W E D N E S D A Y
October 28, 2026 Vol. 47, No. 18
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JOURNAL @oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
Dia de Los Muertos in Scoville Park, Nov. 1 Page 4
OPRF delays Real people, real stories: Pastor’s experiences inside Broadview ICE facility Act 3 tax Torgerson provides pastoral care along with other religious leaders referendum until 2028 By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
By BOB SKOLNIK Staff Reporter
SYDNEY LOVAN
Attendees of a protest and prayer circle hold an American flag at the Broadview ICE Facility on Sept. 25. PAR K AK O SUPPORTS
FR E
E SPE
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Choosing discretion over valor the school board at Oak Park and River Forest High School has decided there will not be a referendum on the ballot next April asking voters to allow OPRF to sell bonds to pay for what is called Act 3, a plan to build new music and other arts spaces in the southwest corner of the OPRF building. A formal vote was not taken at the Oct. 22 board meeting but a clear consensus was reached. Citing uncertain conditions, the school board decided to follow the administration’s recommendation to target the primary election scheduled for March 21, 2028 as the time to ask voters to raise their taxes to pay for a See ACT 3 on page 17
VOTE YES! REPEAL THE ILLINOIS ANTI-BOYCOTT LAW! PAID ADVERTISEMENT
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See TORGERSON on page 15
Consensus reached to push back vote to fund new arts facility
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On Easter Sunday of this year, Pastor Heidi Torgerson spent her morning in joyous celebration with her congregation at Grace Lutheran Church of La Grange. A holiday that, to her, is about “the forces of goodness that I identify as God shaking the foundations of all of this that we take as a given, shakes the power of empire in ways that fundamentally change the world.” Just a few hours later, the Oak Park resident stood outside of the Broadview ICE detention facility waiting to walk through the doors so few had been allowed to before and meet those whose worlds were in the process of being shaken and fundamentally changed in a completely opposite way. What awaited her beyond those doors was not joy or celebration; there was fear, responsibility and the unknown. Torgerson was a part of one of the first groups of religious leaders to be allowed inside after a court ruling mandated federal authorities had to grant access for
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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Deep in the weeds, Oak Park debates other paths to affordable housing Discussions begin on changes to the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance
By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
Shape Oak Park’s proposed zoning changes and the SB Friedman feasibility study have highlighted that zoning alone does not produce new development. Other tools are needed to see changes in housing and affordability. Oak Park’s inclusionary housing ordinance is a tool that has remained at the forefront for nearly a decade and will be looked at again. Neighborhood Services Director Jonathan Burch presented information on development in Oak Park and what the current ordinance has created to the Ad Hoc Housing Advisory Task Force at its first meeting on Oct. 19. Burch then presented two preliminary options generated by village staff on how to change the existing ordinance to the Housing Programs Advisory Committee on Oct. 21 to get recommendations on proposed changes to bring back to the task force. The main takeaway from both conversations being that development in Oak Park is extremely difficult and the current market and property taxes remain a large obstacle. “It’s clear, no developments likely result from any of these changes because the market conditions say it’s not possible, it would really only serve as a safety net because market conditions change dramatically and quickly,” said Burch at the HPAC meeting. “But that safety net might be perceived as a negative by the development community, that would hear a message of Oak Park increases requirements when we’re already not economically viable to build.” The inclusionary housing ordinance passed in 2019 and applies to developments with 25 or more units. It requires that 10% of units be set aside as affordable. Or, in lieu of that, developers can pay what is currently a $100,000 fee to the village for each required affordable unit. If adjusted for the consumer price index, the fee would be just over $130,000 now. Although no on-site affordable units have
been generated from the ordinance, about $4.7 million has been collected in fees for the village’s Housing Trust Fund. It was discussed by both HPAC and the task force that other forms of revenue for the trust fund need to be considered as new development to add to the fund remains unlikely. Burch also highlighted Oak Park’s relatively stagnant development post-pandemic. Meanwhile Evanston has continued to develop, largely driven by lower property taxes and the demand for housing from students at Northwestern. The HPAC members went through each requirement of the ordinance and discussed what they thought could be reasonable changes for the task force to explore further. It was agreed that it doesn’t make sense to base the applicable geography on Transit-Oriented Development areas, condos should not be included in the housing types the ordinance would apply to, and offering a fee-in-lieu instead of requiring all on-site units is necessary. There were differing opinions on what the fee-in-lieu should be set at. It was recommended that the task force should consider the affordable share rate between 10% to 15% and weigh options for reducing the number of units for developments that would fall under the ordinance anywhere from 7 to 20 or more. The overarching question was raised for why changes should or need to be made when development is unlikely to occur as a result, and it could potentially keep development from happening. “If nothing is going to happen with either of them anyway, then I personally think that you do nothing to it because we’ve seen how a conversation surrounding housing that, I obviously don’t think is going to do much, blows up,” said HPAC member Andrea Krieg at the meeting. “Don’t open the door to have like a vitriolic conversation about something that’s not going to do anything anyway.” Committee Chair Keith Spencer said housing conversations and looking at tools like the inclusionary housing ordi-
nance need to happen now in order to prepare for the future, and decisions being made are more about the impacts on the next generations. “The decisions we make right now aren’t just affecting us right now,” said Spencer at the meeting. “There’s no reason for us to shy away from moving it forward and say that we’re having the shitty conversation if it’s going to fix stuff later on.” Committee member Ryan O’Malley also highlighted the potential dangers of changing the zoning code without updating the ordinance and missed opportunities with future developments not being captured under the ordinance. “Like if the Mohr site comes up available and stuff like that and if it’s not captured by those new forward standards, so therefore we’re already having one fight. This fight is a part of that fight. They’re not separate issues,” said O’Malley. It was also asked of village staff to clarify what the end result goals are, and possibly setting an actual number for the amount of affordable housing to work towards as Oak Park is doing better with the affordable housing spread than other municipalities. In Oak Park’s current housing supply using data from 2023, about 40% of rental units are affordable for residents at 60% of the area median income and about 63% of units are affordable to residents at 80% AMI. Of those rental units, about 54% are naturally occurring for 60% AMI and 69% are naturally occurring for 80%. O’Malley raised a counter point that doing better than other areas that are doing bad, does not mean it is necessarily good. He said the “norm, like where we’re at is not okay,” and is concerned doing nothing to change with the market could cause Oak Park to become like its neighbors. The recommendations from HPAC will be taken by village staff to the Ad Hoc task force for further discussion before any recommendations from the task force will be taken to the village board down the line. The next Ad Hoc Housing Advisory Task Force meeting is on Nov. 6, at 9:30 a.m. at village hall.
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W E D N E S D A Y
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
General Manager Max Reinsdorf Editorial & Audience Strategist Matthew Schwerha Staff Reporters Sydney Lovan, Hector Cervantes, Bill Dwyer, Jackie Pisano, Bob Skolnik, Gregg Voss Sports Reporters Melvin Tate, Bill Stone Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Contributing Editor Donna Greene Columnists Marc Blesoff, Nicole Chavas, Jack Crowe, Vincent Gay, Mary Kay O’Grady, John Stanger, Josh VanderBerg Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck Editorial & Digital Design Lead Javier Govea Design and Production Associate De Sergio Villalona Visual Designers Susan McKelvey, Darby Godman Sports Photographer Steve Johnston Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls Marketing & Advertising Associate Emma Cullnan Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Operations Associate Susan Liss Babin Social Media and Digital Coordinator Maribel Barrera Senior Advisor Dan Haley
H OW TO R E ACH US P.O. Box 6670, River Forest, IL 60305 ■ PHONE (708) 613-3300 ■ EMAIL dhaley@newswellchicago.org ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com
CIRCULATION Jill Wagner • jill@oakpark.com • (708) 613-3340 PRINT/DIGITAL ADVERTISING Lourdes Nicholls • lourdes@oakpark.com • Ext. 3329 Emma Cullnan • emma@oakpark.com • Ext. 3304 CALENDAR EVENTS calendar@wjinc.com Wednesday Journal is published weekly by NEWSWELL Chicago. Periodicals postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS No. 10138). Wednesday Journal NEWSWELL Chicago is located at 1011 Lake Street St 307, Oak Park IL 60301. The newspaper is available at newsstands for $2. Annual subscription rate in Cook County is $65 and $105 outside of Cook County. Advertising rates available by contacting our office. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Wednesday Journal, NEWSWELL Chicago P.O. Box 6670 River Forest IL, 60305. © 2026 NEWSWELL
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Oak Park Dia de los Muertos rises in the face of fear for a day of joy and celebration The event will be held in Scoville Park on Nov. 1
By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
Oak Park’s Dia de los Muertos event was born out of fear and isolation during the pandemic to spread love and connection across the community. Last year, the event was canceled due to the increased presence of federal immigration officers, bringing a new wave of fear and isolation. Event organizer Alma Martinez said this year is back and better than ever with a “dream team” of organizers. It will be held on Nov. 1 at Scoville Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The theme is monarch butterflies, a historic symbol of immigration representing resilience through “everywhere they have to travel and everything they have to endure.” “We’re happy to showcase our culture, in the same way that we give so much love, we want to be treated with respect and kindness,” said Martinez. “We are not here to hurt anybody, to take anybody’s jobs. We are here to work hard, to be better than what we were, to seek opportunities that sometimes people don’t have in their own countries, and to show the beauty and the array and the colors of our culture, so I want everybody to see that we are love.” Children can participate in a “parade” around the park and there will be food, vendors, performances, a puppet show, face painting and more for people of all ages to enjoy. A special award will also be given to Jaime Garza, one of the event organizers, for all of the work he does in the community Martinez said the event is a great educational opportunity and a way to share cultural representation to “empower those future generations so that they feel seen.” Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a traditional Mexican holiday celebrated Nov. 1 and 2 when it is believed souls of loved ones are able to visit the living. It is a joyful, lively celebration to honor lives lost. “We make it a life celebration, but while respecting the hurt, the sadness of losing
SYDNEY LOVAN
The Lu-Viola Neighbors’ ofrenda honors family and friends in partnership with Oak Park Dia de los Muertos on Oct. 26, in Oak Park. someone, it creates a way to still remember them, and also it’s a powerful way to grieve, because we know that at any point we all won’t be here,” said Martinez. “But we want to be remembered for who we were and who we touch, and all the love that we gave.” Ofrendas are altars set up for the loved ones being honored during Dia de los
Muertos with offerings and memorabilia to welcome the spirits back. Ahead of the celebration, participating members of the community and organizations have put up ofrendas people can visit with about 25 planned around Oak Park. Event organizers created an interactive map listing the locations of the ofrendas, and clicking on each marker on the map
will give more information on the location and who is being honored. Martinez recommended not to miss out on the ofrendas at the District 97 schools. Martinez said they are still looking for event volunteers for Nov. 1, and anyone interested in helping out can find more information on their social media pages, both Facebook and Instagram.
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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THRIVE TALKS Navigating Medicaid Changes: What to Expect in 2027 and Available Resources At this Thrive Talk, you will gain insights into Medicaid updates, upcoming changes, and resources to stay informed about developments affecting access to care and community services.
Tyler Alvarez | Assistant Director, Referral & Coordination
FREE EVENT! November 12, 7:00 - 8:30 PM Oak Park Public Library (Veterans Room) 834 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL
SYDNEY LOVAN
Deputy Chief Kevin Fadden with American flag disposal box built by Scouts outside of Oak Park Fire Department Station 1.
With a Scout’s help, fire department sets up flag disposal boxes Scout Hunter Bogehegn led the project with a team of friends and family By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
The Oak Park Fire Department installed the first official United States flag drop boxes for proper disposal with the help of a Scout from Troop 2. Scout Hunter Bogehegn needed to complete an Eagle Scout project to reach the highest rank in Scouting America, and Deputy Chief Kevin Fadden is no stranger
SYDNEY LOVAN
Hunter Bogehegn to helping on a project. He has 20 years of experience working with scouts and involvement in over 200 Eagle Scout projects. The fire department had the idea of the flag drop boxes as Oak Park did not have See FLAG DISPOSAL on page 8
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Lincoln Elementary named 2026 Governor’s Blue Ribbon School
River Forest school melds come. That carries a lot of weight in the mind of a student and a parent. administration, parent “One of the things our teachers really in the video was our efforts backing for state recognition emphasized with Responsive Classroom,” Godfrey said, By GREGG VOSS Staff Reporter
Test scores are merely one aspect of a high-performing school. So are the results found within the annual Illinois Report Card, which will be released Oct. 30. While both are important, not to mention effective administration and strong parent backing, don’t discount the value of a school culture that makes each child feel supported. All of those elements came together for Lincoln Elementary School in River Forest, which was named Tuesday as a 2026 Governor’s Blue Ribbon School, one of 16 public and eight private schools. Lincoln School was recognized in 2015 as a national Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, which disbanded that program in 2025, prompting the launch of the Illinois Governor’s Blue Ribbon Schools Program later that year. Casey Godfrey is Lincoln School principal, and every morning, rain, snow or shine, you’ll see him outside opening car doors and greeting students. That’s one example of culture, but there’s much more, he said, which came out in the application process last spring that required responses to questions covering over 40 pages. “There is so much intentionality that goes into the relationship building and making every kid feel like they belong at our school,” Godfrey said. “That’s what we really leaned into in the application, just telling the story of our school and how it feels to be at Lincoln.” Perhaps the icing on the cake for the application was the creation of a video that captures a day in the life of a Lincoln School student. It started with a youngster arriving at school in a car and Godfrey opening the door with a smile and a wel-
referring to a teaching method that brings together academics and social-emotional learning. “Every child’s day starts with a morning meeting in our classroom, where the whole class is sitting around the rug,” he said. “We’re not doing math right away, we’re not doing reading right away. The first thing that we do is level set, and we see how is everyone entering the space that day.” Youngsters tend to be honest, he added, and will admit, for example, that they’re having a rough morning. That informs a teacher how to help that child that day. “That time in the morning, it’s very sacred and it’s something we built into our master schedule,” Godfrey said. “No one is getting pulled for any service. It’s an intentional time every day. That carries on through the whole culture of the school.” It’s more than that. Now meld culture
GREGG VOSS
Principal Casey Godfrey with Blue Ribbon Award Certificate
GREGG VOSS
Students at Lincoln School in River Forest cheer for their teachers during the Blue Ribbon Celebration on Oct. 20. with academic excellence. With a score of 85.36, Lincoln earned Exemplary status for the third year in a row in 2025 on the Illinois Report Card, and its English/ language arts proficiency score was the highest among all public elementary and middle/junior high schools in suburban Cook County. Third grade teacher Kim Briggs sees that combination every day. “I believe Lincoln earned its Blue Ribbon recognition because we share a culture of celebrating each other’s unique gifts, supporting one another, and creating a community where we all belong and shine,” Briggs said. Added first grade teacher Ginger Timchak: “I am excited to see the students and my colleagues every day. There is a universal level of respect and joy that is genuine, honest, and true. The staff embodies the true respect for one another that we teach our children.” Godfrey added that it’s important to him that the award is shared across District 90. “In a message that I shared to the other schools, I wish that it was an award that I could split three ways,” he said, “because all three of our schools are so amazing. It’s not just Lincoln; the entire village of River Forest should be proud of the work.” One of the perks of being named a 2026 Governor’s Blue Ribbon School is atten-
dance at a special recognition event at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield next spring. Godfrey will be there, along with other district representatives. He and Gov. JB Pritzker have already met – at a special recognition ceremony Tuesday at John Mills Elementary School in Elmwood Park that announced all recognized schools. Also present was Janice Pavelonis, the new D90 elementary superintendent. “We are thankful to our staff for their passion and skill, to principal Casey Godfrey for his leadership over the past 11 years and to our families for their partnership,” Pavelonis said Wednesday. “We are very proud of our students, whose curiosity and hard work earned this amazing honor.” Closer to home, a celebratory Blue Ribbon Rally will be hosted at 5 p.m. Oct. 29 in conjunction with the Lincoln School PTO. Attendees will include local and state dignitaries, including River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci and the board of education. “Congratulations to the administration, staff, students, and families of Lincoln Elementary for being recognized among the top 16 Illinois public schools for your high level of academic achievement,” Adduci said in a statement. “River Forest is fortunate to have such dedicated educators serving our community.”
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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port the
PAR ASKUPPORTS K O
FR E
E S P E EC
VOTE YES!
JOIN YOUR NEIGHBORS AND PROMINENT ORGANIZATIONS AND
H
on November 3rd
Since 2015, Illinois law bans state pension fund investment in businesses that choose to boycott or divest from the State of Israel.
Vote YES! to repeal this law!
“I am voting yes for the children of Palestine, to counter all the no’s that have eroded their trust in humanity and their hope for the future.” Tara Meyer Dull - Oak Park Resident
“Last fall Oak Parkers stood up to ICE because we recognized it as an authoritarian assault. We are called to do the same here. A Yes vote on this advisory referendum tells our local legislators we want them to stand up for the 1st Amendment right to boycott.”
“As a Jew, I learned that one of the most important responsibilities that we have is to speak up for human rights and free speech. By Voting YES, we are saying that we believe very strongly in those principles.”
“Vote yes because the current law explicitly says the pension systems are exempt from “any fiduciary duties” that get in the way. That’s not responsible investing. That’s politics with other people’s retirement money.”
Bekah Levin - Oak Park Resident
Jesse Bauer - Oak Park Resident
“Laws suppressing boycotts of Israel don’t prevent discrimination - they violate civil liberties.”
“I am voting YES.There’s a great hope that this will pass because it resonates with us as humans. We stand up for human rights. We stand up for each other. And we live by those values here in Oak Park.”
Annie Wilkinson, PhD - Oak Park Resident
American Civil Liberties Union - ACLU
OAK PARK REFERENDUM ENDORSED BY:
SUPPORTERS OF REPEALING ANTI-BOYCOTT LAW INCLUDE:
Faisal Alabsy - Oak Park Resident
For more information : www.opfreespeech.org
Former IL7 Candidates: Kina Collins, Reed Showalter & Anabel Mendoza
Paid for by Oak Parkers for Free Speech
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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Funny is Female comedy festival makes return visit Over 50 performers took the stage at Comedy Plex, Oct. 22-25
By SYDNEY LOVAN
support with its first year in 2025, allowing for the event to only grow and bring in even more talent this year. Angie McMahon, Marta Segal Block and Lisa Nagatomo-Timms are the all-women team making it possible. “This is what women coming together can do,” said Nagatomo-Timms.
Segal Block originally had the idea for an all-female festival to give an opportunity to uplift voices and provide space for female comedians that is lacking in the comedy industry as a whole. The three came together to make that idea into reality, pushing the boundaries of just how big it can be. “One female comedian to every five male comedians is what the scene is basically all across the country,” said McMahon. “Creating space for women is just going to create more opportunities for women.” Segal Block said festivals such as this are more than just performance experience but also set up opportunities for networking and building crucial relationships within the industry. It takes a village to put on an event like this one, and Oak Park rose to the occasion. Businesses in the area, the Village of Oak Park, Downtown Oak Park and the Cham-
ber of Commerce rallied behind Comedy Plex with sponsorships and support. Performers across the country and visitors from all over the Chicago area come for the festival and stay for Oak Park’s unique charm and vibrant community in turn supporting more businesses all over downtown. “Oak Park has a history and a tradition and an ethos of being an open, welcoming community that accepts and values diversity,” said Segal Block. “We’re not the city, so we can be friendlier. We can work together more. I think that’s baked into Oak Park’s DNA.” Anyone who may be inspired to get involved or take up comedy themselves have a variety of options through Comedy Plex. There is a free Open Mic night every Wednesday and a variety of stand-up classes offered for adults, children and even corporate workshops.
cept of what we wanted, but no real details,” and that is where Bogehegn was able to help out. Bogehegn said the hardest, and most important, part of the project was creating the plan. An Eagle Scout project places emphasis on leadership, and once his plan was approved, Bogehegn led a team to complete the work. “I like the idea that I can just help in any way with the community, and I haven’t seen anything like this around here,” said Bogehegn. He joined the Scouts in third grade and is now in his senior year of high school. He said it is “exciting, but kind of sad at the
same time,” as he gets closer to finishing his time in the program. This is the third Eagle Scout project in partnership with the Oak Park Fire Department in the past several years. One group of scouts helped lay down bricks surrounding the front landscaping, and another built a specialized drying rack for the firefighter’s gear. “Watching a teenager lead this project is the fun part, and I support it personally because of the growth and the maturity and the skills that these boys and girls have to put together to accomplish this goal,” said Fadden. Fadden highlighted all of the beneficial
skills he has seen scouts gain over the years from these projects including communication, experience in working with budgets, and teamwork. He said he recommends the Scouting America program to anyone and everyone. “We are giving these kids a chance to learn and to better themselves,” said Fadden. “Why not support a program that is helping our youth become better?” Bogehegn’s advice to any young people interested in getting involved is to “go into it with an open mind and be excited because it’s a fun process and you learn a lot. It’s just an overall great experience.”
Staff Reporter
Comedy Plex brought back a weekend of laughter to downtown Oak Park with the second annual Funny is Female festival. From Oct. 22 to 25, 51 women and female-identifying comedians performed at Comedy Plex, 1128 Lake St., and the Dragon Lounge in Sushi House just down the street. There will be comedy workshops hosted during the day. There were shows for everyone, even a “clean” show more suitable for kids about 12 and up. Marina Franklin, as seen on HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Hulu’s Life & Beth, headlined Friday, and Ariel Elias, seen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, headlined on Saturday. The festival had amazing turnout and
FLAG DISPOSAL from page 5 proper drop sites, yet they have collected many flags over the years to help with the disposal process. These boxes make that process easier for all involved. Two boxes were built and installed at Station 1 at 100 N. Euclid Ave., and Station 3 at 900 S. East Ave. They are open 24/7 and all one has to do is place the retired flag inside of the box, and the fire department will handle the rest. Fadden said they had “a little bit of con-
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Groups for, against advisory referendum make their case Tactics include door-to-door canvassing, private get-togethers and presence at community events
By GREGG VOSS Staff Reporter
The advisory referendum question is simply put, yet packs emotion on a global scale for many in the village of Oak Park. Should the state of Illinois repeal law that bans state investment in businesses that boycott the state of Israel? Bills in the state Senate and House of Representatives that would amend the Illinois Pension Code to remove the requirement to include businesses that boycott Israel on its list of restricted companies for investment has been a hot topic for months. Supporters say Oak Park state pensioners have lost millions due to the advent of the 2015 law under former Gov. Bruce Rauner that instituted the requirement to bar pension fund investment in companies that boycott or divest from Israel for any reason, including human rights concerns. With Nov. 3 general election day little
more than a week away, those for and against the referendum have been making their case to residents in many ways, including going door to door, private coffee and wine get-togethers and other community events. For example, Oak Parkers for Free Speech, which brought forth the question earlier this year, will be hosting the documentary “Boycott” from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday at the Oak Park Public Library. The guest speaker will be attorney Dima Khalidi, founder of Palestine Legal, who is in the documentary and will talk about how the state law shields Israel from boycott. “People are saying this only affects corporations,” said Oak Park resident Haj Mohammed-Herbert, a Palestinian American who attended school in the West Bank as a youth and has lived in Oak Park for 20 years. “And this is showing you that it See REFERENDUM on page 14
FILE
Oak Park residents cast ballots at the township’s annual town meeting, April 28. The question on the meeting’s agenda concerned a state anti-boycotting law.
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ART BEAT
Oak Park Area Arts Council spotlights new artist in village hall Art will be displayed in The Gallery for 3 months
By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
The Oak Park Area Arts Council and Oak Park’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office hosted an opening reception Wednesday evening to highlight art displayed at The Gallery in Village Hall. Alma Dominguez, a Chicago-based artist of about 20 years, is the new artist featured on the walls of Village Hall at 123 Madison St. Dominguez emigrated from Mexico to pursue a doctorate in political science, and her paintings speak to her lived experience, identity as a mother and educational background with her subjects mainly featuring immigrants, women and even her children. “I really like to paint powerful ladies. I have a few series about ladies in different worlds, like activists and indigenous, who are working and fighting for rights,” said Dominguez. “I think we need to tell our story here.” She said painting is like therapy to her and allows her the space to express herself without having to speak. “Art is a very good tool to put some difficult subjects in the conversation, and without words, you can say a lot,” said Dominguez. Jaime Garza, the arts council’s program coordinator, has known Dominguez for a few years, and invited her to collaborate with The Gallery. He said he wanted to highlight all the different dimensions of her art and her as an artist, not just her heritage. Garza also spoke to the importance of art as not just something to fill space, but something that is an intrinsic part of civilization. “It’s a form of humans trying to understand other humans. It’s just a whole other dimension where any civil world that you
SYDNEY LOVAN
‘I really like to paint powerful ladies,’ says artist Alma Dominguez. encounter, art plays a very big part of it,” said Garza. “I think village hall, Oak Park, wants to also be that kind of civilization that is open to other cultures, other forms of seeing the world, and that’s kind of what art does.” Camille Wilson White, the council’s longtime executive director, expressed her ap-
preciation for the village’s ongoing support for The Gallery and believes Dominguez’s art “reflects the values of Oak Park and how inviting this village is of all people.” “I think it has just generated so much excitement because it’s attractive, and you wouldn’t expect that coming into village hall where so many different kinds of work
goes on for the Village of Oak Park, so we have enjoyed it,” said Wilson White. The exhibition switches artists every three months, so Dominguez’s work will be displayed until December. Village hall is open for anyone to walk through and visit, and the art is displayed right along the path of early voting lines.
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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LIFE with w wi ititthh Li L Lisa isa is sa Ca C Capone apon ap one ne Stay Healthy This Fall As temperatures dip and the air turns crisp, seniors need to take p to stay healthy and extra steps comfortable comfo f rtab fo ble through the colder months. Fall brings beautiful beautifu f l scenery fu f u and fl but also an increase in flu g healthy seasonal illnesses. Staying alll about a during colder months is all proactive approach p to wellness. few simple tips to help fe Here are a few f eling your best this fe keep you feeling season. fu fl First, consider scheduling a flu vaccine. The flu f u can pose fl p serious heall th risks, riisk k s, especially especiiall ly for f or seniors, seniiors, health and getting vaccinated d reduces your chances of severe illness. Staying active is also key. While outdoor walks might g be brisk, like indoor activities lik k e stretching, g gentle yoga, or using light hand d weights are great ways keep w eights a re g reat w a y s tto ok eep muscles strong and joints fl fflexible. exib b le. Even 15-20 minutes a day can boost energy and mood! Finally, focus f cus on seasonal foods fo f ods fo that support pp pp immunity. Fall’s harvest —pumpkins, —pumpk pkins, squash, and apples—are packed d with vitamins that can help your body fe ffend nd off f seasonal bugs. ff Adding warm soups and stews with these ingredients provides both comfo f rt and nutrition. fo comfort By y taking these steps, p you can enjoy enj n oy nj y the th he beauty of fa ffall ll while wh hile staying welll and thriving all season long!
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Federal parolee who threatened RF library staff avoids more jail time Ron Haddad sentenced to time served after admitting to violating his bond conditions By BILL DWYER Staff Reporter
Ronald Haddad Jr., the federal felon convicted in state court last year of criminal trespass to the River Forest library, avoided more jail time last week after Judge Edmund Chang ruled with what he termed “extraordinary leniency.” The judge made it clear there would be no further leniency if Haddad violated the conditions of his release yet again. On Oct. 20, Haddad, 51, of Forest Park, admitted to and was found guilty of obstruction of justice through an angry and implicitly threatening email on July 22, 2025, and to violating his home incarceration conditions by entering the River Forest library in early September. Chang sentenced Haddad to the 10 months he previously served in jail, and to 26 months of supervised release, with the first 90 days to be served in home incarceration with electronic monitoring. In April 2024, Haddad was arrested for criminal trespass to the River Forest library after entering despite being banned for past inappropriate behavior. Haddad’s probation officer Brigette King told Judge Virginia Kendall at the time that “The librarians and everyone at the library are in fear of what’s going on. Library officials said they spent at least $47,000 on security arrangements for the building due to Haddad’s actions. He was subsequently found guilty. The legal consequences Haddad incurred for that trespass appeared to have had little effect on him. In July 2025, he was arrested after he sent a 59-page email “containing hundreds of email addresses and multiple alleged threatening statements.” Following that arrest, Kendall recused herself from sitting on Haddad’s case after he angrily criticized the judge and mentioned watching her while she rode public transit. In her formal recusal notification,
Kendall said Haddad had threatened her. According to a hearing transcript, Haddad’s graphic, violent language in the 2025 email included “f… them, f… their families… I encourage you to blow these kinds of scum f…s completely and publicly in half.” Haddad spent 10 months in the Winnebago County Jail awaiting resolution of the government’s revocation motion before being released to home incarceration in late May. Haddad is not allowed to utilize any computer not outfitted with court-approved monitoring technology and not allowed to leave his mother’s apartment except for appointments given prior approval by his probation officer. His most recent revocation hearing appears to have been expedited after he used a document scanning device inside the Oak Park library to send what was effectively an email to this reporter at the two newspaper chains he works for, including Wednesday Journal. On Sept. 2, this reporter was forwarded the email by an editor at another news chain. A handwritten letter in the email referred to “Wednesday Journal newspaper reporter bill:dwyer,” and contended that this reporter “already have (sic) and know the real truth about river forest so-called ‘police officers’ attacking me on my walk home from Maybrook court on Tuesday, July 9th, 2024,” Haddad wrote. In fact, this reporter knew only what he’d read in federal court filings related to Haddad’s arrest. On Sept. 5, an email was sent by this reporter to Madeleine Murphy, an assistant US attorney, asking for confirmation that Haddad was required to stay out of libraries and stay off the internet as a condition of his release from jail, and asking for any comment the U.S. Attorney’s office was willing to make. Murphy replied, “Thanks for letting me know about this situation. I’ll forward your email to Haddad’s probation officer and confer with her on our next steps regarding this,” with no further comment. The government subsequently brought two additional charges against Haddad, for using an unapproved internet connection and entering the Oak Park library. On Oct. 20, Haddad, who was already facing revocation of his bond due to three other counts, admitted to two of the five charges
against him. Count one related to the email blast Haddad sent out to the Oak Park Rotary Club’s general email address, and other email addresses, ranting in graphic terms against numerous individuals. Count four related to Haddad entering the Oak Park library on Sept. 2 in violation of his bond. Haddad admitted sending the scanned document from the Oak Park library with the caveat “I was just trying to express to the public what was going on.” “I regret doing it,” Haddad said of the violations, again with a caveat, saying, “I did not have any criminal intent in doing it.” Chang scoffed at Haddad’s contention that he’d been forced to violate his release condition in order to file an appeal in county circuit court. He warned Haddad that his recent diagnosis of neurodivergence was no excuse for him violating court orders. “There’s not any kind of mental defect that prevented him from knowing what he was doing was in violation of the law,” Chang said. “There is nothing about the neurodivergence that would have prevented you from understanding.” The judge also said the issue at hand was not Haddad’s anger at or invective against authority. “You’re entitled to your opinion,” Chang said. “What you’re not entitled to is violating the conditions of your release to express that, (by) using the internet at a location you were not supposed to be at.” Chang told Haddad his ruling was “reflective of how much (Haddad’s probation officer) is trying to help you. How much everyone is trying to help you.” The judge acknowledged that whatever treatment regimen was currently in place that Haddad was finally cooperating and it appeared to be having a positive effect on him. “The July 25, 2025 Ron Haddad would not recognize he was doing something he should not be doing,” Chang said. He also suggested he had heard Murphy’s call for Haddad to serve additional jail time for his violating his release conditions. “You’re being shown extraordinary leniency here,” Chang told Haddad. Haddad has a trial date scheduled for Dec. 7 at Maybrook Courthouse on state charges of aggravated battery to a police officer.
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
REFERENDUM
A controversial state law from page 10 doesn’t just affect corporations, because two of the people affected were American. It goes to show you how it can harm the average small business.” Oak Park Neighbors United, which opposes the referendum, will have a presence at village hall for Sunday’s Roll to the Polls early voting event, answering questions. But the predominantly Jewish group is also planning a private get-out-the-vote event this week. The event is private out of an abundance of caution. “We need to be able to know we’re going to be safe,” said Rebekah Grossman, a member of Oak Park Neighbors United’s steering committee. She has also attended two wine nights, again private, that discussed the referendum question, how it got on the ballot and why residents should vote no. “Some people feel better in their own environment,” Grossman said. “It’s been empowering.”
OAKPARK.COM Oak Parkers for Free Speech will also dum. When I read to them what’s on the have a presence at village hall for Roll to ballot, their eyes roll back. “I’ve had somebody say, ‘I don’t want the Polls, handing out pamphlets and answering questions, according to member to talk to you, Israel is committing genocide,’” she said. Her response is simple. Jesse Bauer. “That’s not what I’m there for. My goal is to “We’re definitely going to have tons of people out this weekend, knocking on doors get the word out that this is a thing.” That differs somewhat and hanging door hangwith Bauer’s experience ers and we’ve got people canvassing. signed up for shifts to be “Definitely I think most at village hall and handof the folks I’ve talked to ing out palm cards and recently have been aware answering questions,” he of it, which for us is a said. huge victory,” he said. Not surprisingly, both “We brought the profile groups have made a strong of this issue up. I wouldn’t effort in canvassing in the REBEKAH GROSSMAN say overwhelmingly the village and Saturdays at Member of Oak Park Neighbors United community supports a yes the Oak Park Farmers vote and a repeal. We’ve Market, not only to make definitely heard from no their individual case folks. People have differabout voting yes or no but ent reasons for that.” introducing some to the Mark Segal is a spokesfact that the measure is even on the ballot. Some think the referen- person for Oak Park Neighbors United. In dum is related to the village’s recent zon- a statement to Wednesday Journal, he said the group has been “working hard to coning discussions. “It makes sense,” Grossman said. “That’s nect with our neighbors before election what everyone is talking about. Then you day to explain why they should vote ‘no’ on say there is actually not a zoning referen- the Israel boycott referendum.
“Some people feel better in their own environment. It’s been empowering.”
“Our committed local volunteers are going door to door and receiving welcoming, positive reactions,” he said. “Oak Parkers instinctively understand that this referendum divides us and makes many Oak Parkers feel unwelcome. They don’t understand an advisory referendum on Middle East politics and not a real vote on the proposed zoning overhaul.” Additionally, he said the group is active in online groups and social media. Both entities have also placed advertisements in Wednesday Journal and urged supporters to send letters to the editor of the Journal. Caren Van Slyke of Oak Parkers for Free Speech expects a bump in voters due to the midterm elections. Should the referendum pass, Bauer said the Cook County clerk will certify the results. “We as advocates will take those results to our (legislative) representatives here in Oak Park and really push them to become involved publicly on the issue,” he said. “Our hope is that we have a large victory and we’re taking the results to them and saying, ‘Your constituents really want you to act on this, please be a part of bringing this to the floor and passing this legislation.’”
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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TORGERSON
‘We keep us safe’ from page 1
pastoral and spiritual care. Recalling that day still makes her heart race and the feeling remains overwhelming and indescribable to her. They had only been allowed into the entryway where they sat and received the stories of two men, one who lived in the United States almost all of his life and the other “genuinely terrified” of what he would endure once he was deported. “Our government keeps telling these stories that these are the worst of the worst. They’re rapists, they’re drug dealers, they’re murderers, they’re stealing our women, they’re stealing our jobs, whatever all other kind of BS our current administration wants to spew that so much of our culture has picked up,” said Torgerson. “It’s just flat out not true.” “It seems very, very clear to me that the primary crime that any of these folks have committed is the crime of being poor. They’re stuck in a shitty system that they were sort of born on the underside of our economic structures globally speaking and have ended up in this situation over which they have almost no control,” she said. She has continued to meet with people inside the facility, listening to their stories and making sure they know someone is there and someone cares. Torgerson said the care, empathy, and resilience she has witnessed with “universally every single person I’ve met in there” is “deeply humbling.” Religious leaders are now able to move beyond the entryway and into various holding rooms. The inside of Broadview largely remains a mystery to most, but Torgerson described her walk to the rooms to offer insight. She said the entrance feels a bit like airport security and beyond there is the typical decoration of a federal building with an American flag, pictures of the President and Vice President and slogans that “extol the virtues of our Americanness.” Something she said has always felt a little ironic. The American Dream so many chase is proclaimed on walls that are mainly seen only by those being taken from it. Then comes the “beige institutional hallway” lined with tall, metal shelves full of plastic bags of people’s belongings labeled “alien property” and assigned numbers. She said she often hears people inside the facility referred to as “aliens” or “bodies.”
CREDIT: KAREN JANIK
Heidi Torgerson “I pray genuinely that that language never stops feeling shocking to me,” said Torgerson. She also highlighted how the use of that language forces immigration officers to disconnect from their own humanity in “a way that is deeply damaging to their own souls.” She said she has met federal agents that are doing the work for ideological reasons, but also those who are working there because it
is a stable job with benefits and they are just trying to provide for their own families. “Liberation for our immigrant friends also has to include liberation for those folks from the tyranny of oppressiveness that is also requiring them to disconnect from their own humanity in order to be engaged in all of this,” said Torgerson. “It’s a broken system, and we’re all broken within it.” Once inside a holding room where they will meet, she waits for people to be brought in. The chains of their shackles clang the entire way, so she hears them long before they arrive. The politicized noise falls away and she is with real people with real names and real stories. “Most of the people we’ve seen have been detained within the last couple of hours, so it’s in a very acute moment of trauma that folks are experiencing, and to be entrusted with those stories in that kind of a moment, it is emotionally challenging which is why it’s important that we go in as teams,” said Torgerson. She said the first mother she met almost broke her. The mother and her child had been detained at an airport in another state. She had an active asylum application and had been in the United States for many years. Those factors were not enough to protect her.
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Another story that stood out to her was a man who begged for his life. He told her that when he returned to his home country, they would kill his mother first, and then him. “The political and economic and social kinds of terrors and oppressions that people are fleeing are real. They are real,” said Torgerson. She said she feels a deeper sense of anger and a kind of powerlessness she is not accustomed to that are a driving force behind her action. “We’ve been living in this political milieu in our country that is now taking shape in these really gross policies. We’ve been living this for so long that we forget it’s not normal, and I feel a growing sense of exhaustion that I pray keeps getting connected to the desire to act,” said Torgerson. Through everything, it is the phrase “We keep us safe,” that Torgerson keeps in her mind. She recognized the importance of legislative advocacy, but ultimately, it is continued community involvement and “civil uprising” that she feels are most influential. She hopes the momentum continues outside of just moments of crisis. “Our police are not coming for us. Our governor is not coming for us. Our legislators are not, our electeds, our president, nobody’s coming for us. We are the ones who keep us safe.”
SYDNEY LOVAN
People gather outside of the Broadview ICE Facility to join in prayer and protest on Sept. 25.
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
New transit agency pushes alternative to O’Hare Flyer NITA reps will be at Farmers Market Saturday to listen By BILL DWYER Staff Reporter
The newly formed Northern Illinois Transit Agency, NITA, hosted an open house at Union Station Oct. 14, both to answer questions and to gather public input. The event, one of several planned by NITA and Metra over the next month, took place as opposition is stiffening to a proposed privately funded rapid rail route that would run high speed trains from downtown Chicago to O’Hare Airport through Forest Park and River Forest. Melissa Meyer, NITA’s communications manager, said feedback gathered through public meetings will inform NITA’s budget, service planning, capital and rider-experience work. “We want to see where things are working and do more of it and where things are not and how we can fix it,” she said. One issue NITA is keenly aware of is connectivity, and the lack of it. Meyer referred to “NITA hubs” or “interagency hubs,” where two or three different transit services interact but don’t directly or conveniently connect.
The Green Line CTA terminus at Harlem Avenue is one such hub as it intersects with Metra Train stop. “We want to make sure that they connect better,” she said. “We’re gonna be using those NITA hubs as pilot locations for all kinds of new things like new signage, better connectivity (and) schedule coordination, because we know that that is an issue that people are facing, especially out in the suburbs.” Meanwhile the agency is also talking up its early stage plan to ramp us rail service from the Loop to O’Hare Field (see sidebar). Around the same time as the NITA open house, Metra unveiled a new battery powered train set it’s purchasing from manufacturer Stadler U.S. of Salt Lake City. Metra is buying eight four-car trainsets, with an option for eight more. The first train is expected to go into service in 2028, after extensive testing. NITA, which officially began operations on Sept. 1, replaced the old Regional Transportation Authority or RTA, which oversaw but did not directly control Metra, the CTA and Pace. It is governed by a 20-member board of directors, five of which were appointed by Governor JB Pritzker, five by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, five by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle with the remainder coming from several collar county boards.
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Meyer said the open house was NITA’s way of introducing itself to the public. “We really want to introduce the Chicago region to the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, and we want to make sure everyone knows that we’re listening,” she said. “We want to hear their ideas about the future of transit. We know people are excited, they want the transit system to be better and we do too, so we wanted to invite everybody out here to engage with us.” Meyer said NITA is “building off of its predecessor Regional Transportation Authority. “We’re here to work with CTA, Metra and Pace and provide better connec-
tions for riders, more seamless rider experience and we’re looking forward to improving transit for everyone in the region.” NITA is developing its first budget for fiscal year 2027 for operations of the CTA, Metra and Pace. Survey responses will help NITA better understand public priorities as it develops the 2027 Regional Transit Budget and plans for transit improvements. Meyer said NITA will work from a calendar year budget. A draft will be released on Nov. 3, and the NITA board will vote to approve it in December after a formal public comment period.
O’Hare Flyer opposition group focuses on improved Metra O’Hare service Opposition energy to the O’Hare Flyer proposal has coalesced after the initial public outrage. The village of River Forest has retained a lobbyist and other advisors to assist in opposing the rail development, and a private organization, STOP (Stop The O’Hare Passthrough) is urging people to show up at the Oak Park Farmers Market Oct. 31. Metra says its representatives will be at the market to “share information on regional rail” and to discuss expanded Metra service to O’Hare from Union Station. That service would utilize Metra’s North Central Service Line or NCS. In its draft Systemwide Network Plan
(SNP) released Oct. 16, Metra disclosed that O’Hare Airport “emerged as a major trip generator in each of the future scenarios” it studied. “For this reason, the NCS Line was selected as the North/Northwest target for crosstown service.” Metra’s service between the O’Hare Transfer Station and Chicago Union Station downtown can be reached from the airport’s terminals via O’Hare’s “people mover.” But the service is currently indirect and is time consuming, inconvenient and infrequent, and will require substantial investment to upgrade. In a statement, STOP is urging people to stop by the Metra event and tell them you
want expanded NCS service. That means frequent Metra service to O’Hare, every 30 minutes, all day, from Union Station, as part of Regional Rail 1.0.” “Metra has planned it and priced it. All it needs now is funding,” STOP said, although the plan would, like the proposed O’Hare Flyer, also require the cooperation of several freight railroads, including BNSF and Union Pacific. On Oct. 17, more than 65 people gathered at Thatcher Woods to learn about the potential impacts of the proposed O’Hare Flyer rail project. Organizers plan a second event for Saturday, Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Thatcher Woods Pavillion, 8030 Chicago
Ave, with a call to “Bring your neighbors. Bring your questions. Bring your voice.” The proposed Metra O’Hare rail upgrades are part of planned upgrades to the Metra system estimated to cost $9 billion. Approximately $2.7 billion of that is earmarked for new rolling stock, track additions and signaling. The balance would pay for big ticket items including new mainline tracks and improved rail junctions, as well as storage and maintenance improvements. Metra said a virtual public meeting will be held on Monday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m., to share the draft results of the SNP. The zoom link to the meeting will be posted by Friday, Nov. 13.
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
ACT 3
Postponing the referendum from page 1 board decided to follow the administration’s recommendation to target the primary election scheduled for March 21, 2028 as the time to ask voters to raise their taxes to pay for a project that would take two years to complete. Until recently the administration had been targeting the local elections next April as the time for the referendum but changed course after some school board members advocated waiting a year saying they thought next year was too soon. The delay in the completion of Project 2, the new physical education wing in the southeast corner of the building which is expected to soon open fully, influenced the decision to wait a year to hold a referendum. Some at OPRF concluded voters would be more likely to approve a referendum after having g more than a year to see and experience the benefits of the new swimming pool, gym and other elements of Project 2. The current uncertain economic times nationally also influenced the decision to delay the referendum. “The April 2027 municipal election will occur less than five months after Project 2’s full opening, amid uncertain local, regional, and national economic conditions,” wrote Supt. Greg Johnson and Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Tony Arbogast in a memo to the school board. “As a result, the administrative team recommends that the board reach consensus on establishing March 21, 2028 as the definitive date to have the Act 3 referendum question on the ballot.” Board member Kathleen Odell said she was happy to see the administration recommendation to hold off on the referendum for a year and supported that recommendation. “I think this is very prudent,” Odell said.
“It allows us to plan, it allows us to get through, as you mentioned, this period of economic uncertainty.” Jonathan Livingston, the board member who was the strongest proponent of waiting until 2028, was also happy with the decision. No formal vote was taken on the issue. Josh Gertz said he would like for the referendum to take place at the November 2028 presidential election, the election which is expected to have, by far, the highest turnout. But when Arbogast said the best time to go out to bid is late fall or early winter and that would be hard to do with a November referendum, Gertz said he is willing to compromise on the date. In a discussion at the Oct. 8 school board meeting school board member Tim Brandhorst was the only school board member who definitively favored going to referendum in 2027. But at the Oct. 22 school board meeting Brandhorst said that the consensus of the board was to wait until 2028. “I think it is clear where the consensus is and the consensus is around the spring of 2028,” Brandhorst said. “And it’s clear from my comments last time I think that our students and faculty deserve to have these improvements at the earliest possible date but certainly the consensus is spring of 2018. I can live with that.” Board members are committed to trying to go forward with Act 3 and hold a referendum. They seemed to be concerned that an April 2027 referendum might fail and think the chances of getting a referendum approved will be greater in 2028. They are happy to have some certainty on the date although the board will not officially vote to approve the 2028 referendum date until next year. The cost of Act 3 is currently projected to be $84.3 million. That projected cost is likely to increase because of the delay as costs continue to rise due to inflation. If a March 2028 referendum is approved, it is expected that demolition and construction would start in 2029 and the project would be completed in the summer in 2031.
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
Homes
NEED TO REACH US?
email: dhaley@newswellchicago.org
‘Halloween House’ is spooky, ooky and kids love it Otherwise known as the Heininger House, this Forest Avenue home draws a crowd By LACEY SIKORA Real Estate Reporter
For more than 20 years, Jim Heininger has been the unofficial “Halloween Guy” on his block of Forest in Oak Park. His son Jay says that while the mail delivery person might know the house as 946 Forest, every year at the end of October, kids from Oak Park and beyond call it the “Halloween House.” Jim Heininger says it all began when his children were young and attended Mann School around the corner from their family home. Every year on Halloween, the school had a Halloween parade that marched through the neighborhood, and the Heininger kids loved pointing out their “Halloween House” to their classmates. Jay notes that the house and yard get their spooky on each year with ghosts, ghouls, graves, fog, scary music, lights and a 12-foot skeleton. “Every year, my dad finds a way to take it one step further,” he says. How did he ramp it up last year? Jim says, “These days, I’m getting a little too old to build the decorations myself, so last year, I decided to take things up a notch. I found a local hearse collector who parked one of her beautiful vintage hearses in our yard, and it was a huge hit.” An added bonus: the full-size candy bars that trick-or-treaters find at the front door.
COURTESY OF JAY HEININGER
Jim Heininger, aka “The Halloween Guy,” has been decorating his Forest Avenue home for Halloween for more than 20 years.
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
OAKPARK.COM While the decorations and candy are a big draw, Jay says the night is more than run-of-the-mill Halloween fun. He says that his dad has created something that is a key part of living in this part of Oak Park and concludes, “What makes it special, though, is what the display has become to the neighborhood. Kids ask him about Halloween months in advance. Some even come over to help him set up. On Halloween night, families stop for pictures and groups of kids line up for their annual visit to the Halloween House.” Jay and his two sisters are now JAY HEININGER in their twenties Son of Jim Heininger and thirties, but they still find joy in watching their father embrace the holiday. Jay says his father is all about doing it “for the kids,” but he suspects his dad finds a lot of joy in watching the reaction of the trick-or-treaters every year. For his part, Jim Heininger is looking forward to upping the ante this year. The hearse is coming back, and the owner has promised a real casket for Jim to display in the yard as well. As he sums it up: “Yeah… kind of creepy!”
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“Kids ask him about Halloween months in advance. Some even come over to help him set up.”
COURTESY OF JAY HEININGER
Jim Heininger’s Forest Avenue home during the day
COURTESY OF JACK HEDGES
Jack Hedges, another Oak Park resident, joined in on the fun and decked out his home in orange lights and skeletons.
COURTESY OF JACK HEDGES
He uses skeletons in all of his decorating.
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
Shrubtown p. 23
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VIEWPOINTS
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M.
Call Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at 708-613-3310 Email: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org
Against or for?
love the new traffic calming features in my neighborhood. I’ve mostly stopped saying so out loud. Every time I’ve let it slip, whether at school drop-off or at the library, someone has taken that as an invitation to spend 10 minutes telling me why they hate them. It’s made me nervous to share the things I care about with my community, and that’s a sad place to be. These exchanges remind me how easy it is to be against something. Personal inconvenience is a complete argument, and there’s a ready-made list of objections: cost, parking, “neighborhood character,” and the objection du jour, “we weren’t engaged enough.” Some of those concerns are fair. But raising them costs almost nothing and shifts the burden onto the people who are for it, who must defend every detail. Being for something is hard. It usually means change, which brings risk and, for some, fear. You have to do the research, gather the evidence and always be prepared. You have to put an idea out there and let people pick it apart. It takes more than a yard sign, a Facebook post and a public comment. It takes time, relationships and the patience to keep showing up long after the signs come down. That’s why I so admire the Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN), which formed to make sure Climate Ready Oak Park, the village’s climate plan, didn’t end up on a shelf. OPCAN looks at every village issue through a climate lens. While the Shape Oak Park debate has centered on singlefamily homes, OPCAN’s statement asked what the zoning changes would mean for our climate. OPCAN treats trustees and village staff as partners, not adversaries. Its relationships at village hall mean that when OPCAN brings a policy proposal or budget recommendation, people listen. Members commit time and expertise to public service, running for office and volunteering for village commissions and school committees. They meet every week because that’s what being for something takes. When I’ve attended, members with different perspectives aren’t afraid to debate the best approach, but the conversation stays respectful because everyone shares the same goal: net-zero emissions by 2050. You won’t find them fighting in Facebook comments; the work happens in person (or on Zoom). And they celebrate their wins, usually with a potluck. Those wins add up. OPCAN pushed the village to hire its first chief sustainability officer and to create grants and rebates that help residents electrify their homes. It also championed the all-electric new-construction ordinance, the first in the Midwest, which a federal judge upheld this summer. Oak Parkers pride themselves on being progressive, but progress is never finished; it’s the constant work of trading one set of problems for a more interesting set. We won’t get there by saying no, or even maybe. We have to find ways to say yes, and only then does the hard work really begin. So the next time someone tells me what they’re against, I’m going to ask what they’re for. Because whether it’s our climate, the safety of our children on our streets or the affordability of our community, doing nothing is not an option.
NICOLE CHAVAS
Election Day: scarier than Halloween?
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erewolves. Mad scientists and their freakish creations. Fire-breathing hellfiends. Terrifying perversions of our daily experience which strike fear in our hearts because of the imagined damage they could cause. Humans have always envisioned these kinds of creatures as manifestations of the real dangers that lurk in the dark. In some ways, it is easier to picture werewolves snapping at our heels than an ICE agent pursuing our neighbors. It is safer to think about Frankenstein and his monster than hedge fund managers cooking up another financial product that could tank our economy and cause us to lose our homes. It is better to consider a fire-breathing hellfiend burning us up than climate change making our planet unlivable. Scary movies, haunted houses, and all that is involved in Halloween cause us fear in a safe context. They allow us to experience challenging emotions even as we know logically that we won’t be injured. Halloween on Oct. 31 is safe practice. A manifestation of the real danger PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP comes next week on Nov. 3 – Election Day. My politics don’t allow me to simply paint the Republicans as the threat. True, I believe they represent the most direct peril. Donald Trump represents horror for vulnerable people in our country, and the Repub-
lican Party is fully under his control and that of his minions. But Democrats cause their own harms, both by enabling Republicans and by causing damage of their own. Both parties contribute to deportations, homelessness, crushing medical debt, hate crimes, and climate disasters because doing so is in the interest of their corporate funders. Most politicians won’t address the real hurt happening to working people because doing so would ruin their political careers. That doesn’t mean I advocate for people to stay home from the polls. In many cases, there are real differences between even corporate-backed candidates, and harm reduction, i.e. voting for the lesser of two evils, is a legitimate and rational choice. In some cases, there are candidates who do represent real benefits to working people, such as Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York, and Melat Kiros in Colorado. And in yet others, voting for a third-party candidate may make the most sense when there is no substantial difference between the Democrat and Republican. There are many vital choices we confront in trying to address the myriad challenges facing us. All these issues are our living nightmares. It makes sense that we need a little escapism, and Halloween provides just that. So dress up, with or without your kids. Eat too much candy. Pull a (minor) prank on someone you know. Live it up. Next week, it’s back to facing the real ghouls and goblins that stalk our waking dreams. Jim Schwartz is an Oak Park resident, educator, and a blogger at Entwining.org.
JIM
SCHWARTZ One View
OAKPARK.COM
Success or failure?
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rive, walk or bike around Oak Park today and you can see the changes: new markings, barriers, signs, crosswalk treatments and traffic-calming measures. Some seem to work well. Others leave residents asking a simple question: What problem were we trying to solve? More than a year ago, village trustees approved a $30 million Bike Plan despite significant community opposition and repeated requests like mine to revise portions of it. The village promised greater safety, better connectivity and a stronger biking culture. Those are reasonable goals. But after committing millions of taxpayer dollars, we should be able to ask: Is it working? Have bicycle trips increased? If so, where? Have crashes declined? Do pedestrians, cyclists and drivers feel safer? How much has been spent so far? And what measurable improvements have resulted? These seem to be reasonable questions. There is also the question of how we are paying for it. Trustees chose long-term borrowing to finance a plan that includes pavement markings, flexible barriers, signage and other components that may need replacement long before the debt is retired. Residents could still be paying for some improvements after they have worn out or been replaced. Why? Harvard Avenue illustrates the larger problem. Many residents who opposed the proposed changes are not anti-bike; some are regular cyclists. Harvard already functions as a bike boulevard, and village data presented during the planning process showed vehicle speeds along much of the street generally between 15 and 24 mph. Residents reasonably asked: What additional problem are we solving, and is the proposed solution proportional to it? Change simply for the sake of ideology or to make a point does not serve the public interest. Perhaps the best answer is also the simplest: measure first, then adjust. In fairness, some improvements appear promising. Pedestrianactivated warning lights can make crossing busy streets easier and safer. Traffic calming can reduce vehicle speeds. But it can also create backups, shift traffic onto neighboring streets or eliminate parking. We should measure all of it — the successes as well as the unintended consequences. And if the evidence shows that a particular treatment isn’t working, change it. If Harvard works better as a bike boulevard without additional infrastructure, correct it and leave it that way. Changing course isn’t an admission of failure. It’s responsible government. Innovative ideas shouldn’t be embraced simply because they’re new or rejected because they’re different. Leaders should ask: Is this a priority? Is it the right solution? Is there a less expensive alternative? And, most importantly, what does the evidence tell us? A $30 million public investment deserves more than promotional messaging or emotional testimonies. Oak Park residents deserve a public scorecard showing what has been spent, what has changed, what has worked and what hasn’t. Only then can we answer the question: Is Oak Park’s Bike Plan a success or a failure? Therefore, I encourage Oak Park residents to take action. Contact the trustees and claim your right for an accounting. Kurtis Todd is an Oak Park resident.
KURTIS TODD One View
V I E W P O I N T S
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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Elections and the price of diesel
During the last few weeks, I have driven more than 4,500 miles – round trip from River Forest to the East Coast, and from here to Texas and back on the other. Why drive? It gives me time to see things that I wouldn’t see from 30,000 feet. And it gives me time to think. Most of the time was on the interstate highway, which isn’t particularly enlightening. But driving reinforces for me the vastness and beauty of America – from the blue waters of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland to the drought-stricken Hill Country of central Texas. And it sparks the imagination to consider pioneers discovering these places and finding a way to make a living and raise their families during the last 250 years. But some windshield time on the backroads also kept me focused on the present. In particular, diesel fuel. Forty years ago, my wife and I got around Oak Park and River Forest in a diesel-powered Volvo sedan. After about 12 years, the sedan had to step aside for a minivan as our parenting-related transportation needs changed. So, many moons have passed since I paid much attention to diesel.
What about the Flyer’s benefits?
As an Oak Park resident, avid runner and cyclist, and advocate for sustainable transportation, I’ve watched opposition to the proposed O’Hare Flyer with frustration. Residents should question major infrastructure projects, but we’re rejecting an opportunity before meaningfully exploring its benefits. Imagine reaching downtown Chicago from the western suburbs in minutes, connecting to Union Station, the CTA, and destinations throughout the region. Imagine visitors arriving at O’Hare Airport and accessing our communities without renting a car. A potential Forest Park station could bring new visitors and economic activity to Oak Park, River Forest, and neighboring communities. The Flyer represents something we desperately need: alternatives that reduce car dependence, congestion, emissions, and the environmental consequences of continually expanding roads. Why stop there? I’ve suggested incorporating a continuous multi-use trail alongside the rail corridor, connecting northwest suburbs toward downtown. Such a trail could provide a safe, direct, conve-
This time around, I was especially struck by how far apart things are in our rural areas. Here in West Cook County, a place to refuel is only blocks or a couple of miles away. Out in the country, the drive to refuel takes a lot longer – requiring more planning and expense. So as local radio personalities decried soaring diesel prices during my trips, I gained a new appreciation for the daily plight of farmers and small-town truckers. I know that an epiphany about long-distance driving in remote areas isn’t much of an epiphany. Maps confirm how our nation is largely wide-open space. But during every election cycle, we hear media reports about rural Americans who consider themselves “forgotten.” Freedom is America’s calling card – often represented by the thought of being “on the road again.” Let’s not forget those who drive big rigs, pickups and farm machinery – for whom freedom certainly gets less free every day.
Jim Wisuri
River Forest nient corridor for commuting to and from the Loop by bike. It would also create a route separated from dangerous car traffic for runners, walkers, and cyclists, connecting neighborhoods fragmented by highways and bicycle infrastructure that leads nowhere. The trail could become a regional recreational attraction while supporting local businesses, much as the Illinois Prairie Path has done. The Flyer proposes using existing railroad corridors rather than carving new routes through established neighborhoods. That’s an important distinction from the highway construction that historically divided communities. Questions about safety, noise, property impacts, and environmental protection deserve serious answers. But those are reasons to engage with developers with an open mind and help shape the project, not reject it outright. Rather than simply opposing the Flyer, our elected leaders should ask: What would make this project genuinely beneficial to residents? A transit station? Trail connections? Better pedestrian infrastructure? Meaningful environmental protections? Great communities don’t become great by reflexively opposing change. They become great by helping shape it.
Jack Davidson Oak Park
Because of the volume of submissions and the impending election, Ken Trainor is donating his space for letters. He'll be back next week.
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
V I E W P O I N T S
Solidarity cannot be selective
In his Oct. 21 letter in Viewpoints, Ben Lorber argues that Oak Park’s Jewish residents have little to fear from the upcoming referendum. As an expert on antisemitism, he dismisses concerns raised by those of us opposing BDS and suggests we’re the ones dividing our community. I find that deeply troubling. I’m an Israeli American who has called Oak Park home for nearly 19 years. I strongly oppose Netanyahu’s government (and have for much longer than most nonIsraelis), and I care deeply about Palestinian suffering. I also strongly oppose BDS. These positions aren’t contradictory. My objection isn’t to criticism of Israel. I criticize Israel myself. It’s to a movement that rejects Jewish self-determination and its legitimacy as a Jewish state. That’s a fundamental distinction Lorber chooses not to address. But what troubles me most is his definition of solidarity. The Yes campaign repeatedly points to Jewish organizations and individuals who support its position. Yet when local synagogues, Jewish organizations, and Jewish residents come together to express their concerns, those voices are dismissed as misguided, exaggerated or divisive.
Why are Jewish voices worth listening to only when they agree with you? Lorber is entitled to his views. But from his home in Chicago, he doesn’t get to tell Jewish families here in Oak Park what we should or shouldn’t fear. We’ve seen how quickly discussions about Israel turn hostile. We’ve heard someone shout, “Now we know who owns Oak Park” at a public meeting. We’ve felt the growing pressure to distance ourselves from Israel simply to remain welcome in progressive spaces. These concerns are real, whether Lorber agrees with them or not. I don’t expect my neighbors to share my views on Israel. And I certainly don’t ask anyone to abandon their concern for Palestinians. But I do ask that they extend the same respect and understanding to Jewish neighbors whose perspectives don’t fit their political narrative. We came to Oak Park because we believed in its values of inclusion, tolerance, and community. Those values mean little if they only extend to people we agree with. Solidarity shouldn’t require agreement. It should begin with listening.
Inbal Shohat-Pawlowski Oak Park
Support the advisory referendum
An internet search using the terms “Israel apartheid” will result in finding that international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have determined that Israel is an apartheid nation. So has B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, which has declared Israel an apartheid state and that it is committing genocide in Gaza. Yes, an Israeli human rights organization has declared Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide. A boycott of Israel is consistent with the boycott of South Africa and the 1955-56 boycott in Selma, Alabama. In the upcoming election, I will vote Yes on the advisory referendum to inform my elected representatives in the Illinois Senate and House that they passed bad legislation in 2015. It is a bad law because, to the extent of Illinois power, they have tried to ban any boycott of Israel unconditionally. Reasonable conditions for boycotting would be international human rights organizations’ determination of apartheid, ethnic
cleansing, or genocide. These conditions have been established. I am unclear how voting to oppose apartheid and genocide has anything to do with Oak Park being welcoming. Many leaders of the Vote Yes campaign are Jewish. Voting Yes is not evidence of antisemitism; rather it is consistent with supporting international human rights, consistent with Oak Park values. Finally, while it is clear that Jewish residents are split on this issue, in the interests of making all feel welcome, I suggest we ask our Palestinian-American, Middle Eastern and Arab neighbors how welcome they feel. Sources: Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw. org/news/2024/07/19/world-court-findsisrael-responsible-apartheid B’Tselem: https://www.btselem.org/publications/202507_our_genocide Amnesty International: https:// www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid
James Madigan Oak Park
No exceptions to inclusion
I moved to Oak Park in the early 2000s because I believed in its reputation as a diverse, welcoming community where everyone could belong. Now voters are being asked to endorse an advisory referendum urging Illinois to repeal restrictions on public pension investments in companies boycotting Israel.[1] Illinois law does not prohibit individual boycotts or advocacy. It limits certain public retirement systems’ investments. So why is this question on our local ballot? Criticizing Israel is legitimate, as is advocating for Palestinians. But when Israel is singled out for a local vote that does little to address Oak Park’s needs, we should ask why. Wars, human rights abuses, and troubling government policies exist worldwide. Yet we do not routinely ask neighbors to vote on other countries. Criticism of Israel is not inherently antisemitic. But history teaches us to recognize patterns in which Jews, and now the Jewish state, are treated as uniquely deserving of condemnation. People may support this referendum for sincere reasons without recognizing that broader pattern. For many liberal Jews like me, this raises questions about belonging. Rather than addressing local needs, the referendum risks dividing neighbors. Oak Park rightly prides itself on
listening when people describe racism, bias, or exclusion. Yet a May letter in the Wednesday Journal dismissed concerns about antisemitism by suggesting that some people call “everything” antisemitic. [2] That dismissal troubles me. Listening to Jewish neighbors does not mean agreeing with them or giving anyone veto power over political debate. It means recognizing that people who experience prejudice deserve a meaningful voice in explaining how it feels. We understand this principle in other contexts. Jewish residents deserve the same dignity. Oak Parkers need not agree about Israel and Palestine. But our progressive values are tested precisely when those asking to be heard are people with whom we disagree. If inclusion means listening when minority communities describe hostility or exclusion, that principle cannot disappear when the people speaking are Jewish. Jewish belonging should not be the exception to Oak Park’s commitment to inclusion. Vote No. Sources: [1] 40 ILCS 5/1-110.16. [2] True progressives care about Palestine – Viewpoints, Wednesday Journal
Carol Serber Oak Park
Do not support the BDS movement
I don’t live in Oak Park, so I don’t have a vote in this referendum. But for 18 years Oak Park Temple has been my family’s second home, and Oak Park has shown me a model community that celebrates pluralism, inclusion and respect across differences. Perhaps that gives me a useful perspective from just outside its borders. The Oak Park I have come to know over the last two decades is better than singling out one people or allowing an international conflict to divide neighbors here at home. I hope Oak Park voters will vote No. I understand why some Oak Parkers may initially see this as a free-speech question. After all, the right to protest, criticize governments, and make indi-
vidual choices about what we buy are important values. But I hope voters will also look carefully at the movement this referendum would support and how Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) has operated in practice. For many American Jews like me, Israel is deeply connected to our history, families, culture and identity. Singling out Israelis and Israeli institutions therefore doesn’t feel like an abstract foreign-policy debate. So when Jewish voters are asked to take a side on a boycott movement that the vast majority of Jews find discriminatory and hurtful, that weight is personal, not political. Please vote No on the referendum.
Susan Blumberg-Kason
Oak Park Temple member
V I E W P O I N T S S H R U B T O W N
by Marc Stopeck
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026 W E D N E S D A Y
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Viewpoints Guidelines
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Superstition still persists
any people use the scientific method to some extent, but many superstitious notions and customs persist. Some of these are old and amusing — and many of them are harmless. Even at best, such superstitions show an uncritical attitude of mind — and some of them are harmful. My grandfather believed that the tendency to cling to superstitious beliefs is strong among people who have little education. However, many educated people like our neighbor lady went to fortune tellers and played the Ouija board and conformed to these undertakings because they felt safe doing it. Many superstitions are innocent, but they can influence conduct. For example, the number 13 is often left off hotel room doors because some people
believe the number 13 is unlucky, like my friend Tom who agonized about taking tests on Friday the 13th. I even had a person tell me that a blister on your tongue meant you had told a lie, or if you step on a crack you will break your back, and breaking a mirror, postponing a wedding, wearing clothes inside out, opening an umbrella inside, and crossing paths with a black cat will lead to misfortune. Some superstitious practices are less innocent, specially those by which fortune tellers and palmists claim to predict future events, read character, or communicate with the dead. From what I read, these practices have been around since ancient times. After hearing all about superstitions and knowing superstitious people, I came to believe that people who visited fortune tellers and the like were being relieved of hundreds of dollars — and
JOHN
STANGER
fortune telling can be harmful to the one whose fortune is told. We had a family friend who constantly visited fortune tellers because she believed they possessed certain powers that enabled them to foretell the future through divination. This friend also visited palmists who would “read” the lines in her palm and tell her about her abilities, personal characteristics, and fate. Fortunately, this lady got wise when she realized that none of the things she was told ever came true. In fact, she finally admitted that it was all only a form of hocus pocus entertainment. Over the years, I have realized that some otherwise logical people cling to superstitious beliefs because they hope that influences outside their normal experience will positively affect their lives and destiny. Fortunately, the discoveries of scientists and scholars have helped to check the growth of superstition.
The goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have sufficient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it often is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it. We reserve the right to edit submissions. We do not have time to allow the writer to review changes before publication. We also do not have time to do more than superficial fact-checking, and because of our national epidemic of misinformation and conspiracy theories, when writers include statistical evidence to support their opinions, we require them to include the source of that information, such as credible websites, print publications, titles of articles and dates published, etc. Be as specific as possible so that we and our readers have some way of assessing the credibility of your claims. Links may also be included for the online version. We follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics: seek the truth and report it and minimize harm. As a result, we will do our best not to publish pieces that espouse doubtful or debunked theories, demonstrate harmful bias, or cross the line into incivility. While we will do our best not to engage in censorship, we also do not intend to be used as a platform for misinformation. Your sources for fact-checking are a critical step in keeping the discourse honest, decent and respectful. All submissions must include your first and last name and the municipality in which you live, plus a phone number (for verification only). We do not publish anonymous letters. One View essays should include a sentence at the end about who you are. If we receive your submission by 5 p.m. on Sunday, you can expect your opinion to be included in that week’s paper (and online), space permitting.
Pieces can be submitted through our online form at oakpark.com or directly to Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor, ktrainor@newswellchicago.org. For the latter, we prefer attached Word files or plain text included in the email. LETTER TO THE EDITOR ■ 350-word limit ■ Must include first and last
names, municipality in which you live, phone number (for verification only)
‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY ■ 500-word limit ■ One-sentence footnote
about yourself and/or your connection to the topic ■ Signature details as at left
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
V I E W P O I N T S
OAKPARK.COM
Rezoning survey concerns
I am writing to voice my serious concerns about Wednesday Journal’s Oak Park Rezoning Survey for these reasons: (1) The survey requests an email address to prevent people from taking the survey more than once, but anyone could create multiple email addresses and take the survey multiple times from different IP addresses. Potentially a bot could be trained to answer the survey multiple times. (2) The invitation to respond says: “Wednesday Journal is asking any and all Oak Park residents to share their thoughts with our survey,” when in fact the survey is open to anyone, not just residents of Oak Park. Even if the responses are analyzed by self-reported residency, literally anyone, anywhere could answer
falsely as to their Oak Park residency status, their age, and their income level, to purposely manipulate the survey results. (3) The survey’s questions about housing types are incomplete because they don’t encompass all of the housing types that are being proposed in areas that are currently zoned only for single-family homes. The survey only asks about 2-, 3- and 4-unit buildings in single-family residential districts and completely fails to ask about 5- and 6-unit buildings. (4) The survey doesn’t ask the question that should have been posed to Oak Park voters in an advisory referendum: “Do you support the village of Oak Park’s rezoning of all of Oak Park’s current single-family-only residential zoning districts to allow 2-, 3- and
4-unit buildings, and in some instances 5- or 6-unit buildings, to be built next to existing single-family homes? Yes/No.” WJ should publicly explain in detail the technical controls it employs to ensure, at a minimum, that the survey responses are from actual OP residents who are answering the survey only once, and also publish an explanation of why the survey questions did not encompass all of the housing types contained within the Village’s zoning ordinance amendment. Wednesday Journal owes Oak Park residents transparency and assurances as to why this opinion survey is reliable, or it shouldn’t be made public at all.
Diana Gordon
Oak Park resident for 23 years
Change comes through struggle
I’d like to comment on one of the key arguments offered by those opposed to the upcoming referendum on repealing the 2015 Illinois anti-boycott law. Multiple people, including former elected officials and candidates for village office, claim that the referendum is divisive and thus should be voted down. Opponents have tried multiple times to keep the referendum from appearing on the ballot. Adopting this approach, people in this country would have had to keep silent about many things, including chattel slavery, the disenfranchisement of Black people and women, denying them the
basic right to vote, Jim Crow and segregation, restrictive housing covenants, the U.S. war on Vietnam, the rights of workers to organize and unionize, and so much more. The list is long. These issues tore communities apart. And these movements represent some of our proudest moments and our most significant victories over injustice. To avoid “division in the community,” would referendum opponents have Oak Parkers remain silent about myriad injustices that, in fact, have and will often split communities? It is glaringly apparent that there is a
WHEREAS, this Ordinance discourages unlawful discrimination and strongly supports the equal treatment of all individuals regardless of national origin …” Opponents are using this language to attack the referendum. But are they suggesting that the national origin of Jewish Oak Parkers is Israeli? Oak Parkers know that antisemitism and all forms of racism must be opposed. But this referendum is not about Oak Park’s Jewish residents or Israeli citizens living here. It is about an Illinois law that gives Israel special protection from boycotts over human rights violations. A Yes vote sends a clear message to state representatives Ford and Lilly and
I could not have verbalized the feelings I was experiencing as I walked out of Village Hall this past Thursday after early voting any better than your “Why I vote” column [Viewpoints, Ken Trainor, Oct. 21]. Because that’s why I vote too. Keep up the good work.
Pat Healey Oak Park
Traffic un-calming
state senators Harmon and Lightford: repeal this law. It offers no benefit to the people of Oak Park or Illinois. If we remain silent, this law stays on the books, prioritizing special protection for Israel over the fiscal interests and ethical standards of Illinois taxpayers and pension holders. Vote Yes. No country should be above accountability. Source: https://www.oak-park.us/files/assets/ oakpark/v/1/boards-and-commissions/ village-board/2017-02-06-oak-parkwelcoming-village-ordinance-1.pdf
The latest proliferation of speed bumps is like Oak Park has developed acne. I believe that, had the driving public been made more aware of this plan, it would have gotten lots more opposition. The problem is more and more cars and many people driving distracted. Speed bumps are a poor solution, kind of a lowclass thing used in the Caribbean and other Third World places. Here is my experience: Speed bumps on North Kenilworth Avenue and Thomas Street are about right. They warn you to slow down. However, the speed bumps around Taylor Park and Hatch School are too high. Rather than encouraging traffic calming, they cause irritation and anger. And I see them as a danger, taking your attention off watching out for kids and focusing on the approaching speed bump. Speed bumps need to be uniform and low enough to do the job and not so high they are a danger and cause undue wear on the vehicle’s steering system. They need to be and will be marked better. Contractors hollowing out the street and leaving it unmarked was a real danger. The other traffic measure, traffic diverters, will be removed in November so we can all study their effect. However, if the speed bumps are here to stay, prepare to pay for more front end alignments and front end repairs. And probably more accidents from distracted drivers who hit them.
Oak Park
Oak Park
division in the Oak Park Jewish community regarding the state of Israel, its many instances of human rights abuses and its ongoing atrocities in Gaza. Why are opponents of this referendum pretending that they can in fact suppress that division? It exists. I think the No on the referendum is actually a statement that people are just fine with that 2015 law. Just say it. Don’t come up with arguments about divisiveness in the community. Change always comes through struggle.
Deborah Adelman Oak Park
Referendum opponents misrepresent Oak Park
Reading the letters from the ‘No’ supporters, one thing stands out: not one actually defends the Illinois law that shields Israel from boycott. Instead, opponents change the subject, arguing that the referendum violates Oak Park’s Welcoming Ordinance. I encourage everyone to read the actual 2017 Welcoming Ordinance, adopted to protect immigrant rights. It begins: “WHEREAS, the Village of Oak Park (‘Village’) welcomes diversity and believes that all individuals living in or visiting the Village should be treated fairly and with respect and dignity … [and] wishes to further enhance the Village’s relationship with immigrant communities and make the Village of Oak Park an immigrant-friendly Village;
That’s why I vote, too
Mona El-Shamaa
Charles Chauncey Wells
V I E W P O I N T S
OAKPARK.COM
I chose Oak Park because its sense of community reminded me of my Palestinian village, where people looked after one another. I chose wisely because my Jewish friends have helped me endure the last three years of witnessing death and destruction in Gaza. Their compassion carries me through difficult days. I have witnessed what occupation does to a family and the human spirit. I watched my uncle kneel with an assault rifle pointed at his head while his son was beaten unconscious. I stood in agony as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) seized and destroyed my aunt’s home for an outpost. Weeks later, an army-imposed curfew led to my 12-year-old brother being taken for interrogation. My mother’s terrified expression remains seared into my memory. My pregnant cousin Anhar was depressed and went for a walk. She unknowingly wan-
Vote Yes for peace, not hate
dered into a settler outpost, where settlers beat her until she lost consciousness. She awoke in a prison cell, where she remained for six months. Accused of attempted murder because she had a pocketknife in her dress, she eventually took her own life. More recently, settlers broke into my cousin’s goat pen and stole more than 200 goats, parading them through neighboring villages while the IDF stood guard. My family has endured unimaginable suffering. These are not abstract political arguments to me; they are lived experiences. I also recognize Israeli suffering. I would not be true to my moral compass if I did not. Innocent people were murdered, and families were left terrified for loved ones taken hostage. I think of Vivian Silver, who worked toward Israeli-Palestinian peace, and Ofir Libstein, who pursued economic peace initiatives with Palestinians.
Their loss is beyond tragic. Peaceful protest is a nonviolent way to challenge injustice. That is why I am voting Yes to repeal ex-Governor Rauner’s antiboycott law. I believe corporations should be free to use economic protest to challenge human rights violations without being penalized for their political convictions. It saddens me to read claims that this referendum discriminates against Oak Park’s Jewish community. Criticizing a government’s policies is not the same as targeting Jewish people. Advocating for Palestinian rights does not mean rejecting or bringing harm to our neighbors. A Yes vote is not antisemitism. It’s a commitment to free expression, human dignity and accountability. Coexistence requires honesty about injustice, even when the conversation is uncomfortable. Voting Yes sends a message to our legisla-
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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tors that we want change. We do not want to invest in war. I believe in a new generation of Palestinians and Jews who refuse to inherit hatred. I will not surrender hope to those who seek to divide us. Fear feeds ignorance; compassion demands courage. We must stop silencing one another and begin the hard work of eradicating hate. Voting Yes is a step in that direction. Sources: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/ pregnant-palestinian-woman-jailed-byisrael-appeals-for-her-release/2345847 https://www.timesofisrael.com/extremist-settlers-steal-200-goats-from-twopalestinian-villages-report https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/06/1167790
Hajjar Herbert Oak Park
A solution in search of a problem?
I have been to two rezoning meetings and the Oct. 8 Plan Commission meeting. The board members appear bright, thoughtful, and care deeply about our village. Unfortunately from the information presented I don’t understand what rezoning will accomplish. There are reportedly 25,000 total housing units in Oak Park; 11,000 are singlefamily homes and 14,000 are multi-units. What metric shows 14,000 multi-family units to be insufficient? Certain terms are used over and over
by the board to promote zoning change. These terms are: “missing middle,” “affordable housing,” and “diverse housing.” In my opinion there is not a “missing middle” in Oak Park. Does anyone know how many 2-, 4-, and 6-unit apartments and condos already exist in Oak Park? Perhaps if we know these numbers we will have found the missing middle. The term “affordable housing” sounds like an important goal. It sounds compassionate for those who can’t afford a decent place to live. In the second zoning meet-
ing, the board used the term more than 15 times. I still have not heard a definition. History tells us prices are not coming down. This is a result of inflation and the desirability of living in Oak Park. A feasibility study by SB Friedman (cited in a Wednesday Journal article) calculated that zoning changes are likely to produce apartment rentals from $3,800 in a 6-flat to $6,600 in a 2-flat. I discovered that current rentals in larger multi-unit buildings go for less than half that.
Does “diverse housing” mean we want to ensure people of color are represented in our village? Well, according to the 2025 Census Bureau, 60% of residents are Caucasian, 18% are African-American, 9% are multiracial, Hispanic and Latino are 9%, and Asian 5.5%. I don’t know if a change in zoning will increase diversity. In some ways rezoning is a solution in search of a problem.
Joel Sherr
Oak Park
This referendum isn’t ‘let’s pretend’
Donald Trump says “pretend I’m on the ballot” when he isn’t. So, too, do the opponents of Oak Park’s referendum to end our state’s unique boycott protection for Israel. Sure, the referendum is simply this sentence: “Should the State of Illinois repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boycott the State of Israel.” And sure, referendum proponents say its purposes are 1) to stop our state from actively penalizing economic protest* and, by doing that, 2) lessen our entanglement in another nation’s cruelty. And sure, a Yes vote will influence our state representatives. And sure, the people of Palestine and south Lebanon are
utterly devastated. But the referendum’s foes claim the vote isn’t really about all that. “Our sense of safety and belonging is the true question on the ballot,” says a No voter.* Well, if we’re pretending the referendum isn’t what its text and authors say, then let’s more empathically imagine it’s about the “safety” of Palestinians surviving, if at all, in Gaza’s ruins or destroyed West Bank villages. And let’s more accurately imagine it’s about the “belonging” of Illinois businesspeople and Oak Park voters who object to Israel’s remorseless violence. But if the “true question” really is the comfort of people voluntarily defending the rogue perpetrator, then
our Jewish family votes Yes to boycotts — to incentivize No voters to focus instead on repairing Israel and the damage it’s inflicting. But referendum opponents insist the vote is meaningless because its outcome won’t directly and immediately deter Israel.* I recall boycotters of Apartheid South Africa shrugging off that argument, understanding that protest movements take time and education. And if guaranteed success and direct control are requirements for protest, the Broadview 6 and other ICE protesters should just stay home. But please don’t. Unite with Yes voters in Normal, DuPage, Peoria, Cham-
paign and other communities* and pass this referendum. * 1) https://iipb.illinois.gov/prohibitedinvestment-list.html; https://mondoweiss. net/2026/05/officials-and-activists-are-working-to-overturn-illinoiss-anti-bds-law-couldtheir-campaign-become-a-national-model * 2) Grossman letter to Viewpoints, 10/21/26 * 3) Boutet letter & Taglia letter to Viewpoints, 10/21/26 * 4) https://letsaddressillinois.substack.com/p/will-illinois-residents-voteyes?utm_source=notes-share-action
David Gilbert Oak Park
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
Too many unanswered questions
OAKPARK.COM
Yes, this does belong on the ballot
I write as a homeowner in Oak Park on Kenilworth Avenue. I recognize there are public policy issues at hand across the U.S. specific to zoning that have prevented the sort of housing density that would address well-known issues specific to affordability. Oak Park’s challenges on those issues can and should be addressed, but not without focus on how the village plans to support the necessary improvements in parking, education and other necessary infrastructure. A much better investment of the village board’s time would be to focus on improving our tax base by strengthening our retail corridor, ensuring businesses can put down roots here and addressing why year-overyear increases in our taxes have been inadequate to fund the community’s needs. The best way for the village to build confidence in its recommendations would be to demonstrate some degree of fiscal restraint before pushing through rezoning that leaves too many unanswered questions and puts too much at risk around what makes Oak Park unique.
Benjamin Shobert Oak Park
Help or hazard?
Have you noticed the growing number of squarish holes in the middle of streets around Oak Park? I surmised – correctly, it turns out – that they are precursors to speed humps, no doubt courtesy of our village trustees whose obsession with alleged safety improvements is getting beyond annoying. Do these obstacles make us safer? I say no. In fact, these most recent ones weren’t even marked, so if they surprise you or if you encounter them after dark they are a hazard. The primary result I’ve experienced is damage to the underside of my car. To make us safer, the village ought to enforce existing speed limits and pass an ordinance to require bicyclists and eBike riders to pass a Rules of the Road test and be licensed. I am considering suing the village to recoup some or all of the $2,205 I’ve had to spend recently repairing or replacing various parts on my car’s underside and rear end. If others are interested, maybe we could get together and make it a class action suit.
Ellen Edwards Oak Park
On your ballot, you will see an advisory referendum: “Shall the State of Illinois repeal laws that ban state investment in countries that boycott Israel?” In his Oct. 20 One View, “Zoning belongs on ballot, pension policy does not,” Trustee James Taglia argues that voters should vote No on the advisory referendum and juxtaposes it with his support for a zoning referendum. That contrast makes no sense. Some background may be instructive: In May, when we began organizing our effort to put this question on the ballot, we sent a letter explaining our reasons to our state senators and representatives, Oak Park village trustees, and the village clerk. The only negative response about conducting a ballot petition campaign came in emails from Trustee Taglia. That was surprising because, as the longest-serving board member, he would be designated to sit on the Oak Park Electoral Board to adjudicate any challenges to our petitions. Long before anyone raised the possibility of a zoning referendum, Taglia had already made clear how he felt about this referendum being on the ballot.
Fast forward to Aug. 3. We filed 3,500 signatures, 175 percent of what was required. On Aug. 10, the petitions were challenged. At the August Election Board meeting, the village’s legal counsel advised the Election Board that the referendum met the legal criteria to be on the ballot. The board voted 2–1 to place it on the ballot. Taglia voted No. Since then, the Election Board decision has faced additional legal challenges, and both the Cook County Circuit Court and the Illinois Court of Appeals have upheld the Electoral Board’s majority — not Taglia’s dissent. Still, Taglia insists that, despite the wishes of more than 3,500 of his constituents and decisions made by the election board and two Illinois courts, this is not a relevant referendum question for voters. That is remarkable. Oak Parkers care deeply about free speech and human rights. We pay Illinois taxes that support the pension fund and have state pension recipients as neighbors and family members. Taglia need not agree with referendum proponents, but he should respect the validity of this issue to his constituents.
Oak Parkers for Free Speech Steering Committee
Do the moral math and vote Yes
Those opposing the Oak Park referendum on repealing Illinois’ anti-boycott legislation have argued that the 2015 law we seek to repeal does not financially impact the state pension system and distracts Oak Parkers from the issues impacting the delivery of local services. Both arguments are incorrect. It is true that there was no comprehensive analysis of the law’s potential impact on Illinois pension investments and there has been no reporting of the impact of pension investment decisions by the Illinois Investment Policy Board. The absence of responsible fiduciary analysis and reporting does not establish that there was no financial cost. Independent analysis of publicly available data by the Illinois Coalition for Human Rights has shown substantial loss to the chronically underfunded state pension fund. [1] At the Illinois House committee’s Subject Matter Hearing on April 30, Professor Kenneth Kriz testified as an expert witness (neither a proponent nor opponent of the repeal bill) about the mechanisms by which investment restrictions can adversely affect pension performance and increase costs to statewide taxpayers: through reducing the universe of investments, preventing investment boards from considering strong-performing instruments, diminishing portfolio diversification, and increasing administration and compliance costs. [2] The 2015 law affects all Oak Parkers, not only the state pension holders. Pension debt obligation currently represents 20% of the state budget, the largest single
budget item. [3] Statute requires the Illinois budget to cover 90% of the expected pension obligations. [4] This means that, by statute, decreasing pension fund performance increases the state budget pension obligations – budget lines that could be spent on education, health care, and infrastructure in districts. And, of course, the state budget determines the levels of state taxes and fees. A state budget, like any budget, is both a financial and moral document. Does Oak Park want the state budget expenses and our tax dollars to be invested in shielding Israel from its well documented human rights violations at the expense of pension fund performance and erosion of the right to peaceful protest by boycott? I urge you to do your own moral math and vote Yes on this referendum. [1] Illinois Coalition for Human Rights. “Frequently Asked Questions.” https://www.ilchr.org/ichr [2] Full Hearing - IL House International Relations, Tourism, and Trade Committee Hearing on HB 2723. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z9Op0WJ268 [3] Illinois Policy. “Pensions Eat Up $11.6B of Illinois’ Budget.” https://www.illinoispolicy.org/pensions-eat-up11-6b-of-illinois-budget/ [4] The Civic Federation, Blog, Dec. 7, 2016. https:// www.civicfed.org/iifs/blog/90-pension-funding-righttarget-illinois
Janet Settle
Chicago Former longtime resident of Oak Park
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OAKPARK.COM
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
Curiouser and curiouser
emember the newspaper stories about our troubled U.S. Attorney in Chicago, Andrew Boutros, who under political pressure from the Justice Department, and maybe the White House, placed his thumbs on the scales of justice to get a phony baloney indictment against the Broadview 6, including Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw, over a protest at the Broadview ICE facility last year? You’ll also remember the case fell apart and Boutros was forced to drop the indictment when it turned out his Assistant U.S. Attorney (and maybe Boutros himself ?) had acted improperly to get the indictments. The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office is back in the news this week with a story involving Loretto Hospital. This story stretches from the Austin neighborhood to Texas and even Dubai. See, during COVID, senior management at Loretto, who are alleged by the U.S. Attorney to be a group of scammers and tricksters, supposedly got reimbursed for COVID testing that never happened. Up to $700 million worth of reimbursements. Loretto CFO and COO Anosh Ahmed is also accused of
JACK CROWE
embezzling $15 million from Loretto. And not long after, according to The Wall Street Journal, Ahmed donated $190,000 to the ethically-challenged Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, including a $25,000 contribution made just days after Ahmed was federally indicted in July 2024. And why? In the past, Paxton has faced fraud charges, bribery allegations and even impeachment by a Republicancontrolled Texas state legislature. And Paxton is a Trump favorite, and the President has traveled to Texas multiple times recently to stump for Paxton. And Ahmed, while on the lam in Dubai, even partied with Paxton on New Year’s Eve according to the Wall Street Journal, at the same time he was a fugitive from U.S. justice. Ahmed recently returned to the U.S. to face the criminal charges in Chicago. He is represented by former Chicago U.S. Attorney Dan Webb, who also represented Rupert Murdoch and Fox News in the $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over false reporting about the 2020 election. Boutros caved under the political pressure from Justice to indict the Broadview 6. Will President Trump now pull the rug out from Boutros’ upcoming trial against Ahmed by granting a Presidential Pardon? Stranger things have happened lately. So stay tuned. Jack Crowe is a semi-regular columnist for Wednesday Journal.
Jewish neighbors should feel welcome
As an Oak Park resident, I was heartbroken to read about Claudine Guralnick and other local Jewish preschool educators having their trip to Italy canceled after being asked to sign a statement distancing themselves from the situation in Gaza. Claudine is a jewel of our community and one of the best preschool educators in the whole world. To see someone who has spent decades doing so much for the children of this community treated this way because she is Jewish is deeply disappointing. Even worse has been reading the social media comments from fellow Oak Parkers questioning whether these educators support genocide simply because they refused to sign a political statement. Is this really who we want to be as a community? You can condemn the Israeli government’s actions. You can grieve for Palestinian children and advocate for their safety and rights. But Jewish people should not be expected to answer for a foreign government’s actions or prove their humanity by distancing themselves from Israel. For many Jews, Israel represents thousands of years of history, culture, faith, persecution, and survival. Judg-
ing Jewish identity solely through the lens of Gaza is like judging everything America represents to its people solely by the actions of its current administration. A government does not define the entirety of what a country means to its people. This is why the referendum asking Oak Park residents whether Illinois should repeal its law restricting state investments in companies that boycott Israel concerns me. Whatever your position on the law, this is a question for Springfield, not our municipal ballot. An advisory vote will not change the situation overseas, but the debate surrounding it has real consequences for our neighbors here at home. Oak Park prides itself on being a welcoming village. We should be able to care about Palestinian lives without making Jewish identity suspect, and debate Israeli policy without holding Jewish residents collectively responsible for it. A welcoming village should not ask its Jewish neighbors to prove they belong. It should demonstrate that they do.
Lily Berman Lopez Oak Park
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Save a life: free naloxone on the CTA
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ou are riding home on the Green Line one evening and suddenly the person sitting across from you, who looked like they were sleeping, slides down to the floor of the car and seems unresponsive. What would you do? Thanks to a partnership between the CTA and Cook County Health, you may have free naloxone in your bag from the vending machine at the Harlem Green Line station (Oak Park side, near the South Boulevard entrance). Naloxone (the generic name for Narcan®) is a nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Overdose kills by stopping a person’s breathing, and naloxone works by disrupting the opioid/brain connection to get the person breathing again. Naloxone is extremely easy to use (instructions are on every box) and is safe for children, pregnant women, and the elderly. If someone is not overdosing, naloxone will not hurt them. Because you should always call 911 to report someone who appears nonresponsive, the person will get help regardless. Opioids are in our homes as well as in public spaces. Last year in Cook County, the youngest person to overdose was 2 years old and the eldest was 85. A child may get hold of a pill prescribed for a family member. A senior may over-take their pain medication. A college student may get a substance off the internet that they think will help them focus, but may actually contain fentanyl, which can be deadly. Overdose can happen anywhere, to anyone. The Oak Park machine is one of five across the CTA system. More than 7,300 boxes of free naloxone have been distributed systemwide, and 1,600 of those are from the Harlem Green Line station. Because of widespread harm reduction efforts like free naloxone, opioid overdoses are declining nationally and in Illinois. But even one fatal overdose is too many. My son, David, died of an opioid overdose on the CTA Blue Line in late 2021. As the fifth anniversary of his death approaches, I’m reflecting on the remarkable progress an amazing group of advocates and bureaucrats have made to fight overdose on public transit and in communities disproportionately impacted by opioid use. I’m proud to be part of a team, led by the West Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force, that persevered to make free, easily accessible naloxone a reality on public transit. Please check out the Green Line vending machine. To get your free box of naloxone, just follow the prompts on the keypad. Thank you for learning how to save a life. Sheila Black Haennicke has lived in Oak Park for 30 years. Her son, David, graduated from OPRFHS in 2010.
SHEILA HAENNICKE One View
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
A more efficient solution
The proposed “O’Hare Flyer” is an unconscionable project of enormous consequences (financial, economic, environmental, safety ...) if allowed to progress. The economic repercussions would be hugely consequential to our existing public transportation infrastructures: CTA and Metra. The proposed project does not service individuals residing along the proposed trajectory and will negatively impact each community: Forest Park, River Forest, Melrose Park, Franklin Park and Schiller Park. The tracks are within half a block of an elementary school in one of the communities. This express train traveling every 7½ minutes does not be-
long in high density residential neighborhoods. Nor does it service minimum wage airport employees who depend on reliable and affordable mass transit. Most importantly, the “O’Hare Flyer” will ultimately syphon state and federal funding that would better serve Chicago’s pre-existing transit systems. Perhaps a more efficient and equitable solution is to add express Blue Line trains on half-hour intervals. This would be far more cost effective and service more Chicago neighborhoods. Supporting Metra initiatives are also in the interest of our communities.
Debora Beckett River Forest
Bravo and Boo!
Bravo to the Journal for conducting a zoning survey! Finally, a serious attempt to gauge actual community sentiment, despite the Oak Park Board of Trustees’ rejection of an advisory referendum. However, a serious deficiency in the survey is that it asks about only 2- to 4-flats. But the actual proposal makes virtually every single-family home in Oak Park
replaceable by a 6-flat, provided only that it includes two “affordable housing” units. This board is unlikely to reject any such application, leaving every homeowner at risk of a 6-flat next door. Your survey should have included that information.
Frank Stachyra Oak Park
Vote Yes!
One of the biggest flaws with the “Vote No” argument is that it labors under the delusion that the Illinois pension law, as it stands, promotes justice, and prevents discrimination against Illinois’ vulnerable Jewish population. But as a member of that community, I, myself, reject that premise. The current law puts those companies who fail to do business with Israel for the atrocities it has committed against Palestinians on par with companies that are sanctioned for: making profits off of “housing” migrant children; having ties to Iraq or Sudan; and being subject to Russian harmful foreign activities sanctions. In effect, the law makes standing up for human rights the equivalent to a very winnowed list of serious crimes and national security threats — and punishable as such. On further examination, this doesn’t protect anyone in Illinois from discrimination, it protects only the financial interests
of Israel and Israeli citizens. But what of U.S. citizens? Certainly the law must ban any company that would boycott the U.S. for political purposes and protect the interests of Jewish people in Illinois. No, the law does not sanction any business that protests the U.S. for any political reason. In no way does this law stand up for the citizens of any religion, of this state. Instead it’s egregiously biased for only one country — not ours. That engages unnecessarily in foreign policy, and it manages to violate the First Amendment in the process. It’s time to encourage Illinois legislators to pass that act by voting Yes on the referendum. Only then will the law truly reflect an Illinois that does not treat human rights as a crime and instead guarantees First Amendment rights of Freedom of Speech.
Jacinda Bauman Oak Park
Guide to voting for (and against) judges
Our November election ballot has dozens of judges up for election or retention, which may seem daunting. Fortunately, 17 local bar associations (links below) have, as they do every year, rated the judges’ qualifications to hold or retain office. Most of the judges received positive ratings from all 17 bar associations. I suggest voting Yes for those judges. Some judges received negative ratings from one or more of the bar associations. I suggest voting No for those judges because we deserve only the finest judges.
In summary, vote Yes for all the judges, except as follows. Vote No for these judges: Steven Q. McKenzie Erin Haggerty Antonietti Teresa Molina-Gonzalez Lorraine Mary Murphy Tiesha L. Smith Sources: https://www.voteforjudges.org/ https://www.chicagobar.org/CBA/ CBA/JEC/Judicial_Voters_Guide.aspx
Jim Poznak Oak Park
The water is beginning to boil
And so it starts. The frog is put in a pot of cold water that slowly warms so it’s not experienced as a threat. The danger doesn’t register until it’s too late. I will start in 2025, but such incidents started earlier. At an anti-Trump rally in Chicago, the leaders chant anti-Israel slogans with the crowd responding that Israel should be thrown into the sea. (hijacking the goal of the protest) 3 professors at UIC were found to have suffered discriminatory harassment starting in 2022. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said that the university “had every opportunity to address this and didn’t.” (antisemitism) [1] Jewish preschool teachers, about to leave for a training in Italy, are required to sign a document disavowing “occupation in Gaza.” (litmus test) [2] Dual U.S./Israeli citizens who are students and faculty at a respected university are enduring blood libel accusations such that a colleague is spending 2-4 hours a week helping them cope. (blood libel antisemitic trope) Oak Park is pulled into a conflict over an Illinois law that bans state pension funds from supporting Boycott Divestment and Sanctions of Israel. The BDS movement is pledged to end the state of Israel; BDS also opposes Palestinians working with Israelis unless the Israeli essentially disavows the state of Israel. (not peace-seeking) [3] You are in a social media group, and someone says you should be kicked out because you are a “genocide-supporter”
and shouldn’t be around kids. Others in this group agree. (demonization) You are absolutely anti-Netanyahu and his government (as probably most of us No referendum voters are), yet people assume you support him. Where did that idea come from? (vilification) Can you feel the water getting warmer? Our synagogues have security and armed guards. Do your churches have that? Do they need that? What would you call this? I am seeing a “coming-for-the-Jews” movement and it’s building up steam. It can happen here. It won’t look exactly like Nazi Germany, but it will rhyme. People will be shunned, blacklisted, made guilty by association, fired and demonized at the least. And, of course, it will not stop with Jews. I don’t live in Oak Park (any more), but rising water knows no boundaries and I feel it heating up. Can you? Silence on this is complicity. Sources: [1] Jewish News Services, Aug. 18, “Federal agency finds ‘reasonable cause’ that Chicago university discriminated against Jewish, Israeli professors.” [2] Wednesday Journal, Oct. 21, “Trip to Italy canceled for local Jewish preschool educators.” [3] American Jewish Committee, Jan. 25, 2023, Tough Questions on the AntiIsrael BDS Movement Answered; and The BDS Movement’s Anti-Normalization Guidelines Explained | BDS Movement
Phyllis Rubin
River Forest
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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Undo the harm of the ‘Palestine exception’ law
The advisory referendum is our opportunity to undo what never should have been done by Illinois law. It is our opportunity to tell our state legislators to revoke the special privileges that Illinois has granted Israel, a nation that stands in violent defiance of any modicum of decency. Singling out Israel for protection from boycott is an extraordinary privilege that comes at our own material and political expense, erodes our moral clarity and violates every notion of what we know to be American. Growing up Palestinian American, I understood two things. First, that the American ideals of freedom of speech and conscience, of democracy and justice, of equality and rule of law, albeit imperfectly applied, are sacred
and essential to any society worth living in. And second, that these human dignities which apply to others do not apply to Palestinians. From my earliest moments of consciousness, I have understood the Palestine exception. For as monstrous and as seismic as the past three years have been to anyone with eyes on Palestine and a shred of empathy in their hearts, there has been one reprieve: an undeniable shift in the tide of public opinion. The veil on the American public has been lifted. Those in opposition to November’s referendum are desperate to pull the wool back down over our eyes and obfuscate a genocide. Those in opposition to the referendum and in favor of the current law claim, as they often do, that the measure
Boycotting Israel is counterproductive
The Israel boycott movement differs from the one against South Africa. Its goal was freedom and equality, not the elimination of a state. There is nothing wrong with criticizing the Netanyahu administration. I condemn it myself. But advocating the end of Israel crosses the line into antisemitism. The BDS movement has long called for precisely this. [1] Whatever the intentions of its advocates, this local referendum advances BDS goals. Boycotting Israel is counterproductive. The predictable response is to circle one’s wagons, thus strengthening the Israeli right and alienating the Israeli public. The BDS movement rejects coexistence and collaboration, thus undermining those working for change and peace in Israel. Jewish educators — and no one else — were recently required to sign a special
I want to express my gratitude to so many in the Oak Park area for the events of the past month. On Oct. 18, I was one of the honorees at the Ulyssean Awards banquet, presented by the Senior Center of Oak Park-River Forest and the Park District of Oak Park. It was a beautiful evening on the top floor at Brookdale. It was well attended. There was music and wine and a lovely atmosphere with a beautiful view. The food was very good. I was honored to receive the award with Linda Bonner and Ade
discriminates against Oak Parkers who identify with Israel. “Everyone deserves to feel like they belong.” Everyone, it would appear, except Palestinians, whose very existence has been imperiled by a relentless campaign of ethnic cleansing, land theft and massacre, and whose diaspora is systematically silenced when they dare to protest. Vote Yes on this referendum. The right to boycott and divest is an essential American freedom. Exercising that right to rebuke Israeli cruelty is a moral obligation. It is long past time to end the Palestine exception.
Mariam Nawas Oak Park
Downsizers and empty-nesters
statement before learning about the Reggio Emilia Approach in Italy. [2] This is a good example of the detrimental effort to isolate Israel and anyone who might support it. Please vote No to the pro-boycott referendum. Sources: [1] See sources cited, https://www. oakpark.com/2026/10/14/the-boycottquestion-oak-park-isnt-being-asked https://www.oakpark.com/2026/10/18/ local-jewish-preschool-educators-italy-trip See sources cited, https://www.oakpark.com/2026/10/14/the-boycott-question-oak-park-isnt-being-asked [2] https://www.oakpark. com/2026/10/18/local-jewish-preschooleducators-italy-trip
Judith Alexander Oak Park
I have questions and concerns regarding the proposed zoning change. Interestingly, much of the community feedback is coming from retired residents and empty-nesters — yet this zoning change is intended, in part, to help make downsizing a viable option for this exact demographic. There are currently many wonderful condominiums available within Oak Park that would allow people to downsize comfortably. A key question is how many residents lack the financial means to age in place versus those who do. For those who do have the financial resources, downsizing can offer a dual benefit: it frees up single-family homes for younger families with children, thereby helping to alleviate the broader housing shortage. This perspective comes from personal experience. My father stubbornly resisted downsizing from our century-old home until he was physically unable to
Gratitude for two great events
Onayemi, who have both done so much for the community. We each got to give a short speech and received a beautiful award. So many of my friends and family were there to support me. A great evening. The other wonderful event of the past month was the third annual Oak Park Illinois Film Festival. You can ask anyone who was there. It was very successful. Everyone who attended any part of it has been raving about it. So many people were responsible for its success. First and foremost, the very hard-working board and
our project manager. Also the volunteers, the talented filmmakers, and the presenters all did their part in making it a success. The local restaurants contributed so much food that we were giving out doggy bags at the end. I also have to thank our individual donors and our sponsors, especially the village and state Senator Don Harmon. The Lake Theatre and Madison Street Theater went out of their way to make sure that our rentals were as smooth as possible. Thanks to everyone who attended, espe-
maintain it. Downsizing gave them far more comfort than the large, drafty home they had been living in, and it helped them save money. My father unfortunately only got to enjoy the condo for a couple of years before passing away. Moving earlier, before their home had lost value due to disrepair, could have saved them more money to afford better care during his final years. Living on the northwest side of Oak Park, I have noticed there are many single-family homes originally built for growing families that are now occupied by empty-nesters. If residents have the means and wish to preserve these family homes for the next generation, it may be worth considering passing them on to younger families who need them now. I only wish my father had made the choice years earlier.
Mike Beyer Oak Park
cially those who said they would be sure to tell their friends to attend next year. The Chamber of Commerce also helped us get the word out. Finally, thank you to Wednesday Journal for helping us with our ads and for the excellent article previewing the festival. If anyone wants more information about the film festival, go to opilff.org and sign up for our newsletter.
Joyce Porter
President of the Board, Oak Park IL Film Festival
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OAKPARK.COM
No need to quickly change the zoning code
he core assumption behind the desire to change our Zoning Code is that our restrictive zoning code has limited affordable housing in Oak Park since we created it in 1921, and that the code prevents us from building more affordable housing. Currently, we have 916 buildings with 2 to 6 units (Class 2-11), which translates to approximately 3,000 apartments. In addition, we have 1,587 single-story homes under 1,600 square feet. In total, Oak Park has over 4,600 affordable housing units – 25.6% of our 2- to 6-unit structures were built after the zoning code took effect in 1921, and 10.2% were built after World War II. Oak Park has added another six Class 2-11 buildings since 2000. Any new structure or Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) creates an annual property tax expense to support local government, schools, libraries, parks, etc. The effective tax rate represents two fac-
tors: The first part Community Effective Tax Rate Avg. Single-Family is called the levy, (% of Market Value) Home Price which is the total Oak Park 3.2% $475,000 - $685,000 amount local taxing River Forest 2.8% $850,000 - $1,100,000 bodies need to collect each year. This levy Evanston 2.5% $550,000 - $750,000 is then allocated to Skokie 2.4% $380,000 - $520,000 each property based Forest Park 2.6% $320,000 - $420,000 on its assessment level, which reflects the property’s market Berwyn 3.0% $280,000 - $360,000 value. The effective tax rate Elmwood Park 2.7% $310,000 - $400,000 basically expresses your annual City of Chicago 1.9% $300,000 - $450,000 property taxes expressed as a (Austin/Galewood) percentage of the market value of your property I expressed total government spending (in a community) as a percentage Adding a 700-square-foot ADU adds about $7,000 to $10,000 to that property’s annual of property market value using the Cook tax bill, depending on its location in the County Assessor’s 2024 database. I genervillage and how the assessor values it. ated this table with an AI agent and then Before changing our zoning code, audited it. I think we need a clear analysis and This housing affordability chart shows discussion of the true cost of occupancy that we live in a village with a very high for any new affordable homes. That property tax levy because we collectively analysis needs to include both the cost want top-notch local government services.
NILE WENDORF One View
of construction and the likely property tax burden. I think our $13,500 - $23,000+ community needs to $22,000 - $30,000+ ensure that people can afford these new struc$13,500 - $19,500 tures before we allow $8,500 - $12,500 too many to be built. $8,500 - $11,500 It may also make sense to identify a $8,000 - $11,000 small area in the vil$8,000 - $11,000 lage to test the revised $5,500 - $9,000 zoning code and see what happens over the long haul. If we change our zoning code, let’s collectively be confident we are doing it right and that it can attract the families it is targeting. Nile Wendorf is a former member of the Growing Community Media board of directors. The property tax information comes from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office and the Cook County Assessor’s database.
Typical Annual Tax Bill for Single-Family Home
Shape Oak Park will not make housing affordable
The Village of Oak Park board has identified housing affordability as a key economic benefit of eliminating single-family zoning across Oak Park neighborhoods. A common U.S. benchmark classifies housing as affordable when total housing costs (rent/mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance) do not exceed 30% of Area Median Income (AMI). The board premises that adding more “middle housing” advances affordability, using a basic economic argument that increasing housing supply makes housing affordable. The S.B. Friedman Financial Feasibility Study estimates large feasibility gaps for all new middle-housing types, drawing the obvious conclusion that new middle housing faces substantial financial feasibility hurdles, even at relatively high market rents – i.e. they do not meet the criteria for affordability. The board argues while it’s obvious that new construction is unaffordable, new construction makes existing housing affordable in the long-term. The cited example is that Oak Park added approximately 1,750 market-rate rental units from 2013 to 2023. The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) count of affordable-housing units increased by 1,350 unit during those 10 years. This is intended to demonstrate that construction of new market-rate housing in Oak Park directly resulted in the “creation” of substantial numbers of affordable units through migration-chains (households
moving from cheaper to more expensive housing, making cheaper housing available to lower-income households), and filtering (process where new housing makes older housing cheaper). However, examination and reconstruction of the 2013 vs. 2023 IHDA analysis reveals: 1. Though new constructions were rental apartments, the actual number of affordable renter-occupied units decreased by 8. 2. The number of affordable owner-occupied units increased by 1,358. This increase is primarily driven by IHDA input assumptions: a. IHDA used higher Median Household Income ($61,045 in 2013 vs. $78,790 in 2023). b. IHDA used a lower benchmark Mortgage Interest Rate (4.8% in 2013 vs. 3.98% in 2023). c. The result is a higher “affordable purchase price” of $171,483 in 2023 vs. $123,145 in 2013, making more owneroccupied housing units affordable within the IHDA analysis – not the new apartment construction. Economist Evan Mast (2019) researched 12 large U.S. metropolitan areas and found that new market-rate construction does reach lower-income neighborhoods over time, through migration chains that operate across large metropolitan areas to create affordable housing across the entire area. He does not establish that those migration chains can be contained within a small village of 4.7 sq.
miles with ~55,000 people and ~22,000 households; therefore, it cannot be used to demonstrate that 1,750 marketrate apartments constructed inside Oak Park caused 1,350 other units inside Oak Park to become affordable. This is evident in the numbers above. Common sense dictates housing markets do not stop at village borders. For example, a household moving into a new Oak Park apartment may come from Chicago. The replacement household may come from Rogers Park; the next vacancy may occur in Berwyn. This scenario is consistent with Mast’s research but creates a net-zero affordable housing gain inside Oak Park. Further research such as Bratu, Harjunen and Saarimaa’s study of moving chains in the Helsinki metropolitan area establish the same result but explicitly conclude that new supply is likely to improve affordability outside the sub-markets where new construction occurs. Housing prices reflect supply, demand and costs (land, construction, taxes, etc.) – not supply alone. Increasing supply can put downward pressure on prices, but that is different from suggesting that Shape Oak Park will make housing cheaper or affordable in the short-term or longterm. Sources can be found in the online version at oakpark. com. Rohan Fernandes is a finance professional, and resident of Oak Park for 8.5 years.
V I E W P O I N T S
OAKPARK.COM
Keeping America free
I was born in a land where kings and queens rule. I chose America ’cause it was cool. People are loud, people are free, People are whoever they want to be.
But we the people are many and strong. We vote for a country where all belong. So if you feel small and you have no voice, Cast your vote. Make your choice.
And yes, we have a terrible past, But the heart of the people won’t let hate last. And now a king wants a land of his own, Where family and cronies kneel at his throne.
I believe in you. I believe in me. Together we keep America free.
Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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Val Gee Oak Park
Ken Trainor, Wednesday Journal E-mail: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org Fax: 708-524-0047 Please include name, address and daytime phone number for verification.
O B I T U A R I E S
Maureen Roche, 78
Nurse, co-authored book on St. Vincent Orphanage Maureen A. Roche (nee Mulvihill), 78, of Oak Park, died on Oct. 23, 2026. Born on Sept. 22, 1948, she was a proud graduate of Ascension School in Oak Park (1962) and Trinity High School in River Forest (1966). She went on to graduate from the St. Vincent nursing program and later co-authored a book (St. Vincent’s - An Orphanage That Shined) chronicling its history and service to Chicago’s orphaned children. She dedicated 29 years of service to Loyola University Medical Center, demonstrating a deep commitment to the people she served. She spent countless hours watching, supporting, and cheering on her children and grandchildren in the sports they loved. She took great pride in being there for her family and celebrating their many milestones and accomplishments. She was also the caretaker and honorary mom and grandmother of countless family pets over the years, including dogs, cats, hamsters, and the many goldfish brought home from Ascension Mission Day. She was always ready to show her affection and greet them with a treat. Maureen was the mother of Erin Kathleen Jones (Daniel Jones), Raphael M. “Rafe” Roche (Lynne, née Nolen), Anthony J. “Tony” Roche (Jessica, née Fiedler), Daniel T. Roche (Carolyn, née Wilson), Martin P. Roche (Margaret, née Crotty), and Timothy J. Roche; the grandmother of 15 grandchildren, Teagan, Cooper, and Kenedi Jones, Emma, Maggie, and Connor Roche, Fiona, Colin, Tara, and Braeden Roche, Nathan and Abigail Roche, and Reece, Lewis, and Quentin Roche; and the aunt of many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Agnes “Toots” (née Flanagan) Mulvihill, and her beloved siblings, Carol Jean Mulvihill Chidester and Thomas Mulvihill. Family and friends are invited to the visitation on Oct.
29 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Conboy’s Westchester Funeral Home, 10501 W. Cermak Road, Westchester. At 10 a.m. on Oct. 30, Mass will be celebrated life at Ascension Church, 808 S. East Ave., Oak Park. Interment private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Maureen’s honor to: Ascension School, https:// www.givecentral.org/customizable-online-giving/580/ event/46136, or Trinity High School, https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=LJ3xYg.
Beatrice Schejbal, 85 Registered nurse at Loyola Hospital
Beatrice L. Schejbal, nee Bouchonville, 85, died on Oct. 23, 2026 in Oak Park. Born on March 17, 1941 in Chicago, she was a registered nurse at Loyola Hospital, Maywood. A dedicated nurse, she devoted her career to caring for those in need, but her nurturing spirit extended beyond her profession. Whether she was looking after children, helping a neighbor or offering comfort to a friend, Beatrice had a remarkable way of making everyone feel loved, welcomed and cared for. A devoted Catholic, she was actively involved in her faith community, generously volunteering her time at Ascension Church in Oak Park. She also shared her love of children and reading as a reading grandma at Irving School and was a proud Friend of Brookfield Zoo. Above all, she had a heart for people. Her home was always open, often filled with family, friends, neighbors and anyone who needed to feel welcome. She offered a listening ear and made room for one more at the table. Caring for others was who she was. Beatrice was the wife of James F. Schejbal; the mother of Leah M. Gonzalez, James J. Schejbal, Thomas P. (Tracy) Schejbal, Michael C. (Sonia) Schejbal, Joseph M. (Jana) Schejbal, William E. (Debbie) Schejbal, Jennifer A. (Mike) Li, Sarah D. Benway and Amy E. (Rob) Whaley; the grand-
mother of Gabe, Olivia, William, Annie, Abbie, Ellie, Josh, Allie, Lauren, Lucas, Lindsey, Logan, Landon, Omar, Diana, Temica, Christopher, Annabella, Taylor, Matthew, Keira, Cori, Liam, Stella and Caden; the great-grandmother of 15; and the sister of Sr. Ruella Bouchonville O.P., and the late Gregory (Barbara) Bouchonville. Visitation will be held on Nov. 2 from 3 to 8 p.m. at Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home, 2447 S. Desplaines Ave., North Riverside. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., Nov. 3 at Ascension Catholic Church in Oak Park, followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to Will’s Place, www.willsplaceskokie.com. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.KuratkoNosek.com.
Mary Catherine Amato, 96 Telephone operator for AT&T
Mary Catherine Amato (nee Murphy), 96, died on Oct. 16, 2026 in Oak Park, where she was a resident since 1963. Born in Chicago on Oct. 22, 1929, she worked as a telephone operator for AT&T. Mary Catherine was the wife of the late Sam Amato; the mother of Thomas (Patti McNulty) Amato, Catherine Amato and John (Sara) Amato; the grandmother of Amelia (Brady Knippenberg) Amato and Kevin Amato; the great-grandmother of Sam, Maya and Ella; sister of the late Patricia Murphy and late Veronica (Joseph) Zemgulys; and the aunt and great aunt of many nieces and nephews. Visitation was held on Oct. 21 at Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home, 2447 S. Desplaines Ave., North Riverside. Funeral Mass was celebrated on Oct. 22 at Ascension Church in Oak Park, followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside. Online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with the family at www.KuratkoNosek.com.
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
SPORTS OPRF girls go back-to-back in WSC Silver
Huskies win share of the volleyball title with win over Glenbard West By MELVIN TATE Staff Reporter
Last year, the Oak Park and River Forest High School girls volleyball team won its first West Suburban Conference Silver Division championship since 1992. The feeling was so nice, the Huskies did it twice. On Oct. 20 in a home match against Glenbard West, they got the job done, defeating the Hilltoppers 25-20, 25-17 to claim a share of this year’s conference title, sharing it with Lyons Township. “That was our goal this year,” said OPRF libero Devyn Kleidon. “Conference championship is one of our tasks to take down this year, and we were able to do it. Two years in a row, it’s great.” Things started inauspiciously for OPRF (22-8, 5-1 WSC Silver) as Glenbard West jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set. But trailing 16-13, the Huskies went on a 7-0 run to seize momentum and win the set. “We had to remember what we were playing for,” said OPRF middle blocker Jaida Garland. “It was Senior Night and a big game. We had to keep our composure.” In the second set with the score tied 7-7, OPRF again used a big run (9-4) to take a 16-11 lead, which the Huskies never relinquished. “Sometimes you start off a little slow in
MELVIN TATE
The OPRF High School girls volleyball team celebrates after a victory over Glenbard West, Oct. 20. matches,” said Kleidon, who ended the match in grand fashion with an ace. “We were able to pick it back up by staying locked in and not giving up on plays. We just had to play our overall game. We played (Glenbard West) recently and were familiar with their game.” As has been the case for most of the season, OPRF showed balance on the stat sheet with several players making contributions. Senior outside hitter Bella Gray led the Huskies in kills with seven, while senior outside hitter Emmi Bozarth added five and senior outside hitter Aniyah Scott adding four.
Bozarth and Gray had two aces apiece. Scott had three blocks, and Garland and senior Yulie Wnorowska contributing two apiece. Gray led in digs with six, Kleidon had five, and Bozarth four. Senior setter Edie Carroll and junior setter Lura Weiner each had seven assists. “I know all these girls have worked superhard and worked their butts off in the gym, on and off the court,” Gray said. “I’m so proud of everyone and I’m really happy with how it turned out.” The victory was the final regular-season
home match for OPRF’s 11 seniors: Bozarth, Carroll, Garland, Gray, Kleidon, Scott, and Wnorowska, along with Celia Jackson, Lily Kinzler, Mia Mahoney, and Sophia Sood. “This is a special group,” OPRF coach Symone Speech said. “Having so many seniors, even a big team in general can be hard to keep the culture intact, but they do it so seamlessly.” “Many of these (girls) are my best friends,” Garland said. “I’ve played with them for four years and we’re keeping our traditions alive. We’re making the most of every moment because our volleyball chapters are going to close soon.” OPRF ended the regular season with a three-set victory (23-25, 25-13, 25-12) at St. Ignatius, Oct. 22. Bozarth (10 kills, 4 aces), Gray and Scott (8 kills each), Kleidon (23 digs, 5 aces), Carroll and Weiner (16 assists each), and junior middle hitter Eva Truss (3 blocks) powered the Huskies. OPRF opens state tournament play this week as the top seed in the IHSA Class 4A Jones Sectional. The Huskies, who also are hosting a regional, faced either Simeon or ITW Speer in a semifinal Tuesday night, after press time. A win would advance OPRF to the regional final on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. against either Payton or Von Steuben. “We’re confident. We’ve just got to keep playing our game no matter who we play and focus on our side,” Kleidon said. “I hope they take this fuel, fire, and love and ride with it the next few weeks,” Speech said.
OPRF, Fenwick cross country teams seek state berths Friars’ Gamboa fourth-place medalist, OPRF girls second at regional
By BILL STONE Staff Writer
Oak Park and River Forest High School girls cross country runner Abby Denneen is enjoying a great freshman season with
help from senior Emily Jones. “For me personally, it’s gone so much better than I expected,” Denneen said. “We try to run together and we’re training buddies. I’ve gotten to know her so well, so being able to push each other in
races like this is such a special thing.” The pair once again led the Huskies Saturday as they finished second (57 points) at the Class 3A Hinsdale Central Regional at Katherine Legge Memorial Park. The OPRF boys (4th, 100 points) and Fenwick
girls (5th, 119) and boys (6th, 155) also advanced as teams to the Lyons Township Sectional, Oct. 31, with top-six finishes. The top seven teams at sectionals advance to the Nov. 8 state meet along with the top 10 individuals not among the advancing
S P O R T S
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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OPRF’s Stein takes third in girls state tennis
Huskies tie for 9th in team standings By MELVIN TATE Staff Reporter
Following a quarterfinal appearance in 2024, then a fourth-place finish last year, Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Lucy Stein wanted to end her high school tennis career in style with an individual state championship. After rattling off four consecutive victories in the IHSA Class 2A state tournament hosted by Buffalo Grove, Oct. 22-24, Stein seemed to be on track to attain her goal. But she lost a hard-fought semifinal match and went on to finish third. Despite the final outcome, Stein felt she gave it her best shot. “I’m happy with my result,” she told Wednesday Journal. “I’m happy that each year at state, I got better with my place. I had a tough match in the semifinals, but I was happy to be able to bounce back on Saturday and win my last match.”
PHOTO CREDIT
Emily Jones (left) and Abby Denneen teams. Both OPRF teams and the Fenwick girls are projected to be in the hunt. “I feel very confident in our guys’ ability to run together and accomplish their goals,” OPRF coach Chris Baldwin said. Fenwick senior Juliana Gamboa was an all-regional fourth in the girls race (18:09.2 for
Stein, who entered the state finals seeded third, won three matches on Thursday: 6-2, 6-0 over Elena Grmusa of East Aurora; 6-1, 6-2 over Lily David of Downers Grove South; and 6-0, 6-0 over Danielle Dejanovich of St. Charles North. On Friday, Stein blanked Kylie Blass of Stevenson 6-0, 6-0, but lost to Julia Ludwig of New Trier 6-1, 2-6, and 5-7. “She had a really ugly ending in the semifinal; that’s the way it goes sometimes,” said OPRF coach Fred Galluzzo. “But she bounced back Saturday in good spirits.” That was evident as Stein rolled past Yuki Dogadalski of Libertyville 6-1, 6-1 to clinch third place. In the team standings, OPRF tied for ninth with Maine South, each finishing with 15 points. “I just told myself on Saturday that it was a new day and I was going to put the semifinal match in the past,” said Stein, who finished with a season record of 34-2. “Nothing was going to change the fact that I lost, and I wanted to win (third place).” Stein qualified for the state tournament in all four years of her OPRF career. Now that it is over, she looks back on her time in
the Huskies’ program with gratitude and appreciation. “I had a really good career,” Stein said. “I had a lot of fun with OPRF tennis, and I’m happy with how it ended up.” Stein added that she’ll miss the camaraderie she felt with her teammates and coaches, along with the experiences shared on and off the court. “I’ll miss being able to represent (OPRF) in tennis, and I’ll miss my teammates,” she said. “I’ve made so many friends from this program.” Galluzzo said he’ll miss the leadership Stein provided the last two years. He adds it will be weird not having her around next year. “Lucy was the leader of our team. Everyone looked up to her,” he said. “She’s been a stalwart for four years and I’ve loved watching her play. She’s a fighter, she’s a competitor, and she’s a tough kid.” As Stein prepares for a college career, freshman Zoe Glennie represents OPRF’s future. She qualified for the state tournament and defeated Calla Graham of Moline (6-1, 6-2) in her opening match.
After losing 0-6, 1-6 to Dogadalski in the second round, Glennie won her first match in the consolation bracket 7-6, 4-6, 10-1 over Makaeylynn Waller-Li of Naperville North. But she was eliminated in the next round 1-6, 0-6 by Hinsdale Central’s Myra Shaikh. “I was really proud of Zoe for making the state tournament,” Stein said. “I knew that was a goal she had. She has it in her to have good results the next three years. She’s a really good player and I wish her the best in the future.” OPRF’s top doubles pairing of senior Ava Lebovitz and junior Ella Rangsithienchai also competed. The duo lost its first-round match, 1-6, 2-6, to Kelsey Clousing and Priya Rozanski of Wheaton-Warrenville South, but won the consolation bracket opener 6-1, 6-2 over McKenna Fernstrom and Solveig Nelson of Dundee-Crown before being eliminated 4-6, 6-7 by Fremd’s Stella Lee and Siya Mistry. “They had a nice tournament, they played well,” Galluzzo said. “Ella’s coming back, and this will be a good experience for her.”
3.0 miles). Fenwick junior Bridget Brunick (6th, 18:24.5) was edged for the last individual medal by 1.3 seconds. Denneen (8th, 18:36.3) and Jones (10th, 18:45.4) also were top 10. Gamboa was second at the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Meet, Oct. 17, to DePaul’s Emily Stecky (18:01.0 to 18:09.3). Brunick (7th, 18:26.3) also was all-conference for the Friars, who were eighth overall. “We’re ready to bring our A game (to sectionals),” said Gamboa, a two-time 2A allstater. “I think we have a shot (at state),” Brunick said. “Everybody’s been working really hard so as long as we’re trusting our training during the race and (realizing) that this is a team sport, we have to do it for each other.” The OPRF girls had more top-20 finishers with junior Eileen Easton (12th, 19:04.3), sophomore Loie Burwell (13th, 19:11.5) and freshmen Nora Gundrum (14th, 19:13.9) and Michaela O’Connor (18th, 19:21.2) plus sophomore Rose Super (24th, 19:43.6). Fenwick’s other finishers were seniors Maya Trouillhet (35th, 20:45.5), Lily Kotynek (37th, 20:50.0), Allison Austin (40th, 21:00.0) Isabelle Lefko (41st, 21:00.8) and Teresa Urso (42nd, 21:12.9).
The West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet, Oct. 17, also was at KLM. The OPRF girls were fifth. “Almost everybody from last week went down in time,” first-year OPRF coach Sierra Downey said. “I feel like there is a chance (to qualify for state) if we run on our tapered legs.” At the Silver Meet, Jones (12th) and Denneen (14th) both were all-conference medalists with top-16 finishes. Jones improved from 25th in 2025. “It was such an incredible thing. I honestly can’t believe I did that,” Jones said. “I’m running well. I haven’t hit the (personal record) I set last season. I think I should be able to at sectionals.” At the boys Silver Meet, Wangerow (8th, 15:30.7) was an impressive top-10 and senior Nick Houghton (15th, 15:41.2) and junior Gus Singer (16th, 15:41.3) also were all-conference for the fourth-place Huskies. Singer pulled out the last medal by hundredths of a second. Wangerow battled injuries in 2025 but now is healthy with a strong track season behind him. “Last year I wasn’t in this position. I’ve definitely improved a lot,” he said. “I was
so worried about injuries last year and now I don’t because I’ve done the right stuff at home and some injury prevention, exercise to get me to the durable self I am today.” With a strong pack performance Saturday, freshman Julien Calliez (15:58.1 for 3.0 miles) led the Huskies’ 24-second top-five split, followed by sophomore Santos Martinez (19th, 16:10.8), Wangerow (21st, 16:14.9), Singer (22nd, 16:15.6), senior Connor Harmon (24th, 16:22.2), Houghton (25th, 16:22.2) and junior Finn Herhammer (30th, 16:46.3). Fenwick achieved its goal of advancing with an extremely young lineup. Senior Burke Burns (16th, 16:05.4) was followed by four freshmen – Luke McConnell (26th, 16:33.2), Franco Leal (34th, 17:04.9), Jack Brunick (39th, 17:21.4) and Jordyn Vargas (40th, 17:25.2) – sophomore Dominic Federico (48th, 18:06.3) and junior Wolfie Bergetz (51st, 18:26.2). Burns was an all-conference 12th at the Chicago Catholic League Meet, Oct. 17, for the 12th-place Friars. “I haven’t been able to do it in the past three years and I felt great about it,” Burns said. “It’s a good end of my career.”
34 Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026 HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI • Deadline: Monday at 5 p.m.
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Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M26002078 on October 9, 2026 Under the Assumed Business Name of GATED MERITOCRACY with the business located at: 201 LE MOYNE PKWY, OAK PARK, IL 60302. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: FELIPE REYES 201 LE MOYNE PKWY OAK PARK, IL 60302, USA
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Common Address for Blythe Park: 735 Leesley Road
Published in Wednesday Journal October 14, 21, 28, 2026
Application No.: PZ 26-0006
Petitioner: Village of Riverside
PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE’S PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to all interested parties that the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Riverside, Illinois will hold a public hearing on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in Riverside Township Hall Room 4, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, 60546 on the Tentative Annual Budget for the 2027 fiscal year of the Village of Riverside, Illinois, commencing January 1, 2027, and ending December 31, 2027. Public comments on the Proposed Annual Budget are welcome at the public hearing. Emailed comments may be sent to Village Clerk Emily Stenzel at estenzel@riverside.il.us. Written comments may be submitted to the attention of the Village Clerk at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois. Emailed or written comments should be submitted prior to 5:00 on November 5, 2026. While emailed or written comments are strongly encouraged, comments may also be made in person.
The Proposed Annual Budget will be available for public inspection on and after, October 28, 2026, at the Finance Department of the Village of Riverside, Illinois, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, 60546 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for any day being a legal holiday.
Disabled persons needing assistance to attend said hearing should contact the Office of the Village Clerk before the hearing by calling (708) 447-2700. Said hearing may be continued without further notice except as required by the Illinois Open Meeting Act. The tentative annual budget may be further revised and passed without any further notice or hearing. PRESIDENT TRUSTEES
AND
BOARD
OF
VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS By: Emily Stenzel Village Clerk
Published in RB Landmark October 28, 2026
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 2026 at 6:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in the Riverside Township Hall, Room 22, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider an application to amend the Official Zoning Map of the Village. The amendment sought will zone properties to the PC (Community Parks), PN (Neighborhood Parks), or OS (Open Space) Districts.
Properties and Areas Commonly Known As: Big Ball Park; Blythe Park; Evelyn Triangle; Guthrie Park; Harrington Park; Indian Gardens; Longcommon Common; Miller Woods; Patriots Park; properties in Riverside Lawn; Scottswood Common; Swan Pond; Turtle Park; the Zoo Woods; and properties adjacent to and near the Des Plaines River.
Permanent Tax ID for Blythe Park: 15-25-415-010-0000
Permanent Tax IDs for Harrington Park: 15-36-402-001-0000; 15-36402-002-0000; 15-36-402-0030000; 15-36-402-004-0000; and 15-36-402-005-0000
Permanent Tax ID for Indian Gardens: 18-02-202-001-0000
Permanent Tax IDs for Miller Woods: 15-36-411-001-0000 and 15-36411-002-0000
Common Address for Harrington Park: 79 South Delaplaine Road Common Addresses for Indian Gardens: 357 and 417 Fairbank Road Common Address for Patriots Park: 576 West Parkway Road
Common Address for Swan Pond: 15 Burling Road
Common Address for Turtle Park: 175 Nuttall Road
Common Address for properties adjacent to and near the Des Plaines River: 150 Parkview Road
The Properties are further described on the Village of Riverside Parks and Playgrounds Map, which is available by selecting Parks Map on https:// www.riverside.il.us/798/Parks-Recreation.
The above application is available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. During the Public Hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any evidence presented by persons interested to speak on these matters. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the proposed amendment. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance by submission to Community Development Director Anne Cyran via email at acyran@ riverside.il.us or delivered to the attention of Anne Cyran at the Village Offices at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. on the day of the public hearing.
Permanent Tax ID for Patriots Park: The Public Hearing may be contin15-25-401-011-0000 ued from time to time without further Permanent Tax IDs for Riverside notice, except as otherwise required Lawn: 15-36-309-001-0000; 15- under the Illinois Open Meetings 36-309-003-0000; 15-36-309- Act. The proposal and zoning relief 004-0000; 15-36-309-005-0000; sought may be added to, revised, 15-36-309-006-0000; 15-36-309- altered or eliminated as a result of 007-0000; 15-36-309-002-0000; the Public Hearing and prior to final 15-36-309-008-0000; 15-36-309- action by the Board of Trustees of 009-0000; 15-36-309-010-0000; 15- the Village of Riverside. 36-309-011-0000; and 15-36-309Dated this 28th day of October, 012-0000. 2026. Permanent Tax IDs for properties adjacent to and near the Des Plaines Jennifer Henaghan, Chairperson River: Planning and Zoning Commission 15-35-416-005-0000; 15-35-416006-0000; 15-35-416-007-0000; 15-35-416-004-0000; 15-35-415004-0000; 15-35-415-005-0000; 15-35-415-006-0000; 15-35-415007-0000; 15-35-415-003-0000; 15-35-415-002-0000; 15-35-415001-0000; 15-35-416-001-0000; 15-35-416-002-0000; 15-35-416003-0000; 15-35-412-001-0000; 15-35-410-005-0000; 15-35-410004-0000; 15-35-410-003-0000; 15-35-410-002-0000; 15-35-403003-0000; 15-35-410-001-0000; 15-35-408-007-0000; 15-35-408006-0000; 15-35-408-005-0000; 15-35-408-004-0000; 15-35-408003-0000; 15-35-408-002-0000; 15-35-408-001-0000; 15-35-402002-0000; 15-35-402-003-0000; 1535-402-001-0000; 15-35-402-0050000; and 15-35-402-004-0000.
Permanent Tax ID for Zoo Woods: 15-35-201-001-0000
Common Address for Big Ball Park: 211 Nuttall Road
Published in RB Landmark October 28, 2026
LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive bids for computer equipment. The full bid document, “26IT-0006 Information Technology,” is available on the Village website www.oak-park.us. Bids will be accepted until November 9, 2026 4PM Central. Published in Wednesday Journal October 27, 2026
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 2026 at 6:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in Room 22 of the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider an application from the Village of Riverside to review and consider various changes to the Riverside Zoning Ordinance. Application No.: PZ 26-0008
Petitioner: Village of Riverside
Proposed Text Amendments: Various changes to the Village of Riverside Zoning Ordinance. The affected chapters in Title 10 (Zoning Code) include, but may not be limited to, the following: Chapter 5 (Business Districts), Chapter 6 (Use Standards), and Chapter 11 (Definitions). The topics of the changes being considered include, but may not be limited to, defining car washes and specifying in which Zoning Districts car washes may operate.
The above application is available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. During the Public Hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any evidence presented by persons interested to speak on these matters. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the matters being considered. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance by submission to the Village’s Community Development Department at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. the day of the public hearing. The Public Hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
Dated this 28th day of October 2026. Jennifer Henaghan, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission Published in RB Landmark October 28, 2026
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PUBLIC NOTICE RIVERSIDE TOWNSHIP MENTAL HEALTH BOARD 27 RIVERSIDE ROAD, RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS 60546 October 21, 2026 In accordance with the Open Meetings Act, this is to advise you that the Riverside Township Mental Health Board will hold the meetings below at the listed locations: Mental Health Board Meeting Notices RTMHB Grant Process Committee Meeting Monday, November 9, 2026 at 6:30 PM Riverside Township Hall – Community Resource Center, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois If you have any questions, please contact Board President, Adam Wilt, at awilt.rtmhb@gmail.com or call Adam at 708-804-4400. Published in RB Landmark October 28, 2024
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Wednesday Journal, October 28, 2026
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12 Month Certificate of Deposit
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