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THE Volume LVIII, No. 39
Serving Chicago Ridge, Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, Oak Lawn, Palos Hills and Worth
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Thursday, December 7, 2017
‘Genuine’ coaching legend Korhonen dies Former Richards football coach leaves countless winning memories By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor
Freshman Tony Sheehan was walking the halls of Richards High School in the early fall of 1992. Coming toward him was Gary Korhonen, the Bulldogs football coach, who was a big name and larger-than-life figure after winning Illinois High School Association state championships in 1988 and 1989. “I was a pimple-faced freshman and here comes the legendary Gary Korhonen,’’ Sheehan said. “I wanted to put my head down and not say anything. But I said, ‘Hi, coach.’ He said, ‘Hey. Tony, how are you doing? You had a good game the other day.’ I was a lowly freshman. How did he know who I was? “But that’s the type of person he was. He knew everyone in the program. He knew what
But during Korhonen’s final year on the sidelines there didn’t appear to be any generation gaps. “He is a very genuine person,” Passolano said. “He was genuine with everyone involved, whether it was with the coaches or players. You can’t say enough about the guy in that regard. He might have been a guy who coached in the ’70s but he was able to relate with the coaches and the kids and families involved with Shepard football. “He could relate to a kid who was 14 years old or 16 or 17 because of how genuine he was.’’ Even the Richards baseball program had a little of Korhonen’s fingerprints on it. In the spring, when Bulldogs baseball coach Brian Wujcik won his 500th game, he credited
you were doing. He knew what you weren’t doing. He knew when people graduated. He had a memory like no other.’’ And the memories that he created for thousands of students and athletes have been pouring out after the news of Korhonen’s death Saturday at age 77 from congestive heart failure. Korhonen coached at Richards from 1972 to 2007 and is sixth on the Illinois High School Association list for all-time football wins with 315. After retiring as a head coach, he joined his son Kris as assistants at Eisenhower High School. For the past two seasons, he and Kris coached at Shepard. Dominic Passolano, who resigned as Shepard’s head coach in November, had Gary on the sideline in 2016. This past season, Korhonen worked behind the scenes breaking down film and working on scouting reports.
See KORHONEN, Page 9
Photo by Bob McParland
Richards legend Gary Korhonen (yellow shirt) congratulates basketball coach John Chappetto after the Bulldogs won the IHSA Class 4A state championship in 2008. Korhonen, who won two state championships as the school’s football coach, died Saturday at the age of 77.
OLCHS nurse’s quick actions save student’s life By Dermot Connolly
rected staff to call 911. But when the student became unresponsive, The Oak Lawn Community and went into cardiac arrest, she High School nurse is being credit- began CPR and got to work with ed with saving a student’s the AED. She applied the life by using a portable shock 56 seconds after defibrillator on Nov. 10. he became unresponsive. According to a report “As Amy resumed from Detective Peter HenCPR, to everyone’s wonnessy, the school resource derful surprise, (the stuofficer, when Amy Tucker, dent) regained consciousRN, was called to the gym ness,” Hennessy said in after the student collapsed, his report to staff and Tucker she knew it was serious. school board members. But no one knew exactly how seri- “He left the school in an ambulance ous the situation was. with not only his life back, but with “But as Amy immediately re- the chance to enjoy close to the sponded, she not only grabbed same quality of life that he walked her medical bag but the AED into school with that morning.” (automated defibrillator) from her According to reports, the stuoffice as well,” Hennessy said. dent has since received a paceHennessy said Tucker knelt by maker and is recovering well. the student’s side, monitoring his See NURSE, Page 9 condition, and immediately di-
Savoring the sweetness of the season
Photo by Kelly White
Toni McCracken (back row, from left), of Oak Lawn, makes a gingerbread house with her daughter, Katie Maglaris, of Oak Lawn, and grandchildren (from lower left) Niko, 2, and Brooklynn, 3, at the Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ’s Christmas Craft Workshop on Sunday afternoon. More photos of the event are on Page 4.
Neat Repeats opens its doors at new Worth location By Kelly White Neat Repeats opened its doors on Friday morning to a much larger store. The new location in Worth, 6602 W. 111th St., is just down the street from the old resale shop, previously at 7026 W. 111th St. The volunteer-run shops, in both Worth and Orland Park, are owned and operated by the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, and all revenue from the shops provides funding for the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, which offers services for survivors of domestic violence. “We had a terrific opportunity to expand our store, provide much more parking and an improved shopping experience,” said Jay Capron, marketing and communication director for the Crisis Center for South Suburbia. “We want the Worth community to know that we are committed
Photo by Kelly White
Donna Zidek (left), store manager at Neat Repeats Resale shop, puts out Christmas items at the store’s new location Friday morning with Doreen Holford, regional manager for Neat Repeats.
to being there and are incredibly excited about our new location. We have been in Worth for 30 years and we look forward to another 30 at this new location.”
The new building surpasses the old building in size immensely, totaling 7,200 square feet. The old location consisted of a 4,000-square-foot space. The
new location also has a larger parking lot. Discussions about the building move began in the spring of 2017, with the actual move taking place over the past few weeks, according to Doreen Holford, regional manager for Neat Repeats Holford, a Worth resident, started out as a volunteer at the Worth location 18 years ago. Today, she said she has joined over 200 dedicated and passionate volunteers who have given over 40,000 hours to provide the funds to continue outreach programs through the Crisis Center for South Suburbia. “It’s really hard to put into words what this new journey means,” Holford said. “Since I have been here, I have seen hundreds of volunteers, donors and customers walk through the doors at our Worth location, all See REPEATS, Page 9
Local legislators have harsh words for Rauner By Dermot Connolly
The 2018 gubernatorial election and the ongoing recovery from being without a state budget for more than two years were among the topics discussed at the 12th Annual Breakfast with Your Legislators held last Thursday at St. Xavier University in Chicago. State senators Bill Cunningham (D-18th) and Mike Hastings (D19th), state Rep. Kelly Burke (D36th), Cook County Board Commissioner John Daley (D-11th) and Chicago Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th) participated in the panel discus-
sion moderated by former state Senator Ed Maloney. The officeholders responded to questions submitted by community members invited to the breakfast, and one of the first issues touched on was the unpopular sweetened beverage tax, which ended last Thursday after the Cook County Board decision to end it after less than a year. “In my time in state and county government, I have seen many taxes before but I’ve never seen a See LEGISLATORS, Page 9
Photo by Dermot Connolly
State Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-18th), from left, state Sen. Mike Hastings (19th) and state Rep. Kelly Burke (D-36th) were among the participants in the Breakfast with Your Legislators forum held at St. Xavier University.
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2 The Reporter
Thursday, December 7, 2017
POLICE REPORTS Chicago Ridge Retail theft
Submitted photo
New pipes for Oak Lawn water
The first 20-foot sections of 60-inch diameter water pipes arrived in Oak Lawn on Monday and are being installed underneath Southwest Highway between Cicero and Central avenues. Oak Lawn is the starting point for the $216 million infrastructure improvement, which will continue west and south into the 12 southwest suburban communities that it supplies with water. In the sections of Southwest Highway under construction, the eastbound lanes will be closed off, with traffic limited to one lane in each direction. Oak Lawn Village Manager Larry Deetjen called the project “historic.” The new pipes will take the pressure off the existing water pipes installed in the 1970s, which were only intended to carry 25 percent of the water they are carrying now.
Feed6 Meal Packaging to take place at Oak-Lawn Hometown Middle School The 5th Annual Feeds6 Meal Packaging event will be held Saturday, Dec. 16 at Oak LawnHometown Middle School, 5345 W. 99th St., Oak Lawn. Students, families, teachers, and staff are invited to come out to the two-hour event that begins at 9 a.m. Volunteers will package fortified meals to be delivered to local food pantries. Students have been working to raise a minimum of $30 to help cover the costs of the food, materials and delivery. Anyone else interested must raise a minimum of $20. The event is a chance for the community to come together and give back during this season of giving.
“At Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School, we believe that being a good citizen is just as important as being a good student. Our students greatly benefit from a variety of meaningful learning experiences, including those embedded in community service. Therefore, as part of our promotional criteria, we require all OLHMS students to complete two hours of community service each school year,” said Heather McCarthy, event coordinator, Last year, more than 150 volunteers were able to donate more than 17,000 meals for veterans and local food pantries. Residents who would like to make a donation can contact the Feed6 website before 8:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11.
Patrick Varvaris, 40, of the 10100 block of South Western Avenue, Chicago, was charged with retail theft at Kohl’s in Chicago Ridge Mall after turning himself in at 12:40 p.m. Nov. 27. Police said he was seen on security cameras taking two Roku devices worth $139 from the store on Nov. 24, and turned himself in on Nov. 27. He is due in court on Jan. 3.
Domestic battery
Kylie Morgan, 18, of the 7000 block of West 100th Street, Chicago Ridge, was charged with domestic battery at her home at 11:25 a.m. Nov. 28. Police said she allegedly punched a family member in the face and arms. She was held for a bond hearing last Thursday.
Suspended license
• Brandie DeLeon, 35, of the 800 block of Westwood Drive, Glenwood, was charged with driving with a suspended license after being stopped at 1:11 p.m. Nov. 28 at 95th Street and Ridgeland Avenue. Police said she is due in court on Jan. 3. • Larry D. Hamersly, 43, of the 2900 block of West 38th Street, was charged with aggravated driving with a suspended license, a felony, at 11 a.m. Nov. 27 in the 9300 block of South Ridgeland Avenue. Police said he was also cited for using a cellphone while driving without a front license plate. He was held for a bond hearing last Thursday. • Elizabeth Kondrot, 25, of the 2800 block of North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 1:55 p.m. last Thursday in the 9800 block of South Harlem Avenue. She was also cited for making an improper turn. She is due in court on Jan. 25.
DUI charge
Sylwester Krygowski, 23, of the 5600 block of South Monitor Avenue, Chicago, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at 12:54 a.m. Nov. 26 in the 10200 block of Southwest Highway. Police said he registered a .132 on a blood-alcohol test. He was also cited for disregarding a traffic signal, making an improper turn, and having a defective windshield. He is due in court on Jan. 25.
Battery offense
Gabriel Trojanowski, of the 6700 block of West 180th Street, Tinley Park, was charged with battery following a disturbance at 6:43 p.m. Nov. 28 at Ridge Mart, 10343 Southwest Highway. Police said he was also charged with criminal damage to property and resisting arrest. He allegedly had punched a store clerk in the face and damaged items in the
store. He fled from police outside the store but was apprehended nearby. He was held for a bond hearing last Thursday.
duce speed to avoid an accident, leaving the scene of an accident, driving without insurance, and illegal transportation of alcohol.
Evergreen Park
Retail theft
Drug possession
• Steven Krajewski, 34, of Bridgeview, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance following a traffic stop at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 on 87th Street. Police said he was carrying .3 grams of crack cocaine. He was also cited for improper overtaking, excessive noise due to a missing muffler, driving without a valid license and possession of drug paraphernalia because a metal pipe containing drug residue was found. • Michael Graham, 41, of Alsip, was charged with possession of a controlled substance following a traffic stop at 3:09 p.m. Nov. 25 in the 4000 block of Southwest Highway. Police said he had .2 grams of heroin, three hypodermic syringes, and plastic bags and other items with drug residue. He was also cited for possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal use of a cellphone while driving, and driving without insurance. • Melissa Collins, 33, of Oak Lawn, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance at 4:33 p.m. Nov. 24 following a traffic stop in the 8600 block of South Central Park Avenue. Police said she was carrying .2 grams of heroin. She was also cited for having an obstructed windshield and a cracked windshield. • Rachel Hensel, 32, of Palos Heights, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance at 8:32 p.m. Nov. 22 in the 9200 block of South Western Avenue. Police said she was carrying .3 grams of heroin. She was also cited for possession of drug paraphernalia because she had nine used and unused syringes, police said. • Vivian Galman, 24, of Oak Park, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance after police reported witnessing a drug transaction at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 25 in the 9200 block of South Kedzie Avenue. Police said she was carrying 7.4 grams of heroin. • Kestutis Tatoris, 66, of Evergreen Park, was charged with possession of a controlled substance following a traffic stop at 6:34 p.m. Nov. 28 at 87th Street and Central Park Avenue. Police said he was carrying .8 grams of crack cocaine. He was also cited for not wearing a seatbelt.
DUI charge
Charles Harris, 53, of New Lenox, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a two-car crash at 1:15 p.m. Nov. 26 at 95th Street and Kedzie Avenue. Police said he was also cited for failure to re-
• Byron Moore, 54, of Chicago, was charged with retail theft at Mariano’s, 2559 W. 95th St., at 3:18 p.m. last Thursday. Police said he took three bottles of liquor worth $53.97. He was also charged with possession of stolen property because he was allegedly carrying an Illinois ID card and three bank cards that were not his. A felony charge of possession of a controlled substance was added after police searched him and found 2.6 grams of cocaine. • Elise Coleman, 24, of Chicago, was charged with retail theft at Walmart, 2500 W. 95th St., at 2:51 p.m. Nov. 20. Police said she took 22 items, mainly diapers and toiletries, worth $136.54. • Ishemel Lawrence, 35, of Chicago, was charged with retail theft at Walmart, 2500 W. 95th St., at 12:53 p.m. Nov. 26. Police said he took four electronics items worth $61.24. He was also cited for obstructing identification because he provided a false ID. • Jose Martinez, 42, and Angelica Pedroza, 36, both of Chicago, were charged with retail theft at Walmart, 2500 W. 95th St., at 11:43 a.m. Nov. 25. Police said the couple took seven containers of infant formula worth $119.56 in total.
Hickory Hills Revoked license
Arlin A. Pacifico, 57, of the 9300 block of South 80th Court, Hickory Hills, was charged with driving with a revoked license following a traffic stop on his block at 3:10 p.m. last Thursday. Police said he was also cited for disobeying a stop sign. He is due in court on Jan. 12.
Suspended license
• Arteria Green, 22, of the 10200 block of South 86th Terrace, Palos Hills, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 6:45 p.m. Nov. 28 in the 8800 block of West 95th Street. Police said she was also cited for driving with one headlight. She is due in court on Jan. 12. • Anthony T. Thompson, of the 7200 block of South Perry Avenue, Chicago, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 1:36 p.m. Nov. 29 in the 7600 block of West 95th Street. Police said he was also cited for driving a car with expired registration. He is due in court on Dec. 20. • Hafeeza B. Penn, 26, of the 8600 block of South 88th Avenue, Justice, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 3:36 a.m. Saturday in the 8900 block of South Roberts Road. Police
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• Shannon M. Hege, 28, of the 2800 block of South Springfield Avenue, was charged with obstructing identification after police investigating a retail theft report apprehended her at 10:45 p.m. Sunday, outside Jewel-Osco, 9528 S. Roberts Road. Police said she initially gave a false name after they stopped her following a footchase. She fit the description of a woman that witnesses reported seeing fleeing the grocery store with a cart filled with items taken from the store. A man who was with her escaped. Police found that Hege was also wanted on a DuPage County warrant. She was held for a bond hearing. • Dallas L. Wright Jr., 39, of the 6200 block of South Maplewood Avenue, Chicago, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 2:48 p.m. Monday, in the 8700 block of South 85th Avenue. Police said he was also cited for driving a car with expired registration. He is due in court on Dec. 20.
Cannabis possession
Timothy J. Tillesen Jr., 18, of Wood Dale, was issued a local ordinance violation for possession of cannabis following a traffic stop at 6:21 p.m. Nov. 29 in the 8800 block of West 95th Street. Police said a mason jar containing 11 grams of cannabis was in the center console. He was also cited for driving without headlights and is due at a hearing in City Hall on Jan. 9.
Oak Lawn Drug possession
Kenneth M. Guy, 25, of Chicago, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and other felonies following a traffic stop at 95th Street and Museum Drive at 3:25 p.m. Nov. 28. Police said he was carrying 6.5 grams of crack cocaine, packaged for sale in 21 bags. He was also charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Police said a loaded 9-mm Glock handgun was found on the floor in front of the driver’s seat. Guy was also cited for possession of cannabis, failure to wear a seatbelt, driving with a suspended license, and disobeying two traffic control devices. He was held for a bond hearing.
Christmas tree is stolen
A three-foot Christmas tree decorated with lights was reported stolen off a front porch on Oak Center Drive at 7:04 p.m. Nov. 26. The victim told police that the theft was caught on house surveillance cameras. The offender, who escaped on foot, was described as white, with dark hair, wearing a blue shirt and gray pants. Dominique S. Smith, 23, of Chicago, was charged with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon following a traffic stop at 5:28 p.m. Nov. 27 on the 9400 block of South Central Avenue. Police said Smith did not have a concealed carry permit for the loaded Ruger 9-mm handgun that was found in a backpack. He was
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said she was also cited for failure to dim headlights and is due in court on Jan. 31. Because police found she was also wanted on an outstanding warrant for theft in Dubuque County, Iowa, she was transferred to Cook County Jail to await a bond hearing.
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The Reporter
3
CHICAGO RIDGE VILLAGE BOARD MEETING
Newly hired economic development director introduced at meeting By Dermot Connolly
Ulta Beauty joins the list of businesses opening at new Plaza Photo by Joe Boyle
Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar (far left), members of the Glenn Maker American Legion Post 1160, the Finley Junior High School Student Council, and Village Clerk Barbara Harrison gather together while the Illinois Bicentennial flag is raised.
Chicago Ridge salutes of State of Illinois’ 200th year by hoisting bicentennial flag By Joe Boyle Strong winds could not stop the celebration of the state’s 200th birthday during the hoisting of the Illinois Bicentennial flag Monday in front of the Chicago Ridge Village Hall. Temperatures were mild but winds over 30 miles per hour made it challenging for those who were making speeches. But Mayor Chuck Tokar reminded the crowd of the importance of getting involved in the community and local organizations. On Dec. 3, 2018, the people of Illinois will officially celebrate the state’s 200th year. Chicago Ridge, like other suburban communities in the southwest suburbs, will celebrate the bicentennial a number of ways during the next year. Chicago Ridge marked the occasion Monday by holding a ceremony and concluded with the hoisting of the bicentennial flag. Tokar made some of his comments for the benefit of the Finley Junior High School Student Council from Chicago Ridge, who were on hand to recite passages about the state’s history. “I remember when I was on the student council at Marist High School,” Tokar said. “You have to make some decisions and sometimes you are going to disagree. But you will make decisions together.” Members from the Glenn Maker American Legion Post 1160 from Chicago Ridge were also on hand for the ceremony. They made
Photo by Joe Boyle
Finley Junior High School Student Council member Marel Doon reads a passage from a speech about the history of Illinois during the state’s bicentennial flag raising Monday in front of the Chicago Ridge Village Hall. Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar listens to the speeches.
a formal presentation to mark the raising of the bicentennial flag. Finley Junior High School Student Council members who participated were Kara Huttner, Lauren Torres, Jaime McNeilly, Ryne Luna, Krystian Bawiec, Isaac Vega, Marel Doon, Corrine Zamlynski, Nyla Gimza, Kyra Olejniczak, Ricky Pratl and Jackson Sisk. Luna mentioned in his speech that before Illinois became a state, it was known as the Illinois Territory. In 1818, the Illinois Territory sent a petition to the United States Congress asking to be admitted into the Union.
“Part of the process for being admitted as a state was for Illinois to create its own constitution,” Luna stated. “On Dec. 3, 1818, Illinois became the 21st state in the Union.” In some instances, one of the students helped to hold the written statements while the other council member was speaking as the wind continued to howl. “We were contacted by the state about a bicentennial flag being sent to us,” said Village Clerk Barbara Harrison. “That’s when we decided to have a ceremony. We thought doing this was a good idea.”
EVERGREEN PARK VILLAGE BOARD MEETING
Trustees solicit bids for new Community Center By Sharon L. Filkins
Evergreen Park trustees granted approval to solicit bids to construct a new Community Center in the village, moving one step closer to making the project a reality. The new center, as described by Mayor James Sexton in his “State of the Village” message last month, will replace the existing facility at 3450 W. 97th St. While Sexton is hoping it will be completed in approximately nine months, Public Works Director Bill Lorenz said there is a lot of preparation work required before the actual construction of the building can begin. “We have to remove trees, put up fencing, provide parking, etc.,” Lorenz said.
Lorenz said the bids will go out on Dec. 15 and are to be returned within 30 days, pushing the selection date to mid-January. Sexton reassured residents that the existing facility will remain intact and in operation until the new building is completed and occupied. “The old building will then be demolished and the space will be used for additional parking,” Sexton said. “The Community Center building is approximately 80 years old and is showing its age. Our young people deserve a better place to learn and play and our seniors also need a nice place to enjoy their retirement,” said the mayor. Trustee Mark Marzullo said he wants residents to be aware
CHANGE STARTS HERE.
of what it would cost the village to improve the existing facility. “Updating and repairing the Center, including a new roof, windows, HVAC equipment, etc., could cost well over $100,000,” Marzullo said. “A new Center is a good decision by the village.” In other business, payments to Architect Craig Podalak for schematic design and concept of the new Community Center were approved in the amount of $11,600 and $46,400. Additionally, a business license
The newly hired economic development director for Chicago Ridge was introduced at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday night. Mayor Chuck Tokar noted that William Whitmer will be officially appointed to the new parttime position at the next meeting, on Dec. 19, and begin work in January. But since he was there Tuesday, he introduced him. “Here is our economic development director or coordinator — whatever you want to call yourself is fine,” said the mayor. He had advocated for hiring someone to focus on economic development during the mayoral election last spring. According to the job description of the position posted on the village website in September, Whitmer will be expected to perform “a variety of administrative, technical and professional work in preparation and implementation of economic and community development plans, programs and services to promote the business and economic development interests within the Village of Chicago Ridge that leads to an increased workforce and tax base. This position will include working with all noted departments in providing guidance to individuals and companies to establish, relocate or expand their businesses within the community.” The description stated further that, “The position will include assistance in the planning and coordination of community development projects and providing research for Village-sponsored projects,” and will report directly to the Village President and Board of Trustees. Whitmer is expected to work 20 hours per week in Chicago
Ridge. His salary was not immediately available. “We are looking forward to this,” Trustee Bill McFarland said. “We’ve talked about the need for this position for a long time.” “I am looking forward to this, too,” Whitmer told the board. “Working with existing Chicago Ridge businesses to make them more successful (as well as) working with business clients and making the connections necessary to bring them here.” “As part of that, I will need to meet with you and get an understanding of the village’s comprehensive economic plan so we can bring in businesses that are a good fit,” he explained. Whitmer, who lives in Joliet, said after the meeting that he also holds a similar part-time position with Sugar Grove, a village with about 10,000 residents in Kane County. “I will work out the hours to split my time evenly between the two communities,” said Whitmer. “I enjoy this type of economic development work. I have been doing it for about 25 years, for non-profits and municipalities, including Wheeling and elsewhere throughout northeastern Illinois.” Whitmer said he is somewhat familiar with the former Yellow Freight property, a vacant 75acre site on Harlem Avenue that the village has been trying to market for years. “I saw it when I drove around Chicago Ridge to get a feel for the area,” Whitmer said. “I want to learn more about the details. I want to tour the area with the mayor and trustees to get their ideas about what areas need to be targeted for development.” “We’re here for you. I am available to answer any questions you may have,” offered Trustee Edmund Kowalski.
Lipinski supports measure to encourage support for victims of sexual harassment Cong. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd) supports a bipartisan effort to improve the workplace environment in Washington, D.C. and report incidents of sexual harassment. The congressman said he is encouraged that the first steps have been taken to change that. He added that he supports House Resolution 630, which requires all members and employees of the House to complete anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training every year. Lipinski said that he completed the training along with members of his Wash-
ington staff. “Victims of harassment of all forms should be empowered to bring the mistreatment to light and have cases adequately adjudicated,” Lipinski said. The congressman supports the ME TOO Congress Act that he said improves the investigation and dispute resolution process under the Congressional Accountability Act, including disputes regarding sexual harassment. Lipinski also co-sponsored a bill that would extend to workplace protections to congressional interns.
was approved for a Pizza Hut (under new management) at 2849 W. 95th St., Unit 9. The mayor announced that the Village Hall will be closed on Saturday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Dec. 25, in observance of Christmas and will re-open on Tuesday, Dec. 26. He reminded residents that garbage pick-up will be delayed by one day. The Village Hall will also be closed on Saturday, Dec. 30 and Monday, Jan. 1 in observance of the New Year’s holiday and will re-open on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
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4 The Reporter
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Children make Christmas crafts at Pilgrim Faith Church in Oak Lawn
Children, parents and grandparents took part in the annual Christmas Craft Workshop that was held Sunday afternoon at Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ, 9411 S. 51st Ave., Oak Lawn.
Bella Galasso, 6, of Oak Lawn, carefully makes a gingerbread house at the Christmas Craft Workshop.
The event began with Christmas carols and the lighting of the Christmas tree. Children then had an opportunity to make a variety of Christmas crafts, including their own edible
graham cracker house. But children had fun making gingerbread houses with the assistance of their moms and grandmothers. Kids also made ornaments at the workshop.
The staff at Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ, in Oak Lawn, held a Christmas Craft Workshop on Sunday afternoon for local children, parents and grandparents.
Children were also provided with treats and refreshments throughout the day. Kids also made a variety of Christmas decorations at the annual event.
Photos by Kelly White
Hometown friends (from left) Maya Chazinski, 11, and Desairee Byrd, 10, make Christmas ornaments together.
District 230 considers increase in tax levy By Dermot Connolly
The District 230 School Board, at its monthly meeting last Thursday, approved a tentative tax levy for 2017 that represents 2.5 percent more than was extended last year. District 230, which includes Andrew, Sandburg and Stagg high schools, has had a balanced budget for the past 14 years. It depends on local taxes for nearly 90 percent of the revenue, and in five of the past six years, the district has not requested any increase in the levy extended in the previous year. But this year, the proposed tax levy is $111,857,958, up from $109,129,576 for 2016. Board President Rick Nogal noted that the increase is just slightly over the 2.3 percent in the Consumer Price Index.
According to the information provided by the district, the proposed budget includes an increase of nearly $4 million for education purposes, about $250,000 more for special education, and a slight increase in transportation costs, up from $4,980,656 to $5 million. But spending has stayed the same or gone down in the other areas. Also, due to expiring bond purchases, the tax rate going toward debt spending will be decreased with this levy. Superintendent Dr. James Gay also pointed out at the meeting held at Sandburg High School that a property tax freeze under consideration in Springfield could cost the district as much as $9.5 million in revenue to the district. “We would never get that back,” Gay said.
The possibility of having a tax freeze for at least two years is one of the main reasons cited for increasing the levy this year. “The tax freeze would have such a dramatic effect because there is anticipated inflation (1.8 to 2.2 percent) and we have new property being built in our district. This has contributed to the ability for the district to keep up with inflation and have a growing source of income from property taxes,” explained John Lavelle, assistant superintendent for business services. He said the $9.5 million figure is calculated by comparing a frozen extension to an extension that is allowed to grow based on projected inflation and new property. Because every dollar lost is lost the following year, along with the newly lost money, the amount compounds.
“If the freeze was put in place and because the formula starts with the prior year’s extension, if and when the property tax freeze were lifted, we would continue to feel the impact of the initial loss. In other words, the $9.5 million would continue to be lost each year going forward since it would never be a part of our extension and would not be calculated into the formula,” said Lavelle. The property tax freeze has not been approved by the state Legislature, but it is expected to be revisited in the spring session. Gov. Bruce Rauner has been pushing for the property tax freeze since he was elected. It has not passed but it is expected to be revisited in the spring session. “(A property tax freeze) really has no bearing on the state’s
Christmas trees and holiday displays are featured in office of the Cook County treasurer
More than 90 Christmas trees and religious displays that show different ways of celebrating Christmas are on display in the downtown Chicago office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. This is the 14th year of “Christmas Trees from Around the World,” the display of three-foothigh trees which are decorated in Pappas’ office by members of ethnic communities to show their cultural heritage. Presentations from other religious traditions are included. “Diversity is one of Chicagoland’s great strengths and can mean unity,” Pappas said. “We see it in the way different ethnic groups decorate trees for the same vital holiday.” Ornaments, tinsel and lights are augmented with animals, flowers, fruit, balls, candles, plates, boats, stars, flags, dolls and other items on the trees in Pappas’ office. The display will be up through the Christmas and New Year holiday period in Room 112 of the Cook County Building, 118 N. Clark St., Chicago. Also on display on counters in the Treasurer’s Office are a Christian Nativity scene, an Af-
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rican American Kwanzaa Kinara, a Hindu Prayer Thali, a Jewish Menorah and a Muslim Ramadan Mubarak. The countries and traditions represented by the trees include: African American, Albania, Armenia, Assyrian, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Barbie Doll, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cajun-New Orleans, Canada, Canada-Quebec, Carpatho-Rusyn, China, Colombia, Cornwall, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala. Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kosovo, Laos, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Native American, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam and Wales.
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finances since all the funds are collected and distributed locally,” said Lavelle. Board member Terry Serratore, chairman of the Building and Finance Committee, said that no community members at the last committee meeting had any complaints about the tax levy. The board is scheduled to vote on and adopt the tax levy at the next meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21 at Sandburg High School, 13300 S. LaGrange Road. It must be filed with the county clerk by Dec. 26. No action was taken at the
meeting regarding the controversial suspension earlier this year of Stagg cheerleading coach Bridget Guzior. She has also alleged that Stagg Athletic Director Terry Treasure sexually harassed her. However, during public comment, one parent asked the board why Guzior was suspended and Treasure has not been. A member of the Stagg staff also spoke in support of Treasure. The board did not respond to either comment, but Nogal said a decision in the case is expected to be made on or before the next meeting.
Compiled by Joe Boyle
News and events from our archives • 50 years ago Chicago Ridge mayor is upset over Oak Lawn’s annexation bid From the Dec. 7, 1967 issue:
The story: A letter protecting the method of annexation of certain portions of Chicago Ridge to the Oak Lawn Park District has been sent to Chicago Ridge Mayor Joseph Coglianese. Coglianese said that more area than was originally indicated was annexed by the park district in a recent referendum. Chicago Ridge property owners are already paying six and a half cents per $100 of assessed valuation for playground and recreation, the mayor said. The quote: “I think that the action that was taken by the park district of Oak Lawn was a disgrace, especially when the village president of Oak Lawn (Mayor Fred Dumke) said he agreed with my previous conversation and public statements,” Coglianese said. “He gave me the impression that he was a great advocate of home rule.”
• 25 years ago Oak Lawn artist has her painting on display at Beverly Arts Center From the Dec. 3, 1992 issue: The story: Mary Doyle, who spent most of her life as a Chicago school teacher, has returned to her first passion – painting. Doyle, an Oak Lawn resident, was a teacher for 35 years. She received her education at Chicago State University, the Art Institute of Chicago and Old Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Doyle likes to paint acrylic, oils and mixed media, which she says is a mixture of several mediums. She was a finalist at the 16th Annual Alice and Arthur Baer Art Competition at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago. Her painting is called “The Ritual.” The quote: “To see your work on display is great,” Doyle said. “It is a culmination of years of work and it’s something every artist would like to have.”
• 10 years ago Holocaust survivor speaks to Moraine Valley students From the Dec. 6, 2007 issue: The story: Holocaust survivor Aaron Elster talked to about 75 students last week at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills about his personal experiences of being in captivity during World War II. Elster, who was later drafted by the U.S. Army after fleeing Poland, admitted he was constantly questioning the existence of God and thought his life would be better if he was not born Jewish. The important lesson from the Holocaust is to believe people when they say they are going to kill, Elster said. He added that the Nazis were not simply crazy or forced to do what they did, they were swayed by a powerful elected official. The quote: “I volunteered to tell my story one time — 12 years later, I’m still doing it,” Elster said.
Thursday, December 7, 2017
The Reporter
5
Evergreen Park celebrates ‘Dickens Christmas’
WHATIZIT?
By Joe Boyle
Photo by Joe Boyle
The clue for this week’s Whatizit photo (above) is: Mustang pride. Send your responses with your name and hometown by noon Monday to thereporter@comcast.net. Several readers had the correct answer to last week’s photo quiz. Former Hickory Hills Ald. Tom McAvoy even questioned his own sanity if he got this quiz wrong. Well, the former 3rd Ward alderman can relax. The photo indeed showed a portion of the Hickory Hills City Hall, 8652 W. 95th St., where the alderman worked for many years. Other readers who answered correctly were: Steve Rosenbaum, of Oak Lawn; Rich Rahn, of Evergreen Park; Ron Wagenhofer, of Palos Park; and Mike Boyle, of Palos Heights.
SUDOKU
The weather was unusually mild for the “Dickens Christmas” in Evergreen Park on Saturday afternoon, but the large crowd that attended was not complaining. And that included Mayor James Sexton, who was walking past the holiday attractions in a light jacket. “The weather is really mild but that’s OK,” Sexton said. “We have a great turnout and the weather has been great. We might have our largest crowd yet.” Official figures were unavailable but many families and kids took advantage of the temperatures that were in the 50s for most of the day. Local organizations volunteer each year to make the holiday event special for the residents of Evergreen Park, which is now in its 16th year and is held at Klein Park, 3450 W. 97th St. The most popular figure of the day was Santa Claus, who was in his customary seat in the gazebo, listening to the requests of children while passing out candy canes. Another popular feature for the kids and adults alike were the reindeer. Children and their parents took turns having their photos taken with the reindeer and had an opportunity to pet them. Another popular feature was the “Holly Trolley” that took rides around Klein Park. Steady crowds waited to get on board, along with the Polar Express Train rides for kids. Those Funny Little People entertained kids and adults later in the afternoon. Sexton applauded the efforts of the volunteers and had special praise for Dennis Duffy, the director of the Evergreen Park Recreation Department. The mayor said it was through his efforts that the Christmas Dickens holiday event is a unique experience. “It just keeps getting bigger every year,” Sexton said. “They keep adding different attractions all the time. I think because we knew ahead of time how mild it was going to be that we added the jump slide in the park. The kids really like it and have been
Photos by Joe Boyle
The Evergreen Park High School Madrigal Singers entertained families as they sang near the gazebo during the annual Dickens in Christmas in Evergreen Park on Saturday. The annual holiday event took place just outside the Evergreen Park Community Center and in Klein Park.
on it all day.” The inflatable jump slide was set up in Klein Park, not far from the Christmas tree. Kids took advantage of the sunny skies by going up and down the slide in their light jackets. Entertainment was initially provided by the Evergreen Park Community High School Madrigal Singers. They were followed by the Holy Redeemer Choir, who also sang popular and traditional Christmas carols. The Queen of the Martyrs Choir also performed later in the afternoon. In one of the tents, cookie decorating was held as kids made the treats and got to eat them as well. Hot chocolate was served free of charge. Family crafts were available in a smaller white tent. Various crafters were on hand selling a variety of items in the auditorium. Volunteers also sold hot dogs to benefit the Evergreen Park Village Pantry. The Mother McAuley High School Choir performed at the tree lighting ceremony. The mayor had the honor of lighting the tree. The tree-lighting ceremony also benefits the Village Pantry.
Olabell Ginn, 4, of Evergreen Park, pets a reindeer during the Dicken Christmas in Evergreen Park Saturday afternoon.
“The main thing is that this is a great neighborhood event,” Sexton said.
Members of the Moraine Valley speech team include (front row, from left) Natalie Jurcik, Haley Carrero, Abby Hanrahan, Lili Tinoco, (back row, from left) Stephanie McFann, Colin Ruzela, Damian Samsonowicz and Ethan Gallant.
Answers on Page 8
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Supplied photo
Moraine Valley speech team takes home top honors at Prairie State tournament
ACROSS 1 Think tank nuggets 6 Party freebies 10 Hurricane response org. 14 Confusion 15 Shakespearean villain 16 Ink color, to Shakespeare 17 Flower symbolizing freshness 18 Turkish money 19 Barnes & Noble reader 20 Sandwich initials 21 “Let’s say we’re even” 24 Some corporate jets 26 Internet hookups? 27 “Oh my goodness!” 29 Like much barley soup 31 Marriott competitor 32 Tuneful 34 Line on a restaurant receipt 37 Slice of pie 39 Car starter: Abbr. 40 Bitcoin, e.g. 42 UFO crew, supposedly 43 “Golly!” 46 Like some garage floors 47 Raise aloft 48 “How do you like them __?!” 50 Baltimore athlete 53 What undercover cops may wear 54 It’s all in your mind 57 Fido’s foot 60 Proactiv+ target 61 Eins, zwei, __ 62 Suspected perp’s story 64 Downpour that can hurt 65 Has a snack 66 Rolled to hold fries, as paper 67 Does impressions of 68 Bug repellent ingredient 69 Rapidity DOWN 1 Website with movie trivia 2 Use a rotary phone 3 Off-ramps
4 Vienna’s land: Abbr. 5 Surveillance device 6 Window shelves 7 Cry miserably 8 Prefix with culture 9 Chin growths 10 Green Monster ballpark 11 WWII German torpedo craft 12 Bullwinkle, for one 13 Egyptian crosses 22 __ rug: small carpet 23 Magazine revenue source 25 Actor Dane of “Grey’s Anatomy” 27 Lowdown 28 Exude 29 Intolerant sort 30 Years on end 33 Tractor trailers 34 Sudden downturns, and a literal hint to this puzzle’s circles 35 Dot on the blue part of a map 36 Sci. class 38 Deadly African virus 41 Handle it as well as one can 44 Produced, as crops 45 Reagan’s first secretary of state 47 Monopoly buys 49 Lead the flock 50 City name famously used by Peyton Manning when calling signals 51 Summarize 52 Navel type 53 Slacks measure 55 “Dies __”: hymn 56 Ration (out) 58 Provide a fake 62-Across for, e.g. 59 Like EEE shoes 63 Mauna __ Answers on Page 8
Moraine Valley Community College’s speech team earned an overall first place, a top speaker honor and an additional 25 awards at the Prairie State College speech tournament held in November in Chicago Heights. Award-winning team members include Damian Samsonowicz, of Bridgeview, who was named overall top speaker of the tournament; team captain Haley Carrero, of Orland Park; Ethan Gallant, of Chicago Ridge; David Ward, of Oak Lawn; Stephanie McFann, of Oak Lawn; James Smith, Colin Ruzella, of Orland Park; Lili Tinoco, of Burbank; Kirsty Baity, Abby Hanrahan, of Palos Heights; and Natalie Jurcik, of Bridgeview. The awards ranged from first to sixth places in categories that include Informative Speaking, Poetry Interpretation, Communications Analysis, Duo Interpretation, Sales Speaking, Dramatic Interpretation, Persuasive Speaking, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Prose Interpretation. “This group is creating a very positive synergy,” Nash said. “They are young, hard-working and are not afraid of a challenge. They are taking risks and being rewarded for their efforts. I try not to value trophies, but I feel the team this year is successful because of their self-imposed high standards.” The team earned a fifth place award in October at the Chicago Swing Tournament that was cohosted by Northwestern University of Illinois at Chicago. Moraine Valley was the only team represented from a community college “We held our own and should be very proud that our students stepped up to compete against four-year colleges and universities,” said John Nash, the head coach at communications professor at Moraine. Individual awards were presented to Smith, Sidney Bullock, McFann, Samsonowicz, Gallant and Jurcik. Moraine Valley’s speech team in October also hosted 20 colleges and universities from the Midwest for the annual AppelQuest Speech Tournament. Nash is assisted by Amanda Pet-
tigrew, communications instructor; Krista Appelquist, communications professor; and Jeff Rieck.
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COMMENTARY
6 The Reporter THE
Thursday, December 7, 2017
REPORTER
An Independent Newspaper Published Weekly Founded March 16, 1960
Ray Hanania
Few details from Pritzker on trusts L
ast year, billionaire Democrat JB Pritzker derided Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for not releasing detailed income tax filings. “The question is who his investors are, and whether there are any in China or Russia that are affecting his personal income,” Pritzker said of Trump, adding that the future president was “obfuscating in order to avoid being discovered as a liar.” And then last week, Pritzker released only the first two pages of his income tax returns going back three years. Pritzker told reporters for weeks that he hadn’t released the returns sooner because the task was so “complex.” Um, two pages ain’t “complex.” Pritzker’s real income appears to come from various private trust funds. He disclosed last week that his trusts paid $25 million in Rich state taxes and $129 million in federal taxes Miller between 2014 and 2016. Pritzker’s personal income taxes were a tiny fraction of that amount. During the same time period, he revealed that he paid only $636,000 in state income taxes and $7.7 million in federal income taxes on his personal income. He refused to divulge the tax returns for those trusts (which really would be “complex”) because, his campaign claimed, other members of his extended family also benefit from those trusts. OK, fine. But how about divulging the names of his trusts? Tracking down these trusts is a difficult business because they’re shrouded in such secrecy. Names would help. When a politician refuses to divulge something, particularly after criticizing others for not doing so, you gotta wonder what that person is hiding. The Pritzker family all but invented off-shore trusts. “No family in the U.S. can copy the Pritzkers in using offshore entities to gain tax advantages,” claimed Forbes Magazine back in 2003. But, try as I might, I couldn’t convince Pritzker’s campaign to release the names of his trust funds. So, in an attempt to pry Pritzker’s information loose, I reached out to Chris Kennedy’s gubernatorial campaign and asked if they would release the names of the trust funds Kennedy benefits from. They did. Here’s the list: Robert F. Kennedy 1959 Trust; The Christopher G. Kennedy 1987 Trust; The Sheila B. Kennedy 2011 Trust; the Christopher G. Kennedy 2001 Trusts for Children; Trusts U/W George Skakel and Ann Skakel; Trusts U/W Robert F. Kennedy; The Scudder Trust; Christopher G. Kennedy 1997 Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust; [street address deleted by me] Melrose Avenue Resident Trust I and Trust II and [street address deleted by me] Island Avenue Residence Trust I and Trust II. George Skakel was Kennedy’s maternal grandfather. He was from Chicago and founded the fabulously successful Great Lakes Carbon Corporation. “U/W” is an acronym for “under the will of” and means it was created as part of somebody’s last will and testament. The Scudder Trust appears to invest in renewable energy and environmental stuff. That Island Avenue trust is for a 14-room summer house in Hyannis Port, Mass. called Brambletyde, which was recently described by Curbed.com as a “stately waterfront mansion” with “magnificent views of Nantucket Sound and just one neighbor.” President John F. Kennedy and his family stayed in the mansion during the summer of 1963. The Zillow website pegs the worth of the four-bedroom, 6.5 bathroom, 3,379 square foot house at $6.3 million. Taxes are $66K per year. Ah, the rich. But Kennedy’s a pauper when compared to Pritzker. As mentioned above, Pritzker’s paternal grandfather was a pioneer in using trusts to avoid taxation. A.N. Pritzker “took the family fortune from $250,000 in the 1920s to an estimated $2 billion at his death in 1986,” according to Forbes. But when he died in 1986, his heirs told the IRS that A.N.’s net worth was a mere $25,000. The feds didn’t buy it, and the Pritzker family ended up paying the government $9.5 million plus interest nine years later, Forbes reported. JB Pritzker’s sister Penny, who served as President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Commerce, is mentioned in the so-called “Paradise Papers,” a massive ongoing research project into the uber-wealthy and mega-corporations conducted by journalists all over the world. Ms. Pritzker transferred shares from two Bermuda companies to a company owned by trusts that benefit her children after she was confirmed for the cabinet post. Her family’s myriad offshore trusts were a big issue during her confirmation hearing. Alas, Kennedy’s decision to reveal his trust funds’ names did not move the Pritzker campaign one iota closer to disclosing the names of Pritzker’s trusts. This ain’t over. Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
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The bullying of Sharon Brannigan
P GUEST VIEWPOINT
Illinois needs legal marijuana law By James E. Gierach
Following the Nov. 28 Illinois Senate committee hearing regarding legislation to legalize recreational marijuana, a Chicago Sun-Times editorial takes a wait and see position, wanting answers to nine questions (“5 Legal pot questions that demand better answers”). 1. Will more and younger people start using marijuana if it becomes legal? 2. Would legalization send the message that pot is fine and dandy? 3. Like with alcohol, would it become even easier for kids to get pot from an older sibling or friend? 4. Can marijuana do harm to the developing brains of young people? 5. Might legalization put us on the road to long-term medical crisis? 6. Would more people drive stoned? 7. Would legal penalties be sufficient to keep our roads safe? 8. Would an Illinois legalization program run afoul of federal prosecutors who threaten a crack down on state’s that have legalized medical marijuana? 9. Would legal pot really push the marijuana black market out of business, given that the legal stuff likely would be taxed heavily? The answer to questions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 is “No.” The answer to questions 8 and 9 is “Yes.” The answer to question 4 is “Maybe,” still open to question, though a long list of youthful pot users succeeded in later life in multiple disciplines and various fields of endeavor (starting with a number of US presidents) offer strong anecdotal evidence to the contrary. Regarding question 7, the mere asking of the question is a non sequitur. Criminal penalties have limited potential for keeping roads safe, just as in drunk driving. I say that as a former Cook County prosecutor who often tried as many as three DUI cases a day in the early 1970s. I learned then that threatening the imposition of existing tough sentencing led to increased demands for expensive, belabored, jury trials and “let’s make a deal” plea bargaining. Defendants and defense counsel knew a jury trial conviction in a DUI case was a rare outcome in the ‘70s. While DUI penalties have certainly toughened
in Illinois and across the country over later years, arguably making Illinois roads safer from persons driving under the influence of substances, the change in my opinion is more a reflection of a change in the public’s attitude about drunk driving, not because of harsher criminal penalties. Public attitude regarding legal booze and legal pot is strongly pro-legalized substances and, harmoniously, also strongly anti-impaired driving. We’re wising up. The limited capability of legislation to “send messages” (question 2) to criminals, as a deterrent strategy, is seen daily in Chicago with commonplace gang violence, drug dealing and murder — all crimes that have carried harsh, even draconian, penalties for decades. I know having prosecuted in Chicago’s Branch 66, “Homicide Court” for months during the early Chicago peak homicide years in the 1970s. The Sun-Times editorial concern over the prospect of legal recreational marijuana reflects lingering, antiquated and intuitive drug-war thought. That thought has put more drugs of every sort, uncontrolled and unregulated, everywhere, because good drug policy in counterintuitive. The harder we try to suppress drugs with criminal law and prohibition, rather than economic and medical strategies, the more drugs flourish. Taxation and a medical rather than law enforcement approach to drugs is what is needed, now. And yes, the conflict between federal marijuana law and state legislatures and state voter marijuana referendums are headed for showdown. We need one. But if states don’t overdo on the taxation of legal pot, the plethora of harms caused by pot prohibition (black market violence, contaminated drugs, K-2 marijuana substitute drugs, heightened youthful drug curiosity…) will subside, positively impacting Illinoisans. James E. Gierach is a retired Oak Lawn attorney and prosecutor, Illinois 1970 Con Con delegate, former candidate for Cook County state’s attorney and Illinois governor running on drug policy reform platforms, and draftsman of the first proposed amendment of UN drug treaties for nonprofit Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Supporters of legalized marijuana just need to look at Colorado While Big Marijuana pours millions into Illinois to legalize marijuana, leftist lawmakers, giddy about a tiny new revenue source to aide their insatiable spending, ignore the unmistakable damage legalization is causing in Colorado. Those nasty facts are hard to escape. Colorado now ranks number one in the entire nation for marijuana use among teens, scoring 55 percent above the national average, so says the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Colorado High School drug violations have increased 71 percent and suspensions for drugs have increased 45 percent since legalization. Based on alarming research by the Denver Post, drivers in fatal car crashes who tested positive doubled since legalization.
Residential neighborhoods reek of marijuana as do warehouse growing operations along major freeways. As if that isn’t enough, the Colorado homelessness growth rate now ranks among the highest in the country. The bottom line is this: Does Illinois want more drugged drivers on our roads, more buzzed employees on job sites, and more stoned students in our homes and schools? If the answer is no, don’t remain silent. Tell your state representative and senator to oppose legalization efforts before it is too late. — Kathy Valente, Tinley Park, director of operations, Illinois Family Institute
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alos Township Trustee Sharon Brannigan made some mildly offensive comments on her personal Facebook page way back in January 2015 about “Middle Easterners” that were less about racism and more about the fears many Americans share. It took two-and-a-half years for Brannigan’s critics, mostly Muslim activists, to accuse her of “anti-Muslim” racism. The timing looks suspicious to me. Something else is going on that the protesters are not addressing. Brannigan is Republican. Palos Township is Republican. The Township leadership has openly defied the tax policies of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, a do-nothing former Democratic Machine alderman from the Chicago’s South Side. Preckwinkle, and several Democratic officials, have provided support, both financially and politically, to some of the anti-Brannigan protesters. Preckwinkle had reason to target Brannigan. She hoped Brannigan’s comments would stymie the opponents of her oppressive one cent soda pop and sweetened beverage tax. In fact, it was the combined support of the Palos Township Republican Organization, including Brannigan and others, who were the foundation of the campaign led by Cook County Board Commissioner Sean Morrison that blocked the Preckwinkle tax. It’s something I will write more about soon. Morrison, also the Palos Township Republican Committeeman, thwarted Preckwinkle at every turn. Morrison is responsible for leading the non-partisan Republican and Democratic movement that revoked the soda pop tax imposed by Preckwinkle in July. Ironically, the protesters began targeting Brannigan at the same time, in July. It is true that Muslims in America and Christian Arabs like myself face racism. I’m an Orthodox Christian from a Bethlehem family raised and confirmed Lutheran. But none of Brannigan’s comments came even close to the intensity of the racist hate that faces Muslims in this country. Brannigan was legitimately concerned about this country’s failed immigration system, one that Democrats like Preckwinkle and Congressman Luis Gutierrez have exploited for their own personal benefit. If the immigration problem is ever resolved, many of these do-nothing elected officials would have nothing to “champion.” They really don’t want the immigration problem resolved. Preckwinkle knows Brannigan, and she immediately bullied Brannigan to step down from her volunteer position on the County’s Woman’s Commission. And the word “bullied” is very appropriate in this controversy. Since July, protesters have crowded meetings of the Palos Township Board, screaming, yelling and making threats, demanding that Preckwinkle’s foe, Brannigan, resign. Videos of the meetings showing protesters yelling and screaming are disturbing. I know some of the protesters and most are good people. And they are being pushed by extremists who hope to disrupt the Township, which spends most of its time providing badly needed services to seniors and homeowners. Despite the disruptive conduct of the protesters, Brannigan and the board have politely allowed each and every protester to speak, even allowing them to take over the meeting. Brannigan issued a very strongly worded and sincere apology to the Muslim and Arab community in September. The protesters called it “too little, too late.” The truth is, it was her third apology that they rejected. She had apologized back in July, too. Many of the protesters don’t care about racism. They don’t care about the Township’s seniors. They don’t care about good government. But they do care about politics and avenging Preckwinkle for the shaming she received from Palos Township officials who led the fight to defend the rights of Cook County taxpayers. Muslims and Arabs in this area continue to face discrimination, including the adoption of a state law recently that punishes them if they criticize Israel’s abuses of Muslims and Christians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. That’s an issue they should be fighting. But you won’t see any of them in Gov. Rauner’s offices, at Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s offices, or even at Preckwinkle’s offices. They might not get those precious government grants and support they are used to. Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist and former Chicago City Hall reporter. Email him at rghanania@ gmail.com.
Thursday, December 7, 2017
The Reporter
Santa’s helpers
7
DEATH NOTICES
Teen helpers are on hand to assist patrons who don’t have the time or energy to wrap gifts this month at the Oak Lawn Library. Teens wrapping gifts on Saturday were Oak Lawn residents (from left) Darlene Salacsacan, a junior at Richards High School; Amal Perunumbully, an eighth- grade student at Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School; and Orla Sheridan, a sophomore at Oak Lawn Community High School. The teens will be on hand to wrap gifts from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, Dec. 9, 16 and 23, on the second floor of the library.
Gwyneath Birch Gwyneath C. Birch (nee Marks), 88, a Palos Heights resident, died Monday. Mrs. Birch was employed for many years in the health care industry. She was a longtime member of the Daughters of American Revolution and Daughters of the American Colonists. Survivors include a daughter, Elizabeth Jeka; sons, Wayne, Robert and Richard; sister, Sylvia Grant; 12 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. Visitation is from 3 to 9 p.m. today (Thursday, Dec. 7) at the Palos-Gaidas Funeral Home, 11028 Southwest Highway, Palos Hills. Services are at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 8 at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Chapel Hill Garden South Cemetery.
Photo by Joe Boyle
Ann Maguire
Meals and sounds of Christmas are better shared
I
t’s the season most of us look forward to. We look forward to the Christmas music, family dinners and joyfully celebrating the actual reason for the season. In reading Dr. Marc Micozzi’s “Insiders’ Cures,” he explains how new research shows eating, drinking and being “merry” is a good prescription for better health. Staying connected to others is essential, especially for senior citizens. Micozzi writes that a representative of “The Gerontological Society of America” recently testified before a U.S. Senate hearing on aging issues that the dangers of getting old can be found in social isolation. He also explains that “this same society stated there’s no reason to give toxic statin drugs to older Americans for health or longevity purposes.” Micozzi also writes about studies from Penn State researchers that indicate social isolation is responsible for many chronic disorders among the senior citizen population. While aging in itself poses health issues, social isolation creates even more health issues. For that reason, he suggests the elderly accept invitations to family and friend gatherings. He even says a toast or two can boost cognition in older adults. While I enjoy sharing studies, I sometimes wonder who is sponsoring those studies, especially, when they conclude alcohol is good for you. This is just my little
personal opinion. I’m not saying a drink or two is bad, but we must make certain we can handle the alcohol before we try it. I also know there are those who do just fine being alone on holidays. Some people are just loners and prefer it that way. That personality type must be respected as well. Micozzi also writes those side dishes of pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, spinach and leafy greens are very healthful. I believe we all know that. He also included corn and I would say non-GMO (Generally Modified Organisms, which are crops developed with genetic engineering) corn might be just fine. Remember, bright colorful veggies also contain carotenoids that help the brain and eyes. The number one favorite of mine at both Thanksgiving and Christmas is cranberry. Woo hoo! I love cranberries and the doctor discloses that a new study has shown that “a compound in
the cell walls of cranberries acts as a prebiotic (food) for the beneficial bacteria in the human GI tracts.” A prebiotic is especially helpful to promote the body’s use of probiotics. They are the gatekeepers that encourage the growth and general usefulness of probiotics. Micozzi goes on to say, “This and other probiotics are key for energy production, which you need to not only digest your Thanksgiving dinner, but also take that long walk afterwards.” He also suggests walnuts compliment a variety of dishes, because they contain omega 3 essential fatty acids, selenium, calcium, iron, magnesium, biotin and other nutrients. I make huge Waldorf salads with lettuce, walnuts, apples, celery, raisins and a tiny bit of mayonnaise. It is a magnificent and tasty salad and will go with any meal or, in fact, replace meals. So, this Christmas, seek out a neighbor or friend — someone who has no local relatives or has suffered a loss — and invite them to enjoy a blessed dinner to celebrate the birth of Christ. It will make you feel as good as it makes them feel. Thinking of others is quite an appropriate message and certainly is in keeping with the One who was born, died and rose in order that we might have salvation. I hope each of you have a very Merry Christmas! Dee Woods can be reached at deewoods10@icloud.com.
Evergreen Park United Methodist Women to hold cookie walk, bazaar
The Evergreen Park United Methodist Women will be holding their 27th annual Cookie Walk/Mini-Holiday Bazaar from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9 at the church, 9358 S. Homan Ave. Doors open at 9 a.m. The cookie sale begins at 10 a.m. All Christmas cookies are sold by the pound.
HICKORY HILLS
Hickory Hills children can attend Christmas party
The Hickory Hills Park District and the Hickory Hills Community Affairs Commission will sponsor a Children’s Christmas Party beginning at 12:45 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Krueger Park Recreation Center, 9100 S. 88th Ave., Hickory Hills. Children can visit with Santa, listen to a special performance by a violin band, enjoy a holiday show, receive a balloon sculpture, and get their face painted. Each child will receive a holiday candy bag as a parting gift. No registration is necessary. Parents are encouraged to stay. For additional information, call (708) 598-1233. This event is for residents of Hickory Hills only. For more information about special events and programming, call (708) 598-1233 or visit www.hhparkdistrict.org.
New Year’s Eve trip is planned for casino in Battle Creek
The Hickory Hills Park District is hosting a New Year’s Eve trip to the Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Mich. Transportation departs from Krueger Park Recreation Center, 9100 S. 88th Ave., Hickory Hills, at 9 a.m. and returns at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31. The registration fee is $33 for residents and $38 for non-residents. The fee includes transportation, refreshments on the bus, a $30 free slot play, and $10 for food and beverages. Individuals who plan to attend have to bring a picture ID. Guests are required to be at least 21 years old. To register, call (708) 598-1233 or visit wwwhhparkdistrict.org.
Trip to see singer and comedian at Paramount Theatre
The Hickory Hills Park District is sponsoring a trip to see versatile performer Terry Fator on Saturday, Jan. 20 at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora. Transportation departs from the Krueger Park Recreation Center, 9100 S. 88th Ave., Hickory Hills, at 1:30 p.m. and is scheduled to return at 6:30 p.m. The registration fee is $119 for residents and $124 for non-residents. Fator is a singer, a comedian and ventriloquist. He also does celebrity impressions. To register for this event, call (708) 598-1233 or visit www.hhparkdistrict.org.
Kids can learn to make Christmas centerpieces
Children ages 3 to 6 can learn how to create a centerpiece for Christmas from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. Friday, Dec. 22 at the Krueger Park Recreation Center, 9100 S. 88th Ave., Hickory Hills. The park district will provide the supplies to help create a centerpiece that is best fit for certain families. The registration fee is $11 for residents and $12 for non-residents. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 598-1233 or visit www.hhparkdistrict.org.
Hickory Hills Park District plans trip to see ‘Elf: The Musical’
The Hickory Hills Park District is sponsoring a trip to see “Elf: The Musical” on Thursday,
Dec. 21. Transportation will be provided from the Krueger Park Recreation Center, 9100 S. 88th Ave., Hickory Hills, beginning at 10 a.m. The scheduled return is at 5:15 p.m. Kids under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The registration fee is $75 for residents and $80 for non-residents. More information about special events and programming can be obtained by calling (708) 598-1233 or visit www. hparkdistrict.org.
OAK LAWN
Pilgrim Faith Church to host Christmas cookie sale
The annual Christmas cookie sale will be held beginning at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ, 9411 S. 51st Ave., Oak Lawn. Visitors can select an assortment of home baked Christmas cookies for a $5 a pound donation. The church is also handicapped accessible.
Breakfast with Santa at Stony Creek
The Annual Breakfast with Santa event will be held beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Oak Lawn Park District’s Stony Creek Restaurant and Banquets, 5850 W. 103rd St. Parents are encouraged to bring a camera to take photos. The fee is $9.95 for adults and $9.95 for children. Kids ages 3 and under can attend free. The reservation deadline is today (Thursday, Dec. 7). Reservations or more information can call (708) 857-2433.
Oak Lawn film group to view, discuss ‘Sweet Land’
CineVerse, the Oak Lawn Park District’s weekly film discussion group open to anyone age 17 and older, will screen and discuss the 2005 movie “Sweet Land” from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13 at Oak View Community Center 4625 W. 110th St., in Oak Lawn Members should check the building signage for the correct room number. For more information, call (708) 529-9028 or visit cineversegroup. blogspot.com.
Musichorale Choir to perform Christmas concert
The Pryme Tymers, a local senior organization, has invited the Musichorale Choir to perform at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 14 at Trinity Covenant Church, 9230 S. Pulaski Road, Oak Lawn. Musichorale will hold a Christmas concert. At noon, a catered ham lunch will be served. The fee for the luncheon is $7. Reservations are required. More information can be obtained by calling the church office, (708) 422-5111, or Tom Panush, (708) 636-7548. Non-perishable goods will also be collected for the Blue Island Salvation Army Food Pantry.
Holly Days figure skating to be held at Oak Lawn Ice Arena
The Oak Lawn Ice Arena Holly Days will be held from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9 at the arena, 9320 S. Kenton Ave. Ice skaters, ages 3 and up, will perform to their favorite holiday songs at the figure skating exhibition. The event is free to attend. Free popcorn and a drink will be provided at the concession stand. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 857-5173.
Oak Lawn Park District hosts trip to view ‘42nd Street’
The Oak Lawn Park District is sponsoring a trip to view the Tony Award winner “42nd Street” at the Drury Lane Theater in Oak Brook on Thursday, Dec. 14. In this Broadway classic, Peggy Sawyer lands a bigger break in New York City than expected. When the leading lady injures her
Edward McQuillan Edward J. McQuillan, 74, a resident of Oak Lawn, died Nov. 27 at Advocate Christ Medical Center. Mr. McQuillan was a longtime basketball coach and served as the head coach at Mount Carmel High School. He also coached basketball at St. Xavier University, Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Survivors include his wife, Mary (nee Riordan); daughter, Keri Kalinsky; sons, Ed, Kevin, Dan and Scott; stepdaughter, Kate; stepsons, Michael, Joe, Marty, Tim and Bob Shaughnessy; 23 grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Services were Friday from Curley Funeral Home to St. Louis de Montfort Church. Interment was private.
Joan Nardi Joan Nardi, 66, a Worth resident, died Nov. 30 at home. Ms. Nardi lived in several communities in the southwest suburbs. Survivors include nieces, Kelly and Kathleen; nephew, William; two great-nieces; one great-nephew; one great-great niece; and many cousins. Services were Monday at Kosary Funeral Home. Interment followed at St. Mary Cemetery.
Anne Worobiew
COMMUNITY CALENDAR EVERGREEN PARK
Ann T. Maguire (nee Willischitz), 86, an Oak Lawn resident, died Nov. 29 at Holy Family Villa in Palos Park. Mrs. Maguire was a homemaker. Survivors include daughters, Marilyn Shelden and Joan Fishback; sons, Dave, Bob, Bill and Jack; 13 grandchildren; six greatgrandchildren; and one nephew. Services were Monday from Curley Funeral Home to St. Catherine of Alexandria Church. Interment followed at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
ankle, Peggy gets the chance of a lifetime to rise from showgirl to star. Enjoy show stopping tap numbers and hits such as “We’re in the Money” and “Lullaby of Broadway”. Lunch is included and includes a vegetable linguine pomodoro, or roast turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce and roasted shallot mashed potato, or bistro steak with roasted shallot mashed potato. All meals include bread and butter, beverage, and chef choice vegetable and dessert. Meal selection must be given at time of registration. The registration fee is $70 and the fee is $80 for non-residents. The bus will depart from the Oak View Center, 4625 W. 110th St., Oak Lawn at 10:45 a.m. The return is scheduled for about 4:30 p.m. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 857-2200.
Anne B. Worobiew (nee Kamarauskas), 93, a former Evergreen Park resident, died Monday at Rosary Hills in Justice. Mrs. Worobiew, who was born in Scottville, Mich., was a homemaker. Survivors include daughters, Marilyn Knizner and Patrice Cibella; son, Charles; nine grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild. Services were Wednesday from Palos-Gaidas Funeral Home to Our Lady of the Ridge Church. Interment took place at St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery.
Skate with Santa at Oak Lawn Ice Arena
The Oak Lawn Park District will sponsor a Santa Family Fun event from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17 at the Oak Lawn Ice Arena, 9320 S. Kenton Ave. Skaters can visit Santa on and off the ice while a DJ provides holiday music selections. Goodie bags will be available and raffles will be held. Admission is $7 and skate rental is $3. Concessions will be available. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 857-5173.
New Year’s Eve Countdown to be held at Oak Lawn Ice Arena
Funeral Directory Palos-Gaidas
FUNERAL HOME The Oak Lawn Park District Ice Arena’s 12th Annual New Year’s Eve Kids’ Countdown 708-974-4410 FUNERAL HOME event will take place from 10:45 a.m. to 1:30 David Gaidas, Jr. Director p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31 at the arena, 9320 S. 11028 Southwest Highway Kenton Ave., Oak Lawn. Palos Hills, IL 60465 Guests receive a party hat and noisemaker, and can enjoy raffles and music provided by “THE NEXT GENERATION TO CARE FOR YOU” a DJ. Over 500 balloons will drop on the ice after the countdown finishes at noon. Admission is $7 and skate rental is $3 (while supplies last). Concessions will be available. For more information, call (708) 857-5173.
PALOS HILLS
Holiday events are being planned in Palos Hills
The City of Palos Hills Resource and Recreation Department will host an evening with Santa at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14 at the Community Activity Center, 8455 W. 103rd St. The evening includes a hot dog dinner, a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and entertainment. The department will be hosting a breakfast with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 16 at the Palos Hills Golf Course, 7301 W. 105th St. The event will include a breakfast, a visit with Santa, and entertainment. More information about the events can be obtained by calling (708) 430-4500.
WORTH
Marrs-Meyer AL Auxiliary collects toys for annual Christmas Baskets fundraiser
The Marrs-Meyer American Legion Auxiliary Unit 991 will be collecting new, unwrapped toys, school supplies and backpacks to be distributed to the less fortunate children in the Village of Worth during the Christmas Baskets event coming up on Dec. 17. Residents may drop off toy donations at the post, 11001 S. Depot St., Worth, during open house hours before Tuesday, Dec. 12. Visitors can drop off the toys in a collection box inside the bar area. Monetary donations are also needed because of the expenses of planning the fundraiser. Residents who would like to help can send donations to: Marrs-Meyer Auxiliary 991 Baskets and mail to Marrs-Meyer Auxiliary 991, Attn: Baskets, 11001 S. Depot St., Worth, IL 60482.
Owned and Operated by the Mintle Family
10701 S. Harlem Ave. Worth, IL 708.448.6000 “Your Neighborhood Funeral Home”
8 The Reporter
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Can you afford to retire early?
COMINGS & GOINGS
Buona Beef opens this week in Oak Lawn
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uona Beef opened its latest location to the public Wednesday. An invitation only lunch and ribbon-cutting took place on Tuesday. The 21st location for the Berwyn-based chain is at 6235 W. 95th St. Anyone in line when the restaurant opens will received a free Italian beef sandwich. The company purchased three homes to make room for the 4,000-square-foot restaurant. The project cost an estimated $4 million. The Oak Lawn location is the Bob third Buona Beef restaurant to Bong open in the Chicago area this year and is only the third in the Southland, including one that opened in Frankfort in July. Five more Buona restaurants are planned for 2018, including one in an outlot at the Meijer Foods plaza in Flossmoor. The Oak Lawn restaurant offers dine-in, carry out and delivery services, along with catering. Store hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Chuck E. Cheese’s quits Oak Lawn
The troubled Chuck E. Cheese’s arcade pulled out of its longtime home in Oak Lawn last week fulfilling a promise the corporation made a year ago that it would leave town after a series of altercations between patrons and brawls. The arcade opened as a Showbiz Pizza in 1978 in the shopping center at 95th Street and Pulaski Road in Oak Lawn. The company said it would likely relocate the arcade, but no new location has been announced. A neighboring Kmart store closed last month and the retail center is now essentially empty.
Popeyes opens this week in Summit
A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is scheduled to open at 11 a.m. today (Thursday, Dec. 7) at 5708 S. Harlem Ave. in Summit. The eagerly awaited eatery is owned by franchisee Haneef Kassam, who did not respond to an email request for information. An email to Popeyes corporate offices for information also was not answered. In July, the Summit Village Board approved a Class 7c tax incentive for the restaurant. Mayor Sergio Rodriguez said the tax incentive promotes new construction in the village by reducing property taxes for the first five years. “It gives them a tax break so they can come in. It’s for new construction,” Rodriguez said. “At the end, we get more tax revenue for the village.” Construction began in June after an apartment building at the site was demolished.
Police Reports Continued from Page 2
also cited for driving a car with expired registration and improper lane usage. He was held for a bond hearing.
Retail theft
• Mollie Serna, 24, of Hometown, and Nova Marie Iffland, 27, of Oak Lawn, were charged with retail theft at The Home Depot. 4060 W. 95th St., at 1:16 p.m. Nov. 27. Police said the women took a cordless drill, a multi-tool, and battery pack off shelves and concealed them in a baby carrier in a cart they pushed out the door. They are due in court on Dec. 14. • Thomas T. Chambers, 56, of Chicago, was charged with retail theft at Fairplay, 8700 S. Cicero Ave., at 4:52 p.m. Nov. 27. Police said he was stopped as he left the store with four packages of steak and two of salmon worth $65.80 concealed in his jacket. He was also charged with criminal trespassing, because he was banned from the store since an arrest for the same offense in March. He was also held on an outstanding Cook County warrant and is due in court on Jan. 10.
Suspended license
Tina Marie Dunne, 37, of Thornton, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 4:07 p.m. Nov. 26 in the 9500 block of South Cicero Avenue. Police said she was also cited for obstructing identification because she initially gave a false name. Police said she was also driving with an obstructed windshield. She is due in court on Jan. 10.
Robbery charge
Mark D. Pleasant, 51, of
SUDOKU
Answers
Checkers makes return
Tampa-based Checkers Drive-Ins, which abandoned the Chicago marketplace years ago, has returned with more than 20 stores and has plans for up to 80 more locations. The latest location opened last month at 107 E. 95th St. in Chicago’s Roseland community, and that was preceded by one in October at 11915 S. Pulaski Road in Alsip. Other South Side locations include Bedford Park, Dixmoor and Chicago’s Garfield Ridge community. “There’s lot of room to grow,” said Bruce Kim, director of franchise development for Checkers and Rally’s. “We have 21 stores now with six in the pipeline. There’s room for 80 more.” Most of them will wind up in the suburbs. “Our growth is not so much for Chicago as for the suburbs,” Kim said. “Our franchisees mostly want the suburbs.” One exception is franchisee Curtis Rowe, who has the 95th Street location as well as another at 87th Street and Stony Island Avenue. “I take pride in representing the South Side,” said Rowe. “It makes me feel good hiring people from the community. It is very rewarding.” Rowe said he was a fan of the chain when it first came to Chicago and always liked the food. He started looking for a fast-food franchise in 2006 and finally hooked up with Checkers when the company decided to return to the Chicago marketplace. Kim said Checkers left Chicago several years
Chicago, was charged with robbery at Jedi’s Garden restaurant at Cicero Avenue and Southwest Highway at 7:55 p.m. Nov. 26. Police said Pleasant allegedly bought a $2 cake and asked for change for $100. According to restaurant employees, he was given change, and then created a disturbance. He then reportedly took the original $100 bill out of the open cash drawer. He was also cited for disorderly conduct and was held for bond court. All the money the employees said was given to him as change was found in his pockets.
Palos Hills
Unlicensed driving
• Mazin Hussein, 39, of Palos Hills, was charged with driving without a license following a traffic stop at 9 p.m. Nov. 29. Police said he was also cited for driving without insurance and not using a turning signal when required. He is due in court on Jan. 9. • Zaid Radwan, 23, of Palos Hills, was charged with driving without a license following a traffic collision at 2 a.m. Nov. 29. Police said he was also cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and obstructing. He is due in court on Dec. 9.
Theft charge
Police responding to a theft complaint at noon on Nov. 27 in the 10300 block of 73rd Avenue were told that someone who had agreed to purchase a car for sale had taken the vehicle without paying for it. Police said they were able to track down the buyer and retrieve the money owed to the person.
Missing guns
• A resident of the 10700 block of Meadow Lane told
CROSSWORD
Answers
Submitted photo
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is scheduled to open Thursday in Summit.
ago when internal turmoil caused 40 stores, most of them franchise operations, to close. “Six years ago, we came back with 10 corporate stores,” he said. “The majority of new stores opening are owned by franchisees. Chicago is a great market. People need us. We fill a value niche. There is no real value hamburger in Chicago.” Alsip franchisee Babar Raza agrees. “We look for middle income areas,” he said. He also plans to open Checkers in Romeoville next spring and Aurora next fall. “Two a year. The sky’s the limit.” He said business has been solid since he opened in Alsip in October. “A lot better than I expected,” he said. Checkers has been around for 30 years, Kim said. The company has 859 Checkers and Rally’s combined nationwide with modest expansion plans. “If we open 5-10 stores a year, we’re satisfied,” he said. Most new stores are owned by existing franchisees. “Our average franchisee owns 2.2 stores,” he said. “Folks tend to build mini-empires.” But customers will find only Checkers in Illinois. Fans of Rally’s will have to venture into northwest Indiana for that brand. If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.
police at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 27that he had misplaced his firearm somewhere near his residence within the last week. • A firearm was reported missing from a car on Lucas Drive at 11 a.m. Nov. 30. It is not known when the gun was taken out of the car, because the owner has been away since June.
at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 29. Police said blue spray paint was used to write comments critical of the police all over the trailer. • Damage to a vehicle parked in Cour Montreal was discovered at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Police said both tail lights and the trunk of the vehicle were damaged, evidently by BB gun pellets.
Vandalism offenses
Harassment report
• The front window of a home on Lucas Drive was reported damaged by BB gun pellets at 9 p.m. Nov. 28. • A vehicle in the 8600 block of West 96th Street was found to have holes from BB gun pellets in the front windshield at 8:30 a.m. last Thursday. • Police discovered graffiti on the Palos Hills speed trailer
A Palos Hills woman reported getting unwanted and threatening text messages from an ex-boyfriend at noon on Nov. 30.
Burglary charge
More than $1,000 in cash was reported stolen out of a safe in a home in the 10100 block of South 86th Avenue at 11 p.m. last Thursday. Po-
lice said the owner suspects friends of his grandchildren took the money while he was in the hospital during the past week.
Robbery charge
A strong-arm robbery was reported at 8:30 p.m. Friday. The victim said a female friend came to his house looking for money. When he refused to pay, she allegedly called an unknown man who punched the victim in the face and took his watch and money from his wallet before leaving the scene. Police reports are provided by law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law.
ome people dream of retiring early. Are you one of them? If so, you’ll need to plan ahead — because a successful early retirement can’t be achieved through last-minute moves. So, if you’re determined to retire early, consider taking the following steps: • Pick a date. Early retirement means different things to different people. But it’s important to pick an exact age, whether it is 60, 62, 64, or whatever, so you can build an appropriate Scott retirement income strategy. • Think about your Johnson retirement lifestyle. You may know that you want to retire early — but have you thought about what you want to do with your newfound time? Will you simply stay close to home and pursue your hobbies? Do you dream of spending two months each winter on a tropical island? Or are you thinking of opening your own small business or doing some consulting? Different retirement lifestyles can have vastly different price tags. Once you’ve envisioned your future, you can develop a saving and investment plan to help you get there. • Boost contributions to your retirement plans. If you want to retire early, you may well need to accelerate your contributions to your retirement accounts, such as your IRA and your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored plan. You may need to cut back in other areas of your life to maximize the amounts you put into your retirement plans, but this sacrifice may be worth it to you. • Invest for growth. Your investment strategy essentially should be based on three key factors: your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon. When you change any one of these variables, it will affect the others. So, if you shorten your time horizon by retiring early, you may well need to reconsider your risk tolerance. Specifically, you may need to accept a somewhat higher level of investment risk so you can invest for greater growth potential. • Keep a lid on your debt load. It’s easier said than done, but try to manage your debt load as tightly as possible. The lower your monthly debt payments, the more you can contribute to your retirement plans. Life is unpredictable. Even if you take all the steps described above, you may still fall short of your goal of retiring early. While this may be somewhat disappointing, you might find that adding just a few more years of work can be beneficial to building resources for your chosen retirement lifestyle. For one thing, you can continue contributing to your IRA and your 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored plan. Plus, if you’re still working, you may be able to afford delaying your Social Security payments until you’re closer to your “normal” retirement age, which, as defined by the Social Security Administration, likely will be 66 or 67. The longer you put off taking these benefits, the bigger your monthly checks, although they will max out once you reach 70. And even if you are not able to retire early, some of the moves you took to reach that goal – such as contributing as much as you could afford to your IRA and 401(k), controlling your debts, and so on — may pay off for you during your retirement — whenever it begins. Scott Johnson, CFP, is a financial advisor with Edward Jones, 8146 W. 111th St., Palos Hills, (708) 974-1965. Edward Jones does not provide legal advice. This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones financial advisor.
AREA PROPERTY TRANSFERS Following are the property transfers in the area, according to the latest report, as received from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office. The Reporter Newspaper does not attempt to correct errors made by that office.
Chicago Ridge
Devon Bk to Abdallah Asamah, 10298 Southwest Hwy, Unit #13B, $85,000.00; Lesnicki Andrzej J to Stahulak Katie A, 10516 Southwest Hwy, Unit #25C, $120,000.00; Sarich Mark to Hindi Mohammad, 10288 Southwest Hwy, Unit #21D, $103,000.00.
Evergreen Park
Cfn Dev Llc to Aguilera Andrew A, 2853 W 98th St, $126,500.00; Oconnell Terese M to Torres Ricardo C, 9431 S Utica Ave, $173,000.00; Gleason Robert J to Rosario Carlos R, 2629 W 94th St, $160,000.00; Goggin Richard F Jr to Novak Raymond, 2961 W 97th St, $177,500.00.
Hickory Hills
Daniluk Halina Tr to Sek Marcin, 9147 S Roberts Rd, Unit #202, $105,000.00; First Midwest Bk Tr to Gonzalez Alexis, 9100 S 87th Ct, $240,000.00; Cross Country Equity Llc to Lorgan Investments Llc, 9339 S 80th Ct, $115,000.00; Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr to Alrashdan Abdalla, 9013 W 91st Pl, $210,000.00.
Oak Lawn
Kos Joseph to Briceno Karina A Zargoza, 10833 Laramie Ave, $277,000.00; Dixon Keyanta L to Robinson Darren Jr, 7100 W 95th St, Unit #314, $115,000.00;
First Midwest Bk Tr to Wynn Nail Spa Inc, 4957 W 95th St, $120,000.00; Santos Beronica C to Devivo Stephen J, 10947 S Keeler Ave, $164,000.00; Mulvaney Frederick Jr to Hutton Charles Iii, 9809 Mason Ave, $230,000.00; Aguirre Johhny to Ajfm Prop Llc, 10120 Pulaski Rd, Unit #101201E, $56,000.00; Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr to Pena Jonathan J, 10516 Laramie Ave, $206,000.00; Ward Christopher J to Ward Christopher J, 9605 Mansfield Ave, $125,500.00; Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr to Atg Trut Co Tr, 10124 S Kildare Ave, $157,500.00; Galan Olga Y to Del Vecchio Mila, 4039 Fitzjames Walk, $65,000.00; Judicial Sales Corp to Utria Ramirez Roily, 4827 109th St, Unit #6304, $45,000.00; Mikrut Bruno H Tr to Hager Eric, 10424 Georgia Ln, $269,000.00; Bayview Loan Servicing Llc to Selim Mahmoud, 9807 Moody Ave, $61,500.00; Black Sq Fundg Llc to Chris Kwak Constr, 5408 Alexander Pl, $112,500.00; Vladovich Marytr to Piszczor John, 5540 Foxwoods Dr, $210,000.00; Gal Edward to Espinoza Erik, 4840 W 99th St, $248,000.00; Menzel Edward F Jr Tr to LaraEstrada Uriel, 5640 98th Pl, $210,000.00.
Palos Hills
Pala Albert J to Pala Andrzej Trust, 9024 Del Prado Dr, Unit #90242S, $165,000.00; Deutsche Bank Natl Trust Co to Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr,
8530 Broadmoor Rd, $190,000.00; Bohac Bradley C to Tate Elois D, 11000 Theresa Cir, Unit #3A, $153,000.00; Symanski Rosemary J Tr to Dzierzega Tadeusz, 9028 Del Prado Dr, Unit #90281S, $145,000.00.
Worth
Casper Bruce to Jig Llc, 10602 S Depot St, Unit #10602GA,
$35,000.00; Escamilla Sabrina to Szymanski Artur, 10836 S 76th Ave, Unit #1T, $128,000.00; Mozdzen Stanely to Alm Prop Llc, 6725 W 112th St, $255,000.00; Strama Andrzej to Ghouleb Mohammad S, 11309 S Natoma Ave, $295,000.00.
Mortgage Rates Around the Area First Midwest Bank (as of December 4) 30-year fixed 15-year fixed 30-year fixed Jumbo
RATES 4.000 3.500 3.865
United Trust Bank (as of December 4) 30-year fixed 15-year fixed 10-year fixed
RATES 3.990 3.625 3.625
APR 4.045 3.555 3.920
POINTS 0 0 0
APR 3.959 3.614 3.631
POINTS 0 0 0
Prospect Savings Bank (as of December 5) 30-year fixed 20-year fixed 15-year fixed
RATES 3.875 3.625 3.125
APR 3.988 3.781 3.323
CNB Bank & Trust, N.A. (as of December 4) 30-year fixed 20-year fixed 15-year fixed
RATES 4.00 3.750 3.375
APR 4.1039 3.8600 3.5163
All rates subject to change daily. Equal opportunity lenders.
POINTS 0 0 0 POINTS 0 0 0
The Reporter
Thursday, December 7, 2017
9
LIBRARY HAPPENINGS
CHICAGO RIDGE Color therapy sessions
Sessions in color therapy will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12 at the Chicago Ridge Library, 10400 S. Oxford Ave. Studies have shown that creative activities can help calm the mind. Participants can stop by and take part in a free hour and enjoy the benefits of creative activities. Guests will be provided with pages, colored pencils, markers and refreshments. To sign up for the free program call (708) 423-7753 or visit the website at www.chicagoridgelibrary.org.
Job search lessons
“Best Practices for Interviewing and Job Search” will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Chicago Ridge Library. Patrons can learn new methods for tapping into the hidden job market. The program will teach participants on how to present skills to any employer and how to utilize the STAR method while answering difficult interviewing questions. To register for the free program, call (708) 423-7753 or visit the website at www.chicagoridgelibrary.org.
Chair yoga
Photo by Kelly White
Getting crafty for Christmas
Riley Watson, 4, of Oak Lawn, makes a Christmas decoration during the Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ’s Christmas Craft Workshop on Sunday afternoon at the church, 9411 S. 51st Ave., Oak Lawn.
Legislators Continued from Page 1
tax that met so much opposition. That is why I reacted to it,” said Daley, who was the first Democrat on the county board to speak in favor of repealing it. “We did pass a balanced budget without it. But we had to lay off 300 people, and take 1,000 vacancies out of the system,” said Daley. “We tried to work with the unions. If they had agreed to furlough days, they would not be laid off,” said Daley. He noted that no cuts were made in the law enforcement area, including police and Cook County Jail staff. When asked about the state budget situation, all three state legislators agreed that the 2018 budget cycle will be difficult, but not as bad as this past year, when the state Legislature passed a budget after two years without one. “With the election coming up, Gov. Rauner will want to be out campaigning and not in the Legislature. But I don’t make any predictions on this governor because he is just a little erratic these days,” said Hastings. Hastings said he has seen former governors Jim Edgar and Pat Quinn in the state Legislature over the past year more often than Rauner. “And they don’t even work there,” he said. “We still have a $15 billion hole in our budget because of the two years without a budget. It will take us a long time to dig out of. But we essentially refinanced the debt, and we cut spending,” said Burke. “We’re also cleaning up the unfunded pension liabilities… We’re going to be making very difficult choices about what needed to be funded and what we can afford,” said Burke. She said that having a state budget has provided the funding the Monetary Award Program, known as MAP grants, has helped college students and the institutions that depend on them. “We actually increased MAP grant funding to $410 million this year. That is a substantial
amount of money.” She said that although all the MAP grant funding due to students was paid this year, “all the hesitation was very stressful” for students and college administrators alike. Hastings noted that enrollment at Governors State University, which was struggling, has quadrupled now that the financial situation has stabilized with the state budget. But other universities such as Southern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University that had declining enrollment even before the crisis are still having problems. “Part of the problem is that the population is declining in southern Illinois,” said Burke. “Except for New Jersey, we are the second-biggest exporter of college students in the country. And many of those students don’t come back here when they graduate.” When Hastings was asked about plans for the Tinley Park Mental Health Center, which the state closed in 2012, he predicted that “the property will be repurposed for business and entertainment uses.” “The site has been appraised for $4 million but $14 million in environmental mitigation is needed,” he noted. The legislators also criticized Rauner for focusing on antiunion issues, and trying to turn Illinois into a “right-to-work” state. “I’ve worked with other governors, and you can have a social agenda. But your main job as governor is to pass a balanced budget,” said Daley. After the meeting, Cunningham said he has endorsed state Sen. Daniel Biss (D-9th) in the gubernatorial primary on March 20. “He is a colleague and a friend,” said Cunningham. “He has a difficult road ahead, but I see a path forward for him,” he added, acknowledging the uphill battle against people such as billionaire JB Pritzker and Chris Kennedy. “Illinois voters’ first inclination is not to go for a billionaire without any government experience,” said Cunningham.
Chair Yoga will be offered from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14 at the Chicago Ridge Library. Participants can practice yoga while seated in a chair. Certified yoga instructor Joan Zigulich will guide participants in this practice that is designed for all skill levels. The focus will be on simple movements designed to stretch and strengthen the whole body. The program is ideal for office workers or individuals who are concerned about getting down on the floor. For more information or to register, call the library, (708) 423-7753, or visit the website at www.chicagoridgelibrary. org to sign up for this free program.
Bingo at the library
Bingo is being offered for ages 18 and up from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19 at the Chicago Ridge Library. Prizes will be awarded to the game winners. For more information, call (708) 423-7753 or visit the website at www.chicagoridgelibrary.org to sign up for this free program.
Sewing instruction
A “Saturday Sew-In” session will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 23 at the Chicago Ridge Library. Participants can work on their latest project that will include knitting, stamping and sewing. Guests can bring a sack lunch or can buy their own to this free program. Sewing machines are available on request. More information can be obtained by calling the library, (708) 423-7753 or visit the website at www.chicagoridgelibrary.org.
OAK LAWN
Volunteer to work in the Friends Bookstore
The Friends of the Oak Lawn Library is accepting applications for bookstore volunteers, which consists of sorting book donations and stocking the store. One four-hour shift per
Korhonen Continued from Page 1
Korhonen for his inspiration. “One of the blessings that I’ve had is to have an opportunity to work in the same building as Gary Korhonen,” Wujcik said. “He was a coach here for (35) years so I got a chance to witness the longevity, the stability and the dedication to a program. That was a big inspiration. I tried to emulate his program and run the baseball program the same way.’’
Repeats
Continued from Page 1
with their own stories of gratitude — either helping them with a place to take their much cherished donations, a place to buy great things on a limited budget, or a place to share their personal stories. We are not a place that just sells clothes. We are a place to feel safe, a place to share their lives or a place to get support. When we said we wanted to expand for numerous reasons, their response was, ‘How can we help?’ That is how our journey will continue, with dedicated staff
LEGAL NOTICE
week is required. Volunteer forms are available at the customer services desk on the first floor of the library, 9427 S. Raymond Ave. For more information, call Carole Onwiler at (708) 422-8646.
Request for book sale donations
Residents can donate gently used books, magazines, CDs and videos to the Friends of the Oak Lawn Library’s Ongoing Book Sale that is being offered at the library. Due to space limitations, the Friends will not accept Readers Digest Condensed Books, encyclopedias and older text books. The donation drop-off area is near the library’s Cook Avenue entrance. Interested parties may fill out a short form at the customer services desk to receive a tax letter by mail that acknowledges their donation. The Friends Ongoing Book Sale provides an ever-changing variety of books, magazines and other forms of media at bargain prices. Hardcover books cost 50 cents each, paperbacks are 25 cents and magazines cost 10 cents each. Audio visual items are priced as indicated. Funds collected from the book sale support library programming and purchases that are beyond their regular budget.
Holiday tea for book lovers
Readers are invited to a tea party to wrap up the fall book discussions at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 at the Oak Lawn Library. Guests will meet with discussion leaders, learn about OLPL’s book groups, and hear what is ahead for the winter months. Patrons who did not attend earlier sessions are invited to the tea party to learn more and see if they would like to participate in the future. For more information about this and other adult programs, call (708) 422-4990 or visit www.olpl.org.
‘Operation Gratitude’ will be offered to U.S. troops
The “Operation Gratitude” project to send care packages to U.S. military members and show support for the troops is being offered at the Oak Lawn Library. The goal of library officials to is to have several letters and colorful drawings to be included in every package and inform the troops that “We Care.” The note can begin with “Dear Hero…” Participants can bring cards, letters and drawings to the Computer Center on the second floor. Library staff will send out the well wishes.
Participants can make tree green
Patrons and community members are invited to decorate the tree in the lobby with recycled, natural materials at the Oak Lawn Library. Residents can stop by the table in the lobby and make an ornament for the holiday “green” tree. Participants can use their creativity to color, cut, glue, fold or whatever inspires. More information about this and other programs, call (708) 422-4990 or visit www.olpl.org.
Creating handmade holiday gifts
Participants can create gifts with the “Beyond Books” items available for check out at the Oak Lawn Library. Patrons can have
their old family videos converted into DVDs. The film scanner works with Super 8, 126, 110 and slides and stores the images onto an SD Memory Card (which can then be saved on newer digital formats). When it’s viewing time, family members can be surprised with movies on the big screen using the Epson LCD Projector.
PALOS HILLS Movie posters will be on display
Patrons can view an array of full-sized movie posters from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Green Hills Library, 10331 S. Interlochen Drive, Palos Hills. A short and matching activity will be held for all ages. The activity consists of matching several descriptions to movie posters on display. One lucky participant with all correct responses will win a $30 Visa gift card.
Kids can make swirled ornaments and cards
Kids ages 10 to 17 can make trendy holiday gifts during a session scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11 at the Green Hills Library. Participants will make swirled and marbled ornaments with holiday cards. Registration is limited to 30. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.
Cookies and carols
Patrons will have an opportunity to enjoy some cookies and listen to the Glen EllynWheaton Chorale sing carols at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12 at the Green Hills Library. Participants can enjoy holiday treats while listening to festive tunes. Registration is limited to 75. The event is for all ages. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.
Kids can make crafts with Eco Club
The Eco Club for children ages 6 and up will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13 at the Green Hills Library. Participants can join Miss Emily to watch a video, play a game, and make a craft about a nature topic that can be vote on. Registration is limited to 25. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.
Kids can learn to decorate gingerbread men cookies
Gingerbread men cookie decorating will be offered for children of all ages at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14 at the Green Hills Library. Registration is limited to 45 per session. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.
100-year history of Chicago flag to be explored
The Chicago flag recently turned 100 years old and the history of the city will be explored in a session scheduled at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 15 at the Green Hills Library. Clarence Goodman will lead the discussion. Guests can bring a brown bag lunch. Coffee and cookies will be provided. Registration is limited to 45. The event is for adults only. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.
Oh, and that “pimple-faced freshman” played for the Bulldogs varsity in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, Sheehan was named Korhonen’s successor after the veteran coach retired. Sheehan said he learned a lot of life lessons from his parents as well as the coach. “He taught us a lot about life,” Sheehan said. “He taught us about responsibility, teamwork, accountability of being there every day and on time. It’s something that the generation today might take for granted. You go to work every day. You
don’t get paid unless you go to work. “You shake hands. You look people in the eye. He taught us all of those little things. He told us that these are the little things that count in life. He was a great man and took a lot of pride in what he did.’’ Sheehan was also on Korhonen’s staff for two years before taking over the Bulldogs program in 2008. “I was lucky enough to play for him and coach for him,” Sheehan said. “He was a great man. He went way out of his way to help
all of his kids. “There were a lot of kids who didn’t have dads and a lot of these guys looked up to him as a dad. And he cherished that role. He took a lot of responsibility. Being a coach and a teacher was very important to him and we were all lucky to play for him.’’ Korhonen is survived by his wife, Eileen; and children, Kris (Andrea) Korhonen, Kelly Korhonen and Katey (Bob) Perkaus. Visitation was held Tuesday at Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Church in Orland Park.
and volunteers.” Shop volunteers were just as happy as Holford with the new location. “It’s such a beautiful shop and this is very exciting for all of us,” said Roxie Moloney, of Hickory Hills. Moloney has been a volunteer for 19 years at the Worth location. “There are a lot of advantages to having a bigger store,” said Cindy Parizanski, a Neat Repeats volunteer for 12 years. “We are able to put more products out on the sales floor and the layout is so much bigger and brighter.” “By shopping with us, people
are supporting the Crisis Center and helping us provide safe haven to victims of domestic violence,” Capron said. “We simply could not serve the people we do without our shoppers and our dedicated volunteers. We call it compassion through fashion. Shoppers benefit by knowing that their purchases are providing victims of domestic violence with compassion, and they are getting a terrific selection of new and gently used brandname apparel and merchandise at a bargain.” The new building offers a fresh new look and the same great value, Holford said, with a larger facility, much more parking and a drop-off donation processing center with an entrance in the alley. The shops offer a large selec-
tion of women’s, junior’s, children’s and men’s clothing along with a variety of household items such as furniture, giftware, toys, books, antiques, collectible, shoes, purses and jewelry. Items can be donated at any point throughout the calendar year. “By the minute our inventory changes, you can always find new great deals with us, and the best part is that both shopping and donating benefit the Crisis Center and the more than 1,600 victims fleeing domestic violence we serve each year,” Capron said. The Orland Park location, 9028 W. 159th St., will soon be getting an interior store makeover as well, according to Capron. “We are also thrilled to be making improvements to that location,” he said.
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice is Hereby Given that on 1-14-18, a sale will be held at Firestone Roselle Car Care at 1070 W. Lake Street, Roselle Il. 60172, 630-893-3100, to sell the following articles to enforce a lien existing under the laws of the State of Illinois unless such articles are redeemed within thirty days of the publication of this notice.
Notice is Hereby Given that on 1-14-18, a sale will be held at Mazon Auto Works at 501 East Street, Mazon, Il. 60444, 815-448-2122, to sell the following articles to enforce a lien existing under the laws of the State of Illinois unless such articles are redeemed within thirty days of the publication of this notice.
TIMOTHY WRIGHT
DANIEL R. ATTAWAY & KARISSA BERNAL
2006 CADILLAC
1987 CHEVROLET
Vin# 1G6KD57Y76U165554
Vin# 1GCGR24K7HJ163665
Lien Amount: $3,925.19
Lien Amount: $2,666.78
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice is Hereby Given that on 1-14-18, a sale will be held at Trino’s Auto Body Repair at 14354 S. Wood Street, Dixmoor, Il. 60426, 708-389-3113, to sell the following articles to enforce a lien existing under the laws of the State of Illinois unless such articles are redeemed within thirty days of the publication of this notice.
Notice is Hereby Given that on 1-14-18, a sale will be held at I-57 Truck & Trailer Service at 2935 Festival Drive, Kankakee, Il. 60901, 815-932-9043, to sell the following articles to enforce a lien existing under the laws of the State of Illinois unless such articles are redeemed within thirty days of the publication of this notice.
WILLIAM P. MARTIN, ELIZABETH MARTIN & ANTHONY MARTIN
MARO ALLEN ENTERPRISES, INC. & CLIFTON MARKS
2000 CADILLAC
2012 FREIGHTLINER
Vin# 1G6KD54Y3YU238944
Vin# 1FUJGLDR8ASAS0198
Lien Amount: $2,069.47
Lien Amount: $2,339.51
Nurse
Continued from Page 1
“Amy Tucker is a fantastic school nurse. The addition of her to our staff this year has been amazing and we are proud to call her a Spartan,” said Assistant Principal Marcus Wargin on Tuesday. “Amy makes a difference each and every day at Oak Lawn Community High School. We are grateful for her quick thinking, her ability to evaluate all medical situations, and her preparedness during an emergency,” Wargin said. “Her quick thinking was instrumental in saving the student’s life. She was prepared and did not waste any time. We have three
AEDs throughout the school, and one in the nurse’s office. Every school should have them if they don’t already,” Wargin added. Tucker, who earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Northern Illinois University, worked at Edwards Hospital before coming to OLCHS this school year. In response to a request from a reporter, she issued a brief statement about the incident, downplaying her actions. “As a school nurse, my job is to make sure the kids’ medical needs are tended to,” she said. “This includes emergency situations just like the one we had here early November. The event was recognized quickly, and with great teamwork by the staff, it resulted in the best possible outcome.”
SCHOOL NEWS
10 The Reporter
Thursday, December 7, 2017
St. Xavier student selected as Student Laureate for 2017 Esraa Aburass has been selected as St. Xavier University’s Student Laureate for 2017 Aburass, a Bridgeview resident, is one of a group of outstanding seniors from each of the four-year degree granting institutions of higher learning in Illinois who has been awarded the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Awards and is now a Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Student Laureates are honored for their leadership and service in the pursuit of the betterment of humanity and for overall excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities. The 43rd Annual Student Laureate Award Ceremony was held on Nov. 11 in the Hall of Representatives at the Old State Capitol in Springfield. Gov. Bruce Rauner and first lady Diana Rauner presented the awards. Each Student Laureate was presented the following in recognition of outstanding achievement: The Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Medallion; a certificate of achievement; and the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award in the amount of $1,000. “It was an honor to be standing along other Student Lincoln Laureates from all different universities in Illinois in one place, a place where Abraham Lincoln once stood and spent most of his time there, The Old State Capital,” said Aburass. “I still can’t describe my emotions towards being named the Student Laureate of SXU. It is hard to describe the meaning of the rewards, because for me good leadership never expects rewards back, you do it because it only speaks to your heart and not for your standing presence or fame. I would
Supplied photo
St. Xavier University senior Esraa Aburass was selected as a Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois during a ceremony in Springfield. On hand for the presentation were (from left) Lincoln Academy Chancellor Stephanie Pace Marshall; Aburass’ older sister, Yasmin Aburass; Dr. Iman Saca, professor and chair of the sociology department at St. Xavier; first lady Diana Rauner; Aburass; and Gov. Bruce Rauner.
like to dedicate this award to all my fellow seniors who made it this far. I want to thank all my family, friends and my professors who believed in me and made this journey possible,” said Aburass. Aburass is a finance major with minors in Middle Eastern studies and sociology. She maintains a 3.495 GPA overall. She is an accomplished member
of the Student Success Program (SSP), where she also serves as a peer mentor. As a mentor, Aburass was formerly part of the cultural subcommittee and designed and led programs such as the Hijab Challenge and Cultural Conversations for the students of SSP. Currently, she is part of the financial subcommittee and has taken the lead to organize a
FAFSA completion workshop and to help students gain tips about how to be more financially savvy. She is a founder and current president of the Financial Management Association at the Graham School of Management (GSM), where she writes articles about financial topics and coordinates communication between current students and alumni. She is also the vice president of the undergraduate advisory board at the GSM. Aburass was selected to participate in the Chicago Future Leaders Program sponsored by The Chicago Network, a competitive opportunity for young women to participate in informal mentoring and visits to see leadership in action at Chicago businesses and nonprofits. She grew up as a refugee when her parents fled the war in Palestine. When she arrived in the United States after spending some time in Jordan, Aburass said that she wanted to give back to the community. She interned at an organization called CAIR-Chicago where she provided outreach to different communities to inform them of their rights. As Aburass’ nominator wrote anonymously, “I believe she should be selected as the 2017 Student Laureate because she is one of the hardest working students I have ever met. She excels academically while also demonstrating genuine compassion and concern for those in need, and is an advocate of justice for all.” For more information on the Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Award, visit SXU’s website at www.sxu.edu The key words: Lincoln Laureate.
First Moraine Valley Cheer Team to compete places 1st
Supplied photo
Students from Marist and their new friends from Buenos Aires pose for a picture outside the school before the Argentinian Marists depart.
Marist students welcome foreign exchanges in scavenger hunts. All the students were able to test their language skills and talk about their shared Marist identity. The students became fast friends as seen in the hugs and tears when the visitors departed. “These exchanges enrich the learning experiences of all the students,” said Erica Nathan-Gamauf, curriculum coordinator for the World Language Department at Marist. “Language learning is more than memorization of vocabulary. Cultural awareness and appreciation is a key component of the curriculum.” Marist also manages an exchange program with fellow Marist schools Sainte Marie-Lyon in France, San Leone Magno in Rome, Italy, and Colegi Maristes in Barcelona, Spain. Marist Chicago students travel to these sites in the spring. There is also a summer program with Centro Mundo Lengua in Seville, Spain.
International travel opportunities and foreign exchanges have been offered for more than a decade at Marist High School. In the last few years, partnerships with Marist schools from around the world have offered students the chance to experience new cultures. This past October, Marist Chicago welcomed 14 students from Colegio Marista La Inmaculada in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Just two weeks later, nine students from the Marist school l’Istituto Champagnat in Genova, Italy along with their chaperones, including the school’s president, Br. Massimo Banaudi. While in Chicago, the students attended classes and stayed with Marist families. They also explored the city, visiting museums and other cultural sites. Together, the Chicago students and visitors shared social experiences by competing in soccer games, attending a Chicago Bulls game, and participating
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Moraine Valley Community College’s Cheer Team won a first place award at the Patriotic Open Championship at the Northern Illinois University campus in Rockford. More than 100 teams competed in the event, which was sponsored by the American Cheer Power. Under the direction of Dr. Alison Lacny, sociology professor and head coach, the team, which is the first from Moraine Valley to compete, placed first in the Level 6, International Open Division. The winning routine was a cheer and dance routine that included coordinated jumps, stunts and tumbling. Jaret Ahern, who is the team captain, was selected as the recipient of the Coaches’ Choice Award, which is presented to one athlete selected from a pool of athletes nominated by coaches. The team also collected donations while at the competition to contribute to the troops overseas through an organization of military moms and wives in Texas. “The team was amazing at compeSupplied photo tition, but we didn’t get there alone,” Moraine Valley Community College’s Cheer Team won a first-place Lacny said. “We had a lot of support award at a competition with more than 100 teams at Northern Illinois from our families as well as the col- University in Rockford. Team members are (front row, from left) lege. Student Life and Athletics have Cassandra Larsen, Jaret Ahern, Olvia Burbatt, (back row, from left) been two of our greatest supporters Marissa James, Missy Carroll, Jasmine Wooten and Aracely Madrigal. from the very beginning.” Cheer Team members include Ahern, As the winner in its division, the cheer team Cassandra Larsen, Marissa James, of Oak Lawn; received a bid to the 2018 U.S. finals, which are co-captain Missy Carroll, of Chicago Ridge; Jasmine held in eight cities throughout the country in the Wooten, of Evergreen Park; Aracely Madrigal, of spring. The Moraine Valley team is looking to Evergreen Park; and Olivia Burbatt. attend the finals competition in Chicago.
Dist. 218 growth in AP enrollment, results continues District 218 teachers and administrators have campaigned to get more students to enroll in Advanced Placement courses in an effort to see the overall pass rate on national exams increase. Achieving a higher pass rate paled to teaching students to embrace challenge, learn not to set limits, and discover their capabilities. The decision has yielded new records year after year as student have accepted the toughest challenge offered in high school. District 218 includes Eisenhower, Richards and Shepard high schools. In 2017, more than double the number of students in District 218 students took AP exams compared to a decade ago. Passing an AP exam results in college credit at most colleges, including all institutions of higher education in Illinois. Overall, 18 percent of students
last year took at least one AP exam, “an impressive percentage of the population,” said Anthony Corsi, curriculum director for English who coordinates the AP program for the district. Next year projects further growth. “These rigorous courses, and the growth in student participation, foster increased growth and challenge students with high intellectual expectations,” Corsi said. Between 2009 and 2017, the number of students taking AP exams in District 218 rose every year. In 2009, 957 students took AP exams, while last spring 1,912 (more than 100 more than in 2016) did. District 218 students established a new record for the number of exams passed. Last year they passed 800, more than double the number (295) compared to 10 years ago.
Supplied photo
District 218 students established another new record for Advanced Placement enrollment and exams passed. Students of Richards High School foreign language teacher Alexis Morford (background) work on an assignment. Her Spanish students performed exceptionally on their national AP exam last spring.
Oak Lawn High School celebrating Operation Santa again The Operation Santa Claus tradition continues at Oak Lawn Community High School under the direction of math teacher Ellen Kruger. Since 2005, during the holiday season, Kruger and members of Oak Lawn Community High School have collected over 3,140 gifts and over $13,000 in cash and gift cards for Oak Lawn residents. This year marks the 13th year of this event. Through Friday, Dec. 8, Christmas trees will be
available in the faculty and student cafeterias with candy canes. Each candy cane will have a gift tag identifying a person, his or her age, and desired wish or need. Wishes often include clothing, gym shoes, small appliances, gas cards, grocery cards, musical instruments, or toys. Wrapping paper, bags, gift boxes, ribbons, and gift tags are also needed and can be dropped off in room 215 at any time.
Mount Carmel raises more than $70,000 on Giving Tuesday Mount Carmel High School raised $73,090 in its third year of participating in the global movement, #GivingTuesday. The funds raised on “#BrownTuesday” will aid Mount Carmel students with resources to help further their academic careers and extend passions for co-curricular activities they participate in. This money will go directly into the Men of Carmel Fund, which provides tuition assistance to students in need and focuses on the spiritual development and enrichment of our students. As the primary source of funding for Mount Carmel High School’s areas of greatest need, the Men of Carmel Fund ensures that students can continue to call 6410 S. Dante Ave., Chicago, their home for generations to come. “We set an ambitious goal of $50,000 this year and received amazing response from all of our
constituencies including current and alumni parents, friends, and alumni from 1947 to 2016,” said Adrienne McArdle, director of Annual Giving and Scholarships at Mount Carmel. “Mount Carmel is an exceptional place because of the people who have been involved throughout, and the success of this year’s campaign is just another prime example of that.” The funds will also help further plans by the Mount Carmel STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) cohort as they aim to provide in-classroom gadgets like MakerBot 3D printers and Vex Robotics kits so students gain in-depth knowledge. The organization is in the midst of assembling solar panels to produce an alternative energy source and working to secure Mount Carmel as the regional site for the Hydrogen Horizon Automotive Challenge in April 2018.
SPORTS The Regional News • The Reporter
Ken Karrson, Sports Editor • sports@regionalpublishing.com Jeff Vorva, Sports Editor • sports@regionalpublishing.com
Southwest Section Southwest • Section•2, Page 1 2, Page 1
Thursday, December 2017 Thursday, March 5,7,2015
REGIONAL/REPORTER HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
A couple of record smashers
Photos by Jeff Vorva
Photos by Jeff Vorva
Tori Clinton put up video game-like rushing numbers for St. Laurence and has been named the Regional/ Reporter Football Player of the Year.
As a setter, Marist’s Molly Murrihy had one of the best assist totals in state history but she also had 132 blocks and 130 kills and was named the Regional/Reporter Girls Volleyball Player of the Year.
TORI CLINTON • St. Laurence
MOLLY MURRIHY • Marist
Football Player of the Year
Volleyball Player of the Year
By Jason Maholy • Correspondent
By Jason Maholy • Correspondent
T
ori Clinton entered his senior season in 2017 prepared to finally take the reins as St. Laurence’s lead ball-carrier. The blazing-fast running back bided his time during the 2016 season as the understudy to one of the greatest running backs in St. Laurence history in Fayezon Smart. When the time came to seize the moment, Clinton didn’t disappoint. He routinely put up video gametype statistics, averaging 236 scrimmage yards per game while running himself into the Viking record books. Clinton twice set the Vikings’ single-game rushing record — first with 385 yards against Bishop McNamara in Week 3, then smashing his own record with a 416-yard, fivetouchdown performance against Quincy in the first round of the Illinois High School Association Class 6A playoffs. He finished the year with 2,577 rushing yards, obliterating the mark of 2,046 yards Smart set in 2015, and ran for 27 touchdowns. He supplemented those statistics with 254 yards and two touchdowns receiving. For his record-setting season that may stand as the greatest ever by a St. Laurence running back for years, and for helping the Vikings advance to
at least the IHSA playoff quarterfinals for a third straight season, Clinton is The Regional/Reporter Football Player of the Year. Clinton possesses the type of vision and ability to anticipate that separates the best running backs from all the other guys. He can see a hole opening before it opens, whether he is running the ball or watching from the sideline. “When I’m extremely locked in, it’s like everything is in slow motion,” he said. And as the fastest player on the field the majority of the time, when Clinton hit a hole with a little daylight beyond it, he frequently couldn’t be caught. In his performance against Quincy he ran for touchdowns of 73, 80 and 97 yards. A week later, in a second-round match-up against Hinsdale South, he rushed for 369 yards and scored on runs of 62, 73 and 74 yards. Clinton, who plans to play football and run track in college, is an exceptional athlete and a student of his craft, both on and off the field. “I’ll watch my films from past games and think, ‘Hey, this is mistake I did that week, I can’t do it again this week, and take that into the game,” he said. “But as a running back, I just run. I don’t make it any more difficult than it really has to be.”
M
olly Murrihy came into her senior season determined to raise her level of play and go out with a bang. This bang could not have been any bigger, as the Marist setter put up huge numbers while cementing her place among the top setters in state history and helping the RedHawks to the program’s first Illinois High School Association state title. “It was a surreal experience, definitely something my teammates and I were working at for four years, and it’s pretty much a dream come true,” she said of the run to the Class 4A crown. For her setting and all-around play, Murrihy has been named the Regional/Reporter Girls Volleyball Player of the Year. The Palos Heights resident recorded an astounding 1,132 assists, which is a school record. Heading into this season, the IHSA record book had Sarah Kwasigroch of Sandburg No. 1 with 1,204 assists in 2001 and Marist’s Ashley Holder at No. 2 with 1,118 in 2011. Murrihy also pounded down 130 kills in 2017, but perhaps even more impressive were her 132 blocks. That’s like a leadoff hitter slugging 50 home runs.
Setters don’t typically lead their teams in blocks as they are usually like quarterbacks in football setting up the plays. But the Memphis recruit enjoys playing in the front row and demoralizing the opposition. “If you can shut down the hitters then they can’t hit the ball over the net and get a point,” she said matter-of-factly. “I considered it one of my main jobs to help the defense, and I wanted to make it hard for the other team. I put a lot of responsibility on myself in that aspect of my game, to really showcase what I could do in the front row.” From offseason club ball to getting together with her teammates for 5 a.m. workouts, Murrihy put in the work required to get the most out of her abilities. She knew the RedHawks had a special team, and she approached the campaign with a sense of urgency. “I really think a big part of that is I wanted to become more confident in myself so my hitters would be more confident in me,” she said. “We knew this season was not going to be an easy thing to take, and it was like we either need to step up or sit down, and obviously we all stepped up.”
Others were great on the gridiron and colossal on the court By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor
St. Laurence’s Tori Clinton and Marist’s Molly Murrihy were deemed the top football and volleyball players, respectively, in the Regional/Reporter area but several other standouts performed this season. Here’s a look at the all-conference selections in each sport:
Football
South Suburban Red: Sebastian Castro of Richards was named Player of the Year and joined teammates Kevin Gardner, Marty Cosgrove, Niles Gall, Curtis Hale, David Tobin, A’Maree Beard, Jalen
Lee, Christin Wright, Danny Jackson, Kendell Summers and Eldridge Dockery on the all-conference team. Shepard’s Seth Taylor, Nieko Carter, Nick McLawhorn, Declan Quinlan, DaJawn Avant, Chris Harrison, Marquel Porter, Kevin Graham and Jon Daniels made the SSC team. Oak Lawn was represented by Dan Lillard, Karmeron McNicholas and Nick Puente while Evergreen Park was represented by David Torres, Robert Hicks and Cooper Nolan. SouthWest Suburban Conference: Sandburg’s Alex Hirschfield, Jaime Marines, Moe Jumah, Alex Lunak and Nicholas Orlando and Ricky Kwak made the first
team, while Nicky Shelton, Jacob Martinez, Eddie Schullo, Gabe Carney, Mike Stevens, Colin Dominski, Hazma Ismial and Farsi Ismail made honorable mention. Special mention went to Tyler Villa, Joe Boyce, John Murphy, Andrew Schaub, Anthony Hansler, Josh Heavrin and Moe Abuzir. Stagg’s players are Tyler Winkelman, Prentise Powell, Andrew Rukujzo, Greg Hoard, Tommy Doyle and Mike Jennings. Chicago Catholic League: In the Blue, Brother Rice’s Nick Marozas, John Richardson, Myles Ruffin and Keegan Jones made the all-conference team. In the White division, St. Laurence’s Tori Clinton, Jerry Carey, Brendan Cavanaugh, Matthew Hamer, Sean Lange,
Adam Andrews, Ryan Harrison and Donte Bronson made the team. Clinton was a Lawless Award winner. East Suburban Catholic Conference: Marist, which was unbeaten in the East Suburban Catholic Conference for the second straight year, had an army of players make the team. George Fanelli, Tommy Green, Deionte Hall, Ty Ivy, Charlie Laurencell, Michel Lawlor, Mike Markett, Gavin McCabe, Danny Meehan, Billy Skalitzky, Elijah Teague and Jadon Thompson were selected. Metro Suburban Red: Chicago Christian’s Jonathan Griffin was named Offensive Player of the Year and joined Matt McCarthy, Henry Light, Jake
Swiney and Nate Wigboldy on the allconference team.
Volleyball
South Suburban Red: Shepard’s Sarah Kiwan was named Player of the Year while Leah Bylut, Autumn Morehouse and Meghan Rohe made the team and Grace Culver was special mention. Richards had five players — Sarah Murczek, Abbi Fletcher, Lauren Birmingham, Julia Elsouso and Aleksa Curta were named to the all-conference team while Lindsey Dryier was named special mention. See OTHERS, Page 4
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Section 2 Thursday, December 7, 2017
The Regional News - The Reporter
AREA SPORTS REPORT
Shepard and Stagg football coaches step down pounds last season, is off to a 6-0 start this year including a championship at the Dave Anderson Invitational Saturday at Stagg. Zaccone was named the invite’s MVP for the second consecutive season. He beat Warren’s Joel Vandervere, 5-2, to win the 126-pound class at the tournament. Stagg finished third and had runnerup finishes from, Ahmad Suleiman (160), Peter Radev (170) and Anthony Skalski (220). Shepard had Casey Roberts (132) and Tristan Tarver (145) place second.
By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor
Two area schools are seeking football coaches after their coaches recently resigned. Shepard’s Dominic Passolano and Stagg’s Mike Fahey each resigned in November. Passolano said he was looking for another challenge. “I wanted to leave the program in a better spot than where is was in 2009,” he said. “We did that with 145 kids this year, no varsity players ineligible, qualifying for the players and going 8-1 (during the regular season). They will be good next year and I will be cheering our kids and our coaches.’’ Passolano had a career 48-42 mark with the Astros with seven appearance in Stagg’s Mike Fahey stepped down as Stagg’s the playoffs in nine seasons. That’s the football coach last week. best stretch of playoff qualifying success since Don Webster coached the Astros and Fahey have not been able to score to six straight postseason appearances winning records. Fahey is the only coach in that span to have four-win seasons in from 1989-1994. Fahey was hoping this would be the 2013 (his first year) and 2017. first season since 2005 that the Chargers would qualify for the playoffs and Jacobs 13th at post a winning record. But close losses Nike Nationals to Moline (28-27) and Sandburg (35-21 Sandburg senior Dylan Jacobs finished after it was tied 21-21 early in the fourth 13th in the NXN Nike Cross Country quarter) helped dash those dreams. Since National Meet Saturday at Glendoveer Tim McAlpin’s team went 9-2 in 2005, Golf Course in Portland, Oregon. McAlpin, Brian Bulgio, Mark Kleinpeter He ran the 5,000-meter course in 15
College signings Photos by Jeff Vorva
Shepard football coach Dominic Passolano resigned after leading the Astros to one of their most successful runs in school history.
minutes, 30.4 seconds. Last year, he finished 19th. Jacobs has one more national race before his high school cross country career concludes. He competes in the Foot Locker Nationals Saturday at Morley Field at Balboa Park in San Diego.
Zaccone wins title at Anderson Invite
Stagg wrestler Domenic Zaccone, who finished second in the state at 113
Sandburg-Stagg coop gymnast Maddy Roe signed a letter of intent to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Roe has five top-10 state finishes including seventh all-around and seventh on the balance beam in her junior season. Brother Rice pitcher Ryan Palmblad announced his commitment to Central Michigan University.
For openers…
Richards officials announced that the Bulldogs and Lincoln-Way Central will open the 2018 and 2019 football campaigns with games against each other. Central finished 10-2 in 2017 and made it to the Class 7A quarterfinals.
FOCUS ON AREA COLLEGE SPORTS
St. Xavier volleyball team goes home a winner By Jeff Vorva
Bridget Kraskowski gets ready to pound down a kill during the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.
Sports Editor
Many national college tournaments are single or double elimination and teams go back home feeling lousy if they are knocked out right away. The NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament has pool play and, while St. Xavier University didn’t make it to the finals, the Cougars were able to come back to Chicago with a good taste in their mouths after beating Marian (Indiana) 25-23, 25-20, 26-24 after suffering earlier losses to Westmont (in four sets) and Midland (three sets) in Sioux City, Iowa. “That match signified that we are in the right spot…being 1-2 is still a big thing here,” Cougars coach Bob Heersema said of the final win. “There were 32 teams that were really, really good and we were one of them.’’ Rory Manion had 10 kills for the Cougars (36-6) while Bridget Kraskowski and Alex Lambros each had nine and Kate Botrager and Courtney Joyce each had seven. Women’s basketball: The Cougars jumped up to No. 1 in the nation in the latest NAIA rankings and immediately got down to Roosevelt University trailing 37-34 at halftime on Nov. 29. But they were able to recover in the second half and pulled off a 67-57 victory at the Shannon Center. Cheryl Fanter had 22 points and Maddie Welter added 21. Brittany Collins had 11
Photo by Chris Gbur/ SXU Athletics
points, 18 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Last year’s NAIA Player of the Year, Kara Krolicki, had one of her worst shooting games (1-for-8 from the floor) but still had 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
Moraine Valley
Women’s basketball: The Cyclones, ranked 14th in the most recent National Junior College Athletic Association polls, beat Triton, 90-72 on Thursday as Ashley
Hunter had 23 points, seven assists and three steals. Jade Warner had 13 points and seven assists. Men’s basketball: The Cylones lost to sixth-ranked Triton, 85-70 on Thursday. DeShawn Wilson had 25 points and five assists for Moraine.
Trinity Christian College
Women’s volleyball: Senior Danelle Oeverman won the 2017 Susan R.
Hellings Award for National Christian College Athletic Association Division I Women’s Volleyball. She was presented with the award (for athletic, academic, leadership and Christian value accomplishments) on Nov. 30 in Kissimmee, Fla. The 5-foot-10 hitter from Byron Center, Michigan, was an all-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference team member for four years and was the league’s Freshman of the Year in 2014.
FOCUS ON THE CHICAGO FIRE
Niko named to MLS Best XI team By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor
Chicago Fire forward Nemanja Nikolic continued to receive offseason accolades as he was named to the MLS Best XI team. The team was selected by MLS players, technical staffs and media members. He earned the MLS Golden Boot with 24 goals, which is also a team record. This is the third country in which Nikolic has led his respective league in goal scoring. The Hungarian international player led the league with six multi-goal games, including a hat trick against the Philadelphia Union on Oct. 15, to lead the Fire back into the postseason for the first time since 2012. Five of his goals were gamewinners, and he picked up four assists, including the assist on Luis Solignac’s game-winning goal on June 17 against the New England
Revolution at Gillette Stadium. Nikolic finished second in voting for the 2017 Newcomer of the Year award and is one of five finalists for the Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player award, which was scheduled to be announced earlier this week. East Division champ Toronto led the MLS with three selections – defender Justin Morrow, midfielder Victor Vazquez and forward Sebastian Giovinco.
Roster roulette
The Fire Soccer Club exercised the contract options on 11 players on Nov. 28. The Fire exercised 2018 contract options on Arturo Alvarez, David Arshakyan, Jorge Bava, Brandt Bronico, Jonathan Campbell, Stefan Cleveland, Drew Conner, Daniel Johnson,Dax McCarty, Matt Polster and Brandon Vincent. The club declined contract options
on seven players: Joey Calistri, Matej Dekovic, Patrick Doody, Collin Fernandez, John Goossens, Michael Harrington and Richard Sanchez. Harrington is eligible for MLS Free Agency, while Doody and Sanchez are eligible to participate in the MLS Re-Entry Draft. Calistri, Dekovic, Fernandez and Goossens are eligible for the MLS Waiver Draft. Nine players are guaranteed for next season, including David Accam, Jorge Corrales, Michael de Leeuw, Christian Dean, Johan Kappelhof, Matt Lampson, Djordje Mihailovic, Nikolic and Luis Solignac. Lampson triggered a performance clause of games played during the 2017 season, guaranteeing him for next year. The Fire declined to purchase the option on the loan for Juninho, while Joao Meira and Bastian Schweinsteiger are out of contract. The club is continuing negotiations with Sanchez and Schweinsteiger.
Photo by Jeff Vorva
The Chicago Fire’s Nemanja Nikolic is on the MLS Best XI team.
Mallo’s coursework on both levels is top-notch
Supplied photo
By Jeff Vorva
on the USCAA Cross Country AllAcademic Team.
Former Richards student-athlete Jason Mallo is pretty good on the cross country course and his coursework is going well, too. Mallo was named First-team All-American after finishing sixth place in the United State Collegiate Athletic Association Cross Country Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Racing for Florida College, Mallo finished in 27 minutes, five seconds. The sophomore also earned a spot
Eagle vs. Eagle
Sports Editor
ith only a few shopping day left until Christmas, it makes sense to shop locally for outdoor-related presents and stocking stuffers. As opposed to catalog, Big Box or internet shopping, buying locally helps the economy in the form of employment and return of sales taxes to your local municipality. Supporting your local sporting OUTDOORS goods stores just WITH may help keep JIM KIRBY the vital, muchneeded small shops in business. How nice it is to talk face-to-face with a knowledgeable salesperson, as opposed to an over- the-phone order taker who may be halfway around the world and may not know the difference between a Mepps Spinner and a duck call. Local sporting goods dealers can help you make the right selections and probably offer an exchange policy. When in doubt, a gift certificate redeemable locally is always appreciated. Describing the type of outdoor activity the potential gift recipient engages in enables the knowledgeable salesperson to make appropriate suggestions. The money spent on sales taxes often offsets the ridiculously high shipping and handling charges incurred in catalog and online shopping. Shopping locally also eliminates the worry about out-of-stock backorders, late deliveries, lost or broken packages and the cost and inconvenience of returning merchandise. It may even bring back the spirit of old fashioned Christmas shopping. To help you find a place to shop for outdoor-related gifts locally, the following is a partial list of places to shop, most of which I have had the pleasure of doing business with: Angler’s Outlet: 16300 S Cicero Ave. Oak Forest, 708-331-5711, has a great selection of tackle and live bait. Store representatives occasionally are fishing report contributors to this column. All Seasons Marine and Service: 15335 S. Cicero Ave. Oak Forest, 708-535-7445 provides everything for the boating enthusiast including boats, motors and accessories. Bridgeview Sports Inc.: 7410 S. Harlem Ave., in Bridgeview, 708552-5419, is a bait and tackle shop also selling guns and ammo with an indoor gun range. Calumet Marine: 635 Burnham Ave. in Calumet City, 708-862-2407 has boats, motors, accessories and service since 1957.” Eagle Sports: 5900 W. 159th St, Oak Forest, 708-535-3000, has guns, shooting accessories and indoor shooting range. Fishing Connection: 7997 W. 159th St. Tinley Park, 708-5321476, in addition to fishing tackle and accessories for all species, Greg Katello is the go-to-guy for fly fishing tips and equipment. Freddie Bear Sports: 17250 S. Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park. 708532-4133, has hunting, fishing and archery equipment, clothing, guns and ammo. Water Werks: 18600 S Cicero Ave., Country Club Hills, 708-7988238, features boat motors accessories and service. This list may be handy to keep for reference throughout the year, and let me be the first to wish you a politically incorrect: MERRY CHRISTMAS!
W
Remembering Pearl Harbor
THE NEXT LEVEL
Former Richards runner Jason Mallo took sixth place in the USCAA Cross Country Nationals in Virginia Beach.
Shop locally for that special outdoors person
Lewis University hosted the NCAA Division II Regionals Thursday through Saturday and in the first round, the top-seeded Flyers beat eighth-seeded Michigan Tech in four sets. The battle featured former Sandburg High School teammates in action. Lewis sophomore Caroline Stefanon had seven blocks for the Flyers
Today, Dec. 7, is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It is time to reflect on “The day that will live in infamy,” is what then-President Franklin Roosevelt called it. The sneak attack destroyed many naval ships, including the Arizona. About 3,000 lives were lost, mostly military personnel. As we pause to remember those 3,000 souls, let’s reflect on 12-7-41, the day we lost 3,000 innocent men, women and children!
Outdoor Calendar
while Michigan Tech freshman Anna Jonynas was busy collecting eight digs for her squad.
Dec. 8-10: Muzzleloader deer season. Dec. 12: Late winter and ChronicWasting Disease deer permits available over-the-counter.
DeJarld named all-ACC
Think about it
Former Mother McAuley standout Ryann DeJarld became the first women’s volleyball player in Notre Dame history to be named first team all-Atlantic Coast Conference. DeJarld, a libero, broke the school record with 731 digs, which was fourth in the nation. She entered the postseason averaging 6.14 digs per set and on offense, she had 41 aces.
“One hundred years ago, everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today, everyone has cars and only the rich have horses.” — Dan Dauw, MidWest Outdoors Jim Kirby’s column runs every first and third Thursday of the month. E-mail him at Kirbyoutdoors@ sbcglobal.net
The Regional News - The Reporter
Thursday, December 7, 2017 Section 2
3
AREA HOOPS AT A GLANCE Sami Ismail and his Sandburg teammates have a rivalry game hosting Stagg at 6 p.m. on Friday. Photo by Jeff Vorva
BOYS
W-L STREAK NEXT
Brother Rice Chicago Christian Evergreen Park Marist Oak Lawn Richards Sandburg Shepard St. Laurence Stagg
4-1 2-4 2-4 4-0 4-1 3-2 5-1 3-2 5-0 3-2
W2 L4 L1 W4 W1 W1 W3 W3 W5 W1
vs. Kenwood at Mt. Carmel, Sat. at Guerin Prep, Fri. at T.F. South, Fri. at Carmel, Fri.; hosts Johnson Prep, Mon.; hosts Mount Carmel; Tues.; hosts Tinley Park, Wed. at T.F. North, Fri. at Hillcrest, Fri. hosts Stagg, Fri.; at St. Ignatius, Sat. hosts Tinley Park, Fri.; hosts Chicago Quest, Mon. at DePaul Prep, Fri.; hosts Rich East, Wed. at Sandburg, Fri.; at Lemont, Tues.
* Records through Sunday, Dec. 3; compiled by Randy Whalen
GIRLS
W-L STREAK NEXT
Chicago Christian Evergreen Park Marist Mother McAuley Oak Lawn Richards Sandburg Shepard St. Laurence Stagg
1-5 8-2 7-1 7-0 4-2 5-1 3-3 0-5 3-4 5-1
L5 W2 W4 W7 W2 W1 L3 L5 L3 W3
at Guerin Prep, Tues. at Tinley Park, Fri. Phillips at Whitney Young, Sat. Lighthouse Prep [Ind.] at Whitney Young, Sat.; Wheaton North at Lake Zurich, Tues. hosts Lemont, Fri.; hosts TBA in Lady Spartan Holiday Tournament, Sat.; Mon.; Wed. at T.F. South, Thurs.; hosts T.F. North, Tues. hosts Stagg, Thurs.; Joliet W. at Oak Lawn, Sat.; T.F. South at Oak Lawn, Mon.; Lockport at OL, Wed. hosts Oak Forest, Thurs. hosts Regina Dominican, Thurs.; at Bishop McNamara, Tues. at Sandburg, Thurs.
* Records through Sunday, Dec. 3; compiled by Randy Whalen
FOCUS ON BOYS BASKETBALL
Wild night of hoops in reconfigured CCL By John Romando and Jeff Vorva
Southwest Regional Publishing There are some changes to the structure of Chicago Catholic League basketball this season and the new format started up on Friday night. But no matter the format, thrills and wild games seem to be the constant in the CCL. St. Laurence and Brother Rice were in the middle of some noteworthy crossover games on Friday night as St. Laurence beat St. Joseph for the first time since 1977 with an 84-81 victory in Burbank while Brother Rice beat Bishop McNamara for the 27th straight time with an 82-51 triumph in Kankakee. Battling through two brutal cramps that kept him out of the game for two different periods of time, St. Laurence guard Isaiah Harvey scored 34 points, including the game-winning threepointer with 3.6 seconds left in the game. “We talked all week how in order to beat this team it would take toughness and making free throws,’’ first-year Vikings coach Jim Sexton said. “To beat a storied program and ranked opponent like that at this stage of our program is unbelievable.” Harvey, a native of the Virgin Islands, came up huge in the game as the Vikings improved to 6-0 while St. Joseph fell to 5-1. “He’s the heart and soul of this
program,” Sexton said. “He is the engine that makes it go. I told him from the beginning of the year when he has great energy, we are great. When he doesn’t, we struggle. He has lived up to it, bringing great energy every game this year.” Brother Rice improved to 4-1 with the win over Bishop McNamara as Josh Boulanger led the Crusaders with 16 points. Bishop McNamara and Wheaton St. Francis are leaving the league next season and the Crusaders enjoyed a 27-game winning streak against McNamara. “The last two years, I feel like we should have lost to them – they were really good and we were lucky to beat them,’’ Brother Rice coach Bobby Frasor said. “We obviously didn’t want to lose the final time we play them.’’ The league is now broken up into a nine-team Blue Division and a nine-team White division based on success rate. Teams will play eight division games and three crossovers. The postseason tournament was eliminated. “The kids liked the tournament and as coaches, we should have thought about that,” Frasor said. “There are some logistical things – the Class 1A schools had some trouble with it (due to the start of the state playoffs). “But I like the alignment of putting the top schools together because I remember playing in the Catholic League and it was
Photos by Jeff Vorva
Isaiah Harvey (left) and Lance Jackson, shown in a game against Oak Lawn earlier in the season, helped St. Laurence beat St. Joseph for the first time since 1977 on Friday.
Brother Rice’s Nick Bowes (left) and Marquise Kennedy put the defensive clamps on Bishop McNamara on Friday night in Kankakee. Brother Rice won its 27th straight game against the Irish.
too much,’’ he said. “I like this (format) from the standpoint of we play everybody in our division. Crossover has to be this way because some teams will cross over against good teams and weak teams, but this is the best we can do at this point.” Sexton’s team is in the White Division and his troops are hoping for another change next year. “We prefer to be in the top division, but I know it gets reorganized every year, and we are hoping to get enough wins this year to be in that top division next year, no matter how they cut it,’’ he said.
to take a heck of a great shot to upstage what sophomore Sami Osmani did on Saturday. The Oak Lawn guard buried a 3-point basket from half court at the buzzer to give the Spartans a 53-50 victory over Chicago Christian in a non-conference game in Oak Lawn. The Spartans won four of their first five games of the season. Chicago Christian fell to 2-4 and it was the Knights’ third straight heartbreaking loss of the season. They dropped an overtime decision to Andrew in the third-place game of the District 218 Thanksgiving Tournament followed by a 60-57 road loss to Timothy Christian on Friday and the Oak Lawn setback on Saturday.
a who’s who every night. You tore, who is in his 49th season and can’t point at the schedule and is the only coach to win more than MCAULEY OPENS SEASON 7-0 say ‘that’s a win.’ That’s how it’s 1,000 games in the Illinois High going to be in the Blue. Fenwick School Association, has seen his is the top dog, but anyone can share of changes over the decades. Shot of the year (so far) “I was never in favor of the win a game on any given night.’’ The boys basketball season is tournament, I thought it was just in its infant stages, but it’s going St. Joseph coach Gene PingaCatholic Conference/Girls Catholic By Jeff Vorva Athletic Conference Showdown at Sports Editor Nazareth Academy. The process was frustrating a The 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons were learning experiences for few years ago. “It was hard in the beginning freshmen and sophomore Mother McAuley girls basketball play- taking tough losses,” Hynes said. ers such as Tara O’Malley, Kelly “But everything we have done is Gallagher, Vanessa Gavin, Grace worth it.’’ Clanton is insisting the team Hynes, Janelle McBeth and Hanplays a more open game on ofnah Swiatek. They went 11-18 and 17-14 on fense and an aggressive game on varsity in those two seasons, and defense. “It’s a rush,” O’Malley said. last year as sophomores and juniors “Getting up on a player and playing they piled up a 22-9 mark. This year, as juniors and seniors, really hard and seeing that your they put the Might back in Mighty teammates might get a steal and Macs as they won their first seven get a score. It’s a rush and it makes games of the season by an average you want to keep going and going.’’ The competition will get ramped of 27 points per game. “We’ve been playing with little up with games later this month at babies and now we’re able to let Marist (Dec. 14), at Montini (Dec. them loose and play up the floor,” 21) and at the Montini Christmas McAuley coach Ashley Clanton Tournament (Dec. 27-30). Clanton said she gets a kick said. After destroying five teams out of seeing film of her players Made in USA by an average of 33 points per when they were two and three game en route to the Buffalo years younger. Veteran Owned “They look so much smaller,” Gove High School Classic, the Macs returned home for a 61-47 Clanton said. “You don’t realize victory over Lincoln-Way Central you were playing with such young • Now Featuring Shimano Reels on Thursday (after getting off to kids. You look at the film and they Bought • Sold • Traded • Seasonal Live Bait a 19-2 lead) and 59-46 over Car- don’t look near what they look Fathead Minnows, Roaches, mel Sunday in the East Suburban like now. It’s kind of fun to see.’’
Macs are babies no more
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Mother McAuley’s Vanessa Gavin (left) looks for an open teammate against LincolnWay Central on Thursday.
January 2018 Grand Opening of 9-Lane, Indoor Rifle & Gun Range
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73rd Pl. 74th St. 74th Pl.
75th St.
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Section 2 Thursday, December 7, 2017
The Regional News - The Reporter
The final game at Queen of Peace in late January was sad (left photo), but things were a lot happier at the historic first girls basketball game at St. Laurence on Nov. 28 (right photo).
Smile! We’ve come full circle with Queen of Peace/St. Laurence
M
any sports outcomes are judged by wins and losses. This one, however, is judged by tears and smiles. When Queen of Peace officials shocked the south suburbs in January by announcing the school was closing, the basketball team was going through one of its best seasons in school hisThe team JEFF VORVA tory. was hit hard Making the by the news, Extra Point and during its final home game ever against Kennedy, I took a photo of underclassmen on the bench during a Senior Night speech. The players were crying and looking as miserable as you could look. I still feel bad every time I see The first girls basketball team in St. Laurence history lines up for the national anthem. it. Well, 11 months later, we have come full circle. Neighboring St. Laurence opened its doors to girls for the first time and many players on coach George Shimko’s final team at Queen of Peace are now on his first team at St. Laurence. They switched from green and white to black and gold. They went from being the Pride to proudly being the Vikings. After playing a handful of games at a Thanksgiving tournament in Beecher, the Vikings played their first home game in their new gym on Nov. 28. And then came the full-circle moment. It didn’t come on the scoreboard as the team dropped a 48-41 decision to DePaul Prep in front of a few hundred fans. It came before the opening tipoff. It actually came a few seconds after the national anthem and a few seconds before the starters St. Laurence’s Erin Foley (right) hounds DePaul Prep guard Kailee Carro in the first girls were announced. varsity basketball game in the Vikings gym in Burbank. With Alan Parsons Project music in the background (a la’ the Chicago Bulls) and public address announcer Pat Griffin yelling at the crowd to go crazy, the players on the bench were smiling and yukking it up. Yep — full circle. “It doesn’t matter if we won or lost — we were together,” senior Erin Foley said. “All during school, I pictured myself at Peace and it was weird coming here after school and this being our home gym. The fans were really welcoming and I thought it was a really good turnout.” Foley scored 12 points and had four rebounds and two assists in the home debut. Ashley Murphy had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Ashley Kevin added eight points and four rebounds. Kevin said she appreciates the “support and love” from those who helped her and her teammates make this unexpected transformation. A year ago, no one saw this coming. “It’s definitely crazy,” she said. “If you asked me a year ago what I would be doing senior year, I would not have expected this.’’
Others
Continued from Page 1 Oak Lawn was represented by Alli Yacko, Amanda Bulow and Taylor Bulow while Hannah Martinkus was a special mention. Evergreen Park’s Megan Livingston and Alondra Gonzalez made the team and Maddie Cosgrove and Mallory Burke were special mentions. SouthWest Suburban Blue: Stagg’s Maddie Duffner and Nikki Marsh plus Sandburg’s Maureen Imrie, Erica Staunton, Abbie Stefanon made the squad. Girls Catholic Athletic Conference: Mother McAuley’s Charley
Niego was named the Red’s Player of the Year and joined Amanda Horn, Nora Burke, Nancy Kane, Alena Pedroza and Lexi Warfield on the allconference team. In the White division, Colleen Schmit made it for St. Laurence. East Suburban Catholic Conference: Grace Green, Cameron Hannah, Maggie Meyer, Molly Murrihy and Savannah Thompson of Marist’s Illinois High School Association Class 4A state championship squad made the all-conference team. Metro Suburban: Danie Tyson, Jordan Dryfhout and Brooke Veldman of Chicago Christian made the team.
St. Laurence fans created a sign — and a new nickname — for St. Laurence’s girls basketball team.
St. Laurence coach George Shimko, who was the coach when Queen of Peace closed, high-fives his players before the DePaul Prep game. A fan section that included members of the St. Laurence boys basketball program jeered when DePaul Prep players shot free throws.
Photos by Jeff Vorva
PAST FOOTBALL STANDOUTS A look at the Football Player of the Year winners since the Reporter and Regional merged in 1986: 1986: Jay White (Stagg), senior 1987: Ken Courtright (Sandburg), senior 1988: Efrem Haymore (Richards), senior and Dave Myers (Stagg), senior 1989: Dave Jensen (Shepard), senior and David Demumbrum (Reavis), senior 1990: Tyrone Washington (Shepard), senior 1991: Joe Schissler (Brother Rice), senior 1992: Jim Wroblewski (Sandburg), senior 1993: Allen Ross (Shepard) Sr. 1994: Kenny Carrington (Richards), senior and Mike Tracy (Evergreen Park), senior 1995: Zak Kustok (Sandburg), junior 1996: William Andrews (Richards), senior 1997: Bruce Corcoran (Sandburg), junior 1998: Joe Martinez (St. Laurence), senior and Joe Toner (Shepard), senior 1999: Tom Marsan (Evergreen Park), senior
2000: Mark Hamstra (Chicago Christian), senior 2001: Jon Cleveland (Shepard), senior 2002: Sean Lewis (Richards), junior 2003: Dan Nicholson (Brother Rice), senior 2004: Dion Foster (Richards), senior 2005: Mark Williams (Richards), senior 2006: Alex Haan (Chicago Christian), junior 2007: Alex Haan (Chicago Christian), senior and Tommie Thomas (Richards), senior 2008: Josh Hodur (St. Laurence), senior 2009: Jon Ryan (Richards), senior 2010-2102: None named 2013: Nic Weishar (Marist), senior 2014: Hasan Muhammad-Rogers (Richards), senior 2015: Brendan Skalitzky (Marist), senior 2016: Ricky Smalling (Brother Rice), senior 2017: Tori Clinton (St. Laurence), senior
The Regional News - The Reporter
448-6161
Thursday, December 7, 2017 Section 2
448-4000
Houses For Sale
Houses For Sale
Houses For Sale
Houses For Sale
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. Plaintiff, -v.JULIE SHEA A/K/A JULIE A. SHEA, HERITAGE II CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION PHASE II, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 16 CH 016479 8842 W.140TH STREET UNIT 3B ORLAND PARK, IL 60462 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on September 29, 2017, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 2, 2018, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 8842 W.140TH STREET UNIT 3B, ORLAND PARK, IL 60462 Property Index No. 27-03-400-051-1010. The real estate is improved with a 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 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 or contact Plaintiff’s attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876 Please refer to file number 14-14-07888. 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. 14-14-07888 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 16 CH 016479 TJSC#: 37-9212 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. I3067246
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION Plaintiff, -v.DANIEL J. KIRK, MICHELLE L. KIRK Defendants 17 CH 653 7860 SYCAMORE DRIVE Orland Park, IL 60462 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on October 2, 2017, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 3, 2018, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 7860 SYCAMORE DRIVE, Orland Park, IL 60462 Property Index No. 27-13-103-018-0000. The real estate is improved with a single family residence. The judgment amount was $318,019.01. 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 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, contact The sales clerk, SHAPIRO KREISMAN & ASSOCIATES, LLC, 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301, Bannockburn, IL 60015, (847) 291-1717 For information call between the hours of 1pm - 3pm. Please refer to file number 17-081967. 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. SHAPIRO KREISMAN & ASSOCIATES, LLC 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301 Bannockburn, IL 60015 (847) 291-1717 E-Mail: ILNotices@logs.com Attorney File No. 17-081967 Attorney Code. 42168 Case Number: 17 CH 653 TJSC#: 37-9134 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. I3067350
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION Plaintiff, -v.WERNER STEENVOORDEN, AMANDA A. STEENVOORDEN, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NA, HSBC FINANCE CORPORATION, CAPITAL ONE BANK (USA), N.A., DISCOVER BANK, UNIFUND CCR PARTNERS, MIDLAND FUNDING LLC Defendants 16 CH 006553 14350 BROOK AVENUE ORLAND PARK, IL 60462 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 5, 2017, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 4, 2018, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 14350 BROOK AVENUE, ORLAND PARK, IL 60462 Property Index No. 27-09-203-026-0000. 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 in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. 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 or contact Plaintiff’s attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876 Please refer to file number 14-16-05568. 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. 14-16-05568 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 16 CH 006553 TJSC#: 37-10541 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. I3069462
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR HARBORVIEW MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST MORTGAGE LOAN PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-14 Plaintiff, -v.HUDA ALTAHER A/K/A HUDA ABUASI Defendants 16 CH 002516 10548 GREAT EGRET DRIVE ORLAND PARK, IL 60467 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on October 17, 2017, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 19, 2018, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 10548 GREAT EGRET DRIVE, ORLAND PARK, IL 60467 Property Index No. 27-29-219-007-0000. 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 in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. 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 or contact Plaintiff’s attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876 Please refer to file number 14-15-14405. 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. 14-15-14405 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 16 CH 002516 TJSC#: 37-9705 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. I3069761
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Houses For Sale IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. Plaintiff, vs. JOAN KLEIN AKA JOAN L. KLEIN AKA JOAN MADERAK AKA JOAN STYLER AKA JOAN L. STYLER; RBS CITIZENS, N.A. SBM TO CHARTER ONE BANK, N.A.; THE RIVIERA IN PALOS IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants, 17 CH 8929 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 Thursday, January 4, 2018 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. 23-23-201-114-0000. Commonly known as 18 Cour La Salle, Palos Hills, Illinois 60465. The mortgaged real estate is improved with a townhouse 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 The Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Anselmo Lindberg & Associates, LLC, 1771 West Diehl Road, Naperville, Illinois 60563-1890. (630) 453-6960. For Bidding instructions visit www.alolawgroup.com 24 hours prior to sale. F17060175 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3068741
Houses For Sale IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK NA; Plaintiff, vs. DAVID MANNING; JUDY MANNING; FIFTH THIRD BANK FKA FIFTH THIRD BANK (WESTERN MICHIGAN) UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS; UNKNOWN OCCUPANTS; Defendants, FIFTH THIRD BANK AN OHIO BANKING CORPORATION; Cross-Plaintiff(s), vs. JUDY MANNING; DAVID MANNING; Cross-Defendant(s), 17 CH 4356 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause, Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Thursday, January 4, 2018, at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 27-09-406-023. Commonly known as 14901 AVENIDA DEL ESTE, ORLAND PARK, IL 60462. 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 within 24 hours, by certified funds. 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) 3571125. Ref. No. 17-00714 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3068715
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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK NA; Plaintiff, vs. ALICE GIALAMAS; GEORGE G. GIALAMAS; THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; ALL FLOOD & FIRE; Defendants, 16 CH 13124 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 Friday, January 12, 2018 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. 27-18-416-006-0000. Commonly known as 15800 South 114th Court, Orland Park, IL 60467. 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 Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 2205611. 17-030627 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3069401
The Reporter Subscribe or renew today! Call 448-4000 or 448-6161 PUBLISHER’S NOTICE 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.� Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free at 1 (800) 669-9777. The toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is: 1 (800) 927-9275.
5
For Sale
5 ACRES RT. 45 IN PEOTONE 600 ft. frontage x 400 ft. deep 40 ft. x 60 ft. pole barn CALL 815-450-0004
Houses For Sale IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC DBA CHAMPION MORTGAGE COMPANY; Plaintiff, vs. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; PALOS LANDINGS TOWNHOUSE ASSOCIATION; CURTIS WARNER AKA CURT WARNER AKA W. CURTIS WARNER; CYNTHIA CROWELL AKA CYNTHIA WARNER; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF WILLIAM WARNER AKA WILLIAM D. WARNER, DECEASED; THOMAS QUINN, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF WILLIAM WARNER AKA WILLIAM D. WARNER; Defendants, 17 CH 5048 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 Thursday, January 4, 2018 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. 23-24-300-213-0000. Commonly known as 14 West Bay Road, Palos Heights, IL 60463. 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 Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 2205611. 17-010391 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3068750
Houses For Sale IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION MIDLAND STATES BANK; Plaintiff, vs. ZORAIDA GARCIA AKA ZURAIDA GARCIA; ROLAND GARCIA; SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 16 CH 9712 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 Thursday, January 4, 2018 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. 27-13-109-001-0000. Commonly known as 7758 Sycamore Drive, Orland Park, Illinois 60462. 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 The Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Anselmo Lindberg & Associates, LLC, 1771 West Diehl Road, Naperville, Illinois 60563-1890. (630) 453-6960. For Bidding instructions visit www.alolawgroup.com 24 hours prior to sale. F16060208 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3068735
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Your Guide to Arts and Events in the Southwest Suburbs and Beyond
OUT & ABOUT
The Regional News • The Reporter
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Southwest • Section 2, Page 7
BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS
VIDEOVIEW BY JAY BOBBIN
The Center will make pilgrimage to manger
NOTICE: Ratings for each film begin with a ‘star’ rating — one star meaning ‘poor,’ four meaning ‘excellent’ — followed by the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and then by a family-viewing guide, the key for which appears below.
The Center, 12700 Southwest Highway, Palos Park, has announced a slate of activities for the days ahead. For more information or to register for a program, call (708) 361-3650. • Christmas Teas In The Log Cabin Art Center will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Dec. 8-10 and Wednesday through Sunday, Dec. 13-17. The Log Cabin hostesses invite participants to enjoy a cup of Christmas tea and a plate of Christmas cookies, cakes and sandwiches. A heartwarming story will be shared by the fire and each guest will have an opportunity to make Christmas potpourri so that they can take home a bit of the Log Cabin’s holiday ambience. Advance tickets are required, and the cost $33. • Pilgrimage to the Manger will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday Dec. 9. Pilgrims will gather in the Lodge to don Judean headgear in order to follow Mary and Joseph on their pilgrimage to the manger. Participants are asked to dress for cold weather for the walk across the bridge to the Children’s Farm. There, shepherds with their sheep and the Magi on horseback will be on hand as Rev. Chris Hopkins will lead the group in scripture and carols. All are welcome to experience the miracle of that first Christmas. There is no fee, but a freewill donation is appreciated. • Bob Cratchit Candlelight Dinner is scheduled from 5:15 to 9 p.m. Sunday Dec. 10. In the tradition of Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” The Center will serve a turkey and plum pudding dinner, just as Tiny Tim’s family did in merry old England. Both before and after dinner, storyteller/drama teacher Greg Weiss will read from Dickens’ classic tale of the Christmas spirits visiting Scrooge. The tradition of reading “A Christmas Carol” at The Center dates back to the 1930s and in the 1980s dinner was added. Dinner tickets are $40 per person and are limited in number. Reservations are required. Early reservations are encouraged. • The Stories of Christmas will be told from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays Dec. 12 and 19 or 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursdays Dec. 14 and 21. These sessions will discuss the magi, the shepherds, the Gospel writers, their communities and the reasons the stories are told as they are. Each class costs $8 and registration is appreciated. • A Beatrix Potter Christmas Party will be celebrated from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday Dec. 12. Art Center director Heather Young and art instructors Robin Neumann, Lois Lauer, Marge Boyd, and April Schabes are planning an introduction to the world of Beatrix Potter, complete with a reading of some of her books. They’ll end the party with some Beatrix Potter-inspired Christmas crafts, including making Peter Rabbit tea bags with chamomile from the farm garden. Luncheons cost $22 and advance reservations are necessary.
Bridge Teen Center to host gingerbread competition
The Bridge Teen Center, 15555 S. 71st Ct., Orland Park, offers several free events for teens in seventh through 12th grade. For more information, call (708) 532-0500. These are free events
STARTING THIS WEEK:
Supplied photo
Christmas tea is a popular event at The Center.
Greg Weiss reads from “A Christmas Carol” before and after a traditional Christmas dinner.
for youths in seventh through 12th grade. • The White Elephant Holiday Market will be open for business for seventh to 12th graders 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. Shoppers are guaranteed to be able to stroll through a winter wonderland during the White Elephant Holiday Market. Designed to provide hilarious and weird gifts, ugly Christmas sweaters, holiday decorations and more traditional items. All White Elephant items and ugly Christmas sweaters in the holiday market will be priced from 50 cents to $10. All items have been donated by the community through The Bridge Thrift Store and proceeds will benefit the free programs and events at The Bridge Teen Center. Cash only, no checks or cards will be accepted. Participants can also make Christmas cards or gift tags in the Art Studio. Small cupcakes will be available to snack on. • Gingerbread House Competition with CarMax is scheduled from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12. Students and volunteers from CarMax will be broken down into teams of 4-6 people. Each team will be given a load of “building material” and a time limit in which to create their unique, thematic gingerbread house. • Express Your Passions Through Writing will be held from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, Students will learn how to convey their thoughts to an audience in an effective way. They will learn how to share their passions through writing. • High School students are invited to the Drop-In: Study Lounge with a Grilled Cheese Station from 2 to 6 p.m. Thurs-
day, Dec. 14 Students are invited to make The Bridge their study spot this finals week. There will be a grilled cheese station, helpful tutors, whiteboards and study supplies available. • Christmas Karaoke and Ugliest Christmas Sweater Contest is on tap from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15. Students are invited to participate in an ugly sweater contest and sing their favorite Christmas songs on stage. Corner Bakery will provide free food samples.
Movie, TV holiday classics featured in concert
Guest conductor Francesco Milioto makes his third appearance with Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra for the Holiday Pops Movie Music Spectacular matinee concert at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16 in the Ozinga Chapel at Trinity Christian College, 6601 W. College Dr., Palos Heights. Student tickets are $10. Adult tickets start at $25 if ordered in advance. Additional fees may apply. For more information or tickets, call (708) 481-7774 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The box office at Ozinga Chapel will open at 2 p.m. Dec. 16. Santa Claus will also visit and take pictures with guests in the Grand Lobby from 2 to 3 p.m. before the concert. Complimentary coffee, lemonade and cookies will be served at intermission. Patrons can look forward to a program that features a mix of musical excerpts from TV and film classics including Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, The Grinch, A Charlie Brown Christmas,
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McCord’s Holiday Shoppe features local artists
McCord Gallery & Cultural Center’s Holiday Shoppe is open through Friday, Dec. 22. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays. There will be silk scarves, quilted purses, jewelry, picture frames, fused glass dishes and many more crafts available in the newly renovated space. Local artists created the items on display and for sale.
Submitted photo
Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Frozen, and more. The Grande Prairie Singers, under the direction of Jo Rodenburg, along with the Grande Prairie Children’s Choir and Spectrum Youth Singers, under the direction of Oksana Rodak, also return to share the stage with the orchestra. In addition, the December 16 concert features two soloists, bassbaritone Alan Higgs and mezzosoprano Kira Dills-Dessura. Higgs is the 2016-2017 Sullivan Foundations Award Winner and more recently, a semifinalist in the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. He is currently the resident bass-baritone for the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Higgs has a master’s degree in voice performance from Florida State University. Dills-Dessura is a recently graduated young artist of the Chicago Opera Theater. She has participated in COT productions of Lysander (cover), Ensemble in The Fairy Queen, and Isolde of the White Hands (Le Vin Herbé). Dills-Dessura holds a Master of Music degree from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts.
“DESPICABLE ME 3’’: Happily domesticated now, Gru and his wife Lucy (voices by Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig) are tossed out of the Anti-Villain League after they’re outsmarted by an enemy aptly named Bratt (who has the voice of Trey Parker, of “South Park’’ fame) in this entertaining second sequel to the animated comedy hit. As they try to redeem themselves, the couple crosses paths with Gru’s twin brother Dru (also with Carell’s voice) and the two brothers’ mother (voice by Julie Andrews). A sign that Gru has gone somewhat soft is his relationship with the youngsters that he now calls his own — and Lucy tries to — plus the Minions, who still are here despite having had their own movie. Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan and Jenny Slate also are heard. DVD extras: “making-of’’ documentaries; deleted scene; Pharrell Williams music video; sing-along; “Minion Moments’’; “The Secret Life of Kyle’’ mini-movie. *** (PG: AS) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand) “AMERICAN ASSASSIN’’: Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz — who made television’s acclaimed ``thirtysomething’’ and “Once and Again’’ — were among the screenwriters on this action tale about a personally haunted man (Dylan O’Brien, “The Maze Runner’’) who’s given a chance to join an elite counterterrorism team headed by a Cold War veteran (Michael Keaton, achieving much by adding his sly wit to a somewhat predictable role). The new operative’s first mission is to help track down missing plutonium before it can reach intended buyers in Iran. Sanaa Lathan, Taylor Kitsch and television “Poirot’’ David Suchet also star. DVD extra: Q&A session with O’Brien and Kitsch. *** (R: AS, N, P, V) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand) “TWIN PEAKS: A LIMITED EVENT SERIES’’: After false starts and behind-the-scenes drama that saw series co-creator David Lynch drop out of the project for a while, this Showtime revival of the famously quirky cult-classic show finally arrived this year, with Lynch directing all 18 episodes. Also billed collectively as “The Third Season,’’ the stories restore Kyle MacLachlan to the role of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper. To give too many details would be an injustice — as if we could do that with complete accuracy, thanks to the ever-challenging plot — so we’ll just leave it that many of the other original stars also return, from Madchen Amick, James Marshall, Dana Ashbrook and Sherilyn Fenn to David Duchovny, Peggy Lipton, Richard Beymer and “Log Lady’’
Catherine E. Coulson (who passed after filming her work here, as did Miguel Ferrer). Laura Dern, Richard Chamberlain and Ashley Judd also appear. DVD extra: “makingof’’ documentary. *** (Not rated: AS, P, V) (Also on Blu-ray) “THE SIMPSONS: THE EIGHTEENTH SEASON’’: The recurring character Fat Tony (voiced by Joe Mantegna and featured in the first tale here) gets his day as the subject on the cover of this latest home-video release from the long-running, animated Fox sitcom. It’s likely a relief for fans to see this come to the market, since for a while, it appeared that no more of the series would be issued on home video. Kiefer Sutherland, Natalie Portman, Eric Idle, Betty White, Dr. Phil McGraw, Ludacris, composer Stephen Sondheim, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich and writers Gore Vidal and Tom Wolfe also are among the guest voices in these stories, which originally aired in 2006-07 and encompassed the show’s 400th episode. *** (Not rated: AS) “FARGO: YEAR THREE’’: The offbeat FX series inspired by the Oscar-winning 1966 Coenbrothers movie rebooted itself again for this season, bringing another actor whose series-television involvement is rare — Ewan McGregor — to dual roles as brothers, one of whom plans to steal from the other, with very unexpected consequences. The would-be thief is a probation officer whose scheme involves the parolee he’s romantically involved with (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Carrie Coon (“The Leftovers’’), David Thewlis, Michael Stuhlbarg, Scoot McNairy, Shea Whigham and Mary McDonnell (“Major Crimes’’) also are in the ensemble cast. *** (Not rated: AS, P, V)
COMING SOON:
“DETROIT’’ (Dec. 12): Director Kathryn Bigelow’s drama follows a security guard’s (John Boyega) experiences in the violent wake of a police raid. (R: AS, P, V) “GAME OF THRONES: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON’’ (Dec. 12): Jon Snow and Cersei Lannister (Kit Harington, Lena Headey) both face challenges as leaders as the hugely popular HBO series continues. (Not rated: AS, N, V) “HOME AGAIN’’ (Dec. 12): A woman’s (Reese Witherspoon) surprising new romance is threatened by the return of her estranged husband (Michael Sheen). (PG-13: AS, P) “KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE’’ (Dec. 12): Members of an American spy organization step in to assist Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and his British colleagues against enemies. (R: AS, P, V) FAMILY-VIEWING GUIDE KEY: AS, adult situations; N, nudity; P, profanity; V, violence; GV, particularly graphic violence.
Your Guide to Arts and Events in the Southwest Suburbs and Beyond
OUT & ABOUT
The Regional News • The Reporter
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Southwest • Section 2, Page 8
WOLFGANG PUCK’S KITCHEN
Holiday cookies combine two favorites in one By Wolfgang Puck
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Tickets are on sale for the Village of Orland Park Theatre Troupe’s winter show, “The Family Fruitcake” Dec. 8-10 at the Orland Park Civic Center. The 20-member cast includes (bottom row from left) Naomi Turk (Orland Park), Carli Mendoza (Mokena), Saoirse Redmond (Orland Park) and (top row from left) Etienne Fellmann (Orland Park), Hannah Belair (Orland Hills), Ryan Valecek (New Lenox) and (top row) Michelle Belair (Orland Hills).
‘The Family Fruitcake’ coming to Orland Park The Orland Park Theatre Troupe will present their holiday show, “The Family Fruitcake” at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Orland Park Civic Center, 14750 S. Ravinia Ave. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors and students and $10 for children age 12 and younger. Reserved-seating tickets are available in-person only through the village’s Recreation Administration Office, 14600 S. Ravina Ave. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The two-hour show tells the story of Laurie McKinnon, a mom determined to give her family a normal Christmas, despite her oldest son being away serving in the military. She rushes about making sure everything is ready for the impending arrival of the extended family, although her husband and teenage daughter are unconvinced of the need to impress everyone.
Meanwhile, youngest daughter arrives downstairs in full camouflage makeup. Her mother is less than enthused. Visitors soon trickle in and comedy ensues. “The Family Fruitcake” is directed by Frann Carnivele along with Mary Tuminello, assistant director. The show is written by Rebecca Frohling. The Orland Park cast includes Annie Burns, Sarah Callis, Krystle Cousins, Etienne Fellmann, Amy Henrichs, Samantha Manning, Declan Mulvey, Saoirse Redmond, Bryan Riess, Makayla Spatz, Naomi Turk, Marc and Will Vajarsky. Other cast members include Orland Hills residents Hannah and Michelle Belair, Brett Gustafson from Midlothian, Suzanne Hamilton from Homer Glen, Carli Mendoza from Mokena, Zoe Touloupakis of Palos Park and Ryan Valecek of New Lenox. For more information, call (708) 403-7275.
OMARR’S WEEKLY
ASTROLOGICAL FORECAST
By Jeraldine Saunders ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the coming week you are likely to be filled with warm feelings toward others. You may inadvertently step on some toes while seeking companionship. Heightened ambition could desensitize you to the word “no.” TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Guard against financial losses. The Full Moon may light up areas where you are spending money on numerous unnecessary fees, but it will add up. As this week unfolds find way to insure your financial security. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The Full Moon in your sign may make you more aware of relationship issues as this week unfolds. You may look on the dark side and be pessimistic when you should be sympathetic. Hold off on key decisions. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Tune your consciousness to the problems of the world. Solve environmental issues that are within reach; turn off a light or use a recycling bin. It may be difficult to attain your business goals in the early part of the week. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Today’s Full Moon may reveal how much you rely upon the opinions of others. As the week unfolds you may realize there is more to life than duty and ambition. Your focus may shift to creative activities or homegrown pleasures. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be proud of what you have, without coveting what others may have. New friendships and acquaintances could create some discomfort in the week ahead if you spend too much time comparing possessions.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You may try to mix business and pleasure in the upcoming week, but in some cases it may be like mixing oil and water. You may have the impulse to bring new acquaintances into your home or into your confidence. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): This may be a great week to meet new friends or develop contacts who broaden your knowledge. You may feel compelled to pinch your pennies in the first half of the week when you should avoid making new investments. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): During the first half of the week you might not succeed no matter how much you try. Later in the week focus on making your surroundings a place of peace and contentment. Invite trusted friends to visit. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Steer a straight course no matter how tempting it is to take a detour. You maybe irked by companions who change their minds about business decisions at an awkward moment. Avoid arguments in the week ahead. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You may sometimes feel lost in a forest without a breadcrumb trail. Remember that the scariest fairy tales have a happy ending. Maintain a positive attitude and problems will resolve themselves during the week ahead. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Open the windows and let in fresh air and sunshine. Avoid dark, gloomy places and people during the week to come. You may be challenged to deal with those who encourage you to dip into savings or change your investments.
All my life, I’ve loved sweet pastries of every kind; especially cookies. So with plenty of holiday parties ahead, I feel like I’m in pastry heaven. There’s the promise of wonderful cookies everywhere I turn. I learned as a boy that you can never start making holiday cookies too soon. Around late November, my mother and grandmother were already preparing them to have ready for guests who came visiting, as well as to wrap up in airtight tins as homemade gifts. The following recipe for chocolate-chunk oatmeal cookies traces its origins to the early days of my restaurant Spago in the 1980s. I think it was widely popular for the perfect way it combined two popular varieties into one robust, rich-tasting, satisfyingly chewy treat. And, happily, the cookies are surprisingly easy to make. Good results depend mostly on paying attention to a few small details. First, be sure to pick up a package of rolled oats labeled “quick-cooking,” which means they have been crushed into flat flake-like shapes and partially steamed, then dried. That ensures they’ll turn tender in the relatively brief baking time. I also like to buy good-quality bittersweet chocolate in whole bar form, rather than using chocolate chips. I very carefully cut up the chocolate myself on a cutting board into uneven small chunks, using a sharp knife. The variety of shapes adds to the homemade quality and makes every bite a small surprise. Nuts are another important element, and I prefer to use slightly sweeter pecans instead of the usual walnuts you find in both oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. I also take care to toast the pecans before baking, so they’ll have a fuller flavor and crispier texture. Though each step is very particular, the dough is still very easy to mix, shape and bake. And one more feature suits this recipe even better to the holidays. You can mix the dough in advance, shape it into individual balls, place them on trays, cover well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to one week before baking; or, the dough balls can be frozen for up to two months, to be thawed in
the refrigerator for several hours before baking. That means, with a little advance planning, you can have cookies ready to bake and serve hot from the oven when guests drop by. My mother and grandmother would have approved! CHOCOLATE-CHUNK OATMEAL COOKIES Makes about 5 1/2 dozen • About 5 ounces (150 g) shelled pecan halves or pieces • 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour • 1 teaspoon baking soda • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • 8 ounces (250 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces • 1 cup (250 mL) firmly packed dark brown sugar • 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar • 2 large eggs • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract • 1 pound (500 g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped to the size of large chocolate chips • 2 cups (500 mL) quickcooking rolled oats Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Spread the pecans on a baking tray and toast them in the oven until fragrant and slightly darkened in color, 10 to 12 minutes, turning them halfway through. Set aside to cool, then coarsely chop them by hand or by pulsing briefly in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the large bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle or beaters (or in a large mixing bowl using a hand-held electric mixer), soften the butter at medium speed. Add the brown and granulated sugars, and continue beating; once they’re fully incorporated, increase the speed to high and continue beating until the mixture looks fluffy, stopping as needed to scrape down the sides of the bowl and under the beaters with a rubber spatula. Reduce the speed to medium
Dreamstime.com
This cookie recipe combines two popular varieties into one rich-tasting, satisfyingly chewy treat.
and, one at a time, add the eggs and then the vanilla, stopping as needed to scrape down the bowl and beaters. Reduce the speed to low and gradually pour in the flour mixture, stopping as soon as it is incorporated. Add the chocolate, oats, and pecans to the bowl. Stir with a sturdy wooden spoon until fully incorporated. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Fold the wrap around the dough and refrigerate until firm, 2 to 3 hours. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Line 1 or 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into mounds about the size of an unshelled walnut, weighing about 1
ounce (30g) each, rolling each mound into an even ball between the palms of your clean hands. Arrange the balls on the prepared baking trays about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake in the preheated oven until slightly firm to the touch, 13 to 15 minutes, reversing the trays back to front about halfway through for even baking. Transfer the trays to racks to cool. After a few minutes, remove the trays from the racks. Use a wide metal spatula to remove the cookies from the trays, transferring them back to the racks to cool completely. (If reusing a baking tray, allow a few minutes for it to cool slightly before placing a new batch of dough balls on it.) Store the cookies in an airtight container at cool room temperature and serve within three days.