Wednesday Journal 021424

W E D N E S D A Y

February 14, 2024 Vol. 44, No. 33

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Oak Park library highlights Julian family achievements in legacy museum The exhibit is open until March 4

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

The Oak Park Public Library is utilizing its “Idea Box” area off the lobby during Black History Month to highlight the achievements and contributions of Dr. Percy Julian and Anna Julian in a legacy museum.

Percy Julian, a chemist and entrepreneur, is known for his synthesis of cortisone, hormones and other products from soybeans, according to Britannica. In addition to his many contributions to science, including registering more than 130 chemical patents, he was an active fundraiser for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Anna Julian was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in sociology, according to The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest. She was active in civil rights and served as a board member of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

A rolling boil Tensions at OPRF High School mirror the Mideast conflict REPORT BY BOB SKOLNIK, PAGE 16

See PERCY JULIAN on page 8

JAVIER GOVEA

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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2023-2024 | 92nd Season SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2024 @ 4PM

BRAHMS & TWO DEANS OF AMERICAN MUSIC: COPLAND and STILL Maurice Boyer, conductor

Michelle Wynton, violin William Cernota, cello

STILL Symphony No. 2 “Song of a New Race” COPLAND Lincoln Portrait Michelle Wynton, violin

State Representative Camille Y. Lilly, narrator Pre-concert Conversation with David Leehey at 3PM. Reception immediately following the concert.

William Cernota, cello

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BRAHMS Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op. 102 State Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, narrator

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Free parking in the garage located at 1124 N. Bonnie Brae Place (one block west of Harlem Avenue between Division and Thomas Streets) in River Forest. Chapel just west of garage exit.

Individual tickets $30 online through 2/17/2024; $35 at the box office on concert day.

Students through college admitted free.

Go to SymphonyOPRF.org to order tickets, subscriptions, and to DONATE. Questions: Email TheSymphonyOPRF@gmail or call (708) 218-2648

Visit OakPark.com/subscribe or call circulation at (708) 613-3340

Our Community Needs Community Journalism It’s not just about crime reports and board meetings.

We also need inspiring, funny, heartwarming and, at times, heartbreaking stories about our friends, neighbors and children. Perhaps now, more than ever.

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Migrant resettlement task force partnership tests testy trustees Cory Wesley and Lucia Robinson push back on working with a new migrant aid group

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

It’s not often that this staid Oak Park Board of Trustees gets heated.

But at the Feb. 6 meeting, it was different.

Two trustees pushed back at allocating money for migrant assistance to a new task force — which led to a heated discussion. It marked a seeming escalation in the tensions among the board that appear to emerge during discussions about handling the migrant crisis.

The village was awarded $1.9 million for asylum-seeker aid. According to village officials, $300,000 of the grant will go toward short-term rental assistance. To apply, staff were required to identify partners for each service and listed the Oak Park Resettlement Task Force as a potential subgrantee, although an agreement has not yet been finalized. It is a new organization supported by the Community of Congregations looking to resettle about 140 migrant individuals.

But trustees Cory Wesley and Lucia Robinson questioned how the task force was chosen as a partner, why other organizations had not been considered and expressed frustration, saying this action was not communicated effectively.

“I am very troubled by this particular partnership CORY WESLEY and the process in which it was communicated to this board,” Wesley said at the meeting. “I don’t feel like we were given a sufficient heads up.”

Oak Park Human Resources Director Kira Tchang explained that village staff

chose the task force because they are actively engaged in the work with migrants and are immediately able to perform the work.

“We had to make some very quick decisions,” Tchang said. “[The task KIRA TCHANG force was] the biggest and most organized effort within the community at the time when that resettlement funding was contemplated.”

Wesley said he did not recall being informed that the task force would be a partner. He pointed out that the task force has been in existence for only about a month, and therefore had only LUCIA ROBINSON been in existence for a couple weeks when listed as a partner on the grant application, without other organizations being considered.

Robinson said the board did not approve the application and the listed partners before it was sent out for approval. Now that the funds have been awarded, she said she’s not sure if changing partners would require revising the grant application.

Records show the board had been informed about the possibility of that task force partnership.

At the Jan. 23 board meeting, which is recorded, Tchang reported that the $300,000 for short term rentals could be administered by the task force with the Community of Congregations acting as a fiscal agent. The task force meets on a weekly basis with village staff, Tchang said.

FILE

Robinson later said she was upset the potential partnership was not officially confirmed and the board did not have time to properly vet the task force.

However, trustees Susan BuchanBRIAN STRAW an and Brian Straw and Village President Vicki Scaman were taken aback by their fellow board members’ concern, all expressing their support for a partnership with the task force at the Feb. 6 meeting.

Straw defended the Community of Congregations, saying it has a long-standing tradition of standing up for the community in

“I am very troubled by this particular partnership and the process in which it was communicated to this board. I don’t feel like we were given a sufficient heads up.”

CORY WESLEY Village trustee

times of crisis.

But Robinson later said there should have been a request for other organizations to be considered in an open bid process.

“I also felt quite blindsided for them [task force memSUSAN BUCHANAN bers] to be called down by Trustee Straw in the middle of the [Jan. 23] meeting,” she said. “That is not the proper way to have a group present to the board.”

If an agreement with the task force is not finalized, Robinson said she would look to village staff to find a replacement partner.

There are other resettlement efforts and nonprofits in the city of Chicago and in the surrounding suburban area that could be examined as partners, she said.

Amid the heated debate, Tchang said that any lack of communication on this partnership was a failure of staff and not a reflection on the partners.

Scaman said she felt the dialogue around the topic could have been more respectful.

“I am a little distraught at the conversation that happened earlier tonight,” she said at the end of the meeting. “I do care very much that all members of the board feel as if they are getting all of the information and so I will continue to support everyone equally.”

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

Easing Into Home Ownership Thursday, Feb. 15, 6:30-8 p.m., Oak Park Public Library Join and demystify the steps to homeownership. Hear from a panel of local experts and learn about various financing approaches to homeownership. This is a free event open to everyone. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

BIG WEEK February 14-21

MHS: Super Smash Bros Duos Gaming Tournament

Sunday, Feb. 18, 4-6 p.m., One Lake Brewing An early evening of fun for all ages. Prizes will be awarded to the winners. Enjoy drinks and food while you play. Jump in any time as there are continuous rounds. Walk-ins always welcome but this event does fill up. Reserve your spot at https://linktr.ee/OneLakeBrewing. 1 Lake St., Oak Park.

Film Lover Fridays Friday, Feb. 16, 1-3:30 p.m., River Forest Public Library Join other movie lovers on the third Friday of every month to watch great classic films. You will be watching the 1962 Orson Welles film, The Trial. 735 Lathrop Ave., River Forest.

Saturday, Feb. 17, 12:30-2:30 p.m., Oak Park Public Library Please join the Oak Park Public Library and other community partners, Ms. Jenny’s Chinese E-School, the Yin He Dance Center, and the Collaboration for Early Childhood as they celebrate the 2024 Lunar New Year. Ms. Jenny and CEC will have activities for kids and families, before and after a dance performance. Register now at oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Saturday Stories, Ages 0-6 Saturday, Feb. 17, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m., River Forest Public Library Join for stories, songs, and lots of movement in this fun and engaging, interactive story time. For ages 0-6, with caregiver. 735 Lathrop Ave., River Forest.

Sunday, Feb. 18, 4 p.m., Concordia University Chapel Enjoy a pre-concert discussion at 3 p.m. Admission is $30 per person until Feb. 17 and $35 on the day of the event. College students get in for free. Free parking at 1166 N. Bonnie Brae Place, River Forest. 7400 Augusta St., River Forest.

Family Bingo

Friday, Feb. 16, 4-5:45 p.m., Oak Park Public Library Gaming tournament for middle school students. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Celebrating the 2024 Lunar New Year

Symphony of a New Race: Lincoln Portrait and Brahms Double

Handel Week Festival 25th Anniversary

Pack Drumline

Sunday, Feb. 18, 4 p.m., Lund Auditorium The Pack started out as an afterschool program in the Chicago area, teaching percussion and dance to at-risk youth. Now the official drumline of the Chicago Sky, their semi-final finish in season 17 of America's Got Talent brought the group new opportunities, including a North American tour for the 2023-2024 season. To purchase tickets please visit dom.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1539. 7900 W. Division St., River Forest.

Listing your event in the calendar Wednesday Journal welcomes notices about events that Oak Park and River Forest community groups and businesses are planning. We’ll work to get the word out if you let us know what’s happening by noon

Wednesday a week before your news needs to be in the newspaper.

■ Send details to Wednesday Journal, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, 60302 ■ Email calendar@wjinc.com

Sunday, Feb. 18, 3 p.m., Pilgrim Congregational Church This first concert of the 25th Anniversary season features the complete Water Music and the newly discovered Gloria. Tickets are available at www.handelweek. com or at the door. Students get in for free. 640 Lake St. Oak Park.

Monet Water Lilies Art Class Wednesday, Feb. 21, 1 – 2 p.m., Oak Park and River Forest Townships Senior Services Presented by Slowfire Arts Foundation, learn to make Monet water lilies inspired watercolor painting. Space is limited, call to register.

Senior Services Nutrition and Activity Hotline: 708725-9129. We also provide transportation for Oak Park and River Forest residents: 708-383-4806. 130 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park.

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Lincoln student heads to national go-kart championship

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Pierce Joy is on the fast track for a title

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

A fourth grader at Oak Park’s Lincoln Elementary school is on the fast track to winning a national championship in go-kart racing this April.

Pierce Joy will be representing the state of Illinois in the 2023 K1 Speed Junior National Championship hosted in Ontario, California.

Pierce fell head over … wheels ... for racing, following his grandfather’s passion for the sport. Whether NASCAR or Formula One, Pierce said he often would watch the races with his grandfather. Combine that with his love for cars,

which he likes to collect, racing seemed to come almost naturally.

But then he received a virtual wheel simulator that he connects to a video game that simulates racing. And everything took off from there.

The transition from a virtual wheel to sitting behind an actual wheel was smooth, Pierce said.

“It was easy for me, in my opinion,” Pierce said. “I also [raced] in different gokarts before and I would always beat everybody that I was racing against. I would say, ‘this is too slow. I want to go fast.’”

In October 2022, Pierce joined K1GP See GO-KART on page 7

AT THE 19TH CENTURY CLUB SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17 @ 5:30PM

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Housing Forward will renovate The Write Inn with $1M from Oak Park The funding secures hotel’s new use as a shelter for people experiencing homelessness

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

The Oak Park village board of trustees designated $1 million to Housing Forward for renovations at The Write Inn, a temporary shelter site for individuals and fami7310 Madison St. lies experiencing homelessness. forestagency.com Forest Park, ILExpertise 60130 Half of the money will come from unmultiple companies Unrivaled Insurance spent American Rescue Plan Act funding, quality coverages forestagency.com while the other half is from Community Our Professional Designations educated agents Development Block Grant returned funds.

Include: Housing Forward chief executive officer 708.383.9000 Lynda Schueler said the nonprofit plans to Certified Personal (70 8 ) 3 8 3Risk -9 Manager 000 spend the funds within a year.

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At the Feb. 6 village board meeting, trustAssociate in Management ee Lucia Robinson and trustee Cory Wesley Associate in Insurance Services raised concerns about allocating ARPA Associate in General Insurance funding to Housing Forward, both voting against the motion. Robinson and Wesley 7310 Madison Associate in Personal InsuranceSt. multiple companies each said they would have liked the necesquality coverages Forest Park, IL 60130 sary funding to renovate The Write Inn to educated agents solely from CDBG or other funds and forestagency.com come spend more time considering where the reChicago Magazines five-star winner maining ARPA dollars could go.

“I’m supportive of the cause, but I’m also supportive of other causes,” Wesley said.

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The Write Inn village. The State of Illinois has provided $3 million of that budget, and Housing Forward has requested $1.5 million from Cook County’s HUD Economic Development Initiative.

The Write Inn, located at 211 N. Oak Park Ave., shelters Housing Forward clients from across all of its service territory in western Cook County, according to the village.

After renovations, Housing Forward is planning for The Write Inn to provide 40 rooms for interim housing, or up to 55 beds, as well as 15 rooms for medical respite care, or 19 beds, said Libby Foster, Housing Forward director of communications.

The rooms will also provide clients with showers, storage and climate control, protecting them from exposure to cold or heat and infection. But all residential units need substantial rehabilitation, including replumbing, to be up to quality and accessibility standards, according to village officials.

Some of the units will still operate as the Recuperation in a Supportive Environment Center for those experiencing health trauma and uncertain refuge, according

to the village. Housing Forward has also partnered with Cook County Health to provide short-term medical care for patients experiencing homelessness who are too sick to stay in an overnight shelter or on the streets.

Housing Forward plans to renovate residential and common spaces, laundry areas and the hotel lobby of The Write Inn. The lobby will provide office and storage space, and potentially an area for meals to be served. The renovation will also include a roof replacement and tuck pointing, according to the village.

In addition to housing options for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, Housing Forward provides case management and wraparound services including health and behavioral health services and employment and income support.

“We end homelessness one person at a time through housing,” Housing Forward wrote in its ARPA fund request application.

“Safe, stable housing is the foundation on which clients become self-sufficient and rebuild their confidence so they can not only live, but thrive in their community.”

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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GO-KART

Driving the dream from page 5 Speed Challenge Junior League and participated in races held every month in suburban Addison. Because the racing season follows the calendar year, Pierce officially began the new season in 2023 and, ultimately, became the K1 Speed Junior League City Champion in December 2023, with 111 total points.

Following that win, the top three from Addison and Buffalo Grove competed for the K1 Speed Junior League State Championship, which Pierce won Jan. 28.

“It was very satisfying and when I crossed the finish line I was like, ‘I won, yes I won!’” he said.

Seeing Pierce win first place and a state championship was also a thrilling experience for his parents, Branden and Kerri Joy. “It was exciting,” said Branden Joy, a special education teacher at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School. “I tell my guy friends that it is every grown man’s dream.”

Watching her son compete in a sport that is not mainstream brings Kerri a lot of pride. She said she loves watching him explain his sport to others who might not be as familiar with it.

“He really does put in the work and the time by practicing in the virtual stuff we have at home,” Kerri Joy said.

Branden Joy also recalled his son telling him that he was going to “come in and win the whole thing.”

“When he first started back in October, he said that a couple of times throughout the year,” Branden said.

However, Kerri also pointed out how mentally strong Pierce has been to get himself to this position.

After placing second to last in the first

qualifying round, Pierce had to start the race second to last on the grid board, which displays the starting position for each class and race. Each class has two qualifying heat races and one feature race per event.

“He went on to then qualify first, which allowed him to start the final races in first and he kept [that] position and finished in first,” Kerri said. “I was impressed by his ability to, as we call it, [be] ‘cool, calm, and collected,’ it was very impressive.”

Grandpa is also excited, said Kerri, his daughter.

“It is not something that he is pushing Pierce towards, Pierce genuinely has his own interest in and so it is such a great thing for them to have that shared interest,” Kerri said.

As the family prepares to make it out to California, his mom remains undaunted, saying all of the drives to Addison were worth it, and this trip would be, too. Pierce, the oldest of their three children, will continue to be rewarded with his determination and dedication to the sport, she said.

That dedication is illustrated by how Pierce prepares for each race. With the help of his dad, who prints out a layout of the track, Pierce studies it to ensure he has the best times possible.

“If you take the racing line on the inside or the outside, it will affect differently how fast you go through the whole track,” Pierce said. “So, I usually tend to take the lines more near the inside so we can get it tighter and have a shorter time and not go all wide so it takes you more time to go through a turn.”

While he waits for April to come around, Pierce has already begun competing in the 2024 K1 Junior league season, which started in January.

For other kids who want to get behind the wheel of a go-kart, or try something new in general, Pierce has one message: “Keep shooting for the stars and try your best.”

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PROVIDED BY KERRI JOY

The Joy of driving

Way Back Inn, a local nonprofit organization treating individuals seeking recovery from gambling and substance use disorders, is seeking potential bids for a backup generator for our Oak Park recovery home located at 412 Wesley Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302.

Please contact Anita Pindiur, Executive Director 708-345-8422 ext. 125 • anitap@waybackinn.org

This is a Federally funded project, with the money coming from Oak Park Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and thus is subject to all applicable Federal rules, regulations, and guidelines, including Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. Preference is given to qualifying Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE).

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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PERCY JULIAN

A legacy to celebrate from page 1 Together, the couple and their family were among the early Black families who moved to Oak Park under circumstances of hate and welcome.

“The Idea Box is made to be the voice of this community for marginalized people and groups,” said Juanta Griffin, multicultural learning coordinator at the library.

Faith Julian, daughter of Percy and Anna Julian, still lives in their family home at 515 N. East Ave., and has been raising money for years to preserve the property and prevent it from being sold in county tax sales.

“We want to make sure that we are honoring the legacies in our village with dignity and integrity,” Griffin said. “We have a living heir, Faith Julian, right here.”

The legacy museum showcases informational materials about the Julian family, artifacts, photographs and period pieces. Many items were donated by community members. Tulips decorate the room, reminiscent of tulips once grown

JAVIER GOVEA

Some of the items on display at the Julian Legacy Museum in the Idea Box at the Oak Park Public Library. at the Julian home.

Soon, the exhibit will showcase “Forgotten Genius,” a movie about Percy Julian.

Griffin said she wants to use the library’s platform to raise awareness about Faith’s situation and had been working on the mu-

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seum since last June.

“I wanted it to look like the Julian home,” Griffin said. “It’s to reimagine the Julian home as a museum or as a learning center, which is what Faith wants to happen to her family home.”

It’s important to preserve Oak Park’s history and the Julian family contributions, Griffin said, considering the way Frank Lloyd Wright and Ernest Hemingway’s legacies are preserved in the village.

“Everything that they [the Julian family] learned, everything that they had, they gave back to their community, they gave back to humanity,” Griffin said. “And we’re giving nothing in return but excuses and bureaucracy. They deserve better, we can do better.”

There have been a lot of visitors to the museum so far, Griffin said, but she hopes more school groups and children will come and learn about the Julian family legacy.

The next Percy or Anna Julian could be among them, she said.

“We can’t forget our history,” Griffin said.

The Julian Legacy Museum is open Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Main Library, 834 Lake St. The exhibit will be available for viewing until March 4.

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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River Forest takes different path on climate action plan Village partners with UIC for sustainability roadmap

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

River Forest officials were thinking outside the box when it came to creating a climate action plan for the village, forming a partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) to have graduate students in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy create such a plan as a class project.

Seth Jansen, management analyst for the village, said River Forest officials learned through Cook County that UIC officials were looking for interested communities with which to form partnerships.

Dr. Kazuya Kawamura, the professor who is teaching the course, said students who had registered for the class indicated in November that they had an interest in sustainability or climate projects. He reached out to officials at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) who suggested he target west Cook County and “helped spread the word.” Once he publicized the opportunity, River Forest officials responded “almost immediately.” He met with village officials and “ironed out the details.” CMAP is the comprehensive planning organization for the seven counties and 284 communities of northeastern Illinois, including River Forest.

As part of the course, graduate students in the Master’s in Urban Planning and Policy program are tasked with developing a plan for a local community, said Jansen.

Each year the plan-making course has a different type of community plan students are tasked with developing.

This semester, two of the class sections will be developing a climate action plan for the village, he said. At the end of the semester, each class will produce a climate action plan of 80 or fewer pages and a poster for the partner community. In this case, River Forest will receive two independent plans produced by two class sections. The other two sections of the course are work-

ing with Broadview to develop a climate action plan for that village, according to Kawamura. River Forest and Broadview were among the founding communities in the Cross Community Climate collective, a collaboration among near west suburbs focused on climate issues.

Kawamura called the partnership a winwin because the students obtain real world experience and the partner community receives an action plan.

According to his biography on the UIC website, Kawamura has managed over $2 million in research grants and has over 100 publications on a variety of topics including transport economics, travel analysis and freight planning. He received a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University and doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of California at Berkeley.

He said he has taught the majority of the course offerings since it started in 2008.

The class is only offered in the spring with 52 students in this year’s class. He said the class projects over the years have had “a lot of Chicago focus,” explaining that each class involved a different community and different subject.

“We wanted to reach out more to the suburbs,” Kawamura said. “We’re really excited about that.”

In addition to Chicago, students have produced plans for Forest Park, Melrose Park and Gary, Indiana.

Kawamura said the class is a core course and described it as “extremely intensive.”

The semester began Jan. 8 and Jansen said he” briefly” attended an evening course to answer some questions.

He said students also came to River Forest Jan. 27 for a driving tour of the community, “getting out at a few stops.” They followed up with a meeting at Village Hall with Jansen, village Administrator Matt Walsh, Trustee Lisa Gillis and Susan Charrette from the village’s Sustainability Commission which Jansen characterized as “a great dialogue overall.”

Students are expected to provide a midterm update Feb. 27 and make their final presentation April 30.

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Oak Park physician convicted of $1.2M Medicaid fraud William McMiller found guilty of multiple felonies

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

Dr. William McMiller, an Oak Park phy-

sician, was found guilty of defrauding Illinois out of more than $1.2 million in Medicaid funds.

McMiller was charged along with his niece,

Do you have DIABETES?

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f you do, you should know how important foot care is. Over time, diabetics risk developing foot complications. When the nerves are damaged from chronic high blood sugar, feet can become numb or painful with burning or tingling. This is called diabetic neuropathy. When diabetes affects the arteries, circulation to the legs and feet may be compromised. Either of these conditions may lead to serious problems including ulceration, even amputation.

The key to prevention is early diagnosis of diabetes, and regular foot exams from a podiatrist.

Diabetics who receive regular foot care, including paring of calluses and debridement of thick fungal toenails, are almost four times less likely

to undergo an amputation than those who do not seek treatment.

Medicare and some private insurances cover 1 pair of diabetic shoes and 3 pair of protective insoles each calendar year. Dr. Lambert has been a supplier of diabetic shoes since 2002. The shoes come in 30 different styles each for men and women. These include boots, lightweight colorful athletic shoes, and dress shoes. Even patients who are not diabetic love the look and comfort of the footwear. Diabetic socks, slippers and compression hosiery are also available.

Protecting your feet with appropriate footgear is an important aspect of preventive care for diabetics.

Jonise Williams, in 2020. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Angela Petrone found McMiller guilty of theft of government property by deception and theft of government property by unauthorized control, each of which are Class X felonies punishable by six to 30 years in prison, according to a news release.

“Millions of Illinoisans – seniors, children and families – rely on Medicaid to obtain their health care,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in the release. “It is unconscionable a physician who is charged with providing care would take advantage of patients and the people of Illinois.”

Petrone also found McMiller guilty of vendor fraud, a Class 1 felony punishable by four to 20 years in prison, according to a news release. McMiller’s court date is scheduled for Feb. 29.

According to authorities, the physician owns Dr. Bill’s Learning Center, with locations in Oak Park and in Chicago. The center provides clinical therapy, psychiatric services and tutoring to children, according to the release. McMiller, along with his niece, submitted claims to Illinois’ Medicaid program for psychotherapy and medical services that were not provided, according to the release.

“Physicians who defraud federal health care programs not only waste valuable taxpayer dollars, but they also divert resources meant to pay for medically necessary care for eligible enrollees,” Mario M. Pinto, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Inspector General, said in the release.

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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St. Giles student shares the stage with Emmy winner Dana Delany

‘Highway Patrol’ will run through Feb. 18

Thankful & Thriving on Our 45th Anniversary

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

“Lights, camera, action.” That might be the favorite phrase of a St. Giles student who is making a name for himself in the world of acting, both on the Chicago stage and on TV. Thomas Murphy Molony, a 6th grader at St. Giles School in Oak Park, is sharing the stage as only one of three cast members in the Goodman Theater’s production of Highway Patrol, which tells a story stemming from Emmy winner Dana Delany’s own personal social media archives.

The 11-year-old is starring alongside Delany, who received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in both 1989 and 1992, as well as threetime Emmy Award nominee Dot-Marie Jones, who is known for her roles in Glee and American Horror Story.

“Everybody is just so nice,” said Molony about his two co-stars, whom he said have created a fun and nurturing environment for the THOMAS MURPHY young actor.

MOLONY Molony began acting in school plays just to have fun with his friends, but at the recommendation of local business owner and family friend Amanda Daly of The Daly Bagel in Oak Park, Molony was introduced to an acting coach who thought he should audition for an upcoming play at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.

“I was a little confused when I first heard of it,” Molony said. “I was like ‘professional acting? What do you mean?’”

He ended up booking the role of John Bechdel in the theater’s production of “Fun Home,” making his professional acting debut in 2022.

Molony then went on to play the role of Randy in the Marriott Theatre’s production of A Christmas Story.

With two theater productions under his

Roughly 20% of small businesses fail within their first year of opening, 50% by the end of year five, and 70% are finished by year 10. Only 5% survive longer than 30 years.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CLAIR MURPHY

Molony takes center stage at Goodman Theater. belt, he landed an agent at DDO Artists Agency, Chicago, who began submitting him for television works. Molony is also represented by Stride Management.

Molony ended up booking an episode of American Rust, the Showtime adaptation of Phillip Meyer’s novel by the same name set in a rust belt town in Pennsylvania.

Accompanied by his mother, Clair Murphy, the two traveled down to Pittsburgh and got to enjoy being on set, which Molony loved.

“It was so cool seeing everything,” Molony said of the opportunity, adding it was a rush to know he was going to get to be on TV. Murphy said the whole opportunity was a positive experience.

“It was a surreal experience,” Murphy said. “The biggest takeaway I had from all of this, is that everybody in these groupsmusicals, plays, even the commercials that he did- everybody was so loving and warm and welcoming that I think that is part of the reason Thomas embraces it so much.”

While Molony has gained experiences both on stage and on TV, he said he knows auditioning can be a lot of work for sometimes no reward, which has prepared him for future auditions, including “Highway Patrol.”

“It’s a lot of work to do auditions, you can audition for 100 things and not get any-

thing,” he said. “But when I heard that I actually got the role, I was literally screaming I was so happy.”

Still Molony has continued to grow in his confidence as an actor with every audition.

“When you get something and you do the next audition, it makes me feel like I have more of a chance of getting this rather than one in a million,” Molony said.

While acting is something Molony hopes to continue to pursue, for now he is focused on Highway Patrol, which had its opening night on Jan. 30.

Balancing being a professional actor can be challenging, but both Molony and his mother said they have been able to juggle everything with the help of both the theater and St. Giles, who have worked around the young actor’s schedule with the help of tutors.

“It is definitely an actual job,” Molony said. “I feel like this is something that I want to do constantly because it is such a great experience working with everyone.”

But if acting does not work out, Molony already has his eyes on a backup career, working at a slime factory.

“I love slime, like so much and I think that would be super cool,” he said enthusiastically.

“Highway Patrol” will run on the Goodman Theatre stage through Feb. 18.

As we celebrated our 45th anniversary on January 29th, we Scott reflected on those McAdam Jr. statistics—and the keys to our growth and longevity as a business and within the community.

Since 1979, it has all stemmed from a tenacious passion, pride and drive to not only survive but thrive long after our founders have gone.

Throughout these many years, we have learned, developed, and re-strategized to persevere, even in tumultuous times. Surviving the 1979 energy crisis, multiple recessions, and a global pandemic has required creative thinking, strong leadership, and a dedicated staff.

Our business has become a part of the community’s fabric. We recognize that we are only as strong as the communities that surround us; we are grateful to all of you for entrusting us to service, design, and build beautiful outdoor spaces that can be enjoyed every day--and for years to come.

The future is bright and exciting.

We can’t wait for the next 45 years.

2001 Des Plaines Ave. Forest Park • 708-771-2299 www.mcadamlandscape.com

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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D97 approves revised gun-storage education policy It’s designed to ensure students and parents receive quality, consistent information about secure gun storage

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

The Board of Education for the Oak Park Elementary School District 97 will continue to educate district families and the community about secure gun storage after it approved a policy formalizing the effort.

The Jan. 30 approval was unanimous.

“We stand with our families, community members and agency partners in collective efforts to increase safety in Oak Park,” said Supt. Ushma Shah. “This board policy introduces a new component to our holistic approach to school safety, which is annually using our district channels to raise awareness about secure gun storage as an important public health issue.”

The approved, revised policy included a change from using the phrase “safe storage” to “secure storage,” and references the village’s ordinance on safe storage of firearms, passed in July 2023. It states “all firearms within the Village of Oak Park must be secured by a locking device.”

The ordinance also says that “only the person authorized to carry or control the firearm may know the combination or the location of the key of the locking device,” and that firearms left unattended in a vehicle in plain view are not considered secure.

In the revision, D97 reiterated that providing students with a “learning environment that ensured their emotional and physical safety” was a deep core value and acknowledged that districts around the country have been increasingly adopting policies committing them to education parents and guardians to why secure gun storage education was important to minimize gun violence as well as school and community threats.

While the district had already been providing information to families, including by sharing information from community partners, some parents felt that more was needed from the district. Some spoke about that during the public comment portion of the meeting.

“What often happens is that you get fired up about something, get something done but then if there is no system to keep it going it gets forgotten,” said Katherine Thurman, an educator and parent of children in Oak Park.

“We really appreciate what the district has done…we know you are supportive of safe

FILE

Oak Park Elementary School District 97 Office. gun storage, but to be truly effective we need consistency and prioritization.”

With the adoption of the new policy, the board and district officials said they are upgrading the district’s commitment to student safety, and that this will ensure efforts are consistent.

Some steps taken by the district were highlighted in the memorandum, including: ■ Strengthening the social and emotional learning supports by “investing in a MultiTiered System of Support framework” ■ Collaborating with community partners, including the village, the Oak Park Police Department, Oak Park Department of Public Health, and the high school district ■ Reviewing and drafting communications about secure gun storage with village staff who are experts in public health The approval of the policy was met with applause and cheering from community members who had spoken out in support during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Local Moms Demand Action member Jenna Leving Jacobson, who had been advocating for firearm storage safety and for D97 to join in on the movement, said she

was glad the school board “finally took the time to vote on the policy.”

Jacobson added that she was hopeful that D200 and other neighboring districts would soon follow suit.

Five days before the board meeting, the White House announced new executive actions to help promote the safe storage of firearms through an executive order.

The need for this was highlighted through not only the growing number of school shootings that have occurred in the past years, but also the connection gun related incidents have to firearms kept in a household.

“Approximately 4.6 million children live in homes with unsecured firearms,” the White House said in a statement. “Studies show that safe storage can dramatically reduce children’s risk of self-inflicted harm and unintentional shootings.”

According to a 2019 report called “U.S secret service analysis of targeted school violence,” from the U.S Department of Homeland Security’s National Threat Assessment Center, 76% of school shootings are committed with guns from the home.

It also shows that 80% of firearm sui-

cides by children involve a gun belonging to a family member. Firearm suicide amongst children and teens has increased 66% in the past decade.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced actions to promote safe storage that included sending letters to school principals to encourage district-family communication, a communications template issued by the U.S. Department of Education to help schools engage with families, and a guide from the U.S Department of Justice that provides “expertise on different types of storage devices and best practices for safely storing firearms.”

The DOJ also announced new grant funds that will be available through the “STOP School Violence Program,” for schools to promote awareness of safe storage.

Grant funds have also been available through the DOJ’s Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program for law enforcement offices to purchase gun locks and storage devices to distribute.

Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 has been in conversation with D97 and the village for several months, said Karin Sullivan, executive director of communications for D200.

“We’ve heard the recent call from the U.S. Department of Education for school leaders to educate the school community about safe firearm storage,” she said.

“Our policy committee, comprising two board members and several administrators will discuss the issue next week, and we anticipate a full board discussion later this semester.”

In other news In an unrelated event, Brooks Middle School Principal April Capuder notified parents Feb, 2 that a student the day before made threats about bringing a gun to school. Two other students reported the incident.

“We immediately launched an investigation into the situation, and determined that there was no validity to the reported threat,” she said.

“While the threat ultimately proved to be unfounded, our team will continue to reinforce our safety expectations and protocols to ensure a positive, secure learning environment for our students,” Capuder added.

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Oak Parker one of 50 recipients of $50K fellowship Maya Bird-Murphy is among the 2024 USA Fellows

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

A lifelong Oak Parker is being celebrated for her work in creating opportunities for youth to learn about various industries and to break into fields that haven’t traditionally been welcoming.

Maya Bird-Murphy, a lifelong resident of Oak Park and 2011 graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School, was awarded $50,000 for her work through her non-profit Mobile Makers as part of the 2024 USA Fellows through United States Artist.

Inspired by her own experience in the architectural world, Bird-Murphy said while she had a passion for architecture that was cultivated through various classes at OPRF, after entering the workplace, she found herself in rooms with predominantly white men after returning back to the Chicagoland area and working with firms.

“I realized really quickly that I didn’t mesh with the office life and decided to start the non-profit,” said the Ball State University graduate, adding a lot of the background work had already been developed as her thesis while in graduate school.

“Architecture is very much white and male, that was what was a huge issue for me,” said Bird-Murphy, a Black woman. “I was very often the only person of color in my offices. That is when I really started to think ‘how can I do something to address this problem,’ because it is an architecture wide problem all over the U.S.” Mobile Makers, which she founded in 2017, was created to help diversify the architecture field by teaching young people about design and bringing accessibility to different types or programs including architecture, design, 3D fabrication and basic instruction of different tools.

“It is all about skill building, learning skills in those areas but also a community aspect,” Bird-Murphy said. “It doesn’t really matter what type of skills we are learning, it always somehow comes back to community and trying to figure out how to make our built environment more equitable.”

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Mobile Makers founder Maya BirdMurphy.

Humboldt Park neighborhood opening up around April, Mobile Makers seeks to reach students from across the entire Chicagoland area, including Oak Park.

Bird-Murphy was notified this past October that she had been selected as one of the 50 total recipients to be awarded the fellowship.

“It was very exciting to get the email,” Bird-Murphy said. “I think it was mostly exciting because I run a nonprofit. I started it when I was 25, it wasn’t like I had my own money. This has always been a thing where I worked multiple jobs to make it work.”

Bird-Murphy said she unapologetically will be using the $50,000 to make sure to properly compensate herself for her work after going through years of financial struggle, oftentimes paying herself last See FELLOWSHIP on page 15

Dominican University Performing Arts Center

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Last Valentine’s Day for underpass locks?

Will Locks of Love conquer all construction?

By ERIKA HOBBS Editor

We asked for your stories about Oak Park’s famed locks of love, patterned after Paris’ Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge where sweethearts once affixed locks and threw the key in the Seine to symbolize their devotion to the other.

When the village begins the beautification project along Oak Park Avenue, officials said they’ll move the locks. The location is not known.

In the meantime, Melissa McDow melted our hearts with her story. We’re sure you’ll feel verklempt, too: “My husband and I moved back to Oak Park in April 2014. One day, probably around May or June, we took a walk downtown. We

Oak Park and River Forest parents love their teens!

Let‘s keep them healthy and safe from alcohol, drugs and vaping!

were leaving the Irish Shop (no longer there) and headed south on Oak Park Avenue.

That’s where we saw the fence wall under the Green Line with a few locks. After reading the sign, I immediately said, “Honey, we have to do this!” So my quest began — looking for the right lock, thinking about a saying/quote to put on it, deciding if we put our names, the date we met or married, etc.

When we made our final decisions, we walked back to the fence and “locked” our love and threw away the key. That was in August 2014. Since then, each time we walked by the fence, we saw how many more locks were up. We had a hard time finding ours because of the number of locks that had appeared over the years.

Every time we walked by or drove by, I think of that day when we put our lock on the fence. We walked by the fence recently — the quote I put on the lock is smudged beyond recognition — but we know what it says; our names are still somewhat visible.

PROVIDED

Love Locks line the Oak Park Avenue underpass. (Inset) Melissa and Joe McDow’s lock.

We thought this was a great idea and loved that so many others wanted to “lock” their love and throw away the key. We heard rumors that they were going to take

this down —we really hope not. It’s become a part of Oak Park, it’s become a part of all who expressed their love to each other.

It shows that love does conquer all.

+PYD can help you take action to prevent youth substance use in our community.

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Oak Park warns of uptick in cases of stomach flu in schools Village urges those experiencing symptoms to stay home

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

The village of Oak Park Department of Public Health, along with the Illinois Department of Public Health, are monitoring the local school community for suspected cases of acute gastroenteritis.

The message, put out by the village on their website, recommends that those who are experiencing symptoms of the acute gastroenteritis, more commonly known as

the stomach flu, stay home from school or daycares to prevent the widespread.

“Typically, AGE is spread by person-toperson contact, consuming contaminated food or water, by coming into contact with contaminated surfaces, or by tiny particles in vomit spread through the air that land on surfaces or enter a person’s mouth,” a statement posted Friday said.

Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and abdominal cramping, with headaches, fever and body aches also being reported.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the stomach flu is common, but can have more complications for those 65 and older, as well as for children under the age of six.

Amanda Siegfried, senior director of communications and engagement at D97,

said the health department shared the information about AGE with the district to bring awareness of potential illness within the Oak Park community.

“District 97 has nurses at each school, as well as a lead nurse, who would communicate directly with staff and families should any illness become widespread within their buildings,” Siegfried said.

The village’s statement asks that parents and guardians inform the proper facility if their child is experiencing symptoms and to keep them home until 24 hours have passed from the last time they vomited or experienced diarrhea.

They encourage parents or guardians to contact their child’s health provider if they have further concerns.

RUSH reduces staff due to financial issues RUSH would not confirm how many employees were laid off

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

RUSH University Medical Center has laid off some employees due to financial trouble.

“In response to financial headwinds affecting healthcare providers nationwide, RUSH has undertaken a restructuring resulting in elimination of some administrative and leadership positions,” a represen-

FELLOWSHIP from page 13 or not at all. According to the fellowship website, recipients are awarded “unrestricted money that the artist can use in any way they would like.”

Because of the openness of the fellowship, Bird-Murphy will be using the funds to play catch-up and give herself a wage, which she has been known to sacrifice at times to ensure the non-profit has what it needs to continue serving the community.

“This to me was a very life changing

tative wrote in a statement.

RUSH reported having $2.4 billion in revenue in 2021 and $2.6 billion in 2022, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. In 2013, RUSH University Medical Center acquired Oak Park’s hospital.

“RUSH continues to focus resources where they are needed most — at the frontline of patient care,” a representative wrote. “This will help ensure we continue

to fulfill our mission to improve the health of the individuals and diverse communities we serve.”

Representatives would not comment on further questions, and it’s unclear how many employees at RUSH Oak Park Hospital may have been affected.

RUSH University Medical Center would not confirm how many employees were laid off, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

award because it allows me to catch up from the many years of not paying myself enough and trying to make ends meet,” she said. “I don’t necessarily have plans; I think I finally have savings and that is an amazing thing. I am definitely just using it to become financially stable.”

Since it was founded, the fellow has awarded more than $41 million to more than 850 recipients. According to their website, the USA Fellowships are made possible by various organizations’ contributions, including the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation of Chicago.

In the realm of non-profit work, BirdMurphy said it is important for her to be

okay so that the organization can be ok.

“I think that me being in a more comfortable place is just going to help with the impact and I am not constantly thinking about paying rent. It eases the pressure on all sides,” she said.

As Mobile Makers continues to grow, Bird-Murphy said she hopes to continue to have her work create a safe and holistic third-space to support young people.

“The money is of course really important but it is not necessarily the point,” she said. “I think showing our impact is more important.”

More information on Mobile Makers can be found online.

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Divisions over Israel-Hamas war create tensions at Oak Park and River Forest High School Three teachers’ actions have led a parent to call to remove them from some positions

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter

Tensions are high at Oak Park and River Forest High School, reflecting global strife over the war in Gaza, as pro-Israel and pro-Palestine students and parents report unfair treatment, bullying, harassment and feeling unsafe at school.

The school, for example, has received 16 formal complaints since Oct. 7, but eight were anonymous complaints and therefore not investigated, officials said. Five complaints were determined to have already been dealt with.

Of the three remaining complaints that were investigated, two alleged antisemitism and one alleged harassment of the school’s Middle East and North African student group.

Those, a spokesperson said, were followed up in a manner that “focused on taking an educational approach preserving the dignity of all involved and ensuring a safe learning environment.”

The situation, however, escalated at last week’s school board meeting after one parent called for the firing of one teacher and the removal from advisory posts of two others amid allegations of perpetuating GREG JOHNSON antisemitism, racism or misinformation about the war.

“You need to know that your Jewish students at Oak Park and River Forest High School live in a climate of fear,” Amy Guralnick, the mother of an OPRF sophomore who received hostile comments from another OPRF student last fall, told the board.

Arab and Muslim students also have reported fears for their safety and of bullying.

At the meeting, OPRF Supt. Greg Johnson and board president Tom Cofsky acknowledged that it has been extremely difficult to navigate the strong feelings exhibited by students and families on both sides of the Israel-Hamas war, but they said the school’s goal is to support all of its students as best it can.

“I, along with members of my team, have met with dozens and TOM COFSKY

dozens of community members in different formats and groups, as we are trying to better understand not only what is going on in our community and how it is affecting our students,” Johnson said.

Like Johnson, Cofsky said the months since the attack have been very difficult for the school to navigate as it tries to support all of its students who are suffering pain.

“People are hurting and we are hearing it from multiple sides,” Cofsky said, adding that the war has brought pain to a number of students and divided the community.

“This is an issue that is toxic and it’s unfortunate that issues that exist from the other side of the world people are bringing into our community, for a reason, for all valid reasons, and then using that against their brother and sister in our school, in our community,” Cofsky said.

But parents and community members said the district has not done enough.

A call to fire a teacher over social media posts In his first request, the father of two OPRF students, Nate Mellman, called for the school to fire teacher Anthony Clark over what he believed were antisemitic social media posts Clark responded to or shared.

During the public comment portion of last week’s meeting, Mellman, of River Forest, said that in January, Clark inaccurately posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, ANTHONY CLARK that the OPRF student who in 2018 airdropped the image of a swastika at a school assembly was Jewish. Clark’s post was part of an exchange with someone who was apparently a former OPRF student.

“The air drop in the auditorium. Remember that? That was a Jewish student,” Clark posted on X Jan. 28. “Doesn’t change that antisemitism is horrible & wrong, but I don’t make things up, especially when I was one of the primary people standing against it.”

The student who airdropped the swastika is not and was never Jewish, according to Oak Park Temple Rabbi Max Weiss, who helped, along with the boy’s pastor, counsel the boy after the incident. Johnson also told Wednesday Journal that his understanding is that the student who airdropped the swastika is not Jewish. Wednesday Journal viewed a screenshot of Clark’s post, but the post has now been removed.

Mellman also noted that Clark, in January, reposted a tweet that cast doubt on evidence that Israeli women were raped by Hamas attackers. Clark also reposted a tweet from someone called Megatron saying Israel stole “half the organs from dead Palestinians.”

SCREENSHOT

A screenshot of an exchange involves OPRF teacher Anthony Clark.

It was widely acknowledged after a December 2023 New York Times investigation that Hamas used sexual violence against women. There is no evidence that Israel is harvesting organs from Palestinians. It is, however, viral misinformation taken from 2009 when an Israeli pathologist acknowledged that they did take samples from dead people, including Palestinians, without consent, something they said ended in the 1990s.

“When a teacher posts that a ‘Jewish student’ airdropped a swastika in an assembly but it’s clear that it was a nonJewish student who did it, when a teacher reposts that Jews steal organs from dead Palestinian, and when a teacher reposts that Jews were not raped on October 7th, we, as a community, need to hear from you,” Mellman told the school board. “We need to hear you speak immediately and forcefully denouncing such rancid posts and ensure the community that you’re on it.”

Johnson and the school board, as is typical during the public comment portion of the meeting, did not respond to the comments of Mellman or other speakers.

Both Johnson and Cofsky declined to talk about Clark or his status.

“We are definitely not going to comment on any personnel matters,” Johnson told Wednesday Journal. “But I will say

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM that we would certainly never make any decision about how to hire or fire or do anything like that, human resource related, based off of comments at a board meeting.”

Clark has not responded to inquiries from Wednesday Journal made by telephone, text message and email. Clark, a special education teacher at OPRF, is a community activist who has twice run unsuccessfully for Congress against Danny Davis in the 7th District and finished last among six in a race for Oak Park village trustee in 2021.

A call to remove MENA student club advisors In his second request, Mellman also called for the school to remove the two faculty sponsors of the school’s Middle Eastern and North African student club. He claimed that the MENA sponsors should be removed because they permitted a post on the club’s Instagram page that showed a drawing of a bulldozer crashing through a fence under the words “Decolonize Palestine.” It is believed to be a reference to the Oct. 7 attack, when Hamas fighters bulldozed a hole in a border wall and streamed into southern Israel. Under the drawing, the post says that MENA has the ability to sell such T-shirts and asks for designs.

“Prints can be centered around Palestinian solidarity like the attached examples,” the post said.

The teachers are not being named because of safety concerns.

Mellman posed a rhetorical question to the school board and administration “How long would you allow a student club to post on social media the sale of T-shirts celebrating the death of George Floyd?”

Neither teacher has responded to emails or phone calls from Wednesday Journal.

Johnson declined to comment about them.

“We aren’t going to make any decisions based off of comments made at a public board meeting,” Johnson said.

At the same time, school leaders have been getting pressure from those supporting MENA. At a January school board meeting, seven adults, some of whom said they are Jewish, made public comments raising concerns about how students of Middle Eastern ancestry are treated at OPRF. Scores of people also have signed a Protect MENA students petition denouncing the “repeated incidents of bullying of Arab and Muslim students.” The letter calls on the school to support student free speech and asks the school to suspend “any plans to incorporate a district definition of antisemitism as part of the DEI language.”

Signers also demanded that OPRF support the free speech of all students, commit to ending Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism at OPRF, commit to racial ethnic sensitivity training specific to MENA, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students, support the MENA student association as a safe space, offer grief counseling to students — both Palestinian and Israeli — who have been directly affected by the crisis, and to create a MENA Advisory Board of parents and community members. The letter also calls on the OPRF administration to apologize for previous mistakes affecting MENA students.

Tim Milinovich, the father of a MENA member and the chairman of the biblical theology department at Dominican University, also told Wednesday Journal that he fears that pro-Israel parents are trying to describe opponents of Israel’s war on Gaza as antisemites to discredit criticism of Israel.

SCREENSHOT

A parent criticized efforts of a student club to create a pro-Palestinian t-shirt.

“My concern is how people use the term ‘antisemitic ‘to their own advantage,” Milinovich said. “There are some individuals who feel any criticism of the state of Israel’s any action, is antisemitic which is just flat wrong. That’s not how antisemitism works.”

Milinovich also defended the two advisors.

“The two sponsors have been outstanding,” Milinovich said. “They’ve been standing beside our students. They’ve been helping students who have been directly impacted, whose family has been directly impacted by the assault, to receive trauma counseling. They’ve been able to work with the group, even while they’re receiving these unfair attacks, to be able to celebrate Palestinian heritage, Arabic heritage. No, to me those two faculty members deserve to be commended and the attacks on them are beyond unfortunate, they are unacceptable.”

Defining antisemitism Students and parents, including speakers at the meeting such as Temple Har Zion Rabbi Adir Glick and a current OPRF student, raised concerns about the climate at OPRF

17

as it concerns Jewish students, and called on the school to define antisemitism.

Many have been pushing for the school to define antisemitism and to explicitly prohibit it as part of the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies. They have met with administrators who, they said, promised action but so far nothing has been done.

“Here we are in February and the OPRF administration has achieved nothing as far as I can tell,” said Renee Slade, mother of junior, Alana, who was in Israel Oct. 7 as part of a study abroad program and later evacuated.

“The thing that stings the most about [the MENA supporters’ petition] is its one-sided view that we need language regarding Islamophobia but not antisemitism,” she said.

“My family and other members of the Jewish community have been allies to other marginalized communities.

We’ve listened to and supported and voted for and donated to support Black and Brown lives, immigrants, economically underserved populations and others and now we, we are looking at trauma and pain and misinformation and discrimination and instead of support, community members are blaming Jews and saying that we don’t need protection and specifically asking that there not be a definition of antisemitism. So, I’m here today to ask you, the board and administration, to take a ‘yes and’ approach.

Yes, we need to adopt a definition of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, and yes, we need to adopt a definition of antisemitism. Yes, we need to support Islamic students and yes, we also need to support Jewish students.”

Rebekah Levin, a member of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace and the group Committee for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel and one of the people who spoke at a January school board meeting, told Wednesday Journal she doesn’t believe OPRF needs to define antisemitism.

“I don’t think we need to come up with a definition of antisemitism, I think we have a very accurate and well used definition which is hatred or discrimination against people because they are Jewish, period,” Levin said. “That’s antisemitism to me. I think the reason that’s there’s considerable concern about this is that there has been a purposeful conflation of the terms antisemitism and anti-Israel or anti-Israeli government and the notion of antisemitism is being used to weaponize people who are fighting against the criticism of Israel.”

Johnson and Cofsky said they don’t think it is necessary for the school to adopt a definition of antisemitism because current policies prohibit discrimination based on religion, among other factors.

“Our thoughts about this have certainly evolved,” Johnson said. “This is an incredibly, incredibly complex issue, not only here locally of course but globally and finding the right way to work through this issue that has layers upon layers and is very much tied to people’s identities, their passions, how they identify themselves both individually and culturally. Our approach has to be, and it has been, to meet with people, to listen to and engage in conversation and only determine really a path forward after we gather as many voices and thoughts as we can.”

Cofsky also said he believed the school’s existing policies are adequate to handle all kinds of discrimination.

“We can always make it better but I’m not seeing that as a solution or a need here,” Cofsky said.

18

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Lead service line replacement tops River Forest’s capital plan

service line replacement. Other major fund- for children should be controlled or eliminat- management analyst; Rosemary McAdams, $8.1 million budget also ing sources include capital equipment re- ed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease finance director; and Keke Boyer, assistant placement fund, $1.3 million; motor fuel tax Control. The U.S. Environmental Protection finance director. includes new street sweeper fund, $1.1 million; and capital improvement Agency has set the maximum contaminant He acknowledged “some challenges” fund, $1 million. level goal for lead in drinking water at zero in funding all the village’s needs but said and ambulance At the beginning of 2022, a new Illinois because lead can be harmful to human health staff members are seeking grant funding

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

Allocating $2 million for lead service line replacement headed the list of the five-year capital improvement plan unveiled at the River Forest Village Board meeting Feb. 12.

In his presentation, Matt Walsh, village administrator, said capital expenditures are estimated to be $34.4 million over the next five years, $8.1 million of which is expected to be spent in the first year, Fiscal Year 2025, which begins May 1.

The majority of funding for FY2025, $3.2 million, will come from the water and sewer fund, which includes the $2 million for lead

law – the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act — went into effect, mandating that owners of any water supply must create an inventory of all lead service lines by 2023 and submit a preliminary plan in 2024 to the IEPA to replace all of them. The final replacement plan isn’t due to the state until 2027 and municipalities will have an additional 20 years to get all of those lead service lines replaced.

As is common in municipalities throughout Illinois, water service lines leading to buildings in River Forest constructed before 1986 are likely to include lead. Because no safe blood level for lead has been identified for young children, all sources of lead exposure

even at low exposure levels.

Unveiling the capital improvement plan is the first step of the budget process. Officials said the plan is generally amended during the budget process as determinations are made for items to be moved forward or to be deferred based on current information.

In April, a budget will be prepared and recommended to the village board, which will take input from residents, if there is any, at a public hearing. The final step in the process will be adoption of the budget, which also is expected in April.

“It takes a lot of work” to create the capital improvement plan, Walsh said, thanking all staff members especially Seth Jansen,

and trying to extend the life of vehicles and equipment.

Village President Cathy Adduci thanked Walsh and the staff for their “great job” in preparing the capital improvement plan.

Trustee Respicio Vazquez commended Walsh and staff members for their efforts to obtain grant funding.

Other water and sewer improvements include water main replacement, $450,000; stormwater master plan, $250,000; and sewer lining, $140,000.

Also, in the capital improvement plan is $1 million for public works vehicles, including $305,000 for a street sweeper and $490,000 for two dump trucks, and $235,417 for an ambulance.

C R I M E

Men confront Oak Park boy with handgun in home invasion

Burglars entered an Oak Park apartment at the 100 block of Garfield Street through an open window, Feb. 7, confronted a boy in his bedroom, displayed a handgun and demanded property. The men ransacked the apartment, stealing a gaming system and car keys. They then fled through the front door.

The estimated loss is $600. The boy was not physically harmed.

Armed robbery A man walked up to the Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins drive-thru window at 6820

Roosevelt Road and ordered a drink, Feb. 9.

He then displayed a firearm and demanded money. He stole money from the register drawer as the victim held the drawer up to the window. The estimated loss is $100.

Reckless discharge of a firearm ■ Someone driving a black Buick sedan

fired a gunshot at two men walking on foot in an alley. The incident occurred at roughly 11 a.m., Feb. 7, on the first block of Greenfield Street. The vehicle fled westbound and the two men on foot fled.

Notice of Neighborhood Meeting Date & Time : 7:00 PM Wednesday, March 6th Location: 442 S. Grove Avenue, Oak Park, IL (Grove Apartments Community Room) Purpose: Pre-Planned Development Submittal Discussion Proposed Development: 5-story, 36-unit affordable supportive housing @ 1106 Madison Street, Oak Park Contact: Perry Vietti, 312/274-8200x25 or pvietti@ihdc.org

■ Officers responded to the 900 block of Division Street after callers reported shots being fired, Feb. 10. After the shots were heard, a caller saw a yellow vehicle flee eastbound along with a second vehicle. Officers found shell casings in the roadway.

■ On Feb. 11, someone fired six rounds from a gun into an Oak Park resident’s unoccupied Honda Accord while it was parked in a garage on the 800 block of North Marion Street.

Burglary ■ A burglar alarm went off at an Oak Park business on the 100 block of South Marion Street, Feb. 6, because glass was breaking. A dark-colored older Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe pulled up front, cameras showed, and four men got out. One forced the front door open and the other three entered the business and began breaking display cases and stealing merchandise. The men then got back in the vehicle, which was last seen southbound on Marion Street. The owner said two of the broken cases were full of rings, wedding bands, earrings and necklaces. The estimated loss is $20,000.

■ Someone broke into an Oak Park resident’s garage on the 100 block of South Grove Avenue between Feb. 6 and 7. The individual stole a blue Cannondale 900 series bike with attached saddle bags and front rack. The estimated loss is $3,500.

Motor vehicle theft Someone stole an Oak Park resident’s black 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia while it was parked on the 400 block of North Elmwood Avenue. The incident, which occurred between Feb. 6 and 7, resulted in an estimated loss of $20,000.

These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department reports dated Feb. 5-12, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Luzane Draughon

February 14, 2024 19

CAMP & ENRICHMENT GUIDE Special Advertising Section

winter/Spring 2024

Camp Enrichment and

guide

20 February 14, 2024

F

CAMP & ENRICHMENT GUIDE

Special Advertising Section

Summer Camp for Growing Artists!

rick Kids Art emphasizes curiosity, imagination and individualized outcomes for K-6th graders.

Check out our unique camp experiences including Abstract Art, Sculpture, Printmaking, Outdoor Art, Wonder Art and Open Studio.

• Located in Oak Park • Sibling Discount 20% Supervised lunch break between morning and afternoon sessions available.

Summer Fun at the River Forest Community Center

O

ffering full and part-time programs for parents & tots and children ages 3-12 years of age.

Activities include arts &crafts, games, sports, water play/swimming, field trips, special events, and more!

River Forest Community Center Summer Camp Programs 8020 Madison St., River Forest, Illinois, 60305 (708) 771-6159 • www.rfcc.info

February 14, 2024 21

CAMP & ENRICHMENT GUIDE Special Advertising Section

Sharks Basketball Academy AAU Teams 2024 Spring Travel Team Season Tryout Dates/Times

SHARKS BASKETBALL “SPRING IN THE OCEAN” CAMP

Baby Sharks Intro to Basketball K-4th Co-Ed Camp: $90 Per Session | 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Jr. King of the Ocean 4th-6th Co-Ed Camp: $105 | 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm King of the Ocean 6th-8th Co-Ed Camp: $105 | 7:45 pm - 9:00 pm March Session: March 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20 April Session : April 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2024 12:00-1:15p 3rd-6th Grade Girls 1:15-2:30p 9th-10th Grade Boys 2:30p-3:45p 11th-12th Grade Boys

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2024 6:30p-7:30p 3rd-4th Grade Boys 7:30p-8:30p 5th-6th Grade Boys 8:30p-9:30p 7th-8th Grade Boys

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2024 6:30p-7:30p 3rd-4th Grade Boys 7:30p-8:30p 5th-6th Grade Boys 8:30p-9:30p 7th-8th Grade Boys

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2024 6:30p-7:30p 3rd-6th Grade Girls 7:30p-8:30p 9th-10th Grade Boys 8:30p-9:30p 11th-12th Grade Boys

Spring 2024 Season Information • Season begins March 17 and games will be played weekends only for a total of about 18-24 game • Practices will be held two nights per week in Elmwood Park, Melrose Park and Bellwood areas.

• Uniforms are ordered as needed and TEAM SHOES are INCLUDED! • Season ends May 19, 2024.

Melrose Park Civic Center 1000 25th Ave. Melrose Park, Il 60160 $25 Tryout Fee - Includes Sharks Practice Jersey.

To Register Visit Our Website!

Www.sharksbasketballacademy.com

Session are held Mondays and Wednesdays Registration includes NEW Sharks gear and awards Elmwood Park Recreation • 2 Conti Parkway Elmwood Park, IL sharksbasketballacademy.com

22 February 14, 2024

CAMP & ENRICHMENT GUIDE

Special Advertising Section

Chicago Edge Summer Camps Return for Another Exciting Summer of Soccer!

C

June 10th to 14th @ Taylor Park June 17th to 21st @ Taylor Park June 24th to 28th @ Taylor Park July 8th to 12th @Taylor Park July 15th to 19th @ Taylor Park July 22nd to 26th @ Taylor Park July 29th to Aug 2nd @ Taylor Park August 5th to 9th @ Taylor Park

PARK DISTRICT of OAK PARK chicagoedgesc.com/club/summercamps

Summer Potter’s Wheel Camps Fun and educational camps for ages 5 and up Sessions run June 10th through August 15th

0 (5-9 ns for p). onday onday,

46 held 0 dents

artists at

Call for more info or sign up at terraincognitostudio.com 246 Chicago Ave Oak Park, IL 60302 (708) 383-6228

hicago Edge Soccer Camps return this year for their 12th summer of programming with the Park District of Oak Park. The camp has become one of the most popular summer options in Oak Park with almost 700 young players aged 4 to 14 participating last year.

We have a 90-minute-aday option for players aged 4 -6 that serves as a fun and engaging introduction to soccer. Players will focus on learning the fundamental skills of soccer in a positive and safe learning environment. Our 3-hour camp for players aged 6 to 14 is a great way to

sharpen your soccer skills and have FUN whether you play Travel, AYSO, or Recreational soccer.

Players will work on individual ball skills throughout the week and end each day with an exciting small-sided World Cup tournament. We have 8 weeks of summer camp all based at Taylor Park, players are welcome to sign up for one or multiple weeks. Directed by Murray Findlay and coached by the professional coaches from the Chicago Edge Soccer Club, one of Chicago’s largest youth soccer clubs and based right here in Oak Park. We hope to see you there!

Unplug your kids and let them get dirty at Terra Incognito!

W

e offer fun and educational wheel throwing camps for ages 5 and up. Summer clay camps provide young artists the outlet for exercising both critical and creative thinking through clay. If you want to nurture your child’s creativity, this is the place to be!

Students learn the skills to make functional pots and decorative clay art both on the wheel and by hand.

They will then learn how to decorate their creations using underglazes and glaze. The projects they complete will be food safe, made from nontoxic materials which are all supplied.

In addition, students will be shown the firing process, leading to a full understanding of the entire operation.

With our low teacher-to-student ratio, every camper will get the attention they need.

Morning sessions are from 9:00 am until noon for young potters (5-9 years old) and afternoon sessions are from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm for young adults (10 years old an up).

Each session is 2 weeks long, Monday through Thursday, starting on Monday, June 10th. The cost per 2-week session is $340.

Terra Incognito is located at 246 Chicago Ave in Oak Park. It has held Potter’s Wheel camps for over 30 years. Several of our former students are now well-known artists and teachers. We are thrilled to help cultivate the next generation of artists from Oak Park. Visit and sign up at terraincognitostudio.com.

CAMP & ENRICHMENT GUIDE Special Advertising Section

February 14, 2024 23

SUMMER DESIGN CAMPS

In Frank Lloyd Wright’s Studio

Designing Preservation for the Future

In Wright’s Studio summer camps will explore adaptive reuse, restoration, and renovation practices today and in the future. Campers will develop a new use for a pre-existing structure and consider the architecture of tomorrow.

July 15 to July 19 (Grades 3–5) July 29 to August 2 (Grades 6–8)

Info + Registration: FLWRIGHT.ORG/CAMPS

24 Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024 S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Get a deal while you Dine-In Elmwood Park A world of food to explore from Feb. 16-25

By RISE SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

Cooking is an art, but dining is too. So do your best during Restaurant Week in Elmwood Park which runs Feb. 16-25.

This annual showcase of some of the best tastes in town offers a combination of great food at prices that please. The 10 days of “Dine-In Elmwood Park” are the best opportunity to try something new or revisit an old favorite.

Many restaurants in Elmwood Park participate. You can choose from North Avenue’s famed Restaurant Row: Café Cubano, Massa, New Star, Spizzico and Blue Fire.

Others on North Avenue have deals as well: Armand’s Pizzeria, Jim and Pete’s, Donny G’s, Gringo & Blondie, Red Bottle and The Great American Bagel.

Along Grand Avenue, there are great din-

ing offers at: The Sportz Nook, Tacos 2 Go and Culver’s.

And in the Conti Parkway “Circle” Circle Tavern and Union Tap are ready to welcome you.

Russell’s Barbeque and Tony D’s round out the festivities.

“We’ve got something for everyone,” said Angelo “Skip” Saviano, Elmwood Park’s village president. “Whether you want a white tablecloth experience with a nice bottle of wine or classic tavern atmosphere with appetizers and beer, you’ll find it at Dine-In Elmwood Park.”

Elmwood Park’s thriving food scene represents a striking diversity of flavors. You can travel the world by using your fork. Italy, Cuba, Thailand, Mexico, China, Japan and more are all on the itinerary.

“Elmwood Park is a dining destination for a reason,” said Saviano. “Our restaurants are pillars of this community. They work hard to serve up the best food in the region. They keep us fed, they keep us happy, and they keep us together.”

Places to discover Gather your family, a group of friends or invite a special someone to explore what Elmwood Park has to offer through discounted menu options, specialty dishes and prix fixe menus.

Union Tap 7707 Westwood Dr. At this classic tavern even the awning promises: Good Food, Good Friends and Good Times. Their prix fixe offer invites you dive into a burger, sandwich or pizza along with a cup of soup or chili, then polish it off with a slice of cheesecake for only $18.

The Sportz Nook 7841 W. Grand Ave. With 48 TV screens covering 360 degrees, playing all the most important games, it would be easy to think that’s where the amazing stops at The Sportz Nook. But think again, the food rivals that dedication to detail. It’s a point of pride that custom-

FILE

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at The Sportz Nook

ers say they are a restaurant disguised as a bar. These deals will convince you too: $10 mussels in wine and garlic sauce and $12 spaghetti and meatballs.

Red Bottle 7438 W. North Ave. This intimate bar bills itself as a speakeasy cocktail bar with comfort food and a wide selection of whiskey. Choose between two $15 combos: a cheese or meat board and a glass of wine, burger and a beer, or pizza and a glass of wine.

Tacos 2 Go 7530 W. Grand Ave. This fresh Mexican joint will keep your

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

Thai dish at New Star

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024 25

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

you k n a h T !Blondie Massa Cafe Italiano Gringo and ark P d o o 7434 W North Ave, Elmwood Park Elmw 7514 W North Ave, Elmwood Park @gringoandblondie

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

Filet Mignon Kabob dinner at Donny G’s tastebuds hopping. Combo specials will fill you up for just $12.50 each: taco salad nestled in a fried tortilla shell choice of protein, lettuce, tomato, pico de gallo, black beans, rice, cheese, guacamole and sour cream) and a Jarrito or medium horchata; or a taco bowl sitting on a bed of steamed rice with all the offering in the salad and drinks options.

Tony D’s 7725 W. Belmont Ave. This premiere sports bar is under new management and has a renewed zest for everything fun. During restaurant week buy one appetizer and get one free, get half off any of Tony D’s signature burgers, or order $1 wings. And who can resist half off on deep fried Oreos?

Everywhere you go, remember to mention the Dine-In Elmwood Park promotion to ensure the best deals. Check out the full list of participating restaurants and delicious deals, then make a plan to visit several of Elmwood Park’s eateries during this annual dining celebration. Your wallet and tastebuds will thank you.

New Star 7444 W. North Ave. Travel by menu across Asia and take a stop off in the Pacific for a favorite, yet

exotic Tiki drink. Freshness is the most important element in New Star’s success, according to owner Jinny Zhao.

When she bought the restaurant almost a decade ago, Zhao transformed the kitchen to follow that rule. As she updated the restaurant space and menu, she wanted to attract a new generation of customers.

“I was thinking that the young people, they do love sushi,” Zhao noted.

So, she added a sushi bar and an extensive Thai menu. To celebrate that during restaurant week she is offering a sushi roll dinner special, buy one get one free.

Armand’s Pizza 7650 W. North Ave. This Elmwood Park staple has been dedicated to top-quality ingredients and a personal touch since it was established in 1956 as Armand’s Victory Tap. They’ve kept the fires going ever since serving up pan or thin style pizza, and an array of sandwiches. Their specials for Dine-In focus on menu favorites. For lunch, grab a slice (cheese, sausage or pepperoni) and soup or salad, pair that with a drink for $7. In the evening you can try one of their beef, sausage or meatball sandwiches with soup or salad and a drink for $9.

(708) 583-1111

/gringoandblondietaqueria

(708) 716-3390

A FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED. FIND US ON RESTAURANT ROW! massacafe.com gringoandblondie.com

Gringo & Blondie 7514 W. North Ave. Mexican street food’s bold flavors and fresh ingredients are at the core of the menu at Gringo & Blondie. The extensive menu offers choices and choices. Eight types of tacos. Six different cemitas (sandwiches on sesame seed rolls, slathered with avocado spread, and piled up with meats or roasted veggies, with cheese, lettuce, pickle, onion). Quesadillas, burritos, appetizers aplenty and an array of side dishes fill out the offerings. On Saturdays and Sundays brunch starts at 10 a.m. with traditional items like chilaquiles and huevos rancheros, and nuevo takes like French toast a la Mexicana. Toast your brunch with mimosas and micheladas. The full bar offers up margarita deals all week.

Other deals during restaurant week are: 15% off any appetizer or kids meal and half off flan, horchata, horchata shakes or aqua fresca. Prix fixe for $10 gets you two tacos of your choice with rice and beans.

Find out more elmwoodpark.org/event/restaurantweek-2024 Printable PDF of the deals: elmwoodpark.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rest-Week-Menu-

For more culinary delights, visit OakPark. com and click on EATS.

Right here in town.

26

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

Harry S. Adams House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1913)

Wright Plus Housewalk Returns to Oak Park

By LACEY SIKORA

T

Contributing Reporter

he Wright Plus Housewalk returns to Oak Park Saturday, May 18. The house walk will feature eight Oak Park private homes, as well as Wright’s Home and Studio. Walk cochairs Joan Pantsios and Debbie Crouch praise the local homeowners who are sharing their architecturally significant homes for Wright Plus, and said this year’s homes are an exciting glimpse into Oak Park’s rich architectural history.

Now in its 50th year, Wright Plus is a perennial favorite among local house walks and draws an international audience. Proceeds of the walk support the restoration, preservation and education programs of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust

This year’s walk includes three Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes. The William G. Fricke home joined the line-up.

Commissioned in 1901, the house showcases Wright’s Prairie Style.

Wright’s Harry S. Adams House, designed in 1913, and the Emma and Peter A. Beachy House, designed in 1906, also are on the walk.

“Even though some of the people on our tour have seen them before, it’s always fun to see them again,” Pantsios said.

She noted that when the Beachy House recently underwent a roof restoration project, the owners found a box of original roof tiles and were pleased to discover just how much their restoration resembled the original roof.

See HOUSEWALK on page 28

PHOTOS BY JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUST

William G. Fricke House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1901)

27

28

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Before You Go

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUST

Simpson Dunlop House (E.E. Roberts, 1896)

HOUSEWALK Dazzling history

Tickets for Wright Plus 2024 are available at: https://flwright.org/wrightplus. Tickets are $125 for the general public and $90 for trust members. At press time, several other ticket options remain available. The Fast Pass ticket allows participants to skip the line and costs $600 or $565 for trust members.

Ultimate Saturday tickets are $1,375 or $1,225 for trust members and include Fast Pass access to the homes, lunch the day of the walk at the Nineteenth Century Club and an exclusively Wright dinner on May 18 at the Avery Coonley House in Riverside, catered by chef Melissa Elsmo.

The Ultimate Plus Weekend package includes the perks of the Ultimate Saturday tickets along with a Friday excursion, Private Passage-Wright’s Glencoe, accommodations at the Carleton Hotel and transportation to and from all events. Ultimate Plus Weekend packages cost $2,675 or $2,525 for trust members.

from page 27 The Adams House is Wright’s last Oak Park design, and Pantsios said it “has a lovely flow to it.”

Three E.E. Roberts homes are on the walk, as well. The Simpson Dunlop House and Joseph K. Dunlop were designed in 1896 and 1897 for brothers who were the grandsons of Oak Park founder Joseph Kettlestrings.

Both homes have been featured on Wright Plus in the past, although Pantsios pointed out that the Simpson Dunlop house has not been featured since 1985, so it will be new to most people.

“It’s interesting to see how they were different originally, and what subsequent

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUST

E.W. Pratt House (E.E. Roberts, 1909) owners have done to the homes interiorwise,” she said.

Roberts’ other design on the walk is the E.W. Pratt House, designed in 1909.

Crouch called the interiors of the home, “very charming and beautiful.”

Pantsios noted that later owners matched the original windows when re-working the front door. The house was moved to its current location in 1920 from its original lot on Oak Park Avenue. This is the home’s first appearance on Wright Plus.

The Ashley C. Smith House was designed

by Tallmadge and Watson in 1908. The home boasts stunning, original leaded glass windows, and the fence replicates the pattern in the windows. Pantsios pointed out an interesting fact: The original sofas from the Beachy House now live in the Smith House, after an owner found the Beachy originals at a consignment store.

The Clyde and Elizabeth Shorey House is also new to Wright Plus. Designed in 1922 by architect Max Dunning, the home is one of two Dunning designs in Oak Park. Pantsios said the architect is not as well known in Oak Park, and expects that the trust researcher will have a lot of interesting information on the home.

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUST

Ashley C. Smith House (Tallmadge and Watson, 1908)

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUST

Clyde E. and Elizabeth Shorey House (Max Dunning, 1922)

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

VIEWPOINTS

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M. Call Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at 613-3310 ktrainor@wjinc.com

C O N S C I O U S

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Shrubtown: Police department’s new approach to recruitment p. 31

A G I N G

Nobody is too old, unless they can’t do it

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n August 2022, I wrote a column about Joni Mitchell performing at the Newport Folk Festival. Last week, in her first-ever Grammy performance, Mitchell, at 80, sang her song “Both Sides Now.” On the same show, Billy Joel, 74, performed two songs. Is Joni too old? Is Billy too old? Should we have a mandatory retirement age for musicians?

As I previously wrote, after her debilitating brain aneurysm in 2015, Joni had to re-learn how to get out of a chair, how to play the guitar, and taught herself how to sing again. And here she was again, at the Grammys, a living example of how strength, determination and resilience are integral parts of being old. She is a role model for us at all ages — a far cry from what our ageist culture teaches.

My column 18 months ago was prompted by an article Robert Reich had written a month earlier titled, “Is Biden Too Old?” Should we have a mandatory retirement age for presidents? (I know some politicians who never should have started, let alone stop at a certain age.)

Everybody ages differently, and our competencies, abilities and capacities do change as we age. Whether President Biden is physically and mentally fit to be reelected President in 2024 is a question for him, his family, his medical team and the American people to answer, and should not be based on un-thinking, broad-brush ageist stereotypes.

As I’ve asked before, what does the number of earth revolutions around the sun since one’s birth have to do with anything? Nobody is too old to do anything, unless they just can’t do it. At whatever age. Period. On a caseby-case basis.

But everybody and their uncle or aunt has an opinion about somebody being “too old” for something. And almost everybody and their uncle or aunt are ageist — all of us have unconscious bias in one form or another.

MARC BLESOFF

See MARC BLESOFF on page 34

PUBLIC DOMAIN/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Thurgood Marshall

ADDISON NORTON SCURLOCK, PUBLIC DOMAIN/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Dr. Carter G Woodson

The mis-education of history The only question which concerns us here is whether these ‘educated’ persons are actually equipped to face the ordeal before them or unconsciously contribute to their own undoing by perpetuating the regime of the oppressor.

Carter G. Woodson

I

Miseducation of the Negro

have been meditating on Dr. Woodson’s words in the days approaching Black History Month. The “educated persons” he refers to are Black people. Are Blacks being educated in a white educational system contributing to their undoing? The thought of institutions of learning in this country as some spreader of an unseen virus destroying us is a terrifying one; the implications are staggering.

So I want to get uncomfortable today.

There are universal things that all people need to learn: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics. Certain statements we can all agree on. Water is wet. Fire is hot. The sky is blue … except when it’s grey or black.

These are things that, for the most part, can be universally taught.

This was not always the case. As we entered the so-called “Age of Enlightenment,” people began to use rationalism and science, instead of religion and superstition, as justification for acts of cruelty and barbarism. For example, the U.N. article “The Ideology of Racism: Misusing Science to Justify Racial Discrimination,” by William H. Tucker, tells us about mid-19th-century physicians who claimed that as a result of their mixed blood, “mulattoes” were considerably more susceptible to disease than either of their parents and thus would be exceptionally short-lived.

In addition, should persons of mixed race intermarry, according to leading anthropologists at the time, they became progressively less fertile, eventually becoming completely sterile. It was this “evidence” that led to both the United States and South Africa (the Michael Jordan and LeBron James of

KAMAU JONES One View

See KAMAU JONES on page 34

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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V I E W S

Two crises close to home

he two most complex issues, and the most politically divisive and exploited issues facing the United States, are the migrant crisis and the Israel-Gaza war. Both have now, and inevitably, landed in Oak Park and River Forest.

Tensions between students, some parents, and staff at Oak Park and River Forest High School over the intense fighting, escalating deaths, and sheer misery being inflicted, first against Israel by Hamas terrorists and now by Israeli forces in their attacks on Gaza, have risen in the school, we report today.

There are calls for certain staff members to be fired or moved out of advisory posts, petitions demanding better care for Muslim and Arab students at the school, worries that Jewish students are being bullied, and a debate as to whether the school’s existing policies related to discrimination are adequate or need to be made more specific in defining antisemitism or Islamophobia.

We’ve seen the anger and the frustration and the inability to communicate play out on college campuses and other venues across America. And now at OPRF. At a school board meeting last week, Supt. Greg Johnson and Tom Cofsky, the school board president, described the endless meetings they have held with students and community members to listen and better understand concerns and upsets.

“People are hurting and we are hearing it from multiple sides,” said Cofsky.

Both believe D200’s current policies related to inclusion and hate speech are adequate, but pushback that the district must do more is increasing.

This is the beauty and the pain of living in a community as actively and vocally diverse as our villages. Goodwill is frayed.

Common ground is more than elusive. The intense heat of the rhetoric locally, nationally, internationally is at boil.

Meanwhile at Oak Park’s village hall, the local effort to provide support for asylum-seekers grows in scope and support while it lurches down a path of improvisation that leaves some worried about how it is being pieced together.

At its Feb. 6 board meeting, there was active pushback and frustration expressed by two trustees, Cory Wesley and Lucia Robinson, over plans to spend newly received outside funding for migrant services that include allocating a portion of the $1.9 million to a hastily-put-together nonprofit, under the auspices of the well-respected Community of Congregations, called the Oak Park Resettlement Task Force.

We get the concern. It all feels somewhat helter-skelter. But it is also what seems necessary to solve a humanitarian crisis while traveling at 100 mph. Our view is that Oak Park is blessed to have the nonprofit capacity that can be responsive to this moment.

The local Catholic churches, Housing Forward, Community of Congregations, the raft of frontline volunteers.

Let’s assume goodwill and good intentions. Let the village set expectations for accountability as this money sloshes in.

And let’s remember our new neighbors and keep the focus on them.

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Becoming a better lover

s love arduous work — or is it an art?

Psychologist/philosopher Erich Fromm focused on the latter in his 1956 classic, The Art of Loving, one of the books that formed the foundation of much of what I believe about life and living (the others were Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl and I and Thou by Martin Buber).

I reread The Art of Loving recently after a friend mentioned it in conversation.

What stuck with him all these years, he said, was Fromm’s contention that love is not just an emotion. It’s also a practice.

The art of love, in other words, “requires knowledge and effort.”

On this Valentine’s Day, as many of us celebrate love in its many forms — familial, romantic, platonic, religious — we’re not just celebrants; we’re also practitioners, which requires an outward sign: a card, a letter, flowers, a dinner out or in, or a simple, heartfelt declaration of our affection and bond: I love you.

But Fromm raises that bar.

“Love is an art, just as living is an art,” he writes.

“If we want to learn how to love, we must proceed in the same way we proceed to learn any other art.”

As human beings, we are blessed with self-awareness, but that has its downside, including an acute awareness that we are separate beings. He calls this inherent loneliness “the problem of human existence.”

“The experience of separateness arouses anxiety,” Fromm contends. “It is, indeed, the source of all anxiety. … The deepest need of [humanity], then, is the need to overcome separateness, to leave the prison of [our] aloneness.”

We attempt this prison break in all manner of ways, not all of them healthy, he says. We seek “union” with others through sexual intimacy, drugs, group rituals and conformity, avenues that are transitory or illusory, therefore “insufficient to pacify the anxiety of separateness.” Other approaches, such as throwing ourselves into productive work or travel adventures, are more constructive but these, too, have limits.

“The full answer,” he says, “lies in the achievement of interpersonal union, of fusion with another person, in love.”

Love, he says, is our “most fundamental passion; it is the force that keeps the human race together, the clan, the family, the society. …

“Without love, humanity could not exist for a day.”

But not all forms of interpersonal union deserve the exalted label of “love.” He describes these as “immature love” or “symbiotic union,” relationships characterized by co-dependency, dominance/submission, or pragmatic convenience.

In contrast, Fromm says, “mature love is union under the condition of preserving one’s integrity, one’s individuality. … In love, the paradox occurs that two

KEN

TRAINOR

beings become one and yet remain two.”

True love, furthermore, is active, emphasizing giving. But not the transactional kind, offered in hopes of return.

In the free and unconditional giving that accompanies love, he says, “I experience my strength, my wealth, my power. … I experience myself as overflowing, alive, hence as joyous. … In the act of giving lies the expression of my aliveness.”

And in the mutuality of love’s equation, the loved one likewise overflows with giving.

“Love,” he says, “is the active concern for the life and growth of that which we love.” If the active concern isn’t there, it’s

not love.

To sustain love, we must learn, and then practice, the art of loving. In addition to discipline, concentration, and patience, Fromm says, “if one wants to become a master in any art, one’s whole life must be devoted to it.”

This resembles the well-worn advice, “You have to work at it,” which sounds decidedly un-romantic.

But it’s only “work” in the sense that when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. The “labor” of our love, then, is effortless effort. It flows naturally from our active concern for the life and growth of the person we love.

The great Buddhist teacher and monk Thich Nhat Hanh described it in a similar fashion: “Loving-kindness is not only the desire to make someone happy, to bring joy to a beloved person; it is the ability to bring joy and happiness to the person you love because, even if your intention is to love this person, your love might make him or her suffer.

Training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice deep looking, directed toward the person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love.”

I know I’m not the best lover I can be. Maybe that’s because becoming a better lover has not been at the top of my priority pyramid.

Fromm called love “the only satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence,” yet being a better lover is not entirely compatible with the demands and distractions of daily living in an often dehumanizing economic system.

“Those who are seriously concerned with love,” he says, “must arrive at the conclusion that important and radical changes in our social structure are necessary if love is to become [universal], and not a highly individualistic, marginal phenomenon.”

As a society, we may have a long way to go to master the art of loving.

But Valentine’s Day is a good start.

V I E W P O I N T S

by Marc Stopeck

S H R U B T O W N

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024 W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor Erika Hobbs Digital Manager Stacy Coleman Staff Reporter Amaris Rodriguez, Luzane Draughon Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Digital Media Coordinator Brooke Duncan Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea Designer Susan McKelvey Marketing Representatives Lourdes Nicholls, Ben Stumpe Business & Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com Special Projects Manager Susan Walker Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs Publisher Dan Haley

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Steve Edwards Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

D O O P E R ’ S

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M E M O R I E S

TV: made to order for the family-centered ’50s

opular entertainment before the advent of television had generally been a large-group activity, where people watched movies as part of an audience or cheered teams as part of a crowd, whereas television was watched in the privacy of the home.

As a family, we liked situation comedies, and the shows we liked the most were The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, and Leave it to Beaver.

We preferred these shows because the characters resolved everyday problems in half an hour and the shows depicted the happiness of family togetherness.

Even religion capitalized on the power of television. Celebrity preachers and priests like Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, and my grandmother’s favorite, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, took to the air waves

to spread the Christian gospel.

In regard to sports, TV viewing audiences that once filled a stadium capacity of thousands could now include millions.

Many teenagers like me shared a liking for rock-and-roll, a type of music that a musician friend explained adopted urban Black rhythm-and-blues for a white mass market. My friend also explained that rhythm-and-blues was the offspring of traditional blues and gospel music and, in turn, rock-and-roll music augmented its Black roots with country/western and Latin music.

Portable phonographs and 45 rpm records let us listen to rock-and-roll in our own rooms (limited for me), and car radios and transistor radios extended disc jockeys’

JOHN

STANGER

See JOHN STANGER on page 34

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

In a healthy conversation about community concerns, your voice is also vital. We welcome your views, on any topic of community interest, as essays and as letters to the editor. Noted here are our stipulations for filing.

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

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

LETTER TO THE EDITOR ■ 250-word limit ■ Must include first and last names, municipality in which you live, phone number (for verification only)

‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY ■ 500-word limit ■ One-sentence footnote about yourself,

your connection to the topic ■ Signature details as at left

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

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ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 ■ PHONE 708-524-8300 EMAIL Dan@OakPark.com ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com Wednesday Journal is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $2.00.

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

First installment tax bills are due March 1

at the Cook County Treasurer’s irst installment property website, www.cookcountytreatax bills for tax year 2023 surer.com. Those wishing to pay were mailed at the end of in person can do so at the Cook January. Property taxes County Treasurer’s downtown are paid in two installoffice, 118 N. Clark St., and at ments. The first installment is any Chase Bank in the Chicago 55% of a property’s total tax area. Chase branches most conbill for the previous year, and venient to Oak Park residents will be due on March 1. are located at 800 Madison St. Taxpayers looking at this and 1048 Lake St. in Oak Park. year’s first installment bills If money for property taxes should note that they do not is paid into an escrow account reflect homeowner, senior with a taxpayer’s mortgage citizen or other exemptions, company, the financial instinor do they reflect the impact Oak Park tution should receive the tax of reassessments or successful Township Assessor bill electronically, even if the assessment appeals from tax taxpayer also receives a copy of year 2023. Exemptions, reassessthe bill. I advise taxpayers with property ments, and successful appeals will instead tax escrows held by their mortgage compaimpact second installment bills, as will the nies not to pay property taxes on their own, effect of changes in the tax levies of local as this may result in a double payment of governments. Second installment bills will taxes. But taxpayers with mortgage escrows likely be due in the summer or fall of 2024. should check the Cook County Treasurer’s Property owners who do not have mortgage companies paying their taxes can make website to verify that their mortgage companies have paid the taxes. tax payments in person, by mail, or online

ALI ELSAFFAR

COURTESY OF BOB STIGGER

Location to be determined

Sadly, there is no longer a Scoville Avenue in Oak Park. I learned this today from the Post Office (see attached scan).

As fans of Miracle on 34th Street know, the Post Office is a world-class, highlyefficient organization, so it must be

true. While I endeavor to ascertain what street I live on, please mail my Wednesday Journals to my neighbor on East Avenue. Assuming there still is an East Avenue.

Bob Stigger, Oak Park

Think, and act, local on climate change

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e focus much of our political energy about climate change, like much of our political energy in general, at the national level. What laws can Congress pass? What executive orders can the President implement? And don’t get me wrong – these are important questions. When Congress passes laws or the President implements executive orders on climate change, those actions matter. And if you have been part of national fights to force climate action or want to join them, more power to you.

But the choices we make here in Oak Park are just as vital. Members of the local community group Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN) are advocating for local policy and action to address the climate crisis here. How we live out our own commitment to addressing climate

change may not grab people’s attention in the same way as national efforts, but it provides the grounding for what happens on a larger scale.

If we don’t electrify our own homes, we won’t personally capitalize on the national incentives available for electrical appliances. If we don’t electrify our local infrastructure, we can’t take advantage of renewable energy being generated at a greater scale in Illinois.

OPCAN advocated for the village to adopt our policy that new construction must include all-electric infrastructure — heat pumps, induction stoves, and electric water heaters. This new infrastructure will start to reduce our reliance on natural gas for heating and cooking, which in turn will reduce our village’s emissions. Building new infrastructure now that relies on natural gas would lock in our use of fossil

JIM

SCHWARTZ One View

fuels for decades, whereas new electric infrastructure reduces emissions as electricity becomes cleaner.

But regardless of requirements for new construction, most of Oak Park’s emissions come from existing buildings. That’s why members of OPCAN are working on plans to support home and business owners in transitioning their buildings from natural gas infrastructure to electrical.

There are many options to change natural gas appliances to electric as simply and inexpensively as possible. National incentives through the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEEHRA) program can defray upfront costs. And studies have shown that electrifying home appliances saves homeowners money over the long term.

So national efforts are important. Please get involved if you are willing and able.

But local choices are important, too. If you’re buying new appliances for your

home — heating and cooling systems, stoves, and water heaters — please consider making the switch to electric.

And if you’re interested in advocating for local changes, please reach out to OPCAN at opcan.org. We can all do our part, locally, in our state, and at the national level, to address climate change.

Jim Schwartz is a member of the local community group Oak Park Climate Action Network (opcan.org).

V I E W P O I N T S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Jonathon The following was among the selections read during Arbor West Neighbors’ recent literary salon:

O

ur great nephew was at Columbine.

Yes, that Columbine.

Yes, on that day.

Less than a year before, we had stayed with his family in Colorado for a few days.

They gave us a tour of the area, proudly showing us the new high school with the pretty name.

When I stopped at my mailbox at work that infamous day [April 20, 1999] before heading home, it was with disbelief that I overheard people in the office talking about Columbine High School.

Could there be two Columbines? Then I was even more shocked at what they said had happened. All the way home I wondered and worried.

As luck, or fate, would have it, Jonathon survived because he needed to go to the bathroom. As he emerged a teacher yelled “Run!” and they did so through a hail of bullets. Because he was a student leader, we watched him being interviewed on CNN and were a bit in awe that someone we knew would be on national news.

The story, unfortunately, doesn’t end there. I have heard about survivor’s syndrome, which refers to survivors engaging in risky behavior. A few years later, because he was so outstanding, he was hired by an aerospace company while still in college. That gave him the money to buy a motorcycle, take flying lessons and rent airplanes. One evening he talked a couple of friends into joining him on a flight. He didn’t do anything wrong, but flying a small plane, especially at night, is risky.

A nearby pilot was flying with a broken radar transponder, so flight controllers didn’t know he was there. As fate would have it, in all that space over Denver, they collided, not only killing all of them, but also people sleeping in houses below.

For a second time, we heard announcers on CNN talking about Jonathon Ladd.

We went to see his family, waiting, as his mom requested, until after the chaos of the funeral was over. We saw the museum that had been his room, preserved as he left it. His mom was never the same and cut off all contact. We never heard from her again.

When they count the victims of Columbine do they count Jonathon? I’m sure they don’t. His mom? His younger brother, who not only suffered a loss but was lost in the shuffle? His classmates in the plane? The people who died sleeping in their homes? Where do the ripples of violence end?

JOYCE PORTER One View

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Racial equity and a new housing plan

ive years ago, District 97 passed the first Racial Equity Policy and Procedures in Oak Park history. A few weeks later District 200 followed suit. Because of these policies, equity work in our schools continues today. In a similar fashion, Diversity Oak Park believes that the village must codify its new equity commitments in formal policy or in an ordinance, with accountability protocols in a manner similar to our schools.

We applaud the village for getting some key developments and substantial investments right in committing to racial equity.

In the past two years the village has: ■ Utilized expert guidance from the Government Alliance for Racial Equity to provide village administration with fundamental understanding of racial equity work ■ Hired a full-time equity director and provided support personnel ■ Hired the highly regarded University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute to map and help carry out a comprehensive equity evaluation and planning process ■ Launched a community survey on individual racial experiences and perceptions, and most importantly ■ Modeled to a very great degree in the Climate Ready Oak Park Report a racial equity assessment of environmental challenges, identified racial and socioeconomic climate impact disparities, and proposed prioritized resource allocations for villagers most harmed by our global climate crisis.

Trustees on Aug. 1, 2022 unanimously embraced the sustainability report’s priority goal for the village to “advance

Equity in Buildings & Housing through an equity impact analysis, authentic community engagement, and user-centered design for village housing and building assistance programs funded by public dollars.”

The Climate Ready Oak Park assessment process mirrored what a coalition of education activists first proposed in 2016 in D200, and D97 and which D200 adopted in 2019 — the application of racial impact assessment protocols as a central component of a larger racial equity policy and programs.

For sure, equity in our schools is a contentious work in process — around capital improvements; support for curriculum restructuring; hiring and retaining racially diverse faculty; growing a safe, respectful, and inclusive school culture; and in allocating equitable academic resource supports. We hope that village racial equity commitments will strengthen equity in our schools.

Diversity Oak Park urges the village to take the next steps in guaranteeing transparency and accountability for all equitybased decisions. Doing so can help avoid the deep conflict D200 faced in adopting major capital improvements last year.

First, village policy must ensure, as did our schools, that there is diverse community engagement in racial equity policy development, specifically including representation from established groups experiencing inequitable disparities in Oak Park.

Secondly, work with the Government Alliance for Race and Equity and the Great Cities Institute should be extended to facilitate community engagement in

DIVERSITY OAK PARK One View

understanding best practices in equity implementation, in drafting an equity policy/ordinance, action plans, accountability procedures, and in guiding the first years of ordinance implementation.

Thirdly, in applying equity assessments to major programs like policing, hiring, housing, and capital improvements, the village Diversity, Equity and Inclusion director should be responsible for monitoring and documenting such processes from beginning to final recommendations to the village trustees. This documentation should be available for public review, as proposed by Village Manager Jackson in a policy recommendation to trustees on Feb. 1, requiring village government to provide residents easy access to all village data.

Codifying racial equity actions and procedures in an explicit policy/ordinance will make certain, as our current trustees appear to be doing, that racial equity is more than an aspiration guided by best intentions. Doing so will also provide continuity for future village trustees and administrations.

In the meantime, the racial equity assessment process, as called for in Climate Ready Oak Park, needs to be applied to the housing plan being presented on March 19.

Finally, we suggests that trustees not see the plan from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus consultants as the final take on housing reform. Any housing strategies presented, both old and new, require time for appropriate community response, agreement, revisions, and possible additions that consultants may have overlooked.

The Diversity Oak Park Steering Committee includes Rob Breymeier, John Duffy, Henry Fulkerson, Burcy Hines, Ralph Lee, and Paul Sakol.

What will we not do to keep our children safe?

It is common in the homes of toddlers to have gates at the top of stairs lest a child fall. There is hardly a family car without a car seat for the very young and seat belts for older children. Playground surfaces are composed of force-absorbing materials. Detergent and medication containers have caps difficult for adults to open so that they will be impossible for children to open.

We most certainly are a society that

cares about our children. We hold their hand as we cross the street. We inoculate them to prevent illness. It is obvious that we very much care for our children.

It is impossible to eliminate all risk to our children. For example, it is possible that harm might occur crossing the street, but one must do so to leave the block.

There are other inherent risks in daily life that are essentially unavoidable, but others can be avoided with simple solutions.

How is it possible then that when firearms are the largest cause of death in children, we take no action? Although simply having a gun in the home is a statistical hazard for injury or death, we continue to have guns in a very high percentage of homes, many of them not stored securely.

What possible rationale justifies this endangerment of children?

Sandra Shimon

Oak Park

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

KAMAU JONES

Educating ourselves from page 29 racism, respectively) to mandate statutory prohibitions of mixed-race marriage.

Or the Canadian psychologist and eugenicist, J. Philippe Rushton, who claimed that blacks have smaller brains, are more sexually aggressive, and are less capable of family stability. Those kinds of scientific studies eventually fell out of academic favor because, well, they had no basis in reality.

Science at its core is not just about hypothesis but about what is sound and proven. Even if co-opted by bad scientists with unjust motives, good science will eventually disprove bad science. But for a long time, science was used to support the conclusion colonizers and slavers promoted. Generations of white people were told they were inherently greater than another race. I can only imagine how insane the sciences were when Dr. Woodson was going to school.

Then there are the social sciences, which teach us about societies and cultures, both shared and individual. Political Science, Anthropology, Economics, and perhaps most importantly, history. These are currently under attack by the Republican Party, conservative think tanks, the

MARC BLESOFF from page 29 There might be some exceptions. The FAA says air-traffic controllers can’t work past the age of 56. I guess I’d have to think about that one. (Although now that I think about it, why not just change a probably outdated system to reduce the risk rather than impose mandatory retirement?)

I have some significant disagreements with Biden, but if we look at his track record in office instead of the number of times the earth went around the sun, we will see documented accomplishments, not doddering: our country’s biggest investment in clean energy, the first gun safety bill in 30 years, revitalized American manufacturing (Buy In America, CHIPS, Inflation Reduction Act), lowered prescription drug prices, biggest infrastructure bill in 70 years … and Biden led

V I E W P O I N T S MAGA crowd, and fans of Duck Dynasty.

Knowing history gives us access to the failures of the past to inform the changes of the future. For example, if a white person in this country is taught from a very young age that this country was founded by people who were heroically standing up to the tyranny and oppression of England to create a shining beacon of freedom and independence, I am sure that would make you very proud of these United States.

You would hold its institutions in highest regard and the words of its founders as something akin to gospel.

However, what if you are taught that people were here before us who were raped and killed and run off of their lands? That would mean the dream of freedom is not for all but for one specific group. Those colonizers stole people from across the ocean and used them as beasts of burden, who would create the infrastructure for this country.

And systems created to oppress and control these people evolved into our policing and prison systems. That makes it a lot easier to question the relevance of the institutions we are told to revere.

Thurgood Marshall once said, in response to being invited to a bicentennial celebration celebrating the “more perfect union” we call the United States of America: “I do not believe that the meaning of the Constitution was forever ‘fixed’ at the Philadelphia Convention. Nor do I find the wisdom, foresight, and sense of justice

the country through immunization as well as the economic and local government rebound after COVID. Biden’s $4 trillion investment in the American economy will impact, in a positive way, for generations to come.

Whether Biden can run for president, or the decision whether anybody is too old to do anything, needs to be based on discernible facts, on a case-by-case basis.

As we discuss in our Courageous Conscious Aging Workshops, getting old is both loss and opportunity, getting old does include strength, determination and resilience. If we think life peaks in middle-age and then it’s all downhill after that, that’s what we get.

Marc Blesoff is a former Oak Park village trustee, co-founder of the Windmills softball organization, co-creator of Sunday Night Dinner, a retired criminal defense attorney, and a novice beekeeper. He currently facilitates Conscious Aging Workshops and Wise Aging Workshops in the Chicago area.

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exhibited by the framers particularly profound. To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, that we hold as fundamental today.”

We cannot forget these truths. History is not taught by the oppressed. We struggle and fight to let the world know we are here.

Do you know about Thurgood Marshall and his historic 1954 Brown v Board of Education victory? Was it taught to you at an early age? History books would have you believe everything was magically desegregated after that, but when James Meredith tried to test that freedom seven years later by applying to the University of Mississippi, he was met with a full year of resistance that culminated in a violent riot that killed two people. Through the ’70s and ’80s, there was endless rioting in Boston as they tried to desegregate schools there.

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the matter of Students For Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, prohibiting colleges and universities from considering race as a basis for admission. In his majority opinion, Justice Roberts wrote that Affirmative Action is unconstitutional.

Roberts loves the “Framers of the Constitution.” Maybe if he wasn’t mis-educated, he would have a different opinion.

JOHN STANGER from page 31 reach beyond our homes. The result was separate music for young listeners and separate advertising for teenage consumers.

The chief revolutionary of popular music of the ’50s was Elvis Presley, a former truck driver from Mississippi who, with his suggestive gyrations, became the King of ’50s music, much to the chagrin of our parents.

Listening and dancing to rock-and-roll became a rite of passage for millions of teens. Most of my pals were hooked on this music, maybe because it carried a heavy beat and driving rhythms.

Traditionists, mostly older adults, were repelled by most of the culture of this period.

Movie star Marilyn Monroe with her

What I want you all to realize is that the fight is still happening. Right now.

It is still happening in our classrooms.

And it is just as important now as when Thurgood Marshall got us in the room and when Dr. Woodson made sure we were not being fed white supremacist agendas. These men knew the importance of making sure that the contributions and achievements of Black people throughout history were seen and heard.

I will leave you with this. The undoing of Justice Marshall’s work started just as he was retiring. Now they have moved to our history. The war is not over. History is still being written. Don’t be mis-educated.

Heed Dr. Woodson’s warning: “The oppressor has always indoctrinated the weak with his interpretation of the crimes of the strong.”

■ The Ideology of Racism: Misusing Science to Justify Racial Discrimination by William H. Tucker https://www.un.org/ en/chronicle/article/ideology-racism-misusing-science-justify-racial-discrimination ■ Reflections on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution by Thurgood Marshall, Harvard Law Review https://www.jstor.org/ stable/1341223?origin=crossref ■ The Miseducation of the Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson ■ Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective, Third Edition by J. Philippe Rushton Kamau Jones is a resident of Forest Park.

rather ingenuous smile, helped to popularize “sensuousness,” as my grandmother often said, as did Playboy, a popular magazine designed for male perusal.

By the time 1960 arrived, Americans were well on their way to becoming consumers of mass-produced standardized products, which were advertised in the electronic and print mediums.

Many critics lamented this new consumer lifestyle. My uncle Gene was the most conservative member of our family.

He disliked Truman, rock-and-roll, and Elvis, but he liked Ike, Guy Lombardo, and Perry Como.

The bookshelf in his bedroom was filled with books by conservative authors. He was elated when I told him I was reading a book written by Milton Friedman and one by William F. Buckley.

I didn’t tell him, though, that these books were required reading for a class I was taking in contemporary American literature.

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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Two kinds of people The following eulogy was delivered at a memorial service on Feb. 3, 2024:

N

JJ entered my church office to ask for help. A member of my congregation who had just moved in with his girlfriend agreed to let JJ stay in his house in exchange for carpentry work.

Fellow congregant David Schweig hired JJ as a maintenance worker. When JJ joined us in church on Sunday, he was delighted to see a mural in the sanctuary depicting one of his heroes: radical America founder Thomas Paine.

So landed, JJ would be elected to the church board, eventually becoming its president. He also proceeded to insert himself into Chicago’s social, cultural and literary fabric over the next 20 years, with the online ChicagoPoetry.com naming him Poet of the Month in March 2005. An unusually literary cop recognized JJ/Norman’s photo there, prompting his arrest at the church.

“It’s been a good 20-year run,” Norman told his arresting officer.

Norman and members of our church went up against the families of Norman’s victims at four different Massachusetts parole hearings. Norman testified that he was no longer the same person who committed those heinous crimes. Influenced by his age and poor health, the state parole board unanimously released Norman on July 5, 2022.

At age 83, Norman had spent half those years in prison and half out. Remarkably, the prison’s physician, Dr. Alfred DeMaria, who was retiring around that time, invited Norman to live in his home, saying, “He’s a very intellectually curious man and he’s great to have a conversation with.”

I do not condone Norman’s crimes. Nor can I restore the lives of his victims and their families. But I do believe that there are two kinds of people. There are those who believe that people can change — or be born again — and those who don’t. There are those who believe that on the Road to Damascus Saul became Paul. And on that Greyhound Bus to Chicago, Norman Porter became JJ Jameson.

If we don’t think that rehabilitation is possible, what is the purpose of education, therapy, or religion?

Indeed, change is the basis of civilization itself.

Rev. Donald H. Wheat is minister emeritus of Third Unitarian Church of Chicago. He is the author of “Why Not Me?: Finessing Life’s Slings and Arrows.”

DON WHEAT

orman Porter, whom I knew as “JJ Jameson,” was born in 1940 into a Massachusetts family of four children. Norman’s father was an early influence. He taught Norman carpentry skills that may have helped the boy land a construction clean-up job at age 13. Norman abandoned the truck he used on that job after getting it stuck in sand. His boss reported that he stole it and his parents reportedly didn’t intervene to teach him a lesson. During five months in a reformatory, Norman recalled, “They beat the sh*t out of me.”

An eighth-grade dropout, Norman participated in a much-worse crime seven years later in which a 22-year-old clerk, John Pigott, was fatally shot in a 1960 store heist. Porter pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Awaiting trial in 1961, Norman participated in the fatal shooting of jailer David Robinson during a prison escape. He was recaptured while robbing a grocery store in New Hampshire and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Signs of another Norman surfaced during this prison stint as he got a Boston University degree, published poetry and worked on a prison radio and newspaper.

That Norman signed himself out of a prerelease center for a walk in late 1985 and never returned. A Massachusetts murderer who didn’t return from a weekend furlough six months later became even more infamous. In his 1988 presidential campaign, George H.W. Bush used racist ads about William “Willie” Horton’s subsequent assaults and rapes to pummel his opponent, then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis — a prison-furlough supporter.

In contrast to Horton, Norman fled into a bus station that had two pending departures — for Miami and for Chicago.

Porter said he boarded the Windy-City bus in homage to such Chicago poets as Carl Sandberg and to the novelist Nelson Algren. These literary muses also may have introduced Norman — using the pseudonym JJ Jameson — to Stuart McCarroll.

In addition to being a friend of Algren’s until the novelist’s 1981 death, McCaroll was the poet laureate of my church: Third Unitarian Church of Chicago.

I still remember the cold winter day when

One View

35

Good gizzards … and a plea

By DAVID HAMMOND

G

Oak Park Eats Blogger

Williams told me that when he was brainstorming concepts for Virtue, he knew he wanted to open a “Southernstyle restaurant, and there are a few things that really say ‘Southern’: fried off-cuts, chitlins and offal.”

The King of Offal has got to be chitterlings, diced intestines, usually pork.

These are very divisive innards, with some professing love and others strong dislike. I used to buy triple-washed chitlins at Moo & Oink on Madison (yep, gone). Carolyn made me cook the strong-smelling guts in our garage in a crock pot. I added a massive selection of spices, including onion, garlic, and oregano. They were not bad.

izzards are offal, the “fifth quarter” meats that, along with liver and chitterlings, are rarely seen on restaurant menus.

Gizzards, if you’re not familiar with the organ, are the second stomachs of all birds and some reptiles that need this organ to grind their food for complete digestion.

A few days ago, we had dinner at Virtue, an exceptional Hyde Park restaurant under the direction of Executive Chef Erick Williams (James Beard Best Chef: Midwest, 2022) and Chef de Cuisine Damarr Brown (James Beard Emerging Chef, 2023). What Virtue does with gizzards is remarkable.

At Virtue, we enjoyed very delicately fried gizzards, dressed with tender little celery tops, pickles and a sauce that I believe was something like maple syrup and miso/soy, served over Carolina Gold rice. I spoke with Chef Williams a month or so ago and, though he was understandably hesitant to reveal his PHOTO BY DAVID HAMMOND entire recipe, he told Gizzards at Virtue me the gizzards sit in a buttermilk bath for a good long time, which But Williams, one of Chicago’s most tenderizes them. Then they’re breaded, accomplished chefs, could probably fried, and sauced. The gizzards were not make the best chitterlings ever. the super-chewy, rubber-bandy clusters I And so, my plea. used to get from the (now gone) Brown’s Chef Williams, sir, please consider Chicken on Madison in Forest Park. opening a restaurant in Oak Park. Our These were quite tender, and Virtue’s suburb has always reminded me of preparation showed off the earthy, minHyde Park: largely liberal, educated, and eral notes of this odd organ. diverse, with an interest in good food. A I met Williams years ago at Chicago’s restaurant like Virtue — with very highmk restaurant (now also gone). I ordered quality Southern comfort food — would beef liver, which was delivered to our be a hit in our village and could draw table by Chef Williams himself, who diners from all over the West Side and I suspect wanted to see what jamoke Western suburbs. ordered the liver at this white tablecloth For the past few years, Oak Park has restaurant. When it arrived at the table, been upping its restaurant game; we’re a young friend who’d never even seen ready for you but please, if you come, beef liver remarked, “Wow, that’s not bring those remarkable gizzards. nearly as horrifying as I’d imagined.” It was some of the best liver ever.

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Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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O B I T U A R I E S

Roslyn Lieb, 81 Civil rights lawyer

Roslyn C. Lieb, 81, a dedicated civil rights lawyer, died on Nov. 9, 2023. Born on July 19, 1942, Roz was a champion for justice, who left an indelible mark on the Chicago and Oak Park legal communities, as well as on the lives of the countless people she helped.

Born Roslyn Carol Corenzwit, she was brought up in Philadelphia and raised by her parents Samuel and Anne, with her siblings Michael and Hope. She went to Douglass College where she met her husband of 59 years, Michael Lieb. Beginning in 1966, they lived in Williamsburg, Virginia, where their sons, Laurence and Mark were born.

In 1972, they moved to Oak Park. When her sons were small boys, she decided to become a lawyer and entered DePaul University College of Law, where she earned

her JD in Public Interest Law, magna cum laude. At DePaul, she was the lead articles editor of the Law Review.

From 1976 to 2008, she fought tirelessly against housing, employment, and gender discrimination and became executive director of the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights from 1984-94.

From 1997-2004 she was executive director of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) and began that organization’s Pro Bono Program. After retiring in 2004, she remained a life director and member of the board at PILI. Her husband of 59 years, Michael Lieb, died in 2022. Roz is survived by her two sons, Laurence and Mark; three grandchildren, Kate, Nick, and Annie; and her siblings, Michael and Hope.

A great many colleagues, relatives and friends will never stop missing her.

The family would appreciate donations in Roslyn C. Lieb’s memory to Parkinsons.org.

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Pat McAnany, 93 Peace & justice advocate

Patrick Damien McAnany, 93, of Oak Park, died on Feb. 7, 2024, surrounded by family at Loyola Hospital in Maywood.

Born on Feb. 28, 1930, in Kansas City, Kansas, along with his identical twin, Emile, who survives him, he was the son of Patrick Damien McAnany and Julia Rose neé Guignon, brother of the late Richard and John, and sister Julie.

He entered the Jesuits in 1952 and was ordained a priest in 1963 with Emile. In 1970, he left the Society of Jesus to marry the love of his life, Charlaine Agnes (neé Rigamonti), who had been a nun in the Sisters of St. Mary.

She survives him, along with his daughter, Clare Marie Kalemba (neé McAnany), and Damien McAnany Luce (Maggie Flemming Luce), and his grandchildren: Sebastian, Rose and Xavier Kalemba, and Vida and Silas Luce.

He had a lifelong love of law and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1960. He

Mary Jean Callahan, 85

Active volunteer, avid traveler On Christmas Eve 2023, Mary Jean Callahan, 85, flew west into the sunset to join her late husband Gene and son Daniel. Born on Nov. 2, 1938 in Chicago to the late Helen Donovan Byrne and Paul V. Byrne, she graduated in 1952 from St. Catherine of Siena in Oak Park, and from Trinity High School in River Forest in 1956. At a dance in 1953, she met her future husband, Gene Callahan. She attended Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, graduating in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in English. They married in 1960 and moved to Oak Park, where they lived for nearly 40 years, raising four sons: Kevin, Michael, Daniel and John.

taught in the Law School at St. Louis University from 1966 to 1969 and helped to re-write the Illinois penal code from 1969 to 1971. He was a professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois Chicago from 1971 to 1999 and head of the department from 1991 to 1996, adding a PhD program at the end of his tenure.

He has been an active member of Ascension Parish in Oak Park since 1971. A founding member of the Peace & Justice Committee for 40 years, his latest focus was on immigration. As chairman of the board of the Illinois Coalition to End the Death Penalty, he lobbied successfully for its abolition and also organized to help formerly incarcerated heroin addicts and domestic violence survivors, among many, many other causes.

Pat had a passion for history, and family history in particular. He researched extensively and wrote essays about his ancestors.

This work can be found at McAnanyfamily. net.

At Ascension Church, East Avenue and Van Buren Street, on Friday, Feb. 16, visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m., followed by the funeral Mass at 11.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Catherine-St. Lucy & St Giles Parish, 1025 Columbian Av, Oak Park, IL 60302, Attn: Migrant Fund.

Together she and Gene traveled to over 25 countries. She spent much of her time in Oak Park volunteering with the Little Brothers of the Poor, Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (HOME), and Oak Park Hospice.

In 2000, they moved to Washington Island, Wisconsin, where she was an avid gardener, voracious reader and active member of the Washington Island community. They lived on the island for over 15 years.

Following the passing of her husband and her son Daniel, she moved to an assisted living facility in Centennial, Colorado, where she enjoyed watching the sun set over the Rocky Mountains and would quote a favorite line from a song by Bob Seger: “Those are the memories that make me a wealthy soul.”

Mary Jean is survived by her sister Maurine (Tom), her brother Paul (Judy), her sons, Kevin and his children Aleisha and Ryan, Michael (Margaret) and their children Rose and Marve, and John (Tracey); her grandson, Liam; and her nephews and niece Brigid, (James), Sean (Therese), and Patrick.

A private celebration of Mary Jean’s life will be held later this year.

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

37

SPORTS OPRF gymnasts just shy of state meet berth

Seniors Walker, Ruff, Morales, Rezny competed at sectional

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Oak Park and River Forest senior Jane Walker’s chances of reaching her first girls gymnastics state meet came down to the final day.

Walker’s 8.90 on the uneven parallel bars at the Hinsdale Central Sectional, Feb. 5, remained in contention for a top-12 at-large berth entering the last of the four feed-in sectionals Thursday at Wheaton Warrenville South.

Walker shared the last at-large score. She ended up tied for 18th at-large, only 0.10 from qualifying.

“Obviously disappointed that it was so close,” OPRF coach Kris Wright said Friday. “Personally I feel frustrated for her because I strongly feel she has the skill set to be there, at least for prelims, and she has

such a great work ethic and focus, and it didn’t quite pay off.”

Top-five sectional finishers automatically qualify for state. The remaining scores receive at-large consideration.

When Walker tied for seventh at sectionals on uneven bars (8.9) and was ninth on floor exercise (8.9), she had to wait until Thursday to find out her fate. Walker also missed the floor cut by .075 but was numerically eliminated Wednesday.

“I’m definitely happy with those routines. I probably couldn’t have done floor or bars any better,” Walker said immediately after the sectional.

“My [balance] beam was kind of shaky and my vault, I took a lot of steps, but I feel good about the two that I did well on.”

All four OPRF individual qualifiers were seniors — Walker, Violet Ruff, Gabby Morales and Claire Rezny. Senior all-arounder and varsity regular Ellie Wolski was injured for the postseason.

The Huskies hoped to advance to sectionals as a team for the sixth straight season but their second-place 131.525 at the Oswego Regional Feb. 5 missed the sectional’s 133.20 at-

STEVE JOHNSTON

Oak Park and River Forest’s Jane Walker competes on the floor exercise during the Girls Gymnastics Sectionals at Hinsdale Central, Feb. 5, in Hinsdale. large cut. Sophomore Alexis Henderson was the team’s fifth all-arounder at regionals.

Walker also was ninth at sectionals in all-around (34.975) and Ruff was 11th on vault (9.05), which had respective at-large state cuts of 35.425 and 9.20.

“I’m glad we made it [to sectionals].

Some of the same routines that the girls did scored better than they did at regionals,” Wright said afterwards.

Walker and Ruff may continue with club gymnastics, depending on their college choices.

“I am sad because I feel like I’ve never not done gymnastics,” Ruff said.

“I grew up doing gymnastics with Jane and Claire since we were little so it’s really fun to do it with them. All of the other seniors, it’s been so fun to be on the team with them and get to know them.”

February frenzy begins for local girls hoops Trinity, Fenwick, and OPRF ready for state tournament

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The Trinity High School girls basketball team has been top-seeded in each of the last two postseasons and reached the title game of an IHSA Class 3A sectional, only to be eliminated by neighboring Fenwick both times.

With the Friars in Class 4A this year, it would seem that the third time would be

the charm for the Blazers to get that elusive sectional championship, which would be the program’s first since 2016 and sixth overall. But Trinity (17-13) has a challenging task ahead as the fifth seed in a strong Glenbard South sectional.

Even so, Blazers’ head coach Kim Coleman is relishing the upcoming tests.

“That’s where God wanted us to be, so that’s where we are,” she said. “You’ve got to beat somebody to keep going, and we’re going to play who’s in front of us.”

Trinity senior guard Luz Del Rosario Kwiatkoski Perez, who had a team-high 13 points in the Blazers’ 61-27 rout of Oak Park and River Forest, Feb. 7, likes the

team’s mentality heading into the playoffs.

“Our regular season was definitely tough,” she said, “but I think we were the underdogs.

We worked hard and never gave up.”

Trinity began the postseason, after press time, with a regional semifinal game against Elmwood Park, Feb. 13, at DePaul Prep. A victory would likely mean a meeting with the regional host Rams for the title, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

The Blazers lost twice to DePaul during the regular season, but they believe if they execute the fundamentals well, they can go on another extended postseason run.

“We need to communicate, stay together, and stick to everything we’ve been working

on the entire season,” Perez said.

“We’re going to step up to the plate, play our best, and live with the results,” added Coleman. “If we can play good, intense defense and pressure ball-handlers, I like our odds.”

Fenwick Winning consecutive sectional titles has resulted in Fenwick moving up this postseason to Class 4A. And the Friars (9-21) have a very daunting challenge ahead if See BASKETBALL on page 38

38

S P O R T S

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

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OPRF, Fenwick advance wrestlers downstate Epshtein, White from OPRF girls team also move on

By MELVIN TATE

ni’s Jaxon Lane 3-1.

D’Alise (30-16) had a more daunting task in qualifying at 215 as he had to win three consecutive wrestlebacks after losing in the quarterfinals. That’s exactly what he did: pinfall over Lake View’s Kaid Perkins; pinfall over Lake Forest’s Yaree Sandifer; then 7-1 over Deerfield’s Max Drumke.

In the third-place match, D’Alise finished his remarkable run with a 14-9 victory over DePaul Prep’s Hunter Wahtola.

Contributing Reporter

Coming off its first IHSA regional title since 2020, the Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling team entered the Class 3A individual sectional at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Feb. 10, looking to keep the momentum going.

The Huskies had another good day, advancing four wrestlers to the IHSA individual state finals, which take place Feb. 15-17 at the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign’s State Farm Center.

Junior Eric Harris (32-9) had a strong run in winning the 215-pound championship. After a first-round bye, he pinned Abdulhamid Olowu of Hoffman Estates in 4:48 during the quarterfinals.

Harris then defeated DeKalb’s Lamar Bradley 7-3 in the semifinals and edged past Joe Pettit of Geneva 2-1 in the final.

Junior Joe Knackstedt (34-8) advanced downstate for the second consecutive season thanks to his second-place finish at 138 pounds. Following a bye, he pinned Hudson Ikens of DeKalb at 2:57 in the quarterfinals, then notched another pinfall victory in the semifinals over Maine South’s Jake Colleran at 2:22. In the final, Knackstedt lost via major decision (13-5) to Tyler Guerra of St. Charles East.

Freshman Michael Rundell and sophomore David Ogunsanya also qualified for the state meet. Rundell (31-8) finished third at 106 pounds, while Ogunsanya (34-8) took third at 150.

BASKETBALL from page 37 they want to claim a third straight sectional crown.

Fenwick began the playoffs, Feb. 13, with a regional semifinal against host Oak Lawn. If the Friars prevail, Chicago Public League champion Whitney Young likely awaits in the title game, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

Fenwick is seeded 10th in the Mother McAuley sectional, which features powerhouse teams in top-seed Nazareth Academy, Young, Kenwood, Lyons Township,

OPRF girls

SAMANTHA SMART

OPRF’s Joe Knackstedt (right) grapples in a 138-pound match at the IHSA Conant individual wrestling sectional on Feb. 10. Knackstedt finished second and advanced downstate for the second consecutive season.

Fenwick boys At the Class 2A Grayslake Central individual sectional, Feb. 10, Fenwick qualified three wrestlers for the state finals.

Junior Patrick Gilboy improved his record to 30-12 with a second-place finish at 175 pounds. After a first-round bye, he got a 10-2 major decision over Rulin Palacios of Fenton in the quarterfinals, then edged past St. Patrick’s Devin Nichol 3-2 in the semifinals. In the final, Gilboy was pinned

and the host Mighty Macs.

“For me, it’s about how you’re playing at the end of the year,” said Fenwick coach Lenae Fergerson. “Right now, I think we’re clicking on all cylinders, and we’ll take our chances.”

Fenwick senior guard Grace Kapsch, who scored 17 points in the Friars’ 54-15 rout of OPRF, Feb. 8, feels her team has played better than its record.

“We’ve had some really close games against some really good teams, and I think it proves that we can compete against anybody,” she said.

Given the loaded sectional, Fenwick knows it has its work cut out. But the Friars are also optimistic, especially if they

at 2:39 by Matty Jens of Grayslake Central.

Junior Jack Paris and senior Luke D’Alise also qualified for the Friars. Paris (7-3) won his quarterfinal at 190 pounds, a 11-0 major decision over Cary-Grove’s Kyle Jarecki. After losing 2-1 in the semifinals to Niles Notre Dame’s Jim Amatore, Paris needed a victory in the final wrestleback to keep qualifying hopes alive.

He got it, squeaking past Wauconda’s Michael Merevick 6-5. In the subsequent third-place match, Paris defeated Monti-

play well defensively.

“Our team chemistry is definitely there,” Kapsch said. “We know our offense might not be our best at times, but it’s our defense that wins. We just have to play hard with a lot of effort.”

“I’m not worried about our offense.

We’ve got to take care of the ball, handle pressure, and defend,” Fergerson said.

“I’m excited and ready; now it’s win or go home.”

OPRF After losing to neighboring schools Fenwick and Trinity last week, OPRF (7-24) got back into the win column with a 38-6 vic-

At the Schaumburg sectional, Feb. 9-10, OPRF advanced two wrestlers to the state finals, which take place Feb. 23-24 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Senior Sarah Epshtein (24-3) won the 235-pound title in impressive fashion, with all three victories coming via pinfall — and all under one minute. Following an openinground bye, she pinned Maine East’s Lyric Walton at :54 in the quarterfinals, Downers Grove North’s Megan O’Toole at :56 in the semifinals, and then Lockport’s Rebekah Ramirez at just 33 seconds in the final. It’s Epshtein’s third consecutive trip downstate.

White (20-6) will also make it to Bloomington for the third straight season after her second-place finish at 190. She pinned Essenze Reid of Hoffman Estates at 3:14 of the first round, then defeated West Aurora’s Brittney Moran, 8-2, in the quarterfinals and Andrew’s Emma Akpan, 5-2, in the semifinals. In the final, White was pinned at 5:30 by Jasmine Rene of Wheeling.

tory over Kelly in the Class 4A OPRF regional, Feb. 10.

The Huskies faced the top seed in the Mother McAuley sectional, Nazareth Academy, Feb. 13 (after deadline).

Despite the poor record and multiple onesided defeats, there have been some signs of improvement. There is some promising young talent, such as sophomore Gabriella Chesney, who scored 14 points in a 41-32 victory over visiting Proviso East, Feb. 6; sophomore Leia Hammerschmidt; and freshman Taryn Draine.

Moreover, the majority of the Huskies’ roster returns next season as only three players (Daria Kelley, Taylor Smith, and Shardae Spruille) will graduate.

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024 39

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PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

Notice is hereby given by the President and Board of Trustees of the Villages of River Forest and Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois, that sealed bids will be accepted for: 2024 Permeable Paver Maintenance This project consists of 23,750 SF of permeable paver restorative maintenance and 5 sy of permeable paver removal and replacement to restore the stormwater conveyance and filtering capability of the pavement cross-section.

The bidding documents are available for download starting Thursday, February 8, 2024 at: www.vrf.us/bids Bids must be submitted by Wednesday, February 28, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at: Public Works Department, 2nd Floor Village of River Forest 400 Park Avenue River Forest, IL 60305

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13th, 2024 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2024 Surface Hot Mix Asphalt Purchase Bid Number: 24-118 Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/ bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal February 14, 2024

The bid proposals will be publicly opened and read at that time. Proposals will be considered not only on the basis of cost, but also on past performance, experience and ability to perform the work.

No bid shall be withdrawn after the opening of the Proposals, without the consent of the ruling body from each participating Village, for a period of thirty (30) days after the scheduled time of the bid opening.

The Village reserves the right in receiving these bids to waive technicalities and reject any or all bids.

Published in Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of Maribeth Fromm Case Number 2024 4000810 There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Maribeth Gunger Fromm to the new name of: Maribeth Gunger.

The court date will be held: On April 16, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at Fourth Municipal Court House Maywood at 1500 Maybrook Drive, Maywood IL 60153 in Courtroom # 0112.

Published in Wednesday Journal February 14, 21, 28, 2024

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE WAITING LIST OPENING Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program Housing Authority of the Village of Oak Park

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 8, 2024 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2024 Redi Mix Concrete Purchase Bid Number: 24-119 Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oakpark.us/bid.

For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal February 14, 2024

Public Notice is hereby given to persons interested in applying for the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program (HCVP) in Oak Park that effective 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 4, 2024 through 3:00 p.m. Friday, March 15, 2024, pre-applications will be accepted electronically on the Oak Park Housing Authority (OPHA) website: www.oakparkha.org.

During this time, pre-applications will be accepted 24 hours a day through March 15, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. The purpose of the pre-application is to obtain names of interested persons who may be eligible to receive an application for rental assistance through the Housing Authority of the Village of Oak Park’s Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program.

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know...

In print • Online

The Housing Authority of the Village of Oak Park will close its HCVP waiting list at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 15, 2024. The OPHA expects to receive an ample number of preapplications to service applicants for at least the next two (2) years.

The OPHA will randomly select 150 eligible pre-applications to be placed on the HCVP waiting list.

The OPHA gives preference to very low-income households who are: • Legal residents of the Village of Oak Park; or • Currently employed 30 hours or more in the Village of Oak Park; or • Hired to work 30 hours or more per week in the Village of Oak Park.

To apply: Please go to the OPHA website: www.oakparkha.org to access, complete and submit the online pre-application.

If you are a person with disabilities or elderly and require reasonable accommodations in completing the online pre-application, please call: 708-386-1464 during normal business hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. March 4, 2024 through March 14, 2024 and on Friday, March 15, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Published in Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. Bank Trust National Association, as Trustee of the SCIG Series III Trust; Plaintiff, vs.

GAD IKEANUMBA AKA GAD C. IKEANUMBA; 1030-32 NORTH AUSTIN CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION AKA 1030 -32 N. AUSTIN CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION AND HENRY SILVERMAN LIVING TRUST U/A/D AUGUST 26, 1996; Defendants, 11 CH 33740 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-05-314-031-1001.

Commonly known as 1032 N. Austin Blvd., Unit 1N, Oak Park, IL 60302.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a condominium residence. The purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by subdivisions (g)(1) and (g) (4) of Section 9 of the Condominium Property Act Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection For information call Ms. Mary E. Spitz at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Sottile & Barile, LLC, 7530 LUCERNE DRIVE, MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, OHIO 44130.

(440) 572-1511. ILF1810025 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3237038

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION US BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR CABANA SERIES V TRUST; Plaintiff, vs.

FORREST K. JOHNSON; WYANETTA JOHNSON; 929 OAK PARK CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 23 CH 317 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-18-307-034-1002.

Commonly known as 929 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60304.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a condominium residence. The purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by subdivisions (g)(1) and (g) (4) of Section 9 of the Condominium Property Act Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection For information call Ms. Mary E. Spitz at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Sottile & Barile, LLC, 7530 LUCERNE DRIVE, MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, OHIO 44130.

(440) 572-1511. ILF2203044 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3237044

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

“ Early detection gave us time to adapt together, as a family.”

If you’re noticing changes, it could be Alzheimer’s. Talk about visiting a doctor together.

ALZ.org/TimeToTalk

40

Wednesday Journal, February 14, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

OPHA's Housing Choice Voucher Waiting list to open on Monday, March 4, 2024

Who is Eligible to Apply?

Your eligibility is based on your annual income and household size. If your household annual income is at or below the income limits listed below, you are eligible to apply.

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOUSEHOLD 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

$38,650

$ 44,150

$49,650

$ 55,150

$59,600

$64,000

$68,400

$ 72,800

The Oak Park Housing Authority (OPHA) will re-open its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waiting list on March 4, 2024 at 8:30 am. The OPHA will accept preapplications to add 150 new households to its HCV waiting list. These 150 households will be selected at random from all pre-applications received between 8:30 am March 4, 2024 and 3:00 pm March 15, 2024.

To facilitate the random selection process, preapplications will only be available and accepted electronically through the online pre-application portal at www.oakparkha.org.

When will the HCV waiting list open?

The HCV waiting list will open Monday, March 4, 2024 at 8:30 am and close on Friday, March 15, 2024 at 3:00 pm. OPHA's pre-application portal can be accessed anytime - day or night - while the waiting list is open.

Where can I get a pre-application and where can I apply?

We've streamlined the process so you can apply in a 10 minute visit to our pre-application portal accessible on our website at www.oakparkha.org. You will be able to access, complete, review and submit your preapplication through this portal. That's all there is to it!

Can I come to the OPHA office to apply?

No. You can only apply through our pre-application portal found on our website at www.oakparkha.org.

Applying online is the easiest, quickest, and most efficient way for you to apply and it allows you to apply anytime - day or night - while the waiting list is open.

What if I don't have a computer?

Not a problem. The OPHA's pre-application portal is designed to work with a variety of electronic touchscreen devices including tablets and cell phones. The online portal is secure so you don't need to worry about using a friend or family member's device to apply.

I will need a reasonable accommodation and assistance in filling out the online pre-application.

Where can I find that assistance?

If you are a person with disabilities or elderly and require a reasonable accommodation and assistance in completing the online pre-application, you can call our special assistance phone line at 708-386-1464, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, March 4, 2024 through March 14, 2024 and from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm on March 15, 2024. Our special assistance team will schedule an appointment for you during the open waiting list period to help you complete and submit your application.

I see the waiting list will be open for 12 days. Are my chances for being added to the waiting list greater if I apply on day one vs. day five?

No. This isn't like the airlines where being the first one to check in gives you a greater chance of getting the seat you want. Because of our random selection process, you can apply at any time on any day during the open waiting list period. Each and every eligible pre-application submitted during the open waiting list period is included in the random selection.

What is the Housing Choice Voucher Program?

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (formally known as section 8) is a locally administered federally funded rent assistance program that provides help to low-income individuals and families, enabling them to rent privately owned properties throughout the Village of Oak Park. Income eligible families are selected from our waiting list and issued Housing Choice Vouchers, which allow the families to search and find suitable housing in the Village of Oak Park.

For more information about the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program and our waiting list please visit our website at www.oakparkha.org

Access, complete, review and submit your pre-application at: www.oakparkha.org

February 14, 2024

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

B1

AT HOME ON THE GREATER WEST SIDE A GCM GUIDE TO HOMEOWNERSHIP

Garfield Park resident Mercedes Pickett shares her homebuying experience ‘I feel like an investor in my neighborhood’

By DELANEY NELSON Special projects reporter

M

ercedes Pickett is a West Side girl through and through — so much so that her dog is named Westside. She grew up in Garfield Park, with seven siblings in a home her mom bought. When it came time for Mercedes to decide where to buy her own home, there was no question that she would stay in her community.

“I didn’t want to walk away from such a beautiful place,” she said. “I see the Garfield Park area and the West Side as a gold mine. I just feel more like a stakeholder and an investor in my neighborhood. So, I can work here, I can play here, and I can pray here, because I actually live here.”

Pickett’s homeownership journey began long before it came time to find a realtor and visit properties. When she was growing up, she remembers how exciting it was to see her art hung up on the wall of her bedroom.

“With space comes opportunity,” she said. “To see the freedom a person has when they own the building is something that excited me.”

TODD BANNOR Mercedes Pickett holding a copy of a home buying guide in the living room in the Garfield Park two-flat she owns on Feb. 2.

She saw her mom care for the property and handle the financials associated with homeownership — a road that can easily become rocky, given the unforgiving nature of many loans.

In 2008, Pickett’s mom fell two months behind on her mortgage payment and quickly began to fear foreclosure on her home. With the help of a grant from Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, her mom got back on track. She paid off the mortgage in 2017.

Pickett credits NHS with saving her childhood home — and inspiring her own home buying process.

“When NHS wants me to advocate for them, I do it in a heartbeat because they saved my family home and that impacted the trajectory of my life,” she said. “[NHS] understood that my mother can make ends meet, she just got a little bit behind. NHS gave her a lifeline. So many individuals and banks turned her down because they saw

profit behind her missed payment.”

When Pickett decided to pursue homeownership for herself, she took NHS’s eight-hour homebuyer education course.

Then, she worked with a financial counselor to build up her credit and completed a property management course, through which she learned some of the ins and outs of becoming a landlady and offering affordable housing.

When she started looking at homes, she knew she wanted a multi-unit property with a basement and an adjacent vacant lot. She said she experienced a smooth closing process. Pickett moved into her home in 2020.

She now lives on the second floor of her property. A mother-daughter tenant duo live downstairs.

See MERCEDES PICKETT on page B3

B2

February 14, 2024

AT HOME ON THE GREATER WEST SIDE

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

A brief course on lending What to know when you’re buying a home

By DELANEY NELSON Special projects reporter

T

he world of lending can be confusing and daunting. For many folks, so is buying a home. There are a lot of myths about the homebuying process — 83% of homeowners say they were surprised by at least some aspect of buying a home.

A major piece of homeownership is getting a mortgage, which is a loan for buying a house or other property. With some input from Gordon Rice, who has spent 30 years in the banking industry as a lender and is now director of lending services at Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, we’ve put together this guide to how lending fits into becoming a homeowner.

“We want to make sure that our homeowners in Chicago and Cook County are taken care of, whether it’s through us or somebody else,” Rice said. “We want to make sure that we are addressing the needs of our community, and we get people into homes that are looking for that in this chapter of their life.”

For many Americans, a home is the biggest purchase they’ll ever make. The payment, however, is not all upfront. Prospective homeowners take out a mortgage to make that purchase,

which breaks the payment into increments over many years. One of the first steps in the process a homebuyer should take is determining a budget: how much they can put toward a down payment and how much they can realistically pay every month.

The connection between home ownership and lending doesn’t stop at a mortgage. Owning a home also gives borrowers increased leverage when asking the bank for a personal loan. This is just one way homeownership can facilitate long-term stability.

What is a mortgage?

A mortgage is a loan from a bank or other lending institution used to purchase property.

Once the borrower pays off the mortgage, plus interest, they own the home outright. There are several types of mortgages for people in different financial situations and stages of life.

In general, mortgages are made up of four parts: principal, interest, taxes and insurance.

The principal is the amount of money borrowed to buy a house. Keep in mind, more money paid upfront on the down payment means a smaller principal.

Interest is the cost of borrowing that money

Types of mortgages and loans

“A” Loan: A term to describe loans with the best possible terms, conditions and interest rate. Borrowers must demonstrate strong credit to be considered for an A loan.

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM): The interest rate on an ARM will fluctuate based on market conditions. ARM rates usually start low, but once the rate increases, monthly payments will increase, too. When the rate decreases, so will monthly payments. These mortgages are also known as variable-rate loans.

“B” or “C” Loan: used to describe loans or mortgages with less-than-ideal terms and conditions, such as high interest rates and fees. Borrowers with little to no credit history or a history of bad credit are unlikely to get an A loan, but may qualify for a B/C loan. These can generally be classified as subprime loans.

FHA Loan: a mortgage insured by the government and issued by a bank or other lender. This loan type is intended for low-

or middle-income earners who may not get approved for a commercial mortgage. FHA loans require a minimum 580 credit score and a 3.5% down payment, but they tend to come with higher interest rates than conventional mortgages and require borrowers to purchase mortgage insurance.

Fixed-Rate Mortgage: A mortgage with a stable interest rate that does not change.

Monthly principal and interest rate payments will stay the same for the life of the loan.

VA loan: a home loan backed by the Department of Veteran Affairs for U.S. veterans. These loans have a low down payment or none at all — nearly 90% of all VA-backed home loans are made without a down payment.

USDA Loans: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service Loans are available in designated rural areas for low- and moderate-income buyers and are insured by the federal government.

— it generally appears as a percentage of the total amount borrowed. Sometimes, a higher credit score can lead to a lower interest rate.

In Chicago, all homeowners must pay a property tax, with some exemptions available. The statewide average is 2.07% of the total value of a property. Property taxes in Cook County are paid over two installments each year.

Homeowners insurance protects the homeowner from all sorts of things, like damage to their house or theft. Home insurance isn’t required by law, but lenders typically require it as a condition of a mortgage. Mortgage insurance, on the other hand, is usually only necessary for borrowers who put a down payment of less than 20% on their home.

Generally, homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance are paid annually. But, many mortgage agreements allow borrowers to pay insurance and taxes a bit at a time, as if it were a monthly bill. Those payments are saved in an escrow account until the actual bill is due.

This system helps borrowers to not fall behind on payments.

Why do I need to get preapproved?

“A lot of people start looking, they don’t get the preapproval letter ahead of time,” Rice said.

And unbeknownst to them, they fall in love with the property that weekend. A lot of times if there’s multiple people that want to buy the same property, [so] having a preapproval will expedite that process. [Preapproval] shows that they’re a legit buying customer, they’ve already been given their amount of what they can afford.”

When you apply for an actual mortgage, Rice added, you will do so with the same lending institution that gave you a preapproval letter or contract.

How do I decide which lender to work with?

When shopping around for a mortgage, it’s important to determine which lender offers the best terms. Rice recommends working with a reputable company, maybe someone a friend or family member had a good experience with.

Borrowers should avoid loan officers who work on a commission basis, Rice said, because they may not have your best interests at heart.

“All my loan originators are not on a commission basis. They’re salaried. So, their job is to go ahead and not show any favors to anybody, there’s no extra commission to be made outside of just trying to help the homeowner get into the best possible situation for them,” he said.

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

AT HOME ON THE GREATER WEST SIDE

Some other terms to know when it comes to getting a mortgage

Automated Underwriting System (AUS): When a potential borrower applies for a loan or loan preapproval, the loan officer will run their application through an AUS. The computer program looks at information like income, debt-toincome ratio, employment history, credit history, public records, cash reserves and liquid assets to determine whether to approve the borrower for the loan. While automated underwriting is quicker than manual underwriting, the latter can be a good option for individuals with bad credit histories or complicated financials, whom an automated system may be quick to deny.

Commitment Letter: a formal document that serves as proof a borrower is preapproved for a loan. The letter states what amount the borrower is preapproved for, but the letter is not binding. It is often dependent on listed factors, like a second credit check closer to closing and a home inspection. Usually, real estate agents and home sellers won’t consider an offer from a prospective buyer without a commitment letter.

is a major factor used by lenders to determine how much to loan a borrower.

Derogatory Information: negative information on a borrower’s credit report that can be used to turn down a mortgage application.

Examples include serious loan delinquency or frequent late payments.

Four C’s of Lending: The four major factors lenders consider when determining whether to approve someone for a loan.

Capacity: whether the borrower will be able to pay back the loan. This includes income, savings, debt-to-income ratio, existing debt and other financial commitments.

Capital: any readily available money, savings and investments for a downpayment and other fees associated with the homebuying process.

Credit: credit score history and other records of paying bills on time.

Collateral: Lenders will consider the value of the property the borrower is getting a mortgage for, as that property will act as security against the loan. (If the borrower doesn’t pay back the mortgage, the lender could take possession of the property.)

February 14, 2024

B3

Wait, how do I get a mortgage?

Once you decide you’re ready to seriously begin your home buying search, a major step is to get preapproved for a loan. (Earlier steps include building credit and saving for a downpayment. For our glossary on that, check out last month’s guide: https://ow.ly/szni50QziwS). Below are the six steps of the mortgage process.

Research

How much do you have saved for a downpayment? How much can you realistically spend per month?

Preapproval

Loan application

Once you find a home and put in an offer, then you can go through the loan application process. This will be similar to preapproval, but now you know exactly how much to ask the lender for.

Loan processing

A loan processor will verify your credit and other financial and work history. They will also order an appraisal of the property you’re looking to buy, which will determine the value of the home.

Underwriting

Preapproval is an offer from a lender to loan a certain amount — a.k.a. the mortgage amount they will approve you for.

This is based on information including a credit check, pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, ID and social security card.

You should get preapproved before finding a house you want to buy. You should also visit different banks and credit unions to see what your loan options are and get the best deal.

“I usually ask [new clients] to either go through the homebuyer education seminar process or preferably, in our lending group, we want to get you preapproved,” Rice said. “So then, when a property is attractive to the homeowner and a future homebuyer, with a realtor, they can go ahead and make that offer if they feel that’s the property they want to purchase.”

You are now a homeowner! You have taken a big step in securing a stable future and creating generational wealth for yourself and your family.

An underwriter will look at the four Cs of lending, determine your risk level and decide whether to approve you for the mortgage. They may also ask for additional documentation.

Approval and Closing

Once you’ve been approved, it’s almost time to celebrate! You will still have to sign final documents and pay closing costs.

“Don’t run out and buy a car or take on any debt until you close on your loan because it will be found out and it will be added to your debt ratios,” Rice said.

Compensating Factors: elements of a borrower’s financial profile that allow lenders to be more forgiving in other areas where the borrower’s qualifications aren’t as stellar. An example of a compensating factor could be significant additional income, like yearly bonuses or seasonal work, to compensate for lower regular income.

Another example is mortgage insurance, which can act as a compensating factor for borrowers with low credit scores.

Loan Officer: the person who takes applications for loans offered by a bank or lending service. The loan officer can answer questions, provide written information explaining loan details, and help borrowers fill out a loan application.

Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio: a calculation comparing debt to income. The amount of a borrower’s monthly debts divided by their gross monthly income (including their housing payment) equals the debt-to income ratio. It

Subprime Loan: credit and loan products — including mortgages — which have less strict approval terms and conditions compared to a typical loan. However, as a compensating factor for the higher risk, subprime products

charge consumers higher interest rates and fees. Many subprime loans are considered to be predatory because they do not appropriately take into account whether the borrower will be able to pay back the loan.

Truth-in-Lending Act: A law that protects consumers against inaccurate and unfair credit billing and credit card practices. This act means lenders must always inform borrowers of all the terms and conditions of their loan.

MERCEDES PICKETT

go to a thrift store, and then have a new relic or new artifact that can fit perfectly into my room, whether it’s a telescope or some Buddha hands or statues. I can have a Chinese [style] privacy divider in a window.

In my bedroom, I put up a big whiteboard, and I write my ideas down. I love writing on pencil and paper but sometimes when you’re in bed, you don’t have that. So, I can just go to my wall and write, and I put “Make the most of your potential” in really big, beautiful colors. It’s really about me having ideas in my own head and my own heart, and bringing them to life.

I was able to get a beautiful, all-black Ger-

man Shepherd named Westside, and I got the gate for him.

I’m walking into each room just reflecting on the space that I have and how grateful I am. I step into a room and it’s not like the thought that I had when I was a kid of, “Oh, this room will be filled with plants and this room will be filled with meditation,” but each room does serve its own purpose.

I really walk around and even now I’m very appreciative that I have the space.

asset for any first time homeowner. That one time, it could be perfect, but if you have a month before closing, there could be some additional things that were changed — you need someone to go in and inspect those things. Everyone has their own specialty. You want someone for your furnace, for your boiler and for your roof. Those three things are top priority. Make sure you have someone look specifically at your furnace, inspect the furnace, the life expectancy of it, and when it was purchased. [I want to] make sure that others understand the importance of inspections and the importance of saving or allocating funds for at least two inspections.

Continued from page B1

About the home:

I have my own office, and that is one of my beautiful spaces where I can create, I can take meetings. It’s all designated to my needs … If your space is not conducive to your needs, it’s going to be distracting.

I also have a beautiful walk-in closet. I worked so hard for this walk-in closet. I have a nice little jewelry chest. I love making clothes, so I have a station for clothes that need repair, clothes I have ideas for. I love thrift store shopping too, so I can

Advice for prospective homebuyers:

Take your time and have thorough inspections. Budget for inspections. I think that’s an

Celebrate!

B4

February 14, 2024

AT HOME ON THE GREATER WEST SIDE

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

These community leaders hope to tackle lending inequity

By DELANEY NELSON and FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ Special projects reporters

R

ev. Ira Acree, pastor of Austin’s Greater St. John Bible Church, is all too familiar with the experience of being failed by large financial institutions. Now, he’s part of a multi-faith effort to get a credit union to the community.

Acree often tells young people the story of a parishioner who spent 27 years in the same building — only to be priced out when new property owners jacked up the rent. Can you imagine if she spent those years paying into her own property, rather than someone else’s, he asks? This, he tells them, is why you should pursue homeownership.

But more than a century of discriminatory lending practices in areas such as Chicago’s West and South Sides, where Black and brown people were pushed or chose to live, hasn’t made it easy.

Continuing practices Discrimination in lending is not just a practice of the past.

In 2021, the Woodstock Institute found that at the middle-income level, Black applicants in Chicago were denied four times as often as their white counterparts.

A year earlier, reporting out of WBEZ and City Bureau revealed that 68% of dollars loaned for housing purchases went to majority-white neighborhoods; just 8.1% and 8.2% went to majority-Black and majority-Latino neighborhoods, respectively. They found lenders invested more money in Lincoln Park than all of Chicago’s majority-Black neighborhoods combined.

Acree, who is also a co-chair of the Leaders Network, a West Side social justice and faithbased group, experienced a struggle with lending firsthand. He bought multiple properties in 1990, then decided 10 years ago to sell one of the homes, and purchase another.

But big banks wouldn’t help.

“It was like pulling eyeteeth to secure a loan,” Acree said. “I personally know the pain and humiliation of being redlined against. I was able to navigate around and find a community bank that would work with me.”

Michelle Collins, strategic advisor for The Leaders Network and a former community de-

FILE

Rev. Ira Acree

Pastor of Austin’s Greater St. John Bible Church

velopment banker, said discriminatory lending exacerbates distrust.

“As a community development banker, what I learned is that some people right here in the community, they don’t feel comfortable,” Collins said. “They don’t even try to have a relationship [with a bank], because they feel like, ‘people are going to look at me a certain way’ or ‘I’m ashamed of my credit,’ or whatever it is.”

The disproportionate awarding of loans intensifies the racial homeownership gap by keeping the capital needed to invest out of reach.

In 2021, the Chicago City Council passed the Lending Equity Ordinance, which increases transparency and public input in selecting the city’s banking partners.

“If you want to do business with the city of Chicago, you need to be making efforts to serve Black and brown communities,” said Sarah Brune, director of public policy for Neighborhood Housing Services. “Banks should be analyzing who is being denied, look at the demographics of those applicants and say, ‘Are we seeing trends here?’ And identify what they can do about those trends.”

Lack of financial institutions Communities of color don’t just face discrimination in banking – it’s often also hard to even find a bank in their neighborhood.

A 2021 Brookings Institution study found that since 2010, the number of banks in majority-

Black neighborhoods throughout the country decreased by 14.6%. JP Morgan alone shrunk its branches in these neighborhoods by 22.8% between 2010 and 2018.

Without banks, it’s hard to access capital and accumulate savings in the first place.

“So many times, you have banks that are not willing to reinvest to develop the communities where they do business,” said Collins. “It’s important that people [can] be in the community where they live [and] be able to walk over, get to know people, and it’s right there, a resource. You don’t have to go outside. It’s right here for you.”

Instead of going to a bank where they may not feel welcome, Collins said some people may decide to visit a currency exchange or other non-bank institutions, which may be regulated differently or not safe.

Predatory lending The Illinois Attorney General’s office describes predatory lending as a practice that “involves deception or fraud, manipulation of a borrower through aggressive sales tactics, and taking unfair advantage of a borrower’s lack of understanding about loan terms and conditions.” This includes making loans the borrower cannot afford.

If someone needs quick access to capital to pay their bills, for example, they may seek out a payday loan from somewhere like a currency exchange or a title lending company rather than a bank.

In exchange, the loan often comes with high interest rates and exorbitant fees, which can make paying back the loan difficult.

“It’s like walking in an economic minefield.

You’re just walking, you’re just moving and mobilizing, but you’re damaging yourself because you can never get ahead,” Acree said.

In 2021, the Illinois legislature passed the Predatory Loan Prevention Act, which capped the annual percentage rate on consumer loans at 36%. According to the Woodstock Institute, consumers saved more than $600 million in interest and fees on these loans by 2022.

Reclaiming the power: community organizing and credit unions In an effort to financially empower community members, some leaders are working to bring more, and better, banking options to Austin.

COURTESY OF MICHELLE COLLINS

They hope to fill financial knowledge gaps, as well

Michelle Collins

Strategic advisor for The Leaders Network

The Leaders Network Financial, which is part of the Leaders Network, is partnering with Great Lakes Credit Union to open a full-service branch in Austin, which Collins said will likely open in March. Services will include home loans, car loans, business loans and certificates of deposit, among others. A temporary branch is already open three days a week.

Collins pointed out that the branch will offer financial counseling and literacy, and an opportunity for relationship banking, which will be crucial to building the community’s trust as a financial institution. The goal? To provide community members with a “financial partner” — someone with your best interest at heart to help improve your credit, show you loan options, or find grants to help with closing costs, for example.

“You need a financial partner, you need a relationship, and I don’t think it’s wise to wait until you have a need to establish a relationship with a financial institution,” Collins said.

Self-Help Federal Credit Union, which opened last year, is also looking to fill in gaps in banking and create financial opportunity for the historically underbanked West Side.

Collins and Acree hope new banking opportunities will facilitate more homeownership in the area and build wealth for families who were previously denied opportunities to do so.

“Buying a house is not for the faint of heart. I mean, it’s a major decision, a big step. It takes discipline,” Acree said. “But if you’re willing to make the sacrifice, I’m telling you, I promise you, you’ll be smiling in the end.

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