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November 4, 2020 Vol. 41, No. 14 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Scratch group finds loophole to stay open

Quartet of restaurants to host on-site private events for groups of 25

By MELISSA ELSMO “I have never been more scared in my life,” said Patrick O’Brien, owner of Scratch Restaurant Group (SRG). “My hope is not to close any of my restaurants, but this feels like a funeral.”

O’Brien, owner of Scratch on Lake, District Kitchen and Tap, Scratch Kitchen, and Lathrop House, was not surprised by the second wave of mandated dining room closures but fears the lack of federal stimulus money will make this a fatal blow to an already fragile industry.

“This is the worst of the worst scenarios,” said O’Brien.

“Unless people are dipping into their personal funds to survive, there is absolutely no chance this won’t be the end for most.”

Scratch Kitchen is the original restaurant and is located at 7445 Madison in Forest Park. Scratch on Lake is at 733 Lake St. in Oak Park. District Kitchen and Tap is at 220 Harrison St. in Oak Park. And just recently opened is Lathrop House at 26 Lathrop in Forest Park.

O’Brien is aware of the many restaurants that decided to stay open during this second shutdown and commends them for their decision to defy the mandate. But he has opted to utilize a loophole in the state mandate to position his SRG establishments for survival. He announced via social media: “We will be taking reservations for groups up to 25 people. We have four restaurants with seven private arSee SCRATCH on page 14

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

ALMOST OUT OF HIS GOURDS: Scott Koster, of Geneva Lakes Produce on the last day of the Oak Park Farmers Market.

Different but good, Farmers Market celebrates its season Modified market welcomed approximately 60,000 shoppers

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats

The Oak Park Farmers Market’s 45th year officially ended on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Approximately 60,000 people entered the modified market

at Lake and Scoville over its 23 weeks, with some Saturdays drawing as many as 3,000 attendees. More than 50 volunteers helped set up and manage the market each week with shifts starting at 4:30 a.m. Additionally, the market benefitted from heavy village of Oak Park presence with staff playing crucial roles to ensure the success and safety of the market.

“Market volunteers and village staff had more responsibilities than in years past,” said Colleen McNichols, market manager. “We had bodies everywhere. They were monitorSee MARKET on page 19

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

An abundance of Asian delights Egg rolls, noodles and dumplings galore await in Berwyn

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats editor

With restaurant dining rooms in the area shut down once again, we are committed to showcasing the best of Berwyn’s carry-out fare throughout November. Venture to our sister suburb to explore quintessential food to-go including colorful Thai dishes, Japanese Maki Rolls and an array of Chinese cuisine.

Food Writer Chicago inventor, Fredrick Weeks Wilcox, patented a “paper pail” in 1894 made from a single piece of paper to make the leak-proof Chinese take-out box that houses fried rice, spicy shrimp and moo goo gai pan more than 125 years later.

Chinese cuisine is especially popular take out fare in the United States. And Berwyn has more than a smattering of Chinese restaurants to curb your lo mein cravings. Additionally, savvy food lovers know they can also find their way to fresh sushi and top-quality free-style Thai dishes right on Roosevelt Road.

Ready your chopsticks (or a fork if you prefer) and check out a few Asian delights available via carryout in Berwyn.

MELISSA ELSMO

Carry out fare plated up at home from Overseas China including a portion of Overseas China Special Platter and pot stickers.

Melissa Elsmo

Overseas China, 6846 Cermak Rd., has been churning out classic Chinese dishes for 19 years in Berwyn. The restaurant’s unassuming exterior gives way to a surprisingly modern interior well suited to filling COVID compliant carry-out orders. Friendly service is a hallmark of the diminutive establishment offering a wide array of Cantonese and Szechuan dishes. For less than $11 hungry diners can enjoy the generously sized Overseas China Special Platter featuring shrimp, chicken, BBQ pork and an array of vegetables in a garlicy brown sauce. An array of special discounts are available on Overseas China’s website.

Jwok Chinese Kitchen, 6641 Roosevelt Rd. and sister restaurant, Sushi Junki, at 6643 Roosevelt Rd., have been bringing Chinese, Thai and Japanese dishes to Berwyn residents for a lucky 11 years. A go-to spot for indecisive diners, a single order can include items from all three menus.

Dig deep into the Jwok’s menu to discover dim sum offerings, Korean specialties, and authentic Chinese dishes like fish fillet with ginger and onion. While Jwok offers a multitude of dinner options, their generous lunch specials, served with fried rice and an egg roll, are

A portion of Jwok’s Szechuan Chicken Lunch special with vegetable fried rice and a small wonton soup.

Melissa Elsmo

a high value option and easily split between two hungry diners.

Satiate a sushi craving with a thoughtful array of nigiri and maki rolls at Sushi Junki.

With more than 30 special rolls to choose from diners have a variety of options. Precede any sushi order with a piping hot bowl of miso soup or crunchy vegetable tempura.

Those looking for a quick hit can pop by Wok N’ Roll Express, 6969 Ogden Ave. It A serving of combination lo mein and an egg roll from is nestled in a strip mall and is a classic counter service Wok N’ Roll in Berwyn.

Melissa Elsmo joint. The straightforward menu should appeal to fans of American style Chinese food looking to open a to the tofu salad on the menu or enjoy Bodhi’s assorted curries, noodles and rice-based dishfew Chicago-born take out boxes.

Food lovers in the know, flock to highly es. Classics like Pad Thai and Panang Curry rated Bodhi Thai Bistro, 6211 Roosevelt Rd., are complemented by a secret menu and rotatfor fresh and flavorful Thai dishes. Vegetarians ing specials. will delight in the highly customizable offer- *ALL DISHES WERE ORDERED FOR CARRY OUT ings and would do well to pay special attention AND PLATED AT HOME

The tofu salad and fresh spring rolls from Bodhi Thai Bistro Melissa Elsmo

Service with a smile at Bodhi Thai Bistro.

Melissa Elsmo

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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The reckoning this country needs

A

the Washington Post published a story remindt midnight on Nov. 2, I could not sleep.

So I picked the words of James Baldwin ing us that this is nothing new. to calm my frayed nerves. Baldwin is so “There are at least 129 accounts of what hapfresh and relevant because he insists on pened that day in Ocoee, and they vary wildly,” returning to the root problem, which the Washington Post reports. the nation insists on ignoring. Last night, I “Some said the attack was a spur-of-the-mowas drawn to his 1965 essay, “The White Man’s ment reaction to a Black man trying to vote. OthGuilt,” which struck me as particularly poiers said it had been carefully planned by white gnant. residents for weeks. Only a few Black folks were “This is the place in which, it seems to killed that day; or, dozens of bodies were piled me, most white Americans find themselves into a mass grave. Every Black resident who impaled,” Baldwin wrote. “They are dimly, survived fled the day after; or, survivors were or vividly, aware that the history they have harassed, threatened and cheated out of land for fed themselves is mainly a lie, but they do not the next seven years until they all left. know how to release themselves from it, and “This is what is certain: 100 years ago, on Nov. Commentary they suffer enormously from the resulting 2, 1920 — the same day women voted nationally personal incoherence.” for the first time — the worst instance of ElecBaldwin writes that the incoherence “can be reduced to tion Day violence in American history unfolded in a small a plea: Do not blame me, I was not there. I did not do it. My Florida town west of Orlando,” the paper reported. history has nothing to do with Europe or the slave trade.

On Oct. 31 2020, in Graham, North Carolina, police offiAnyway, it was your chiefs who sold you to me. I was not cers “fired a spray they described as a ‘pepper-based vapor’ present on the middle passage, I am not responsible for the that left demonstrators — including children — coughing textile mills of Manchester, or the cotton fields of Misat an ‘I Am Change’ march for voter turnout,” the Washingsissippi. Besides, consider how the English, too, suffered ton Post reported. in those mills and in those awful cities! I also despise the “The racially diverse crowd of about 400 had stopped at governors of southern states and the sheriffs of southern a Confederate monument in front of the Alamance County Courthouse on their way to an early-voting site. The monucounties, and I also want your child to have a decent educament has been the site of months of clashes between antition and rise as high as his capabilities will permit. racism activists and self-proclaimed white nationalists.”

“I have nothing against you, nothing! What have you got During the march, the crowd “invoked the name of against me? What do you want? But, on the same day, in Wyatt Outlaw, a Black town commissioner who in 1870 was another gathering, and in the most private chamber of his kidnapped from his Graham home by the Ku Klux Klan and heart, always, the white American remains proud of that lynched outside the courthouse, not far from the presenthistory for which he does not wish to pay, and from which, day monument.” materially, he has profited so much [italics Baldwin’s].”

Graham is less than three hours away from WilmingOn Nov. 2, as so many of us braced for possible violence ton, North Carolina, where in 1898 — a few decades after and civil unrest perpetrated by far-right terrorist groups,

MICHAEL ROMAIN

the Civil War and Reconstruction — whites terrorized a relatively prosperous Black community, killing at least 60 Black men, in what would become known as the Wilmington insurrection.

The book jacket summary of David Zuchino’s Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy merits quoting at length.

“In North Carolina, Democrats were plotting to take back the state legislature in November ‘by the ballot or the bullet or both,’ and then to trigger a ‘race riot’ to overthrow Wilmington’s multi-racial government. Led by prominent citizens including Josephus Daniels, publisher of the state’s largest newspaper, and former Confederate Colonel Alfred Moore Waddell, white supremacists rolled out a carefully orchestrated campaign that included raucous rallies, race-baiting editorials and newspaper cartoons, and sensational, fabricated news stories.

White rioters “suppressed the Black vote and stuffed ballot boxes (or threw them out), to win control of the state legislature on November 8th” and two days later, “more than 2,000 heavily armed Red Shirts swarmed through Wilmington […] terrorizing women and children, and shooting at least 60 black men dead in the streets. The rioters forced city officials to resign at gunpoint and replaced them with mob leaders.”

No matter what happens Nov. 3, whites must seriously reckon with this history; either confront the painful past or endure an even more painful present — to say nothing of the future.

“The record is there for all to read,” Baldwin wrote in 1965. “It resounds all over the world. It might as well be written in the sky. One wishes that Americans, white Americans, would read, for their own sakes, this record and stop defending themselves against it. Only then will they be enabled to change their lives.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

It took 10 years, but Animal Care League gets building

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

After over 10 arduous years of trying, the Animal Care League (ACL) has successfully purchased the dilapidated building at 1009 Garfield St., which sits directly between three other ACL-owned properties.

Once renovated, the building will serve as an extension of the ACL’s animal adoption and care services.

“It’ll be a part of our whole operation,” said Chatka Ruggiero, longtime ACL board member, who was instrumental in the purchasing process.

ACL will join the fourth building to the others by constructing a covered walkway which will allow people to easily travel between the four buildings without having to go outside – a particularly pleasant attribute during the cold winter months.

The building once served as a daycare center, but the business failed and property taxes went unpaid following the death of the owner, according to Ruggiero. ACL first tried to purchase the building in 2009 in a scavenger sale.

Scavenger sales occur every two years in

Cook County. In a scavenger sale, the county sells tax delinquent properties to the highest bidder. In many cases, the highest bidders are large companies.

“They just collect these properties and then see if they can resell them,” said Ruggiero. “They don’t actually get the property title because they don’t pay the full back taxes.”

ACL lost the bidding war over the property’s taxes in the 2009 scavenger sale to a Chicago-based company which offered to sell to ACL for a large profit, according to Ruggiero. The company had two years to pay off the back taxes and acquire the property title but failed to do so. The company ended up forfeiting the property.

The non-profit animal organization tried a second time to purchase the building in the 2013 scavenger hunt but was again outbid – this time by a company based out of California, Ruggiero said.

“The building is getting in worse shape and worse shape by that time,” said Ruggiero.

Like the Chicago-based company before it, the California-based company offered to sell to ACL for much more money than the building was worth, according to Ruggiero.

The ACL declined.

The property’s tax debt continued to grow, and the building’s condition worsened, in the four years since its first scavenger sale.

“By then it was in total disrepair and the roof was leaking. There were trees growing up from the roof,” said Ruggiero. “It was a wreck. And inside there was mold all over.”

ACL’s luck brightened in 2015 when 1009 Garfield St. was purchased in yet another scavenger sale by the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA), a government agency formed in 2013 specifically to identify and acquire distressed properties in the county.

“This is vacant, abandoned, tax delinquent property. We clear the title of the property and then make them available at below market prices to investors, developers, homeowners, business owners and nonprofit organizations,” said CCLBA Executive Director Rob Rose.

CCLBA sells their properties not to the highest bidder, but to the people and organizations looking to rehabilitate the property into a productive end use.

“We want to take the time to make sure we get the right person, the right group into

that property because that’s going to lead to long-term sustainability,” said Rose.

At the time CCLBA acquired the property, its tax debt amounted to $364,736. CCLBA then began the lengthy legal process to release the property from its tax lien, so that the person the agency sells the property to is not responsible for the unpaid taxes of the property’s previous owner.

“Another thing the land bank does is they negotiate with you a fair price based on the property’s current value,” said Ruggiero.

“That’s a big thing.”

CCLBA sold the property to ACL this past summer, after relieving it of its tax lien – a success for ACL a decade in the making.

“I’m particularly excited since this was a goal 10 years ago and it just finally happened,” said Ruggiero. “No one knew it was going to be this difficult.”

Ruggiero credits CCLBA for saving the Garfield Street property from the continuing cycle of scavenger sales, where it was becoming untenably expensive while simultaneously becoming more dilapidated.

“It’s doing a real service,” said Ruggiero.

“I think the land bank is a very worthy organization.”

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

“Dia de Muertos” Art Show Saturdays, 1 to 3 p.m., through Nov. 21, Expressions Graphics View works from 14 professional artists, including paintings, prints, jewelry and a traditional altar dedicated to BLM, RBG and artists’ family members who lost their lives due to COVID-19. Curated by Riverside artist Alex Brightbill. Up to three guests at a time can visit the gallery with mask and social distancing. More: expressionsgraphics.org/dia-de-muertos-2020. 29 Harrison St., Oak Park.

We are Family: Jewish Opera, Yiddish and Musical Theater Monday, Nov. 9, 1:30 p.m., Webinar with the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association Cantor Susan Lewis Friedman will tell the story through song of how artists like Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, and the founder of Yiddish theater, Abraham Goldfaden, took to the stage. Friedman and Maestro Paul Dykstra will present a program filled with popular tunes of these genres, along with stories and narration about how they reflect family dynamics. Register: nineteenthcentury.org

Understanding Karma and the Key to Happiness Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Online with Kadampa Meditation Center Explore the law of karma, Buddha’s wisdom that unlocks the true cause of happiness and freedom from all pain and suffering. With inspiring advice and guided meditation to practice at home, gradually change your life from negative to positive. All welcome regardless of background or belief. No previous experience necessary. $20. Register: meditateinchicago.org/event-details/ understanding-karma-and-the-key-to-happiness

BIG WEEK

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

November 4 -11

“Water, Water Everywhere” Through Sunday, Dec. 13, Virtually with Ferguson Gallery, Concordia University Chicago: View a solo art show with recent paintings and drawings by professional artist Laura M. Coyle. The artist and graphic designer, known for representational work, said she has “a deep respect for our Great Lakes and hope I have honored them with my show.” View the show here: CUChicago.edu/ferguson.

Avalon Quartet

Veterans Day Ceremony

Saturday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m., Virtually with the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation The Unity Chamber Music Series features music recorded at Unity Temple. Hear Blaise Magniere, violin; Marie Wang, violin; Anthony Devroye, viola; and Cheng-Hou Lee, cello, play music of Beethoven and Florence Price, as one of the country’s leading chamber music ensembles. $20 per household; $10, students. Tickets/more: utrf.org/chamber-music-series

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 11:00 a.m. Virtually Join John and Kathryn Atwood, History Signers, “Abraham Lincoln,” Army Chaplain Schmidlin and others to pay tribute to service members. Remarks will reflect on the sacrifices made by veterans of the Korean War. Author and historian Kathryn Atwood will speak on the role of women in World War I and how this helped get women’s right to vote. Free. Zoom meeting ID: 839 1069 9966, Passcode: Service. Also available on Facebook Live: facebook.com/kathy.atwood.92, and youtube.com/user/ HistorySingers/featured

Life Drawing Workshops Tuesdays, Nov. 10 and 17, 9 a.m. to Noon, Oak Park Art League (OPAL) Whether you are a novice or seasoned artist, self-guided sessions offer a live model to draw or paint from. Participants bring their own art supplies. OPAL provides drawing benches, easels, chairs and the model. Masks are mandatory. $15 - $23.

Register: oakparkartleague.org/adult-workshops. 720 Chicago Ave., Oak Park.

Saving Wright Now Wednesday Nov. 11 to 14, Virtually with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Attend a conference featuring speakers and video tours of Frank Lloyd Wright sites from across the US and Japan. Highlights include a keynote presentation by Justin Gunther, Director of Fallingwater (Mill Run, PA), on preserving Wright in a time of change.

Full conference agenda and registration: savewright.org/events/annual-conference

“Unity Temple: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Modern Masterpiece” Through Sunday, Nov. 15, See a preview fundraiser screening of a documentary film that “brings to life the historic collaboration to restore Unity Temple back to its original beauty.” Learn the history of the building, about the innovative architecture created by Frank Lloyd Wright and more. Narrated by Brad Pitt. $20, supports five FLW sites (Unity Temple, Fallingwater, Taliesin, Taliesin West and Hollyhock House, five of the eight Wright works named for the UNESCO World Heritage Site). On, Sunday, Nov. 15, 3 p.m., see a Zoom panel discussion, led by the filmmaker and featuring lead architect Gunny Harboe, historian Joe Siry and artisans Julie Sloan and Dorothy Krotzer. Register: unitytemplefilm.com

Community Recreation Center Open House Discussion Wednesday, Nov. 11, 6:30 p.m., Virtually with the Parks Foundation of Oak Park Oak Park residents are invited to see project design and schedule updates, and learn more about the Center’s services, programs and fundraising progress. Questions may be submitted until Nov. 9 at noon, or ask questions at the end of the Open House.

Submit questions/register: parksfoundationop.org/virtualmeetings

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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ART BEAT

Crossing Lines shows two sides of gun control

R

‘

ing and educated me about their eading gives us someplace to go when we have activism around gun violence to stay where we are.” prevention and shared stories I have this quote from about the March for Our Lives Mason Cooley tacked to rallies outside their school’s a bulletin board in my home offront steps. They introduced me fice and as we sit here approachto the nuances of how students ing a long cold winter in Chicafrom different parts of the politigo, this aphorism has never felt cal spectrum at their school conso real. nected in different ways, with Books are my escape from resome wearing red MAGA (referality, my deep dive into history, ring to Trump’s Make America the opening of new worlds and Great Again motto) hats to the an introduction to problems and rally, which is not something issues that I need to understand.

I would expect to see outside a Guest Author Books are a lot of what I talk rally at OPRFHS. It allowed me about, think about and what I to provide that nuanced picture enjoy delving into when I have free time. I in my depiction of two March for Our Lives know this sounds familiar to those reading rallies outside a nameless suburban midthese words. Just the fact that you have your western high school in my book.

Most students are not learning in school eyes on this column reveals you are also a reader and a seeker of what knowledge can buildings right now, but that doesn’t make the issue of school shootings less vital a be gained from the words of others.

I am so passionate about books that five priority. And that is what I hope Crossing years ago, I decided to try my hand at realiz- Lines does — add to the contemporary YA ing my dream to become a published author. landscape. It takes us back to a moment in I took courses and worked with mentors time we must never forget and reminds us and was so pleased to find that my writing how students can rise up together all over voice fell easily into the young adult genre. I our country and unleash a collective power researched and wrote my first Young Adult to make their voices heard.

“Spoken”, suggested for ages 12+, and book, got an agent, but failed to find a pub“Crossing Lines”, recommended for ages lishing house that was a good fit.

I decided to self-publish my debut novel in 14+, are available locally at The Book Table, March 2019, and I am so excited to see Spo- where there is currently a promotion for her ken, which takes place partly in a fictional new YA novel. Oak Park author Melanie Oak Park and River Forest High School Weiss is available for virtual school visits and (OPRFHS), and revolves around students programs. More: melanie-weiss.com.

MELANIE WEISS

involved in the Spoken Word Club, receive a Readers’ Favorite Award for Young Adult — Social Issues.

My newly released self-published Young Adult novel, Crossing Lines, looks at the gun control divide from the point-of-view of two teens in love and reacting in different ways to the March for Our Lives events that grew out of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018.

In researching my book, I began talking with teens from OPRFHS who were engaged with the March for Our Lives movement, but I knew the liberal voices educating me about the outrage and action steps being taken were just one way that students were mobilizing and speaking out. I wanted to learn about the big picture firsthand. I knew also that to find those divergent voices I would need to look outside Oak Park, so I traveled further west and landed on the EMPOWER Club at York Community High School in Elmhurst.

The students in this club were so welcom-

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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Dominican students march in solidarity for Black lives Students marched from quad to Priory Campus and back

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

Roughly 40 people gathered in Dominican University’s quad on Oct. 29 before marching to the River Forest college’s Priory Campus and back.

Lauryn Bergert, the president of Dominican’s National Association of Colored Women Club and the demonstration’s lead organizer, said the demonstration, formally called the Walk of Solidarity, was designed to honor the Black lives lost by police and white supremacists.

“Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Michael Brown and so many others.

I wrote these remarks on Sunday evening,” Bergert told the socially distanced and masked crowd. “Since then, I’ve had to add another name to the list. Walter Wallace Jr. was killed by police officers in Philadelphia.”

Bergert said she has a response for those who might ask why protest in October after George Floyd’s death in May prompted a whole summer of protests around the world.

“Until police stop killing us, I won’t stop protesting,” Bergert said. “Until Black people are truly seen as people in this country, I won’t stop protesting.”

The march also provided a platform for Dominican’s Black students to share their campus experiences. Amid the pandemic, the university has been conducting in-person and remote learning since the start of the fall semester.

“I don’t have to worry about walking around campus and possibly being looked at a certain way because I’m African American, but that’s not something every African American can say,” said Tony Sandifer, a sophomore at Dominican. “Some of us can’t even walk out of our doors without risking being profiled.”

Dominican student Natalia Plato blasted what she described as “performative ally-ship,” when whites put more energy into the appearance of caring about Black injustice on social media than into the work of fighting racial injustice.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

IN SYNC: Some 40 Dominican University students leave the main campus on a Walk of Solidarity Oct. 29. The protest focused on issues of police violence against Black people and on issues of racial equity internal to the River Forest campus.

“Do you ask yourself before you make a post on social media about Black Lives Matter whether you are doing it because you care about Black folks and their struggles or because you want to check off a box for the day?” Plato said.

“Did you share that infographic, because you think it has valuable information on it, or because you don’t want your Black classmate calling you out on your silence or complacency? It is very easy to post a Black square on your feed and pretend that you’re doing something heroic. It is not easy to watch a video of someone who looks like you being killed for something they did not do.”

Ariel Kimbrough, a senior at Dominican and co-president of the Black Student Union, spoke of the challenges of be-

ing Black at the college before listing a series of changes she and her peers want to see at the university.

Kimbrough said that “there are no safe spaces for my fellow African American students and I to go to, if we need support” and that they often feel singled out during classroom discussions that center on African American history, particularly slavery.

“We demand to be treated fairly and looked at, as equals,” she said. “We demand the same opportunities given to white students … We demand cultural awareness training for faculty and staff, because if one more person touches my hair … I am going to lose it. My culture is not a costume or a fairy tale. Everyone wants to be Black until it’s time to be Black.”

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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Invest in our journalism

T

his being November already, Wednesday Journal is rolling out our Joyful Giving Catalog. We’ve done this for years in support of the remarkable nonprofits in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park. And Lord, they have done yeoman’s work in this infernal year.

The section starts on page 29 today and will continue through the holidays. Our deep thanks to the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation which underwrites a chunk of this project each year.

But here’s a wrinkle: Wednesday Journal, and its three sister pubs, are now part of a nonprofit we created called Growing Community Media. And so we’re included in the Joyful Giving Catalog, too. We’re looking for your active financial support to

keep our independent community newsroom vital.

Nonprofit community journalism is the future of neighborhood news — though we’re proud to offer an unusual and powerful hybrid where we keep selling ads and subscriptions and then add a healthy dollop of donations from readers, larger donors and foundations.

That’s our plan.

Monday of this week, we teed up the happy news that we’ve been added to the remarkable annual NewsMatch project. This is a national project underwritten by major foundations and at work since 2016. In those few short years NewsMatch has revved up newsrooms to the tune of $100 million across America.

Growing Community Media is one of just

DAN HALEY

Oak Park reinstates public health emergency status

Declaration expires Feb. 16

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

As Oak Park Public Health Director Mike Charley prepares to leave the village midpandemic for a post in Skokie, the Oak Park village board passed another resolution declaring a public health emergency due to COVID-19 during its Nov. 2 meeting. The declaration will expire Feb. 16.

“We’re asking for this ordinance so that in the next few months we can quickly as staff respond to those businesses that are being affected sometimes very quickly by decisions of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH),” Village Manager Cara Pavlicek told the board.

The declaration gives the village manager emergency spending authority for purchases related to COVID-19 without prior village board approval, as well as provides the public health director the power to issue public health orders. After the expirations of the previous health emergency declarations, village board allowed Charley to continue issuing public health orders as needed.

Village staff recommended reinstating a public health emergency declaration to allow Pavlicek the legal ability to provide further support for local businesses in light of the state-mandated cessation of indoor restaurant and bar services in the area that went into effect Oct. 28.

The extension on outdoor dining was set to end Oct. 31 but the village of Oak Park has decided to continue allowing restaurants to

serve customers outside. Village staff is in the process of negotiating agreements to continue the rental of street barricades; the declaration allows the village to enter into those agreements, according to Pavlicek.

In an interview with Wednesday Journal, Pavlicek said the declaration also allows her to enter agreements within the business community to utilize private alleys and parking for outdoor dining.

“Secondarily, the reason we would like this to continue into February is that the public health department is continuing to work with the state of Illinois and the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] so that the village of Oak Park will be eligible to appoint dispensaries for vaccination,” Pavlicek told the board Nov. 2.

The declaration gives the village manager the ability to enter quickly into agreements for the use of space or other rentals needed for vaccination dispersal programs, according to Pavlicek.

Trustee Deno Andrews asked if the declaration had to have an expiration date by law and if village board had the capability to rescind the declaration after determining it was no longer needed.

“We seem to be renewing it every couple of months and COVID-19 is not going anywhere anytime soon,” said Andrews.

Pavlicek stated that the Feb. 16 expiration could be changed to a later date and the declaration itself could be reformatted into an ordinance. Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb suggested that, if an extension became needed, the village board could vote on it as part of the consent agenda.

260 nonprofit newsrooms to take part.

Here’s how it works, and since we know our villages are at the top of the donor list for WBEZ, this will sound hauntingly familiar — though there is not a tote bag to be had.

NewsMatch has put $11,500 on the table. It’s right there in imaginary piles of crisp cash. But to earn that pot of critical cash, we need local donors to raise their own $11,500. The drive has started and continues until Dec. 31 when the lights go out on this gruesome year.

We sent the word out Monday morning in an email to the thousands of readers who regularly consume our news digitally from Wednesday Journal, Austin Weekly News, Forest Park Review and RiversideBrookfield Landmark. (Don’t tell them, but another email is already in the queue for Election Day morning. And then we’ll ease up a bit.)

By 2 p.m. on Monday we had some early success. More than we hoped for in four hours, a lot less than we need.

We’re gratified. We’re greedy. And we’re journalists so we know how to keep asking.

One of the first people I talked to about 18 months back on the possibility of turning

the good ol’ WJ into a nonprofit was Steve Edwards. He’s an Oak Parker and the head of editorial content at WBEZ. He saw the public radio comparisons and told me that if any towns could replicate that model we were covering them.

So don’t be surprised if we pull off a few fall fund drive perks. Remember, no tote bags. But would you like a lawn sign?

We are working hard to raise additional matches, which we will roll out in the weeks ahead. One of them is coming from our outstanding new board of directors who have pooled up a nice round sum we’ll unveil soon. Another match is just starting to shape up.

Because here is the news: Our hybrid model, blending advertising and donations, would be working a whole lot better without COVID. The pandemic has taken a shears to our advertising. And while it is slowly recovering, who knows what the months ahead will look like. So we need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If you see our local news as the glue that brings these towns together, I’m asking for you to join us as a donor. Call yourself a member. That feels good. Connect to us at OakPark.com/Donate.

8

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

INSIDE REPORT Oak Park native, Fenwick alum Robert Spillane making impact in NFL When Pittsburgh Steelers’ middle linebacker Devin Bush went down with a torn ACL versus the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 18, Steelers Nation was left wondering how the team would fill the void Bush left open.

Enter Robert Spillane.

The Oak Park native and former Friar has made his mark in his first couple weeks filling in for Bush and had the best game of his career on Nov. 1. He had social media buzzing after intercepting reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and running it back for a 33-yard touchdown against the Ravens last Sunday. He also racked up a team-high 11 total tackles versus Baltimore.

Spillane’s recent performance adds to a highlight reel that already included an impressive goal-line stop on Oct. 25 versus the Tennessee Titans. Derrick Henry, a 6-foot, 3-inch, 250 lb. running back who led the NFL in rushing last season, took a handoff

on the two-yard line and was met by Spillane before he could cross the goal line.

Spillane received a shout out on Twitter from ex-Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch who said, “Robert Spillane, I SALUTE you.

If people didn’t know who you were before this play, they will after this. I promise you, you will see this play ALL WEEK!” He also appeared as the main headline on ESPN’s website after the Jackson interception, discussed at length by NBC Sports’ Peter King in his weekly piece “Peter King’s Football Morning In America,” was included in The Ringer.com’s weekly winners and losers article as a “winner.”

Spillane is also known for being the grandson of former Heisman trophy winner Johnny Lattner, who also played for the Steelers.

James Kay

SHEILA NIX

Politico pegs Oak Parker for Biden administration Oak Park resident Sheila Nix was named in Politico’s Illinois Playbook newsletter as a likely candidate for a spot in Joe Biden’s presidential administration, should he be elected.

Nix “could have her pick of jobs,” according to the newsletter sent Oct. 27. Currently serving as senior advisor to Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris, Nix served as deputy assistant to President Barack Obama, as well as campaign chief of staff for Biden during the 2012 campaign to reelect Obama and Biden. During their second term in the White House, Nix was chief of staff to Dr. Jill Biden.

Stacey Sheridan

‘City So Real’ now streaming on Hulu Oak Parker Steve James’ latest docuseries, “City So Real,” aired on the National Geographic Channel on Oct. 29. The five episodes started streaming on Hulu on Oct. 30.

The documentary is technically about Chicago’s historic 2019 mayoral election, but the star of the show is the city and its people. And as with James’ Oak Park and River Forest High School focused “America to Me,” one of the most powerful things about this film is how James allows the people in it to reveal themselves — or rather, they allow him to see their vulnerabilities.

“It has deepened my understanding of just what a complex and passionate place this is,” James told ABC7. “If I’ve gotta live any place in America, I would rather it be Chicago.”

Michael Romain

COVID-inspired beadwork goes to National Bead Museum The National Museum of Beadwork in Portland, Maine, put out the call for a community Beaded Square Project “marking this very particular time we are going through together, apart.” Oak Park’s Bead in Hand store owner and beadwork artist Kim Humphrey responded with her take on COVID in the world in 2020. The 6-inch square, which will be part of a wallmounted quilt in the museum’s permanent collection, took Humphrey about a month, working “a little here, a little there.”

“I started by sketching some ideas, most

of which changed as I started working on it, which is pretty normal for me,” she said. “I wanted to show that the virus affects the world, that we all need to do our part -- wearing masks, and a little humor with a toilet paper roll seemed important too. … The piece is also dotted and edged with beaded ‘virus’ symbols.”

The work is on view at the store, which sells bead supplies, kits and more, at 245 Harrison St., through the end of 2020, before it heads to the museum.

Michelle Dybal

D97 pulls students out of in-person learning District 97 officials have decided to transition the minority of students who were taking on-site classes to full remote learning.

The decision, which took effect Oct. 28, came a day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced he was implementing more pandemic restrictions as cases of COVID-19 increase across the state, including in suburban Cook County.

Donna Middleton, D97’s senior director of student services, announced the decision — which in education jargon is called an ‘adaptive pause’ — in a statement released on Oct. 27.

“This pause will remain in effect for at least 14 calendar days, with students and staff tentatively scheduled to return on Wednesday, Nov. 11,” Middleton said, adding that students would be out of school on Election Day Nov. 3, which is a state holiday.

“This adaptive pause is only applicable to on-site District 97 programs for specialized populations,” Middleton said. “This mitigation does not impact childcare providers that are currently operating out of designated school sites.”

Last week, Pritzker said Region 10, which includes the Cook County suburbs, had moved into a warning phase of the pandemic, which indicates an increase in cases.

“The village of Oak Park has seen significant growth in COVID-19 rates over the past week,” Middleton said in her Oct. 28 statement. “As of today, the seven-day rolling average for test positivity in Region 10 is 8 percent, and the 14-day rolling average for the number of new cases per 100,000 Oak Park is currently 224.6. Both of these numbers exceed the thresholds outlined in our guiding metrics.”

D97 offers mental health checks District 97’s school psychologists and nurses are offering virtual mental health wellness checks at each school this fall, officials said in D97’s Weekly Wrap-Up email.

The wellness checks are 25-minute Telehealth sessions designed to help students cope with stress and learn methods of selfcare. Students are allowed to attend up to three sessions per trimester and may also be referred to other supports, if they’re needed, D97 officials explained.

Parents can sign their children up for the service, or learn more about it, at: https:// bit.ly/3m3Xece.

District officials cautioned parents to call the Thrive 24-Hour Crisis Hotline at 708-3837500, if their child is experiencing an immediate health crisis.

Michael Romain

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

9

D97 forms new COVID advisory panel

New 72-member panel to help district finalize plan for hybrid learning

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

Late last month, District 97 Supt. Carol Kelley announced the formation of a new Superintendent’s Advisory Panel designed to help the district transition eventually to in-person learning.

Kelley made the announcement after the D97 school board decided to delay the district’s return to partial in-person, or hybrid learning, until at least after the winter break — reversing administrators’ initial decision to move to a hybrid learning model by Nov. 30.

In a statement released Oct. 23, Kelley said that the district and school board “acknowledged the need for more time, transparency and community engagement as we work with our stakeholders to develop a safe and equitable plan for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.”

The new advisory board includes at least 72 members, including “48 staff members and two representatives from the District 97 Board of Education. There are 30 parents total, including 10 staff members, seven medical professionals and our two board members,” Kelley said.

Kelley said that the district will provide weekly updates about the panel’s progress on its website at: www.op97.org/ updatecenter/2020-21-planning.

The panel will meet each week until Nov. 19, to develop and discuss a plan for returning to in-person learning. On Dec. 1, the panel will meet with the full D97 school board to discuss any revisions. The school board could endorse the plan at a joint meeting with the panel on Dec. 15.

The district tapped Sylvia Flowers, of the Alma Advisory Group, a Chicago-based consulting firm, to facilitate the panel’s weekly meetings.

“Today’s meeting will really focus on how do we get the additional parent and comment input to be reflected in our recommendations and to really think about and reflect on where are the opportunities for further clarification, refinement and improvement based on what you know so far,” Flowers said during the panel’s first meeting on Oct. 29.

“People should feel comfortable in throwing out ideas,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that idea will make it into the final plan. We’re going to work through that process.”

Gabby Rosenblum, a music teacher at Beye Elementary and the parent of an 8th grader in D97, said that a big challenge of developing a hybrid model is trying to strike the right balance.

“There is going to be a huge amount of upheaval,” Rosenblum said. “Schedules are going to change, time with the students is going to change, the whole way everything is being taught is a huge change … If I’m keeping this student-centered, how is being in-person with so many restrictions a better situation, when we’re going to be changing everything for them? So, it’s really about balancing that out.”

At one point, panel members discussed some possible challenges and solutions related to hybrid learning during breakout sessions.

Sheila Carter, the interim principal at Lincoln Elementary, said that her four-person breakout group was particularly concerned about the possibility of students getting different teachers.

When the district unveiled its initial hybrid learning plan in mid-October, which had a goal of returning to partial inperson learning by Nov. 30, administrators warned parents about the possibility of their students being assigned different teachers in the second trimester.

“You’re building relationships, they’re like family now,” Carter said of students and teachers. “When you take that away and give them a different teacher, hard on the students, hard on the teachers and hard on the families.”

Carter added that someone in her group said the hybrid model feels “cold and impersonal. You can’t console the children; you stay six feet away.”

Another issue that arose in the group, she said, is the varying ways that transitioning to hybrid learning may affect families and students.

“Being on site is not necessarily better for all students,” she said, adding that the transition to hybrid, which is optional for all families, will “not be easy.”

You can watch the Oct. 29 meeting in its entirety at: youtube.com/watch?v=dPEtEH61NZk&feature=youtu.be.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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River Forest trustees want input on storm water plan

Goal is to mitigate residential flooding during large rain events

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

River Forest is moving forward on proposed North Avenue streetscape improvements and the installation of an advanced water metering infrastructure system fol-

lowing action at the Oct. 26 virtual village board meeting, but progress on a proposed storm water master plan has been delayed.

Of the three projects, only the proposed storm water master plan sparked discussion.

In August, elected officials authorized staff members to create a request for proposals for qualified storm water engineering firms to provide submittals for the creation of a master plan.

Village Administrator Eric Palm explained that the purpose of the plan would

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be to identify projects, programs for submitting the grant applicaand initiatives that will reduce tion. flooding conditions within the The project, which would be village by the most cost-effective similar to the partnership with means and at the appropriate Forest Park for streetscaping on level of protection.

Madison Street, would include By addressing and prioritiznew street lighting, sidewalk reing all potential projects and placement, brick pavers, benchprograms related to storm waes and median planter boxes on ter through a master plan, the North Avenue between Harlem village would be able to pursue and Lathrop avenues.

ERIC PALM items in a more comprehensive The estimated total cost is Village Administrator manner, he said. $3,288,000. The maximum ITEP Resident Margie Cekander grant award is $2 million. That started the discussion during the citizen would leave the local share at $1,288,000 or comments portion at the beginning of the $644,000 for each village. meeting with a series of suggestions, inPalm recommended charging the project cluding obtaining citizen input and address- to the North Avenue Tax Increment Financing private property storm water detention ing District fund. The village’s general opand flooding along the Des Plaines River. erating fund or capital improvements fund Obtaining resident input was supported would likely loan the money to the TIF fund, by village President Cathy Adduci and trust- since that recently created TIF will not have ees Erika Bachner, Katie Brennan, Patty enough money available.

Henek and Respicio Vazquez.

Once the TIF district collects enough inBrennan proposed involving the mem- cremental revenue, it would repay the loan bers of the Sustainability Commission and to the village fund that loaned the money.

Vazquez suggested posting the request for Palm said another option would be to pay proposals on the village website with an in- for the project using reserves from the movitation to residents to comment. tor fuel tax fund.

Adduci recommended holding a virtual The advanced water metering project, town hall meeting, saying a “meeting via which would allow for automatic water meZoom can’t hurt.” ter reading and leak detection, was origiBachner concurred, noting flooding is a nally discussed at the Oct. 12 village board big issue in River Forest. meeting, but questions about the number of Trustee Bob O’Connell was more cau- antennas required and their placement detious, saying he wanted officials to focus on layed progress. the big picture and avoid minutiae.

After Public Works Director John AnderBachner and Brennan supported involv- son estimated at the Oct. 26 meeting that ing Maywood officials, since that village is one or two antennas would be required and on the other side of the Des Plaines River identified the water tower, the pumping stabut Trustee Tom Cargie opposed that, say- tion and village hall as potential locations, ing responsibility for the impact of river consensus to move forward with the project flooding lies with the Metropolitan Water was reached.

Reclamation District.

The next step will be to finalize a request “River Forest residents shouldn’t have to for proposals for the project, which carries pay for a study of Maywood,” he said. an estimated cost of $1.08 million. The projVillage staff were asked bring the request ect would entail upgrading meters at all for proposals back to the village board after water customer locations throughout the obtaining resident input. village with state-of-art equipment that will allow the village to obtain meter readings without requiring a public works employee to perform a “drive by” read, which is the current practice.

Anderson explained on Oct. 12 that the The North Avenue streetscape project would be partially funded by an Illinois project would deliver better customer serTransportation Enhancement Program vice by providing accurate bills based on (ITEP) grant, an application for which actual consumption that can be seen in real would be submitted jointly by River Forest time by providing meter readings on a daily basis. It can also help identify any irreguand Elmwood Park.

River Forest officials took their first step larities in water usage such as leaks being Oct. 26 by approving a resolution of support experienced by residents, he added.

Streetscape, water meter initiatives move ahead

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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River Forest taps brakes on bike plan Board questions signage and costs during COVID

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

Bicycling enthusiasts in River Forest who are anticipating the implementation of the village’s first-ever bicycle plan will have to wait a little longer, following discussion at the Oct. 26 virtual village board meeting.

At the meeting, elected officials sent village staff members back to the drawing board on a proposal to implement the bike plan. The proposal called for bidding the project in November and starting construction in spring 2021.

Staff members had proposed installing 342 signs to guide bicyclists along the designated routes on village-controlled streets, create motorist awareness, and improve safety at intersections. Signs would be placed on existing posts where possible.

Also proposed was the installation of bike lane symbols, arrows and shared lane markings. The estimated $194,000 cost of the installation would be offset slightly by a grant of $30,735 from Cook County.

However, elected officials expressed concerns over the number of signs and the wisdom of expending such funds while the village is facing decreased revenues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff members were instructed to reduce the scale of the project by reducing the number of signs leading to a reduction in cost.

“There are way too many signs,” said Trustee Tom Cargie, an opinion echoed by trustees Patty Henek and Bob O’Connell.

Henek and Trustee Erika Bachner questioned the need for way-finding signs, which would direct bicyclists to specific destinations.

“There is some value to some of the wayfinding signs,” Henek said. “Can we go back and whittle down the number of signs?”

She also asked if the signs could be smaller.

Trustee Katie Brennan noted the purpose of some signs are safety-related while the purpose of others are related to way-finding.

“If the purpose of a sign is safety, we should just go with those signs,” she added.

Trustee Respicio Vazquez agreed, noting, “We’re a small community.”

Bachner and Henek questioned spending $194,000 while the village is facing decreased revenues related to the COVID-19 pandemic while Henek and O’Connell wanted to know

grant details.

John Anderson, public works director, explained that village staff members were unsuccessful in obtaining additional grant funding through the RTA Access to Transit program and Invest in Cook, a Cook County program. However, Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri (9th), whose district includes River Forest, was instrumental is obtaining the $30,000 Cook County grant.

In response to questions from Henek and O’Connell, he said he did not know if the grant carried any restrictions.

Village Administrator Eric Palm explained that staff members do not have all the specifics about the grant because they are “still waiting for paperwork,” but noted similar grants the village has received from Cook County have required a “small match” in funding.

Brennan commented on an increase in bicycling in the village, attributing the increase to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“More people are exercising and more people are riding bicycles to work because it’s safer than public transit,” she said.

Village President Cathy Adduci agreed, noting that village officials need to promote bicycling.

Trustees accepted the recommendation from the village’s Sustainability Commission in approving the bicycle plan in July 2019.

The $194,000 project would have been the first phase of implementation. A second phase would cover implementation on Thatcher Avenue, Lake Street, Madison Street, Harlem Avenue and North Avenue, streets under control of the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The plan recommends installing bike lanes along Central Avenue, from Jewel-Osco to William Avenue; on Division Street, between Thatcher and Park avenues; on Lake Street, from Jackson Avenue to William Street; on Madison Street, between Forest and Park avenues; and on Thatcher Avenue, between Keystone and Chicago avenues.

Bike lanes are also recommended on the north side of Lake Street, between Bonnie Brae Place and Harlem Avenue, and on the south side of Madison Street, between Thatcher and Forest avenues.

The plan also recommends including marked shared lanes, which would promote shared use of the road by cars and bicyclists, recommended for portions of Central Avenue, Chicago Avenue, Lathrop and Thatcher avenues, as well as portions of Division, Lake and Madison streets, and Washington Boulevard.

11

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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Mixed citizen reviews on plans for Drechsler site

Developer intends to build transit-oriented, mid-rise apartment complex

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Focus Development shared its plans to build a 98-foot-tall, eight story apartment building at 203 S. Marion St. in a virtual public meeting Oct. 29. The property is currently home to Oak Park staple Drechsler, Brown & Williams funeral home and under contract to be sold to Focus. The Oak Park village board on Oct. 5 granted Focus a certificate of appropriateness for demolition of the historic structure.

In its place, Focus intends to build a courtyard style apartment building with 191 units, six of which will be two-story duplexes, also referred to as maisonettes. The duplexes will have private landscaped areas, for which Focus is seeking zoning relief. The plans include a retail space of 1,125 square feet, out of which Focus aims to have a café serving coffee and pastries. David Mann, former chair of Oak Park’s Plan Commission, is serving as the project’s architect. He works for the firm Booth Hansen Amenities for tenants include private co-

working spaces, a dog run, a fitness area and yoga studio, game room and an outdoor terrace with a pool and firepits. If approved for construction, Focus has a goal of Feb. 2023 as a move-in date for tenants. Construction would begin next summer.

Focus chose the Marion Street property to build a transit-oriented complex based on its high walkability and close proximity to the Metra and CTA, but construction plans also include 149 covered parking spaces, some of which will be below ground.

Reactions to the proposed building varied among attendees. Several raised concerns over the potential impact on traffic the building would generate. Focus representatives stated the company is working with traffic and parking consultants to conduct impact studies.

Other attendees found the proposed building unattractive. The design received criticism for its industrial look, with some attendees comparing it to a warehouse and a factory.

When asked why the building was designed to resemble a warehouse, Mann stated his team looked to other buildings in the area when developing the concept.

“We very quickly settled on a brick building,” Mann said.

From there, it became a decision of where to put the entrances and windows, according to Mann.

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Photo rendering for apartments at 203 S. Marion St. “That’s kind of how we came up with the design of the building,” he said.

Still in the early stages of the development process, the design is not set in stone.

Mann told the meeting attendees that he would take their aesthetic critiques into consideration.

The building has a mix of studio, onebedroom and two-bedroom apartment units.

The two-story duplexes will be available in a combination of two and three bedrooms.

Ballpark rents range from just under $1,600 for a studio to upwards of $5,000 a month for the duplexes. A one-bedroom unit, about 717 square feet in size, will have a monthly rental rate of about $2,000.

Per Oak Park’s inclusionary housing ordinance, Focus plans to pay $1.9 million to the village’s affordable housing fund in lieu of letting 10 percent of the building’s apartments, roughly seven units, to renters making 60 percent of the area median income.

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

13

Lake Street complex gets Plan Commission win Project will go to village board for final approval

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The proposal to build an 84-unit, six-story apartment complex at 835 Lake St., just 250 feet away from Unity Temple, is sailing smoothly through the Oak Park development process. Following a positive recommendation from the Historic Preservation Commission, the Plan Commission gave the project its endorsement during its Oct. 27 meeting.

As proposed, the 74-foot tall Lake Street complex would sit east of Unity Temple on the empty U.S. Bank drive-thru lot across from Scoville Park and the Oak Park Library’s main branch.

“We were very aware of the prominence of the site,” said Tom Meador, president of Michigan Avenue Real Estate Group (MAREG), the company behind the proposal.

As such, MAREG conducted shadow studies, as well as massing and sightline studies, to ensure the building does not obscure Unity Temple. The village of Oak Park received a letter in support of the project from the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation.

Further studies were also conducted to guarantee the building would not cast shadows on Scoville Park, impeding plant growth.

The building’s first story will be reserved

Photo provided

MID-SIZED MODEL: At six stories, the development proposal for 835 Lake St. is far smaller than a 28-story project rejected a year ago. With Plan Commission support the project will now move on the Oak Park village board. for parking, with 78 covered spaces on the ground floor. An additional 10 parking spaces will be reserved for tenants in an adjacent parking lot. Building amenities include an ATM kiosk, glass-railing terraces, bike parking, package storage and a fitness center. To make the structure greener, MAREG intends to install solar panels on the roof.

In lieu of providing affordable units, MAREG has elected to pay $900,000 plus an

additional $100,000 to the Oak Park Affordable Housing Fund.

“We had a pretty robust outreach program to accumulate input from anybody and everybody who was relevant to our development,” said Meador.

In public comment, Bob Moser, on behalf of the neighboring Cortland Condominium Association, expressed gratitude for MAREG’s openness to communicate.

“I really am happy to have a developer that is willing to talk to us and make some of the changes,” said Moser.

Through a series of letters, MAREG and the condominium association discussed their concerns and negotiated modifications, according to Moser. Moser said many of the changes made were “really standout.”

Moser also said that, while most people who live nearby would prefer not to have a building on that plot at all, they appreciated MAREG’s plans to build a six-story building as opposed to the 28-story structure as was proposed by Golub & Company last year.

Not all were as pleased with the proposal or MAREG as Moser.

Paul Price, a researcher for Laborers’ International Union of North America, sent in a lengthy letter with multiple attachments in opposition to the building. In the letter, Price recounted MAREG’s history with labor union protests and disputes.

Resident John Conlon submitted a letter against the development, as well. In his letter, Conlon said the building was incongruent with the rest of the area’s residential development.

According to Conlon’s letter, the building was “too big and too dense.”

Ultimately, the plan commission voted 5-2 to recommend the village board approve the project for construction with the condition that MAREG install a security fence between the condominium building and the new structure. May and Acting Chair Lawrence Brozek cast the dissenting votes.

Plan Commission opts to broaden Oak Park zoning Recommending streamlining development timeline, expanding retail zoning

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The Oak Park Plan Commission recommended notable changes be made to broaden the village’s zoning ordinance in relation to retail-only restrictions and construction of new developments during its Oct. 27 meeting.

Per the recommendation of the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation (OPEDC), the Plan Commission agreed to make zoning less restrictive in downtown Oak Park and in the Hemingway District.

“The alternative is vacant storefronts,” said Commissioner Jeff Foster.

In those two districts, current zoning requires buildings to maintain the front 50 feet of ground-level space for retail use. Traditional brick-and-mortar retail has suffered across the nation with the rise of online shopping and Oak Park has felt the change. According to OPEDC, the greater down-

town area of Oak Park has 650,000 square feet of groundlevel space, 14 percent of which stands vacant.

“With the retail environment and the impacts of the pandemic, it really seems like we oughta loosen it up a bit,” said Commissioner Jon Hale, a former village trustee.

OPEDC’s recommendation constituted broadening the retail-only restriction to include art and fitness studios, health clubs, recreation and indoor activity providers, as well as business service centers, such as FedEx and Kinkos.

Indoor activities may include bowling alleys and axe throwing.

Commissioner Paul Beckwith felt it unwise to inflict zoning constraints at all, given the nation’s current economic state.

“It’s going to be tough with any kind of restrictions right now,” he said.

In addition to broadening retail zoning, the Plan Commission is suggesting significant changes to the development process to allow developers more time to submit building permits and have no designated timeframe to begin construction.

Currently, the village has a three-pronged approach for beginning the construction phase of new developments.

First, developers are required to submit building permits

within nine months from the date village board approved a planned development application. Secondly, developers must begin construction with 18 months of village board approval and finally, the construction must be completed within 36 months from the date of village board approval.

OPEDC brought forth the idea of modifying the timeline and included recommendations on how to do so, which village staff supported. OPEDC recommended eliminating the nine-month window to submit a building permit and extending the construction start date from 18 months to 24 months.

OPEDC also recommended eliminating the end of construction milestone for 36 months to a timeframe established by the developer and agreed upon by the Plan Commission.

Taking commission member Jeff Foster’s suggestion, the Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend amending the zoning ordinance to allow contractors one year to submit building permit applications and no more than 36 months to complete construction; the amended ordinance also eliminates the mandated timeframe to begin construction.

The recommended amendments to retail zoning and the development process will go to the village board for approval, giving the village board final say in whether or not they will be enacted.

14

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Creating a local Latinx tradition

60 families build ofrendas for Dia de Muertos

By MICHELLE DYBAL Arts Editor

Marigolds attract souls with their scent and vibrant orange color. Papel picado, perforated tissue paper, show the fragility of life. Monarch butterflies symbolize migration of ancestors. Skulls represent those no longer here, receiving offerings. It’s all part of the ofrenda, or altar, at the home of Marco Camacho, one of 60 plus carefully placed ofrendas for Día de Muertos on Sunday, Nov. 1, throughout Oak Park and River Forest, in the first organized outdoor Day of the Dead in the villages.

“To see the end product is so impressive and shows there is a strong Latino presence in Oak Park and River Forest,” Camacho said. “It’s really nice to bring people together and bring the community together.”

Camacho and many others remembered and celebrated family members and friends who have died. At his large double ofrenda at his house on the 1100 block of Lyman in south Oak Park, neighbors were invited to join by bringing a photo of a departed relative, and they did, filling the two stair-style structures under a tent that Camacho built with the help of a friend in the couple of days leading up to the tradition observed in Mexico and other Latin American countries, according to Camacho.

Part of the tradition is to share stories of the deceased, he said, and Camacho talked about his grandfather, photo perched high on the ofrenda – a smiling Juan Martinez of Acambaro, JTO, Mexico, along with his two brothers. He remembered his grandfather coming home from his job running locomo-

Photo by Michelle Dybal

REMEMBER ME: At one of the shrines in the first Ofrendas de Dia de Muertos en OP&RF event, health-care workers who died of COVID-19 are honored. tives and being greeted by so many relatives – a joyous occasion then and a memory filled with joy today.

Going back to Mexico with his mother helped Camacho appreciate the culture and gave him the desire to learn Spanish, he said. He made sure to explain the ofrenda and the symbolism of the marigolds, papel

SCRATCH

Finding a loophole? from page 1 eas, meaning we can safely and still following CDC recommendations, take seven reservations every 90 minutes.”

Fears of losing long term customers inspired O’Brien to think creatively rather than operating in complete defiance of the state mandate. While the new coronavirus restrictions put in place last Wednesday banned all indoor dining in suburban Cook County restaurants, “meetings, social events, gatherings” of 25 guests or less are still allowed.

O’Brien aims to keep SRG private gatherings CDC compliant. They will not mix reservation groups and

picado, and other items to any new people approaching the set up on his lawn on Sunday.

Another tradition is to cook favorite foods of the dead relative and include that in the ofrenda. The Barnes Mazure Family Ofrenda on the 900 block of Clinton in south Oak Park had sausages and ham on one of two

all events are limited to 90 minutes. Masks are required for all guests and staff and can only be removed while seated and eating.

“Everyone is wracking their brains on how to get through this,” said O’Brien. “There is no stance that goes unopposed on this issue. I feel like I am being responsible.”

Reaction online has been mixed. O’Brien admits “it isn’t fun” dealing with people who disagree with his decision but acknowledges everyone is entitled to their opinion. Many people shared his post to help spread the word and offered words of encouragement. Several parties have made reservations giving O’Brien a glimmer of hope.

“I don’t doubt the severity or danger of this virus,” said O’Brien. “But if this isn’t a solution, I don’t believe there is one. After this I don’t know of any other ways to survive.”

To date no one has reached out to O’Brien suggesting he cannot host private events in his restaurant spaces.

ofrendas set up on their porch.

Apartment building dwellers at 506-12 Madison, Oak Park, set up an ofrenda in their courtyard with chalk for any visitor to write the name on the sidewalk of someone they would like to honor.

Other, non-traditional ofrendas remembered those who died outside their families.

At a home in the 800 block of North Ridgeland in Oak Park, healthcare workers who died of COVID-19 were remembered. Facts of how many healthcare workers who have been affected, how people of color in the healthcare field are disproportionately affected and several specific people in the field who have died from COVID were highlighted.

A large front stair-wide tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was featured at The Hathaway Abode on the 400 block of Clinton, Oak Park. It included a creatively built Supreme Court façade as a backdrop.

The Oak Park Public Library’s main branch and several Oak Park elementary schools – Hatch, Holmes, Irving, Whittier and Longfellow -- also participated. Expressions Graphics, 29 Harrison St., Oak Park, has a Día de los Muertos art exhibition viewable on Saturdays, 1 to 3 p.m., through Nov. 21.

The idea for Ofrendas de Día de Muertos en OP&RF was presented to the Latinos of OP/RF Facebook group in September by Alma Martinez, “something to bring some joy and unity (Unidad) in these difficult times,” she said in a post. Melisa Fuentes Alasby volunteered to be chairperson and created a comprehensive map so residents could tour the ofrendas.

Some set up on Oct. 31 and other ofrendas remained out through Nov. 2. Traditionally, Nov. 1 honors children who have died and Nov. 2 is to celebrate adults.

Online resource: Carry Out Oak Park At the start of the COVID-19 related restaurant shutdowns the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation (OPEDC) used resources to build an interactive website called Carry Out Oak Park.

The site lists small businesses and restaurants providing carry out and delivery services.

“I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to renew this domain, but, sadly, it seems like CarryOutOakPark.com is relevant again,” said Viktor Schrader, OPEDC economic development director.

Visit Carry Out Oak Park and help keep this valuable community resource up to date during this critical time. Reach out to Schrader directly at v.schrader@opdc.net with any relevant updates to the site.

Melissa Elsmo

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

SPORTS EXTRA

Basketball? Local schools, IHSA, Gov. Pritzker at odds OPRF, Trinity, Fenwick uncertain about Nov. 16 practices

By JAMES KAY Sports Editor

The Illinois High School Association and Gov. J.B. Pritzker have different ideas about the fate of prep sports this winter. And it is leaving athletic directors at three local high schools in an uncertain and awkward position.

Pritzker announced on Oct. 27 the Illinois Department of Public Health upgraded its guidelines to include basketball as a “higher risk” sport after it had been categorized as a “medium-risk” sport for months. He went on to say basketball was not “canceled” but just “put on hold.”

The IHSA, which was set to hold a special meeting the day after to discuss the different possibilities of high school sports this winter, alleges it was not aware of the governor and IDPH’s announcement until 15 minutes before Pritzker’s news conference. ‘‘About 15 minutes prior to Governor Pritzker’s press conference today, we were alerted that the Illinois Department of Public Health has elevated the sport of basketball from a medium-risk level to a highrisk level,” IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said in a statement shortly after Pritzker’s news conference. ‘‘We remain considerate of the recent rise in positive COVID-19 cases in our state. However, in our meeting with IDPH on [Oct. 23], we felt that we presented multiple options that would allow for basketball to be conducted safely by IHSA schools this winter, many of which are being utilized in neighboring states who plan to play high school

File photo

PEACEFUL: The OPRF High School playing fields, at rest. basketball.’’

On Oct. 28, the IHSA defied Pritzker and the IDPH’s orders and released a statement that it will move forward with basketball this winter. Anderson said practices and games can start Nov. 16 and Nov. 30 respectively. Michael O’Brien of the Chicago SunTimes also reported that Anderson stated the IHSA didn’t discuss the legal ramifications of its decision.

In a public game of cat and mouse, Pritzker announced on Oct. 29 higher-risk sports would be pushed to next spring or summer, giving a timetable for when sports like football and basketball could return to play. This was a response to criticism that the state was leaving athletic departments and their teams

T O

O U R

hanging with an indefinite postponement.

Where this situation gets more complicated is the decision to follow Pritzker’s orders or the IHSA’s defiance is, at the moment, in the hands of school district officials. The question people are raising is what happens if one school decides to move forward with basketball on Nov. 16 and a school within the conference chooses to wait until the spring to start its season.

While it is expected athletic directors in the same conference will meet to get on the same page, time is of the essence with the IHSA starting basketball up in two weeks.

There are also liability issues surrounding the potential of COVID-19 spreading if teams were to compete indoors this season.

For now, Oak Park and River Forest High School, Fenwick High School and Trinity High School are still processing what their next moves are with this situation.

OPRF provided the following statement to Wednesday Journal: “The situation regarding the winter sports season is fluid,” said Jackie McGoey, communications and community relations coordinator, in an email. “We are collaborating with other area schools and are in touch with our legal team to determine the best path forward for our student-athletes.”

Fenwick also said it is still figuring out its situation for this upcoming season.

“Fenwick is trying to process all of the information and the many changes that are coming our way day to day,” the school said in an email to Wednesday Journal.

“As more information becomes available from the IHSA, the State of Illinois, the Chicago Catholic League and Girls Catholic Athletic Conference, Fenwick will be able to more clearly evaluate our options moving forward. Fenwick High School and the basketball program will always put our kids first when making decisions. We will continue to update our families as we get closer to the IHSA start date of Nov. 16. We appreciate your patience and understanding during an uncertain time.”

Trinity’s athletic director, Ken Trendel, spoke with the Journal, saying the school is also processing the new information as it comes and has had preliminary meetings on what comes next.

“Right now, we are weighing all of the options and figuring out what the best course of action is going to be,” said Trendel.

“It’s a tough situation for everyone right now. This is uncharted territory for everyone and, whether it is the state of Illinois or the IHSA, this is something none of us have ever gone through before.”

R E A D E R S

Why we have suspended our weekly sports coverage

New Wednesday Journal website coming in the future EDITORIAL STAFF

We initially scheduled the following message to go out online a few months back but there was an error on Facebook’s scheduling posts function. We apologize for that technical issue and we want to rectify that now.

Since the start of the fall semester, we made the tough decision to suspend our weekly high school sports coverage to focus on building our digital presence. Our sports editor,

James Kay, has shifted his efforts to creating new websites for all of Growing Community Media’s publications.

We understand the frustration coaches, athletes and athletic departments have with this move but we felt it was necessary for a couple reasons. Since the start of the pandemic, we have lost a severe amount of our advertising revenue and with it our page count has dropped. We decided as a staff our print space should prioritize having news and Viewpoints as our main focus since the size of our print product has shrunk and people engage with those stories more than our sports content.

While we have received emails suggesting we made this move because football was moved to the spring, that is not the case. We will not be covering winter sports (including

basketball--despite the IHSA’s plans to disregard Gov. Pritzker’s ruling on winter sports) and spring sports if the situation does not get better. We do plan on writing a general recap of what went on in each season (including fall sports) and updates on what is happening with the IHSA’s plans around COVID-19.

We look forward to a time in the future where we can bring back our normal sports coverage and provide stories highlighting athletes’ efforts and accolades. We are also excited to create a robust online experience for our readership and believe all of our coverage, including sports, will be enhanced with a new online look and feel. Thanks for hanging tight and supporting local journalism.

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Oak Park public health director leaving The person who will replace Mike Charley as the village of Oak Park’s Public Health Director has very big shoes to fill.

“He set the bar very high,” Village Manager Cara Pavlicek told Wednesday Journal.

Charley is leaving his post in Oak Park to serve as the village of Skokie’s public health director, beginning Nov. 16. His last day in Oak Park will be Nov. 11.

“I’m very happy for him as a person because it’s a great opportunity,” Pavlicek said of Charley’s new gig.

Charley announced the news in an email sent Oct. 29 to Farmers’ Market Commission members, whom he thanked for their involvement in the farmers market and for making it “one of the most successful markets in Illinois.” Charley’s email stated that he will miss working with them.

“I’m leaving Oak Park knowing I am a better health director because of our shared experiences together,” the email reads.

Charley was named Oak Park public health director in 2017, after serving as the interim public health director since 2015.

He has been at the forefront of Oak Park’s battle with COVID-19 since early March, issuing public health orders and working

with the public to combat further spread of the virus.

The Oak Park Department of Public Health expanded under Charley last spring to fortify the village’s response to the pandemic. Before the virus struck, the department consisted of Charley, administrative workers, one public health nurse, a grant administrative position and two environmental inspectors, handling restaurant inspections.

“During COVID, we brought in a deputy fire chief position that works directly with Mike and the fire department to really help with the nursing homes and with schools and other congregate setting issues,” said Pavlicek.

The village also hired a second full-time nurse and a couple contract nurses, as well as trained 10 members of village staff to perform virus contract tracing.

With Charley’s departure, the village will designate an interim public health director to continue the pandemic response work until a replacement for Charley is found, according to Pavlicek.

“I’ll, by the end of the week hopefully, be able to be more specific about everything.”

Stacey Sheridan

Hinsdale Bank set for Scoville Square The Oak Park Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) moved full steam ahead Oct. 29, making determinations on several matters, including giving Hinsdale Bank & Trust its approval to open a new branch in Scoville Square, 151 N. Oak Park Ave. The location is that of the former Winberie’s restaurant, which closed last December, breaking the collective heart of the Oak Park community.

“We understand that the corner we’re looking to occupy is one of the most prominent corners in the village,” said Hinsdale Bank CEO Dennis Jones.

“We understand the responsibility that comes with that and we’ll honor that responsibility.”

Hinsdale Bank is one of 15 distinct community bank charters under the Wintrust Bank umbrella. Hinsdale Bank, wholly owned by Wintrust, has multiple branches already, including one in Western Springs, Riverside and Maywood. The Oak Park branch will be full-service with no drive-thru capability.

“Wintrust has the stated mission of becoming Chicago’s bank. Our absence in Oak Park is conspicuous. We need to be in Oak Park in order to truly become Chicago’s bank,” said Dennis Jones.

Hinsdale Bank’s commitment to hyperlocal

banking and becoming part of the community garnered its application the support of ZBA member Don DeBruin.

“Hinsdale Bank has an amazing reputation and the discussion about being a local, local bank resonates with me,” said DeBruin. “That carries a lot of weight with me.”

ZBA member David Brumirski was less enthused about the prospect of putting a bank branch in Scoville Square, calling it “a step down.”

“We’d all rather have something else here,” said Brumirski. “It’s not all that exciting.”

Zoning board members were ultimately in favor of the application, voting 5-0 to recommend the village board approve it.

The ZBA also voted to recommend the approval of the three other applications, including one submitted by Oak Park Bodyworx, 6209 North Ave., to construct and operate a drive thru for its juice bar. The two others included a request for a special use permit to open a daycare center at 266 Lake St. and a request for a permit to open an educational facility at 238-240 Madison St.

by Glitter Nail Academy.

Stacey Sheridan

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

C R I M E

No known injuries in shootout at Lombard and Garfield Police find at least 18 shell casings

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Two vans belonging to CTA contractors were hit with bullets in what police believe was a shootout between people in two vehicles around 3 p.m., Oct. 29 at Lombard Avenue and Garfield Street.

“There are no injuries that we know of so far,” said Sgt. Joshua Bertels of the Oak Park police department.

The entrance to the Lombard entrance to the CTA’s Blue Line stop also received gunfire damage. Police found at least 18 shell casings at the scene, according to Bertels.

About a half an hour after the shooting took place, police responded to reports of an armed carjacking roughly a mile away in the 900 block of Harrison Street. The owner of the car had left the scene before police arrived.

Police later found a damaged and abandoned vehicle just west of Lombard Avenue on Flournoy Avenue. At least two suspects reportedly fled from the vehicle on foot. Police determined it was the same vehicle that had been hijacked on Harrison Street.

No injuries were reported in either the shooting or the vehicular hijacking. Police ask that anyone with information regarding either incident contact the Oak Park Department of Police at (708)3863800. Both incidents are still under investigation.

Photo by Bob Uphues

CASING THE AREA: Oak Park police search near Barrie Park for evidence, following a shootout at Lombard and Garfield on Oct. 29.

Oak Park sees two armed crimes in less than 24 hours An armed vehicular hijacking and an armed robbery occurred less than a day apart in Oak Park this past week between the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 28 and early morning Thursday, Oct. 29.

The carjacking occurred at 5:50 p.m., Oct. 28, when a man returned to his parked but running vehicle in the 6400 block of North Avenue and found another man sitting in the driver’s seat. When the victim opened the door, the offender pointed a firearm and then drove away eastbound on North Avenue.

Oak Park police recovered the vehicle shortly after at 6:56 p.m. in the 3500 block of West 5th Street in Chicago without apprehension.

A Chicago resident was robbed in Oak Park at 1:02 a.m., Oct. 29 in the 7100 block of Roosevelt Road when three teenage males exited a black GMC SUV and approached the victim, demanding the victim’s property. Two of the three teenage offenders were carrying firearms. One of the offenders took the victim’s wallet before all three drove away in the black SUV traveling eastbound on Roosevelt.

Battery A man was walking northbound on Oak Park Avenue when he was hit in the back with a yellow paintball shot from a passing dark Nissan sedan at 9:09 p.m., Oct. 29 in the

Theft

400 block of Oak Park Avenue.

Burglary Someone entered a locked U.S. Postal Service vehicle and removed an unknown amount of mail between 3:10 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., Oct. 28 in the 1100 block of North Humphrey Avenue.

Recovered stolen auto ■ The 2019 silver Honda Civic reported stolen Aug. 16 from the 700 block of Lyman Avenue was recovered by Chicago police at 2:28 p.m., Oct. 28 in the 3000 block of West Cullerton Street, Chicago without apprehension.

■ The 2009 Toyota RAV4 reported stolen Oct. 20 from the 100 block of Harrison Street was recovered by Naperville police without apprehension in the 200 block of East Bailey

Road, Naperville at 3:57 a.m., Oct. 28.

Motor vehicle theft ■ Someone

removed a black 2009 Toyota Highlander left unlocked with the keys inside between 8:30 p.m., Oct. 27 and 12:45 a.m., Oct. 28 in the 300 block of Ontario Street. Estimated loss is $2,000.

■ Someone removed a 2020 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid parked on the street in the 6600 block of Roosevelt Road between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Oct. 30. Chicago police recovered the vehicle without apprehensions Nov. 2 in the 2900 block of Lexington Street, Chicago.

■ A parked and running 2007 Audi Q7 was removed from the 500 block of South Austin Boulevard at 8:17 p.m., Oct. 30. Chicago police recovered the vehicle in the 3900 block of 16th Street in Chicago Oct. 31 without apprehension.

■ Someone broke the front driver’s side window of a vehicle and then removed the vehicle’s front grill, front passenger’s side headlight and damaged the latch to the trunk between 9 p.m., Oct. 28 and 8 a.m., Oct. 29 in the first block of Washington Boulevard. Estimated loss is $1,300.

■ A Vizio 40-inch television was taken from a residence in the 100 block of North Humphrey Avenue between 6 a.m. and noon, Oct. 30. The estimated loss is $300.

Criminal damage to property Someone poured liquid bleach and rock salt on the trunk and in the gas tank of a vehicle parked in the 100 block of South Austin Boulevard between 12:40 p.m. and 1:38 p.m., Oct. 27. Estimated loss is $5,000.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports Oct. 26 – Nov. 2 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Oak Park’s highest singleday total for COVID-19 39 Oak Parkers tested positive on Oct. 30

By JAMES KAY Staff Writer

Oak Park saw an alarming spike in positive COVID-19 cases in the village over the last two weeks, reflecting a statewide trend.

Oak Park Public Health Director Mike Charley announced last week 61 residents tested positive for COVID-19 over a two-day period

MARKET

Successfully different from page 1 ing the number of people in the market, watching for infractions, and making sure safety protocols were being enforced.”

Vendors provided 50 gift bags filled with fresh produce, baked goods, microgreens, cookies and flowers to express appreciation for the 2020 market volunteers. Among those thanked was Jennifer Purrenhage, market commissioner and volunteer coordinator.

Purrenhage is leaving after serving seven years on the highly active commission. According to McNichols, she will be missed because she “shows such enthusiasm and support for the market.”

To combat concerns related to COVID-19, the Oak Park Farmers Market partnered with What’s Good to offer a virtual market for the first time. The pre-order based curbside pickup program sold $127,723 in local food, flowers and plants this season.

The complex aggregation and pickup system were run by volunteers and commissioners with strong support from village staff. Most notably, Rachel Hahs, a commissioner, Robin Schirmer, formerly a market assistant, each volunteered 300 hours to

from Oct. 29-30.

The 39 residents who tested positive on Oct. 30 marked the highest single-day total Oak Park has seen since the village started reporting the daily totals on March 18.

River Forest only had four people test positive for COVID-19 from Oct. 29-30 but has seen its positivity rate creep up from 6.72 percent on Oct. 26 to 7.22 percent on Oct. 28.

Oak Park’s positivity rate has shot up from 4.18 percent on Oct. 26 to 7.80 percent on Nov. 1. As of Nov. 2, Oak Park has had 967 residents test positive for COVID-19 since March 18.

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manage the pilot program over the season.

“The virtual market allowed us to flourish in new ways,” said McNichols. “All the volunteers who made the virtual market a success helped their neighbors stay safe and healthy.”

A group of eight seniors including one “official grandma” would walk over to the farmers market weekly. They would sit in a socially distant circle near the information tent and chat while volunteers filled their shopping lists.

“We became like an unofficial senior center,” said McNichols. “The weekly gathering happened organically because of the new market logistics. The market provided a safe outdoor location for them to socialize and I became very attached to these people.”

McNichols was also pleased to report she did not receive a single complaint from market goers about the lines leading into the market.

“I believe market co-creator, Marge Gockel, would be proud to witness her beloved market thrive during a pandemic and complete a 45th season intact,” said McNichol’s of the market founder who died July 17.

“Her spirit and grit live on with this market.”

McNichols does not know what the Oak Park Farmers Market will look like in 2021 but anticipates there will be multiple plans in place to ensure the success and safety of 46th season.

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Generations of Excellence since 1958

708.771.8040 • 7375 W. North Ave., River Forest Alisa Coghill DonnaAvenue Barnhisel 7375 West North Kay Costello Anne Brennan MANAGING Karen Byrne River Forest, Illinois 60305 Maria Cullerton BROKER/OWNERS Julie Downey Kevin Calkins Kurt Fielder Tom Carraher 708.771.8040 Andy Gagliardo

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Ramona Fox Laura Gancer Lisa Grimes

Dan Halperin Sharon Halperin Greg Jaroszewski Vee Jaroszewski Noa Klima Jack Lattner Iris McCormick Vince McFadden

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801 PARK• RIVER FOREST

547 LINDEN • OAK PARK

1135 FOREST • RIVER FOREST

1416 JACKSON • RIVER FOREST

MODERN DREAM HOME centrally located on a corner lot with fenced in yard has plenty of entertainment space! Designer touches throughout the 6 bedroom, 6 full and 1 half bath home with beautiful LR, DR and large kitchen with open floor plan to the family room. So much more to see! ............................... $1,699,000

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

ELEGANT CRAFTSMANSHIP can be found throughout this 5 BR French Normandy home. Sophistication is evident from the moment you walk in the door. Impressive foyer, formal LR with fireplace and built-in benches, family room, separate formal DR, updated kitchen, home office. ...........................................$999,000

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

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

301 S EUCLID • OAK PARK

1226 BELLEFORTE • OAK PARK

922 N HARLEM • RIVER FOREST

831 HOME • OAK PARK

ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY of this 4 BR, 3BA farmhouse has been preserved whenever updates were completed. Double door entry, antique light fixture, hardwood flooring, art glass windows, natural trim work and high ceilings are found throughout this home. ................................................................................... $599,000

CHARMING BRICK HOME located on a quiet Cul-De-Sac. This 4 BR, 2-½ bath home offers a spacious LR with fireplace, a family room with Walls of Glass, and a 1st-floor office. Lower Level has a Rec Room with another fireplace, workshop area, laundry room with tons of storage space. ................................................ $549,500

CENTER ENTRANCE COLONIAL offers wonderful space! Deep lot, large deck, and original details throughout the home. Features include large living room, sunny sitting room, hardwood floors, updated kitchen, family room, full finished basement, and a twocar garage. ...........................................................................$440,000

GREAT MOVEIN READY HOME with 3 bedrooms and 1st Fl office. Features include a screened-in front porch with new hardwood floors, enclosed back porch that doubles as a mud room, all BRs with hardwood floors, finished basement with large living area, fenced yard, 2-1/2 car garage .................................. .$415,000

RIVER FOREST HOMES

GRAND SPRAWLING HOME with an abundance of interior and exterior living areas. 5 BRs, upstairs laundry, 3 full & 1 half BAs, 3 fireplaces, full basement with recreation room. Grand two story family room incorporated into an open plan kitchen. Hardwood floors throughout main level. ...................................................................$787,000 SPLITLEVEL HOME offers a newly refreshed contemporary style and wonderful space. Home offers three bedrooms, three brand new bathrooms, beautiful front entryway, vaulted ceiling family room, sunroom, game room, deck, spectacular backyard, attached two-car garage .............................................................................................. $599,000

RARELY AVAILABLE, “Cavalcade of Pride” award-winning home on 50 x 170 ft lot. High ceilings, oak staircase, marble fireplace, separate formal dining area, den/family room with stained glass and built-in bookcases, eat-in kitchen, large full basement with storage. . $599,000 SUPER CHARMING light-filled home on extra-large lot. Front porch, spacious foyer, formal LR & DR all with beautiful hdwd floors.

Galley kitchen opens to family room. Gazebo out back surrounded by natural landscaping. Vintage barn off alley with loft. ..............$449,000

OAK PARK HOMES

WELL CARED FOR BEVERLY in great location! Features beautiful hardwood flooring in most rooms, remodeled master bath, updated kitchen, and finished basement with second kitchen for those large family parties! Freshly painted. Fenced yard. Absolute move-in condition!....................................................................................................$329,900

FRENCH COUNTRY ESTATE built for flexible living. Fully renovated and expanded to preserve the feel and charm of a 1946 home, with all the conveniences of modern amenities and finishes. Sits on a private, double lot. Large pool, 5 BRs w/BAs, 2nd Fl laundry, private office, finished basement. ...........................................................$1,749,950 STUNNING FRENCH NORMANDY house that has been remodeled and refinished from top to bottom. New wiring, plumbing, hvac, all floors, generator, roof work, and more. Just drop in your furniture and enjoy, from the fantastic front entrance all the way to the basement. ..............................................................................................$1,349,000 LOVELY BRICK HOME offers wonderful space with beautiful views of the spectacular lot! Original details with two story foyer and hardwood floors throughout. This elegant home is beautifully constructed and large enough to accommodate family and friends for years to come..............................................................................................$1,299,000 BEAUTIFUL, CLASSIC HOME offers everything for today’s modern living. Custom-built has the highest quality finishes. No detail was missed. Brick and stone exterior, wrap-around porch, eleven-foot ceilings and oversized windows. LL has 2,000 feet of living area............ ........................................................................................................$1,295,000

THREE STORY GRAND VICTORIAN on 100 x 218 lot in the heart of the Frank Lloyd Wright district. This estate features 6 Bedrooms, 2 Full baths, 3 fireplaces, many historic details including double front entry doors sourced from the Historic Pullman Estates section of Chicago. ...........................................................................................$650,000 BEAUTIFUL SIDE ENTRANCE COLONIAL with 4 BRs, 2 full & 1 half baths features a spacious center family room, cooks’ kitchen with mud room, gas fireplace, built-in shelving & art glass windows.

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

MELROSE PARK HOMES

CHICAGO HOMES

CLASSIC CHICAGO BUNGALOW in HOT West Logan Square Neighborhood. Extraordinary home where vintage meets modern.

This large brick bungalow boasts 5 ample sized BRs and 2 full baths.

Large finished basement with laundry room and separate workshop.

Do not miss this one!...................................................................... $399,000

Shop for homes online at GagliardoRealty.com

CONDOS/TOWNHOMES/2 FLATS

RIVER FOREST 2BR, 2BA. Completely updated. .................$264,000 RIVER FOREST 1BR, 1BA. Move-in ready! ............................$169,000 OAK PARK Two Flat ...................................................................$699,000 OAK PARK Two Flat ...................................................................$550,000 OAK PARK 3BR, 2 full/1 half BA. Vintage beauty..................$285,000 OAK PARK 2BR, 2BA. Courtyard view......................................$249,900 OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. Parking space included. .......................$124,500 OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. Vintage building....................................$110,000 OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. No stairs!...................................................$97,500 CHICAGO 2BR, 2BA. Chic, move-in ready! .............................$499,950 CHICAGO 2BR, 2BA. Open floor plan. .................................... $424,000 CHICAGO 2BR, 2BA. Secure gated lot. ....................................$209,900

Find that Fall Home!

Contact a Gagliardo Realty Associates Agent for a free market analysis

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

NEED TO REACH US?

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

21

Homes

Granny flats of the future Pre-fab or handcrafted, ‘accessory dwelling’ movement gains steam

By LACEY SIKORA

I

Contributing Reporter

n 2017, Oak Park trustees amended the village’s zoning code to allow coach houses or “accessory dwelling units” built above detached garages to include both plumbing and kitchens, paving the way for homeowners to turn their garages into rental units or extra living space.

Under its recently adopted affordable housing plan, the village of River Forest is also considering amending its zoning ordinance to accommodate accessory dwelling units – ADU for short -- in the R1 and R2 single-family zoning districts, which comprise most of the village.

The issue might be decided sooner rather than later with the furtherance of Illinois House Bill 4869, which would prohibit local governments from blocking the construction or usage of ADUs. As of June 23, that bill had been re-referred to the Rules Committee, but many are expecting it to pass.

One of those looking forward to the state bill’s passage is real estate developer David Schwartz, who recently founded a company called Chicago Granny Flats. Building off the colloquial name for an ADU, where the living space above a garage might be occupied by a beloved relative, Schwartz says he has been following the ADU movement which has been gaining steam on the West Coast.

He notes that a real estate columnist for Forbes has declared 2020 the Year of the ADU. For Schwartz, the ADU is an obvious solution to housing woes.

“It’s a way to organically add affordable housing,” he said.

He notes that villages like Oak Park and Evanston, which already allow construction of ADUs seem ready-made for the accessory dwellings.

“Oak Park is perfect for this, because it has a lot of alleys,” Schwartz said.

Along with his partner, Schwartz’s business focuses only on building coach houses and aims to make the process as simple as possible. The firm pre-fabricates units and currently has three models available, with names like Nanna, Abuela and Bubbe.

The models vary in design and accommodate two, three, or four car garages on the ground level with a one to twobedroom apartment unit above.

Schwartz says that limiting the designs and going with pre-fabricated elements like siding will allow Chicago Granny Flats to build an ADU in about three to four weeks.

“They’re put together like Legos,” Schwartz said. “There’s not as much hammering and banging. You could go on vacation, and come home to have it already finished.”

With the pandemic, Schwartz says that he expects demand for the ADU to grow locally, noting that the spaces make great home office or workout rooms for people who can’t go to the office or the gym.

“The actual granny flat use does apply,” Schwartz said.

See COACH HOUSES on page 22

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

ECHOING THE PAST: Scott Stack and his design team at Von Dreele Freerksen worked to echo the original historic house in the newly-designed coach house on Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park.

22

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

PREVIEW HOUSE Produced by the Advertising Department

COACH HOUSES A nod to the past from page 21

Townhouse living that feels like a single family.

A

t over 2,500 sq. ft., 320 S. Maple unit D, in Oak Park, is the largest townhome in its complex, offering three bedrooms, three full and one half baths, and plenty of living space (four levels worth!) for your family.

The second level offers an efficient and contemporary open floor plan, highlighted by the living room with its gas fireplace and built-in shelving.

There are many beautiful finishes, including granite counter tops plus an island in the kitchen.

The main bedroom on the third level offers a walk-in closet and a spacious bath with a Jacuzzi tub, separate shower, dual vanities and marble tile.

A washer/dryer hookup on the third level (in addition to the first level) offers a convenient family option.

On the upper level is a bonus/family room plus lots of custom storage and a large balcony. Other features include a deck for grilling, a one car garage plus a second covered space.

Currently listed for $489,000, 320 S. Maple #D has a great central location within walking distance to Downtown Oak Park shopping, dining and transportation. For more information or to schedule a showing contact Liz O’Connell, Baird & Warner, 708.772.0337.

“They are great for multi-generational housing and are also great for boomerang kids.”

Another key is that an ADU allows families to gain more space without the headache of doing an addition.

“It fits in with the context of the neighborhood since they’re not visible from the street,” Schwartz said.

For Scott Stack, a partner with Von Dreele Freerksen in Oak Park, coach houses are nothing new -- the firm has built many throughout Oak Park and River Forest. The firm’s clients hire them to add space while visually tying that detached dwelling to their historic homes.

Of a recently completed coach house on Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park, Stack says he and his design team took great pains to make sure the coach house references the main home.

“We matched the gable, the roof pitch and the colors,” Stack said. “We coordinated the windows and matched the silhouette. We tried to keep the same lines.”

Stack says he often tries to capture the essence of the main house when constructing a coach house, but he doesn’t go for an exact match. Outdoor light fixtures will be similar to those on the house, and the panel details on the garage door might echo some details on the house. He calls the end result “simplified somewhat, but coordinating with the house.”

Now that Oak Park allows coach houses

as living spaces, Stack says a lot of clients want to include a bathroom and a kitchenette in the spaces. He says that good space planning and innovations in construction help these small spaces live large.

Gables are good places to be strategic he says, noting they are good places to nest a stairwell. New heating and cooling systems for the small spaces don’t require ductwork.

Stack notes that on the whole, a coach house can be a bit more expensive than doing a home addition because you are adding all new systems and have to add and insulate all four walls.

On the other hand, a new coach house comes with the added bonus of a new garage -- something homeowners with larger cars might appreciate. At the end of the day, costs are dependent on finishes and proportions. Schwartz says that his firm’s granny flats will start at about $150,000 with prices going up for large sizes.

Like Schwartz, Stack thinks that coach houses blend in well in historic neighborhoods, saying “Historically, we’ve been a community with coach houses,” Stack said. “We’ve not been a community with mega-additions. It’s much more appropriate here to do a coach house.”

Stack says that he’s seen clients use their renovated coach houses in a variety of ways.

One turned the space into a yoga studio and, with the onset of COVID, he says he is seeing more home offices as well as quarters for grandparents. Many families also use the spaces for kids, whether it’s a play room or a space for band practice.

“That’s the best thing about a coach house,” Stack said. “It’s everything. It’s an in-law suite, a studio, a home office.”

GRANNY FLAT, UPDATED: The Nonna is one model currently offered by Chicago Granny Flats. Co-owner David Schwartz says the pre-fabricated, one-bedroom coach house with two car garage below fits on most standard Chicago-area lots.

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

23

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

Sunday, November 8 ADDRESS

OFFICE

LISTING PRICE

TIME

1806 N. Harding Ave, Chicago. . . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$399,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 1207 Rossell Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$439,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 527 S. Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 923 Linden Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$550,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1215 N. Grove Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$650,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 805 Clinton Ave, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$679,900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2

ADDRESS

OFFICE

LISTING PRICE

TIME

217 Chicago Ave. UNIT 2, Oak Park . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $139,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:30-4 166 N. Humphrey Ave. UNIT 1N, Oak Park. . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $219,900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 140 Marengo Ave Unit 606, Forest Park. . . . . . . . . . . .@properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $229,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2

CONDOS

164 N. Humphrey Ave. UNIT 3S, Oak Park . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$249,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 204 S. Maple Ave. UNIT 18, Oak Park . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$269,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 641 S. Maple Ave. UNIT C, Oak Park . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$349,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12:30-2 1133 Chicago Ave. UNIT 3E, Oak Park . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$625,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:30-4:30 525 N. Bishop St. UNIT 2, Chicago. . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $850,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sat. 11-1 525 N. Bishop St. UNIT 11, Chicago. . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $939,330. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sat. 11-1 525 N. Bishop St. UNIT 7, Chicago. . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $940,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sat. 11-1 525 N. Bishop St. UNIT 9, Chicago. . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$958,500. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sat. 11-1

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24

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

Dear friends, We have some good news – and it is news that makes us proud of our independent, non-profit newsroom here at Growing Community Media.

We’ve been chosen to take part in NewsMatch, that’s the national matching-gift campaign that drives donations to nonprofit newsrooms (like this one of ours!) around the U.S. Since 2016, NewsMatch has raised over $100 million for nonprofit journalism. That’s a lot of impact.

This is a two-month, end of year project. And it starts today.

We know you are actively reading the work of our reporters across our four flags. Thanks to the many of you who have already donated to support this work. And, what about you? to the larger number who follow our work but haven’t donated yet?

Here’s the moment to jump in or to make a follow-up donation. With NewsMatch at work we are able to DOUBLE your donation. NewsMatch has put an $11,500 match on the table. So the first $11,500 we raise in the days ahead will turn into $23,000.

That’s real money we can put to work reporting in Brookfield, Oak Park, Forest Park or on the West Side.

Don’t let this ask slide to the bottom of your to do list. In fact, after you’ve donated and NewsMatch has doubled that donation, mention it to someone you know who values the work we do at Wednesday Journal, Austin Weekly News, Forest Park Review and the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark so they can donate too.

With all of our thanks, Dan Haley Editor and Publisher 141 S. Oak Park Ave. Oak Park, IL 60302

To donate, visit www.oakpark.com/donate

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

C O N S C I O U S

A G I N G

Every life counts … like every vote The basis of life is transformation. We are constantly transforming. We are constantly changing. Just as the seasons change and just as we age and everything else is happening constantly to us. And that’s what it is. We die and we fall to the earth and we are part of the earth that nurtures new life and comes forward.

Olympia Dukakis

From the film “Olympia”

N

ext month’s Wabi Sabi Film Festival will feature the documentary Olympia. On Friday, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m., please log on to watch this sublimely intimate, fly-on-the-wall documentary about a woman finding her own voice on her own terms and becoming a gigantic creative force in the world.

That woman is Olympia Dukakis. Following the film, we will be joined for Q&A discussion by the director, Harry Mavromichalis. For free tickets, go to https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/ free-screening-of-olympiatickets-127617506397 Irvin D. Yalom wrote, “The taste of my death in my mouth gave me perspective and courage. It’s the courage to be myself that is the important thing.” Olympia Dukakis has always had the courage to be herself.

Last month’s Wabi Sabi Film Festival screened Here Awhile, a movie about death with dignity. At the end of the film, even after the credits were done rolling, the 90-or-so people watching seemed speechless, many with teary eyes. Kudos to our moderator, Elizabeth White, for skillfully bringing us all back together and facilitating a terrific conversation.

People shared their feelings and thoughts about death with dignity. Not everyone agreed, but almost everyone connected. Respect ran through the online Zoom audience.

The movie showed that the opportunity for respect is something death offers us. Along with the pain of loss and the blanket of grief, there can be respect for a person’s life, whether we always agreed with them or not. Their death also provides an opportunity for us to respect our own lives.

Recently, Ginie Cassin died. A lot of people in this neighborhood knew her, not just knew of her. One consistent reaction to Ginie’s death has been expressions of respect for her life.

Frank Ostaseski, author of The Five Invitations, says, “Let the fragility of this life inspire you. Let the precariousness of this life show you how precious it is.”

MARC BLESOFF

See BLESOFF on page 28

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

VIEWPOINTS R A C E

A N D

25

Imagine writing 4,236 postcards! p. 27

E D U C A T I O N A L

E Q U I T Y

How communities differed dealing with race and schools

Part III in a series on the history of educational equity efforts in Oak Park and the surrounding area: School integration in the Chicago area has always depended on neighborhood housing integration and largely still does. For most of the 20th century, Oak Park was in step with white sentiments across America and took its own place in the larger resurgence of racism, anti-Semitism, and nativism in the years after World War I. In the 1920s white racial hostility grew in Oak Park, as evidenced by over 300 members openly participating in the Walosas Club, the Oak Park chapter of the women’s Ku Klux Klan. The only Black church in Oak Park, Mount Carmel, was mysteriously set ablaze in 1923. It never reopened and much of the small Black population left for Maywood and Chicago.

Starting with the violent attacks by white mobs on black residents in Chicago’s infamous 1919 race riot, with 23 Black and 15 white deaths, forward through the period of Oak Park housing and school integration in the ’70s and ’80s. The African-American community in Chicago endured and resisted blatant racist school policies. Community groups including the NAACP repeatedly challenged these injustices. Blacks in Maywood would do the same in the Civil Rights Era and in the late ’70s.

The Proviso Teachers Union, in an alliance with 13 Maywood community groups called COPE (Coalition for Outstanding Proviso Education) demanded a voice in curriculum planning to counter the proposed downgrading of graduation requirements.

2 percent of white schools did. Class size was 31 in white schools and 39 in Black. On top of these inequities, a racist curriculum tracking system was pervasive.

Tracking of working-class whites and students of color was pioneered through re-structuring designed by the Commercial Club of Chicago at the start of the 20th century. This meant a two-tiered system — one for working-class children and one for families of the middle class and manager class. The Chicago Federation of Teachers, America’s first teachers union, under the leadership of Margaret Haley, militantly opposed corporate Chicago’s tracking as unjust and undemocratic.

In the first decades of the 20th century, scientists claimed to offer new evidence to rationalize the tracking system that Black, Latinx students, and poor white students endured. They created the culturally- and racially-biased IQ test which was used to sort students.

Tracking for Black children in Chicago equaled limited education opportunity and being subjected to large doses of remedial and vocational learning. Some of these same practices would appear in Oak Park when schools eventually integrated in the 1970s.

JOHN DUFFY

One View

Chicago - separate and unequal

Fred Hampton

The overwhelming consensus among Chicago African-American education advocates in the generations before school integration in Oak Park was that ending segregation was the best path to equal education opportunity for black children. Racial inequities tied to segregation were pervasive in Chicago schools. These included permissive transfers of white students out of Black schools, 50 percent less resources for operations in Black schools, a higher percentage of first-year teachers, higher proportions of substitute and uncertified teachers, and higher percentage of teacher departures in Black schools compared to white schools.

Overcrowding in black schools was appalling, with school populations twice that of white schools. According to the NAACP investigation, 80 percent of Black schools had double shifts where students had three hours of school, compared to five hours in single-shift schools. Only

Proviso - segregation and resistance to integration In 1967, before real integration came to Oak Park, Black students rose up against racially unjust practices and white-dominant traditions at Proviso East High School. Black students were spurred on by many years of school and housing protests in Chicago and inspired by the new Black Power ideology of militantly resisting oppressive racial injustices. Their rebellion, called “riots” in the media, and by dominant culture defenders, started as a protest against what had been a perennial ritual — white students selecting an all-white Arbor Court which would reign over an annual dinner, dance and celebration.

In 1967, when the court was announced at Proviso, a large racial fight broke out. Cook County police were brought in and patrolled the school for days in this first of Black student revolts around the nation. Similar actions followed in 1968 with the assassination of Dr. King.

In December of 1969, following the assassination of Fred Hampton, the Black student rebellion resumed after the school refused to memorialize the Maywood graduate who led local youth civil rights actions as a student, and then became chairman of the Black Panther Party.

See DUFFY on page 28

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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Things we like

s we write these editorials it is early on Election Day. Regardless of outcome, we take great hope in 100 million of our fellow citizens finding a way to vote early in a grim pandemic. We watched, and we participated, in early voting at Oak Park’s village hall. The lines were long, the voters patient and determined, the organization of the vote focused on safety under the leadership of Village Clerk Vicki Scaman.

And so that is the first thing we like. We like voting. We like a determination to make voting easy and open. We like votes being counted.

Here are other things we like:

Having a health department Mike Charley, chief of Oak Park’s public health department, has announced he is leaving the village to take a similar post, closer to home, in Skokie. Their gain, our loss.

Pre-pandemic, Charley was really a one-man band running public health in Oak Park. That department had been trimmed and then trimmed more over the years as budgets got tougher. But Manager Cara Pavlicek did a good job of assigning other village staffers to the department to address COVID-19. Now she will need to figure out the next steps.

But everyone recognizes the great value of being one of a handful of Cook County communities with an autonomous health department. And we offer our thanks to Mike Charley for his calm but determined work in guiding Oak Park during this scourge.

About Farmers Market Early on in the first round of COVID’s dark days, Oak Park was doing a lot of cancelling. Playgrounds. Day in Our Village. Fireworks. Block parties. But when we started pushing for an answer on when the Farmers Market would be deep-sixed, we got a different, if vague, response from Mike Charley and Cara Pavlicek.

If there was a local institution to be salvaged even as it was fully reimagined, Charley and Pavlicek intended it to be Farmers Market. They recognized that getting fresh food to people in a pandemic had great value.

And, together with the Farmers Market Commission and a raft of volunteers, they made the market happen. Sure it was wildly different, more regimented.

But for this grim summer it was a major success.

The animal shelter that could Oak Park’s Animal Care League has long been a standout in its loving treatment of shelter pups and kittens. Over time it has also built itself into a sturdy nonprofit, growing its mission and its footprint on Garfield Street.

For 10 frustrating years, ACL has been trying to acquire a deteriorating building that sits in the middle of three other buildings it has long owned. It has lost out twice in the county’s tax scavenger bidding process. But this year the property was finally grabbed by the county’s innovative Land Bank program. That entity looks not for the wealthiest purchaser but the best long-term use. And for this dilapidated building that clearly was ACL. The purchase is now complete. The major reclamation will begin. Congratulations to ACL and Chatka Ruggiero, the nonprofit’s biggest backer.

Save our restaurants There’s a group at work, happily it includes our own Oak Park Eats editor Melissa Elsmo, to create local dining bingo cards. It’s a way to boost recognition of our essential local restaurants as COVID again shuts down indoor dining just as winter looms.

CarrryOutOakPark.com, the website launched in the spring by the Oak Park Economic Development Corp., is also getting new updates on who is dishing up what for pickups and delivery.

And Wednesday Journal has brought back our Fall into Winter, Food to Go! weekly email (and, yes, restaurants pay $25 a week to be included. Everyone has to eat, so to speak).

There are other rumblings about other ways to keep our local restaurants alive through this very necessary shutdown. Our point is that our restaurants, mainly independent, many locally owned, have to be saved. And we have to be the ones doing the saving. Actively, consciously, repeatedly ordering takeout.

These will be different towns, diminished towns if this pandemic robs us of our restaurant industry.

Halloween heaven, just in time

R

emember Saturday? popularity of the 2017 Disney animated Everyone was out, or feature, Coco. Day of the Dead celebraseemed to be, for the harmontions highlight the importance of anic convergence of Halloween, cestors with ofrendas, shrines featurthe Day of the Dead (Dia de ing sugar skulls, orange marigolds, and Muertos), a high-pressure system photos of departed family forebears. that produced a dazzlingly sunny, Normally, they’re kept indoors, but this blue-jewel sky, temperature flirting year more than 60 ofrendas were viswith 60, heading toward evening ible outdoors or in storefront windows and a full moon, a blue moon for throughout Oak Park, River Forest that matter, and on to the wee hours and Forest Park, thanks to a Facebook when the clocks fell back, ushering group that organized the event and in the dark side of the year. even provided a map. We visited an But the last full day of the light ofrenda outside a home near Longfelside of the year will be rememlow Park, listened to tales of Mexican bered as bright, if windy, and warm heritage, and marveled at the anchorenough to draw everyone, it seemed, ing of ancestry, not to mention the anchoring outside. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be of items that somehow defied the late-afternoon altered dramatically this year because viruses blustery wind. A flotilla of neighbors flowed past, love warm interiors and family gatherings, but stopping to trick-or-treat and admire the display.

Halloween was a veritable fresh-air fest, almost On our walk home, we passed fire pits, block an eruption, as cooped-up neighbors were drawn parties, informal out of their seclufront lawn concerts, sion to rub and bump with plenty of adult elbows and celebrate beverages in hand.

— a community Costumed figures coming-out party. Sochattered and stratcial distancing took a egized about which hit. Masks were worn, house to approach but not necessarily next and compared the containment kind, the bounty from more the kind that their last stop. Some conjured creatures houses left bowls out great and small and allowed revelers to slip on tables, but that cut into alter-identities. down on the personal Out in Carol interaction that is Stream, my grandso integral to this sons sprouted tails holiday, so many DAY OF THE LIVING: Outdoor Day of the Dead and ears and paws candy distributors ofrenda shrine near Longfellow Park. and turned into their attached plastic or current favorite cardboard tubes to animals. Bryce was Foxy the Fox and Tyler, their railings and let their treats slide down into Raccy the Raccoon, the latter inspired by Tyler’s waiting bags and pumpkin buckets. favorite chapter book, The Kissing Hand. Bryce In front of one house, speakers blasted “Love has been fond of foxes since he played one in the Potion #9” and passersby stopped to dance the Gingerbread Man, a play his class put on last year. Twist. In front of another, “Night on Bald MounAll of this, of course, echoes the ancient totemic tain” from “Fantasia” played on a loop. tradition of channeling kindred spirits from the Even multifamily buildings joined in, animal world. residents sitting in courtyards, beckoning the But mostly they were in it for the candy. reluctant, holding court, or partying on blacktop Halloween has been secularized but never causeways beneath balconies. All of this, no totally tamed, and its roots run deep into the doubt, was fueled by restlessness, a rebellion dark side of our psyches. No surprise, then, that against pandemic restrictions. the outdoor decorating was outsized, a counterThe spirits can be held back only so long. And reaction most likely to this most deflating of Halloween, if nothing else, is about giving a lonyears. Homeowners went all out with zombies ger leash, and partial vent, to our inner demonic. and gravestones and ghosts and eerie ethereal But it’s also a sign of vibrancy and resiliency, beings holding confabs on front lawns or hanging putting the “unity” back in “community.” from trees. Pumpkins galore, many turned into Several days later, we find ourselves on the far lanterns, added to the atmosphere. side of Daylight Savings Time, and the far side of But it’s boom time for the skeleton manufactura presidential election, taking stock to see if the ing sector. Boney hands poked out of the ground dark side has prevailed permanently or if dayas if struggling to escape virtual graves. Many light has broken through the gloom. This election full skeletons had already broken out and could be seen climbing the walls of Victorians or sitting was way scarier than Halloween. Is it morning or around tables in a most civilized manner, convers- mourning in America? Trick or treat?

Whichever reigns, at least we can take some ing or sipping tea. solace in knowing we had one hell of a heavenly This boney bonanza may reflect the influence Halloween. of Latin culture, thanks in no small part to the

KEN

TRAINOR

V I E W P O I N T S

W E D N E S D A Y

What a community!

We are an amazing community! The outpouring of support from donors, congregational groups, organizations, and small businesses throughout the COVID crisis has, frankly, stunned us. The unwavering support since March allowed Housing Forward to respond swiftly to keep those experiencing homelessness safe. We are humbled and deeply appreciative of all those who have offered assistance, encouragement, and stepped up to help neighbors who are among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus.

To the individuals and organizations who have and continue to donate breakfasts and lunches, the restaurants and caterers who provided hot dinners, the individuals and groups who assembled more than 70 Hotel-to-Home kits, and the donors who made generous contributions, thank you! When the community comes together, amazing things happen. The impact of your support is felt each day by our clients.

Housing Forward has rapidly adapted its programming, unlike any time before in our history, in order to safeguard the health and well-being of the individuals and families in our care. With the outpouring of support, we took a bold step to establish a 24/7 Interim Housing Program, based at the Write Inn Hotel, to provide short-term accommodations combined with support services focused on transitioning clients to permanent housing.

This incredible response is truly a silver-lining of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the future of the COVID crisis is uncertain, we will continue to navigate this unchartered territory and are extremely grateful to all who have supported our efforts.

With deepest thanks,

Lynda Schueler

Executive director, Housing Forward

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

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

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

DOING HER PART: Jeanette Mancusi poses with 4,236 postcards she wrote to remind eligible voters to vote.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

H O W

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ADDRESS 141 S Oak Park Ave., Oak ParkIL 60302 ■ PHONE 708-5248300 EMAIL Dan@OakPark.com ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com

BEST HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS: 1219 N. Lombard gets my vote! (Nominated by Mary Ann Porucznik)

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

M E M O R I E S

Defining moments

experienced a number of defining moments between the ages of 8 and 18: ■ I lived in Chicago until I was 8, and I attended a private school, but when I moved to Oak Park, I enrolled in a public school. This was quite different for me after living in a concrete jungle and going to school with kids whose parents were far wealthier than mine.

■ Graduation from Holmes Elementary School meant I was leaving teachers and kids I had known for five years, but it also meant that I would be meeting new teachers and friends and expanding my knowledge.

■ Graduation from high school was a major defining moment for me because after the summer vacation, I would be entering the totally new world of college.

Once again I would be meeting new people and be taught by instructors with very high expectations, who would treat me as an adult.

■ During the summer after I turned 16, I was hired as a stock boy at Cannon’s Book Store on Lake Street — a real job with a paycheck, and even though I earned $40 a week for 40 hours’ work, the money was mine to either save or spend.

I did save half of the money each week.

■ When I was in grade school, I was generally picked last on the softball teams. Back then I was a skinny kid who had earned the reputation of not being able to hit. My bad luck changed one day in May of my eighth grade year.

As usual, I was picked last and when I came up to bat, my teammates grumbled, because they believed I would be an easy out. The opposing team’s outfielders

pulled in about 30 feet behind the infielders who pulled in, too, because they were expecting the usual pop fly or soft grounder.

Well, the opposing pitcher floated a pitch inside and close to my waist. I stepped back, got my bat under the pitch, rocketed the ball way over the left-fielder’s head, and trotted around the bases.

The home run didn’t turn me into Mickey Mantle, but it did give me the confidence that I could smash the right pitch.

■ In February of my eighth-grade year, our history teacher, Miss Vykruta, told the class that each student would partner up with another student and write a research paper, due in early April. She also told us it was a blue ribbon prize assignment.

George Warren and I teamed up and Miss Vykruta assigned us the topic of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

She told us we would have to answer who was involved, what happened, where it happened, and when it happened, but most importantly, the why and the how.

George and I obtained all of the books available on our topic and really dug out the information. Our plan was to discover if John Wilkes Booth acted as part of a conspiracy or acted alone. After our research was completed, we decided that Booth planned the crime on his own and, of course, carried it out. The so-called help he received from a few bunglers was valueless.

George and I won the blue ribbon, proving that we were capable of doing quality research.

What were your defining moments?

JOHN

STANGER

BLESOFF

Conscious dying from page 25 Appreciating the things, and the people, we often take for granted can be an act of selfrespect. Especially in today’s world, we must work to embody respect — with or without agreement.

In the past few months, several of my family, friends and acquaintances have died.

Some suddenly, some slowly and softly. Ginie, John, Sheldon, Barry, and my mother-in-law, Jean Glarner Ellzey. I’ve moved into a period of my life where people I know are dying more often.

And yet I hardly ever pause to contemplate my own death. That seems a bit arrogant on

my part.

Stephen Levine wrote, “The truth is, when people know they are going to die, that last year is often the most loving, most conscious, and most caring — even under the conditions of poor concentration, the side effects of medication, and so on. So don’t wait to die until you die.”

Deep down, we all know we are that family, friend and acquaintance who is going to die.

Contemplating and articulating this fact is an act of respect. Let’s not wait to think about and talk about our own deaths. In the end, conscious dying is conscious aging.

Addendum: The deadline for this column was before Election Day. I don’t know what’s going on with the election as you are reading this. I do know that a democratic republic is the rarest form of government on earth. Just like people, democracies can die.

Count Every Vote.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

The Fair Tax and pensions Editor’s note: The following was received too late to run ahead of the election, but we though the points were interesting enough to include on the morning after: On Sept. 27, I started a thread in the “NextDoor” App that was sent to 23 neighborhoods encouraging my neighbors and fellow Oak Parkers to vote Yes on the constitutional amendment that would allow Illinois to have a “Fair” or graduated income tax. Not unsurprisingly, the thread accumulated 477 posts, mostly supportive, but with a fair representation of opponents voicing similar tired, unrelated, and often misinformed or disingenuous arguments, with links to Koch-funded and other conservative or libertarian “think tanks” like the “Illinois Policy Institute” or “Wirepoints,” such as those recently expressed in Wednesday Journal (Viewpoints, Oct. 28).

The case for the Fair Tax would seem to be a “no-brainer” as Illinois currently has the eighth most regressive state and local tax system of all the states, with the bottom 20% of filers paying almost twice as large a share of their income as the top 1% (ITEP 2019).

But opponents seem to believe passing this and allowing Illinois to have a progressive income tax linked to an already passed tax bill (SB687) that will (if the amendment passes) cut or maintain taxes for the 97% of filers who make less than $250,000, but increase state income tax revenue by an estimated $3B for those with income above $250,000, would be a gift for corrupt politicians. They claim that passing the amendment would send the wrong message to elected officials on the need to: a) crack down on public corruption, b) further cut or eliminate defined benefit public pensions, c) reduce profligate state spending in general, and d) reduce the power of public sector unions.

But these arguments do not make logical sense or are factually incorrect. A) Voting against the Fair Tax amendment will do nothing to reduce corruption but rather make life worse via cuts to social services and more regressive, or flat, tax and fee increases for the

bottom 97%. B) State pensions were already substantially cut in 2011 and many of the most egregious loopholes closed. The state even tried to cut already vested pensions but was rightly blocked by the IL Supreme Court. For all those who want to break contracts with state workers, how about breaking them with bond holders instead? But more the point, how could anyone ever again trust the state if this were to be permitted? C) Illinois is not a profligate spender but rather spends the lowest share of any state on education (hence our very high property taxes), among the lowest on human services, and is ranked in the lowest third of states in health care spending. These three sectors plus public safety make up over 90% of the state’s General Funds budget. They are dominated by labor intensive direct care workers so more cuts in almost all cases result in less or lower quality services. D) Public sector workers make less than comparable private sector workers; the difference is made up by better benefits, and Illinois state benefits are not out of line with other (relatively) high-income states. Note also that many state workers do not receive Social Security, and average pensions are not a good measure of “central tendency” as the small share of relatively high pensions pull up the average. For example, based on 2015 data reported in the Sun Times for city of Chicago and state of Illinois public workers (including a large number of very generous Chicago police and fire pensions) about 3/4ths of pensions were below $60,000 a year and these averaged $28,000. Also note that the 2011 state pensions cut will take several decades to show up in current data.

If the Fair Tax Constitutional Amendment passed, Illinois will finally join the list of 34 states plus the District of Columbia with a progressive income tax. We need to leave the “flat earth” society and join the 21st Century!

Ron Baiman, an Oak Park resident, is associate professor of Economics at Benedictine University, and former, director of Budget and Policy Analysis, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.

RON

BAIMAN One View

DUFFY

A history of racism from page 25 At Proviso Black student academic grievances were numerous. There were few Black teachers in a school where 30 percent of students were African American. Students read only white American literature, and history classes and texts were devoid of racially affirming Black history and culture. Well into the ’60s in Maywood, job advertisements for high school students specified white applicants only. In a pattern to be repeated in Oak Park, Black students were virtually excluded from academic courses in a racially segregated curriculum tracking system.

Oak Park schools - a different path?

Meanwhile, by the early ’70s there were only a few dozen African-American students in Oak Park schools. Still, both Black and white community leaders knew a significant change was underway.

As related in episode two, fair housing received early and dominant attention in Oak Park in the post-Civil Rights Era. By 1975 schools became the central focus.

Just how to manage integration in education in ways that the dominant culture would support consumed school leaders and brought major opposition from large numbers of white parents.

Our next episode turns to the tumultuous beginnings of “managed integration” in Oak Park schools.

John Duffy is a co-founder of the Committee for Equity and Excellence in Education.

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

The Joyful Giving Catalog

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Everything you need for a better world: • More Art

• More Food

• More Compassion

• More Health

• More Education

• More Housing

• More Equity

• More Peace

Browse, read, share with your children. Give Locally – Give Joyfully!

Each of the organizations listed in this catalog paid a fee to participate. If you run a nonprofit and you would like to be listed here, or if you would like to sponsor a nonprofit to be listed here, please contact Lourdes Nicholls (Lourdes@oakpark.com) or Marc Stopeck (Marc@oakpark.com).

Animal Care League Animal Care League offers a safe haven for pets in need. Rooted in the community since 1973, Animal Care League takes a proactive approach to animal care and adoption as well as preventative measures to help reduce the number of homeless animals in our communities.

With over 1000 pets coming to our doors each year, Animal Care League counts on supporters to ensure that we can provide what is needed from routine vaccinations to life saving surgery.

Make a difference in the life of a homeless animal by visiting animalcareleague. org where you can sign up to volunteer, make a donation, view our adoptable pets, and learn about upcoming events.

Beyond Hunger When the pandemic hit, we revamped our service model to keep everybody safe.

Instead of inviting people to shop inside our food pantry, we now prepack boxes with nearly 80 pounds of groceries and pop them into car trunks or shopping carts for participants. We’ve added more home delivery recipients knowing that elderly and disabled individuals are more at risk for COVID-19. The contents of each box is tailored to meet the needs of our community.

Along with food, we include toilet paper, toothpaste, and reusable washable masks.

With your support, we can make sure no one in our community goes hungry this winter.

Even a little goes a long way: every $1 donated can feed a neighbor for an entire day.

To donate, visit GoBeyondHunger.org or send checks payable to Beyond Hunger, 848 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301

Celebrating Seniors Coalition Since our inception a decade ago, the Celebrating Seniors Coalition has been passionate about dispelling outdated and inaccurate myths about what it is to be a senior in our society.

At the same time, the Coalition has raised funds to help meet the basic needs of daily living for dozens of elders in our community.

As we get to the “other side” of the pandemic and embark on our second decade, join us in Celebrating Seniors—those people 60 and over in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park.

Learn how you can join honor and support these esteemed elders at our updated website: www.CelebratingSeniors.net.

Concordia University Chicago Concordia University Chicago is a liberal arts, Christ-centered, Lutheran university where truth, freedom, and vocation form students for lives of influence and service for the common good. Founded in 1864, the University is located on 40 acres in River Forest, Illinois. Historically a college for teachers, it now offers more than 100 areas of study through traditional, blended or online classes. Students can earn a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees through one of four colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education and the College of Graduate Studies. Professors are passionate about teaching, learning and preparing students for success in their chosen vocations. Beyond academics, Concordia offers NCAA Division III athletic teams, intramural sports, touring music ensembles and numerous student clubs and organizations focused on service, recreation, spiritual life and more. Currently,

more than 6,400 students are enrolled.

To learn more, please visit CUChicago.edu or CUChicago.edu/GiveNow to support our students.

Growing Community Media Growing Community Media is dedicated to building community through independent, non-partisan local journalism. We believe that high quality community journalism preserves and strengthens the fabric of our democracy.

Independent community journalism holds local governments to account. It connects neighbors. It is the credible source when social media goes haywire, and it allows a community to debate and celebrate. Through Austin Weekly News, Wednesday Journal, Forest Park Review and Riverside-Brookfield Landmark, Growing Community Media reports local news and tells compelling local stories across many platforms. Our mission calls us to build fact-based accountability and connection, conversation and civility, diversity and a sense of belonging.

Join our mission by donating at growingcommunitymedia.org or contacting dhaley@wjinc.com

Hephzibah Children’s Association Hephzibah is making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and struggling families.

Oak Park’s oldest social service agency, Hephzibah is the only program in Illinois designated to care for the most severe cases of abuse and neglect of young children ages 3-11. Hephzibah Home provides comprehensive, therapeutic care for traumatized young children. Our Family Based Program supports more than 100 foster care children and stabilizes 150 families in crisis. Our Day Care

Program delivers quality, affordable day care and summer camp programming for elementary school children in Oak Park.

Make a difference with us at hephzibahhome.org.

Historical Society Forest Park The Historical Society Forest Park was founded in 1975 for the purposes of “collecting and preserving the rich heritage of Forest Park.” The historical society offers tours of Haymarket Martyr’s Monument in Forest Home Cemetery every Saturday in the summer, collect oral histories of Forest Park Veterans of Military service, hosts several historical events a year and celebrates Forest Park.

For more information about the Society, its events and programs, or to donate visit forestparkhistory.org or mail us: Historical Society of Forest Park, PO Box 311, Forest Park IL 60130

Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest We are the community’s story tellers and our new facility in an 1898 Oak Park Landmark at Lake and Lombard is Oak Park River Forest Museum, selected by Illinois Association of Museums as Small Museum of the Year. We invested $1 million in private funds to create a welcoming space in a former firehouse. Featured exhibits include “Open House: The Legacy of Fair Housing” and “Proud Oak Parkers: OPALGA at 30.” We are not supported by tax dollars and a gift of any amount funds our 2021 schedule of programs, our research center, and our knowledgeable staff.

Learn more and donate at oprfmuseum. org or 708-848-6755

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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The Joyful Giving Catalog L’Arche Chicago L’Arche Chicago provides high quality care in community-integrated homes for adults with intellectual disabilities in the OPRF area. Our mission is lived through daily life shared in mutuality: afternoon walks to the park, doctor’s appointments, and dinner parties. Moreover, L’Arche is committed to life together in a way that welcomes difference. As our society seems increasingly fearful of difference, L’Arche offers a counter story: that the differences so often keeping people apart can become the substance of joyful and transformative relationships.

Make a needed local impact through our people and mission at www.larchechicago. org/opendoors

Maywood Youth Mentoring Program Organized in 1993 as a 501c3, the Maywood Youth Mentoring Program has served hundreds of middle to high-school youth providing a variety of programs, workshops, field trips, and experiences designed to increase academic potential and instill cultural pride. Since 2008, the program has hosted free monthly youth breakfasts with topics ranging from anger management/and conflict resolution, etiquette, police/community interactions, sexual health, drug and alcohol avoidance, and academic excellence. Youths practice critical thinking skills to encourage positive life choices. Volunteer mentors interact with youth providing positive role models for college and career choices. Funds are needed to continuously provide free services and incentives for participation.

To volunteer, or to donate, visit us at maywoodyouthmentoring.org, or contact Barbara Cole, founder/CEO at 708-344-3577.

New Moms

New Moms believes in the strength, skills, and potential of all families and communities to achieve audacious possibilities for their futures.

At New Moms, young moms take powerful first steps towards economic mobility and family well-being. Our 2-Generation Approach puts families experiencing poverty in control of their goals and unleashes their potential.

We partner with families to construct the foundations of well-being by strengthening core life skills, incorporating early childhood

development supports, building pathways to and preparation for education and employment, and expanding positive social networks and access to community resources.

Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation

Learn more and donate at newmoms.org.

The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association

The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association strengthens our community through learning, giving, and sharing our landmark building through space grants to local non-profits. 80% of its usage is non-profit. We provide community outreach, scholarships, and public programming in five areas: music, art, literature, science, and social sciences.

The NCCA is the owner of 178 Forest Avenue, commonly referred to as the Nineteenth Century Club. Our charitable and cultural activities are supported by our members, volunteers, donors, and by the events held at the Club.

Programs are open to all and we welcome all ages to join.

If you would like information about volunteering, joining or donating, please call us at 708-386-2729 email to info@ nineteenthcentury.org. You can also make donation at nineteenthcentury.org.

Oak Park Art League Celebrating its centennial in 2021, the Oak Park Art League (OPAL) is one of the longest, continually running non-profit arts organizations in Illinois. OPAL is a vibrant cultural center where the invitation and challenge to use art as a medium for personal and community growth is made available to people of all ages. Since 1921, OPAL has brought arts education, appreciation, exhibitions, and the spirit of artistic inquiry to the surrounding community. OPAL is committed to meaningful community outreach to the population that makes up our greater community through partnerships and on-site art and programming with local social service agencies through our “Family stARTs” program.

For more information about membership, volunteering, or to make a donation, please contact Executive Director, Jill Kramer Goldstein at 708-386-9853 or director@ oakparkartleague.org. The Oak Park Art League is located at 720 Chicago Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302.

The Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation is based on a powerful promise: to create an enduring institution where people can come together and pool their resources to meet our community’s most pressing needs — not just now, but forever. For sixty years, generations of thoughtful and caring donors and residents have empowered the Foundation’s work to safeguard and advance the community in which we live, raise our families and work.

From helping donors with legacy gift planning, to managing donor advised funds, to strengthening local non-profits, we connect. Visit oprfcf.org or call Rhea Yap at 708-848-1560 to start a fund, discuss your charitable estate plans, or make a donation today.

Oak Park and River Forest High School Alumni Association Through its Bobbie Raymond Summer Enrichment grant program, the Oak Park and River Forest High School Alumni Association helps current OPRFHS students experience life-changing experiential learning opportunities that advance their interests and knowledge in preparation for higher education and future career goals. All freshman through juniors are eligible to apply for awards, though students from under-resourced families receive greater consideration. For more than 20 years, students have traveled to destinations throughout the U.S. and the world, taking part in cultural exchanges, camps, and enrichment opportunities. The future outlook of these life-changing opportunities, and their accessibility for students most in need depends on your support today.

Donate at https://tinyurl.com/oprfalumnidonate

OPRF High School Scholarship Foundation In May 2020, the Oak Park and River Forest High School Scholarship Foundation granted $140,000 in scholarships to 63 graduating seniors. Since 1924, the Scholarship Foundation has been an important and growing partner in the community, providing much-needed financial assistance to OPRFHS students as college tuition and expenses

continue to increase.

Please visit our website at www.scholarships4oprfhs.org. and make a gift to our General Fund to help increase the number and amount of scholarships we offer or to the College Knowledge Project (CKP) Scholars Fund that supports our CKP alumni, many of whom are first generation college students.

We hope you will join us by investing in the future of OPRFHS students today and make a tax-deductible donation. Contact scholarshipsoprfhs@ gmail.com to learn more about all scholarship opportunities.

The Parks Foundation of Oak Park The Parks Foundation of Oak Park promotes giving opportunities to support initiatives for the Park District. Our mission is to collaborate with residents, community groups and partner organizations to support exceptional projects that enhance and enrich our parks and community life.

We believe a commitment to equity and diversity is what makes our community strong.

Our fundraising efforts enhance scholarship funding to make it possible for all community members to participate in Park District programs. Last year over 200 scholarships were provided to enable individuals and families to participate in park district programs.

To learn more, and make a donation, visit parksfoundationop.org

PING! Providing equitable access to instrumental music for students in grades 4 through 12 in Oak Park and River Forest public schools has been the mission of PING! (Providing Instruments for the Next Generation) for more than 20 years. PING! loans band and orchestra instruments to students in need, and provides music enrichment through workshops; mentoring; and scholarships for summer music camps, school music trips, and private instruction. In this challenging year of COVID, PING! is adapting these enrichment programs to fit the needs of our students learning at home. Community support for our PING! students this year is more important than ever.

For more information, or to make a donation, please visit our new website at pingoprf.org. If you have an instrument to donate, send us an email at pingoprf@gmail. com.

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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your Community your Foundation Please, give to the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation's Annual Fund today.

OA K PAR K-R I V ER F OR E ST

Community Foundation

The Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation is a unique and vital part of the fabric of our community. With leadership, advocacy, and perseverance, the Foundation has mobilized essential resources to help those most in need in our neighborhood and beyond. Our service to our local organizations, donors, and scholars has continued without interruption, pushing for a more just and socially equitable community.

Together, we can create a brighter future for all.

Donate today at oprfcf.org or call 708-848-1560

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

River Forest Public Library Foundation

River Forest Public Library connects our community with information and entertainment, with each other and the world. RFPL Foundation works to enhance the Library today and for the future through fundraising and advocacy. The Foundation fully funded major updates in the Children’s Room in 2019. We have provided support for the Lobby/Circulation renovation, Summer and Adult Reading Programs, special programming, and the Anne Smedinghoff Memorial Garden.

Help ensure a strong community and a bright future for River Forest Public Library with your gift. We gratefully accept cash, credit/debit, securities and bequests. Visit RFPLFoundation.org/donate.

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Running through December!

UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago

UCP Seguin believes that all people, regardless of ability, deserve to achieve their potential, advance their independence and act as full members of the community. So we stop at nothing to provide life skills training, assistive technology, meaningful employment and a place to call home for people with disabilities, as well as specialized foster care for children.

Our goal: life without limits for people with disabilities.

2018

Giving Your local catalog for a more Beautiful Healthy

Community of Caring Pull-out section Nov. 18

Make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities. Donate online at ucpseguin. org or send gifts to UCP Seguin, 332 Harrison Street, Oak Park IL 60304

Secure

Giving Tuesday pull-out section on Nov. 25

Loving Peaceful Community.

OAK PARK-RIVER FOREST

Community Foundation

Youth Outreach Services St. Angela School St. Angela School has walked with the families of Chicago’s west side for one hundred years— walked with a deep commitment to enriching the lives, and the futures, of their children. We have a rich and varied history – and a future of great promise. We provide our children with a safe and loving environment and challenging academics; we help them explore paths that lead to meaningful and rewarding careers; and we teach them, above all, to believe in themselves. As we prepare for our next hundred years, we’re proud to reaffirm our commitment to love and serve all those who choose to be part of our community.

Learn more about St. Angela School at saintangela.org or call us at (773) 6262655.

Impact Stories Featured in each Season of Giving issue

Inside Wednesday Journal Nov. 4 - Dec. 25

Youth Outreach Services supports youth ages 12 to 21 and their families, by providing free programs that offer skill development, therapeutic interventions, and mentorship to improve their safety and well-being. Through the past 60 years, YOS has offered outpatient, community-based behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, after school mentoring and outreach, family therapy, crisis intervention services, case management, foster care, transitional living and housing services, inschool prevention curricula, and juvenile justice programs.

Help youth flourish by donating at www.yos. org/donate or text @YOSCARES to 52014.

Or help empower youth to reach their goals, by calling 773-777-7112 to refer them for services.

The Joyful Giving Catalog

The Joyful Giving Catalog Mass email to subscribers

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Community Giving Guide

Coordinated by the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation

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The Most Wonderful Guide of The Year!

eason of Giving is a campaign organized by Wednesday Journal and the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation to encourage local charitable giving during the holiday season. It has long

been recognized that when we shop local, our money recirculates through the local economy reaping dividends for the entire community. The same is true for charitable giving. When you donate to local nonprofits, your money goes to

work in your own neighborhood. Your donations feed local families, offer safety and learning to local children, and enrich the beauty and art that surrounds us all. Over the coming weeks, we hope that you will take a moment to look over the listings

We connect giving to impact!

AgeOptions

Season of Giving listings, in each edition

AgeOptions helps to empower older adults in Suburban Cook County by connecting them to information and resources so they can thrive as they age. AgeOptions has served older adults since 1974 reaching more than 155,000 older adults and caregivers last year alone. AgeOptions partners with community-based nonprofits serving older adults and their caregivers to ensure that every aging person has access to in-home care, adult day services, nutritious meals, intervention and prevention of fraud, abuse, and neglect, and advocacy to protect their right.

To donate, volunteer, or simply find out about the many services and programs available to you or your loved ones, go to www.ageoptions.org or call us at (708) 383-0258.

Animal Care League Animal Care League offers a safe haven for pets in need.

Founded in 1973, Animal Care League takes a proactive approach to animal care and adoption as well as preventative measures to help reduce the number of homeless animals in our communities. With over 1000 pets coming to our doors each year, Animal Care League counts on supporters to ensure that we can provide what is needed from routine vaccinations to life saving surgery.

Make a difference in the life of a homeless animal by visiting www.animalcareleague. org where you can sign up to volunteer, make a donation, view our adoptable pets, and learn about upcoming events.

BUILD, Inc.

Since 1969, Austin-based BUILD, Inc. has helped thousands of Chicago youth escape gang violence to become positive community leaders. BUILD is a second family to young people who face steep obstacles, yet succeed every day with the help of caring mentors who share similar backgrounds.

Programs like the Block 51 Arts Academy, Austin Summer of Opportunity, and BUILDing Girls 2 Women foster creativity, social-emotional health, and academic success of youth ages 6 to 24. Gifts to the Attitude of Gratitude campaign support expansion of programs in Austin, Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Logan Square, and Fuller Park.

Visit www.buildchicago.org or call 773/2272880.

The Children’s Clinic/ Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society Will you join us? We’re on a mission to advance the health and well-being of children in need. When you support the OPRF Infant Welfare Society, you help vulnerable children in our community and surrounding areas access critical healthcare, including pediatric, dental and behavioral health services.

Our Children’s Clinic is an important safety net for 3,500 children each year, and your generosity is key. Your gift of $50 will provide a toddler with two essential vaccines. Or for $150, a young patient with autism can receive specialized preventive dental services.

Make a gift at www.oprfiws.org or call 708406-8661. p.s. You’re also invited to join us for our 20th annual Holiday Housewalk & Market, November 29 – December 1! Another great way to help us provide heartfelt healthcare.

The Collaboration for Early Childhood

The Collaboration for Early Childhood is your resource for early childhood information in Oak Park and River Forest. We provide the connections vital to every child’s opportunity for success in learning and in life. We work with more than 60 organizations so that parents and their children receive critical information and support services, children are screened for developmental delays, teachers in child care centers, preschools and family child care homes provide high quality programs and our most vulnerable children and their families experience a strong web of support.

For more information, or to make a donation, please visit us at collab4kids. org or follow us on Facebook.

Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory Since 1986, the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory has been inspiring and educating visitors. We manage over 150 volunteers. We offer free tours through the showrooms and free educational programs for kids. We sponsor two free events at the Conservatory KidsFest and FallFest. We host the Uncorked summer-series and we are celebrating the 30th annual plant sale this coming spring.

We give grants to the park district to make improvements to the Conservatory. We rely on volunteers, members and donors to make these events, programs and grants possible.

Please consider helping us grow. Join. Donate.

Volunteer.

For more information about membership, volunteering, or to make a donation please contact Executive Director, Beth Cheng, at 708.725.2460 or director@fopcon.org.

in this Giving Guide. Find an organization that resonates with you. Check out their website. Consider making a donation or volunteering. Spread the word. Don’t just shop local—give Local.

Green Community Connections The most recent United Nations report shows that the worst effects of climate change will hit by 2040 if we don’t act now.

Go “all in” for the planet with your donation to the 8th annual One Earth Film Festival, an OPRF grass-roots effort that inspires climate action, resilience and environmental justice in communities throughout Chicagoland. In 2018, we hosted 60 film screenings, and 95% of surveyed attendees reported being inspired to get involved in issues or solutions.

Protect the planet by joining One Earth today: oneearthfilmfest.org/give.

Memberships start at $25. Bill Reilly of The Reilly Group at Merrill Lynch will generously match your donation now through #GivingTuesday.

Hephzibah Hephzibah Children’s Association was founded in 1897. We serve more than 1,000 children and families each year through innovative, community-based programs.

Hephzibah provides a Group Home for children who have been taken from their families due to profound abuse or neglect.

Our skilled staff recruits and trains foster parents, and offers ongoing support to help all family members navigate challenges.

Our after-school Day Care operates on a sliding scale to serve working parents in Oak Park, with programs based at each elementary school.

To make a real difference in the lives of children and families, please donate today at hephzibahhome.org.

Each of the organizations in this catalog paid a fee to participate in this year’s Season of Giving. If you run a nonprofit and you would like to be listed here, or if you would like to sponsor a nonprofit to be listed here, please contact Lourdes Nicholls (Lourdes@oakpark. com) or Marc Stopeck (Marc@oakpark.com).

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My experience with the River Forest Community Caucus

ince Steve Lefko shared his experience with the River Forest Community Caucus [I double-dog dare you to run for school board, Viewpoints, Oct. 28], I’d like to share mine as participant, co-chair and past candidate.

River Forest is not the only Illinois community to use a caucus to interview and endorse candidates for local government. Glenview uses one currently for its school board. The nearby village of Riverside uses a caucus to endorse Trustee candidates.

Caucuses in which I participated had 23 members: 19 voting members along with four non-voting participants, including two alternates (who would vote if they are replacing someone), one former board member to provide context for Caucus members, and one River Forest Education Association member (River Forest teachers union). Caucus chairpersons do not vote. Current school board members are not eligible to participate.

Some have asserted that the River Forest Community Caucus is part of District 90.

That is not true. It has zero affiliation with the board of education or D90 administration. There is no budget for it. I spent my own money buying folders and pens for caucus members. Organizers and participants are all volunteer. Candidates do not have to participate, either. All known candidates are invited to participate. They just won’t have

an opportunity to seek the endorsement of the caucus if they do not participate.

At the conclusion of the 2012 caucus, of which I was a voting member, the co-chairs asked all participants to consider leading the next caucus, which would be 2014. Eighteen months later, no one came forward to volunteer to be the next chairperson.

This is when the co-chairs re-approached me to lead the 2014 Caucus.

In 2014, I served as co-chair with Laura Maychruk. I was a Willard parent, she was a Lincoln parent, so we had a sizable base of people throughout River Forest to encourage to participate. In order to attract and recruit candidates for both the caucus itself as well as D90 board openings, we posted flyers in high-traffic areas; wrote press releases to local media; contacted neighbors and friends with students in private school to invite them to participate; reached out to older residents; spoke at meetings for taxing bodies and the D90 PTO. We made a rigorous and honest effort to extend an invitation to everyone.

At the conclusion of the 2014 Caucus, Laura and I asked members of the caucus to volunteer to lead the 2016 Caucus. Similar to 2014, by autumn of 2016 no one had come forward. We emailed the previous mem-

JUDY

DEOGRACIAS One View

Sweet reassurance In my old age I suffer from a disruption of sleep. I wake up in predawn hours and cannot get a full night’s rest. Such interruptions to my sleep play havoc with my energy and cause considerable discomfort in the ensuing day.

On Oct. 30, I had one of my frequent early wake-ups at about 5 a.m. and could not resume my night’s slumber. I went to my computer and checked my e-mails. There was a message from the Cook County Clerk’s Office which read as follows: Fred, your ballot has been received. We have received your voted ballot. However, no ballots are counted until Election Day when all ballot types are tallied. Thank you for participating in our democracy. If you wish to vote by mail in a future election, please apply at cookcountyclerk.com/vote by mail.

Sincerely, Cook County Clerk’s Office Mail Ballot Team Reading the e-mail, I felt warmth spreading within me in spite of a chill in my room.

The e-mail had a comforting, sweet reassurance in its message.

The persistent controversy in the news regarding early voting and voting by mail has me unnerved. There has been no evidence revealed of any vote fraud in voting by mail, after countless investigations. But President Trump continues to proclaim

bers once again. Calvin Davis stepped up to become the leader.

After the 2016 caucus was formed, Dr. Nicole Thompson and I were approached by Cal to run as candidates for the D90 board. Members of the caucus were not able to find any candidates to bring forward and no other River Forest residents had come forward on their own. Incumbent Ann Gottleib and Stacey Willams, who had been appointed to the board in 2016 to complete the remainder of a term for a departing board member, were also candidates. With four candidates and four seats open, the March 2017 election was uncontested. Nevertheless, each candidate did complete the caucus interview process.

All four candidates were endorsed.

In my opinion, here is what the River Forest Community Caucus does well: D90 is the largest taxing body in River Forest. Convening a caucus every two years provides a focused opportunity for a variety of River Forest residents to check in with each other on the composition of the board and ask the question: What makes a board member qualified? What are the strengths, weaknesses and motivations of a candidate?

The caucus is an opportunity for community members to ask thoughtful questions and encourage candidates to open up

that voting by mail perpetuates vote fraud.

The fact that he himself had voted by mail added confusion and cast additional doubt of the President’s veracity and his sincerity.

In reality, the President and his appointed administration operatives seem to present a greater threat to our electoral process than the external meddling by Russia, Iran, and China.

In August 2020, the Postmaster General of the United States, a Trump appointee, began to remove the blue U.S. Mail drop boxes from our streets. It raised suspicion that it was a plot to sabotage the operation of the U.S. Postal Service. It was an attempt to disrupt and possibly overload the processing and delivery of mail during the impending election. The resulting logjam of mail could delay mail deliveries to the County Clerk’s Offices, and late votes would become unacceptable. Impaired mail services also would slow the counting of votes and a timely determination of the election outcome thus would be postponed. Fortunately, that reform to U.S. Post Office operations was halted.

As a slight drowsiness began to envelop me, my insomnia subsided. I muttered, “Only in America,” and returned to bed.

The reassurance that my vote would be counted was more soothing and hypnotic than the music of Brahm’s “Lullaby.”

Fred Natkevi Oak Park

about themselves. Generally the questions come in the categories of district finance knowledge, a candidate’s professional background, why they want to run, and what skills and perspectives they feel they would bring to the board.

Twenty-one residents can be actively recruiting candidates.

In my opinion, one negative thing is that perhaps the caucus is too big. A panel of 23 people assembled to conduct 4-8 interviews is somewhat inefficient and redundant.

For example, there can be a lot of opinions expressed about how to word an interview question. Everyone is trying to say the same thing but in 10 different ways. Is there a way to make it smaller and not sacrifice inclusiveness and a broad range of experience and opinions?

River Forest is fortunate to continue to have many qualified residents who want to be candidates for our publicly elected offices. It is my hope that more residents become engaged, attend meetings (silver lining of the pandemic is they are all virtual now!) and take steps to look beyond social media comments for their information on local issues.

Judy Troyer Deogracias is a current River Forest D90 school board member and past River Forest Community Caucus member, chair and candidate interview participant.

Failure of local leadership on pandemic

Last week there was a major local controversy about George’s Restaurant defying the governor’s order to close indoor dining due to a surge in coronavirus cases. This weekend there’s a brouhaha in a Facebook group about another restaurant owner proposing opening his businesses for private parties of up to 25 people. A few weeks ago it was the village’s decision to go ahead with the Lake Street construction project, forcing an early close to outdoor dining on that restaurant row.

These are extraordinarily tough times for dining and entertainment businesses. With weather ending outdoor dining and scientists concluding the virus becomes aerosolized indoors (think spreading like smoke), it is going to get tougher this winter for these businesses. Many will close for good in 2021.

Have you seen the local governments’ efforts to keep these vital entities on life support? Has your email inbox been pounded by messages reminding you to grab carry-out from a local spot? Have you been seeing the Instagram ads encouraging you to buy a gift card to help these local treasures survive? Did you receive the pamphlet on your door with a carry-out guide to all Oak Park restaurants?

Yeah, me neither.

The village had a task force on helping these businesses out and it reportedly devolved into

yelling at the village manager. They did little to nothing. The Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, the entity charged with bringing business to Oak Park? They did little to nothing — they must be too busy trying to get apartment buildings built for residents … who will have to go to other cities to spend their dining money.

I certainly don’t have sure-fire solutions (though ideas can be found above, and kudos to Wednesday Journal’s pay-for-play efforts). My family tries to order out from favorite places regularly to support them, but reminders could get us and more neighbors to do more. I know there are issues about picking winners and losers, or where to get the money, considering the current budget crunch. I also know that doing nothing is unconscionable.

Local restaurants are so important because in addition to generating tax revenue, they contribute to the cultural fabric of the community. They bring life to our business districts; they help define the personality and appeal of our village.

It would be a shame if we lost them with a lack of interest, cooperation and leadership from our usually very interventionist government.

Brian Souders

Oak Park

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If Biden wins, what happens then?

o heal your troubled marriage, don’t hire a lawyer. If healing is your goal, you will be better served by seeing a therapist.

Lawyers fight for their clients.

They are not there to heal the relationship. They are called on during divorce proceedings which tend to be win/lose affairs. In my experience, in fighting for one spouse or the other, the former partners get polarized even further.

You see my analogy?

This presidential campaign, to me, has felt like a divorce. It feels like Democrats filed for divorce 10 minutes after Mr. Trump and the country said “I do” during the inauguration. We did not see any relationship therapists speaking at the impeachment trial.

Both teams, as is always the case in campaigns, are adversarial. By its very nature, someone has to win and someone has to lose. Even if the competition is respectful and opponents play by the rules, one team pours champagne over each other in the locker room and the other licks their wounds and begin plotting how to get even next time.

One of our societal mistakes, it seems to me, has been to respond to our troubled relationship by hiring lawyers instead of therapists. That is, to view it as a “culture war” instead of a breach of empathy, a term a psychologist friend of mine likes to use.

I think we all can agree that our nation-

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e’ve finally arrived at the part of 2020 that everyone thought was going to be the horrendous part of 2020, and early signs are that it is not going to disappoint. This election is like waiting for the results of a biopsy. Not the kind of biopsy where you’re waiting on “Is It Cancer?” or “How Long Do I Have?” or “Is It Maybe Just Fatty Tissue?” but more like the kind of biopsy where we are waiting to learn if there is either 1) nothing to be done but wait to die, or 2) “Well, it’s going to be a long, painful treatment with no guarantees.”

On the bright side, I still don’t have television or Facebook or Twitter, and I pay a couple bucks a month for a wonderful program called “AdBlock” that keeps me from seeing the kind of ads that I glimpse while throwing away all my mail, so I’m not marinating in this sewage like those of you who insist on participating.

I really don’t know how y’all keep up. I don’t care, mind you, but I’m still

al union is in trouble and that the last four years have had the effect of pouring gasoline instead of water on our burning home.

If Biden wins, how are we liberals (80 percent in this area who voted for Hillary) going to respond? Are we going to dance in the endzone to shame the other team? Are we going to continue on the adversarial, win/lose path we’ve been on or are we going to say, “This is not working. Let’s move away a bit from the combative style of lawyers and approach the next four years as marriage therapy.”

“But there are urgent things that need to get done,” protest some of my friends.

“More important than bringing the union closer together and building trust?”

I wonder.

Maybe healing begins with simple things like saying “we will work for” instead of “we will fight for.” I know it feels like we’re in a battle, but we have the power to frame it otherwise.

Those of you who have been in marriage counseling know how it works.

First, we had to let go of the position that I’m right and you’re an idiot. Then we had to listen to the other person in the relationship with the intention of trying to understand their point of view. Not to agree with it, necessarily, but at least to

try to understand and believe that we can respect people who view “reality” differently.

Donald Trump came into this “marriage” not wanting to make it work, and almost from the get-go those on the left side of the aisle have filed grounds for a divorce. That’s not a good scenario for healing a polarized union.

If the polls are more accurate than they were four years ago, come Jan. 20, our nation will have another chance to make the relationship work.

Officer Mike Keating, now retired, told me that every once in a while he will run into people he had arrested and put in jail, and sometimes they will actually smile and shake his hand. And when he asks them why, they reply, “Because even when you were arresting me, you treated me with respect.”

Pres. Lincoln’s overarching goal was not to win the war but to save the union. At some point that required both the blues and the grays to stop seeing the “other” as enemy and start relating to them as potential allies.

I realize we don’t have a sterling record in that regard, but it is possible. We are close allies with Germany 55 years after the end of WWII partly because in the Marshall Plan we helped Western Germany rebuild instead of punishing them,

TOM HOLMES

as was the case after WWI. It’s called restorative justice, a way of leaning into the pain of a troubled relational history with the goal of healing the relationship instead of defeating an enemy. Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu put that vision into practice in South Africa.

The All in the Family character Archie Bunker once said, “What’s wrong with revenge? It’s a perfect way of getting even!”

Come Jan. 20, we have a spiritual choice to make — follow Archie Bunker’s way of responding to injustice or that of Mandela, Tutu and Lincoln.

My wife just finished a novel titled, A Nun in the Closet, in which a character named Sister John has an unpleasant experience with a very rude, disrespectful man. “A most extraordinary man,” said Sister John, as he was going out the door.

“Pure bully — one of the most unpleasant I believe I’ve ever met — and what I resent very much is that I shall have to pray for him.”

My hope and prayer is that we choose to be therapists as well as lawyers, holding up the goal of having malice toward none and charity toward all. Truth and reconciliation, Bishop Tutu taught us, must be inseparable for a just peace to evolve.

It’s difficult to summon the spiritual will to do that after feeling like an enemy has victimized you, but I’m afraid that is what it’s going to take to, as my Jewish friends say, Tikkun Olam.

Repair the world.

Waiting for our biopsy results amazed. I’m ready to rent a house in the woods and stay there until Nov. 4, when whoever has replaced Tom Brokaw in the media ecosystem announces that one of the candidates saw his shadow so now there will be six more weeks of lawyering and stunts.

Clearly, I need to think more cheerful thoughts. I occasionally feel a little bad when folks say they’re having a rough time of it in the pandemic.

I’m doing OK, save for having added a modest amount of home-cooked weight.

(Which, if we’re being honest, is really more about welcoming that extra flesh back from wherever weight goes when you lose it.) I know some folks who’re really struggling, though, and I feel bad when they ask me how I’m doing with all the isolation and distancing, because the answer is, “Pretty good.”

I mean, this hasn’t changed my day-to-day that much. I’m not super social. My bar days are largely behind me. Cutting back on restaurants was a needed choice. The pot vaporizer needs to be replaced a little more often, maybe, and I’m not traveling at all, but those are some pretty low-grade “problems” given what some folks are coping with.

I don’t feel sorry for those who have lost the state-sponsored daycare called “school,” be the mourner child or parent. I would have had such a better childhood if “school” had been an hour a day from home that the improvement defies metaphor. I would have traded years of my life to do fifth- through eighth-grade from home, instead of being tucked in that particular correctional institution on Lathrop. If your kids are elated that school is gone, I implore you to listen to them and see if

ALAN

BROUILETTE

you can’t learn something.

I dunno. I think I’m more exhausted than I think I am. I think maybe we all are. I think we all hit a tired wall a few weeks ago. The kind where, were America a tired toddler, you’d know you had maybe 10 minutes to get us into a carseat and asleep if you wanted to avoid the meltdown. There’s so little that isn’t at least tinged with COVID (bad) or politics (worse) to write about, and it’s so easy to just slap down 600 words of breezy, complaining douchebaggery and discharge the obligation for the month.

I’m not afraid to admit it, though: I’m wiped. So are you. So is everybody. This is enormously unpleasant. I’d say I need a break, but there’s no break. It’ll all be over eventually, but not soon. One foot in front of the other. No way out but through. I hope you and yours are well.

We’ll be OK, but we’re not OK now, and that’s understandable.

Hang in there. See you next month.

Peace.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Y

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

V I E W P O I N T S

35

Red-state comfort food

stuffed with ground beef and cabbage, ears ago, I wrote a Sun-Times story about the food prepared by inmates at but open to being filled with whatever Cook County Jail, where I’d been offering you got. pro bono creative writing classes. The Recently, we traveled through Nefood that inmates prepared was sad stuff braska, but it was before Oct. 1, and like pizza made of crumbled crackers, ketchup, we couldn’t locate any place that was and cheese sticks or a salad of crunchy ramen serving this combo. So once we got noodles and mayo. home, we made some chili and bought This inmate-prepared food was likely not a beautiful cinnamon roll, big as a much better than what was being served to softball, from Oak Park’s Spilt Milk (103 them every day, but it was theirs, they made it Oak Park Ave.). and they owned it. People sometimes prefer food The combination of cinnamon roll that is simply their “own,” food that maybe few and chili could work. There’s frequently others have and maybe no one else wants, but cinnamon in the chili recipes which something special and ultimately theirs. could match up with the cinnamon in Local Dining Photo: David Hammond Cinnamon roll and chili This need to create something special and the roll, and the sweetness of the chili & Food Blogger one’s own may explain such Chicago culinary roll could play off any capsaicin heat in dipping French fries into a chocolate shake, a flavor combo curiosities as the Jim Shoe (a sub of roast beef, the chili. For our tasting, and to test the Phillip Foss conjured at El Ideas, or the peppermint-stick-incorned beef and gyros, with yellow mustard and theory, it would have done us well to up the cina-pickle enjoyed by youngs on Chicago’s South Side. tzatziki sauce) and the Mother-in-Law (a corn roll tamale in namon and chile quotient in the chili. As it was, eating these I’ve seen photos of cinnamon rolls and chili being served a hot dog bun, covered in chili). Another motivation could two disparate foodstuffs together did little to enhance the as two separate dishes and with both ingredients combined include the urge to make the most of limited resources; flavors of either. That said, there’s potential deliciousness into one dish, and there is some disagreement about the when you don’t have much to work with, you work with what in the combo that careful preparation of both components “correct” way to eat both items: either sequentially, with the you have. could make a reality. cinnamon roll for dessert, or simultaneously, by alternatEither of these two motivations — the need to make someMy guess is that there may be something else that explains ing bites; by using the torn roll as a dipper or spoon; or by thing of one’s own and the necessity of creating a “new” the popularity of the cinnamon-chili combination platter: combining both in one bowl which, I must say, borders on the food from limited resources — likely accounts, at least in nostalgia. It’s my understanding that this meal is popular in repulsive. part, for cinnamon roll and chili, a Nebraska road food onethe school cafeterias of Nebraska and some other MidwestCinnamon rolls and chili are reportedly eaten together two punch. ern states; this makeshift combo meal could simply be the in Midwestern states like Missouri, Iowa, and Kansas, but result of kids playing around with flavor combinations and As of Oct. 1, the Runza food chain, founded in Nebraska, also Colorado, Washington state and other regions. It seems finding something they like, then someone takes notice and began serving the cinnamon roll and chili combination in it becomes a “thing.” An analogy is the childhood habit of never to have been a big thing in Illinois. addition to their namesake runzas, bread rolls traditionally

DAVID

HAMMOND

Thank you to all the OPRF businesses taking the COVID-19 Safety Pledge and keeping our community safe & healthy.

COVID-19 SAFETY PLEDGE Sponsored by:

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36

O B I T U A R I E S

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

Timothy McNeil, 45 Autodidact, fantasy enthusiast

Timothy Allen McNeil, 45, of Forest Park, died Nov. 1 at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County from complications following an aortic dissection. A longtime resident of Oak Park and Forest Park, he worked for many years behind the deli counter at Jewel-Osco in River Forest and held earlier grocery-related jobs at the old White Hen Pantry on South Boulevard in Oak Park and at the long-defunct Oak Park Market on Oak Park Avenue. He more recently worked at Mariano’s in Lincoln Square and two years ago returned to manage the deli at Jewel-Osco in Stickney.

Born on June 18, 1975 and raised in the southwest suburbs, Tim was a 1993 graduate of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park.

A lifelong autodidact, he had a complicated relationship with formal schooling, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology with honors from Roosevelt University in 2008. He also spent time at Triton College and those classes were among his best experiences in higher education. He had a ranging, curious mind and a decade ago undertook a selfdirected, multi-year reading program, which he chronicled in a blog for friends and family.

The Forest Park Public Library served as his base of operations for that project.

He was active in the Chicago-area gaming community for several decades. Dungeons and Dragons was a mainstay, but he dabbled in many group roleplaying games. He enjoyed creating fantasy worlds for others to explore at area game stores and at regional and national gaming conventions. He enjoyed immersing himself in fictions and was passionate about movies and books — low-brow, high-brow, and no-brow.

Tim never married and lived for many years with his mother, Brenda B. McNeil, who preceded him in death in 2015. He is survived by his brother, Brett; his sister-in-law, Lindsay Koriath; and his nephew, Ian McNeil, all of Mishawaka, Indiana. Also surviving are multiple aunts and cousins.

Tim’s family wants to acknowledge the ex-

traordinary care he received at Stroger Hospital during a lengthy hospitalization. The doctors and nurses of Stroger’s SICU and MICU departments deserve special thanks.

Tim was a donor to Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue in Itasca. Cremation was handled by the Neptune Society in Downers Grove. A memorial service will take place at a future date.

Please write to brettmcneil@gmail.com for information about the service.

Sr. Michelle Germanson, 76

Longtime Trinity High School president Sister Michelle Germanson, O.P., 76, died on Oct. 21, 2020.

She served as president of Trinity High School from 1992 to 2018.

A member of the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters since January 1965, she served on Trinity’s first board of directors in 1990, which made the decision to remain a single-gender girls high school. While serving as Dean of Students at Dominican University, she was offered the position of president at Trinity in 1992.

Under her leadership Trinity adopted the International Baccalaureate Program in 1994, becoming only the second school in the state of Illinois and the first Catholic high school in the state to adopt the program. She introduced full block scheduling in 1995, focusing solely on a college preparatory curriculum.

She launched the Technology Project in 1996 and a capital campaign to build a stateof-the-art athletic facility. The Sister Michelle Germanson Athletic Facility was dedicated in 2003.

She supported the Fine Arts Program and worked with an advisory team to build a Health and Fitness Center, dedicated in 2011 and located in the athletic facility.

During her tenure, she partnered with four principals, 14 board chairs, and 27 boards.

“She was devoted to Trinity,” said current Trinity President Laura Curley. “Her efforts were dedicated to educating and empowering young women to learn and grow to be their best.”

Robert P. Gamboney Funeral Director

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Trinity plans to establish a scholarship fund in her name. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made online at: https://www.trinityhs.org/ sistermichelle.

Join the Sinsinawa community virtually for Sister Michelle’s wake service on Thursday, at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 5 at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sinsinawa/portal.htm?eventId=61027 6&streamType=video Tune into the funeral Mass liturgy on Friday at 10:30 a.m., Nov. 6 at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sinsinawa/portal.htm?eventId=61 0277&streamType=video

Susan Lindberg, 74

Actor, director, dancer, writer and teacher Susan Ann Lindberg (nee Nichols), 74, of Oak Park, died on Oct. 31, 2020. An actor, director, choreographer, dancer, and writer, she was one of the founding members of the community theater group Oak Park Musical Theatre (OPMT). In her long teaching career with District 97, she pioneered and ran the Integrated Arts Program at Emerson/Brooks Middle School creating countless original theatrical works based on her students’ curriculum. She directed Children’s Theatre for Village Players and directed, choreographed, or starred in local productions in Oak Park and Chicago.

In her retirement, she became heavily involved with the Ernest Hemingway Foundation giving tours at Hemingway’s Birthplace. She also performed in the Historical Society’s Cemetery Walk, portraying characters, such as Emma Goldman and Grace Hall Hemingway.

An avid reader, world traveler, and connoisseur of Cary Grant movies, she loved her husband, children, and friends fiercely.

Susan was the wife of the late Roger; the mother of Eric Lindberg and Kate LindbergVazquez (Myrna Vazquez); the grandmother of Matheos; daughter of the late Robert and Rosetta Nichols; sister of the late Robert E. Nichols Jr. and the late Gail Esposito; and the aunt, great aunt, friend and teacher of many.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to the ACLU, the Democratic Party of Oak Park, or the Ernest Hemingway Foundation.

A Celebration of Life event will be announced and held at a later date, post-pandemic, when it is safe to gather.

Interment at Oak Ridge Cemetery was private.

Phil O’Hara, 87

Publisher, early WJ supporter John Philip O’Hara, known as Phil, 87, died on Sunday, Oct. 18, in Brooklyn, Connecticut, with his children at his side. Born on May 17, 1933, in Worcester, Massachusetts, he earned his Bachelor of Arts at Brown University in 1957 after spending two years serving in the U.S. Army in Korea.

He retired at the age of 77 as director of student activities at Brown University, where he was a founder of the Brown University Mediation Project.

Beginning his professional career with the Follett Publishing Company in Chicago, he rose to the position of president of the publishing division, before branching off on his own to create JP O’Hara Inc., a niche publishing company, which published Chicago on Foot, as well as other titles.

He devoted his life to serving other people, including affiliations with Chicago Youth Centers, the District 97 Board of Education, and Boy Scouts Troop 16. He enjoyed supporting new businesses and organizations from the ground up, from the founding of Wednesday Journal to the mediation work he cherished. He loved to travel, especially with his children, to Alaska, the Boundary Waters, Illinois, Idaho, and California.

Phil O’Hara was preceded in death by his parents, Katherine Broderick O’Hara and Russell J. O’Hara; his brother, Frank O’Hara; and his daughter, Alison O’Hara Barasa. Survivors include Patricia, his wife of 25 years; his sister, Maureen; his children, Keith (Dena), Julie, and John (Amy); his two stepsons, Michael and Will Weatherly; and his 17 grandchildren and four great-granddaughters.

Services were held on Oct. 22, 2020, in Grafton, Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the New Hampton School, 70 Main St., New Hampton, NH 03256.

Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home

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All services handled with dignity and personalized care.

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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

YOUR WEEKLY AD

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

WEDNESDAY

CLASSIFIED

37

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

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

Wednesday Journal Classified must be notified before the second insertion.

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

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

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

HELP WANTED

BUSINESS MANAGER – PART TIME The River Forest Park District is seeking applications for a PT Business Manager working 20 hours a week. Starting Salary $26.45$31.26/HR. A full Job Description can be reviewed at www.rfparks. com/job-opportunities

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

Must have own transportation.

Call for more info.

708-738-3848

CASHIER/RECEPTIONIST Looking for a detailed oriented individual with dealership experience.

Alternate Saturday schedule, must be exible. call 708-848-8500 PUBLIC WORKS The Forest Park Public Works Department seeks a safety oriented individual for the union position of Public Works Laborer/Truck Driver to perform a variety of manual labor tasks requiring varying skill levels.

Under general supervision, the position of Public Works operates and maintains the Village’s infrastructure and buildings. This position works indoors and outdoors throughout the year in all weather conditions. The ideal candidate for this position will be one who can work as part of a team, has a strong work ethic, and is willing to learn and perform a variety of maintenance and construction related activities.

Essential job duties include but are not limited to: • Snow removal with vehicle mounted plows, skid steers, and snow blowers and shovels. • Care and maintenance of Village owned buildings and properties including mowing, weeding, trash removal, tree management and maintenance, storm drain maintenance. • Pavement and sidewalk removal and replacement • Maintenance of trafďŹ c Signage. • Repair of concrete and asphalt pavement • Operation of heavy duty construction equipment The individual selected for this position will be required to respond to emergencies outside of regular business hours as needed.

Experience in all construction related ďŹ elds and disciplines are preferred. Position requires a high school diploma or GED, two years Public Works or construction experience and an Illinois

PART TIME DRIVER Local Co looking for Part time Driver.

Must be able to lift 75lbs, Valid Drivers License.

Hours 6 am til 12 pm.

Email HR@sievertelectric.com TEACHER AND TEACHER AIDE MINI ME BUNCH seeks teacher and teacher aide to enhance and expand daycare serving children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Teacher must have at least Associates’ degree in Early Childhood Education. Minimum 1 year experience preferred in each position. Must love children and be outgoing, patient, exible.

Contact 773-521-9499.

ROOMS TO RENT BEAUTIFUL 2 RM SUITE Furnished entire 3rd oor. Equipped w/ new refrigerator in suite w/ access to full kitchen on 1st r. Shared bath w/ 1 person. 1 blk from grocery.

Easy walk to blue & green lines.

Avail. as month-to-month rental. $900.

Call 708-242-4211 Or Email: praywpp@protonmail.com

SUBURBAN RENTALS

COMMERCIAL/ RETAIL SPACE

FOREST PARK 3BR Jackson Blvd, 3 BR apt., 2nd oor w/dining room and breakfast nook.

New kitchen w/granite & stainless, new bath, central air, free laundry. 2 blocks to blue line, 2 blocks to Madison Street. 1700 + deposit & credit check required. Garage available.

312-802-8291

A RETAIL SPACE FOR LEASE IN SHOPPING CENTER: 1600-1635 Sq Ft.

OAK PARK 2BR 2BA CONDO Condo for rent on a great location near downtown oak park: 2 bedroom 2 bath condo, only electric bill not included. $1400 a month, $1400 deposit. For more information please call 224-475-7929.

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

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT

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RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. *1116 sq. ft. suite *569 sq. ft. with patio OAK PARK–1053 Lake St. *Entire 3rd Floor, 1275 sq. ft.

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

SUBURBAN RENTALS

SUBURBAN RENTALS

M&M

property management, inc.

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

Apartment listings updated daily at:

Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) or ability to obtain a CDL within 6 months of employment.

Position will be open until ďŹ lled, however submittal by November 15, 2020 is encouraged. EOE. The application form can be found at: https://www.forestpark.net/ dfp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ A P P L I C AT I O N - F O R - E M P L O YMENT-Revised-8-8-19.pdf.

QualiďŹ ed individuals interested in being considered for the position should email the application form and resume if desired to: vmoritz@ forestpark.net with Public Works in the subject ďŹ eld.

Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.

Advertise in Wednesday Classified. Call 708/613-3342

• 321B S. Harlem Ave. Forest Park, IL. • Very Good Condition– Recent Repairs/ Replacement: New ceiling/oor tiles, New baseboards, New HVAC Unit, Bath Lav & sink/ faucet, Drywall, White primed walls throughout. • Suitable for almost ANY business type. • Heavy foot/road trafďŹ c area; Near Oak Park Hospital. • End space. • 45-Space Parking Lot!

ITEMS FOR SALE CHERRY WOOD CHAIRS Two beautiful cherry wood chairs with leather seats. $60.00 ea.

FAN $20.00 AUDIX SPEAKERS Two new Audix speakers. $60.00 ea.

Call Nell 708-383-7892 SMALL CHEST Small plastic chest with six dustproof drawers. Pretty burnt orange color, like new. 33�h x 12�d x 15�w.

708-488-8755

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

ELECTRICAL

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

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

SMALL METAL FILE CABINET 13�w x 30�h x 10�d. 6 skinny drawers.

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Serious Inquiries ONLY: CALL/TEXT: D.B. (708) 828-6491

4 FOREST HOME CEMETERY PLOTS 4 Forest Home cemetery plots available together or separately. Garden Sec. 61, Lot 342-A spaces 1,2,3,4. $1800 each, transfer costs not included.

Call 847-468-0013 and leave message

ITEMS FOR SALE

WANTED TO BUY

BENCH PRESS WITH WEIGHTS York set includes (4) 3 lb weights; (9) 5 lb weights; (7) 10 lb weights; (2) 50 lb weights together with poles. $79.00 708-488-8755

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

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

CEMENT

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

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

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

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

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38

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

CLASSIFIED

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

Let the sun shine in...

HEATING/ AIR CONDITIONING

Public Notice: Your right to know In print • Online • Available to you 24/7/365

HEATING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Furnaces, Boilers and Space Heaters Refrigerators Ranges • Ovens Washer • Dryers Rodding Sewers Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000

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

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PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

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

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004736 on October 6, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of MARISSA KELLEY VIRTUAL ASSISTANT with the business located at: 1410 N 12TH AVE APT 2, MELROSE PARK, IL 60160. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: MARISSA MARIAH KELLEY 1410 N 12TH AVE APT 2, MELROSE PARK, IL 606160, USA Published in Forest Park Review 10/21, 10/28, 11/4/2020

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004905 on October 14, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of VONLONGMIRE with the business located at: 1639 N. LOREL AVE., CHICAGO, IL 60639. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: DAVONTE LONGMIRE 1639 N. LOREL AVE. CHICAGO, IL 60639, USA. Published in Wednesday Journal 10/21, 10/28, 11/4/2020

PublicNoticeIllinois.com • OakPark.com | RiverForPUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004886 on October 14, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of ETEACH UEXCEL with the business located at: 2027 S. 17TH AVE. APT. 5, BROADVIEW, IL 60155.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: CHERIAMOR HOUSTON 2027 S. 17TH AVE. APT. 5, BROADVIEW, IL 60155, USA.

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004939 on October 20, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of BLACK FAVES with the business located at: 4508 IDLEWILD LANE, HILLSIDE, IL 60162. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: TANISHA BLAKELY 4508 IDLEWILD LANE, HILLSIDE, IL 60162, USA.

Published in Forest Park Review 10/21, 10/28, 11/4/2020

Published in Forest Park Review 10/28, 11/4, 11/11/2020

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: November 19, 2020 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 14-20-Z APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on an application for a variance filed by the Applicant, Elizabeth Adamska, seeking a variance from Section 4.3 (Table 4-1: Residential Districts Dimensional Standards) and Section 9.3 (N) (1) (b) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance, which sections require a minimum five (5’) foot interior setback and that attached garages must be setback a minimum of five feet from the front building wall of the existing structure, respectively, to construct a two-story addition that will result in an approximate 3.9 foot interior setback and the attached garage is proposed to be constructed five (5’) feet in front of the building façade line of the existing house at the property located at 639 Highland Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Numbers 1617-109-037-0000 in the R-4 SingleFamily Zoning District.

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on chan-

nel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning@oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on November 19, 2020.

An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public hearing if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public hearing. Interested persons may also participate in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone.

The public hearing may be adjourned by the Board to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 4, 2020

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PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 TENTATIVE ANNUAL BUDGET OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS A public hearing of the President and Board of Trustees (“Board”) of the Village of Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois, regarding the Village of Oak Park tentative annual budget for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2021 and ending December 31, 2021 will take place on Monday, November 16, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. remotely and streamed live and archived online for ondemand viewing at www.oak-park. us/boardtv, as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is being conducted pursuant to Section 7 (e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Written comments may be provided prior to the public hearing by email to publiccomment@oak-park.us. The individual’s name and their comment will be read aloud into the record at the pubic hearing if received no later than 6:00 p.m. on November 16, 2020. If email is not an option, written comment can be placed in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, no later than 5:00 p.m. on November 16, 2020. Questions regarding public comment can be directed to 708.358.5460 or by email to finance@oak-park.us.

The tentative annual budget is available for public inspection prior to the public hearing at the Office of the Village Clerk, Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, during regular business hours from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The hearing may be continued by the Board to another date at the public hearing by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

The tentative annual budget may be revised and adopted by the Board without further notice or hearing.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 4, 2020

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: November 25, 2020 TIME: 6:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 04-20-DRC: 838 Madison Street, Karla Linarez APPLICATION: The Community Design Commission (“Commission”) will conduct a public hearing on an application filed by the Applicant, Karla Linarez, seeking a sign variance from Section 7-7-15 (D) (1) (a) of the Sign Code of the Village of Oak Park, to permit installation of one (1) wall sign (Tacos ’76) on the east elevation of the newly constructed mixed-use building where there is no street frontage at the premises commonly known as 838 Madison Street, Oak Park, IL, Property Index Number 16-07-326021-0000 in the MS Madison Street Sign Overlay District.

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection with the Zoning Administrator, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The Commission will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video.

The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is

not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20004951 on October 20, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of FLAWEDDBLACK with the business located at: 8141 S INGLESIDE AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60619.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: THENIKA NEELY, 8141 S INGLESIDE AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60619, USA

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y20005049 on October 27, 2020 Under the Assumed Business Name of HAMM FAM ELITE APPAREL with the business located at: 1020 WASHINGTON BLVD UNIT 1B, OAK PARK, IL 60302. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: ANTONIA HAMMOND, 7720 S YATES BLVD, CHICAGO, IL 60649, USA, FRANK HAMMOND, 1020 WASHINGTON BLVD #1B, OAK PARK, IL 60302, USA, ROBERT HAMMOND 4907 W PATTERSON AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60641, USA.

Published in Wednesday Journal 10/28, 11/4, 11/11/2020

Published in Wednesday Journal 11/4, 11/11, 11/18/2020

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will be accepting Proposals from qualified Consultants from Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Accredited/Certified and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Certified Laboratories for the testing and analysis of the drinking water for the Village as required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and U.S.EPA for calendar year 2021.

Sealed Bids will be accepted at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2021 Drinking Water Laboratory Services Bid Number: 21-100

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning@oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on November 25, 2020.

An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public hearing if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public hearing. Interested persons may also participate in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone.

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained at http://www.oakpark.us/bid or at the Public Works Center at the address listed above.

The public hearing may be adjourned by the Commission to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

Published in Wednesday Journal Wednesday, November 4, 2020.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 4, 2020

Buying? Selling? Renting? Hiring?

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Due to COVID-19 separation protocols, the Oak Park Public Works Center is closed to the public. To hand deliver proposals, proposers may leave their proposals in the Public Works mailbox or call 708.358.5700 and a representative will accept the bid package at the door. There will not be a formal “bid opening” for the contract. Electronic signatures will be accepted on all documents.

Information is available from Orlando Velasquez, Senior Pumping Station Operator at 708.358.5749 or Ovelasquez@oak-park.us.

The deadline for questions is 8:00 A.M. on Friday, November 13, 2020. Any addenda for this bid will be issued by 1:00 P.M. Monday, November 16, 2020.

The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue proposal documents and specifications only to those vendors deemed qualified.

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will be accepting Proposals from qualified Consultants for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Integrators for services related to the Village of Oak Park’s drinking water SCADA system.

Sealed Bids will be accepted at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2021 SCADA Integration Services Bid Number: 21-101 Specifications and bid forms may be obtained at http://www. oak-park.us/bid or at the Public Works Center at the address listed above.

Due to COVID-19 separation protocols, the Oak Park Public Works Center is closed to the public. To hand deliver proposals, proposers may leave their proposals in the Public Works mailbox or call 708.358.5700 and a representative will accept the bid package at the door. There will not be a formal “bid opening” for the contract. Electronic signatures will be accepted on all documents.

Information is available from Orlando Velasquez, Senior Pumping Station Operator at 708.358.5749 or Ovelasquez@oak-park.us.

The deadline for questions is 8:00 A.M. on Friday, November 13, 2020. Any addenda for this bid will be issued by 1:00 P.M. Monday, November 16, 2020.

The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue proposal documents and specifications only to those vendors deemed qualified.

Published in Wednesday Journal Wednesday, November 4, 2020.

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Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know

In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com | RiverForest.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com PUBLIC NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed Bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 2:00 p.m. on Friday, November 20, 2020 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2021 Village Wide Seasonal Container Display and Maintenance Bid Number: 20-143 Bid forms may be obtained from the Public Works Customer Service Center by calling 708-3585700 or by stopping by the office located at 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Information is also available from the Assistant Public Works Director, Rob Sproule, rsproule@oakpark.us and the Village’s website http://www.oak-park.us/bid.

Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue proposal documents and specifications only to those vendors deemed qualified. No proposal documents will be issued after 4:00 p.m. on the working day preceding the date of proposal opening. For more information call the Public Works Service Center at 708.358.5700.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 4, 2020

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 19th, 2020 at 7:00 PM NOTICE is hereby given that the Village of Brookfield Planning and Zoning Commission will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, November 19th, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the Edward Barcal Hall located at 8820 Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield, Illinois for the purpose of considering a request for a special use for the expansion of a daycare at 3424 Maple Avenue, Brookfield, Illinois 60513 (PINs 1534-131-044-0000, 15-34-131-0450000, 15-34-131-046-0000).

The public is invited to attend the public hearing and present oral and/ or written comments.

The application may be viewed at the Village of Brookfield Village Hall during normal business hours.

Written comments may be provided prior to the public hearing to: Village of Brookfield, Planning and Zoning Commission c/o Elyse Vukelich, 8820 Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield, IL 60513 or evukelich@brookfieldil.gov.

Individuals with disabilities requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in any meeting should contact the Village of Brookfield (708) 485-7344 prior to the meeting. Wheelchair access is available through the front (South) entrance of Village Hall.

By the Order of Chuck Grund, Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman.

Published in RB Landmark 11/4/2020

PUBLIC NOTICES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION NOVEMBER 19th, 2020 at 7:00 PM NOTICE is hereby given that the Village of Brookfield Planning and Zoning Commission will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, November 19th, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the Edward Barcal Hall located at 8820 Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield, Illinois for the purpose of considering a text amendment to Chapter 62 of the Village Code of Ordinances to add a special use for multi-family developments in single family zoning districts as part of an adaptive reuse of an institutional building.

The public is invited to attend the public hearing and present oral and/ or written comments.

The application may be viewed at the Village of Brookfield Village Hall during normal business hours.

Written comments may be provided prior to the public hearing to: Village of Brookfield, Planning and Zoning Commission c/o Elyse Vukelich, 8820 Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield, IL 60513 or evukelich@brookfieldil.gov.

Individuals with disabilities requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in any meeting should contact the Village of Brookfield (708) 485-7344 prior to the meeting. Wheelchair access is available through the front (South) entrance of Village Hall.

By the Order of Chuck Grund, Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman.

Published in RB Landmark 11/4/2020

LEGAL NOTICE LAW OFFICE OF LINDA EPSTEIN Attorney for Petitioner 722 W. Diversey Parkway, Ste. 101B Chicago, iL 60614 STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division.

In re the marriage of NELLY R. COLON, Petitioner and KAJ PER WILLIAM PERSSON, Respondent, Case No. 2020 D 006163 The requisite affidavit for publication having been filed, notice is hereby given to you, the above named Respondent, that a Petition has been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, by the Petitioner, for Dissolution of Marriage and for other relief; and that said suit is now pending.

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your Appearance and Response electronically to said Petition in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on or before December 4, 2020, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk.

Published in Wednesday Journal 11/4, 11/11, 11/18/2020

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR FFMLT TRUST 2005-FF11, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005FF11 Plaintiff, -v.BRIAN HOLLOWAY Defendants 19 CH 00561 125 SOUTH LOMBARD AVENUE OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 23, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on November 25, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 125 SOUTH

LOMBARD AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-08-302-0150000 The real estate is improved with a yellow vinyl siding, one story single family home with a detached two car garage.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject

property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser

of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION

One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088 E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com Attorney File No. 268445 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 19 CH 00561 TJSC#: 40-595 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 19 CH 00561 I3155753

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Wednesday Journal, November 4, 2020

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E VE RYW H E R E E L S E I T ’ S H E A LT H C A R E

HERE, IT’S PERSONAL ALEXANDER HANTEL, MD - ONCOLOGY/HEMATOLOGY For Dr. Alexander Hantel, without the patient, there is no purpose. That’s what drives him to make every patient feel like they’re the only one in his care. After 27 years of building the Cancer Center from the ground up, he knows all good medicine is personal. That’s how we operate day in and day out at Edward-Elmhurst Health. Because for us, THIS IS PERSONAL. ThisIsPersonalEEH.org