GROWING COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY JOURNAL, INC.
ForestParkReview.com
Vol. 101, No. 41
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F O R E S T PA R K
REVIEW
Scratch boss goes back to basics PAGE 8
Let Forest Park Grow reports some $60K from gaming vendors
PAGE 4
OCTOBER 17, 2018
@FP_Review @ForestParkReview
Pro, anti-video gamers trade claims in Review session Locals talk economic development, divisive rhetoric, obsolete technology and more By NONA TEPPER
A
Staff Reporter
pair of Forest Park bar owners and two video gambling opponents debated the pros and cons of video gambling at the Forest Park Review office on Oct. 11, in a broad conversation that covered economic development, signage, the role the village council played in creating an issue that has divided the town and more. Jordan Kuehn, president of the Let Forest Park Vote on Video Gaming ballot initiative committee; Amy Binns-Calvey, a resident and member with Let Forest Park Vote; James Watts, a resident and chairman of the Let Forest Park Grow ballot initiative committee; and Lynn Sorice, a member of Let Forest Park Grow, participated in the conversation, which was moderated by Forest Park Review Publisher Dan Haley, Staff Reporter Nona Tepper and Senior Editor Bob Uphues. Let Forest Park Vote seeks to put an end to video gambling in the village’s bars and restaurants. Let Forest Park Grow supports the machines and the revenue they produce. “[Gamblers] are looking at it as a form of entertainment,” said Watts, who is co-owner of See DEBATE on page 19
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
HIRE POWER: Kevin O’Connor inside of Ed’s Way Food Mart in Forest Park.
For the deaf, independence is a team effort Local grocer provides crucial training ground for local resident By JOHN RICE Contributing Reporter
More than half of the deaf and hard of hearing people in the U.S. are unemployed, according to a 2016 study by the federally funded National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes.
A good neighbor has your back.
This grim statistic makes the success of Kevin O’Connor even more remarkable. O’Connor recently landed a full-time job with benefits at the Walmart store in Hodgkins. O’Connor wouldn’t have the job, however, without the training he received at Ed’s Way, the small independent grocer in Forest Park.
Life’s a combination of good days and bad. I have your back for both. And who has my back? The company more people have trusted for 90 years. CALL ME TODAY. 1606040
State Farm, Bloomington, IL
O’Connor grew up in Forest Park, within walking distance of Ed’s Way. He has been deaf since birth but still enjoyed playing baseball, basketball and soccer when he was younger. He has four brothers and everyone in his family knows sign See O’CONNOR on page 20
Meaghan Good, Agent 7601 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130 Bus: 708-366-3779 meaghan@goodsgotyou.com