Forest Park Review 042424

Rep. La Shawn Ford spotlights opioid crisis with Harm Reduction Solidarity Week

Future e orts to prevent overdoses include opening prevention sites and continuing to destigmatize substance use disorders

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

Illinois Rep. La Shawn Ford is ramping up the fight against the opioid crisis by pushing to create overdose prevention sites and declaring a new Harm Reduction Solidarity Week.

Ford, whose district includes Austin, Oak Park and Forest Park, has long been a drug-treatment advocate. In late 2022, for example, he proposed House Bill 0002, which proposes the opening of pilot overdose prevention sites in Illinois.

Earlier this year, Ford filed House Resolution 665, which, when it passed, declared April 14 through April 20 Illinois’ first Harm Reduction Solidarity Week.

At a news conference in Springfield April 17, Ford

Redoing the Roos

Early expansion plans are in place at Roos Recreation Center to make space for day camp and more members

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

Much like the rest of the village of Forest Park, the Roos Recreation Center lot at Harrison Street has a history more than a century long — and its history will soon expand, both physically and figuratively.

In 2013, the Park District of Forest Park bought the 85,000-square-foot building on Harrison Street, constructed in 1918, for $499,000. A month later, a portion of the ceiling collapsed. The village then slated the structure for emergency demolition.

But when the reconstructed 15,000-square-foot building reopened in 2018 as Roos Recreation Center, visitors far surpassed its capacity, leading to a discussion about how

What not to miss in Forest Park

Vehicle stickers? Train service? We got you

By FOREST PARK REVIEW STAFF

Sometimes it’s those little things that slip away – do you know where your keys are?

We can’t help you with that. But we can help remind you of little things around town that may have slipped your mind and could cost you in the long run.

Here’s a roundup:

Vehicle stickers set to double

Missed the April 1 deadline? It happens. The clerk’s office is still selling them. All vehicle owners must have one displayed, according to village rules. Yes, even the ‘Vette your uncle endlessly tinkers on in the garage must have one.

for this very special all-request, all-Beatles concert event

May 9 @ 7:30pm JOIN US

Blue Line Forest Park service temporarily suspended

The CTA announced that the Blue Line service will be temporarily suspended on the Forest Park Branch from April 26 to April 29 as a result of construction work at the Racine station and Morg an substation. Beginning 10 p.m. Friday, April 26, Blue Line trains will operate in two sections:

• Between O’Hare and UIC-Halsted

• Between Forest Park and Illinois Medical District

Nor mal service will resume at 4 a.m.

Monday, April 29.

Free bus shuttles will be available.

Pick them up at the village hall weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or order them online. First time applicant? You must re gister in person.

Passenger car stickers are $35. Seniors 65 and older can purchase one passenger vehicle sticker at the senior rate of $10 with ID. Call the clerk’s office at 708-3662323 for fees for other vehicle types.

Sticker prices double May 1.

Pesky branches

Remember: The Forestry Department picks up branches every Friday. Place brush and branches in the parkway. Call the village at 708-366-2323 or email at public works@forestpark.net for alley pickup.

35th Annual Plant Sale

PREVENTION SITES

Ending stigmas

from page 1

was joined by the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Sameer Vohra, and the Illinois Harm Reduction and Recovery Coalition, along with other advocates, to spotlight the crisis and ef for ts to stop it and to save lives.

“We were educating the Springfield members, and all those that listen, about how important it is to have what you call harm reduction tools in our community,” Ford said.

The numbers tell the stark truth about the crisis.

In 2022, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office reported 2,000 deaths from opioid overdose, more than 1,800 of which were fentanyl-related. And 56% of those deaths were Black people, although African Americans made up less than a quarter of the county population that year, according to Illinois census estimations.

“Not only are we fighting the heroin epidemic, there’s a new, more potent, pure fentanyl that’s killing people with overdoses,” Ford said.

A 2022 Chicago Sun-Times report showed that, the year before, deaths from overdoses were concentrated on the West Side, with most occurring in West Garfield Park, South Austin and East Garfield Park The suburbs were not immune. Seventeen deaths were reported in Oak Park, and 25 in Cicero.

As for ambulance calls for overdoses, the report showed they were concentrated on the West Side, too: 608 calls in Austin, 458 in West Garfield Park and 367 in Humboldt, records show.

Other neighborhoods, like Pullman, experienced six overdose calls.

According to Ford, harm reduction ef for ts in Chicago have included dispersing clean needles to help stop the spread of hepatitis and HIV, plus Narcan to assist someone experiencing an

“

assisted recovery, where they can meet with behavioral health counselors and have access to prescription drugs that help curb cravings.

But Ford and other Illinois politicians are hoping for more. Their most recent ef fort is to create overdose prevention sites in Illinois with House Bill 0002, which Ford hopes passes before the end of May.

Overdose prevention sites are places where those who use drugs can go for supervised consumption and access to behavioral health experts.

The only people that would really go to an overdose prevention site are people who are looking for help”

New York City opened the first of these overdose prevention sites in the country at the end of 2021. The first year that two sites were open, they experienced 48,533 visits and only intervened 636 times to prevent overdoses. No overdoses occurred at either site. These sites connected about 75% of visitors to other harm reduction and medical services.

LA SHAWN FORD Illinois Rep

“The only people that would really go to an

no place for people to go like that in Illinois where they could be accepted for who they are and move towards recovery when they’re ready.”

The idea, however, could be a tough sell. Critics say such sites promote drug use and perpetuate crime.

Beyond creating overdose prevention sites in Illinois, politicians and organizers aim to end the stigma against those who use drugs.

“As we confront this challenge, we reco gnize a concerning pattern where progress is hindered by stigma towards people who use drugs,” said Aces Lira, AIDS Foundation Chicago’s policy and advocacy manager, in a statement. “We stand united with harm reduction advocates statewide, who courageously share their personal stories with legislators.”

“We have to educate people on how to help their families when they are struggling with a substance user. We have to help law enforcement understand the difference between a criminal and a person that’s living with a substance use disorder,” Ford said. “We’ve got to end the stigma and

Tai Chi

Monday, April 29, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Forest Park Public Library

Class involves a series of movements performed in a slow gentle way. Focus on breathing and body awareness in this slow-moving form of meditation. This event is intended for older adults. Register for this event at https://tinyurl.com/3wxvvfyc. 7555 Jackson Blvd., Forest Park

American Beaut y: Songs of Leonard Bernstein

Saturday, April 27, 7:30 p.m.,

Sts. Peter and Paul Lutheran Church

Concert per formed by Forest Park resident and jazz vocalist Terry Sullivan along with some of the region’s most respected jazz musicians: pianist Tom Muellner, bassist Scott Mason and trumpeter Art Davis. The program will include selections from West Side Story (originally titled East Side Story). Tickets are available at jazzriverside.brownpapertickets.com.

250 Woodside Rd., Riverside

BIG WEEK

April 24 - May 1

Peach Jam: A Tribute To The Allman Brothers Band

Thursday, April 25, 6:30 p.m., Rober t’s Westside

Rober t’s Westside Presents: Peach Jam: A Tribute To The Allman Brothers Band.

General admission tickets are priced at $15 plus ser vice fees, while reser ved seating is available for $20 plus ser vice fees, sold in tables of 4 - 6, including general admission. 7321 Madison St., Forest Park

Af terhours at the Roos

Friday, April 26, 7-9 p.m., Forest Park Public Library

Blow o some steam with us at the Roos Recreation Center. Eat pizza, play games, and enjoy some downtime with your friends. Registration is required to guarantee entry. This event is intended for young adults. Register for this event at https://tinyurl.com/3tkhdstu. 7555 Jackson Blvd., Forest Park

Forest Therapy Walk with Mary Oliver Poems

Saturday, April 27, 9 - 11 a.m.,

Forest Park Public Library

Join us for poetry in motion as we use poems by Mary Oliver to explore the forest through our senses.This is an o -site program and will begin at Trailside Museum, 738 Thatcher Ave., then continue in Thatcher Woods. This event is intended for adults. Register at https://tinyurl.com/3tkhdstu.

cle: Intergenerational Reading Share

Wednesday, May 1, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Forest Park Public Library

All older adults (55+) are invited to join in for some special community time each week. We’ll talk and share interests, enjoy guest speakers, and keep ourselves active, engaged, and well-informed. 7555 Jackson Blvd., Forest Park

Compiled by Brooke Duncan

Listing your event

Forest Park Review welcomes notices about events that Forest Park groups and businesses are planning. We’ll work to get the word out if you let us know what’s happening by noon Wednesday a week before your news needs to be in the newspaper.

■ Email details to calendar@wjinc.com

Forest Park uncorks its Annual Wine Walk

Forest Park Wine Walk volunteer Tiara Williams holds bags containing wine glasses and other materials for walk participants at Forest Park Bank

A selection of wine at Perfect Fit Fashion.

Frederick Knaack, 90

Forest Park Fi re Department captain

Frederick R. Knaack, 90, of Burr Ridge, for merly of Forest Park and Western Springs, died on April, 16, 2024. An Ar my veteran, Fred served on the Forest Park Fire Department for 35 years, retiring as captain.

He was the husband of the late Lorraine Knaack (nee Micheletti) and Elaine Knaack (nee Petersohn); the father of Susan Knaack and Karen Knaack; the stepfather of William Kobernus, Peter (Sheri) Kobernus, Karen (Phil) Gibboney, and Karl (Laura) Kobernus; the stepgrandfather of Katrina (Adam) Nausid, Brett (Christy) Kobernus and Kent (Jenna) Kobernus; the step-great-grandfather of Maverick Nausid, Avery Jo Kobernus and Kendall Kobernus; brother of the late Barbara (the late William) Cartright; “Uncle Fred” of many cousins; grandpa to fur baby Tiger Knaack; second dad to many; and friend and hero of many

all photos: Todd Bannor

Memorial visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 24, from 9 a.m. till the time of the funeral service, 11 a.m., at Hitzeman Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 9445 31st St., Brookfield, IL 60513. A live stream of the service will be available for viewing at www.memorialslive.com/knaack. If you are unable to participate during the live stream, a recording will be available to be viewed at any time and downloaded at the same link by day’s end on Friday. Inurnment will take place at Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to: St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or King-Bruwaert House Benevolence Fund, 6101 S. County Line Road, Burr Ridge, IL 60527 or IL Fire Safety Alliance “Camp I Am,” 426 W. Northwest Highway, Mount Prospect, IL 60056.

ROOS

More space to play

from page 1

to expand the building.

The park district expected about 400 Roos Recreation Center memberships for its first year open, but over 900 people signed up “We grew out of that building probably within six months of being here,” said Jackie Iovinelli, executive director at the Park District of Forest Park since 2018. “That building was built with the intention of expanding in the future. We just didn’t realize the future was going to be six months.”

Expansion plans, including funding and construction, took years.

“It had to be scaled back significantly, just with grants and finances,” Iovinelli said. “It was always kind of known since I’ve been here that this is something that’s coming down the pipe.”

In addition to making room for more members, the park district needs more space for its day camp for kids after school and in the summer, which the Roos Recreation Center was intended to house

In the park district’s field across the street from Roos Recreation Center, a small building can hold about 100 kids, though there have been more than that to sign up for day camps. “We’re maxed out on our services. We don’t have any more indoor space,” Iovinelli said of the Roos Recreation Center. “We have to, unfortunately, turn kids away for our day camp

program because we just don’t have the space to house it.”

One of the park district’s options was to renovate the Grant-White School for an estimated $5 million and host its day camp there.

But Iovinelli said that District 91 is looking for someone to lease the Grant-White building for a few years, and the park district wanted a long-term lease, at least 30 years long

So, they’ve settled instead on expanding the Roos. Although the park district is meeting with three architects to discuss plans and cost for expansion, Iovinelli said there’s the option to double the size of the building’s fit ness room and build up and off the back the building, on its north side.

“It’s a little bit more expensive than renovating a building, but we need it,” Iovinelli said. She estimated the expansion will start around $10 million.

The Roos legacy

The namesake of Roos Recreation Center is much larger than the building itself

In 1868, Bernard Roos founded the Wald heim Cemetery. In 1897, his son Albe founded A. Roos and Sons Bank, which would become the Forest Park State Bank, wher Junction Diner and Twisted Cookie now sit.

Albert’s son, Fred, was an Illinois Stat Representative and attorney for the village His other son, Albert C., founded the Fo est Park Businessmen’s Association in 1912, which would become Forest Park’s Chamber of Commerce. Albert C. was also president of Kiwanis Club, Proviso Township School District’s treasurer, and the village’s collector The Roos Cedar Chest Company built the

Exhibits inside and out

In April 1961 the Illinois State Museum pa long Museumobile in front of Madison and Desplaines. There traveling museum

In the background of the photo is the corner of and Madison, where the Albright’s Restaurant sign can be seen (now Angelo O’Leary’s) and the bottom of the Marquee (now McDonald’s) can be seen.

structure at 7329 Harrison St., where it sold hope chests to people around the world from the 1920s to 1951. Then the Fisher Pen Co. and Castle Soap Co. moved in before the building became vacant in the 1990s.

Although the building was slated to become lofts and townhomes in the early 2000s, the bank foreclosed on a $15 million loan to the developer, and the site fell into disrepair before the park district bought it

“We have been trying to be creative on how to expand space,” Iovinelli said, so that people, especially day-camp kids, can enjoy the park district’s 20-acre park and fields, plus the pool and playground next to the Roos Recreation Center

“It’s paradise for a kid to spend their summer,” Iovinelli said. “But it’s heartbreaking that we can’t serve everybody. And that’s

Roos Recreation Center

OUR VIEW

Growing the Roos

With the District 91 school board still uncertain about the future use of its largely empty Grant-White School, a prime suitor for repurposing the Randolph Street school has now pulled back and made its own plan to expand programs.

The Park District of Forest Park wanted a long-ter m lease — at least 30 years — for the school building, with plans to use it in part to expand its oversubscribed day camp programs for children. The school system still isn’t clear on how best to use the building and was only open to a far shorter lease.

Now the park district will begin planning to substantially expand its Roos Recreation Center on the east end of its Harrison Street campus. When it was built in 2018, the 15,000-square-foot Roos was widely expected to be undersized but the district spent the money it had earmarked from state grants and money it had put in reserves.

The demand for Roos memberships almost immediately doubled expectations — 900 vs. 400 sign-ups — makes the expansion plan no surprise. The district is currently meeting with multiple architects to scope out the options and likely costs.

We are a bit surprised that the park district seems to have set aside plans to construct a new indoor facility on property it acquired with fanfare on the south side of Harrison Street just a couple of years ago. For now, that site will remain as welcome green space.

At some point, D91 will need to settle on a plan for Grant-White. Presumably, village government is still interested in a short-term deal to relocate some programs from the community center as it comes to terms with fixes needed to that site.

We’ve always been impressed by the modern-but-not-cold design of the Roos. We look forward to seeing plans for its expansion and the plan to pay for it

A new superintendent

A year ago, Proviso Township voters reconstituted the school board of District 209 Proviso high schools. In our estimation, voters nar rowly returned the divided board to a reform-minded majority. When a few months later, that board bounced the divisive James Henderson as superintendent, we cheered that decision as the essential ste p to restoring some hope in this long-troubled district.

We wondered then just who would apply for this job. It is no plum, but there is nowhere to go but up.

This week the school board may well announce its choice from among three more-than-credible finalists. In the least surprising news of the day, Arbdella Patterson, a board member is demanding a do-over in the search. A ridiculous notion.

Time for D209 to install a new leader with a clear focus on students, a desire for collaboration, and an ego that is under control.

OPINION

It is what it is … whatever

According to a poll conducted by Marist College in New York, “whatever” has been the most annoying word in America for eight years running! A college spokesperson described this word as “dismissive and rude.” I think its use is symptomatic of the sarcasm that is creeping into our language from TV sitcoms.

I have my own list of annoying words and phrases. “How’s that working for you?” makes me cringe. It’s the trifecta: sarcastic, condescending and mean-spirited “Ya think?” “Duh?” and “Obviously” are all ways of telling someone they’re slow on the uptake.

The first time I heard, “It is what it is,” I marveled at its meaninglessness

“There’s no question about it,” is a sports talk staple. Hosts are constantly making pronouncements that can’t be disputed. “No question about it, on Santo was the best third basemen in Chicago history.” Oh yeah, what about my boyhood hero, Pete Ward, who played third for the White Sox?

Sports jargon also includes tiresome words like “physical” which means the player commits acts of legal violence on the field or court that would otherwise earn him an orange jumpsuit. “Deliberate” means that the guy on the mound is so slow that the grounds crew has to mow the infield between innings.

How about these sentence-starters: “Be that as it may,” “Having said that,” and my favorite, “All things being equal.” The next time all things are equal, please send me an email. “To be honest,” is another one. If I try to slip this one past my wife, she’ll ask, “Oh, what are you doing the rest of the time?”

But she also uses a few phrases that annoy me like, “I’m going to hop in the shower.” My witty retort is, “Why don’t you just stand still and let the water hit you?”

However, she has the perfect phrase to answer a child’s urgent request: “We’ll see.” It really means “no” but at least she lets the kid down easy. Another way to soften “no” is to start your sentence with, “At this moment in time.” That means whatever you were hoping to do ain’t gonna happen.

People love to use “ironic” when they probably mean coincidental. Someone even sang about how ironic it was that it rained on their wedding day.

For some reason the word “intentional” drives me crazy. “We’re very intentional about teaching each student at their own level.” Well, I guess it’s better than teaching them by accident. Speaking of “crazy,” that word is getting a workout, thanks to the unprecedented times we’re living through. Its cousin is “cray-cray.”

“Have a good one,” is a bit too vague for me. What if my next stop is the dentist office to have two molars yanked? I also want to give a warning to anyone who asks me, “How are you?” I take that question seriously and will answer at great length.

My French students used to mock Americans for constantly saying “amazing.” Some people are annoyed by “hangry” but I can’t think of a word that is more descriptive of how I feel when I miss breakfast.

There are also some placeholder phrases we use, you know, so we don’t get interrupted while we’re, uh, trying to construct our next sentence. I’ve actually, you know, heard college-educated athletes intersperse these during interviews. While we’re on the subject, “actually” is ready for retirement.

I’m just sayin’ with all due respect that at the end of the day we have to stop starting sentences with “that being said.” And I literally haven’t even mentioned “literally.”

Full disclosure: I’ve used many of these empty or insulting phrases in conversation. I’ve also been guilty of using sarcasm. Whatever.

Two Dads, an Orthodox wedding, identity and respect

In this lifestyle enclave, OPRFFP, when residents celebrate diversity, the diversity they affirm tends to be racial. Racial diversity, however, is not in my opinion the number one challenge in our society anymore.

In 1992 Rodney King famously asked, “Can’t we all just get along?”

In 2012, Jonathan Haidt wrote in his book The Righteous Mind, “Nowdays [sic] most Americans are asking King’s question not about race relations but about political relations and the collapse of cooperation across party lines.”

HOLMES

Two weeks ago, Haidt’s assertion was on my mind when I attended a presentation at Dominican University titled, “Two Dads Defending Democracy Tour,” with the subtitle “Bridging the Gap During Divisive Times.”

The premise for their onstage conversation was that, these days, ideological diversity is more of a challenge than a blessing.

The two dads are quite different in terms of their ideology. Fred Guttenberg is an ardent gun control advocate, while Joe Walsh is a member of the Tea Party and a firm supporter of gun owners’ rights.

The website Paideia stated, “Through respect and understanding, Walsh and Guttenberg successfully model how to engage in dialogue with a willingness to listen and learn to find common ground.”

At the Dominican event the two said they fight like cats and dogs (my metaphor) but they also respect each other and seek com-

each other.

For the two dads the essential requirement for bridging seemed to be respect.

Two days later, I attended an Orthodox Jewish wedding in Skokie, to which I had been invited by Chabad Rabbi Yitzchok Bergstein. At that wedding uniformity ruled.

Almost all of the men wore long beards, black fedora hats, white shirts and black suits with Tzitzit fringes hanging out beneath the hem of their suit coats.

No bridges were needed at the event attended by 350 people. They didn’t tell me if they argued among themselves about politics — in the U.S. or in the Holy Land — but at the wedding they were all birds of a feather flocking together, and I kind of envied them. The best metaphor I can think of is that they were all “at home.”

They occupied a cultural space in which they all knew the prayers in Hebrew, they all ate kosher food, and you should have seen them dance! I described it to my friends as “athletic” dancing. One musician playing a keyboard somehow was able to sound like a whole klezmer band. The music seemed to get louder and faster as the evening progressed and what appeared to me as exultant joy spread across the faces of the dancers.

From the beginning of the event, men stayed on the south side of the building and the women on the north side. The two genders sat on opposite sides during the wedding ceremony held under a canopy outdoors. A wall divided men from women during the meal, and men danced with men

a long history of being a minor-

ity group in the midst of a dominant cultural and political majority. The metaphor of “home” kept coming to mind in the days following those two experiences.

A young man who had years before been a student in my confirmation class explained to me that growing up in a homogeneous small town in Minnesota, where most of the residents traced their lineage back to Norway, Sweden or Finland, created a strong foundation for his identity as an adult.

He worked for the Alaska De pt. of Education and a big part of his job description included working with indigenous people, often living in small towns with their racial/ethnic kinfolks. Growing up in the uniformity of a small town near Duluth where most of the residents were baptized in the Lutheran church, he recalled, had the effect of creating a strong foundational identity, which he believed enabled him to be comfortable in bridging to difference, a challenge that Guttenberg and Walsh were trying to navigate by way of respect.

Erik Erikson claims that Stage Five in our psychosocial development is Identity vs. Role Confusion. According to the website Simply Psychology, “Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of fidelity. Fidelity involves being able to commit one’s self to others on the basis of accepting others, even when there may be ideological differences.”

They say that Sunday (and Shabat) morning is the most se gregated hour of the week in our country. Maybe that is a good thing. Maybe if we all had a safe, secure spiritual home to go to at the end of the day/week we’d be more willing and able to build those bridges that Walsh and Guttenberg are encouraging us to create — more willing and able to respect those w ho think differently about the nature of reality than we do.

Forest Parker holds 24-hour dance marathon for charity

Six years of the event have raised about $7,500 for Earthworks

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

Once a year, Forest Parker Brad Stasell moonwalks and waves his arms around on a Twitch livestream to raise money for a good cause.

The Stasell 24-Hour Dance Marathon will take place for the seventh time April 27, Stasell’s birthd Stasell will raise money a nonprofit and communities from the effects of gas and oil mining extraction.

But the dance marathon didn start of mission to impact climate chang

In 2016, Stasell, a union electrician who mo to Fo from brook last year, was in a fantasy football league with his friends from colle ge. Stasell’s team was “overachieving,” he said, and one of his friends — who travels for work, has a lot of airline miles and lives in England — said he’d fly Stasell out if his team won. And if Stasell’s team strayed, his friends ag reed he must hold a 24-hour dance marathon.

I raised. Ha ha, who really lost the bet here?’”

Since 2019, Stasell has held an annual 24-hour dance marathon to raise money for Earthworks. He estimates that he’s donated about $7,500 to the org anization.

Stasell will continue his fundraising effor ts at 9 a.m. April 27, when he starts dancing, taking a five-minute break every hour.

year, Stasell also has recruited a few hosts to manage the Twitch stream and song queue while he dances. He’s also going to set up a few cameras to flip between for the stream, lights that blink to the beat of music and a disco ball.

When Stasell’s team lost, and he forfeited the bet, Stasell danced for a whole day in his apar tment. He said around 20 of his friends came over to join in, but he didn’t collect any money to donate.

“I should have set something up and could have tried to spin it like ‘I had to do this dance, but look how much money

“I would love to do a choreographed dance for the first song and last song to see how they differ,” Stasell said.

He added, “I’m happy to try and grow this thing and put it out there to the broader public.”

You can donate to Stasell’s 24-Hour Dance Marathon at https://bradstasell. dance/ and watch the live stream at http:// twitch.tv/stasema.

BRAD STASELL

Brad Stasell performing during one of his past 24-hour dance marathons.

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The Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, located at 201 N. Scoville will conduct a Timely and Meaningful Consultation Meeting which will take place remotely via video/telephone conference on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 10:00am. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the district’s plans for providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private/ parochial schools and who are home schooled within the district for the 2024-25 school year. If you are the parent of a home-schooled student who has been or may be identified with a disability and you reside within the boundaries of Oak Park & River Forest High School District 200, you are urged to attend. If you would like to join the meeting, please contact Shdata Redmond at sredmond@oprfhs.org or call (708) 434-3121 to request the Zoom Link information.

Published in Wednesday Journal April 17, 24, 2024

PUBLIC NOTICE

On Monday, May 06, 2024 at 8:30 a.m., Oak Park Elementary School District 97 will be conducting a “timely and meaningful consultation” meeting to discuss plans for providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private/parochial schools and who are home-schooled within the district for the 2024-2025 school year. The meeting will be held at our Central Office located at 260 Madison Street.

If you are a parent/guardian of a home-schooled student who has been or may be identified with a disability, and you reside within the boundaries of Oak Park Elementary School District 97, you are urged to attend. If you have further questions about this meeting, please contact District 97’s Department of Student Services at 708-524-3030.

Published in Wednesday Journal April 17,

9:00

conducted

School (PTHS)

The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the district’s plans for providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private schools and students homeschooled within the district for the 2024-2025 school year. As a parent of a homeschooled student who has been or may be

NOTICE

CONTRACTORS

Case Number 24-0004

Public Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) of the Village of River Forest, County of Cook, State of Illinois, on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. in the First Floor Community Room of the River Forest Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois on the following matter:

Mosaic Montessori Academy is seeking a Special Use Permit to establish a Child Daycare Center in the C-3 Commercial District, in the existing building at 7777 Lake Street, in River Forest, Illinois. Section 10-18-4 of the Village Code provides the Zoning Board jurisdiction to hold public hearings and offer recommendations to the Village Board concerning applications for a Special Use Permit. The legal description of the property at 7777 Lake Street is as follows:

LOT 14 (EXCEPT THE EAST 27.5 FEET THEREOF) AND LOT 15 (EXCEPT THE SOUTH 20 FEET OF THE) EAST 27.5 FEET AND EXCEPT THE NORTH 30 FEET OF THE EAST 15 FEET THEREOF) ALSO LOT 16 (EXCEPT THE EAST 15 FEET THEREOF) IN BLOCK 4 IN LATHROP’S RESUBDIVISION OF LATHROP AND SEAVERN’S ADDITION TO RIVER FOREST, BEING A RESUBDIVISION OF THAT PART LYING EAST OF PARK AVENUE TOGETHER WITH THE EAST 3/5 OF BLOCK 15 IN LATHROP AND SEAVERN’S ADDITION IN THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 39 NORCH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, (EXCEPT FROM SAID PREMISES THE WEST 72 FEET OF LOTS 15 AND 16 AFOERSAID CONVEYED BY BOAG BUILDING CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE TO ROSANA CENTRUM CORPORATION BY DOCUMENT NUMBER 9934913 RECORDED FEB. 23, 1928), IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

All interested persons will be given the opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. For public comments to be considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals and Village Board of Trustees in their decision, they must be included as part of the public hearing record Interested persons can learn more about how to participate in the hearing by visiting www.vrf.us/guides/ guide/DevelopmentGuide.

Sincerely,

Clifford Radatz Secretary,

Zoning Board of Appeals

any or all bids. Published

All interested parties are invited to attend and provide input at the public hearing. Written comments may also be submitted to the Community Development Department prior to the hearing at the following address:

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

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

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

For further information, please contact the Community Development office at (708) 447-4211.

Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

Published in Wednesday Journal April 24, 2024

If you’re noticing changes, it could be Alzheimer’s. Talk about visiting a doctor together. adapt together, as a family.”

If you’re noticing changes, it could be Alzheimer’s. Talk about visiting a doctor together. “ Early detection gave us time to adapt together, as a family.”

ALZ.org/TimeToTalk

ALZ.org/TimeToTalk

Let the sun shine in!

Sponsored Content

NRebozo Celebrates Two Years in Forest Park

By Risé Sanders-Weir

For anyone who has ever eaten at Chef Paco’s restaurant, you know good food is on the way when you hear his catchphrase, “Oh my God!” The Chef is still going strong as NRebozo’s celebrates its second year in Forest Park.

Speaking his signature mix of English, Spanish and pure enthusiasm, Chef Paco greets customers in the location that has become a new home at 7403 Madison Street.

Paco was elated that moving his restaurant went so smoothly. “Two years! I am super happy. I say thank you to all my family, my team, my employees, my customers. I love my customers. Forest Park? Oh my God. Very nice. Received me as family.”

The move to Forest Park allowed Chef Paco to buy the building that houses his restaurant and prepare for another generation of ownership. That’s also the reason for the name shift from New Rebozo to NRebozo.

“When I changed the name, the people confused. What happened?” Paco was often asked.

After 30 years, Chef Paco didn’t think it was “new” anymore. And he wanted to make a path for other family members to continue his legacy. Paco’s son Jose Manuel Lopez and nephew Saul Hernandez work at the restaurant with the chef and his wife. A grandson works weekends, while studying to be a pastry chef. When new customers encounter him, “They say, ‘Are you the waiter or are you the bus boy? Or you the chef?’ I laugh. I am everything, everything you see.”

He does contemplate future, “One year, two years, three years. My future, I don’t know. Period. Paco is supposed to be retired. I’m not retired because the people say no.”

The flagship dish on the menu remains the Fiesta Mole. Paco and his team make 40 different versions. The dish features 6 of them at a time, many of which are his own creations, such as sweet potato mole and white chocolate mole.

A new exploration for the chef is vegan offerings. He wants customers who order these to have the same reaction that he gets from his other dishes, “One example is

cauliflower al pastor. When you eat you say, ‘Oh my God! No meat? This is cauliflower?’”

If you can’t get enough of the uplifting experience of being around Chef Paco, you can now cook with him. In the afternoon, you can book a 4-hour cooking experience at the restaurant from noon to 4 P.M. For $130 you get to make dishes with Chef Paco and enjoy an open bar. Dancing is encouraged.

Chef Paco promises, “You forget your problems. For four hours, mucho tequila. Mucho happy. And I told everybody when you’re going for cooking classes, you need Uber. You need Uber because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Current chef-favorite dishes include a plantain cake appetizer with mild cascabel peppers and cheese. Eating the cake with chips includes many textures. Paco says, “It’s very important when you eat crunchy and sweet and crunchy and soft together.”

Fish tacos are a traditional, yet elevated dish. Paco sources his tilapia from Columbia, preferring the quality that comes from that region.

Sweet, spicy, sour, crunchy, soft – those are the watch words of Chef Paco’s cooking. He also says that life comes in those five varieties as well. And that a full life will have all those elements.

When asked how he would describe the flavor profile of his food, Chef Paco responded that it’s all the regions of Mexico, mixed with his French cuisine training and passed through his imagination. Mostly though he wants, “To hear customers say, ‘My God, this is so delicious.’ This makes me super happy. For me this is I think this is perfect.”

Know Before You Go:

Website: www.newrebozos.com

Reservations: via their website

• 7403 Madison St, Forest Park

• 708-445-0370

N Rebozo owner, Chef Paco