Wednesday Journal 011922

W E D N E S D A Y

January 19, 2022 Vol. 42, No. 25 ONE DOLLAR

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JOURNAL

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of Oak Park and River Forest

Complaints put pop-up COVID testing sites under scrutiny

N bbaseball New b ll coach for OPRF Page 15

CUT OUT FOR FAME

Illinois Attorney General urges caution, investigations launched

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

With the rise of COVID-19, so too came the rise of the free pop-up testing site. Offering free tests with a quick turnaround for results, the testing sites have become increasingly ubiquitous. And despite using names that would imply otherwise, the testing sites are often run by people with limited, if any, medical experience or training.

Worse yet, local and state health departments have effectively zero authority over the sites to ensure the operations run efficiently. Although the sites consistently promise a quick turnaround of test results, some patients have waited weeks to receive theirs.

Others are still waiting.

“I still have never received the results and never received an explanation for why I haven’t received the results,” said Jane Sutphen of Oak Park, one of many people who shared a negative testing experience with Growing Community Media.

Sutphen got tested Dec. 8 at a pop-up site in a strip mall storefront at 6325 W. North Ave. in Oak Park.

When she went, the site was operating under the name of Northshore Clinical Labs, which Sutphen See TESTING SITES on page 12

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Fans of the late Betty White gathered outside the Lake Theatre on Saturday morning, Jan. 15, to celebrate the entertainment icon who was born in Oak Park 100 years ago. See story and more photos, page 10.

Teachers on edge as COVID surges

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Editor’s Note: Wednesday Journal agreed to change the names of the employees in the story to protect their identities.

On a Thursday evening, Rebecca, Mary and Lisa sat alone in quiet rooms inside their homes. The second week of the second semester was about to end, but the three veteran school teachers felt

like they had already endured so much.

The days felt longer like they were stitched together to create one endless loop only to break when new problems and concerns occurred.

Earlier this month, after a two-week winter break, the three – who requested their names be withheld from the story to protect their identities – returned for in-person learning, joining dozens of staff and students. They walked into their

classrooms, as another surge in COVID-19 cases took hold of communities near and far on top of new calls for a shorter quarantine and isolation period by public health officials. Rebecca, Mary and Lisa, all of whom work in the same local school district, braced themselves for the uncertainty.

“I had no idea how bad it was going to be until that Monday [Jan. 3, the first day See COVID on page 13

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

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For more information, or to reserve space, contact Lourdes Nicholls (Lourdes@oakpark.com) or Marc Stopeck (Marc@oakpark.com)

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

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Collective memory and the forgotten MLK campaign

ne year before he was assassinated, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. flirted with a run for President of the United States. A group of leftist and liberal leaders that included the socialist Norman Thomas had urged King to challenge President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 on a thirdparty ticket. They had hoped the famous pediatrician and antiwar activist Dr. Benjamin Spock would be his running mate.

When King spoke in Berkeley in May 1967, students held homemade signs with the slogan: “King/Spock in ’68,” according to Rolling Stone. And when he came to the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago in August, the purpose was to essentially deliver the keynote address at a political convention — the National Conference on New Politics.

The Berkeley address, “The Three Evils of Society,” would turn out to be one of King’s most prescient, and perhaps his most overlooked. You probably didn’t see any politician tweet an excerpt of the speech in which King lacerated war-mongering Democrats like Johnson and hateful Republicans like Barry Goldwater.

King’s speech is also perhaps his most pessimistic, his darkest, his most prophetic.

“We have come because our eyes have seen through the superficial glory and glitter of our society and observed the coming of judgment,” King said. “Like the prophet of old, we have read the handwriting on the wall.”

King added that, just four years after broadcasting his dream of a country beyond racism, “the disillusionment and betrayal” was hard to escape. “Our hopes have been blasted and our dreams have been shattered.”

In his novel, American War, Omar El Akkad imagines a Second American Civil War, which in his frighteningly realistic dystopian fiction takes place between 2074 and 2095.

“The primary cause of the war was Southern resistance to the Sustainable Future Act, a bill prohibiting the use of fossil fuels anywhere in the United States,” Akkad writes.

The journalist and lawyer William F. Pepper — whose articles uncovering the U.S. carpet-bombing of South Vietnam in 1966 had helped solidify King’s anti-war stance — connects the overlapping crises of fossil fuel addiction, racism and wealth inequality in his theory of King’s assassination.

King’s anti-war stance, which was gaining momentum among white liberals across the country, “generated serious apprehension in the boardrooms of the select list of large American corporations which were receiving enormous profits from the conflict,” Pepper writes in his book, An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King.

“These, of course, included the range of armament, aircraft, and chemical manufacturers as well as favored construction companies (like Texas and Lyndon Johnson’s own Brown and Root) which had multibillion-dollar contracts, and the oil companies, again including those owned

by Texans Johnson and Edgar Hoover’s friends, H.L. Hunt and Clint Murchison,” Pepper writes.

There was another major reason why, in Pepper’s formulation, the government would want King dead. King ultimately decided against a presidential run in lieu of much more direct, grassroots action. His Poor People’s Campaign called for “mobilization culminating in an encampment in the shadow of the Washington Memorial.

“The projection was for the establishment of a tent city of some 500,000 of the nation’s poorest and most alienated citizens, who would regularly lobby their elective officials for a range of socio-economic legislation.

They would remain as long as it took to get action from Congress.”

The “wealthy, powerful interests across the nation would find Dr. King’s escalating activity against the war intolerable, his planned mobilization of a half a million poor people with the intention of laying siege to Congress could only engender outrage — and fear,” Pepper writes.

Hunt, who hated King even more than Hoover did, used his “extreme right-wing, daily nationally syndicated Lifeline radio broadcasts” (a precursor to Fox News and OANN) to regularly attack King and to mute his message.

In a June 1967 meeting, Hoover told his good friend Hunt that the Lifeline propaganda would not work. Hoover said, “The only way to stop King would be to ‘completely silence’ him. After King’s murder, Hunt acknowledged […] that Hoover had won that argument.”

MICHAEL ROMAIN

*** In a column last week, I questioned whether my concern about a coming civil war, or at least a collapse of American civil society, was warranted. And, if so, what we can do to prepare for it.

In her new book, How Civil Wars Start and How To Stop Them, international relations Professor Barbara F. Walter writes that we’ve only experienced the current level of political factionalism twice before — in the years before the Civil War and in the mid-1960s, “when the country was roiled by civil rights demonstrations, the Vietnam War, and a corrupt government intent on crushing the anti-establishment movement.”

We are currently in the middle zone be-

COURTESY OF BERNARD KLEINA

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Raby (left) and Ralph Abernathy at City Hall in Chicago, in 1965. tween democracy and autocracy, what experts call “anocracy,” according to Walter.

These are “neither full autocracies nor democracies but something in between.”

One of the “best predictors of whether a country will experience a civil war is whether it is moving toward or away from democracy,” she adds. The CIA first discovered this relationship between anocracy and civil war in 1994.

The agency found that anocracies, “particularly those with more democratic than autocratic features — what the task force called ‘partial democracies’ — were twice as likely as autocracies to experience political instability or civil war, and three times as likely as democracies.”

For the autocrats, the way to prevent civil war is to double down on repression; for the rest of us, the way to avoid collapse is to shore up trust among ourselves. But how?

My second question — what are we to do about the state we’re in? — was answered, in part, by Sarah Doherty, an associate professor of U.S. History at North Park University in Chicago and an Oak Park resident.

Doherty, who graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School, said she often asks her students if we’ll ever move beyond race and racism in the United States.

“They say, ‘No,’” she told me. “They think we’re way too entrenched in categorizing people and not looking beyond that.”

Doherty, who is Black, is intimately familiar with Oak Park’s long history of racial integration and the importance of remembering that history. She’s more optimistic than many of her students about the country’s prospects.

Doherty’s pre-emptive actions mirror the actions of so many other people I’ve discovered who want to do more than look at CNN and MSNBC or read the New York Times or monitor their Facebook feeds as

the country fissures.

Experts will tell you that, during an autocratic attempt, the perpetrators will always seek to assassinate collective memory, which makes it easier for the autocrat to impose his own reality on a fearful populace.

Doherty has done her part to help prevent that from happening, joining the Historic Preservation Commission and contributing her skills, talents and energy to the Oak Park River Forest Museum.

In recent years, Doherty has worked with Frank Lipo, the museum’s director, in organizing “Open House: The Legacy of Fair Housing,” an exhibition that featured Oak Park’s long history of housing segregation and desegregation.

Recently, Doherty, Lipo and others at the museum have worked in collaboration with several organizations across the country to produce an upcoming online exhibition and curriculum guide on housing segregation in northern and western states called “Unvarnished,” which is scheduled to launch this spring.

“For my own health, I stopped watching a lot of news and I don’t immediately jump on social media to check on everything, either,” she told me. “I felt like it was becoming obsessive and that wasn’t helping anything. So I thought, ‘What are ways that I can help to create the world that I ideally would like to live in?’ And for me that starts locally — making sure important stories are being told and helping to diversify the way stories are being told.”

To avoid collapse, we need to follow Doherty’s example and commit ourselves to strengthening our collective memory rooted in community and common humanity, and dismantling any mythologies designed to prop up, in the words of King, the three evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

Adult Improv Tuesday, Jan. 25 from 7 to 8:15 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library Looking for a way to let your inner comedian run free?

Want to improve your quick-thinking skills? Join the Oak Park Public Library for a night of spontaneous comedy.

All skill levels welcome. Register at oppl.org/calendar.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

BIG WEEK January 19-26

New Nostalgia/ Fenwick Jazz Band Thursday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m., FitzGerald’s, Berwyn New Nostalgia is a jazz-fusion nonet. They will be joined by the Fenwick Jazz Band, a group of students from the Catholic high school in Oak Park. $10, 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn.

Dirty Green/Matt Derda & the High Watts/Joe Rian & the AM Drinkers Saturday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m., Outta Space, Berwyn Three Americana-tinged roots rock bands strut their stuff in the confines of this up-and-coming venue. $10, 6840 32nd St., Berwyn.

The Importance of a Strong Resume Wednesday, Jan. 26 from 2 to 3 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library Learn the components of a strong resume, and what keywords or phrases to use that will help move your resume to the top of the stack. Presented by Eileen Vesey, Chicago Federation of Labor Workers Workforce and Community Initiative. Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Frozen Castle Party Friday, Jan. 21 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Cheney Mansion, Oak Park

All of your favorite winter princesses will invade the mansion for one night of cold-weather fun, involving games and what has been called “the coolest dance party in town.” Individually-packaged snacks and treats for each guest. Price is per couple, with an additional fee for extra guests. Parents must accompany their child.

Ages 4-8. $30, 220 N. Euclid Ave., Oak Park.

TechGirlz Workshop: Podcasting Wednesday, Jan. 26 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library In this workshop, students in grades 5-8 will learn how to make their stories engaging and use sound to put their listeners into the aural environment of their story.

Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Geothermal For Historical Buildings Thursday, Jan. 20 from 7 to 8 p.m., virtually through Pleasant Home, Oak Park Mark Nussbaum of Architectural Consulting Engineers will discuss how a geothermal system operates, and how it heats and cools different homes, without having to deal with fossil fuels. The program will be recorded, and all attendees will receive a link afterward which will remain active for seven days. $10 per person; $8 for members.

Purchase tickets through Pleasant Home Foundation.

Supported Drag Storytime Sunday, Jan. 23 from 1-1:30 p.m., virtually through Oak Park Public Library Join some of your favorite librarians and gender-smashed Drag King Haba Nero live via Zoom for books, songs, dancing, and fun. Classes are structured with visual schedules, which will be emailed to registered families before class. This class is designed for children with disabilities, ages 3 and up, with caregiver support. Siblings welcome. Register at oppl.org/calendar.

Mexican Fine Arts Museum Monday, Jan. 24, 1:15 p.m., Nineteenth Century Club, Oak Park This presentation features Carlos Tortolero discussing the history of the Mexican Fine Arts Museum, which he established in 1987. Besides providing an outlet for Mexican art, this museum has had a longstanding commitment to accessibility, education and social justice. Free for members; $15 donation requested for non-members. Includes a three-course lunch served at noon; $20 for members, $25 for non-members, available by registration. 178 Forest Ave., Oak Park.

An Evening with Silvia Moreno-Garcia Wednesday, Jan. 26 from 7 to 8 p.m., virtually through Illinois Libraries Presents The bestselling and award-winning author of Mexican Gothic novels discusses her newest book, Velvet Was the Night, and her genre-defying mashups of cultural noir and Lovecraftian horror. Moreno-Garcia will be joined in conversation with author Gus Moreno. This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering high-quality events.

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

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River Forest to expand street surveillance system 7 new cameras being installed along main streets south of tracks

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

River Forest will expand its street camera program following action by the village board last week.

Elected officials voted unanimously at the Jan. 10 village board meeting to authorize the village’s contracted vendor, Griffon Systems, to install seven Avigilon System street cameras and related hardware/ software in the area bounded by Madison and Washington streets and Lathrop and Thatcher avenues.

The $94,000 cost will be covered with funds from the Madison Street Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund and the Capital Improvement Fund. The expansion was budgeted and funded for fiscal year 2021 but deferred to 2022 to allow the village to enter into a new camera vendor agreement for maintenance service and future camera installations.

The program began in 2009 and 2010 with the installation of 18 cameras along Lake Street between Harlem Avenue and Thatcher, along Central Avenue between Lathrop and Harlem and in the villageowned lot at 400 Thatcher. This year’s expansion will be followed by future expansions in two more phases.

“The system has just been amazing,” Police Chief Jim O’Shea told trustees while recommending approval.

He said the high-definition cameras will be installed on main streets. They will be motion-activated and operational around the clock. Images will be retained for 90 days.

“The village’s street camera system has been a very successful force multiplier, crime prevention tool, evidence-gathering application, police accountability device and overall situational awareness tool for the Lake Street financial, business, and educational corridor,” O’Shea said in a memo to Brian Murphy, village administrator. “The Phase 1 expansion will offer residents and businesses in Madison and Washington corridor the same protections and transparencies as the original project.”

By preordering some equipment and software and because information technology is already in place, he said he anticipates a “quick turnaround” in installing the cameras with the seven new devices in place within 30 days.

O’Shea stressed that the cameras are not speed cameras or red-light cameras nor will they have the capability to provide li-

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“Public camera systems are considered a cost-effective way to deter, document and reduce crime,” he said in the memo.

“In addition, these systems help provide enhanced customer service to victims of crimes and help develop crime prevention strategies.”

In addition to providing officer transparency and officer accountability, O’Shea said the cameras can aid searches for missing people, identify weather conditions and assist with accident investigations.

O’Shea said the program also provides assistance to other nearby police departments that might be seeking a suspect or suspect’s vehicle if it crossed a boundary from another municipality into River Forest.

He said the south zone was targeted for the first phase expansion due to “slight increases” in auto burglaries, auto theft and garage burglaries. He also noted that residents in this area have seen increased violent crimes on the village’s borders in Forest Park and Maywood.

In addition, complaints of cars speeding or disregarding traffic control devices and reckless driving are part of resident concerns in this area, which affect the quality of life, he added.

3 to 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 25

11 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Jan. 26

Hosted by the Village of Oak Park, the workshops will cover: Application for funding Required attachments Reporting requirements Grant funding timelines Attendance at one virtual workshop is required to apply for funding in PY2022 Email grants@oak-park.us to receive a registration link or for more information www.oak-park.us/cdbg

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

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Welch reflects on first year as House speaker Cites energy bill, redistricting as major accomplishments

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – One year after being named speaker of the Illinois House, Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch says he is proud of the accomplishments he and his colleagues achieved and he looks forward to building on that record.

“I actually thought 2021 was one heck of a year,” the Hillside Democrat said during a recent interview. “You know, we passed the historic, nation-leading Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, the CEJA bill. We protected and expanded voting rights. We made Illinois the beacon of hope for protecting reproductive rights and a refuge for women all around the country. The work that we did on the budget and restoring fiscal stability and credit upgrades, paying off a $2 billion loan and saving $82 million.

Where do I end? We had a really great year, and certainly looking forward to building on that.”

On Jan. 13, 2021, Welch was elected speaker of the House, succeeding the long-serving but embattled Michael Madigan and becoming the first Black to lead the House.

“It’s a very time intensive job,” he said when asked what he’d learned in his first year. “And literally, you’re working seven days a week no-stop. …A lot of work involved. It takes cooperation from your friends from your family, from your employers.”

During his first year, Welch worked to put his own imprint on the speaker’s office, setting a much different tone than Madigan, who seldom gave media interviews and shunned the use of email or social media.

“I certainly think that it’s a new day in Springfield,” he said.

“I think Democrats up and down our ranks would agree with that. I think if you get past Republican leadership, the rankand-file Republicans would agree that it’s a new day.”

“The office of the speaker has been open more than it ever has, I believe in the last 36 to 40 years,” he continued. “Many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle came into the office of speaker and said they had never been in there before.

They came in to meet with me about ideas they were proposing last year in the Legislature, ideas that got out of Rules (Committee), got out of the House, got out of the Senate, and hit the governor’s desk and became law. Many of those rank-and-file Republicans were able to go home and talk about victories that we actually had in the General Assembly. I think they’ll tell you that that’s a new thing for them.”

Welch’s relationship with the GOP caucus, however, has not always been friendly. That was particularly true during redistricting, the once-in-a-decade process of redrawing state legislative and congressional district lines in accordance with the most recent U.S. Census.

With Democrats firmly in control of both chambers as well as the governor’s office, they drew maps that were intended to ensure they would maintain their majorities for the next 10 years. But Republicans called it blatant partisan gerrymandering, while voting rights advocacy groups complained of a process conducted behind closed doors that actually resulted in the dilution of minority voting power in some parts of the state.

They all sued in federal court but were unsuccessful. Welch cited the federal court’s decision as a vindication of the Democrats’ efforts.

“I think, because of COVID, we were actually more open, more accessible, more transparent because we had over 50 or 60 hearings, because we were able to do in-person hearings and virtual hearings,” he said. “If we were not in COVID, we might not have had the opportunity to do virtual hearing. So I think we were more open and more accessible. And the proof that we got it right is the opinion written by the three-judge federal panel that totally rejected the advocacy groups’ claims. Totally rejected.”

Credit: Justin L. Fowler of The State Journal-Register

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, holds his first news conference after taking the Oath of Office to become speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives in the 102nd General Assembly on Jan. 13, 2021, at the Bank of Springfield Center.

Welch was first elected to the House in 2012 from a district in the western suburbs of Chicago. Prior to becoming speaker, one of his major focuses was addressing issues about racial equity. In 2019, he sponsored a bill requiring corporations domiciled in Illinois to report on the diversity of their governing boards. He has also pushed for more diversity in state hiring and contracting.

He has continued those efforts as speaker. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, Welch said, he met with the presidents of state universities and the CEOs of the private insurance companies that administer the state’s Medicaid program, known as “managed care organizations,” or MCOs, to push them further toward meeting diversity goals.

“Before I ever became speaker, diversity, equity and inclusion was really important to me. And in fact, I don’t think I would be here without that push over the last few years for diversity, equity inclusion,” Welch said.

“When I started this job in 2013, that diversity was not there. And it was quite impressive to see,” he said of his meeting with university presidents. “And to see it showing up in their hiring practices at the universities is quite impressive as well. And there’s certainly more work that can be done. And so we’re working very closely with Chairman (LaShawn K.) Ford, who chairs (Senate) Higher Ed, and Chairman (Katie) Stuart who chairs (House) Higher Ed, to continue those efforts forward. And we really plan to make this year the year where we truly plant that diversity flag in Illinois.”

Welch said his main priority for the 2022 session will be passing a budget, a task made easier this year by the state’s improving revenue picture. At the end of December, the

Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reported that base revenues through the first half of the fiscal year were up $918 million from the previous year.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a lot of competition for those new dollars, but Welch said he’s hopeful of reaching a bipartisan consensus.

“We’re going to convene Democrats and Republicans and we’re going to see what the rank-and-file members believe are the priorities,” he said. “We’re going to ask them what the priorities are. But we certainly know that with COVID still being here, and the fact that we’re in the midst of a surge, that we’re going to still have to continue to address many of the things that we’re dealing with, or have dealt with in the past. We know that we still have (American Rescue Plan Act) dollars that can be allocated. We did receive ARPA dollars, and we have four years to spend them. We’ve only spent $2 billion out of $8 billion. So we have some room that will allow us to continue to help people to deal with this pandemic. I think that’s really a top priority.”

Lawmakers had scheduled a shortened session this year so they can return to their districts in April to campaign for the June 28 primary. But the recent surge of COVID-19 cases brought on by the omicron variant have cut the number of scheduled session days even further. Both chambers are currently recessed until further notice.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

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‘The past has not passed,’ clergy say on MLK’s birthday Rev. Jesse Jackson, West Side ministers reflected on King’s legacy

Happy New Year, neighbors.

By MICHAEL ROMAIN

the past also appeared in the form of present activists like Chris Shuttlesworth, the nephew of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, the Birmingham, On Jan. 15, Rev. Jesse Jackson stood inside Ala., minister who co-founded the SCLC alongof the Dr. King Legacy Apartments at 1550 S. side King and was present during the fights to Hamlin Ave. in North Lawndale and reflected integrate the South in the 1960s.

“I’ve been hearing something in my ear and on the legacy of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther it is freedom,” said Chris Shuttlesworth, an King Jr., who would have been 93 on that day.

The civil rights icon, slowed considerably by activist and founder of the Children’s Earth Parkinson’s and a recent bout with COVID-19, Foundation, a nonprofit “dedicated to improvalso lamented that the very forces that he and ing the quality of life” in urban and rural arKing fought against years ago seem as power- eas, according to its website.

Brien Cron, the founder and president of ful as ever.

Homelessness is still pervasive. Voting rights Chicago Tiny House, said his organization is are still threatened. Chicago’s West and South attempting to put a dent in homelessness in sides are still segregated, a key factor driving Chicago by providing tiny houses for the poor.

“The cost of each house is about $25,000 per the pervasive gun violence in those areas. The house, which “violence of our is unheard of culture,” Jackin the housing son said, is still market,” Cron with us. said.

Jackson said “That’s why he was working we’re havon the West Side ing so much with the Nationtrouble getting al Association this off the for the Advanceground,” he ment of Colored added. “It’s a People (NAACP) new concept in around the time Chicago that’s King and other never been activists orgaMICHAEL ROMAIN/Staff Reporter done before. nized the ChiWe are workcago Freedom Rev. Jesse Jackson joins local clergy, including Rev. Marshall ing with the Movement.

Hatch (standing to Jackson’s left) and Rev. Ira Acree De par tment The moveof Planning ment began in (standing behind Hatch), on Jan. 15, Martin Luther King’s and Developlate 1965, King’s birthday, to talk about the slain civil rights leader’s legacy. ment. HopeSouthern Chrisfully, we’ll tian Leadership Conference (SCLC) merged with West Side ac- [start to build them] in the near future.”

Turning to voting rights, Jackson chaltivist Al Raby’s Coordinating Council of Comlenged labor unions to go to West Virginia, the munity Organization (CCCO).

King chose Chicago as the site of his north- state of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, and march in ern campaign, which was designed to end the order to pressure the legislator to support the slum housing that was typical on the West and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, South sides. While in Chicago, King and his which has been stalled in Congress.

Other clergy in attendance on Monday family lived in a depilated apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin, where the current museum and echoed Jackson’s concern about the current state of American democracy. legacy apartments are situated.

“Clearly the past has not passed,” said Rev. “Dr. King was a West Sider,” said Rev. Ira Acree, the pastor of the Greater St. John Bible Marshall Hatch, the pastor of New Mt. Pilgrim Church in Austin. “We say that with pride. Rev. Missionary Baptist Church in Garfield Park Jackson has challenged us to think about what and the Illinois president of Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Dr. King would say today.”

“We’re not [only] here because Dr. King ocThe original apartment where King lived has been razed, but the problem of housing cupied this very space, but we’re here because the struggle is ongoing,” he said. “We’re here insecurity and poverty remain, Jackson said.

“There are 600,000 Americans homeless back again fighting for the right to vote. That today,” he said, echoing data produced by the should be fundamental and that was, at one point, a bipartisan agreement — that every National Alliance to End Homelessness.

In Chicago, Jackson said, “the homeless are citizen has a right to vote.

“And so, in many ways, we’ve gone backin tents along the highway, but more than that they are also sleeping on the viaducts on the wards and that’s why Rev. Jackson continues trains. There are thousands in Chicago with to challenge us,” Hatch continued. “We can’t stop marching, we can’t stop standing up. We no place to stay.” must continue fighting relentlessly.”

At Monday’s news conference, vestiges of Staff Reporter

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I wish all my neighbors a healthy, happy and safe New Year. Here’s to this year bringing you nothing but the best.

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

OPRF attendance rebounds slowly after major COVID dip

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 families received several updates last week, as education leaders navigated a recent rise in student absences and adapted to shorter COVID-19 quarantine and isolation guidelines.

In a series of emails sent during the week of Jan. 10, Supt. Greg Johnson highlighted the district’s continuous response to the pandemic, especially as staff and students filed into the building and classrooms after winter break.

Though Johnson called the absence rate “manageable,” he told families the district saw an uptick in the number of students missing from school each day last week. In a district that pulls in well over 3,400 students from two neighboring communities, the typical daily attendance rate is steady at about 93%, but early last week, it dropped to around 84%. That’s almost 500 students absent every day – and of the 500 students absent, roughly 170 of them were out because of COVID-19-related reasons, Johnson wrote in a Jan. 11 email.

Early this month, during the first week of second semester, the district counted 172 new cases of COVID, a majority of which (138 cases) were among students. Thirty students and three employees were named close contacts and shifted into quarantine, according to school data. Last week, the district reported a total of 134 new COVID-19 cases with most of the cases (121) coming from students, identifying 46 students as close contacts.

“We have been in close communication with the Oak Park Department of Public Health about our numbers,” Johnson wrote in the same email sent Jan. 11. “The health department has maintained its previous direction that if we were able to maintain our mitigations and staff our building, staying in-person is the preferred route.”

In an interview with Wednesday Journal late last week, district spokeswoman Karin

Sullivan said school officials saw the atten- opt to eat lunch off-campus. dance rate “slowly” increase with numbers Also last week, the Illinois Department of climbing up to one to two percent more each Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State day. By the end of the week, the absence rate Board of Education (ISBE) released their neared 88%, she said. guidelines to help school districts adjust to a Johnson and Sullivan also shared that the shorter quarantine period. Above anything, district has dealt with a sudden upswing in Sullivan said she wanted families and students employee absences in the last to be aware about the new recomcouple of weeks. Like most school mendation that first stemmed from districts across the nation, D200 the Centers for Disease Control and has had to work around its workPrevention (CDC) in its entirety. ers calling in absent, with some Under the guidance of federal of those absences attributed to and state public health officials, COVID-19. school staff and students impactLast week, a daily average of ed by COVID-19 no longer have to 52 school employees were absent, quarantine for 10 days. They can and district officials brought in return to school in five days, but roughly 30 classroom subs each the new ruling comes with many day, Sullivan said. Those figures, conditions. however, are slightly lower than For example, staff and students the number of employees who who test positive for COVID and called in absent during the week KARIN SULLIVAN have symptoms such as fever, of Jan. 3, that first week back from District spokeswoman vomiting or diarrhea must isolate winter break. On average, nearly for five days. Day 0 is the first day 69 employees missed work at the when symptoms pop up. Staff start of the second semester, Suland students can come back to livan said. school after finishing their five“We fully expected when we came back from day isolation period and haven’t shown any break that we would have a lot more positive cases than we had seen to date, and that’s just symptoms after 24 hours. That also includes being fever-free for 24 hours without the aid what’s going on all over the country,” she said.

“We have made these adjustments to cope of medication, Johnson clarified in an email with the big rise that we fully expected, but we sent Jan. 12.

Upon returning to school, staff and stuare really happy to see that the situation is imdents are required to wear “well-fitted proving,” said Sullivan.

Among the many safety measures, the dis- masks” around others for another five days trict has hired more people to join its COVID-19 – even in outdoor settings, the CDC noted.

Those who test positive for COVID-19 but team and help with contact tracing, “which has increased so dramatically,” Sullivan said. do not show any signs of symptoms are also The district has also sent reminders to families required to remain at home for a five-day about its masking policies – masks should be quarantine period. They can come back to worn properly and consistently while in the the building after the quarantine period is building – and converting two gyms into make- over – and continue to show no symptoms. shift cafeterias to provide more space for stu- They must also be masked for another five dents to eat while social distancing. Students, days while around other people. The district including freshmen and sophomores, can also noted if they develop symptoms after testing

“If there are any minor symptoms lingering, people need to pay attention to that.”

positive, the five-day isolation restarts.

“It’s really important for people to understand that the five-day guidance applies with caveats,” Sullivan stressed to the Journal.

“Students can return after five days if – and it’s a big ‘if ’ – they’ve been [fever-free] with no medication [for 24 hours] or [went] 24 hours without vomiting or diarrhea.”

“Our fear is because the state guidance is not requiring a test for them to come back after five days, we are really reliant on parents verifying that these conditions are met before they send their child back to school,” she said.

More details about the new guidance can be found on the school website at www.oprfhs.org or through IDPH at dph.illinois.gov/covid19/ community-guidance. District 200 also released two new forms for families to use if they are reporting that their student is positive for COVID or going to be absent from school barring COVID test results. Both are available on the school website.

Johnson notified families in a previous email that students who may have COVID-like symptoms and are awaiting test results are encouraged to stay home and have full access to online learning.

“I know it’s hard when your kid wants to be back in class, but truly, if there are any minor symptoms lingering, people need to pay attention to that,” said Sullivan, emphasizing the superintendent’s message.

With the third week of second semester now under way, Sullivan reflected on the past days and spoke about the pockets of improvements amid absences and COVID-19 cases.

“We’ve been able to get the school guidance from the state and disseminate that to our families, and we have the five-day change implemented. It feels like things are settling down – that we’re getting more into the normal school routine, especially seeing our numbers slowly improve over the past two weeks,” she said.

“That’s also very encouraging. It’s starting to feel better and calmer, and more normal – as much as we can feel normal.”

New after-school mentoring program launches in Austin YourPassion1st to start providing mental health support at Youth Connection Charter School’s Austin campus this month

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

YourPassion1st, an Oak Park-based youth mentoring nonprofit, is launching a new after school mentoring program that will provide mental health support while teaching students the skills they would need to make their career goals a reality.

The program is an extension of the nonprofit’s existing mentoring programs and mental health workshops. The program is launching at Youth Connection Charter School’s Austin campus, at 4909 W. Division St., but organizers hope to expand it to other West Side public and charter schools. YourPassion1st founder Chris Thomas said that it was important for them to address teens’

mental health.

YourPassion1st organizes workshops and events designed to help young people succeed in the arts, music, sports and culinary fields. Thomas said that the after school mentoring program builds on their Youth Ambassador program, which gives young people a chance to develop and pitch projects. In addition to mentoring and career advice, the young people get help and support from therapists.

“We all go through mental health challenges, so our program has the base framework of mental health,” Thomas said.

He added that young people have been stressed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when the restrictions were more stringent and students were socially isolated

and couldn’t meet with their mentors.

“It’s an after school program, to really mentor those young adults, to give them a safe space, to make them turn a thing they love into a paycheck,” Thomas said. “A lot of young adults, especially in high school, are challenged with [turning] doing what they love, what they’re passionate about, into a career.

We help them to turn those challenges and weaknesses into strengths.”

The program will kick off in either the third or fourth week of January, running on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as some Saturdays, for 32 weeks.

YourPassion1st is working with Light of Loving Kindness, a Chicago area nonprofit that, according to its website, treats stress and trauma “through Holistic Integrative Solu-

tions and mindfulness-based Interventions,” specifically focusing on lower-income, underserved communities.

The program will pair two mental health and career coaches with 10 students. Thomas said one of those coaches, Shanna Williams, is a therapist and a musician who performs as Queen Prophecy. Williams sits on YourPassion1st’s advisory board.

The program is free to the students, but it costs around $30,000 to operate. Thomas said that the funding came through several grants, including the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant.

For more information about YourPassion1st, visit https://www.yourpassion1st.com/

CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.com

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

9

D97 hosts forum for supt. finalists Final two talk strategy, approach to district issues

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Oak Park School District 97 held a twohour forum last night with superintendent hopefuls, Kim Nalls and Ushma Shah. Over Zoom, Nalls, an assistant superintendent at a south suburban high school, and Shah, a Chicago Public Schools administrator, answered dozens of questions from the community ranging from their approach to retaining staff to mending the achievement gap.

The district’s hired search firm, Hazard, Young and Attea (HYA), led the forum Jan. 12, which began with Nalls and Shah introducing themselves and sharing their professional experiences and perspectives on education, leadership and the possibility of becoming the next superintendent. The district’s school board plans to announce the new superintendent by the end of the month.

Nalls, who kicked off the event, opened up to viewers about her 28-year career in education. She started as an elementary school teacher and guidance counselor in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and later took on various administrative roles in other Illinois school districts, including her latest post as Rich Township High School District 227’s assistant superintendent. Nalls is also a former principal of Thornridge High School in south suburban Dolton and of Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy in nearby Forest Park.

In the Proviso Township high school district, Nalls also served as an assistant superintendent of human resources and technology and assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

“As a leader, I don’t lead from an ivory tower or a central office,” Nalls said. “I’m highly visible in schools, supporting my administrators, supporting the amazing teachers, paraprofessionals, the people who are serving our children nutritious meals, the custodians who are making sure that we have state of the art and clean facilities that only contribute to our students’ learning. I believe that schools are the foundation of phenomenal communities.”

Nalls told viewers she would be staff and students’ “biggest cheerleader,” noting her experience would help move District 97 forward.

Like Nalls, Shah also walked viewers through her work in and outside the classroom. Shah, who also began her career as an elementary school and middle school teacher for CPS, has taken on various leadership roles over the course of 30 years. Prior to

rejoining CPS as an interim chief portfolio officer last August, Shah spent a decade at Elgin School District U-46 as an assistant superintendent and chief of equity and social justice. Among other things, she also served as a middle school principal of North Cook Young Adult Academy, an alternative public school for sixth- to 12th-graders in suburban Des Plaines.

“I want to know you by name. It’s possible in a place like Oak Park,” Shah told viewers while on screen. “I want to make sure that we create the kind of districts you have said matters to you where you have trust and transparency and where we grow together toward a really big and exciting vision for each of our students.”

“As a leader, I don’t lead from an ivory tower or a central office.”

“I want to know you by name. It’s possible in a place like Oak Park.”

KIM NALLS

USHMA SHAH

Tackling District 97’s challenges During the hours-long forum, search firm representatives gave room for Nalls and Shah to respond to questions submitted by district families and employees and local residents. The forum was recorded and also livestreamed on Youtube, garnering up to nearly 1,000 views since Jan. 12. Attendees were also asked to fill out a survey about the candidates, feedback that would be reviewed by the board.

On the topic of helping recruit and retain D97 staff, Nalls outlined a few action steps.

She said she would partner with the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources and create a hiring plan. In order to recruit more diverse candidates, Nalls suggested developing stronger relationships with historically Black colleges and universities, as well as other higher-ed institutions in the state of Illinois.

Within the district, Nalls said she would like to launch mentoring programs for faculty and staff and host monthly diversity round tables. The round tables would ultimately serve as a “check-in to make sure people are OK” and see if people are receiving the support they need and feel included and welcomed.

Echoing some of Nalls’ thoughts, Shah shared with viewers that hiring more diverse employees is less about bumping up numbers and more about cultivating a better work experience.

“It has to be a great place for them to be,” Shah said.

Shah leaned on her previous position as District U-46’s assistant superintendent and told viewers examples of how she and other administrators worked to bring more people of color into their schools. They prioritized professional development and offered pathways for staff of different experiences to connect, she said. Shah said school princi-

pals regularly spoke to newly hired staff one-on-one and visited their classrooms weekly as a way to “make sure we were accessible.”

“We’re really developing an ecosystem where we’re using those standards of practice, and we’re coming together and creating a sense of community amongst us,” she said.

The District 97 community also asked Nalls and Shah how they would fix and close its storied opportunity gap.

Nalls said it all starts by looking at the data, including the academic report cards and discipline rates. Both of those information sets, especially the latter, are critical to understanding students, particularly those who are struggling and have fallen behind.

Referring to her former work at the middle school and high school level, Nalls said her districts changed their grading practices and made the decision to apply a new benchmark where, for example, an “‘F’ starts off with a 50[%],” instead of a zero.

“We never want students to experience the power of a zero,” she said, adding students should be provided constant feedback. Nalls sought to impose intervention programs for students, as well as allowing teachers access to training and education opportunities to navigate those programs.

Shah, on the other hand, told viewers that before responding, she would first listen to understand what faculty, staff and families have experienced so far. She wanted to look at the strategies that have already been put in place, and if any of those strategies should be invested in or eliminated.

Shah said she is interested in working closely with faculty, staff and administrators, as this issue is “often about how we or-

ganize ourselves around solutions and how we get better over time.”

This, she said, is about constructing a new system and framework to highlight their students’ agency.

Another area of concern for the D97 community is how the new superintendent would handle the impacts of the pandemic on students’ learning.

“No. 1, we need to cater to the hearts of children,” Nalls said, noting she would look to her staff, her teammates, to learn and identify their students’ strengths and struggles and see what kind of resources they already have above anything else.

Nalls said she would also look at the funding that has been allocated to the district during the pandemic and see if they are able to use some of that money to offer school programs over the weekend, boost extracurricular activities or host field trips “to get people to feel good again, as we try to transition back to what we knew as normal.”

Shah also shared Nalls’ sentiments. She told viewers it is crucial to assess what exactly those shortfalls may be and “making sure we have good data on that.” Shah referenced the Illinois P-20 Council, the state’s education-focused group, that recently released some insight and strategies on how school districts can aid in students’ learning during the pandemic. Those moments for improvement could include re-engagement in the classroom whether in-person or online or mental health awareness, she said.

“We know that the universal goal is to make sure everyone’s ready and everyone’s engaged, but we might need to have targeted strategies and that needs to be a process done in collaboration with the people closest to the students,” Shah said.

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

‘Be Like Betty’ centennial event draws crowd, good feelings About 500 people turned out for Wednesday Journal’s Betty White lovefest

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

With frozen fingers and warm hearts, Betty White fans gathered Saturday to celebrate the comedy icon’s long life in her birthplace of Oak Park. The Betty White centennial celebration, which captured headlines across the globe, went off without a hitch. People stood side-by-side outside Classic Cinemas Lake Theatre, reveling in mutual adoration for the golden girl. Though masks covered noses and mouths, they failed to conceal the unbridled joy visible on many face.

“It was just a feel-good event,” said Lourdes Nicholls, senior media strategist for Growing Community Media, the owner of Wednesday Journal and sponsor of the event.

The “Be Like Betty” centennial event was presented by GCM with sponsorship support from Byline Bank, as well as Classic Cinemas, Turano Baking Company, 99 Haus Balloons, Alpha-Lit, Red Vines and Prime Party.

Nicholls, along with Oak Park Eats Editor Melissa Elsmo, organized the event, which was originally planned as a small community affair in honor of White’s 100th birthday on Jan. 17. Interest in the event exploded

after news spread of White’s death on New Year’s Eve. Some 500 people braved the cold Saturday morning for the event.

“It was a huge success,” said Nicholls.

There were roses, slices of cake and cardboard cut outs of White next to the lectern where organizers and local figures paid their respects to White before the crowd. A beautiful display of balloons encircled the giant, illumiALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer nated words, “Thank you for being a friend” – a nod to the GOLDEN GIRLS: Fans honored the late Betty White’s 100th birthday in front of the Lake Theatre, Satursong that played with each day morning. episode of “Golden Girls,” one of the beloved sitcoms White starred in.

Cindy Fee, who sang the theme song for the show and lives in River Forest, gave a moving rendition of “Thank You for Being a Friend.” She sang the song a second time, inviting the crowd to sing along.

“When Cindy Fee sang, there were a lot of teary-eyed people in the crowd,” said Elsmo. “It was a special moment for Oak Park, that’s for sure.”

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and Village President Vicki Scaman spoke, as did Growing Community Media publisher Dan Haley. Scaman read aloud the in-memoriam proclamation for Betty White that she first read at the village board’s Jan. 10 meeting. Local historian Frank Lipo

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

WELCOME HOME: Life-size, life-like Betty White greets visitors and poses with fans for photos under the Lake Theatre marquee.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

HAPPY HUNDREDTH: Celebrants wait in line for a slice of cake during the Be Like Betty birthday celebration on Jan. 15.

shared stories about White’s early years in Oak Park. Nicholls and Elsmo also shared their jubilant remarks.

Zack Hudson informed the crowd of the first-ever Golden Girls convention, which he is co-producing with brothers Brad and Brendan Balof, both of whom were in attendance. Tickets are going quickly for the convention, which is being held in Chicago this April. Hudson told Wednesday Journal 1,700 tickets have been sold to date.

One of the most exciting parts of the event -- that White would surely have loved -- was the Animal Care League pop-up adoption at Byline Bank, across from the Lake Theatre. Event attendees were able to meet five puppies and two cats in need of homes. All of those animals have now been

adopted, said Kira Robsen, executive director of the Animal Care League. And, she said, there are appointments scheduled this week with others who attended the Betty White event.

Between the event and the “Betty White Challenge,” a grassroots campaign to donate to animal shelters in memory of White, the Animal Care League has now raised more than $15,000. The shelter also benefited from the event’s extensive media coverage.

“We would never have been able to do this without tapping into our community resources; it was such a thrill to see it all come together,” said Elsmo.

On behalf of Growing Community media, to all those who showed up on Saturday: Thank you for being our friend.

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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D97 goes remote in short-term ‘adaptive pause’ Students return to remote learning as COVID cases surge

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Oak Park District 97 returned to in-person learning Jan. 18, after declaring a two-day adaptive pause last week due to a continuous rise in COVID-19 cases among staff and students. Students switched back to remote learning Jan. 13 and 14, and like most schools, D97 was closed Jan. 17 for Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day. As of Jan. 10, district officials reported a total of 212 new cases among employees and students, placing approximately 518 into quarantine. School data also noted four district elementary schools – Holmes, Mann, Whittier and Irving – had outbreak cases.

School outbreaks are defined as multiple cases impacting at least 10% of students, teachers or staff within a “core group,” or individuals “who were together during an

exposure period,” according to state public health officials. Three COVID-19 cases within a “specified core group” can also qualify as an outbreak, state health officials said.

“Due to a large number of new cases and critical staff absences, all of our schools are struggling to complete contact tracing and implement the required safety protocols for close contacts in a timely manner,” wrote cointerim Superintendents Griff Powell and Patricia Wernet in an email sent Jan. 12 to staff and families. “The adaptive pause will give the district additional time to complete this work and seek outside resources to support our mitigations moving forward.”

Powell and Wernet explained that Illinois school districts can impose an adaptive pause if local school and public health officials are struggling to investigate and identify close contacts when a surge of new cases occurs – or if the lack of masking and/or testing creates “an unsafe environment.” During an adaptive pause, districts close their school buildings and students return to online learning.

Oak Park extends village hall closure

Village staff COVID-19 cases continue to be an issue

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Citing staffing shortages, the village of Oak Park has extended its closure of the village hall lobby, 123 Madison St., until Jan. 28, but all services continue to be available online.

The lobby has been closed to the public since Dec. 14, after 10 members of village staff tested positive for COVID-19. At the time, village hall faced a staff shortage based on the combination of individuals needing to quarantine and holiday vacation requests. Village government had planned to reopen the lobby at the beginning of the new year.

The reopening date has now been pushed to the end of January as the

village continues to face staffing shortages, according to a Jan. 11 village news release. The release further stated that, despite having an employee vaccination rate of over 80 percent, breakthrough COVID-19 cases among staff have continued to occur. It did not specify the current number of staff cases. Some 120 cases have occurred in village staff since March of 2020, according to Oak Park spokesman David Powers.

About 340 people are employed by the village.

The Oak Park Police Department, which operates out of the basement of village hall, remains open to the public and officers continue to report for duty. However, many village employees are working from home, according to the news release.

Oak Park changes date of village manager candidate forum The date of the public virtual forum with the three finalists for the open village manager position has been changed to 7 p.m., Jan. 23. The forum can be streamed on the village of Oak Park website, where the footage will also be archived for those who cannot attend the forum.

The interim leaders shared with families that the decision to call for a pause was made “after serious, careful consideration.” The explosion of new COVID cases during the week of Jan. 10 impacted the district’s ability to keep up with contact tracing and played a major factor in employee absences. The two said they have teamed up once again with the Oak Park Department of Public Health to monitor the situation.

“Our staff absences this week totaled 126 on Monday and 113 on Tuesday,” Powell and Wernet wrote, noting the absences accounted for more than 10% of the district’s staff. “These absences are impacting every level of our organization, from classroom teachers and administrators to lunchroom supervisors, teacher assistants, custodians, nurses and school support staff.”

District 97 made a similar but smallerscale move almost two weeks ago, as cases soared into the double-digits at Hatch and Lincoln Elementary Schools upon staff and students’ return from winter break.

Longfellow Elementary and Julian Middle

school students also briefly returned to elearning during the week of Jan. 3 because of staffing shortages.

So far, the pause impacts students from kindergarten to eighth grade, Powell and Wernet said. The district plans on offering in-person learning for students with special needs, in the early childhood program at Whittier Elementary School or the pre-kindergarten program at Longfellow Elementary School.

The district is currently looking for additional staff and volunteers to help in any of the schools. Open positions vary, ranging from substitute teachers to lunchroom supervisors and administrative assistants. For more information on employment opportunities, visit www.op97.org/hr/employment.

“We know that an adaptive pause places a significant burden on our families,” Powell and Wernet wrote. “Although this was a difficult decision, we believe that it is necessary to create safer learning environments for our students and staff. We appreciate your support and understanding and will be in touch soon with further updates.”

Meister, Thrive chief, to retire from nonprofit mental health agency

John H. Meister, executive director at Thrive ognized and accredited by CARF, an independent Counselling Center, announced he will retire in organization that upholds the highest standards of 2022 after five years leading the nonprofit orga- care and community service for behavioral health centers. This makes Thrive the only behavioral nization.

Meister was vice chair of Thrive’s board in health center in Illinois with an accredited sui2016, when he agreed to step in as interim ex- cide prevention program.

Meister also pushed outreach efforts at Thrive. ecutive director. He was then tapped to succeed the previous director of the Oak Park and River In 2019, Thrive launched “Thrive Talks,” a series of expert presentations on menForest community behavioral health tal health topics offered to the comcenter. munity for free. Thrive Talks such “Thrive is a place of healing that as “Aging Fearlessly,” “Anxiety in has served generations of our neighChildren and Teens,” and “Suicide: bors. We are grateful for John’s leadA Health Crisis” are available on the ership these past five years,” said Steagency’s website. phen Morales, Thrive’s current board With Covid-19, Thrive introduced chair. “John stepped in at an importele-health services for therapy and tant juncture for the agency and eslaunched a no charge Check-In Line, tablished a strong financial and proallowing anyone struggling emotiongrammatic foundation on which we ally to speak to a therapist. will continue to build.”

JOHN H. MEISTER Jan Pyrce, a former Thrive board The past year saw a significant upchair and longtime advocate for tick in utilization of mental health needs. Thrive, under Meister, expanded access to mental health resources in our community, said care by adding a child and adolescent psychiatrist “John Meister has demonstrated a deep committo the staff, doubling the therapists serving chil- ment to Thrive’s mission of offering of ‘Hope, dren and youth, and increasing clinicians caring Resilience and Recovery’ to individuals of our for adults. He worked with the 20-person board to community. His leadership of the agency and his recently complete a five-year strategic plan that personal dedication to helping individuals get seeks to further expand access to services to those help has made a difference in the lives of many individuals. … I am grateful for John and apprein crisis.

Meister also worked to establish Thrive as a ciate the depth and breadth of his contributions center for suicide prevention, providing life-sav- to Thrive, facilitating the continued access of ing intervention training for thousands of first mental health services in the community.”

A search for a new executive director will beresponders, concerned villagers, and students at Oak Park and River Forest High School and gin shortly. Meister will retire after new leaderFenwick High School. His work on Thrive’s com- ship is in place. Thrive is located at 120 S. Marion prehensive suicide prevention program was rec- St., Oak Park.

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

TESTING SITES

Slow results, if at all from page 1 thought was a subset of NorthShore University Health System. In actuality, the Northshore Clinical Labs has no affiliation with the hospital group. Sutphen now believes the lab’s name intentionally misleading.

“I think they’re doing it to deceive,” said Sutphen.

She said the site itself was unsanitary and that staff were not at all strict about masking. Sutphen filed a complaint with the Oak Park Public Health Department but learned that COVID-19 testing sites are out of its jurisdiction.

Likewise, the Cook County Department of Public Health and even the Illinois Department of Public Health have no regulatory control over the sites, which operate under a variety of names, including Center for Covid Control, Covid Center of Chicago, Free Covid Testing Site and Northshore Clinical Labs.

The names of labs also sometimes change.

A reporter visiting the North Avenue site Sutphen used found it empty and padlocked, with sign on the glass door that had a variety of company names, including Grapefruit Health and PSK Clinics.

Warning issued Last week, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul cautioned residents thinking about using pop-up test sites, saying his office “cannot confirm the legitimacy of individual pop-up testing locations.”

“The increased need for testing has also resulted in testing shortages, leading people to visit so-called ‘pop-up’ testing locations,” Raoul said in the statement. “It is important for people to know that these sites are not licensed or regulated by a government agency, and they should ask questions before visiting a pop-up testing location – or try to utilize a state-sponsored testing site.”

Following an inquiry by Growing Community Media late last week, the Center for Covid Control announced that it was temporarily shutting down all of its locations, including its sites at 9219 Broadway Ave. in Brookfield, 1527 Harlem Ave. in Forest Park and 200 N. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park.

The company said the temporary shutdown, which was to last through Jan. 22, was due to the operational strain from customer demand.

“Regrettably, due to our rapid growth and the unprecedented recent demand for testing, we haven’t been able to meet all our commitments,” said Center for Covid Control founder and CEO Aleya Siyaj in a press release.

In her LinkedIn profile online, Siyaj lists herself as CEO of BullsEye Axe Throwing Lounge in Barrington Hills. She also previously served as CEO of a donut company.

The company’s announcement also coincided with news reported Jan. 14 by USA To-

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM The manager of that company is listed by the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office as Syed Bilgrami of Gilberts, Illinois.

Hasnain Bligrami, an apparent relative of Syed Bligrami, refers to himself as the “small business owner” of Northwest Testing on his LinkedIn page.

The contact person listed on the Riverside business license application is “Hass” with an email address referring to a company called Elite Testing which is also managed by Syed Bilgrami, according to Illinois Secretary of State records.

The actual 2022 business license on file with the village of Riverside refers to the 2704 Harlem Ave. business as “Center for Covid Control.”

It is unclear whether the testing site is still affiliated with Center for Covid Control, but Hass Bilgrami was that company’s spokesman when the pop-up site first opened at that location in May 2021.

The site at 2704 Harlem Avenue and the ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer recently shuttered one at the North Riverside Park Mall are connected. The compaA closed COVID-19 pop-up testing site on North Avenue in Oak Park. ny applying for a business license in North Riverside last year was Northshore Clinical Lab, according to records obtained by day that Center for Covid Control’s primary just kept ringing.”

Gregory Palivos, the managing partner Growing Community Media on file with lab partner was under investigation by a division of the U.S. Department of Health of that Northshore location, did not return the village. Syed Bilgrami is listed as the and Human Services in the wake of other Growing Community Media’s request for “manager” of the company in the application. investigations undertaken by the Oregon comment.

Hass Bilgrami did not respond to atJane Brencic went to a Northshore/FCTS Department of Justice and the Better Busitesting site in a pod set up in the parking tempts to reach him. Neither Syed nor ness Bureau. lot of the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Hass Bilgrami had backgrounds in mediCermak Road, on Dec. 21 because it was of- cal testing prior to their involvement in Bad reviews the pop-up sites, according to their personfering drive-up testing. al LinkedIn pages.

People who have been tested at pop-up She got both a rapid test Syed Bilgrami formerly sites told Growing Community Media had and a polymerase chain reworked as an account execua variety of reactions to their visits, from action (PCR) test, the lattive for Comcast and for a believing staff were overwhelmed to feel- ter of which takes longer to T-Mobile retailer. Hass Biling scammed by a get-rich-quick scheme. process. While her rapid test grami worked as an account There was consensus, however, among came back negative, she was executive for Verizon and those who shared their experiences: Each told she would receive the owns a boat rental company. said they would not recommend that oth- results of her PCR results While many of the pop-up ers utilize pop-up testing locations. within five days. Brencic resites that sprang up last fall The city of Berwyn terminated its con- ceived her negative PCR rehave closed or have paused tract with Northshore Clinical Labs early sult a full 15 days after being operations due to an avalast month due to the company’s failure to tested. lanche of complaints and deliver test results to patients. Northshore The site has since closed. heightened scrutiny, some Clinical Labs conducted two Berwyn com- A visit to the site on Jan. municipalities have been munity testing events prior to its Dec. 3 14 found the signage taken KWAME RAOUL able to shut down sites, dismissal. A drive-up testing event sched- down and left folded up inIllinois Attorney General which can operate after obuled for Dec. 6 was canceled. side. taining a certificate from the “Their inability to provide test results Brencic’s husband, Dave, federal Centers for Medicare in a timely manner and in the prescribed had a similar experience and Medicaid Services. timeline they had agreed to, left me no with a Northshore/FCTS site The village of Oak Park choice but to leave North Shore Testing at 321A S. Harlem Ave. in Forand seek other testing labs,” Berwyn Emer- est Park. He received his PCR test result 13 successfully shut one down on Dec. 30, but only was able to because it was operating gency Management Coordinator Tony J. days after his nasal cavity was swabbed.

Laureto wrote in a statement dated Dec. 7.

“People are really desperate to find a without a business license. Called Covid Centers of Chicago while in business, the Northshore Clinical Labs is connected to place to get a result,” said Dave Brencic. other pop-up testing sites in Oak Park, ForGrowing Community Media has reached testing site was located in storefront previest Park and North Riverside, sometimes out to Muhammad Khan, the managing ously occupied by Snow White dry cleanoperating under the Free Covid Testing partner of the 321A S. Harlem Ave. testing ers at 40 W. Chicago Ave. On top of not having a business license, Site (FCTS) name. site, for comment.

Ramona Ramos-Sullivan and her husNorthshore/FCTS also operates the site the site’s proprietor, Zafar Hussain, was band only just received their results Jan. at 2704 Harlem Ave. in Riverside, which slapped with 15 other citations for sev10, after getting tested Christmas Eve at was still seeing clients as of Jan. 14. The eral safety infractions, including failure the Northshore Clinical Labs location op- name of the company on a 2022 business to maintain heat, failure to maintain waerating out of the former CVS Pharmacy license application for 2704 Harlem Ave., ter supply in washrooms and failure to at 216 Circle Ave. in Forest Park. obtained by Growing Community Media remove chemicals from the dry cleaning “I tried calling the lab several times, and through a public records request, was plant. Hussain’s hearing with the village is scheduled for Jan. 20. nobody answers,” Ramos-Sullivan said. “It Northwest Testing LLC.

“It is important for people to know that these sites are not licensed or regulated by a government agency.”

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

COVID19

Fears of burnout from page 1 back from the holiday break],” said Rebecca, a longtime elementary school teacher. She received emails the night before about some students calling in absent because of COVID, opting for remote learning. And as that first week of the second semester progressed, more and more students at school were sent home because they started showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

Echoing Rebecca, Mary said the omicron variant of COVID just added another level of stress, especially with school back in session.

“We can be double-vaccinated and boosted.

We can wear two masks. We can knock out any restaurant and only do the necessary shopping. We can wash our hands so our knuckles are bleeding every day, and you can still possibly get it,” said Mary, who like Rebecca has taught elementary school students for almost two decades. “That’s what’s so scary.”

Like many nationwide, school officials across Oak Park and River Forest have also seen an explosion of COVID-19 cases since the start of the second semester. Just last week, Oak Park School District 97 declared a two-day adaptive pause, shifting K-8 students back to e-learning, as cases among staff and students tipped over 200 and placed hundreds more into quarantine. District 97 also reported outbreak cases at four elementary schools, according to school data.

River Forest District 90 documented an outbreak case at Roosevelt Middle School last week, which stemmed from a seventh-grade class, and in the last month reported a total of 137 COVID-19 cases among staff and students.

Education leaders at Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 noted a similar rise in cases along with an uptick in employee and student absences. Staffing shortages due to COVID-19-related reasons have also presented another challenge.

“When our colleagues, who you know are being super careful of getting [COVID] and several of them are pretty sure they got it from school, that’s where my anxiety comes from,” Rebecca said.

Mary added, “That crazy scrambling of staff members and everybody being sick – I wasn’t prepared for that. I’m still like, ‘What the hell is happening?’”

Besides that, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Illinois School Board of Education (ISBE) adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest recommendation for a shorter quarantine and isolation period. That means, staff and students who now test positive for COVID-19 can return to school after a five-day isolation period, as long as they are symptom-free. Upon returning, they are required to wear masks both indoors and outdoors for another five days. School employees and students are not required to take a COVID-19 test after completing the five-day quarantine or isolation period.

“It [the new recommendation] relies on trusting parents a lot, and I think the majority of our parents can be trusted, but there are some that just can’t be – who want their kids

just to go to school, and that’s really frustrating,” Rebecca said.

What’s more is that Oak Park and River Forest school districts are encouraging their staff and students to wear surgical face masks, and some have received help from local public health departments to supply them. But even that – something that is “supposed to be a positive thing” – has become an issue, Mary said.

Unlike cloth masks, which are a bit more snug, Rebecca and Mary said the surgical face masks do not fit some of their younger students’ faces properly and retying the ear straps only creates gaps on the sides of masks.

“Our day now starts with helping 20 kids get a mask,” Rebecca said, with her colleague Lisa interjecting, “and getting really close to them.”

“And going around and adjusting everybody’s ear strap because their heads are too small,” Rebecca continued.

And then, there’s teaching.

Because of COVID-19, teachers have rearranged student desks into rows, abiding by the 3 to 6 feet social distancing rules.

For Rebecca, Mary and Lisa, who often encouraged their young students to interact with each other, their classrooms are a departure from their own values. Due to COVID-19 concerns, students are actively discouraged from sharing supplies or going to each other’s desk to help on an assignment or project.

“It’s really punishing for kids,” Rebecca said. “It’s not collaborative. It’s not active.

It’s not socially engaged. It’s locked down at your desk.”

On top of that, Mary expressed her frustra-

tions on teaching her students both in-person and via online learning simultaneously.

Illinois schools can provide virtual learning for students who are quarantined after being potentially exposed to COVID-19. That means, they can hop on Zoom or Google Meet and attend their class and perhaps, even participate and ask questions.

“You’re constantly pivoting because you don’t know on a daily basis who’s going to be on your Zoom screen,” Mary said. “It’s anxiety-provoking because it’s almost like the nurse, who’s the main communicator, comes to your room or sends you a text or email.

And it’s like ‘Oh no. Do I open it? Is it another student? Is it another positive case?’

“That just leads you down the fast track to teacher burnout so quickly,” she said.

Lisa added teachers are also feeling the pressure from parents and administrators to keep up with education requirements and professional development courses while maintaining their day-to-day duties. The three are calling for more safety measures, including making sure that school buildings are routinely sanitized; additional COVID testing, especially for students in elementary schools, and emotional support from administrators.

“I feel like we are shouldering everything to make it [classrooms] running and personally being terrified [because of COVID-19]. … Every day I go to work, I’m like, ‘Should I even be here?’ Am I endangering [my family]?’ I can’t be at my best when I’m like that,” Lisa said, before bursting into tears. “I’m sorry to cry, but I feel like I’m also really strong, and this is breaking all of us.”

Thank You RIVEREDGE HOSPITAL for continuing the Mindful 10 programming in 2022 with our Women in Business Affinity Group.

Learn more at oprfchamber.org

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Join us at nurture your mind and soul.

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C R I M E

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Berwyn man arrested in fatal Oak Park crash

A Berwyn man is facing up to 12 years in prison after being charged in connection with the fatal traffic collision that left a 27-year-old Oak Park resident dead Nov. 21.

Humberto Sanchez, 27, of the 1300 block of Wisconsin Avenue in Berwyn was charged Jan. 12 with one count of aggravated driving under the influence. A toxicology report found Sanchez’s blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit.

According to the investigation into the incident, a vehicle reportedly driven by Sanchez sideswiped four parked cars before striking James Miller, who was exiting his parked vehicle near his home in the 1000 block of South Austin Boulevard at around 6:15 a.m., Nov. 21.

Miller was then taken to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood where he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes after the incident. Police took Sanchez into custody, but he was released on bond pending the results of blood and urine samples that were taken.

Aggravated carjacking arrest A resident of the 100 block of South Kenilworth Avenue was arrested for an at-

tempted aggravated carjacking that took place at 3:41 p.m., Jan. 12 in the 500 block of Home Avenue. According to the police incident report, the 24-year-old suspect struggled with the victim and stated he had a gun, but the victim and a witness were able to hold the suspect until Oak Park police officers arrived.

Disorderly conduct arrest A Galewood resident was arrested on a signed complaint for threatening West Suburban Medical Center staff while being discharged as a patient on Aug. 8.

Burglary ■ A Glock 29SF pistol was taken from a 2019 Mercedes A220 with an unlocked door between noon, Dec. 18 and 8 a.m., Jan. 12 in the first block of Adams Street. The gun was in an unlocked case sitting on the backseat on the driver’s side. The estimated loss is $680.

■ A gray MacGregor air compressor and a gray Pittsburgh floor jack were taken from a residential garage with an unlocked side

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service door in the 100 block of North Elmwood Avenue between 9 p.m., Jan. 5 and 2 p.m., Jan. 9. The estimated loss is $450.

Theft ■ An exterior central air conditioning unit was removed from the back of a residence in the 800 block of North Lombard Avenue between 7 p.m., Jan 12 and 8:30 a.m., Jan. 13. The estimated loss is $3,000.

■ The front license plate was removed from a 2020 Hyundai Sonata that was parked in the 400 block of North Humphrey Avenue between 5 a.m., Jan. 7 and 4 p.m., Jan. 9.

Criminal damage to property

table located on the eastside of Austin Gardens, 167 Forest Ave., between 6 p.m., Jan. 12 and noon, Jan. 13. The estimated cost of the damage is unknown.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports through Jan. 11 to Jan. 14 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Someone damaged the seat of a picnic

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15

SPORTS OPRF boys can’t match top-ranked Glenbard West

Huskies also fall late to Metamora at MLK Day invite

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The Glenbard West High School boys basketball team lived up to its No. 1 ranking on Jan. 14, using a pair of big scoring runs to breeze past Oak Park and River Forest High School 64-40 in Oak Park.

“They’re number one for a reason,” said OPRF coach Phil Gary. “They’re an extremely smart team that plays together, and if you make a mistake, they’re on it right away. You can tell they’ve been playing together for a while.”

Roscoe Cadwell provided OPRF (8-7, 2-2 in WSC-Silver) with early hope by draining a pair of three-pointers. The Huskies trailed by just four at the firstquarter mask timeout, but Glenbard West -- which got a game-high 23 points from Braden Huff -- exploded for a 16-0 run to end the quarter ahead 28-8.

“We went cold when they went on that stretch,” Gary said. “That really hurt us.”

After an even second quarter, the Hilltoppers (19-0, 4-0 in WSC-Silver) started the second half on a 12-0 run that ended any hopes for an OPRF rally. Caden Pierce scored 14 points and Bobby Durkin added 12 for Glenbard West, which also defeated host Fenwick High School on Jan. 17 by the score of 66-36.

Despite the lopsided defeat, Gary found some positive takeaways.

“There are always bright spots in every game,” Gary said. “Justin [Mullins] is playing better and moving the ball, and Sam [Lewis] is attacking a little more. Roscoe had a couple of big early threes. Our guys are learning and getting better, which is what we want to do towards the end of the season.”

Mullins finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for the Huskies, who also received nine points from Lewis.

On Jan. 17 at the Hyde Park MLK Classic, OPRF, paced by Mullins’ 23 points and six rebounds, led downstate Metamora 58-56 with 9 seconds left in regulation. But the Redbirds’ Tyson Swanson tied the game with a layup, then Devin Dunn stole the subsequent inbound pass at half court and drained a three-pointer as time expired to hand the Huskies a 61-58 loss.

CAROL DUNNING/Contributor

Oak Park and River Forest High School junior guard Sam Lewis throws down a dunk against Glenbard West Jan. 14. The Huskies fell to the top-ranked Hilltoppers 64-40.

Varsity assistant named OPRF’s new head baseball coach Kevin Campbell has been with the Huskies’ program since 2016

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

KEVIN CAMPBELL

Oak Park and River Forest High School introduced Kevin Campbell as the new head baseball coach

on Jan. 14. Campbell replaces Joe Parenti, who announced last August he was stepping down after four years as head coach for family reasons.

“Coach Parenti laid a strong foundation,” said Campbell in a press release from the school. “I plan to continue to build off that by instilling a strong work ethic, competitiveness, and a family-based culture into our players and coaches.”

Campbell has coached in the Huskies’ program since 2016, most recently as an assistant on the varsity team. He began his coaching career in 2009 at St. Raymond Junior High School in Joliet while still a player at Millikin University.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to take on this new role in a program that has such a long history of tradition and success,” Campbell said.

OPRF Athletic Director Nicole Eb-

sen cited Campbell’s strong relationship with OPRF student-athletes as one of the reasons for his hiring.

“He is passionate and truly a players’ coach,” she said in the press release. “I look forward to seeing the great things he will do to carry out the tradition of success within the baseball program.”

Campbell’s head coaching debut is scheduled for March 17 when OPRF hosts Evanston Township.

16

S P O R T S

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

@ @OakPark

Double duty for Fenwick bowling coach Tichacek leads both boys and girls teams into postseason

By MELVIN TATE

coach wouldn’t be returning this year, Tichacek decided to add more to her plate.

“They were looking for someone to take It’s a rare occurrence when an individual over the team,” she said. “So, I agreed and coaches two high school teams during the decided to do both boys and girls for this year and see how it goes. We’ll same sports season. reevaluate at the end of the seaBut, that’s what Judith son and see where we are.”

Tichacek is doing this winter, Tichacek believes that there serving as head coach for both are differences between coachthe Fenwick High School boys ing boys and girls. She feels the and girls bowling teams. girls are more eager to learn, “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to whereas the boys are more do each team justice, especially creatures of habit. as a new head coach this year,” “For [the boys] who are used she said. “It has been challengto doing things a certain way, it ing at times, but it is not immight take a little longer to adpossible and I know it will get just,” she said. easier over time and with more Tichacek is one of two coachexperience. It’s been trial and JUDITH TICHACEK es in the Catholic League -- Deerror.”

Paul Prep’s Joe Hohrein is the Tichacek, who was the assistant for last season’s boys team, was other -- who coach both boys and girls.

“We try to make the best of our situaencouraged by then-head coach Brother Joseph Trout to switch roles. tions,” said Tichacek. “We definitely try “We discussed how we wanted the pro- to exchange trade secrets. Joe’s a nice guy gram to look for this year,” she said. “We and I’ve learned a lot from him.” thought it would be best if I was in the In spite of the circumstances, both Frihead coaching position.” ars teams are having relatively solid seaThen after learning that the girls head sons. Led by juniors James Dubanowich Contributing Reporter

and Sean O’Connor and senior J.J. Curley, the boys placed fourth in the St. Patrick Regional on Jan. 15 with 5,429 pins, good enough to advance to the sectional.

O’Connor led the Friars with 1,121 pins, while Dubanowich added 1,111 and Curley -- who made the Chicago Catholic League all-conference team -- 1,101 pins.

Earlier this season, Dubanowich rolled a perfect game of 300 during a scrimmage with IC College Prep on Dec.15.

“It was definitely so neat to see James accomplish this, especially when bowlers can go their lives and not achieve it,” said Tichacek.

Like the boys, the girls team is largely young. Freshman Olivia Cameron has a season-average score of 178, with a high game of 245 and high series of 576.

“I see Olivia making it downstate at some point in her high school career,” Tichacek said. “She’s only been bowling for a year, but her form and technique are already demonstrative of a seasoned varsity player.”

Another freshman, Emilia Nowak, has acquitted herself well this winter with a high game of 191.

Tichacek said the Friars have three freshmen on the girls varsity roster and

that half the team just started competitive bowling this year.

“Our girls are in the process of learning new skills, honing their techniques, and establishing their forms that will develop and mature over time,” she said. “These results won’t happen overnight. We still have about half of our season left, and there’s so much opportunity for these girls to excel.”

Tichacek is optimistic about the remainder of the season. “[The boys] keep knocking down milestone after milestone every week,” she said. “For our girls, I want them to have the confidence that they are able to be competitive with other teams. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I definitely see potential for our team to advance in our regional tournament in the next year or two.”

The Fenwick boys will compete in the Glenbard East Sectional on Jan. 22 at Bowlero in Glendale Heights. The top six teams advance to the state finals.

After their final Girls Catholic Athletic Conference meet against De La Salle on Jan. 24, the girls will compete in the GCAC championships on Jan. 29 at Brunswick Zone in Niles.

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VIEWPOINTS

17

The power of a dream p. 20

An oldster goes back to school

f I had a dollar for each time a student or staff member of Concordia University Chicago (CUC) asked me on the campus if I was a) a parent of a current student, or b) a member of the faculty, I could probably afford to pay for a third undergraduate degree.

At first, I resented these questions. But soon enough I figured out how to answer them. “I’m a student,” I would say. “I’m what they call a transfer student returning to college for a second major. I went to college the first time a long time ago.”

Over 41 years ago, to be precise.

When I began undergraduate studies at Loyola University Chicago in the autumn of 1980, I intended to major in both History and Theater. What is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Particularly young men.

Although I took a fair number of theater classes and performed in some plays, somewhere along the way I decided to let the Theater major go before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in History. And that has come to bother me over the years. I have viewed the Theater major as a lost opportunity, which I should have had the discipline to finish. So when my wife’s job at CUC offered the generous benefit of both the employee and the employee’s spouse receiving a tuition waiver, I jumped at the chance to go back and finish the degree.

It wasn’t easy, being a fully middle-age man with a job and other responsibilities, taking classes over several semesters. I was required to take not only the classes pertaining to my major, but also several other classes in different disciplines. And as any recent student knows, it has not been easy navigating an undergraduate education in the time of COVID. I finished this last semester, and CUC was very good to me the entire time. The school worked with me on giving credit for courses I had already taken. They dealt with the coronavirus and a switch to an online learning platform for a time. Directors cast me in school plays (yes, I tended to play the old guys). The school graciously and professionally accommodated me to finish the major when — due to financial exigencies — it had to discontinue the Theater and some other departments in the last year.

My life may not change now that I have my theater degree. I wrote and performed a fair amount of theatre before I had the degree, and I may continue in just the same vein in the future. But I feel good to have finished the program, and I appreciated the way Concordia treated me.

When I’m on campus now and someone asks if I’m a parent or a faculty member, I can answer (and with some pride), “I’m an alum.” If I’m feeling a little mischievous, I’ll add, “I just graduated in 2021. It took me 41 years to finish college.

“At least I finished.”

Kevin Bry is a longtime Oak Park resident who has appeared in many local theater productions, some of which he wrote.

KEVIN BRY

One View

Tribute to a Golden Girl

Dedicated to Betty White, R.I.P., written before she died If laughter is the best medicine — then you, our comedic queen, are the best doctor in the world!

A toast to you, a roast for you.

Celebrating nine decades and more of your wonderful life.

Happily honoring our hearts with comedic delight.

Charming, always making us laugh, a modern-day showbiz legend, that’s a non-disputable fact.

In constant demand, so many dedicated, entertained fans.

At ninety (plus), you’re still working, walking, making us laugh and keeping us all talking.

American actress, brilliant comedienne, not an easy task to write a short poem about you.

I could elaborate on your endless career, all you’ve done, all you still do.

Seven decades of funny antics and still going strong.

What a wonderful, inspiring — aging with zest and grace — life-song.

There’s young Betty White on her own sitcom many fans got to love and know.

Sue, rubbing elbows, cracking jokes on the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

There’s that Rose character with a charismatic, Golden Girl glow.

In Cleveland, that show sure got hot, you starring as the offbeat, older Elba.

It’s another success story that hit the spot.

Again, can’t emphasize how often this comedienne is in demand, called upon.

Her fascinating life, funny philosophy — it goes on and on.

TV, game shows, Emmy awards, The oldest, youngest at heart, host of Saturday Night Live.

Movie hits with iconic past and present movie stars.

Comedy at its best, simply divine.

Along with the gifts of humor and quick wit, there lies a true humanitarian, concerned citizen, and animal rights advocate.

I hear talk about that side of Betty White on late night talk shows.

I just love it when she’s on.

With her animated, candid spirit, anything goes.

One last tribute to this treasured comedic star who aims to please.

Thanks a million for the funny memories.

Keep acting off your rocker.

That’s exactly what we adore.

We’ll keep watching, laughing, certainly, begging for more.

And don’t worry, we know someday you’ll have to say goodbye.

But we’ll keep your legacy of laughter alive.

Vow — to never let it die.

Gail Galvan is a Valparaiso, Indiana author. This is from her book of poems titled, “Affinity for Rainbows: Sunshine Finish Lines.”

GAIL

GALVAN One View

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

O U R

V I E W P O I N T S

V I E W S

Education endures

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s the omicron variant of COVID has surged — and possibly now begins to recede — the impact on our local schools has been pervasive. A series of stories this week by the Journal’s Amanda Tugade reports the rapid, and sometimes confusing, responses to the surge from local school leaders.

The District 97 Oak Park elementary schools have begun the second half of the school year with the short-term shuttering of individual schools and then, late last week, with an “adaptive pause” that closed all 10 schools for two days. The combination of students, teachers, and staff testing positive for COVID; the need for quarantining; and a lack of resources to conduct contact tracing, combined to make it impossible to open the schools with adequate staff.

As of this week all of the elementary and both middle schools have reopened.

At Oak Park and River Forest High School, the doors have remained open since day one of the second semester.

But it has been a struggle and a sacrifice and a logistical feat to make that happen.

Credit to teachers, to families, to administrators, and public health leaders for the good faith and the goodwill it has taken to bring us to this point. Inevitable comparisons to the bitter divide that has left the Chicago Public Schools’ response in such tatters leave us feeling good about the relationships that exist in our Oak Park and River Forest public schools.

None of this has been easy. No decision made has been perfect.

That all comes clear in Tugade’s front page story today in which she interviews three veteran local teachers about their experience coming back to school after winter break. This is the real-life story of the anxiety, the weariness our teachers are laboring through. One teacher talks about the challenge each morning of trying to make masks fit properly on the small faces of young students.

Another talks about the difficulty of teaching both live and online simultaneously to an ever-changing blend of students. A third talks about needing to trust parents as rules on quarantine loosen and tests are not required to return to school and the reality that all parents are not playing fair.

We hope omicron relents. We hope for an early spring that allows open windows and outdoor classes. We hope against hope for more widespread vaccinations and boosters.

Mainly though we offer thanks to our educators for persevering, now for two years through this pandemic.

Betty White’s roots Our hometown celebration of the life of the wonderful Betty White came off Saturday with nothing but smiles, cake crumbs and something elusive we might remember as joy.

Hundreds gathered in front of the Lake Theatre, thousands followed along on our Facebook Live, and who knows how many people nationwide saw our Betty White moment as footage was picked up by the likes of the NBC Nightly News.

Here at Growing Community Media and Wednesday Journal, we give thanks to every person and every business that jumped on the bandwagon we built to recognize Betty White and her roots here in Oak Park.

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Truth and the unvaccinated

o many want to believe in something enough to die for it. So many want to draw a line in the sand. Here and no further, a place to take our stand.

But refusing to get vaccinated? Everyone admires deep conviction, but that’s the best you could come up with?

Live free or die? Live unvaccinated and die?

Novak Djokovic passes up a ton of money and a shot at tennis immortality all because he won’t take a couple of shots in the arm, increasing the odds of his own mortality and endangering those he comes in contact with.

Everyone needs a shot in the arm. So does this country.

But criticism and righteous fury won’t convince the anti-vaxxers, we’re told. They just dig in their heels even more. More stubborn. More intractable.

More principled.

Don’t tell me how to live, they say. I’d rather die.

I’d rather die than eat bugs, even if that were my last resort, yet in worst-case circumstances, I might feel differently.

The Supreme Court though is sympathetic. You can’t tell people they have to get vaccinated even during a deadly epidemic. The original framers of the Constitution, they say, would be appalled.

Make people do what’s good for them? Save lives? UnAmerican! Unconstitutional!

Americans have rights, including, apparently, the right to endanger other’s lives. We have a right to be free … from responsibility, from caring about our fellow human beings, from contributing to the common good, from coming to the aid of our fellow citizens during a raging pandemic, from making one reasonable exception to our almighty convictions when your country asks you to.

I have the right to believe whatever I want to believe. I have the right to base those beliefs on any information, no matter how untrue.

The principled anti-vaxxer: vaccinated against truth, immunized against rationality and reason.

But it doesn’t do any good to get ornery. Nothing we say will convince them otherwise.

Acceptance is our only alternative, acceptance of the fact that we live in a time and land where consensus on facing a grave public health peril is impossible because those who feel left behind, left out, overlooked, and underserved have gone on strike.

A citizenship walkout.

They’ve lost faith in everything — except themselves and the tribe that shares their disbelief in the system and will only accept the leadership of those who tell them what they want to hear.

Disaffected, disillusioned, disengaged.

Today’s secessionists.

Modern-day confederates still refuse to accept the outcome of the Civil War. Conservatives still refuse to accept the passage of Social Security, Medicare, and Civil Rights. The tribe of Trump still refuses to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The Confederacy lives on in full rebellion, fighting a cultural civil war, treating the rest of us like the enemy.

How then do we live together? Without mutual enmity, that is, recognizing our respective limitations as human beings, according courtesy, respect and dignity even when it’s not accorded to us.

How, in other words, do we hold the Union together when a house divided against itself cannot stand?

During our last great Culture War, the ironically named “Civil” War, Abraham Lincoln, one of the finest

human beings this country ever produced, was willing to do anything to hold the Union together.

To preserve the Union, he was willing to inflict, and incur, horrific casualties to win a war that could not be avoided. He prosecuted that war at great cost, but not at the cost of his humanity. He never gave in to hating the other side.

Some think we can end our current Culture War by disengaging. They believe “civility” and “even-handedness” will resolve everything. But that’s “nonviolent resistance” without the “resistance.” This struggle, too, is unavoidable. It needs to be fought because it needs to be decided — without taking up arms, taking up the vote instead, arming ourselves with the truth, mobilizing our greater numbers, despite every effort by the other side to make voting more difficult.

Gandhi and King pioneered nonviolent resistance not “nonviolence” alone and not “resistance” alone. We need both to win this war. The late, great Desmond Tutu invented the “Truth and Reconciliation” process in South Africa, which proved that national reconciliation was possible. But first the truth had to be told. We need both.

When you live in a fortress of denial, truth feels like an assault. But we need to tell it nonetheless (insofar as we can discern the truth, recognizing that no one has a monopoly on truth).

This conflict goes all the way back to the 1960s when a rift developed between the World War II generation — which benefitted from this country’s united front against an existential threat — and the Vietnam generation, which had good reasons to be suspicious of authority and rebelled against it. The country never fully recovered from that loss of faith. It only got worse.

Not all anti-vaxxers are Trumpists or even conservative. Some are on the left and in the middle. But whether you’re an anti-vaxxer or a simply a non-vaxxer, the truth is that you helped keep this pandemic going longer than it should have. Your ideology or your mistrust of government and the health care system or your misinformation or your simple fear took precedence over the common good.

The truth is, when this nation needed you most, you let the rest of us down.

To the hesitant who stepped forward and got their shots anyway, your courage is deeply appreciated. And to those who did so grudgingly, even resentfully, because of mandates, your sacrifice is doubly appreciated.

The truth is we are one nation and, from time to time, we need to pull together to face a common threat. This pandemic is a dress rehearsal for the greater battle ahead as we face the gathering storm of the climate crisis.

We got a 70 percent on this test (those vaccinated), barely a passing grade. We cannot afford to fail the next test.

Being “even-handed” is not going to resolve this country’s polarization. One side is extreme. The other is not. The extreme side must be defeated by the nonviolent resistance of the majority’s votes, as many times as that takes.

We are all “us,” but on one side of us, there is no “common good,” only individual rights.

The other side of us wants to balance the common good and individual rights. A big difference.

That side must win this Un-Civil War, without giving in to hatred, then extend the hand of friendship and forgiveness as Lincoln did.

Only then can we create a more perfect, and healthier, Union.

KEN

TRAINOR

V I E W P O I N T S S H R U B T O W N

by Marc Stopeck

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor and Publisher Dan Haley Senior Editor Bob Uphues Equity Editor/Ombudsman Michael Romain Digital Publishing and Technology Manager Briana Higgins Staff Reporters Stacey Sheridan, F. Amanda Tugade Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Food Editor Melissa Elsmo Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger, Stan West Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea Designer Susan McKelvey Business Manager Joyce Minich Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Development & Sales Coordinator Stacy Coleman Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

D200’s $25.5M shell game

he District 200 school board is expected to vote on Jan. 27 on an administration recommendation to borrow $20 million in debt certificates to fund items in the Ten-Year Maintenance Plan, even though more than $60 million of the nearly $90 million sitting in the cash reserve or fund balance are surplus dollars that could be used for this purpose.

There is no reason for D200 to borrow money now, bypassing voters in the process and costing taxpayers at least $5.5 million in interest. The recommendation aims to stockpile even more tax dollars in the bloated cash reserve, making the board unaccountable to taxpayers on spending.

It is a fiscally irresponsible recommendation, and it lacks integrity as it is simply a shell game. There is no need to connect the dots either; buried in the administration’s memo, the shell game is made clear: The issuance of debt certificates “maintains an avenue for the district to address Project 2 using fund balance reserves and future budgets.”

Yet Project 2 and its $46 million 17-lane pool and 600seat natatorium need to go to referendum for voters’ funding approval. Taxpayers overwhelmingly delivered that message to the board at the packed Imagine Plan Town Hall meeting in October 2018. And taxpayers are right. It is best practice to fund major capital projects with voter-approved referendum bonds, the same taxpayers who will benefit from a project should pay for it.

Cash reserves are not meant to stockpile current taxpayer dollars to fund future facility improvements.

A cash reserve’s purpose is to cover possible funding delays during the year, and the Illinois State Board of Education gives its highest financial rating to schools that hold the equivalent of 25% of their annual operating expenses in reserve. For D200, that is approximately $22 million. D200’s bloated cash reserve has triple that in excess funds and needs to be downsized, spending it on actual needs, returning the rest to taxpayers. The last thing that D200 needs is more money.

The administration also issued a recommendation regarding the levy: “Utilize next year’s expected CPI increase (expected to be above historical levels) when adopting the 2022 tax levy to secure the additional revenues needed to pay for the principal and interest on the debt certificates.”

The debt certificate and levy recommendations are the 2022 versions of the tax loophole maneuver that D200 pulled years ago to stockpile more than $130 million of taxpayer dollars in the cash reserve. The methods and dollar amounts differ, but their intentions are the same: to siphon off and amass taxpayer dollars without voter approval, enabling the board to spend without regard to taxpayers.

The debt certificates vote is the reincarnation of the outrageous 2015 board vote to bypass taxpayers to build a $37.5 million Olympic-size pool.

Please consider emailing the board (boe@oprfhs.org) and/or making a virtual public comment at the Jan. 27 meeting and tell the board to vote “no” on the disingenuous debt certificate proposal.

Monica Sheehan is an Oak Park resident.

MONICA SHEEHAN One View

About Viewpoints Our mission is to lead educated conversation about the people, government, schools, businesses and culture of Oak Park and River Forest. As we share the consensus of Wednesday Journal’s editorial board on local matters, we hope our voice will help focus your thinking and, when need be, fire you to action.

In a healthy conversation about community concerns, your voice is also vital.

We welcome your views, on any topic of community interest, as essays and as letters to the editor. Noted here are our stipulations for filing.

Please understand our verification process and circumstances that would lead us not to print a letter or essay. We will call to check that what we received with your signature is something you sent. If we can’t make that verification, we will not print what was sent. When, in addition to opinion, a letter or essay includes information presented as fact, we will check the reference. If we cannot confirm a detail, we may not print the letter or essay.

If you have questions, email Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at ktrainor@wjinc.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY

■ 250-word limit

■ 500-word limit

■ Must include first and last names,

■ One-sentence footnote about yourself,

municipality in which you live, phone number (for verification only)

■ Signature details as at left

your connection to the topic

Email Ken Trainor at ktrainor@wjinc.com or mail to Wednesday Journal, Viewpoints, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302

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ADDRESS 141 S Oak Park Ave., Oak ParkIL 60302 ■ PHONE 708-5248300 EMAIL Dan@OakPark.com ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com Wednesday Journal is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $1.00.

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

The power of a dream

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efn Fforest is a town you never heard of, clinging to the outer edge of another town you never heard of, on an island surrounded by the cold, watery graveyard of the north Atlantic. A place where hope goes to die.

Jan lived here. Or, more accurately, existed here. By day she worked a dead-end job at the town grocery, cleaning floors, stocking shelves, working the register. By night she tended bar at a local pub, pulling pints for locals to lubricate the small talk that tries vainly to fill the deep emptiness in patrons’ souls, the emptiness where dreams used to live. To call it a bleak world would not be an overstatement.

Then one day, a day like so many other equally empty days, Jan overhears just a bit of conversation from some men drinking at a table in the bar. And the hard, blackened wick of the candle that burned out long ago in her past, flickers back to life. A tiny, tentative flame.

But it flickers. And she feels it. When the person she overheard comes up to the bar for a refill, she asks, “So you know something about that?” And he answers, “A little.” And the flame steadies itself. In the coming years the hope that ignited in her heart will feed a dream that grows into a small fire, first sheltered, then shared until it spreads from neighbor to neighbor writing the town you never heard of into the history books.

Dreams can do that. Change our lives and the lives of a few, and sometimes millions, of other people in ways big and small. Last year more than four million Americans filed applications to start a new business. Four million dreams.

Four million flickering candles hoping to light a new future for who knows how many.

Starting a new business is only one way our dreams come alive. New Year’s resolutions are another. And spontaneous choices we make throughout our lives, no matter the calendar date, are countless. We desperately need these dreams — and their dreamers. They fill our lives with hope, joy, energy, and excitement. They create our better tomorrows.

Johannes Guttenberg had a dream of movable type and made the printed word available to the masses. Wilbur and Orville Wright watched as a toy their father gave them sailed through the air without falling, transformed their bicycle shop into “first flight” — and began our journey to commercial air travel.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had a dream that turned basic electronic components into the plastic-encased miracles of communication we carry in our pockets or work from on our laps. Three dreams from dreamers who connected the entire world verbally, physically, and instantly. Countless others have turned dreams into life-altering realities and countless others will continue to do so.

But just like fire, dreams can have a dark side. According to the Small Business Administration, in the first two years, 30% of all new businesses will fail.

By five years, 50% will have failed. And by 10 years, fully 70% will have failed.

And those New Year’s dreams? Most are abandoned by mid-February. By year’s end, 80% are gone.

The impact of these failures range from disappointment to bankruptcy. Like fire itself, an initial flicker of hope can ignite a fire that lights our way, warms our homes, and cooks our meals. Or it can burn the town down.

Jan’s dream, nurtured over a decade, brought light, warmth, and sustenance to 4,000 souls — in a town you never heard of.

Sooner or later we all sense that initial flicker, a dream so small, so fragile, it’s like a candle in the wind. We can nurture and feed it for the good it might bring — or let it blow out because we fear either our impending failure or its destructive power. One thing is certain: if we let fear extinguish that flame, we will never know how much good we might have accomplished. Conversely, if we hold on too long, the flame could engulf both us and all around us. In the words of the Gambler, “You have to know when to hold ’em; and know when to fold ’em.” You have to know when the dream is working — and when it’s time to find another. Inspiration is to courage what failure is to acceptance.

Jan’s dream led to a book, two movies, and a fascinating backstory on Google.

If you are feeling that first flicker of a dream igniting and you would like a large dose of inspiration with a side of caution, watch the movie “Dream Horse.” Jan’s story. Cefn Fforest’s story. True story — where the power of one person’s dream wrote a whole town into the history books. Available On Demand; 113 Minutes. Popcorn optional, Kleenex recommended. Google the backstory only after watching.

You’re welcome. Keep dreaming.

When a race horse dies, we bury the head for his intelligences, the heart for his spirit, and the hooves for his speed. The rest we cremate.

BILL SIECK

One View

Docent at Churchill Downs

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

The gift that keeps giving On Dec. 30, 2021 a panel of local federal district judges gave state Sen. President Don Harmon a present that will last 10 years when they dismissed a lawsuit by MALDEF and the East St. Louis chapter of the NAACP. The plaintiffs’ complaints challenged the state legislative redistricting maps approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

Sen. Harmon can take further comfort in the fact that the decision was made by judges whose appointment to the federal courts were made by presidents who were Democrats and Republicans. That kind of bipartisanship is something that has eluded Harmon in the Illinois General Assembly. A bill reforming the legislative mapping procedures, including establishing an independent mapping commission for redistricting, was passed overwhelmingly in the State House in 2016 by a vote of 105-7. A similar bill was co-sponsored in the Illinois Senate by 37 members, including 18 Democrats. But Senate President Harmon allowed that bipartisan effort to wither on the vine without calling a vote on the bill before the last session ended in December, 2020.

Sen. Harmon’s efforts to style himself a progressive are hamstrung locally as the suburban vice chair of the Cook County Democratic Party. The party’s Central Committee has required a loyalty oath by current elected officeholders seeking re-election and prospective candidates across the ballot to support the candidates that leadership slates on the next

primary ballot.

It is likely that Harmon will not have to concern himself with disloyalty in the Senate 39th District.

As the party’s suburban vice chair and the Oak Park Township Democratic Committeeman, it is nearly guaranteed that he will again not be confronted by a challenger on the 2022 primary ballot. Without opposition, he will have little reason to campaign, but he will certainly receive contributions as a candidate.

That will not only pay for Harmon 2022 signs and literature, it will pay for him to include his name on campaign signs for office when he isn’t even on the ballot; as he did in 2020. Remember the Biden/Harmon signs?

Will he campaign? He has reason to explain his platform on other issues confronting the 39th District, Oak Park, and statewide. There is the issue of tax reform, the state budget, the radioactive pension reform crisis, and so much more. Harmon could exemplify a political “Profile in Courage” and re-introduce legislation to establish a nonpartisan independent redistricting committee for maps to be drawn before the next decennial census. But that is unlikely.

Whether he chooses to still remain in office in 2031 or pass the power baton to a successor, the federal court decision made on Dec. 30, 2021 is a gift that will keep on giving.

Chris Donovan Oak Park

Great idea, poorly run The village of Oak Park should be commended for launching its Better Homes, Better Planet program to improve energy efficiency across the community and reduce Oak Park’s carbon footprint.

The Home Energy Assessment Program appears to be an especially worthy initiative. But as a resident who has tried to use the program, I have found it to be incompetently run.

On Dec. 28, I was scheduled for an assessment during the afternoon. I rearranged my day and waited for five hours, but no one showed up and no one called. At the end of the day, I called the program and was told my appointment was canceled due to “inclement weather.” (There were all of 2-3 inches of snow that day.)

My appointment was rescheduled for Jan. 11,

between 8 a.m. and noon, and I was promised that I would be the first appointment. Again, I rearranged my day, again no one showed up and again no one called. When I called the office, I was told the cancellation was “due to COVID” (the universal, all-purpose excuse these days for unacceptable service).

Meanwhile, my email and voicemail have been inundated with unwanted solicitations from window installers, solar panel companies and other energy-efficiency vendors. I do not recall giving permission to share my contact information.

My experience leads me to believe the Home Energy Assessment Program is more about making a buck than improving sustainability.

Jim Ritter

Oak Park

The more relevant sales tax numbers

I see from the latest issue of OP/FYI, the village of Oak Park newsletter, that the new Pete’s is expected to generate $546,000 per year in sales taxes.

I don’t question the number, but I question why we aren’t being told the relevant number.

A significant portion of that amount will comprise sales that would have occurred at another Oak Park grocery. Sales diverted from another Oak Park store produce zero net new taxes to Oak Park.

The relevant number, which I have never seen, is the anticipated amount of new-to-Oak-Park sales, comprising sales that wouldn’t otherwise have

happened, and sales diverted from stores outside of Oak Park.

Don’t tell me nobody has that number. I guarantee you Pete’s did the math on how the Madison Street store will affect their Lake Street store as well as where they will find enough sales to justify a second location.

If Oak Park has those numbers, let’s see them.

If Oak Park doesn’t have those numbers, the word “gullible” comes to mind.

Bob Stigger

Oak Park

V I E W P O I N T S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Clarifying the confusion about gender identity

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n Jan. 27 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. the Thrive Talks Series will present a talk titled, “All About Gender: What Every Parent Should Know.” This talk, however, isn’t just for parents. It’s for all of us. The shifting perception of gender has become more complex than any past generation could have ever imagined.

Gender identity is no longer solely thought to be determined by one’s sex at birth. A definition I recently read described gender identity as one’s own internal sense of self and their gender, whether that is man, woman, neither or both. This idea is so very different from the ways most of us were brought up to believe.

We are in the midst of a major shift in societal thinking and understanding of gender. In my work as a family therapist, I have seen a significant rise in the number of families and individuals who are directly dealing with this.

What I have learned is that gender identity is an area of great confusion and misunderstanding. Expanding our thinking of gender identity will lead to greater understanding and with that, greater acceptance.

What has become so clear to me, not only as a practitioner, but as a father, friend, and community member, is how important it is for me to be clear about what I believe and think.

As parents, we have the responsibility to be aware that we are always influencing our children. The question is how are we influencing them?

In order to bring clearer understanding about gender identity to the people of our community, Thrive, the community mental health center serving Oak Park, River Forest, and surrounding communities, is presenting this talk. Our presenter, Rick Smith, is a family therapist and proud father of a transgender son and a cisgender daughter. Rick will present an informed examination of today’s fast-changing gender landscape. His talk will offer us a better understanding about the transgender and gender non-conforming experience so that we will be more prepared to help our children, family members, and friends navigate this complex maze of identity formation.

Ideally this presentation would be live with a large gathering at the library. This topic generates lively discussion and much interaction among the participants. Because of the pandemic, this presentation will be in a webinar format.

So how do we generate discussion among people given this format? Consider gathering with those with whom you feel safe and participate in this talk together. Gathering with other families, groups of friends, book groups, etc. will guarantee lively discussion after the talk. Importantly, invite your kids to participate. Most likely if you have pre-teens or teenagers, you have something to learn from them as they are already facing these issues.

Because of the Zoom webinar format, people from anywhere in the world can join, so please feel free to pass this information on to anyone you feel would be interested.

There is no cost and no need to pre-register. If you are interested and want to have the link emailed to you, please contact Sarah Finnegan at Thrive (sfinnegan@thrivecc.org) Steve Parker, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Oak Park. He is a board member of Thrive Counseling Center and chairperson of the Program Development Committee.

STEVE PARKER One View

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

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OPRF, look at data critically Editor’s note: We ran the first half of this piece on Dec. 29. The second half was inadvertently cut off. Here is the entire One View:

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acts don’t care about our feelings. However, if OPRF High School ignores facts for much longer, more than feelings will be hurt; less student opportunity will be the result.

We all understand that one of the best things any community has going for it is a vibrant, dynamic, diverse and energy-filled high school that educates our young adults fully while creating community goodwill. We are fortunate to have such a high school. However, many believe OPRF is at an inflection point.

I hope our local school leaders begin to look at issues less politically and more critically before much of that goodwill, and taxpayer generosity, is gone.

Our OPRF leadership, many of whom have long been involved with OPRF in varying roles or in board seats, recently “discussed” the State of the District at the Dec. 16 District 200 Board of Education meeting. For me, it was uninspiring and much of the same. While the meeting alluded to a lengthy document, the actual board discussion was void of meaningful challenge or deliberation to help our students. Administrators offered few answers but several admissions.

In fairness, OPRF is still a high-performing district. Yet trends do matter, and the trend is currently not our friend. The students in our community who need our support are not getting it. Families are beginning to look at non-public school options more and we somehow are being told that there is nothing to really see here; just move along.

I offer two graphs that suggest there is something to see here. A picture tells a thousand words.

The pandemic is clearly impacting our students. However, the trend data was not inspiring pre-pandemic. Our community already had a subset of OPRF students with math proficiency in the teens. Instead of adopting fancy, paid-for consultant-speak that too often ends in “pedagogy,” how about we teach more math? Let’s increase tutoring, early childhood supports, and in-school summer school options instead of closing the campus in the summer, twice.

While the COVID-19 impact is very real, we can’t have it become a convenient excuse for far too many ineffective pre-COVID decisions. It also should not be used as an excuse

ROSS

Source: D200 Board Document

LISSUZZO One View

Source: Illinois Report Card

for the pre-COVID culture that has emerged over the last five years or so. For insight into OPRF’s culture that existed preCOVID please see the Illinois Youth Survey and 5-essentials survey data.

While our leaders have been selling us the latest and greatest identity-based school solutions, our unique, talented, diverse, and brilliant students are being led in a way that is producing lower academic achievement; that will ultimately reduce opportunities. If I can be so bold as to offer a New Year’s resolution to our OPRF leaders: try listening to students, who recently questioned the wisdom of curriculum changes (https://trapezeonline.com/3302/opinion/editorial-detracking-been-there-done-that), and return to looking at academic data to inform your decisions. Now that would be a New Year’s resolution that would positively impact many lives and something that would build good will instead of eroding it.

Go Huskies.

Keep the focus on climate

At a time when the COVID pandemic seems to be peaking, and when rancor and fear stemming from the January 6, 2021 insurrection are running high, it is vital not to lose focus on climate change, the deepest crisis of all. So I am pleased to see Wednesday Journal announce a monthly column on sustainability by IGov, a group representing our local taxing bodies.

Consistent attention to this issue is essential.

The enormous challenge of climate change requires work at all levels: international, national, state, local and individual.

The IGov column lists a number of steps being taken locally, including very important programs to help us cut emissions from our homes — the biggest source of greenhouse gases.

Oak Park has also made electric vehicle charging stations

available on village-owned land.

But it will take much bigger changes to reach carbon neutrality. The next really big step would be to draft and pass a proposed ordinance to require new buildings in Oak Park to be all-electric. New York City has just passed such an ordinance. The governor wants to take the proposal to cover the whole state of New York. Dozens of municipalities in California are doing the same. If we mean to become carbon-neutral, we can’t put up new structures that will require fossil fuels.

We need to move to electricity. The technology exists and is cost-competitive.

Doug Burke

Senior Climate Action

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

Come spring, a few suggestions for D97

When the omicron variant forced District 97 schools to go remote for a couple of days, it might have seemed like the wrong time to consider changes to our village’s and district’s COVID mitigation policies.

However, now is the time to plan for spring, and plan without getting stuck in either/ or thinking, nor becoming single-mindedly focused on the risk of transmission.

Although the country has divided into camps, we don’t need to be. We can both increase our efforts to reduce spread, say, by purchasing high-quality masks for students, as well as recognizing that some mitigation methods aren’t worth the social, emotional, and/or academic costs to our students.

This is critical because at this point, two years in, we know that COVID isn’t going to completely disappear in the near future, even for vaccinated people. It may not get better. We are developing practices and habits for the long-term, and some habits aren’t worth the cost of doing them. Other practices do work; we need to make them easier to do or more effective. For our children particularly, any activity or prohibition that reduces their social, emotional, or academic development brings short-term

and long-term costs. These costs often disproportionally harm students from families with less resources, leaving them at a further disadvantage.

In that spirit of rejecting either/or thinking and embracing holistic evaluations, I propose we: ■ Encourage vaccinations with fun incentives and increased convenience ■ Purchase KN95 masks for students to wear during the school day ■ Let students play and socialize outdoors without wearing masks ■ Reintroduce group work into the classroom ■ Increase the amount of time students play and study outside ■ Accept rapid test results so that students and staff who have recovered from a non-COVID illness can return to the classroom faster ■ Host large-scale outdoor events to celebrate our students and connect our school communities In this way we can both facilitate a great spring for our students while managing risk to students, staff, and our community.

Conor Gallogly Oak Park

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

A shout-out to Oak Park educators

2020 has been called the “Year of the Unthinkable.” In 2021, we faced mental and emotional health epidemics and a continuing coronavirus pandemic. Extreme weather and fires devastated our country, and politically the U.S. became very divided.

I am brain researcher as a lay person. I have learned how my brain works and can draw it in accurate detail. I made these discoveries after my brain was emptied by a 3-week coma following an auto accident.

My doctor saved my life, but with no therapy available I was forced to heal myself.

And I did!

2022 should become the “Year of the Thinker,” so we can heal our country. Oak Park and American teachers must bring

the brain (the seat of learning) to the conscious level for their students. They must give their students a better understanding of their brains — what it is, how it works, and how to protect it — so that their students and learn to think and act objectively.

It is through research and therapy for brain-injured patients that breakthroughs in neuroscience occur.

Chicago Tribune

Dec. 17-19, 2003 I grew up and went to grade school and high school in Oak Park. I lived there until I went to college.

Julie Ekblad

Brainbow Learning Center Austin, Texas

Who else do you have contempt for?

While I don’t agree with the editorial writer who expresses “contempt” for local people who are unvaccinated [Vax proof? Absolutely, Our Views, Viewpoints, Jan. 5], it does make me curious if there are other categories of local people that the WJ editors have contempt for.

Paul Clark

Oak Park

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Coming, going, and being home

‘R

ichard, you’re home!”

That was Mom’s exclamation as I walked into the kitchen, home for the holidays, in 1971. I surprised her and Dad by finding a ride to Berwyn from Carbondale, two days ahead of when they thought I’d arrive.

There she stood with her hands in the sink, scrubbing dishes after dinner. And in I strode: “Hi, Mom!” Before that evening, I had never experienced the reality of “going home.” After all, I’d always been home.

During the six-hour trip from my dorm, Schneider Hall, to the family bungalow on Clarence Avenue, I started to appreciate that “home” was now something apart from where, for the last three months, I had been living, learning and changing.

The car pulled up just south of 15th Street.

As I stepped out of the vehicle, thanked my friend for the ride, walked up the concrete steps of our porch, entered that familiar living room, and headed past the dining room table for the kitchen, I sensed that home was now a place where a lot of me still belonged, but not all of me.

Over the next 15 years, before Maureen and I started forming our own family, I did not live in what I considered to be a home. I moved from place to place for a while, following my career. Rather, on this part of my journey, home for me began to grow inside as I journaled, prayed and began to form something of a coherent, inner self.

Then in 1987, with the birth of our daughter, forming a new home became an imperative, quite naturally. The kind of nurturing, protective and developmental space that my parents had built for me helped me envision what I wanted to create for my kids.

Maureen and I married in 1985. We began raising young children in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and then established two homes as we moved from one Victorian to another in Oak Park. In 2017, with the kids gone, we sold the Elmwood Avenue house, the one in which we had spent the longest stretch of time raising our young ones.

Now, at 68, I appreciate having different manifestations of home active in my memory. Mom and Dad are gone, the bungalow is owned by others, but that brown, brick house and its neighborhood still carry a kind of intimate familiarity that wakes up the Berwyn kid in me when I see it. To him, that place is indeed home.

On my walks, I occasionally pass by the dwelling on Elmwood, in which we lived for 16 years. Seeing that blue house opens recollections from richly rewarding times, including the gardens, family dinners around a big, brown table, and a wedding reception for one of my sons and his wife.

And what of today’s home? Our granddaughter calls our condo “Oma’s and Beepa’s” house. As we grow with it, she and her little brother will help define our experience in it.

There is the inner home to which I go in my prayer, reflection and dreams. It’s a quiet study with many notebooks on the shelves, recounting my story, recording new chapters.

And there is that destination to which my faith tells me I will one day return. Such a “take” on the idea of home is expressed in the spiritual piece that our choir sings occasionally at Ascension: “Coming home, never more to roam. Open wide those arms of love. Lord, I’m coming home.”

The holidays, now just behind us, can stir up many elusive, sometimes frustrating episodes of going home. There are the distant abodes to which we travel, but at times only in our dreams. During this era of COVID, there are homes in which we might isolate ourselves to protect loved ones. When we’re lonely, we might not experience home at all.

But often we do get there: Take, for example, the college kids or returning soldiers who visit their families, surprising their parents and siblings with who they’ve now become.

Different voices from assorted times and varied places, within and without, declare to each of us: “You’re home!”

RICH

KORDESH One View

V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

D O O P E R ’ S

W

23

M E M O R I E S

The book lovers

hen my pal Eddie and I were in grade school, we read for fun. Like some who love to eat, we loved to read, and we were always hungry.

We didn’t have any literary discrimination. We read everything we could obtain, even though the Oak Park Public Library tried to limit our choices to the children’s section where books were lined up by topics of interest to children — stories about animals, kid adventures like Toby Tyler, and simple stories about American historical figures.

Eddie and I raced through these books in no time, finally gaining admittance to the adult section where our choices multiplied dramatically.

Before we made it to the adult section, we developed another source of supply.

My next-door neighbors, the Dunne family, had accumulated scores of books for their five children, four of whom were grown and living elsewhere.

The youngest child was four years older than Eddie and I and had little interest in reading, so Mrs. Dunne was happy to load Eddie and I up with the adventures of Tom Swift and other boys as ingenious as Tom, who, by the way, made his own airplane.

The Dunne family collection also included the more advanced adventure tales of such popular writers as Zane Grey and one-time Oak Park resident, Edgar Rice Burroughs.

We also sailed with delight through Sabatini’s Captain Blood as well as Dumas’ The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask.

We elevated our tastes when Eddie’s mother bought an encyclopedia set which came with a bonus of the collected works of Mark Twain and

Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables [English translation].

Much of what we read would be classified as pleasant nonsense by some people, although we didn’t see it that way.

Many of the books we read were great fun, stimulated our imagination, and set us swinging through the jungle canopy with Tarzan or fighting at John Carter’s side against Martian enemies, and riding into many a western frontier town.

Another source of supply for books other than a friendly neighbor was available, but required cash. Many of the local drug stores had a book section as did Woolworth’s Five & Ten, with many of the books priced at 25 cents.

Eddie and I would also ask for books for Christmas and our respective birthdays.

A problem we faced, however, was that some words we came across in our reading were beyond our command, so we simply figured out the meaning by the context or to be more exacting, we went to the dictionary.

We did read more than fictional stories, however.

We were fascinated by accounts of ancient man and prehistoric times. I remember I was really interested in my grandfather’s books written by Roy Chapman Andrews in which Andrews told of his expeditions to Outer Mongolia, North China and Central Asia where he discovered dinosaur remains.

We also subscribed to Boys’ Life, and our families subscribed to National Geographic with its photos of exotic societies in far regions of the world.

Schooling for Eddie and me was found in more than the classroom, and because of encouragement from my teachers and family, I became a lifelong reader.

JOHN

STANGER

When good men and women do nothing The current issue of Wednesday Journal, viewed through the wider lens of national politics, compels me to offer my 2 cents on the current U.S. zeitgeist.

My propulsion stemming from this compulsion relates to just the first three pages of the Journal.

First, there’s page one and River Forest’s “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.” The DEI movement has become a mantra of implied culpability by contemporary white society. Since George Floyd’s killing, entrenched racism has been closely examined. Do we all yet understand that the U.S. was founded by a majority of racist white men? Floyd’s death starkly reminded all of us of our country’s vile racist history.

Then, also on page one is the teaser about a “Be Like Betty” pullout section. That’s a feel good story about Betty White, an Oak Park native, loved by millions of various racial groups. She was a wonderful force of fairness and compassion. If only there were several billion more like her.

On page three, it’s back to harsh reality, in Michael Romain’s “Something of ill-omen is among us.” In it he invokes the Civil War and current events, quoting a UIC professor: “The events of January 6 are

in keeping with a tradition ... of racial and political violence.” Right. History may not repeat itself, but it rhymes, said someone back when.

From where I sit, I’d say that “tradition” is not only “in keeping,” but what is about to happen in 2022 will make Jan. 6 look docile by comparison. Exhibit A: Over a year later, not a single elected official (or ex) has been charged with sedition (and not for lack of evidence!). Exhibit B: In spite of the Democrats having control of the White House, Senate and House, they cannot unite to save the country from red state voter suppression laws, or GOP obstructionism. The Democrats, in spite of an 81 million vote mandate, plus control of Congress, seem unable or unwilling to prevent a predicted mid-term debacle and worse, a likely 2024 takeover by a racist, hate-filled political cult.

Good luck, River Forest. Thanks for the history lesson, Mr. Romain. Miss you, Betty!

Recall the expression: evil prevails when good men do nothing. More like “good for nothing” men (and numerous women). Ugh. We get the government we deserve. Buckle up!

Joe Harrington Oak Park

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

The right to clean water, even in prison

“Water is a human right. Why is this an issue when the Illinois Department of Corrections has a budget of 1.5 billion dollars? … This water crisis has been going on for over two decades. We have a recording of a gentleman inside saying this has been going on since he’s been in there. He got in there 24 years ago.”

On Jan. 4, the Speaker of the Illinois House, Chris Welch, and the President of the Illinois Senate, Don Harmon, met online with the Oak Park chapter of Indivisible. Both Welch and Harmon said they had not been aware of the water crisis at Stateville, and they both promised to look into the problem.

If you get a chance, please be sure to thank them and express your belief that access to clean water is a human right, no matter how many mistakes someone may have made in the past.

Access to water is a human right, but people residing in the Stateville prison do not have access to adequate clean water. According to inmates, the tap water is brown and smells like sewage. On Dec. 7, 18 community organizations traveled to Stateville prison to protest this unconstitutional situation, including the following: The Community Renewal Society, Rev. Otis Moss III and Trinity United Church of Christ, A Just Harvest, The People’s Lobby, Black Lives Matter Chicago, Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Chicago Torture Justice Center, The Hampton House, Sen. Robert Peters, Charlene Carruthers, and many others.

In an article titled, “Chicago faith leaders protest prison treatment at Stateville Correctional” from the website, Suburban Chicagoland, Cassandra Greer, founder of the Justice for Nickolas Lee grassroots organization, said,

Karen Alanis Forest Park

Supreme Court enforces Republican opinions Re: “Justices block 1 rule and allow 1.” Chicago Tribune. p. 1, Jan. 14: With their decision to block the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from enforcing COVID-19 mitigation practices in the workplace, the Supreme Court has degenerated into a purely partisan farce. They argue that because COVID can be spread everywhere, not just in the workplace, it therefore is not a workplace health hazard. The absurdity of this argument reveals that the Republican-stacked Supreme Court intends to enforce Repub-

lican political opinions without even pretending to justify their fiats on Constitutional grounds.

Justice Gorsuch has strayed so deeply into fringe ideology that he refuses to wear a mask in the presence of his few remaining liberal workplace colleagues who are old or have medical conditions, making them especially susceptible to COVID. Evidently, his goal is to kill off those colleagues who oppose his radical and baseless conspiracy theories.

Tom DeCoursey

3117 S Oak Park Ave, Berwyn, IL 60402 (708) 788- 7775

The sidewalks are my lifeline, please shovel I have brain damage resulting in mobility issues and dementia. I use a walker at all times whenever I am out of our house. Icy and snow-covered sidewalks keep me homebound and leave me depressed.

There are three major problems that I incur whenever it snows: people who neglect shoveling all or part of the sidewalks adjoining their house; people who do an incomplete job of scraping their sidewalks, leaving behind a layer of snow and ice; and people who live in corner houses neglecting to shovel all the way to the street, leaving curb cuts inaccessible.

Some shovel snow off of the sidewalk and deposit it in the curb cut where it inevitable turns into an iceberg that may block access for weeks.

Is there a way I could make a formal com-

plaint with the village that would force compliance with the appropriate village snow removal ordinances? I have fallen several times over the past three winters, resulting in bed rest and many, many sessions of physical therapy.

Can I sue either the offending homeowners or the village for the pain and suffering I incur due to these falls? I average around 5,0007,000 steps a day when the conditions allow. To avoid getting lost, I limit my daily wandering to an area of around 1 square quarter-mile.

This freedom of movement is crucial to my mental health.

Today I again find myself stranded and depressed. Can you help me?

Peter Lenzo Oak Park

Shout to Oak Park from George’s My name is Serafina Johnson. I worked for George’s Restaurant on Oak Park Avenue 15 years ago. When George lost his son, Saki, in November I was living in Destin, Florida.

I could not do anything but leave my Sunshine State to come and help this family.

When I got here, I was just amazed how this town pulled together for this family.

The outpouring of kindness and love was just crazy. These people and businesses here and from the surrounding area all came together as a family and came and hugged George and found the words to comfort him on Saki’s death.

I am just speechless at the outpouring of love.

As a friend and longtime employee of this restaurant, I personally want to thank all of you people who came and comforted this broken family.

You are all amazing. The road he has to travel now is long and hard. But he can do it as long as he has your love and support. He can do anything.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Serafina Johnson

Long-ago employee and forever friend

Emailed every Friday morning!

Oak Park

Robert P. Gamboney

Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory Kevin Kopicki

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Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

Growing Community Media

25

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG

HELP WANTED ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF HR AND RACIAL EQUITY

HELP WANTED • NETWORK SPECIALIST Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class.

Specifications are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job.

DEFINITION To perform various network/system administration, computer support, and operational activities for the Village including computer system setup, configuration, and testing.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED Reports directly to the Information Technology Services Director.

EXAMPLE OF DUTIES: Essential and other important duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following: Essential duties and responsibilities 1. Ensure that best in class customer service is provided to both internal and external customers and also embrace, support, and promote the Village’s core values, beliefs and culture.

2. Configure, test, and deploy network systems, such as, firewalls, routers, switches, wireless equipment, network servers and storage arrays.

3. Configure, test, and deploy system servers, such as, file, print, Internet, e-mail, database, and application servers.

4. Configure, test, and monitor server and end-user systems for security, such as, user accounts, login scripts, file access privileges, and group policy management.

5. Configure, test, and deploy end-user systems, such as, workstations, laptops, mobile devices, printers, and software.

6. Test, configure, deploy, and support security systems, such as, facility access system, video & audio system.

7. Monitor and auditing of networks, systems, and user activities to ensure security and efficiency of systems. Create scripts and reports of detail activities for regular review.

8. Perform and participate in disaster recovery activities, such as, backup procedures, data recovery, and system recovery planning.

9. Assist end-users with computer problems or queries. Troubleshoot systems as needed and meet with users to analyze specific system needs.

10. Ensure the uniformity, reliability and security of system resources including network, hardware,

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software and other forms of systems and data.

11. Prepare, create and update user/technical procedure documentations and provide computer training.

12. Assemble, test, and install network, telecommunication and data equipment and cabling.

13. Participate in research and recommendation of technology solutions.

Other important responsibilities and duties 1. Train users in the area of existing, new or modified computer systems and procedures.

2. Participate in the preparation of various activity reports.

3. Travel and support remote facilities and partner agencies.

4. Operate, administer and manage the Village and Public Safety computer systems, including E-911 center, in-vehicle computer systems.

5. Prepare clear and logical reports and program documentation of procedures, processes, and configurations.

6. Complete projects on a timely and efficient manner.

7. Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

8. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

9. Perform related duties and responsibilities as required.

QUALIFICATIONS Knowledge of: Principals and procedures of computer systems, such as, data communication, hierarchical structure, backups, testing and critical analysis.

Hardware and software configuration of. computers, servers and mobile devices, including computing environment of Windows Server and Desktop OS and applications, Unix/Linux OS, VMware, iOS/Android.

Network protocols, security, configuration and administration, including firewalls, routers, switches and wireless technology.

Cabling and wiring, including CAT5/6, fiber network, telephone, serial communication, termination, and punch-down.

Telecommunications theory and technology, including VoiP, serial communication, wireless protocols, PBX, analog, fax, voicemail and auto-attendant.

Principles and methods of computer programming, coding and testing, including power shell, command scripting, macros, and

MOVERS

Kolovitz Movers a local family owned moving company is looking for help. Immediate availability, college students welcome.

Please call 708-383-5567 (leave message)

VB scripts.

Modern office procedures, methods and computer equipment.

Technical writing, office productivity tools and database packages.

Ability to: Maintain physical condition appropriate to the performance of assigned duties and responsibilities, which may include the following: - Walking, standing or sitting for extended periods of time - Operating assigned equipment - Lift 50 pounds of equipment, supplies, and materials without assistance - Working in and around computer equipped vehicles Maintain effective audio-visual discrimination and perception needed for: - Making observations - Communicating with others - Reading and writing - Operating assigned equipment and vehicles Maintain mental capacity allowing for effective interaction and communication with others.

Maintain reasonable and predictable attendance.

Work overtime as operations require.

Experience and Training Guidelines Experience: Three years of network/system administration in the public or private sector, maintaining a minimum of 75 Client Workstation computers. AND Training: Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in computer science or a related field. Certifications in Microsoft Server Administration, Networking, Applications and Cisco Networking.

Possession of a valid Illinois Driver License is required at the time of appointment.

Vaccination against COVID-19 strongly preferred.

WORKING CONDITIONS Work in a computer environment; sustained posture in a seated position for prolonged periods of time; continuous exposure to computer screens; work in and around computerized vehicles outdoor and garage facility; lifting heavy equipment, communication cabling and wiring into walls and ceilings.

MEDICAL RECEPTIONIST

Part time or Fulltime Medical Receptionist for an OB Gyne Office in River Forest Nye Partners in Women’s Health Please email resume to: yvonne@ nyepartners.com

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Assistant Director of HR and Racial Equity in the Human Resources Department. This newly created position supports the management of activities and operations of the Human Resources Department and collaboratively develops and drives an organization-wide racial equity and social justice strategy, ensuring timely execution of objectives, and continuously monitoring the progress towards reaching milestones.

The incumbent will lead and provide subject matter expertise to the leadership team in the development and implementation of equity initiatives, both internal and external. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http:// www.oak-park.us/jobs.

Position opened until filled.

POLICE RECORDS CLERK

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Police Records Clerk in the Police Department. This position will perform a wide variety of specialized clerical duties in support of the Police Department including processing and maintaining documents, correspondence and coding reports; and to provide information and assistance to the public.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http:// www.oak-park.us/jobs.

SANITARIAN

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Sanitarian in the Health Department.

This position will perform a variety of duties including education and enforcement activities for the promotion and protection of the public health environment.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http:// www.oak- park.us/jobs.

SEASONAL FARMERS’ MARKET MANAGER

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Seasonal Farmers’ Market Manager in the Health Department. This position manages the Oak Park Farmer’s Market including the vendors that sell directly to the public within established guidelines. This is a part-time seasonal position with work from January-mid November and work required on Saturday’s from May through October.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http:// www.oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. Open until filled.

PART-TIME COMMUNITY SERVICE COORDINATOR

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Part-Time Community Service Coordinator (up to 10-15 hrs./week) in the Adjudication Department. Thisperson monitors individuals who have been ordered to provide community service in the Village, coordinates with organizations that provide community service opportunities, etc. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park. us/jobs. Open until filled.

National Accounts Rep Get a job super close to home!

Top rated firm, Alpina Manufacturing LLC, founded in 1992, locally Manufacturing owned beautiful campus in Galewood, near Mars candy, 3 blocks north of Oak Park. We build and sell display framing systems to customers nationwide including Wal-Mart, Verizon, Circle K, Hospitals. We are seeking a college educated trainee to become an office professional.

Work is in person at our beautiful, safe, spread out, elegant executive offices in Galewood. We train, no travel, work in Galewood. Open to any backgrounds. Excellent pay, salary, benefits, friendly caring management, Oak Park owner. Please send resume to careers@fastchangeframes.com.

Visit www.fastchangeframes.com/careers for more details. 6460 W. Cortland Street, Chicago, IL 60707

River Forest Public Schools District 90 River Forest Public Schools District 90 is seeking to hire a School Psychologist for a full-time position for grades PreK-4th starting in December 2021. To qualify, candidates must have a valid Illinois Professional Education License with endorsement in School Psychology (PreK-4). A Master’s Degree is preferred as well as 5 years of successful educational experience in both general and special education; and at least five years of successful experience in evaluating students, collaborating, and problem-solving with school and District teams. The right candidate will facilitate MTSS meetings, including individual and grade-level planning meetings.

Integrate D90 practices around equity and inclusivity into daily work and relationships with students, families and colleagues.

Duties include: Completing appropriate psychoeducational assessments for children who have or are suspected of having a disability. Identifying and assessing the learning, development, and adjustment characteristics and needs of individuals and groups, as well as, the environmental factors that affect learning and adjustment. Using assessment data about the student and his/her environment(s) in developing appropriate interventions and programs. Responding to parent and teacher requests for evaluations in accordance with Illinois law and maintaining compliance in accordance with Illinois special education law.

Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application availableat district90.org.

River Forest Public Schools District 90 River Forest Public Schools District 90 is seeking to hire a Special Education Instructional Teacher Assistant for K-4th starting immediately.

Qualifications: a) Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Endorsements; or Educator License with Stipulations with a Paraprofessional Endorsement. b) Successful instructional assistant experience is preferred in regular education or special education.

Job Duties: The instructional assistant in Special Education will work with both general education and special education staff members to support learning for identified child(ren) with special needs. Responsibilities include instructing students in small groups and one-on-one settings. This will also encompass helping students to develop positive interpersonal

relationships with peers and adults: utilizing and modeling school behavior management programs: and assist in communications between students, teachers and parents as requested.

As an equal opportunity employer, it is the policy of the River Forest Public Schools, District 90, to not discriminate against any employee or any applicant for employment. District 90 values a talented and diverse workforce, and will attempt to recruit and hire minority employees.

Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90. org

River Forest Public Schools District 90 River Forest Public Schools is seeking a part-time, 0.60 FTE Physical Education Teacher for Lincoln Elementaray School, Pre-K-4th Grade.

Qualifications: a) Valid Illinois Professional Educator License with Grade-Appropriate Physical Education Endorsement b) Successful teaching experience in physical education preferred c) A Master’s Degree is preferred

Job Duties: Work in partnership with the full-time PE teacher to instruct students in Pre-K through 4th grade on how to develop habits of mind and actions that support good health, fitness and enjoyment of sport

and play. The PE teacher will facilitate a learning environment that engages students in learning skills for sport and fitness, as well as SEL skills by growing confidence, sportsmanship and team spirit. The PE teacher will cultivate an environment that supports risk taking and trying new things. The PE teacher will demonstrate strong classroom management as children enjoy PE inside the gym or outdoors on the field. Collaboration with all D90 colleagues, including the special education team, classroom teachers, other special area teachers and administration is integral to their daily work, as well as their contributions to building-wide events and activities. Interested candidates, please complete an online application at https://www.district90.org/about/employment

SAWA’S OLD WARSAW RESTAURANT

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In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com | AustinWeeklyNews.com | RBLandmark.com | ForestParkReview.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com

26

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

CLASSIFIED

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG RENTALS & REAL ESTATE

MARKETPLACE CARS WANTED

CLASSICS WANTED CLASSICS Restored or Restored or Unrestored Unrestored

Cars Motorcycles Cars & & Vintage Vintage Motorcycles Domestic / Import Import Cars: Cars: Mercedes, Corvette, Mercedes,Porsche, Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari’s, MuscleCars, Cars, Ferrari’s,Jaguars, Jaguars, Muscle Mustang && Mopars Mopars Mustang

WANTED TO BUY WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, flags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers – lead, plastic – other misc. toys.

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

ITEMS FOR SALE 40 in. gas range double oven, side by side: $350 obo Wardrobe cabinet: $195 obo Desk: $195 obo CALL 773-722-0405

Top $$ Etc. $$$$Top $$allallmakes, makes, Etc.

CLASSICS WANTED

Restored or Unrestored Cars & Vintage Motorcycles HOME SERVICES Domestic / Import Cars: HAULING ELECTRICAL Mercedes, Porsche,ELECTRICAL Corvette,

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

Installed

We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors • Home Re-wiring • New Plugs & Switches Added • New circuit breaker boxes • Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp • Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential • Commercial • Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. • Bonded • Ins. • Low Rates • Free Est.

Collector James

630-201-8122

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

FLOORS KLIS FLOORING INC.

New hardwood flooring installation & pergo. Sanding, re-finishing, staining. Low prices, insured.

Call: 773-671-4996 www.klisflooring.com

HANDYMAN Mike’s Home Repair Drywall H Painting H Tile Plumbing H Electric H Floors Windows H Doors H Siding Ask Us What We Don’t Do

708-296-2060

HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs • Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates

STUDIOS, 1, 2 & 3 BR Best Selection & Service

BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery.

708-848-9404

LANDSCAPING BRUCE LAWN SERVICE Fall Yard Clean-Up Slit Seeding Bush Trimming Fall Leaf Clean-Up Senior Discount Snow Removal

brucelawns.com

708-243-0571

PAINTING & DECORATING CLASSIC PAINTING Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/ Plaster Repair Low Cost 708.749.0011

708-386-7355

OFFICE /RETAIL FOR RENT A 1,635 Sq. Ft. Retail Space for Lease (END CAP) Recently Updated/remodeled.

Heavy traffic area. **Discounted Rate-Limited Time!

If Leave message, Include: Your Name, Number & Type of Business.

TEXT or CALL: (708)828-6491

PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

Licensed, Bonded, Insured, & EPA Certified Expert craftsmanship for over 50 years

WOODWORK Terry's

Woodwork Restoration On-site refinishing of wood

and fiberglass since 1977.

Includes doors, woodwork, windows, staircases and new woodwork etc. All work done by hand. NO sanders. Your unfinished project my specialty!

References available.

Contact Terry Seamans at 630-379-7148 or terryseamans@yahoo.com

773-637-0692 Ask for John

Reach the people making the decisions.

Place an ad in GCM Classified!

Call 773/626-6332

OAK PARK & FOREST PARK

MMpropMgmt.com

RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. * 1116 sq. ft. * 1400 sq. ft. Dental Office RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. * 960 sq. ft.

OAK PARK–6142-44 Roosevelt Rd. * 3 & 5 room office suites FOREST PARK–7736 Madison St. *2500 sq. ft. unit Strand & & Browne Strand Browne 708-488-0011 708-488-0011

Collector James Collector James 630-201-8122 630-201-8122

Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, A&A ELECTRIC Ceiling Mopars Fans Let anMustang American & Veteran do your work

SUBURBAN RENTALS

Illinois Classified Advertising Network WANTED TO BUY FREON WANTED: We pay $$$ for cylinders and cans. R12 R500 R11 R113 R114. Convenient. Certified Professionals. Call 312-291-9169 or visit www.RefrigerantFinders.com

FOREST PARK 1 BEDROOM

GREAT LOCATION- CLEAN AND QUIET on 2nd floor: lg eat-in kitchen, lg livingroom, parking, coin laundry on premises, includes heat, cooking gas and water. close to I290/Blue Line, shops, Loyola Med and RushOak Park Hospital. no smoking-no pets $1100/mo. Call: 708-262-2444 or 708-598-8898. *view by appt only.

ROOMS FOR RENT

Large Sunny Room with fridge, microwave.

Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $125.00. New Mgmt.

312-212-1212

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

Park District of Oak Park 218 Madison Street Oak Park, IL 60302 LEGAL NOTICE Invitation to Bid The Park District of Oak Park will accept sealed bids for T-shirt Services.

The bid specifications will be available on the Park District’s website as of 10:00AM CST on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. Copies of the bidding specifications are available via the Park District of Oak Park website at: http://www.pdop.org/ bids-and-rfps/ Bids must be placed in a sealed envelope marked “Tshirt Services” and must be delivered on or before 1:00PM CST on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 to the Hedges Administrative Center. Immediately thereafter, bids will be opened and read. For further information, contact Maureen McCarthy at Maureen.

McCarthy@pdop.org.

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: Y21008415 on December 28, 2021. Under the Assumed Business Name of PHEE PHUMPS DESIGN CO with the business located at: 2623 ELDER LN, FRANKLIN PARK, IL 60131. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: MELISSA GUILLEN 2623 ELDER LN, FRANKLIN PARK, IL 60131.

x242, nicolef@buildwithsmc.com to make arrangements to obtain a set of Bidding Documents. Hard copies of the documents will not be provided.

By: Maureen McCarthy Park District of Oak Park, 218 Madison Street, Oak Park, IL, 60302 Published in Wednesday Journal January 19, 2022

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: Y21008414 on December 28, 2021 Under the Assumed Business Name of PAT MADE US with the business located at: 11 S LA GRANGE ROAD APT 202, LAGRANGE, IL 60525.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: MEGAN PATSAVAS 11 S LA GRANGE ROAD APT 202 LA GRANGE, IL 60525, USA Published in Wednesday Journal January 5, 12, 19, 2022

Published in Wednesday Journal January 12, 19, 26 2022

LEGAL NOTICE FOREST PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed bids will be received by the Board of Library Trustees of the Forest Park Public Library for the Capital Improvements at the Forest Park Public Library, 7555 Jackson Blvd, Forest Park, IL 60130. Sealed bids will be received on or before 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at the Administrative Office of the Forest Park Public Library, 7555 Jackson Blvd, Forest Park, IL 60130.

Bids received after that time will not be considered. All bids shall be submitted on or before the specified closing time in an opaque sealed envelope marked “Forest Park Public Library, Capital Improvements, Bid Package #_________________” on the outside.

The bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the Meeting Room of the Forest Park Public Library at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, 2022. Bids shall be submitted in the form and manner contained in the Bidding Requirements.

Bid Documents will be available after 4:00PM on January 10, 2022.

Bidding Contractors may obtain electronic copies of the Bidding Documents at no cost from SMC Construction Services through the SMC Construction Services PROCORE Electronic plan room. Please contact Nicole Frohling at 847.622.1214

Pre-bid contractor walk-through meeting will be held Wednesday January 19th at 1:00 pm in Meeting Room in the library. Attendance at the pre-bid meeting is not mandatory however is the best opportunity to see non-public spaces if needed.

The Library will be open for prospective bidders to tour, on their own, during normal hours of operation. All questions are to be directed to either Nicole Frohling or Jason Perkunas at Shales McNutt Construction at nicolef@buildwithsmc. com or jasonp@buildwithsmc.com The work consists of the following Bid Packages: BP-06A – General Trades Work BP-08A – Glazing Work BP-14A – Elevator Work BP-26A – Electrical Work Each bid must be accompanied by a bid bond or a cashier’s check in the amount of 10% of the total bid, made payable to Forest Park Public Library, as a guarantee that the successful bidder will promptly execute a satisfactory contract, will furnish a satisfactory performance bond and payment bond and proceed with the work. Upon failure to do so, the bidder shall forfeit the amount deposited as liquidated damages and no mistakes or errors on the part of the bidder shall excuse the bidder or entitle the bidder to a return of the aforementioned amount.

No bid will be considered unless the bidder shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the Board of Library Trustees that the bidder has the necessary facilities, abilities, experience, equipment, financial and physical resources available to fulfill the conditions of the Contract and execute the work, should the Contract be awarded such bidder.

Bidders will examine the Bid Documents, the existing conditions and location in which said work is to be done, and judge for themselves all the circumstances and surrounding conditions affecting the cost and

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

CLASSIFIED PUBLIC NOTICES

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

Not less than the prevailing wage shall be paid for labor on the work to be done as required by law.

The successful bidder will be required to comply with the provisions of all State of Illinois and federal laws concerning public works projects as well as the State of Illinois Human Rights Act and the regulations of the Illinois Human Rights Commission.

The Board of Library Trustees reserves the right to reject any and all bids, and to waive any technicalities and irregularities in the bidding and to hold the bid proposals for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of opening set forth above.

Questions about the Bid Documents should be submitted, in writing, to Nicole Frohling, SMC Construction Services at nicolef@buildwithsmc. com or via facsimile at: 847-6221224.

By order of the Board of Library Trustees of the Forest Park Public Library, Cook, Illinois.

Dated at Forest Park, Illinois, this 5th day of January 2022.

Published in Forest Park Review January 12, 19, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of Brian Humberto Sanchez 20212004288.

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Brian Humberto Sanchez to the new name of: Brian Roncal Magnani

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park --Office 4) $14,250 for Veteran-Owned of the Village Engineer, 201 South Business Enterprises (VBE) Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302The DBE requirements listed within - will receive electronic proposals these Contracts are requirements, until 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, not goals.

February 17, 2022 for Project: 22The MWRDGC requires that 4, 2022 Alley Improvements. Bids contractors entering into contracts will be received and accepted, and shall have a performance bond and bid results posted via the online a payment bond. The Contractor electronic bid service listed below. shall furnish a satisfactory In general, the improvements performance bond in the sum of the consist of the removal of the existing amount of the contract in dollars alley pavements and garage aprons; guaranteeing the proper completion installation of storm sewers and of the work and the maintenance of drainage structures; installation the work during the period of one of permeable aggregate trenches (1) year from and after the date of and base course; installation the completion and acceptance of permeable interlocking brick of the same. The Contractor shall pavers; installation of concrete furnish a satisfactory payment bond alley pavements and garage in the full amount of the Contract aprons; parkway restoration; and all guaranteeing payment of all material appurtenant work thereto. used and for all labor performed.

Plans and proposal forms may be The Contract will be subject to the obtained via the electronic service requirements of the Multi-Project starting on January 20, 2022 at Labor Agreement. A copy is on file at 10:00 a.m. Plans and proposal forms the offices of the Engineer and may can be found at https://www.oakbe requested from the Engineer. The park.us/your-government/budgetContractor shall execute the form purchasing/requests-proposals or entitled “Certificate of Compliance at www.questcdn.com under login with Multi Project Labor Agreement using QuestCDN number 8092843 (MPLA), as found in the Bid Proposal for a non-refundable charge of Submittal Packet. $30.00. The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue plans All prospective bidders must prove and specifications only to those they are pre-qualified by the Illinois contractors deemed qualified.

Department of Transportation by No bid documents will be issued providing a certificate of eligibility after 4:00 p.m. on the working day to the Engineering Division at which preceding the date of bid opening. time a password will be issued for The bidder is specifically advised that the Village is a Subgrantee of a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) grant, pursuant to an agreement entered into and between the MWRDGC and the Village. Each bidder is required to comply with the MWRDGC’s Affirmative Action Requirements and Affirmative Action Ordinance, of which are as follows: 1) $47,500 for Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBE) 2) $95,000 Project for MinorityOwned Business Enterprises (MBE) 3) $47,500 for Small Business Enterprises (SBE)

access to the online bid documents.

This project is financed with local Village funds and federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and thus is subject to all federal rules, regulations and guidelines, including Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, Section 3, and Equal Opportunity requirements.

Locally funded phases of the project as well as MWRDGC reimbursed phases are subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, 820 ILCS 130/0.01 et seq.

THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK Bill McKenna Village Engineer

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

PUBLIC NOTICES

nature of the work. All bids will be presumed to be based on such examination, familiarity, and judgment.

The successful bidder shall be required to provide a Performance Bond and a Material and Labor Payment Bond in the amount of 100% of the Contract Amount, as well as liability and property insurance as required within the Bidding Documents before commencing work.

The successful bidder shall enter into a formal contract based on the conditions and requirements in the Bidding Documents which will be incorporated into the contract.

27

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2022 Village of Oak Park Redi Mix Concrete Purchase Bid Number: 22-111 Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal January 19, 2022

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2022 Village of Oak Park UPM Cold Mix Patch Material Bid Number: 22-110 Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal January 19, 2022

Published in Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

The court date will be held: On 02/22/2022 at 10am at 5600 Old Orchard Road, Skokie IL 60077 Cook County in Courtroom #202

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF LSF10 MASTER PARTICIPATION TRUST Plaintiff, -v.HEATHER JOHNSON, BENEFICIAL ILLINOIS I, INC. AS SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BENEFICIAL ILLINOIS INC., DELL FINANCIAL SERVICES L.L.C., UNKNOWN TENANTS, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 17CH02438 1161 S. RIDGELAND AVE. OAK PARK, IL 60304 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on December 17, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on January 31, 2022, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 030R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1161 S. RIDGELAND AVE., OAK PARK, IL 60304 Property Index No. 16-18-429-0200000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

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

The sale is further subject to confir-

Published in Wednesday Journal January 12, 19, 26, 2022

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice:

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

mation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

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

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-21-01929 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 17CH02438 TJSC#: 41-3039 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 17CH02438 I3184363

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

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal-opportunity basis.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark • Forest Park Review

Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year • OakPark.com

Your right to know

• RBLandmark.com

In print • Online

• AustinWeeklyNews.com

• ForestParkReview.com PublicNoticeIllinois.com

28

Wednesday Journal, January 19, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

All of us at Growing Community Media and Wednesday Journal say thank you to everyone who made our Betty White Centennial Celebration so loving and wonderful.

To the hundreds who turned out in front of the Lake Theater on a cold January morning, we hope you enjoyed the birthday cake from Turano Baking Company. and the Red Vines, Betty’s favorite candy.

For the thousands who watched the Facebook Live stream, you’ve got good sense but you didn’t get to pet the pups from the Animal Care League at the adoption event hosted by our lead sponsor, Byline Bank.

For 99 Haus Balloons, Alpha Lit and Prime Party. There.

Are. No. Words. Their creative displays anchored the event, made a huge visual impact and highlighted the festive nature of the occasion.

To people who caught a snippet on local TV news (and every channel turned out), thanks to Jim and Sally from Prescott Group, LLC, who somehow made all that work.

Thanks to the Oak Park Police and Public Works for keeping us safe.

Thanks to Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman, State Senate President Don Harmon, Oak Park-River Forest Museum’s Frank Lipo, Golden Con chief Zack Hudson, and the incomparable Cindy Fee who sang the Golden Girls theme, for speaking.

Thanks to the dozens of volunteers who worked hard and made our event appear seamless.

Mostly though, thanks to Betty White for her kindness and indomitable and gentle spirit.

Lourdes Nicholls Melissa Elsmo Dan Haley

Watch a 4-minute video capturing the spirit of the event, by filmmaker, Devin Quinn, on OakPark.com.

#belikebettyop

Property transfers p. B6

Homes January 19, 2022

Sweet home, Chicago Oak Parker’s new book highlights 50 of area’s most striking houses

By LACEY SIKORA

O

Contributing Reporter

ak Parker Pat Cannon has long immersed himself in the architecture and history of Oak Park and the greater Chicago area. From volunteering at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio to teaming up with photographer James Caulfield on six books that cover architecture, Cannon has been active in the community for decades.

The pandemic didn’t put a stop to the prolific writer’s work. Much of his new book, “At Home in Chicago: A Living History of Domestic Architecture,” was compiled while COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on the work lives of many. For Cannon, the pandemic’s biggest work challenge was shipping related. Delays pushed the arrival of the books and the publication date back by a few months.

PROVIDED

Pat Cannon Published at the end of 2021, the book covers more than 50 of the Chicago area’s most striking homes over the 184-year history of the city. Featured homes include ones built before the Chicago Fire of 1871, Gilded Age mansions, Depression-era apartments, midcentury modern houses and contemporary homes.

Cannon says he started with some of the oldest surviving buildings in Chicago that

date to the 1830s and moved decade by decade. The only criterion for inclusion was that the house had to still be in existence.

When it came to making the final selection of homes to feature, Cannon says he and Caulfield started with a very long list.

“For whatever reason, some homeowners say no to having their homes featured,” See CANNON on page B3

January 19, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B1

189 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 (708) 386-1400

HomesInTheVillage.com

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Oak Park $895,000 4BR, 2.1BA Call Patti

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Chicago $349,900 Multi unit Call Erika

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We wish our community Health & Happiness in 2022!

Managing Broker/Owner

Mike Becker

Laurie Christofano

Marion Digre

Morgan Digre

Leticia Cruz

Jane McClelland

Elissa Palermo

Kyra Pych

Maria Rodriguez

Linda Rooney

Kris Sagan

Patti Sprafka-Wagner

Harry Walsh

B2 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ January 19, 2022

CANNON

Covers 184 years from page B1 Cannon said. “We ended up photographing more homes than we can include, then winnow it down from there.”

Cannon says the earliest residences featured are log cabins.

“They tend to be owned by park districts or historical societies,” he said. “The cabin in Norwood Park is the oldest in the city. It was built in the 1830s then added onto.”

There are few homes predating the Chicago Fire in the city proper, but outlying areas like Geneva and Hyde Park offer representation from the 1850s and 1860s.

Having already dedicated entire books to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Cannon said he tried not to include too many Wright designs here, but it’s hard to cover the history of Chicago domestic architecture without a few Wright inclusions. The Winslow House in River Forest, the Avery Coonley Estate in Riverside and the Heurtley House in Oak Park are all featured.

Another Oak Park home included is the John Seaman House on Grove Avenue.

John Seaman House, Oak Park

PHOTO BY JAMES CAULFIELD

Heurtley House, Oak Park Built in 1894, the Queen Anne-style home was designed by Fiddelke and Ellis at a cost of $17,000. The original owner was a barrel maker, and the interior reflects the use of many different kinds of woodwork.

The home is considered one of the most intact, original Victorians in Oak Park.

Cannon notes that the original homeowner’s career often informed the design of historic homes in Chicago. One of his favorites in the book is the Wacker House in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Built for Frederick Wacker in 1872, the house reflected the wealth of the immigrant family.

“The elder Wacker came from Germany and worked in the malt and brewery business,” Cannon said. “His son was in the grain business and worked with Daniel Burnham to lay out the city. The house is an elaborate Italianate cottage with a lot of ornamental woodwork. It’s been restored beautifully. It’s quite stunning. It gives you an idea of how people lived in that era.”

The Beeson House, designed by Frederick Schock in 1891 and located in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, is also included in the book. A designated Chicago landmark, the home is one of four Schockdesigned homes in the neighborhood. Cannon states that Schock also designed the Austin State Bank and Austin High School.

The Dvorak Bungalow in Berwyn is one

of a pair of matching bungalows in the 6900 block of Riverside Drive built just before the Depression in 1929 for Joseph Dvorak and his friend James Cech.

Cannon notes that Dvorak was a music store owner in Berwyn, and he and Cech were Czech immigrants who helped build up Berwyn. The bungalow was designed by Charles Vedra.

While the older homes are fascinating for the history of the building methods and original owners, Cannon says that some of the newer houses featured are interesting due to the technology involved.

“There’s a net-zero house that we included,” Cannon said. “A big trend now is to make houses off the grid. You see some people doing this with older homes, too, when they add geothermal systems.”

While their sixth book might have just hit the market, Cannon and Caufield are already working on their next project, which sticks close to home for the author.

In 2011, the duo covered Oak Park’s Unity Temple. With the completion of its restoration in 2017, Cannon says that he and Caulfield are now at work on a revised book that will cover the renovation.

PHOTO BY JAMES CAULFIELD

What’s Your Property Worth?

Contact Me For A FREE Valuation!

Selling, Buying Or Leasing - Let Me Put My 25+ Years Of Real Estate Experience To Work For You!

Ken Van Santen | Realtor

708.975.0210 ken.vansanten@bairdwarner.com www.kenvansanten.bairdwarner.com Residential - Multi-Family - Commercial

Winslow House, River Forest

PHOTO BY JAMES CAULFIELD

January 19, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B3

Enthusiasm

(in thoo’ ze az m) noun.

Intense interest; zeal; that which promotes unequalled service

Tom Carraher redefines the essence of real estate service.

Finding someone who has a true passion and enthusiasm for life and business is rare.

Tom Carraher’s enthusiasm for his profession and for his clientele’s best interest is not only infectious, it generates fantastic results as well. The right attitude moves mountains.

Oak Park Beautiful 2-level duplexed condo in the heart of downtown Oak Park! Loads of sunlight and modern updates.

3 BR, 2.1 BA ........................................................................................$298,000 Steve Scheuring • 708-369-8043

Call Tom Carraher at 708-822-0540 to achieve all of your real estate goals.

Oak Park Amazing 3-story + roof deck townhome with pristine hardwood floors, modern comforts, and open concept.

3 BR, 2.1 BA ........................................................................................$378,000 Steve Scheuring • 708-369-8043

Tom Carraher

Oak Park Gorgeous mid-century modern condo located in the heart of Downtown Oak Park.

Realistic Expectation–Proven Results

2 BR, 1.1 BA ........................................................................................$208,000 Steve Scheuring • 708-369-8043

7375 W. North Ave. River Forest 708.771.8040 tomcarraher.realtor.com

B4 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ January 19, 2022

Want to see your listings in Distinctive Properties?

Contact Marc Stopeck at 708.613.3330 or marc@oakpark.com

201-203 N Cuyler, Oak Park Magnificent 3-Flat + Coach House! The main building needs repairs due to water damage, has amazing details & great bones. Call Laurie for more information! ................................................... $599,000

The Perfect Bungalow!

526 S Humphrey, Oak Park 4 BR, 2 ½ BA. Beautifully finished top to bottom with an incredible and massive finished basement. Call today for a showing! .................................... $539,000

Laurie Shapiro | 708-203-3614 Laurie.shapiro@cbrealty.com

Laurie Shapiro | 708-203-3614 Laurie.shapiro@cbrealty.com

Just Sold!

1700 Riverwoods, #320, Melrose Park Received multiple offers for this beautiful 2 BR + den, 2 ½ BA home (Agent related to seller). It was a pleasure to represent the buyer in this transaction. I’d be honored to work for your family too.

415 S. Lombard, #203, Oak Park Amazing Investment Opportunity! 2 BR, 1 ½ BA in elevator building with parking space. Able to Rent and Accepts Pets. .. ................................................... $130,000

Sara Faust | 708-772-7910 sara.faust@cbexchange.com

Just Sold!

1200 Columbian, Oak Park I’d love to help you sell your home too! Call me today for a personalized marketing and pricing strategy presentation.

Lisa Grimes I 708-205-9518 lisa.grimes@cbrealty.com

Michelle Miller | 708-334-5833 michelle.miller@cbexchange.com

Coming Soon!

147 N. Euclid, Unit 501, Oak Park 3 BR, 2.1 BA + den. Lasting Impressions linger after visiting this beauty with amazing rooftop deck and views!

Lisa Andreoli and Meredith Conn 708-557-9546 or 708-743-6973 teamgo2girls@gmail.com

Just Sold!

414 Clinton, #406, River Forest Sellers were happy with the sale of their great 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath near it all in River Forest. If you’re interested in selling, I’d like to help!

Just Sold!

802 Harvard, Oak Park Great townhouse that lives like a home.

Under Contract the first weekend. If you’re interested in selling, I’d like to help!

Sara Faust | 708-772-7910 sara.faust@cbexchange.com

Sara Faust | 708-772-7910 sara.faust@cbexchange.com

Price Reduced!

111 S. Taylor Ave, Oak Park 4 BR, 2.2 BA. Welcoming American 4 square with 4 bedrooms up, a primary suite, and a first floor family room on an oversized lot. ............................. $620,000

Under Contract!

225 S. Scoville Ave, Oak Park 5 BR 2.1 BA Magnificent E.E. Roberts with exquisite leaded glass windows, spacious rooms, a current kitchen/family room addition, and master suite. 3-car garage. ....... $895,500

Stephanie Eiger | 708-557-0779 Stephanie.eiger@cbexchange.com

Stephanie Eiger | 708-557-0779 Stephanie.eiger@cbexchange.com

Looking forward to assisting you in 2022.

Happy New Year!

Over 25 years experience. A multimillion dollar producer.

Patty Melgar Hooks

Bonnie Routen

708-261-2796 patty.melgarhooks@cbexchange.com

708-544-8440 Andrea.bonnie@cbexchange.com

COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM Oak Park 114 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park | 708.524.1100 The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2022 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Realty LLC.

January 19, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B5

P R O P E R T Y

T R A N S F E R S

647 Linden home sells for $1,500,000

The following property transfers were reported by the Cook County Clerk from September and October of 2021. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the clerk.

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

115 Wesley Ave 631 N Kenilworth Ave 639 Linden Ave 647 Linden Ave 344 Wisconsin Ave 1005 N Harlem Ave 846 Washington Blvd 1040 Ontario St 645 Garfield St 817 Lake St 1146 Ontario St 1025 Washington Blvd 414 S Scoville Ave 222 Washington Blvd 800 Washington Blvd 1033 Ontario St 1140 Washington Blvd 1040 Ontario St 500 Washington Blvd 534 S Harvey Ave 947 Pleasant St 118 S East Ave 6112 Roosevelt Rd 318 -320 N Maple Ave 201 S Maple Ave 1034 Randolph St 1166 S Cuyler Ave 424 Wisconsin Ave 214 Flournoy St 1128 S Harvey Ave 831 S Cuyler Ave 1185 S Highland Ave 1120 W Thomas St 1166 S Elmwood Ave 1145 S Cuyler Ave 1108 Wisconsin Ave 124 Wright Ln 625 S Taylor Ave 1046 S Scoville Ave 539 N Lombard Ave 708 S Highland Ave 823 Gunderson Ave 1184 Wisconsin Ave 1142 Schneider Ave 413 Wisconsin Ave 1212 N Oak Park Ave 1124 Hayes Ave 734 Clarence Ave 1332 N Austin Blvd 21 Le Moyne Pky

$1,000,000 $1,075,000 $1,407,000 $1,500,000 $1,680 $102,000 $105,000 $113,000 $123,500 $128,000 $138,000 $142,000 $155,000 $162,500 $170,000 $175,000 $175,000 $177,500 $177,500 $186,000 $192,000 $200,000 $200,000 $204,500 $225,000 $225,000 $240,000 $265,000 $275,000 $285,000 $312,500 $315,000 $320,000 $325,000 $330,000 $335,000 $353,000 $365,500 $370,000 $373,000 $375,000 $375,000 $375,000 $378,000 $385,000 $399,000 $401,000 $405,000 $410,000 $410,000

Scott Teddy C Gemeda Abebe Mcintosh Amy C Tr Elahi Sadaf Deuschle Eric S Blattberg Barry Giannattasio Philip Us Bk Trust Natl Assn Tr Macchione James E Manning Andrea L Poremba Kelly Wettstaedt Thomas A Lopez Pedro Okraku Awuraa A Arana Miguel Reeve Linda L Tr Romo Yesenia Paonessa Francesco A Petersen Brett H 534 Harvey St Llc Shannon Susan M Brar Raminder Dagen Ella K Guennewig Joanne E Muraiti Debra Laux Cozzi Mark A 1st Midwest Fin Inc Cozzi Kimberly Kolasinski Brent D Mckinney Rebecca W Lambert Paul A Gorton Madeline E Jani Harshal H Watkins Thomas R Freitag Louise Meineke Valerie J Iwashima Makio Etchingham Kurt J Pearce Kathleen M Tr Yipp Victor Conner Robbin W Tr Jensen Helen M Tr Younger Adam C Ivanova Irene M Dipierro Massimo Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 530 Forray Bradley R Devitt Steven J Tr Brown Mary K Tr Clarke Matthew S

Monaco James Michael Raehl Carolyn Gianfrancisco Donnie Madia Moser Sean M Warren Dana Earl Iii Thornell Kathryn A Buakong Nuntana Wolfram Alexander Randell Sydney Waters Cynthia A Yamane Katsu Parrish Cara Hernandez Cruz Baudino Todd Corbett Kaitlyn Peters Cannie S Tr Negron Lisa Hurley Alison Zdarsky Cooper Mary Ann Tr De Boo Greet Cashman Jacob Zerilli Deirdre Visionary Work Llc Yates Joseph R Londres Perla G Lee Hong S Key Real Estate Dev Llc Dusina Tiffany D Smaldon Anthony Joseph Sjoblom Melinda R Javor Kenneth Dandelion Empire Llc The Northern Trust Co Gdn Muslin Kristin Mcdermott Kevin R Bogue Matthew T Phillips Monica L Santiago Yajaira J Moore Hillard Lee Iii Dunlap William Lewis Alison E Majkrzak Lee Cavangh-Jansen Caroline Trost Joanna S Coleman Michelle Jean-Louis Mauthrine Carreon Cynthia Tsachor Rachelle Palnick Branch Isaiah Terrell Jastillano Scan

B6 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ January 19, 2022

647 Linden Ave., Oak Park

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

537 Clarence Ave 1123 N Ridgeland Ave 453 South Blvd

$415,000 $425,000 $450,000

Deangelis Joseph Capritta Matthew M Wicklow Dev Grp Llc

1181 S Euclid Ave 540 N Kenilworth Ave 6000 Roosevelt Rd 1161 Wisconsin Ave 1100 S Euclid Ave 637 S Humphrey Ave 1235 Fair Oaks Ave 817 Belleforte Ave 803 S Grove Ave 1227 Linden Ave 731 N Taylor Ave 1222 Edmer Ave 1017 Clinton Ave 623 N Humphrey Ave 834 N Marion St 326 N Humphrey Ave 946 Home Ave 161 N Lombard Ave 522 N Marion St 627 N Humphrey Ave 524 N Taylor Ave 710 Clinton Ave 203 N Harvey Ave 626 Gunderson Ave 1205 N Harlem Ave 811 S Harvey Ave 1037 N Euclid Ave 1033 Fair Oaks Ave 134 N Lombard Ave 740 S Cuyler Ave 425 S Grove Ave 533 N Taylor Ave 1205 N Harlem Ave 616 Gunderson Ave 1212 Forest Ave 401 N Lombard Ave

$450,000 $450,000 $450,000 $452,000 $460,000 $460,000 $460,000 $460,000 $461,000 $464,000 $465,000 $477,500 $486,000 $500,000 $500,000 $510,000 $510,000 $510,000 $520,000 $525,000 $533,000 $580,000 $580,000 $585,000 $6,500,000 $605,000 $616,000 $620,000 $620,000 $627,500 $630,000 $635,000 $65,000 $650,000 $655,000 $675,000

Duffy Tina M Clemens Stephanie Tr Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8002374274 Jones Michael A Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 216 Us Bk Natl Assn Mendoza Carlos Mcneill William A Wu James Jr Duveneck Peter X Bauman Jacinda Ann Tr Durkin Ryan P Niu Jiaxin Vest Alyssa Purcell Adam Ryan Porterfield Rebecca Magiera Grzegorz Tr Freeman Brynn M Tamborello Steven Doman Pamela A Harper Eric Mathew Sarah C Kleinkopf Jeffrey A Rogers Jennifer F Mullen Mary Brigid Butts Briana R Hoffenkamp Ellen M Tr Parkway Bk And Trust Co Smith Travis Wolfe Richard J Cafasso Lynda Tr Turcotte Rheal P Tr Keip Emily Ziech Megan A Pruss Alexander Parkway Bk And Trust Co Tr 15112 Burton Steven C Lurain Nell S Tr Rising Amy J

Thompson Matthew G Mcc Prop Llc Lemonade Mm Oak Pk Llc Hahn Eric S Richardson Julia M Brucato Mark Shumpert Eloise Winkler Scott Michel Hans Joseph Thompson Mathew E Leonard Diana Emerson Jessica M Durkin Ryan Trevino Monica E Owens Gregory Scott Lashmanov Valerii Patino Justin L Seegers Lauren J Walsh Casey E Bird-Martinez Colin Bokar Kathleen Bell Ross A Pasek Torine Fizzell James Tobias Holdings Llc Series Vi Cichon Christopher Venkatesan Aditya Emond Marc Mass Troy Toppen Trevok A Lazarski Peter Gagliano John So Holdings Llc Series Vi Downey Phoebe Nicola Melgar Daniela L Tryba Mark V

P R O P E R T Y

T R A N S F E R S

OAK PARK

OAK PARK

ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

745 N Ridgeland Ave 1131 N East Ave 115 S Harvey Ave 804 Clinton Ave 1037 South Blvd 163 Linden Ave 1341 N Harlem Ave 226 S Grove Ave 142 S Kenilworth Ave 935 N Grove Ave 725 S Maple Ave 1012 Augusta St 817 S Cuyler Ave 1130 S Harvey Ave 1122 N Kenilworth Ave 832 N Oak Park Ave 222 Forest Ave 440 Washington Blvd 6930 Roosevelt Rd 6829 North Ave 547 Linden Ave 248 S Marion St 828 N Austin Blvd 1103 Holley Ct 1103 Holley Ct 501 N Harlem Ave 845 Erie St 641 Garfield St 230 N Oak Park Ave 426 S Lombard Ave 224 N Oak Park Ave 837 Erie St 817 Lake St 1178 Wenonah Ave 338 S East Ave 107 Washington Blvd 950 Washington Blvd 1134 S Lombard Ave 318 -320 N Maple Ave 536 S Scoville Ave 1447 N Harlem Ave 525 N Taylor Ave

$680,000 $701,000 $725,000 $735,000 $750,000 $795,000 $80,000 $850,000 $880,000 $935,000 $95,000 $975,000 Unknown Unknown $1,025,000 $1,049,000 $1,050,000 $1,100,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,312,000 $102,000 $105,000 $105,000 $110,000 $110,500 $112,500 $120,000 $135,000 $140,000 $147,500 $155,000 $164,000 $169,000 $173,000 $184,000 $220,000 $240,000 $250,000 $260,000 $260,000 $266,000

Kendall Ashley Goodling Zachary Ruffin Marvin Jones Michael Oak Pk Regional Housing Ctr Bonick Michael Jeffrey Harbin Johnathon King Kevin Hartigan Joseph P Wozniak Andrew Avramovic Milan Raftree Alex Tr Us Bk Natl Assn Tr Federal Natl Mtg Assn Yates Jack Foster Trevor Mcblaine Bryan Brown Abigail Hillbrook Op 1 Llc Gw Oak Pk Llc West Angela J Peterson John Sharma Kapish Bosque Miguel A Xfai Llc Hill Jesse Zaander Brian C Muralles Stefanl N Sabala John Ronald Almaraz Alexandra Cowin Deborah Dudgeon Elizabeth L Ramirez Edith Notier Peter A Maronich Carl Gaffney Corey Curto Natalia Garay Alfredo Montgomery Jennie Kolacki Jane Raspado Merlie Kasons Prop Inc

531 S Ridgeland Ave 1023 Clarence Ave 1129 Augusta St 711 S Euclid Ave 1032 Pleasant St 1142 Home Ave 807 Woodbine Ave 517 Forest Ave 1141 Columbian Ave 610 Clinton Ave 1126 Hayes Ave 422 S Scoville Ave 114 Lake St 410 N Harvey Ave 717 Randolph St 331 S Lombard Ave 606 N East Ave 245 S Maple Ave 500 Linden Ave 616 S Oak Park Ave 167 Linden Ave 814 S Elmwood Ave 233 S Euclid Ave 306 Chicago Ave

$480,000 $480,000 $500,000 $515,000 $535,000 $545,000 $550,000 $605,000 $610,000 $625,000 $635,000 $635,000 $650,000 $666,000 $672,500 $710,000 $725,000 $780,000 $805,000 $811,000 $864,500 $879,000 $940,000 $99,000

Liebreich Gregory B Eccles Nicholas Randall Dennis Joshua Ash Tr Eddy Scott Aranda Maria Martinez Raymundo Pope Kelly R Mlot Susanna J Walton Jeremy Schmitt Peter A Hrabak Robert James Vickers Marilyn S Tr Griffith Cheryl Severson Douglas G Tr Gerbie Stephen R Wegener Thomas R Lee Wilson Gerbie Stephen Ralph Rengaraju Ganesan Martinez Raymundo Thornton Lisa S Tr 814 S Elmwood Llc Baldinger Michael Trobe David

Funk Robert W Rosario-Moore Alexis Adkison Dustin Kirsh Joseph P Vazquez Vincente Melvin Dylan Diamond John W Mangelsdorf Paul C Iv Dolipschi Adrian Hannan Cathleen Fox Andrew T West Jeremy S Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8002386832 Mcelherne Robert L Il Prado Llc Cotter Damian Paul Noel C Il Prado Llc Staples Eugene A Mendoza Carlos Wood Joshua D Martin John Moskowitz Zachary Sweet T&J Clark Enterprises Llc

635 S Harvey Ave 222 Iowa St 1041 Susan Collins Ln 1013 Washington Blvd 129 Wright Ln 806 Mapleton Ave 1138 S Maple Ave 306 S Austin Blvd 1144 S Lyman Ave 711 S Ridgeland Ave 1135 S Marion St 543 N Harvey Ave 101 Bishop Quarter Ln 533 S Humphrey Ave 821 Hayes Ave 1012 S Elmwood Ave 823 N Lombard Ave

$288,000 $295,000 $300,000 $319,000 $345,000 $375,000 $378,000 $381,000 $385,000 $390,000 $4,300,000 $409,500 $410,000 $415,000 $427,000 $450,000 $450,000

Whitney Emily June Robbins Kip Boehm Jennifer White Paul Jonathan Joe Steven Young Extr Follett Andrew Jarrett Albert Sriram Krishnan Halpern Marcelo Saulsberry Robert S Carlson Clifford Enlow James The Judicial Sales Corp The Judicial Sales Corp El Mahmoud Jassem Premo-Hopkins Mark W Weicher Mary Ann Scanlan Patrick Byline Bk Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 991141 Rogalla William E Bartlett Andrea R Newnett I Llc Burns Anthony Sanchez Terry Ciccarelli Meagan C Vanloo Terl F Burghgraef Adam Luhrsen Anne K Doyle Susan Skowronski Nancy J Tr Caron Judy A Costantino Karen M Jaffe Tamar J Abruzino Jeffrey M Kirkland Kyrie Yazdani Miad Oneal Brenda Trepkowski Ann Marie Taylor Joyce C Tr Levar Marie Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8002377759 1st Midwest Fin Inc Bahlau William L Tr Bandola Daniel T Ortiz Karen J Hsieh Wu-Ying Lemke Sally H Chulos Saarinen Trust Messina Anthony Gruber David W Stroschein Steven 203 S Marion St Corp Cozzens James Arvis Stephen Alanis Karen M Biddy Eric Fox Dustin Robert Yann Frederic

Tack Ventures Llc Kozlowski Marek Miller Nancy Jones Anderson Elizabeth Tilley Brickson Elizabeth X Jaffe Russell Sarabia Ivan J Sgupta Investments Llc Harada Harrison Weinstein Yishai Fgph 203 S Marion Llc Euring Pamela Nicole Conley Peterson Merrill Eugene Ii Rogala Cassie Anna Lemberg Matthew J Conroy Shannon Mercado Claudia

See PROPERTY TRANSFERS on page B8

BLAST INTO THE NEW YEAR!

139 S GROVE, OAK PARK :: $1,179,000 :: 6 BED :: 4.5 BATH Majestic Victorian in central Oak Park Historic District.

KATHY & TONY IWERSEN 708.772.8040 708.772.8041 tonyiwersen@atproperties.com

January 19, 2022 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B7

P R O P E R T Y

T R A N S F E R S

Continued from page B7

RIVER FOREST ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

601 Keystone Ave 702 Forest Ave 815 Jackson Ave 1519 Bonnie Brae Pl 1123 Forest Ave 1538 N Park Ave 7354 Lake St 7344 Lake St 434 Clinton Pl

$1,250,000 $1,251,000 $1,335,000 $1,545,000 $1,775,000 $100,000 $117,500 $132,000 $135,000

Cone Ellen Frymire Tr Dewitte Ryan L Parrell Allison B Tr Vanspankeren Kenneth R Tr Jr Wiktor Mark S Marchetta Linda S Deviller Linda Ruth Walker Donald M Hartley John M Extr

FOREST PARK BUYER

ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

115 Marengo Ave

$104,000

Meier Margaret C

Gearhart Gail

315 Marengo Ave

$109,000

Roeder Daniel N

Hutchison Judith A

7432 Washington St

$132,000

Lora Maria Del Socorro Dickson

Zepeda Marycruz

215 Marengo Ave

$135,000

Slomka Stephen C

Duran Raymond Edward

7251 Randolph St

$138,500

Spearman Beverly J

Cordova Justin

215 Marengo Ave

$145,000

Kathleen R Minaghan Trust

Reed Linda

7242 Dixon St

$165,000

Robinson Leah M

Martinez Aylmer

7251 Randolph St

$172,000

Monteverde Jose Dennis

Broadnax Gwendolyn A

7314 Randolph St

$173,000

Fannie Mae

Sow Comm Dev Corp

1526 Elgin Ave

$187,000

Ward Kenya R

Us Bk Natl Assn Tr

7314 Randolph St

$214,000

Williams Arthur

Prokscha Siegfried Erich

251 Marengo Ave

$220,000

Kinser Ralph

Conwell Alesha L

1537 Elgin Ave

$305,000

Madden Thomas More

Chapa Dominic

512 Beloit Ave

$305,500

Huynh Sonya Lieu

Emstead Inc

7521 Brown Ave

$310,000

Ford Annie D

Lindstrom Scott

152 Rockford Ave

$315,000

Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8804 Varadarajan Srinivasan

944 Circle Ave

$325,000

Dejoy Leonard J

Nixon Shondel Olivia

1122 Ferdinand Ave

$335,000

Donohoe Colleen M Tr

Wilcox Julie

639 Marengo Ave

$360,000

Janopoulos Tom N Tr

Brown Amber

7412 Warren St

$407,500

Post Joseph

Flemming Peter

7245 14th St

$410,000

Sloan Julianne M

Filbin Paul Tr

627 Harlem Ave

$410,000

Choe Anah

Gandolfi Anne E

834 Beloit Ave

$464,000

Elliott Kristen

Dallmann Hannah

1132 Circle Ave

$472,000

Mikols Darell

Underwood Toccara

1101 Elgin Ave

$480,000

Papazafeiropoulos Sasha

Peltier Anthony

934 Marengo Ave

$560,000

Spillane Michael F

934 Marengo Llc

7432 Washington St

$65,000

Shackelford Bobby Jr

Flipping Chicagoland Inc

251 Marengo Ave

Unknown

County Clerk Of Cook County

Equity Trust Co Gdn

447 Marengo Ave

$700,000

Semone Ethan B

Sj4 Rouse Family Trust Utd 7262021

7633 Monroe St

$545,000

Vondrasek Evan T

Blazek Adam

945 Circle Ave

$460,000

Asn Prop Llc

Phillips James Robert

1136 Ferdinand Ave

$424,500

Portillo Stephanie

Hudson Eniya Tonae

433 Ferdinand Ave

$412,000

Buckus Tamara R

Macenas Ciara Eileen M

1025 Hannah Ave

$390,500

Luoma Linda J

Avelar-Rodriguez Hector Hugo

240 Circle Ave

$350,000

Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8002363830

Rogowski Elilabeth J

1338 Marengo Ave

$350,000

Tobar Oscar G Jr

Whitty David J

1025 Harlem Ave

$300,000

Sataloff Amy

Nyassi Malang

$290,000

Patel Minaxi B

Mchugh Daniel E

1104 N Harlem Ave 1539 Franklin Ave 1531 Monroe Ave 414 Clinton Pl 7206 Le Moyne St 424 Park Ave 1542 Franklin Ave 7907 North Ave 1543 Franklin Ave 212 Lathrop Ave 122 Lathrop Ave 46 Ashland Ave 714 Forest Ave 114 Gale Ave 7575 Lake St 319 Forest Ave 1111 Bonnie Brae Pl 121 Franklin Ave 743 Ashland Ave 7214 Oak Ave

$135,000 $152,000 $157,000 $170,000 $200,000 $215,000 $220,000 $245,000 $270,000 $337,500 $390,000 $555,000 $600,000 $600,000 $609,000 $611,000 $700,000 $755,000 $818,500 $82,500

Handa Andrew S Krickbaum Marc L Armstrong Cortlandt M Atc Ventures Llc Seliga Ronald E Rettig Kathleen K Cervantes Edy S Ramirez Sethi Paras The Gregory Schalliol And Dagmar Schalliol Family Trust Martin Kathleen Nguyen Phuong Minh Bradley Tyeme Moorehead Mia Helene Escobar Nely Beatriz Sandoval Carlos Jose Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 2078 Jorge Joseph Johnson William F Gjokola Eldion Wilkie John Tr Wright Saundra Moria Alex Sciaraffa Julia L Munoz Miguel A Jr Figueroa Baltazar Euring Pamela Taylor Janet Liu Lon-Mu Mary Walls Llc Pagni Lila J Nagel Greta Rose Tr Swock Molly A Mccarthy David M Norton Terrance Swanson Robert Spillane Joseph R Bobak Michael Mcadam Robert C Tr Jr 1 Mccreary Linda Jepsen George C Jr Cone Ellen Frymire Tr Bonnie Brae Const Llc Siya Chicago Llc Chmell Alexis A Olushoga Michael Sherwood Walter Silva Tomas Wiora Steven E Drumgoole Emmett C

7977 Washington Blvd

$825,000

Chugh Sundeepa K

Bartlow Jake

1226 William St

$1,001,000

The Judicial Sales Corp

Abcarian Karen

1226 William St

$1,001,000

Abcarian Karen

Abcarian Greg

1019 Forest Ave

$1,199,000

Vogel Ann

Carberry Olivia D

625 Keystone Ave

$1,500,000

Smith Anthony Martin Tr

Pesavento Dianna Barrows

1141 Forest Ave

$1,335,000

Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8002380144

Prest Walter

7200 Oak Ave

$115,000

Guglielmo Nicole M

Alicea Nathaniel Antonio

409 Lathrop Ave

$120,000

Longinotti John

Willis Michael

7202 Oak Ave

$135,000

Rojas Hugo A

Holloway Twana

414 Clinton Pl

$175,000

Hunt-Campbell Margaret

Linda L Reeve Trust

1014 Hannah Ave

1420 N Harlem Ave

$196,000

Shahabudeen Bakshi

Rodriguez Juan R

1037 Lathrop Ave

$275,000

Gleveckas Vainius B

Mulert Melissa

$207,500

1400 Elgin Llc

Kawa Serv Grp Inc

424 Park Ave

$230,000

Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 3007 Courtright Jeanne W

1400 Elgin Ave

1226 Lathrop Ave

$285,000

Levine Irving

Brennan Daniel F

227 Elgin Ave

$200,000

Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 051613 Bosco Joseph

435 Williams St

$385,000

Dahiya Madhulika

Strzelecki Kathleen Tr

1540 Elgin Ave

$200,000

Waldo Raymond

Diaz Carina

$180,000

Issa Fatenah G Tr

Barsotti Aaron

1 Gale Ave

$399,000

Brzyski Thaddeus P Tr

Badrinath Shyamala K Tr

1314 Marengo Ave

1523 William St

$508,000

Mundt John E

Wu Po En Brian

7320 Dixon St

$166,000

Cronin Justin

Castejon-Barona Maria Milagros

42 Franklin Ave

$517,500

Seydel Alexandria

Hyland Matthew R

7712 Adams St

$159,000

Rambow Rachel Esther Tr

Shanahan Timothy J

Jpm Const Contracting Inc

7251 Randolph St

$155,000

Jones Erica A

Fernandez Luis D

1420 Keystone Ave

$522,500

Sullivan Suzanne F

7770 Madison St

$600,000

Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 910155 First Madison Blue Llc

7443 Washington St

$133,000

Smith Jenna M

Johnson Georgia M

7202 Oak Ave

$69,500

Andritzky Joe

Shaw Danielle

300 Circle Ave

$121,500

Gawlik Jennifer

Coleman Willie Pearl

1425 Ashland Ave

$694,000

Bernadette Del Monico Trust

Alvers Brian

315 Des Plaines Ave

$103,500

Burton Doreen

Azmat Tanveer

7200 Oak Ave

$92,000

Renaissance Const Llc

Galle Luz Salcedo

509 Thomas Ave

$530,000

Lambert Daniel Richard

Tarnow Adam P

500 Auvergne Pl

$933,000

Lichterman Jonathan D

Thornton Kalen

B8 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ January 19, 2022