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W E D N E S D A Y

November 10, 2021 Vol. 42, No.15 ONE DOLLAR

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JOURNAL

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@oakpark

Welin races to state title

of Oak Park and River Forest

Oak Park orders North Blvd. building evacuation

Page 30

GOING, GOING, GOURD!

Inspectors find sloping floors, unauthorized repair to structural beam

Owen, 7, aims for the dumpster at Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest during the pumpkin recycling event as Dad steadies and Mom records. See story and more photos on page 15.

By DAN HALEY and BOB UPHUES Editors

A 60-unit apartment building at 930 North Blvd. must be evacuated by midnight on Nov. 10 on orders from Oak Park’s village government after municipal inspectors found that floors on at least two levels of the building slope as much as four inches toward the center of the structure.

On Nov. 5 Steven Cutaia, Oak Park’s chief building official, sent a memo to the building’s recently hired management firm saying that because the building management could not produce a “structural stability report” by a deadline that day the village was ordering that all residents be notified that day about the “building’s potential structural issues” and that all tenants had to be evacuated and relocated by 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 10.

James Moore, portfolio manager for 33 Realty, said Monday that his firm’s first priority was to “make sure everyone is safe” and that management was complying with the village’s orders.

Moore said 30 units in the building are currently occupied but he could not give an exact number See EVACUATION on page 20

SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor

Students seek a more secure eco-future Teens travel to climate conference in Scotland

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Manolo Avalos loves being outdoors.

The 15-year-old enjoys following the trails through forest preserves or just walking around his Oak Park neighbor-

hood, looking up into the tall trees whose leaves glitter with sunlight or glisten with rain and change every season. He holds those quiet moments close but fears they could be lost if people, young and old, don’t come together and start caring for the environment.

On Nov. 4, Avalos, a member of the youth-led group It’s Our Future (IOF), went on Zoom and spoke to dozens of teens across Chicagoland and the nation about the need to protect the planet. The See YOUTH VOICES on page 18

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Come together- Let’s talk about race.

Athena Williams, Executive Director, Oak Park Regional Housing Center

O

ak Park Regional Housing Center, which has been a national leader in the housing justice and integrated communities’ movement since 1972, is inviting the community to attend a Theatre Benefit Performance of Paradise Square, a new musical and a galvanizing story of

racial harmony undone by a country at war with itself. Imagine this: in 1863, Free Blacks and Irish Immigrants learned to live together in the same neighborhood. In 1972, Oak Park Regional Housing Center begins its work to integrate Oak Park, Illinois.

Here we are in 2021, we are moving forward with a

new Power of Engagement- Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges. As we begin to celebrate our 50th year, join us to experience Paradise Square, and to discuss the challenges ahead as we continue the conversation about how we can make our communities better, stronger and more equitable.

Thursday, November 18, Doors Open at 6:30pm, Performance at 7:30pm • James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph, Chicago For more information, visit: oprhc.org

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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BIG WEEK Month 10-17

Economy Shop Open for Business

Holiday Gift Project Sarah’s Inn is collecting donated new toys or gift cards to help make the holidays brighter for clients and their children. Shop local or shop online. Either way, gifts need to be delivered by Dec. 3. For more information or to schedule delivery, email Mariam at mariami@sarahsinn.org

Emancipation to Inauguration: Chicago’s Black Experience Sunday, Nov. 14, 2-3:30 p.m., River Forest Public Library From Chicago’s first settler to the nation’s Chief Executive, the African-American presence is deep, rich, and all around Chicago. In partnership with River Forest Township. River Forest Public Library, 735 Lathrop Ave. For more, call 708-366-5205 ext. 320 or visit www. riverforestlibrary.org.

Saturday, Nov. 13 and 20, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 103 S. Grove Ave., Oak Park Select from a variety of great deals in three floors of rooms, all to support seven local nonprofits. No supply chain delays from the many donations received on nonsale days. Shop for clothing, antiques, toys, home items and more. Masks required; 50 shoppers allowed in at one time. Up next: Dec. 2, 11 and 18. Info: economyshop.org.

Albertus Magnus Lecture Tuesday, Nov. 16, 5 p.m., Virtually through Dominican University’s Siena Center Rev. Roger Haight will deliver the annual Albertus Magnus Lecture on the intersection between science and faith. He is a REV. ROGER HAIGHT professor at Union Theological Seminary and past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America.

He is the author of Faith and Evolution: A Grace-Filled Naturalism. Reservations are required. For more, contact Rachel Hart Winter at rhartwinter@dom.edu.

Growing Mushrooms Thursday, Nov. 11, 7 to 8 p.m., Virtual lecture

Join us for a free virtual lecture to learn how to begin growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms in your very own kitchen, basement, or backyard. We will discuss a variety ways to grow some of our favorites, like Shiitake, Oyster, Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Wine Cap, and more. Ages 18+. Presented by the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory. For more, call the Oak Park Conservatory, 615 Garfield St., 708-725-2400, or visit www.oakparkconservatory.org.

Veterans Day Ceremony Thursday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m., Nineteenth Century Charitable Association, 178 Forest Ave. Veterans, their families and friends, and all area residents are invited to the annual Veterans Day ceremony in the Grand Ballroom of the 19th Century Club building. Village President Vicki Scaman will give welcoming remarks. The History Singers will lead patriotic singing. A bugler will play taps and U.S. Army Chaplain Kerstin Hedlund, who served in Iraq, will lead in prayer and deliver remarks.

Louisiana Storytelling Celebrate “Building Bridges” Saturday, Nov. 13, 4 to 6 p.m., Code Ninjas-Oak Park, 7119 W. North Ave., Oak Park Free raffle prizes and food at this celebration of “Building Bridges,” a new mural by students from St. Giles School and By Discovery, LLC. Tour Code Ninjas and experience game building for coding/programming. This event inaugurates North Art Bridge, a project of The North Avenue District that bridges the Galewood neighborhood of Austin and Oak Park with art. More information: https:// www.facebook.com/events/1071724216701469

Chicago-area Jewish Genealogy Sunday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m., Virtual meeting “Resources for Jewish Genealogy in Chicagoland — What’s New” will be the topic of a talk by genealogist Mike Karsen for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois virtual meeting. Register/RSVP for this free event at https://jgsi.org/event-4118903. After registering, you will receive a link to join the meeting.

Monday, Nov. 15, 1:15 p.m., Nineteenth Century Charitable Association The Monday Enrichment Series presents author Stephanie Soileau for a presentation of her short stories from Last One Out STEPHANIE SOILEAU Shut Off the Lights, including a discussion of place in fiction; the writer’s relationship, real and imagined, to place; and how environmental and economic threats shape our relationships to home. This program will be presented in the third floor ballroom. Proof of vaccination and masks required. Seating will be socially distanced.

For our complete COVID19 policy, please visit: https:// www.nineteenthcentury.org/our-public-programs. Free for members. A $15 donation at the door is requested for non-members. A three-course lunch is served at noon before the program (doors open at 11:30 a.m.). Cost is $20 for members and $25 for non-members.

Antigone at OPRF Little Theatre, Nov. 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 7 p.m.

Antigone, the first Greek play staged by the OPRF Theatre Department since 2008, will be performed in front of a live (socially-distanced) audience. The timely theme focuses on the struggle between one’s moral compass and the orders of the government. The production features a diverse cast. The translation for Antigone was done by Nicholas Rudall, a professor at the University of Chicago and founding director of Chicago’s Court Theatre.

Tickets are $6 students/seniors; $8 adults at OPRFHS. TicketLeap.com/Antigone or at the box office. OPRF High School, 200 N. Scoville.

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Marketing the free market

ast month, I took a trip to the Oak Park Avenue office of Oak Park Township Assessor Ali ElSaffar to talk about property tax assessments. I wanted his opinion about why the Vantage Oak Park Apartments at 150 Forest Ave. were assessed at $90 million by Oak Parker and Cook County Township Assessor Fritz Kaegi and, after the owners appealed, nearly half that by the Cook County Board of Review.

The conversation, however, veered into much deeper territory. In a nutshell, ElSaffar said, the differences may come down to appraisals and which factors appraisers are prioritizing in the process of making their valuations. Appraisals are called opinions of value for a reason, he said.

ElSaffar has personal experience with how perceptions of value can affect the price of property. He said things like racial and class bias can play critical parts in how “the market” determines worth.

“It’s sort of funny living on Austin Boulevard and talking about this,” he said. “I see it. I’ve had people who are afraid to come to my house. It’s like, ‘Oh, come on.’ But it happens. So, yes, that influences market values.”

The conversation with ElSaffar prompted me to revisit an essay I’d read years ago by the historian David M.P. Freund. In “Marketing the Free Market: State Intervention and the Politics of Prosperity in Metropolitan America,” Freund punctures one of the most potent myths in the American dreamscape — one best articulated by former Fox commentator Bill O’Reilly on the night Barack Obama was re-elected president.

“The white establishment is now the minority,” a shell-shocked O’Reilly said.

“And the voters, many of them, feel that the economic system is stacked against them and they want stuff. You are going to see a tremendous Hispanic vote for President Obama. Overwhelming black vote for President Obama. And women will probably break President Obama’s way. People feel that they are entitled to things and which candidate between the two is going to give them things?”

This was said by a man who was born and raised in public housing — Levittown, New York, which, as comedian Jon Stewart reminded O’Reilly in 2014, gave the Fox host a stable home that required no down payments, was subsidized by the federal government and exclusive to whites.

According to a Washington Post article that quotes from Marvin Kitman’s biography of O’Reilly, “all a prospective buyer needed to buy one of the original Levitt ‘ranch’ houses, sales prices at $7,990, was a $90 deposit and payments of $58 a month.’”

This denialism isn’t unique to O’Reilly or conservatives. The denialism is bipartisan, affecting whites (and more than a few Blacks) across ideological lines. Freund writes that the myth about the race-neutral free market is popular in America, partly because the federal government itself has conspired to propagate it.

“In addition to creating wealth for some while helping to marginalize others, federal intervention also helped create and popularize a unique postwar political narrative that obscured the origins of race and class inequality in the modern metropolis,” the historian explains.

“Paradoxically, the state helped popularize the myth that its policies did not facilitate suburban growth and did not contribute to new metropolitan patterns of inequality. Instead it insisted that ‘free market’ forces, alone, were responsible for the gulf — economic and increasingly, spatial — that separate the nation’s haves from its have-nots.”

Freund writes it’s well known (at least among historians) that the new federal credit programs created in the 1930s, particularly programs operated by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), made “homeownership affordable for most white people after World War II.” Take a look at the FHA’s underwriting manuals from the 1930s and 1940s. Up until the 1950s, the FHA endorsed racerestrictive covenants in mortgages, which essentially prohibited whites from selling or leasing their homes to non-whites.

MICHAEL ROMAIN

RESTRICTIVE: Shots of Levittown, New York, (above and below left) an early suburban, post-war development that excluded black homeowners. Up until the 1960s, the FHA explicitly endorsed race-restrictive covenants in mortgages.

After the 1950s, explicit racial restrictions were removed from underwriting manuals, but the agency still actively supported racial discrimination in housing “well into the 1960s and thus excluded most racial minorities from the robust new market for homeownership,” Freund writes.

Despite the government’s blatant racebased social engineering, which propped up the whites-only private market for homes, most New Dealers were trying “to convince business groups and fiscally conservative congressmen — and, perhaps, even themselves — that the government’s unprecedented interventions in the U.S. economy were not cutting a path toward ‘state control’ of private enterprise.”

The government used language like “free market for homes” in various FHA promotional campaigns, even describing the agency as “a helper only” in one pamphlet.

One of the FHA’s most visible PR efforts targeting consumers and businessmen in towns across America was its “Better-Housing Campaign,” which started in 1934.

Freund describes the campaign as a multimillion-dollar effort to stimulate both home improvement and new home construction by educating people on federal insurance opportunities, as well as on the myth that the revival in the housing market “was being driven solely by the forces of supply and demand.”

In other cases, Freund explains, the government’s impact was less direct, with whites reproducing FHA talking points in their conversations about protecting their suburban communities.

“Residents read local news coverage

describing the postwar housing boom as the fruit of free enterprise and describing public housing as an unwarranted strain on the market, no doubt unaware that these columns often originated as industry or government-produced press releases.”

The effect, over decades of aggressively marketing this lie, was the intellectual basis among white businesspeople and consumers for “what seemed a sensible and specifically nonracial defense of racial exclusion. Indeed, FHA officials were among the first to invoke the free market narrative specifically for this purpose when challenged by civil rights activists to abandon the agency’s discriminatory practices.

“Indignant at the charge that federal programs were discriminating by race, housing officials countered that they were merely respecting the demands of the free market for property,” Freund explains.

Following the FHA’s lead, white suburbanites, blind to how their own advantages came at the expense of minorities, took to defending racial exclusion and all kinds of obviously egregious racially disparate outcomes “solely by citing market imperatives” and supposedly empirical economic principles.

I don’t think O’Reilly was merely hypocritical when he denounced all of those non-white “takers” in 2012. I think like a lot of whites, the freedom-loving, marketworshipping former Fox talking head had been genuinely fooled by government propaganda.

How’s that for irony?

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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New Holiday Gift Basket director revives program A return to providing physical gifts for Christmas

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

COVID-19 last year caused the Community of Congregations’ Holiday Food and Gift Basket program (HFGB) to truncate its traditional method of purchasing physical Christmas gifts for households in need and instead provide gift cards to Target instead. While the pandemic certainly isn’t over, the program this year feels a bit closer to normal.

“This year, we’re going back to gift cards to the Jewel for Thanksgiving and we are going back to gift-giving,” said program director Kelly Arquette.

This is Arquette’s first season as director, following former River Forest village trustee Patty Henek, who served as director for about a decade. Prior to becoming director, Arquette volunteered with the program as a sponsor. Sponsors sign up to purchase holiday gifts for participating households, which are then wrapped and delivered before Christmas by a team of volunteers. Last year, that did not happen.

“I wholeheartedly and fully support how it happened last year,” she said, “but I think it was a disappointment on a lot of levels.”

Not that the turnout itself was disappointing — 2,100 people benefitted from the program, 100 more than the year before. The disappointment came from being unable to take part in the shopping, wrapping and delivering gifts due to the highly infectious virus.

Now that vaccination is widely available, even to children as young as 5, sponsors can resume purchasing gifts, which has been a much-loved tradition for many, according to Arquette, and gives a sense of normalcy after a year and a half of extraordinary circumstances.

“I think people are really excited about it,” said Arquette.

“It’s something that’s uplifting to do as a family.”

It is also special for the families who will have gifts to open come Christmas morning. About 700 households of limited means are expected to sign up with the program and so far, 570 have been entered into the program’s database. “Households” mean anything from a family of five to a single senior living alone, or one living with a pet.

While volunteers can sign up through the program’s web-

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

A volunteer sorts gift donations at United Lutheran Church for the Holiday Gift Basket program in 2019. site to sponsor a household or deliver gifts, social service organizations and social workers refer households in need to register to become recipients of the food and gift baskets.

Arquette recalled a recent interaction she had with one of those social workers who told her how much the program meant to her clients, but also to the social worker herself.

She said her two favorite days of the year are the days when Thanksgiving gift cards and Christmas gifts are delivered.

“Their jobs are so tough when you see people so down and out and you see people struggling,” said Arquette. “It was the two days a year that she was confident that she knew she could make her clients happy.”

Serving as director of the program is a huge undertaking, requiring strong organizational skills and a firm handle on all the moving parts, which Arquette didn’t fully realize until stepping into the role herself. She credits longtime program volunteers Mary Jane Welter, Valerie Woods and Kathy De La Cruz, whom she calls her “angels,” for helping her understand and carry out the intricate processes of the program, such as matching sponsor families to households.

“Without them, I would be in a world of hurt,” she said.

With the major operations under control, Arquette has been able to incorporate new energy and fresh ideas into the

already beloved, well-run tradition. This year’s Thanksgiving gift cards will come with special holiday cards, courtesy of Opportunity Knocks, a River Forest-based nonprofit that serves young adults with developmental disabilities, known by the organization as “warriors.”

The special holiday card features a handprint turned into a turkey surrounded by flowers and bordered with bright orange and red hues, designed by two Opportunity Knocks warriors, Karisa Reyna and Claire Puiszis, both of whom love making art. Reyna took care of the turkey and flowers, while Puiszis made the border.

Opportunity Knocks has sponsored families through HFGB before, but this is the first time the organization has been asked to create a card. When Arquette reached out to the nonprofit to gauge interest, it was an obvious yes for Opportunity Knocks Executive Director Mike Carmody.

“We love to showcase the abilities that not everyone gets to see [by] people we provide services to,” said Carmody, who added the organization would definitely do it again next year if asked.

After noticing HFGB had no logo, Arquette also reached out the Oak Park and River Forest High School Graphic Design Club. Senior Maeve Mascarenhas created two different logos — one that would be printed on HFGB stationery and a second that Arquette turned into stickers.

“I am grateful to Holiday Food and Gift Basket for giving the graphic design club the opportunity to work on this project,” said Mascarenhas, who also thanked her teacher Valerie White for helping in the design process.

Arquette is looking to engage more community organizations and individuals to bring fresh ideas and new enthusiasm to make HFGB even more special next year, while keeping longtime helpers on board. She hopes to make it representative of the different facets of the Oak Park and River Forest communities, and also expand the program to reach even more households.

This year, her goal is to keep things running smoothly and safely. As a high-risk individual herself, Arquette takes the threat of COVID-19 quite seriously. Nothing has been settled yet, but she is considering multiple strategies to deliver gifts safely, especially when it comes to senior living facilities.

“I take things to the extreme when it comes to COVID,” she said. “So we will have to figure some things out.”

For more information visit: Communityofcongregations. org/holiday-food-gift-basket

Study to assess ‘cut-through’ traffic in River Forest

Complaint from NE quadrant resident drives measure

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

The River Forest Village Board responded to complaints from residents about cutthrough traffic in the northeast quadrant of the village by awarding a contract for a traffic study in that section.

Officials voted unanimously at the Nov. 8 village board meeting to award a contract with Kenig, Lindgren, O’Hara, Alboona Inc. (KLOA) to conduct a traffic study in the area bounded by North Avenue, Harlem Avenue, Greenfield Street and Lathrop Avenue at a cost not to exceed $13,500.

Although complaints about cut-through traffic in that section of the village have been received previously, the matter formally came to officials at the Oct. 11 village board meeting when resident Robert Armalas requested action.

In requesting a traffic study, he referred to the situation as “a stain on the community,” adding that he hoped officials would agree that local streets are not truck routes or alternate routes for drivers using Harlem and North. He and others previously addressed the issue at a meeting of the Traffic and Safety Commission, which recommended conducting the traffic study.

At the commission’s Sept. 15 meeting, specific concerns were raised, including drivers speeding and ignoring stop signs, along with cut-through traffic coming off North Avenue

to avoid congestion at the intersection of Harlem and North.

In recommending the traffic study, Jeff Loster, director of public works and development services, referred to “numerous” transportation-related studies that KLOA has performed for the village, including the plan for safe walking routes to schools and the commuter parking study. He cited KLOA’s background knowledge of the village, past project experience, and performance on previous village studies. KLOA also serves as the village’s transportation engineering consultant.

KLOA will perform field observations on weekday mornings between 7 and 9 a.m. and weekday evenings from 4 to 6 p.m. at 12 specific intersections, and conduct midblock twoway traffic counts and speed studies at seven specific locations. KLOA also will study crash

data from the police department for the area for the past five years.

At the Oct. 11 meeting, Police Chief Jim O’Shea supported the traffic study, calling it “a great idea.” He noted police officers have been conducting ongoing enforcement and education in this area, including writing tickets, but added he did not know if “we can educate or enforce our way out of this issue.”

Loster said he expects the duration of the study to last two months. In addition to data collection, the period will include completion of a report that summarizes the study’s findings and provides recommendations. He was unable to predict an exact start date, noting that village staff members will be “working through a few items to make sure the scope of the study addresses everyone’s concerns.”

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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COVID causes a break in the music at FitzGeralds

Breakthrough COVID cases temporarily close Berwyn music venue and restaurant

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats editor

On Nov. 4, FitzGeralds, 6615 Roosevelt Rd. in Berwyn, announced the decision to pause on-premises operations due to “more than one breakthrough COVID case” among their staff. The temporary closure also impacts Babygold Barbecue, the restaurant affiliated with the music venue.

All weekend events will be rescheduled and club owner, Will Duncan, noted on social media that the “wellness break” prioritizes the health and safety of employees, artists and patrons associated with FitzGeralds. The club will open when they are “100% in the clear” and Babygold Barbecue will resume food service at that time.

“COVID continues to be in the air and that presents a challenge to someone operating a business where social distancing is a challenge,” said Duncan to Wednesday Journal.

“My experience in the last 24 hours doesn’t make me feel very optimistic, but optimism is my thing. I will remain relentless in my commitment to offer great music and delicious

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Owner Will Duncan in 2020, during FitzGeralds’ Stay-at-Home concert series in Berwyn. food in a safe atmosphere.”

Duncan is clear the staff members who tested positive for COVID-10 are asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms; the remainder of employees have tested negative for the virus thus far. Reaction to the closure on social media has been overwhelmingly

positive with patrons and musicians applauding the decision. The Cook County Department of Public Health chimed in saying, “Good luck for a speedy recovery to all who are sick. Thank you for making the tough choice to keep people safe. Rock on!”

This is not the first temporary closure for

the club. COVID-19 first prompted Duncan to voluntarily suspend operations in October 2020 when a part-time employee tested positive; the closure lasted four days. In November 2020 the music venue entered a hibernation in response to rising COVID 19 cases in Chicagoland and reopened their patio in March 2021. The club began requiring proof of vaccination or negative COVID test to enter their main indoor space in August 2021.

Duncan, who has been quick to pivot during the pandemic, has noticed a wanning “enthusiasm” for mask wearing among patrons despite FitzGeralds requirement they be worn on the premises.

“I presume this could happen again and pausing operations in response to positive cases will probably become part of our new normal,” said Duncan. “COVID is still a serious concern, and we do not want to be responsible for continuing the spread. This is one more step along the path.”

Though he expects to reopen “sometime next week,” Duncan said there is not a firm reopening date. He will keep the public informed about progress via Facebook, Instagram and the Fitzgeralds’ website.

“When there is exposure in the work place you have to take a pause and figure out what is going on,” said Duncan. “It was a clear choice — to the point there really was no choice.”

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Housing Center buys its building, plans new space South Blvd. site could be renovated or redeveloped

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The Oak Park Regional Housing Center has worked to promote integration in housing since its founding in 1972. Now, the non-profit organization is looking to create housing itself at the site of its current offices – which it now owns.

The housing center purchased the building, 1037-1041 South Blvd., from the estate of Fay Fong Wong for $750,000 and closed on the sale Sept. 8, according to public record.

Athena Williams, its executive director, told Wednesday Journal the intention is to either renovate or redevelop the building for a combination of offices and a combination of affordable and market rate housing.

“It’s not 100 percent clear yet which route we’re going to take,” said Williams.

Chicago Community Loan Fund is holding a $1.2 million mortgage on the building.

Former Oak Park village trustee Bob Tucker, who serves as chief operating officer of the Chicago Community Loan Fund, said his organization does not comment on client projects without the permission of the client.

The amount of the mortgage includes predevelopment costs making it higher than the purchase price of the building, said Williams, who added that application fees and inspection reports qualify as pre-development costs.

The housing center is now looking at different sources of funding for construction of the project. As it is still early in the process, no designs have been developed.

Williams was unsure of how many stories the development would be, stating the project would eventually have to go through the Oak Park Plan Commission. Regardless, Williams made it clear that the housing center’s offices will remain on the property.

OPRHC has not chosen an architectural firm to design the project at this point.

“We’ve only been interviewing different development partners because we’re very new to this,” she said.

The housing center has already begun conversations with the village of Oak Park’s development customer services department, according to Williams.

FILE

Athena Williams, executive director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center “The development customer services department has been aware that we were going to do this probably since the inception,” said Williams. “We’ve reached out about asking for different types of waivers just through email.”

Tammie Grossman, director of development customer services, confirmed her department had received a request from the housing center to do a zoning analysis on the property and to waive the planned development process related to a request to reduce parking, setbacks and increase height.

“We prepared a zoning analysis and explained that there is not a process to grant relief on those issues outside of the Planned Development hearing,” said Grossman.

Williams did share that the development, whatever form it ends up taking, will not be

leased fully at market rate and will “definitely not be all low-income” housing.

“If it was market-rate [housing], then we would have to pay into [Oak Park’s] affordable housing fund,” said Williams. “It’s definitely not going to be 100 percent market rate.”

Rather, rent will be determined on a sliding scale, taking into account the tenant’s financial situation and the size of the unit, according to Fabiola Candlish, president of the center’s board of directors.

“We know that we need to try to figure out how to meet the demands of the community, while at the same time trying to be financially responsible,” said Williams.

The housing center’s bylaws prohibit it from serving in the capacity of landlord, said Williams. Whether the center will have to engage the services of a management

company, Williams would not say.

“I can’t answer that for you 100 percent because we’re still looking for partners and we still have to draw up an understanding and agreement around what that would look like,” she said.

The center’s mission is to promote and sustain housing integration in the village. While for years, that integration was specific to race, Williams said, the concept has evolved beyond that.

“Moving into the next 50 years, it’s going to be race and economic [integration],” she said.

This project, Williams said, will help the housing center continue in keeping Oak Park an integrated community racially and economically.

“Whatever goes up here is really for the residents in Oak Park.”

Touting success, Housing Forward extends Write Inn stay Renewed lease for another year

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Housing Forward has extended its lease

with the Write Inn Hotel, 211 N. Oak Park Ave., for another year. The non-profit, which works to transition people experiencing homelessness into stable housing, will continue to use all rooms in the hotel to house clients in its interim housing program, which provides temporary accommodation for those in the program until permanent

residences become available.

“It’s been just a really strong programmatic move for Housing Forward,” said Erik Johnson, the non-profit’s chief development officer.

Prior to the pandemic, Housing Forward utilized nightly emergency shelters at rotating church locations to house people experi-

encing homelessness. And for 27 years, that model sufficed, but the highly contagious nature of the COVID-19 virus prompted Housing Forward to part ways with the traditional practice, which made social distancing impossible.

See HOUSING FORWARD on page 17

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Elementary districts roll out vaccine clinics for kids D97 and D90 schools make Pfizer shots available for 5- to 11-year-olds

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

With the Pfizer COVID vaccine now available for children, age 5 to 11, Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and River Forest School District 90 have confirmed dates for a series of vaccine clinics for their eligible students. Last week, the two neighboring districts released a tentative schedule, informing families of their plans to hold some clinics in anticipation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) approval.

In a partnership with the Oak Park Department of Public Health, D97 was set to host eight vaccine clinics, starting Nov. 9. The clinics — which run until Nov. 12 — will be held from 4:30 to 9 p.m. at eight district elementary schools and are only open to D97 students. A registration link has been sent to families by their respective schools, according to the village of Oak Park’s website.

D97 officials first wanted vaccine clinics at Oak Park and River Forest High School but recently pivoted because of public health officials’ request to offer smaller

clinics to accommodate the group’s young- VID-19 vaccine, can be found on the village est children, said Jim Hackett, the district’s of Oak Park’s website at www.oak-park.us/ safety and security manager, and Griff news/officials-plan-vaccine-clinics-kids.

Powell, co-interim superinThe COVID-19 vaccine tendent.

— which is free — is also “We have a really good available for children and plan, but it is kind of new,” adults at many pharmacies, Hackett said, adding he has including CVS, Walgreens spent the last few weeks and Jewel-Osco, as well as working with district and through many health-care health officials to roll out the providers, the village noted. series of vaccine clinics.

In River Forest, D90 has The public health departannounced its vaccine ment will also host an adclinic on Nov. 19 from 3:30 ditional clinic on Nov. 13 to 7:30 p.m. at Roosevelt for Oak Park families with Middle School. D90’s clinic 5- to 11-year-olds who attend is part of yet another initiaprivate schools or are hometive with the River Forest schooled. That clinic will be Jewel Osco and the village ED CONDON of River Forest. Since the held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 District 90 Superintendent spring, D90 has held several p.m. at Oak Park and River vaccine clinics for seniors, Forest High School. Families district faculty and staff, interested in signing up for and students age 12-15. The an appointment for the Nov. 13 clinic should email the Oak Park health upcoming clinic at Roosevelt is only open to children age 5-11 who are either D90 studepartment at covid19vaccine@oak-park.us.

A full schedule of the clinics, including dents or live in River Forest.

A registration link for the Nov. 19 vaccine dates for the second dose of the Pfizer CO-

“Frankly, the CDC’s approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for younger children is great news, and it represents, I think, significant progress in combating the coronavirus.”

clinic has not been released, according to a memo sent to D90 families last Friday.

As Powell and District 90 Superintendent Ed Condon shared more details about the clinics, they also took a moment to reflect on the latest federal approval to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds against COVID-19. Over 900 students at D90 and more than 4,000 students at D97 are eligible to receive the two-dose Pfizer COVID shot.

“This is the biggest game-changer, having vaccinations available from 5 through 11,” Powell said. “We made some progress when we got the Pfizer approved for 12 to 17, however not as big of a movement at least for the elementary districts.”

Condon agreed.

“Frankly, the CDC’s approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for younger children is great news, and it represents, I think, significant progress in combating the coronavirus impact on the District 90 school community and broader River Forest community,” he said. “If enough people, including obviously the 5- to 11-year-old children, get vaccinated, we will be much closer to returning to pre-pandemic conditions in so many areas of our lives.”

State adopts federal guidance on COVID-19 vaccine for children

CDC approved emergency use recommendation on Nov. 2

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois

One day after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children between the ages of 5 and 11 receive the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured

by Pfizer and BioNTech, the Illinois Department of Public Health adopted the same recommendations on Nov. 3.

That vaccine had previously been approved for people 12 years of age and older.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized its emergency use for 5 to 11 year olds last week, and the CDC made the recommendation official the night of Nov. 2.

IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a news release that medical experts have reviewed data from clinical trials that included more than 3,000 children, leading to the CDC recommendation. Those trials showed the vaccine to be more than 90 percent effec-

tive in preventing COVID-19 in children in the age group.

Children in the trials saw the same side effects as adolescents and adults but to a lesser extent, according to IDPH. The side effects included injection site pain, redness and swelling, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, chills and fever. They generally lasted one to two days.

State officials have urged parents with questions or who are wishing to vaccinate their children to call their pediatrician’s office to learn more.

Pediatric COVID-19 vaccinations will also be available at local health departments, many pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and from other providers who offer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to a news release.

That includes about 2,200 pediatric providers in Illinois who have already enrolled in the state immunization registry and can administer COVID-19 vaccines. IDPH said more than 1,200 youth vaccination events have been held or are scheduled, and the department continues to work with schools to

schedule more.

While children don’t often get severe COVID-19, Ezike said, it is still possible, and infected children play a major role in disease spread.

“We need as many people as possible, including children, to be vaccinated to stop the spread of the virus and end this pandemic,” she said in the news release.

Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state expects to receive 306,000 doses, with an-

other 73,000 going to the city of Chicago and 100,000 doses to pharmacies.

In a Nov. 2 news conference before the approval, Pritzker and Ezike said it is premature to talk about mandating the vaccine for children in order for them to attend school.

Such a decision would have to wait at least for full CDC and FDA approval, not just emergency use authorization.

Pritzker also said that decision would be up to the Illinois General Assembly.

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Heather Mack arrested upon return to U.S.

Indictment unsealed Nov. 3 accuses Oak Park native of conspiring to kill mother

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Heather Mack was arrested promptly after landing on the morning of Nov. 3 at O’Hare Airport, following her early release from an Indonesian prison where she was serving time for helping her boyfriend to murder Mack’s mother while on vacation in Bali in 2014.

The Oak Park native and her former boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, now face two federal charges for conspiracy to commit the murder of Sheila von Weise-Mack, according to a three-count indictment returned in 2017 and unsealed Nov. 3. The indictment also charges both with obstruction of justice.

The indictment accuses Mack and Schaefer of conspiring between Aug. 2 and Aug. 12, 2014 in both Bali and Chicago to murder von Weise-Mack. Mack flew to Bali on Aug. 2, 2014 and on Aug. 10 arranged for Schaefer to join her, the indictment states. That same day

Schaefer asked someone identified in the indictment as “Individual A” for money to make the trip.

The following day, on Aug. 11, Schaefer exchanged messages with his cousin, Robert Bibbs, discussing how and when to kill von Wiese-Mack, according to the indictment.

Bibbs in 2016 pleaded guilty to helping plot the murder and was sentenced to nine years in federal prison.

Mack and Schaefer killed von Weise-Mack in a hotel room in the St. Regis Bali resort on Aug. 12, 2014, then stuffed the body in a suitcase. Their attempt to conceal the murder formed the basis for the obstruction of justice count of the federal indictment unsealed on Nov. 3.

If convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, Mack and Schaefer face a punishment of up to life in prison.

Mack and Schaefer were convicted in 2015 in an Indonesian court for the murder. Mack was sentenced to 10 years but was released last week from Kerobokan Female Prison in Bali. Schaefer is still in prison serving an 18year sentence.

Shortly after being released from prison, Mack, 26, was deported back to the United States with her 6-year-old daughter, Stella,

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Heather Mack, jailed in 2015 with her boyfriend after being found guilty of playing a role murdering her mother and stuffing the remains in a suitcase, is escorted by immigration officers after being released from Kerobokan Prison, at Immigration Detention House in Jimbaran, Badung, Bali, Indonesia, on Oct. 29. who was born in 2015 while the couple faced trial in Indonesia. Schaefer is Stella’s father.

Mack was arrested upon her return to Chicago. At an arraignment hearing on Nov. 3 before Judge Charles R. Norgle at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse

in Chicago, Mack pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Norgle ordered Mack held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago pending a detention hearing set for Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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OPALGA+ raises $25K for scholarship at annual gala

Applications for next round of scholarships now open

By ISAAC STOPECK Contributing Reporter

The Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association+ (OPALGA+) hosted its annual scholarship gala Oct. 23 at the Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park. This year’s event, which raised over $25,000 for the OPALGA+ Student Scholarship Fund, celebrated the 2021 scholarship recipients.

OPALGA+ was founded in 1989 as an activist group to support legal protections locally for those identifying as lesbian or gay.

The group was initially named OPLGA, but the A was added in 1994 to reflect membership outside of Oak Park. In 2019, the organization made an additional change to its name, incorporating a “+” to become more inclusive. Currently, OPALGA+ is one of the largest LGBTQ+ associations in Illinois, and group members have continued the organization’s mission of blending social connection with political activism.

In 2014, OPALGA+ started the Student Scholarship Fund as a way to financially support local high school seniors and first year college or trade school students who

PROVIDED

HONORED: (From left to right) Jim Gibson, Madeleine Snyder, Ana Shack, Mallory Coakley, Alisa Ray. Jim Gibson and Alisa Ray are the 2021 OPALGA+ Co-Chairs. identify as LGBTQ+, are children of LGBTQ+ parents, or are allies of LGBTQ+ people.

The annual Scholarship Gala is the primary fundraiser for the fund. This year, the event included a traditional sit-down din-

ner, a raffle, and a live auction. Additionally, four previous scholarship award winners gave speeches and several more created videos discussing their future careers, the impact they hoped to have on the world, and what the scholarship award meant to them.

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One common theme throughout the presentations was appreciation for the sense of community OPALGA+ provides. This revelation was especially heartwarming to Alisa Ray, co-chair of OPALGA+’s board.

“It’s great to be part of a community that cares about your success and that you know is behind you.” Ray said. “We want the kids to feel like they are connected to our community and that there are people that are invested in them, their wellbeing, their mental health, and how they feel.” To support their scholars, OPALGA+ keeps in touch with winners through Zoom calls and other networking events.

Ray has served on the board for seven years and as cochair for three years. She explained how she initially became active in OPALGA+. “For me, it started as a way to meet new people and have fun. I’ve grown up through a time when it was harder to be out and gay but we’re at a point now when it is much simpler. All of us kind of carry this history and it’s been nice to coalesce around the scholarship as the big push for the organization now, our big philanthropy.”

The 2022 scholarship application went live Nov. 1, and the deadline for submissions is Jan. 28. The application as well as a detailed description of application requirements can be found on OPALGA+’s website, www.opalga.org.

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Oak Park discusses plan to eliminate traffic accidents Staff recommends $25,000 in budget for consultant to explore Vision Zero plan

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In a timely but unfortunate coincidence, Oak Park’s village board discussed taking steps to develop a plan to eliminate traffic injuries Nov. 8, only a handful of hours after a Longfellow Elementary School student was struck by a vehicle while leaving school. While that student was taken to a local hospital it does not appear injuries were life-threatening.

During a discussion of the recommended 2022 fiscal year budget, village staff brought forward a recommendation to put $25,000 toward hiring a consultant to help the village create a Vision Zero plan in Oak Park.

Vision Zero is described on its website as a multi-disciplinary approach to creating safer streets by building leadership, collaboration and accountability among stakeholders, along with collecting and analyzing traffic data. The Vision Zero strategy prioritizes equity and community engagement, as well as managing speed to safe levels and setting a timeline in which to achieve zero traffic deaths or serious injuries, according to the Vision Zero website.

“Given the staffing challenges we have in engineering, we thought that it could help us get a consultant in to at least talk about what some of the elements would be, what needs to go into the plan,” said Public Works Director John Wielebnicki.

“This wouldn’t be the plan; it would be how to get to the plan.”

Wielebnicki added that the Vision Zero plan is already a part of the 2022 work plan of the Transportation Commission, which

Trustee Art Walker-Peddakotla said the commissioners were very excited about.

Referencing the child who was hit by a car earlier that afternoon, Walker-Peddakotla told the board she thought the initiative was “super important.”

“A Vision Zero plan aims to reduce pedestrian and bicycle accidents to zero in a community,” she said. “I think it’s something that this village should absolutely do.”

While she agreed with the proposed $25,000, she wanted confirmation that the Transportation Commission was aware of the amount and believed it sufficient to cover the costs of the first phase.

Echoing Wielebnicki, Village Engineer Bill McKenna said the $25,000 would be used to explore implementing a Vision Zero plan, but the dollar amount could change, depending on what would be in that plan and putting it into action.

“If there is a desire to do robust public engagement while formulating a plan, that dollar amount would certainly go up,” said McKenna.

Vision Zero is initiative unrelated to Greenways, a plan to make streets safer for walking, bicycling and other outdoor recreational activities. No funding for Greenways would be diverted toward Vision Zero.

Aside from Walker-Peddakotla, village board members did not appear to have a complete understanding of Vision Zero. To allow the board more time to research the Vision Zero movement, Village President Vicki Scaman moved to table the discussion until the board’s next budget meeting on Nov. 22.

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Dear Readers, Our deepest thanks to those of you who have already stepped up to support our nonprofit community newsroom with your gift this NewsMatch season. Growing Community Media was formed as a nonprofit specifically to sustain the independent news coverage of our seven neighborhoods you’ve read in Austin Weekly News, Forest Park Review, Riverside Brookfield Landmark and Wednesday Journal for many years.

We believe in the power of local news reporting to make life better in the communities we cover. From reporting on village boards and school boards, park boards and library boards, we give citizens a way to be informed and to be active in governing these towns. We believe in the power of stories that celebrate the nature of everyday life in our communities to strengthen the ties that bind us in this polarized public era. We tell those stories of our business and arts communities, our dining and entertainment opportunities, our philanthropic efforts, our block parties, our seniors and our children. You can’t find this coverage of our communities anywhere else.

Nonprofit local news, community journalism like ours depends on your contribution to create a sustainable local newsroom.

We can’t do this work without your support. Become a Growing Community Media member with your gift and take your share of what we are building. www.oakpark.com/donate or make your check payable to Growing Community Media at 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 With deep thanks for your ongoing support, Dan Haley Editor and Publisher Growing Community Media

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Saving the planet one smushed pumpkin at a time River Forest schools turn composting into a participatory event

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

On an early Saturday morning, AJ Stierwalt was outside Roosevelt Middle School’s gym, trying to figure out the best way to launch a pumpkin into a dumpster. From what the seventh grader could tell, he had two options: he could either climb the ladder that leaned against the giant container or stand on top of a brick railing and toss the pumpkin from there.

Either way, all Stierwalt wanted was to see the pumpkins go splat.

“It’s really just fun being here, throwing the pumpkins and just seeing them explode. That’s really cool,” said Stierwalt, 12, on Nov. 6.

Stierwalt was one of several student volunteers from Roosevelt and other River Forest District 90 schools helping with the Pumpkin Smash, an annual event held the first Saturday after Halloween. The three-hour-long event is part of a larger effort from the District 90 PTO’s Green4Good Committee and SCARCE, an Addison-based nonprofit dedicated to teaching local families about environmental issues. With the Pumpkin Smash, area families and residents are encouraged to bring their pumpkins and pitch them into a compost pile.

According to the SCARCE website, pumpkins should not be thrown into landfills. Landfills are one of the nation’s biggest sources of methane, a greenhouse gas more powerful than carbon dioxide that has a devastating impact on the environment, the site stated. And ditching pumpkins – which release methane when they decompose – at landfills contributes to an already growing problem.

SCARCE also noted that pumpkins are made up of 90% water and packed with nutrients, both of which are good for soil.

Since 2018, District 90 joined SCARCE and dozens of other Chicago suburbs in hosting the Pumpkin Smash, bringing in hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins. This year, the district rounded up its biggest collection yet: a whopping total of 1,379 pumpkins, weighing almost eight tons.

“There’s a great sense of community with people pulling up their wagons and grandparents coming with grandkids [to dispose of their pumpkins],” said Renee Sichlau, parent of a student at Roosevelt and Green4Good committee member. “It’s very joyful, and I love it.”

SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor

Molly Hayley, 8, in her color-coordinated coat, shows off her strength.

SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor

PUMPKIN PILE-ON: Kids go out of their gourds during the Great Pumpkin Smush at Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest on Saturday.

For Sichlau, she loves the silliness of the event, as adults and children alike work together to crush, break and split the pumpkins. “There are all sorts of efforts that come into it. They’re the ones who launch them into the dumpster. They’re the little ones on dad’s shoulders,” she said. “It’s just a real kind of crazy thing.”

During the Pumpkin Smash, three girls from Roosevelt’s Spirit and Service Club huddled around a table, eying down every discolored, carved and oddly shaped pumpkin. Zoe Lefevour, Margaret Bedell and Juliet Sum-

SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor

Natalie Raghu helps her daughter, Ashu, 4, give the heave-ho.

my, all of whom are 10 and fifth graders, were in charge of counting the pumpkins and spoke about how excited they were to see so many people participating and taking steps to make the environment a better place.

Stierwalt echoed the girls and added there are plenty of easy ways to care for the environment.

“I want people to be respectful of our planet,” he said.

“We only have one. So, if we compost and we use less electricity, turn off all the lights, all the simple things can add up, and then we can have a much cleaner, prettier area.”

SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor

Filled to the brim and ready to be recycled.

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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A tale of two tax appraisals

Vantage assessment tug-ofwar illustrates complicated valuation process

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Equity Editor

Back in June, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that in 2019 local governments intervened in about 200 property tax assessment appeals with the Cook County Board of Review — “up from just 11 in 2018 and 13 in 2017.

Typically, local governments intervene to argue that a property is undervalued, but now they’re seeing values are too high.”

Local taxing bodies typically intervene when they fear that property owners will appeal their assessment to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board or the Circuit Court of Cook County. If the owners win, the taxing body is on the hook for a refund, sometimes years down the road, a prospect that could mean less revenue and massive legal fees.

Many of those local governments were school districts, leading Crain’s to title the article: “Why local school districts are lining up against Fritz Kaegi?”

But the case of one such intervention that happened in Oak Park tells a different story than that headline suggests. Kaegi, the Cook County assessor, initially assessed the property at Vantage Oak Park Apartments, 150 Forest Ave. in Oak Park, at around $90 million.

The Vantage owners appealed to the Board of Review, which lowered the tax assessment to around $54 million.

Initially, a spokesperson for the Board of Re-

view told Wednesday Journal that Oak Park Elementary School District 97 petitioned them to lower Vantage’s assessment in order to avoid being on the hook for a tax refund. But a subsequent analysis of Board of Review documents and interviews with Kaegi and District 97’s attorney revealed that this was not the case.

Scott Ginsburg, D97’s attorney, said the district supported Kaegi’s initial assessment of the Vantage property. He said the district has, however, settled appeals by property owners on other large buildings in Oak Park, such as the Emerson Apartments at 1135 Westgate St. “Working together with independent valuation experts, the Board of Review, taxpayers and their attorneys, District 97 resolved multiple years with 28 large taxpayers who agreed to waive refund claims while seeing their assessments, in total, increase by approximately 25 percent compared with the prior year.”

Ginsburg said the reason the district settled with the Emerson, for example, and not Vantage is because “the appraiser we were working with was able to support the assessment for Emerson, but not Vantage.”

Ginsburg stressed, however, that although D97 “settled many appeals, it never advocated for a reduction. In the end, each settlement was very similar to what it would have been had the taxpayers appealed to the Circuit Court or [the property Tax Appeals Board].”

But what’s driving the gap between Kaegi’s assessments and the Board of Review’s assessments? That’s up to interpretation.

“I can tell you that in the world of real estate valuation, there is a wide range of data that experts rely upon and if everyone is not looking at the same data, you can get a lot of values,”

FILE

Vantage Oak Park Ginsburg said.

“Mr. Kaegi has been leading an effort to try to get taxpayers to be more forthcoming with the actual data that supports their assessment and being that they’ve resisted giving it to him, he’s left to rely on the data available to him, which is data from the market,” he continued.

Oak Park Township Assessor Ali ElSaffar said the divergence in assessments could hinge on which factors appraisers emphasize to derive value.

For instance, the owners of Vantage argued in their petition for a reduction of their 2020 assessed valuation that more weight should be given to the relative cost of rental units than to a comparison of sales of nearby multifamily residential apartment buildings. An appraisal can often hinge on which value factor an appraiser emphasizes.

“Sometimes appraisals are called an opinion of value for a reason,” said ElSaffar, whose family owns rental properties.

“When you look at the overall assessed value of apartment buildings vis-à-vis what they

were selling for, there was a mismatch,” he said. “There’s always some mismatch, but the mismatch was bigger in apartment buildings than other properties. So, I think Assessor Kaegi came in wanting to correct that.”

Kaegi addressed the disparity between his office’s assessments and the Board of Review’s assessments.

“There have been pretty big changes in commercial assessments from what we see as evidence and what they see as evidence,” Kaegi said. “We have a hard time understanding where they land sometimes and Vantage is a great example.”

The bottom line, the assessor said, is that too much of the tax burden falls on average homeowners. For instance, if Vantage owners paid property taxes based on Kaegi’s assessment, they would’ve paid about $1 million more.

That’s more money that other taxpayers have to come up with.

“This is literally the difference between the average homeowner’s bill going up or down in many communities,” Kaegi said.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

HOUSING FORWARD

huge success,” he said. “And we are finding just the impact of this on other areas of the individual’s life is equally as strong.”

For its success, Housing Forward was recognized by the Council of Religious Leaders from page 8 of Metropolitan Chicago with its Community Excellence Award for 2021. The “We knew from following best honor was also bestowed upon Dr. practices that using empty hoAllison Arwady, commissioner tels was a highly effective way to of the Chicago Public Health Derespond to the pandemic,” said partment.

Johnson. “What we intuited and Housing Forward is paying for what we are finding to be true is its Write Inn lease using COVthe impact of stability.”

ID-19 relief funds, as was the case Having a consistent place to last year. The majority of this sleep at night, rather than wonyear’s lease will be paid for using dering where to go next for shelFederal Emergency Management ter, allows Housing Forward cliAgency funding and Cook County LYNDA SCHUELER ents to take a breath and plan for Coronavirus Relief Funds, acnext steps with the help and supcording to Johnson. port of the non-profit’s case managers and The Write Inn is not to be confused with staff, according to Johnson. an emergency shelter. The 65-room hotel is “We’ve had a 70 percent placement rate of strictly used for interim housing. Housing those exiting the program going into a more Forward has been screening individuals and permanent housing situation, which is a approving them for permanent housing prior

Arrangement is working

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achieve a more permanent housing destination,” said Johnson, who called working with the Write Inn “phenomenal.”

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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YOUTH VOICES

Back from Glasgow from page 1 online event, titled Youth Voices on Climate: COP26 and Beyond, was hosted by Oak Park nonprofits, Seven Generations Ahead, which launched IOF as a project, and One Earth Film Festival. For over an hour, a community of mostly young people gathered to talk about various climate issues, listened to interviews with environmental activists, and watched a few highlight reels from IOF’s trip to Scotland for the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26.

“Everyone needs to do their part,” said Avalos, a sophomore at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

During the virtual event, Avalos, who phoned in from home, and another IOF member offered some ways people can get involved, including joining or creating an environmental club at school, donating to organizations, and reaching out to local, state or national representatives to pass climate legislation.

IOF members Jelena Collins and Sophie Ball echoed Avalos’ advice. The two, who are OPRF seniors and were among a small group of Chicago-area teens who traveled to Glasgow for COP26, told Wednesday Journal people don’t have to travel thousands of miles across the world to make a change.

Change can — and should — begin right at home.

“Just get involved in something,” Ball, 17, said. “There are dozens of climate groups available to youth in the Chicago area alone.

Most of these groups are extremely welcoming and grateful for any new members. The climate movement is a complicated thing to navigate by yourself, but having a community helps immensely.”

In separate interviews, Collins and Ball shared their experiences at COP26, which started Oct. 31 and ends Nov. 12, and what it was like to be among world leaders and organizers who are also committed to fighting climate change.

“It’s really cool to hear such a wide variety of languages, see traditional clothing and participate in events with diverse crowds where everyone is equally if not more passionate about climate than I am,” said Collins who, apart from IOF, founded a coalition to bring high-schoolers from environmental clubs in Chicago together. “I’ve never been in a group of people like it.”

Ball said she relished the chance to devote a whole week and learn about one of her favorite subjects. At the conference, she hopped from one educational booth to another, attended “country-specific events,” and listened to panels with experts on climate topics.

“The amount of new information I have learned about the climate crisis in just the past week is comparable to what would take months to learn during the rest of the year,” she said.

PROVIDED

OPRF High School seniors Sophie Ball (second from left) and Jelena Collins (middle right) with New Zealand artist Uili Lousi and other youth leaders at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26.

Early this month, Seven Generations Ahead (SGA), an Oak Park nonprofit that partners with local leaders to host projects and forums on sustainability, celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Throughout the years, SGA has held 22 conferences in four different states; created the youth-led group It’s Our Future, which just sent five Chicago-area teens to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26); and launched a composting program at 14 Chicago Public Schools, which may expand in the coming months.

But founder and Executive Director Gary Cuneen recalled the days when his SGA team was small, and the countless hours he spent wondering whether they were making any impact at all. Cuneen even admitted it took him eight years before officially establishing SGA in 2001.

“I had to kind of put it together, do the research from the time I had the idea,” he said, adding that one of his main focuses for SGA was to provide a space to

A generation later...

educate, discuss, spread awareness and collaborate.

With that goal in mind, SGA grew, partnering with several organizations and communities across the Chicago suburbs and beyond.

“We started to develop projects that were engaging mayors, and executive directors of park districts, and superintendents of universities and really starting to get into influencing decision makers at high levels of institutions,” Cuneen said.

When he started SGA 20 years ago, he said, the conversation around climate change was a little different. Back then, the words “sustainable” and “organic” — which now seem inseparable and are considered “common language,” Cuneen said — were new.

“When we talked about ‘local organic farms,’ we literally got deer-in-the-headlights looks about why we should eat organic or local or fresh, sustainable food,” he said. “Composting was just

not on people’s radars. I think what happened is that many of the environmental catastrophes have increased in severity, and more people now are completely aware of the need to be sustainable.”

“So now it’s less of a task convincing people that a problem exists, and it’s more of a task of equipping them to take action,” Cuneen added.

Fast forward, SGA has a few things in store, continuing its mission to build healthier neighborhoods. Cuneen said his nonprofit is currently working on placing solar array installations in Chicago Public School buildings, as well as teaching students about solar energy and introducing them to careers in renewable energy.

He said SGA’s work with young people plays a crucial role in creating a better tomorrow.

“The youth are so excited, so energized. We’re just hoping they also take this experience moving forward and just become strong advocates and leaders.”

C R I M E

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

19

One arrested in armed robbery

An 18-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 9:12 p.m., Nov. 4 in the 100 block of North Central Avenue, Chicago after Oak Park police found him entering the 2007 Toyota Camry allegedly taken during an armed robbery three days before. The stolen possessions were returned to the victim.

According to police reports, the suspect and another teenage male allegedly approached a woman from behind on the 200 block of Wa s h i n g t o n Blvd. as she walked into the courtyard of her building. One of the men allegedly showed a black handgun and demanded her property. The victim handed over a set of keys including a car key, a pink Apple iPhone 13, a backpack containing a silver Apple iPad, a silver HP laptop computer, a black Apple iPhone 13 and an orange wallet with miscellaneous identification and credit cards at 6:59 p.m., Nov. 1. The offenders then allegedly fled out of the courtyard in an unknown direction.

Right after the incident, the victim went to check on her vehicle which was parked in the 400 block of South Harvey Avenue and found her Camry was gone. The estimated loss of the vehicle is $8,000.

Aggravated battery A Chicago resident was shot in the face with paintballs while walking northbound on Ridgeland Avenue after a black sports utility vehicle pulled up next to him. The victim heard 10 “pop” sounds coming from the vehicle then felt a paintball strike him in the face, injuring his right eye at 10:56 p.m., Nov. 1.

Recovered stolen automobile ■ The 2018 blue Honda Civic reported stolen Oct. 31 from the 300 block of South Kenilworth Avenue was recovered at 4:30 a.m., Nov. 2 in the 3300 block of West Maypole Avenue in Chicago. The vehicle had been involved in a hit and run accident, according to police reports.

■ The black 2010 Ford Escape reported stolen Sept. 21 from the 600 block of South Austin Boulevard was recovered at 8:50 p.m., Nov. 2 in the 5900 block of Roosevelt Road in Chicago. The vehicle had been illegally parked and towed on Sept. 26.

Burglary

■ A 9mm Taurus handgun was taken during a garage burglary in the 200 block of North Harvey Avenue between 1 p.m. and 5:05 p.m., Nov. 7. The offender used a coat hanger to break into the victim’s black Honda CR-V, then used the garage door opener inside the CR-V to open the locked garage. Once inside, the offender got into a gray Honda Odyssey and removed a gun safe from inside the van that contained the handgun and ammunition. The estimated loss is $790.

■ Two men were captured via video surveillance entering Jewel Osco grocery store, 438 Madison St., at 10 p.m., Nov. 5, and going to the storage room in the back, where they loaded bottles of alcohol into a cart then left the store out of the service entrance wheeling the cart full of stolen alcohol. The estimated loss is $2,000.

Theft ■ The catalytic convertor was cut from a 2004 blue Honda Odyssey that was parked in the 300 block of South Kenilworth Avenue between 11:59 p.m., Oct. 30 and 6:45 a.m., Nov. 1.

■ Someone cut the catalytic convertor out of a 2008 blue Honda CR-V parked in the 300 block of North Oak Park Avenue between 7 p.m., Oct. 30 and 9 a.m., Nov. 1.

■ A sewer camera and monitor were removed from the front yard of a residence in the 1100 block of South Humphrey Avenue at about 1:16 p.m., Nov. 1.

The estimated loss is $15,000.

Criminal damage to property ■ Someone

broke a second-floor window of a residence in the 300 block of Chestnut Lane around 5:05 p.m., Nov. 1.

The estimated damage is $500.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports Nov. 2 through Nov. 8 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

No injuries reported in shootout near Maple Park Witness reported seeing two vehicles shooting at each other

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park police are investigating a shooting that occurred around midnight, Nov. 7. Officers responded to a report of gunshots in the block of 1000 South Maple Avenue, according to Oak Park spokesman David Powers.

“Multiple shell casings were discovered, and a canvas reported two dark vehicles traveling east on Lexington Street, their occupants firing

shots at each other,” Powers said.

Police found a bullet lodged in the porch wall of a house in the 900 block of Wisconsin Avenue, but it did not penetrate the home and no injuries were reported, Powers told Wednesday Journal. Two other bullets also struck the porch of the house.

“A Berwyn resident later contacted police to report that he was driving east on Lexington shortly after midnight in the area of Clinton Avenue when the passenger side mirror of his vehicle was struck by gunfire,” Powers said.

“He reported seeing two dark colored vehicles traveling east on Lexington Street at a high rate of speed, the occupants shooting at each other.”

No arrests have been made at this time.

This is a developing story.

Car hits child near Longfellow School

Injuries do not appear to be life threatening

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

A child was struck by a vehicle at the corner of Cuyler Avenue and Jackson Boulevard near Longfellow Elementary School at 3:10 p.m., Nov. 8. In a letter sent later that afternoon, the school’s principal, Amy Jefferson, told Longfellow families that the child, a student, was hit while walking across the street at the Jackson Boulevard intersection with family following dismissal.

Jefferson wrote that the child was immediately attended to by staff and that Oak Park police and an ambulance responded to the scene within minutes. Her letter states that the school is awaiting information regarding the child’s status, however police do not believe the injuries are life threatening.

“The child was injured but is awake and, according to police, the injuries do not appear to be life threatening,” Oak Park spokesman David Powers told Wednesday Journal.

The child, whose father was with him, was transported to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood for examination, per Powers, who could provide no further details.

Longfellow planned to have social workers available Tuesday for those who witnessed the incident or for students in need of support.

Jefferson closed out her letter with a reminder for families and student to stay vigilant during school arrival and dismissal.

“It takes our entire school community to make sure everyone stays safe, particularly when there are so many cars, bicycles and pedestrians sharing the streets and sidewalks.”

The principal concluded that the school district will be in conversation with the village of Oak Park in the coming days to determine if there are additional steps that need to be taken to improve safety.

This is a developing story.

20

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

EVACUATION

Structural stability studied from page 1 of people living in the building.

Tammie Grossman, development customer services director for the village, said Monday that the village’s urgent actions came “because we have enough concern that the building is compromised and it could collapse.”

As of Tuesday morning, Cutaia said 33 Realty had not provided the village with the evacuation plan it had requested.

The six-story building was sold was $8.3 million in December 2019 to Goldman Investments, which has been working to update the apartment units in order to compete with newer, luxury apartments that have been constructed in recent years in downtown Oak Park.

Tenants, some of whom have lived in the building for decades, have been slowly leaving as their leases expire. According to tenants who talked to Wednesday Journal on Monday, the property management company planned to increase monthly rents by nearly $1,000 as they were renovated.

Jim Agin, a tenant of the building for 38 years, said he’d already been looking for a new place to live in anticipation of his lease expiring next May. “They wanted AUSTINE BRIDGEFORD us out, because they were renovatBuilding resident ing the old apartments,” Agin said.

“I was looking for something, because I was not going to pay [more in rent]. I like the building but I don’t like the new apartments. The building is still not perfect, so I don’t want to pay that kind of rent.”

With news that he had to evacuate, Agin said he now was in the process of finalizing a move to another apartment in Forest Park.

“If everything goes through I’m going to go there,” Agin said. “The hardest part is I have to worry about movers.”

Austine Bridgeford, who has lived in the building for 18 years, was planning to live in the building until her lease expired next April, but on Monday afternoon she was carrying cardboard boxes to her top-floor apartment to pack her things while continuing to nail down exactly where she was going to stay for the time being.

“According to the property manager, he said he was going to find us somewhere to relocate, but I don’t want to invest in an apartment that I might not like,” Bridgeford said. “What apartment building is

“At night when I go to sleep I pray to the Lord that he holds this building stable, so I can wake up.”

BOB UPHUES/Editor

930 North Blvd., Oak Park going to take someone they don’t know on three days, four days [notice]?”

Bridgeford said she was not aware of any structural issue with the building, though she did say “there is a slight slant” in the floors and that sometimes she notices the building shakes when trains pass on the adjacent Union Pacific tracks.

“At night when I go to sleep I pray to the Lord that he holds this building stable, so I can wake up,” Bridgeford said.

Village inspectors who visited on Oct. 22 to review renovation work on individual units discovered the notable sloping of first- and second-level floors from units on both the north and south sides of the building toward its center core.

Asked if a four-inch slope was notable, Cutaia said, “Yes, it seems like a lot.”

When Cutaia convened a team of village and other officials – the interim fire chief, fire marshal and a licensed architect on call for the village – to inspect the building they also found that a concrete beam running above a shuttered ground-floor swim-

ming pool had been “repaired” at some point with 10 tension cables seemingly installed to stabilize the beam.

The village government has no record of a permit ever being pulled allowing that repair or for a follow-up inspection. Cutaia said it not known if that repair was made “30 years ago or two, three or four years ago.”

It is unclear how long ago the swimming pool was shuttered. A 2008 news story in Wednesday Journal reported on the drowning death of a 22-year-old building tenant in the pool.

Neither the village nor the property manager has a record of any structural engineering report being commissioned.

Moore said 33 Realty had taken over management of the renovation and leasing of the building “only a few days ago.”

Asked if there had been an inspection of the building’s structure at the time of its $8.3 million sale in late 2019, Moore said, “As far as we can tell there wasn’t. And we can’t have it done in a matter of days.

“We believe the building is sound. But we need to prove that to the village,” he said.

Cutaia said inspectors were in units on the first and second floor of the building where they observed the sloping floors. He said he believes the same concern exists on every floor of the building.

Cutaia said in a phone call on the afternoon of Nov. 8 that the village did inspect 930 North Blvd. in October 2019, just two months ahead of its sale. Cutaia said it was a routine inspection which looks for code violations, such as missing smoke detectors rather than structural issues. He said the building failed inspection “on a few small things.” But he said that inspecting fully furnished and occupied units would have made it difficult to see any issues with the floors of the units.

Goldman Investments appears to have also purchased another condo building on North Blvd. The building at 922 North Blvd. is being marketed by 33 Realty for lease along with 930 North Blvd. under the moniker of “Rhythm and Blues.”

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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State approves request to reopen Melrose Park hospital

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Preparation is underway to reopen the shuttered Westlake Hospital, 1225 W. Lake St. in Melrose Park, as Woodlake Hospital.

Westlake closed in 2019.

A company based in New Jersey filed an application with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board over the summer to reopen the Melrose Park hospital as a specialty hospital that would include 80 acute mental illness beds, along with drug and alcohol addiction services. Woodlake officials have said the hospital would create “at least 500 to 600 permanent jobs.”

The Review Board approved the request

by Woodlake Specialty Holdings LLC in August and the hospital obtained its charter last month, according to a board member. Woodlake officials said they anticipate spending about $43 million to reopen the hospital by Dec. 31, 2022.

Woodlake’s local board of directors includes Bellwood Mayor Andre Harvey, who was recently appointed board chairman, according to a Nov. 4 Facebook statement by Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson, who is also on the board.

Proviso Township Clerk Anthony Williams, Maywood Trustee Antonio Sanchez, and Doug Olson of the Melrose Park Chamber of Commerce, are also board members.

The hospital’s CEO, Shannon Jones, is a woman of color, Woodlake officials said.

During an Aug. 9 public hearing convened by the Review Board, Jones said the hospital will occupy about 270,000 square feet and feature “80 acute mental illness beds; 60 long-term care beds; 44 long-term acute care beds; three intensive care beds; three medical-surgical beds; and 40 comprehensive physical rehabilitation beds for the total of 230 authorized beds.

“Woodlake will treat all patients […] regardless of their ability to pay,” Jones said.

“It will do so by accepting Medicaid and through its Charity Care program. Similar to the Charity Care program provided by Westlake, uninsured patients at Woodlake can apply for financial assistance with certain individuals being deemed presumptively eligible due to their financial status. We are committed to retaining these policies for at least two years after the hospital reopens.”

Glenn Kushner, the last president of Westlake who lives a block from the hospital, said he was impressed by the new hospital’s ownership.

“I can tell you after meeting with these people who own it, I was very impressed,” he said. “And this community sorely needs this type of facility once again. It is very sad to drive by and see an empty building like that. It’s terrible. And the nearest psychiatric facility really is Riveredge, and they’ve had to turn patients away because they don’t have enough staff there.”

Sanchez said he was born at Westlake, so the hospital carries added importance for him and his family.

“The void that this hospital created when it left [was] significant,” he said. “Now with Woodlake hopefully being allowed to operate, it would be such a tremendous help for multiple communities, not just Melrose Park.”

Jim Prister, the president and CEO of RML Specialty Hospitals, which has two locations in Hinsdale and Chicago, said while he supports the opening of Woodlake, he’s concerned about the institution adding more long-term, acute care (LTACH) beds.

Prister said there’s already a saturation of LTACH beds in the Chicago area and that Woodlake’s proposal for more “will only exacerbate an already over-bedded sector of health care in the Chicago area.”

Dr. Rupak Parikh, CEO of Advanced Rehabilitation Care, expressed support for Woodlake opening in Melrose Park, particularly as more and more people are affected by COVID-19 and the long-term health effects of the virus.

“COVID is here. We have a Delta variant,” Dr. Parikh said. “There are other variants that are to be expected. And there is something called long COVID in terms of the rehabilitation and medical needs that are going to be needed, not only in this community, but throughout.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

25

Homes

NEED TO REACH US?

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

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Allen Parchem (left), president of the 19th Century Club’s board of directors, and Erin Payton, executive director at The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association. Parchem says portico restoration is being funded by a combination of money from the club’s spring gala and other club funds. “We want to do it right,” Parchem said of the repairs.

Nineteenth Century Club gets 21st Century face-lift 93-year-old columns supporting portico, at risk of failing, being restored

By LACEY SIKORA

T

Contributing Reporter

he Nineteenth Century Club at 178 Forest Ave. stands in the center of Oak Park and has long been a home for programs and events that serve the village and its neighbors. Designed by architect James L. Fyfe in 1928, the red brick building with its distinctive

white columns stands in a prominent spot in the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District across from Austin Gardens.

Like the historic homes surrounding it, the building is not immune to the tests of time. Allen Parchem, president of the board of directors for the Nineteenth Century Club, says the building has more in common with older homes than you might think.

“Anyone with an old home knows that

one thing leads to another when it comes to home repair,” he said.

Likening a building maintenance project to pulling a thread from a sweater, he notes that the more your pull, the more the fabric begins to unravel.

The club has been active in recent years updating the building, taking on projects such as tuck-pointing, roof repairs and making the ballroom more acoustically pleasant for host-

ing events.

Its most recent project may be its most visible though. If you walked by the club recently, it would have been hard to miss the iconic 19foot tall columns suspended in the air.

Originally, Parchem says the board brought in an engineer to address the deteriorating concrete around the base of the columns.

See FACE-LIFT on page 27

26

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM Oak Park 114 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park | 708.524.1100 The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2021 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Realty LLC.

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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27

FACELIFT

Important work from page 25 The engineer noticed that a piece of a column was loose. When he pulled it out and looked inside, it was apparent the problem was much larger than some aging concrete.

Inside the white column sheaths, the inner support posts are roughly 8-by-8-inch wooden posts that run the length and support the weighty portico above. With access to the inside of a column, the engineer discovered the inner support post was rotting.

He examined another column, and it too had a rotting inner support. The board hired someone to fish a camera into the remaining columns, and all of the interior posts were also showing signs of damage.

What began as a simple concrete job turned into quite a bit more.

“We knew we needed to hire an architect.

The name Frank Heitzman kept popping up, so we brought him on,” Parchem said.

As with all old house issues, the solution is never as simple as the owners might hope. Heitzman devised a system with a metal foot at the base of the support post.

The foot will be galvanized, so it will be less vulnerable to water damage.

In addition, Parchem states Heitzman had to rethink the traditional column design.

“As they were, there was no air circulating, so if water got in there, it was prone to mold,” Parchem said.

Heitzman created a column design with vents that would allow air to circulate, without changing the outer appearance of the columns to such a degree that they would no longer resemble the original historic columns, With design in hand, the board had to find a company that was well-equipped to do historic restoration on a large scale. After looking over the five bids they received,

PHOTOS BY ERIN PAYTON

Steel beams support the 19th Century Club’s front columns, which appear suspended in the air as workers replace inner posts that do the real work of holding up the portico’s roof.

Parchem says that choosing Berglund Construction made the most sense. The company was familiar with Oak Park historic structures, having worked on Unity Temple, so they seemed a good match for the project.

An important part of the job was stabilizing the columns as the originals were removed and the new ones installed. The work began on Oct. 4 and is expected to last two months. Today, the supports appear partly suspended in air.

“It looks surreal now,” Parchem said.

“There are the big posts, and at the bottom, they’re not connecting to anything. It’s like

looking at a Salvador Dali.”

The project is paid for in part by the proceeds of the Nineteenth Century Club’s spring gala, and Parchem says the club will cover the rest of the fees.

He said that being in charge of recent renovations to the building has emphasized the need to do repairs properly.

“Another thing that’s clear if you have an old house, is that different owners have different amounts to spend on upgrades,” Parchem said. “We could see from some of the older repairs that the club probably didn’t have much money when that was done. That’s OK. They did what they could.

We want to do it right now.”

Stabilizing and updating the building is an important part of keeping the cultural center of the village available for generations to come.

“If you talk to people in their 60s and70s, they have a lot of memories of this building from learning to dance there in ballroom dance classes to learning to swim when the building housed Oak Park’s first pool,” Parchem said.

Parchem says he’s proud of his group, which has updated and restored the building with private donations to keep the doors open for the next century of use.

28

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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SPORTS Welin races to state title with personal best effort

OPRF senior battled back from a stress fracture that sidelined her until mid-September

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Josephine Welin enjoyed a breakthrough 2020 as the state’s top girls cross country runner.

Returning to the IHSA Class 3A state meet on Nov. 6, Welin made the most of a personal triumph after regaining her fitness since being diagnosed in late June with a stress fracture in her left foot.

“I would probably say at sectionals [Oct. 30], running through those really difficult conditions and still managing to win and push myself hard, that was definitely one of the first races where I was proud of my effort,” Welin said.

“After that race, I was like, ‘OK. I’m ready [for state].’”

Welin led from the start and captured her longawaited state championship in a personal-record 16 minutes 26.35 seconds over the 3-mile course at Peoria’s Detweiller Park.

An all-state 16th as a sophomore, Welin dominated last year’s IHSA sectional in course-record time, but there was no IHSA state meet because of COVID restrictions.

“I was really wanting [an IHSA] cross country state title. All I’ve been through this summer with my injury and building back, it’s really fulfilling to finally have this,” said Welin, a University of Washington recruit.

“It was wonderful,” said OPRF coach Ashley Raymond. “To actually do it at IHSA and having only a summer of cross training and working all season to gain confidence in herself was awesome.”

OPRF (15th, 388 points) posted five personal records. Sophomore Katie Stabb was 57th (17:51.08), passing 21 runners the final mile, followed by juniors Avery Minnis (93rd, 18:14.67) and Natalie Quinn (156th, 18:55.61), sophomore Lenny Sterritt (200th, 19:28.34), junior Anne Stine (220th, 19:55.54) and senior Samantha Duwe (231st, 22:08.79), who collapsed while finishing.

Welin’s 5:10.8 first mile opened a 10-second gap.

By two miles, Welin’s 10:45.4 (5:34.6 split) led by 13.3 seconds. Welin won by 2.73 seconds over Grant High School senior Aly Negovetich (16:29.08).

When Welin made her season debut Sept. 18 at Detweiller, she ran 16:40.9.

“I came into this with a lot more confidence and knowing that I’m going to lead from the start,” Welin said. “I went out of a little harder than I wanted to, but I just went with it and tried to maintain the best I could. The last mile I was definitely feeling it.”

At the IHSA state track championships in June, Welin won the 3,200-meter championship as expected behind her solid training base.

Saturday’s victory demanded even more grit.

“She did have a lot of work to do to get herself to believe she could do it with such short training.”

Raymond said. “I’m going to miss her a lot. She’s a genuinely kind and compassionate person.”

In Class 3A boys, OPRF junior Liam Newhart’s huge personal record of 15:09.27 was good for 45th place overall.

PHOTO BY PAUL NICKOLEY

OPRF senior Josephine Welin

Fenwick boys race to school’s first state cross country crown Rill, McKillop turn in all-state finishes as Friars top field in Class 2A

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

PHOTO BY PAUL NICKOLEY

Grayden Rill

Junior Grayden Rill and seniors Zac Daley, Lee O’Bryan and Carl Lukas were part of the Fenwick boys cross country team’s lineup at the last IHSA Class 2A state meet in 2019.

The Friars finished 26th -- last place among the team qualifiers.

“We kept working,” Daley said. “You’ve got to get off the ground. When you’re that low, you’ve got to work your way up.”

The Friars enjoyed the ultimate reversal of fortune

on Nov. 6. They won the IHSA Class 2A state championship at Peoria’s Detweiller Park for the program’s first top-three state trophy.

No. 2-ranked Fenwick (120 points) prevailed over Deerfield (141) and No. 1-ranked downstate Morton (164).

Rill (8th, 15:06.34 for 3.0 miles) and sophomore Nate McKillop (20th, 15:17.35) earned top-25, all-state honors.

Sophomore Dean O’Bryan’s first sub-16 minute race of the season (33rd, 15:37.33), Daley (43rd, 15:44.54) and See CROSS COUNTRY on page 32

S P O R T S

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

31

Walls’ 191 yards rushing leads Fenwick past Boylan Win sets up Class 5A quarterfinals clash with face Nazareth Academy

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

Fenwick High School football’s Jacque Walls has excelled on defense the past two seasons, being named to the All-Catholic League/ East Suburban Catholic Conference team this fall at cornerback.

But with running back Danny Kent being limited the past two weeks, Walls has also filled that a void.

After running for 110 yards against Kaneland in the playoff opener, Walls ran for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries to help the Friars (9-2) get past Rockford Boylan 24-14 in a second-round IHSA Class 5A playoff game on Nov. 6.

“I’m a ballplayer. Either side of the ball doesn’t matter to me as long as I’m helping the team,” Walls said.

Fenwick coach Matt Battaglia complimented Walls on his explosiveness on offense the past two weeks.

“The burst, energy and hunger he’s shown has helped set the tone for the offense,” he said. “Danny’s been our emotional leader, but Jacque has filled those shoes big-time, and that’s not easy to do.”

Boylan quarterback Joey Appino fumbled through the end zone on the opening possession for a touchback, giving Fenwick the ball at their 20. On a third-and-3 from the 27, Walls burst through the left side and took it to the house for a 73-yard touchdown and a lead the Friars would not relinquish.

“We only needed about three yards, and once I got them, I thought we were good,” said Walls. “Then I broke a tackle and said it’s a touchdown.”

In the second quarter, Fenwick quarterback Kaden Cobb (13-of-19 passing, 186 yards, TD, 2 INT) was sacked in the red zone and fumbled, with the Titans recovering at their 4. But two plays later, Fenwick cornerback Denium Juette picked off an Appino pass and returned it to the Boylan 1. Walls scored his second touchdown on the next play to give the Friars a 14-0 lead.

After Appino connected with Tyler Mathias for a 4-yard touchdown pass late in the first half, Fenwick’s Iain Ramage drilled a 42-yard field goal to give the Friars a 17-7 halftime lead.

Then on the opening drive of the second half, Cobb’s 43-yard pass to Max Reese put Fenwick in business inside the Boylan red zone.

A Cobb-to-Reese touchdown pass from the Titans’ 8 was wiped out by a holding penalty, but on the next play, the duo connected for an 18-yard score, giving Fenwick a 24-7 lead at the 8:56 mark of the third quarter.

Appino scored on a 10-yard run to bring Boylan within 10 points later in the third, but that turned out to be the game’s last scoring play as the Friars shut down the Titans’ attack the rest of the way.

Martin Paris led Fenwick’s defense with 7.5 tackles, with twin brother Conor adding six tackles.

“We always try to outdo each other,” said Martin Paris. “Whenever Conor makes a good play, I’ve got to come back the next one and bring it.”

Luke D’Alise (5.5 tackles), Juette (5 tackles, interception), and Ramage (interception) were other contributors defensively for the Friars.

“That’s something we’ve improved on throughout the year,” said Battaglia of closing

out close games. “We had a couple of games early on where it came down to the wire and we couldn’t find a way to win. But I think we’ve gone over that hump, and now we’ve got to clean up some things and protect the football.”

Up next is a Class 5A quarterfinal matchup with Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park.

The Roadrunners (7-4), led by freshman quarterback Logan Malachuk, won their final three regular-season games to qualify for the

playoffs and outscored their first two 5A opponents -- Goode and Marmion Academy -- 87-20 on the road.

Battaglia, who is familiar with Nazareth and coach Tim Racki from his playing days at Marist High School, anticipates a fierce battle.

“They’re a really good team with some of the best coaches in the state,” Battaglia said.

“It’s going to be a big-time atmosphere.”

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Nov. 13.

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32

S P O R T S

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Fremd edges OPRF soccer in IHSA supersectionals Huskies finish with best win percentage in program history, first sectional title since 1996

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The Oak Park and River Forest High School boys soccer team’s postseason run came to an end Nov. 2 as Fremd High School’s Eli Schoffstall scored off a turnover with about two minutes left in regulation to hand the Huskies (19-4) a 1-0 loss in the IHSA Class 3A Barrington Supersectional.

“It was a back-and-forth game. Fremd is a great team,” said OPRF coach Jason Fried of the Vikings, considered to be the top-ranked team in Illinois. “They had a great first 25-30 minutes, but I thought we regained momentum as the game went on.

They stole the ball late and had a great finish; that’s the way soccer goes.”

The Huskies’ winning percentage of .826 was the best in program history.

“They earned it through their hard work,” he said. “It’s a great thing.”

Sophomore Easton Bogard tied OPRF’s single-season record for goals with 29. He recorded a hat trick in the Huskies’ 3-0 win against Evanston Township High School on Oct. 30 in the New Trier Sectional final.

OPRF also had a terrific defense in front of senior goalkeeper Clark Turk, who Fried said made a big improvement in his game with assistance from goalkeeper coach Mike Dolan.

“One thing that I give Clark credit for is that he worked so hard on strengthening his weaknesses,” he said. “By the end of the year, he was dominant in the box, and he was huge for us moving on. It shows when you put mind to something and work at it, you improve, and that’s what Clark did.”

Turk and his fellow seniors may have set new standards for OPRF going forward thanks to their hard work and dedication.

“Our seniors did a great job,” said Fried.

“Their resiliency and willingness to adapt

to different styles of play was huge.”

Though the seniors will be missed, Bogard headlines a strong group of returnees who Fried believes can take the next step now that the Huskies have removed a huge program barrier -- winning a sectional title. OPRF’s sectional title this year is the Huskies’ first since 1996.

“We’ll be more confident than ever because we’ve now won a sectional,” Fried said. “It’s been hard with so many good teams, but now these guys know what it takes. Every coach and player wanted to get better at what they do. We’re not satisfied because I wish we were playing [in the state semifinals], but at the same time I’m grateful for the success with this group of players.”

Friars fall in sectional final Fenwick High School nearly joined OPRF in reaching the IHSA supersectional

round, but lost 4-3 to top-seeded Niles Notre Dame in the Class 2A Speer Sectional final Oct. 29.

“We had a lot of confidence against Notre Dame, having tied them during the regular season,” said Fenwick coach Craig Blazer. “It was a fantastic game and we left it all out there. We had some outstanding play and in a way it was one of our best games of the year.”

The Friars (10-11-4) rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match in the second half with goals from Ryan Bero and Jack Powers.

But with less than 90 seconds left in regulation, the Dons’ Trevor Johnson scored the game-winner to end the Friars’ hopes.

Bero and Powers were named to the allsectional team.

“Every year is a different challenge,” he said. “We tried to get everyone on the same page, and at the end, they did a wonderful job of giving us a chance to make a deep run in the playoffs.”

CROSS COUNTRY ‘Awesome day’ from page 30 Lee O’Bryan (87th, 16:05.68) completed their top-five finishers, followed by Lukas (123rd, 16:21.04) and sophomore Christian Kline (205th, 17:07.96).

“A year ago, we would have never thought [state title], but after we started coming out of the gates strong, we realized we could do something,” Rill said. “We didn’t know if we could win or not, but we had intentions to be in the top five.”

The preseason Class 2A state polls by MileSplitIL and ILXCTF.com ranked Fenwick No. 8 and 10, respectively.

By late September, the Friars were the unanimous No. 1, but they fell to No. 2 after losing to Morton 77-79 for the Peoria Invite 2A-1A title on Oct. 2 at Detweiller Park.

“That day we realized this isn’t given just by the rankings. We really have to work super hard for this,” Lee O’Bryan said. “It was a good thing that we lost [that invite].”

Fenwick coach David Rill not only is Grayden’s father but also one of the program’s greatest runners, finishing second in AA in 1987.

“Awesome day. I like [coaching] it better, actually,” David Rill said. “Coaching my kid, being able to see him experience it, is awesome also. I think it’s just as sweet, if not better.”

Grayden Rill and McKillop are only the program’s third and fourth all-staters.

“I believe I have improved a lot and our

PHOTOS BY PAUL NICKOLEY

Fenwick sophomore Nate McKillop (left) placed 20th at the boys Class 2A state meet to earn all-state honors. In the girls race, Bella Daley of Fenwick (right) placed 23rd overall to notch an all-state finish, the fourth for the program. team in general has improved a lot from last year,” McKillop said. “I feel we did a great job today.”

All-state finish for Bella Daley In the girls Class 2A race, Fenwick ju-

nior Bella Daley (23rd, 18:07.24) became program’s fourth girls all-stater.

“I was hoping for top 15, maybe top 10, and I really wanted to run 17:30, but there’s always next year,” Daley said. “My biggest goal was all-state. I’m just happy that I could have that blessing of getting

it.”

Fenwick junior Ava Martinez (180th, 20:03.57) made her state debut after her best race “effort-wise” at sectionals to qualify.

“I’m very thankful -- and to do it with Bella so I was not alone,” Martinez said.

S P O R T S

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

33

OPRF swimmers top Fenwick to take sectional crown Huskies advance 5 individuals, 2 relays; Fenwick sends all 3 relays to state finals

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The Oak Park and River Forest High School girls swimming and diving team, led by a standout performance from freshman Sadie Murphy, won the IHSA Fenwick Sectional meet on Nov. 6 and advanced five individuals along with two relays along to the IHSA state meet at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont later this week.

The Huskies amassed 317 points to take the sectional crown over the host and runner-up Friars (294). Trinity High School scored 71 points and finished eighth.

It was the first sectional title for the Huskies in at least 20 years, according to OPRF coach Clyde Lundgren.

“It was a good meet for us,” he said. “Everybody walked away with season-best times, and being able to win the sectional is a huge thing for the program.”

Murphy won the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 52.53 seconds and the 500 freestyle in 5:05.75. She was also part of two relays that qualified for the state meet -- the 200 freestyle 400 freestyle relays that also featured senior Teagan Osga, freshman Jessica Li and junior Victoria Kouris.

OPRF also got a great individual effort from Osga, who won the 100 backstroke in 57.03 and the 200 individual medley 2:07.07, breaking the school record set by Murphy at the West Suburban Silver Conference meet on Oct. 23.

“Teagan has been eying that record since her freshman year,” Lundgren said. “She took it from Sadie at the sectional by seventenths of a second. She’s one of our captains

SARA JANZ/Contributor

Fenwick freshman Anna Doherty (white cap) competes in the 200-yard Freestyle during the IHSA sectional meet in Oak Park on Nov. 6. Doherty qualified for the IHSA state finals this weekend as a member of the 200 medley relay team and 400 freestyle relay team. this year and a great kid.”

Senior Cecilee Burns won the diving title for a Huskies with 377.05 points.

“She’s really improved in her time at OPRF,” Lundgren said. “She has a strong gymnastics background and [diving coach Mark] Pappalardo does a tremendous job working with our divers. Cecilee took advantage of that.”

The Huskies hope to get either Murphy or Osga into the top 12 of their events during the state meet preliminary heats on Nov. 12, since the top 12 qualifiers advance to the Nov. 13 finals. Lundgren is also hopeful of getting at least one of the relay teams to the finals.

“That would be huge to pick up points on Friday,” he said. “Scoring at the state meet is no small thing.”

Friars advance 3 relays, 3 individuals

SARA JANZ/Contributor

Fenwick’s Baileigh Racky, Anna Doherty, Lindsey Drumm and Kailyn McHugh show off their first-place medals after winning the 200 medley relay at the IHSA swimming sectional meet on Nov. 6 in Oak Park.

Fenwick advanced three individuals and all three relays to the state meet. The Friars were led by senior Lindsey Drumm, who was victorious in the 100 butterfly and swam on the winning 200 medley relay along with freshman Anna Doherty and juniors Kailyn McHugh and Baileigh Racky.

“She’s got the most experience on those relays,” Fenwick coach Steve Thompson said. “Our whole focus was to get those other girls to state with her, and now the goal is to improve there and finish her off as one of the top swimmers in Illinois.”

Racky qualified for state in the 100 backstroke, finishing second in a time of 57.62, while McHugh won the 100 freestyle in 53.26.

McHugh, Drumm, sophomore Cailey Peel, and Racky placed second to OPRF in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:37.41. Then Drumm, McHugh, Doherty and Racky qualified for the 400 freestyle relay in 3:34.08.

“We’re going to go [to the state meet] with the expectation that we’re going to swim both days,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be very competitive on Friday, and only the top twelve come back on Saturday.”

Trinity High School had no swimmers advance to the state meet. Yet, Trinity coach Mary Gibson saw plenty of positives from her young team.

Sophomore Emily Boyd placed fifth for Trinity in the 200 freestyle in 2:14.79. She just missed a top-six finish by two seconds in the 500 freestyle, placing seventh in 6:02.76.

“In my opinion, Emily swam the perfect race in the 200,” Gibson said. “Dropping that amount of time and medaling without being in the last heat speaks volumes of how hard she worked this year.”

Freshmen Sarah Falkenholm, Avril Ruiz, Emma Steadman, Mia Sznewajs along with sophomore Katerina Krysan and junior Madeline Halloran all scored points at the sectional.

34

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

Ban gas leaf blowers p. 38

VIEWPOINTS

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M.

Call Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at 613-3310 ktrainor@wjinc.com

Words are one thing, actions are another Another dispatch from the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, from Seven Generations Ahead founder Gary Cuneen, who is attending: limate adaptation financing for developing countries is a big topic on the agenda for COP26. The 2021 Production Gap Report, by leading research institutes and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), finds that despite increased climate ambitions and net-zero commitments, governments still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The report measures the gap between governments’ planned production of coal, oil and gas and the global production levels consistent with meeting the Paris Agreement temperature limits. Two years after the 2019 report, the 2021 report finds the production gap largely unchanged. Over the next two decades, governments are collectively projecting an increase in global oil and gas production, and only a modest decrease in coal production. Taken together, their plans and projections see global, total fossil fuel production increasing to at least 2040, creating an ever-widening production gap.

Coal: On the positive side … COP26 President Alok Sharma said: “From the start of the UK’s presidency, we have been clear that COP26 must be the COP that consigns coal to history.

With these ambitious commitments we are seeing today, the end of coal power is now within sight.”

The Powering Past Coal Coalition (PPCC) is securing commitments from governments and the private sector to phase out existing unabated coal power; encourage a global moratorium on the construction of new unabated coal-fired power plants; shift investment from coal to clean energy, including by working to restrict financing for coal-fired projects; and achieve coal phase-out in a sustainable and economically inclusive way, including appropriate support for workers and communities. The PPCC has over 100 members (countries and sub-country jurisdictions). At least 23 countries have made new commitments today to phase out coal power, including five of the world’s top 20 coal power-using countries.

Major international banks are committing to effectively end all international public financing of new unabated coal power by the end of 2021.

Wind: I attended a session today in which U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (first indigenous person cabinet member), IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera, and Denmark Ambassador Christensen discussed goal targets for global off-shore wind development and strategies for engaging other countries. La Camera estimates that we will need to install 380 gigawatts of off-shore wind by 2030 and 2000 gigawatts by 2040 to meet Paris Accord ghg reduction

C

GARY

CUNEEN One View

See CUNEEN on page 39

I

Icicles are telling us: Insulate!

f under-insulated homes are the “low hanging fruit” of climate change action, Oak Park could be described as a veritable orchard, ripe for the picking. Actually, given the large number of “historic” stand-alone houses, most villagers could dispense with the proverbial ladder of the fruit harvest.

I am reminded of this every time a winter storm has dropped a fresh layer of snow and many of my neighbors’ roofs quickly change from brilliant white to slate gray and a line of thick icicles takes shape, as the heat leaking from the roof melts the snow. Of course, poorly insulated homes are not unique to Oak Park, but many other locales are doing better either because the homes are newer, smaller, better insulated, or all of the above.

In the UK, beginning in early September 2021, some climate activists have taken to blocking highways to demand more effective action on climate change. This particular group is mainly an older crowd and their focus is not renewable energy, a good outcome at the Glasgow climate conference, or a particular “radical” idea. Their point is that it’s high time to go for that low hanging fruit. Their name says it all: “Insulate Britain!”

In this spirit, the village is offering new funding for Oak Park residents who want to improve the insulation in their homes or take other measures to reduce their fossil fuel consumption. Households may receive up to $10,000 for such efforts and more information is available at www.oak-park.us/housing.

Funding is a good start, but realistically, to get this large job finished, we are going to have to volunteer to do it ourselves or change the building regulatory framework in the village so that we are required to do it.

A simple first step is for each of us to learn more about what is easily in reach. I personally set about doing this last winter while walking my dog near my residence on Lyman Avenue. Aside from keeping my eye on the dog and his propensity to “do his business,” my gaze went upward to the roofs around me. I could see a large variation in the amount of snow remaining on roofs and similarly, large differences in the length and numbers of icicles hanging from the eaves and gutters.

It was with some disappointment that I observed my roof had dark patches and some long icicles while some of my neighbors had only a few short spears. I had recycled cellulose blown into the attic the previous autumn and had sealant applied to various parts of the attic ceiling. My home felt fairly comfy but clearly, some of the heat I had hoped would be trapped inside the house was still escaping through the roof. The lightest, most icicle-free roofs on my block were two houses in the middle of my block. One of them belonged to Jim Bloyd and Cynthia Liligan, the other to Bonnie and Stephen Jordan.

I caught up with the Jordans during our summer

SUSAN SUBAK

One View

See SUBAK on page 39

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

What if we are the enemy who needs to be loved?

The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook upon life. That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ — all these are undoubtedly great virtues. … But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself — that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness — that I myself am the enemy who must be loved — what then?

Carl Jung

KEN

TRAINOR

From Sun Magazine’s “Sunbeams” section

A

were they a threat to my safety? All of which ran counter to my own lived experience of African Americans, which was almost entirely positive.

I hear other people voicing similar judgments. Whites harbor a lot of opinions about what African Americans need to do to rise to a level where they can “earn” our respect.

We base our “judgments” on faulty information, hearsay, usually from questionable sources. We’re not qualified to “grade” our brothers and sisters.

Following the George Floyd murder, this country experienced a momentary racial reckoning, quickly followed by the current, disheartening, but entirely predictable, white backlash. Bryan Stevenson, a Black defense attorney who wrote the book, Just Mercy (that the film of the same name was based on), says we need to let go of the language of condemnation and, instead of fear and anger, approach racial injustice with mercy and hope if we are ever to achieve redemption. To overcome this historic injustice, we need to “own” this country’s racist past, he says, as well as the sin of racism inside us. Stevenson cites the New Testament story where Jesus tells a self-righteous mob, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” After the judge/jury/executioners leave, he says to the person judged, “Neither will I condemn you.” But it’s important to remember that the mob, after being called upon to acknowledge their own sins, did so and actually dropped their stones. We need to drop ours.

Stevenson, whose On Being interview with Krista Tippett was broadcast this past Sunday, says we need to “get close” to the problem of racism and what it has wrought if we want to cure it.

Imagine, for instance, how our judgmentalism affects African Americans in a white-dominant society where they are constantly being evaluated to determine their worthiness. Just as whites grow up absorbing messages that we are “superior,” Blacks grow up absorbing the flip side: They always have to “prove” themselves to white “superiors,” who operate by a double standard. It’s no wonder Black Americans are angry — and exhausted. Sick and tired of being sick and tired, as Fannie Lou Hamer said. And if Black activists forcefully call out racism, it may well be an attempt to feel, at long last, empowered. We all hunger and thirst for justice, but imagine how much more intense that hunger and thirst must be for African Americans.

Judge not, Jesus said, lest ye be judged. Ultimately, when we judge others, we judge ourselves. We are compensating for our own feelings of inadequacy, putting others down to prop ourselves up.

All our lives we have been breathing the same air, polluted by inequality. There was no other air to breathe. It made all of us sick. Cleanse first the contaminated air within so we don’t contaminate the air outside with the harmful things we too often say and do.

And ask yourself Jung’s question: What if I should discover that I myself am the enemy who must be loved?

What then?

ccusing someone of being racist is like accusing someone of being an air-breather. We have, all our lives, been breathing the same air, made rancid by racism, polluted by notions of superiority and inferiority. There was no other air to breathe.

Together, we need to find a way to cleanse that air so we can breathe it together, on equal footing, without shame, without guilt, so that breathing nourishes us, as air is meant to do, instead of making us sick.

It begins with each of us, learning how everyone has been harmed by growing up in a society built on inequity, particularly racial inequity. It means learning about all the sneaky ways superiority/ inferiority creeps into our thinking. We’ve been conditioned from an early age, socialized to see ourselves — and everyone else — as either worthy or unworthy, superior or inferior.

Much of this is unconscious, as Michael Romain pointed out in his insightful column, “Let’s have a deeper conversation about racism,” last week in Wednesday Journal. The unconscious mind is stronger than the conscious mind. Our unconscious biases direct our behavior and our judgments. We insist, often vehemently, that we’re not racist because we are not consciously racist. But there is more going on than we recognize. We must make the unconscious conscious so we can cure this disease. That requires listening, and being honest, with ourselves. No small feat.

As Romain noted, we need to elevate this issue above the politics of culture war. Accepting that there is racism in each of us is the first step. Humbling but liberating. Denial takes too much energy to sustain.

There is probably a direct correlation between the loudness of our denial and the strength of the superiority/inferiority schism within, which as Carl Jung points out, may be a projection of our inner sense of unworthiness.

It frequently takes the form of judging others. As I began to monitor my own inner monologue more closely, I realized I was “evaluating” African Americans, and people of color in general. Did they merit my respect? From the clothing they wore to the way they wore them, the way they spoke, how loud they were, how competent they were (based on how they looked, not how they acted), and the one that creeps in with so many white Americans —

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Progress on housing

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wo stories in today’s Journal reflect the notable headway Oak Park is making in broadening our housing options for persons facing homelessness or those with limited financial means. The news here is in the response of residents to these housing initiatives and to their locations (or, in one case, potential location).

We’ve been waiting for the word that Housing Forward had extended its hold on the Write Inn hotel at 211 N. Oak Park Ave. Early in the pandemic, COVID made the overnight shelter model the agency had long relied on impossible. Housing Forward pivoted in an instant and secured a year’s lease on all the rooms at the Write Inn. It created stable housing for dozens and wrapped support services around each of those residents.

The result has been remarkable. Seventy percent of the individuals who have come through the Write Inn have now transitioned into more permanent housing. Clearly this is the model the agency needs to make work for the long term. Federal COVID relief funding, passed through the village of Oak Park, has helped make this possible. The challenge is to keep it going.

Certainly we’re impressed, as we always are, by the leadership at Housing Forward. But we’ve also got high praise for the neighbors of the Write Inn who have taken all this in stride. Of course it works because Housing Forward is so good at what it does. But smack dab in the middle of Oak Park we have come to a point where a semipermanent program to provide housing for people otherwise facing homelessness is accepted.

It was not too many years back that some neighbors of The Grove, a planned affordable housing project at Madison and Grove, spun around backwards for months trying to block this splendid project.

And this was for an effort that was reclaiming an empty and certifiably hideous commercial building.

More recently select neighbors of the handsome 801 Van Buren affordable apartment building got laughed out of court for filing a suit claiming the four-story building would deprive them of airflow and sunshine. NIMBY-ism on steroids.

In a second story this week, Stacey Sheridan also reports that the Oak Park Regional Housing Center has purchased its longtime office space on South Boulevard near Marion Street. The plan — and it’s early in the discussions — is to add a mix of affordable and marketrate housing in either an expanded or redeveloped project on the site.

Housing Center leadership has a lot of work ahead of it as it chooses a development partner and crafts its plan. But the idea of adding this project in the heart of the greater downtown Oak Park area is invigorating.

It works against the bromide that Oak Park will only place affordable projects in less toney parts of the village. Time for that idea to be retired.

This is what progress looks like.

Holiday Gift Basket returns We admit it. Delivery day for the Holiday Food and Gift Basket program is about our favorite day of the year in Oak Park and River Forest. Catching a glimpse of the sanctuary of United Lutheran Church on Ridgeland and Greenfield with pews filled with gifts about to be delivered to families and elders of limited means across the village is the definition of Christmas.

We missed that moment last year as COVID shifted the handbought and volunteer-delivered gift exchange to a gift card distribution that met many needs but lacked the personal dimension.

This year with some fresh leadership and the miracle of vaccinations, the program is returning to its roots — with, of course, COVID precautions.

There’s still time to sign up your family or your work colleagues to buy gifts for neighbors in need, to make a financial contribution or help with deliveries. Find out more at communityofcongregations.org/holiday-food-gift-basket.

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Gratitude abounds at Jim and Pete’s J

im and Pete’s, 7806 W. North Ave. in Elmwood Park, has been connecting with the community by serving old-world Italian dishes with a modern twist in a welcoming environment for 80 years.

Michael Bucchianeri worked as a busboy at Jim and Pete’s as a teenager and subsequently filled every role imaginable at the restaurant before taking an ownerFood Writer ship role in 1999, but nothing could have prepared him for the avalanche of gratitude the devoted owner is currently experiencing.

Bucchianeri has been fiercely committed to honoring the legacy of the restaurant established in 1941 by expanding on the shared vision of former owners Jim Sorce Jr. and Vito Brunetti. While the global pandemic put a pause on celebrating Jim and Pete’s 80th anniversary, Bucchianeri is

MELISSA ELSMO

grateful his creative thinking, loyal staff and devoted customers have helped the Restaurant Row mainstay thrive during challenging times.

“We have been busy, and we are all thankful for that,” said Bucchianeri. “Our customers stood by us through all of this, and we have committed team members who have helped us survive. We have been stretched thin at times, but we all stuck together like family.”

At a time when it may have been easier for some staff members to stay home, they organized their personal lives to prioritize the restaurant. Bucchianeri knows Jim and Pete’s would not have made it through difficult days without their selflessness and dedication. A core group of 20 team members carried the restaurant through the past year and, despite staffing shortages, continue to offer the friendly and accommodating service synonymous with Jim and Pete’s.

Creative space solutions were also a saving grace for the North Avenue eatery. The enthusiastic owner completed an extensive remodel of Jim and Pete’s in 2017 that not only made the well-appointed restaurant a stand-out in Elmwood Park, but also ensured the eatery was practically pandemic proof.

Jim and Pete’s added an outdoor tent and curbside tables, but Bucchianeri credits the

Michael Bucchianeri, owner of Jim and Pete’s, worked as a busboy in the restaurant before becoming the owner. He is especially grateful for the patio that helped carry the 80-year-old restaurant through difficult days.

Chicken Caesar Salad: Romaine lettuce, topped with boneless grilled chicken with creamy Caesar dressing, Parmesan cheese and croutons.

All photos Melissa Elsmo

An array of sandwiches, including this layered vegetable offering, attract lunchtime diners to Jim and Pete’s.

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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The party room at Jim and Pete’s may have been built in 2017, but the state-of-the-art room with a retractable roof proved to be priceless during the pandemic. three season “plus” patio for maintaining Jim and Pete’s capacity despite state-wide indoor dining restrictions.

“My staff thinks I am a wizard for building this room, but it turns out we have the tools here to help us make it through a pandemic,” laughed Bucchianeri. “In the wintertime there would be snow on the boxwoods, but the room was so warm that we could open the roof to see the stars.”

Other restaurant owners have approached Bucchianeri to learn more about Jim and Pete’s state-of-the art party room suitable for hosting an array of special occasion events.

Longtime staff initially questioned the sizable investment, but now the room serves as a flexible indoor/outdoor space used year-round for small weddings, rehearsal dinners, business meetings and charitable events. The fireplace pumps 500,000 BTUs of heat into the room keeping the patio warm and toasty on chilly days.

The unique room was designed with customer comfort in mind and helped sustain Jim and Pete’s through the pandemic and even brought a bevy of new customers to the restaurant. Most importantly, the room is used to connect with the community.

Throughout the pandemic Bucchianeri has been appreciative of all the patient customers who supported Jim and Pete’s and

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House made rigatoni spinach, ricotta and pinenuts in an aglio sauce.

SIGNATURE burger for november SIGNATURE burger for november

TALK TALK TURKEY TURKEY TO TOME ME

tipped so generously that it made a daily difference in the lives of his hard-working staff members. He is continuously thankful for the support the Village of Elmwood Park shows to local restaurants and knows he is fortunate to have 80 years of experience to help propel his restaurant forward.

Filled with gratitude, Bucchianeri anticipates a bright future for Jim and Pete’s in Elmwood Park.

Jim and Pete’s, located at 7806 W. North Ave. in Elmwood Park.

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Banning leaf blowers is a quality-of-life issue

Yes, yes, yes, yes! How do we get the ball rolling in the direction to end this?

[Give us a break: Ban leaf blowers, Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, Nov. 3] I read the article you reference in your opinion

piece and I agree with all of your points on this matter. This is a quality of life issue for all of us.

Dan Cimaglio

Oak Park

Too much litter

In the Oct. 20 issue of Wednesday Journal, “Wild Onion closes, criticizes village hall,” Wild Onion complains about “dirty streets,” and they are right. The area surrounding the Harlem el station has had a significant litter and trash problem that has gone on unchecked for years. Living in the 300

Power down the blowers!

Ken Trainor is right [Give us a break: Ban leaf blowers, Viewpoints, Nov. 3]: It’s past time for Oak Park to prohibit gasoline-powered leaf blowers. They pollute the air and disturb the peace with their high-decibel roar.

The noise is especially intrusive in higher-density parts of the village, where Oak Parkers who live in low-rise apartment and condo or townhome buildings suffer when yard-cleanup crews work simultaneously or in quick succession at

block of Home Avenue, it is hard to miss. Messy people, sloppy efforts by the village to keep things clean, commercial tenants who overload their dumpsters? It’s not clear what the cause is, but the effect is clear: lots of litter.

Charles Watkins Oak Park

adjacent properties. Also irksome are the yardmen and women who loudly chase three leaves down a sidewalk for way too long. Let just a couple of leaves lie, and power down the blower!

Oak Park is progressive and forward-thinking in a lot of areas. It needs to take the same approach toward gas-powered leaf blowers: Ban them.

Bravo [Give us a break: Ban leaf blowers, Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, Nov. 3]. I think your voice will be the one that puts the ban on the books. It’s been too long in coming. Ban the gas blowers!

Oak Park

Oak Park

Richard Liefer

Ban the blowers

Elaine Johnson

Oak Park Bank 151 N Oak Park Ave, Oak Park (708) 948-0405

Congratulations to Oak Park Bank on their opening! bankoakpark.com

Among the Celebrants: Judith Alexander, The North Avenue District; Dave Murphy, Kadampa Meditation; Becky Streit, Laura Crawford, & Louise Gates, Collaboration for Early Childhood; Tamekia Swint, Styles 4 Kidz; Dr. Mary Ann Bender, Weil Foot & Ankle Clinic; Melissa Cleveland, Chris Griffith, Xiomara Soto, Malissa Ware, Paul Cutsuvitis, & Hugo Garcia, Oak Park Bank; Theresa Jurgus & Carla Taylor, Baird & Warner; Susie Goldschmidt & My Hanh La, Byline Bank; Brian Dubina, OPRF High School; Sandra Sokol; Michael Glab, Nutriquity; Teri Miller, Beyond Hunger; Heidi Ruehle, UTRF; Darien Marion Burton, D M Burton; John Lynch & Eric Mazelis, OPEDC; Sam Yousif, Fuller Health Group; Jimmy Chen, Poke Burrito; Pat Koko, Celebrating Seniors Coalition; Liz Holt & Mark Walden, OPRF Chamber; Cam Davis, Village of Oak Park. Photos by Todd Bannor of Bannor & Bannor

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

CUNEEN

Report from COP26 from page 34 goal targets. The U.S. is shooting for 30 gigawatts by 2030, creating a $1.9 billion revenue opportunity for the private sector and adding to the 1.25 million jobs already established in the global wind industry.

Denmark — the leader in off-shore wind — has a broader 70% ghg reduction goal target by 2030, and already has achieved 52% through wind and solar investments.

Denmark has also decided to end oil and gas exploration off-shore. Their partnership with 19 countries — including a focus on developing nations — is designed to share expertise and support capital development for off-shore wind projects.

Carbon: I sat today in two hours of negotiations on Article 6 (establishing an International Carbon Market) with country representatives across the world. Much of the negotiations centered on wording within Article 6.8 (non-market approaches) and 6.4 (central UN mechanism to trade credits). Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on greenhouse gases enables countries to cooperate in implementing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) toward emission reduction. Among other things, this means that emission reductions can be transferred between countries and counted toward NDCs.

SUBAK

The cure for icicles from page 34 block party. The party was meant to include a neighborhood trivia contest and I had snuck in the question, “If icicles speak volumes: Which homes on 600 Lyman proved to be the best insulated, most energy efficient this past winter? Please list the top two candidates.” I can’t say that anyone at the block party had the correct answer. I’ll admit it was a confounding question, more difficult than the one about which District 97 namesake had the longest beard (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?). Someone asked me if there was a database somewhere in Oak Park recording information about icicles. Not a bad idea, eh?

Fortunately, the residents of both homes were forthcoming about what they had done. The Jordans had invested in their improvements about 15 years ago. Said Steven Jordan, “We got new double-hung windows. This had two advantages: we could open the windows as much as or as little as we wanted. And the windows were tight: no more draft.” Around the same time, the Jordans also added insulation to the floor of the attic. In the house across the street facing the Jordans’, Jim Bloyd had this to say:

V I E W P O I N T S International carbon markets work like this: Countries that struggle to meet their emissions-reduction targets under their national climate plans, or want to pursue less expensive emissions cuts, can purchase emissions reductions from other nations that have already cut their emissions more than the amount they had pledged, such as by transitioning to renewable energy.

Sports Alliance: A number of ambitious emissions reductions targets were announced by the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework (S4CA) today. These include reaching Net Zero by 2040 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 at the latest. Signatories, including the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, Athletics Kenya, BBC Sport, the Premier League, Formula E and Munster Rugby, have signed up for these new targets. In addition, signatories commit to submitting plans to outline concrete actions that will be taken to implement 2030 targets as well as report on overall progress with commitments on an annual basis.

Finance: Finance ministers are in Glasgow to discuss mobilizing funding for rapid, largescale climate action. COP26 President Alok Sharma said: “Today, there is more public and private finance for climate action than ever before.”

Gary Cuneen is director of Seven Generations Ahead, an Oak Park-based environmental nonprofit which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

“Within a few weeks after my wife and I moved into our four-square house, the reality of being responsible for maintaining a building aged 10-plus decades struck: The new furnace was going full blast and it was still cold inside. We also saw snowfall melting on the roof. ‘Let’s not pay to melt the snow!’ we thought. Our fears were confirmed when a peek in the attic revealed only a few inches of old particle insulation over the ceiling of the second floor. In spring we contracted to have 2 or 3 feet of insulation blown into the attic, and the walls insulated underneath the vinyl siding. The result was a more attractive house for the next owner, a reduced carbon footprint, and greatly reduced gas bills.

My conversations with my neighbors remind me that reducing energy is an ongoing project. I had added the attic insulation before the village’s current energy conservation program had kicked in, but I received a $400 rebate from NICOR and my heating bill is much lower than the Oak Park average.

I am continuing to talk to my neighbors about the idiosyncrasies of insulating an Oak Park four-square and improving the windows and walls is still on my plate.

And of course I hope that my odd habit of checking roofs and remedies can catch on a little, and we can learn more from each other about how to banish those icicles.

Susan Subak, an Oak Park resident, is author of “The Five-Ton Life: Carbon, America, and the Culture that May Save Us.”

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor and Publisher Dan Haley Senior Editor Bob Uphues Equity Editor/Ombudsman Michael Romain Digital Publishing and Technology Manager Briana Higgins Staff Reporters Stacey Sheridan, F. Amanda Tugade Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Food Editor Melissa Elsmo Arts Editor Michelle Dybal Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger, Stan West Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea Designer Susan McKelvey Business Manager Joyce Minich Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Development & Sales Coordinator Stacy Coleman Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

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

In a healthy conversation about community concerns, your voice is also vital.

We welcome your views, on any topic of community interest, as essays and as letters to the editor. Noted here are our stipulations for filing.

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

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

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

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

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

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Cancel Culture is a destructive force

C

ongratulations to Wednesday Journal for publishing the insightful piece on cancel culture by Esmie Alwaeli. [The downside of ‘Cancel Culture’, Viewpoints, May 25] It is time for progressives to speak up about this damaging culture along with its toxic twin, “wokeness.” This is especially important in progressive municipal centers such as Oak Park. I hope Alwaeli’s argument as a high school student generated discussions among Oak Park and River Forest parents.

Stakeholders and partners in creating a social transformation infrastructure which can be touched and experienced are often afraid of speaking up about these toxic twins. We don’t like to be called racist, against our own kind if one is brown-skinned like me, or be the human bathroom wall for other accusations that rapidly deteriorate into nonsensical grandiloquence.

Cancel culture destroys things; it does not create something new. The social transformation infrastructure takes building, with a great deal of patience, capital investment, deferring entertainment, and a busload of faith. The toxic twins have no faith in a society that has the potential to be wonderful yet flawed.

One of the central mechanisms of the Oak Park social transformation structure is Housing Forward.

I write this letter as a former Housing Forward client.

I am disabled, wheelchair dependent, and I used their services when I was experiencing domestic violence. I not only received temporary shelter from the storm, I was placed in housing. I eventually received a housing choice voucher. In 2022, five years from this dark period, I will be running for City Council in South

Tucson, Arizona.

Seventy percent of disabled people report experiencing domestic violence at least once in their life. Changing this statistic and my life did not take saying the right, woke thing or destroying someone else’s life; it took the social transformation infrastructure. In Oak Park with Housing Forward, this takes churches opening their doors, residents not shunning the homeless in Starbucks, hundreds of volunteers, and the selfless service of donors who pay for hotels for domestic violence victims so we can’t be found.

As many clients are also people of color, disabled with mental illness or a physical illness, it takes empathy exchanges. It takes the homeless answering questions to volunteers without offense. It takes caring about mentally ill clients who may say racist, sexist or homophobic things out of their mental illness, not their heart. It’s a complex process that takes gentleness and humility. The results are a vulnerable person not freezing to death in the Chicago winter.

For those who know the history of Oak Park, efforts such as Housing Forward — and the racial and economic integration of OP-RF — emerged from the Civil Rights Movement. The movement made gains because it built alternative institutions, including the not oft spoken about institution of individual attitude.

Cancel culture shows us the central importance of attitude and how it can be destructive without constructing something new. This is why real progressives need to be bold in taking action against this destructive and childish force.

Kristopher Hoeks is a former Oak Park resident, now living in South Tucson, Arizona.

KRISTOPHER HOEKS One View

The wonderful thing about growing old Being Antique Growing old is a privilege not everyone shares To get there you’ve taken a whole lot of dares You’ve listened, you’ve shared your love and your cares Read bedtime stories of three little bears.

Sometimes you’ve wondered what if I’d done that Gone to sea in a boat and owned a boat cat Brewed Irish whiskey in an old whisky vat Worn only red, with a big silly hat?

But the wonderful thing about growing old Is sometimes you’ve had to be really bold And done your thing when others went cold Carried on and on, when told to fold You knew what you wanted and chose to hold.

Yes, wrinkles are scary for smooth, lovin’ youth But there’s nothing so honest as long in the tooth Though sometimes you were a wee bit uncouth In good times and bad you spoke your own truth.

You struggled, you loved, you’ve been of great strength And in all those years you tried to make sense Of hardship and loss, and love and hence Growing old is a privilege not all can dispense.

Enjoy your life, be it long or short It only comes once, and the people who fought Want you to love it and learn what they taught So love it and love it; enjoy life’s sport.

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

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Oak Park

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A tough day on the bridge-building front

wo days ago, Pastor Walter Mitty decided to go to the military and police supply store on Main Street and pick up Swiss Army knives for his two nephews who had gotten into camping during the summer.

Before going inside, the pastor of Poplar Park Community Church paused for a minute to calm himself. Truth be told, Sarge, the owner, irritated him to no end. He had been repeating over and over on Facebook the Big Lie about the election, as if repetition would finally wear Poplar Parkers down to where they would believe the lie even without any evidence.

What’s more, Sarge had referred to him as a bleeding heart liberal when Mitty posted on Facebook that we should welcome immigrants at the border because Jesus said we should welcome strangers.

Before entering the store, he noticed a big sign the owner had put in the front window.

“This Veterans Day,” said the sign, “say thank you to those of us who served our country in defense of freedom.”

“Hmm,” thought Mitty, “I can support that.

I’ll try mentioning the sign to Sarge as a way of finding some common ground.”

So he took a deep breath, said a short prayer and opened the front door.

“Hey Sarge,” said Mitty in the most pleasant voice he could muster. “I really like that sign you put up in the window.”

“Would you have even remembered that November 11 is Veterans Day if I hadn’t put up the sign?”

“Ouch,” is what Pastor Walt said to himself.

T

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

“Well, um, actually no, Sarge,” is what he said out loud.

“You’ve never been in the military, Rev, have you?”

“Maybe I should buy those Swiss Army knives somewhere else,” thought Mitty, realizing that he was thinking one thing in this conversation and saying another.

As he regained his composure, Mitty noticed that Sarge was wearing a camouflage baseball cap with a patch showing a yellow flag with three horizontal red stripes sewed on the front, so he decided to rewind the conversation and start over by saying, “You’re a Vietnam Vet, right Sarge?”

“Damn right and proud of it. All you liberals can say about that war is all of the atrocities we Americans committed. All you college student types were busy dodging the draft. If you never served, how do you know what really went down over there? And these days I don’t see many of you so called progressives volunteering to defend our freedoms by joining the army.”

“That didn’t work so well,” thought Mitty, so he made his purchase, decided that discretion is the better part of valor and made a hasty retreat.

Pastor Mitty always thought of himself as a bridge builder, so his brief interaction with Sarge bothered him all the way home. The first thing he did after hanging up his coat was to call his neighbor.

“Hey, Walt. What’s up?” Michael as usual

was glad to hear his friend’s voice.

After listening to his best friend’s account of what happened at the military and police store, Michael laughed and said, “Bad toilet training, Walt. Bad toilet training.”

“No, seriously, Michael. I was trying to take the road less traveled and an IED exploded in my face.”

“And you’re having a hard time loving your enemy and praying for those who persecute you, right?”

In spite of himself, Mitty had to laugh and said, “I hate it when you quote Scripture at me, Michael.”

After a moment of silence, Mitty found himself using the word “seriously” again.

“But seriously, Michael, does Sarge have a point? I mean, I haven’t a clue about what he went through in Nam. And these days, only 1% of Americans serve in the military.”

Michael considered what his friend had said while Mitty continued. “Sarge and Tammy Duckworth both flew in choppers, but that’s where the similarity ends. He was a door gunner; she was a pilot. He graduated from high school a couple months before getting drafted. She had a college diploma.

When we watch the Newshour or read the Times online, do we ever hear the perspective of a PFC?” “So,” said Michael after his friend had

TOM HOLMES

finished, “are you saying you and I are more like Senator Duckworth than Sarge?

And that because Sarge isn’t good with words it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a perspective worth taking seriously … even if we have to dig for it a little bit?”

Mitty again had to laugh. “Not only do I hate it when you quote Scripture at me, Michael. I also hate it when you complete my thoughts before I think them.”

After they finished their phone conversation, Pastor Walt got to thinking. When his Jewish friend quoted Jesus about loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you, he did feel unfairly judged a little. He knew Michael wasn’t out to get him with his comment.

But still.

Did Michael have a point? And did Sarge also have a point even if he didn’t know how to put it into words very well?

“If I had just put more effort into listening instead of feeling defensive,” said Pastor Walt to himself, “would I have learned something? If nothing else, about myself ?

In the internal debate going on inside him one side wanted to protest that Sarge had started it and another part immediately realized that being childish and blaming wouldn’t bridge our polarized cultural chasm and that being a grown up means taking responsibility for your own feelings.

Later that evening, when he processed the day one more time before going to bed, the one thing he was sure of was that being an adult is hard work.

Tom Holmes writes a regular column in our sister publication, the Forest Park Review.

How racism functions in the brain

hanks to Fred Reklau for his letter (Nov. 3, Viewpoints) on Michael Romain’s writing. I, too, look for Mr. Romain’s column on page 2 or 3 each week, and I echo everything Mr. Reklau stated about Romain’s scholarly, incisive, and honest writing.

The discussion of unconscious bias in his Nov. 3 column, “Let’s have a deeper conversation about racism,” was especially interesting to me, as I have thought a lot about the tribalism (us vs. them) that seems to be deep-rooted in human social behavior.

It takes the form of racism, and many other “isms.” I appreciate Romain’s discussion in this column of the research on unconscious bias, a finding from psychology that goes a long way toward helping us understand the discrepancy between our avowed attitudes (“not a racist bone in my body”) and our actual behavior.

In psychiatry and psychology, going back to Freud, the deep influence that mental activity at an unconscious level has on at-

titudes, emotions, and behavior has long been recognized. More recently, research in neuroscience has identified the neural pathways activated by sensory stimuli signaling possible danger.

One of the brain scientists Romain cites, Joseph LeDoux, reports that there are two routes for processing stimuli: the direct pathway (“low road”) from the thalamus to the amygdala, which is “quick and dirty,” and the cortical pathway (“high road”) from the thalamus to the sensory cortex which is slower but more accurate.

The shorter, faster pathway is useful in providing an immediate response to danger, but, cautions LeDoux, “because the direct pathway bypasses the cortex, it is unable to benefit from cortical processing. … Its utility requires that the cortical pathway be able to override the direct pathway (LeDoux, The Emotional Brain).” When speed trumps accuracy, the individual reacts to a perceived danger without discerning whether a real danger is present.

STEPHANIE FERRERA One View

This knowledge of brain functioning provides a way of understanding the ease with which emotions and attitudes, positive and negative, can be activated without conscious awareness. This, in turn, leads to seeing how the fears, biases and rapid friend-or-foe categorizing that underlie tribal attitudes may be activated by even a slight perception of threat. All of this lays the groundwork for understanding how the bias plays out in relationships: one person’s fear response leads to distancing or acting negatively toward the other; the other responds in kind; a cycle is created that perpetuates the fear and stereotyping.

Romain is right on target in pointing to the need for “nuance, complexity, and thoughtful rigor” in talking about race and racism. Just becoming aware of the degree to which we operate on automatic emotional reactivity is a big undertaking. Being able to stop … and think … before reacting can be the difference between a reaction that damages a relationship, and a thoughtful response that invites a conversation and leads to a little better understanding of one

another.

End of lecture.

Stephanie Ferrera is a longtime Oak Parker and a practicing therapist.

42

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

O B I T U A R I E S

H. Paul Schlacks, 85

Member of St. Giles Community Mass

Our Community Needs Community Journalism It’s not just about crime reports and board meetings. We also need inspiring, funny, heartwarming and, at times, heartbreaking stories about our friends, neighbors and children. Perhaps now, more than ever.

Howard Paul Schlacks, 85, a longtime resident of Oak Park, and Palisades Park, Michigan, died peacefully on Oct. 28, 2021. Born in Chicago on Dec. 8, 1935 to the late Howard and Clare Schlacks, “Uncle Paul” was celebrated by numerous nieces and nephews.

A graduate of St. Edmund and Fenwick (1953) in Oak Park, he went on to attend Loras College and Loyola University Chicago, then proudly served in the National Guard before working as a stockbroker at the Midwest Stock Exchange. His unwavering Catholic faith led him to many years of involvement with the St. Giles Community Mass in Oak Park, where he formed many enduring friendships. He was also an early investor in Wednesday Journal.

Paul was the husband of the late Nancy (nee Madigan); father of Erin (Tony) Evans, Howie (Meegan), Julie (Chris)

Schlacks-Duff, Peter and Andrew Schlacks; “Pappy” to grandchildren Liam Campbell, Charlie Duff, and Emily, Sarah, Maggie, Nora & Lucy Schlacks; brother of Rowena (late Richard) Hohman and Bob (late Colleen) Schlacks; preceded in departure by siblings Howard Frederick, Daniel (late Carol), Dona (late Jack) Becker and Bill (Sue) Schlacks.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20 at St. Edmund Catholic Church, 188 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. Interment will take place privately at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to Archdiocese of Chicago Domestic Violence Outreach, c/o Rev. Charles Dahm O.P., 1914 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60608, are appreciated.

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

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WORKING CONDITIONS Work in a computer environment; sustained posture in a seated position for prolonged periods of time; continuous exposure to computer screens; work in and around computerized vehicles outdoor and garage facility; lifting heavy equipment, communication cabling and wiring into walls and ceilings.

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Budget and Revenue Analyst The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Budget and Revenue Analyst.

This position will Serve the public with professional administrative and analytical duties in the areas of budget preparation, purchasing, payroll, data analysis and process improvement. Provides, prepares and maintains records, and financial and statistical reports and analysis which assist in the Village’s ability to improve business processes and gain efficiencies through better use of technology. Budget duties include assisting in the development, analysis and application of performance measures with regard to Village services and resources; preparing, modifying, tracking and monitoring Village expenses and transfers; and conducting budget-related research and analysis. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park. us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. First review of applications November 1,2021.

PART-TIME WAREHOUSE Local company looking for part time driver/warehouse. Must be drug free & have valid IL DL. Must be able to lift 75lb. $14/hr Email resume to HR@sievertelectric.com Seasonal Farmers’ Market Manager The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Seasonal Farmers’ Market Manager in the Health Department.

This position manages the Oak Park Farmer’s Market including the vendors that sell directly to the public within established guidelines. This is a part-time seasonal position with work from January-mid November and work required on Saturday’s from May through October. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/jobs.

Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. Open until filled.

LEARN TO SWIM CORRDINATOR PARK DISTRICT OF OAK PARK The Learn to Swim Coordinator is responsible for the implementation, administration, and day to day operations of the swim lessons at the Park District of Oak Park, as well as assisting in the training of the lifeguard staff. This position will act as a mentor to instructors and substitute teach as needed. Extensive swimming background and experience instructing all levels of swimmers required.

Hours: This is a part-time, year round position. Not to exceed 999 hours.

Fall/Winter - Tuesday & Wednesday evenings & Sunday morning-afternoon, 10-15 hours per week.

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Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application no later than October 22, 2021.

CHILDCARE WORKER The Village of Forest Park has immediate openings for before and after school program. Part-time hours are M-F 2-6 p.m. Must be at least 18 years old, have a driver’s license and pass drug screening and background check. $11.00/Hour.

Apply in person at Howard Mohr Community Center, 7640 Jackson Blvd., Forest Park. 708-771-7737.

FULL-TIME BUS DRIVER The Village of Forest Park has immediate opening for a responsible full-time PACE Bus Driver to transport senior citizens, disabled residents and school children. Must have a valid Illinois C Class CDL license and attend PACE training.

In addition, must be physically fit and submit to criminal background check, annual physical exam and drug and alcohol testing. M-F Days Full Benefits.

Apply in person at Howard Mohr Community Center, 7640 Jackson Blvd., Forest Park. 708-771-7737.

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CROSSING GUARD The Forest Park Police Department is seeking qualified individuals for the position of Crossing Guard.

This position requires flexible hours during days when schools are in session. A background investigation and drug screening will be conducted prior to consideration for the position. Applications available at Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Avenue or on-line at www.forestpark.net and should be returned to Vanessa Moritz, HR Director, at Village Hall. For additional information, contact Dora Murphy at 708-615-6223 or write dmurphy@forestpark.net.

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Minimum requirements: • High School Diploma or equivalent; • Previous municipal experience preferred.

Hourly Pay range: $15.36 to $24.82 per hour with expected starting salary $20+/- per hour ($41,600 estimated annual income). The Village of Riverside offers a generous benefit plan including medical, dental, vision, life insurance and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund pension; paid vacation, personal, sick and holiday time.

Application review starts Thursday November 11, 2021. Apply Today! Send cover letter, resume, application and three work related references by e-mail to Ian Splitt at isplitt@riverside.il.us.

Resident Services Specialist The Village of Riverside (pop. 9,298) is just 9 miles from downtown Chicago and is a National Historic Landmark Community designed by visionary landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. The Village is seeking applicants for a full-time Resident Services Specialist. The position reports to the Assistant Village Manager and is responsible for assisting residents with bill payment, building permit submissions and resident inquiries. The Resident Services Specialist enters and monitors all cash receipts and building permit processing. This position regularly interacts with residents in person and over the phone.

Riverside is looking for an individual with excellent customer service skills and who is quick to learn new processes and systems. The successful individual will have an excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills and be comfortable using computers including utilizing a building permit and cash receipting software, Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel.

Minimum requirements: • High School Diploma or equivalent; • Previous municipal experience preferred.

Hourly Pay range: $15.36 to $24.82 per hour with expected starting salary $20+/- per hour. Anticipated schedule of 20-25 hours per week.

The Village of Riverside will also be offering generous Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund pension benefits.

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Send cover letter, resume, application and three work related references by e-mail to Ian Splitt at isplitt@ riverside.il.us.

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POLICE DESK CLERK FOREST PARK, IL The Forest Park Police Department, seeks a Full-Time Police Desk Clerk.

Eligible candidates will be required to pass an aptitude test and an extensive background check. Qualifications include computer skills, the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines, good knowledge of English language, general office skills, including handling non-emergency calls and walk-up customer service, and good verbal and written skills.

HOLIDAY, EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS ARE MANDATORY. Starting salary $31,222 annually.

Open until filled. Applications are available at Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Ave. or at www.forestpark. net and should be returned Attn: Vanessa Moritz, Village Clerk, Village of Forest Park, 517 Des Plaines Avenue, Forest Park, IL 60130.

Email: vmoritz@forestpark.net

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Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

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HELP WANTED

Building Inspector The Village of Riverside (pop. 8,900) is located just 9 miles from downtown Chicago and is a National Historic Landmark Community designed by visionary landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. The Village is seeking qualified applicants for a full-time Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer. The position reports to the Assistant Village Manager and is responsible for compliance with Village ordinances dealing with zoning, property maintenance, building, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical work and related codes to ensure successful development and building efforts. The inspector coordinates all activities for the issuance of building permits, interacts with residents, consultants and staff, with an emphasis on providing equitable and respectful service while fostering fair outcomes.

Riverside is starting several exciting initiatives, including launching a rental inspection and registration program and integrating the permitting system with GIS, enhancing opportunities for streamlined operations. The Village is supportive of professional and personal development and encourages staff to approach problems with innovation, creativity, and compassion. This Inspector will guide installation of effective programs, set professional expectations for themselves and others, and will be an authority in Riverside’s building and code enforcement operations, providing technical recommendations to Village staff, elected officials, and the public.

The successful individual will have a thorough knowledge of ICC Building and Mechanical Codes, National Electric Code and State Plumbing Code, and a comprehensive understanding of zoning principles, excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills and be comfortable using computers including utilizing a building permit software, Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel.

The minimum preferred requirements for this position are: • Two years of course work in building technology or an Associate’s degree in a related field such as Architectural, Civil or Structural Construction Science, or any combination of education, training and experience; • Must have ICC Residential Building Inspector and Property Maintenance certifications; • Residential Building Plan review certification preferred or must be obtained within one year of employment; and • Previous municipal experience preferred.

• A driver’s license, valid in permanent place of residence, is required.

Range for annual income is $52,000 – $83,200. Hourly pay range $25 to $40 with expected starting salary $30+/-. The Village of Riverside offers a comprehensive and competitive benefit plan which includes generous contributions to medical, dental, vision, life insurance and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, optional 457 plans, and paid vacation, personal, sick and holiday time.

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Free Estimates!

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

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

708-955-7844

ITEMS FOR SALE

License #PR-1234

PIANO FOR SALE

johnlavin530@gmail.com

WOODWORK Terry's

Woodwork Restoration On-site refinishing of wood

and fiberglass since 1977.

Includes doors, woodwork, windows, staircases and new woodwork etc. All work done by hand. NO sanders. Your unfinished project my specialty!

References available.

Contact Terry Seamans at 630-379-7148 or terryseamans@yahoo.com

Chickering 1938 grand piano, 5’4”.

Good condition. Refurbished and restrung in the past. Buyer must move.

Reasonable at $1000.

Call 312-339-2370

SUBURBAN RENTALS DOWNTOWN OAK PARK 2BR APT

2BR, 1BTH apartment for rent.

Hardwood floors. Renovated and freshly painted. Small, vintage building. No smoking. No pets.

Parking included.

708-657-4226

2BR APT FOR RENT

2 BR, 1 BA, 2nd floor unit of 2-story house. $1350/mo., 2 occ. max.

2 blocks to downtown Forest Park and downtown Oak Park; 1 block to Green Line Harlem stop and Oak Park Metra stop. Hardwood floors, bright and spacious rooms, storage and coin-op laundry in basement, parking space for one vehicle included. 1 year lease required.

Tenant pays electric, gas, water. No smoking. No pets allowed. $40 non refundable application fee with a min 690 credit score. Last month’s rent due at signing. Inquire by email at voyageursllc@gmail.com.

CICERO 3724 S 53RD CT

A beautiful 2 flat in South Cicero off 35th st. Features include 3 bedrooms, central air, garage parking.

Modern appliances include dishwasher. Utilities separate. $1,700 per month plus security. Lease with option to buy possible.

708-383-8223 or 773-676-6805

ROOMS FOR RENT

Large Sunny Room with fridge, microwave.

Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $125.00. New Mgmt.

312-212-1212

OFFICE /RETAIL FOR RENT RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. * 1116 sq. ft. * 1400 sq. ft. Dental Office RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. * 960 sq. ft.

OAK PARK–6142-44 Roosevelt Rd. * 3 & 5 room office suites FOREST PARK–7736 Madison St. *2500 sq. ft. unit Strand & & Browne Strand Browne 708-488-0011 708-488-0011

CITY RENTALS AUSTIN RENAISSANCE APARTMENTS

A HUD subsidized affordable Apartment property announces the opening of its waiting list for both One and Two Bedroom Apartments! Resident rent is approximately 30% of gross household income, some restrictions apply. Our property is located on Washington Blvd in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.

Apartments offered with an occupancy of one to four persons. Properties feature modern kitchens, include appliances, and offer onsite maintenance. Austin Renaissance will accept requests for application packages by U.S. Mail postmarked no later than , September 15, 2021. Send or email a written request for an application package that includes your name, mailing address. Daytime telephone number, Email address, and the number of persons in your household to: Town Center Realty Group LLC, PO Box 64, Huntley IL 60142-0064 or Email requests to mrpaul.tcrg@gmail.com Application packages available by mail or email delivery only. No walk-ins accepted.

Town Center Realty Group LLC

Illinois Classified Advertising Network COLLECTABLES POSTAGE STAMP SHOW Westin Hotel 400 Park Blvd Itasca IL November 19-21 Hours Fri Sat 10-6 Sun 10-4 Free Parking and Admission Info at www.Chicagopex.org

773-637-0692 Ask for John

Reach the people making the decisions. Place an ad in GCM Classified! Call 773/626-6332

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

CLASSIFIED PUBLIC NOTICES

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: December 1, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 21-21-Z APPLICATION: The Applicant, Azim Hemani, seeks a special use permit from Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Zoning Ordinance of the Village of Oak Park, which section requires a special use permit for Hotels/ Motels uses located in the DT Downtown District, to operate a 68 room Holiday Inn Express and Suites at the property commonly known as 1140 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-07-119-014-0000 (“Subject Property”) in the DT Downtown 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 hearing 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.

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 December 1, 2021. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the hearing online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone. 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.

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 10, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: December 1, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 20-21-Z APPLICATION: The Applicant, Pastor Curtiss Lott, seeks a variation from Section 8.4 (M) (Place of Worship) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance, which requires that a place of worship in a nonresidential district are subject to the dimensional standards of the R-7 District for a non-residential use, to permit the use of Christian Fellowship Ministries in the Maranda Hall, a place of worship at the property commonly known as 6435 North Avenue, Illinois.

Property Index Number 16-06206-008-0000 (“Subject Property”) in the NA North Avenue 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 hearing 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.

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 December 1, 2021. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the hearing online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone. 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.

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 10, 2021

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: December 1, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 19-21-Z APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on a special use permit application filed by the Applicant, Good Shepard LLC., to operate a day care center (Good Shepard Learning Center) pursuant to Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance at the property located at 330-32 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Numbers 16-08-118-028-0000 (“Subject Property”) in the NC Neighborhood Commercial 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 hearing 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.

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 December 1, 2021. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the hearing online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone. 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.

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 10, 2021

45

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed proposals from qualified general contractors at the Public Works Service Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, until 10:00 a.m. local time on Friday, December 3rd, 2021 for the following: Village of Oak Park Metra Station Retractable Wall Design and Installation Proposal Number: 21-108BM There will be a pre-bid meeting on Wednesday, November 17th, 2021 at 8:30 AM at the Metra Station located at 1119 North Blvd., Oak Park, IL 60302.

Bid forms may be obtained from the Public Works Customer Service Center by calling 708358-5700 or by e-mailing vics@ oak-park.us between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. M-F. 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.

THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK Published in Wednesday Journal November 10, 2021

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: YY2100806 on November 1, 2021. Under the Assumed Business Name of CFC SERVICES with the business located at: 424 MARENGO AVENUE APT. 1W, FOREST PARK, IL 60130. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: CELESTE ADRENA FRAZIER 424 MARENGO AVENUE, APT. 1W FOREST PARK, IL 60130, USA. Published in Forest Park Review November 10,17, 24 2021

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: Y21008001 on October 18, 2021 Under the Assumed Business Name of LEE REALTY CONSULTANTS with the business located at: 1137 HIGHLAND AVE APT 2, OAK PARK, IL 60304. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: AUDREY LEE-MCCLENTON 1137 HIGHLAND AVE APT 2 OAK PARK, IL 60304, USA. Published in Wednesday Journal November 3, 10, 17, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE Advertisement of Bidding Request for Bids for the Main Pool Drain Replacement and Diving Well Concrete Repair at Rehm Pool.

Owner: Park District of Oak Park 218 Madison St, Oak Park, IL 60302

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of Public Hearing Park District of Oak Park November 18, 2021, 7:30 p.m.

2022 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance

The Park District of Oak Park will accept sealed bids for the Main Pool Drain Replacement and Diving Well Concrete Repair located at 515 Garfield Av. Oak Park Il. 60304. There are two projects to be bid. The first consists of removal of the 2 existing main pool drains, removal of concrete and the installation of new larger capacity Virginia Graeme Baker Certified pool drains.

The second project consists of repairing structural cracks in the pool walls and removal and replacement if failing concrete around the interior pool perimeter. The Park District of Oak Park will receive individual sealed Bids until 11:00 a.m (Central Daylight time) on Wednesday, November 25 th 2021, at 218 Madison St., Oak Park, Illinois. The bidding documents and requirements will be available on the Park District’s website as of 9am, Thursday, November 11th , 2021. A non-mandatory pre-bid walk-thru is scheduled for Monday, November 15 th at 9:00 am (Central Daylight time) at 515 Garfield Ave., Oak Park, IL 60304. Bid bonds will be required by bidding contractors. Copies of the bidding specifications are available on November 11 th via the Park District of Oak Park website at: http://www. pdop.org/bids-and-rfps/ For additional information, contact Bill Hamilton at billhamilton@pdop. org or (708) 7252304. Only the bids prepared in compliance with the bidding documents will be considered.

This project must adhere to the Prevailing Wage Act of 2019. The Park District of Oak Park encourages minority and women owned business firms to submit bids for this project.

Contractor/Vendor must be certified with the Illinois Department of Public Health for the design, construction and improvements of Swimming Pool Facilities. Visit the Illinois Department of Public Health website -Swimming Facilities for details.

Park District of Oak Park By: Chris Wollmuth, Secretary Park District of Oak Park 218 Madison St. Oak Park, IL 60302 Published in Wednesday Journal November 10, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS CHANCERY DIVISION IN THE INTEREST OF Case No. 2021CH02999 NOTICE BY PUBLICATION NOTICE IS GIVEN TO YOU, Unknown Heirs of Joseph Wilbourn aka Joe E. Wilbourn, respondents, and to all whom it may concern, that on 10/28/2021 a petition was filed by Emilia Merchen & Jason York in this court and that in the courtroom of Judge Myerson in Chicago, Illinois.

On 11/29/21 at 10:15am this case may be heard regarding the abandoned vehicle at 516 Washington Blvd, Oak Park, IL 60302. Court will be held over Zoom.

UNLESS YOU APPEAR AT THE HEARING AND SHOW CAUSE TO THE CONTRARY, AN ORDER OF JUDGMENT BY DEFAULT MAY BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU FOR THE TITLE REQUESTED IN THE PETITION. Published in Wednesday Journal November 3, 10, 17, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICES

Notice is hereby given that the Board of Commissioners of the Park District of Oak Park will conduct a public hearing concerning the adoption of the Park District’s 2022 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance on November 18, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. at the John Hedges Administration Building, 218 Madison St, Oak Park, IL, during the Board of Commissioners’ regular board meeting.

Dated: November 10, 2021 By: Commissioner Chris Wollmuth Secretary, Board of Commissioners Park District of Oak Park Published in Wednesday Journal November 10, 2021

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equalopportunity basis.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800669-9777.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark Forest Park Review

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 PublicNoticeIllinois.com

46

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

CLASSIFIED

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG

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 | PublicNoticeIllinois.com REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION US BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST; Plaintiff, vs.

LORNA J. RANKER; CHARLES K. RANKER; CITIZENS BANK NA; Defendants, 18 CH 2459 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-17-327-034-0000.

Commonly known as 1185 S. LOMBARD AVE., OAK PARK, IL 60304.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Mr. Ira T. Nevel at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Law Offices of Ira T. Nevel, 175 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. (312) 357-1125. 18-04613 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3180215

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. 2005452IL_615522 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 19 CH 00561 TJSC#: 41-2313 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 I3180795

day, December 6, 2021 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-18-428-043-1019 & 16-18428-043-1064.

Commonly known as 6436 Roosevelt Road, Unit 311, Oak Park, IL 60304.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a condominium residence. The purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by subdivisions (g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9 of the Condominium Property Act Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Law Clerk at Plaintiff’s Attorney, The Wirbicki Law Group, 33 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603. (312) 3609455. W18-0641 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3179556

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION Plaintiff, -v.MARY WOLFE, CITY OF CHICAGO Defendants 2019CH11236 1028 S AUSTIN BLVD OAK PARK, IL 60304 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 14, 2020, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on December 15, 2021, 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 1028 S AUSTIN BLVD, OAK PARK, IL 60304 Property Index No. 16-17-331-015 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale.

The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in

order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-19-08871 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2019CH11236 TJSC#: 41-2318 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 # 2019CH11236 I3179810

acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale.

The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-21-01929 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 17CH02438 TJSC#: 41-2203 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 # 17CH02438 I3179523

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 December 9, 2021, 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, 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

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON SUCCESSOR TO THE BANK OF NEW YORK NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF THE HOLDERS OF THE CIT MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2007-1 ASSET BACKED CERTIFICATES SERIES 2007-1; Plaintiff, vs.

JOYCE PILLOW; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 18 CH 6228 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-05-307-028-0000.

Commonly known as 1118 N. Austin Boulevard, Oak Park, IL 60302.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Mr. Matthew C. Abad at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Kluever Law Group, 225 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. (312) 236-0077. SPS000616-20FC1 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3179623 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY AS TRUSTEE FOR HIS ASSET SECURITIZATION CORPORATION TRUST 2007OPT1, MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-OPT1; Plaintiff, vs.

CHARLES T. GRANT; JUANITA J. GRANT AKA JUANITA LACOURT; PRAIRIE PLACE AT 6436 ROOSEVELT CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 19 CH 14415 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Mon-

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION BAXTER CREDIT UNION Plaintiff, vs.

JOSHUA T. STEGMEYER, WENDY E. JARVIS, NILES ON MARION CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants, 19 CH 4010 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-07-301-021-1004.

Commonly known as 1101 SOUTH BLVD., UNIT 204, OAK PARK, IL 60302.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a condominium residence. The purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by subdivisions (g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9 of the Condominium Property Act Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Mr. Ira T. Nevel at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Law Offices of Ira T. Nevel, 175 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. (312) 357-1125. 19-01329 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3179601

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK TRUST, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR LSF10 MASTER PARTICIPATION TRUST Plaintiff, -v.HEATHER JOHNSON, BENEFICIAL ILLINOIS I, INC. AS SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BENEFICIAL ILLINOIS INC., DELL FINANCIAL SERVICES L.L.C., UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 17CH02438 1161 S. RIDGELAND AVE. OAK PARK, IL 60304 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on December 17, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on December 1, 2021, 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 1161 S. RIDGELAND AVE., OAK PARK, IL 60304 Property Index No. 16-18-429-0200000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor

Wednesday Journal, November 10, 2021

CLASSIFIED

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR THE POOLING AND SERVICING AGREEMENT DATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 ABFC ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005-WMC1 Plaintiff, -v.DARYL SATCHER, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC., OAK PARK TERRACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION Defendants 2018CH08851 914 NORTH AUSTIN BOULEVARD UNIT #C-8 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 February 7, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on December 6, 2021, 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 914 NORTH AUSTIN BOULEVARD UNIT #C-8, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-05-320-0401025 The real estate is improved with a condo/townhouse.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale.

The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle

the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-18-07459 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2018CH08851 TJSC#: 41-1999 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 # 2018CH08851 I3179367

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