Landmark_022625

Danger Zone?

STORY BY TRENT BROWN, PAGE 4

Miss Myrtle carries on MLK’s legacy

Meeting Martin Luther King Jr. inspired her 25-year career in homeless services

By TRENT BROWN Staff Reporter

If you lear ned about the Civil Rights Movement in history class, or maybe your children learned about it recently as part of Black History Month, it may be easy to consider it as, well, history: something that happened years or decades before you were born, a response to a world filled with anti-Black segregation and disenfranchisement built up since the Civil War. That’s especially true if your civil rights were not the ones being fought for at that time.

But for people like Myrtle Ward, a case manager at BEDS Plus, a nonprofit suburban homeless services provider based in LaGrange, the Civil Rights Movement is not history.

It’s memory.

Ward, 70, told the Landmark she was just 13 years old when she volunteered at the Chicago branch of Operation Breadbasket, a 1960s program that sought to uplift Black Americans’ economic and employment status by boycotting racist businesses that refused to hire them.

“I was wo rk ing for the youth employment pr ogr am that started back then. It was for underprivil eg ed youth to wo rk , and I wo rked right around the corner from Operation Breadbasket,” she said in an i nterview Mond ay. “I would see the cr ow ds ther e, and I went there to see wh at they we re talking about, and I thought, ‘ Damn, this is a good idea.’”

It was at Operation Breadbasket that Ward, who grew up in the Englewood neighborhood and now lives in Auburn Gresham, met Martin Luther King Jr. for the first time.

“I was star-struck. All of us were,” she said. “I had followed his career.

Riverside Foods relies on renewable energy

Numbers show success of solar array, electric vehicle charger

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

Five years on, solar energy has proven itself successful for Riverside Foods.

You can’t see them well from the street, but the 64 solar panels on the roof of the long-time village grocery at 48 E. Burlington St. quietly do their thing all day, every day, collecting the sun’s rays, which eventually powers a portion of everything below.

Success of the system is data-based, according to co-owner Peter Boutsikakis, and the numbers don’t lie.

The 27.7-kilowatt Generac system produced about 40,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in 2024, or about 7 percent of the building’s overall power consumption.

Now, walk through Riverside Foods, with its cases of refrigerated and frozen foods, along with copious lighting, and only then will you get a sense that clean energy is top of mind for Boutsikakis and co-owner Anthony Garbis, as it has been since the solar system was installed in 2020.

“We had an influx of business at that time, and we were looking for ways to put money back in the store and try to help our longevity here,” said Boutsikakis, who once worked as a city planner in Aurora and produced a sustainability report there.

In other words, the idea was to reduce overhead and also create better security from power outages.

The solar array doesn’t only consist of the panels. Two inverters convert the direct current (DC) electricity from the panels into alternating current (AC) electricity commonly used by homes and businesses. There is also a battery that stores converted electricity and is connected to the front-end registers, so if there is a power outage, the transition from grid to solar power is seamless.

How often is that necessary?

“Power outages are common in Riverside, although this past year was not bad for us,” Boutsikakis said, adding everything from bad weather to a fallen utility pole can lead to loss of power.

“There will be a little hiccup and then you’ll notice our front registers coming back on quickly, and that’s all solar. That powers our

front end for about a day.”

A natural gas-powered backup generator ensures the coolers in the back won’t go down, thus avoiding food spoilage.

While clean energy has been great for Riverside Foods, there have been a few issues. For example, Boutsikakis said there is a fair amount of troubleshooting for the system, particularly related to its connectors.

Another issue is receiving rebates from producing all that solar electricity, the bottom line when it comes to reducing overhead. Riverside Foods is part of the SREC program, or Solar Renewable Energy Credits, where the business earns one SREC credit per each megawatt hour (MWh) of solar electricity generated

“I’m producing X-amount of renewable energy, and (I can) sell these credits to another business, entity or organization” that, for whatever reason, can’t use clean energy, Boutsikakis said, adding Riverside Foods has a broker that sells its credits. But the issue is that the solar system hasn’t been running 100 percent operational, so the business hasn’t received its maximum amount of rebates

Plus, ComEd rates have gone up significantly over the years, which hasn’t helped

“We haven’t realized the savings in the way we hoped, but without the system we’d clearly be paying more,” Boutsikakis said. “If the rates were the same as in 2020, we’d be saving

quite a bit of money.”

But the flip side is the environmental benefits of not only the solar energy, but the electric vehicle charging station in Riverside Foods’ parking lot. Boutsikakis has data for that as well – the station, which is used four to five times per day, saves 780 gallons of gas annually and eliminates about 4,000 pounds of carbon dioxide

The charger was installed for about $31,000 using a combination of grants from the village and the state.

Also on the docket is a plan to use a state grant to pay for part of a $130,000 overhaul of refrigeration in its last aisle. That means the current open cases would go away in favor of cases with doors on them to conserve energy

At the same time, compressors, condensers and coils that operate the refrigeration would be upgraded to more energy-efficient options

Seventy-five percent of the cost would come from that state grant.

But when it comes to solar, other Riverside businesses should consider it for a couple of reasons, according to Tom Odena, supervising electrician for Project Green in Chicago, which completed the Riverside Foods project with Hummingbird Electric out of Palatine

“I think it’s good PR, first of all, and you make money off of it,” Odena said. “It’s also to be a good environmental steward by reducing greenhouse gas.”

Lourdes Nicholls

Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan

Circulation Manager Jill Wagner EMAIL jill@oakpark.com

Special Projects Manager Susan Walker Senior Advisor Dan Haley

Chair Eric Weinheimer Treasurer Nile Wendor f Deb Abrahamson, Steve Edwards, Judy Gre n, Horacio Mendez, Charles Meyerson, Darnell Shields, Audra Wilson

HOW TO REACH US

ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 708-442-6739 ■ FAX 708-467-9066 E-MAIL dhaley@wjinc.com ONLINE www.RBLandmark.com

and

GREGG VOSS

PARKING LOT CHARGE: Co-owner Peter Boutskikakis shows o the electric car charging station in the parking lot of Riverside Foods.

Residents say Prairie Avenue is ‘the most dangerous block in Brookfield’

Neighbors

say they’ve seen a pattern of crashes on the 3600 block, but police say data shows no need for changes

By TRENT BROWN Staff Reporter

W hen you drive down r esidential streets in Brookfield, you might expec t to see children playing in their front ya rds after school or walking around the neighborhood in the warmer seasons But on the 3600 b lock of Prairie Avenue, that’s not the case

Some residents told the Landmark they no longer allow their children to play outside due to a pattern of destructive, speeding-related crashes they’ve witnessed.

But Brookfield police told the Landmark they have studied traffic patterns on the block since 2022 using varied approaches and have not found reason to make further traffic control changes.

“Since I’ve been there in 2020, I’ve seen about five accidents just on my block, within my view from my home. They’re not just fender benders. Multiple times, cars have been totaled,” one resident said. “People fly down Prairie. I mean, it’s almost like drag racing sometimes.”

The resident, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid potential community backlash, said drivers “top out sometimes at 50, 60 mph” on the street, which has a speed limit of 30 mph. She said she now backs into her driveway so she can pull out onto Prairie Avenue due to her fear that she could be struck by a speeding driver she couldn’t see if she were to back out.

Another resident, Dustin Carper, said he didn’t realize there was a pattern of speeding-related crashes until it affected his family in December 2023.

“We first noticed it when our car got hit,” he said. “Our car was parked in front of our house in the middle of the day on, I think it was a Tuesday, and got completely

Dustin Carper, a resident on the 3600 block of Prairie Avenue in Brook eld, had his car totaled by a driver in December 2023, which he said made him realize there had been a pattern of similar crashes on the block.

totaled [by] a big family SUV.”

He said he f elt for tunate he and his w ife we ren’ t loading their children i nto or out of the car when the crash o ccu rred around midday.

Afterward, he remembered multiple previous traffic incidents on the block, including when one car sideswiped another several years ago and flipped onto its hood in the middle of the road.

Both residents recalled another incid ent around 3 a.m. on Jan. 27 where a drive r hit a neighbor’s street-parked ca r, p ushing it i nto the car pa rked in front of it and up onto the curb. T he crash destroyed the front left s ide and hood of the car and left the other pa rked car’s trunk and back bumper dented

Ca rp er said he c ounted three trafficr elated incidents in the area since hi s f amily ’s car was d estroyed by the speeding drive r, w ho he said was drivin g wh i le intoxicated

Motorcyclists were seriously injured in crashes on Prairie Avenue in 2025 and in 2021, according to Landmark archives.

While the 2015 crash took place at Congress Park Avenue near Ehlert Park, the 2021 crash occur red at the intersection with Grant Avenue, which marks the south boundary of the 3600 block. There were two other crashes there between 2016 and 2020. While there are stop signs for the intersection on Grant Avenue, there are none on Prairie Avenue.

Ca rp er and his neighbor aren’t the only concerned residents. They said they have a group chat re presenting two more households on the block with other resid ents who also f ear for their own, and their children’s, safety

Police say data shows no need for changes

Residents say they’ve reached out to the Brookfield Police Department for help but that the department’s response hasn’t eased their wor ries.

“I brought up, to the chief of police, my concerns about safety on the street, and [police] were very rece ptive to it. Multiple times, they put out a speed detector to see

if there was any sort of speeding issue, and they said that there wasn’t,” the anonymous neighbor said.

Brookfield Deputy Police Chief Terry Schreiber said the department has taken residents’ concerns “seriously” and investigated them “thoroughly” but that traffic data collected from 2022 through 2024 showed no need for additional adjustments along Prairie Avenue after Brookfield improved sightlines at the intersection of Prairie and Grant avenues in 2022. He said street parking was pushed back by 80 feet from the intersection on the north and south sides of Prairie Avenue to increase drivers’ visibility as they approach.

Schreiber said the department’s firs t r esponse to r esidents’ c oncerns was to c onduct special watches along Prairie Avenue, “where officers are going to si t out there at various times throughout the day, through all the shift s, and c onduct radar out there” wh i le watching for traffic violations. He said these took p lace after the sightlines had already b een widened, so there was no data from before that change for comparison.

“We conducted multiple traffic details from 2022 to 2024, and it was a combination of officers in marked cars, also officers in unmarked cars,” he said. “There are certainly times where, if you put a marked car out there, people can tend to follow the rules better … It isn’t always indicative of exactly what that behavior is when there’s not a marked car out there, so we tried to do that with a mix of both.”

He said there was no noticeable difference in the data collected by officers in marked police cars compared to those in unmarked cars

The department also used a “covert speed radar unit” — “which is just a small box mounted to a pole,” Schrieber said — on the 3600 block of Prairie Avenue four times for about two weeks each from 2022 to 2024 to collect data on traffic patterns without alerting drivers.

“We monitored approximately 50,000 vehicles [overall], and the result of monitoring those vehicles was an average speed of 29 mph in the 30-mph zone,” he said, adding

PROVIDED BY DUSTIN CARPER

Reading is fundamental for District 96

Wednesday’s Family Literacy Night will bring together students, parents, teachers

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

Reading is fundamental, and Riverside School District 96 is taking that sentiment to a new level Wednesday with its new Family Literacy Night.

The district will host the event from 6:307:45 p.m. at L.J. Hauser Junior High, targeting not only pre-K through fifth graders, but their families as well.

It’s the third year for the district’s family learning event series. Two years ago, it hosted Family Math Night, while last year the topic was science. Past events have drawn hundreds of people.

Like the others, the objective of Family Literacy Night is to get parents more engaged in their students’ learning in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening, said Sara Hickey, a district instructional coach who splits her time throughout all district schools.

Hickey and Board of Education Superintendent Dr. Martha Ryan-Toye co-facilitate the district’s Family and Community Partnership Strategic Plan Committee, which is made up of teachers and parents. The committee meets several times over the course of the year where it examines ways to improve family interaction with the district.

“A ttending events li ke thi s, we want f amilies to seek out their p assions,” Hickey said. “We want them to suppo rt student learning and wh at they are p assionate about. ”

Ryan-Toye couldn’t ag ree more.

“It’s important, it’s exciting,” she said. “When we started this committee, the teachers very much wanted to do this. There was a lot of eager ness and enthusiasm to celebrate student learning and family connections.”

Wednesday’s event will feature literacy stations hosted by district staf f and junior high students. The event will kick of f

with a craft for students, while parents attend a literary information session, which Hickey said will level-set how students are engaging in literacy, how families can take literacy knowledge back home, and information about the district’s new EnglishLanguage Arts (ELA) resource, Amplify CKLA, or Core Knowledge Language Ar ts.

Amplify provides a deeper expertise in content, Hickey said, and allows students to become more detailed writers and thinkers, creating the ability to spend a longer time on more specific writing.

“It incorporates skills children need to need to acquire the skill across the gradelevel spectrum,” Ryan-Toye said. “It introduces high-quality literature to kids. They are looking at historical, multi-cultural stories. It’s engaging and interesting. A lot of districts in the area have adopted Amplify recently.”

Additional activities include the Escape the School Challenge, which might seem counterintuitive to the idea of bringing families together for a literacy event, but dig deeper. It’s really a high-interest way to get students problem-solving around literacy tasks. Students will complete several tasks, each with a secret code. Getting all the codes “frees” the students.

Students can also peruse the Free Little Library, where they can take home any books that strike their fancy.

Author Abby Re gan, a for mer Central Elementary School and Hauser student, will read her book “Not Your Average Oatmeal,” with copies available for purchase and signing.

Family Literacy Night is going to be a good bet for English as a Second Language families. Hickey said the family learning events are designed to be inclusive to Spanishspeaking families, with parent presentations and activities in both English and Spanish.

Family learning events have become a popular event for the district. Two years ago, 50 families, or about 100 people, attended Family Math Night. Last year, that number jumped to 200 families for Family Science Night, which included STEM topics, math games and parent presentations.

“We’re expecting about 200 families again,” Hickey said. “We feel like that’s a

number.”

MEMORY

New assistant principal appointed at Hauser

Katie Kayastha has 18 years of Riverside district experience

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

W hen she was a k id, Katie Kayastha thought w riting on a c halkboard and “teaching” her sister was a lot of f un. As she g ot older, she ba by sat and be ga n wo rk ing with children, and enjoyed the ener gy of that wo rk

Now a dd a de ep love of math and r eading, and it ’s no surprise Kayastha j umped i nto the teaching profession with both feet.

But she’s not done. On Fe b. 19, the Riverside School District 96 Board of Education a ppointed her the new assistant principal at L.J. Hauser Junior High School, effect ive Ju ly 1. It is a p lace she has c alled her professional home fo r nearly two decade s.

“This is my 18th year her e, and I’ ve g otten to know and love the c ommunity and the f amilies and the teacher s, ” sai d Kayastha, an E lmhurst C olle ge (now Elmhurst Unive rsity) gr aduate.

S he will be the assistant to new princ ipal Chris Harvalis, who also will star t Ju ly 1, succeeding April Mahy. He’s b een the Hauser assistant principal since 2020.

Kayastha started as a seventh- gr ad e teacher at Hauser, focusing on primarily math, r eading and social studie s. To day, she is a student suppo rt c oordinator,

where she wears many hats, includin g meeting with f amilies, p lanning testing throughout the school year and reviewing the data to d etermine the amount of suppo rt that’s needed .

“I think she brings a de ep knowledge of Hauser and a great enthusiasm to the new assistant principal role,” said superintendent Dr. Martha Ryan-Toye “I think it’s going to be a seamless transition. This is an opportunity to keep going on the same path with some new faces.”

Harvalis, an integral part of the panel that interviewed Kayastha and selected her at the end of January, said she was the perfect fit

“It’s a very important role, so I was looking for someone with a lot of experience in education, so it gives teachers that credibility,” he said. “I was emphasizing middle school experience as well, looking for a r ang e of experienc e.

“I’ve b een in this building for a long time, so I know the staf f and the f amilies really well,” he a dded, noting that it was important to him that the selected person “was going to be a g ood match for the pe rsonalities and wo rk closely with myself.”

Kayastha checke d all the boxe s.

“I’ve known him for 16 or 17 years in the district,” she said. “I think our skills c omplement each other, and we create a g ood yin and yang system. He’s taking on his new r ole and he’s going to be a gr ea t mentor to help me as I step i nto my r ole.”

It ’s not easy for anyone to step i nto an assistant principalshi p. Kayastha took a master ’s level principal pr ep aration progr am, wh ich was an endorsement progr am that included c ourse wo rk and an

i nternshi p, along with lots and lots of co nversations with Harva lis and Mahy.

“It’s essentially a de gree in leadershi p, ” Superintendent Ry an- Toye said, a dding that the dis t rict’s view of that role is pretty c ut and dried.

“One of the things we look is being student-centered,” she said, “and looking at the wellbeing of each and eve ry student, b ut a strong sense of c ollabora tion with the school staf f and strong sense of c onnection with f amilies and being a g ood prob lem solver.”

An easy smile and a g ood sense of humor help s, too. Kay astha is looking forward to March w hen Hauser will host i ts annual P olar Plung e, featuring a d unk tank in the school’s pa rk in lot. S he’s not going to take the p lung e, b ut she’ll be there sup po rt ing the teachers and staf that will pa rt icipate

For a teacher that’s contemplating pursuing an administrative role someday, Kayastha has advice.

“First I would say, don’ t ever r ule it out,” she said. “For the long est time, I didn’t know I wanted to go into administration, but take on leadership roles in your district.

“Being a face and a voice within the district” is crucial, she added. “Having that voice at the table and being heard is really important.”

PROVIDED

Assistant pr incipal Katie Kayastha.

I listened to his speeches and read about the marches, and I had wanted to join those marches, but my parents said, ‘No way.’”

Ward recalled that the meeting was brief.

“Seeing him and how humble he was when he came in, unless you — well, I don’t know who wouldn’t have recognized him then, but he didn’t come in with this pomp and circumstance. He came in very quietly, and we called out, ‘Dr. King! Dr. King!’ That’s why he turned around and told us to stay in school,” she said. “Being a part, that little part there, made me want to do more.”

The meeting inspired her to continue fighting for Black civil rights, as did her other experiences growing up, which included living in then-majority-white Englewood

“When we first moved into Englewood, we were the second Black family there. We got attacked. We were forcibly bussed to Gage Park when they were integrating the schools,” she said. “We had to have a police escort to and from school. We all had the same schedule, Blacks, because we had to go with the police escorts. It wasn’t the kids who were in school that were so bad; it was their parents, the neighborhood.”

She said she and many Black students in her cohort left school to participate in the 1966 Marquette Park March with King, who made his fellow marchers sign nonviolence ag reements.

“I really did not want to, trust me. When somebody strikes me, I want to strike them back,” she said. “But then, I had been following Gandhi, reading [about] that nonviolent resistance.”

Ward said the violent, vitriolic response from racist protestors frightened her. She said they threw bottles and bricks at the marchers while calling them “all kinds of names.”

“It was terrible. I’ve never seen people so hateful in my life, and for no reason. It’s like, we haven’t done anything.”

‘It’s like a calling’

Ward said her teenage experiences fighting for equal rights and being exposed to the hatred of racism helped her realize her path as an adult.

“Why was it so hard to accept people who are different? That actually sparked my desire to help people who were struggling,” she said. “I was watching a lot of the people, the Poor People’s March and all of this stuff. They needed help. And people who hate like that, they’re hateful. They’re not happy. They need help as well.”

While she carried the spark of that calling for decades, Ward didn’t start working in homeless services until she was living

in F lorida in the ’90s — when she experienced the other side of the coin that is her current job.

“God has blessed me to do a lot of things, and it was like I couldn’t decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I was in my 40s at that time. But I became homeless,” she said. “I went to a shelter, and I started volunteering there to help them because they were helping me. I wanted to give back. Well, they hired me on after my shelter stay was over.

“I’ve been doing case management since 1999,” she said. “I don’t call it a career. It’s like a calling. Because you don’t do this to get rich. Not financially rich, OK. But it’s rich, and spiritually, it’s made me rich. Seeing people succeed, helping those who have challenges, whatever those challenges are … that has been so worthwhile to me.”

After moving back to Chicago in 2019, Ward found her current job as a case manager at BEDS Plus. She said the organization drew her in because it provides multiple kinds of resources to its clients; in Florida, she often had to go to different agencies for assistance with different needs.

“I’m very transparent with my caseload. I’ll tell them, ‘I’m not playing with you, OK. I know how hard it is out there, so you have got to stay focused.’” Some of her clients call her “Miss Myrtle.”

‘Just care for each other’

The current political moment, she said, with the Trump administration targeting non-discrimination policies and vulnerable groups like undocumented immigrants and transgender people reminded her of what she was fighting against as a teenager.

“We fought for all of these freedoms. We want to keep them,” she said. “If we start marching again, I’ll be right with them. For real, because this is something that everybody deserves, OK? This is not for those few rich people. Everybody deserves to be respected, and to be heard, and to have equal opportunity for housing and jobs. I mean, what’s so hard about doing that?”

She said she worries that people today don’t care about the efforts to roll back human rights unless it affects them directly.

“Just treat people like you would like to be treated. That’s so simple to say but difficult to do. When you see someone else being stomped on or hurt, and you’re able to help, you should help. You would want someone to help you,” she said. “Today, people just ignore stuff, and that’s sad.

“Just care for each other. We’re all in this together, so helping someone, it should be something you’re willing to do,” she added.

“We get those who don’t want to accept help, who are too proud, and then I share my story with them, and they say, ‘Oh, OK, then I’ll take the help.’ We all have moments where we need help, so don’t be ashamed.”

CANT AT A’ S 100-YEAR EMPLO YEE CELEBRATI ON

Cantata Adult Life Services, Brookfield’s nonprofit senior living home, celebrates its 100th annive r sary this year after firs t welcoming residents in 1925. Employees recently gathered to start the centennial celebrations inter nally. All photos we re provided to the Landmark by Amy Eppel of

Cantata CEO John Larson and Board Chair Karen Garrison, both wear ing celebrator y shirts, laughed while picking names from a bowl as part of a group activity to celebrate.

CEO John Larson, Board Chair Karen Garrison and administrators Je Levine and Dan

enjoyed conversation and sh and chips at the centennial.

PROVIDED BY MARC MONAGHAN

PROVIDED BY MARC MONAGHAN

Cantata

Urben

PROVIDED BY MARC MONAGHAN

Caregiver Nellie Robles holds up her new t-s hirt commemorating Cantata’s 100th anniversar y.

Sheila King Public Relations

Brookfield manager says ‘all good’ on federal grant freeze

Village Manager Tim Wiberg says grant funding has not been impacted

By TRENT BROWN Staff Reporter

President Donald Trump ’s r escinded free ze on all federal gr f unding disbursement has not impact ed Brookfield, officials said.

Vi llage Manager Tim Wiberg told trustees at the village b oard’s 10 meeting that the executive orde wh ich the President i ssued J an. 27 and r escinded J an. 29, has not affected any of the village ’s federal funding.

“A s the b oard is awar e, the village makes ve ry heavy use of federal funding and gr ants. We ’r e obviously ve ry c oncerned about wh at impact tha t c ould p otentially have on the Vi llage of Brookfield, on our ongoing operations for gr ants, and so for th,” he said.

“A s of right now, all we know is tha t the order is not in effect. N one of our gr ants, none of our f unding, none of our pr ogr ams in p lace from the state or the federal government should be impacted. So, right now, we’re all good to go, and we will continue to monitor that situation in case that changes again.”

Executive orders are not le g ally binding in the same way that laws are; these presidential orders instead serve to direct the gover nment to take specific actions

Brookfield f unds seve r al of i ts impr ovement projects each year in pa rt through federal funding.

L ast year, the village secured about

Brook eld’s Village Manager Timothy Wiberg

$3.5 million in federal f unds to impr ove the streetscape along Grand Boulevard, Brookfield Avenue, Woods ide Avenue, Pa rk view Avenue and Golf Road . Brookfield a pplied for f unding to impr ove Creekside Pa rk through the I llinois Transporta tion E nhancement Pr ogr am, wh ich will award up to $140 million in state and federal gr ant f unding for walking, biking and hiking projects across Illinois this year

Brookfield was awarded $200,000 for planned street improvements this year on Monroe, Cleveland, Harrison and Blanchan avenues by Cook County through the federally funded Community Development Block Grant program.

PRAIRIE

the unit was employed at different times of year over the timespan.

He said a “traffic safety committee” comprised of one re presentative each from Brookfield’s police, fire, community development and public works departments looked at the police department’s data, as well as data collected by village engineers from Hancock Engineering, Brookfield’s contracted engineering firm.

“As a traffic review committee, we looked at what the analysis was from all the different enforcement details that were done the re [ and] the speed radar analysis along with a village engineering study, ” he said. “They looked at a ccident data from the p ast three years on Prairie, from 31st Street to the railroad tracks [at Brookfield Avenue], and, as far as the engineer findings, there we re no metric s that indicated any a dditional c hanges needed in that area as far as infrastructure or any type of speed reduction. ”

Despite the pattern residents say they’ve noticed, Schreiber said data showed crashes happened at a similar rate on Prairie Avenue as on other well-traveled “collector routes” in town, like Maple Avenue.

“We even dug into what the reasons for any crashes in that area were, and none of them were indicative of any type of a roadway engineering problem,” he said. “Some of them weren’ t even related to speed, actually. It was some things like a DUI [or] the physicality of the actual driver, and having a medical problem is why they crashed. There was nothing area-specific about why the accidents happened.”

Residents remain unsatisfied

Despite the police department’s reasons for not making changes, residents said they felt police haven’t done enough.

“It seems like they’ll do something for a couple of weeks, and we’ll see a [police] car parked there … at the intersections, and then nothing,” Carper said. “Nothing happens, and then there’s another accident.”

Ca rp er ’s neighbor said she suggested that p olice a dd “Stop for pedestrians” signs at crosswalks along Prairie Avenue, as there are no stop signs on

the street from Washington Avenue to Brookfield Avenue, b ut Schreiber sai d p olice have n’ t a dded more signage to avo id overwhelming drive rs

“One of the concerns is that, when you do put up signage like the warning sign,” as opposed to re gulatory signs like a stop sign or speed limit sign, “where there’s no metric saying there’s a specific problem, it ends up having the possibility of detracting from what the actual signage is in that area,” he said.

Carper said he felt adding stop signs along Prairie Avenue could reduce the risk of crashes on the street.

“If you look at … how much they’ve done on Grand [Avenue] around the library specifically, that, I’m sure, has resulted in fewer people speeding through there,” he said. “It just doesn’t feel like a big ask to get a stop sign.”

Ve r non Avenue, parallel to Prairie Avenue and one b lock west of it, has stop signs at b oth Lincoln and Grant avenues S unnyside Avenue, one more block west, has stop signs at Washington and Brookfield avenues li ke Prairie, b ut it r uns one-way nor th. Fo r est Avenue, one block east of Prairie, only has stop signs at those i ntersections, too, b ut it d oes not

extend p ast either r oad. A ll three r oad s have speed limits of 25 mph c ompared to Prairie Avenue’s 30 mph.

Schreiber said the police department will continue to monitor traffic in the area to see if the data changes and starts to show a need for new re gulatory signage to slow drivers.

“We understand that people see crashes in close proximity to their residence and, at times, they have the perception that vehicles are speeding,” he said. “We don’t take that concern lightly. That’s why we implement all these issues and tag all the experts in as well, to make sure that we’re comprehensively reviewing all of the data possible for the area to make the right, data-driven approach from there.”

But residents on the block still fear for the safety of their families and neighbors along the street.

“You do n’ t r eall y, truly experience the de p th of the craziness of Prairie unless you actually live on Prairie, unless yo u are walking up and down and driving up and down the street on a daily b asi s, ” Ca rp er ’s neighbor said. “People do n’ t stop for you when you’ re in the crosswalk, even if you have a ba by in a str oller. They’ ll just fly by.”

costs of making energy efficient improvements: Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit: Taxpayers can claim the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit only for improvements, additions or renovations to an existing home. It doesn’t apply to newly constructed homes. Qualifying costs may include exterior doors, windows, skylights and insulation materials; central air conditioners, water heaters, furnaces, boilers and heat pumps; biomass stoves and boilers; and home energy audits. The amount of the credit taxpayers can take is a percentage of the total improvement expenses in the year of installation — 2023 through 2032: 30%, up to a maximum of $1,200 annually. Biomass stoves and boilers have a separate annual credit limit of $2,000 annually with no lifetime limit.

Residential Clean Energy Credit: Taxpayers can also claim the Residential Clean Energy Credit for qualifying costs for either an existing home or a newly

constructed home. Qualifying costs may include solar, wind and geothermal power generation equipment; solar water heaters; fuel cells; and battery storage. The amount of the credit taxpayers can take is a percentage of the total improvement expenses in the year of installation — 2024 through 2032: 30%, no annual maximum or lifetime limit.

Who can claim the credits: taxpayers making improvements to their principal, or in some cases, secondary residence may be eligible for these credits. In some cases, renters may also be able to claim specific costs.

Landlords can’t use these credits for improvements made to any homes they rent out. See Form 5695 instructions for more information.

To claim these credits, taxpayers should file Form 5695,

Residential Energy Credits, with their tax return.

By Linda Sokol Francis. E.A.

Parade day is Saturday! St. Patrick would be proud

Last year Forest Park drew 8,000 Irish and sort-of Irish guests

By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter

Forty years ago Forest Park sold itself to potential home buyers and business owners by saying that the village had “Big City Access.” In those four decades the table has turned a bit. Now the town between Harlem and the Desplaines River is a destination for people coming from the big city.

“Last year’s parade,” said Laurie Kokenes, director of the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce which sponsors the annual event, “drew 8,000 spectators to Madison Street.”

The attraction is 70 different groups marching including the following headliners: the Proviso Marching Band; the Band of Brothers and Doonaree Pipe Bands (both of which are sponsored by Burke Beverage); Irish Dancers from the Bentley

Academy and the Foy School; a float by the Chicago White Sox; the Stone Cold Killers Band; the Triton Troupers Circus and the Medinah Mini Choppers, Roaring 57s and Motor Cor p.

What makes it a hometown happening are groups representing 21 local businesses, and 17 schools, churches and nonprofits. April Baker Homes will be the Grand Marshall, a role she won by outbidding the competition at the Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting auction. Ironworkers Local 1, People for Emmanuel Chris Welch, Laborers Local One and O’Sullivan’s Public House each contributed $1,500 to become Pot of Gold Sponsors. Nonprofits kicked in $50 for a spot in the parade, Chamber business members $65, and political and nonmember $120.

First responders from the Forest Park Fire and Police Departments will have places of honor.

The parade will step of f on Saturday at 1 pm. The parade route on Madison Street will begin at Van Buren on the west and end at Elgin. The quiet, siren-free zone will extend from Van Buren to Desplaines.

Riverside police arrested a Riverside man Feb. 18 for retail theft.

On Fe b. 13 around 5:45 p. m ., Rive rside officers we re dispatched to the Rmarts Arco gas station, 3346 S. Harlem Ave., on a re po rt of a theft. T he g as station c lerk told p olice he saw a re peat c ustomer wh o live d near by steal two Monaco c anned cocktails around 1:30 p. m. that afternoon. T he c lerk said he reviewed security f ootage that showe d the man p lacin g the two c ans in his jacket before walking out of the stor e.

An officer asked the c lerk to pick a p hoto of the thief out from a lineup later that day. Police said he pic ke d out one man whom an officer reco gnized from previous incidents

Police said officers arrive d at the man’s address nearby on Fe b. 18 to make c ontact with him. W hen asked, the man told p olice he knew that they we re ther e about the g as station, police said. An officer p laced the man i nto c ustody and transported him to c entral loc k up in Berwyn, where he was r ead hi s M iranda warning. T he man declined to give a statement to p olice before he was processed and r eleased on pretrial c onditions with a c ourt date. Police transported the man back to his r esidents and let him go on his way.

gets arrested

Police respond to reckless driving call

Brookfield p olice r esponded to a repo rt of a reckless drive r Fe b. 19 b ut did not ar r est anyone

Around 1:15 p. m ., the p olice depa rtment rece ived a c all about a reckless drive r near the i ntersection of 31st Street and Oak Avenue. T he c aller told p olice she was pa rked near the car in q uestion on the 3300 block of Oak Avenue.

After r esponding to the area, an officer spoke with the woman, who said a ca r pa rked on the street was the one bein g driven recklessly. T he officer made c ontact with a man sitting in the drive r’s seat and explained the car had b een reported for reckless driving. T he man told the officer he had “neve r” driven the ca r and was only sitting in the drive r’s sea t outside his own r esidenc e. W hen asked , the man c ould not provide a drive r’s lic ense, b ut he reiterated that he had not driven the ca r.

T he officer told the man not to drive without a drive r’s license and left hi m on his way.

Hit and run repor ted

Brookfield p olice r esponded to a delaye d re po rt of a hit and r un on Fe b. 21 b ut did not ar r est anyone

Around 3:40 p. m ., an officer r esponded to the c all on the 3100 b lock of Pa rk

Healthy Heart, Happy Life YOUR BEST LIFE with Lisa Capone

Avenue. After making c ontact with the c aller, the officer learned that the man’s c ousi n’s car had been struck earlier that day. He said he had c alled the p olice after r eturning home from wo rk j ust 10 minutes earlier when he noticed d amage to his cousi n’s ca r.

T he officer obser ve d that the car in q uestion had a crac ke d drive r’s s ide headlight and d amage to the front b umpe r. According to police, the man said he c hec ke d his Ring d oorbell c amera and did find f ootage of the d amaging incid ent; he also said he t ried to c ontact hi s c ousin about the d amage b ut c ould not r each him at wo rk .

T he officer returned to the station and t ried to c all the man’s c ousin about the c ase, b ut he did not r espond, so the officer left a vo icemail.

These items were obtained from the Riverside Police Department reports dated Feb. 13-18 and the Brookfield Police Department reports dated Feb. 17-24; they represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Trent Brown

February is American Heart Month, a time to focus on cardiovascular health and the steps we can take to maintain a strong heart. At Cantata Senior Living, we recognize the importance of heart health, especially for older adults. Here are some easy ways to prioritize cardiovascular wellness:

Stay Active – Engage in light exercise like walking, chair yoga, or stretching to keep your heart strong.

Eat Heart-Healthy Foods – Enjoy meals rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins while limiting sodium and processed foods.

Manage Stress – Practice deep breathing, meditation, or social activities to reduce stress and support heart health.

Monitor Your Health – Keep up with regular check-ups, blood pressure screenings, and medications as prescribed.

Stay Hydrated – Drink plenty of water to help maintain circulation and overall health.

Stay Connected – Engage in social activities to boost mental and emotional well-being, which benefits the heart.

This February, take simple steps toward a healthier heart. Let’s embrace wellness together— because a healthy heart is a happy heart!

Visit Cantata.org for more senior living advice or call (708) 387-1030.

Where you go for your cancer care is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Now, feel confident in that decision while staying right here in the western suburbs. As a national leader in whole-person care, AdventHealth offers connections to the renowned cancer care experts at UChicagoMedicine. Find a dedicated partner for your individual cancer journey just down the road.

To learn more, go to ChicagolandCancerCare.com.

Opinion

THE LANDMARK VIEW

Power to Riverside Foods

It is a gift to a community to have an independent local grocery store. The convenience. The connections. The sense of place that a hometown grocer provides is worth a lot.

Now, in a moment when you can shop for groceries online, at giants like Costco or at new concepts like Amazon Fresh in North Riverside, it is a challenging time for a brick-and-mortar store like Riverside Foods.

That’s why it is so gratifying to see this store, which anchors Burlington Street, continue to invest in its infrastructure. As Gregg Voss reports today, the store is now five years into its investment in solar energy, has an electric car charger in its parking lot and is planning to re place an aisle of open refrigeration cases in favor of closed-door cases, which require far less electricity.

Owners Peter Boutsikakis and A nthony Garbis are serious about b oth the environmental b enefits and the savings these c hanges bring. Boutsikakis has an array of data at his finge rt ips d etailing the p ositive impact of these investments

The store has also been aggressive and sophisticated in gaining the state and local grants that have helped pay for these investments. Good for them. Good for Riverside.

Is Prairie Avenue safe?

It is an i nteresting story that our Tr ent Brown tells on page one of the L andmark this week. T here are two s ides to eve ry story and, as he exp lains, multiple r esidents of the 3600 b lock of Prairie Avenue are certai n there are an abnor mal n umber of serious car crashes on the b lock, wh il e Brookfield p olice say they have d one multiple studies that show nothing is out of the ordinar y.

T he r esidents re po rt excessive speeding on a street with a 30 mph limit. T hey re po rt a series of crashes that have totaled multiple pa rked cars. And they raise c oncerns about the safety of their children playing near the street.

However, De p uty Police Chie f Te r ry Schreiber of fered d etails on an array of traffic studies the p olice have c onducted on the b lock in r esponse to r esident c oncerns. Police have measured traffic speed and c oncluded the average speed is actually one mph under the limit, though that d oes not mean there aren’t a small n umber of drive rs tr aveling at an excessive rate. Police have also p osted marke d and unmarke d cars on the b lock to monitor traf fic.

T he department also co nvened a p anel of Brookfield department head s including public wo rk s, fire, c ommunity development, and the village ’s c ontracted engineering fir m to review all the data collected. Schreiber says the p anel shared the p olice c onsensus that further steps we re unnecessar y. He said the de par tment still has an open mind and will ke ep tracking data. It is g ood that neighbors c ontinue to raise c oncerns. And it is p ositive that the p olice department a ppears to be making a g ood faith ef fo rt to moni tor this situation. The Landmark will be following thi s, too.

OBITUARIES

Brian Brennan, 74

Riverside Holiday Stroll organizer

Brian Coleman Brennan, 74, of Riverside, died on Feb. 19, 2025. Born on May 31, 1950, he successfully practiced real estate for 39 years in Riverside, building community with clients who became his neighbors. He showed his dedication to the town of Riverside and its residents through his volunteer work and by supporting local businesses. He organized the Riverside Holiday Stroll for 27 years and was honored for his contributions in 2004 as Riverside’s Man of the Year

He recently helped establish the Seamus Brennan Memorial Basketball Tournament at Hinsdale South High School to honor the legacy of his brother. With the help of Claudia, he worked tirelessly to bring people together in his personal and professional life. Kind-hearted, generous, and loyal, he always found time for you.

His true passion was coaching and supporting kids through sports. A self-described “health nut” and fitness fanatic, he inspired

others to lead active lives. He spent years c oaching boys b aseball and b asketball and girls softball teams and still f ound time for a few r ounds of g olf. He love d mentoring his nieces, ne phew s, and stud ents and suppo rt ing high school sports at Rive rside-Brookfield . He brightened your day, made you laugh, or helped you out. He will be greatly missed.

B rian was the son of the late T homas Brennan and late T heresa (nee C oleman); the husband of C laudia (nee Smith); the brother of Aine (late Jack) Byans, B rigid Brennan, Rosaleen Brennan, Kathleen (Michael) Ulbert, Mar ga ret (Wi lliam) Sircher, Thomas JR, Patrick, Michael, Brian (Claudia), Sean (Joan) Brennan and the late S éamus P (Jane A.) Brennan; and the godfather, uncle and coach of many.

A c elebration of B ria n’s l ife will be on T hursd ay, Fe b. 27, 2025 at Rive rside Golf C lub, 2520 Desplaines, North Rive rside from 3 to 7 p. m ., with wo rds of remembrance at 5 p. m.

The family has requested, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made to Hinsdale South High School where a scholarship was established in his brother Seamus’ name. Donations can be given to the Brennan Family Funeral Services were handled by Ivins/ Moravecek Funeral Home in Riverside.

Susan Wawzenski, 80

St. Mary parisioner

Susan Wawzenski, 80, of Riverside, died on Feb. 19, 2025. Born on Oct. 4, 1944, she was a paralegal and a very active parishioner of St. Mary Church

Susan was the daughter of the late Casimer E. “Casey” Wawzenski and the late Alvina (nee Gucwa); the sister of Linda Wawzenski; and the niece and cousin of many.

A memorial gathering on Friday, Fe b. 28, will be held at St. Mary C hurch, 126 Herrick Road, Rive rside at 10:30 a.m., followe d by Mass at 11 a.m. Pr ivate entombment at Christ the King Mausoleum, Queen of Heaven Cemeter y.

Funeral Services were handled by Ivins/ Moravecek Funeral Home in Riverside.

Volunteer at Unity Temple!

Share your passion for architecture and lead tours for guests from around the world. Join us for training sessions and soon become a Unity Temple Volunteer Interpreter.

CLASS DATES:

Tuesday, March 11 – 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Tuesday, March 18 – 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL

Are you interested but unable to attend? Email volunteer@flwright.org with questions or concerns.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust is offering interpreter training in March.

Sports

RBHS seniors Pankros, Kissel nd way back to state meet

Experienced LTHS brings high hopes a er qualifying 13 in 10 events

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Riverside Brookfield High School senior Aiden Pankros missed out on a possible boys swimming state berth last season after gashing his leg against the metal bleaches five minutes before the 50-yard freestyle. At the Fenwick Sectional Saturday, Pankros already was freaking out even before the race.

“Leading up to it, I was nervous. I was shaking. My heart was pumping real fast,” Pankros said. “I’m worried I’m going to get a false start because I was shaking so much.”

Then came the real freaking out. Pankros didn’t just qualify for state but his third-place 21.38 seconds easily beat the 21.73 state cut by slashing his 22.30 seed time. The state meet is Friday and Saturday at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.

“Just a giant smile was plastered on my face,” Pankros said. “I slapped the water. I was excited. That was probably one of the most thrilling things I’ve done in a long, long time.”

Senior diver Matt Kissel also earned a return trip to state at-large with a second-place 421.80 for 11 dives that also resulted in some freaking out. Kissel had his second-highest total to last year’s 424.40 at sectionals — and that was with taking a zero on his fourth dive when his knees buckled. He finished 45th at 2024 state (156.25 points for 5 dives).

“We were holding his breath for a while,” RBHS swim coach Mike Laurich said. “It just shows you how well he was diving. Normally you don’ t [score zero] on a dive and make state.”

Pankros received three stitches in his leg after the 2024 sectional and still did make state with the 200 free relay. The senior-dominated Bulldogs won sectionals and brought a large group to state

“The best part was I didn’t have to get stitches this year,” Pankros said. “The atmosphere at state is going to be a lot different, but I think I’m also a little more excited because it was an individual event. I was the one who made it happen. I put in the work to achieve it. I have a little more pride in what

I did this season because it’s on a more individual basis.”

Laurich told Pankros at the team pasta party Friday to swim the 50 in two 25s, and that made all the dif ference. Pankros chased Lane junior Alek Arsic (2nd, 20.94) in the adjacent lane and then held on.

“I went out as fast as I possibly could, beat him to the wall,” Pankros said. “I needed to drop 57. It was a daunting goal but just taking it one 25 at a time made it seem a lot more doable and instilled a little more confidence.”

“I knew he could get the cut, but I didn’t think he was going to get it by .5,” Laurich said. “It’s funny when you say one little thing and you don’t think it’s big but apparently it made a big deal with him.”

The Bulldogs finished fourth (215 points) with just three competing seniors — Pankros, Kissel and Avi Ponnappan, who took on the breast stroke this year

Junior Jake Kocourek (500 free in 5:05.53) and the 200 free relay (Pankros, Ponnappan, junior Henry Manning and Michael Kallas in 1:30.80) were fourth. Pankros (100 butterfly in 52.68) and the 200 medley relay (Kocourek, Ponnappan, Pankros, Kallas in 1:44.11) were fifth.

Koucourek would have better challenged the 500 cut of 4:46.28 if not for wisdom teeth surgery that sidelined him for a week.

“For that event, it’s kind of hard to miss a week four weeks out when that’s one of those important [training] weeks,” Laurich said.

The Bulldogs finished second at their first Upstate Eight Conference Meet to West Chicago, Feb. 8.

LTHS boys swimming and diving

After Lyons Township senior Lachlan Gantt qualified for state in the 50 free at the

Hinsdale Central Sectional Saturday, he soon found out that good friend Pankros qualified in the same event at the Fenwick Sectional in the exact same time – 51.38 seconds.

“I texted him and said how funny that was and how we’re going to have a bit of a race at state,” Gantt said.

The Lions should have several memorable races at this state meet. Fueled by several returnees from the 2024 state lineup, the Lions earned 13 state berths and finished second to two-time defending state champion Hinsdale Central 349-282.

Gantt, senior Jake Thorell and juniors Matthew Ferguson and Jack Hannon were second in the 400 free relay (3:05.88) and 200 free relay (1:25.09).

Also second were the 200 medley relay of sophomore Jovan Mijailovic, junior Andy Deditz, senior Declan Vahey and Thorell (1:35.43), Ferguson (200 free in 1:41.66) and Gantt (100 free in 46.34). Taking third were Vahey (100 fly in 51.28 and 100 back in 50.85), Ferguson (500 free in 4:39.62) and Gantt (50 free in 51.38). Senior diver Devin Wong (432.60 points for 11 dives) and Mijailovic (200 free in 1:43.60) were fourth and sophomore diver Owen Kachmarik (415.75) and Mijailovic (100 back in 51.85) were fifth.

Top-16 finishers in Friday’s state preliminaries compete Saturday for all-state (top 8 places) and honorable mention all-state (9-16). Last year, the Lions had just two consolation finals relays — the 200 free with Gantt, Hannon, Thorell and Ferguson (10th) and 200 medley with Vahey and Thorell (14th).

“We have a lot of guys who have experience at the state meet. They’ve felt the adrenaline, the pressure. They know what happens,” Gantt said. “Now it’s just down to seeing how fast we can go. “We’re not scared. We’re all ready and prepared for this meet.”

LTHS coach Erin Rodriguez said another big difference from 2024 is that the freestylers weren’t fully tapered at sectionals to give them a better chance to qualify for state. They should continue dropping time this week. Based on sectional results, the 400 free relay is seeded No. 5, Ferguson No. 9 in both the 200 and 500 free, and the 200 free relay is No. 10.

STEVE JOHNSTON Riverside-Brook eld’s Aiden Pankros reacts to qualify ing for the State Meet in the 50 Yard Freestyle dur ing the IHSA Boys Swimming Sectional at Fenwick, Feb. 22, in Oak Park.

Coming off huge upset, Lions, Bulldogs roll into playoffs

Record-setting LTHS, Nazareth capture 4A girls regional championships

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

The Lyons Township High School boys basketball team is developing a knack for frustrating rival Hinsdale Central. After sweeping last season’s two meetings, the Lions enjoyed another sweet victory, Feb. 18, by prevailing 5855 in La Grange to snap the Red Devils’ 25-game winning streak dating back to Dec. 6. That included the Red Devils’ 75-47 win over the Lions Dec. 13 in Hinsdale.

“If you ask the kids, they’d probably say it’s the biggest [victory this season],” LTHS coach Tom Sloan said.

“Number one, I think we just competed and the kids weren’ t afraid of the moment. We talked beforehand the longer we stayed in the game, whether we were ahead or tied or close, more pressure is going to be building on Hinsdale. They had a lot riding on that. [For us] just have fun and play as well as we can.”

Sophomore Timmy Sloan, who had a season-best 24 points with five rebounds, and seniors Ian Polonowski (14 points), Josh Gutier re z (5 points, 5 rebounds) and Danny Janiszewski (5 points) paced the victory.

With three straight wins, the Lions (14-15) join Riverside Brookfield (21-9) in riding great momentum entering the Class 4A playoffs

The Bulldogs, No. 8 in the Hinsdale Central Sectional, won their last five regular-season games and 13 of their last 15. They’re also are home for regionals, facing No. 9 Oak Lawn (23-8) Wednesday with the winner probably getting No. 1-seed Kenwood (27-1) at 6 p.m. on Friday for the title.

No. 10 LTHS gets No. 7 Curie (21-9) in the Curie Re gional semifinals Wednesday. That winner should pl ay No. 2 Hinsdale Central (28-3) in the 7 p.m. final Friday.

On Feb. 8, RBHS beat visiting Oak Lawn 68-51 behind a 42-26 first half, but RBHS coach Mike Reingruber noted that the Spartans were minus an injured star ter.

“In the state tournament, you can’t look past anybody,” Reingruber said. “We know what we’re up for. We’ve been talking about that since we started prepping. Our guys will be ready. I’m glad it’s at home.”

The Bulldogs have had plenty of practice time. Their 81-58 victory over Bartlett, Feb. 19, was only their second game since Oak Lawn. Seniors Danny Loftus (28 points) and Vince Dockendorf (21 points on 7 threes) and Mantas Sleinys (6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks) and junior Cameron Mercer (19 points with 5 threes) led the Senior Night victory.

“We always say at the beginning of the year we want to be playing our best basketball entering the state tournament and I think we’re doing that,” Reingruber said. “I think offensively our ball movement is way better as the year’s gone on. We’re sharing the ball, seeing both sides of the floor.”

The Lions finished fourth in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division at 5-7. With the Lions’ victory, Hinsdale Central had to share the Silver title at 10-2 with Glenbard West (24-5), which the Lions beat in their first meeting

Riverside-Brook eld’s Danny Lo us (1) and Lyons Township’s Ian Polonowski (35) try to grab the rebound during a non-conference game, Jan. 26, in Brook eld.

The Lions ended the re gular season beating Highland Park 45-34 Friday behind Polonowski (20 points, 15 rebounds), Andrew Carlisle (8 points) and Owen Carroll (6 points).

“We’ve had a lot of close games, won some, lost some,” Sloan said. “The next game, you’d look at the season and say Curie is the favorite but I think our kids are going in with a lot of confidence right now.”

LTHS/Nazareth girls basketball

As the No. 1-seeded Lions try for their first downstate trip since 1999 at the LTHS Sectional, they surpassed those Class AA quarterfinalists in one aspect Thursday With their 66-44 victory over No. 8 Fenwick to capture the 4A Morton Regional, the Lions (31-2) beat the single-season school record for wins achieved in 1999 (30-5).

“As we approached the playoffs, we kind of created a visual for them, a roadmap to Normal. On there we also mentioned there’s another milestone we can reach along the way (30plus victories),” LTHS coach Meghan Hutchens said. “I don’t know how many were aware before I said anything.”

Nora Ezike (21 points, 7 points), Emma O’Brien (19 points with 3 threes) and Gwen Smith (17 points, 5 rebounds) led the Lions to their fourth straight re gional title, which included the seniors playing together for possibly the last time. Ezike (23 points), O’Brien (22 points), Smith (14) and Harper Carroll (8 points) were leading scorers in the 93-21 re gional semifinal victory over No. 17 Curie Feb. 17.

In Tuesday’s sectional semifinals, LTHS played No. 4-seed Whitney Young (24-8) and No. 3 Nazareth Academy (31-2) played No. 2 Kenwood (30-3). The sectional final is at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 with the winner going to the Hinsdale Central Super-Sectional at 7 p.m. March 3 against Marist, Lockport, Lincoln-Way Central or Sandburg.

The Roadrunners won the Nazareth Re gional, and their 23rd straight, by beating No. 6 Hinsdale Central 55-20 Thursday after opening with a 64-21 victory over No. 14 Jones Feb. 18.

At last year’s sectional at Mother McAuley, Nazareth beat LTHS 44-40 in the semifinals and Kenwood 50-37 in the sectional final enroute to finishing second in 4A. LTHS has lost in the re gional semifinals the past two seasons.

STEVE JOHNSTON

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION

WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND

SOCIETY, FSB, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLEY IN ITS CAPACITY AS OWNER

TRUSTEE FOR OCWEN LOAN ACQUISTION TRUST 2023-HB1

Plaintiff, -v.-

UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DEVISEES OF RICKY WILSON, DECEASED, UNKNOWN CLAIMANTS AND LIENHOLDERS AGAINST THE ESTATE OF RICKY WILSON, DECEASED, UNKNOWN CLAIMANTS AND LIENHOLDERS AGAINST THE UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DEVISEES OF RICKY WILSON, DECEASED, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DEVISEES OF ALLIE MAE WILSON AKA ALLIE M. WILSON, DECEASED, UNKNOWN CLAIMANTS AND LIENHOLDERS AGAINST THE ESTATE OF ALLIE MAE WILSON AKA ALLIE M. WILSON, DECEASED, UNKNOWN CLAIMANTS AND LIENHOLDERS AGAINST THE UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DEVISEES OF ALLIE MAE WILSON AKA ALLIE M. WILSON, DECEASED, BONNIE M. WILSON, JOHN LYDON, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF RICKY WILSON, DECEASED, WILLIAM P. BUTCHER, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF ALLIE MAE WILSON AKA ALLIE M. WILSON, DECEASED Defendants

18 CH 07072

643 S. 19TH AVENUE MAYWOOD, IL 60153

NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on December 17, 2024, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 18, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 643 S. 19TH AVENUE, MAYWOOD, IL 60153 Property Index No. 15-10-322017-0000

The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

The judgment amount was $205,161.17.

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

RIVERSIDE TOWNSHIP MENTAL HEALTH BOARD

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 HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 601 E. William St., DECATUR, IL, 62523 (217) 422-1719. Please refer to file number 323264. 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.

HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC

601 E. William St. DECATUR IL, 62523 217-422-1719

Fax #: 217-422-1754

E-Mail: CookPleadings@hsbattys. com

Attorney File No. 323264

Attorney Code. 40387

Case Number: 18 CH 07072

TJSC#: 44-3268

NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 18 CH 07072 I3260849

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M25000176 on February 4, 2025 Under the Assumed Business Name of GREEN ROCK INNOVATION with the business located at: 633 BELLEFORTE AVE, OAK PARK, IL 60302. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: TERRENCE ROCHE 633 BELLEFORTE AVE, OAK PARK, IL 60302, USA

Published in Wednesday Journal February 12, 19, 26, 2025

27 RIVERSIDE ROAD

RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS 60546

In accordance with the Open Meetings Act, this is to advise you that the Riverside Township Mental Health Board will hold a Finance Committee meeting on February 26, 2025, to prepare and review the FY 2025 Budget at the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois in room 2022, at the hour of 6:00 p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact Board President, Adam Wilt, at awilt.rtmhb@gmail.com or call Adam at 708-804-4400.

Published in RBLandmark February 26, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS

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, March 13, 2025, 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:

The ZBA will consider an application for a major zoning variation submitted by Tyler Lamkey and Tina Lamkey, owners of the property at 633 William Street, who are proposing to relocate the existing accessory garage structure on the lot.

Section 4-8-5 of the Village Code provides the Zoning Board jurisdiction to hold public hearings and offer recommendations to the Village Board concerning variations to the Zoning Ordinance.

The applicant is requesting a major variation to Section 10-9-7 of the Zoning Ordinance.

Section 10-9-7 of the Zoning ordinance (10-8-7-A-2) requires “On the secondary street the front yard shall be a minimum of thirteen feet for a fifty foot wide lot,…”. The applicants are proposing to relocate the existing accessory garage structure so that it will have a setback for the Secondary Front Yard of 3’-6” from the north property line to the face of the building, and 2’-0” from the north property line to the face of the roof eave.

The legal description of the property at 633 William Street is as follows: LOT 36 IN THE SUBDIVISION OF BLOCK 12 OF QUICK’S SUBDIVISION OF THAT PART LYING NORTH OF LAKE STREET OF THE NORTHEAST QUARTER OF SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting packet, which includes a copy of this zoning variation application, will be available at www.vrf.us/meetings no less than 48 hours prior to the public hearing.

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/zoningvariation

Sincerely,

Clifford Radatz Secretary, Zoning Board of Appeals

Published in Wednesday Journal February 26, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

The Board of Education of Oak Park Elementary School District #97 will receive sealed “Individual/ Small Group Transportation Bids” for District 97 schools located in Oak Park, IL, 60302, until 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, 2025

At this time, sealed responses will be publicly opened and read at the meeting at 3:00 p.m.

Copies of specifications may be secured at the Oak Park Elementary School District #97 District Office, 260 Madison Street, Oak Park, IL 60302, but only be picked up by emailing Michael Arensdorff (marensdorff@op97.org) to schedule a time. The cut-off date for receiving the scope of services is 4:00 pm, Monday, March 17, 2025.

Responses mailed or delivered shall be marked to the attention of:

Oak Park School District 97

Attn. Mr. Michael Arensdorff

260 Madison Street Oak Park, Illinois 60302

The front of the envelope should be clearly marked “Individual/Small Group Transportation Bid - District 97 Schools.” Additional information may be obtained by contacting Mr. Michael Arensdorff at (708) 5243015 or marensdorff@op97.org. Faxed or electronically submitted bids will not be accepted. Any faxed or electronically submitted bid will disqualify vendors.

Responses Due Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 3:00 P.M.

Only those responses complying with the provision and specification of the response will be considered. The Board of Education reserves the right to waive any informalities, qualifications, or irregularities and/or reject any or all responses when, in its opinion, such action will serve the best interest of the Board of Education of Oak Park Elementary School District 97.

Lonya Boose, Board Secretary

Published in Wednesday Journal February 26, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302

Monday through Friday, 7�30

a.m. to 3�00 p.m. local time until 3�00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21st, 2025 for the following:

Village of Oak Park

2025 Surface Hot Mix Asphalt Purchase Bid Number: 25�117

Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park. us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at �708� 358� 5700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal February 26, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302

Monday through Friday, 7�30 a.m. to 3�00 p.m. local time until 3�00 p.m. on Friday, March 14, 2025 for the following:

Village of Oak Park

2025 Redi Mix Concrete Purchase Bid Number: 25�116

Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park. us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at �708� 358� 5700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal February 26, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7�30 a.m. to 4�00 p.m. local time until 3�00 p.m. on Friday, March 14th, 2025 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2025 Traffic Sign Materials Bid Package Bid Number: 25 � 114 Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park. us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at �708� 358� 5700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal February 26, 2025

Riverside Arts Center hosts artist talk with JAY WOLKE

By HECTOR CERVANTES Contributing Reporter

The Riverside Arts Center hosted a lively artist panel on Feb. 9 with photographer Jay Wolke, focusing on his solo exhibit “Building Place: Big Boat Little Pond” curated by Paul D’Amato and Laura Husar Garcia.

Wolke is a Chicago-based artist and educator, known for his photographic monographs, including “All Around the House” (1998) and “Along the Divide” (2004). Currently a Professor of Photography at Columbia College Chicago, Wolke previously served as chair of the Art and Design Department.

The panel provided insights into their experiences and expertise in curating Wolke’s solo exhibition, which showcases his large-format color photography exploring the intersection of nature, architecture and habitation. D’Amato and Garcia led the discussion.

Wolke said he found the discussion insightful, saying, “Whenever you see your own work filling a room or up on the walls, it’s a very different experience than if you’re just looking at it on a computer screen. So actually, when you see that print, which is really the man-

RIVERSIDE ARTS CENTER

Laura Husar Garcia, Paul D’Amato and Jay Wolke (center).

RIVERSIDE ARTS CENTER

Shelter, Hi Rises, Chicago, USA, 2022, Archival inkjet pr int by Jay Wolke.

made a big difference for me.”

Wolke’s photo exhibit invites deeper reflection, offering a thoughtful exploration of the relationship between humans and their environments through striking images like “Quarry Workshop,” “Carrara” and “Italy,” where the merging of industry, nature and history tells a compelling visual story.

Joanne Aono, exhibition director at the center, said, “The discussion was insightful, engaging and attended by a mix of colleagues of the three photographers and for mer students of Jay Wolke.” When asked about surprising or impactful insights from the artist talk, Aono said that audience members were curious about Wolke’s influences, highlighting his deep engagement with photography

“People asked about his influences and he could easily name them off and talk about each one. He also shared his joy for photography, explaining that it’s what he loves to do,” Aono said.

On the panel, Wolke mentioned wanting to create photographs that guide the viewer on how to interpret them, similar to how a sentence or essay requires a logical sequence of parts of speech and ideas to effectively communicate a message

“There is a particular grammar in photography, and obviously, there’s a lot of graphic material, especially color theory in my work. I’m very interested in how color, light and space work. Those are the three things in photography that really become the vocabulary, or the rhetoric, of the medium. That’s how I choose to approach it, and I guess that sort of explains a little bit,” Wolke said.

As the exhibition comes to a close, the Riverside Arts Center is looking ahead to future programming. Aono believes every exhibition is stellar, with Wolke’s being particularly special due to his unique character. Normally, they would show an artist in just one gallery, but Wolke’s work has had a broader impact.

“Jay’s work is being shown in both the Freeark Gallery and the FlexSpace. The funny thing is we could have used a third gallery because there were so many great photographs we could have included,” Aono said. “Paul and Laura had a difficult time choosing which pieces to feature in the exhibition. As for what’s next, we have a lineup of exhibitions planned throughout the year.”

OP artist to be showcased at West Loop Contemporary Fine Art Expo

Show runs from Feb. 21-23

By DALAL ORFALI Contributing Reporter

Douglas Nelson had a 33-year-long career in finance before deciding to reverse direction and become a full-time artist. It’s been a liberating but challenging experience. Nelson, a for mer Oak Park bank auditor, is among 40 other artists whose work will be shown at the West Loop Contemporary Fine Art Expo Feb. 21- 23. The show will take place at Plumbers Hall on Randolph Street in Chicago.

Nelson recently spoke of his artistic life from his Oak Park studio, where he was surrounded by vibrant colors and carefully measured geometry that captured his happy and energetic style

In his career of numbers and auditing, a pure coincidence introduced Nelson to the world of lithography.

“I audited a company in Chicago called Circle Galleries. They were the sole distributor of lithography,” said Nelson, describing that he got his first “impulse” through lithographs by Yakov Agam, an Israeli artist, known for his work with bright colors and geometry.

In 2016, he returned to Oak Park, a town he admired from his auditing days at First National Bank of Oak Park. The move happened after a rekindled connection with his college ex-girlfriend, now his partner.

Back in Oak Park, Nelson gradually transitioned into art. “I started to wind down my work hours and paint more, and I think in 2019, I did my first kind of real painting,” he said.

His breakthrough came unexpectedly in 2022, when a visit to his dentist’s office led to an opportunity. After casually showing his portfolio, the dentist’s wife – also the clinic’s artistic director –called him the next day, purchasing 18 prints to display in treatment rooms

But before art was able to sway him, work took him across the Atlantic. “I got to Germany, I was working 80 hours a week. I had four children and I didn’t have time to do anything, so I had a studio and I played around, it was just a hobby, it wasn’t serious,” he recalled

During his time in Germany, Nelson was introduced to the art of Sonia DeLaunay, a Ukrainian-born artists who worked in France in the early 1920s. Her abstract, avantgarde, faded – now with time – but colorful work is framed and put in visibly in his living room.

“Her art inspired me tremendously in a different way than [Agam’s] because in her case it was about color. Her and it was revolutionary for the time.” Nelson said.

Drawing from these influences, Nelson describes his own style as “minimalist, hard-edge… very clean lines, but minimalist, abstract.”

“That’s what started things rolling,” Nelson said.

Encouraged, Nelson applied to his first art fair in 2023. “I got into one, then I tried others, and I got accepted everywhere.” That year, he participated in 10 art fairs across Chicagoland, Milwaukee, Ann Arbor, Indianapolis, and Minnesota. By 2024, that number had grown to 15 fairs

Locally, he has exhibited at the Oak Park Art League and Elmhurst Art League, earning a second-place award at the latter. While he enjoys showcasing his work, managing logistics can be demanding. “It’s fun once you get there. I like interacting with people and selling, but traveling, setting up, and tearing down is a lot of physical work.” he said. ”

Now, Nelson is seeking a permanent gallery space in Oak Park, ideally a storefront with heavy foot traffic for greater exposure.

His latest opportunity at the West Loop Contemporary Fine Art Expo marks an exciting step forward. “I think there will be other galleries there, different people, and it’s a good chance for me to expand my renommé, you know, just get my name out there,” he said.

For those who frequent Oak Park Bank, you may have already seen his colorful paintings displayed in their storefront

It’s a local artist named Douglas Nelson, a man who escaped the world of finance to the liberating realm of fine arts You can check more of Nelson’s art on his website at www.douglasnelsonstudios.com

DA LA L ORFALI

Douglas Nelson

e Landmark, Februar y 26, 2025

Submit events and see full calendar at rblandmark.com/events

Reading Between the Wines fundraiser returns to Riverside Public Librar y

Join the library March 1 for a fun night out while supporting updates to its historic building. Tickets are on sale now

By NIKKI ROBERTS Contributing Reporter

Attention wine lovers, library supporters and everyone else: The historic Riverside Public Library invites you to its 6th annual Reading Between the Wines (RBTW) fundraiser on Saturday, March 1 from 6-9 p.m.

Tickets costing $45 include 11 wine tasting stations, scrumptious charcuterie cups and a chance to mingle in the library after hours.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to try a large variety of interesting wines and specialty pairings, including a sold-out red wine and pasta sauce breakout tasting session.

The wine selection is facilitated by Peter Boutsikakis, co-owner and operator of Riverside Foods on 48 E Burlington St., River-

side. This year, some of the tasting stations include Love of Zinfandel, which will feature five expressions of Zinfandel, and an Oregon tasting station featuring wines from different regions of the state.

“I focus on variety and vendor relationships,” said Boutsikakis. “RBTW is a great opportunity to try two ounces of a wine that maybe you wouldn’t commit to at a restaurant or buy of f the shelf.”

RBTW is the library’s main revenue source outside its public funding, typically drawing around 300 guests and raising approximately $10,000 each year. This year, library director Jane Foley says she hopes to raise between $11,000 and $15,000 to support an update to the patron services area, which has not been updated since 1983.

“Right now, [the patron services area] is a hodgepodge of different desks and furni-

ture from over the past 95 years. We want to freshen it up and to give the staff a better place to work,” said Foley. “We would never touch the front main desk because that has been in our building since the be ginning.”

The update will include new carpeting, new bookshelves for holds and the Library of Things, and new desks and storage space for the staff. Past projects funded by RBTW include recarpeting the Great Room and a lower-level renovation.

Guests will be given order for ms if they wish to purchase bottles of any of the wines offered at RBTW. These orders will be fulfilled the following week by Riverside Foods.

“We’re a medium-sized, independent grocery store and we’re constantly fighting against corporate chains and home delivery for groceries,” said Boutsikakis. “Being a part of community events is a big part of

our business. This is another opportunity for folks in the area to see that the value of shopping at Riverside Foods goes beyond the price on the shelf.”

The fundraiser will only offer light bites, Boutsikakis encourages guests to dine out at local restaurants before or after the event.

“Our hopes are that folks patronize the downtown businesses for dinner. [Riverside has] some great restaurants and nice bars and after an event, we typically see a little extra activity in downtown. I’m proud to play a part in that.”

General admission tickets are $45. Each ticket includes a branded wine glass and access to 11 tasting stations. Purchase tickets online, or pay with cash or check at the library. Tickets for the red wine breakout session are sold out.

Inside: Artist Jay Wolke

RIVERSIDE

Girl on Phone, Beach Shelter, Trieste, Italy, 2016, Archival inkjet pr int by Jay Wolke