Oak Parkers say they like the community’s small businesses and walkability, but they want to see lower taxes, more parking and more access to public transportation, according to a preliminary report from an economic development firm the village hired to draft a plan to help bolster the village’s economy.
Camoin Associates Inc., hired in July 2024 to create a comprehensive economic vitality plan, has not yet finalized its re port. The village board is expected to adopt it in March after recommended strategies are reviewed at a community open house and final tweaks, including addressing board feedback, are made.
The goals of the project, according to Camoin, are to develop an economic vitality strategy with baseline metrics and provide short- and long-term objectives to strengthen Oak Park’s tax base and local economy.
TODD BANNOR
Oak Park’s ow n Betty White and Historical Society Director Frank Lipo celebrate the soon-to-be released Postal Service stamp of the much-loved en tertainer who was born here
STORY BY GREGG VOSS, PAGE 10
@wednesdayjournalinc @wednesdayjournal @oakpark
Wed., Feb. 5, 7:0 0 pm
Wednesday, February 5 • 7pm
Oak Park Main Library
Oak Park Public Library
834 Lake St, Oak Park
Attend in person or by Zoom
Event details and RSVP: www.mimbyoakpark.org
Attend in person or join by Zoom EVENT DETAILS AND RSVP: www.mimbyoakpark.org
Hosted by MIMBY Oak Park. Founded by members of neighborhood and civic groups throughout the Village, MIMBY stands for “Maybe in My Back Yard”. Our goal is well-reasoned development policy that enhances the diversity, historic character, and vitality of Oak Park.
Hosted by MIMBY Oak Park. Founded by members of neighborhood and civic groups throughout the Village, MIMBY stands for “Maybe in My Back Yard.” Our goal is well-reasoned development policy that enhances the diversity, historic character, and vitality of Oak Park. April 1st election for Village President, Trustees, Clerk
VITALIT Y PLAN
Boosting the local economy
from page 1
But some trustees were unenthusiastic about what Camoin had to show for their research and engagement thus far. Hiring the firm cost $125,000, some of which the village pulled from 2024 savings.
Where is the plan at?
Dan Gundersen, senior vice president of Camoin, explained that the firm has collected and analyzed data about local demographics, socioeconomic profiles, economic composition and drivers, entrepre neurship and small businesses, retail gaps and real estate.
The Camoin team has also conducted a community survey to gather local residents and business-owner feedback.
“I don’t pick up that the residents want to see Oak Park be … an exclusive community altogether but rather to attract offerings for a variety and a diversity of visitors and residents,” Gundersen said.
According to Gundersen, Oak Park also outperforms adjacent municipalities on almost all economic and social indicators. For instance, Oak Park has a higher labor force participation rate, a growing population and a higher median household income.
“When I think about economic vitality, I think about how do we take a step above,” Trustee Cory Wesley said. “We’re already number one; I want to increase the gap between us and number two.”
While there is a diverse mix of cuisines and small businesses in Oak Park already, there is an opportunity for specialty food retailers and boutiques featuring household goods or arts and crafts to thrive here, Gundersen said. He also mentioned more gas stations or retail stores like Lowe’s as opportunities for profit, but acknowledged those might not be feasible or desired here, and trustees ag reed.
The village should work to ensure it is cost effective for small businesses to renew leases and stay in business, according to Camoin’s re port. There’s also an opportunity for the village to prioritize more development or acquisition. And it’s important to implement more of the strategic vision for housing recommendations
“Retail follows rooftops,” Wesley said. “You get a lot of rooftops; You get a lot of retail. It works.”
While there’s no one way to measure economic vitality, according to Camoin, some of the goals they hope to help the village reach include improving the perception of conducting business, increasing the village’s tax revenue, increasing shopping and entertainment offerings, increasing housing units, increasing academic and career pathways and increasing business retention.
Next steps
Gundersen asked for board feedback on Camoin’s progress thus far to help refine the plan as its drafted and eventually adopted.
Wesley, who raised concerns about the racial makeup of the all-white Camoin team working with Oak Park when the firm was hired, said he felt the research did not have much of a focus on diversity.
“The only focus on Black folks here … is on the inequitable educational aspects which we already know,” he said, seemingly unsatisfied with the presentation.
“What I would have liked to see more of is how our economic environment and how our re gulations and how our processes and procedures are impacting … minority and women owned businesses.”
Gundersen said Camoin is exploring how to support minority and women owned businesses through funding sources, workforce development or technical assistance.
Wesley, who was once the chair of the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, also said the re port of fered lots of
data, but didn’t explain why it’s important. “We have to learn from the past in order to build the future,” he said. “I don’t want to start over … We can’t go another decade with a reputation as being business unfriendly.”
Trustee Ravi Parakkat agreed with Wesley that the information Camoin presented validates a lot of items residents and the board members already knew. One thing that was missing, he said, was the concern of panhandling in and around small businesses
Brandon Crawford, deputy director of development services, said that was grouped under community safety in the survey results.
Trustee Brian Straw said he appreciated that the report draws attention to how housing, transportation access and business success are connected. Things like biking lanes and more parking can all help drive economic growth, he said.
Trustee Chibuike Enyia pointed out that Oak Park is only 4.7 square miles. So, there’s not a ton of space to develop, meaning the board will have to be strategic and “g row within [its] values.”
Trustees overall said they look forward to seeing more details and specifics on actions to take in the final re port
On Feb. 18, re presentatives from Camoin will host a community open house to share goals and collect additional input. T he final economic vitality plan, which will outline issues and include recommendations, is expected to come back to the board in March
WEDNESD AY
of Oak Park and River Forest
Editor Erika Hobbs
Digital Manager Stac y Coleman
Digital Media Coordinator Brooke Duncan
Sta Repor ter Luzane Draughon
Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor
Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora
Assistant Editor, Ar ts & Enter tainment Dalal Or fali
Contributing Editor Donna Greene
Columnists Marc Bleso , Jack Crowe, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger
Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck
Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead
Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea
Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza
Marketing & Adver tising Associate Ben Stumpe
Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls
Business & Development Manager
Mary Ellen Nelligan
Circulation Manager Jill Wagner
Special Projects Manager Susan Walker
Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs
Publisher Dan Haley
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chair Eric Weinheimer | Treasurer Nile Wendor f Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Steve Edwards, Judy Gre n, Horacio Mendez, Charles Meyerson Darnell Shields,
JAVIER GOVEA
Downtown Oak Park
Panel discussion on housing, development and planning in Oak Park
‘Missing Middle’ discussion will take place at OP Librar y
By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter
On T hursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m., Preservation Oak Park will host a panel discussion at the Oak Park Public Library on new housing, development and planning in Oak Pa rk
Preservation Oak Park is a group that seeks to provide education and advocacy related to issues of historic preservation in the Oak Park area.
The panelists, who will discuss af fordability, the “missing middle” in local housing stock and trends in 2025 and beyond in housing, will be:
■ Emily A. Egan, director, Village of Oak Park Development Services
■ Jennifer Settle, senior associate, Opticos Design, Inc.
■ Christopher Payne, partner at SGW Architecture and Design, who will lead the discussion.
He said that the term “missing middle” has been heard a lot about housing initiatives in the area, but he thinks that people might not know exactly what that term means in the context of Oak Park. While some might believe historic preservation hinders development or wonder why certain projects are permitted, there is a larger context through which to view housing. He noted that Oak Parkers have chosen to live here for a wide variety of reasons and that villagers work together on an impressive range of public and private community initiatives, causes and projects. Community goals often intersect and overlap and there is an ongoing need to find creative ways to approach opportunities and challenges related to economic development, community planning, preservation of community character, equitable access to af fordable and specialized housing and other related issues.
Frank L ipo, executive director of the Oak Pa rk Rive r Fo rest History Museum and one of the founding members of Preservation Oak Pa rk , said that the event is meant to foster a discussion on development, historic preservation and p lanning issues
The speakers will share their insights and expertise on subjects including new development, historic preservation, community character, af fordable housing, zoning, the “missing middle,” and other related topics.
The event, open to the public, will take place on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Veterans Room of Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St.
EMILY A. EGAN KENDRA PARZEN JENNIFER SET CHRISTOPHER PAYNE
e Lake and Lathrop development site in 2022.
Judge combines
Lake-Lathrop court cases
River Forest and Wintrust legal actions center on long-delayed project
By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter
The number of court cases re garding the stalled mixed use development project at Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue is down from three to two after a Circuit Court judge consolidated two of the cases.
Earlier this month, Judge Kathy Flanagan of the Circuit Court of Cook County consolidated the ongoing foreclosure case between Wintrust Bank and Lake Lathrop Par tners with a suit River Forest officials filed against Wintrust Bank and Lake Lathrop Par tners seeking demolition of the structures on the property.
The next hearing before Judge Anthony Kyriakopoulos is scheduled for Jan. 22.
A related case that remains pending is between the village and Lake Lathrop Partners re garding the developer’s demand that a new building permit be issued for the project. The village filed a motion to dismiss the suit and a ruling is expected before Feb. 14.
The four-story, mixed-use development was to contain 22 condominium units with 14,000 square feet of retail space. The project had been on the drawing board since before the Village Board approved Lake Lathrop’s proposal in 2016.
In Se p tember 2023, officials re p ealed the building pe rm it for Sedgwick Properties, an authorized agent acting on b ehalf of La ke Lathrop Par tners LLC , and i ssued a stop wo rk order. T hey sai d those steps we re taken because Sedgwick failed to meet the requirements and c onditions of the village ’s 18-month buildin g pe rm it, wh ich was o riginally i ssued in Fe bruary 2022.
The long-delayed project had been on life support since April 2023, when Beverly Bank and Trust, a Wintrust-affiliated bank that was financing the development, filed suit against Sedgwick Properties in Cook County court, looking to claw back $4.2 million from the $20 million line of credit it issued in 2022.
In the lawsuit, the lender has re portedly cited several provisions in its loan ag reement with Sedgwick affiliates that were violated, including that the contract required the borrower to stay in compliance with local re gulations and to stick to a tighter construction timeline.
Oak Park may not meet its rst Climate Ready goal
Village reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 7% from 2019 to 2022. Is a 60% reduction by 2030 out of reach?
By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter
While Oak Park has made some pr in reducing local greenhouse gas emissions it might not meet its goal of reducing sions by 60% by 2030 at its current rate
From 2019 to 2022, the village only duced emissions by 7%. While that’s mo ment in the right direction, it might not be enough to reach the benchmark set in Climate Ready Oak Park for 2030.
And some question whether the ambitious goals were ever realistic.
“We are still trending down, below the business-as-usual forecast, but still the trajectory we’d like to be on to meet those 2030 targets,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Lindsey Roland Nieratka.
The second goal listed in the CROP plan is to achieve community-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. While data from 2023 and 2024 is not yet av it appears Oak Parkers need to do more in coming years to meet their climate goals.
“We have not been doing enough board table to push toward the clear that we as a village set,” Trustee Straw said. “If we want to reach this 2030 goal, we need to support this [energyefficiency grant] progr am and other programs like it and continue that support into future years, not have this just be a one-time thing.”
can be made more energy efficient. One way to do that is to participate in the village’s energy-efficiency grant program that offers up to $10,000 to reduce one’s home energy consumption.
The sources of emissions in Oak Park have not changed much from 2019 to 2022. In 2019, residential and commercial buildings made up about 70% of the local emissions, and that was still true in 2022. Transportation and mobile sources, like cars, make up roughly 25%.
Residential energy was reduced by only 2% from 2019 to 2022. Commercial energy was reduced by 7% and transportation by 12%.
Some contributing factors to these decreases could include the impact of the Oak Park Climate Action Network’s climate coaches, the village’s electrification ordinance and the increasing number of electric vehicles owned by Oak Parkers. Nieratka said the percentage of residents who own an electric vehicle increased from 0.7% in 2019 to 3.5% in 2024.
But more work needs to be done, Nieratka said. For example, homes in Oak Park
Trustee Lucia Robinson asked Nieratka to help the board create subgoals for specific programs to make their overarching climate goals more manageable. For example, she suggested setting a minimum number of households climate coaches should engage with per month.
“It might feel more doable if we are just figuring out what are the smaller bites that we need to take that will get us to that really big end goal,” Robinson said.
Trustee Ravi Parakkat ag reed. But Parakkat also said the 2030 goals are “unrealistic,” adding that he also said that when the CROP plan was adopted.
“At some point, as we get closer to 2030, we have to bite the bullet and say that target and that trajectory is not feasible,” Parakkat said. “And there has to be a different path to 2050.”
“I am not interested, right now, in entertaining a discussion about moving away
from our 2030 goal, because the 2030 goal isn’ t based on just what [we’d] like to do, it’s based on in order to avoid 1.5 de grees Celsius climate change globally, we have to reduce greenhouse g as emissions,” Straw said in response. “I don’ t know that I’m interested in just admitting defeat on climate change.”
But 2024, dubbed the world’s hottest year by BBC, already breached the 1.5 de grees Celsius warming limit that world leaders ag reed in Paris in 2015 they would do their best to avoid.
And the world is already seeing devastating impacts of climate change inter nationally and in the United States, Straw said, including climate migration. He said he expects that to increase over the next few decades.
Parakkat, however, said shifting goals does not mean Oak Park won’t still pursue mitigating climate change.
“I don’t appreciate the insinuation that this is somehow denying climate science,” he said.
Straw said he didn’t insinuate that, just that he doesn’t want to reevaluate their goals
Trustee Susan Buchanan, often an advocate for climate change initiatives and funding at the Oak Park board table, said she finds the data both positive and frustrating. The village is making “heroic efforts,” she said, to battle climate change, but it can’t be up to Oak Park alone.
“We’re not going to make it to our 60% goal [by] 2030, most likely,” she said.
Buchanan also added that she might be interested in putting even more money into the village’s sustainability fund to help drive climate change initiatives. Last November, Buchanan asked the board to add $1 million to that fund from reserves, and $500,000 was ultimately approved.
Other trustees said they’d like to see if additional sustainability funds could come from other sources than reserves, such as leftover American Rescue Plan Act dollars or grant funding.
“Climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until you’re the one filming it,” Buchanan read from an online quote, referencing the fires in Los Angeles.
Bite Nite is back
Foodie festival featuring culinary excellence will take place on Jan. 31
By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter
Oak Park’s annual Bite Nite is back again, offering locals a delicious taste of the area’s cuisine, cocktails and desserts.
The Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce has hosted the event for several years, taking a hiatus only during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bite Nite will take place this year from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at The Nineteenth Century Club at 178 Forest Ave. in Oak Park
“From savory bites to sweet treats, you’ll experience a culinary jour ney that reflects the diverse flavors of our community,” according to the OPRF Chamber.
Foodies looking for a fun Friday night can expect to sample small bites from more than 30 local restaurants, caterers and food brands, according to the OPRF Chamber.
With the purchase of a $60 ticket, excited foodies can attend Bite Nite during g eneral admission at 6 p.m. to enjoy gourmet samples and live music. This ticket also lets attendees participate in “Ask the Chef!” to interact with local chefs and restaurant owners.
A 360 bar will be available for wine and beer purchases. A pack of five discounted drink tickets can be purchased ahead of time for $40. Drink tickets will also be
available at Bite Nite for $10 per ticket, which can be redeemed for one drink.
With the purchase of a $120 VIP ticket, food connoisseurs can be admitted to Bite Nite during early admission at 5:30 p.m. A pre-event cocktail hour will also take place beforehand at 5 p.m.
With a VIP ticket, the bar will offer complimentary beer and wine. This ticket also allows for validated parking up to five hours at the Lake and Forest Parking Garage at 938 Lake St. And a private longue at the event with seating and a bathroom will be accessible for VIP attendees. Only 50 VIP tickets are available.
Bite Nite is not only a time for locals to find a new favorite restaurant or dish, but also a time for vendors to showcase their offerings and bring in new business.
Vendors are asked to provide about 400 small bites or drinks, served by one to two staf f members, and to arrive for setup by 4 to 4:30 p.m. Chamber members can participate for free
“It’s the most af fordable opportunity to showcase your culinary creations and connect directly with chefs, owners, and managers, while benefiting from extensive marketing to an audience of 30k+,” the OPRF Chamber said.
Confirmed vendors for 2025 include Kettlestrings Restaurant Group, Kribi Coffee Company, Khyber Pass, Maya Del Sol, The Daly Bagel, Broken Tart, Firecakes Donuts and Spilt Milk. Additional vendors and information can be found online Oak Park Bank and Excel Window Tinting sponsored the event.
OA K PARK-RIVER FOREST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Sandwich samples
CRIME
Chicago man arrested at West Suburban Medical Center
A 38-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 3:23 a.m. Jan. 17 for criminal damage to property and reckless conduct at West Suburban Medical Center, located at 3 Erie Court.
Motor vehicle theft
Someone stole a Maywood resident’s black 2015 GMC Denali while it was running at 9:13 p.m. Jan. 19 on the 1100 block of Lake Street. The estimated loss is $12,000.
Catalytic converter theft
Someone, by unknown means, stole the catalytic converter from an Oak Park resident’s 2004 Honda Pilot between 9 p.m. Jan. 13 and 1 p.m. Jan. 14 on the 200 block of Washington Boulevard. The estimated loss is $400.
Criminal damage to property
Between 10:30 p.m. Jan. 17 and 8:30 a.m.
Jan. 18 on the 600 block of South Austin Boulevard, someone broke the rear window of a Chicago resident’s 2021 Grand Cherokee by throwing a bottle The estimated damage is unknown.
Retail theft
Around 7:40 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Sephora at 1145 Lake St., a man and a woman stole about 20 NARS foundation items and a fragrance item. The estimated loss is $1,112.
Arrests
■ A 36-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 2:04 a.m. Jan 10 on the 300 block of Washington Boulevard for unlawful possession of a weapon and possession with intent to deliver of cannabis.
■ A 37-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 1:44 a.m. Jan. 11 on the 200 block of North Elmwood Avenue for driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident.
■ A 31-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 4:17 p.m. Jan. 13 on the 300 block of Wisconsin Avenue for violation of an order of protection against an Oak Park resident.
■ A 56-year-old Oak Park man was arrested at 2:15 p.m. Jan. 14 on the 300 block of South Humphrey Avenue for domestic battery.
■ A 54-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 16 in Chicago for a burglary to a garage that occurred on the 100
block of North Elmwood Avenue on Aug. 9, 2024.
■ A 38-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 12:11 a.m. Jan. 17 on the 0-100 block of Lake Street for endangering the life of a child, who is also a Chicago resident.
■ A 21-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 4:22 a.m. Jan. 19 on the 700 block of South Austin Boulevard for driving under the influence of alcohol.
These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department re ports dated Jan. 10 – 20 and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these re ports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We re port the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.
Compiled by Luzane Draughon
75 years of fun, food and fundraising for Lincoln School
Annual carnival will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1
By MARTHA BRENNAN Contributing Reporter
Come for the fun, come for the food, come to support Abraham Lincoln Elementary School.
The school’s annual carnival will take place Saturday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school, located at 1111 S. Grove Ave. in Oak Park. It is the 75th such carnival in 84 years. (There was a nine-year gap.)
Money raised goes to support student resources and educational services. While entry is free, game tickets, popcorn, cotton candy, pizza and chips will be available for purchase There will also be a silent auction.
Deborah “Debbie” Tomalis is a first grade teacher at Lincoln, her alma mater. She graduated in 1985, when she was known as Debbie Cooper. At 50 years old, she still has memories of attending the carnival as a Lincoln student; among her favorites was seeing her teachers on the weekends.
Voters: We want to hear from you
As we put together our annual voters guide for local elections, we’d like to know which questions you want us to answer
By ERIKA HOBBS Editor in chief
We’re beginning to put together our annuoters guide, something we believe – and
you’ve told us – is a critical public service. This year, we want to hear from you. From now until Feb. 7, we want to hear your questions about the upcoming municipal elections. What do you need demystified? What are you trying to understand? Which issues do you care about most? Please email us your questions. You can email me at erika@g rowingcommunitymedia.org or repor ter Luzane Draughon at luzane@oakpark.com.
We will collect these and work to answer as many of your questions as we can in our voters guide.
Look for it March 12.
“I remember just being so excited to see [my] teachers at the carnival,” said Tomalis. “You don’ t think that they live outside of school.”
Now, Tomalis co-chairs the carnival along with Kerri Joy. Finding time to do so was a priority, she said.
“I have so much on my plate but I was like, nope, this is what I really want to do,” said Tomalis. She noted that the event is “one of the biggest money makers for the school.”
The first hour of the carnival (10 a.m.) is known as “sensory hour.” During this time, students with sensory-related disabilities, such as autism and ADHD, will be provided with noise cancelling headphones to experience the carnival’s offerings. For those who wish to take a break at any point, there will be a set quiet area. These accommodations will allow for a chance to avoid overstimulation.
While this year’s carnival marks its 75th occurrence, the carnival premiered in 1941,
making room for nine years in an 84-year period during which the carnival was not held.
According to Benjamin Melickian, a Lincoln teacher assistant who compiled the carnival’s history, there was a break in carnivals between 1941 and 1949 due to World War II. Another cancellation occurred in 2021 due to COVID.
Still, these gaps only account for 8 years in
the 84- year period during which the carnival was not held. For this year’s event to be number 75, there occurred one other year in which the carnival was cancelled. To Melickian, this ninth lack-of-occurrence remains a mystery.
Betty White postage stamp coming in March
Born in Oak Park, ‘Golden Girls’ actress follows in the footsteps of Hemingway, Frank Lloyd Wright and Perc y Julian, being honored with a stamp
By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
Betty White considered it a source of pride to be a native of the village of Oak Park
And while the famed actress, best known for her work on TV shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Golden Girls,” only lived in the village for a short time as a child, she came back periodically over decades to visit relatives at what she considered to be the family home on 214 N. Taylor Ave.
You’ll be seeing more of White starting March 27, the day the U.S Postal Service will officially release her postage stamp
Although the stamp will be introduced at a ceremony in Los Angeles that day, it will be available for purchase in Oak Park. A local ceremony after March 27 is also in the works, according to Tim Norman, a strategic communications specialist for USPS in Chicago, who is working with Oak Park Postmaster Kenya Thomas to that end.
CARNIVAL
75th anniversary from page 9
But that is all history. For Lincoln students, families, and faculty, such as Tomalis, all eyes are on Feb. 1.
This year’s sponsors include Bulley and Andrews — its top sponsor — Battistoni, Beam and Polivka Orthodontics, Petite Smiles and Tooth Buds..
White, an only child, was born at West Suburban Hospital on Jan. 17, 1922. She lived with her parents in an apartment at 220 Pleasant St. until she was a toddler, when she and her parents moved to California.
But that wasn’t the end of her connection to the area, according to Frank Lipo, executive director of the Oak Park River Forest Museum, 129 Lake St.
White’s father, Horace, had a sister, Ema, and she and her husband, Hugh James, purchased the home at 214 N. Taylor Ave. in 1926. After a few years, they were joined by White’s paternal grandparents Lipo said a June 1989 letter White herself had written to his predecessor at the museum, Carol Kelm, indicated that she returned to the village as often as she could until her uncle died in 1965.
“She recalled staying with her aunt and uncle and grandparents,” Lipo said. “She had fond memories, and in her mind, it was the f amily home. She had never lived there herself.”
“At the program, we will have speakers from USPS and the (village) of Oak Park, and would unveil an enlargement of the stamp,” Norman said.
The carnival has always found innovative ways of fundraising. Dating back to the first carnival in 1941, which was held to fundraise for a movie and sound equipment system, the event sold baked beans for 20 cents and displayed a “dancing fishpond,” according to Melickian’s findings.
At its next occurrence in 1949, the event included a magician, clowns, skeet-ball, and a weight guessing game, costing 25 cents for adults with free entry for children. It also included a bake sale.
The carnival’s baked-good le gacy will continue into 2025. There will be a cake-
In that same letter, White included a postscript that said, “I’m always careful to explain I was born in Oak Park, not Chicago.”
That makes her as local as other Oak Park postage stamp subjects, like Ernest Hemingway, Frank Lloyd Wright, Percy Julian and Edgar Rice Burroughs.
“The definition of a native is the place where you were born, and she was born in Oak Park,” Lipo said. “Betty White was a person who not only was born here physically, she had these deep family ties.
“She’s the sort of figure who was passionate about animal rights. She cared about issues and that’s something we care about.”
As for the stamp itself, it was designed by Greg Breeding, a USPS art director, who has fond memories of watching White on TV in the 1970s and 1980s.
walk for kids to participate in, where participants walk in a circle and whoever lands on the spot with the selected number gets to choose a baked-good, which will be donated by attendees.
Another event highlight is the silent auction. This year, prizes include but are not limited to four show tickets and a $50 gift card to Robert’s Westside, a $1,000 Spavia spa package, and a $250 birthday at Frick Kids Art.
More notably, Lincoln students are preparing for some healthy competition. Each classroom will create a poster to decorate
“I vaguely remember ‘Password’ but more vividly remember watching her on ‘Match Game,’” Breeding said. “She stood out as attractive and quirky and downright hilarious. And sometime along the way I learned that she was married to game show host Allen Ludden.”
Breeding said stamp design took about a year
“After receiving the assignment, I began to dig deeper into Betty White’s career and biography before settling on Dale Stephanos as the artist,” he said. “Even then, we worked through multiple sketches before developing the final painting, and as with all stamps, it took quite a bit of time to go through the proper channels to achieve clearances. But it was still one of the smoothest projects I’ve enjoyed working on.”
the school’s hallways. Then, staf f will vote on their favorite creation, and the winning class will be allocated extra game tickets.
Most of all, Tomalis wants current Lincoln students to experience the feelings that she felt over 40 years ago.
“[The students] are there to have fun,” she said.
“It’s really hard because, again, we’re so busy. But, you know, the kids being able to see the teachers there on a Saturday, working the carnival, is kind of fun.”
For more information, visit https:// www.ptolincoln.org/lincoln75carnival
TODD BANNOR
GOLDEN GIRL: Oak Park River Forest Museum Director Frank Lipo highlights a letter from Betty White about her Oak Park roots.
Homes
Fiddelke super fan readies for talk on favorite architect
ABy LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter
rchitect Henry Fiddelke may not be a household name in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, but he designed a number of well-known mansions, including the Hales Mansion on Chicago and Oak Park Avenue, as well as municipal and commercial villages throughout the area.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, self-proclaimed Fiddelke “super fan” Michael Thomas will be sharing his knowledge of the Oak Parkbased architect in a talk at the Forest Park Baptist Church, also designed by Fiddelke. Thomas, who developed an interest in architecture over decades of living in Oak Park, said he became interested in Fiddelke when he became a member of Forest Park Baptist Church. He said the building is inspiring.
“Upstairs, there’s a cloakroom,” he said. “It’s kind of a small room, and all the windows have this golden stained-glass color. And there are brown oak door frames and window frames. When the sun shines, those brown frames have a golden tint. They just glow.”
As an usher for the church, Thomas spent a lot of time in the cloakroom and said he was inspired by it to delve into who designed the building. When he found out it was designed as the German Baptist Church by Fiddelke, he researched the architect with the Oak Park and River Forest Historic Society and prepared a presentation for his church on Fiddelke. Now, he’s building on that presentation to spread the message of Fiddelke to architect buffs from far and wide
See FIDDELKE on pa ge 13
Interior of Forest Park Baptist Church facing the north wall.
A stained-glass window from the cloak room.
HENRY FIDDELKE
Choral Works
FIDDELKE Architect obsessed
from page 11
Thomas, who said he’s such a super fan that he created an H.G. Fiddelke t-shirt, points to three main reasons why he is attracted to Fiddelke’s work.
“I admire his architecture. I admire his love of community. I admire his integrity. The more I learned about his personality, the more I respected him.”
Born in 1865 in Matteson, Illinois, Fiddelke began to work in the architecture offices of Joseph Silsbee in Chicago in 1885. He was later employed in the office of Jenney and Mundie before becoming a licensed architect himself. By 1894, he was working in the Oak Park office of architect Frank Ellis. Fiddelke started his own firm in Oak Park in 1895.
Thomas pointed out that Fiddelke was married to his wife for years, consistently attended church and donated the stained glass to his church, now Forest Park Baptist Church, where his funeral was held in the early 1930’s.
Fiddelke designed the State Bank of Oak Park in 1913, which stood at the corner of Marion and Lake Street. He also built the original Holmes school, although his building was razed in the 1950’s.
When Thomas contacted the Matteson Historical Society, he said he learned that
even though Fiddelke had moved away from his hometown, he designed the Matteson Village Hall in 1897. The building was destroyed in 1948.
Thomas said he likes that Fiddelke worked in a number of styles.
“There’s just a wide range, from Queen Anne to Victorian to Prairie to Tudor Revival. He was a very sophisticated architect and used lots of details like herringbone brick work or turrets.”
During his lecture, Thomas said he will discuss Fiddelke’s work with Grace Hemingway on the Hemingway boyhood home and with Flora Gill, one of Oak Park’s first women entrepreneurs.
Those who attend the lecture in person will be treated to an up-close view of another topic: the stained-glass windows at Forest Park Baptist Church. Thomas said the windows are a key part of the design of the church
“When I was taking photos of them for the lecture, the sun was coming through,” he said. “It was like a Van Gogh painting. There’s something magical about stainedglass windows. Some of them are painterly. They’re very alive, moving and vibrant.”
The lecture also will include bits pertaining to the time when the church was in the Village of Harlem, with some stories of people who lived there during those times.
Overall, Thomas said, he hopes that people will walk away with a newfound appreciation of Fiddelke the man and the architect.
“I think Fiddelke needs attention, and I
think in exploring him, you explore architecture and history. I think H.G. Fiddelke is golden.”
Thomas’ lecture takes place at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 8 at Forest Park Baptist Church, 133 Harlem Avenue. The event is free, and attendees can RSVP at www.forestparkhistory.org
Why I love tutoring
Progress and preservation can co-exist
Oak Park’s commitment to historic preservation is part of what makes our village a special place. The unique architecture of our village connects us to its history and reminds us of the thoughtful planning and innovative design that shaped our community. But I’m concerned that we’ve become too precious about preservation — so much so that it’s inhibiting us from making decisions that serve today’s residents and those who hope to call Oak Park home in the future.
Let me be clear: preservation has its place, and we’re fortunate to live in a community that values its heritage. It’s why Oak Park was recently named one of the 50 best places around the world to travel to in 2025. But not every old building meets our current needs, and prioritizing preservation above all else can prevent us from making changes that keep our community vibrant and relevant. When we automatically oppose new developments or reject the idea of change on principle, we risk stagnation. Worse, we may unintentionally exclude people who could benefit most from a more inclusive, adaptable, and sustainable Oak Park
When we frame opposition to development in terms of “preserving neighborhood character,” we have to be honest about what we’re protecting — and why. Are we safeguarding genuine architectural or cultural value? Or are we using preservation as a convenient shield for resisting change?
Oak Park has always been a village that strives, however imperfectly, to facilitate thoughtful discussion and advance progressive ideals. Let’s ensure that our debates about preservation are rooted in clarity and purpose, not nostalgia for its own sake.
Discussions about historic preservation should align with the village’s core values of equity, innovation, and sustainability:
■ Equity means ensuring that the needs of historically overlooked community members are considered and their voices are heard.
■ Innovation means embracing creative solutions to today’s challenges — like housing affordability, homelessness, and a traffic safety crisis — instead of centering the solutions of the past.
■ Sustainability means balancing environmental, social, and economic priorities to ensure Oak Park remains resilient in the face of climate change, while also being fiscally responsible so the community can thrive for generations to come. A rigid, unexamined devotion to preservation doesn’t align with these principles, and it will hold us back from building the community we claim to want.
This isn’t about taking sides on specific projects. It’s about recognizing that progress and preservation can co-exist. We can honor the best parts of our past while embracing smart, thoughtful growth.
Historic preservation is a powerful tool, but it should not be the primary lens through which we assess change. Let’s use it wisely, in a way that honors our past without limiting our collective future.
e System, according to DONALD VIEWPOINTS
So the unthinkable has occurred: Since we all inexplicably #forgotthesteal, Donald Trump has, dishearteningly, wormed his way back into the White House. And pretty much every American who’s not completely Fox-ed up finds themselves asking the same question: How the hell am I going to survive another four years of this a-hole?
The answer, my friends, is not blowing in the wind, but cur rently blowing up your skirt, Marilyn Monroe-style, in the form of this One View For you see, I have painstakingly developed, over the course of the last several minutes, a rigorous methodology to help crestfallen Americans get through yet another Trump presidency.
Introducing the DONALD System, an approach to help you navigate Trump’s latest term with your mental health intact. In case you haven’t figured it out — and let’s face it, you’re not the brightest bulb on the billboard — DONALD is an acronym:
Disconnect:
I’ve realized that most of my ter m-long seething from Trump’s first go-round wasn’t from the awful things he did policy-wise (more on those in a moment), but the outrageous crap he said or tried to get away with. So this time, I will not obsess over the stupid BS he’s going to tweet, or this or the other violation of the emoluments clause, because the truth is that stuff isn’t going to have any impact on our lives unless we let it. So don’t. Don’t avoid the news, but don’t freak out over every unqualified moron he’s going to put in positions of power, and do not — under any circumstances — eng age with political content on social media.
Object:
Locally:
When those terrible policies are inevitably enacted, you still need to voice your disapproval. Go to protests. Contact your congressperson, or the offices of various re pulsive Senatorial ghouls.
Nurture:
Spend more time with your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Work on being a better partner to your significant other. And if you’ve got a hobby — say, writing inane opinion pieces in your local paper — nurture that as well. Go ahead and build that canoe! You can do it!
Act: Hold on …
There it is. If the last decade has taught us anything, it’s that no matter how strongly we feel, we just cannot impact the direction of the country’s politics. But do you know where we can make a difference? In our communities! So get involved. Make your voice heard. Donate. Volunteer.
Drink:
But don’t drive!
Well it looks like I’ve managed to come up with something for every letter, so I guess that’s it. The DONALD System is guaranteed effective over the course of the next four years. But not the following four, which Trump will soon claim he’s entitled to because he hasn’t served two *consecutive* terms. Can’t wait!
Dan Stark is an Oak Park resident who used to write for the Oakland Tribune.
OUR VIEWS
Unimpressive consultant’s report
Over time, we’ve been more bullish on the role of consultants in local government than the average citizen. It’s easy to ridicule the “experts” and to criticize the spending of tax dollars to fund their studies. That might be even more true in Oak Park, where everyone believes themselves to be an expert and where we do actually have a likely batch of real experts in a lot of fields.
That said, the $125,000 Oak Pa rk’s village gover nment laid on the table last summer to pay a consulting fir m to create an “economic vitality” plan seems, so far, to be laughably lame
Camoin Associates has gathered all the logical data on demo graphics and socioeconomics. And they have surveyed the community and concluded our neighbors like our small businesses and enjoy our walkability. However, stunningly, they would prefer if their taxes were lower and there was more parking.
T hese are things a consultant could learn from reading the Journal’s Viewpoints section for a month. T hey would also have discovered that putting leaves in paper bags is not favored by many people
Camoin also pointed out that Oak Park is already pretty dar ned vital economically. Most people have jobs, the population is on the rise and, yes, median household income is healthy. All true. How about some insights, though, into Oak Park’s hard won and still quite imperfect ef for ts at diversity, challenges of af fordabilit y, and how that translates or doesn’t into economic vitality?
We learned all this when Camoin presented its initial results to the village board recently. Multiple trustees were unimpressed by what they heard. Trustee Cory Wesley, once the chair of the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, which was unceremoniously dumped by the village two years ago, said he didn’t want the village to have another decade where it is perceived to be unfriendly to businesses
And we don’ t want to hear a consultant say Oak Pa rk could use more gas stations or, perhap s, a Lowes. Pay attention. Oak Pa rk is heavily focused on renewable energy and a typical Lowes is 140,000 square feet (including the garden center). Plop that where?
In mid-Februar y, Camoin will conduct a community open house. In March it will come back to the village board with its final draft. Here’s hoping it has less consultant balderdash and more substance that will offer actionable concepts for growth and development in a community with mixed emotions about both.
We don’ t need primers. We need nuanced ideas to move forward.
Let’s revise and reboot
With the Second Coming at hand (the Kingdom of Trump) — government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, for the billionaires — this is a good time to revisit, revise, reset, and reboot just about everything we hold dear and sacred. As a writer, I’m a proponent of revising. I have long wanted to rewrite the Catholic Mass, along with our country’s weak system of checks and balances, and nearly all of our traditional Christmas carols
But I’ll start small: with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Beatitudes.
A post-election Pledge of Allegiance
May it be so, ever and always
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Divided States of America
And to the Republic which barely stands, One contentious nation
Under an incredulous God,
Highly divisible, with one person above the law, And liberty and justice for some Admittedly, not the pledge most of us would like to recite. But it is a more realistic pledge. We grew up pledging allegiance to a country that could never be divided (indivisible), a country that extended liberty and justice to all Americans. As children, we believed it wholeheartedly. How could we not pledge allegiance to such a country? The problem is it wasn’t, and isn’t, true (not yet anyway) and definitely not since Jan. 20, 2025. We are deeply divided, our democratic republic is in peril, the country’s most powerful person is not accountable to the law, and liberty and justice is dependent on your wealth and the color of your skin. We want the old pledge to be true. We believe that eventually it could be true. Some even believe it is true — or pretend to believe it. But the revised pledge above is where we stand now. Will the old pledge ever become a reality? Are we doing enough to make that happen?
An alternate version of The Lord’s Prayer
Our Deity,
Who may or may not exist in the material universe and beyond,
Genderless and nameless,
May your realm, which already surrounds us, someday rule.
Cleanse our eyes to behold the extraordinary beauty of creation,
Give us, this day, the bread of physical and spiritual renewal, along with thirst-sating, living water.
Forgive our mistakes, and give us the strength to forgive those who have forgotten that we are all connected Grant us the wisdom to act responsibly toward our desires, so they don’t bloom into addictions and afflictions, And deliver us from the suffering that comes from our temptation to live backward, as if we spelled “live” in reverse,
And live instead as if we spelled it “love.”
We need to lose the medieval ter minology (“Lord” and “Kingdom”), and if God exists, our deity is surely genderless and goes by many names or no name. And any deity that craves continuous praise for their awesome “power and glory” isn’t much of a God. More like a giant ego in the sky. Whatever small steps we have taken on our evolutionary jour ney should be reflected in our prayers. Praying is a natural human tendency and Jesus, who seemed a much more highly evolved human being (and possibly more than human) instructed us to address God in a more intimate and personal manner. Jesus’ words, whatev er they were originally, have gone through the grinder of cultural translation for over two millennia, so we needn’t be shy about adjusting and updating them — as long as we retain the core of what he was trying to say. I have tried to capture the spirit, if not the letter, of the prayer.
The Beatitudes
This beloved mini-sermon on the mount, like the prayer above, also feels closer to Jesus’ actual message. Given the vagaries of translation, however, people still argue about just what “Blessed are the poor in spirit” means. Jesus, I suspect, was not vague. I also suspect something might have been misplaced in translation — and that misplaced modifier may have been left out, but implied, in the rest of the beatitudes. So here it is with all the modifiers (possibly) in their proper place, along with some changes in wording:
Blessed in spirit are the poor, for theirs is the realm of God.
Blessed in spirit are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed in spirit are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed in spirit are those who long for justice, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed in spirit are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed in spirit are the true of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed in spirit are the peacemakers, for they will be called righteous
Blessed in spirit are those who are persecuted, for they will be embraced by God.
I changed the medieval term “kingdom” to “realm,” and adjusted other wording, not because Jesus needed editing but because translations need refreshing Despite the repetition of “in spirit,” I find this a more satisfying rendering, but if you want a real adventure in updating, read Eugene Peterson’s The Message –The Bible in Contemporary Language (Matthew, Chap. 5, v. 3-10). I think you’ll enjoy it
Shaking up the Bible is long overdue. And real progress in this country is also overdue.
But the revisionism Trump the Sequel has in mind has long outlived its expiration date.
KEN TRAINOR
Remarkable pr
This letter is in response to Trustee Ravi Parakkat’s One View published in Viewpoints on Dec. 18 [ A vision for change in Oak Pa rk] . His characterization that the cu rrent village board has a “distracted agenda lacking focus and prioritization” is inaccurate.
SUSAN BUCHANAN
One View
Trustee Parakkat’s editorial star ts by listing some important accomplishments by the current board, and I share his pride in our progress on those initiatives. We could not have reached this point without intense focus and intentional prioritization, led by our village president, Vicki Scaman.
President Scaman creates the board agendas with the village manager, based on shared board goals, staf f feasibility, and strategic priorities chosen under her leadership. She prepares study sessions and facilitates board discussion so that, as trustees, we can come to the board table fully informed and make educated decisions. Having served under two village presidents and witnessed how village business can be stalled or ignored at the whim of the sitting president, I can say with confidence that President Scaman should receive enthusiastic kudos for the list in Trustee Parakkat’s letter, plus many more. He goes on to criticize the village ’s response to the migrant crisis as “wellintentioned but inefficient.” This criticism is offensive to the numerous civic partners who worked together to solve the immediate needs of our community. Vil-
care for the migrants village manager and his staf
President Scaman mediately housed in her church ment, required out-of-the-box thinking. The call to action from our community required a leader who has long-dev connections and has deep experience in coalition building — the families involved, and Oak Pa
Vicki in her position at the right time It is because of the diligence of staf f applying for Scaman’s persistent calls to the city of Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois state gover nment, that the village financial expense was minimal.
Continuing with his letter, Ravi implies that the board discussions on whether to include a new village hall with the new police facility somehow affect the staffing of our police department. This is a gross mischaracterization. Public safety exper ts re port police staffing shortages nationwide as a result of the pandemic, combined with the public response to the police murder of George Floyd. Oak Park’s police depar tment has not escaped this trend.
For tunately, Chief Shatonya Johnson has implemented multiple initiatives
that are slowly showing results, and she projects increased staffing in the near future. Meanwhile, public safety has not been adversely affected. Impor tantly, President Scaman has advocated for the welfare of our police of ficers, including increased pay and benefits as well as a new facility.
Oak Park faces serious challenges that
Bike plan is not we ll thought out
As a citizen affected by Oak Park’s proposed three-year bike plan, I received notice that all parking would be removed on three streets designated as bike paths (LeMoyne, Harvard and Augusta). At a public meeting on Jan. 13 with the Oak Park Transportation Commission we were told:
1) Since no houses face on those streets, we would not lose parking in front of our homes. In fact, all houses on LeMoyne face LeMoyne, no matter their address (mine is 1200 Linden — our front door and driveway are on LeMoyne).
2) You could park 10 cars on any block on LeMoyne on either side. But because of alleys, four driveways, and one stop sign, you would be lucky to park five cars on either side of LeMoyne between Linden and Columbian.
3) In a parking study — conducted on one day in July of 2024, during the morning and even ing — few cars we re pa rked on those three streets. F irst, this was in the summer, and second, it was not in the daytime when service vehicles, visitor s, parents of school children, lawn crew s, b uses, etc. are frequently pa rked
on these streets.
4) As Oak Parkers, we should be glad to give up our on-street parking to ensure safe bike paths
No one at the meeting was opposed to safe bike paths (I raised my kids in Oak Park and my grandchildren live and bike here), but LeMoyne especially is not often used for biking (instead we are a jo gging, r unning and walking route), so designating it as a bike path is not necessar y. We would lose on-street pa rk ing in front of our homes wh ich is inco nvenient and
are not unique to an urban suburb. The current board, under President Scaman’s leadership, has made remarkable progress on critical issues facing our village. Our list of accomplishments is broad and deep, notwithstanding Trustee Parakkat’s ne gative assessment.
Susan Buchanan is an Oak Park villa ge trustee.
unsafe for older p eople and g uests. No t having pa rked cars would increase the chances of speeding cars (LeMoyne is used as an alternative to North Avenue). And no on-street pa rk ing would lowe r our home values
This plan is not well thought out and rife with er rors. Surely there are alter natives to removing all on-street parking. I am hoping this is not a done deal and that the commission listened to our concer ns. Mar tha Jacob Oak Park
LU Z ANE DRAUGHON
e Council Chambers during an Oak Park Village Board meeting.
Children le behind
People who have been for tunate enough to grow up in intact families usually have memories of their formative years that of fer emotionally grounding experiences to help them feel confident as they go through later life. It can be fun to reminisce about how life seemed simpler when we were younger
But what if you were placed into foster care and “left behind” by a parent who was incarcerated or otherwise physically or emotionally unavailable? If you haven’t been through it yourself, then it may be hard to imagine what it’s like to grow up that way.
But in the United States over 400,000 children do just that. It is very common for many of these children to grow up in eight or more foster homes and therefore have no recollection of their childhood.
One of the things foster children lose is having an adult witness chronicle the events and milestones of their childhood. Through my nonprofit org anization, Family Bridge Network, I started a program called “Children Left Behind,” and I write books for these children. I have just authored a series of three books for foster children that I call My Memory Book. The ageappropriate books have fun, creative ways for the child and their caregiver to record impor tant events and happenings in the child’s life while they are unable to live with their bir th families, so those memories are not lost.
Our goal is to raise the funds so that we can give the books to these children. As you know, most foster kids are in staterun agencies that have no money for such “frills.” Please help us to help the children left behind by donating so that these children can be given a book.
Donate by visiting our website at www.FamilyBridgeNetwork.org
Rich Dyches Family Bridge Network
One citizen’s report on Inauguration Eve
A Citizen of these United States
Re porting on the ev e of Jan. 20, 2025: Having been on my own two feet thru the nor malc y of the fifties, the awak ening of the sixties, the haircuts of the se venties, the routine of the eighties, the fin de siècle of the nineties, the false front of the new millennium, and the phone screen capture of the teens, I am now about to ste p through an elaborate scenery backdrop and into a vast warehouse, soon to be emptied of decenc y, concer n, meaning and the residue of valor, stored in the hope the future could use them.
Reality bites
To my mind, most people are sur prisingly confident their experience of existence is the one true way, and it’s impor tant to them that you ag ree. Mostly I don’t get along great with either of those attitudes, so I’m not here to pick fights about the nature of reality today. I don’t believe there’s much reason to try and deduce the realness of one’s chosen reality anyway, when you ould be spending time enjoying it instead. But I have to update something, so first please allow me to remind you where I’m oming from.
ALAN BROUILET TE
Imagine a crisp autumn day on Madison Street. Sunny but ool, light-jacket weather. People are strolling. Not lounging outside with coffee or cake — it’s too cold for that — but ambling along agreeably, maybe a few errands on foot, maybe walking the dog. If you were to go up to one of those people on the street, someone you did not know and who did not know you, and you were to say to them this:
“This isn’t real. None of it. Think about it. You can tell, can’t you? None of this is real”
In that moment, here in 2025, no rational person could fairly dismiss you out of hand as a crackpot. How amazing is that? You could walk around with a sandwich board that says “THE END IS NIGH,” like a cartoon crazy, and people passing by would have to consider what you were suggesting. I posit you would even get many thoughtful nods.
None of this is real.
It’s eerily plausible, isn’t it? After Trump was elected and the Cubs won the World Series, I declared that it was no longer reasonable to ignore the possibility that we are characters in an entertainment product.
I need to update that view.
I was thinking today that the evening news, in my head, begins today with Tom Brokaw saying something like, “January 13, 2025: Los Angeles is on fire.” I thought of that and I realized that not only are we living in a simulation, but I can tell you what kind of simulation we live in:
We are the dystopian future in a 1980s movie.
Think about the ’80s aesthetic. Think about a movie for those folks, set in the future. Think about the headlines you’d see in the background to set the tone:
“No End in Sight for Los Angeles Wildfires”
“County Budget Still Reeling, Post-Pandemic”
“More States Legalize Pot, Sports Betting”
“Op-Ed: Can The President Pardon Himself ?”
“Detroit Lions Favored in Super Bowl 59” We’re an entertainment product. I’m right.
WEDNESD AY
of Oak Park and River Forest
Viewpoints Guidelines
e goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have su cient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it o en is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it.
We reser ve the right to edit submissions. We do not have time to allow the writer to review changes before publication. We also do not have time to do more than super cial fact-checking, and because of our national epidemic of misinformation and conspiracy theories, when writers include statistical evidence to support their opinions, we require them to include the source of that information, such as credible websites, print publications, titles of articles and dates published, etc. Be as speci c as possible so that we and our readers have some way of assessing the credibility of your claims. Links may also be included for the online version. We follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics: seek the truth and report it and minimize harm. As a result, we will do our best not to publish pieces that espouse doubtful or debunked theories, demonstrate harmful bias, or cross the line into incivility. While we will do our best not to engage in censorship, we also do not intend to be used as a platform for misinformation. Your sources for fact-checking are a critical step in keeping the discourse honest, decent and respectful.
All submissions must include your rst and last name and the municipality in which you live, plus a phone number (for veri cation only). We do not publish anonymous letters. One View essays should include a sentence at the end about who you are.
If we receive your submission by 5 p.m. on Sunday, you can expect your opinion to be included in that week’s paper (and online), space permitting.
Pieces can be submitted through our online form at oakpark.com or direc tly to Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor, ktrainor@wjinc.com. For the latter, we prefer attached Word les or plain tex t included in the email.
LET TER TO THE EDITOR
■ 350-word limit
Henr y Kranz Oak Park
You see why I’m gonna need more than one reality Alan Brouilette is a Forest Park resident who writes a monthly column for the Forest Park Review, a Growing Community Media publication.
■ Must include rst and last names, municipality in which you live, phone number (for veri cation only)
‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY
■ 500-word limit
■ One-sentence footnote about yourself and/or your connec tion to the topic
■ Signature details as at lef t
John Lurain with student Jerron dur ing a Learning Edge Tutoring session.
Why I love tutoring
Learning Edge Tutoring is a nonprofit organization that provides free one-to-one tutoring and academic enrichment opportunities for over 100 Chicago-area K-12 students who live in underserved communities.
I have been involved in Lear ning Edge for many years as a volunteer tutor and more recently as a board member. I grew up in a household of teachers and have seen firsthand the value and joy of learning. I firmly believe that one person can make a difference in another person’s life, and I see this happening at Learning Edge.
Education is one of the most important things that empowers young people to succeed in life. Learning Edge provides a personalized approach that is not as often available in the usual classroom experience. Our program helps students who need additional instruction to do well in school and also shows them the fun of learning, which will hopefully inspire a lifelong quest for knowledge. As a measure of our students’ outcomes, 98% re port that their tutors have helped them
PROVIDED
learn and over 50% improved their grades.
I currently tutor two students who have very different educational needs. This presents a challenge, but also a joy for me when I see progress in their reading and math skills, albeit at dif ferent levels. The relationships that I have developed over the years with my students has been a rewarding experience for me as well.
Today, 10 students are waiting for a tutor. We invite you to join us for the remaining 16 weeks of the school year. But let me warn you — you may end up loving it because most of our tutors stick around for years!
If you would li ke to contribute to the life of a child, consider joining us at Lear ning Edg e. Fo r more inform ation, take a look at our we bsit e, https://lear ningedgetutoring. org or call us at 773-378-5530. No teaching experience is necessary; Learning Edg e provides training, materials, and math and reading suppo rt to tutor s.
John Lurain Oak Park
e right to park in front of your home
At the Oak Park Transportation Commission meeting on Jan. 13, dozens of Oak Park homeowners who live on Le Moyne Parkway and Harvard Street beseeched the Transportation Commission, in comments delivered both in person and in writing (some of which were read into the record), not to pursue elements of the most recent draft of the Bike Plan that would result in the loss of parking on both streets in the foreseeable future. Some of these homeowners would be prohibited from parking within a half block of their homes as a result of the combined effects of the Bike Plan and
pre-existing parking re gulations. It is distressing that these homeowners felt compelled to plead their cases before the Transportation Commission. It should be self-evident without need of explanation that street access to one’s house is a necessity for any Oak Park homeowner. These homeowners never should have been put in the position of having to defend their right to park in front of their homes. That they were is symptomatic of a malfunction deep within the gears of Oak Park’s policy-making and governance.
Adrian Marquez Oak Park
Seniors seeking tax relief
This year, senior citizens at least 65 years old may qualify for one of three Illinois programs that provide property tax relief. But only one program, the Senior Tax Deferral, is acce pting applications now. Seniors should be able to apply for the two other programs, the Senior Citizen Exemption and the income-based Senior Free ze Exemption, sometime in February.
The two senior exemptions reduce property tax bills on the owneroccupied homes of senior citizens
Even with the savings from these exemptions, however, property tax bills can still be quite high for seniors on fixed incomes
Such seniors may get some relief from the Defer ral program if they have built up equity in their homes by paying down or paying of f their mortgages. Under the Deferral, qualifying seniors living in a household with annual income of $65,000 or less can bor row against the equity in their homes to pay as much as $7,500 in property taxes per year.
The money for the Defer ral is essentially a loan from the state, which charges 3% simple interest
on the money but does not require loan payments. Instead, the entire loan is re paid when the home is sold or within a year of the applicant’s death.
Deferral applications are due by March 1. The Oak Park Township Assessor’s Office is available to provide additional details about eligibility for the program and help seniors apply for it. My office will also be able to help seniors applying for the Senior Citiz en and Senior Free ze exemptions when those applications become available.
I strongly encourage Defer ral applicants to apply for the two senior exemptions, as the savings from those exemptions will reduce the taxes to be paid or deferred. In addition, seniors should note that although Defer ral loans will eventually have to be re paid, savings from the two senior exemptions are not loans and never have to be re paid.
Senior citizens seeking property tax relief can defer up to $7,500 in tax es can call me at 708-383-8005. Ali ElSa ar Oak Park Township Assessor
OBITUARIES
Sullivan, 89, a 60-year resident her Iowa, she was , their Democratic politics and ed small-town life Mary-Alice (deceased), resa (deceased), Bill (deceased), and Joan. After graduating from Marycrest Colle ge in 1958, she moved to the big city, Chicago, determined to make the world a better place. There she met Monroe Sullivan, a social worker who shared her passion for peace and social justice, and they soon married, settling in Oak Park in 1964. They raised a boisterous household of four children: daughter K.T. Sullivan (Chris Bing), and sons John Sullivan (Vicki Scaman), Monroe Sullivan (Melissa), and Patrick Sullivan (the late Dawn). Fran and Moe were happily married 49 years before his death in 2008.
She thrived as an activist for peace, fair housing, women’s rights, gun safety, and good government, to name a few. She worked tirelessly for the causes she cared about, canvassing door to door, serving on multiple boards, attending countless meetings, raising money, working to make life better for all. Some of her most meaningful support was directed to St. Catherine-St. Lucy Parish, where she was a student mentor at the school, supported the computer lab and the new Neighborhood Bridge organization housed there.
A highlight was serving as a challenge dele gate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention (where Shirley MacLaine spoke on her behalf). She was thrilled when feminist icons Gloria Steinem and
Bella Abzug saluted her.
She helped create the Peace Museum in Chicago and Amate House, served as an independent voice and the only woman on the Triton Community Colle ge board, and spearheaded the campaign to restrict handguns in Oak Park. She served on the board of Family Services and Mental Health of OP-RF (now Thrive) and was a member of the League of Women Voters for 50 years. She supported local nonprofits, including Wednesday Journal (Growing Community Media), Beyond Hunger, Housing Forward, Sarah’s Inn, and the Oak Park Art League Her support of the Children’s Dental Initiative of The Infant Welfare Society of Oak Park was inspired by her late fatherin-law, who was a dentist. And she loved being part of the recently created Women Leaders in Philanthropy.
Starting in 1985, Fran and Moe began their love af fair with Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The family eventually purchased two condos right on the ocean and spent every winter surrounded by family and friends, who were only too happy to make the schlep from wintry Chicago.
Her greatest gift was her ability to connect with people. She was a great neighbor, known for her warmth and involving others in the community, modeling her deep commitment to social justice and philanthropy. She played a mean game of online Scrabble and she was proud to be the oldest of the early morning swimmers at Ridgeland Common.
In addition to her four children, Fran is survived by her grandchildren, Casey, Leah, Gillian, Patty, Phoebe, Maggie, Mikey, and Leo and great-grandchildren Eleanor, Siena, and Claire; her sister, Joan; many nieces and nephews; and family friends Dave Stanger (Satish Prabhu), Cass Scaman, and her companion, Adam Santoro.
Her le gacy will live on in the lives she touched, the causes she championed, and the enduring love of her family and friends.
A celebration of Fran’s remarkable life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 (with visitation beginning at 10 a.m.) at St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Church (38 N. Austin, Oak Park).
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to Fran’s cherished causes to honor her enduring spirit of giving and to ensure that our community’s amazing nonprofits remain strong.
Continued from page 19
Sharon Moriarty, 65
Former Oak Park resident
With profound sadness, we announce the death of Sharon Moriarty (née McNulty), 65, for merly of Oak Park and residing in Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland, on Dec. 23, 2024. Born on April 27, 1959, she departed this life peacefully, leaving behind a le love and cherished memories.
Sharon was the wife of Eugene (Eoin) Moriarty; the mother to Eo ghan, Eibhlís, Tabitha, and Madison; the sister of Tom, Bill, Barbara, and Kevin; and the sisterin-law, aunt, great-aunt, and a cherished friend to many. She was predeceased by her siblings, Brendan and Roberta. Her love, passion, and unwavering kindness will forever remain in the hearts of all who knew her.
Her funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Mary’s Church, Listowel, on Dec. 30, www.listowelparish.com, followed by a private cremation.
OBITUARIES
cago neighborhood associations (e.g. The Austin Schock Historical Association and The Society of Midway Park).
A modern-day Renaissance man, he was an accomplished musician and ballroom dancing instructor, and an administrator for the University of Illinois Chicago Psychiatric Institute. He also served on the Alliance for the Mentally Ill Greater Chicago board of directors.
His single-handedly restored 18-room Victorian home has been named a Chicago Historical landmark by the Chicago Commission on Architectural and Historical Landmarks. He was a mainstay on the annual Austin Schock housewalk for years.
Visitation will be held on Friday, Jan. 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. at First Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1124 S Ashland Ave. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 25. with prepast from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., service from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., interment at Wunder’s Cemetery, 3963 N. Clark St., and re past at 3 p.m.
Richard Enderle, 94 Salesman, sailor, Notre Dame fan
Richard J. Enderle, 94, a longtime resident of Oak Park and River Forest, died on Jan. 7, 2025. Born in Chicago on Aug. 31, 1930 to John P. and Edith Fischer Enderle, he was a loyal graduate of Fenwick High School, class of ’49. His days at St. Ambrose Colle ge in Davenport, Iowa, were inter rupted by service in the U.S. Ar my during the Korean War. He was selected as a member of the United Na tions Honor Guard in Seoul, Korea, and re presented our country as a member of this year. After discharge, olle ge education and aduated from DePaul University. A consummate salesman, he spent most of his career in the computer business. Bears fan and for mer season ticket holder, he cheered for Notre vors. Co-owning a sailva gave the whole famGolf with friends and family was a highlight well into his 80s. He was the brother of Bill (Sue), Marge (Bob Johnston) and Geri (Hal Stromsen), all of whom predeceased him. by Mary Gladys (M.G.) Turner Enderle, his wife of 61 years; his (Jim Reid), Richard
(Beth), John (Amy) and David (Melinda); his grandchildren, Ryan Reid, Eric (Elisabeth) Reid, Sean (Abby) Reid, Jillian Reid, Taylor Enderle, Patrick Enderle, Grace Enderle and Turner Enderle; and his nieces and nephews.
Services were held on Jan. 11 at St. Giles Church, followed by interment at All Saints Cemetery.
If you wish to make a donation in Dick’s memory, Fenwick High School Class of ’49, 505 W. Washington Blvd. Oak Park, IL 60302 or St. Giles School, 1034 Linden, Oak Park 60302 are suggested.
Arrangements were handled by ConboyWestchester Funeral Home.
Robert Bruce, 85 Guidance counselor, coach
and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant in 1965. He earned two master’s de grees from the University of Illinois (M. Ed, Guidance and Counseling) and Loyola University (M. Ed, Administration and Supervision). He spent nine summers, 1979-88, at University of Illinois Chicago as a guidance counselor for incoming students
Robert Erwin Bruce Jr., 85, of River Forest and Oak Park, died peacefully in Lebanon, Illinois on Jan. 13, 2025. Born in 1939 to Robert and Ruth Bruce Sr., of Oak Park, with his twin sister, Priscilla, Bob began his life with two sisters on Scoville He attended Hawthorne Julian Middle School) and went on to letter in three sports, football, basketball and baseball at Oak Park and River Forest High School in the graduating class of 1957. He attended Taylor University and graduated in 1961 with a de gree in Social Studies Education. He served three years (1962-1965) in the Marines, stationed in Okinawa, Japan,
At Proviso West High School in Hillside for 25 years, he was a guidance counselor and also coached many basketball teams. A member of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, he served on the church board, volunteered in Boys’ Brigade, on the softball team, drove the church bus, and led the church’s bowling leagu e. During his retirement years, his joy was traveling with Robin to watch his son play baseball and he also played golf with friends. He also served on the board of the Oak Park YMCA and volunteered weekly as a counselor for Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago.
Bob was preceded in death by his wife, Robin H. Bruc e. He is survived by his two sisters, Joyc e O’Brien and Priscilla Bruce; his three children, Jennifer (Brad) Giemza, Bonnie (Tom) Krumsieg, and Robert (Erin) Bruce III; his 11 grandchildren, Jackson Giemza, Abigail Giemza, Ellie (Micah) Forshee, Jonathan (Nikki) Krumsieg, David Krumsi eg, Luke (Elizaeth) Krumsieg, Grace Krumsi eg, Hannah Krumsieg, Naomi Krumsieg, Fiona Bruce and Robert “Bobby” Bruce; and great-grandchildren Ezra, Elianna, & Hazel Krumsi eg and Robin Forshee.
A chapel service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home in Forest Park, with visitation at the funeral home from 10-11a.m.
In lieu of flowers, Donations may be made to Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park
WEDNESD AY
of Oak Park and River Forest
To run an obituary
Please contact Ken Trainor by e-mail: ktrainor@wjinc.com, or fax: 708/524-0447 before Monday at noon. Please include a photo if possible.
George Manning Austin neighborhood’s Renaissance man
George Edward
SPORTS
Fenwick cheerleaders dance with success
Friars have four consecutive top 10 nishes in ICCA medium division
By MELVIN TATE
Contributing Reporter
Not only is the Fenwick High School cheerleading team rooting its football and basketball teams on to victories, it is also enjoying success in competition.
In the 40th Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association Championships held in Springfield, Jan. 11, the Friars finished sixth in the medium varsity division. It is the program’s fourth consecutive Top 10 finish. More im-
other,” said Fenwick coach Carlotta Fleming, a 2013 alum who has led the progr for those four seasons. “When taking I was very open about the hard work was expected of each team member as well as pointing out the incredible confidence they deserve to have. I was blessed to ha athletes buy in and head straight to wo Fenwick has 11 members on the varsity cheer team: seniors Kimberly Alvare Viktoria Castillo; juniors Johanna Giuffr Nicole Jasinski, and Ella Mindak; sophomores Simone Black, Giada DeCola, Amanda Imburgia, Gracelyn Mindak, and Emily Pryzbyiski; and freshman Amiyah Buford.
“Instead of captains, we instruct that our seniors are the leaders of the team, and they’re to lead by example and be cheerlead ers for the underclassmen,” Fleming said. “I am so lucky to have Kim and Vicky be incred ibly talented and kind leaders that each gi an work with and look up to.”
Both Alvarez and Castillo credit good chemistry as one of the reasons for wick’s success.
“This year is the closest our team has er been in all four years of my Fenwick experience,” Alvarez said, “and I would not trade it for the world.”
“I have never been on a team as close as this one,” Castillo said. “Our success has come from supporting each other and the friendships we have with one another.”
Fleming got her coaching start as a Fenwick cheerleader, helping coach the Melrose Park Gaels. She participated in the cheer club at the University of Missouri at Columbia, and upon graduation spent a year coaching the dance team at Trinity High School.
“[Coach Fleming] has helped me more than all my past coaches,” Alvare z said. “Her way of coaching allows me and the other girls on our team to go to her for anything. She’s like a second mother to me.”
“She is the kindest and most understanding coach I’ve ever had,” added Castillo. “She’s also very approachable and I know I can talk to her about anything. She really
Fenw ick cheerleaders perform in a competition at Marian Catholic. e Friars recently nished sixth in the medium varsity div ision at the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association meet.
knows how to lead a team and how to build up our confidence when we go out and perform.”
One thing Fleming is most proud of is how her girls have been able to sustain success in both competitions and the classroom.
“This fall, our seniors finished the semester with a 4.19 grade point average,” she said. “Eight of our athletes are in honors and AP (Advanced Placement) classes, and 90% of the team is on the honor roll.”
The next goal for the Friars is to place at the IHSA state meet. The program has not advanced downstate since 2013.
“Our biggest goal is to qualify for state and hopefully compete at the finals as well,” Castillo said. “We’ve made changes to our choreography in order to increase our score and we’ve been drilling our rou-
tines a lot.”
Alvarez added that Fenwick can achieve its goal “by continuing to practice to the best of our ability and not let anything get in our way.”
Fleming is also thinking about the future.
“Each spring, we host our incoming freshmen workshop,” she said. “We do summer camps with grade-schoolers from the area, and each summer our fall team attends the National Cheerleading Association speed camp — a traditional cheer camp where we stimulate competition against other schools and are coached by the best colle ge athletes and coaches from around the nation. All of these elements put together help to ensure that each year our team grows and gets better.”
PROVIDED BY CARLOT TA FLEMING
PROVIDED BY CARLOT TA FLEMING
e Fenwick High School cheer team per forms at the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association meet in Spring eld, Jan. 11.
OPRF wrestlers prime for post-season
Huskies roll past Fenwick to claim Village Cup
By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter
The Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling team has spent the past two seasons re-establishing itself as one of the best in the Chicago area. Their performance in the annual Village Cup match against Fenwick, Jan. 18, could be a major indicator that the Huskies are indeed back. After splitting the first two matches, OPRF rattled of f seven consecutive wins to roll to a 56-18 victory over the visiting Friars.
“It’s always good to have this rivalry. I’m super-thankful to [Fenwick coach Seth] Gamino for helping to bring it back,” said OPRF coach Paul Collins. “There’s always a little extra fire when we go up against Fenwick.”
MJ Rundell got things started for OPRF with a technical-fall (TF) victory at 106 pounds. But Fenwick’s CJ Brown evened the match with his own technical-fall victory at 113.
“CJ is really solid,” Gamino said. “He’s really clicking at the right time of the year.”
OPRF then won the next seven matches:
Jameel Castleberry (120, TF), Gabe Rojas (126, pinfall), Isaiah Gibson (132, forfeit), Joe Knackstedt (138, TF), AJ Noyes (144, pinfall), Tristan Kidd (150, TF), and Jeremiah Hernandez (157, pinfall).
“We had a hard practice this morning, and I was interested to see how they would respond,” Collins said. “I thought they responded tremendously well.”
Fenwick re plied with three consecutive victories of its own, courtesy of Aiden Burns (TF at 165), Dominic Esposito (4-0 decision at 175), and Jack Paris (TF at 190).
“They’re captains and good leaders, and they wrestled well tonight,” Gamino said.
OPRF closed things out in grand fashion, getting wins via pinfall from Lucas Albrecht at 215 and Terrance Garner at heavyweight.
As the season goes into the final weeks, both coaches like where their teams are.
“We still haven’t had our full lineup, but we’re excited,” said Collins, whose Huskies will host their annual invitational on Jan. 25. “We want to get everyone back and healthy, but we’re definitely trending in the right direction. We’ve been challenging these guys a lot since we came back from Califor nia, and they’ve responded well.”
“There’s still a lot to clean up,” Gamino said, “but we’re feeling good. The CCL (Chicago Catholic League) is, in my opin-
OPRF’s Alex Gossett (4) shoots against Downers Grove North’s Jack Crowley dur ing a West Suburban Conference game, Jan. 14, in Downers Grove.
ion, the best conference in the state and one of the top in the nation. Wrestling a team like Oak Park and in the CCL meet (Jan. 25 at Montini Catholic) will get us in line for the post-season.”
OPRF boys basketball
Senior Alex Gossett passed 1,000 points in his career, Jan. 17, as the OPRF boys basketball team got by host Proviso West 78-77
in a West Suburban Silver contest.
“Such an amazing accomplishment from an amazing kid,” said OPRF coach Phil Gary of Gossett, who finished with 28 points and six rebounds.
Jerome Delaney and Alex Vincent each scored 10 points and AJ Enyia had nine points for the Huskies (8-9, 2-3 in WSC Silver), who have home games against Lyons Township, Jan. 24 (7:30 p.m.), and Thornwood, Jan. 25 (2 p.m.).
MLK Showcase is a priority for Trinity
Third annual event featured teams coached by African-Americans
By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter
The MLK Girls Basketball Showcase at Trinity High School is unique in that all of the schools participating are led by AfricanAmerican coaches
“[Dr. King’s] legacy is the reason we are here today,” said Oak Park and River Forest High School girls basketball coach Renee
Brantley. “Basketball is a game that I love; it’s allowed me to travel the world and come across so many people of different races and backgrounds.”
“It’s always a good event with good competition,” Fenwick coach Lenae Fergerson said. “I enjoy it.”
“It means everything,” said event founder and Trinity coach Kim Coleman. “What Dr King represented was so much positivity. To bring teams from different areas of Illinois led by coaches of Black descent is a beautiful thing and we want to keep it rolling.”
OPRF, Fenwick, and Trinity competed in the third annual shootout, Jan. 20. Here is how they did:
Trinity 65, Plain eld South 48
In the shootout finale, Trinity (15-7) had a comfortable lead for much of the game. However, Plainfield South refused to quit, and the visiting Cougars pulled to 50-48 on a basket by Laniya Willis with 3:18 left in regulation.
But a basket from Chloe Santos and a threepointer from Jaylani Hernandez sparked a game-ending 15-0 run for the Blazers, who notched a 65-48 victory.
“Plainfield definitely challenged us to be better, which is what we wanted,” Coleman said. “Ar mante [Dambrauskas] was huge tonight, and I think Grace [Treese] gave us a ton of energy She was a true example of
coming in and being a star in your role; she defended, rebounded, and made layups. Armante rebounded and shot the ball at a high level.”
Dambrauskas, who received Player of the Game honors, finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Zaria Goins had 13 points and five rebounds; Santos had 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists; and Treese and Keyera Gamble each added six points for Trinity in the victory.
Trinity has home games against Providence Catholic (Jan. 23, 7 p.m.), Thornton Fractional North (Jan. 25, 1 p.m.), and Marist (Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m.), followed by a road game at OPRF, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m.
STEVE JOHNSTON
LEGAL NOTICE
THE LAW OFFICE OF LINDA EPSTEIN
Attorney for Petitioner 722 W. Diversey Parkway Ste. 101B Chicago, IL 60614
STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss
Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division.
In re the Marriage of: Vivian Monroe Moore, Petitioner and Harold Lewis Moore, Respondent, Case No. 2024D008815
The requisite affidavit for publication having been filed, notice is hereby given to you, Harold Lewis Moore, Respondent, that a Petition has been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, by the Petitioner, Vivian Monroe Moore, for Dissolution of Marriage and that said suit is now pending.
Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Room 802, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, in the City of Chicago, Illinois, on or before February 12, 2025, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.
MARIYANA
T. SPYROPOULOS, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Cook County, Illinois
Published in Wednesday Journal January 15, 22, and 29, 2025
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To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777 GROWING COMMUNITY
DOCKET NUMBER� PC 25� 01 �Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment)
HEARING DATE� February 6, 2025
TIME� 7�00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the agenda permits
LOCATION OF HEARING� Room 201 � Council Chambers, Village of Oak Park, 123 Madison Street Oak Park, Illinois 60302
PETITIONER� Village of Oak Park, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302
REQUEST� The Petitioner, Village of Oak Park, seeks a text amendment to the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance as follows: 1.� An amendment to the Table of Contents under Article 12 (“Ordinance Administrators”) by striking 12.5 Community Design Commission and amending the Historic Preservation Commission section under Article 12, to 12.5 from 12.6. 2.� Amending Article 5 (“Commercial Districts”), Section 5.4 �“RR District Dimensional and Design Standards”), subsection I�4)c (“Review and Approval of Building Materials”) by striking Community Design Commission and replacing it with Zoning Board of Appeals. 3.� Amending Article 7 �“Design Standards”), Section 7.3 �“Design Review”) subsection A�3� by striking Community Design Commission and replacing it with Zoning Board of Appeals, and subsection B�2)a by striking Customer, B�2)c by striking Community Design Commission and replacing it with Zoning Board of Appeals, and striking Customer, and subsection B�2)d by striking Community Design Commission
and replacing it with Zoning Board of Appeals, striking Commission and replacing it with Zoning Board of Appeals, and in the last sentence by striking Community Design Commission and replacing it with Zoning Board of Appeals. 4.� Amending Article 12 (“Ordinance Administrators”) by striking 12.5 Community Design Commission and amending Historic Preservation Commission from subsection 12.6 to become Section 12.5, and adding language to Section 12.3�A� �“Powers Related to Zoning Ordinance”) with new subsections 5 and 6, and adding a reference that the Zoning Board of Appeals will also review and decide on variances to the Village Sign Ordinance, and striking the full Subsection 12.5 �“Community Design Commission”) and amending subsection 12.6 to become 12.5 �“Historic Preservation Commission”).
A copy of the proposed text amendment is on file and available for inspection at the Village Hall, Development Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, between 9�00 a.m. and 5�00 p.m. The Plan Commission may continue the hearing to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.
ALL INTERESTED PERSONS ARE INVITED TO BE HEARD OAK PARK PLAN COMMISSION Oak Park, Illinois 60302
Owners Jess King and Will Duncan recount the journey behind this historic milestone
BY DALAL ORFALI Vibe assistant editor
Nestled in Berwyn, FitzGerald’s has been a community cor nerstone for over a century. Its legacy is now cemented after it became the first music venue in Illinois to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places Owners Will Duncan and Jess King worked toward the designation for two years. In April 2023, King posted a vintage photo
FitzGerald’s: Berwyn’s gem named to National Register of Historic Places
of FitzGerald’s on social media, sparking an outpouring of nostalgia from patrons
“I went to the Berwyn Public Library looking for more photos,” she said. “That’s really when I discovered the full history. As I’m sitting there in the library, I’m seeing advertisements and news articles on this property going all the way back to the early 1900s, and it was just incredible.”
This revelation set the wheels in motion to nominate the ve nue for the National Re gister.
The research revealed surprising details, including FitzGerald’s connections to Prohibition-era mob activity.
“We have actual records of the mayor of Berwyn at the time—I think it was 1934—
shutting this place down because this was the hangout of one of Al Capone’s top guys, Jack McGurn,” King said. She noted that records from the Library of Congress pointed to the property’s reputation during Prohibition, joking, “No comment on bad, but it’s one of the things that surprised us the most!”
The road to historic designation wasn’t easy.
“This was not a typical nomination,” King said. “The nominations for the National Register are mostly architectural, and this stands out as a 100% cultural nomination.”
Illinois’ Board of the National Register debated the venue’s merit, but ultimately acknowledged overwhelming community support — more than 90 letters from patrons
“In the end, they did say that this place deserves to be on the National Register for its importance to people alone,” King said.
The venue was originally built as a dance hall.
“We know that for sure because it’s labeled that on a Sanborn map from the early 1900s,” King said.
During the jazz revival of the mid-20th century, FitzGerald’s became a beacon for musicians and fans alike. While specific names elude immediate recall, King promises their historical records include notable artists who graced its stage.
And during Prohibition, it became an ath-
continued from page 24
letic club before pivoting to a hunt club called “Deer Lodge,” which explains the deer heads on the walls
The couple enlisted Douglas Gilbert, an Oak Park local architect and historian, to craft a compelling application. His research cemented FitzGerald’s status as a historic site. For King and Duncan, the process was meticulous and nerve-wracking.
“The hardest part was the waiting,” Duncan acknowledged. “For two years, we were on the edge of our seats, hoping for a favorable outcome.”
Preservation has always been central to their mission, they said.
“We have done almost nothing to alter the property in any way; it sits as it was built over a hundred years ago,” Duncan said. “That’s part of this historic designation—to preserve its look, feel, and usage.”
Maintenance, like foundation and roof repairs, remains essential. Duncan noted that the designation will open doors for preservation grants and potential tax credit benefits.
But for Duncan, FitzGerald’s is more than a business venture; it’s deeply personal.
“I first came to see music here 25 years ago, and I fell in love with it,” he said.
After years in Chicago’s live music and hospitality industries, he and King took the leap when the FitzGerald family, who had run the venue for 40 years, sought to pass the torch.
“We spent 18 months deliberating,” he said. “It was what we were meant to do in our lives — to take this place over and build on the incredible legacy that had grown here, and try to keep it alive.”
Duncan noted that small clubs are important because they act as cultural incubators.
“Every great artist got their start at a small club. The Rolling Stones’ first gig was in a small club, so these are the places where true talent is developed,” he said. “They’re essential to our cultural landscape.”
King and Duncan plan to host an open house history experience on Jan. 28, inviting patrons to explore the venue’s rich legacy. They also plan an early spring community celebration to mark FitzGerald’s historic milestone with a plaque dedication.
“We have plans to invite the community and people who have helped us through this process. There will be a celebration for sure,” King said.
Na Siam: Fresh as ever with new owners
Knock and Honey Wareewanich are bringing the best of ingredients to the new Thai restaurant at North and Kenilworth
By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter
Na Siam Restaurant — a bit of Thailand at our northern border — has new owners. But the aroma and flavors are the same at the Nor th Avenue restaurant.
Thitinant “Knock” Wareewanich and his wife bought the restaurant eight months ago. They arrived from Thailand with their two young children and a dream – an American dream to give their kids a great education and a solid start in life
The menu at Na Siam is largely the same as it was before, but the Wareewaniches are careful with the quality.
“We go to market. I mean the raw material, we order by ourself and if some part we think is not fresh enough, we just go directly to the market by ourself,” said Wareewanich
Many of Thai cuisine’s flavors benefit from this dedication to quality ingredients: basil, papaya, ginger, eggplant and others.
that to adjust,” Wareewanich said.
When they decide to introduce a new item, they take a similar approach. This is true for an item they are currently considering: Taro in coconut milk.
“We give, let the customer try, and ask them if they like that for new items that we’re going to launch,” Wareewanich said.
He said he was an educator in his homeland. His wife, Honey, is also a fashion designer. Photos and examples of her wares are on display in the restaurant’s dining room.
Their children, whom Wareewanich calls the “bosses,” are two and three years old. The presence of young eaters in their own family might be the reason for the reasonably priced kid’s combo options that comes with either crispy chicken or chicken satay, eggrolls filled with steamed broccoli, carrot and other veggies, and served with jasmine rice for only $6.95.
Customer Dennis Egolf and his wife enjoyed a lunch in the dining room recently. When Egolf ’s red curry bowl arrived, steam filled the air with the smells of good tastes to come
Their protein options range from the usual —tofu, chicken, shrimp, beef and pork —but the menu also includes duck as an option for many dishes
Appetizers are a tempting list. Spring rolls filled with a fresh collection of tofu, beansprouts, carrots and cucumber are wrapped in rice paper and served with plum sauce. Steamed Thai dumplings are served with black garlic soy sauce. And crab Rangoon pleases the American palate with crab and cream cheese inside a puff of fried wonton.
The new owners listen attentively to reactions from customers, some of whom drive from as much as 45 minutes away to dine there, according to Wareewanich
“We always ask, ‘How do you like the food?’ And if anything is in common with comments, we use
“We drive by here often and decided to try it. The soup was great, the spice levels are excellent, and the service is friendly. We’ ll be back,” Wareewanich said.
Na Siam’s menu includes all the expected dishes in a Thai restaurant: soups, like Tom Yum, curries, noodle dishes and salads. Panang curry with peanuts, coconut milk, lime leaves, veggies and a choice of protein, all served with jasmine rice, is one of the most popular curries in Thailand Wareewanich takes pride in his new role as ambassador for foods from his home, ensuring that his kitchen does not serve pre-cooked dishes to customers.
“For us, sometimes you have to wait about half an hour. Because we cook every dish fresh,” Wareewanich said. And they hope diners leave satisfied. “We are depending on word of mouth. The customer come in, eat. They go out and then they tell. That’s the way we will grow.”
All photos provided by FITZGERALD ’S NIGHTCLUB
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� High School Diploma or GED and a score of 460 or higher on the ETS Parapro �Visit ISBE.net or email bdoolin@fpsd91.org for more information)
� Benefits include insurance, tuition reimbursement amd paid time off
� Make a difference in students’ lives
� Winter, spring & summer breaks
Forest Park Schools/D91 Call: 708�366�5700 Visit: fpsd91.org
here,rightacrossfromtheBrookfield Zoo,formorethan a centurypassionatelyservingtheneedsoflocalseniors.
Tour our 10-acre campus today! (708) 387- 1030
Tour our 10-acre campus today! (708) 387- 1030
Tour our 10-acre campus today! (708) 387- 1030 Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support Short-Term Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home Care Scan here to visit Cantata.org
WithCantata’scontinuumofcare,youcanliveyourbest lifetoday,tomorrowandintothefuture.We’vebeen here,rightacrossfromtheBrookfield Zoo,formorethan a centurypassionatelyservingtheneedsoflocalseniors.
(708) 387- 1030
With Cantata’s continuum of care, you can live your best life today, tomorrow and into the future. We’ve been here, right across from the zoo, for more than a century passionately serving the needs of local seniors.
Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support Short-Term Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home Care Scan here to visit Cantata.org
Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support Short-Term Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home Care Scan here to visit Cantata.org
Tour our 10-acre campus today! (708) 387- 1030
Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support
Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home Care Scan here to visit Cantata.org
Independent Living•Assisted Living•Memory Support Short-Term Rehab•Long-Term Care•Home
