Landmark 042623

Riverside OKs Central/ Hauser campus redevelopment

New plan safely separates parking lot and play areas

By BOB UPHUES Editor

Riverside village trustees voted unanimously on April 20 to concur with the Planning and Zoning Commission and grant Riverside Elementary School District 96 five zoning variations needed to redevelop the rear parking and play areas behind Central Elementary School and L.G. Hauser Junior High School.

While the Planning and Zoning Commission still needs to sign off on a final site plan, the vote essentially capped a planning ef fort in the works since 2019 and ke pt the construction project on target to break ground in spring 2024 and wrap up prior to the start of the 2024-25 school year

“We’re really pleased with the outcome,” said District 96 Superintendent Martha Ryan-Toye, who

See HAUSER CAMPUS on pa ge 12

RBHS soccer players, including organizer Sophie Swicionis (7th from le ) and Lucy Drenth (third from le ), whose father coached visiting Rolling Meadows and whose mother succumbed to cancer when she was a toddler, line up on the eld before their Kick Out Cancer game/fundraiser on April 22.

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North Riverside Players stage Broadway classic ‘ e Music Man’

Shows at Village Commons set for April 28-30, May 5-7

By JACKIE PISANO Contributing Reporter

For 31 years, the North Riverside Players has delivered high-quality, high-energy theater to local audiences, offering a familyfriendly approach to stage entertainment in the wester n suburbs

And according to Cheryl Pold, a member of the North Riverside Players board of directors, bringing a light-hearted show to the stage this spring was top of mind.

Call this spring’s production of “The Music Man” their glimmer of hope in the midst of the seemingly never-ending gloom of cultural and political news

“The thinking behind our musical was that with everything a little bit crazy in the world right now, we wanted to do a classic family musical that everyone could enjoy,” said Pold, who is directing the show “It has a big cast, fun music, is well-known and is a show to bring people back to the theater for a feel-good kind of show.”

One of American musical theater’s most cherished treasures, “The Music Man” follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying musical instruments and unifor ms for a boys band that he vows to organize —despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef.

An instant smash when it premiered on Broadway in December 1957, the “The Music Man” won five Tony Awards, including “Best Musical,” and has been ranked by The Smithsonian Institution as one of the “great glories” of American popular culture.

“At the Players, we try really hard to make sure that when anyone comes to do our shows, they have fun,” Pold said. “If someone had a great time in a show, they’ll want to come back again to act or help out. We’ve tried to really concentrate on the fun to build our base and have grown our base wide and

have talented people come participate in our shows.”

As with most productions, cast and crew from “The Music Main” hail from across the Chicago area.

Pold, of Orland Park, has been with the North Riverside Players for 14 years, doing everything from choreography and directing to costume and set design

“People are involved from Chicago to Naperville and Schaumburg and everywhere in between,” she said. “We’re not just a community theater — we have regional flair.”

Not only does “The Music Man” promise to

lege, says starring in a production alongside his children has been a great way for the family to connect on a creative level.

In one of the show’s final scenes, Gerald’s character gets to tell his son’s character how great of a kid he is

“I don’t need to do any acting to put emotion behind that scene for sure,” he said.

For Cameron, acting has been a great way for him to meet new people.

“As a theater kid, you meet a lot of new and exciting people that can become long-lasting friends,” he said.

And, of course, starring on the big stage alongside his dad has been a great family bonding experience outside the home

“I don’t do as many things with my dad as I used to and I’m trying to spend more time with him,” he said. “This show has given me a great opportunity to do that.”

Editor Bob Uphues

Staff Repor ters Francia Garcia Hernandez, Amaris Rodrigue z

Digital Manager Stacy Coleman

Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead

Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea

Designer Susan McKelvey

S ales and Marketing Representatives

Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls, Kamil Brady

Business & Development Manager

Mary Ellen Nelligan

Circulation Manager Jill Wagner

EMAIL jill@oakpark.com

Publisher Dan Haley

Special Projec ts Manager Susan Walker

be a family-friendly production, it’s a family show on the inside as well.

Playing the lead adult role of Harold Hill is Gerald Kelel, a resident of Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood. He stars alongside his 12-year-old son, Cameron, portraying Winthrop Paroo, and his 6-year-old daughter, Avery, acting in the ensemble

“Getting to share this experience with my kids is amazing,” he said. “I am so excited that my children might potentially share my love of performing [and] I am just enjoying the experience and helping them along the way.”

The musical marks his seventh production with the troupe, while Cameron will be hitting the North Riverside stage for a second time

Gerald, who studied musical theater in col-

With so many platfor ms competing for attention these days, Pold says she and her colleagues at North Riverside Players hope audiences will seek out a live theater experience.

“We want to pull people away from their phones and all the streaming services and come and be enveloped in that world of live theater with people looking right at you as they’re singing and dancing and take you out of that electronic world for a few hours,” she said. “We pull out every stop to make sure not only our cast members have a good time, but our audience members too.”

“The Music Man” runs for two weekends, April 28-30 and May 5-7, at the North Riverside Scheck Village Commons, 2401 Desplaines Ave.

Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m., and the Sunday matinees are at 2:30 p.m.

For ticket information, visit nrplayers.com or call 708-512-7015.

BOARD OF DIREC TORS

Chair Judy Gre n Treasurer Nile Wendor f

Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Steve Edwards, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

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BIG WEEK April 26-May 3

Hop on in!

Nor th Riverside Parks and Rec will host a Transportation Exploration Day on May 3 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Village Commons, 2401 Desplaines Ave.

Radio Players present Gildy and Benny

The Riverside Township Radio Players return to the auditorium stage of the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road, on April 28 at 7:30 p.m. to perform two classic comedy episodes from the Golden Age of Radio

The troupe presents “Substitute Secretary” from “The Great Gildersleeve” and “Four Girls in White” from “The Jack Benny Program.”

Free and open to the public. Visit riversidetownshipradioplayers.com for more.

Get in the driver’s seat of the coolest vehicles in the area during this free familyfriendly event. Meet the drivers, explore and learn while you climb aboard, honk the horns and sound the sirens

‘Olmsted’s Riverside’

The Frederick Law Olmsted Society invites you to join Riverside architect, professor and preservationist Charles Pipal for the special presentation “The Sweep and Curve: Olmsted’s Riverside” on April 27 at 7 p.m. at the Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road.

Pipal will discuss the history of the village and how it should be viewed not just in a historical context but as a model of sustainability that needs care and stewardship. Register to attend at riversidelibrary.org/events.

And more

■ Friends of the Chicago Portage present “The Chicago Portage: A Lasting Gift” by author, scientist and historian Richard Lanyon on April 29 at 1 p.m. at the Lyons Public Library, 4209 Joliet Ave. Free and open to the public. For more, visit chicagoportage.org.

■ Aging Care Connections, 111 W. Harris Ave. in LaGrange, presents Pride Café, a monthly in-person and virtual program providing space for LGBT+ seniors who are interested in age-related or LGBT+

Celebrate Arbor Day

Arbor Day is this week, and there are plenty of opportunities for you to get outdoors, spruce up natural areas or simply celebrate trees

On Arbor Day, April 28, join Victor Janusz, Brook eld’s arborist, for a public tree planting to celebrate Brook eld’s 42nd year as a Tree City U.S.A. community at 1:30 p.m. near the playground in Kiwanis Park, at Arden and Brook eld avenues

Thirty oak tree saplings, courtesy of the MWRD, will be given out for free to anyone who wants one.

There’s much more on April 29, starting with the Hofmann Dam River Rats Spring River Cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon. Meet in the forest preserve area east of the Barrypoint Bridge near Hofmann Tower. Wear long pants, sleeves and sturdy shoes. Bags and poker sticks provided. Refreshments served. The River Rats will also be collecting aluminum cans to raise money for future clean-up events.

Also on April 29, the Salt Creek Watershed Network

hosts its own Spring Cleanup. Meet by 9 a.m. at the Bemis North Forest Preserve footbridge to sign in. The entrance is o Wolf Road at the creek between 31st Street and Ogden Avenue

Those wanting to participate by canoe or kayak should contact Kevin Kell at 630-849-6212. A cookout lunch follows the cleanup at 11 a.m. Visit saltcreekwatershed.org for more.

The Frederick Law Olmsted Society hosts two events on April 29. FLOS partners with the village of Riverside for a Landscape Workday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Longcommon/Downing Triangle. During that event join Village Forest Mike Collins for an Arbor Day planting of two bur oak trees

Finally, at 1 p.m. there will be a ribbon cutting for the Olmsted Overlook, a specially designed grove of native trees overlooking the Des Plaines River planted last spring on the Swan Pond blu in the 100 block of Fairbank Road. Visit olmstedsociety.org for more.

related topics, discussion and social opportunities, on April 29 at 11 a.m. This month’s topic is Advance Planning for LGBT+ Seniors. Contact Hanah Sebek at 708-603-2270 or hsebek@agingcareconnections.org to get the Zoom link or with questions.

■ North Riverside Public Library, 2400 Desplaines Ave., presents After School Art Escape (child with adult) on April 27 at 4 p.m., Make a Mother ’s Day Gift on April 29 from noon to 3 p.m., Morning Munchkin Stories with Ms. Karen on May 1 at 10:30 a.m., Cinco de Mayo Snack Hat Craft (kids

under 10 with adult) on May 1 at 4 p.m. and Safari ABCs (child with adult) on May 3 at 10:30 a.m. Register for programs online at northriversidelibrary. org/events-new.

■ Linda Sokol Francis Brook eld Library, 3541 Park Ave., presents Fairytale Storytime on April 27 at 10:30 a.m., ChatGPT, Bard & the Arti cial Intelligence Revolution on April 27 at 7 p.m., Chair Yoga (virtual) on May 1 at 11 a.m., Rice for Mexican Treats: Horchata and Arroz con Leche with Violete on May 1 at 7 p.m. and Stress Less: Resilience

for Success (grades 6-12) with NAMI on May 3 at 4 p.m. Call 708-485-6917 or visit online at brook eld evanced.info/signup to register for programs.

■ Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road, presents All Ages Yoga Storytime on April 28 at 10 a.m., Mindfulness Together meditation on April 28 at 11 a.m., Grow a Mother’s Day Orchid on April 29 at 1 p.m., Little Hands Activity Time (ages1-4) on May 2 at 9:30 a.m. and Drop-In Tech Help on May 2 from 2 to 3 p.m. To register for programs, visit online at riversidelibrary.org/events.

CHARLES PIPAL

Harold Peary as e Great Gildersleeve JACK BENNY

Weapons charges led after First Avenue chase, crash

A 16-year-old Chicago boy faces felony weapons charges and a 22-year-old Villa Park woman was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding after she allegedly attempted to speed away from police while southbound on First Avenue on April 24 at about 5:45 p.m. before crashing into and demolishing the pole sign outside Lucky Day Gaming Café, 8400 26th St.

No one appears to have been seriously injured in the crash, which shut down First Avenue in both directions between Cer mak Road and 31st Street during the Monday evening rush hour.

A North Riverside police officer on patrol reported the woman driving the Honda Pilot erratically and in excess of the speed limit and attempted to make a traffic stop. The Honda sped away south, switching lanes and veering into northbound traffic before apparently attempting to cut through the parking lot of the gaming café before striking the pole sign

The vehicle ended up off the roadway on the southwest cor ner of the intersection. Two people exited the rear compartment, one running westbound on 26th Street and the Chicago juvenile running into the forest allegedly carrying what appeared to be a silver firearm.

Police attended to two women, including the driver, still inside the vehicle. The driver was taken to hospital for treatment. The two male passengers surrendered to police, who located a loaded silver .45-caliber handgun on the ground about 150 feet inside the forested area near where the vehicle came to rest.

The juvenile was charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The driver was also cited for numerous traffic violations

Restaurant burglarized

Brookfield police are following up on a number of leads in their investigation of a burglary carried out during the early mor ning hours of April 17 at Tony’s Family Restaurant, 8900 Ogden Ave.

The restaurant’s owner called police at about 4:15 a.m. to report the break-in, in which a large amount of cash was taken from an employee area at the rear of the building.

According to police, security cameras captured video of the offenders arriving at the restaurant in a silver Dodge Caravan around 3 a.m. One passenger wearing a facemask, a red sweater, dark pants, white Jordan sneakers and gloves gets out near the northwest

side of the building and throws a brick through the window

A second passenger wearing all black then gets out and smashes out the rest of the window with a baseball bat before both get back into the van, which then drives away.

The van is seen retur ning at about 3:50 a.m. The passenger in red enters the business through the broken window and goes directly to the employee office where he forces open the door with a pry bar and leaves a short time later carrying something.

The offender then exits the restaurant through the broken window and gets back into the van, which is seen leaving westbound on Ogden Avenue. According to police, the rear license plate on the van was reported stolen out of Lyons later that same morning.

Road rage

North Riverside police cited a 23-year-old Chicago woman for disorderly conduct-offensive act, after she allegedly threw quarters at another vehicle during a road rage incident on April 21 at about 10:35 a.m.

Police responded to the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cer mak Road, after the victim called to report the incident, which began as both cars were in the right tur n lane of south Harlem Avenue at Cer mak Road.

According to the offender, she did not want to tur n right on red due to getting red-light camera tickets in the past. When she failed to tur n, the driver behind her reportedly began honking his hor n continuously.

When both cars finally tur ned onto Cermak Road, the victim reportedly drove alongside and the offender allegedly flung some quarters out the window at his vehicle. The vehicle was not damaged.

The victim alleged the offender then positioned her car in front of his and began brake-checking him before tur ning into the mall parking lot. Police located the offender’s vehicle in the lot at Miller’s Ale House, interviewed both parties and reviewed security video prior to issuing the citation.

Burglar y to vehicle

Brookfield police responded to Sokol Spirit, 3909 Prairie Ave. on April 23 at about 8:30 p.m. after a 33-year-old Chicago woman called to report that someone had stolen her bag from a friend’s vehicle that had been parked at that location.

The victim told police that the break-in took place sometime after 6:30 p.m. and that

she believed the vehicle had been locked, but the report indicated no signs of forced entry. Nothing else was reported missing from the vehicle. The bag reportedly was sitting in plain view on the front passenger seat on top of a sweatshirt Inside the bag was a Surface Pro laptop computer, a Nintendo Switch and eyeglasses The total loss was estimated at about $1,800.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Ri verside, North Ri verside and Brookfield police departments, April 17-24, and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these re ports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

— Compiled by Bob Uphues

RBHS soccer game dedicated to lives touched by cancer

Players raise $2,500 for American Cancer Society initiatives

By BOB SKOLNIK

Contributing Reporter

About a year ago Riverside-Brookfield High School soccer player Sophie Swicionis found out that a high school soccer team in Michigan that a friend played on was dedicating a game to support those whose lives have been touched by cancer and to raise money for the fight against cancer

That made an impression on Swicionis, because in 2021 Tracy Stanard, the mother of a close friend, died just six weeks after being diagnosed of a rare form of saliva gland

mother

“It was really, really special and it was really emotional,” she said after the g ame, which ended in a scoreless draw. Drenth blocked a Rolling Meadows shot with eight seconds left to preserve the tie in a game that RBHS (9-4-1) mostly dominated.

Mike Drenth struggled to find words to describe what the game meant to him.

“You don’t think it’s going to be what it is until you’re in that situation,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to put into words. My daughter and I, it was just us for a while. She’s like one of my favorite people in the world. It was just going to be a game and then they kind of added that aspect. It’s neat enough to be able to play against my daughter and kind of see her mature, but that aspect made it really special.”

Since Lucy was so young when her mother

memories of in preThe so did said she for six second player announcer dedithoughts and the first announcer er was I was crazy how w persomeone, a seemed to ying for Blair, rberg’s lass this

Forberg was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago and in March underwent successful surgery, which was successful. Forberg is recovering at home, but he is expected to miss the rest of the school year

“We all miss him so much,” Blair said. “He was my favorite teacher this year He’s just the best. He’s so funny and it’s like so engaging and I’m not even big on English and he’s such a great teacher and I miss him a lot.”

Forberg told the Landmark that his recovery is progressing nicely.

The Kick Out Cancer fundraiser collected $2,500, which will be donated to the American Cancer Society. Players were each asked to sell 10 purple bracelets. Cookie and concession sales revenue was donated and a donation link to the American Cancer Society was included in the special program for the game.

The two JV teams also participated in the event and wore special jerseys as well.

Lisa Swicionis helped her daughter organize the event.

“She wanted to do it right from the beginning, and I just helped her execute it,” Lisa Swicionis said. “We thought it was a great idea.”

RBHS varsity soccer player Lucy Drenth (le ) poses with her father, Rolling Meadows head girls soccer coach Mike Drenth, a er a pregame ceremony at the Kick Out Cancer match between the two schools on April 22 in Brook eld.

IAN MCLEOD Bulldogs’ goalie Piper Blair dedicated her performance in the Kick Out Cancer game to RBHS English teacher Larry Forberg, who is recovering from surger y to treat prostate cancer

Brook eld gets $1 million from MWRD for new storm sewer

Line w ill run under Burlington Street from Elm Avenue to Salt Creek

By BOB UPHUES Editor

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s board of commissioners earlier this month voted to award $1,075,000 to the village of Brookfield to help fund a stor m sewer project scheduled for 2024.

The new storm sewer, which will run beneath Burlington Avenue from Elm Avenue east to Salt Creek, is part of a series of construction projects along the entire length of Burlington Avenue scheduled to begin in late 2023 and continue in phases through most of 2024.

The total cost of the stor m sewer project alone is pegged at $1.8 million, with the village on the hook for funding the balance.

Village Manager Timothy Wiberg said Brookfield intends to seek additional grant funding to help bring that number down.

“We’ll try to work with our local contacts at the West Central Municipal Conference for [federal] funds to get that cost down further,” said Wiberg, who credited Village Engineer Derek Treichel for the MWRD grant.

“It was his idea, his application,” Wiberg said. “I was very impressed on how quick the MWRD responded to us.”

Treichel submitted the application to the MWRD in January, asking for funds the agency had set aside for “shovel ready” projects Brookfield’s stor m sewer project was one of six approved for a total of $19.3 million in grant funding at the MWRD Board of Commissioners meeting on April 6.

According to Treichel, the village will approach the WCMC in late 2023 or early 2024 for contingency funding for the balance of the stor m sewer cost. While the village has been awarded contingency funds in the past, they may or may not be available next year.

The new stor m sewer will range in diameter from 18 to 46 inches and will discharge into Salt Creek via a new outfall. That stor m water discharge will also route through a water quality treatment structure, which will separate out solid materials, to be located under Burl-

ington Avenue at Grove Avenue.

The stor m sewer project will be put out to bid in late 2023 along with a major reconstruction/resurfacing project for Burlington Avenue Both projects will be done in phases throughout the 2024 construction season.

Prior to work commencing next March, according to Treichel, village officials will host a meeting for residents and business owners along the street to get a sense of the phasing and disruption.

The largest disruption will be to the section of Burlington Avenue between Prairie and Maple avenues, which overlaps with the stor m sewer project and includes a full reconstruction of Burlington Avenue, which will be widened by 8 feet in that stretch.

Burlington Avenue from Deyo Avenue to DuBois Boulevard will also be reconstructed, but it will not be widened. Plans do call, however, for realigning the DuBois/Burlington intersection to remove the island from the street in front of the Cong ress Park Metra station.

The village has already received $2.25 million in federal funding through the WCMC for the road reconstruction portion of the project.

New sec tion of water main

Prior to the sewer/road work commencing in 2024, the village plans to install a new water main under the south sidewalk of Burlington Avenue to DuBois Boulevard and extend it under the east sidewalk of the 4000 block of DuBois Boulevard to Ogden Avenue

The village has applied for a lo w-interest loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to fund the $655,000 project, and Brookfield should hear whether or not they’ re receiving a loan next month.

If the village obtains an IEPA loan, Treichel said the water main project could star t as early as October 2023.

Treichel said he has had no update from the Burlington Nor ther n-Santa Fe Railroad on when they might be gin reconstruction of the retaining wall on the south side of their right-of-way for the Cong ress Park Metra platfor m.

The railroad had indicated last year that they planned to commence work in 2023.

Outside cash boosted LTHS school board winners, disclosures show

Vote totals for opposing candidates also revealed north-south divide

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

The victorious candidates in the Lyons Township High School District 204 school board race were boosted by five-figure financial support from a political action committee of the state teachers’ union, of which the LTHS teachers union is a part, and a newly for med local group which raised at least $20,000.

Winning candidates Tim Albores and incumbents Jill Beda Daniels and Kari Dillon also received support from the Democratic Party of Illinois.

“It’s hard to beat the union, and it’s hard to beat the Democratic Party when it’s supposed to be a non-partisan election,” said losing candidate Tim Vlcek, who finished fifth in the seven-candidate race

The latest campaign finance disclosures, filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections after the election, re veal the extent of the support for candidates

The PAC for the Illinois Education Association spent $15,000 for text messages, digital advertising and mailers in support of Albores, Daniels and Dillon.

On April 17, less than two weeks after election, the LTHS school board, including Daniels and Dillon, voted unanimously to approve a new five-year contract with the LTHS teachers’ union, which includes a cumulative 14% increase in base pay over the course of the deal.

Vlcek questioned the teachers’ union support of Albores, Daniels and Dillon since the latter two voted on the new contract.

“It’s a conflict of interest for the teachers’ union to endorse a school board that is ultimately going to be voting on their contract,” Vlcek said. “It’s ironic that the contract is settled less than two weeks after the election, so how much of this contract was ne gotiated in advance of the election.”

Daniels and Dillon said they had no part in ne gotiating the new contract. Alison Kelly and Jill Grech were the two board mem-

bers on the ne gotiating team.

“I was not a school board member involved in the ne gotiations, and I do not believe that it is a conflict of interest,” Daniels said.

The union spent the money directly in support of Albores, Dillon and Daniels and did not contribute to their campaign committees. Albores and Daniels were the only candidates in the race who created campaign committees. Candidates are not required to file re ports with the Illinois State Board of Elections unless they spend more than $5,000 on a campaign

A new group, which called itself Support Our Schools, apparently also spent significant sums in support of Albores, Daniels, and Dillon.

Support Our Schools has ties to a couple of well-connected Democrats, including LaGrange Park resident Heather Wier Vaught, a lawyer who now has her own law and lobbying fir m in LaGrange.

Wier Vaught is a for mer chief counsel to for mer Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Mike Madigan. She submitted filings to the Illinois State Board of Elections on behalf of Support Our Schools.

The filings indicate Support Our Schools received only two donations, a $15,000 donation from Bonnie Atkinson of Bur r Ridge and $5,000 from Mark Laubacher of Wester n Springs

Support Our Schools didn’t file its statement of organization until March 27, just eight days before the election. It had previously filed as an LLC with the Illinois Secretary of State.

Support Our Schools has not yet reported its expenditures as it is required to do, but Support Our Schools sent out at least one mailer supporting Albores, Daniels and Dillon and opposing Vlcek, Frank Evans and David Her ndon. Support Our Schools also purchased campaign signs that included the names of Albores, Daniels and Dillon.

The Democratic Party of Illinois spent money on text messages, a direct mailer and digital advertising in support of Albores, Daniels and Dillon and opposing Evens, Her ndon and Vlcek.

Albores’ campaign committee reported an $1,623.36 in-kind contribution from the Democratic Party of Illinois for digital advertising and texting while Daniels’s campaign committee reported a $1,447.18 in-kind contribution from the Democratic Party of Illinois in the form of digital advertising.

Much of the messaging on behalf of Albores, Daniels and Dillon described Vlcek, who attended a school board candidate training workshop sponsored in part by the conservative group Awake Illinois, Evans and Her ndon as extremists

“They were out there just trashing us,” Vlcek said.

Vlcek said that he didn’t know how much of an impact the outside spending had on the outcome of the race.

A political action committee run by conservative radio talk show host Dan Proft spent $3,725.56 for a mailing in support of Evans, Her ndon and Vlcek.

School board member Michael Thomas contributed $200 to Albores’ campaign committee, Friends of Tim Albores for the Lyons Township High School Board. Albores’

committee raised $4,160, most of it from the candidate himself and family members, and spent $3955.36.

After contributing another $195.36 to his campaign after the election, Albores closed out his campaign fund by making $400 donation to BEDS Plus in LaGrange.

Daniels largely funded her own campaign, contributing $4,251 of her own money to her campaign committee Her campaign committee reported spending $4,134.84.

Distric t voters divided

The heated race drew plenty of passion on both sides. Voter tur nout nearly doubled from the LTHS school board race two years ago. This year 26.86% of registered voters voted in the LTHS school board race compared to just 13.68% tur nout two years ago.

The precinct-level voting results show that Albores, Daniels and Dillon piled up big margins in the portion the LTHS school district roughly north of Plainfield Road while Evans, Her ndon and Vlcek won big in the souther n portion of the district, especially near the Willow Springs property that LTHS tried to sell earlier this year.

Albores, who was the leading vote-getter in the race with 7,265 votes, Daniels and Dillon combined to receive 55% of the vote overall while Vlcek, Her ndon and Evans combined for a little more than 38% of the vote

In the Brookfield portion of the district, Albores, Daniels and Dillon combined for 65% of the vote combined to just 29% for Evans, Her ndon and Vlcek and almost 6% for unaligned candidate Justin Clark.

In the Willow Springs portion of the district, where many were angry about the school board trying to sell undeveloped land to an industrial developer, Evans, Her ndon, and Vlcek ran very strongly, combining for 66% of the vote compared to just 24% for Albores, Daniels and Dillon. Clark received 9% of the vote in the Willow Springs part of the district.

Albores, Daniels and Dillon ran strongly in LaGrange, LaGrange Park and Wester n Springs in addition to Brookfield while Evans, Her ndon and Vlcek generally did better in Countryside and Burr Ridge, while Indian Head Park was relatively evenly spilt.

TIM ALBORES JILL BEDA DANIELS K ARI DILLON

Nor th Riverside United swept 3 of 4 precincts in trustee race

More than 500 fewer ballots cast compared to 2019, 2021 elections

By BOB UPHUES Editor

Precinct-level election results released by the Cook County Clerk’s Office in the weeks since election day on April 4 indicate that North Riverside United winning three trustee seats on the village board was a nearly clean sweep.

In three out of the village’s four precincts, North Riverside United’s candidates – Antonio Santucci, Deborah Czajka and Nicholas Tricoci – triumphed by large margins over the Municipal Integrity Party’s trio of incumbent Marybelle Mandel and Sandra Greicius and Joseph Maruska as well as independent Jose Del Angel.

Only in Riverside Township Precinct 13, which is bounded by Cer mak Road, 24th Street, Burr Oak Avenue and 9th Avenue, did North Riverside United not take all three

of the spots.

In the 13th Precinct, where both Mandel and Czajka live, Mandel placed third, edging out Tricoci and finishing just two votes behind Santucci and nine votes behind Czajka.

In the remaining two Riverside Township precincts and in the lone Proviso Township Precinct in the village, the numbers were not close. Final voter tur nout was right at 26%, according to the Cook County Clerk, with 1,328 ballots cast.

Two years ago, when Mandel placed second in a three-way race for North Riverside mayor, there were 1,834 ballots cast.

In 2019, when Mandel won election as North Riverside trustee, voters cast 1,824 ballots and she was the vote leader in three of the four precincts. She also outcampaigned her opponents from the VIP Party, which folded a year later.

North Riverside United was born from

that dissolution, and in 2021 mounted a strong campaign, something the party did again in 2023, ba cked by an infusion of cash from outside contributors to their political committee

North Riverside United raised $26,250 during the first quarter of 2023, according to the committee’s D2 campaign disclosure form filed with the Illinois Board of Elections, and spent almost $19,000, primarily on the design, printing and mailing of campaign materials.

The party’s biggest single contribution, of $2,000, came from Friends of Paul O’Grady, the political committee for Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady.

North Riverside United received $1,500 contributions from 7222 Cer mak Holdings LLC, which owns the “skyscraper” building at that address; the Local 3 PAC Fund, which supports candidates who back orga-

nized labor; Nobs Towing, the company the village uses for police towing; and Joe Rizza, who for merly ran a car dealership for many years in North Riverside

Contributions of $1,000 came from COA PAC, whose chair man is Christopher Nybo, who is North Riverside’s paid lobbyist; Frank A. Novotny & Associates Inc., the village’s engineering fir m; Ironworkers Local 1; and North Riverside Park Mall.

By contrast, the Municipal Integrity Party raised $6,850 in the first quarter of 2023, which included an $800 loan from Mandel. Minus the loan repayment, which is listed as an expenditure on the party’s D2, the Municipal Integrity Party spent just under $6,000 during the campaign

Mandel, Greicius and Maruska each contributed $1,500 to the political committee, accounting for the majority of non-loan contributions.

Mihelic outlasts Olson to claim nal Brook eld library trustee seat

20 votes separated the candidates in the race for nal spot

By BOB UPHUES Editor

Tur ns out, it was neve r in d oubt. A head by j ust one vote at the end of election night on April 4, J. Edg ar Mihelic’s claim to a second ter m on the Brookfield Public Library Board of Trustees was anything but assured.

But with mail-in votes counted and certification imminent, Mihelic finally was able to declare victory for the fourth and final seat up for grabs this spring, defeating first-time candidate Karl Olson by the grand total of 20 votes, 559 to 539.

Mihelic was gracious in victory, saying he knew what it felt like to come up shor t in a contested election – he lost a Brookfield Library Board race in 2017 – and lauding Olson for throwing his hat into the ring.

“Karl Olson did not lose the election. I really didn’t beat him.,” Mihelic told the L andmark. “What we b oth did, as well as

the other c andidates, was to c ollect the signatures we needed to g et on the b allot and volunteered our time as c andidates and as p otential trustees to ser ve the village of Brookfield

“A nyone who d oes that is not a loser in my book. When it came down between the two of us, it became more or less a statistical coin flip where I prevailed. Hundreds of p eople voted for Ka rl Olson and the dif ference between us was ve ry thin. ”

Mihelic along with two-ter m incumbent Linda K ampschroeder and first-time c andidates Jennifer Paliatka and Mitzi No rton will be swor n in as l ibrary trustees on May 8 during the Brookfield Vi llage Board meeting at 6:30 p. m. at the village

hall, 8820 Brookfield Ave. Paliatka led the field with 1,137 votes, ollowe d by Nor ton (1,074) and K ampschroeder (1,061).

“ I’m incredibly proud yet humbled by being selected by the voters in Brookfield to ser ve a second ter m on the b oard of trustees for the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield L ibrary,” Mihelic said. “I will do my b est to re present all of the 19,000 p eople who live here and the g enerations in the future. ”

Because the margin of victory b etween Mihelic and Olson was so close, Olson c ould have requested a recount by the C ook C ounty C lerk’s Of fic e, wh ich admini sters suburban elections.

Reached last week, Olson c alled a rec ount “a ste p too far. ”

“I trust our electoral process and the p eople who org anize it,” Olson told the L andmark. “Wi th 20 votes b etween Edg ar and me, it ’s time for me to w rite him a quick c oncession note. A recount would be a waste of taxp ayer f unds and build drama, not excitement for local issues.”

Olson who lives j ust a c ouple of blocks from the l ibrary said he was c onfident the elected trustees would steer the i nstitu-

tion in the right direction and f elt Miheli c and his c olleagues on the b oard are “doing a fantastic jo b. ”

“I have no d oubt that Edg ar and the rest of the boar d will continue their soli d oversight of the library,” Olson said.

While he didn’t win, Olson said he p lans to stay involved with the l ibrary as a volunteer.

“I ran because I love librarie s, and our s in pa rt icular, and li ke to be involved with the town,” he said.

Village trustees- elec t to be sworn in

Also at the May 8 village board meeting, the three candidates each elected to a fouryear ter m as Brookfield trustee will also be swor n in. The village trustee election was uncontested.

Those elected include incumbent Katie Kaluzny, who won a second ter m on the board; Nicole Gilhooley, who for merly served two ter ms as a village trustee; and Julie Narimatsu, a first-time candidate who will leave her spot on the Brookfield Parks and Recreation Board to join the village board.

EDGAR MIHELIC K ARL OLSON

Zalas won majority of precincts in RBHS school board race

2nd-place nisher Novak got 41% of his votes from North Riverside precincts

By BOB UPHUES Editor

First-time candidate Nicholas Novak did well with voters throughout Riverside, Brookfield and North Riverside on his way to placing second in a five-person field for four seats on the Riverside-Brookfield High School District 208 Board of Education earlier this month.

But precinct-level results released last week by the Cook County Clerk Office’s confir med the theory that a contested municipal election in North Riverside did plenty to help the relatively unknown Novak, who lives in North Riverside, against a field that included three incumbents

Novak was the vote leader in all four of North Riverside’s precincts, accounting for 906 of his 2,182 total votes Those four precincts alone, out of a district comprised of 23 precincts, provided 41% of Novak’s total number of votes

In addition, Novak was the vote leader

in Riverside Township Precinct 2, which is unincorporated Riverside Lawn. But he also carried one precinct in Riverside proper –Precinct 10, roughly north of Delaplaine and east of Uvedale Road, and tied for first in Proviso Township Precinct 89, an area of Brookfield bounded roughly by Garfield, Washington, Maple and Prairie avenues.

Despite Novak’s strong showing, however, his perfor mance in North Riverside was not enough to overcome incumbent school board President Deanna Zalas, who led the field with 2,198 votes, just 16 more than Novak.

The only precincts where Zalas finished outside of the top two were in North Riverside’s three precincts in Riverside Township in and in Riverside Lawn, where just 16 ballots were cast.

Zalas won 12 of 23 precincts comprising District 208 and tied for first in one more. The Riverside resident did particularly well in Brookfield, winning seven of the nine Proviso Township precincts and the vil-

lage’s lone Riverside Township precinct.

Incumbent William Durkin won two precincts outright. One was Lyons Township Precinct 1, which is the souther n tip of Riverside’s First Division. It is Riverside’s smallest precinct – only 19 ballots were cast -- and is also where Durkin resides.

He also won Riverside Township Precinct 1, which includes much of central Riverside between Delaplaine Road and the BNSF tracks between Michaux and Cowley roads; Maplewood and Woodside roads; and the entire length of East Burlington Street. Precinct 1 is where Zalas resides. She finished second in that precinct.

Durkin tied for first with follow incumbent Laura Hruska in Lyons Township Precinct 2, which includes the Cech Terrace neighborhood of Lyons, where just five ballots were cast.

Hruska failed to place in the top two in any precinct in the Proviso Township portion of Brookfield, and was fourth in Precinct 89, where she lives. Hruska’s best showing out

of the tiny Riverside Lawn and Cech Terrace precincts was in Riverside Township Precinct 11, which is Brookfield’s Hollywood section, where she finished second behind Zalas

First-time candidate Kenyon Duner didn’t win any precincts, but he was a top-four finisher in 10 of the 23 precincts comprising District 208. His best showings were a pair of second-place finishes in Proviso District 32, which is Duner’s home precinct in Brookfield

Perhaps surprisingly, he placed second in Riverside Township Precinct 8, which runs along the easter n border of Riverside from 26th Street to Herrick Road and includes the neighborhood around Blythe Park School and the area between Shenstone and Addison roads from Harlem Avenue to Cowley Road

New school board members will be swor n in at the Riverside-Brookfield High School District 208 Board of Education meeting on May 9 at 7 p.m.

LTHS school board extends superintendent’s contract

Halfway through current deal, Waterman given three more years

By BOB SKOLNIK

Contributing Reporter

Despite being not quite halfway through his four-year contract, Lyons Township High School Superintendent Brian Water man just had his contract extended for three more years by a unanimous vote of the LTHS school board at their April 17 meeting.

As amended, Water man’s contract will now run through the 2027-28 school year “This contract is an indication of our confidence in you,” school board member Alison Kelly told Water man during the April 17 school board meeting.

By extending Water man’s deal through the 2027-28 school year, his contract is now the longest it can be, since Illinois law limits school superintendent contracts to no more than five years.

After the meeting, school board Presi-

dent Kari Dillon also praised Water man.

“I think he’s done wonders for our administration,” Dillon said.

T he vote to extend Water man’s contract came just 13 days after a school board election in which two incumbents, Dillon and Jill Beda Daniels, were re-elected, defeating three candidates, Frank Evans, Dave Her ndon and Tim Vlcek, who were quite critical of the current state of af fairs at LTHS

Water man has been criticiz ed by some for his handling of a proposed sale of undeveloped land the school owns in Willow Springs. T he school board was ready to sell the approximately 70-acre tract of land to an industrial developer before the deal fell apart in the face of strong opposition from people who lived near the land and the village of Willow Springs

Water man is in his second year as superintendent at LTHS. He was the princi-

pal at LTHS for seven years before being named superintendent in 2021, re placing Tim Kilrea, who retired.

His first year as superintendent was marked by sometimes harsh criticism at school board meetings by some members of the public who opposed COVID-19 pandemic masking requirements and complained about grading policies that have been since rolled back. Some also complained about the school district’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which included the hire of the district’s first-ever director of equity and belonging.

But Water man has been a calm figure through all the criticism and has ear ned strong loyalty from the school board. Under Water man LTHS completed what is believed to be its first strat egic plan.

“I’m just grateful for the confidence the board has placed in me,” Water man said after the April 17 meeting.

Water man said he saw the new contract as not only a vote of confidence in himself but in the district’s leadership team and staf f.

“They ’re the ones who do the work every day,” Water man said.

Water man’s travel stipend and a $500 a month automobile stipend are eliminated in the contract extension. But the school’s contribution to a tax-sheltered annuity will double to 5% of Water man’s salary from 2.5%.

Water man’s current salary is $247,200. Next year he is expected to make $254,616. He is expected to mak e 262,254 in the 202425 school year

T he contract extension specifies that Water man’s salary will be $270,122 in the 2025-26 school year, $278,226 in the 20262027 school year and $286,753 in the final year of his contract in 2027-28.

LTHS board approves new 5-year teacher contract

14% cumulative basepay increase over term of the deal

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

The teachers at Lyons Township High School have a new contract that will give them a cumulative 14% increase in their base pay over the five-year term ofthe deal. On April 17 the LTHS school board unanimously approved the contract, which will take effect on July 1.

The Lyons Township Educational Association, the LTHS teachers’ union, had previously approved the contract by an overwhelming margin according the LTEA President Andrew Johannes, who declined to give the exact vote of the teachers.

The new contract gives teachers a 4% increase in base pay next year, 3% percent increases the next two years and 2% increases

in each of the final two years of the contract.

The actual year-to-year raises for teachers will be greater than the increase in base pay, because many teachers automatically get step increases based on seniority. For example, teachers who have a master’s degree and 10 years’ experience will see their pay increase by a little more than 7% next year under the new salary schedule.

School board member Alison Kelly, who along with Jill Grech were the two school board members on the administration’s negotiation team, said negotiations were collaborative and the contract is an indication of how the teachers are valued at LTHS

She said the contract aligns with the school’s new strategic plan, which has a goal of attracting and retaining high-quality, diverse staff.

“The teachers are so valued at this school, and we want to do what’s right to keep the teachers engaged as much as possible,” Kelly said.

The increases in base pay are significantly greater than the current contract, which was

agreed to in 2019, a time oflow inflation. That contract gave teachers only a cumulative 5.5% increase over the five-year length of the contract.

It took the union and the school board negotiating teams less than two months and only a handful ofnegotiating sessions to come to terms on the new contract. Five years ago, LTHS teachers worked five months without a contract in place before the current contract was agreed to.

Negotiations for the new deal took place during a divisive school board campaign during which the LTEA endorsed the two incumbents running for re-election, Jill Beda Daniels and board President Kari Dillon.

In a statement made at the April 17 school board meeting before the vote to approve the new contract, Johannes, an economics teacher at LTHS, called the negotiations productive and collaborative. Johannes also praised the role of Superintendent Brian Waterman.

“Both parties were focused on a positive dialogue and making decisions that are best

for students,” Johannes said. “This is a testament to Dr. Waterman’s leadership in fostering a collaborative environment at LTHS.”

Dillon also praised the new contract, which she called fair and reasonable, noting that the new contract honors the important work that teachers do

“We believe this agreement will have a positive impact on our students’ learning experiences and help us continue to provide highquality education to each and every student at Lyons Township High School,” Dillon said.

Under the new contract, the starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and no experience next year will be $62,283. A teacher with a master’s degree and 10 years’ experience will make $95,294. A teacher with 20 years of experience and who has 30 graduate hours beyond a master’s degree will make $131,418.

There are no changes to health insurance in the new contract. Teachers will continue to pay 22% ofhealth insurance premiums. The contract also gives teachers a 6% raise for summer school teaching.

HAUSER CAMPUS Work slated for 2024

from page 1

along with architect Ryan Kelly of DLA Architects represented the school district at the village board’s April 20 meeting. It was the village board’s second discussion of the project. The first, on April 6, had left the school district scrambling to address a number of concer ns, from sharing security camera data in the future, to lighting, to the exact location of a fence along the Akenside Road frontage to the landscaping along that frontage, where lilac bushes dating from 1950 will be removed.

That April 6 meeting had left the impression that village trustees were not keen on approving the site plan and a miscalculation at that meeting by Kelly of estimated field area lost if fences were moved farther back from the sidewalk inflamed some school parents, who emailed elected of ficials their displeasure.

Kelly had initially estimated the school district would lose about 4,000 square feet of field space if the proposed fence enclosing the field were moved in five feet. After fur ther investigation, Kelly confir med the actual area lost would have been 865 square feet.

Village President Jose ph Ballerine addressed that matter prior to the village board’s discussion and eventual approval of the school district’s plan on April 20, calling for the minutes of a PTO meeting to be changed to reflect the real information related to the field and defending the village board’s pushback on various elements of the plan as originally presented to them.

“The village board has the responsibility and the duty to do the due diligence, which includes soliciting and considering the impact of these requests on neighbors and evaluate how that impact can be mitigated if the zoning relief is approved,” Ballerine said.

In the end, the school district received the zoning relief it sought for the location of fencing around the proposed 40,000-square-foot athletic field, but the village also ne gotiated conditions it felt were impor tant to mitigate impact on neighboring residential properties

In a letter to the village from Kelly in advance of the April 20 meeting, he stated that the district was in the pro-

e approved plan includes a fenced, 40,000-square-foot turf play area, a new playground and outdoor learning spaces, a separate parking lot including an area of permeable pavers and native plant screening the Akenside Road frontage.

cess of researching security camera systems for that use and that the school district was open to considering an intergover nmental ag reement related to sharing data and also the inclusion of a “blue-light enabled camera” that could serve as an added deter rent for trouble

That letter also addressed concer ns about lighting at the rear of the campus, stating that the school district would remove and re place the lighting presently mounted to the rear walls on the nor th and east sides of Central and Hauser facing residential properties with LED shielded wall packs.

Trustees were also pleased with changes to the proposed landscaping along the Akenside Road frontage of the school property, where on April 6 DLA’s landscape ar-

chitect described the proposed new screening as includ ing “a solid cur tain of evergreen” using arbor vitae in addition to lilac and vibur num plantings.

T hose arbor vitae caused some alar m and in the final approved plan those were eliminated in favor of yew. Other Riverside-approved native species such as chokeber ry, tur tlehead, grasses and hydrangeas are also part of the final landscape plan.

T he new plan now se parates the parking lot and play areas with a 10-foot-wide sidewalk that allows safe passage for pedestrians and kids on bikes. Sidewalks are also planned to r un perpendicular from Akenside Road along the far edges of the parking lot and playing field to allow other safe access points for pedestrians

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D96 school board settles on natural grass for Hauser eld

Ocials

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

When it ’s built in 2024, the new athletic field b ehind L.J. Hauser Junior High School in Rive rside will be a natural gr ass field

In the end, fitting in with the village in the forest ethos of Rive rside seemed to be the d eter mining factor in the District 96 school board choosing natural gr ass over ar t ificial tur f for the field

“I think we need to live within the c ulture and climate of our c ommunity,” sai d school b oard member Ly nda Mur phy, who said she had g one back and fo rt h b etween natural gr ass and ar t ificial tur f over the p ast two years and was sur prised that she ended up favo ring natural gr ass Mur phy said she wo r ried choosing art ificial tur f c ould d elay the c ompletion of the project because of o pposition from

convinced design can keep grass surface usable a er rains

some c ommunity members or the village of Rive rside.

“I j ust want to g et this project d one, because I think it is a huge value a dd, ” Mur phy said.

Board member S hari Klyber also sai d natural gr ass seemed to be the right choice, a dding that she suppor ts the use of natural materials wheneve r possibl e.

“It’s an o ppor tunity to show leadershi p, ” Klyber said.

S ome school b oard members visited newe r well-draining natural gr ass athletic fields in Rive r Fo rest and Schaumburg, wh ich increased their c omfor t level with choosing natural gr ass

T he biggest c oncer n about gr ass field s is that they c an become mud dy and unusable after heavy or sustained rainfall. Ar t ificial tur f fields stand up to rain much better. Physical education teacher s at Hauser favo red an ar t ificial tur f field

because it c an be used more often than a gr ass field .

But after talking with of ficials in Rive r Fo rest and Schaumburg, school b oard members felt that a well-designed natural gr ass field would wo rk for the Hauser / C entral campus

“I f eel convinced that the natural gr ass is going to be useable enough,” said school b oard member Wesley Muirheid.

T he approximately 40,000-square-foot new field is expected to drain much b etter than the cu rrent gr ass field at Hauser, wh ich is frequently unusable.

“I think that the sacrifice of some amount of playing time on a natural gr ass field is wo r thwhile and valuable, and I think that with g ood d esign, wh ich our d esign crew knows how to do, this ca n be a high-quality use a lot,” the school board’

Marhoul, who is also a member of the Rive rside Planning and Zoning C ommission, noted that the i nstalling an ar t ificial tur f field would require more per meable pave rs in the pa rk ing lot near the field. He li ke d that a gr ass field drain s naturally.

“It is a g oal of the village to reduce the amount of r unof f in [ the sewe r system],” Marhoul said.

School b oard President Dan Hunt went along with the b oard c onsensus in favo r of a gr ass field, although he did say that he was c oncer ned about how a gr ass field would hold up in the long run.

T he cost of a gr ass field ve r sus an ar tificial tur f field b alances out in the long r un. A lthough a gr ass field is approximately $800,000 cheaper to i nstall than an requires about maintenance than

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NIU president elected trustee of Chicago Zoological Society

Dr. Lisa C. Freeman was recently elected to the Chicago Zoolo gical Society Board of Trustees, which manages Brookfield Zoo

Since 2018, Freeman has been dent at Nor ther n Illinois Uni DeKalb She first joined the faculty serving as vice president for research graduate studies and a professor og y.

During her time at NIU, she has to suppor t all aspects of the uni mission, emphasizing NIU’s enduring mitment to promoting the social ity of its students, producing high-impact scholarship oppor tunities and with the DeKalb re gion.

She has been widely reco gnized professional contributions and pact on the communities she and worked in. Her honors include named Outstanding Veterinarian of the Year by the Association for Women Veterinarians, acknowledged by local businesses as a Castle Bank Community Leader and invited to join the influential leaders of The Chicago Network.

Freeman received her bachelor’s de gree, master’s de gree and doctorate in veterinary medicine from Cor nell University. She received a doctor of philosophy at The Ohio State University in 1989 and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

New pastor named

In February, Cor nerstone Community Church, 9008 Fairview Ave. in Brookfield, installed a new pastor, Lupe Alva, the congreg ation’s second senior pastor

Alva, who is mar ried with three children, has 10 years of Christian ministry experience as a missionary, assistant chaplain, youth leader, youth pastor, assistant pastor.

He ear ned a B. A. in Christian ministry from Trinity Inter national University and a double M.A. in educational ministries and theolo gical studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry de gree

Appointed

Retired Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel has been appointed an ambassador to the Of ficers Memorial Fund for Illinoi

As an ambassador Weitzel will por t the fund sage of inspiring citizens to law enforcement and role it pl society in tandem with the org tion’s mission honor the tell the story of American law enforcement and make it safer for those who serve.

On campus

■ Riverside resident Riley Collins is one of 52 Chicago area high school seniors awarded an Evans Scholarship, a full tuition and housing grant of fered to golf caddies, following final interviews with the Wester n Golf Association in late Febr uary. Scholarships are awarded to those

with a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.

Collins, who attends Fenwick High is a caddie at the Riverside Golf

Brookfield resident Alec Baltazar (mechanical engineering) and Riverside Haley Hutchings (user experidesign) were awarded Bachelor of de grees from Bradley University following the completion of the 2022 fall semester.

gail Salamanca, a Nor th Riverresident attending Elmhurst Colle ge, initiated into the honor society

Kappa Phi, whose members must be nominated and approved by the local chapter Only the top 10% of seniors and 7.5% of juniors are eligible. Salamanca was also named to the Elmhurst Colle ge dean’s list for the 2022 f all semester.

■ Liam Fahey, of Brookfield, was named to the 2022 f all semester dean’s list at the University of Dallas for ear ning a semester grade-point average of at least 3.5 on a 4-point scale. In addition, Brookfield resident Dawsey Fahey was named to the school’s honor roll for attaining a GPA of at least 3.0.

■ Among those named to the 2022 f all semester dean’s list at Elmhurst University were Brookfield residents Danielle Ambrosia, Sarah Cuevas, Madison Darcy, Elizabeth Hamilton, Carrie Holakovsky, Ruby Kennett, Catherine Schlesser and Ashley Staley and Nor th Riverside residents Adam Bojovic, Evelyn Diaz and Mikayla Garbauski.

■ Anthony Perry, of Riverside, was named to the Milwaukee School of Engineering dean’s list with high honors for the 2023 winter quar ter for maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.7. Per ry is majoring in computer science.

Meanwhile, Riverside resident Luka Malovic (software engineering) and Brookfield resident Clayton Stewar t (mechanical engineering) were named to MSOE’s dean’s list for maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. Riverside resident Neil Kinnan (mechanical engineering) was named to the school’s honors list.

■ Brookfield resident Sophia Bowie ear ned faculty honors for the 2022 f all semester at the Georgia Institute of Technolog y in Atlanta for ear ning a semester GPA of 4.0.

■ Riverside resident Hayden Hughes was named to the 2022 fall semester dean ’s list at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, for attaining a semester GPA of at least 3.5.

■ Among those named to the 2022 fall semester dean’s list at Lewis University in Romeoville for attaining semester GPAs of at least 3.5 were Brookfield residents Alexandra Bator, Mia Hamilton, Kathleen Harney, William Koryzna, Jane McLaren, James Mizura and Alexis Oropezza-Baker and Riverside resident Brian Twomey.

■ Katie Culloden, of Riverside, was named to the 2022 fall semester dean’s list at Emerson Colle ge in Boston for attaining a semester GPA of at least 3.7. She is majoring in business creative enter prises

■ Rive rside resident Colin Grif fin , majoring in business administration, was named to the 2022 f all semester d ean’s list at the C olle ge of C harleston (South Carolina) for ear ning a semester GPA of at least 3.6.

THOMAS WEITZEL

Dr. Lisa C. Freeman

Opinion

THE L ANDMARK VIEW

Walking a ne line

The cold, sleety weather over the weekend probably helped, but an anticipated “large gathering” never did materialize in the vicinity of Harlem Avenue and Cermak Road last weekend

A number of police agencies – most notably Berwyn’s –began alerting people via social media that they’d received credible intelligence that some sort of large gathering would be happening on April 22 beginning in the late afternoon hours in the area near North Riverside Park Mall.

Berwyn police described the gathering as “much like what was reported on in the city of Chicago last weekend,” referring to a large disturbance near Millennium Park that resulted in vehicles being damaged, fights and gunfire.

Of course, that warning spread like wildfire over Facebook and North Riverside, Brookfield and Riverside police followed up with similar messages to residents, gar nering the attention of TV and radio news and Chicago’s daily newspapers.

No doubt all of the attention had the effect of sending a message that local police would be ready for any sort of gathering, and anything that had been organized was quickly dropped.

However, we subsequently found out that the call for the gathering was taken down two days before Berwyn made its announcement regarding the possibility of it happening and that no other such posts had followed.

So how real was this? We don’t really know.

Of course, there have been spontaneous, disruptive large gatherings of young people at the mall in past years, ones police subsequently learned were organized via social media, so these things have happened and are likely to continue happening.

Local officials really walk a fine line with how much to make of these “trends,” because it’s bad PR, bad for business and these aren’t sure things. It’s a tough call.

The social media reaction was a predictable mix of concer n, hysteria and racism. North Riverside Park Mall inevitably was trashed as a cesspool by people who likely have never visited it or haven’t in a very long time. Throw in a little daydream vigilantism and you get the picture.

By all accounts, the mall instituted its youth supervision policy all day on April 22 and there was plenty of police and security presence – as well as a least one, no doubt disappointed, TV news crew -- to deter whoever the weather did not. It was a quiet Saturday in April in North Riverside

North Riverside police did an admirable job working with its neighbors to devise a flexible response that could be adjusted as events dictated

However, we can be sure this won’t be the last such “advisory” as the weather improves. Here’s hoping for continued excellent police intelligence gathering to head off incidents and for people to not immediately assume the worst when that intelligence is shared.

KOSEY CORNER

St Paul VI pastor to celebrate 40 years as a priest

Ajour ney that be g an 40 years ago at Divine Savior Parish in Nor ridge will culminate with a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Father Thomas May’s ordination as a priest at St. Mary Church in Riverside on May 13 with 4 p.m. Mass followed by a reception in the St. Paul VI Parish Center

Father Tom attended Divine Savior Grade School, Notre Dame High School and DePaul University, ear ning a degree in business management. He then set out on his vocation to become an archdiocesan priest.

JOANNE KOSE Y

Before coming to St. Mary’s, he served at St. Benedict Parish, St. Priscilla Parish, St John Fisher Parish and St. John Brebeuf Parish. He was instrumental in the combining of St Mary, St. Hugh and Mater Christi parishes, assuming the title of pastor of the combined parish of St. Paul VI.

Father Tom has brought his sense of caring for not only to his parishioners but to the people of the community. Who hasn’t seen his bright smile and wave in Riverside’s July 4th parade or helping the parish be a part of community activities? He has brought a sense of calm to the parish and obviously is enjoying his time here.

So, gather on May 13 to thank the man who is sharing

LET TERS

No Mow May is no great shakes

Once again, the Riverside Landscape Advisory Commission is spreading questionable information, this time about pollinators (“No Mow May gets a test run in Riverside,” News, April 5).

Bee City USA has a catchy name but its information on pollinators is not particularly accurate and not corroborated by apian research at our universities.

Riverside residents who want to help pollinators should ignore No Mow May despite the populist appeal of benefiting pollinators by not mowing. “No mow” has been effectively debunked by scientific data in several articles which a quick Google search will list.

his life and generously giving to so many. Thank you, Father Tom, on behalf of all who benefitted from your personal visits, those hearty waves and sincere smiles for all you meet.

Hair today and gone tomorrow: That is how it went for Father Matt Nemchausky, associate pastor St. Paul VI Parish.

Father Matt, who was formerly pastor of Mater Christi Parish before it merged with St. Mary and St. Hugh to form St. Paul VI, was recognizable for his very full beard, of which he is proud and grows quickly and easily.

So, when St. Mary School held its annual fundraiser, someone thought of asking Father Matt to shave his beard to raise funds. Hoping to raise $5,000, they exceeded their hopes by raising over $15,000.

The question is, is Father Matt going to grow his beard again? How much do you want to bet he will grow it back and how long do you think it will take? Could be another fundraiser.

The parish does have another fundraiser scheduled for May, a limited raffle where only 200 tickets will be sold. Another check in the mail for me

If residents really want to help pollinators survive, “No Blow Fall and Spring” would be very helpful. Admittedly, as a slogan lacking rhyme, it doesn’t have much appeal. Bees and other native pollinators lay their eggs in the fall in leaf debris, plant stalks and other plant detritus.

Fall and spring yard cleanups effectively destroy this habitat. So, there are very few pollinators left by May and weeds like dandelions encouraged by “no mow” provide a poor-quality pollen.

If residents want to participate in a “no mow” program, “No Mow March and April” would at least benefit their lawns and a healthy lawn is the best defense against pesky weeds.

Better sites for science-based information on pollinators are illinoispollinators.org and ipollinate.illinois. edu.

Jacquelyn Paine, master gardener Univ. of Illinois Extension Ri verside

OBITUARIES Anna Skala, 88 Brook eld resident

Anna Skala (nee Podest), 88, of Brookfield, died April 12, 2023. Ms Skala had worked as a bookkee per.

She was the wife of the late Josef Skala; the mother of Jose ph (Francine) Skala, Michael (Angela) Skala and the late John Skala; the grandmother of Christine (JT) McLanig an, Jose ph (Erin) Skala, Andrea (Anthony) Harding and Allison (Theodore) Cook; the great grandmother of Connor, McKenzie, Aubrey, John, Keira, Peyton, Sadie and Gavin; the sister of Mary (John) Austin, Joe (Laver n) Podest, Rosie Brown, Carolyn Willson, Velma (Ben) Brandt, Barbara (the late Mike) Schwartz and predeceased by Georgia (the late John) Onderek, Frank Podest and Lilly Mae (Bob) Breon; aunt and great aunt of many nieces and ne phews.

Visitation is Wednesday, April 26 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st St., Brookfield. A funeral Mass will be celebrated April 26 at 10:30 a.m.

at St. Barbara Church, 4008 Prairie Ave., Brookfield. Inter ment is at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside

Send sympathy cards to Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st St., Brookfield, 60513, c/o Anna Skala family

Raymond H. Aul Jr., 57

Quality control manager

Raymond H. Aul Jr., 57, of Joliet and formerly of Lyons and Hodgkins, died April 22, 2023 at his home.

Mr. Aul was born May 8, 1965 in Melrose Park. He was a quality control manager for Classic Color Inc. in Broadview.

He was the husband of Joanne (nee Kotrba) Aul; the father of Jaclyn and Jacob Aul; the son of Theodore Vyhnanek Sr and the late Raymond H. Sr and late Shirley (nee Norwood) Aul; the brother of Dawn (Ed) Lewis, Theodore (Lori) Vyhnanek Jr., James (Melody) Aul, Matthew Aul and Lisa (Chris) Trauscht; and the uncle of Timothy and Abby Vyhnanek, Zander and Hunter Aul, Samantha and Alyssa Lewis, Nathan Trauscht, Nathan Zyla, Kiera Trauscht, Annabella Lewis, Ruby Trauscht and Jericho Aul. Visitation is Thursday, April 27 from 3 to

By Linda Sokol Francis. E.A.

CLAIMING A CHILD AS A DEPENDENT WHEN PARENTS ARE

Parents who are divorced, separated, never married or live apart and who share custody of a child with an ex-spouse or ex-partner need to understand the specific rules about who may be eligible to claim the child for tax purposes. This can make filing taxes easier for both parents and avoid errors that may lead to processing delays or costly tax mistakes.

Only one person may be eligible to claim the qualifying child as a dependent.

Only one person can claim the tax benefits related to a dependent child who meets the qualifying child rules. Parents can’t share or split up the tax benefits for their child on their respective tax returns.

It’s important that each parent understands who will claim their child on their tax return. If two people claim the same child on different

PART I

tax returns, it will slow down processing time while the IRS determines which parent’s claim takes priority.

Custodial parents generally claim the qualifying child as a dependent on their return.

The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the year. The other parent is the noncustodial parent.

In most cases, because of the residency test, the custodial parent claims the child on their tax return.

If the child lived with each parent for an equal number of nights during the year, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income.

8 p.m. with a Celebration of Life service at 7 p.m. at Johnson-Nosek Funeral Home 3847 Prairie Ave., Brookfield

Memorials to Lightways Hospice, American Cancer Society or Northwest Memorial Foundation would be appreciated.

Online condolences, memories and photographs may be shared at JohnsonNosek. com.

Frederick W. Grosskopf, 87

Worked for Illinois Bell/AT&T

Frederick W. Grosskopf, age 87, of Brookfield and for merly of LaGrange and Chicago, died April 14, 2023.

Mr Grosskopf grew up on the South Side of Chicago and graduated from Calumet High School. In the midst of 13 years of attending night school, he mar ried the love of his life, Ardy, on May 7, 1960.

While raising his family, he attended DePaul University and ear ned his master’s de gree in urban studies from Loyola University. He retired from Illinois Bell/AT&T after 40 years.

Fred will be remembered for his values of faith, f amily, lear ning, camping and g enealo gy. He will also be remembered by

many for delivering Meals on Wheels for over 15 years.

Mr Grosskopf was the husband of Ardythe Grosskopf (nee T hompson); the father of Kathie (David) Miller-Schapira, Cindy (Ben) Sanche z, Fred (Susan) Grosskopf, Ken (Kirsten) Grosskopf and Steve (Katie) Grosskopf; the grandfather of Nathan, Nicole, Erik, Maddie, Mason, Grace, Tyler, Libby and Tommy; the brother of Edmund (Marg aret) Grosskopf and the late Marie (the late Leonard) Schmit; and the uncle of many nieces and ne phews

Visitation will be held on Friday, June 9 from 8 to 9:15 a.m. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st St., Brookfield. A funeral Mass will be celebrated June 9 at 10 a.m. at St. Cletus Church, 600 W. 55th St., LaGrange. Inter ment is private Mt. Emblem Cemetery, Elmhurst.

Memorials appreciated to Indiana Dunes State Park, 1600 N. 25 E. Chester ton, Indiana, 46304 or St. Cletus Church, 600 W. 55th St., La Grange, 60525 or DePaul University, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, 60604

Express condolences online at HitzemanFuneral.com. Send sympathy cards to Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st St., Brookfield, 60513, c/o T he Frederick Grosskopf family.

Pacourek finding extra gear in senior track season

New personal best gets her closer the automatic state qualif ying time

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Riverside-Brookfield High School senior Bryce Pacourek once again rose to the occasion against strong girls track and field competition on April 22.

The retur ning 2002 Class 3A state qualifier in the 800-meter run continues training hard but, then again, sometimes not.

That’s because she’s also training smarter

“There’s kind of this whole movement about how there’s easy runs so your harder days can be harder and sophomore year I never believed this,” Pacourek said. “I thought that every run would be hard because I wanted to improve. I’ve lear ned that if I run easier on my easy days, I can run a lot harder at races.”

Pacourek achieved yet another personal best in the 800 (2 minutes, 21.99 seconds) at Distance Night in Palatine to finish fifth in Section 2 of 4 and close on the 2:20.60 automatic state-qualifying standard. Her previous best was 2:23.46 indoors March 10 at Batavia.

Last season, Pacourek ran a then personalbest 2:26.82 to finish second at the Proviso East Sectional and qualify for state automatically with a top-two sectional finish. Her 19thplace 2:27.02 at state was her then second-fastest time

Her time at Palatine came even while being mostly in Lane 2 to avoid congestion. She’ll continue running at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, next year.

“I like how fast [the 800] is because it’s a full-out sprint for two laps and it just goes by so fast, which is kind of a good thing and also a bad thing,” Pacourek said. “I’ve always loved the 4-by-400 [relay] so the 800 is a good distance that’s combining my love for the 400 and the 1,600.”

Pacourek also loves overcoming the odds

After “the worst 800 race I’ve ever had” at last year’s Metro Suburban Conference Meet (4th,

2:38.21), she found another gear at sectionals to move into second over the final 200 meters.

“With 100 meters to go, there was a girl [in second], 10 meters in front of me,” she said.

“I was like, ‘I’m not going to get her,’ and then ‘You know what? I’m going to get her.’ It was so rewarding.”

The performance further encouraged her college running plans Pacourek wants to major in exercise science after becoming interested in physical therapy by shadowing professionals during the summer of 2021.

Her commitment as a student-athlete

ear ned honorable mention on the IHSA AllState Academic Team.

“I’ve lear ned to push my limits [through running]. I’ve lear ned how to listen to my body. I’ve lear ned a lot of skills for handling pressure and stress and how to balance running and school life,” Pacourek said.

Pacourek began distance running with cross country in sixth grade. She was a fouryear RBHS cross country runner who competed at four state meets

As a freshman, Pacourek tried track while also playing soccer. She began track exclu-

sively as a sophomore, running her fastest 800 at sectionals (2:28.51).

“She’s doing amazing this year,” said RBHS girls cross country coach and assistant track coach Blair Jensen. “She’s gotten so much stronger She’s grown in height, more confident. She’s always had a great work ethic, but she understands I’ve got to put in the right kind of work. She’s figured out running a lot more.”

This year’s goals include getting teammates to state in a relay and challenging the 2:18 school record in the 800 meters.

Br yce Pacourek (shown above in action earlier this month) set a personal best 2:21.99 in the 800 meters on April 22 at Palatine Distance Night, shav ing almost two seconds o her prev ious PR , set in dur ing the indoor season in March.

LTHS girls water polo team has unfinished business

Co-captain, Brook eld resident Mladjan hopes to lead Lions back to state’s top three

By BILL STONE

Contributing Reporter

Lyons Township High School senior

Emilia Mladjan entered this girls water polo season already signed to play next for the University gan.

It’s only additional fuel already strong competiti

“It took a lot off my It reassured me but also you want to live up to the it’s kind of a good motivator Mladjan said.

The Brookfield resident the experienced Lions have unfinished business taking third in state in achieving the program’s first back-to-back state quarterfinal berths.

Mladjan leads LTHS with 84 goals and 21 ejections drawn, is fourth with 32 assists and

also has 33 steals.

Senior goalie Allison Schroeder (212 saves, 69 save percentage, 13 assists), seniors Ava Wright (27 goals, team-high 35 assists and 42 steals) and Evie Reinisch (17 goals, 33 assists) and sophomore Maya Mladjan , 33 assists, 42 steals), sister, also are retur ning

Estelle Wright (28 goals, assists), senior Kaelyn Sloan 7 assists) and freshman cker (8 goals, 14 assists) key contributors.

[Emilia is] our main hole set Other teams typically put ers on her,” LTHS coach Jacobs said. “So, she’s not leading scorer but she also scores with two people on her most of the time and draws the defense towards her so other people can score.”

Emilia Mladjan also has a greater team

impact as co-captain with Schroeder. Even before being officially named, Mladjan was involved in designing and ordering team swimsuits, designing team T-shirts and creating spreadsheets with personal and team goals

During spring break, she and Schroeder held a dryland captains’ practice that included a scavenger egg hunt.

“[Emilia has] done a lot as a captain on the team management side behind the scenes,” Jacobs said. “I would say her biggest growth [as a player] came between sophomore and junior year.”

The 2022 season truly was the breakthrough for Emilia. She was named first-team all-state and led the Lions in goals (147), steals (97) and field blocks (13) and was third in assists (45). She also had a strong offseason with the East Side Water Polo Club, where Maya also plays.

“The beginning of my summer after junior year was where I was like, ‘I really want to play [in college],’ and I had just begun, I feel like, to show off who I really am as a player,”

Mladjan said. “With that came this realization that I want to continue and get better and that means playing in college. Now I am, so I’m very happy about that.”

Michigan initially had shown interest but then underwent coaching changes. New head coach Cassie Chur nside, previously a women’s and men’s assistant at Harvard, continued the communication.

Mladjan officially visited and committed in the fall.

They have a program that I really like for water polo and engineering,” Mladjan said. “The school’s great and they have a lot of resources for students and athletes alike.”

The Lions only have lost to Stevenson twice, Lincoln-Way Central and to Mother McAuley, the No 1 seed ahead of them in the LTHSA Sectional.

Since the McAuley loss, the Lions have won four straight in West Suburban Conference play by beating York, Hinsdale Central, Morton and Oak Park and River Forest.

Hot-hitting Marrs leads streaking RBHS baseball

Bulldogs have won six straight games a er halting start

By BILL STONE

Contributing Reporter

Junior Cooper Mar rs continues to shine as a hitter and pitcher for the Riverside-Brookfield High School boys baseball team.

On April 24, Marrs was among the Bulldogs’ offensive standouts as they won their sixth straight by beating Elmwood Park 9-2.

Ryan Novak had two doubles and Marrs and Luke Yachnin doubled Novak, Jake Tyler, Sam Didio and Joey Garvey had two hits each.

Winning pitcher Wyatt Murphy fanned seven in 4.2 innings.

Marrs now is hitting .520 with two home runs and 17 RBIs. As a

pitcher, Marrs improved to 2-2 by throwing a five-hit shutout against Aurora Central Catholic on April 18 with eight strikeouts and no walks. Tyler homered and doubled and Yachnin and Jaden Despe also doubled.

Against St. Edward, an 11-1 win on April 21, Marrs was 4 for 4 with a home run, triple and four runs batted in and four runs scored. Yachnin was 3 for 4 with a triple and five RBIs and Rex Dockendorf had two hits, including a double.

Jaime Izaguirre (7 strikeouts in 4 innings) and Ben Wilkowski combined on a two-hitter.

Wes Deason homered and Didio, Marrs and Yachnin doubled during a 14-3 win over Bishop McNamara on April 20. Kevin Cronin pitched a five-hitter.

Novak threw a three-hitter against Morton on April 19 with five strikeouts The Bulldogs (10-7, 3-2) won that game 5-1.

RBHS softball

T he Bulld og s (10-5, 3-2 in MSC) edged Bishop McNamara 4- 3 on April 24 in eight i nnings to avenge their 12-5 loss April 3.

Wi th the g ame tied 2-2 enterin g the eighth, E llie Me g all and Zoe Levine (RBI) hit back-to-back d oubles and L una Lloyd followe d with a r un-scoring single. E lla Ju rgens also d oubled and T rinity St evenson (7 hits, 2 strikeouts) was the winning pitcher

At the S outh Side Softball

Sh owc ase on April 22 at Ever green Pa rk , RBHS defeated Mother McAuley 5-4 after bein g edged by St. Laurence 8-7.

Ag ainst McAuley, Org an was named Playe r of the Game by the tour nament after hitting a home r un. Me g all had two RBI s. S tevenson threw a three-hitter with four strikeouts

Me g all and Ju rgens homered

against St. L aurence. Org an, Me g all and E llary Hastings had two hits each.

RBHS lost to El mwood Park 11-2 on April 18.

RBHS badminton

Junior Katie DeJesus has a 14-7 record at No. 1 singles for the Bulldo gs (6-16), who are wrapping up their re gular season heading into next week’s sectionals.

Sophomore Luna McNally was second at No 3 singles at the Glenbard South Invite on April 15.

RBHS water polo

The RBHS girls (2-12-1) went 0-3 at the York Invite on April 15 following a 6-2 home victory over Latin on April 11.

Lorelei Leimberer had three goals against Latin. Claire Cervi, Priscilla Gil and Isabella Gonza-

le z scored once. Gil now has 28 goals and Cervi 12.

The RBHS boys (3-14) lost to Warren 15-4 on April 17.

RBHS boys volleyball

The Bulldogs (14-9) moved to 3-0 in the Metro Suburban Conference by defeating Chicago Christian 25-18, 25-21 on April 18.

Sebastian Ciszewski (7 kills), Landon Harazin (17 assists, 6 digs), Gar rett Angshed (2 aces, 5 digs) and Liam Reilley (14 service rece ptions) paced RBHS.

The Bulldogs went 3-0 in the third-place bracket at the Brother Rice Invitational on April 22, beating Fenwick, Eisenhower and Providence all in two sets, after losing to Jones and York in two sets each in Friday’s pool play. Ciszewski was named to the alltour nament team.

EMILIA MLADJAN

Riverside home on Fairbank Road fetches $835,000

The following property transfers were re ported by the Cook County Clerk from December 2022. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the clerk’s office.

Brookfield

Madison Ave. $155,000 11/28/2022 Rhoades, Elizabeth The Hamlin Grp Inc 3027 Sunnyside Ave. $357,500 11/01/2022 Schillinger, Walter L Zander, William 4513 Oak Ave. $339,000 11/18/2022 Rasmus, Ted L Logiudjice, Thomas Anthony Jr

3643 Vernon Ave. $220,000 12/01/2022 C & H Resid Holdings LLC Hrobsky, Daniel 9025 30th St. $145,000 12/06/2022 Brown, Patricia J Bieliauskas, Arturas 2901 Sunnyside Ave. $365,000 11/30/2022 Pasquale, Sue Campbell, Sherry A 3916 Elm Ave. $231,000 11/14/2022 Fecarotta, Matthew J Rasasy, Patthana 3825 Morton Ave. $310,000 12/01/2022 Jensen, Aaron Manzella, Antoinette M

Nor th Riverside

LICENSED ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONER

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Licensed Environmental Health Practitioner in the Health Department. This position will perform a variety of duties including education and enforcement activities for the promotion and protection of the public health environment. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website https:// www.oakpark.us/your-government/ human-resources-departments

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

SEASONAL FARMER’S MARKET ASSISTANT

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Seasonal Farmer’s Market Assistant in the Health Department. This position will provide administrative support to the Farmer’s Market Manager to allow growers and producers of food to sell directly to the public within established guidelines. This position requires work in inclement weather conditions; some heavy lifting of up to 50 pounds; walking or standing for sustained periods of time. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/jobs.

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

HIRING CLEANING

TECHNICIANS FOR OPPORTUNITIES IN WESTCHESTER!

Awesome Cleaning & Janitorial Services is looking for experienced cleaning technicians that are energetic, hospitable, ready to work and AWESOME!

Pay starts at $20/hr. Must be available for weekends also. Ready to work? Contact us by email at info@awesomecjs.com.

CARS WANTED

PART-TIME

ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER

Call for more info. 708-738-3848

PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER FOREST PARK, IL

The Forest Park Police Department is seeking Part-Time Parking Enforcement Officer(s); Shifts to be filled are 8:00pm – Midnight or Midnight – 6:00am. The position is a rotating schedule assigned by the Supervisor – 4 days on and 4 days off which includes weekends and some holidays. Eligible candidates will be required to pass an aptitude test and an extensive background check.

Qualifications include high school diploma (or equivalent), a valid driver’s license, knowledge of basic parking regulations, and good verbal and written skills.

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

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE CLERK

The Village of Forest Park is seeking qualified individuals for the position of Accounts Receivable Clerk. Duties for this position include, but are not limited to; billing, collections, customer service, answering telephones, cashier duties, data entry and general office functions.

Qualified applicants should have a good working knowledge of computers, accurate typing skills, customer service skills and solid organizational skills. Experience with Springbrook municipal software a plus. A background investigation will be conducted prior to consideration for the position. Applications available at Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Avenue or on-line at www.forestpark.net and should be returned to Vanessa Moritz, HR Director, at Village Hall. Applications accepted until position is filled. EOE.

Management Analyst - Operations Strategy advisory sought by Digital Intent, LLC dba Manifold in Chicago, IL to lead project teams & work across functions to ensure software/ data/analytics products are effectively built to generate return on investment for clients. Reqs: Master’s Deg in Mgmt Studies, Business, Acctg, Finance, Engg, Bus Admin, or rltd field & 2 yrs exp in job offd or rltd role. Must also possess exp w/ conducting research & analysis on business ops, incl regression analysis, machine learning models, & bi-partite analysis & etc. 5% domestic travel req. 100% telecommuting from home allowed from anywhere in US. Apply online: https://www.manifold.group/careers

CLASSICS WANTED

CLASSICS WANTED

Restored or Unrestored

Restored or Unrestored

Cars & Vintage Motorcycles

Cars & Vintage Motorcycles

Domestic / Import Cars:

Domestic / Import Cars:

Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang & Mopars

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

Collector James • 630-201-8122

Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang & Mopars

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

CLASSICS WANTED

Collector James 630-201-8122

Restored or Unrestored Cars & Vintage Motorcycles

Domestic / Import Cars:

RENTALS

Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang & Mopars

OFFICE/RETAIL FOR RENT

SALON CHAIR RENTAL

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

Oak park salon, chair, rental, full-time and part-time. Contact Tony for details 847-732-2595.

BEAUTIFUL 1BD, 1BA

APARTMENT TO RENT

Collector James 630-201-8122

All brand new in 2022; 700 sq ft; lots of storage; stainless steel appliances with dishwasher; quartz countertop; 2 car parking; $1300/mo; 3705 Forest Avenue Bkfield; need income 4 x rent; we follow 2-step Cook Co. leasing process; call Rich at 630272-0086

ROOFING

JOE ROOFING

Roofing repair, tuckpointing, gutters and painting--- bonded, insured

For free estimate call 773 297-1121

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE/PUBLIC NOTICE

YEMBA INC. is soliciting bids for a GENERAL CONTRACTOR to renovate Stucco/DIVT Façade of our small commercial building located in the Village of Oak Park, Illinois.

Complete Bid Packet can be obtained by contacting Ed Redd at: eredd@yemba-inc.org

Pre-bid site inspection is mandatory, and is scheduled to occur by appointment only. Please contact Ed Redd at 708.719.6701 to schedule an appointment.

Bid Deadline is 9:00a on 5/26/23

This is a Federally-Funded (Community Development Block Grant) Project and is subject to all applicable Federal rules, regulations and guidelines, including but not limited to payment of Prevailing Wage.

MBE and WBE contractors are encouraged to bid on this project.

Published in Wednesday Journal April 26, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE

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, May 11, 2023, 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 major zoning variations submitted by Paul A. Harding, FAIA and Cheryl Harding, owners of the property at 559 Ashland Avenue, who are proposing to construct a detached Garage.

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 Zoning Ordinance.

The applicants are requesting a variation to Section 10-9-7 (10-8-7-C-2c) that would allow the roof overhang of the proposed garage to project 2 feet into the required setback at the south side of the property. The Zoning Code requires a 3-foot side yard setback for accessory buildings which are located in the rear thirty percent of the lot, but allows the roof overhang to project 1 foot into the required yard setback.

The applicants are also requesting a variation to Section 10-9-6 (10-86-A) of the Zoning Code which limits accessory structures to eighteen feet in height. The applicants propose to construct a garage with a height of 20 feet.

The legal description of the property at 559 Ashland Avenue is as follows:

LOT 34 IN BLOCK 2 IN PART OF RIVER FOREST, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF PART OF SECTION 12 AND 11, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, SURVEYED FOR THE SUBURBAN HOME MUTUAL LAND ASSOCIATION, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF RECORDED JUNE 23, 1890 IN BOOK 43 OF PLATS PAGE 20, AS

DOCUMENT 1291334, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

A copy of the application will be available to the public at Village Hall and on the Village’s website at www. vrf.us/zoningvariation no less than 15 days prior to the public hearing. The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting packet will also 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 April 26, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE

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, May 11, 2023, 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 major zoning variations submitted by Priscilla and Philipe Carvalho, owners of the property at 7616 Vine Street, who are proposing to construct a second story addition onto the existing home.

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 Zoning Ordinance.

The applicants are requesting major variations to Section 10-9-7 that would allow the west wall of the home, which has a non-conforming side yard setback of 2.76 feet, to be increased in height from one story to two stories. The Zoning Ordinance (10-8-7-C-2-b) allows additions to buildings which do not meet the side yard setback requirement to be increased in length by up to 20 feet, but does not allow them to be increased in height.

The proposed addition will also increase the Floor Area Ratio for the property from 0.367 to 0.488. Section 10-9-5 of the Zoning Ordinance (10-8-5) allows a maximum Floor Area Ratio of 0.4.

The legal description of the property at 7616 Vine Street is as follows:

LOT 22 IN BLOCK 6 IN THE RESUBDIVISION OF BLOCKS 3 AND 6 AND THE NORTH 450 FEET OF BLOCK 7 IN HENRY FIELD’S SUBDIVISION OF THE EAST 1/2 OF THE EAST 1/2 OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

A copy of the application will be available to the public at the Village Hall

and on the Village’s website at www. vrf.us/zoningvariation no less than 15 days prior to the public hearing. The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting packet will also 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 April 26, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE

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, May 11, 2023, 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 major zoning variations submitted by Frank and Jennifer Lesniak, owners of the property at 7960 Chicago Avenue, who are proposing to construct a one story addition onto the existing home and construct a new detached garage.

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 Zoning Ordinance.

The applicants are requesting major variations to Section 10-9-5, 10-9-6, and 10-9-7 of the Zoning Ordinance.

Section 10-9-5 of the Zoning Ordinance (10-8-5) allows a maximum Lot Coverage of 30 percent of the lot area. The proposed additions and the new detached garage will increase the Lot coverage to approximately 32.55 percent.

Section 10-9-6 of the Zoning Ordinance (10-8-6-A) allows a maximum height for accessory buildings of 18 feet, (as measured from Grade, which as defined by the Zoning Ordinance is the elevation at the public walk). The height of the proposed detached garage is 19 feet 8 ½ inches.

Section 10-9-7 of the Zoning Ordinance (10-8-7-C-2-c) requires Accessory buildings to maintain a minimum 3 foot setback from the rear and side property lines when the accessory building is located in the rear thirty percent of the lot. The proposed detached garage is proposed to have a 1 foot 6 inch setback from the north property line (the rear lot line).

The legal description of the property at 7960 Chicago Avenue is as follows:

LOT 13, 14 AND 15 AS A TRACT (EXCEPT THE WEST 63 FEET AND EXCEPT THE EAST 104 FEET THEREOF), IN ALBERT T. VAN ALSTYN’S SUBDIVISION OF BLOCK 4

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES

IN SNOW AND DICKSON’S ADDITION TO RIVER FOREST, MAP OF SAID VAN ALSTYN’S SUBDIVISION RECORDED JULY 26, 1892, AS DOCUMENT 1706742, IN BOOK 52 OF PLATS PAGE 46, IN SECTION 4, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

A copy of the application will be available to the public at Village Hall and on the Village’s website at www.vrf. us/zoningvariation no less than 15 days prior to the public hearing. The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting packet will also 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 April 26, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICES 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.

e 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.

is 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. Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals.

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

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

HEARING DATE: May 11, 2023

TIME: 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits

LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302

APPLICATION: The Historic Preservation Commission will conduct a public hearing on an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness filed by the Applicant, Lucia Marker-Moore & Brad Bare, to build two dormer additions at 312 N East Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois, P.I.N. 16-07209-005-0000, which is located in the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District.

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. The public hearing may be adjourned by the Commission to another date without further notice other than a motion to be entered upon the minutes of the hearing fixing the time and place of the date. The Commission shall issue or deny the Certificate of Appropriateness within fifteen (15) days following completion of the public hearing.

Published in Wednesday Journal April 26, 2023

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 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 11, 2023 for the following:

Village of Oak Park Water System Support Services - 2023 Bid Number: 23-117

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

Published in Wednesday Journal April 26, 2023

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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.

EN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 11, 2023, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 15, 2023, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:

Commonly known as 720 N. AUSTIN BLVD, UNIT 2-SW, OAK PARK, IL 60302

Property Index No. 16-08-105-0211009

The real estate is improved with a condominium.

The judgment amount was $17,234.13.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the

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

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.

You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, contact Noah Weininger, THE WEININGER LAW FIRM LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 161 North Clark St., Suite 1600, Chicago, IL, 60601 (312) 796-8850.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION

One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE

You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

Noah Weininger THE WEININGER LAW FIRM LLC 161 North Clark St., Suite 1600 Chicago IL, 60601 312-796-8850

Fax #: 312-248-2550

E-Mail: nweininger@weiningerlawfirm.com

Attorney Code. 63307

Case Number: 21 CH 4185

TJSC#: 43-1440

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 # 21 CH 4185 I3217776