consequences of our deep institutional racism are going to be faced most critically and in our local institutions. We have watched with admiration at the critical self-evaluation at both Trinity High School in River Forest and Fenwick High School that has been underway since the spring murder of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis.

As in many places, the video of that gruesome police action awoke students and graduates of these two schools who then shared their stories of racism at work in their college prep environments. The administration and the boards of both schools listened and have responded through acknowledgments of failings and determination to face down the racism built into their cultures.

This week we report on the hiring of Fenwick’s first director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Raymond Moland is a Fenwick grad and currently a senior dean of students at the school. Two appointments were also made to its recently formed diversity committee.

Trinity had previously made similar appointments.

It is hard to change an institution. The process will be difficult and will result in pain along the path. Real change will require exceptionally strong backing from the school leadership — board, administration, alumni.

As the work begins, we offer our appreciation for the effort and the expectation that both schools commit to the long road ahead.

I don’t know what happens when people die Can’t seem to grasp it as hard as I try.

It’s like a song I can hear playing right in my ear That I can’t sing But I can’t help listening.

A

s we head toward the cocoon of the year (winter), a “dying” that leads, reliably, to next spring’s renewal and rebirth — I’ve been thinking about human death, which seems so irretrievably permanent. RBG most recently, one of our national heroes. The week before, John Hubbuch, a good man and a good friend. And the same day, Diana Rigg, my first great crush as an impressionable teen.

When those of importance to us die, it is not just their lives but ours that flash before our eyes.

I’ve thought about death a great deal over the decades. That’s partly because I have edited the obituary page for over two decades. Death is one of our silent companions as we move through life, sometimes crowding us, sometimes giving us space. We don’t know what happens when people die, but we can’t help wondering. And wishing. Some of us believe, and some of us don’t, that life continues on in some form. But I suspect all of us wonder — or expend energy suppressing that wonder. I don’t know whether it’s better to live as if there is an afterlife or to live as if there isn’t. But I can’t imagine not wishing it were so.

Losing people becomes a more frequent occurrence as we move along. As Roseanne Cash wrote, “I am the list of all those I’ve lost.” (“The World Unseen”) Last week I received quite a few condolences, mostly from readers who saw my tribute to John Hubbuch, but also from those who have known me a much longer time and knew how taken I was by the inimitable Mrs. Peel of “The Avengers.”

One of the condolences came from a friend — a musician and, secondarily, a lawyer — who wrote: “I’m sorry about the loss of your friend and editorial pal. There’s too much of that going around. But there, too, our next step is to forge our way through it all. I’ve been listening to a lot of gospel for the last year — all kinds of songs about the other side of the river and other metaphors. One of my favorite hopes is that there is the other side and that all those people we love are there. If I were a loving God, I’d make sure of that. Meanwhile, we do what we can here.”

All of this made me go from thinking about death to writing about it.

Death has certainly been crowding us this year. Two hundred thousand and counting, in addition to all the “normal” deaths. Mortality focuses the mind wonderfully, like the proverbial condemned prisoner who is scheduled to die in a fortnight. A few months back I mentioned that one of the things I learned from this

pandemic, to my surprise, is how much I don’t want to die. And how much I still want to live because there are too many things I want to do. It wasn’t the “not wanting to die” that surprised me. It was the intensity of wanting to live.

I think of George Bailey near the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, leaning over the railing of the bridge that, just hours (or was it minutes, or a lifetime?) ago, he had considered jumping from to his death. Now, after having his non-life flash before his eyes, he cries out, with the intensity that only Jimmy Stewart could muster, “I want to live again!

Please, God, let me live again!”

We don’t all benefit from that level of epiphany.

Mine was a minor version of it, boosted by the example of John Hubbuch and RBG, who lived such rich, full lives. And Diana Rigg, who set the parameters for my idealized view of women in my highly hormonal youth.

John liked to say that life is a marathon, not a sprint, but having never attempted a marathon, I imagine after running all that way, the temptation to quit is most intense with only a few miles to go. It is a temptation that must be resisted with everything left in us. Finish strong, as strong as you can.

RBG finished strong. She never quit, and if she didn’t, after all she went through, neither must we.

KEN

TRAINOR

Keep a fire for the human race Let your prayers go drifting into space.

You never know what will be coming down.

Perhaps a better world is drawing near.

Just as easily it could all disappear Along with whatever meaning you might have found.

Don’t let the uncertainty turn you around Go on and make a joyful sound.

I want to live as long as I can. And I want to live right up to the end. What that means differs for each of us. I’m still figuring it out, and I hope you are, too.

Into a dancer you have grown From a seed somebody else has thrown.

Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own And somewhere between the time you arrive And the time you go May lie a reason you were alive But you’ll never know.

Jackson Browne

“For a Dancer” I don’t know what happens when people die, and I don’t know the reason I am alive — except that it somehow involves love, and learning to love better.

Annie Dillard said, “You were made and set here … to give voice to your own astonishment,” which is certainly true in her case. And I agree that life is a great astonishment.

Don’t let the uncertainty turn you around.

Throw some seeds of your own. Go on and make a joyful sound. Let others figure out the reason you were alive.

Live like your life depends on it.

V I E W P O I N T S

Marge and Galen’s Ulyssean efforts

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n Sept. 25, the Senior Citizens Center of Oak Park-River Forest will present our 17th Annual Ulyssean Award Event, honoring three individuals, Stephanie Clemens and Marge and Galen Gockel.

Marge and Galen, this amazing couple, worked together in so many ways, making our community richer by their presence. Unfortunately, we lost Marge in July, but she continues to be a shining example of what a true Ulyssean is all about.

Marge was born in Detroit and attended the University of Michigan School of Education. She began her career as a teacher, moving from Michigan to San Diego where she taught junior high. There she met Galen, a young naval officer. It didn’t take long before they were married and moved to Chicago where Galen attended graduate school and she taught elementary school. She was also employed for nearly 20 years by the University of Illinois Chicago where she rose to the position of acting director of its Office of School and Community Relations. She was also an officer of the Illinois Association of College Admissions Counselors. In 1988, she completed the course work for her M.A. degree from the university.

Marge was one of the co-founders of the Farmers Market, and was very involved in the League of Women Voters (LWV) where she was responsible for the recruitment, training and supervision of government observers. The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust was also a recipient of her volunteerism and leadership.

The remarkable characteristic about Marge is that once she took on a project, it became an involvement for life. Farmers Market, LWV, and the Wright Preservation Trust, have all benefited from her participation over the years.

Galen received his undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University in 1953 in the middle of the Korean conflict, and immediately entered the U.S. Navy’s Officer Candidate School, serving aboard a heavy cruiser in Far Eastern waters. Upon his discharge in 1957, he began graduate work at the University of Chicago, earning a M.A. in social work and his PhD in sociology. During grad school, he joined the staff of the National Opinion Research Center and became one of the team members conducting a three-year national study of raciallyintegrated neighborhoods. He co-authored, among other publications, Side by Side: Racially Integrated Neighborhoods in America in 1970.

In 1969, Galen was asked to administer and staff the new Urban Studies Program of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. This program brought 65 students each semester to Chicago for a credit-bearing, experiencedbased introduction to the problems and promises of urban America. He retired in 1995.

Galen has always been committed to community, so in 1969 he declared his candidacy for the District 97 school board in Oak Park and was elected. He was the first school board candidate to call for the discussion of, and planning for, a racially integrated system. His involvement in D97 resulted in the adoption of policies that led to the reorganization of schools, transforming Hawthorne and Emerson into junior high schools and the remaining eight schools becoming K through 6.

I believe Galen is the only person in Oak Park to be elected to three governing bodies, District 97, trustee for the village of Oak Park, and Oak Park Township Assessor.

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor and Publisher Dan Haley Senior Editor Bob Uphues Staff Reporters Michael Romain, Stacey Sheridan, Maria Maxham Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Food Editor Melissa Elsmo Arts Editor Michelle Dybal Sports/Staff reporter James Kay Columnists Marc Blessoff, Jack Crow, Doug Deuchler, Linda Francis, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger, Stan West Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designers Mark Moroney, Javier Govea, Debbie Becker Business Manager Joyce Minich Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

NANCY TECLAW One View

GALEN AND MARGE GOCKEL

Growing Community Media

Government has not been Galen’s only interest. He served as chairperson for three local arts organizations: Unity Temple Concert Series, Oak Park Festival Theatre and the Senior Citizens Center. His tenure with Festival Theatre, serving as managing director, earned him a Community Service Award from the Park District of Oak Park. During his years on the board of directors of the Senior Citizens Center, negotiations culminated in the merging of programs of the Senior Center with the Park District of Oak Park.

A number of years ago, when Galen was 75 years old, Dan Haley wrote an article, thanking Galen for his service to Oak Park. “This is a good man who has been at, or near, the heart of every key issue in this village since it was reinvented in the late 1960s as a progressive town with passion for racial diversity, good government and independent Democrats. To me and to many, Galen Gockel embodies an ideal of public service — thoughtful, civil, sometimes bold, sometimes cautious. He actually enjoys listening more than talking and while he is comfortable in the spotlight, he doesn’t have some sad craving for it. He knows and values the history of our town as well as anyone but has no need to be caught in an unchanging time warp.”

Galen’s response at that time was to make a case for old souls. He said, “Older people have more years to reflect on the times when they were wrong. Thus they need not be doctrinaire going forward. … Being wrong is always possible. Youngsters (those under 45) do not have the years behind them to identify their errors, so they can charge ahead, assuming they’re right.” He didn’t know it then, but that is what makes for a great Ulyssean.

Marge and Galen Gockel’s commitment was and is to keep on giving, learning and striving for the best.

We are all enriched by their lives. Churchill summed it up very nicely when he said: “We make a living by what we get: We make a life by what we give”.

The Ulyssean Award evening is a virtual event and will take place via Zoom on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.

To be part of this presentation, please send your email address to Robert Giles, GilesRW@aol.com. You will be sent a link for the program at a later date.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

About Viewpoints Our mission is to lead educated conversation about the people, government, schools, businesses and culture of Oak Park and River Forest. As we share the consensus of Wednesday Journal’s editorial board on local matters, we hope our voice will help focus your thinking and, when need be, fire you to action.

In a healthy conversation about community concerns, your voice is also vital. We welcome your views, on any topic of community interest, as essays and as letters to the editor. Noted here are our stipulations for filing.

Please understand our verification process and circumstances that would lead us not to print a letter or essay. We will call to check that what we received with your signature is something you sent. If we can’t make that verification, we will not print what was sent. When, in addition to opinion, a letter or essay includes information presented as fact, we will check the reference. If we cannot confirm a detail, we may not print the letter or essay.

If you have questions, email Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at ktrainor@ wjinc.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR ■ 250-word limit ■ Must include first and last names, municipality in which you live, phone number (for verification only)

‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY ■ 500-word limit ■ One-sentence footnote about yourself, your connection to the topic ■ Signature details as at left

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

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ADDRESS 141 S Oak Park Ave., Oak ParkIL 60302 ■ PHONE 708-5248300 EMAIL Dan@OakPark.com ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com Wednesday Journal is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $1.00.

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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2020

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

27

The Southern belle suffragist Third in a series of profiles of local suffragists, celebrating the centennial of women’s suffrage in the U.S. he was a Southern belle who came North, ending up in Oak Park. A wife, mother, and widow. A playwright, journalist, educator, physician, clubwoman, and political activist. She was the most interesting suffragist I’d never heard of. Her name? Dr. Julia Holmes Smith.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1839, Dr. Smith marked many “firsts,” and lived to see passage of the Suffrage Amendment. She grew up in New Orleans but attended college in New York State, where she met and married historian John Abbot. Widowed just four years later, she returned to New Orleans and became a theater critic for the local paper to support herself and her son. She wed again in 1872 to Sabin Smith of Boston, had a daughter with him, and moved the family to Chicago. After her daughter married and moved to Oak Park, she followed and lived here for 15 years, till her death.

She was introduced to the suffrage movement in 1862, when she met Anna Dickinson — the first woman to address both houses of Congress. From then on, Smith dedicated her life to the advancement of women’s rights.

“I determined that with the [Civil] War ended, I would work to free the only slaves left in the country — the women, both black and white,” she told the Chicago Examiner in a 1914 interview.

Inspired by a woman physician who treated her, she entered Boston Medical School. “When I decided to study medicine,” she recalled, “I said nothing to my husband; I

S

might have been going out shopping every morning as far as he knew.” (She only told him after receiving her degree!)

In 1880, she attended the first woman suffrage convention held in Chicago. By then she was a member of the Chicago Political Equality League, the Chicago Equal Suffrage Association, and the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association. Twice president of the Chicago Woman’s Club, she was a friend of Susan B. Anthony as well as journalist and reformer Mary A. Livermore. According to suffrage leader Catherine Waugh McCullough, “She was admired by all the men and beloved by all the women.”

An integral part of the 1893 Columbian Exposition, Smith was a member of the World’s Congress of Representative Women and established the woman’s day hospital at the fair, where more than 3,000 patients were treated. In 1895, she was appointed to fill an unexpired term as a University of Illinois trustee, the first woman to serve in that capacity.

She was dean of the National Medical College and director of the Illinois Training School for Nurses. At the “Victory Celebration” of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association, held in Chicago in 1920, she was a keynote speaker.

She was a founder of the Illinois Women’s Press Association, the nation’s oldest organization of women writers, and her children’s play, “Butterflies’ Ball,” was performed at Ravinia in 1921. Her work to better living conditions and family life among the poor was compared with Jane Addams. She retired from medicine in 1917, at age 78, but remained active until her death at age 92.

Mary Ann Porucznik is a volunteer at the Oak Park River Forest Museum, where she researched this article.

MARY ANN PORUCZNIK One View

Choose

Julia Holmes Smith

ommunity

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A huge THANK YOU to all those members who came together to send in a gift of membership and support other businesses who are struggling to make ends meet.

Continue to give the gift of community at oprfchamber.org.

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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When will this thing end?

mong the biggest questions about this pandemic, especially for those who are cutting back and staying in to stay safe, are: When is it going to end? When is a vaccine going to be available? How effective will it be? What can we safely do until we get a vaccine or the pandemic ends? Etc. The fact is we don’t know the answers to those questions, and it may be a while, perhaps quite a while, before we do. Which drives us crazy. We want to know, and we want to know now. This is the age of instant everything. Amazon delivers tomorrow.

Streaming delivers immediately. We’re not used to waiting. We’re used to getting what we want now.

But COVID-19 isn’t that way. It makes us wait, and we don’t like it. But I wonder whether this is unique or whether it’s just putting us back to the way things used to be.

My mother isn’t alive now, but if she were, I’d like to ask her about waiting during World War II. We want the pandemic to be over. She wanted World War II to be over. We want to travel or eat in a restaurant.

She wanted her husband, my dad, home — and alive.

We can’t go to a concert or a movie. She didn’t know if the next knock on the door would be a telegram from the War Department. There have been times we couldn’t visit people in care facilities or hospitals.

My dad read about his mother’s funeral in a letter.

Actually, it was worse than that. The mail service between the U.S. and troops overseas wasn’t all that great. There were delays. Letters and packages

didn’t arrive when they were supposed to. (Some things never change.) So my parents came up with a system. They numbered each letter they wrote, so they would know the order in which the letters were written. But when it came to the letter about my grandmother’s passing, the mail messed up. That letter was delayed, and the letter my father read first was the one in which my mother talked about how good his mother looked at her wake.

While we don’t know when the pandemic is going to end, our parents and grandparents didn’t know when the war would end. There would be good news; then there would be bad news. We landed in North Africa. Germans hit us at Kasserine Pass. Italy was taking forever. We drove across France, but the Germans counterattacked in the Ardennes. Island hopping across the Pacific was slow and deadly. Things would look hopeful and then they wouldn’t.

The fact is we don’t know how long this pandemic is going to last. And for a while, maybe a long while, there may be a new normal that isn’t what we would prefer. But before we feel sorry for ourselves, we should remember that people have been in things a lot worse than COVID-19, and they got through them.

We’ll get through this, too. We just have to be patient, especially with each other — not something we’re good at these days — and carry on until we get to the other side.

Pat Allen has lived in Oak Park and now River Forest since 1974.

PATRICK ALLEN One View

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Slow Streets program is a failure

I’m writing today to express my opinion about the Slow Streets Program the village has been running for a few weeks now. I believe Slow Streets is a terrible program. The huge signs with blinking lights are hideous; they make the streets look like they are under construction. No one wants to see big blinking blockades down their street. I live on Thomas because it’s a relatively peaceful block, and now it looks like Lake Street with its street blockades.

Aesthetics aside, I’m not seeing this program benefiting anyone at all. I’ve seen more than one car going 40 miles per hour down Thomas, barely stopping at stop signs, and just because the signs say No Thru-Traffic doesn’t mean anyone is respecting those boundaries.

Because of this, I don’t feel comfortable walking in the street.

Drivers are “supposed to” drive carefully down Slow Streets, but I’m not safe to walk in the street because of what drivers are “supposed to” do. It’s also impossible to make right turns onto Thomas Street when someone else is waiting at a stop sign heading west because the other lane is blocked off. Compounded with the increased street parking, there is very little room to maneuver.

What was meant to create a safe pedestrian space has only become a difficult experience for drivers and certainly an unsafe place for anyone not in a car. I think Oak Park’s best bet is to either completely block off these streets like they do with block parties and create alternative routes for drivers, or do away with the program altogether.

Between the unsightly signs, safety issues, and problems with traffic flow, I think Slow Street’s pilot has come to an end. This halfin-half-out system is not working.

Nathan Green Oak Park

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V I E W P O I N T S

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I

Census deadline is Sept. 30.

It takes 5 minutes

t is difficult to appreciate how much something as expansive as the U.S. Census can truly impact one’s daily life. It is easy to fall into the trap of viewing it as a large, strange concept rather than a necessary step to determining whether vital programs continue.

So if you will, join me in imagining how much an undercount could affect a day in the (pre-COVID) life of an average Illinoisan.

Let’s call her Mary.

Mary’s alarm goes off at least an hour before the sun comes up. Her 12-hour shift as a registered nurse starts early three days a week. Mornings are a rush, and she’s thankful that her son’s school offers a hot breakfast so she knows he’s had something nutritious to last him until lunch.

She smiles for a second after dropping him off. He’s really been thriving this year, and she believes that’s thanks to the early intervention services he was able to receive during preschool.

The road she takes to work used to be filled with potholes, but the city recently repaved it, and she’s hopeful she won’t have to replace another tire for a while.

On her day off tomorrow, she’s going to visit her mother, who is recovering from hip replacement surgery. Medicare is covering the cost of in-home services, but she likes to stop in and visit to see how her mother is progressing.

At every step of the way in this hypothetical day, Mary used programs and resources that rely on federal funding determined

by an accurate census count: her son’s breakfast and lunch programs at school, his early intervention services, the road she takes to work and her mother’s Medicare.

An undercount in the 2020 census could threaten all of those services. According to a report from the George Washington Institute for Public Policy, the undercount of Illinoisans in 2010 resulted in the loss of $952 per person in federal funding in 2015. In the same year, Illinois lost $122 million for every 1 percent of the population not counted in the last census.

As of Aug. 31, 69.5 percent of Illinoisans had filled out the census. The 30.5 percent who haven’t represent approximately $3.6 billion in federal funding lost. That money could go to repairing roads and infrastructure, building libraries and senior centers, and providing utility/energy and food assistance for those in need.

Fortunately, it is incredibly easy to complete the census. For the first time ever, it can be filled out online at www.my2020census. gov. You can also respond by phone at 844330-2020 (English) or 844-468-2020 (Spanish).

Most households also received a census form in March, which can be completed and returned in the envelope it was sent in. The deadline is Sept. 30, 2020.

By taking five minutes to fill out the census, each and every Illinoisan can contribute to valuable programs and a bright future for our state.

Don Harmon, an Oak Park resident, is the Illinois State Senate president.

DON

HARMON One View

We need to listen to these kids

I am a community member and local teacher. In the past weeks I’ve read several articles/ letters in both Wednesday Journal and the Chicago Tribune discussing the student protest at the mayor’s house. It is ironic that the only time these students have been able to get the community’s attention is when property has been damaged.

For two years these young people have been writing letters, starting petitions, staging protests, marches and sit-ins — calling for change in the hope that someone would listen. Over the summer, my family and I attended a Black Lives Matter protest/march at Holmes School that this student group helped organize. At the march’s conclusion, I listened with tears in my eyes to two of my former sixth-graders speak to the crowd, each bravely describing in detail the pain they experience growing up as young Black people in America — and in “progressive” Oak Park.

It takes tremendous courage to stand in front of a sea of strangers and speak about

something so personal and so painful. And statistics support what they are saying. According to Oak Park Freedom to Thrive, a local organization that has been gathering and analyzing data on police “field stops” (when an officer stops a person in public to ask questions about a crime), 96 of 102 minors stopped by the Oak Park police between 2015-20 were Black. Two of them were 10 years old.

The statistics are staggering. The courage of 14- and 15-year-olds, speaking out about this reality, is also staggering. It is my hope that our elected officials will also have courage — the courage to listen instead of condemn. Make time for these young people — your constituents who are too young to vote, or run for office themselves — and listen to what they have to say. Listen to their ideas for making our village a place where everyone — no matter their age or race — feels safe, valued and respected.

Kate O’Keefe Oak Park

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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Justice Ginsburg’s legacy

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death is a huge loss. Justice Ginsburg was a brilliant legal scholar, a trailblazer and pioneer, and a champion for the rights of those at the margins. Justice Ginsburg’s name and legacy will live on and her impact on the American legal landscape will be remembered for generations.

The timing of Justice Ginsburg’s death, however, is momentous. Occurring in the closing weeks of a presidential election, one can scarcely imagine a circumstance of the appointment of a Supreme Court justice more politically charged than the one we find ourselves in now.

In the civics classes of my youth, I was taught that the Supreme Court was to be a non-political body. Justices are invested with lifetime terms, selected directly by the president, and appointed only after the advice and consent of the Senate. These measures were intended to ensure that the justices were beyond reproach, that they could not be dismissed as political appointees. The legitimacy of the rule of law in this country hangs upon the slender nail of public respect for the decisions of the court.

This is what I was taught about our country.

In my adult life, of course, I have seen these civics-class ideals meet the exercise of raw political power time and again.

The coming weeks will surely place the Supreme Court at the very center of the

struggle between political parties.

Yet even so, there is reason for hope. In its way, the Supreme Court itself stubbornly asserts its independence as a body. Justice Neil Gorsuch — whose appointment was steeped in partisan politics — has not proven to be the ideologue some may have hoped. It was Justice Gorsuch, after all, who authored this year’s landmark decision protecting LGBTQ people from employment discrimination.

Although the coming spectacle surrounding this appointment will be grievous and harmful, the institutions of this nation are stronger than any one moment.

The news of Justice Ginsburg’s death is hard. And it is surely hardest on those who have the most to lose: women, LGBTQ people, persons of color, immigrants, the poor, all those whose rights and dignity Justice Ginsburg championed. A champion for justice has been lost today, that is true. But the cause of justice has not been lost. This nation aspires to be a place of liberty and justice for all. That is our guiding star, though it is far from us and we have not arrived.

Justice Ginsburg has done her work to serve justice. Now it is ours to continue that work.

Rev. John Edgerton

Lead pastor, First United Church of Oak Park

Preservation Commission is out of touch

I believe the majority of Oak Park residents, including me, were shocked and disappointed that the Oak Park Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously that the Drechsler, Brown & Williams funeral parlor is a contributing structure to the overall sense of historic preservation of the district itself so Focus cannot demolish the structure and build a multi-unit apartment complex on the site.

In my opinion the commission is completely out of touch with the effects of COVID-19 on our nation and Oak Park.

Due to Oak Park’s major loss of sales tax revenue brought on by the pandemic de-

pression, the board will have to consider major budget cuts and possible layoffs in 2021.

The development of the Drechsler Brown site will provide the village with additional tax revenue we really need.

This revenue will help to reduce the budget cuts you will have to make in 2021. I am asking the board to place this issue on your next agenda and make the difficult and tough decision to unanimously overrule the decision of the commission and permit Focus to develop the site.

Tom Zapler

Oak Park

Graduated taxes: read the language I recommend that voters read the actual language of the proposed constitutional amendment before passing judgment on it. Everybody seems to assume that it only permits graduated rates similar to federal taxes (higher incomes taxed at higher rates).

In fact, nothing in the amendment lan-

guage precludes inverse graduated rates (higher rates on lower incomes).

The legislature would never do that, you say? Tax breaks for billionaires are politically impossible? Dream on, all you taxpayers about to the plucked.

Bob Stigger

Oak Park

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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McConnell’s attack on democracy

With a naked power grab by Mitch McConnell, the Republican Party has now declared itself to be an openly criminal organization. No sentient human being can pretend that McConnell’s refusal to let Obama appoint a nominee nine months before the election, coupled with his intent to fill a vacancy with barely over one month to go is anything but criminal. (Justice Scalia died in February, 2016. Only hours after Scalia’s death was announced, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared any appointment by the sitting president to be null and void. He said the next Supreme Court justice should be chosen by the next president — to be elected nine months later.)[1] The GOP openly scoff at the Rule of Law; they consider themselves above any law, not bound by the U.S. Constitution. McConnell’s actions comprise a declaration that the Republicans have taken power and will never relinquish it. We may vote or not — it makes no difference to them; they do not accept the will of the people.

We no longer live in a democracy.

Led by a president who claims absolute power, with a lickspittle attorney general who agrees that the President has absolute power, the Republicans have declared open war on American Democracy.

Their urgent desire to stack the Supreme Court before

DUFFY

Equity efforts: a history from page 23 and Asian Americans —who soon raised the bar on race relations and began to question the limitations of managed integration in schools in the late ’70s.

Many of these newcomers, like the family of Ella Pappademos, the first African-American teacher in D97; Art Hyde, a leading education researcher who worked with the United Farm Workers in California; and Dolores Register, the first director of the Multicultural Education Center in D97, were experienced in civil rights work, labor organizing, the peace movement, and education at all levels. Most importantly, they helped shape a critical race perspective to challenge the way managed integration in education played out in both districts.

For D97 and District 200 (OPRF High School), the similarities were striking. All Oak Park schools faced what education historians call “second generation segregation” — the many intentional and unintentional ways schools continued racially discriminatory practices, even as schools became racially integrated.

These practices, both intentional and unconscious, were harmful to students and families of color. They included: curriculum that conformed to traditional white cultural standards for teaching and learning, ability grouping and tracking that racially segregated students within schools, the over-assignment of Black children to special education, a paucity of African-American faculty, racially disparate discipline, and, in general, a white faculty and community that despite their best intentions had a limited understanding of Black history and culture.

Evolving struggle for racial equity The origins of racial equity in education here are found in D97 in the first generation of school integration. In the late ’70s African-American teachers like

the election serves three nefarious purposes: In the long game, it means that corporate and fascist interests in the U.S. will prevail in the judicial system for decades to come. More immediately, it ensures that even when Trump loses the election, he can manufacture any ridiculous argument that the election was unfair. The installment of DeJoy to sabotage the U.S. Postal System gives Trump the opportunity either to directly steal and destroy mail-in ballots, or at minimum to delay delivery until they can be invalidated for being late.

Trump has no intention of leaving office no matter what the outcome of the election. But he has an even stronger reason to stack the Supreme Court. Trump and his cronies have committed numerous felonies before and during his presidency. The Mueller Investigation documented 11 Class 4 felonies of obstruction of justice.

Barr’s ludicrous claim that as president, Trump is immune from prosecution even for first-degree murder will vanish when he is no longer president.

If he were subject to the same laws the rest of us obey, Trump could serve several lifetimes in prison for his crimes. He loves power and publicity, but he really hates the thought of jail time.

Tom DeCoursey Oak Park

Jarvia Thomas, Bette Wilson, and Ella Pappademos formed the Minority Caucus in the Oak Park Teachers Association as a means to advocate for equity and better learning opportunities for children of color.

The findings of the Oak Park Racial Diversity Task Force Report in 1984 and later actions by the Oak Park Community Relations Commission were prominent in critiquing the shortcomings of managed integration in D97 and coalesced with early racial equity advocacy.

Black teachers with white colleagues at Longfellow School modeled culturally diverse, inclusive, mixedability classroom practices that countered in-school resegregation, resulting from a major curriculum change called “re-scheduling.” Organizations like APPLE, the Oak Park Community Action Organization, and the Concerned Parent Association, along with activist teachers, challenged throughout the ’80s a variety of un-democratic and inequitable practices in the elementary schools, setting the table for similar work in D200.

By the early ’90s explicit equity efforts slowly spread to OPRF High School where APPLE leaders began to publicly raise concerns about how the school was falling short in serving children of color. Later episodes in this series will explore the OPRF equity struggle.

More than any community institution, OPRF has studied itself, been scrutinized by others, and documented its intentions, successes, and shortcomings.

Bending toward justice Oak Park schools are in the third generation of racial integration and continue to confront inequities in education that many believed the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision would begin to rectify when it declared school segregation unconstitutional. Equity leaders from the first generation of school integration and those who act for racial equity today remain steadfast. As an ally in that work, I continue to take inspiration from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who still counsels us to believe that “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

This series hopefully can inform and strengthen our quest for racial justice and equity.

John Duffy, an Oak Park resident, founded the Committee for Equity and Excellence.

RBG winked at me … at the Supreme Court

Having put weeks of pro bono time into writing (along with Brian Blaesser) the American Planning Association’s amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the City of Edmonds v. Oxford House case before the U.S. Supreme Court, there was no way I was going to miss attending the oral arguments and be sworn into the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. So on March 1, 1995 I found myself sitting 20 feet across from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as I took the oath to join the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court along with another 15 or so attorneys. That day will forever be firmly etched into my memory.

Much to my surprise, when the clerk called my name I’d swear that Justice Ginsburg winked and smiled her sly smile right at me. The guy next to me remarked upon it to me. After I returned to earth from Cloud Nine when the oral arguments began, I wildly — and hopefully — speculated that our amicus brief may have made a favorable impression on her. That speculation seemed to be verified a bit eight weeks later when Justice Ginsburg’s 6-3 decision incorporated so many of the points we made in our brief (although we were hardly alone in making most of them). I’m pretty darned sure that she must have remembered my name from the amicus brief since it appeared to have influenced her ruling that a local jurisdiction’s zoning code definition of “family” was not exempt from the Fair Housing Act’s requirement to make a reasonable accommodation in zoning codes to enable people with disabilities to live in community residences (aka group homes) in all residential zoning districts. Sadly, relatively few Illinois communities have complied.

As I reviewed the decision today, I realized that this decision was Justice Ginsburg at her non-ideological finest. The Court’s four moderates were joined by the very conservative Chief Justice Rehnquist and usually staunch conservative Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The Court’s most radical conservatives — justices Scalia and Thomas — were joined in their dissent by Justice Kennedy who had yet to moderate his conservative anticivil rights views.

When the pundits say that the physically diminutive Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was truly a legal giant, they aren’t kidding. It took a real legal giant to bring divergent but reasonable minds together to save the Fair Housing Act from yet another radical far right attack.

Dan Lauber

River Forest

SALTER from page 30

being lazy, sleeping when hungry, shouting when burdened, drinking when hopeless, tied, and shackled and tangled among ourselves by the unseen creatures who tower over us omnisciently and laugh; For my people blundering and groping and floundering in the dark of churches and schools and clubs and societies, associations and councils and committees and conventions, distressed and disturbed and deceived and devoured by money-hungry glory-craving leeches, preyed on by facile force of state and fad and novelty, by false prophet and holy believer; For my people standing staring trying to fashion a better way from confusion, from hypocrisy and misunderstanding, trying to fashion a world that will hold all the people, all the faces, all the adams and eves and their countless generations; Let a new earth rise. Let another world be born. Let a bloody peace be written in the sky. Let a second generation full of courage issue forth; let a people loving freedom come to growth. Let a beauty full of healing and a strength of final clenching be the pulsing in our spirits and our blood. Let the martial songs be written, let the dirges disappear. Let a race of men now rise and take control.

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Herd immunity or herd mentality?

Congratulations, President Trump! You have finally discovered someone with a medical degree who agrees with your warped philosophy concerning the pandemic. Dr. Scott Atlas, who readily admits to no training or experience in infectious diseases or immunology, claims to have the answer for the COVID-19 problem. His theory is “Herd Immunity.”

If President Trump were to adopt Dr. Atlas’ plan, that would amount to taking another page from Hitler’s playbook. Hitler had his associate, Dr. Josef Mengele, and now Trump has Dr. Atlas to establish his “final solutions.”

Dr. Atlas’ plan is far less extreme and drastic than Nazis gassing and murdering Jews, Blacks, Gypsies, the handicapped, and the elderly. Yet his proposed plan is still a dark application of the philosophy of Social Darwinism (Hebert Spencer’s 1860s theory, applying “survival of the fittest” to progress in human society).

Dr. Atlas suggested a subtler means by which to conquer COVID-19, and establish a society that is healthy, strong, and fit.

Herd immunity involves doing nothing nor observing any precautions, such as masking or social distancing. Bars, restaurants,

31

A tribute to RBG

theaters, schools, stores, and large gatherings would all be open to the public. This would certainly result in thousands more deaths and illnesses, but it would be the ultimate test of “survival of the fittest.”

Although this proposal and the assumption that the pandemic would eventually exhaust itself is appealing to Mr. Trump, he’s had second thoughts. What if this plan backfired and the fittest were Blacks, Latinos, Protesters, Immigrants, and anti-Trump folks? What a horrible consequence that would be! Yet even though Trump may question the use of Dr. Atlas’ plan, he is backing it.

As a senior (and probably one of the first to die under “herd immunity,” I hope that the President abandons this deadly quackinspired plan. At the present, I am following scientifically-recommended precautions, knowing that I am doing my part to lessen the spread of this relentless, severe virus.

Let us all look forward to days ahead when scientists and medical researchers find true answers to end this pandemic, under leadership of a new president who actually cares about us humans!

Harriet Hausman

Ideas for action

For those motivated to get involved, here are some ideas from Sherri Mudd, a friend of a friend: Don’t waste your time posting on Facebook or texting like-minded friends. Get organized. Target candidates in vulnerable Republican senatorial races or those who just hate Trump. Call their offices on the phone. Call them every day. Say (as politely as you can) that you request that the Senate not confirm another Supreme Court nominee until after the next president is sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021.

Reports say that Lisa Murkowski has already stated she will not vote for a new Supreme Court justice until after the next president is in office. Call her!

Lisa Murkowski: 202-224-6665 (Hates Trump) Mitt Romney: 202-224-5251 (Hates Trump) Susan Collins: 202-224-2523 (Is going to lose anyway – so should hate Trump) Martha McSally: 202-224-2235 (Vulnerable) Cory Gardner: 202-224-5941 (Vulnerable) We have to have four Republican senators who will vote against in order to save the Supreme Court. Don’t try to reason with McConnell (but you said in 2016 …). That is a waste of energy. But do donate to the woman who’s running against him, AmyMcGrath.com In fact, give a ton of money to every senate candidate we need to win in November, such as: John Hickenlooper in Colorado: https://hickenlooper.com Mark Kelly in Arizona: https://markkelly.com Sara Gideon in Maine: https://saragideon.com Cal Cunningham in North Carolina: https://www.calfornc.com

Missing John Hubbuch

I am sorry about the passing of John Hubbuch. He was a great asset to the Wednesday Journal and our community. I loved his sense of humor and his approach to the topic he wrote about. We will miss him.

Anan Abu-Taleb

Mayor of Oak Park

Skylar is the daughter of Brad Parker, OPRF graduate.

Sent by proud grandmother Susan Parker.

SUBMITTED

The child crusaders of Oak Park To the child crusaders of the “Royal Oak Park Youth Action League”: Quit kidding yourselves. You have no power and no influence. You’re being exploited by a small group of adult cowards who are using you as shields. Those people are right out of Dostoevsky’s novel Demons where 19th-century Russians from a hick town like to play at revolution, as if they are in Moscow or St. Petersburg.

Oak Park is a similar Podunk village, pretending that the two nearby “universities” have any significance, and that we’re some Midwest cultural Mecca. When Oak Park speaks, the nation listens. After all, we’re a Nuclear-free Zone, and we’ve had no bombs dropped.

You claim that “Black Lives Matter” and you’re being oppressed by the police, but they stop and question suspicious people only one-and-a-half times a month, on average. Most of the “protestors” at the Village President’s home were white females too young to vote, or so the photos show. Then they went back to the safety of Mommy’s house. Evidently, you’ve been deprived of a deprived childhood.

Has the Village President listened? There are 52,000 people living here, and he obviously can’t talk to everyone. Why are you special? You wrote him and the trustees, and they voted on similar matters. You lost, and you won’t be getting your way. The vote was 5-2, and those two have already made such jackasses of themselves by their behavior

at board meetings that they may not be reelected. As JFK said, “Life isn’t fair. Get used to it.”

Non-negotiable Demands. Any group that starts with “non-negotiable demands” has already indicated that it doesn’t want to have a dialogue. Read some American History.

Oh I forgot, we have a legislator who thinks that we should stop teaching history in the schools because it’s all just white-biased opinion. Read Richard Hofstadter’s book on Anti-Intellectualism in American Life and his book The Paranoid Style in American Politics. You might learn something. You are practicing the McCarthyism of the Left, and you find a white racist under every bed here.

If we’re not part of the solution, we’re part of the problem (from Kwame Salter, who’s simpatico with you)? Most of us, presumably including Black people, just want to get on with our lives, with no messianic urge to save the world by next Tuesday.

The Children’s Crusade. You have done great damage to your cause, which is playing at revolution. Shame on the adults who use you. Quit imagining that Oak Park is Bogalusa, Louisiana in the ’60s with police dogs, firehoses and Bull Connor as sheriff.

We have a Black police chief.

The Children’s Crusade ended with the children reaching Marseilles and then being sold into slavery to the Arabs. You’re halfway there already.

C O R R E C T I O N

Kevin Peppard Oak Park

Last week we incorrectly identified Jeanne Martinez and her husband as the owners of Segreti Pharmacy (School traditions in the time of COVID, Viewpoints, Sept. 16).

They do not. Wednesday Journal regrets the error.

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Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

O B I T U A R I E S

Sheldon Liebman, 79

D97 school board member, humanitarian Sheldon Wayne Liebman, 79, formerly of Oak Park, died at his home in LaGrange Park on Sept. 15, 2020. Born to Abe and Sadie Liebman on Nov. 17, 1940 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he earned a B.S. degree in Economics from the Wharton School in 1962, an M.A. in American Literature from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964, and a PhD in American Literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. He authored 35 scholarly articles on American Literature and was a college and university professor for 57 years, teaching literature, philosophy, grammar, writing, and humanities, most recently serving as chair of the Humanities Department at Wilbur Wright College until his retirement in 2017. He was a student of Judaism and the Bible, and authored two books, one on Christianity and one on Judaism.

He served eight years as a member of the Oak Park Elementary School and five years on the Hemingway Foundation Board. He was a member of the Walter Mitty Jazz Band, Pennies From Heaven Trio, and the American Library Association. Of all of his accomplishments, he said he was most proud of having built a summer home in upper state New York with just a hammer and handsaw. An activist and a humanitarian, he was an advocate for equality and justice. His sharp sense of humor was matched only by his brilliant mind, his humble way of living, and his love for the work and teachings of Jesus.

Shel Liebman is survived by Gail, his

beloved partner of 30 years; his children, Sarah (Brian), Rebecca; his former spouse and the mother of his children, Gale; his grandchildren Charlotte, Markus, and Micah; his sister, Dianne (Allan); his brother, Marc (Patricia); his nieces, Pamela, Stephanie, and Caroline; and his nephews Ari, David, Lionel, Simian, Zachary, and Andy.

Due to COVID restrictions, no service will be held at this time. Shel’s children have created a memorial website at sheldon-wayne-liebman.forevermissed.com.

Celebrations of his life will be planned at various locations in the future. For those wishing to make a donation in his name, he was a longtime supporter of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and its efforts to treat and eliminate childhood cancer.

Steve Talianko, 94 Army Air Corps vet in WWII

Steve Talianko, 94, of Oak Park, died on Sept. 12, 2020. Born on Sept.

10, 1926, he was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. A graduate of Purdue University and a member of Iron Workers Local #1 in Chicago, he retired after many years from the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Chicago.

Steve was the husband of Rosemary; the father of Robert (Sheila), Kenneth (Debbie) Talianko, and Betsy (Richard) Bush; grandpa of Kimberly and Laura (Jason Young) Talianko and Jennifer (Brad) Romine, Ryan, Travis and Evan Talianko, and Lauren Fencl and Allison Bush; greatgrandpa of 3; and brother of the late Betty Polak and Anna Kruto.

A funeral Mass was held Sept. 19 at Ascension Church in Oak Park.

Interment was held at Queen of Heaven

Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Multiple System Atrophy Coalition (multiplesystematrophy.org) or PAWS Chicago (pawschicago.org) are appreciated.

Arrangements were handled by Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home.

Moore Peregrine, 93 Attorney, outdoorsman

Moore William Peregrine, 93, died peacefully at home on Sept. 5, 2020 at the age of 93. Born in Oak Park on Sept. 18, 1926, the son of Moore McConnell Peregrine and Ruth Ann Peregrine (nee McGinley), he volunteered for duty with the U.S. Air Force and served in Europe 1945 to ’46. His service inspired a lifelong love of aircraft and flying.

He became a partner in his father’s law firm in 1955 and worked as an estate and trust attorney in Chicago and River Forest until his retirement. He moved to Frankfort, Michigan in 1997 and spent many of his retirement years working as a National Park Service volunteer at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. One lasting contribution was his restoration of a classic wooden Whitehall rowboat named the “Mary E.”, now on exhibit at the National Lakeshore’s maritime museum.

Moore married Marilyn Miller in 1948 and they had a son, Jay William, and a daughter, Debra Lynn Callahan. Marilyn died in 1958 and he married Josephine Neal in 1959 and her son, Michael William (Suzanne) became his own. With Josephine he had two more sons, the late Christopher Randall (JoAnne) and Peter Neal (Anne). Josephine died in 2004.

He is survived by his four remaining children and eight grandchildren. He was a lifelong member of the Congregational church, a tireless volunteer and fundraiser for myriad civic organizations, and a passionate outdoorsman. He was joyful and full of humor to the very end.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Moore may be sent to the Grand Traverse Land Conservancy.

Jerry Fitzpatrick, 86 Longtime youth baseball coach

Gerald D. “Jerry” Fitzpatrick, 86, a longtime resident of Oak Park, died on Sept. 19, 2020.

Born on Feb. 1, 1934, he coached Oak Park Youth Baseball for many years.

Jerry was the husband of Mary Anne, nee Cormack; the father of Mary (David) Howorth, Gerald “Jerry” Jr. and John (Deborah) Fitzpatrick; Papa to James and Hannah Howorth; brother of Mary (the late Robert Zablock and the late William McCartney) Zablock, Joan (the late William) Cwinski, the late Jack, the late William (Elaine) and the late Thomas “Brother Brian” Fitzpatrick, O.S.M.; friend of Bill W.; and uncle and friend of many.

Family and friends will be received at Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home, 10501 W. Cermak Road, Westchester on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020 from 2 to 7 p.m.

A private funeral mass will be held at St. Giles Church, followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Chicago Chapter of AA are appreciated.

Arrangements were handled by Peter B. Kennedy & Co., Funeral Directors.

Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home

Since 1880 Family Owned & Operated Charles Williams, Owner/Funeral Director 203 S. Marion St. Oak Park 60302 708/383-3191

Growing Community.

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

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

WEDNESDAY

CLASSIFIED

YOUR WEEKLY AD

REACHES SIX SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES: OAK PARK, RIVER FOREST, FOREST PARK, BROOKFIELD, RIVERSIDE, NORTH RIVERSIDE, AND PARTS OF CHICAGO

33

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

Please Check Your Ad: The publisher will not be responsible for more than one incorrect insertion.

Wednesday Journal Classified must be notified before the second insertion.

The newspaper reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement.

Place your ad online anytime at: www.OakPark.com/ClassiďŹ ed/

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 | BY E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@OAKPARK.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@RIVERFOREST.COM HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

Job Title: Paid-on-Call Firefighter Description: The Village of Riverside Fire Department is seeking applicants for the position of Paid-on-Call Firefighter.

Additional Status Information: This is not a full-time position.

Qualifications: - In good physical condition - Reside within 1.5 miles of the boundaries of the Village of Riverside at time of appointment - Be 18 years of age at the time of application - Possess a high school diploma or GED - Possess a valid driver’s license with a good driving record Miscellaneous Applications are reviewed in October 2020.

Application deadline is Friday, September 25, 2020.

The Village of Riverside is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

FLOATER YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST Hephzibah Children’s Association is a social service agency in Oak Park, IL providing a variety of programs including Residential Group Homes, Foster Care programs and other Family Based services and Day Care.

ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER PART-TIME Part-time Electrician’s Helper.

Must have own transportation.

Call for more info.

708-738-3848

We are accepting applications for part time Floater Youth Development Specialists in our Day Care program for the 20-21 school year.

You will assist with e-learning and provide supervision and care to 5-11-year-old (Kindergarten-5th grade) children in the Oak Park community.

The position is part time, as needed, between the hours of 7:20 am and 3:20 pm weekdays – approximately 16-24 hours per week.

Requirements include: • Minimum of 6 semester hours in education, recreation, social work, or related college courses • Experience working with children You will supervise and assist children with e-learning programs; plan and supervise arts and crafts, indoor & outdoor play, games, sports, homework help, lunchtime, snack time and more.

The program follows the safety guidelines of the IDPH including daily health screening of all staff and participations (temperature check and health questionnaire) required face masks, social distancing and cleaning & disinfecting.

Contact: MJ Joyce at mjjoyce@hephzibahhome.org Equal Opportunity Employer HAPPY KIDD’S WEST INC. 6928 W 16th St Berwyn, IL 60513 We are seeking a Director and 2 teachers. Director must be qualiďŹ ed and have Associate’s degree or equivalent. Teachers must be director or teacher qualiďŹ ed. Mon thru Fri. working with Infants to 6 yrs old. Compensable salary negotiable based on experience.

Call 773-619-5545 or fax resume to 773-728-5437.

Wednesday Classified 3 Great Papers, 6 Communities To place an ad, call: 708/613-3333

SUBURBAN REAL ESTATE LOCAL REALTOR ANGELIQUE Actively looking to guide BUYERS and SELLERS in the home buying/ selling process. The market is HOT right now. Call someone who will work diligently, honorably, and incredibly hard for you and your real estate needs. You are my priority, and it will show. I put in the work to stay current and educated on market trends in order to get you the most money for your property or the best deal on your new purchase.

Call/text/email me today! alohnes@daprileproperties.com 708-663-3028

SUBURBAN RENTALS FOREST PARK 3BR 3 BR apt, 2nd oor, w/ dining rm and breakfast nook. New kitchen w/ granite & stainless. New baths central air, free laundry. Garage space included. 2 blks to blue line. $1800 + deposit & credit check required.

312-802-8291 COZY TOWN HOME FOR RENT Cozy Town Home for Rent. Two bedroom, One Bath, with partial ďŹ nished basement and washer and dryer. 1 block from the amazing Lincoln Elementary School. Walk to the Blue Line, Grocery Store, Cafe, Ice Cream Shop, and great parks. One parking space included. Tenant pays all utilities. One month rent and one month security deposit required.

Credit check required. Owner pays water and refuse. $1450. Available October 15, 2020.

Please email townhomeoakpark@gmail.com for inquiries.

OAK PARK: ROOSEVELT/ OAK PARK AVE. CORRIDOR 2BR 4RMS close to blue line. On site laundry, parking, heat & water incl. $1200/ month 708-383-9223

SUBURBAN RENTALS WESTCHESTER 3BR 1.5BA Westchester 2nd oor apartment for rent. 3BR, 1.5BA. Heat & water, appliances incl. 1 parking space incl.

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CITY RENTALS DELUXE 3BR APT 5955 W HURON First Floor. Large kitchen, all electric appliances. Near West Suburban Hospital. Near all public trans. $1150/mo.

Call 773-637-8677 for appt.

ROOMS FOR RENT AUSTIN CLEAN ROOM With fridge, micro.

Nr Oak Park, Super Walmart, Food 4 Less, bus, & Metra. $116/wk and up.

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OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. *1116 sq. ft. suite *569 sq. ft. with patio RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. *926 sq. ft.

OAK PARK–6597 North Ave. *598 sq. ft.

6142-44 Roosevelt Rd. *3 and 5 room suites Strand& & Browne Strand Browne 708-488-0011 708-488-0011

ESTATE SALE Riverside

ESTATE/MOVING SALE 194 W BURLINGTON ST (block of Hollywood Motors)

SAT 9/26 & SUN 9/27 11AM TO 3PM

EVERYTHING MUST GO! Paintings, Good Quality Furniture and much more!

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OUTDOOR FLEA MARKET & CRAFT FAIR TRINITY CHURCH 7022 RIVERSIDE DR. SATURDAY SEPT 26 9AM-2PM 708-484-1818

DOWNTOWN OAK PARK Downtown Oak Park, on Marion St. Nice ofďŹ ce with skylight. Heat and A/C included. Approx 220 sf. Call Mr. McNamara 630-215-3253

Lost & Found, Items for Sale, and To Be Given Away ads run free in Wednesday Classified. To place your ad, call 708-613-3342

SUBURBAN RENTALS

SUBURBAN RENTALS

(press 3)

M&M

property management, inc.

708-386-7355 • www.mmpropmgt.com 649 Madison Street, Oak Park Contact us for a complete list of available rentals throughout Oak Park and Forest Park.

Apartment listings updated daily at:

GARAGE/YARD SALES Chicago

HUGE SALE EVERYTHING AND MORE 2041 N NEVA AVE SAT 9/26 8AM

Mask up, stop and shop.

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YARD SALE 1101 HANNAH SAT 9/26 9AM TO 3PM

Lots of stuff for Do-It-Yourself homeowners! Tools and tons of miscellaneous.

Forest Park

BLOCK SALE 1000 THOMAS FRI 9/25 9AM TO 5PM SAT 9/26 9AM TO 4PM SUN 9/27 11AM TO 3PM

Check both alleys for the Block of 1000 Thomas Garage Sale in Forest Park! Stop by for ďŹ shing items, baby clothes, tools, kitchen items, sports memorabilia, picture frames, board games, DVD’s, books, etc.

Saturday ONLY - Stop at 1045 Thomas to register to VOTE and purchase a treat from Chef Ashley.

Forest Park

GARAGE SALE 1010 THOMAS FRI 9/25 9AM TO 5PM SAT 9/26 9AM TO 4PM SUN 9/27 11AM TO3PM

Harley Davidson Sportster, Honda Silverwing Scooter, vacuum, propane tank, propane bug fogger, new electric smoker, 26â€? ladies ďŹ x gear bike, hand tools, ďŹ shing reels, bobbers, so many lures, 2- 36 lb trolling motors, hardware, ofďŹ ce, lots of home goods, breadmaker, DVDs, books, ladies clothes, men’s L/XL, jewelry, travel golf bag, dog cage, breakfast nook bench and STUFF! Must wear a mask!

Sat only at 1045 Thomas – Chef Ashley baked goods, voter registration and voter info

AUTOS FOR SALE FORD INTERCEPTOR

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WANTED TO BUY WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, ags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers – lead, plastic – other misc. toys.

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708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000

FLOORS KLIS FLOORING INC.

New hardwood ooring installation & pergo. Sanding, re-ďŹ nishing, staining. Low prices, insured.

Call: 773-671-4996 www.klisflooring.com

GARAGE DOORS Our 73rd Year

Garage Doors &

Smart Door Openers

Sales & Service Free Estimates

(708) 652-9415 www.forestdoor.com

HANDYMAN CURT'S HANDYMAN SERVICE Drywall Repair • Painting Fans Installed • Carpentry Trim Gutter Cleaning • Window Repair

FREE ESTIMATES Excellent References No Job Too Small

708-488-9411

Mike’s Home Repair

Attention Home-Improvement Pros!

Reach the people making the decisions.

Place an ad in Wednesday Classifieds! Call 708/613-3342

Drywall H Painting H Tile Plumbing H Electric H Floors Windows H Doors H Siding Ask Us What We Don’t Do

CEMENT

CEMENT

708-296-2060

MAGANA

C O N C R E T E C O N S T RU C T I O N “QUALITY IS OUR FOUNDATION� ESTABLISHED IN 1987

COMMERCIAL ˜ INDUSTRIAL ˜ RESIDENTIAL

708.442.7720 '5,9(:$<6 Â&#x2021; )281'$7,216 Â&#x2021; 3$7,26 67(36 Â&#x2021; &85% *877(56 Â&#x2021; 6,'(:$/.6 612: 3/2:,1* Â&#x2021; 67$03(' &2/25(' $**5(*$7( &21&5(7( FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

34

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

CLASSIFIED CEMENT

(708) 613-3333 • FAX: (708) 467-9066 • E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@OAKPARK.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@RIVERFOREST.COM

CEMENT

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know

Residential Commercial Industrial Licensed Bonded Insured Free Estimates · Veteran Owned

In print • Online • Available to you 24/7/365

Drives Walks Patios Stamped Concrete Curbs/Gutters Garage Floors Foundations Parking Lots Water Control

PublicNoticeIllinois.com

devegaconcrete.com · 708-945-9001

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

ELECTRICAL

PUBLIC NOTICES

A&A ELECTRIC

RESOLUTION NO. R-57-20 A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE LEVY OF AN ADDITIONAL LIBRARY TAX FOR BUILDING AND MAINTENANCE

Let an American Veteran do your work

We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors • Home Re-wiring • New Plugs & Switches Added • New circuit breaker boxes • Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp • Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential • Commercial • Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. • Bonded • Ins. • Low Rates • Free Est.

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

HANDYMAN

PLASTERING

HANDYMAN

McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs • Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

773-637-0692

Licensed, Bonded, Insured, & EPA Certified Expert craftsmanship for over 50 years

HAULING

ROOFING

Ask for John

BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery. 708-848-9404

HVAC HHHHHHHHHHHH H H H HUGHS HVAC H H H Furnace tuneup – H repairs on all models H H *clean burner *check H H H belts on blower H H H *check pumps on hot- H H water units & zone valves. H H 708-556-7895 H H Licensed • Bonded • Insured H H Serving the near-west suburbs. H H H HHHHHHHHHHHH

LANDSCAPING NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN UP

Evergreen trimming & more.

Hand weed removal.

Clean-ups.

Call 24 hrs.

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Secret Gardener

The

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PAINTING & DECORATING CLASSIC PAINTING Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

708.749.0011

MIDWEST ROOFING All types of roofing repairs Commercial - Residential Call for free estimate

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Village of Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois, as follows: Section 1. The Board of Library Trustees of the Village of Forest Park, by Resolution dated August 17, 2020, has requested the corporate authorities of the Village of Forest Park to levy an additional 0.02% tax for the maintenance, repairs and alterations of library buildings and equipment, pursuant to 75 ILCS 5/3-4, in order to include the sum of $70,714.00 in the Village’s 2020 tax levy ordinance as the 0.02% Library Building and Maintenance levy.

Section 2. The corporate authorities of the Village of Forest Park hereby determine and propose to levy such additional 0.02% tax for the year 2020, subject to the provisions of 75 ILCS 5/3-4.

Section 3. The Village Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to publish a copy of this Resolution in the Forest Park Review, a newspaper with a general circulation within the Village of Forest Park, said publication to occur within fifteen (15) days of the adoption of this Resolution.

Section 4. Pursuant to 75 ILCS 5/3-4, notice is hereby given that if a petition requesting a referendum signed by 1,011 or more electors of the Village of Forest Park is filed

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLIONIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of Kazimir Hugh Boyle Case Number. 20 M4 2415 There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Kazimir Hugh Boyle to the new name of: Kazimir Huard Boyle The court date will be held: on 10/27/2020 at 9:30 a.m. at 1500 Maybrook Dr., Maywood, Cook County in Courtroom # 111.

Published in Wednesday Journal 9/16, 9/23, 9/30/2020

LEGAL NOTICE Dr. Linda Oster DDS. and Marion Street Dental, LTD. will be closing November 1, 2020. After November 1, inquiries handled by custodian at: MSD2020@mail.com Published in Wednesday Journal 9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14/2020

with the corporate authorities of the Village of Forest Park on or before October 23, 2020, which is thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this Resolution, then the question whether this Resolution shall become effective and said tax imposed shall be submitted to the electors of the Village of Forest Park at a general or special election to be held in accordance with the election laws of the State of Illinois in force at the time of such election.

The Village Clerk is hereby directed to provide a petition form to any individual requesting one.

Section 5. In the event no petition is filed with the corporate authorities within thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this Resolution, then this Resolution shall be effective and the additional library tax shall be levied accordingly, and included in the Village’s levy ordinance for library purposes.

ADOPTED by the Council of the Village of Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois this 14th day of September, 2020.

AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 1 APPROVED: Rory E. Hoskins, Mayor ATTESTED: Vanessa Moritz, Village Clerk

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF VIRTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING Date: Thursday, October 8th on GoTo Virtual Meeting service

Subject Property Address(es): 640 Madison Street, Oak Park, IL 60302

About GoTo: It’s free for you to view. Watch it from your phone or tablet, live at the meeting time or later as a recording. In addition, dial in is available just like a conference call.

Proposed Development: New Pete’s Fresh Market grocery store

Time: 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Virtual Location (will feature video Presentation and drawings of the Project)

Purpose of Meeting: Pre-Planned Development Submittal Discussion To submit comments, email contact: Eleni Pecoraro at eleni@api-architects.net If you can’t make the meeting: We will record it and post it for you to watch at a later time!

Go To Invite Link: Please contact Eleni Pecoraro via email at eleni@api-architects.net

Published in Wednesday Journal September 23 and 30, 2020

Starting a new business?

Publish Your Assumed Name Legal Notice in • Wednesday Journal • Forest Park Review • Riverside/Brookfield Landmark • Austin Weekly News Call for details: 708/613-3342

Published in Forest Park Review September 23, 2020

773-637-0692

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION US BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST; Plaintiff, vs.

LORNA J. RANKER; CHARLES K. RANKER; CITIZENS BANK NA; Defendants, 18 CH 2459 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-17-327-034-0000.

Commonly known as 1185 S. LOMBARD AVE., OAK PARK, IL 60304.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Mr. Ira T. Nevel at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Law Offices of Ira T. Nevel, 175 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. (312) 357-1125. 18-04613 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3156269

of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 23, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on October 28, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 300-302 NORTH CUYLER AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-08-107-0090000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation

by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in

Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-19-04111 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2019CH05533 TJSC#: 40-2200 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 2019CH05533 I3156607

Illinois Classified Advertising Network WANTED TO BUY

FREON WANTED: We pay CA$H for cylinders and cans.

R12 R500 R11 R113 R114. Convenient. Certified Professionals.

Call 312-598-1758 or visit RefrigerantFinders.com

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS LEGAL TITLE TRUSTEE FOR TRUMAN 2016 SC6 TITLE TRUST Plaintiff, -v.EDILBERTO V. VERZO, MARCELINA C. VERZO, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 2019CH05533 300-302 NORTH CUYLER AVENUE OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment

Buying? Selling? Renting? Hiring?

Wednesday Classified 708-613-3333

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

CLASSIFIED

(708) 613-3333 • FAX: (708) 467-9066 • E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@OAKPARK.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@RIVERFOREST.COM

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, D/B/A CHRISTIANA TRUST, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT AS TRUSTEE FOR PRETIUM MORTGAGE ACQUISITION TRUST Plaintiff, -v.ORA L. WADE, GERALD NORDGREN, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR JESSIE BRUMFIELD (DECEASED) Defendants 12 CH 019546 1526 N. AUSTIN BLVD. OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on September 11, 2012, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on October 27, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1526 N. AUSTIN BLVD., OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-05-106-020; 16-05-106-021 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real

estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-12-14848 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 12 CH 019546 TJSC#: 40-2199 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 12 CH 019546 I3156592

local employees, happy employees!

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark • Forest Park Review

Hire Local. Place an ad on WJ’s Local Online Job Board.

Go to RiverForest.com/classified today!

Selling your home by owner?

Advertise here!

Call: 708-613-3342

Contact Mary Ellen Nelligan for more information.

(708) 613-3342 Classifieds@OakPark.com | Classifieds@RiverForest.com

35

36

Wednesday Journal, September 23, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Your local mental health agencies are dedicated to providing education, resources and help throughout the community.

Please check out The Hub: healthconnectionhub.org

73%

of people say...

The pandemic has made them more aware of the importance of taking care of their own mental health. *According to a survey by AFSP and partners

Prevention Services and Positive Youth Development

NAMI Metro Suburban • The Living Room (FREE) (708) 498.0200 • a safe place to talk with a peer if you are experiencing life’s emotional stresses. Located at: 1917 W. Roosevelt Rd. • NAMI Family Support offers hope and shared experiences for family members supporting loved ones with a mental

The community coalition (+PYD) is the prevention go-to for providing education and awareness in Oak Park and River Forest. By using evidence informed strategies, we are able to provide training and tools to help others in understanding

health condition.

For more information please visit namimetsub.org

that healthy kids = healthy community.

For more information or online screenings please call 708.383.8005 or visit oakparktownship.org/preventionservices

Riveredge Hospital As your community partner in care, we continue to deliver behavioral health care to the individuals in our care. With enhanced safety guidelines in place, we are open and in full operation. We are offering both in-person and virtual services for children, adolescents and adults. If you are in a mental health crisis, do not delay in seeking help. Call 708-209-4181, 24/7 for a no-cost level of care assessment or visit riveredgehospital.com for more information about our programs and services.