Wednesday Journal 022124

W E D N E S D A Y

February 21, 2024 Vol. 44, No. 34

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JOURNAL @oakpark

of Oak Park and River Forest

High School hosts Black Professionals Day

Comedy Plex Comedy Club

Dominican Performing Arts

Concordia University Chicago

Oak Park Festival Theatre

2024

Spring

Performing Arts Guide

Special Section Page 19

Rev. Colin Knapp, president of the Community of Congregations, addresses the Oak Park Village Board of Trustees at the Feb. 13 meeting.

OPRF brings in Black community leaders to inspire youth

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

All Oak Park and River Forest High School students were invited to attend Black Professionals Day held on Tuesday morning to meet local Black professionals who are making waves in the community and inspiring younger generations.

Black Professionals Day was held Tuesday, Feb. 20 during the second and third period in the auditorium.

The event included breakout sessions and provided students an opportunity to network with local Black professionals.

The goal: to show students the different trajectories there are after high school.

“A lot of the time, the kids walking through these hallways have such tunneled vision that they can’t see past senior year,” said Ty Garland, See BLACK PROFESSIONALS on page 9

LUZANE DRAUGHON

Oak Park OK’s more money for migrants’ rental housing in split vote Aiding the 132 asylum-seekers in Oak Park reveals board divsion

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

The board of trustees approved spending more money to aid migrants staying within Oak Park boundaries, escalating

tensions among members who increasingly question what the village’s role is in mitigating the crisis and if taxpayer money should be used to do it.

In a 4-3 vote on Feb. 13, the board approved $150,000 more for short-term rent-

al assistance for migrants coming from village funds.

The board also approved, with six votes in favor and one abstention, allocating See MIGRANTS on page 15

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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No charges filed in OPRF lockdown

Oak Park police say there was no credible threat from the activity that triggered 2 lockdowns last week

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

Students at Oak Park and River Forest High School were placed on a “secure and teach” lockdown around 5th period after threats made through a popular social media app circulated through the community.

Right before noon Wednesday, Feb. 14, the high school was placed on a soft lockdown called “secure and teach” after reports of a student claiming to have a gun and threatening to shoot inside the building during a class period that had already started.

The threats were made through Snapchat.

In photos obtained by Wednesday Journal, the threats included “At 11:56 everyone is going to die,” “I have a gun in my bag,” and “I will shoot the school up during 5th period today.”

“We were in lockdown originally during fifth period and then they called it off,” said Jade Neace, a senior at OPRF. “Then again during 6th period they said we were going to have it again because someone said they heard a shot fired outside in the hall.”

According to Dan Yopchick, chief communications officer for the village of Oak Park, the Oak Park Police Department were sent to the high school and remained on the scene but were not “requested to enter the building.”

Yopchick said if a “secure and teach” is put in place, the school will reach out to the police department and request assistance, if it is needed.

According to the OPRF website, a “secure and teach” can be put in place for two separate situations: when there is a potential threat outside the school campus in the community and when there is a potential threat inside of the building and they need to limit movement throughout the building.

During the lockdown, students and teachers are asked to remain in their classrooms or offices and ignore all bells.

According to a video on the OPRF website explaining “secure and teach,” law enforcement and fire EMS personnel will respond to the high school during this type of lockdown.

The lockdown was lifted at about 12:29 p.m. after OPRF officials deemed the threat was not credible.

The second lockdown went into effect at about 12:39 p.m. after a student who was outside on the Mall reported hearing “shots fired.” Officers then went to the building.

Police closed Lake Street and Scoville Avenue near the school in an attempt to control traffic and deter people from going to the campus.

Jade, who was in a windowless classroom, said students were trying to remain calm and find ways to turn the scary

AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ

Parents gather outside of Oak Park and River Forest High School hoping to reach their children after the school went through two lockdowns. situation into a more lighthearted one after the threats were found to be not true.

Jade later saw police enter the high school with firearms and were conducting a sweep in and outside the school.

Yopchick, who is also the spokesperson for the Oak Park Police Department, said he can confirm that police officers entered the high school but said that was all he could confirm at this time.

“I can’t specifically speak to what their operational plan was for that event,” Yopchick said. “I’d have to get more information from Chief Johnson and the command stand as to what exactly happened, what occurred in terms of were there weapons or not.”

The lockdown ended at 1:49 p.m. after officers determined that no shots had been fired.

According to Lynda Parker, assistant superintendent and principal at OPRF, officials determined that the Snapchat was sent out by an OPRF student.

“Consequences will be issued in alignment with our Behavior Education Plan,” Parker said in an email.

Traccye Love, director of campus safety at OPRF, directed all questions regarding “secure and teach and other

matters,” to Karin Sullivan, executive director of communications at OPRF. Sullivan said the school was following their “Behavior Education Plan,” when handling this situation.

According to the “Behavior Education Plan” under the section of “inappropriate language and/or expression,” “serious threats, including the use of social media to threaten bodily harm or suggest immediate risk that directly or indirectly jeopardize the health, safety, and or property of the school, school personnel, and other students,” are considered Level 3, Level 4, and a Level 5 under the schools “response levels.”

■ Response Level 3 brings an “administrative facilitated restorative response” and may result in one to three days of out of school suspension.

■ Response Level 4 brings “administrative facilitated restorative response” and may result in one to three days of out of school suspension.

■ A Response Level 5 brings “intensive administrative intervention,” and can hold four or more days of out of See OPRF LOCKDOWN on page 17

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

FLEX (Young Professionals) Stand-up Comedy Class Thursday, Feb. 22, 5:30 – 7 p.m., Comedy Plex Comedy Club Come FLEX at the February outing to Comedy Plex. Located in the heart of Downtown Oak Park, this class is exclusively offered for the FLEX affinity group of the Chamber. This meet-up offers members a unique opportunity to explore the world of comedy and develop essential leadership skills through the medium of stand-up comedy. 1128 Lake St. Lower Level, Oak Park.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

BIG WEEK February 21-28

Lantern Festival Storytime Saturday, Feb. 24, 10 – 11 a.m., Oak Park Public Library - Main Library With the end of the 2024 Lunar New Year nearing, the library will close out with a Lantern Festival Storytime.

This will be followed by an optional craft. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Living Legacies & the Black History of Oak Park Saturday, Feb. 24, 1 – 2:30 p.m., Oak Park Public Library - Main Library Join an honest and inspiring conversation with three of Oak Park’s remarkable Black elders on the history of the community, their lived experiences and wisdom, and where we all go from here. Featuring George Bailey, Howard D. Simmons, and Betty Smitherman. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Mon, Feb. 26, 1:15 – 2:30 p.m., The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association Author Molly Surowitz is passionate about making a difference and has been recognized for her commitment to fair housing. As a white woman who grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Detroit, she reflects on race and identity in this one-woman show.

178 Forest Ave #1, Oak Park.

Black History Celebration of Gospel Music

Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the Library Grades Preschool-4 Friday, Feb. 23, 3 – 5 p.m., River Forest Public Library Drop off your favorite stuffed animal for a fun slumber party with s’more, gelato, and cheesecake then look online for pictures of their fun activities. Stuffies can be dropped off 3-5 p.m. on Friday and picked up on Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Register at www. riverforestlibrary.org. 735 Lathrop Ave., River Forest.

Social Science: Bubbles and Boxes

Sunday, Feb. 25, 3 – 5 p.m., Oak Park Public Library - Main Branch Join various gospel choir members and singers in a Black History Celebration of Gospel Music. Journey with us from Thomas Dorsey through Maverick City Singers.

834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Billy Elton in Concert

Friday, Feb. 23, 7:30 – 10 p.m., Madison Street Theatre Celebrating the music of Billy Joel & Elton John. Two of the greatest singers, pianists, and songwriters in pop music history. Tickets $20 online, $25 at the door. 1010 Madison St., Oak Park.

Finding Your Career Pathway Monday, Feb. 26, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Oak Park Public Library - Main Library Explore a variety of job opportunities and connect with local employers actively hiring. Whether you’re on the lookout for full-time, part-time, or temporary positions, this event provides a platform to discover diverse career pathways. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

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

Make Meals for Housing Forward Sunday, Feb. 25, 1 – 3 p.m., Unity Oak Park Spiritual & Family Center Join a rewarding day of giving back at Unity of Oak Park. They are very excited to host this in-person event where you will be making meals for Housing Forward, a local organization that supports individuals experiencing homelessness. 405 N. Euclid Oak Park.

Refuge From the Storm: Buddhist Refuge Retreat Saturday, Feb. 24, 9 a.m. – Monday, Feb. 26, 11:45 a.m., Kadampa Meditation Center Chicago, Oak Park This annual, in-depth retreat will begin Saturday morning with an introductory talk and one guided retreat session with Gen Zamling, followed by several selfguided retreat sessions on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday based on the instructions given Saturday morning.

Registration Here: http://tinyurl.com/4axaf96w 13 Harrison St., Oak Park.

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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Park District announces design competition for Field Center remodel

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright entered the 1926 competition

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

The Park District of Oak Park announced a design competition to renovate the Field Recreation Center.

The winning team will be awarded a $1.8 million contract to complete the construction. A jury of architects, designers and building experts will select the winner.

“The upgraded facility will reflect PDOP’s missions of inclusivity, accessibility and environmental sustainability — as well as meet the organization’s growing childcare and programming needs,” a news release stated.

The Field Recreation Center is a classroom facility in Field Park, adjacent to Horace Mann Elementary School, according to the PDOP website. Improvements may include another classroom to expand childcare and a soundproof room to support other programs such as performance arts, according to a news release.

Applicants must pre-register for the competition, after which they can tour the Field

Center on March 8 and tour other Park District facilities, according to the release.

The competition has two phases: conceptual design and design development. In the first phase, the identity of the design teams will be hidden from the jury to ensure impartiality. The deadline to submit is April 19. The jury will narrow the submissions down to the top three finalists.

“It was essential to hold an open competition and implement a blind review process so that designers of all backgrounds have an opportunity to compete on the same stage as groups that are traditionally more visible,” Jan Arnold, executive director of the PDOP, said in the release.

The top three finalists will be given a stipend of $5,000 to further develop their design. The deadline to submit is June 21.

The jury for this phase will include some members of the original jury, Park District staff and a member of the Park District Board of Commissioners.

The facility was originally constructed in 1926 after a design competition for a “playground structure,” according to the

COURTESY OF THE PARK DISTRICT OF OAK PARK

Field Recreation Center PDOP website. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright entered the competition but lost to John Van Bergen, according to the release.

Van Bergen also designed several parks including Fox, Stevenson, Andersen and Car-

roll, according to the release.

The design competition packet can be found online. Registration for the competition is open until March 5. There is no application fee.

Egg Harbor Café to open location in Oak Park The restaurant will be at 1111 South Blvd.

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

The family-owned restaurant chain Egg Harbor Café will open a location in Oak Park at 1111 South Blvd. this year.

Egg Harbor Café has many breakfast and lunch dishes, including omelets, skillets, pancakes, French toast, burgers, salads and sandwiches. The business has locations across Illinois, Georgia and Wisconsin, according to its website.

The chain has signed a lease for the new location but will make decorative changes to the space before moving in, said Cameron Davis, the village’s economic vitality administrator. Luckily, the business won’t have to do significant structural or utility work, Davis said.

“They have not given us [the village] an exact date of opening, but I know, from conversations we’ve had with them, that their goal is to move as quickly as they can to open,” he said.

The site at 1111 South Blvd. was vacant for almost two years, Davis said, after the previous restaurant closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The space used to be

Wild Onion Tied House, so there’s already a kitchen in the facility.

“The current space is in great shape,” he said. “It’s just going to undergo a restaurant refresh.”

The Egg Harbor Café staff looking to come to the area worked with the village and local real estate broker David King, who represented the landlord of the space, Davis said.

“Oak Park is a very economically vibrant community,” he said. “The community has been very supportive of long-existing restaurants and new restaurants.”

The village often has new restaurants opening, Davis said, including a few more

in the works this year. They want to open in Oak Park, he said, because the density of the population equals a lot of potential customers. Residents also like having choices.

“Competition is healthy and good,” Davis said. “It makes everyone strive to do their very best and to offer the very best products.”

Most communities would be happy to have one new restaurant in a year, Davis said, but Oak Park is expecting to open anywhere from five to 10 new ones this year.

“The village is very excited to have Egg Harbor Café join the Oak Park business community,” Davis said.

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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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.

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Airbnb tax would support affordable housing Hotels and motels do not have the same tax increase under the proposal

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

The Oak Park Village Board of Trustees has directed village staff to draft an ordinance that could increase a tax on transient occupancy rental units, such as Airbnb.

The revenue from the suggested increased tax, in the amount of 3.5%, would be allocated to the village’s affordable housing fund, under the proposal by village president Vicki Scaman.

At the Jan. 23 board meeting, Airbnb owner Kettil Cedercreutz said he is against raising the tax in a public comment. Visitors bring additional money to the community, he said, despite Airbnb owners taking up a certain amount of housing.

“Don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg,” Cedercreutz said.

The current tax on these types of units is 4%, matching the tax on hotels and motels. Those businesses would not be affected by this change as proposed, Scaman said. The burden of paying the increased tax would fall on visitors, not the Airbnb owners, she said.

Another Oak Park Airbnb owner, Anne Pezalla, said she thinks raising the tax would be unfair and could drive visitors, and potentially Airbnb owners, away.

“It’s already a huge tax when you go to checkout and I think there will be sticker shock, and I think people will start looking elsewhere,” she said. “It is short sighted.”

Scaman said the board has previously directed staff to find additional revenue sources to lessen the burden of property taxes as part of an economic vitality plan.

The municipality also incurs a cost by having Airbnbs, Scaman said, because of services such as those provided by the police and fire departments. The tax, if approved, would not affect individual Airbnb owner profits, she said.

While hotels and motels’ tax would stay at 4%, the cumulative tax on Airbnbs

would be 7.5% under the proposal. Airbnbs affect the affordable housing stock in the village more directly, Scaman said, as opposed to hotels. “[The tax] is still appropriate because that’s a tax that then helps us as a community invest in ways that return those affordable units to our community,” Scaman said.

But the village already receives money from developers for the affordable housing fund, Pezalla said, and she said she doesn’t understand why Airbnbs should be responsible for contributing more.

“We’re not taking away from any affordable housing,” she said. “Oak Park is doing really well with affordable housing already.”

Airbnb visitors usually come to her six locations, Pezalla said, for big events in the city or local events such as a graduation. Visitors could opt to stay in nearby suburbs instead, she said, due to the increased tax.

“It just feels unfair,” she said.

Tourists are also great for local businesses, Pezalla said, which could also be affected by this potential increase. Most Airbnb guests want to know where to eat locally, she said, and if they don’t stay here, they likely won’t eat here either.

This proposed tax increase will not likely affect tourism, Scaman said, because the increasing tax amount is insignificant enough to not deter tourists.

“The number of Airbnbs in Oak Park has continued to flourish,” she said. “I do not wish to necessarily deter that, but I do want to have a plan and support a plan for our affordable housing fund.”

At the Feb. 6 board meeting, trustee Ravi Parakkat said he’s not supportive of the current proposal and would prefer slowly raising the tax and applying it to all related entities, including hotels and motels.

Trustee Brian Straw said at that meeting he agrees that Airbnbs affect the housing stock in the community but wants to examine how raising the tax on Airbnb owners might disadvantage community individuals compared to businesses like hotels.

An ordinance is expected to come before the board for approval, Scaman said, and would be implemented this year. The board could make changes to the proposal by lowering the tax, implementing it in hotels and motels as well or other decisions.

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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River Forest moves toward police body cameras Dashboard cameras in police vehicles are also upgraded

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

Body cameras are coming to the River Forest Police Department after action taken by the village board Feb. 12.

The five trustees present voted unanimously to award a five-year contract to Arizona-based Axon Enterprises Inc. for $270,458.99 for 33 body-worn camera systems. Trustee Lisa Gillis did not attend.

Body cameras are small video and audio recording devices typically attached to an officer’s uniform.

The total includes $160,000 for the purchase and $27,614 for each of the subsequent years. Deputy Chief James Greenwood said a portion of the $160,000 will be covered by a $60,000 Small, Rural and Tribal Body-Word Camera grant from the federal government, and department officials are seeking additional grant funding for the annual expenses.

In a related action, trustees voted unanimously to award a five-year contract to Axon Enterprises for $100,406 to upgrade the dashboard camera systems in eight front-line patrol vehicles. The total includes $80,920 for the purchase and $4,871 for each of the subsequent years.

Chief Jim O’Shea explained that the dash camera system will work in conjunction with the body camera system, which provides the benefit to using Axon for both.

He said he was recommending Axon after “extensive research.” In a memo to Matt Walsh, village administrator, O’Shea explained that the two Axon systems “best fit the needs of the department” and cited Axon’s “proven record” as a high quality and reliable product in making his recommendation. Axon will provide a “refresh” of the systems after 30 months and five years, which Greenwood explained is an additional benefit.

Proposals for the body camera system also were received from Motorola and Getac, which sell similar systems with slightly different capabilities and configurations, O’Shea said.

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“The department members have been very interested in implementing the new body worn camera program,” he said.

“We appreciate the support of the village board, especially the village president Cathy Adduci, for this approval of this new program.”

Illinois is now one of seven states to require police officers to wear body cameras. Under the SAFE-T Act, officers are required to keep their cameras on while on duty or engaged in “any law enforcementrelated encounter or activity.”

Although larger municipalities were required to implement the body cameras sooner, municipalities with a population of fewer than 50,000 such as River Forest had until Jan. 1 to meet the requirement.

In response to questioning by trustees, O’Shea said an exact date when officers will start wearing body cameras will depend on the delivery and installation schedules but said he expects the department to meet the requirement “by a few months” before the deadline; many of the procedures for using the body cameras will be mandated by the SAFE-T Act and the village’s insurance provider; and both systems will be checked at the beginning of each shift.

He said the dash cameras will replace a system that has been in use since 1998 and “are past their useful life.” The cost includes all hardware, software and data storage to implement the system.

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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OPRF gets closer to volunteer goal with help from alumni The high school will log volunteer hours through June

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

OPRF is continuing to demonstrate one of their core values as engaged community members as they challenge all Huskies, current and former, to log 150,000 hours of community service.

As of this month, 45,000 hours, 30% of the goal, have been logged.

“It is a huge number of hours but we are still not at that number we are aiming for,” said Karin Sullivan, executive director of communications at OPRF. There have been 450 entries logged, which Sullivan said averages to 99 hours a person. However, Sullivan said they are confident more people are out in their communities lending a helping hand.

“We know that 150,000 hours are being done by our community, our main challenge is getting people to log them,” Sullivan said.

And of course, community service can take various forms.

From helping at a local nonprofit to even serving on the board of a local taxing body.

“Their service as board members count,” said Sullivan. “We know the hours are be-

ing done, we are confident in that. But we want a record of it.”

And in those records, OPRF is able to have a visual of how far the OPRF high school community reaches.

Out in Los Angeles, Lisa Strawn, class of ‘77, is continuing to live a life of service as she volunteers at her church and advocates for cancer patients through Relay for Life, a fundraiser walk for the American Cancer Society.

Strawn lost her dad, grandmother, and sister to cancer and she herself was diagnosed in 2023.

“I have been in many relays because I do know that it can run in the family,” Strawn said. “I’d like to see more solutions, more stories like myself. I am recovering, I am in remission. I get to be one of the lucky survivors and after seeing so many family members not become survivors, I’d like to see the table start to turn.”

While her life took her to California, Straw still recalls her days in Oak Park and at OPRF as some of the best days of her life.

“I have seen many high schools but that was the best,” Strawn said. “There is something about that high school. I have never seen a school that great and every time I go back to Illinois to visit, I go by the school, I drive around the school.”

For Molly Kovats, a 2011 graduate from OPRF, her spirit for community service extends from Oak Park all the way to Columbia, where Kovats volunteers with a nonprofit organization that teaches English to children. When she is in Oak Park, Kovats has also been involved in community service and recently also volunteered to aid in the migrant crisis.

Volunteering is a way for Kovats to engage with the community, values her Catholic family instilled in through their community service.

“I think when you have a lot of privilege, it seems like the right thing to equal it out by helping people who weren’t lucky

PROVIDED BY MOLLY KOVATS

Molly Kovats and children in Columbia, where she volunteers for part of the year. enough to be born into that privilege,” Kovats said.

With many graduates of OPRF logging in their volunteer hours to help the school reach their goal, Sullivan said those Huskie values run deep.

“It’s fantastic but I’ll be honest, it is not surprising,” Sullivan said. “We know how much graduates love their alma mater.

People really care deeply about this high school. We know that people are really attached to OPRF.” Not many people keep a deep attachment to their high school, which Sullivan said speaks to Oak Park as a whole.

“It is fantastic. It speaks to what a great education and experience they had here,” Sullivan said. “But also, the community in general. People have such a fondness for Oak Park and River Forest beyond the walls of the high school.”

Sullivan said that service hours do not have to benefit the high school directly in order to be logged. Any community service

that anyone is doing for any organization counts, said Sullivan.

Anyone who has any ties to OPRF is encouraged to participate and log their hours of service.

“Anyone locally who is doing service work, even if they never had a child here, even if they didn’t go here,” Sullivan said.

“They are still a part of our school community. Their taxes are supporting our community, if they are a renter…anyone local in Oak Park and River Forest we encourage to complete the form.”

While the school celebrates the big milestone, part of that celebration should go beyond just parties, said Sullivan.

“We wanted to show the effect that being a Huskie has on the world,” said Sullivan. “It is huge and we really want that to be a cornerstone of our celebration. It shows this high school has an impact on the world. And it is a big one.”

Service hours can be logged at www.oprfhs.org/about/150th-anniversary.

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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Last year’s participants at OPRF’s Black Professionals Day.

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Annual event at OPRF from page 1 community outreach coordinator at OPRF. “Some of this is such new territory for so many kids and parents.”

Garland said over 102 students signed up for the event.

Garland, who is also the varsity football and varsity track and field coach at OPRF, said he had improved upon last year’s event in hopes more students would be encouraged to attend.

This year, the event was held in the morning because by the end of the day last year, when the event was held, a large portion of the students had already been dismissed for the day.

“The problem was that as soon as that bell rang, kids were gone,” Garland said.

By moving to an earlier time, Garland said he hoped to mirror the success they saw with Hispanic and Latinx Professional Day, which was held back in October.

Participating students had the opportunity to attend for either period or both if they chose to stay.

This year, Garland said, they planned for breakout sessions to allow students to rotate among the professionals who spoke.

The high school hosted a range of par-

ticipants, including Kevin J. Jackson, village manager for Oak Park, who has had a career in local government for 25 years.

Other participants included Tamekia Swint, executive director of Styles 4 Kidz, Anthony Ashe, a senior partner at Modern Executive Solutions, and Symone Speech, who is not only an OPRF alumna of the class of 2015, but was also a professional volleyball player, among other honors.

It was extremely important to have the attending professionals to explain their journey and really showcase “life after high school,” Garland said.

“The one thing that I really started to look for initially were OPRF alumni,” Garland said. “That are here in the area, that are doing well.”

Also in attendance was Marz Timms, former Chicago Bulls in-arena host and one of the owners of the Comedy Plex comedy club in downtown Oak Park.

Garland said he was also contacted by local parents who were made aware of the event and asked to be a part of it.

“I have a variety, from doctors to lawyers, you name it and they are coming,” Garland said.

Garland said the event served as a stepping stone to allow students to see the possibilities after high school.

“That is what I am telling the professionals to focus on,” Garland said. “Let them know your story. Let them know that everyone’s story is unique and different and that there is no cookie cutter way to go through this process.”

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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Hatch music teacher brings rhythm and recognition to District 97

The Hatch Steel Band and the music department are recognized by Music For All

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

Hatch Elementary School is gaining national recognition as students march to the beat of their steel drums.

The Hatch Elementary School Steel Band and its music department were named one of the 2024 Elementary Excellence Award Recipients through the “Advocacy in Action” award by Music for All, for their “exceptional and inspirational strategies and programming in elementary school music programs.”

And Evan Jacobson, a lifelong Oak Parker and the founder of the Hatch Steel Band, is to thank for the program’s inception.

Jacobson came from not only a family of musicians but also a family of educators. His mother is a preschool teacher in Oak Park and his father, Paul Jacobson, was a music teacher at Lincoln Elementary school for over 30 years before retiring.

“They both raised me in a very musical house, playing a lot of instruments and singing, and having a value system that was based around arts and especially music,” Jacobson said.

By the time he got to Oak Park and River Forest High School, Jacobson played five instruments with trombone being his number one instrument.

Jacobson pursued a degree in music at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, double majoring in music education and jazz performance.

He made his way back to Oak Park Evan Jacobson

PROVIDED BY EVAN JACOBSON

The Hatch Steel Band performed at the winter showcase in December. in 2010 where he worked as a long-term substitute music teacher at Holmes Elementary School and eventually was hired at Hatch Elementary as the general music teacher for grades K- 5, where he has been for the last 14 years.

“It is kind of a blank slate in terms of how you want to approach being a music teacher, which is why I love it so much,” Jacobson said. “I have a very eclectic interest in music. I like all types of music, playing, listening or studying, whatever it may be. I am just passionate about all types of music.”

His passion piqued an interest in steel drums, which he found sitting unused for 15 years in the district’s warehouse.

Jacobson taught himself how to play the drums and worked on refurbishing the instruments before bringing them into the classroom.

But when he did, they were a hit.

“I quickly realized that the steelpans were the number one instrument that the kids loved in my class,” Jacobson said. “I caught the bug there.”

Jacobson created an after-school program, which quickly grew from six kids, doubling every year and by the fourth year, Jacobson said the program had approximately 80 students.

“It has been a journey for me,” Jacobson said. “It has been very exciting, but the main motivator has been seeing the joy it brings to the kids and to the community to play an instrument that is very unique and not common to music education settings, specifically at elementary schools -- you don’t see steelpans very often.”

Out of the eight elementary schools in D97, Hatch is the only that uses steel pans as part of the PROVIDED BY EVAN JACOBSON curriculum. Jacobson cited a registry of steel bands across the coun-

try created by Brandon Haskett, a professor of music education at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, and discovered Hatch is the only public elementary school in Illinois which has steel band programs.

Jacobson said he saw the positive experiences students were getting from working with steel drums and he was “bitten by the Pan Jumbie,” a phrase streaming from Trinidad and Tobago, where steelpans originate from, and he ran with it.

Currently, Hatch has four steelpan ensembles between the fifth and fourth graders. Jacobson, alongside his father, directs the fifth-grade ensembles.

“It is really wonderful. He was an inspiration for me to become a music teacher,” Jacobson said about working alongside his dad. “He does a lot of work for the program, and we really work together in a great way.”

Scott McDonnell and Matthew Kaiser direct the two fourth grade ensembles, which all meet once a week for rehearsal.

“I feel like the award speaks to a legacy of music and support for music in schools in Oak Park,” Jacobson said. “A program like this wouldn’t be able to exist if it weren’t housed in a school that really supports music in the way it does and in a music department overall in D97 that really flourishes.”

His commitment to the steelpan program and his students hasn’t stopped as Jacobson went back to school last year to receive his master’s degree in music with a steelpan emphasis from Northern Illinois University.

Jacobson hopes to continue to share his passion for the instrument through “Pioneers of Pan: A Process-Based Approach for Steel Band in the Classroom,” a book he coauthored with his father which describes how educators can develop programs as part of their music education curriculum.

“I have been using my book in the classroom now and I have been trying to connect the Hatch program to the Northern Illinois University program as much as possible,” he said.

On Wednesday, March 20 the Hatch Elementary steel band will be performing with the Northern Illinois University Steel Band at Percy Julian Middle School at 6 p.m. The performance is free to attend.

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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11

No charges filed in Little Free Libraries vandalism Father of the suspect is repairing at least one of them

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

The father of a woman suspected to have cut down or vandalized Oak Park’s Little Libraries is promising at least one victim he’ll make amends.

Several around Oak Park had been cut down or vandalized. Authorities said the cases appear to be related and police identified a female suspect, according to NBC. Oak Park police received four reports of Little Free Libraries being cut down between Feb. 12 and Feb. 13, officials said. No charges have been filed.

One man, whose Little Free Library was cut down, said he spoke to the father of the woman who may have done it. Wednesday Journal is not naming the man to protect the identity of that woman, who may be suffering from a mental health condition.

The man said he’s seen at least five of these Little Free Libraries, including his own, cut down. He reported it to the police, who had already received similar reports, he said.

After posting about the incident in a Facebook group chat, the man said his wife’s friend reached out with information about the woman who may have been cutting these boxes down. The man then relayed that information to the police, who assured him the woman was getting help, he said.

“They [the police] already reached out to the father, who was interested in making amends,” he said.

The father repaired his Little Free Library personally, the man said, and assured him it would not happen again.

“It’s not a situation where somebody is vandalizing [little free libraries] because they hate liberals, or they hate progressive books,” he said. “It’s unrelated.”

The man said he does not want anyone to feel afraid or unsafe because of this situation. He said the bigger concern than damaging Little Free Libraries is making

sure there’s a network of mental health support for those who need it.

Another Little Free Library owner, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her box from vandalism, said replacing or repairing the Little Free Libraries is no easy task. They are not cheap to make, she said, and heavy to install. Hers cost about $500.

“Most of the people who are owners of Little Free Libraries will probably want to put them back up,” she said.

If her Little Free Library were to be vandalized, she said she would report it. But if the person who did it was suffering from a mental health crisis, she said she knows not much can be done other than supporting people in need of mental health services.

“If that was the case, this is something that between mental health services and that family and the police, they can mitigate [it] happening again,” she said.

The other possibility is the Little Free Libraries being cut down by someone against free access to books or who doesn’t like the aesthetic of the boxes in the community, she said. In that case, the community would ban together and come up with a solution, she said.

Little Free Libraries are magical, she said, and inspire her to discover new books.

“So many things in this world aren’t free,” she said. “It also teaches the [reciprocity] of giving and taking in a community.”

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COURTESY OF A LITTLE FREE LIBRARY OWNEr

A Little Free Library is shown cut down.

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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Chicago’s police scanners could be reopened to news media under new bill Rep. La Shawn Ford’s statewide measure would give media renewed access to scanners that have been publicly blocked and delayed for 30 minutes

By ERIKA HOBBS

criminals who are also gonna get access, listen in and adjust their criminal behavior in response to the information that’s being communicated.”

A new bill from state Rep. La Shawn Ford But Ford disagreed. would give back police-scanner access to “Media’s been doing it that way since the news media across Illinois. the beginning of time in radio and now all His House bill amends the Public Reof a sudden it’s a safety issue?” Ford said. cords Act, a law that regulates how the pub“There are bad actors and we should root lic accesses government information, to them out, but never in our history has it require any law enforcement agency that put police in danger.” encrypts scanners to give real-time access “You know,” he added, “when I think to FCC-licensed broadcasters and accredited about the fact that the police support newspapers. That could be by license, digital ShotSpotter because it’s real time for them key or other means. and they want to know real time so they can “Police don’t have the ability to get the help fight crime – this is an opportunity word out on their own,” Ford, a Democrat for the press to know from the 8th Disin real time crime is trict, said. “They happening to get the need the press, and word out for safety the press needs refor both the commual-time information nity and police. It just to do that.” makes sense.”

Media members ShotSpotter was could long listen Chicago’s beleato the scanners as SCREENSHOT guered surveillance activity happened. system for real-time And for some An error message showing how a police scanner item was not sent to archives. gun activity that has groups, such as been heavily critiviolence-prevention organizations or hospitals, scanners are were fired. The getaway car escaped on the cized for being ineffective, inaccurate and biased. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson critical tools. Violence interrupters use them Bishop Ford Freeway just blocks away.

Because the police scanner information campaigned on promises to end that relationto try to arrive on a scene to diffuse a violent situation, which can save lives. Trauma-level was on the 30-minute delay, Mandell said, ship and to restore public access to scanners. hospitals also use them to supplement infor- “the news media had no way of alerting Last week, he announced he was extending the ShotSpotter contract through September mation from paramedics to prepare for emer- the immediate danger to the hundreds of people inside the area or the thousands in with a phase-out period. His office did not gency arrivals. respond to a request for comment about enIn 2022, under former Chicago Mayor Lori the expressway.”

During those 30 minutes, Mandell added, crypted police scanners.

Lightfoot, the Emergency Management The problems don’t have to be as traumatic and Communications department encrypt- police can also edit the transmission, like ed police and fire scanners across the city an email forwarded to him recently that as a shooting, said Don Craven, president of after they switched from an analog to digi- showed the Chicago Lawn district disabled the Illinois Press Association. Blocked access tal format. The transmissions are archived the archive feed so no one could access it. impeded the ability to get any fire- or policeon Broadcastify, a live, public online plat- So, in some cases, events may not make it related activity to the public.

“For instance,” he said, “if there is an acform. That creates a 30-minute delay to ac- to the public at all. cident on a street and traffic is blocked, the At the time, Lightfoot and defenders of cess the information.

“Even though in the George Floyd case, it the move said that the lack of encryption longer it takes to get the information out, wasn’t reporters filming, can you imagine could allow criminals to access communi- the bigger backlog of traffic there will be.”

Ford’s legislation would apply across the what would have happened 30 minutes after cations, putting officers in danger.

“It’s about officer safety,” ABC7 reported state, not just Chicago. Several suburban citizens were listening? You wouldn’t see the bad s--- going on,” said Steven Mandell, an at- Lightfoot saying. “If it’s unencrypted and and downstate police departments also entorney with Chicago-based Mandell Menkes. there’s access, there’s no way to control crypt their transmissions.

Editor

“Or what if there is a case that involves a shooting on the expressway, they drive off a ramp and into a neighborhood. If a scanner signal is not available, the media wouldn’t be able to report to the neighborhood to tell everyone what’s going on.”

A similar incident happened in November 2022, according to anecdotes Mandell has collected. A Chicago TV news station reported that police were investigating a shooting near 111th Street and Ellis Avenue in the Pullman neighborhood when the gunman sprayed fire across from the nearby Cook County Circuit Court, Branch 38 and 35.

Witnesses reported more than 40 shots

“Police don’t have the ability to get the word out on their own.

They need the press.”

REP. LA SHAWN FORD 8th District

Nearby Oak Park’s scanners are not encrypted. Neither are Forest Park’s. Chief Ken Gross said the village is part of the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center, a 911 hub responsible for more than one municipality.

“Our radio dispatches are currently analog and are not encrypted,” he said. “If they were encrypted, they would still be available to the public and the media via the Freedom of Information Act, but the encrypted transmission could not be listened to via a scanner or scanner application in real time.”

Proponents say that open-access scanners do cause more problems than one might guess, and increasing numbers of cities are locking down their transmissions: New York City; Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas, Nevada and Baltimore, Maryland all encrypt police and fire scanners.

Minneapolis, Minnesota will begin next year. In an interview with The New York Times, police Chief Brian O’Hara pointed to two incidents that he said argued for encryption: a murder-suspect search was tracked and relayed on social media in real time, and a false report of an abducted college student went viral, stirring panic among students.

But those incidents do not involve the press. Ford said the Illinois model is similar to one the city of Las Vegas began in 2018, when it gave media access to its encrypted channels. The city of Decatur, too, gives the news media access to its encrypted channels, Mandell said.

“It’s working,” Ford added.

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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13

River Forest to install second flagpole The move permits the flying of commemorative flags

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

A second flagpole will be installed in front of River Forest Village Hall to allow flying of commemorative flags after the village board approved the measure Feb. 12.

Adding a second flagpole was first discussed in May. In June, the matter was brought back to the village board but tabled until specifics regarding cost of the project and details on height and location were provided.

The five trustees present Feb. 12 voted unanimously to purchase a 25-foot flagpole from Michigan-based Flagpoles Etc. for $4,236.37. Trustee Lisa Gillis did not attend.

Flagpoles Inc.’s bid was the lower of two received. The cost includes installation.

The second flagpole will be 25 feet high, lower than the 30-foot height of the current flagpole and will accommodate three flags.

Village administrator Matt Walsh said

he expects delivery of the flagpole to happen by mid-May, based on expected lead times. The installation should take one day, he added.

In related action, officials adopted a revised flag policy, updating a policy adopted in 2021 that was created to help navigate the “Public Forum” doctrine contained in the First Amendment when flying commemorative flags on the village flagpole.

The updated policy includes specific references to the second pole and the placement of commemorative flags. The policy states that the village board can specify locations with each respective resolution.

According to the policy, commemorative flags will be displayed only if authorized by a resolution adopted by the village board and only if the request is made by a member of the village board at least 60 days in advance unless shortened by the village board.

Officials were told in 2021 that a village flagpole flying only the United States flag is

considered a nonpublic forum as opposed to a traditional public forum or limited or designated public forum.

“The village’s flag poles are not intended to serve as, nor serve as, a forum for free expression by the public. The village shall display commemorative flags only if authorized by the village board through a commemorative or honorary resolution adopted by the village board, as an expression of the village’s official sentiments,” the policy reads.

According to the policy, commemorative flags shall be displayed for a period of time that is reasonable or customary for the subject that is to be commemorated, but no longer than 31 continuous days.

Annual commemorations shall be considered on an annual basis. Commemorative flags shall only be displayed on the second flagpole and shall be displayed in the last position of honor, beneath the village of River Forest flag. Commemorative flags

FILE

The River Forest fire department raises the Ukrainian flag in 2022, during a rally in support of Ukraine outside of village hall in River Forest. also must be the same size or smaller than the United States and State of Illinois flags that are flown.

Since adoption of the policy, flags flown on the single village hall flagpole have included the Ukrainian national flag and a flag commemorating Pride Month.

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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St. Edmund School selected as asylumseekers’ shelter

‘We will be an abject failure if in June there are still 100 people there,’ an operator says

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

In a two-part vote, a split Oak Park Village Board of Trustees approved separate agreements to provide a new shelter space at St. Edmund School for asylum seekers.

The new shelter will be operational from Feb. 26 until June 30, according to the village. Migrants staying at the West Cook YMCA and The Carleton of Oak Park Hotel will be able to transition to St. Edmund between Feb. 26 and Feb. 29.

The school, located at 200 S. Oak Park Ave., has most recently been the site of the Catholic Parishes of Oak Park’s Migrant Ministry. The ministry has been providing clothes, snacks and other necessities.

As part of the $1.9 million Supporting Municipalities for Asylum Seeker Services grant, roughly $1.24 million has been allocated for operating this temporary shelter. The village board’s special meeting Feb. 15 was held to determine an operating and a lease agreement to facilitate shelter at St. Edmund.

The operating agreement is with West Side Service Connector, doing business as the Oak Park Family Transitional Shelter, which will manage the $1.24 million. The West Side Service Connector is an Illinois nonprofit organization that operates the new OPFTS. According to the village, OPFTS submitted a proposal in November to operate a temporary shelter at St. Edmund.

OPFTS will manage day-to-day operations of the shelter, according to the village. The $1.24 million will fund personnel, food, supplies, security, translation, travel and telecommunications, according to the village.

A bulk of the budget, $440,000, will be spent on food, according to the OPFTS proposal. The next highest categories are contractual services such as translation and security, personnel at $194,240, and shelter supplies.

“The shelter will foster a supportive environment where residents are encouraged to take ownership of their journey towards stability, and will hold residents accountable for their path to permanent housing and employment,” OPFTS said in its proposal.

JAVIER GOVEA

St. Edmund School, 200 S. Oak Park Ave. It’s unclear whether the shelter would operate beyond June 30, said Jack Crowe, executive director of OPFTS. If all the migrants are able to move out early, the shelter will close. Crowe said the OPFTS will work with the Oak Park Resettlement Task Force, an organization supported by the Community of Congregations that’s working to find the asylum-seekers stable housing.

“We will be an abject failure if in June there are still 100 people there,” he said.

St. Edmund was selected as a shelter because of its ability to house between 80 and 120 individuals. Rev. Carl Morello has said the ministry would need to acquire bedding arrangements and a way to provide showers to host the asylum seekers.

According to the OPFTS proposal, classrooms at St. Edmund will be fitted with cots or sleeping mats. A shower truck will be provided at the back of the school, and residents will be given hygiene products, according to the proposal.

The OPFTS proposal also includes requirements residents must follow to stay there. For example, they must sign in and out between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Residents also must attend shelter English language classes for at least five hours a week, in addition to other rules.

The board approved the operating agreement in a 4-3

vote, with trustees Lucia Robinson, Cory Wesley and Ravi Parakkat voting against it.

The lease agreement for the shelter is with the Catholic Bishop of Chicago, a nonprofit arm of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The $1.24 million will also cover the CBC’s self-insured property insurance premium and utilities, according to the village. The village will not have to pay the CBC for the shelter space, excluding the monthly insurance premium.

Robinson, Wesley and Parakkat voted against the lease agreement, but it still passed in a 4-3 vote.

At the Feb. 15 meeting, the village board also approved, in the same 4-3 vote, an amendment to the SMASS grant application, asking for an additional $126,750. If approved, that brings the $1.9 million grant to roughly $2.07 million.

The additional funds would allow the village to hire and train three full-time temporary employees to oversee shelter operations, according to the village. Human Resources Director Kira Tchang said the three employees would allow for a 24-hour presence.

Funds from the SMASS grant are restricted to meeting asylum-seeker needs and can only be spent through June 30.

“This seems to be a both/and response, not an either/or response,” Trustee Brian Straw said.

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

MIGRANTS

More funding, less unity from page 1 $300,000 from a Supporting Municipalities for Asylum Seeker Services grant to the Community of Congregations for migrant rental assistance. That state-funded grant awarded Oak Park $1.9 million earlier this month to assist with related migrant services.

In an attempt to mediate tensions, trustees sidestepped another issue dividing the board that involved forming a direct partnership with the Oak Park Resettlement Task Force. Earlier this month, the potential alliance raised heated questions from trustees Lucia Robinson and Cory Wesley, who asked why the task force was chosen as a potential partner and whether other the month. After that, the asylum seekers organizations had been considered. may be able to stay at St. Edmund School, The task force includes volunteers from Housing Forward, West Cook YMCA and pending the finalization of a few agreethe Community of Congregations, all ments, until June 30.

The new funding is intended to help miknown and respected organizations the vilgrants find more stable housing beyond lage frequently partners with. So far, the task force has connected 12 families, or 52 temporary shelters. The $300,000 from the individuals, with housing, said Rev. Colin SMASS grant, however, can only be spent until June 30, and can’t be used Knapp, president of Commuto pre-pay rent for months afnity of Congregations. ter that.

On Feb. 13, the board instead “We have relationship with made the Community of Conthe migrants,” Knapp said. “We gregations the sole fiscal agent know their names, we know for the $300,000, all of which their stories; we’ve spent time will be used for short-term with them. We have a certain rental assistance for asylum level of trust.” seekers. All board members The task force is bringing voted in favor of that arrangelandlords to the table by offerment, with the exception of ing a fully paid, 12-month lease, Wesley, who abstained.

LUCIA ROBINSON Knapp said. Those apartments While the task force may may or may not be in Oak Park. connect asylum seekers with housing, according to the village, those The 12-month period will give the migrants individuals will sign their own leases and enough time to establish themselves, get the Community of Congregations will is- work permits, find jobs and save up money, sue the funding to the housing provider Knapp said.

“We believe that the resettlement efforts directly. The Community of Congregations will not be finding available apartments di- are best value for the money,” Knapp said.

“We also believe that the stability we prorectly, Knapp said.

“I am a minister of the gospel, not a real vide in a 12-month lease is designed to creestate agent,” he said in response to a trust- ate self-sufficiency.”

The task force has estimated it will take ee’s question. about $900,000 to resettle the individuals who are staying at the hotel and YMCA.

Future housing needs

According to the officials, 132 asylum seekers remain in the village’s temporary shelter program at the West Cook YMCA and The Carleton of Oak Park Hotel and will likely continue to do so until the end of

Tense discussions During discussions on Feb. 13, as Robinson called for an open bid or request-forproposal process to select a partner for the

FILE

short-term rental funds, she also said she’d like to see staff potentially set up a department to meet those needs.

“The concerns around perpetuating an inequitable allocation of resources to one smaller group of individuals is one concern that’s been raised by trustee Wesley at this board table and echoed in other communities of color,” she said. “It’s a concern that I have as well.”

Village manager Kevin Jackson clarified that setting up a department to work on resettlement efforts could take months, potentially pushing them out of the June 30 window that restricts some of the funds.

The entirety of funding allocated to Community of Congregations will go toward rental assistance, Knapp said, rather than paying a staff because the task force is all volunteer.

Wesley echoed concerns that the migrant response has been inequiCORY WESLEY table, with certain groups, such as the migrants staying at Grace Episcopal Church, finding themselves left out of efforts like the resettlement task force. The task force is willing to take those individuals under their wing, Knapp said, but it would likely require additional funding.

In contrast to Robinson and Wesley, trustees Chibuike Enyia and Brian Straw brought a motion forward to provide an additional $150,000 on top of the SMASS grant

15

to assist the Community of Congregations, bringing the total to $450,000. Straw said he saw the task force’s efforts as an “offramp” -- which trustees called for in December.

“This is the only plan, truly, that is before us that puts this migrant population in a stable situation,” Straw said. “This is by far the most efficient use of resources we have seen through this entire crisis.”

About 20 of the asylum-seekers attended the board meeting, listening with the help of translation devices. One woman asked the board to approve the additional aid and not make the migrants go back to a shelter, where illnesses abound.

One man, who said the migrants are wise, strong and independent, asked Robinson what she sees when she looks at the migrants.

“I see my family,” Robinson said. “This issue hits in a particularly sensitive spot to me.”

Robinson, the only Latina on the board, explained that the decisions before the board were particularly painful for her when her responsibilities as a trustee to protect the community does not line up with her desire to support migrants.

Straw addressed BRIAN STRAW speculation about conflicts of interest, acknowledging that one volunteer member of the resettlement effort had donated a small amount to his political campaign. Enyia also said that same volunteer had worked on his political campaign. Robinson said those facts should have been disclosed sooner.

Several board members also expressed a desire to use the migrant resettlement efforts as a reminder that the village should do more to address housing issues in Oak Park in general.

The board approved the additional amount of $150,000, with trustee Ravi Parakkat, Wesley and Robinson voting against it. Robinson and Parakkat both expressed their distaste for using taxpayer dollars to fund migrant aid.

At a special meeting Thursday, the board will discuss a lease agreement to operate St. Edmund School as a temporary shelter space for migrants. The lease would run through June 30 if approved.

Roughly $1.24 million from the SMASS grant is intended to operate this temporary shelter.

16

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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Oak Park resident’s 2007 Nissan Altima with a large rock or brick. The incident, which occurred between Feb. 15 and Feb. 16 at the 400 block of North Austin Boulevard, resulted in an unknown amount of damage.

■ Someone broke the rear window of an Oak Park resident’s 2007 Lexus with a large rock or brick. The incident, which occurred on Feb. 16 at the 400 block of North Austin Boulevard, resulted in an unknown amount of damage.

Theft A man stole a Cicero resident’s iPhone 15 Feb. 14 at the 6200 block of West Roosevelt Road. The victim left her phone by a cash register. The man concealed the iPhone in a black bag and left the store.

He was last seen getting on a westbound bus on Roosevelt Road. The phone was last tracked to the 4200 block of West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago. The estimated loss is $1,099.

Catalytic converter theft Someone stole the catalytic converter from an Oak Park resident’s 2012 Toyota Prius. The incident, which occurred between Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 at the 200 block of South Oak Park Avenue, resulted in an estimated loss of $1,000.

Motor vehicle theft ■ Someone stole an Oak Park resident’s silver 2017 Nissan Pathfinder while it was parked at the 1100 block of South Taylor Avenue. The incident, which occurred between Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, resulted in an

estimated loss of $20,000.

■ Someone broke the window to get into a Des Plaines resident’s white 2019 Kia Optima. The incident, which occurred Feb. 15 at the 1100 block of South Humphrey Avenue, resulted in an estimated loss of $20,000.

Domestic battery arrest A man from the 400 block of North Austin Boulevard was arrested for domestic battery against a Chicago resident on Feb. 12. He was processed and held for bond hearings.

Criminal trespass arrest A Chicago man was arrested Feb. 13 at the 100 block of North Oak Park Avenue for criminal trespass to property. He was held for bond hearings.

Outside warrant arrest ■ A woman from Batavia was arrested Feb. 13 at the 400 block of South Taylor Avenue for an active Batavia warrant. She was turned over to Batavia police.

■ A Chicago man was involved in a fight Feb. 15 at the 900 block of Lake Street. The man was found to have an active Lake County Sheriff ’s Office warrant for felony theft and was held in lieu of bond.

■ An Oak Park man was arrested Feb. 15 at the 800 block of Washington Boulevard for an active Cicero warrant. He was turned over to Cicero police.

These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department reports, dated Feb. 12-19, 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

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

17

OPRF sets African American students up for success with parent dinner

The National African American Parent Involvement Dinner will be held Feb. 27

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 are inviting all parents, especially parents of color, to their annual National African American Parent Involvement Dinner at the end of this month.

The dinner will be held at OPRF’s south cafeteria Feb. 27 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Parents can register online at the school’s website.

Tyrone Garland, community outreach coordinator and football and track & field coach at OPRF, said the dinner is a way for the high school to reach parents of color to promote and educate on the importance of their child’s first year of high school.

“I am really big on students understanding their options and understanding why their freshman year in high school is so important academically,” Garland said. “Just to build their GPA. I touch on that a lot.”

OPRF LOCKDOWN No charges from page 3 school suspension and/or recommendation for expulsion.

According to Yopchick, the high school and police department are always in constant communication, not just regarding incidents.

“When an event does occur obviously the communication becomes frequent and regular and I think it helps, especially now, that there have been great heads of security at the high school in the past, but now with

Garland, who came to OPRF with more than 10 years of experience working in college admissions through Northwestern University and Northern Illinois University, said he is open with students about the struggles he endured as a teenager trying to navigate his way to college.

And a big part of that is a parent’s involvement in their student’s academic career.

“I let a lot of kids know that my journey was extremely rough,” Garland said. “Both of my parents did not go to college. So, I didn’t always have all the advice. They did the best they could. But I didn’t have all the birds-eye advice that I wish I did have.”

Garland said he used a sport as a vehicle to get a better education at Michigan State with a full scholarship.

This year’s event will feature keynote speaker Pamela Ellis, CEO and founder of Compass College Advisory, a firm that offers “individualized college preparation experiences” for students.

According to Compass College Advisory, the ideal time for students to begin thinking about college admissions is during their freshman and sophomore years of high school. The firm has in-person centers in Chicago as well as Columbus, Ohio but they also work with students nationwide.

Ellis holds a doctorate degree from Stan-

ford University School of Education.

“I couldn’t have found a better speaker with Dr. Pamela Ellis,” Garland said. “Why not bring this woman in and see if we can hit home with parents about the importance of grades, of setting your kids up for success, the importance of having options academically to help pay for schools. A lot of these things is what the keynote speaking will be talking about.”

While last year’s event was well attended, Garland hopes to keep increasing attendance

for the dinner each year.

To help aid in that goal, he said he will be reaching out to the feeder schools in hopes of bringing in middle school parents who want to learn more about how to help their incoming freshman succeed at OPRF. “Everyone is welcome, all we ask is that you sign up ahead of time,” Garland said. “I would love a decent amount of middle school parents, especially middle school parents of color, so they can understand the expectations for once their kid gets here.”

Traccye Love, who is a former sergeant in the Oak Park Police Department, the lines of communication are even stronger than they have been in the past,” Yopchick said.

Yopchick said the police department will not present charges against an individual unless there is “a law broken or criminal activity.”

When asked if the incident that occurred at OPRF on Feb.14 was considered criminal activity, Yopchick said “not at this time, no.”

Despite students being told to head toward their seventh period class, many, including Jade, left for the day and were picked up by concerned parents who had already begun gathering outside the high school in an attempt to communicate with their children.

One group of parents were huddled together hoping to get information from a police officer seen leaving the building. They asked questions, including how many exits there were in case students had to run out.

Police responded that there wasn’t enough information to relay at that time.

Others were questioning the response from the district, expressing their disapproval in how information was being communicated.

The village sent an email alerting parents and the community about the event. The district has an update on its website.

Many parents who were able to get their kids on the phone told them to leave for the day.

“Their lack of communication is irresponsible,” said Melissa, who asked not

to have her last name included. “It is not acceptable. Not when it comes to our children… Also, take social media threats seriously. We don’t want to find out the hard way.”

“We know that receiving notice of a ‘Secure and Teach’ can be extremely alarming, and that the time between updates may seem excruciatingly long,” Parker said. “Our priority is always the safety of our students and staff. While we are investigating to determine the facts of a situation, we are not able to respond immediately to emails and calls from parents.”

Parker added that once the district has the accurate information, they communicate it to the school community as quickly as they can.

PROVIDED BY TY GARLAND

18

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Publican Quality Bread opens in Oak Park PQB, opening Sunday, is the new loaf in town

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

The heavenly scent of freshly baked bread will soon start wafting through the Arts District. With it comes the joy that only a warm crusty loaf can bring: Publican Quality Bread is coming to town.

Baguettes, ciabattas, and traditional sourdough loaves will be on sale when it opens Sunday.

The knead lead is Greg Wade, who won the 2019 James Beard Award for “Outstanding Baker.”

I love everything about it,” the self-described bread head said. “I like the smell of fresh dough as you’re mixing the flour and water together, the kind of ritual of taking care of the starter and feeding it.”

Wade and PQB, the quick version of their name, get deeply involved long before dough meets oven.

“The really important thing for me is, when you’re talking about relationships, it’s trust, and also and being able to do something bigger than what you’re able to do alone. For example, our farmer, he

PUBLICAN QUALITY BREAD

Roman Pizza

PHOTOS BY KELLY SANDOS

Big Sandwich

PHOTOS BY KELLY SANDOS

Greg Wade and I talk before every growing season,” Wade said.

Illinois farmers Marty and Will Travis of Spence Farm provide as much of the grain as possible for the organization. They also mill the grain.

“They find really special, unique varieties and grows them in a very particular way – all organic and without chemicals or anything like that,” Wade said.

Back in the kitchen Wade’s team relies on wild yeast for their long fermentation process, which extends up to 30 hours.

“It’s the tastiest way, the best way to make bread. But there’s a whole slew of health benefits that come along with it. The long fermentation process makes it much easier for us to digest. It’s breaking down those complex sugars in a way that doesn’t spike your blood sugar, and it makes all of the nutrients in the whole stone-milled, wholegrain flour bio available to us.”

Oak Park is the first suburban foray for PQB, which is a part of the One Off Hospitality Group. Other restaurants in the group include Avec, Big Star and Dove’s Luncheonette. Its other restaurant, The Publican, inspired Publican Quality Meats and later expanded into breads.

While PQB might have a new footprint

in Oak Park, it has a long history here. Its breads have been sold at farmers’ markets, Sugar Beet, and even in the previous incarnation of the Harrison Street location.

Elizabeth Madden, owner of Rare Bird Preserves, brought them into the space.

“Elizabeth was very supportive in getting us connected to the landlord as she was making her decision to close her business and finding somebody to pass the torch on to,” said Donnie Madia, partner in One Off Hospitality and PQB.

What’s on the menu?

When doors open daily at 7 a.m. pastries like lemon meringue croissants and pistachio and Amarena cherry-filled maritozzi, or brioche-like buns, will get mouths watering.

“I try to use the appropriate grain for the appropriate products. For example, we’ve got a wonderful whole wheat croissant.

Our Danish is made with a heritage cornmeal, so it tastes wonderfully of corn, but also really buttery,” Wade said.

La Columbe is the coffee bean provider.

“We believe that their coffee pairs really well,” Madia said. “It is sweeter and not bitter. They don’t over roast. And I think that’s a really good partnership for Greg’s baking.”

When lunch comes around, Big Sandwich is a PQB staple – a Roman-style bread split and filled with ingredients that change with the seasons. Open faced Tar-

tines and Jambon-Beurre are also on offer.

From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the menu shifts to center around five core pizzas.

Wade explains the crust: “It is going to be crisp, but it’s also going to be light and airy.

And really have a good rich flavor to it.”

The pizzas will be served “al taglio” (sliced and sold by weight) at the counter.

Whole pies will be available for pickup and delivery. Veggie sides and salads will round out the food offerings, and a selection of Chicago craft beers and globally sourced wines will be available, as well.

Of course, there are desserts. One that will require a double take is tiramisu served in a house-made waffle cone…a walking dessert you didn’t know you needed until now.

This location is a homecoming of sorts.

Founding partner Donnie Madia and CEO Karen Browne are both Oak Park residents and Greg Wade lives nearby in Berwyn.

“It’s a really big deal for us,” Madia said.

“We want to act as a supplement to all the other great pastries, bakeries and businesses in in Oak Park. We want to add to what Oak Park already has.”

Restaurant Address: 211 Harrison Street, Oak Park Website: www.publicanqualitybread.com Hours: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily

Special Advertising Section

Comedy Plex Comedy Club

February 21, 2024 19

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Dominican Performing Arts

Concordia University Chicago

2024

Spring

Oak Park Festival Theatre

Performing Arts Guide

20 February 21, 2024

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

A

Special Advertising Section

re you looking for your next weekend adventure or something to do in your spare time? The Wednesday Journal’s Spring Performing Arts section is a guide for you to find upcoming performances to attend or new performing arts groups to explore!

Are you a theatre kid at heart? Oak Park Festival Theatre is presenting their Winter Readings starting this weekend with The Droll, or a StagePlay about the END of Theatre by Meg Miroshnik. You can also watch Forest Park Theatre’s reading series that focuses on American and British female playwrights, or you can sign up for one of Ovation Academy’s performing arts programs (students of all ages are welcome)!

Do you want to hear some music this spring? Downtown Oak Park’s Jazz Thaw is coming up in March where you can listen to free live music inside 13 local restaurants.

You can also attend a band, choral, or orchestral concert at Concordia University in River Forest or live music at the new Robert’s Westside in Forest Park!

Are you interested in all types of live events? Check out Dominican University Performing Arts Center’s lineup of artists or the Kehrein Center for the Arts in Austin.

We hope this new section immerses you into the local performing arts scene and allows you to discover new artists, shows, and events in Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, and the surrounding communities.

Enjoy, Lourdes Nicholls & Ben Stumpe Wednesday Journal Advertising

2024

Spring

Performing

Arts Guide

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

February 21, 2024 21

THEATRE

MUSIC

The Artists of Concordia Theatre explore classic and contemporary plays, comedies and gripping dramas.

Performances showcase CUC’s choral, band and orchestral ensembles as well as solo instrumentalists and student composers.

Arts

COME TO CAMPUS TO ENJOY FREE ARTS EVENTS CALENDAR: CUCHICAGO.EDU/ ARTS

at Concordia VISUAL ARTS

7400 Augusta Street River Forest, IL 60305

Ferguson Art Gallery mounts exhibitions of student, faculty and alumni artwork as well as guest practicing professionals.

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onal,

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22 February 21, 2024

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

And the Oscar Goes to …

Great Songs from the Movies SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2024, 7:30pm Pilgrim Congregational Church 460 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL

SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2024, 4:00pm Glenview Community Church 1000 Elm Street, Glenview, IL

Tickets $25 Students $20 (17 & under) Group Tickets (10+) $22

Tickets at the door $30 Breast Cancer Survivors $20

voicesofhopecc.com

A concert supporting breast cancer survivorship A portion of our proceeds goes to support breast cancer research.

Special Advertising Section

Voices of Hope Community Chorus Embracing the joy of singing

V

oices of Hope is a welcoming, non-audition chorus created to harness the joy of music for those affected by breast cancer. Some of the 50+ singers are breast cancer survivors, while others have family or friends touched by this disease. In celebrating the power of song, Voices of Hope members relish their strong sense of community and audiencepleasing performances.

• Voices of Hope sings a mixture of music genres—pop, rock, the Great American Songbook and more. The chorus includes men and women who have varied musical skills, ranging from those with professional voice training to those with little singing experience.

• Recognized for their lively, uplifting concerts as well as their mission supporting breast cancer survivorship, Voices of Hope singers enjoy sharing their message through broader

engagements. Last fall, for example, they sang at a Chicago Bears game during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and also appeared on WGN TV.

• Singers come from all over Chicagoland and currently rehearse in two optional locations (Oak Park and Glenview). Committed to inclusivity, Voices of Hope is best described as a diverse group of caring, upbeat and congenial choristers. Those who love singing and a spirit of camaraderie are invited to join this group.

• In April, Voices of Hope will present “And the Oscar Goes to … Great Songs from the Movies” in Oak Park (Pilgrim Congregational Church, April 13, 7:30 pm) and Glenview (Glenview Community Church, April 14, 4:00 pm). For more information on the concert or joining the chorus, visit voicesofhopecc.com.

Participate in Extraordinary Musical Theater Experiences at Ovation Academy for the Performing Arts

O

vation Academy for the Performing Arts in Oak Park, IL is an awardwinning performing arts program that offers training classes, summer camps, private lessons, and fully produced productions to children and adults in the western suburbs and throughout Chicagoland. Students of all ages and experience levels are invited to participate in its robust programming.

Ovation Academy promotes a friendly, noncompetitive learning environment where students can gain valuable skills both on and off stage. The focus at Ovation is to provide exceptional musical theater training while inspiring and encouraging enthusiasm, collaboration, commitment, and passion in students. Instructors at Ovation Academy are directors, vocal coaches, working actors, musicians and choreographers who are actively engaged

in the performing arts on a local, national, and international scale.

Ovation Academy for the Performing Arts is proud to call Madison Street Theater, the 200 seat performance space its home.

Since its inception in 2014 by Tina Reynolds, Ovation Academy has grown to offer musical theater programming to thousands of families. The performing arts company also boasts 7 years of awardwinning performances at the Junior Theater Festival, proudly representing Oak Park and all of Illinois on a national stage.

This year, Ovation will be celebrating its 10th year of building, empowering, and educating students through the power of musical theater, and looks to continue growing in the near future.

To learn more about Ovation Academy, visit www.ovationacademy.org.

February 21, 2024 23

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

Dominican University: A Destination for Entertainment in the West Suburbs

L

ast December, WBEZ published a report suggesting the western suburbs are becoming Chicago’s next big thing in live music.

It’s not surprising that Dominican University in River Forest was mentioned as one of the area’s topnotch venues.

Over the last 20 years, the Performing Arts Center has regularly welcomed notable performers to the stage: Renée Fleming, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Matthew Morrison, Rosanne Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kurt Elling, and Judy Collins, to name just a few.

Ranked among the top 15 Midwest universities by U.S. News and World Report, Dominican’s mission of creating a more just and humane world is also realized through its vibrant Arts and Minds programming.

Launched as Center Stage in 1999,

the Dominican University Performing Arts Center (known as DUPAC) has become the arts and culture hub of the university and helped establish the River Forest campus as a destination for its eclectic mix of programming—all open to the public and in River Forest’s backyard.

“Attending live performance is an opportunity for the joy of discovery,” said Leslie Rodriguez, executive director of external engagement at Dominican University. “I hope the community sees DUPAC as the place to experience such joy. We want people to come see artists they’ve never heard of.”

Diverse musical styles, dance, live theater, and even magic come alive on the Performing Arts Center stage. Esteemed authors, speakers and experts in their fields present programs meant to uplift, educate, provoke thought and start

a conversation. In the last year, Dominican University has hosted labor movement activist Dolores Huerta, poets Pádraig Ó Tuama and Javier Zamora, award-winning photojournalist Paula Bronstein, and Indigenous scholars Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy and Megan Redshirt Shaw, among many others.

“We are fortunate to have a vibrant arts organization in the Oak Park-River Forest area,” said River Forest resident Stephanie Schrodt. “DUPAC presents a diverse offering of cultural programs year-round. We have relished the opportunity to attend their outdoor summer concert series, poetry readings and top-notch musical acts.”

During summer evenings, Dominican’s Quad becomes an outdoor public concert venue, too. Between June and August, the Summer Sounds concert series features weekly performances by a variety of regional touring bands, duos and solo artists—all free of charge to the public. Just bring a chair or blanket, a picnic lunch and some friends.

“In my work, I get the thrill of seeing an audience connect with an artist or an event,” Rodriguez added. “On a regular basis, I see people changed by what they see on stage—whether uplifted by dance, empowered by a musician, or profoundly moved by a piece theatre. There’s nothing like it.”

Last summer’s line-up brought a mix of rock, soul, blues, folk and Latin sounds to River Forest.

Dominican University Performing Arts Center & St. Catherine of Siena Center

March

April

YOUR ARTS & CULTURE CONNECTION! May

22–24 Fri/Sat/Sun

20 Saturday

THEATRE ARTS LAB SERIES

DUPAC/SIENA CENTER

Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward

Become a part of this profound and memorable experience. For a list of all upcoming performances and programs, visit www.dom.edu/ arts-minds.

Summer

Carrie Newcomer & John McCutcheon

Martin Recital Hall Friday/Saturday 7:30 pm Sunday 3:00 pm

7:30 pm, Lund Auditorium

2024 FREE CONCERTS IN THE QUAD

WEDNESDAYS JUNE 12–AUG 14

12 Friday Pat Hazell’s Permanent Record

events.dom.edu

7:30 pm, Lund Auditorium

MAY 9, 2024 7:30 pm, Lund Auditorium Dominican University Performing Arts Center is partially funded by the Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Villages of Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

24 February 21, 2024

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

1128 LAKE ST (LOWER LEVEL)

NOW OPEN WEDNESDAYS THROUGH SATURDAYS!!

SHOWS | CLASSES | GROUPS

WEEKLY SCHEDULE OPEN MIC NIGHT (FREE) WEDNESDAYS AT 8PM

TOP SHELF COMEDY THURSDAYS AT 8PM

HEADLINER SERIES FRIDAY & SATURDAY EVENINGS *2 DRINK MINIMUM *21 AND OVER UNLESS ACCOMPANIED AN ADULT

“WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL AND HUMBLED BY THE OVERWHELMINGLY WONDERFUL RESPONSE OAK PARK HAS EXTENDED TO US! NOW THAT WE’RE OPEN WE CAN PROVIDE A GREAT PLACE FOR FRIENDS, FAMILIES AND CO-WORKERS TO GATHER, SHARE A LAUGH, AND HAVE A GREAT TIME IN DOWNTOWN OAK PARK!” - CHRISTOPHER BELL, CO-FOUNDER

February 21, 2024 25

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

COMING SOON TO

RONNIE RAY

REENA CALM MARCH 1 8PM MARCH 2 8PM

MARCH 8 8PM MARCH 9 7 & 915PM

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MARCH 29 8PM MARCH 30 7 & 915PM

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26 February 21, 2024

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

LMS/ International Mansion: Every child has a gift to be shared

O

ur school can be best described as a ‘Homeschool in School’ style program. We have a full dynamic Spanish Immersion curriculum and are listed by MENSA as a recommended program for gifted students.

We are a small school with 20 students between Kindergarten and 12th grade.

What sets us apart?

- Fluency in Spanish Achieved within one year during Preschool years, or within two years during Elementary School years. The Spanish language is spoken throughout as the target immersion language. Academic classes are all taught in English and/ or Spanish and English. If weather permits, many of our academic

classes are done outdoors.

- Student to teacher ratio: some classes are one on one, two to one, with a maximum of six students to one instructor.

Current subjects, but not limited to, are:

- Daily schedule is customized and flexible.

• Math • Science

- Professional and passionate instructors.

- Guest tutors with real life experience.

- No test to enter, no traditional testing.

- Students paired by interest, in mixed age setting.

- Weekly reports sent to parents.

• Penmanship • Reading/writing

• Geography/history • Logic/coding • Theater (improv, superhero stage combat, musical theatre)

• Social emotional discussions/Life skills • Spanish immersion spoken through out the day and taught in lesson format. Russian immersion taught in lesson format.

• Intro to Foreign languages (Hebrew, Italian, chinese, japanese, korean, etc.)

• Martial arts

• Physical education: Archery/Ice Skating/Soccer, and more.

• Art (including painting, clay art, comic book art and more)

• Chess and board games.

• Music (Rock band, intro to most instrument, harmony, chorus)

• Architectural design

Every child has a gift to be shared • Pre-K through 12th Grade. Private/Independent school since 1994. Listed by MENSA as a recommended program for gifted students.

Performing arts (afterschool or weekends) 1) Visual arts (drawing, painting, comic art, architectural models, recycle art, etc)

4) Music (most instruments and voice)

2) Martial arts (karate)

6) Musical theater

3) Dance (country)

7) Poetry and public speaking

5) Theater (audition prep, line memorization, etc)

The Language & Music School at International Mansion, est. 1994 509 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park info@internationalmansion.com Text us at: (708) 296-3244 • InternationalMansion.com

February 21, 2024 27

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

Our Guide to the Performing Arts

Here is our featured list of local theatre, music, dance, and comedy organizations and venues

Theatre Artists of Concordia Theatre River Forest | cuchicago.edu

Pro Musica Youth Chorus

Oak Park | promusicayouthchorus.org

Robert’s Westside

Forest Park | robertswestide.com

The Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest

Forest Park Theatre

Oak Park & River Forest | symphonyoprf.org

April 7, 2024 Music of Liszt: The Sacred and The Profane

Madison Street Theater

Voices of Hope Community Chorus

June 2, 2024 Suk and Dvorak: A Czech Musical Family

Dominican Performing Arts Center River Forest | dom.edu

Forest Park | fptheatre.org Oak Park | madisonstreettheater.org

Oak Park Festival Theatre

Oak Park | oakparkfestival.com

Ovation Academy for the Performing Arts

Oak Park | ovationacademy.org

New Lenox | voicesofhopecc.com

Dance

Academy of Movement and Music

Oak Park | academyoakpark.com

Music

DeMaira Dance Studios

Bellissima Opera

INTUIT Dance!

Oak Park | bellissimaopera.com

Oak Park | demaira-dance.com Oak Park | intuitdance.org

Chicago Choral Artists

Légere Dance Centre

City Voices

TranscenDance Studios

Oak Park | chicagochoralartists.org Oak Park | cityvoiceschicago.org

Concordia University Chicago Music River Forest | cuchicago.edu

Dominican Performing Arts Center

River Forest | legeredancecentre.com Oak Park | transcendancestudios.com

Comedy & More

BABS Comedy Club - COMING FALL 2024!

Forest Park | babscomedyclub.com

River Forest | dom.edu

Comedy Plex

Downtown Oak Park Business Alliance - Jazz Thaw, Thursday Night Out, & Oaktoberfest

Kehrein Center for the Arts

FitzGerald’s

Oak Park | oakparkareaartscouncil.org

Handel Week Festival

Are you interested in being in our Fall Performing Arts Guide?

International Mansion

Contact Ben Stumpe (ben@oakpark.com) to learn more!

Oak Park | downtownoakpark.net

Berwyn | fitzgeraldsnightclub.com Oak Park | handelweek.com Oak Park | lmschool.com

Michael Teolis Singers Oak Park | mtsingers.org

Oak Park Concert Chorale

Oak Park | oakparkconcertchorale.org

PING!

Oak Park | pingoprf.org

Oak Park | comedyplex.com Austin | kcachicago.org

Oak Park Area Arts Council

Concerts on Sundays, 4 pm at Concordia University Chapel, River Forest Students through college admitted free of charge Free parking at 1124 Bonnie Brae Place

Play an instrument?

Email SymphonyOPRF@gmail.com if you'd like to join the orchestra.

Contact us for tickets or more information!

708.218.2648 | theSymphonyOPRF@gmail.com | SymphonyOPRF.org

2024

Spring

Performing

Arts Guide

28 February 21, 2024

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

Choral group fosters love for classical music, local composers and music education

March 9 & 10, 2024 Enjoy free live music performances inside 13 local restaurants with the option to order from the host restaurant’s menu.

Music Lineup Barry Winograd Duo Tony Richards Suenos Latin Jazz Chris Greene Quartet Crystal Rebone Duo Neal Alger Brazilian Trio Abigail Riccards Quartet The New Deal Maddie Vogler Duo Mason Jiller

Paul Abella Trio Kyle Asche Organ Trio Tony Do Rosario Duo Juli Wood Trio Rene Avila Afro-Cuban Quartet Chuck Webb and Guru Tonic Casey Nelson & Christy Bennett Erik Skov Duo Almee Gwen Duo

Presented by Downtown Oak Park Business Alliance in partnership with 90.9 WDCB “Chicago’s Home for Jazz!”

For the full schedule go to downtownoakpark.net/event/jazz-thaw or scan:

F

ounded in 1981, Oak Park Concert Chorale is a classical choral ensemble that specializes in both a cappella and accompanied performances as well as strengthening music education through free vocal technique and musicianship classes.

Led by Director Paul Lindblad, the Chorale is comprised of a diverse group of individuals who embrace their differences of age, ethnicity and culture.

If you love to sing, consider auditioning to join us for our fall semester and Christmas concert.

• Visit www.oakparkconcertchorale.org/audition • Contact us at info@oakparkconcertchorale.org

Come to our spring concert, Canticles for the Soul, on April 28 at 4pm, St John Lutheran Church, Forest Park. Hear music to sooth and embrace your soul. We will premiere O Taste and See by our conductor Paul Lindblad, and, from the archives of Carl Schalk, the first performance of a lovely Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis.

Highlights of the program will be spirituals, canticles, and psalm settings by Norman Luboff, Richard Hillert, Larry Fleming, Ernst Pepping; and the stunning Three Prophecies from Isaiah by John Ness Beck.

It is our pleasure to have Michael Costello as our guest organist. We look forward to having you join us for a memorable concert. Tickets will be available through Eventbrite mid-March.

OPCC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and a grant from Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Village of Oak Park, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts.

February 21, 2024 29

SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

Robert’s Westside in Forest Park Home for Live Music & Community Events

Though we are primarily a live music venue, we also serve as a welcoming neighborhood bar. We are a home for families to gather for their milestone achievements and celebrations of life, as well as a space offered for non-profit fundraisers and mutual aid benefits. We feature handmade cocktails, craft beers and premiere NA drinks to provide all patrons choices to maximize their experience.

Robert’s Westside was founded and is operated by Donnie Biggins, a lifelong Oak Park and Forest Park resident. You are familiar with his work booking the American Music Festival, keeping music alive during the pandemic by curating community pick-up truck & drive-in concerts and programming the annual Oaktoberfest in Downtown Oak Park. Biggins brings his 15 years of experience in organizing community events and live entertainment to his forever home on Madison Street.

In 2024, Robert’s will host Food Aid - a two day music festival to combat food insecurity in Forest Park, Oak Park and our surrounding communities. You should expect more news about a new dining experience paired with another stage, and hundreds of opportunities to connect with your neighbors while enjoying music, food, good drinks and conversation.

A Live Music Venue & Community Gathering Space events

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obert’s Westside is your new favorite home for live music & community events. Showcasing artists of all generations and genres, bringing everything we love about diversity in programming to a community filled with music lovers. We want to invite you all to engage with your neighbors, explore new genres, and see groundbreaking touring artists.

7321 madison street, forest park, il robertswestside.com | @robertswestside

OAK PARK FESTIVAL THEATRE PRESENTS

WINTER READINGS AT PLEASANT HOME & CHENEY MANSION In partnership with The Droll, or a Stage-Play about the END of Theatre by Meg Miroshnik February 23 & 24

Imogen Says Nothing by Aditi Brennan Kapil March 22 & 23

Or, by Liz Duffy Adams April 26 & 27

Scan for more info

Admission includes a selection of beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres.

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SPRING PERFORMING ARTS

Special Advertising Section

Handel Week Festival 2024– Our Gala 25th Anniversary Season!

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ou are cordially invited to join us for the final two concerts of the Handel Week Festival 2024–Our Gala 25th Anniversary Season!

Sunday, Feb. 25, 3:00 pm The Intimate Handel: Sing and Play in Dulcet Tone

Join us as we present three distinctive solo cantatas of love and longing, sung in the rich crisp tones of soprano Rosalind Lee. Pair these with a fiendishly difficult Handel harpsichord suite played by Dennis Northway and two rarely heard sonatas for oboe and cello, performed by Deborah Stevenson and Steven Houser.

You’ll be beguiled by these treasures of Handel’s Italian years!

Sunday, March 3, 3:00 pm The King of Oratorios–The Messiah

Enjoy an unforgettable afternoon with the best-known and beloved oratorio of all time, performed by some of Handel Week’s favorite soloists (Kimberly

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Grandes Dames of the Chicago Black Renaissance

n May 4, the Michael Teolis Singers (MTS) will present one of the most ambitious and significant concerts in its 17-year history, “Grandes Dames of the Chicago Black Renaissance,” featuring the music of Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Lena McLin, Betty Jackson King, Irene Britton Smith, and Regina Harris-Baiocchi.

These amazing women developed their crafts in Chicago, leaving their special marks on the musical history and culture of the Windy City. The centerpiece of the concert is Margaret Bonds’ “Credo,” dedicated to the memories of her close friends Abbie Mitchell and Langston Hughes and featuring a text by W.E.B. DuBois.

MTS often performs uncovered gems that are important contributions to musical art. The May 4 concert—held at the First United Methodist Church of Oak Park--features works from Black women who were influenced by the

music and emotions that embodied the post-World War I Great Migration of Blacks from southern states to northern cities, often Chicago. Classically trained composers like Ms. Price and Ms. Bonds also flourished, producing significant works in non-idiomatic styles that are included in the upcoming program and even now influence the Chicago music scene.

MTS members are all volunteers, coming from all walks of life. Director and founder Michael Teolis has helped shape Chicago’s musical landscape for 50 years as a music education professional and freelance musician.

Maestro Teolis is a published composer, and many of his former students have achieved significant recognition in the music industry.

Learn more about MTS or purchase tickets at www.mtsingers.org.

McCord, Noah Gartner, Gerald Frantzen and Michelle Wrighte) along with our magnificent chorus and orchestra, under the seasoned baton of founding Artistic Director Dr. Dennis Northway.

Our audience members enjoy: • Free Parking On Site

• Handicapped Accessible Venue

• Group discounts for 10 or more tickets re–concert lecture before March 3 •P concert

• An acoustically excellent setting in the sanctuary of Pilgrim Church, 460 Lake St. • Receptions following each concert

Go to www.handelweek.com for tickets!

NEED TO REACH US?

email: erika@growingcommunitymedia.com

Homes

Keeping the ‘history’ in historic homes

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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The house at 221 S. Scoville in Oak Park won an Historic Preservation award for 2023.

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

Tony Roeder of Oak Park has been working as a general contractor with his company Marion Street Services for more than 10 years and has 35 years of experience in the industry. He sees Oak Park as a unique fit for his skills.

As other western suburbs have seen a proliferation of tear-downs and questionable new designs, Roeder said that Oak Park, with its Historic Preservation Commission, is more likely to value its historic architecture.

See PRESERVATION on page 34

MARION STREET SERVICES INC.

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BROKER ASSOCIATES ON ANOTHER OUTSTANDING YEAR

Margarita Lopez FOUNDER’S CLUB

Swati Saxena

FOUNDER’S CLUB

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Bethanny Alexander CHAIRMAN’S CLUB

Patricia D. McGowan CHAIRMAN’S CLUB

The Pelton Collaborative

CHAIRMAN’S CLUB

Oak Park River Forest Baird & Warner is authentically engaged in the communities we serve. Our agents and company donate a part of each transaction to make a difference through our charitable arm, Good Will Works which directly supports three causes: Financial Empowerment, Fair Housing, and Racial Equity in Chicagoland.

Our agents donate time and money to over 50 local charities and can have those funds matched by Baird & Warner to have a direct impact close to home. This year as an office we raised funds for and gave grants to, Sarah’s Inn, New Moms, Beyond Hunger and the Animal Care League.

Baird & Warner Oak Park | River Forest | 1037 Chicago Ave | 708.697.5900 | oakpark.bairdwarner.com *Source MRED

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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ONCE AGAIN WE’RE THE #1 OFFICE IN OAK PARK | RIVER FOREST | FOREST PARK WE CLOSED MORE VOLUME & UNITS THAN ANYONE ELSE IN 2023*

Mary Carlin

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PRESIDENT’S CLUB

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Lindsey Collier

Curtis Johnson

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Steve Green

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Maya Puentes

Bobbi Schaper Eastman

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Ann Keeney

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Mallory Slesser

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Baird & Warner Oak Park | River Forest | 1037 Chicago Ave | 708.697.5900 | oakpark.bairdwarner.com *Source MRED

Cathy Yanda

PRESIDENT’S CLUB

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

MARION STREET SERVICES INC.

The house after being stripped and siding removed

MARION STREET SERVICES INC.

Siding being removed

PRESERVATION

Modernizing history from page 31 Two of his recent projects exemplify the desire for homeowners to celebrate the historic while creating homes that are livable for modern families.

His recent restoration of 221 S. Scoville in Oak Park won an Historic Preservation award for 2023. Built in the late 1880’s, the Victorian home “had not been touched in many, many years,” according to Roeder.

The young couple who bought the house wanted something that was fun and livable and that brought back some of the original details of the home.

The first focus was on the exterior of the house. The home was covered with asphalt siding that Roeder posited was put on sometime shortly after World War II. Many of the Victorian details were damaged or missing. Roeder’s team replicated

the original details, and matched the cedar that had been damaged by the asphalt siding application.

“We brought it back to what it was,” he said. The home also got a new paint job that highlights its woodwork.

The home’s third floor was originally finished back in the 1880’s, and Roeder said not much had changed since then. He gutted the areas to create a playroom and bedrooms, and along the way added central air conditioning to the home.

While the home’s kitchen had been remodeled 15 or 20 years ago, Roeder’s team updated the space with new tile and countertops.

Throughout the roughly 10-month process, his team worked to preserve what Roeder called the classic charms of the home like the coffered ceilings on the first floor.

At another project just down the street in the historic district on Fair Oaks Avenue, Roeder had a client whose home had its original, one-car garage. Likely meant to house a Model-T car, the stucco garage was not functional for modern needs.

MARION STREET SERVICES INC.

Siding before being stripped Like the Scoville Avenue clients, these homeowners brought in architect Kim Smith, whom Roeder said is great at historic preservation projects. “She drove the design here,” he said.

With Smith’s design, Roeder’s team built a garage that is almost identical to the orig-

inal garage, but larger, next to the original garage. They worked to implement garage doors that matched the original and made sure to get the stucco details right, too.

Through both projects, Roeder and his clients worked with the Historic Preservation Commission for approval and guidance.

“I’m a big fan of the Historic Preservation Commission,” he said. “Susie Trexler and Michael Bruce with the village are doing everything in their power to make sure things are going smoothly for our clients.”

While Roeder has heard of people locally who want to diminish or destroy some of the charm of their historic homes, he said the biggest hardship he’d come across with clients and historic preservation occurs when clients have a failed terra cotta or cement tile roof.

“The cost to replace those is four to five times as high. I can see the hardship here.

I wish there was a better solution,” he said.

All-in-all, he said that his craftsmen are able to re-create original charm while making houses live better for their homeowners, and he credits the Historic Preservation Commission with keeping what he calls “abominations” out of Oak Park.

“You drive through some other communities,” he said, “and they’re putting up municipal buildings for homes.”

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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

VIEWPOINTS

Uncomfortable truths about migrants

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It’s traumatic!

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Any alien who … attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months …

8 U.S.C § 1325 Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA)

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ome may live in denial, but entering the United States illegally is a crime. The village of Oak Park has continually used the term “asylum-seeker” to hide the truth. First, the term “asylum-seeker” is misleading. Applicants seeking asylum protection have the burden of (1) proving that they suffered past persecution or have a well-founded fear of future persecution; (2) the applicant is a member of a protected ground (race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, political opinion); (3) there is a connection between the harm the applicant suffered and their protected ground; and (4) the applicant either fears harm from the home country’s government or the home country is unable or unwilling to control a private person. INA§101(a)(42)(A).

Asylum is designed to protect those who meet these four elements. In the fiscal year of 2023, asylum relief was denied in the majority of cases. While some individuals are genuinely escaping persecution, there are many others who unlawfully enter the United States for economic opportunities. This does not warrant asylum protection.

The primary job of a government is to keep its citizens safe. In 2023, Customs and Border Patrol had 3,201,144 encounters with illegal immigrants. A serious concern is the lack of vetting of illegal immigrants in the United States. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens stated on X (Twitter) that his agents arrested an average of 47 individuals every day in 2023 who had “serious criminal histories.” Moreover, those figures only included individuals who have been apprehended. In 2023, 860,000 “gotaways” unlawfully entered the United States. These individuals pose safety concerns since

JONATHAN PANTON One View

See JONATHAN PANTON on page 41

A migrant picks out shoes at the St. Edmund Migrant Center.

Loving our new neighbors

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n Feb. 29, when the village of Oak Park emergency order ends and our contracts with the Carleton and the YMCA expire, our new neighbors will have somewhere to go.

The road to get here from when more than 160 migrants sought refuge from the snow, the wind, and the bitter cold on Halloween night has been a bumpy one.

There is no sugar-coating the many 4-3 votes over the past four months. If any of these votes had failed, more than a hundred migrants, including dozens of children enrolled in our local schools, would have been evicted.

Even before the migrants’ arrival in Oak Park, it was clear that the village would need to respond and that the most sustainable path was to be a passthrough connecting federal, state, and county funding with local nonprofits.

On Oct. 30, the village board took up a motion by Trustee Chibuike Enyia to establish a village task force, secure funding and

BRIAN STRAW One View

See BRIAN STRAW on page 41

TODD BANNOR

What we must learn from the local migrant crisis

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ver the past four months, our community has faced a significant challenge with the arrival and support of migrants. This situation has forced us to declare an emergency and has consumed well over 75% of the village board’s time, both in meetings and in preparation. It also has consumed significant village staff bandwidth, focusing intensely on migrant care.

This singular focus has led to several critical community issues being sidelined: filling essential village leadership positions such as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), addressing vacancies in the police department that directly impact community safety, and engaging in crucial fiscal policy and economic vitality discussions, to mention a few.

The root of this issue can be

RAVI PARAKKAT One View

See RAVI PARAKKAT on page 41

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Things we like

ak Park is a mecca for bakeries. From the classic Oak Park Bakery on Oak Park Avenue, the village has erupted with fabulous pastries, bagels, cakes, pies and wonderful bread. Courageous Bakery. Spilt Milk. Broken Tart. Blackout Baking. Daly Bagel. Happy Apple.

Now comes Publican Bread. Opening on Harrison Street in the Arts District, Publican is a notable addition to our bakery bonanza. Welcome.

■ Flags are symbols. Symbols are powerful. Good for unifying. Good for hackle-raising. That’s why every village now needs two flagpoles. River Forest has just placed its order for a second flagpole to be located near the slightly taller original flagpole at village hall.

Because flags are symbols, they come with a lot of protocols.

American flag comes first, and on the taller pole. River Forest has its own flag which will top the second pole. Then comes the protocols for how to get a commemorative flag unfurled in River Forest. Proposed by a village trustee. Sixty days’ notice.

Can’t fly for more than 31 days in a row.

All good. All thoughtful. And a powerful symbol when the Ukrainian banner was flown in River Forest. We expect the Pride flag will fly each year. Perhaps the MIA flag or Black Lives Matter. These are small but notable declarations of community values. And worth the $4,236 investment in a second flagpole.

■ OPRF High School does a lot of things well. But a longstanding concern has been its ability to forge stronger connections with the parents of its Black students. Complicated and important issues make this a challenge. But the school keeps working at it.

So we’ll note that on Feb. 27 the school will host its annual National African American Parent Involvement Dinner. Organized by Ty Garland, the school’s outreach coordinator, the goal of the dinner is to make connections and, this year, share information with parents on how to urge their kids toward a college track.

Parents of local middle school students are also welcome to attend.

■ River Forest has just signed on for body-worn camera systems for its police officers. This is a good and necessary step and will result in better, safer, more equitable public safety for both the officers and citizens.

Police Chief James O’Shea has led the process of recommending a vendor who will both outfit the body-worn camera system but also replace the outmoded dashboard camera system that has been in place in River Forest squad cars for more than two decades. These new systems will be in place at some point in 2024, said O’Shea.

A good moment to remember that in deep-blue Illinois, the use of such cameras is mandated under the extensive public safety reforms of the SAFE-T Act. Illinois is now one of just seven states that mandate the use of body-worn cameras for police.

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New life for resurrecting people

affodils have declared an early spring, their tendril shoots rising from unfrozen soil, their version of holding a finger to the wind, to gauge whether it’s safe to emerge.

Snow drops are already up and flowered, but they seem to withstand anything the late-winter throws at them. Robins scour the softened soil in Scoville Park for worms, but that’s no marker of spring; they spend the winter here now. Just another sign of climate change.

Still, February is awfully early for green shoots. We fear for them, but flowers are heartier than we give them credit for, having evolved to handle the incremental Midwestern winter as it relaxes its grip, bowing before the ascendant sun. So maybe it’s an early spring after all, something that occurs so seldom, it challenges belief when it happens. The last one I recall was 1998.

Rev. Carl Morello, meanwhile, says we are a Resurrection people, which is easier to believe in the depths of Lent when the world around us seems to believe it, too, resuscitating after the deathliness of winter.

And easier to believe when someone like Patrick Damien McAnany is the focus of our fervent hope for an afterlife, as we gather under the barrel vault and dome of Ascension Church, the pews full of people his life touched. Pat closed his eyes to this life and opened them to the next, says Rev. Morello, flanked by past pastors and frocked friends, drawn to concelebrate his long life span. So we hope, so some believe though the details are fuzzy. A savior child is born, then dies, then rises to promise eternal life.

That’s the official story and we’re sticking with it.

An optimistic scenario to be sure, even for the less than sure. But Pat McAnany was a sure-fire optimist. He believed the world could be redeemed, and re-redeemed, and he worked to make it so, and never gave up hope. A former Jesuit who married a former woman religious, he and Char formed a firm team, committed to peace and justice.

Daffodils are optimists, too, encouraged by El Nino, which means “the child,” suggesting seasonal rebirth. As do memories that have taken up residence in this church, a virtual atmospheric river of residual lives swirling overhead, over my head anyway, in this church of my baptism and my coming of age. Many of those here today have likewise lived long, their stories filling this great vault of veneration with uplift and forward thinking, the concelebrants witnessing to an undying belief in whatever follows dying and offering this considerable consolation to those in the throes of letting the loved one go.

Outside, the world has gone cold again, and the daffodils might be suffering second thoughts about

their daft rush to reunite with their shining source. But the sunlight is indeed dazzling and sorely tempts belief in an early spring and sundry someday resurrections. So we keep one eye on the tomb and wait for signs of emergent life.

But even an early spring is cold. Ask the migrants if they feel lucky to arrive just in time for the warmest February on record and, shivering in response, they might point out that an El Norte winter is the least of their deprivations thus far.

They, too, are a resurrection people, and their rebirth will be retold down through the generations in blessed retrospect.

All of us here today have sanctified so many celebrations of death, and what comes next, in this very vault of wishful worship. So many have moved on, yet many are moving in to people the pews — pilgrims of hope with new lives pushing toward the light as if they had some say in the matter. Premature or right place, right time?

Still to be determined.

The kindly priest declares Pat McAnany a prime example of living hope, 94 years long, someone whose thirst for justice helped abolish the death penalty in this state, one of those who lived the kind of life that makes hope seem less audacious for the rest of us as we congregate here to defy death’s penalty.

Restless in life, wresting justice from resistance, restful in memory, we are a resurrecting people — like the withered oak leaves gamely clinging to their limbs through the long winter until the next generation emerges and nudges them gently on.

We could use an early spring.

Maybe, like the daffodils, we should boldly declare one.

KEN

TRAINOR

I won’t feel the flowing of the time when I’m gone All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I’m gone My pen won’t pour a lyric line when I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here …

Won’t see the golden of the sun when I’m gone And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I’m gone Can’t be singing louder than the guns when I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here …

All my days won’t be dances of delight when I’m gone And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I’m gone Can’t add my name into the fight when I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here …

Phil Ochs, “When I’m Gone” (For Pat)

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

by Marc Stopeck

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 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

About Viewpoints

Feeding the soul of this community

I love this community. This is my overwhelming sentiment as my job with Angie’s Pantry concludes this month with Angie’s retirement. I am part of the small cohort of longtime employees whose work became visible and intertwined with this community when Angie moved her company into the storefront on South Boulevard that’s been our home for six years.

It was a home built on the idea that food is nourishment for sure, but also hospitality, connection (communion in its most literal sense), comfort, joy and love. How I’ve loved, and will miss, the conversations about food in that kitchen, all of us working through the week’s menu while discussing what each cooked over the weekend or for a special occasion or memories evoked by a family recipe or great dishes to be tried at a nearby restaurant.

These great conversations extended to our amazing customers who let us into their homes, but also their lives, and took an interest in ours. And it’s been a privilege to witness the life of this community out-

side our busy window where people extend hospitality to strangers, comfort to friends, a joyful smile and wave at us, and kindness to many around them.

I’m deeply grateful to have become more connected to our community, and I will keep nourishing, comforting and celebrating with food because it is my love language, as with all of us at Angie’s. I hope you will too, in whatever way you can.

Keep considering a stranger as someone with whom you haven’t yet shared tea and lemon cake.

A new neighbor could probably use a batch of your mom’s molasses cookies. Collaborate on casseroles for someone struggling. If there’s only one dish you love to make, throw a potluck.

Anytime someone says that we, as a people, are so divided, gather people around food, around your table and converse. Keep feeding the soul of this community.

Julie Brich-Scheuring

Oak Park

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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OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Antisemitism is not just religion-based

s a Jewish resident of Oak Park, the father of an OPRF graduate and the grandfather of a future OPRF student, I am writing about defining what is or is not antisemitism. [Divisions over Israel-Hamas war create tensions at Oak Park and River Forest High School, News, Feb. 14].

In Oak Park, and at OPRF High School in particular, we need a definition of antisemitism. If you don’t know what it is, you can’t recognize it and act on it.

D200 board President Tom Cofsky and Supt. Greg Johnson are quoted as saying school policy already bans discrimination on the basis of religion. But Judaism is not just a religion. We have people who have strong Jewish identities but are secular. Judaism is a culture, a peoplehood, and a religion. We may not agree on everything but we are all Jews.

the perpetrators talking about “the Jews.” An Israeli flag got their attention, but they had the talk about “the Jews.” I am confident they were not talking about what good people we are.

After the 2015 massacre at the Hypercacher Kosher grocery in Paris. The gunman “... stated that he targeted the Jews at the Kosher grocery to defend Muslims, notably Palestinians.”

(Wikipedia) Someone targeted Jews in Paris to stand up to Israel, a linkage of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish thoughts and action. Notably, there were Muslim employees who were heroes, saving many lives.

There are other examples that are easily found on social media.

Thomas Milinovich is quoted in the Wednesday Journal article about prob-

The article on the turmoil roiling the campus quotes Thomas Milinovich and Rebekah Levin in opposition to a definition of antisemitism.

They fear that people will conflate anti-Israel criticisms and antisemitism to blunt antiIsrael statements. Their political concerns should not be allowed to stand in the way of a safe campus for all OPRF students, and Jewish students in particular.

Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel statements do get conflated. By anti-Jewish people, movements and countries.

My family has been flying an Israeli flag for well over a decade. We support Israel and its people. Before COVID, we had three vandalism incidents because of the flag within a 12-month period. During the last incident a neighbor overheard

ALAN PERES

One View

Senior citizen deferred tax payments Senior citizens 65 years of age or older who are struggling with property taxes can defer payment of their taxes until their homes or condominiums are sold. The Senior Citizen Tax Deferral Program allows seniors to defer as much as $7,500 of their property tax bill every year. In prior years, the maximum amount that could be deferred was $5,000.

To qualify for the deferral program, seniors must have annual household income of less than $65,000, have equity in their homes that exceeds the sum of property taxes deferred, and have lived in their homes for at least three years. Two-flats and other properties that generate rental income are not eligible for the program. Properties held in a trust are also ineligible, although there are some exceptions to this rule. Applications must be submitted by March 1.

The tax deferral program is essentially a loan from the state that is charged simple interest.

The annual interest rate used to be 6% per year, but the rate has been reduced to 3% for new deferrals taken out this year.

To assure repayment of the deferral loan when the property is sold, a lien is placed on the senior’s home. Having a lien placed on a

home is often considered a bad thing. But a home mortgage is also a lien on the home, and no one views mortgages in a negative light.

Liens, whether for mortgages or property taxes, are merely designed to ensure that the lent money is repaid.

There are some circumstances, however, where senior citizens might not want a lien on their homes. Seniors uncertain about whether to apply can speak with the Township Assessor’s Office, but should also consider discussing the matter with legal advisers, financial advisers or family members.

Those interested in the deferral program should also apply for other tax benefits available to senior citizens. If you are eligible for the deferral, you should also be eligible for the Senior Freeze and the Senior Exemption. By applying for the other senior benefits, you will reduce your property tax liability, which may reduce the deferred tax that will eventually be repaid.

Seniors with additional questions about the deferral can call the Oak Park Township Assessor’s Office at 708-383-8005.

Ali ElSaffar

Oak Park Township assessor

lems his daughter has experienced as a MENA student. No student should be the target of hate. MENA is Middle Eastern and North African. Jews from North Africa and the Middle East also refer to themselves as MENA. There is an organization named JIMENA, or Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa. Are Jewish MENA students at OPRF welcome as part of the MENA club? Would the club and its advisors support them as it does Arab and Muslim students?

To those who say a policy prohibiting discrimination based on religion is sufficient, evidence suggests it is not. The students reporting being bullied are being singled out because of their identities.

Don’t let politics stand in the way of our children’s safety and ability to learn.

Alan Peres Oak Park

D97 showed the way on safe gun storage at home

After months of deliberation, it was gratifying to witness District 97’s unanimous approval of the gun storage education policy. Now it is time for District 200 to follow suit.

Safe storage of guns has been shown to decrease firearms deaths. In 2020, firearm-related injuries became the leading cause of death for children and teens under 18.

Teen suicides are the highest they’ve been in 20 years. The Harvard School of Public Health found that for youth ages 18 and under, 79% used a firearm belonging to a family member. While the risk of suicide is lowest in families with no firearms at home, among gun-owning families, youths living in homes in which all firearms are stored unloaded and locked are at a lower risk for suicide than those living in homes in which firearms are not stored securely. Ninety-four percent of gun suicide attempts result in death.

Teens can be impulsive. Mechanisms that create time and space between acquiring a lethal means and someone experiencing crisis are proven to reduce the risk of suicide because it gives the individual something they crucially need: time.

Providing information for safe gun storage is important and easy. The school, one of the most influential institutions in a family’s life, needs to be an advocate for this. Hopefully, D200, following D97’s example, will take action in the near future.

Judy Gaietto-Grace

Oak Park Member, Gun Responsibility Advocate

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OPRF needs a working definition of antisemitism

I thank Bob Skolnik and Wednesday Journal for last week’s well-researched and balanced story about divisions over the Israel-Hamas war at OPRF High School [News, Feb. 14].

I believe the high school does need to define antisemitism for DEI purposes because it needs a yardstick to determine when statements or actions are antisemitic: ■ The DEI policy needs to prohibit hostile acts/speech not only toward individuals who belong to a group subject to discrimination, but also against the group itself. The swastika airdropped onto phones during an assembly in 2018 was an example of the latter.

■ Jews are clearly targets of hostility, along with Muslims, Arabs, racial minorities, and people with disabilities or members of the LGBTQ+ community.

According to the FBI, Jews were second only to African Americans as hate crime victims in 2022. Antisemitic acts are up 400% since Oct. 7. What valid reason is there to exclude Jews from OPRF’s written DEI policy?

■ Ironically, those quoted as opposing inclusion of antisemitism in the policy

demonstrate why it’s needed. They fear a definition would be weaponized to stifle criticism of Israel. In fact, it can do precisely the opposite because things can get confusing. Criticism of Israel’s government is not antisemitic. Denying the Jewish people the right to national self-determination — denying Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state — is antisemitic. Double standards like this — or including Arabs/ Muslims in a DEI policy but excluding Jews — are antisemitic.

The definition and examples of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance make these and other clear distinctions. OPRF would do well to adopt them.

Sources: ■ FBI report: https://www.justice.gov/ crs/highlights/2022-hate-crime-statistics ■ Reuters story on increase in antisemitic acts: https://www.reuters.com/world/ us/us-antisemitic-incidents-up-about400-since-israel-hamas-war-began-reportsays-2023-10-25/ ■ IHRA antisemitism definition: https:// holocaustremembrance.com/resources/ working-definition-antisemitism

Judith Alexander Oak Park

Solar power is for everyone

The concept of powering our lives from the sun’s free, endless energy is irresistible. But it’s not just for those who can install solar panels on their rooftops.

With “community solar,” anyone with an electric utility account — renters and condo owners included — can participate in generating solar energy.

By subscribing to community solar, you save money on your electric bill while boosting the amount of renewable energy fed into the electrical grid from which we all draw. Together, community solar subscribers are helping Illinois toward its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050.

They include thousands of households as well as business and institutions, such as Northwestern University.

It’s easy to apply for a community solar account: all you need is a recent electricity

bill. And there are typically no application or early cancellation fees. Some community solar vendors construct solar “farms” on underutilized farmland, thereby supporting Illinois’ rural economy. The more people subscribe to community solar, the more solar capacity is developed. Everyone wins.

Where to start? The Citizens Utility Board, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization advocating for utility customers, offers an excellent resource at https:// www.citizensutilityboard.org/solar-in-thecommunity, including comparisons of the various vendors serving our area as well as information about Solar For All, the state’s community solar program for lowincome Illinoisans.

Wendy Greenhouse Oak Park

One good turn deserves a coffee

To the kind soul who slipped coffee money into my recent Book Table purchase: I’d love to meet for coffee and hear about your husband, who loved books. Call the Book Table and they’ve agreed to put us in touch!

Meghan Strubel Oak Park

Why is a criminal running Congress?

We hear so often that, in many prisons, it’s the inmates — street gangs, primarily — who are in charge.

Through threats and actual deeds of violence, prison administrators and guards are cowed and cowering, not doing their duties under law. Criminals, not crime-fighters, rule over daily life.

The same is too often true in communities and neighborhoods close by. Fear of harm, even death, overrides any impulse suffering residents may feel to protest, much less to take real, concerted action against criminal gangs. Law enforcement gets little or no information or cooperation in their efforts to identify and charge the perpetrators who seem to be running rampant.

Those who know something don’t say something because, very simply, they are scared to death. They don’t want to risk their lives, or the lives of their loved ones.

That same toxic dynamic is at work in our national politics, sad to say. A convicted criminal facing dozens of other charges, Donald Trump, strikes fear into the heart of any GOP officeholder who might dare to oppose him.

He goes on vicious attack, threatening to banish him or her in the next election. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are Exhibits A and B. So craven sycophants that they are, almost every Republican in Congress bows a knee to Trump, swearing fealty to MAGA ideology and idiocy.

My questions for them are these: How can they look themselves in the mirror every morning? And when, if ever, will they wake up to what they have become — inmates in gang leader Trump’s prison?

Fred Reklau Oak Park

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Coming to terms with Valentine’s Day

alentine’s Day is one of the lesser commercial holidays, well behind Christmas and the Fourth of July, so it doesn’t take up a huge amount of calendar-attention real estate. If we’re being honest, you’re not reading a column about Valentine’s Day if the publication date is any but this one. But today it is, so here we go: I never know how to field Valentine’s Day because I don’t want to be predictably cynical.

We cannot always choose our feelings, though, so buckle up.

Hear me out. I know I have been candid about my distaste for St Patrick’s Day (still the dumbest holiday and by a wide margin). But I dearly love the pageantry of Christmas and I think Super Bowl Sunday is basically me replicating my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, but with better food, so I can criticize this one with a clear conscience.

As a holiday Valentine’s Day peaks around 17, when you still hold hope that the awkwardness of love’s learning curves can be for one night conquered by the cleanly scripted path of holiday ritual.

(Spoiler: It cannot.)

Valentine’s Day quickly climbs in both obligate expense and boozy-tiff incidence until it settles into a place roughly equivalent in import to a minor anniversary despite it often feeling like one :airquotes: should :airquotes: be doing more. New

Year’s Eve follows a similar trajectory.

Eventually, though, you walk into Walgreens, February 1, and everything is red and overpriced and heart-shaped and you kinda roll your eyes to yourself and the word “tawdry” drifts through your head and you think, “Are we still doing this? Haven’t we grown?” and then you realize sadly that this is who you are now. Sadly, because you don’t want to be that cynic. You still want the excitement (on both sides of the equation) when there are flowers before homeroom period. You want the excitement of being young and on a date on a day where there’s a little extra English on you two being there together. You remember what it feels like to make that majorthen/minor-now statement “What we are is important enough for Valentine’s Day.” And as you think about it, you maybe come around to the idea that it’s actually nice that we kinda devote a holiday to love.

One can disambiguate an idea from its implementation.

I wish we’d open it up more, though. If we let it be less about romantic gestures and more about love, it’d be a lot more inclusive.

Which seems a good thing for a holiday about love to be.

Alan Brouilette writes a monthly column for the Forest Park Review, a Growing Community Media publication.

ALAN

BROUILETTE

Gaza has been under attack since Oct. 7, after Hamas launched its brutal attack on Israel. Since then, more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed, many of them children. Another 10,000 are estimated to be buried under the rubble. Millions have been displaced from their homes, and a majority of all homes and other structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

NIC MCKELVEY, JANUARY, 2023.

Hey, Pete’s, build or get off the lot

Hmmm ... Just for yucks, I did a search to see when I last submitted a letter to the editor about the gaping hole I look at every day, a hole that was supposed to be a grocery store named Pete’s Fresh Market, a hole that was going to make up for the destroyed historic structure that it was supposedly replacing, a hole present since winter of 2021.

My letter is now 6 months old and I challenge anyone to do an aerial photo of the Pete’s “construction site,” and I use the term loosely, and show me anything that has changed in these 6 months. We have been extraordinarily hope-filled and patient.

But for crying out loud, it is time for the developer, at the very least, to issue weekly progress reports to those

Calling for a ceasefire

The Israeli government has imposed a complete blockade on Gaza and is monitoring movement within Gaza at military checkpoints. Restrictions on aid and fuel entering Gaza have compounded the humanitarian crisis. People are going hungry and running out of water. Hospitals have sustained significant damage from Israel’s bombing and army invasion,

and are in desperate need of supplies and staff. Although some humanitarian aid has reached Gaza, it falls way below the enormous need. We are now in the winter months and people are suffering from the cold as well as hunger. The population in Gaza is now on the verge of famine.

We call for immediate humanitarian access for Gaza. We urge all legislators to

who live in our community.

Give us something! Immediate visual relief would also be a start.

Pete’s needs to have the metal fencing either replaced or reinserted at 90 degrees wherever it is leaning sideways or forward or back. And fix the mesh fencing panels that have been waving in the breeze since 2021 and look every bit as decrepit as the property they fence. And pick up the trash on the perimeter of the parcel at least once a week.

We have had more good weather for construction days than I can count.

Build! Or at the very least improve the visuals.

Lynn Grogan Oak Park

insist that all involved parties adhere to international humanitarian and human rights law and we call for a permanent cease-fire and a negotiated end to the war.

We as Quakers reaffirm our 400-year history of opposition to all war.

Garnet Fay and Pam Timme, co-clerks Oak Park Friends Meeting

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

JONATHAN PANTON Saying no to illegal immigrants from page 35 their criminal backgrounds and whereabouts are unknown to law enforcement agencies.

Oak Park’s Village Board broke its duty to residents by approving a $1.9 million grant providing various services for immigrants, some of whom may be illegal. The $360,000 allocated toward giving illegal immigrants various legal services is wasteful. The role of the government is to provide public services like police, fire, roads, schools.

I don’t recall the village paying for residents’ legal services spent appealing their outrageous property tax bills. Yet Oak Park has no issue doling out money for legal representation to individuals whose first act in the United States may have been a crime.

Sources: ■ https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/ stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics ■ Asylum denied in majority of cases in 2023 • https://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/asylum/ ■ Border Patrol had 3,201,144 encounters with illegal immigrants • https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/ stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics ■ Border Patrol Chief quote regarding

agents arresting more than 47 individuals every day in 2023 who had “serious criminal histories.”

• https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ illegal-immigrants-serious-criminalhistories-trying-cross-border-daily ■ 860,000 “gotaways” in 2023

• https://www.cbo.gov/system/ files/2024-01/59697-Demographic-Outlook. pdf#page=9 ■ Oak ÒPark awarded a $1.9 million grant and $360,000 will go toward legal services • https://www.oakpark.com/2024/02/02/ oak-park-awarded-1-9m-to-assist-asylumseekers/ Jonathan Panton is a River Forest resident and a graduate of OPRF High School, class of 2017.

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BRIAN STRAW Living our values from page 35 coordinate with outside experts. That night the board approved one part of the motion, allocating $150,000 to supporting asylum seekers in a unanimous vote. Our greatest misstep was failing to establish a task force and secure outside expertise. Doing so would have facilitated stronger collaboration with community partners and likely provided an off-ramp from direct village involvement sooner.

When the migrants did arrive, Oak Park was presented with a stark choice: embrace our new neighbors in alignment with our stated values or lock and bar the door. We chose to live out our values and for nearly four months, the village has been directly involved in providing shelter and food to our new neighbors.

Many of us believed that Oak Park would receive state and county money to support our response. And this past week, village staff confirmed that the entire migrant response has either been covered by state grants or will be covered by Cook County reimbursement allocated for a suburban response to the migrant crisis.

This month we were faced with a simpler choice. We could accept grant money specifically allocated to supporting our new neighbors or reject the money and evict these migrant families. I, and the majority of my colleagues, chose the former.

The state, which is providing grant funding for transitional shelter and resettlement efforts, only gave staff a few days to

RAVI PARAKKAT

Learning lessons from the migrant crisis from page 35 traced back to the actions of a few individuals who bused 200 migrants to Oak Park. To date, no one has been held accountable for these actions. The Oak Park Village Board’s subsequent decision to take on the responsibility of migrant care without a clear plan anchored to our limitations as a village, and also without defined outcomes for success, was equally at fault. Both demonstrated poor judgment and continue to place considerable strain on both village staff and resources.

In response to the village board’s initial decision, various community members, village staff, and institutions like Housing Forward, West Cook YMCA, Beyond Hunger, local churches and others have stepped up admirably, offering their support to meet the evolving needs of the migrant population. These contributions are commendable and deserve recognition. I always have favored a volunteer-led and privately funded migrant response and not a village government-led response.

Over the past four months, we have witnessed the mission of migrant care expand from saving lives from the harsh winter for a couple of days, to seeing the winter through, and now to resettlement efforts over the next 12+ months, with the cost and risk associated with these actions also scaling.

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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submit the grant application. While an open-bid process would have been preferable, given the urgency, staff chose initiatives run by community volunteers who had been supporting the migrants for months.

Westside Services Connector is opening the Oak Park Family Transitional Shelter. This effort is entirely funded by state grant money. Because the budget assumes full occupancy, costs associated with the program will decrease as migrants are resettled, resulting in unused grant money being returned.

The resettlement effort is led by a volunteer task force supported by the Community of Congregations — a coalition of faith communities that has helped seed service organizations, including Beyond Hunger, Housing Forward and Celebrating Seniors.

Their efforts are receiving $150,000 from the village to supplement state grant money and provide a full year of stable housing.

This will allow our new neighbors the time needed to receive work authorization and become self-sufficient. Every dollar goes directly to rental assistance with no overhead costs.

For months, volunteers have mobilized and organized, securing basic necessities for our new neighbors and advocating alongside them. Many of these volunteers are the same people who have advocated for Oak Park to live up to its spoken values for years.

On Halloween night, and in the four months since, Oak Park has been presented with the same choice: live according to our values or turn away from those values. I am proud that a majority of the board has consistently voted to live into those values and, as a result, our new neighbors will still have a roof over their head on March 1.

Brian Straw is an Oak Park village trustee.

We have strung together a series of emergency declarations to support these efforts. The response has been inefficient and inequitable compared to our efforts on behalf of other marginalized groups. So far $20,000 has been spent on care per migrant which translates to $80,000 for a family of four. While we have received grants from the state and county, that money is still taxpayer funded and its inefficient use impacts us all.

To make matters worse, every village board decision on this topic is not only making the inefficiencies and inequities of the current response more permanent, but is setting a concerning precedent: a precedent that puts us at risk, based on the initial action of a few individuals.

The many questions and concerns surrounding the migrant crisis necessitate a transparent examination of the actions and decisions that led us here. Without implementing safeguards to prevent the recurrence of similar actions and the domino effect of decisions that followed, we remain exposed.

While the support extended to migrants reflects our community’s compassion, it also serves as a reminder of the complexities involved in crisis management and the importance of thoughtful planning and sound decision-making. As we navigate these challenges, it is crucial to learn from this experience and establish a more robust and equitable framework for decision-making that balances humanitarian efforts with the broader needs of our community, ensuring a more efficient, affordable and equitable approach for all.

Ravi Parakkat is an Oak Park village trustee.

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

V I E W P O I N T S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

HELP WANTED:

RELIABLE PART TIME BUS DRIVER NEEDED 1 HOUR A DAY

Magical Minds Studio in Oak Park is looking for an experienced driver for their 14 passenger bus.

No special license is required.

Must be 21 or older with a good driving record. $30/hour, $150 a week: M, T, Th, F 2:45-3:45p.m., Wed 2:15-3:15p.m.

To apply, call: 708-351-3869

PROGRESSIVE DISORDER AN EVENING OF READINGS, MUSIC AND THAI DESSERTS Sunday, March 3 @ 7:00 pm St. Paul Thai Lutheran Church 7416 Dixon St. Forest Park

Liberate village hall!

Yesterday I went to village hall for the first time in a few years and was shocked by what I saw. Instead of the sunny open atrium and welcoming building I remembered, I encountered a fortress that might have been appropriate at the height of COVID, but not now. The people I spoke with talked to me from behind plexiglass barriers and the entire atmosphere was extremely unwelcoming.

No wonder there was discussion about

possibly tearing the building down. If I walked into that building every day as it is now, I would not feel very positive about it either. Like the Metra station, one wonders what impression this must give others about Oak Park. When are those barriers going to be removed and village hall return to its former appearance?

It’s past time.

Joyce Porter

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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On the anniversary of Doug Wyman’s death

oug and Barbara Wyman were active Oak Parkers for 60 years. They loved Oak Park and Oak Park loved them back.

Last October I took a long walk on the Camino de Santiago in Spain to reflect on, and heal from, the previous year. Over the prior 9 months, time imposed its will on our family. Dad left his beloved Oak Park home of 38 years and passed away four months later (Feb. 24, 2023). Soon after, our oldest sibling, Dave, suffered a severe stroke.

Three months later, Mark, the third sibling, died unexpectedly.

The Wymans were on grief overload.

Our mother Barbara, who was a master at swearing without really swearing, would have called it “A real Shoot Show” or “The Year from Heck.”

As I walked the Camino, I felt sadness, but also an overwhelming sense of gratitude and awe at all the wonderful Oak Parkers who stepped up for us: They brought boundless love, support, guidance, food, shelter, stories, songs, labor, laughs and tears. The undercurrents were kindness, generosity and courage when the path was hard and

laced with sorrow.

I grew up in Oak Park, but left when I was young. Returning in my 60s, I realized that Oak Park isn’t just a community, but as Ken Trainor states in his book, Our Town Oak Park, it is a way of life. “It is the alchemy that takes place when we interact … we become better individuals when we intersect.” Our family greatly benefited from this rich alchemy.

I don’t have space to acknowledge the hundreds who helped us but will list a few.

■ Renee and the 1000 S. Scoville block: the surrogate family allowing Dad to stay in his home until age 94.

■ Ascension parishioners who were Doug and Barb’s spiritual family for 60 years.

■ All the marching saints of “Extending the Word.”

■ Our angels, Mary Lou and (the recently ascended) John Dwyer.

■ The joyous pool-playing gang, especially for that last 8 ball!

■ Lauretta: for everything!

■ Doris and the All Things Local radio show for getting Doug back to radio.

■ The best caregivers ever: Joycee, Vella and Sheila.

■ To American House, Dad’s last earthly home.

■ Immeasurable thanks to David Wyman’s community, especially Mike Sullivan and the Goldyburger’s folks.

■ A very special shout-out to Jim Flanagan of the Celebrating Seniors Coalition, a man of incredible skill, wisdom, generosity, and love of elders.

■ And to the women who surely saved Dave’s life — Maggie, Laura and Robyn, along with his incredible wife Danita.

With divisiveness rampant, I wanted to celebrate Oak Park’s connections and inclusiveness. It seems right to close with some of Dad’s words. Imagine him saying these with his deep voice: “Keep on loving your neighbor. Serve and serve some more. Give 20 hearty hugs a day. Call someone and sing, ‘I just called to say I love you!’ And Donate to the CROP Walk!”

From all of the Wymans, thank you so much for your love, support and kindness.

We have seen the Soul of Oak Park. It is all

MARY WYMAN One View

of you.

Mary Wyman, an Oak Park native, is the 5th of 9 Wyman “kids.”

If it’s to be, it’s up to you and me Doug Wyman submitted this prior to the 2020 election. Doug died a year ago, but he would feel it is all the more important for the upcoming 2024 election: was born on Jan. 9, 1928, the first year of the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover was running for his second term right after the Depression started. My grandfather, Patty Farley heard that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was going to run for president against him. He listened to FDR and soon realized that he was calling for a revolution in our government.

At age 4, he took me out with him and since he couldn’t climb up the stairs, gave me the information on FDR to put between the doors and he would always say to me,

I

“In between the doors, me boy, so it won’t fly away.” We went about 10 blocks and he said, “OK, that will do it.” And FDR won. My grandfather said, “You see, me boy, we got Franklin elected — if it’s to be, it’s up to you and me.”

In the first four years, FDR called for many changes. And quite a few happened; change was a-coming. Four years later, I was 8 years old and he said, “Now me boy, you’ve got stronger legs. And the Republicans are telling all kinds of lies about FDR. I will walk with you and we will do a whole precinct.” Which we did. FDR was elected once again. And wouldn’t you know it, Grandpa said, “You see, me boy, we

did it again — we got Franklin elected. If it’s to be, it’s up to you and me.”

In 1940, FDR ran again. My grandfather came down with cancer and could not walk the streets. He said, “Now you’re 12 years old; you’ve got strong legs. Here are enough pamphlets for you to do two precincts. And remember, me boy, put them in between the doors so they don’t blow away.” Franklin won again. My grandfather hugged me, and said once more, “You and I did it again. And always, always remember. If it’s to be, it’s up to you and me.”

Now for everyone reading this, we have

DOUGLAS WYMAN One View

one of the most important elections in the history of our country coming up in November. Do not listen to the pollsters who say Trump is way behind because he and his companions are going to pull as many dirty tricks as they can. Assume we’re starting off with a tie. Get out there, knock on the door, pass the literature, talk to everyone you know, particularly in the states that are close, and believe this: If it’s to be it’s up to you and me.

Doug’s daughter Mary recalls that her dad often wore a T-shirt with the acronym YCGADSOYA. He would pull it out especially around election times. People would try to guess its meaning: “You Can’t Get Anything Done Sitting On Your Ass.”

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

O B I T U A R I E S

Ken Trainor’s “Our Town Oak Park – Walk with Me, in Search of True Community”…

“… is like finding love letters at the bottom of a sock drawer.

They are familiar but new, old yet young. They cover life’s spectrum: the grand, the small, the joyful, the sad. He has put into words the collective thoughts of our better selves. This is a book you will read many times.”

(McLouis Robinet) “… takes us into the lives of its residents, to the benches and pathways of its parks, and the challenges and inspiration of a town working overtime to create COMMUNITY – not community as in a geographically defined set of coordinates, but a sense of place that nurtures and sustains its residents.” (Rebekah Levin) “… invites readers to celebrate a simple, low-tech stroll around his hometown, discovering the fascinating villagers who make this community the eccentric, unique, cantankerous, and inspirational place it is for so many of us.” (Frank Lipo) Join this “pedestrian friendly” journey of discovery (and rediscovery) through a community like no other yet, in essential ways, like all others.

“Our Town Oak Park” is available at the Book Table, the Oak Park River Forest History Museum, the Wright Home & Studio’s Ginkgo Tree Bookshop, the Oak Park Public Library, and online sites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

John Dwyer Sr., 91 Union vp, fair housing activist

John B. Dwyer Sr., 91, died of a brief illness on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024 at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, surrounded by family. Born on Christmas Day, 1932 in Chicago to the late Marguerite (nee Maher) and Martin “Matt” Dwyer, he was the fourth of seven children, all preceding him in death (David, Jay, William, Barbara, Thomas and Mary Virginia).

A U.S. Army veteran, John, or “Biff ” as he was affectionately known to close friends, was a longtime resident of Oak Park and later Forest Park. A graduate of Fenwick High School in 1949, he starred as an offensive lineman on the Friars football team, and earned an academic/athletic scholarship to the University of San Francisco, starring for the 1951 Dons football team, which went untied and undefeated that season. He returned home and finished his academic career at Loyola University Chicago.

He was an activist on the frontline, supporting the Oak Park Fair Housing Ordinance of 1968, and was a member of the Oak Park Community Relations Committee. During the late 1960s and early ’70s, he worked with like-minded realtors to fight redlining and successfully integrate the village of Oak Park.

Spending more than 30 years in organized labor with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) at Local 66 (later merged with SEIU’s Chicago Local 25), he began his career as a business agent and advanced through the ranks before retiring in 1996 as executive vice president. With Local 66 representing thousands of Chicago elevator operators, he often quipped that his job had its “ups and downs.”

A voracious reader and avid golfer who also loved a game of billiards, bocce ball and poker. He lived a faith-filled life serving others in ministries, such as Housing Forward, Ascension Ministers of Care, Loyola Minister of Communion, and Extending the Word. He could often be seen shuttling from one Oak Park home or Forest Park rehabilitation facility to another, ministering to the sick, dispensing communion and reading scripture.

He was a proud charter member of the

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM legendary “Bombers” men’s group on Chicago’s West Side, which started as a softball team and morphed into a longtime familyoriented social group that hosted unforgettable annual parties.

John was the husband of Mary Lou (nee Kurtz) for almost 20 years and the late Kathleen A. (nee Arado) for 46 years; the father of Stephen, Mark and John Jr.; the stepfather of Julie (Steve) Forbes, Erik Lind (Irene Glazer), and Jon Lind (Molly Rose Elkins-Ryan); the grandfather of Neil, Kathleen, Kyan Dwyer and Joshua Chavez; the step-grandfather of Alicia, Tyler and Micah; and the uncle of many beloved nieces and nephews.

Friends and family will gather at Ascension Church, 808 S. East Ave., Oak Park, at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 24, followed by a memorial service at 10:30. Burial is private.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Housing Forward or St. Peter’s in the Loop.

Arrangements were handled by ConboyWestchester Funeral Home.

Jeff Fort, 83

Math teacher, textbook editor, golf shop operator Jeffrey Spain Fort Sr., 83, died on Jan. 31, 2024. Born in Oak Park on July 20, 1940 to Jean and Spain Fort, at Oak Park and River Forest High School, he was voted All-Around Athlete, excelling in football, basketball and baseball. He was awarded a basketball scholarship to Bradley University and went on to play football at the University of Illinois, Michigan State University and Northern Illinois University.

After earning his master’s degree in mathematics, he taught math and coached in Tiskilwa and Sterling, Illinois, and Maine East High School. He furthered his career at Scott Foresman in Northbrook as an editor and in sales of mathematics textbooks.

After he retired, he opened a golf shop in Melrose Park.

Jeff married Dea Westergaard in 1963 and they had five children: Traci, Tammi (Eric) Kumerow, Terri (Mike) Kallas, Steffani (John) LeFevour, and Jeff Jr. (Sara).

He had 15 grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren and was preceded in death by his daughter, Traci, and his second wife, Dee Lee. He is also survived by his sister, Debbie Buckley.

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

45

SPORTS OPRF, Fenwick finish 1 , 2 in the Leyden Sectional st

nd

By LAUREN RECCHIA Contributing Reporter

Both the OPRF and Fenwick boys swimming teams performed well at the sectional at Leyden Saturday, but it was the Huskies who came out on top.

OPRF (236 points) were sectional champions, as they placed first in five individual events and also finished first in the 200yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay, and 400-yard freestyle relay.

“I felt awesome,” said OPRF senior Lars Rauch, who won the 100-yard freestyle with a state qualifying time of 46.44 as well as placing third with a state qualifying time of 21.36 in the 50-yard freestyle. “It’s my senior year and this is a great way to go out for sectionals and now we have state coming up. To put out a performance like that was awesome.”

Rauch was also on the winning 200-yard freestyle relay (1:24.75) and 400-yard freestyle (3:07.46) relay teams. The 200-yard freestyle relay team consisted of senior Adan Pedraza, junior Will Keyes, senior Joshua Wood, and Rauch.

“It’s great to compete and have the crowd behind you, especially on relays when you’re up on the block and can feed off that energy and it almost makes you go faster,”

STEVE JOHNSTON

Oak Park and River Forest’s Will Keyes swims the 200 yard Freestyle during the Swimming Sectionals at Leyden High School Saturday, Feb. 17, in Franklin Park. he said. “It was great that the JV guys and the rest of the varsity team care that much about the program to come and support us.”

Huskies head coach Clyde Lundgren received the Coach of the Year Award at the

event as voted by the other coaches, and he gives full credit to the team’s overall effort throughout the season.

“It’s great to get the award,” Lundgren said. “But I did zero laps in the water, so

these guys deserve it. It’s nice for the program to get recognized for the accomplishments that we had.”

Fenwick (206 points) placed second in the sectional, as they qualified for state in five individual events as well as in the 200-yard medley relay (1:34.35), 200-yard freestyle relay (1:24.82), and 400-yard freestyle relay (3:07.64). Sophomore Patrick Rhatigan took third place in the 500-yard freestyle with a state qualifying time of 4:39.93, while senior Owen McDonald had a season best time of 4:52.91 in the same event.

“We were feeling really good,” McDonald said. “We’ve been wearing drag suits with no caps all season to add drag, and this was our first chance to really lose a lot of that drag and move faster.”

“I think the energy overall was amazing,” added Friars senior Cameron Estes, who placed 7th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.57. “The team really came together, and the crowd was enormous with people supporting us.”

First year head coach Spencer Walker is proud of the progress they’ve made.

“It’s been going well,” Walker said. “We have a lot of great seniors with lots of good energy. We’ve had a lot of great moments.

I’m just happy that the guys got the swims they deserve today.”

OPRF, Fenwick boys ready for postseason hoops Huskies, Friars enter the state tournament optimistic

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

Taking a look at the Oak Park and River Forest High School boys basketball team’s record of 8-16 (3-9 in West Suburban Silver), it would be easy to dismiss their postseason chances.

But a closer look shows that the Huskies

were competitive for the most part, as six of the losses were by four points or less, while a seventh loss came in overtime.

“We just weren’t able to get consistent play this season,” said OPRF coach Phil Gary. “We had a lot of close games that we couldn’t finish down the stretch.”

Still, Gary is optimistic about OPRF’s chances in this year’s IHSA Class 4A tournament. The Huskies, who host a regional, are seeded 12th in the Maine South sectional.

“We’re starting to trend up,” Gary said.

“In our last game at York (69-65 loss on Feb. 13), we had one bad quarter, the third. But we played well the other three quarters.”

While he doesn’t necessarily guarantee two victories, Gary sees OPRF starting the postseason at home as a plus.

“I think we’ll have a nice crowd for that first game,” he said. “We’ve had some really good practices lately, and if we stick to the game plan against Niles North, I think we have a good shot of beating them.”

OPRF’s regional opener is Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Should the Huskies prevail, either New Trier or Taft await in the regional title game, Feb. 23.

“Niles North is a team that can score and shoots lots of threes,” Gary said. “We will need to focus on the defensive end more

and have a low turnover amount in order to shock teams.”

Fenwick Fenwick made David Fergerson’s head coaching debut a solid one, finishing the regular season with a 16-10 record (3-5 in the Chicago Catholic League Blue).

“We’re feeling pretty good,” Fergerson said. “We’ve been having some good days in practice, and we should have enough rest and be ready.”

See BASKETBALL on page 46

46

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

S P O R T S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

OPRF wrestler Ogunsanya earns All-State honors Fenwick’s Cameron makes final day of state bowling finals

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

Oak Park and River Forest High School sophomore David Ogunsanya was named All-State at the IHSA individual state wrestling finals held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s State Farm Center, Feb. 15-17.

Ogunsanya (37-11) finished sixth in the Class 3A 150-pound weight class. He defeated Dominic Serio of West Aurora 15-10 in the first round, but lost 6-0 to Rhenzo Augusto of Barrington in the quarterfinals.

He had to win two wrestlebacks to gain All-State status, and he accomplished that feat, defeating Sandburg’s Zac Ritter 10-5, then winning via injury default over Jase Salin of Lincoln-Way West to guarantee a medal and top-six finish.

Ogunsanya had a chance to finish as high as third, but lost the final wrestleback 7-0 to Gavin Connolly of St. Charles East.

He subsequently lost 3-1 in the fifth-place match to Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson. Still, gaining All-State honors is a significant achievement for Ogunsanya, who narrowly missed qualifying for last year’s state tournament by one match and underwent surgery in the offseason on his ACL. OPRF had three other wrestlers downstate. At 106, freshman Michael Rundell (32-10) won his opener via pinfall at 1:31 over Logan Conover of Marmion Academy.

But he lost in the quarterfinals via major decision (15-3) to Warren’s Caleb Noble, then lost the wrestleback via major decision (8-0) to Kaleb Pratt of Barrington.

At 138, junior Joe Knackstedt (35-11) won his opener via major decision (135) over Prospect’s Giorgio DiFalco. But he dropped his next two matches: 5-1 to Marist’s Donavon Allen in the quarterfinals, then via pinfall at 5:35 to Luke Si-

BASKETBALL from page 45 Fenwick is seeded third in the Class 3A sectional it is hosting this year. The Friars open postseason play, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m., in the regional semifinal at Little Village in Chicago against either Intrinsic Charter

DAN CHAMNESS

Fenwick wrestler Luke D’Alise (top) controls his opponent during a Class 2A 215-pound match at the IHSA state meet in Champaign. D’Alise went 1-2 and finished the season 31-18.

“For Jack to do what he did after missing most of the season is impressive,” Fenwick coach Seth Gamino said.

Junior Patrick Gilboy and senior Luke D’Alise also represented Fenwick. At 175, Gilboy (31-14) lost his first match via pinfall at 5:52 to Brother Rice’s Dan Costello.

He bounced back with a win in the first wrestleback, 6-2 over Caden Casimino of Crystal Lake South. But his season ended in the next wrestleback as he was pinned in :35 by Hinsdale South’s Jovani Piazza.

At 215, D’Alise (31-18) was pinned at 4:50 in the opener by Sebastian Sanderson of Tinley Park. He rebounded in the first wrestleback, pinning Jhymear Smith Henson of Mount Vernon in 3:45, but was subsequently pinned himself by Cody Moss of Chatham Glenwood at 4:19 of the second wrestleback.

“All three of our wrestlers were outstanding,” Gamino said. “Luke accomplished his goal of making State, and Jack and Patrick have some unfinished business next year.”

Girls Bowling

winski of Lincoln-Way West.

At 215, junior Eric Harris (33-11) won his opener 2-1 over Warren’s Anthony Soto. But like Knackstedt and Rundell, he dropped the next two matches: 6-0 to Normal Community’s Cooper Caraway, then 7-6 to Charles Walker of Joliet Central.

However, the season is not over yet as the Huskies will participate in the Class 3A Addison Trail dual team sectional, Feb. 20 (after deadline). OPRF faces Schaumburg, with the winner advancing to the state finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Feb. 23-24.

Fenwick had three individuals compete at the Class 2A state finals.

At 190 pounds, junior Jack Paris (9-5) narrowly missed gaining All-State status, losing 9-4 to Josh Hoffer of downstate Washington in the third wrestleback.

Earlier, he blanked Genesis Ward of Evergreen Park 5-0 in the first round, then was pinned at 1:49 by eventual champion Andrew Marquez of Rock Island. Paris kept his All-State hopes alive with a 5-0 victory over Kenner Bye of Bloomington in the second wrestleback.

After becoming the first girls’ bowler in program history to qualify for the state finals last year, Fenwick junior Olivia Cameron was hoping to make the cut to the final day this year.

She accomplished her mission and finished 66th overall with a score of 2,198 pins at the IHSA state finals, Feb. 16-17, at the Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford.

Cameron was particularly strong on Friday, bowling a series score of 1,141 pins. Her high game was 237 and her average was 190.2. Cameron followed up on Saturday with a series score of 1,057.

Her high game was 220 and the average was 183.2.

or Schurz. Assuming a victory, Fenwick would meet either Little Village or Bulls Prep for the regional title, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

While the Friars are favored to win the regional, Fergerson isn’t taking anything for granted.

“We’ve got to take care of business this week,” he said.

Fenwick displays offensive balance, as Dominick Ducree, Kam Hogan, Ty Maca-

riola, and Nate Marshall are all capable of scoring in double figures every game.

“If you have only one guy scoring all the points and he has a bad game or the other team finds a way to control or shut him down, your other guys won’t know how to step up,” Fergerson said. “To have multiple guys able to score 8 to 10 points, I think that’s what makes us dangerous.”

Fergerson adds that playing good defense

will be another key part of Fenwick’s postseason success. Moreover, he wants the Friars, who reached the sectional final last year, to just be themselves and not overdo it.

“We’ve got to defend and rebound,” Fergerson said. “But we don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves. Kids start psyching themselves out in the playoffs, so you’ve just got to play and give yourself a chance to win at the end.”

Fenwick

Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024 47

Let the sun shine in...

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

Deadline: Monday at 5 p.m.

PUBLIC NOTICES

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FEET; THENCE NORTH 00 DEGREES, 11 MINUTES, 53 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 205.89 FEET TO THE SOUTH LINE OF LAKE STREET; THENCE SOUTH 89 DEGREES, 56 MINUTES, 07 SECONDS WEST, ALONG THE SOUTH LINE OF LAKE STREET, A DISTANCE OF 2ps.00 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 38 DEGREES, 45 MINUTES, 18 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF 32.09 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 2: BEGINNING AT A POINT OF INTERSECTION OF THE SOUTH LINE OF WESTGATE STREET, AS VACATED AND THE EAST LINE OF HARLEM AVENUE, SAID POINT IS ALSO THE NORTH WEST CORNER OF LOT 1 IN THEO. WHAPLE’S RESUBDIVISION OF LOTS 12 TO 14 IN BLOCK 1 OF WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN; THENCE SOUTH ALONG THE EAST LINE OF HARLEM AVENUE, SOUTH 00 DEGREE, 11 MINUTES, 51 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF 203.67 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 89 DEGREES, 30 MINUTES, 32 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 10.02 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 00 DEGREE, 11 MINUTES, 51 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF 25.00 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 89 DEGREES, 30 MINUTES, 32 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 30.00 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 74 DEGREES, 04 MINUTES, 07 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 51.95 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 89 DEGREES, 30 MINUTES, 32 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 160.00 FEET; THENCE NORTH ALONG THE EAST LINE OF LOT 10 IN SAID WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION, NORTH 00 DEGREE, 11 MINUTES, 40 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 228.27 FEET; THENCE NORTH 89 DEGREES, 27 MINUTES, 21 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF 24.99 FEET; THENCE NORTH 00 DEGREE, 11 MINUTES, 51 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF 14.00 FEET; THENCE NORTH 89 DEGREES, 27 MINUTES, 21 SECONDS WEST, A

DISTANCE OF 225.09 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS P.I.N.s: 16-07-124-032, 16-07-124033, 16-07-124-002, 16-07-124003, 16-07-124-004, 16-07-125-001, 16-07-125-002, 16-07-125-003, 16-07-125-004, 16-07-125-027, and 16-07-125-028 REQUEST: The Petitioner, SDOP Corp., seeks a text amendment to the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance as follows: An amendment to Article 2 (“Definitions & Rules of Measurement”), Section 2.3 (“Definitions”), by adding a definition for “Parking Lot (Principal)” and amending the definition of “Parking Lot”, amending Article 8 (“Uses”) to add “Parking Lot (Principal)” as a special use in the DT District, and amending Section 8.3 (“Use Restrictions”), subsection A. (“DT Districts”) 1., by adding a new subsection “k. Parking lot (principal) is allowed at grade level within the first 50 feet of any street lot line, except the street lot lines of Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue.” The Applicant is also requesting a Special Use permit to allow a principal parking lot at the above referenced property addresses. The Plan Commission may also consider any additional relief that may be discovered during the review of these dockets.

A copy of the proposed text amendment and special use application is on file and available for inspection at the Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Plan Commission may continue the hearing to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

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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

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

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

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

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

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

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

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK PLAN COMMISSION DOCKET NUMBER: PC 24-02/03 (Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment and Special Use Application – Principal Parking Lot) HEARING DATE: March 20, 2024 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the agenda permits LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 - Council Chambers, Village of Oak Park, 123 Madison Street Oak Park, Illinois 60302 PETITIONER: SDOP Corp., a Delaware Corporation, 110 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4000, Chicago, Illinois 60606 PROPERTY ADDRESS: 401-435 North Harlem Avenue, 1128-1165 Westgate Street, and 1137-1147 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois (Commonly known as “The Shops of Downtown”), located in the DT District LEGAL DESCRIPTION: PARCEL 1: LOTS 1 TO 7 AND PARTS OF LOTS 8, 9 AND 10 (EXCEPT THE NORTH 18.5 FEET OF LOTS 1 AND 10) IN THEO. WHAPLE’S RESUBDIVISION OF LOTS 12 TO 14 IN BLOCK 1 OF WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 2: LOT 11 (EXCEPT THE NORTH 18.5 FEET THEREOF TAKEN FOR STREET) IN BLOCK 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 3: LOT 10 (EXCEPT THE NORTH 18.5 FEET THEREOF TAKEN FOR STREET) IN BLOCK 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF LAND IN THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

PARCEL 4: THE NORTH 71.84 FEET OF LOT 1 AND THE NORTH 71.84 FEET OF THE WEST 1/2 OF LOT 2 IN BLOCK 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF LAND IN THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN; EXCEPTING THEREFROM THAT PART OF PARCEL 4 HERETOFORE DEDICATED, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:BEGINNING AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF LOT 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION AFORESAID; PROCEED SOUTH ALONG THE WEST LINE OF SAID LOT 1 TO A POINT 25.00 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF SAID LOT 1; THENCE PROCEED IN A NORTHEASTERLY DIRECTION TO A POINT 20.00 FEET EAST OF THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF SAID LOT 1 AND ALONG THE NORTH LINE OF SAID LOT 1; THENCE PROCEED IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 5: THE EAST 1/2 OF LOT 2 (EXCEPT THE SOUTH 18.5 FEET) IN BLOCK 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, LYING EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 6: LOT 1 (EXCEPT THE NORTH 71.84 FEET) AND LOT 2 (EXCEPT THE NORTH 71.84 FEET) IN BLOCK 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF LAND IN THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, LYING EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 7: LOTS 3, 4 AND WEST 1/2 OF LOT 5 (EXCEPT THE SOUTH 18.5 FEET OF SAID LOTS CONVEYED TO THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARR FOR STREET PURPOSES BY DEED RECORDED AS DOCUMENT 11015875) IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE

NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, LYING EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 8: THAT PART OF WESTGATE STREET, LYING ADJACENT AND BETWEEN AFORESAID PARCELS OF LAND DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:BEGINNING AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF LOT 1 IN BLOCK 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION AFORESAID; THENCE PROCEED 10.00 FEET NORTH TO A POINT 10.00 FEET NORTH OF SAID SOUTHWEST CORNER OF SAID LOT 1; THENCE PROCEED IN AN EASTERLY DIRECTION 225.00 FEET TO A POINT 10.00 FEET NORTH OF THE SOUTH LINE OF LOT 5 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION AFORESAID; THENCE PROCEED NORTH 10.00 FEET TO A POINT, WHICH IS 24.99 FEET WEST OF THE EAST LINE OF SAID LOT 5; THENCE PROCEED 225.00 FEET WEST TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 9: THAT PART OF WESTGATE STREET, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: THE SOUTH 14.00 FEET OF THE NORTH 18.50 FEET OF LOTS 1 AND 10 IN THEO. WHAPLE’S RESUBDIVISION AFORESAID AND THE SOUTH 14.00 FEET OF THE NORTH 18.50 FEET OF LOT 11 AND WEST 1/2 OF LOT 10 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. PARCEL 10: THAT PART OF NORTH BOULEVARD, LYING ADJACENT TO THE PARCELS OF LAND AFORESAID, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEGINNING AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF LOT 10 IN BLOCK 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION AFORESAID; PROCEED IN A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION 15.00 FEET SOUTH; THENCE PROCEED IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION 160.00 FEET TO A POINT 40 FEET.00 WEST

OF THE EAST LINE OF LOT 9 IN THEO. WHAPLE’S RESUBDIVISION AFORESAID AND 40.00 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTH LINE OF SAID LOT 9; THENCE PROCEED IN A NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION TO A POINT 90.00 FEET WEST OF THE EAST LINE OF SAID LOT 9 AND 26.17 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTH LINE OF SAID LOT 9; THENCE PROCEED IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION, 30.00 FEET TO A POINT 26.17 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTH LINE OF SAID LOT 9; THENCE PROCEED IN A NORTHERLY DIRECTION 25.00 FEET TO A POINT 1.17 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTH LINE OF SAID LOT 9; THENCE PROCEED IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION 10.00 FEET TO A POINT 26.17 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF LOT 8 IN THEO. WHAPLE’S RESUBDIVISION AFORESAID; THENCE PROCEED IN A NORTHERLY DIRECTION 4.92 FEET TO THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF SAID LOT 8; THENCE PROCEED IN A SOUTHEASTERLY DIRECTION 152.73 FEET TO THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF LOT 10 IN THEO. WHAPLE’S RESUBDIVISION AFORESAID; THENCE PROCEED IN A EASTERLY DIRECTION 100.00 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. ALSO KNOWN AS: PARCEL 1: BEGINNING AT A POINT ON THE EAST LINE OF HARLEM AVENUE, THAT IS 25.00 FEET SOUTH OF THE SOUTH LINE OF LAKE STREET, SAID POINT IS ALSO 25.00 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF LOT 1 IN WHAPLE’S SUBDIVISION OF LAND IN THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN; THENCE SOUTH 00 DEGREE, 11 MINUTE, 51 SECOND WEST ALONG THE EAST LINE OF HARLEM AVENUE AND THE WEST LINE OF SAID LOT 1, A DISTANCE OF 178.50 FEET TO THE NORTH LINE OF WESTGATE STREET, AS VACATED; THENCE SOUTH 89 DEGREES, 27 MINUTES, 21 SECONDS EAST ALONG THE NORTH LINE OF WESTGATE STREET, A DISTANCE OF 225.00

ALL INTERESTED PERSONS ARE INVITED TO BE HEARD OAK PARK PLAN COMMISSION Oak Park, Illinois 60302

Published in Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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Wednesday Journal, February 21, 2024

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Questions? 708-848-6755 or oprfhistorymatters@sbcglobal.net Honoring the 2023 Heart of our Villages Awar Questions? 708-848-6755 or oprfhistorymatters@sbcglobal.net

Camille White and Jan Novak Dre ng the 2023 Heart Award Winners of our Villages The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest Wilson Invites you to our annual

mille Wilson White and Jan Museum Novak Dressel Join us to celebrate the Exceptional Gala

Honoring the 2024 Heart of people Our Villages Winners whoseAward stories make our villages so s

Camille Wilson White Jan Novak Dressel Join us to celebrate theJohn Exceptional Rigas and Nick & Sue Bridge Join us to Celebrate the Exceptional People Whose Stories Make Our Villages So Special Thursday March 9, 2023 le whose stories make our villages so special Camille Wilson White We Celebrate the stories of Oak ParkersJan and River Foresters whose lives of service are6:30 models for to our communities Novak Dressel p.m.

9 p.m.

Denise Warren, Oak Park River Forest Branch Manager (le Susie Goldschmidt, Oak Park River Forest Market Presiden

Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest, Oak Thursday March 9, 2023 Lead Sponsors Cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and carving station Committed to Oak Park Lead Sponsors 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Entertainment at 6:30 P.M. eteenth Century Club, 178 Forest, Oak Park Remarks and Award Presentation at 7:30 p.m.

Lead Sponsors

Byline is privileged to be a part of the Oak Park River Fore providing sponsorship donations and volunteer hours to Our team looks forward to continuing our commitment t and River Forest community.

Scan Code to Register

Cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and carving station $125/ticket Lead Sponsors To learn more about our commitment to Oak Park an Lead Sponsor Entertainment at 6:30 P.M. Questions? 708-848-6755 or oprfhistorymatters@sbcgl Remarks and Award Presentation at 7:30 p.m.

Questions? Call 708-848-6755 • oprfmuseum.or

$125/ticket

John Rigas OPRF Museum Gala Program Book

Nick & Sue Bridge

New this year! We will be printing a commemorative program.

Thursday, March 7, 2024 • 6:30pm to 9pm I want to place a congratulatory advertisement in the program book. Please enclose wording/artwork with your check or call us at 708-848-6755 with questions.

Ad deadline is March 1, 2023.

ons? 708-848-6755 or oprfhistorymatters@sbcglobal.net Questions? Call 708-848-6755 • oprfmuseum.org Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest, Oak Park Full-page ad (5x8 inches) $300 Half-page ad $200 Quarter-page ad $100

Get your tickets or sign on to purchase a congratulatory ad at OPRFMuseum.org • 708-848-6755 Add my name to a congratulatory page ad: Camille Wilson White ($25) Jan Novak Dressel ($25)