The majority of Oak Park’s village board said they support raising the salaries for future village presidents, trustees and clerks.
There was no vote after the discussion at Tuesday’s meeting, and new salaries, if approved, would not go into effect immediately. The trustees and president who are elected, or reelected, in April 2025 would be the first to earn the new salary. Those on the board for another two years would not see a new salary until the next election in April 2027.
Trustee Cory Wesley motioned, and Trustee Brian Straw seconded, to discuss village board compensation
A
he and his family arrived in Oak Park from Venezuela, Emanuel Herman Lugo is a boxing champion.
Free Readers Ensemble celebrates 31 years of telling tales
Theater group o ers a readers ensemble format to the public for free
By HECTOR CERVANTES Contributing Reporter
The Free Readers Ensemble launched its 2024-2025 season, marking its 31st year with a performance of Angel Street (Gaslight) at the Nineteenth Century Club at the end of October
The Free Readers Ensemble began in an advanced scene study class at Oak Park Village Players, taught by Larry Baldacci. After years of working together, Paulette Cary proposed forming an ensemble to continue reading plays aloud, leading to the group’s creation in 1993. Its mission is to present diverse theatrical and literary material in a readers theater format to Oak Park, River Forest and the surrounding communities
Although it started with small audiences, the ensemble steadily grew in popularity as people appreciated their performances. And while some of its founding members, including Jim Mullen, Carol Mullen and Marie Henry have died, new members also have joined over time.
“We decided, wouldn’t it be fun if we always got a chance to work together just as our group? And so, the idea was for med of, ‘let’s do readings together’ and we’ll present it to the public for free and if somebody shows up, that’s great, and if they don’t, that’s okay, too,” Baldacci said.
The Free Readers Ensemble members for this season include Baldacci and Cary, as well as Thad Anzur, Jerry Bloom, Ray Cunha, Larry Dahlke, Mercita DeMuynck, Keith Eric Davis, Barbara Eulenberg, Randall Hoole, David Krajecki, Kit O’Kelly and Stephanie Samuel. All performances the ensemble performs are free to the public
“When we started, a few people said, ‘Well, who wants to come and see you read?’ But now, 31 years later, we are having a minimum of 80 to 90 people at our shows every month” Cary said. “It’s mind boggling and there are a lot of new people and some old people who have been with us since the beginning I think it’s due to word of mouth, because we do not advertise.”
Randall Hoole, Barbara Eulenberg, Keith Davis, Kit O’Kelly. Not Pictured: Mercita DeMuynck, Jerr y Bloom
The Free Readers Ensemble selects their shows through a collaborative process in which each member proposes ideas for the season. After group discussions, the person who suggests a selected play becomes its coordinator, handling casting and production. Choices are often influenced by current events or themes, ensuring a balance between light-hearted fare and serious dramas, with some plays chosen to align with specific holidays.
Eulenberg said what she loves most about the group is that they have become a family
“It is just that every time we get together once a month and we know each other’s rhythm and styles of acting so when we do a show, we only rehearse once and then we perform it,” she said.
For O’Kelly, the format affords them the ability to do a variety of shows and be given a role that would never be given on a live stage.
“Although I have not been a member of the company since 2019, I have known most of these people since 1980. You trust them and so that when we come together to perform there is nothing lacking and it is just the sharing that is a blessing to be part of,” O’Kelly said.
Cunha said he recalled reading the screenplay to the movie “All About Eve” when he was cast as the narrator
“Over the years, I’ve played so many different roles, and as Kit says, these are roles that I probably wouldn’t have been cast in due to age, type, or whatever other reasons,” he said.
One of the things Dahlke loves about this group so much is not only the talent, but also the courage and programming
“That’s a tribute not only to this group, but to our audience who goes along with us. I just think it’s some of the most savvy and generous in spirit audiences anywhere,” he said.
Hoole will be coordinating “Pygmalion” at the end of the season, and he said he enjoys having the freedom to do whatever he wants since that appeals to the adolescent in him.
“We’re all an older cast than all these characters in Pygmalion are, but the audience doesn’t mind. They go right along with us,” he said.
The next performance by The Free Readers Ensemble will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17. They will read “Animal Far m” adapted by Nelson Bond from the novel by George Orwell.
All shows are held at the Nineteenth Century Club at 178 Forest Ave. #1 in Oak Park.
To view the list of upcoming shows for the season, visit the website at www.freereaders. com or the club’s events page at https://ncca memberclicks net/event-list-1
WEDNESD AY
Digital
Digital
Viewpoints
Real
Contributing
Columnists
Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck
Design/Production
Designers
Business
Special
PROVIDED
BY THE BOOK: L - R Front Row: Raymon Cunha, ad Anzur, David Krajecki; L - R Back Row: Larr y Dahlke, Stephanie Samuel, Larr y Baldacci, Paulette Cary,
Tech Help Drop-In
Thursday, Oc t. 31, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Oak Park Public Library
Join us for monthly Tech Help Drop-In sessions with our digital learning sta . Get assistance with laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Sessions are limited to 15 minutes per person, and no registration is required. Masks are required for safety. 834 Lake St., Oak Park
Fall Open House at the Oak Park Society of Model Engineers
Saturday, Nov. 2, 12-5 p.m., Oak Park Public Library (Dole)
BIG WEEK
Compiled by Brooke Duncan
Monday Enrichment: Sleep & Neuroscience Hacks for Creating Our Best Life
Monday, Nov. 4, 1:15 p.m., Nineteenth Century Charitable Association
Join peak performance coach and psychotherapist Dove (Diane) Wilson as she shares neuroscience-based tools to harness the power of our brains and hearts for navigating life’s challenges. Admission is free; donations are welcome. 178 Forest Ave., Oak Park
Join us for the Fall Open House at the Oak Park Society of Model Engineers. Enjoy free admission, door prizes, and activities for kids of all ages. Explore our progress on a three-level, two -state layout, run a train on our DC layout, and learn about model trains from our dedicated team of modelers. We welcome all and are always looking for new members. 255 Augusta Blvd., Oak Park.
Teen Boo Bash
Thursday, Oc t. 31, 3 – 7 p.m., Oak Park Public Library
Join us for a fun- lled Halloween celebration. Enjoy games, food, and prizes. Open to middle -and highschoolers. 834 Lake St., Oak Park
Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle
Sunday, Nov. 3, 2-3:30 p.m., River Forest Public Library
Join museum curator Margaret Schlesinger for an insider ’s view of Colleen Moore’s world-famous enchanted fairy castle, displayed at the Museum of Science and Industr y. Explore over 1,500 unique miniature artifacts, learn about Colleen’s life as an actress and philanthropist, and discover the 2014 conser vation project that preserved the nearly 90-year-old castle. This event is free and presented in par tnership with River Forest Township. 735 Lathrop Ave., River Forest
La st Day of Kids Election Voting
Tuesday, Nov. 5 (during regular library hours), All Oak Park Public Library locations (Main Librar y, Dole Branch, Maze Branch)
The polls are open. Drop by any library branch to vote with your pennies in our kid-friendly election. Will Pete the Cat or Bluey win? All proceeds bene t the Animal Care League, ensuring both dogs and cats are the real winners. The winning candidate will be “inaugurated” at noon on New Year ’s Eve with a dance par ty for all. Main Librar y, 834 Lake St., Oak Park, Dole Branch, 255 Augusta St., Oak Park, Maze Branch, 845 Gunderson Ave., Oak Park
Consonance - Chicago Choral Ar tists Presents ‘Verdi Requiem’
Friday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 3, at 3 p.m., Grace Lutheran Church
Join Consonance (formerly Chicago Choral Artists) as they open their new season with Verdi’s Requiem, in a fresh chamber edition by Michael Betzner-Brandt. Featuring a cast of acclaimed soloists, including GRAMMY®-nominated soprano Laura Strickling. Tickets: Adult $45, Senior $35, Educator $20, Student $10, Children under 13 free with a paying adult. Visit www.consonancechicago.org or call 773-658-9799 for tickets and subscriptions. 7300 Division St., River Forest
Cooking With Julia Turshen
Wednesday, Nov. 6, 6 p.m.,
Virtual through Oak Park Public Library
Join award-winning cookbook author Julia Turshen for a virtual fall cooking class. Watch as Julia guides you through making a shaved fennel apple salad and a roasted chicken pot pie. Register at oppl.org/calendar to receive an email with the Zoom link, recipe, and ingredients list to cook along. Virtual – Zoom
Folk Music Series Performance:
Dennis Warner
Nov. 6, 7 p.m., Oak Park Public Library
Join us for a lively musical per formance by Dennis Warner. This event is suppor ted by the Friends of the Oak Park Public Library. Register and learn more at oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park
Idea Box: Day of the Dead Community Ofrenda
Wednesday, Nov. 6, during Main Library open hours (10/25 - 11/6), Oak Park Public Library
Visit the Main Library’s Idea Box to see this year’s Día de Muertos/Day of the Dead community ofrenda on display through Nov. 6. Share an image of your loved ones who have passed away to be included in this year’s ofrenda by visiting // oppl.org/share. 834 Lake St., Oak Park
Listing your event in the calendar
Wednesday Jour nal welcomes notices about events that Oak Park and River Forest community groups and businesses are planning. We’ ll work to get the word out if
NATURAL FUN
Walk, bike or run: With 350 miles of trails, this is where to get outside and get healthy.
MORE: fpdcc.com/trails
■ Email details to calendar@wjinc.com
The Great Ones: A Celebration of American Songwriting
Songs by stellar artists—from the Gershwins and Cole Porter to Carole King, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and more!
SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 9, 2024, 7:30 pm
Glenview Community Church 1000 Elm Street, Glenview, IL
SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 10, 2024, 4:00 pm
Pilgrim Congregational Church 460 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL
Tickets $25
Students $20 (17 & under)
Group tickets (10+) $22
Tickets at door $30
Breast cancer survivors $20
VOICES of HOPE
Escape, Relax, Recharge.
www.voicesofhopecc.org
PROVIDED
BELTED: e Herman family at the King of the Jungle championship in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From le : Alexzen, Emanuel, Emili, Samuel and Manuel. With them is Diego, a friend from their boxing gym, who also won a championship.
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Tour our 10-acre campus today! (708) 387- 1030
By MEINRAD SCHERER-EMUNDS Contributing Reporter
Emanuel Herman Lugo, a 13-year-old rk teen, took top honors — and the heavy championship belt that comes with it — at a national boxing championship tournament in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support Short-Term Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home Care Scan here to visit Cantata.org
Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support Short-Term Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home Care Scan here to visit Cantata.org
Tour our 10-acre campus today! (708) 387- 1030
Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support Short-Term Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home Care Scan here to visit Cantata.org
Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support Short-Term Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home Care Scan here to visit Cantata.org
Emanuel, an eighth-grader at Brooks Middle School, is the middle son of a Venezuelan immigrant family that settled in Oak Park after being sheltered there a year ago. He remained undefeated at the 2024 King of the Jungle National Championships held Oct. 18 to 20 at the Devos Place in Grand Rapids.
The Herman family was part of the large group of migrants whom Oak Park activ-
ists brought to Village Hall during the snowy and bitterly cold Halloween night of 2023. They subsequently found shelter for two weeks at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and for several months at the Carleton Hotel. With the help of Good Shepherd, the family settled in a southeast Oak Park apar tment last March.
Manuel and Emili said they are grateful for the welcome and the help they have received in Oak Park from so many in the community, especially from the migrant ministry team at Good She pherd.
Competitive boxing enthusiasts from Emmanuel’s father’s boxing days as a young boy in Venezuela, the family traveled with him and his younger brother, Samuel, to cheer them on. Samuel, a 9-yearold fourth grader at Holmes School, also competes and performed well, bringing home two trophies from the event.
Emanuel competed in the junior middleweight class (80 to 85 pounds) and Samuel in the junior strawweight class (50 to 55
pounds). Emanuel started boxing four years ago, when the family was still living in Venezuela. He won second place at a national boxing championship in Venezuela in 2023.
The two brothers prepared for the event with an intensive training, sparring, weight-lifting and general fitness program. About five months ago, they joined the Beast Boxing Gym in Hillside, where they practice on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; and the Midwest Training Center in Schaumburg, where they practice on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The father, Manuel, accompanies the boys to the gyms and helps with the practices as an assistant coach. He and his wife, Emili, are proud of their sons’ boxing successes. But, as parents, they say it is always nerve-wracking and makes them very anxious to see their sons fighting and to wor ry about the possibility of injuries.
“It is a strong sport, and we always tell the kids to cover up and stay safe from opponents’ punches,” Manuel Herman said.
In the end, Manuel added, they follow the lead of our kids. “Our oldest son, Alexzen, was a very good boxer as well, but he decided that boxing was not for him, and he is much happier playing soccer.”
Emanuel said he dreams of participating in the Olympics, becoming a professional boxer, and eventually, he said with a grin, becoming
world boxing champion. The minimum age for participating in Olympic boxing is 19, so the first Olympics that he could qualify for are in 2032 in Brisbane, Australia.
The Herman family’s boxing glories are just one of the many success stories for Oak Park’s new asylum-seeking neighbors during the past year. Today, the family makes ends meet with cleaning jobs and collecting and recycling metal.
They and others also settled into apar tments throughout the village, inte grated into Oak Park and made friends at schools. They’re earning temporary protective status or applying for asylum, maneuvering countless bureaucracies and receiving their work permits or driver’s licenses, while they’re making progress in English fluency and finding work. Some are getting married and celebrating the birth of children — all of this has been made possible by the resilience and drive of Oak Park’s “new neighbors,” as well as the generous support of the Oak Park community.
Of course, the families continue to face many obstacles, setbacks and challenges.
But, Manuel Herman said, “We are truly thankful for the warm welcome Oak Park — and especially Good Shepherd’s pastor and members — have given us. You opened your arms and gave us shelter, and you continue to care for us. Without that kindness, we wouldn’ t be where we are today.”
Emanuel scores his rst win at the King of the Jungle tournament in Grand Rapids.
KING
COMPENSATION
Giving
themselves a raise from page 1
Tuesday as part of the agenda, ing their support of significant increases. They pointed out that lower salaries can make it dif ficult for folks without a cer level of privilege to run. That diverse candidates.
“Historically, local elected officials ha been thought of as a hobby, wh for a position that makes multi-milliondollar decisions practically Wesley said.
However, Village President man pointed out, the current board is one of the most diverse Oak Park
Trustee Ravi Parakkat, who is village president in 2025, said he was opposed to raising salaries for or trustees. He said these are pa sitions, and rather than raising salaries to accommodate for full-time work dent or board expectations need to be shifted (See his One View in Viewpoints,
The trustees discussed each position separately.
Village clerk
The village clerk, as a full-time elected position, makes $76,625 annually. The salary was last raised in 2008. The clerk is also allowed the same benefits as a village staff member, including health insurance, paid leave and a pension contribution.
Village president
Straw said he believes the responsibilities of the clerk position would be equivalent to a grade 10 position in the village, including roles like chief communications officer or chief sustainability officer. The salary range for those roles is $111,000 to $161,000, he said.
“We could have an elected village clerk looking at whether or not [they] should resign and take a job in village gover nment because [they] could get a 50% raise,” he said.
Wesley said that if the current salary for clerk was adjusted for inflation, it would be roughly $102,000 today. With 3% annual raises, that salary would be about $112,000 today, he said.
This role is unique, Wesley said, not only because it mandates overtime work but also because the clerk has to live in Oak Park, where the cost of living is higher than some neighboring communities
Other trustees ag reed a raise for the clerk position is long overdue. T hey landed on a consensus of about $107,000.
T he village president makes $25,200 annually. This salary, along with the trustees, was last raised in 2017.
It’s difficult to be a village president in Oak Park and work a typical “9 to 5” job, Straw said. Residents expect a certain level of servic e, so the board should align its expectations with that rather than telling them to expect something different, he said.
But Parakkat disag reed. He said Oak Park has a village manager form of government for a reason, and because the manager handles the day-to-day operations, the president and trustees can be pa rt-time. He said Oak Park has not been ill-served with the selected boards and candidates have still been attracted to serve.
“If we feel like we are spending more time and putting [in] more ef fort, then maybe we should reexamine how we are playing the role,” he said. “You cannot say just because somebody wants to play
it fulltime, that the compensation needs to reflect that.”
“I don’ t think that we’ve had a part-time village president since I’ve lived in this village,” Wesley later countered. “I don’ t think the village of Oak Park expects a part-time village president. Now whether or not they ultimately end up getting one, that’s not up for me to decide.”
Scaman, who is r unning for reelection in 2025, did not comment on the village president salary at the meeting.
T he consensus was to consider raising the salary to $40,000.
Village trustee
Each village trustee makes $15,000 annually. Trustees Lucia Robinson and Chibuike Enyia, who are both r unning for reelection in 2025, recused themselves from the discussion.
Wesley pointed out that the more time a trustee puts into the role, the better they are at it. It’s not possible to be an expert in
everything, but trustees do have to know a lot, he said.
He added that he wonders if the next trustee filling his seat will have the same diverse opinions. Statisticall y, that person won’ t be Black, he said, due to the economic privileg e it takes to fill the role
“When I think about what the salary is for this position, I don’ t think about it as in ‘H ow can this salary pa y for someone’s full ride here in Oak Park?’” he said. “I don’ t think about ‘How can this salary make someone rich?’ I think about ‘How can this salary not be a hurdle to making someone want to take this job?’”
Parakkat argued it would be more helpful to r un board meetings so they finish at 10 p.m. rather than raising the salary.
T he majority of the board present ag reed to consider raising the salary to $23,000.
Trustees are expected to vote on separate ordinances related to raises for each position Oct. 29.
LUZANE DRAUGHON
Donna Gayden, Oak Park’s interim chief nancial o cer, speaks dur ing a village board meeting on Sept. 3.
River Forest o cials wrestle with ban on gas leaf blowers
‘This is the future,’ President Cathy Adduci said, although no decision was made
By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter
River Forest officials agree they need to address the problems with the use of gaspowered leaf blowers in the village but are still trying to identify the best path forward.
“This is the f uture, ” village President Cathy A dduci said. “We’ve g ot to figure out how to g et there. T here are a lot of moving pa rt s. ”
Officials spent a good part of the Oct. 28 village board meeting wrestling with the issue, sparked by recommendations from the sustainability commission to create an incentive for landscaping contractors to commit to electric leaf blowers and to restrict all users of g as-powered leaf blowers to half speed between June 1 and Oct. 1 each year.
Contractors making the commitment to electric leaf blowers would receive a reimbursement for their annual license fee
and be listed on the sustainability section of the village website as a company committed to only using electric leaf blowers. Seth Jansen, management analyst, said the license fee is $125.
Jansen explained that contractors have indicated that electric blowers are not as
blowers, which would make it more difficult for most spring cleanups and definitely fall leaf removal, especially if the leaves are wet.
The sustainability commissioners first tackled the issue in April 2023, a month oted to ban the use of gasban takes effect
on June 1, 2025. Commissioners continued multiple meetings this year ile soliciting input from residents and contractors licensed in the ys.
esidents who rey expressed concerns about noise; 47%, air pollution; and 24%, health issues. Another 35% expressed no concern. Respondents were allowed to select multiple options. In response to another question, 47% favored a ban on gas-powered blowers and 43% were against it. The remaining 10% said they wanted a ban that would only apply to landscapers.
Four contractors who attended the June meeting and two contractors who attended the September meeting expressed concerns about the impact of switching from gaspowered to electric blowers. Their comments and those from 23 contractors who responded to an online survey commented on the lack of power of electric blowers and the short battery life. One contractor said the largest issue is the battery powered blowers are not efficient for large jobs, often needing more than six hours of battery power for a day of work, Jansen said in a memo to officials. In addition, the contractor said most packs require two batteries and require backup batteries. He also said batteries need to cool after charging and be stored in an area generally cooler than their equipment trailers during most days Jansen said one contractor who spoke at a commission meeting said his firm
See LEAF BLOWERS on pa ge 18
River Forest plans to sell surplus vehicles
A street sweeper, former ambulance, 6 trucks to be auc tioned
By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter
In a move that not only provides revenue but also clears space in the River Forest Public Works Department garage, the village board Oct. 28 authorized selling eight vehicles at auction as sur plus property.
T he authorization was approved by a unanimous vote of the five trustees present as pa rt of the c onsent agenda without discussion. Trustee Bob O’Connell did not attend.
If all eight vehicles are sold for the posted minimum price, $49,000 will go into the village coffers.
Jack Bielak, director of public works and engineering, said the village has sold surplus vehicles individually or as a group in the past.
The vehicles include a street sweeper and six trucks as well as a one-time ambulance that was conver ted to general use for
public works.
Bielak said several of the vehicles, such as the street sweeper, are being replaced by newer models that are finally being delivered after delays in production. He said the others have outlived their usefulness
“We are selling a couple vehicles such as the ambulance that were given to public works from other departments,” he said. “We have used them as best we can, but they are starting to need significant/costly maintenance that does not make sense to do.”
T he minimum purchase prices r ang e from $2,500 for the 1998 Fo rd E Supe r Duty ambulance and a 2012 Fo rd F-350 pickup truck to $15,000 for the 2016 Elgi n Pelican street sweepe r. T he oldest vehicle is the ambulance and the newest is the street sweepe r.
Other vehicles and their minimum purchase prices are a 1998 International tandem axel truck, $7,000; a 2012 International tandem axel truck, $11,000; a 2011
Ford F-550 dump truck, $5,000; a 2006 Dodge Sprinter cargo van, $3,000; and a 2007 Ranger, $3,000.
The two International trucks, the F-550 dump truck and the Fo up truck have been used primarily snow plowing and leaf pushing. The Sprinter was used primarily department and the Ford Ranger streets department.
In a memo to Matt Walsh, istrator, Bielak and Brian Skoczek, works superintendent of operations posed selling the surplus property using online auction services, such as Obenauf Online Auction Service. They said the village has used Obenauf previously and “experienced positive results.”
Bielak explained that the auction site the village uses is used by other gove rnment entities, wh ich are t ypically also the ones purchasing i tems. He speculated that the larger plows and street sweeper would p otentially be purchased by a smaller municipality. T he minimum prices we re taken from similar i tems sold in the p ast and a djusted for i tems seen on tod ay ’s market, he added.
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Oak Park to improve language access services
By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter
Oak Park’s village board approved a new language access plan to prioritize equitable access to government services through translation and interpretation services and with the help of bilingual staff.
Language access is the a bility of individuals to obtain information or services in a language they know. The intention of the plan, according to village officials, is to ensure all residents can participate in social, economic and civic activities in Oak Park Improving language access also ensures le gal compliance and community trust, officials pointed out.
“Gover nment is one of many institutions that unfortunately perpetuate these kinds of historical harms of people who speak other languages,” said Danielle Walker, the village’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. “It’s such a tremendous step forward to be able to have a plan and a policy.”
The language access plan will benefit both those with limited English proficiency and English language learners. In Oak Park, the village reported 13% of residents speak a language other than English, including Spanish, Polish, Mandarin and Tagalog.
The second most-spoken language in Oak Park is Spanish with 3,144 individuals, or 6.2% of the population, speaking it. The village is also planning accommodations for deaf or hard of hearing individuals.
The village intends to achieve greater language access by incorporating multilingual staff, contracts with interpretation and translation services, and technology including real-time interpretation devices or video remote interpretation.
Translation services are related to reading materials. Interpretation services relate to verbal or signed communication. Interpreters accurately convey speech into the desired language, without any changes. The terms are not interchangeable.
“If someone comes into Village Hall, and they say, ‘I am mad at Dr. Walker,’ I want the interpreter to say, ‘They are mad at Dr. Walker,’” Walker said. “Not, ‘Oh, they have questions for Dr. Walker.’ No, that’s not what they said.”
Services to residents and visitors will be free, and signs notifying individuals of the services will be posted in Village Hall. The cost to the village won’t be free, however. The
proposed budget for these efforts is $100,000, some of which are one-time costs
Translating vital village documents will be about $40,000. Contracting phone and web services will be another $40,000. In-person interpretation services will cost $10,000. And new software and devices will cost $8,000 and $2,000, respectively.
Village staff will also be trained in these policies and cultural competency. Walker emphasized that village staff will not make any assumptions about an individual based on race, nationality or ethnicity. An accent is not an indicator of an individual needing language access services, she said, and how “well” someone speaks English is not correlated to their intelligence.
Village staff will also avoid using family members, neighbors, friends or Google translate to provide language services unless in an emergency. Doing so can place an undue burden on someone, Walker explained, especially children.
“Any person should be able to come into Village Hall and access the services they need on their own without figuring out how to bring their own interpreter,” Trustee Brian Straw said. “This really restores the human dignity that we strip away when we fail to appropriately provide language access.”
Trustee Lucia Robinson said she loved the focus on dignity in providing interpretation services, too.
“There’s such a tendency to take away the agency of individuals who are not proficient in English,” she said. “It’s really important to have a program that’s got the level of integrity that is cognizant of not taking away their agency They’re fully capable of deciding for themselves [if] they want their own interpreter or do they want to rely on village interpretation services.”
It is possible artificial intelligence could be useful in translation services in the future, Walker said, but right now, AI can tend to misinterpret some phrases or colloquial expressions.
Robinson said she’d like to work with other Oak Park boards to improve language access village-wide. Trustee Ravi Parakkat agreed
“[This] really shows where Oak Park is trying to go, as far as being intentional in bein able to service all of our community and not just the primary English speakers,” Trustee Chibuike Enyia said.
The village intends to implement this program throughout 2025.
We asked. You answered! Enjoy your neighbors’ furbabies all decked out for Halloween. We a k d
NEYMARas a cowboy sheriff
FRANKIE as a taco
LUNA as a monarch butterfly
MAXWELL as Beetlejuice HUTCH
STELLA as a banana split
GINGER as the devil
WRIGLEY as a T-rex
SUGI as a police officer
IRELAND as a hot dog
HENRY as a honey bee
PEACH and BLEU as cops and robbers
CHER all dressed up
OPRF honors late coach with weight room naming
Gary Olson’s legacy will live on through community suppor t and a $500,000 fundraiser
By HECTOR CERVANTES Contributing Reporter
Oak Park and River Forest High School’s new weight room will be named after for mer football and wrestling coach Gary Olson, who died in 1999.
He served as a wrestling coach from 1974 to 1979, and as football coach – primarily varsity – from 1983 to 1991. He returned for the 1997-98 season, OPRF records show.
T he naming was authorized by the school board at its Oct. 24 meeting. The Imagine Foundation, the nonprofit raising funds for OPRF’s construction projects, is looking to raise $250,000, and a matching grant from a donor could raise that to $500,000.
T he Imagine Foundation initiated the naming reco gnition for the weight room, largely motivated by the foundatio n’s board president Stephen Schuler’s personal connection to Olson, who coached him at OPRF
“Ste phen often talks about the tremendous impact Coach Olson had on his life,
both on and of f the field,” said Heidi Ruehle, executive director of Imagine Foundation. “He felt naming the weight room after Coach would be a fitting tribute, as it was a space where Olson spent a lot of time helping athletes develop and grow.”
Fred Arkin, vice president of the school board, said that while he personally did not have Olson as a coach or teacher when he was a student at OPRF, he remembers the positive impact he had on the community
T he foundation is hoping to raise $15 million for OPRF’s Project 2.
Ruehle noted that those who have spoken about Olson highlight his exceptional teaching skills, saying that he was both inspiring and an outstanding coach.
“We also made a point of speaking with Coach Olson’s f amily – his wife and two adult children –to ensure they felt good about this and had their blessing. T hey were overwhelmingly honored and very happy to support it,” Ruehle said.
When asked about the legacy Ruehle hopes this recognition will create for future generations of Oak Park and River Forest students and athletes, she said, “Future students will see his name and hopefully want to learn about him, allowing him to continue making an impact even though he is no longer with us. The same goes for any other spaces that are named.”
The weight room renovation project is projected to be completed by the end of summer 2026, after which planning for the installation and unveiling events will begin.
Oak Park dra s lead water ser vice line replacement plan
ll Illinois operators of community water supplies must replace lead water service lines
LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter
All Illinois owners and operators of community water supplies will have place lead and g alvanized water service lines, a state-mandated process that will begin in 2027. has at least 7,245 of these lines. It could cost around $144 milplace them. The village has no choice but to figure out how to pay it, through limited grant options ailable or through taxpayer dollars.
Illinois has mandated that owners and operators of community water place lead and g alvanized lines a rate of 5% per year for 20 years. means Oak Park will have to releast 363 lead or g alvanized y, starting in 2027, accordvillage officials. The reason is
LEAVE. BIN. BAG.
that lead is hazardous to health.
“[The C enters for Disease C ontrol and Prevention] has stated that there is no safe exposure to lead,” said Kaitlin Wright from Baxter & Woodman C onsulting Engineer s, the village ’s c onsultants
“Illinois has the highest burden of lead service lines across the c ountr y, ” she noted .
To a ccomplish this state-mandated g oal, Oak Pa rk is drafting a lead water service line re p lacement p lan du e on April 15, 2027, and deciding how to pay for the expensive wo rk ahead T he village has 12,427 water servic e lines and must identify the material of each.
T he average c ost for a f ull-line rep lacement is $12,000 to $15,000. To re p lace the 7,245 lead and g alvanized lines already identified in Oak Pa rk , it would c ost about $97.8 million. But
factoring in expected inflation and engineering wo rk , Baxter & Woodman C onsulting Engineers estimate it will c ost closer to $144 million.
Replacement plan
Trustee Susan Buchanan said the lead lines are the result of the lead service industry and plumbers’ unions.
“Residents shouldn’t have to pay anything, we should go after the culprits,” she said. “It’s completely unfair to leave this up to the municipalities or the taxpayers to pay for it.”
If any portion of a water service line is lead, the entire line from water main to water meter is considered lead, Wright explained. There’s been replacement effor ts since the 1970’s, but the new required rate of re placement starts in 2027.
Village officials also pointed out that lead water service lines are often found in older neighborhoods, potentially disproportionately affecting low-income communities. Re placing lead lines can improve health, especially for children and pregnant women, who are at a higher risk to exposure.
The village has drafted its first version of the lead service line re placement plan and will revise it and ask for community input before the plan is due in spring 2027. The village does not have to be responsible for the entire re placement, either. Property owners could be required to share that responsibility for the portion of the line on their land.
In the meantime, the village offers a lead water service line re placement program for households who don’t exceed a certain income threshold. The village re places the public side for free if the property owner re places their side. The re placement includes swapping an existing lead or g alvanized steel water pipe for a one-inch copper pipe.
“If we really want to have an effect on public health in the state, this is what should be happening with climate change mitig ation, not taking the lead out of water,” Buchanan said, emphasizing that lead in paint or gas has been a bigger concern, anyway.
Funding options
State and federal funding for lead or g alvanized line re placement are inconsistent, village officials said. And most require the community applying to be “disadvantaged” based on the median household income. In Oak Park, the me-
dian household income is $103,264.
Oak Park’s best bet is likely the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency public water supply loan program. This would be a 0% loan for 30 years, and the village could request up to five years of funding. But it’s competitive, Wright said. And Oak Park will have to create a separate project p lan to show how officials p lan to pay back the loan.
If state and federal funding isn’t enough or isn’t an option, the village could use local revenue, issue bonds or implement new levies to cover the cost. The village board could also require property owners to share the cost burden.
“What we probably need to do is p lan for wo r st-case scenario and then if there are o pportunities that c ome up and present themselves, we would obviously c ompete for them,” said Ro b Sproule, Oak Pa rk ’s public wo rks director. “A nd then they would reduce the long-ter m burden that the c ommunity would face financially. ”
Areas li ke E lmwood Pa rk , Fo rest Pa rk and Schiller Pa rk are paying for the entire re p lacement. In L ombard, the government pays for the public s ide and requires private property owners to pay 75% of the re p lacement for their s ide, up to $5,000. In Rive r Fo rest, the gove rnment pays 100% of the public s ide up to $5,000 and pays 50% of the private s ide up to $2,500.
“This is a large, unfunded mandat e, ” Trustee B rian Straw said. “I f the village takes on 100% of it and then j ust spreads it across all of our residents whether through property taxes or through the water bills, then we ’re not necessarily b alancing the burden. ”
T he village b oard will also need to d etermine if they want to implement different rates for commercial versus residential properties.
Water service line replacements, along with normal water and sewer replacements, will strain the village’s water and sewer fund, Oak Park officials pointed out. To make up for it, the village board might have to increase the water rate, like some nearby communities have.
A water rate study in 2025 will d etermine if that’s necessary for 2026 to 2030. Gradual increases would avo id a single large increase that c ould “shock c ustomer s, ” village of ficials pointed out. In 2025, village staf f are still recommending a water rate increase, to be d etermined by the end of the year as trustees c ontinue finalizing next year ’s budget.
Tra c-calming measures are coming to South Grove Avenue
Residents are concerned about excessive speeds and cut-through tra c
By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter
Residents concerned about high speeds and cut-through traffic on the 500 and 600 blocks of South Grove Avenue can expect new traffic-calming measures to be implemented
“Residents have witnessed and mentioned numerous near incidents in the past several weeks, and we fear it is only a matter of time before there is a serious accident,” three residents of South Grove Avenue wrote to the transportation commission July 7, 2022. They said cars often use their street to cut over to Oak Park Avenue, avoiding the traffic light at Madison Street.
Oak Park trustees approved a more limited village staff recommendation, once again rejecting the transportation commission recommendation with stronger measures, like those on Gunderson Avenue
The staff recommendation includes installing a “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop” sign at South Grove Avenue and Adams Street and at South Grove Avenue and Monroe Street, repainting the crosswalks, using radar speed signs on an interim basis and creating a paint-and-post pinch-point on South Grove Avenue at the alley south of Madison Street. These measures will cost about $4,000.
The transportation commission recommendation, in addition to the measures above, would have included installing a paintand-post bump-out at the northeast corner of South Grove Avenue and Adams Street. The commission voted 5-0 for these recommendations at its Sept. 9 meeting. The bump-out would cost an additional $1,500.
Village Engineer Bill McKenna said the bump-out could have some negative consequences, including forcing larger vehicles to swerve around the bump and into the oncoming traffic lane, he said. But Ron Burke, chair of the transportation commission, said it could slow turn speeds for drivers who aren’t stopping at the stop sign at South Grove Avenue and Adams Street.
McKenna said the village did not do a stop
10 E Burlington St #4A
10 E Burlington St #4A
sign compliance study for the cor ner
But based on data from Oct. 19 and 20, 2022, McKenna said the volume of cars on South Grove Avenue is about 350 to 500 per day, less than the average of 800 to 1,200 cars per day on other residential streets. Adams Street and Monroe Street also have low traffic volumes.
McKenna also said about 70% of drivers on the 500 and 600 blocks of South Grove Avenue are compliant with the 25-mph speed limit. More than 90% of drivers are going less than 5 mph over the speed limit. From March 2019 to March 2024, there were three collisions along the 500 block of South Grover Avenue and none along the 600 block.
The data regarding volume and speed from 2022 was consistent with data collected in 2018 and more recently, McKenna told trustees Trustees Brian Straw and Cory Wesley supported the transportation commission’s recommendation, including the bump-out.
“[The bump-out] would make a rolling stop a 2-mile-per-hour rolling stop instead of a 5-mile-per-hour rolling stop,” Straw said. “It might not get [stop sign] compliance, but it are not compliant.”
The average speeds in this area might not be over 30 mph, Straw said, but there are some drivers going much faster than the speed limit. And pinch-points might not solve that, he said. Wesley also asked village staff to work with the police department to step up enforcement efforts for speeding or other traffic violations.
Village President Vicki Scaman said she’d like to implement a “slow down” campaign in the village, making people more aware of their behavior and asking residents to give themselves more time to travel from one place to another.
HOUSE
As part of the consent agenda, the village board also approved traffic-calming measures on the 1000 and 11000 blocks of South Humphrey Avenue. The board agreed with the transportation commission to install paint-and-post curb extensions around South Humphrey Avenue and Harvard Street, trim trees around the intersection, use radar speed signs on an interim basis, target police enforcement at the intersection and install paint-and-post pinch-points The efforts are
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This Riverside penthouse condo could be the perfect fit. Fully renovated, this 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath condo, including rooftop terrace, is just under 4000 sq ft. Just a short walk to the train, this is a perfect close to the city but urban setting.
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Oak Park woman ar
A 65-year-old Oak Park woman was arrested for an attempted murder at 7:22 a.m. Oct. 25 on the 300 block of Wesley Avenue. The attempted murder occurred Sept. 23 on the 400 block of Wesley Avenue.
Aggravated battery
Around 11:30 p.m. Oct. 20 a Chicago resident sat in the passenger seat of a car driving south on Austin Boulevard. A red car drove up next to them and fired several rounds from a firearm into their car. The Chicago resident had a graze wound. Both vehicles fled the scene.
Attempted car hijacking
Around 3:55 proached an Oak sitting in her par of South Humphrey manded the resident exit the vehicle and implied he had a fused and the man struck the victim leaving northbound on foot.
Residential burglary
Between Oct. 17 and Oct. 26, someone broke into an Oak 900 block of Belleforte ransacked the residence and stole jewelry and money. The estimated loss is $1,000.
Arrests
■ Two Oak Park boys were arrested around 3:30 p.m. Oct. 21 on the 100 block of North Scoville Avenue for two cases of robbery. One incident occurred Sept. 21 on the 300 block of Lake Street and the other occur red Oct. 3 on the 100 block of Madison Street. A boy was also charged with possession of cannabis.
■ Two Forest Park boys were arrested at 4:20 p.m. Oct. 22 on the 100 block of Madison Street for two counts of robbery. One incident occur red Sept. 21 on the 300 block of Lake and the other occurred Oct. 3 on the 100 block of Madison Street.
■ A 25-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 6:01 p.m. Oct. 22 on the 800 block of Lake Street for an active Oak Park warrant for battery.
■ A 24-year-old Oak Park man was arrested around 9:39 p.m. Oct. 22 in Chicago for domestic battery. He was also charged
named in with a been adjudice of a suspect only en a serious crime has been committed, ve provided us with a detailed physical descripseek the public’s
Compiled by Luzane Draughon
LEAF BLOWERS
from page 9
stopped working in Evanston after that city adopted a ban and he is planning to raise his rates in Oak Park when that village’s ban goes into effect.
In response to a question from Trustee Erika Bachner, Jansen said state officials are researching a grant program that would provide financial assistance to contractors needing to switch from gas-pow-
ered to electric blowers, but it would not be expected until 2026.
Trustee Katie Brennan said she was not surprised that contractors are opposed to any type of restriction and suggested giving them time to phase in the changes.
“They have to re place their equipment anyway,” she said. She also noted that many of the contractors who work in River Forest also work in Oak Park and therefore must be already taking steps to comply with that village’s ban.
Brennan also advocated a total ban with a longer lead time and said she believed the half-speed ban in the summer would be dif-
ficult to enforce.
“Why allow gas blowers in the summer?” she asked. “They’ re not needed.”
Trustee Respicio Vazquez asked if residents realize that any action the village takes will increase the amount the contractors will charge.
In response to a question from Trustee Ken Johnson, Jansen said electric blower batteries last 45 minutes at full power.
Trustee Lisa Gillis suggested that staf f members contact other municipalities that have already enacted bans, citing Evanston and Wilmette. She said even those from out-of-state could be contacted.
Brennan noted that 77% of the residents who responded to the online survey want the village to act but village Administrator Matt Walsh admitted that response rate was small. In comparison, the contractor response rate was 33%, Jansen said.
“We’ re all in ag reement this is the way to go,” Adduci said.
The issue was only for discussion purposes and no vote was taken.
Adduci said trustees were asking for further research, specifically contacting other municipalities. Walsh also noted that the commissioners have expressed an interest in continuing to study the issue.
Paranormal investigation un
A night of supernatural exploration and storytelling in Oak P
By HECTOR CERVANTES Contributing Reporter
Timed with Halloween, a group of thrillseekers gathered at Oak Park’s historic Pleasant Home on Friday to learn more about the 19th century mansion’s alle ged supernatural occurrences from experts.
Participants explored the historic Pleasant Home alongside a team of paranormal investigators from The Other Side Investigations, roaming the eerie rooms and corridors of Pleasant Home using ghost-hunting equipment to uncover the mysteries behind its storied past and re ported supernatural phenomena.
In small groups, attendees explored different areas of the house. Equipped with devices provided by The Other Side Investig ations team, they searched for signs of paranormal activity. The Other Side Investig ations team guided them through the experience explaining the equipment used to detect paranormal activity, such as the REM Pod, ghost box, and K2 meters. They also shared personal stories and insights from their own ghost hunting experiences. And indeed, after the event, some claimed to have experienced some paranormal activity.
Oak Park resident Elli Wade, visiting Pleasant Home for the first time, said the group encountered some paranormal activity in the billiard room. Wade was holding the K2 Meter while in a circle with other attendees sitting down and the reading of the K2 meter went from a 0.1 to a 0.4 reading. The Other Side Investigations told the room that because of the change of that meter, there was paranormal activity going on.
“It was very cool to actually see it happen in front of my eyes,” Wade said. “This is such a beautiful house and it’s fun to do something like this. I’ve never done anything like this before. I love Halloween. We joke that Halloween is my Super Bowl.”
“This was a little sample bite and appetizer of ghost hunting. We love to help people. Sometimes the unknown is very scary for some people,” said Lesley Tuton, an in vestigation coordinator from the team.
The Other Side Investigations acquisitioner David Amesquita shared his hopes for the event, saying he wanted attendees to experience the beauty of Pleasant Home firsthand. For those who hadn’t visited before, he felt it was a perfect opportunity to appreciate the mansion’s charm up close.
“I go out and try to find different locations for us to visit, whether it’s through various park districts or libraries. I try to get our name out there and secure more places to explore. I also look for different haunted houses and people often reach out to me so we can set something up,” Amesquita said.
Noelle Combs, historic properties and special events coordinator for the Park Distric of Oak Park, started her work with the park district in March and has had her fair shar e of eerie experiences at Pleasant Home
Combs told the group that she recently saw a figure in a top hat walk by in the mirror that can be seen when heading up to the second floor and when she looked up, there was nothing.
Combs said she has seen unexplained door slammings and that Susan Crane, the historic properties and special events manager, smelled tobacco when nobody would
e expansive porch and ornate entry at Pleasant Home in Mills Park.
“I never feel scared in this house. I didn’t want to tell anyone about those things. You guys are experts, but like you said, you only get to come at night. I’m here sometimes from nine in the morning until eleven at night and things do happen,” Combs said. Event attendees also heard about the rich history of Pleasant Home from Paula Fenza, a docent for the mansion for more than nine years. Fenza said that Pleasant Home was built in 1897 by architect George Washington Maher for John Farson, his
River Forest holds pumpkin pickup, Saturday smash
An option for those jack-o’-lanterns
By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter
The Roosevelt Middle School PTO has added curbside pumpkin pickup to its annual pumpkin smash this weekend
The annual pumpkin smash will be held at Roosevelt Middle School, 7560 Oak Avenue in River Forest, from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, November 2. Hosted by District 90 Green4Good and Sustainability Club, the “Green Your Halloween” event is designed to keep leftover Halloween pumpkins event out of landfills
For those unable to bring their pumpkins to the school, Roosevelt PTO volunteers will crisscross the village Saturday morning to pick up pumpkins left on the curb Friday night. Organizers ask that candles and decorations be removed. All pumpkins will be composted
and William. The family moved into the house in 1899.
“John and Mamie had wonderful, lavish parties. They would be so happy to see all of you here, because this is what they loved to do, welcome people into their home,” Fenza said.
After John Farson died in 1910, Mamie sold Pleasant Home, along with its custom furnishings, to inventor Herbert Mills, known for creating the slot machine and the railroad crossing gate. Mills lived in the house with his wife Leonie and their eight children until his death in 1929, followed by Leonie’s passing in 1930.
In 1939, the children sold the house and its four-acre estate to the Park District, stipulating two conditions: the grounds were to be opened as a public park named Mills Park in honor of their father; and the home was to be preserved and used as a gathering space for the community. Today, Pleasant Home serves as a historic landmark and venue for guided tours and local events
The Other Side Investigations team is expected to return to Oak Park this spring for another public investigation, this time at the historic Cheney Mansion.
HECTOR CERVANTES
This November 5th, vote YES! for better elections in Oak Park
Look
Candidates often win without broad support
Negative campaigning is rewarded
Voters only get one choice per position
Vote splitting can defeat the most representative candidates
Majority winners are guaranteed
Positive campaigning is rewarded
Voters have more choice and therefore more voice
Votes can be transferred to candidates who share similar views
for this
Abraham Lincoln Jane Addams
Mahatma Ghandi
Rachel Carson
Percy Julian
Ranked choice voting is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
River Forest recognizes historic preservation with awards
By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter
The River Forest Historic Preservation Commission on Monday reco gnized village homeowners with historic preservation awards for 2023 and 2024.
The village began to reco gnize property owners their preservation ef for ts in 2009, two years after the Historic Preservation Commission was for med. Chair David Franek has been involved with HPC from its founding and said that all of the seven commissioners work to identify properties that deserve reco gnition.
“As commissioners, if we see a particular home or project that we think merits consideration, we will knock on doors,” he said. “We’ re very user friendly.”
TODD BANNOR
Ho 210 Gale Ave., winner of the Sreetscape Compatibility Award for its new garage.
House at 823 Keystone Ave. Preservation Award winner for front porch, siding, roof and landscaping. om ers
PRESERVATION AWARDS
Historic preservation
from page 21
Franek said that the village completed an architectural survey in 2013 that identified 298 historically significant properties in River Forest. That list is available on the village website: https://ow.ly/tjK450TSwsA
Before beginning any construction work on properties that are considered historically significant, the owner must consult with the HPC. The commission cannot prevent construction or alter plans, but it does have 30 days to review the application and make recommendations to preserve the historic and architectural significance of the property and the neighborhood.
Franek said that people sometimes misconstrue the reach of the HPC
“We’re not the paint police,” he said. “What we do is provide guidance on how to maintain and restore the exterior of your property.”
The HPC reviews certificates of appropriateness for properties in River Forest and looks for exterior projects on historically significant homes that make them award-worthy.
For calendar year 2023, the HPC awarded three homeowners with Historic Preservation Awards
■ 210 Gale won an award for Streetscape Compatibility for a garage addition. Franek said that the owners replaced the garage with a new one that matches the exterior of their 1895 Victorian home
■ 727 Ke y stone won a Renovation Award for a rear addition to the home. “They expanded the floor area, and it really blends in seamlessly with the existing home,” Franek said.
■ 823 Keystone won the Laurel McMahon Restoration Award for work on the home’s siding, roof, front porch and landscaping. Franek called the restoration work “particularly distinguished” and said that the owners used a photo from 1900 to replicate the home’s original exterior. “They’ve done an amazing job,” he added.
For 2024, the HPC recognized one property owner, 1411 Keystone, with the Renovation Award for a rear addition and exterior renovations. Franek singled out the owners for painstakingly matching the brick on the home’s addition to the existing brick on the house, noting that is hard to do.
While HPC has six categories of awards, Franek said they do not always have winners in every category and do not hold awards every year. He said that when they give the awards, it signifies that the homeowners put in a lot of effort.
“The whole process is really one of respect for the craftsmanship that was part of the property originally,” he said. “We’re fortunate that we have a lot of homeowners in our community who really respect that.”
Franek said the HPC awards are a good way to celebrate the efforts and achievements of property owners and that they are a way of recognizing that preservation is integral to the community
“Many people move to our area for three reasons: proximity to the city, the schools and the built environment,” he said.
“Between Oak Park, River Forest and Riverside, we really have this crescent of historic homes that is very, very difficult to re plicate. It is really unusual to have the number of homes of this design quality in one place.”
2024 River Forest Historic Preservation Awards
Nomination for ms for River Forest Historic Preservation Awards are available at: https://ow.ly/ M9wK50TSwxh
Luke Masella, Deputy Village Clerk/ Management Analyst for the village, said typically the village begins to advertise nominations for the awards in the spring on social media, the village website and in village newsletters. Nominations are due at the end of July, and winners are announced in the fall.
Awards are considered in the following six categories:
Laurel McMahon Restoration Award: The Restoration Award is presented by the Historic Preservation Commission in recognition of an outstanding achievement (completed since January 1, 2017) in returning the exterior of a structure to its original design and condition by repairing or replacing the original architectural detail and materials. The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation shall serve as a guide for the commission.
Streetscape Compatibility Award: The Streetscape Compatibility Award is presented by the Historic Preservation Commission in reco gnition of an outstanding achievement (completed since January 1, 2017) in building a new structure (or addition) in an architectural style and scale that is compatible with its surrounding historic streetscape.
Adaptive Reuse Award: The Adaptive Reuse Award is presented by the Historic Preservation Commission in reco gnition of an outstanding achievement (completed since January 1, 2017) in altering a structure’s use to meet contemporary needs in a manner that retains the structure’s viability while respecting its original architectural character and design.
Architectural Details Award: The Architectural Details Award is presented by the Historic Preservation Commission in reco gnition of an outstanding achievement (completed since January 1, 2017) in restoring an exterior detail element of the structure. Examples of exterior detail elements would include porches, brackets, architectural trim and stained/leaded glass. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation shall serve as a guide for the commission.
Renovation Award: The Renovation Award is presented by the Historic Preservation Commission in recognition of a historically sensitive renovation or addition to a structure (completed since January 1, 2017) in the village that enables continued and/or expanding use.
Jeanette Fields Award of Merit: The Award of Merit is presented by the Historic Preservation Commission in reco gnition of an outstanding achievement (completed since January 1, 2017) that is outside the scope of the other awards.
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Eureka! What’s wrong with Trump
How could anyone diminish what John McCain went through as a prisoner of war? How can a man speak in public about wanting to date his own daughter? How can a man who’s convicted of rape, not to mention huge financial malfeasance, be free? How can Re publicans nominate him three times for president?
MARY KAY O’GRADY
Why do well-known aides wait until days before an election to call him out?
To every respected for mer gover nment figure who has come out against Trump in the past week: for God’s sake, what took you all so long?
Just yuck
It’s not enough to say that Donald Trump is stupid. OK, he doesn’t have books on his night table, but he is cunning enough to surround himself with smart people who feed him his major moves and — occasionally — call him out. Unfortunately, too many of those were afraid to do so until the last minute.
Will we ever be rid of this man? Will the Happy Meals ever kick in and cl og his arteries?
His current wife, sons, and daughters are just there for the money and photo ops. Trump’s for mer wives are there for the settlements, which probably feature no-talk provisions. They stay remarkably mute through it all. Maybe they fear winding up buried dee p on a Trump golf course along with the first wife, with who-knows-what stashed in their coffins? Did the current wife order Coke and popcorn (caviar and champagne?) to watch one of the prostitutes testify about her Trump encounter? Did her son watch with her? Did she feel she’d had enough when the rape trial was televised? Did she mentally add a million dollars to her “ask” when she files for divorce? Are his conservative Christian supporters even mildly nauseated? Just yuck
VIEWPOINTS
Ranked choice voting would work here
In recent Oak Park elections, many candidates ran for the three trustee positions. Choice is good for voters. But it has sometimes meant that we elected trustees with small percentages of the vote, making it impossible to tell if they had broad support from the community.
In 2019, there were 11 candidates for the village board. The three winners were elected with only 15.43%, 12.26%, and 11.89% of the total votes cast — less than 40% of the total votes! Using ranked choice voting (RCV), candidates must receive at least 25%+1 of the total votes. Requiring this higher threshold for winning means that our trustees are more representative of the community and, hopefully, more responsive to our needs.
Oak Park voters were left with less choice for Village President in 2021 when a candidate dropped out of the race. The departing candidate expressed concern that the vote could split to produce a result that a majority of the community does not support. If voters opt to use ranked-choice voting for Oak Park elections, candidates can run without worry of vote-splitting, and we can vote our true preferences without concern of wasting our votes.
While RCV is a good way to reduce polarization at a national or state level, that has not been much of an Oak Park concern and is not why proponents have worked to bring this to the ballot.
We should also be clear that this is a binding referendum. Oak Park is a home-rule municipality. That gives it authority to adopt procedures for selecting municipal officers that differ from those set forth in the Illinois election code, including a switch to ranked choice voting. A number of attor neys, including for mer Village Attor ney Paul Stephanides, have researched whether RCV would be legal for Oak Park elections. They have not found that it would be illegal for Oak Park
Bruce Lehman is a longtime resident of Oak Pa rk and a volunteer with VOICE Oak Park and FairVote Illinois.
Julianne Wood: Getting
Solution in search of a problem
Ranked choice voting (RCV) sounds like a slam dunk to approve in Oak Park. It seems like a wonderful idea — until you think about it and get realworld facts. In practice, the “instant runof f” style of RCV on the Oak Park ballot isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and simply makes no sense to use in the races for village trustees, where candidates are competing for multiple seats. Oak Parkers should reject the proposed version of instant runof f ranked choice voting and refine the approach rather than adopting such a flawed approach, which has actually:
■ reduced turnout, as found in a study of RCV, covering 1995–2011, which may help explain how New York City has elected such mediocre-to-terrible mayors
■ especially reduced voting among lower-income households
■ generated a rate of ballot er rors 14 times greater than on a non–ranked choice ballot, and
■ the “instant runof f” style of RCV on the ballot in Oak Park has actually exacerbated polarization in other, already polarized locales.
Ranked choice voting is a solution in search of a problem for Oak Park. While RCV has generated some positive effects in a handful of jurisdictions, the sort of political polarization it’s meant to address hasn’t existed in Oak Park elections in the decades I’ve been observing them from anear.
But even more important: RCV just doesn’t make any sense, and needlessly complicates the village trustees ballot. That’s because, instead of a single official being elected, there are three trustees to be elected from the pool of candidates. Nobody has clearly explained how RCV would work with a multi-seat election like village trustees
Proponents created an arbitrary way to determine which three candidates would be elected to the village board that defies explanation: counting ranked choice vote until 3 candidates receive 25% +1% of the vote. But wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to use 33% +1% of the vote since there are three trustees to elect?
The Instant Runof f RCV on the Oak Park ballot disenfranchises voters to an extent. In the real world,
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Pay raises and privilege
We’ve got no objections to Oak Park’s village president and the trustees making a bit more money starting next year. This is a tough and demanding job if you take it seriously. Happily, our experience tells us virtually all the elected officials we have covered in village gover nment have put in the complex and voluminous reading necessary, have been present at myriad events, and have been accessible to residents with questions and frustrations
So if the current electeds decide that the president should get a raise from $25,200 to $40,000, we’re OK with it. Trustees getting a hike from $15,000 to $23,000 is a no-brainer.
But in the discussion at the board table last week there were two issues raised that are compelling. One has been debated fairly re gularly over the past 25 years. In a town with a village manager form of gover nment, with a well-compensated manager running the day-to-day operations, should Oak Park’s president be effectively a full-time job? Go back to the last century and village presidents mostly worked full-time jobs elsewhere. A couple were retired. Ultimately the historical issue is keeping every village president in their own lane, not messing with the daily work at village hall.
Trustees Cory Wesley and Brian Straw raised another issue and it’s an example of our having our thought processes altered. Pay trustees $15,000, or even $23,000, and you are limiting who has the capacity to seek the office. It becomes a legitimate matter of privilege. You might need to have a job with a notable salary and a lot of work flexibility to be a trustee. This limits the diversity of people who can consider taking on this role
And that’s a worthy discussion
More ‘warrior,’ less ‘worrier’
The following is not the official position of this newspaper, just the “closing argument” of one countryman:
Today is a good day for goinginto-battle speeches, steeling ourselves and psyching up for the climax of this great culture war, “testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure,” as Abraham Lincoln said on the Gettysburg battlefield in November of 1863. In November of 2024, we are met on the battleground of our latest civil war, so inspiration is the order of this final week before Election Day.
KEN TRAINOR
Take heart from Shakespeare’s famous prebattle stemwinder, found in Henry V (adapted for this historic moment):
This story shall the good voters teach their sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters; and today shall ne’er go by, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remember’ d; we fe w, we happ y few, we band of brothers and sisters; for those today who stand against the darkness with me shall be my brother and sister; and those in America now a-bed in their enchanted sleep shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their personhoods cheap when anyone speaks who voted with us upon this fateful Election Day.
Some have surrendered to the irrational Darkness, supporting a morally debased and mentally incompetent candidate — or enabling that candidate by voting for a third party, or not voting at all. Those who embrace the Light, meanwhile, defending what is rational, honorable and true, see the stakes in this election all too clearly. The future of our country, the future of democracy and the future of the world are at stake. We are in a race against the clock with accelerating climate change. If the climate-deniers triumph and shift this country into reverse for four more years (at least), the world our children and grandchildren inherit will rapidly become un-livable.
Hyperbole? Mere rhetoric? Don’t kid yourselves. Our future course as a nation will be determined if the vote goes the wrong way next week and America goes into a nosedive. We’re already running out of time. If you don’t vote for the only candidate who can defeat Trump, or don’t vote at all, you are effectively voting for the forces of Darkness, and Trump thanks you.
The candidate of Darkness is anti-democratic, anti-rule of law, a person of criminal character, a traitor to his country, who would harm our
country even more than he did the first time around. The candidate of Light is pro-democracy, pro-rights and respects the rule of law. She is the only person who can triumph over Trump, the only one standing between us and fascism.
Three weeks ago, my twin grandsons turned 11. My granddaughter turns 2 the day before the election. Tyler and Bryce are 10 years from adulthood. Charlotte is 20 years away. Their future will be either dark or hopeful, depending on whether Americans have the good sense to vote for Kamala Harris. My grandsons understand this election better than half the adults in this country. For the past couple of years we have been reading the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books. Both depict the running battle between the forces of Light and Darkness. Both feature Dark Lords who were previously defeated but have re grouped and re gained enough strength to threaten the established order. The ongoing battle between Light and Darkness is at the core of our mythology and cosmolog y. It is hard-wired in our psyches. We have spent our entire lives watching it re-enacted in films, on TV, on stage: Sauron (the Dark Lord of Mordor, Lord of the Rings), Darth Vader (Star Wars), Voldemort (Harry Potter), and Kronos (Percy Jackson). And in our history books, Hitler, Putin, and now Trump (a self-described Fuhrer). In fiction and non-fiction, the plot is similar: the Dark Lord’s rebound endangers all that is good, and all that could be even better. The forces of Light are unnerved and uncertain, but they are not disabled by their fear. In the end, they remember who they are and what they stand for and rise to resist.
Now we find ourselves on the eve of this recur ring battle’s latest incarnation — not in our imaginations but in the real world. History will judge us on whether we meet this challenge. So will our children and grandchildren. At the moment, it looks like a 50-50 proposition — scary, befitting the darkening, ghoulish decor surrounding us this season. Will government of the people, by the people, for the people perish from the earth? Will we allow an authoritarian re gime to take its place, through our indifference or blind self-righteousness?
From the courts to the media, the guardrails of our system have revealed disturbing weaknesses. They will fail alto gether if Trump gets a second term. It is entirely up to us, the voters, to prevent that collapse. This is our moment — unavoidable, though some are taking refuge in their
Continued on pa ge
Stop genoc ide, by punishing the Democrats
Last week’s edition of Wednesday Journal includes a “specimen” election ballot for Cook County. It lists mostly Democratic and Re publican candidates. Excluding judicial candidates, there are 13 boxes for various offices. In six of those 13 boxes there are more than two candidates. Besides the usual Democrat and Re publican options, there is a Working Class Party member, three Liber tarians, one Green Party member and one Inde pendent.
JOE HARRINGTON
One View
As the unofficial advocate for “the more choices the better” approach to voting, I use this sample ballot as ir refutable proof that Democrats and Re publicans do not exclusively own the election process. That one Inde pendent candidate is a third option for president. There’s space for a write-in candidate for president, too. That’s four. Can we now ag ree it’s more than two choices? Using math, not reductive propaganda.
The irony of printing this sample ballot is that it shares space with Ken Trainor’s “What does it mean to love your country?” column, written in the context of the upcoming election. He implores voters to not “throw away your vote on a third-party candidate.” Hmm, where have I heard that sinister mantra before? Oh, right from the Democratic Party, both national and local. That’s the way to love your country? Do not listen to or believe anything about a third party? That’s democracy? Certain candidates’ voices must not be amplified. Two choices. Blah blah blah. There is also a fellow opinion piece in which I am di-
Continued from previous pa ge
bunkers of fear and despair, claiming a false equivalency between the Dark and Light sides, carving out a phony neutrality, hoping both sides lose so they can emerge from their bomb shelters in the pure sunlight of a new day with their virtue intact. But as Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel insightfully observed, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tor mentor, never the tormented.” We need you. We ask every one of you to stand with us. We also ask anyone who leans Re publican in “nor mal” times to vote with us in this decidedly abnormal time. We don’t need Joseph Campbell’s mythical “Hero of a Thousand Faces” to rescue us. We need 90 million heroic voters — to save democracy and give our descendants a shot at a brighter future.
What we don’t need are quibblers, equivocators and third-party dreams. Maybe next election, not this time. But with you or without you, we are making our stand — we band of sisters and brothers — and if enough of us vote, we will win, not by forc e, cynicism and despair, but with hope, love and united ballots. We must go into this final week as “warriors,” not “worriers”: disciplined, determined, optimistic, focused on winning. Which is why we need a spine-tingling, going-into-battle
rectly taken to task for (previous letters) asserting the Harris campaign is losing votes in the Muslim community for continuing to supply Israel with money and weapons that for over a year now have inarguably killed over 40,000 civilian, unarmed Palestinians. Mr. Peres conveniently attacks my here-andnow analysis of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Right. That was horrific. However, at this point it is a tedious justification for the ongoing bombing of hospitals, schools, shelters, aid workers, journalists, supply convoys, and places of worship.
Stop with the tortured logic that in spite of this grim reality, Israel still has a right to keep “defending” itself. Over 40,000 dead Palestinians in over a year while Israel lost 1,200 on Oct. 7, 2023. Two wrongs now make a right? And stop calling it a war. It has been declared by the International Court of Justice as an ongoing genocide. Period. Do not try to persuade a voter who has a moral conscience with the facile bromide “get out of your comfort zone” and vote for the enabling Democratic Party. That is implicitly suppo rting unjust death and destruction. Oh, but the only other choice is him, the guy who should have been behind bars for Jan. 6 alone. What nonsense. Dangerous nonsense.
If Harris loses, which is very possible, don’ t attack Jill Stein or her suppor ters. Har ris, Biden and rest will need only look in the mirror to see where the blame rightfully belongs.
Joe Harrington is an Oak Pa rk resident.
speech to rouse and inspire us. My favorite is delivered by Aragorn in the film Return of the King (Lord of the Rings Trilog y) outside the Black Gate of Mordor before the final battle (modified for this historic moment):
Sons and daughters of Blue States! Of Red States! My brothers and sisters, I see in y our eyes the same fear that would take the heart out of me. A day may come when the courage of men and women fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, an hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Rationality comes crashing down. But today is not that day! Today we vote for the Light, for a better country and a brighter future. By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, men and women of America! The day may come when democracy will die, when we succumb to fear and darkness. But today is not that day!
We will be remembered for remaining true to the Light. Let’s bury Trump in votes for Harris — then forgive his supporters, and his enablers, and find our way, together, to a better future.
Or as Ulysses says, exhor ting his crew before setting out on one more voyage (with apolo gies to Tennyson): ’Tis not too late to seek a newer world. … One equal temper of heroic hearts / Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will / To stri ve, to seek, to vote, and not to yield.
WEDNESD AY
JOURNAL
of Oak Park and River Forest
Viewpoints Guidelines
e goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have su cient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it o en is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it.
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Opposing village board pay increases
Another village board meeting star ted at 6 p.m. and stretched until midnight, with the last two hours devoted to discussing board compensation increases. I was the only trustee to oppose the majority’s consensus on significant compensation increase, and here’s why:
We are not here to incentivize career politicians. These are short-ter m, part-time, elected positions with term limits, and the compensation should reflect that.
PARAKK AT One View
The village Human Relations Department provided compensation comparisons with other communities in the Chicago area, and the data showed we are already at the higher end of the board compensation scale. Despite this, the majority ag reed to increase compensation by 60% for the village president, 53% for trustees, and 40% for the clerk.
As a home-rule community with a Village Manager form of gover nment, the village board is a part-time role. It is a significant role, much like serving on a nonprofit board, where important decisions affecting millions of dollars and many lives are made. For me, these roles are about service — to our community and to society, grounded in values and principles. That is how self-governing communities are designed to work in our democracy.
Some key considerations for board compensation include:
1. Attracting a diverse and equitable pool of candidates that fully represents the community. Rather than increasing compensation across the board, we should address specific barriers to service, such as child
care reimbursements for single parents or improving meeting efficiency to avoid late-night sessions that disrupt daily life. That said, we already have a diverse board under the current compensation structure.
2. Community expectations and time required to be effective. Spending more time on tasks because you have the availability, and then expecting to be compensated for that extra time spent, isn’t appropriate. I disag ree with the idea that spending more time in these roles necessarily leads to better outcomes for the community. It’s about focused and effective use of time. An elected role can be fulfilled in different ways, and compensation should not be determined by how current officeholders choose to approach it. These positions are designed to be part-time, and it’s unfair to ask taxpayers to compensate for an individual’s personal decision to treat the role as full-time.
While I do not support raising the compensation for the village president and trustees at this time, I believe the clerk’s full-time position could justify a modest increase — perhaps 10-15%, with provisions for periodic cost-of-living adjustments. I also support re gular reviews of overall board compensation to ensure alignment with other municipalities
But let’s not forget: these are not career roles.
The final vote on these compensation increases is set for Oct. 29. While I understand that everyone makes decisions based on their own values and principles, mine lead me to oppose the majority decision in this case.
Don’t overlook Looking Glass books
I was saddened by the upcoming closing of The Book Table and was glad about the ar ticle last week announcing Dandelion Bookshop opening. But there is another great bookstore in Oak Park that was overlooked in the article. The Looking Glass on South Oak Park Avenue is a local gem. It has been a fixture for years.
It is our go-to bookstore for books but also gifts, travel reading, and of course wonderful puzzles. The expertise of its owner, Steve Kirshenbaum, is impressive, and if he doesn’t know, he’ll look it up. Thanks, Steve!
Mary Louise Kelly
Oak Park
Negatively-rated judges list, clari ed
Editor’s note: In last week’s Viewpoints, we published Jim Poznak’s list of judges that he said received negative ratings. That caused some confusion for at least one reader. He also included 12th Circuit candidate Frank J. Andreou, whose circuit is geographically removed from ours and didn’t belong on this list. We regret that error.
We asked Jim to provide a more detailed list, including the bar associations that issued negative ratings for each judge, as well as those issued by Injustice Watch, “a nonprofit journalism organization that examines issues of equity and justice in the Cook County court system.” Wednesday Journal included their “Check Your Judges” guide in our Oct. 16 issue. Jim also included links below for those who wish to do further research.
Please consider voting No for the following judges on the Retention Ballot, each of whom received a ne gative rating from Injustice Watch (IW) and/or from one or more bar associations named at the end of the list. Please consider voting Yes for all the other judg es.
Thomas E. Hoffman (IW – Notable Reversals)
Kathy M. Flanagan (BWL, CCL, ISBA, LAGBAC)
E. Kenneth Wright Jr. (ISBA, LAGBAC)
James N. Varga (CCBA, LABBAC)
Mary Margaret Brosnahan (IW – Notable Reversals and Notable Controversy)
Maura Slattery Boyle (IW – Notable Reversals and Notable Controversy)
Carl Anthony Walker (IW – Notable Controversy)
Mike McHale (IW – Notable Reversals and Notable Controversy)
Erica L. Reddick (IW – Notable Reversals)
Lionel Jean-Baptiste (IW – Notable Reversals)
Carl B. Boyd (IW – Notable Controversy)
Lisa Ann Marino (CCBA, CCL, ISBA, LAGBAC, and WBAI)
AABA Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area
BMLA Black Men Lawyers’ Association
BWLA Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago
CCL Chicago Council of Lawyers
CCBA Cook County Bar Association
DSL Decalogue Society of Lawyers
HBA Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois
HLAI Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
ISBA Illinois State Bar Association
LAGBAC Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association
PRBA Puerto Rican Bar Association
WBAI Women’s Bar Association of Illinois
Links:
https://www.voteforjudges.org/ https://interacti ves.injustice watch.org/judicial-election-guide/2024-general/en/ Jim Poznak, Oak Park
How to pick a president
My father, an electronics engineer, would never discuss his political views. This was a mar riage-survival strateg y as my mother was vigorously liberal. It was a time when politics was more about ideas than popularity.
Trump taps into an anti-intellectual, anti-elite undercurrent, the resentment of working people caught between inflation and stagnant wages (although inflation has fallen and wages have risen of late). Trump is their hero, perceived as a powerful, even sexual winner. It follows the “strong man” theory of government, where a cult of personality overtakes common sense — like Putin, Napoleon, Hitler.
According to CNN, current voters are motivated by cultural influence more than political party, TV news, social media, or newspapers.
What prompts an American to ally with one set of beliefs or another? Is it the rationalism of my father, or the hopefulness of my mother? One wants to keep our budget balanced and our economy stable, the other wants to help those less fortunate. But politics is not rational. We choose based on personal feelings and needs. According to Maslow, safety and stability, in
fact, rank higher than empathy
Therefore, politics is like music or art — totally in the eyes of the beholder. There is no scorecard of issues and policies that elect a leader. In the way that Woodstock captured the 1960s, Trump captures the zeitgeist of working peoples’ disappointment. Look at Trump through loyalist eyes: he’s their savior.
Today we say we pick our present based on policy or issues, but that’s not true this time. Some of us are picking based on the mood of the times. Maybe there is a useful historical criteria for picking a president. Aristotle held that an “ideal” politician is a good man, speaking well.
Apply this Aristotelian standard to Trump. Both his goodness and his speech have been called into question. These apply much more favorably to Harris.
The criteria for president ought to include management skill, rational decisionmaking, character, and the ability to work with people with whom you disagree. Harris embodies these qualities; Trump simply does not. Vote Harris!
Karen Muriello Oak Park
e reality behind milk prices
There is a great deal of concer n about increased prices at the grocery store for food and many people blame President Biden and, by connection, Vice President Harris for this issue. There is even a train of thought that Donald Trump would fix this problem if elected.
But one of Trump’s biggest strategies is to deport all of the undocumented immigrants. This proposal shows how little Trump understands the ag ricultural labor situation in the United States, which so heavily relies on immigrant labor both for lower labor costs and the skills of agricultural labor.
We rely on immigrant labor for much of the farm work done in this country, especially harvesting crops The one part of ag riculture that is not routinely thought of utilizing migrant labor is the production of milk. Milk far mers run a 24/7/365 operation which requires large number of workers to care for the health, welfare and feeding, as well as milking every cow
every day.
This type of work is backbreaking, hard, messy and badly paid, yet highly skilled. If all of the migrants were to disappear tomor row, at best American labor would be much more expensive, at worst the very people who have built the skills to manage dairy cows would be deported.
America relies on cheap milk for much of its food industry, in fact as every expense related to producing milk has exploded exponentially, but milk and milk products have essentially flatlined, making running a dairy farm at a profit extremely difficult.
Another very difficult issue is that milk cows need to be milked every day and if a far mer cannot milk cows, they will stop producing milk. Just from an economic point of view, skilled migrant labor working as permanently as staff on milk far ms is crucial to American milk production.
Frank Vozak Oak Park
Now is the time …
Long ago in my sophomore typing class, the teacher gave us timed speed and accuracy tests. A familiar one be gan with a 70-character sentence “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.”
I just pecked this with my fingers on an iPhone and I would add “all good women”! Please plan to Vote, encourage others to Vote, and take advantage of the last Early Voting days, 9-5 at Oak Park Village Hall,
123 Madison St., for all suburban Cook County voters. You can also come to the beginning of the line with your mail-in-ballot to put in the drop box. Use the accessible entrance on Lombard Avenue. Utilize the handicapped spaces on both sides of village hall if you are eligible. But you might enjoy waiting in line. This letter contains more than 70 characters, and so might your line at the polls!
Cynthia Breunlin, Oak Park
Acts of cowardice precede fascism
When I learned that the owners of the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times had unilaterally cancelled their Editorial Boards’ prepared endorsements of Kamala Harris for President, a chill ran down my spine. When even billionaires like Jeff Bezos are too cowardly to risk the wrath of Donald Trump, we begin to sense what life under a deranged dictator would be like. We begin to understand the reason he persists in threatening his detractors with violent retribution. Too many Americans are cowards.
When confronted with a sociopathic, egotistical dictator, nearly every elected Re publican senator and re presentative swallowed their patriotism and groveled at the feet of the Orange Beast. The heroic few who refused were chased out of their party by the jackals.
The generation of Americans who
defeated Adolf Hitler would be stunned to learn that nearly half of America is now prepared to invite a fascist into the White House. The term “fascist” was used by Trump’s own chief-of-staf f, General John Kelley, and was supported in an open letter signed by a dozen other Trump administration of ficials ag reeing that he was unfit for office.[1]
The news media, sadly including the Chicago Tribune, are too fearful of retribution by Trump’s MAGA stor mtroopers to tell their readers the truth. People used to ask “How could Germany have ever elected Adolf Hitler to lead their country?” Horrifically, we now see the answer. [1] https://www.nbcnews.com/ politics/2024-election/13-former-trumpadministration-officials-sign-open-letterbacking-john-rcna177227
Tom DeCoursey, Oak Park
Vote for a legislative map commission
I know that it’s only an “advisory referendum,” but I was glad to see I could vote to establish an independent legislative mapping commission on the ballot for the Nov. 5 General Election. While I am confident it will pass, I am skeptical that it will become binding any time in the future. A similar referendum was also on the ballot in Proviso Township.
My skepticism is based on the past actions of village resident, Oak Park Township Committeeman and Illinois State Senate President Don Harmon to prevent such a ballot initiative being voted on in previous statewide elections. He attempted to squash the petition efforts to establish
an independent mapping commission, and the bill to do so, approved by a significant majority of the state House of Representatives in 2020 by not calling the bill for a vote in the state Senate
Depending on the results of the vote on the referendum, if passed on Nov. 5, it will be interesting to see if Sen. Harmon will heed the advice of a majority of voters in Oak Park Township to get a statewide binding referendum on the next general election ballot. Or, in keeping with his history on this matter, will he again stand against democracy?
Chris Donovan Oak Park
A big, beautiful world
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one pa ge
St. Augustine
TJULIANNE WOOD
he pandemic upended life and leisure as we know it. After the travel industry lost nearly 75 percent of its value in 2020, it has come roaring back to life. People whose lives had once been in a holding pattern are ready to not just take a mask-less breath but are anxious and excited to take to the skies and the roads once again.
One View
I’m sure you’ve all heard the expression, “Just say yes.” Yes to joining that new yo ga studio. Yes to eating more salads and less donuts. Yes to taking that pottery class with your daughter.
I’m saying Yes to travel, i.e. traveling “more.” My parents took my siblings and me on trips every year. Sometimes it was just camping, with all six of us under a moldy, canvas tent tied up to huge oak trees in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. As time marched on, and finances improved, it was Florida, or Palm Springs, or Boston. In my mind, every trip was better than the one before, each holding its own unique memories. My husband and I have tried to do the same with our children, now adults, throughout the years. Hopefully they will continue to imprint the importance of seeing the world on their own families in the
Cash or charge?
years to come.
By now I’m sure you’ re wondering why I’m going on and on about post-pandemic travel when it’s been more than a year since the WHO declared the official end to the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ll tell you why: because between a pandemic and a cancer diagnosis, I was in a state of stasis — no change, no movement, no progress. Everything and everyone around me was moving again, but I was immobile. I felt unfamiliar with my own body and suspicious of the world moving around me, but I pushed myself to start traveling again: Florida in spring, Philadelphia, Boston … weekends turned into a week and before I knew it, a week had turned into two weeks in Italy.
A few nights ago, my husband and I returned from a trip to northern Italy to visit the towns where his parents grew up and most of his family still lives — a trip we promised ourselves we would make every year while still healthy and young enough to tackle the Autostrada at 90 mph. Dinners and homemade wine with cousins, drives into the Apuan Alps, and Ne gronis by the Ligurian Sea. We wandered through churches built before the crusades and Castellos that once housed the Medici. I’ve only just unpacked and am already wanting to go back.
Traveling these days is not for the faint
Several Oak Park businesses have now decreed they will accept only credit cards — no cash. Courageous Cafe and Blackout Bakery are two examples
Several restaurants, meanwhile, have now started charging customers fees for using a credit card — almost all of them in violation of the law’s requirements. The law states they must give public notice that they are charging a credit card fee, and the fee can be only 1 percent of the transaction or the actual cost of the credit card transaction, whichever is less. All of the businesses we have encountered are charging the entire cost and there is no notice The only le gal way a business can recoup the entire credit card fee is to raise prices enough to cover that cost and then offer a discount to those who pay cash.
Barbara Moline Oak Park
of heart: long security lines, ridiculously big airfare and astonishingly small seats. But I proved to myself that I can still handle it all. Maybe I’m a bit slower, and I don’t get over jetlag as easily, but I did it … and plan to do it again every chance I get.
Travel takes us out of our comfort zones and invites us to taste and see and try new things. It allows us to embrace adventure
and new cultures, while also teaching us the valuable life skills of learning to improvise and adapt when plans don’t quite go our way.
As Helen Keller once said, “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.” I choose adventure.
Julianne Wood is a longtime Oak Park er who now li ves in Elmwood Park.
If a tree falls in RF, does it make a sound?
My husband and I attended the October quarterly River Forest Safety meeting. We were disappointed only three residents attended. If I had not been there to ask questions, details about criminal activity in the village would not have been discussed.
Before the meeting, I went to the village website to read September’s crime lo g/incident re port. It had not been posted. The last re port was posted 52 days ago. When I brought up the delay in posting, the chief had the clerk enter it immediately.
But those re ports don’t tell the whole story. For instance, on a very warm night a few weeks ago at 1 a.m., I called 911 to re port two people in the alley
wearing full masks and hoodies. The police apprehended the individuals and later informed me they were from Chicago and had burglary tools in their possession. The incident was reported as “2 juveniles ar rested for curfew violation,” which makes it sound to me like two local kids were just out hanging around past curfew.
The police do a very good job. They emphasized that residents should call 911 to re port suspicious activity. But they also implied that most River Forest residents don’t want to know what is going on, even alluding that people would not want to move to or live in River Forest if they thought there was crime here. I have lived here for 68
years. Am I afraid to live here? No. Do I want to know in a timely manner what is happening in my town? Yes!
The police suggested one way to learn about “crimes” in the village is to go on local social media sites. I don’t want to hear about crime from my neighbors. That is called “hearsay” or “rumors” and are often far from reality. I think most residents care and deserve to hear about incidents from the police/village in a timely manner.
So, if a crime happens in River Forest, and no one knows about it, did it really happen?
Trudi
Julianne Wood in Northern Italy.
Ross River Forest
We need contested local elections
Our national election, as it should, is currently consuming a lot of attention and energy. However, it’s important to note our local election is around the corner. Now is the time for candidates to collect signatures to appear on the April 1, 2025 ballot. The final deadline to file is Monday, Nov. 18.
If you are not satisfied with decisions made by our park board, village board, school board, etc., you can’t, as they say, “vote someone out” if we don’t have alternative candidates to “vote in.” A contested election forces a campaign and gives voters the opportunity to evaluate candidates and decide who they want to represent them.
Without a contested race, if a candidate gathers the minimum required number of petition signatures to appear on the ballot, that person will automatically sit on a board. The signature requirement is based on a percentage of ballots cast in the last municipal election. In 2023, out of 8,356 re gistered voters, 1,738 ballots were cast in River Forest. That translates to the following signature requirements for our next election:
Village Board (President & Trustees)5% - 87 signatures required
MARY KAY O’GRADY
from page 25
Democratic candidates and handlers are complaining that there are no guardrails. Trump utterly craves power and craves power utterly. Surely he will welcome Putin and Xi Jinping to the White House just because he can.
I’m guessing he’s smart enough to order that cameras avoid him during The Star Spangled Banner, not because he doesn’t know the words (and doesn’t care), but because he knows it’s not a good look.
Am I actually writing about a for mer and future president of our country? Are we all on hallucinogens?
The missing trait, dear readers, is
Park Board - 2% - 35 signatures
Library Board - 2% - 35 signatures
School Board - 10% or 50 signatures, whichever is less
Township Board - 5% - 87 signatures required
As you can see, without a contested election, a concerning small number of residents will determine the board members who will make the decisions that impact all of us, our property values, our schools, our quality of life, and what we pay in taxes
You can take an active role in recruiting candidates, so voters have choices. Few elected officials wake up one day and decide to run; most have been encouraged by a friend or neighbor who sees in them the capacity to govern at the policy level while simultaneously appreciating how each policy will impact individual community members.
Talk to your friends and neighbors or consider running yourself. It’s not too late! Information on running for of fice can be found here: https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections/candidates-andelected-of ficials/2025-info-candidates
Patty Henek River Forest
Life-sustaining dialysis care
Dialysis treatments, while essential, are also often a tiring process for patients with end-stage renal disease or kidney failure. As a nephrologist, it is my job to ensure that the 12-15 hours patients spend in the dialysis chair each week are as easy as possible. A Supreme Court decision, however, could make it much harder for them to access life-sustaining dialysis care.
Before 2022, longstanding policies allowed patients on dialysis to keep their private insurance for just over two years while transitioning to Medicare. Unfortunately, we’ve seen insurers change up the rules and limit dialysis access, ultimately driving patients with kidney failure of f
their private insurance.
With the prevalence of kidney disease growing, it is more important than ever for patients to have reliable access to dialysis care. Thankfully, lawmakers have reco gnized this issue and introduced legislation to protect patients. I especially want to thank our own Re p. Danny Davis, who sponsors this bill, the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patient Act (H.R. 6860).
Before the end of the year, lawmakers must take action to pass this bill and ensure that those in need maintain lifesustaining dialysis access.
Manish Tanna Oak Park
Listen to homeow ners on bike plan
empathy — the state, ability, and gift of actually feeling what another person might be feeling. The ability to act on that is called agency, which is the ability to handle the events and situations in your life, the sense of control that you feel in your life.
Trump has zero empathy. Unfortunately for us, his of fice as president gives him all the agency he wants. And more than he should ever have Barack Obama has both empathy and agency — who can forget him rushing to Sandy Hook that very night — and those traits informed his presidency and his current life.
Trump must be denied any further agency because he is totally lacking in empathy.
Kamala has both agency and empathy. It shows. She glows with both. Show her you know.
On Oct. 24, I attended the Oak Park Bike Plan open house at the main library. It was extremely informative and the staf f was very open to comments and concerns. However, when I asked about the proposed Ridgeland bike lane initiative, I was told that it is a separate project and wasn’t included in the plan that was shown. The staf f could not answer my questions about surveying Ridgeland homeowners (how and when), concerns about parking on Ridgeland, or when the topic would be discussed at a village meeting.
If I’m not mistaken, there was an allocation of almost $80K to do a study on the
DANIEL LAUBER
from page 25
voting involves choosing between specific candidates competing against each other. Your vote might change depending upon which two candidates are in the “finals,” so to speak. The proposed RCV doesn’t allow for that choice.
All in all, the well-intentioned ballot measure to establish ranked choice voting for Oak Park is not even needed since the political polarization it is aimed at
Ridgeland bike plan. I find it disturbing that there doesn’t seem to be coordination with the larger bike plan that was shown at the open house. Many bikers I talked to at the open house seemed to be open to side street north/south options rather than biking down one of the busier more congested roads in this village.
I hope the village leadership actually solicits from, and listens to, homeowners and bikers before moving forward with something no one supports, like they did with leaf-bagging.
Mark Schlosser Oak Park
alleviating doesn’t exist in Oak Park. And RCV simply makes no sense and is disenfranchising when it comes to the multiple village trustee seats
Reject this referendum and come back with a more carefully crafted version of ranked choice voting just for the village president and village clerk positions that elect a single office holder.
Daniel Lauber has been a volunteer of the year of the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization and was acti ve in Oak Pa rk’s Common Sense and Education First parties of yesteryear
Ed Hosty, 50
Athlete, coach and chef
Edward C. Hosty, 50, of Chicago, formerly of River Forest, died peacefully on Oct. 25 after a brave battle with cancer. Ed graduated from St. Luke School, a proud Bearcat of the Class of ’88. He graduated from Fenwick High School in 1992 and was proud to see his sons become the fourth generation in his family to attend Fenwick. Ed was a talented athlete whose journey began at St. Luke and Fenwick. He went on to play basketball (1 year) and football (4 years) at Princeton, graduating with the Class of ’96. A loyal friend, he was loved and appreciated by many, who gathered to visit him in his final months. A passionate Bears, White Sox, and Blackhawks fan, he attended many games over the years. His greatest pride was in his boys. He loved nothing more than cheering them on from the sidelines, often with an enthusiastic shout, and coaching them during their younger years. Watching them play brought him a deep sense of purpose.
He loved hosting gatherings for friends and family, and had a unique ability to make everyone feel welcome. He was a fine chef, specializing in perfectly cooked beef tenderloin, Cox family dip, and Juicy Lucy Burgers, and learned Italian traditions such as seven fishes or sugo from Aunt Marilyn. His famous vodka/lemonades for Lincoln Ave. Fest were a crowd favorite. He achieved excellence in all he undertook.
Ed was the husband of Laura (Lassandro) Hosty; the father of Edward Jr. (EJ), Fran-
of Susan (Cox) and the late Thomas Edward Hosty III; the brother of Thomas E. IV (Kathleen) Hosty, Joan (Michael) Beacom, Luke Hosty, and Susan Hosty; the for mer sisterin-law of Kathleen Hosty; the son-in-law of the late Ross and Loretta Lassandro; brother-in-law of Aaron Lassandro and the late Tony Lassandro; uncle of Hannah, Eileen, Tommy, and Emmett Hosty, Mary Helen, Mike, Dave, and Grace Beacom, Luke, Cici, and Claire Hosty, and Aries Lassandro
Visitation will be held at Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home, 10501 W. Cermak Road (2 blocks west of Mannheim), Westchester, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, from 3 until 8 p.m. On Thursday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m., funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Luke Church, with interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hosty Family Trust to support the boys’ education.
Arrangements were handled by the Original Kuratko Family, Brian D. Kuratko-Director.
Dick Powell Jr. OPRF ice hockey goalie
Richard H. “Dick” Powell Jr. of Batavia, for merly of Oak Park, died unexpectedly on Oct. 20, 2024. He is survived by his wife, Karen (nee Krainek) Powell; his mother, Patricia (Kenneth) Barrett; his father, Richard H. Powell Sr. (retired lieutenant, River Forest Fire Department; his brothers, Dennis (Andrea) and Jeffrey (Jayme); his sisters, Anita (James) Madren, Victoria (Gregg) Goyer, Sara (Josh) Asher, and Samantha (Aaron) Foster; his sisters-in-law, Eileen (Tim) Strejc, Cathy (Carl) Lacny, Kathryn (Michael) Birbe; 18 nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and -nephews.
Dick graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School, Class of 1980. He was a goalie on the OPRF ice hockey team.
Margaret Scullion, 91
Spunk and sparkling eyes
Margaret Ann Scullion (nee Halligan), 91 years young, died peacefully with her children by her side on Oct. 18, 2024. Born the third of five children to Mary and John Halligan, on April 5, 1933, she spent her childhood on the South Side of Chicago. On New Year’s Eve, 1960, she married Frances James Scullion (1925-1991) and the couple moved to the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago where they raised their two children, Brian (Katie Scullion) and Nancy (Scott Brennan). She was the grandmother of Caleb, Ella, Jack, Grac e, Ava and Jane. She spent her latter years in Evanston, Wilmette and finally, Oak Park. Her spunk, smile and sparkling eyes will be missed by all who knew her.
WEDNESD AY
JOURNAL
of Oak Park and River Forest
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SPORTS
OPRF, Fenwick, Trinity ready for volleyball playo s
Con dence abounds for Blazers, Friars, and Huskies
By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter
The IHSA girls volleyball tournament began this week, and both OPRF and Fenwick like where they are as they head into their respective classes.
OPRF
The Huskies prepared for the postseason with a pair of quality non-conference matchups last week. On Oct. 22, OPRF rolled past host Fenwick 25-13, 25-18. Junior outside hitter Samantha Shelton had eight kills and an ace, senior middle hitter Gabby Towns tallied six kills and a block, and senior setter Hannah Phelan lo gged 12 assists for the Huskies (19-15).
“Obviously it’s a big rivalry,” Towns said. “We were focused, working hard, and applied wh at we did in practic e. ”
A lthough OPRF lost the re g ular season finale, on Oct. 24, at St. Ignatiu s, 26-28, 2520, and 23-25, c oach Kelly C ollins b eli eves the Huskies, seeded fourth in the C lass 4A Wi llowbrook Sectional, are ready fo r the pl ayoffs
“We’ve been a little inconsistent from time to time because we went through some growing pains with younger people filling bigger roles for us this year,” she said. “But
OPRF setter Hannah Phelan (#5 in blue) sets up teammate Gabby Tow ns for a kill against Fenwick in a girls volleyball match, Oct. 22. e Huskies defeated the Friars 25-13, 25-18.
we’re confident we can put it together and stay consistent for the playoff run.”
Collins likes where OPRF is seeded in the sectional and adds that familiarity with most of the schools helps.
“We really have to execute at a high level and play consistent,” said Collins about the Huskies’ keys to playof f success, “from our first ball contact to defense. [Against Fenwick] we stepped up our blocking, which was nice to see. All of those are going to be key elements moving forward.”
OPRF met Kenwood, Oct. 29 [after press time], in a re gional semifinal at Lyons Township. Assuming a victory, the Huskies would meet either the host Lions or Nazareth Academy in the regional final, Oct. 31, at 6 p.m.
Fenwick
The Friars (13-21), seeded fourth in the Class 3A St. Ignatius Sectional, host a regional this week. Fenwick faced Bulls Prep on Oct. 29 after press time. Should the Friars prevail, Trinity is the likely opponent
Brecknock nishes third in
OPRF’s Stein reaches quar ter nals
By MELVIN TATE
Contributing Reporter
After winning the IHSA Class 1A girls tennis singles championship in 2022, Fen-
wick High School senior Lily Brecknock also enjoyed an excellent run at this year’s Class 2A finals, hosted by Hersey, Oct. 2426, finishing third.
“As a senior this year, I wanted to finish my last season in the best way possible,” said Brecknock, who went 30-5 this fall. “I tried to play my best tennis and was surrounded by the support of my family,
friends, and coaches along the way which made it even more special.”
With the tournament played on various sites, Brecknock was accompanied by assistant coach Mary Trifilio. She won all three matches on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals: 6-0, 6-2 over Lake Zurich’s Lora Bolanov; 6-0, 6-4 over Hinsdale Central’s Kotryna Tomas; and 6-1, 7-5 over Lyd-
in the final, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m.
“Our youth shows, and we’re down our senior setter (Ava D’Alessandro) due to injury,” said Fenwick coach Tee Pimsarn. “But we’ve improved every single week. Last year we were talking about taking sets; this year we’re talking about taking matches.”
Fenwick, which has improved its win total from last season, when it had seven, is led by sophomore outside hitters Bella Gray (161 kills, 21 aces, 14 blocks, 147 digs) and Marcelina Ko zaczka (141 kills, 13 aces, 11 blocks, 83 assists); sophomore middlehitter Jordan Rossi (83 kills, 34 aces, 30 blocks); junior libero Sophia Leonardi (42 aces, 44 assists, 162 digs); and D’Alessandro (353 assists, 69 digs, 25 aces).
“We like our chances, but we’ve got work to do,” Pimsarn said of the regional. “We’ll have to see how Ava feels — she’s out with a concussion. It’s also getting our kids to play more relaxed in high-pressure matches.”
Trinity
The Blazers (15-20) are seeded fifth at St. Ignatius and opened postseason play at the Fenwick re gional, Oct. 29, against Golder. A win would advance Trinity to the re gional final, Oct. 31.
Senior libero/defensive specialist Lilli Puttin was named to the All-Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Team for the Blazers, while head coach Ken Uhlir recorded his 200 th career victory at T rinity earlier this season.
ia Parranto of Waubonsie Valley.
On Friday in the quarterfinals, Brecknock defeated Sandburg’s Estela Loureiro 7-5, 6-4. However, she lost 1-6, 7-6, 1-6 in the semifinals to eventual 2A champion Jessica Kovalcik of Plainfield North.
But in the third-place match on Saturday,
See TENNIS on pa ge 34
C AROL DUNNING
Fenwick, OPRF wrap up their football season s
By MATTHEW RIOS & MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporters
With a 36-12 win over the Carmel High School Corsairs on Oct. 25, the Fenwick Friars have capped off an impressive re gular season by securing the Chicago Catholic League (CCL)/East Suburban Catholic Conference White division title.
Despite quarterback Jamen Williams getting hurt on the first snap, the Friars weren’ t shaken as Frankie Hosty stepped up and went seven of fifteen passing for 211 yards leading to three touchdowns
At the start of this year questions surrounded the Fenwick football team. After an unfortunate end to last season where the Friars just missed the playoffs, finishing 4-5, many wondered how the team would show up once fall came around. Did the program need to make a change? Would having two capable quarterbacks be a detriment or a benefit? And could this team win enough games to make a deep run into the playoffs?
With a 7-2 record, the results speak for themselves
“I’m really, really proud of our seniors, and proud of the team finishing strong and
TENNIS
from page 33
Brecknock bounced back to defeat Lake Zurich’s Katrine Bolanov 6-4, 5-7, 6-0.
“Lily just had a tremendous tournament,” said Fenwick coach Ron Ro gala. “Each match got progressively more challenging, but just great tennis. I’m so proud of her.”
In doubles, senior Caroline Gruber and sophomore Emma Louderback lost their first-round match to eventual runner-ups Abby Ma and Sophia Shiyakhta of Stevenson 0-6, 0-6, but bounced back in the first consolation match to defeat Marist’s Claire Neely and Natalie Bridgeman 6-1, 6-0.
“They didn’t let [the Stevenson loss] bother them,” Ro gala said. “They took advantage of their opportunity, which was excellent.”
One team is primed for playo s, the other looks to future
winning the division against a good opponent,” said Fenwick Football Coach Matthew Battaglia. “It’s been a lot of work to get to this point, and I’m excited that we get the opportunity to continue playing together.”
Fenwick is in the competitive Class 7A football bracket this postseason. But even though the stakes are raised in the playoffs, the 12th seed Friars don’t plan to deviate from what got them to where they are.
Their imposing defense is led by Fenwick’s big three of Jack Paris, Tommy Thies and Nate Marshall, who will be big threats to any opposing team’s offense. On the other side of the ball, the offensive line, senior receivers Andrew Bjorson, Emmett Romeus, and Treston Smith, and sophomore running back Jalen Morgan are all key pieces that will have a major impact on this postseason.
“We’ve achieved two of our three goals. We won our division in the CCL and we’re going to the playoffs, so goal number three [is the state title], the last one we need to check of f the list. It’s really exciting because this is when the players take over,” said Battaglia. “I love these guys and I’m really excited to watch them compete because I know they’re going to have a lot of
Although Gruber and Louderback lost the next consolation match to Phoebe Silver and Nastia Belova of Lake Forest 6-7 (2-7), 0-6, Ro gala thought they had an excellent tournament and season.
“Without their point, I don’t think we finish ninth [in the team standings],” he said as Fenwick finished with 12 points. “For two girls who had not played together, they were outstanding this season.
“I was truly blessed with senior leadership, girls who had a lot of success,” Ro gala added in his debut season assessment. “It was a total ef fort, and I thought the team had a terrific year.”
OPRF
In singles, sophomore Lucy Stein (334) won her three matches on Thursday to reach Friday’s quarterfinals: 6-1, 6-0 over Niles West’s Emma Velimirovic; 6-0, 6-0 over West Aurora’s Elena Grmusa; and 4-6,
success and play with a lot of confidence and fun.”
The Fenwick Friars start their playof f campaign hosting the Brother Rice Crusaders who finished the season 6-3. They’ll be playing the 21st seed team at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 at Triton Colle ge
OPRF: a brigter future?
The Oak Park and River Forest High School varsity football team concluded its season with a 48-21 loss at Glenbard West, Oct. 26. The Huskies finished 1-8 for the second consecutive year, with the only victory coming against Proviso West in Week 3.
But coach John Hoerster felt that despite having a reduced roster due to injuries, the Huskies never gave up as the season progressed.
“We were banged up all year,” he said. “We were thin to begin with and guys had to step up. Nobody made excuses or pointed fingers, and I was really proud of them.”
At Glenbard West, OPRF had a pair of outstanding ef forts. Liam Smith played like a warrior, rushing for 81 yards on 19 rushes offensively and making multiple
7-5, 6-3 over Glenbrook North’s Katelyn Wu.
On Friday, Stein lost her quarterfinal to Katrine Bolanov 6-1, 3-6, 4-6 to fall into the consolation quarterfinals.
“Lucy won the first set easily, [Bolanov] was way of f,” said OPRF coach Fred Galluzzo. “She had an opportunity to get ahead 3-2 in the second set but didn’t close it, and that made for a long slog. The third was up in the air, lot of tough points. At 4-4, Lucy was up 30-15 but couldn’t get separation and [Bolanov] rallied.”
She rebounded to defeat Lane Tech’s Maya Kasza 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 (tiebreaker), but lost her next match to New Trier’s Ingrid Fielder 3-6, 2-6.
“It was an improvement from last year,” Galluzzo said. “Couple less unforced errors, Lucy moves on. But she had a nice run and [with two years left] gets a couple more cracks at it.”
OPRF had two state-qualifying doubles teams. Seniors Alice Cadwell and Maeve
tackles defensively, while junior QB Chris Crape, who came on after both starter Johnny Nelson and backup Owen Watson left with injuries, rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns of 74 and 50 yards respectively. He added a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mikee Vielehr.
“Chris did a great job,” Hoerster said. “He’s like a Swiss-ar my knife; he can play about eight different positions on the field. When we had to put him in at quarterback, I asked him what he was comfortable with and he said, “Coach, I can do whatever you need.” He’s a wonderful kid and a great athlete; the sky’s the limit for him.”
Crape, Nelson, and Smith hope to help lead a Huskies turnaround next year. Hoerster says there’s some good talent not only on the freshman and sophomore levels, but also in the youth feeder program. All of this gives Hoerster cause for optimism about the future.
“I’m telling you, if OPRF football’s a stock, I’d be buying,” he said. “I know it might not make sense to a lot of people, but I think we’re trending in the right direction. We showed some growth this year; I’m excited for what’s to come and proud of this year’s group that battled.”
Marzec lost their first match 5-7, 6-4, 6-10 (tiebreaker) to Highland Park’s Mira Schmidt and Gabrielle Gold, but responded with consecutive victories in the consolation round: 6-2, 6-2 over Andrew’s Emma Karlstedt and Emma Lasecki, then 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 over Metea Valley’s Sophia Cahue and Sarina Saleem. Cadwell and Marzec’s run ended with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-10 (tiebreaker) loss to Fremd’s Stella Lee and Siya Mistry. The Huskies’ other doubles unit, seniors Anika Gupta and Sophie Welch, lost their opening match to Maine South’s Emma Militaru and Kristina Nikolova 6-7 (5-7), 3-6. After winning their first consolation match 6-1, 6-1 over Mother McAuley’s Nora Wilson and Kaitlin Zoller, Gupta and Welch fell to Barrington’s Shriya Ramesh and Courtney Croll 6-7 (5-7), 3-6.
“It’s certainly one of our better seasons,” Galluzzo said of OPRF, which finished tied for 12th in the standings with 10 points. “It was definitely a fun year.”
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Published in Wednesday Journal October 30, 2024
PRE-FILING NOTICE FOR APRIL 1, 2025 CONSOLIDATED ELECTION OF RIVER FOREST TOWNSHIP
River Forest Township hereby provides public notice that the office of the Clerk of River Forest Township (Local Election Official) will be open Friday, November 15, 2024 from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.and Monday, November 18, 2024 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. for the purpose of accepting candidate petitions and certificates for the Consolidated General Election to be held on April 1, 2025 for the following offices: River Forest Township Assessor, Township Clerk, Township Supervisor, Township Trustees (4). Nomination papers may be turned into the River Forest Township office located at 8020 Madison St, 2nd Floor, River Forest, IL 60305 to: River Forest Township Clerk Detmer or River Forest Township Supervisor Becvar. Any objections to nominating petitions must be filed with the filing officer (who received the original petitions) within 5 business days as follows: Tuesday, November 19, 2024 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. and Monday, November 25, 2024 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Published in Wednesday Journal October 30, 2024
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, November 14, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. in the First Floor Community Room of the River Forest Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois on the following matter:
The ZBA will consider an application for major zoning variations submitted by Steven Hoover, owner of the property at 633 Ashland Avenue, who is proposing to construct an addition onto the existing house.
Section 4-8-5 of the Village Code provides the Zoning Board jurisdiction to hold public hearings and offer recommendations to the Village Board concerning variations to the Zoning Ordinance.
The applicant is requesting major variations to Sections 10-9-5 and 109-7 of the Zoning Ordinance.
Section 10-9-5 of the Zoning Ordinance (10-8-5) allows a maximum Floor Area Ratio of 0.40 (40 percent of the lot area). The proposed addition will increase the Floor Area Ratio to approximately 0.4572.
Section 10-9-7 of the Zoning ordinance (10-8-7-A-2) requires “On the secondary street the front yard shall be a minimum of thirteen feet for a fifty foot wide lot,…”. The proposed addition has a setback for the Secondary Front Yard of 13’-2” from the north property line to the face of the building. The roof eave has a depth of 2’-0”, so that the setback to the fascia board of the eave is only 11’2”.
The legal description of the property at 633 Ashland Avenue is as follows: LOT 44 IN BLOCK 2 IN RIVER FOREST, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF PART OF SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, AS SURVEYED FOR THE SUBURBAN HOME MUTUAL LAND ASSOCIATION ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF RECORDED JUNE 23, 1890 AS DOCUMENT 1291334, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting packet, which includes a copy of this zoning variation application, will be available at www.vrf.us/meetings no less than 48 hours prior to the public hearing.
All interested persons will be given the opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. For public comments to be considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals and Village Board of Trustees in their decision, they must be included as part of the public hearing record. Interested persons can learn more about how to participate in the hearing by visiting www. vrf.us/zoningvariation.
Sincerely,
Clifford Radatz
Secretary, Zoning Board of Appeals
Published in Wednesday Journal October 30, 2024
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: G24000600 on October 25, 2024
Under the Assumed Business Name of B-THE BEAT with the business located at:6250 S. ARCHER AVE SUITE #5, CHICAGO, IL 60638. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: LAURA A. CRUZ CONCHA 612 RANDOLPH ST, OAK PARK, IL 60302, USA.
Published in Wednesday Journal October 30, November 6, 13, 2024
PUBLIC NOTICE
THE LAW OFFICE OF LINDA EPSTEIN Attorney for Petitioner 722 W. Diversey Parkway, Ste. 101B Chicago, IL 60614
STATE OF ILLINOIS, COUNTY OF COOK, ssCircuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division
In re the Marriage of: Tigist Samuel Zeleke, Petitioner, and, Amdemichael Lidetu Tariku, Respondent, Case No. 2024D007809
The requisite affidavit for Publication having been filed, notice is hereby given to you, Amdemichael Lidetu Tariku, Respondent, that a Petition has been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, by the Petitioner, Tigist Samuel Zeleke, for Dissolution of Marriage and that said suit is now pending.
Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent file your Appearance and Response electronically to said Petition with the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on or before November 27, 2024 default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage Entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.
IRIS Y. MARTINEZ, Clerk.
Published in Wednesday Journal October 30, November 6, and November 13, 2024.
NOVENAS NOVENAS
NEVER FAIL NOVENA
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised, adored and glorified throughout the world, now and forever. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I put my trust in you. Holy Mary Mother of Jesus, pray for me. St. Theresa child of Jesus, pray for me.
St. Jude, helper of hopeless causes, pray for me and grant this favorI ask. Say this prayer 9 times a day for 9 days .R.B
PRAYER TO ST. JUDE
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved & preserved throughout the world now & forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. St. Jude worker of miracles, pray for us. St. Jude helper of the hopeless, pray for us. Say this prayer 9 times a day for 9 days. By the 8th day your prayer will be answered. It has never been known to fail .Publication must be promised. Thank you Jesus. Thank You St . Jude. RB
PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (NEVER KNOWN TO FAIL)
Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me, herein you are my mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to suc cor in my necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, show me herein you are my mother. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and publish; your request will be granted. RB
PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLNOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT, PROBATE DIVISION Estate of NANCY MELANSON, Deceased No. 2024P003200
That the Order Admitting Will to Probate and Appointing Representative in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois was granted on July 26, 2024 for the Estate of Nancy Melanson, Deceased and that KRYSTIN MELANSON BURNS was appointed as the Independent Executor and letters of office have issued and states under the penalties of perjury that:
1. Nancy Melanson died April 20, 2024, leaving a will dated February 13, 2013.
2. The approximate value of the estate is Personal: $10,000, Real: $400,000, Annual Income from Real Estate $0.
3. The names and post office addresses of the testator’s heirs and legatees are set forth on Exhibit A made a part of the petition.
4. The testator nominated as executor of the following, qualified and willing to act: Kristin Burns, 1115 Thatcher Ave., River Forest, IL 60305.
5. By order dated July 26, 2024 Kristin Melanson Burns has been appointed Independent Executor and letters of office issued.
6. This ad requests that any unknown heirs make themselves known to the attorney herein.
7. This ad will serve as a notice to creditors that they have 6 months from the date of filing of this petition to submit their claims.
Atty Name: Matt Leuck Attorney for Petitioner 84 E. Burlington, 2W Riverside, IL 60546
708-447-3166
Atty No. 11017
Published in RB Landmark October 16, 23, 30, 2024
PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: G24000553 on October 8, 2024 Under the Assumed Business Name of EPISTLE WEAR with the business located at: 1626 BUCKINGHAM AVE, WESTCHESTER, IL 60154. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: ARLENE JONES, 1626 BUCKINGHAM AVE, WESTCHESTER, IL 60154, USA.
Published in RB Landmark October 16, 23, 30, 2024
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE’S PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to all interested parties that the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Riverside, Illinois will hold a public hearing on Thursday, November 7, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in Riverside Township Hall Room 4, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, 60546 on the Tentative Annual Budget for the 2025 fiscal year of the Village of Riverside, Illinois, commencing January 1, 2025, and ending December 31, 2025.
Public comments on the Proposed Annual Budget are welcome at the public hearing. Emailed comments may be sent to Village Clerk Ethan Sowl at esowl@riverside.il.us. Written comments may be submitted to the attention of the Village Clerk at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois. Emailed or written comments should be submitted prior to 5:00 on November 7, 2024. While emailed or written comments are strongly encouraged, comments may also be made in person.
The Proposed Annual Budget will be available for public inspection on and after, November 7, 2024 at the Finance Department of the Village of Riverside, Illinois, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, 60546 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for any day being a legal holiday.
Disabled persons needing assistance to attend said hearing should contact the Office of the Village Clerk before the hearing by calling (708) 447-2700.
Said hearing may be continued without further notice except as required by the Illinois Open Meeting Act. The tentative annual budget may be further revised and passed without any further notice or hearing.
