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THE BEST ELECTION COVERAGE IN OAK PARK & RIVER FOREST Live and local

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Dear Voter,

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Journal hosts 3 election forums

TODD BANNOR Oak Park Vill

TODD BANNOR

school

TODD BANNOR

March 12, 2025

of Oak Park and River Forest

Oak Park DEI chief resigns

Danielle Walker has resigned as the village’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion o cer, two years after becoming the rst person to hold the job

‘Held in the highest esteem’

Tea par ty for Black and Brown girls promotes leadership

By DEBORAH BAYLISS Contributing Reporter

Black and Brown girls “understood the assignment” as they showed up wearing beautiful white dresses in a wide array of designs for Ase Production’s 5th Annual Uniquely You Tea Party held at Oak Park’s 19th Century Club Sun-

day afternoon.

Held annually under one of five tenants -- friendship, resilience, creativity, culture and leadership -- the event is really a social and emotional workshop where elementary and middle school girls are surrounded by reinforcement

See TEA PARTY on pa ge 20

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park’s first ever chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer has resigned from the position.

DEI leader Danielle Walker resigned from the Village of Oak Park Monday, March 10. She was first hired to head up Oak Park’s DEI ef for ts in August 2022, becoming the first person to hold such a position at the village

“During her time in Oak Park, Dr. Walker and the DEI team did significant work to elevate diversity, equity and inclusion within the community through many important programs,” the village told Wednesday Journal in a provided statement. “In particular, Dr. Walker’s leadership in expanding the village’s cultural event programming demonstrated her commitment to the values the community holds dear. We appreciate her many contributions and wish her great success with her future professional endeavors.”

The village did not make Village Manager Kevin Jackson available for an interview on the subject.

Walker’s projects in the role included leading cultural competency training sessions for the village board,

Campaign for Democracy 2025

ERICA BENSON

Cook County Board Commissioner Tara Stamps asks Oak Park stude nt Oliv ia Br yant what it means to be a leader

See DEI CHIEF on pa ge 27

@wednesdayjournalinc @wednesdayjournal @oakpark

WEDNESD AY JOURNAL

of Oak Park and River Forest

Interim Executive Director Max Reinsdorf

Digital Manager Stac y Coleman

Digital Media Coordinator Brooke Duncan

Sta Repor ter Brendan He ernan

Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor

Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora

Contributing Editor Donna Greene

Columnists Marc Bleso , Jack Crowe, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger

Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck

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Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza

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Special Projects Manager Susan Walker

Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

Senior Advisor Dan Haley

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair Eric Weinheimer | Treasurer Nile Wendor f

Deb Abrahamson, Mary Cahillane, Steve Edwards, Judy Gre n, Horacio Mendez, Charles Meyerson Darnell Shields, Audra Wilson

HOW TO REACH US

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■ PHONE 708-524-8300

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Wednesday Journal is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $2. A one-year subscription costs $52 within Cook County and $72 outside of Cook County Adver tising rates may be obtained by calling our o ce. Periodical rate postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS 10138). Postmaster, send address corrections to Wednesday Journal, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302. © 2025 Growing Community Media, NFP.

Lively Athletics up for sale by sisters

Store that caters to athletic needs of women needs a new owner

By JACKIE PISANO Contributing Reporter

From the first day that Lively Athletics opened its doors at 109 N. Oak Park Ave. during the summer of 2014, the business was truly a dream come true for sisters Anne Pe zalla and Kate Marlin.

But now, 10 years after launching a store that still mainly caters to the athletic needs of women, the sisters have decided Lively needs some new blood. Via social media, they recently announced plans to step away from Lively and their hope to find an enthusiastic buyer who can breathe new life into the shop.

Citing a busy past couple of years, including recent family shifts, work bur nout and new personal goals, Pe zalla says the decision to sell was not one made lightly.

“The decision to sell Lively was so hard for us – this store has been a second home for us,” she said. “There was a long time where I didn’t know who I would be if not a small business owner, but things have changed for us. My husband and I sort of fell into real estate investing, and I own and manage several short term rental units in Oak Park That has increasingly taken more and more of my time.”

In addition, the sisters said they were very shaken by the death of their father, Paul Pe zalla, who passed away of prostate cancer in late 2023.

“He helped us a lot with our business over the years, having himself owned two Oak Park businesses [Prairie Woodworking and Wacker Bait & Tackle]. I don’t know if we ever really bounced back from the painful experience of caring for him as he died. This experience also made my sister really think about life, and she’s cur-

CORREC TION

A story in the March 5 edition of Wednesday Journal about a new approach to dealing with panhandlers in Oak Park incorrectly spelled Vanessa Matheny’s name. Our online version of the story also clarifies the professional backgrounds of ECHO staffers and explained in detail how the donations will be managed and used. Wednesday Jour nal re grets the er rors.

rently planning on going back to school for a healthcare-related de

For the sisters, the shop in Oak Pa their first foray into the ownership. It was, ho brainer to open a women-focused wear store in their hometown. While opening up shop in Oak mean having to deal with high property taxes, limited parking and increasing costs, the sisters could perfect place to plant the roots of a b dedicated to helping other selves have a local spot dedicated to outfit gear and more for work yoga and everything in betw

“We never considered other than Oak Park,” Pe up here and are raising our We love it here – it’s home We knew the community would support us here, and we have been proven right over and over again.”

See LIVELY ATHLETICS on pa ge 19

JACKIE PISANO

Ow ners and sisters, Anne Pezalla (le ) and Kate Marlin.

VOTEAPRIL1

Lucia Robinson RE-ELECT

FORVILLAGETRUSTEE

LuciaRobinsonCandidateforVillageTrustee www.luciarobinson4trustee.com

Lucia brings a balanced approach to leadership, weighing the needs of the community with available resources. She has a proven track record delivering results and fostering collaborative relationships with board colleagues, Village partners and community members.

She has deep roots in our community. She grew up here and has lived with her husband and children in Northeast Oak Park since 2007. As an attorney, she has the analytical skills to delve into the issues and make good policy decisions. She is committed to building a better community for everyone.

Luciahasdeeprootsinourcommunity.Shegrewup hereandhaslivedwithherhusbandandchildrenin NortheastOakParksince2007.Sheholdsan undergraduatedegreefromBrynMawrCollegeanda lawdegreefromDePaulUniversityCollegeofLaw.She builthercareernegotiatingtradeandcorporate contractsformajor financialinstitutions.

KEYPRIORITIES

COMMUNITYSAFETY

AlternativeCrisisResponse

OP-RF Community Foundation top exec stepping down

Tony Mar tinez Jr. has a new leadership post at Dominican University

By SAM TUCKER Contributing Reporter

The CEO and President of the Oak and River Forest Community Foundation, Tony Martinez Jr., will be departing from the community-support organization after an impactful tenure to begin a new leadershi role at Dominican University.

For the past six years, Martinez has led the foundation, which mobilizes financial sources to equitably advance local communi ties. It provides philanthropic advice, manages donor assets and supports local nonprofit to receive grants in areas from youth de ment to housing stability.

At Dominican University, he will lead fundraising strategies as vice president of university advancement.

Prioritizeconstructionofanewpolicestation

AlternativeCrisisResponse

Prioritizeconstructionofanewpolicestation

Increasehousinginventory

Martinez said he was proud to lead the foundation, to expand its reach, strategy and vision in what it can accomplish in local communities.

Tony Martinez Jr.

m was this building of trusting relationships,” Summy said.

Shebringsapragmaticapproachtoleadership, balancingtheneedsofthecommunitywithavailable resources.Shehasaproventrackrecorddelivering resultsandprioritizingcollaborativerelationships withboardcolleagues,Villagepartnersand communitymembers.

Increasehousinginventory

AFFORDABLEHOUSING ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT

Developaffordablehomeownershipprograms

AFFORDABLEHOUSING ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT

“The accomplishments are really teambased in terms of staff, board and community members,” he said. “I would say the first one is really grounding ourselves in the values and principles of racial justice, equity and inclusivity.”

Streamlinepermittingprocessforbusinesses

Supportinfrastructureprojects

Streamlinepermittingprocessforbusinesses

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SupportLucia'sre-electioncampaignwithadonationtoday.

“The other part I’m really proud of, is establishing more of a purpose – a vision of what we can do with these values,” he added.

Carrie Summy, the current director of external affairs at the foundation and who has worked directly with Martinez, will be serving as the interim CEO and president starting April 1.

Under Martinez, the foundation launched its first robust community needs assessment in 20 years. The foundation collaborated with community stakeholders to hear directly from the west Cook County region to find out where the foundation can provide impactful support to all community members.

Martinez grew the total assets the foundation managed from $37.7 million in 2018, to more than $55.4 million the foundation currently manages, according to a press release from the foundation. He also pushed to incorporate the greater west Cook County region in the foundation’s scope.

SupportLucia'sre-electioncampaignwithadonationtoday.

Summy said the work that Martinez led in his tenure has transformed the foundation. She said his charisma and sense of genuine compassion enabled him to tackle the racial equity issues in the Cook County region the foundation began to focus on in 2019.

“We’ve gone through a lot of change. I hon-

In addition, he enhanced the foundation’s core values to include racial justice and equity and led their team to respond proactively and equitably in supporting vulnerable residents during the COVID pandemic through the Rapid Response and Recovery Fund in 2020, Martinez said.

Martinez said he’s excited to bring his 17 years of expertise in the community-foundation field to Dominican University, an institution he sees holding the same core values he worked to create at the foundation.

“It’s just a natural fit and the next phase of my career,” Martinez said. “It is to bring the resources needed and awareness of the amazing programs, working with donors, inspiring them to give and helping in any way I can to shape and lead the fundraising efforts.”

Summy plans to continue the strategies Martinez implemented and drive their work forward under the current threats to federal and state funding from the Trump administration, she said.

“Without a doubt, I feel like we are going to have tough times again at our door, and our nonprofit sector is alarmed, and they may be harmed,” Summy said. “In my opinion, philanthropy has an absolute duty. We have an opportunity, and we have the duty now to fill the gaps that the gover nment is not going to fill or does not want to fill.”

Right now, she said the foundation is determining the funding gaps that might come from cuts under the federal Department of Gover nmental Efficiency which was established by the Trump administration reduce the size and cost of the federal gover nment.

“One of our values is courage, and that’s what I’m going to use to weather whatever comes our way. I’m not going to back down,” she said.

ships in the years ahead,” Temple said in an email to Wednesday Journal.

Before the Oak Park and River Forest Community Foundation, Martinez worked as the director of development for the Chicago Community Trust for nearly 10 years. He currently serves on boards for advocacy organizations including the Edgar Fellows, the Resurrection Project, Forefront, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, the National Rosacea Society and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations

“Without a doubt, I feel like we are going to have tough times again at our door, and our nonpro t sector is alarmed, and they may be harmed.”

C ARRIE SUMMY Director of external a airs, Community Foundation

Glena Temple, the president of Dominican University, said Martinez will lead the institutional fundraising efforts, and support the growth of the school’s new Chicago campus that opened in Pilsen last year. After three years of record enrollment, she said his experience will make a quick impact on their goals of continued growth.

“Tony’s extensive experience and passion for our mission will be critical in stewarding new and continuing community relation-

Martinez said his experiences growing up in Elgin inform his instincts and motivation to work in the community-foundation field.

During preschool and first grade, he was placed in a bilingual school instead of an English-speaking school. The school falsely assumed he could not speak English because he and his family are Mexican American. Martinez could speak English, and said he was set back by being placed in the bilingual school that also required an hour-long commute by bus. His father then demanded a change, which came after joining with other parents experiencing the same issues.

“It was my dad’s advocacy to really fight for what was right, and as a young sevenyear-old, going into second grade at the time, which left such an impression on me,” Martinez said.

Now, he is looking forward to making an impact on the students that he sees a lot of himself in at Dominican University.

“At the end of the day, it’s about helping the little ‘Tonys’ out there. There’s a lot of promise and it’s my commitment to my values,” Martinez said.

New West Cook YMCA chief starts Monday

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

Heather Perkins has lived in a lot of places around the country since she was a kid, but onstant has been a presence at her local YMCA.

hether it was taking swim lessons as a playing basketball as a teen or becoming a camp counselor, the YMCA experience een a defining part of her

oming home, starting next Monday as the CEO of Cook YMCA. She will

lace Phillip Jimenez, who stepped down to take a job at the organization’s national re fice.

ns comes to the area from Indianapolis, where for the last few years she served as deputy director at the nonprofit Breast Cancer Action.

create community and health and wellness, and work with individuals who are battling chronic diseases.”

Another key issue is whether the singleroom occupancy units for single men will remain part of the West Cook YMCA’s mission. Newer YMCA’s do not include SRO spaces

The answer for the West Cook Y is yes, according to Perkins. And as far as the possibility of building a new facility in place of the current location at 255 S. Marion St. in Oak Park, the step there is to speak with the board and Jimenez.

But she’s got plenty of lead ership experience. She has six YMCAs nationoperations, programming and youth elopment.

I’m in deep debt to the Y,” she said. “The Y my second family and helped shape ho I am today.

wildly excited and thrilled and hon-

who was born in Kankakee and everywhere from Florida to Georgia o, and Illinois as well, began her professional career at the Central Kentucky Lexington, KY, working in the y elopment aspect of the nonprofit.

Thus, she’s very familiar with the challenges the YMCA faces as an organization and in western Cook County. One of the things that she does not perceive to be a challenge is the perception of competing with for-profit gyms and similar facilities.

“I don’t think there is any competition between for-profit gyms and YMCA, which has a focus on overall well-being,” she said. “We both have space to meet the needs of our communities. We’re a nonprofit that is seeking to

Tom Irvin is the West Cook YMCA board chair and served as the chair of the search committee that ultimately hired Perkins after reviewing the credentials of 134 candidates. Candidates came from California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Indiana. Why was Perkins the best fit for the CEO position?

“It was just her experience,” Irvin said. “She has YMCA experience in programming and operational capacities. But it was her enthusiasm and passion and empathy as well as her skill set, which is what made her stand out from a pool of extremely qualified candidates.

“We felt very fortunate that we didn’t feel like we were settling. We felt fortunate that we had some great, great candidates.”

Enthusiasm is one thing Perkins has in abundance, but she can get to brass tacks fast, especially related to things like the West Cook YMCA 2024 strategic plan, which goes through 2027. Plan implementation has started already, she said, and the key to success is that “it’s recognizing how the Y plays a part outside of our walls and inside of our walls and thinking about it now and in the future.”

The strategic plan that she said was “beautifully constructed” will serve the Oak Park and wester n Cook County communities well.

“We’ll welcome peoples’ ideas and thoughts, and anticipating our community’s needs and desires to it’s a welcoming and joyful place to be,” she said.

HEATHER PERKINS

GROCERY SHOPPING GAB FEST

My mother, Pat Harney, was a very funny lady. She and her friend, Barbara Messineo, shared the same sense of humor and constantly made each other laugh. They would do many things together. But it seemed their favorite thing to do was grocery shop together. This was their fun event of the week. They would shop, then stop off at one of their homes to drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, and laugh their heads off. Sometimes, I would arrive home from school with the two of them sitting at the kitchen table, smoking and laughing all the while Barbara’s ice cream and fish sticks were defrosting in her trunk. This was a great day for me as well. Not only would we have a fridge full of food, but I got to see my mom really happy. In the end, that is what kids want for their parents.

In addition to being funny, my mom also was a big idiom user, saying things like “take it with a grain of salt.” (Albeit sometimes conflating sayings.) I often wondered what was the origin of that saying and many others. So, I looked them up. Some origins are pretty wacky. It is shocking we still repeat these idioms today considering their start. Old ways die hard, I guess. Here are some of my favorites:

Kick The Bucket - Animal slaughter reference. The “bucket” (derived from the French word buquet [a balance]) was a wooden beam on which pigs would be hung upside down by their feet before slaughter. The pigs were likely to spasm after death and hence ‘kick the bucket.’

Three Sheets To The Wind - Sailing reference. On a sailboat, if three sheets (sails) are loose and blowing about in the wind then the boat will lurch around like a drunken sailor.

Beat Around The Bush - In medieval times, hunters hired men to beat the area around bushes with sticks in order to flush out game. The

THERESA CLANCY Estate Planning Attorney

men avoided hitting the bush directly to avoid whacking a bee’s nest.

Break A Leg - In theatre, there are many different types of stage curtains. One such type is called a leg. These legs are the long narrow drapes at the sides of the stage. In the time of vaudeville, standby actors would wait behind the curtain leg with the hopes they would be hired to perform. To break the leg line or “break a leg” means to be asked to perform onstage.

Drop Of A Hat - During the 19th century it was common to signal the beginning of a fight or a race by dropping a hat.

It Ain’t Over Until The Fat Lady Sings - First known to be used by a sports announcer in a conversation about a tied baseball game, who said, “the opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”

Spill The Beans - Back in ancient Greece, people used beans to vote: white beans for positive votes and dark beans for negative votes. These votes were cast in secret, so if someone knocked over the beans in the jar—whether by accident or intentionally—they spilled the beans and revealed the results of the votes prematurely.

Take It With Grain Of Salt - It is believed to originate from ancient Roman writer Pliny the Elder, in which he wrote about an antidote recipe to poison that was to be taken with “a grain of salt.” (Mithridates VI took small doses of poison to inoculate himself from an actual poisoning.) The recipe was likely later interpreted as meaning that the author is not confident on the recipe’s efficacy and ingesting it might accidentally poison oneself instead of being inoculated.

Straight From The Horse’s Mouth - In the 1900s, savvy horse buyers could determine a horse’s age by looking at their teeth. It was the most reliable way to determine the value of your deal (as opposed to speaking with the seller).

Hands Down - A horse racing reference. When a jockey won “hands down” it meant he was so far ahead he was able to remove his hands from the reins and still win.

Fly Off The Handle - In the 1800s, some poorlymade axes would literally detach at the handles, sending the metal flying.

Sleep Tight - This likely stems from the days when mattresses were secured by ropes to bed posts to avoid lumpiness. Telling someone to sleep tight meant you hoped the ropes were pulled tight giving them a well-supported bed throughout the night.

Get Someone’s Goat - Another horse racing reference. Jockeys would put goats in stables to help the horses relax and feel a sense of companionship (horses get lonely just like humans;)). Competitors would remove the goat from the stables of their rivals in the hopes of spooking the horse and having it lose the race.

Pull Out All The Stops - A musical instrument reference. An organ has knobs or “stops” near the keyboard, which the player uses to select different sounds. When you pull out all the stops, it allows the organ to play to its fullest capacity (as loudly as possible).

My mom was not only funny, but she also was smart. She created an estate plan several years before her death. Something she was very proud of since her parents died without a plan in place. My brother and I were grateful for the estate plan as it made things so much easier when my mom’s health declined and at her death. So, follow my mom’s life example, be funny and smart! Create an estate plan today!

West Sub appeals revoked accreditation

Uncer tainy continues, resident doctors consider options

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

After the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Edu cation – the nonprofit that ensures resident doctors deli safe and high-quality care during graduate education grams – withdrew West Suburban Medical Center’s accreditation Jan. 21, nearly 30 residents in the hospital’s Family Medicine Residency Program started scrambling to find another institution to finish out their education before West Sub’s ac creditation ends June 30.

Program faculty helped residents apply elsewhere. tan Patel, a first-year resident at West Suburban, applied to AdventHealth’s Hinsdale and La Grange locations, both of which offered him a spot in their family medicine progr This, however, was under the assumption that federal Medicare funding that hospitals get for residents’ education w move with residents to a new hospital.

AdventHealth Hinsdale revoked Patel’s offer early last month after the director and associate directors of West Suburban’s Family Medicine Residency Program – which has existed for about 50 years and is now the hospital’s only graduate medical program – told residents that the hospital wouldn’t let them take federal funding with them.

Altogether, several hospitals revoked offers for about half of West Suburban’s resident doctors.

As residents decide how to proceed, West Suburban announced March 7 that it would appeal its withdrawn ACGME accreditation. The statement didn’t mention whether the hospital would release federal funding to its residents, and Dr. Manoj Prasad, CEO of West Suburban Medical Center, didn’t respond to a request for comment by time of publication.

“We look forward to defending our record and showcasing the strength of our residency program during the ACGME appeals process. We are also reviewing the notification for errors or inaccurate information,” Prasad said in a statement. “While we prepare our appeal, the current residency program will continue. For residents who wish to transfer to another hospital, we will work with them to provide the support they need in a transition.”

Now, resident doctors are sending emails to multiple Chicagoland hospitals, asking them again to take them in – even if they can’t bring federal funding with them and an accredited hospital must cover the cost of the remainder of a resident’s education.

Residents are also asking Prasad to release Medicare funding that would make it easier to continue their education in-state, and within the family medicine specialty. Residents said they haven’t heard updates from him about their funding since they were told it wouldn’t follow them a month ago.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty now,” Patel said.

West Suburban’s Family Medicine Residency Program could continue if another hospital volunteered to absorb the program – something West Suburban leaders were “shocked and appalled” to learn, according to the statement, that residents were working toward over the last year.

According to the statement, the law firm representing Re-

West Suburban Medical Center

JESSICA MOR DACQ

silience Healthcare – which bought West Suburban and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago in 2022 – sent a cease-and-desist letter March 6 to Dr. Paul Luning, chief medical officer at PCC Community Wellness Center. West Suburban contracts PCC for services, and PCC hosts doctors doing their residency at West Suburban through one of its four sites.

The West Suburban statement accuses Luning of organizing a campaign to force Prasad to sell the hospital and advising Family Medicine Residency Program leadership to discourage potential residents from coming to West Suburban.

By time of publication, Luning did not respond to a request for comment from Growing Community Media, the parent company of Austin Weekly News and Wednesday Journal.

What accreditation loss means

Patel’s partner is a resident at a Chicago hospital, so he’d like to stay in the area. But to transfer to another hospital without Medicare funding, Patel would need to find an institution with an open spot that’s funded by that institution’s Medicare money.

Though a couple West Suburban residents were accepted for open spots at Chicago hospitals – where a resident quit, or the hospital had federal funding to pay for their education – there are no more open family medicine residency spots in the 33 Illinois hospitals that have a family medicine program.

If these hospitals don’t create new residency spots and find a way to fund them, West Suburban residents will need to find open family medicine spots out-of-state. Or they can undergo the matching process again.

Every year, medical school graduates rank hospitals around the country where they want to carry out their multi-year residency, and hospitals do the same for graduates who applied to their institution. Graduates had to submit their choices to the

National Resident Matching Program on March 5.

So, at the end of last month, Patel reapplied to family medicine residency programs in Chicago as a first-year resident, again.

“This was time sensitive. If I had missed this opportunity and not applied to the match and banked on [Prasad] releasing the funding, I have no backup … he could theoretically release the funding in May or June. The lack of transparency is very frustrating.”

If Patel doesn’t match with a Chicago hospital later this month, he plans to scramble and find any open first-year positions in the city, even if they aren’t in family medicine – his chosen specialty.

“Switching to a different specialty may require us to re peat certain parts of our training, essentially delaying the time in which we would actually make a greater salary that would allow us to pay off student loans,” Dominic Robolino, a firstyear resident, previously told GCM.

“I’m doing everything I can to stay in Chicago, but we’re getting no communication from our CEO in terms of what his plans are with our funding – if he ever plans to release our funding,” Patel said.

Though not illegal, withholding funding isn’t standard practice. Family Medicine Residency Program participants have contacted all 33 Illinois family medicine programs and said that no one leading those programs knew that it was legal for a hospital to hold onto federal funding for residents who are displaced by program closure.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, when there’s a hospital or program closure, residents can go to any hospital that can take them. And there is no CMS requirement for transferring Medicare funds with residents –a decision that is at Prasad’s discretion, though there’s been no conversation about where he stands.

“There’s really no way to communicate our concerns to him and for him to tell us his plans,” Patel said. Residents said they’re trying to organize meetings with Prasad’s lawyer and their union lawyer, but nothing has been scheduled yet. “We want him to discuss it with us.”

According to Patel, May is likely the earliest that West Suburban would hear back from the ACGME about if its appeal is accepted. But not all residents are hoping that it is.

“I don’t think that anyone is wanting the appeal to go through because this place has just become such a terrible place to get an education that staying here for an extra year isn’t going to make you well equipped to go out there and save lives,” Harleen Multani, a third-year resident and chief resident, previously told GCM. “I think everyone is just hoping that [Prasad] will release the funds and they can move on with their lives.”

“It sucks that this program is closing because it’s a lowresource area and a lot of us came to this program because we wanted to serve this community,” Patel said. But “we’ve seen the institution itself is not an appropriate place to train residents.”

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OPRF alum is man of a thousand voices

You probably don’t know Frankie Cordero’s face but he is the voice behind so many beloved characters

By JESSICA MACKINNON Contributing Reporter

You may not have any idea what Frankie Cordero looks like but you have probably heard the voices of the beloved characters he has brought to life, including Rudy Monster, Pur ple Panda, Spike and Wembley Fraggle.

A graduate of Oak Park River Forest High School, the Emmy-nominated Cordero has worked nationally and internationally as a puppeteer for Sesame Street, Jim Henson Company and Fred Ro gers Productions. His characters have appeared on television shows including The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show and Good Morning America.

Cordero’s lifelong interest in puppets was sparked at the age of three, when his father brought home a frog puppet that he had bought at a flea market. While in kindergarten and early elementary school, Cordero woke up every day at 5 a.m. to watch The Muppet Show before catching the bus to school.

“I would gather up my toys and puppeteer them and lip sync to the show,” Cordero said. “Eventually, I started creating my own characters and presenting puppet shows with kids in the neighborhood. Puppetry gave me the opportunity to play any role I wanted, re gardless of who I was or who I appeared to be.”

Cordero’s nascent talents were supported by his father, who was pursuing his own interests in magic and clowning.

After searching the Yellow Pa g es for a magician for his daughter’s birthday party, and finding them to be too expensive, Cordero’s father bought some basic tricks and costumes at a local magic store and performed himself. He became a popular performer for private parties, with Cordero and his sister often serving as magician’s assistants

After watching a television special about Jim Henson shortly after his death in 1990, Cordero visited his local library in search of “Of Muppets and Men,” a behind-thescenes look at the making of The Muppet Show. Serendipitously, the librarian he consulted was a member of the Chicagoland Puppetry Guild who told him the group met monthly at the venerable Magic, Inc. on Chicago’s northside.

The shop was the next best thing to heaven for the young Cordero.

“The backroom was super cool, filled with vintage magic tricks and 8 by 10 glossies of magicians and vaudeville era perfor mers,” Cordero said.

In 1993, when he was just 11, Cordero received a scholarship to attend a Puppeteers of America festival in San Francisco, where he caught a presentation by Frank Oz, the renowned puppeteer with Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and Star Wars. He was mesmerized when Oz dragged on stage a huge trunk filled with many of his famous characters, including Miss Pigg y, Yoda, Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster and Lefty, the shady salesman who routinely opened his trench coat and whispered to passersby, “Hey, you wanna buy a letter O?”

He also met at the festival a quartet of puppeteer buskers, the Crowtations, who lip-synched to Motown hits and performed re gularly in Central Pa rk

“I was captivated watching them perform in full view, dressed in black, with puppets above their heads. I was so focused on their process and how spot-on their lip synching was that eventually I didn’t even

notice the performers,” he said.

One of the buskers, Glenngo King, approached Cordero and mentioned that he hadn’t met many puppeteers of color, especially one so young. King became a mentor and, for decade s, periodically sent Cordero articles about puppetry to encourage him to pursue his dream.

Cordero has been blessed with many mentors throughout his career, including Ellen Boyer, his OPRF drama teacher, who encouraged him to use his interest in puppets to create characters for a high school production. He later learned that two other students launched professional careers sparked by their roles in that show.

He also credits notable Chicago puppeteers Dave Herzog, who gave Cordero an apprenticeship at AnimART, a storefront puppet theater where Cordero spent weekends learning how to produce shows; and Bill Eubank, who urged Cordero to create his own puppets and gave him a set of basic puppet patterns.

“Bill built ornate rod puppets of all the characters from The Wizard of Oz, including the guards of the Emerald City. He had a huge collection of Oz memorabilia. His

studio was jammed with the best sort of clutter I’ve ever seen,” Cordero said. While majoring in puppetry at the Unirsity of Connecticut, Cordero juggled academics with bus trips to New York City to on shows including Curious Buddies, a production of Spiffy Pictures for Nick Jr., and a music video, We Are Family, created in response to the 9/11 attack and featuring than 100 children’s TV actors, puppets and animated characters.

Over the past decade, Cordero has voiced a wide range of characters including whose head of wild curly hair mimd the look Cordero sported at OPRF, on Julie’s (Andrews) Greenroom (Netflix); and Wembley on Fraggle Rock: Rock On, ich was produced by the Jim Henson Company during the early months of pandemic. Cordero shot material for the show from his living room while Zooming with the other characters.

rhaps Cordero is best known (although not reco gnized) as the voices of on Sesame Street and Purple Panda on PBS Kids’ Donkey Hodie. Three-year-old Rudy is the stepbrother of Abby Cadabby and was developed specifically to depict a blended family. Purple Panda is a re gular character on Donkey Hodie, a modern spin-of f of the original Mister Ro gers’ Neighborhood program.

Cordero was working on Donkey Hodie in 2022 when he learned, following a routine dental exam, that he had chordoma, a rare type of cancer that affects one in a million people annually worldwide. He underwent a 14-hour surgery but resumed his work schedule, even participating in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while receiving proton therapy treatment. He now serves on the community advisory board of the Chordoma Foundation and is working with his wife, Marea, a freelance visual artist, to plan fundraising events for the organization. He also hopes to create a puppet character to help children through their cancer journey.

“Puppets allow you to be transported back to a place and time when you were emotionally open to pretending. They make you believe they are living and breathing with you. Digital characters on a screen can never provide the same connection that puppetry does. It is an art form that will never die,” Cordero said.

TODD BANNOR

Puppeteer Frankie Cordero with the Purple Pandas at his Oak Park home on Feb. 27.

Village hall and new police facility top Oak Park forum for business community

All of the candidates for Oak Park village president and the board of trustees gathered at BCC forum

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

All of the candidates running for the open Oak Park village president seat or one of the three open village board seats spoke to a crowd re presenting the business community last week.

The for um, hosted by the Business and Civic Council of Oak Park and held at the Carleton Hotel Friday morning, gave candidates a platform to speak on several key issues, and meet and greet community members over coffee.

The prospect of whether a major renovation of Village Hall will be tethered to the construction of a new stand-alone police station for Oak Park Police Department was again a sticking point between presi-

dential candidates Vicki Scaman and Ravi Parakkat, as it had been at previous forums. Scaman is the current village president. Parakkat is a village trustee.

“Our much-needed police facility has been delayed because it’s been attached to an unnecessary village hall proposal,” Parakkat said.

Scaman, reiterated her position that moving the Oak Park police into a new building will reveal issues and opportunities within Village Hall, and that renovating the entire municipal campus will save the village money in the long term.

“Every time we defer we pay more,” Scaman said.

None of the village trustee candidates said that they would feel comfortable with costs for Village Hall and a new police facil-

ity eclipsing $100 million, but most spoke to the need for some renovations to village hall, particularly in the area of accessibility for people with disabilities.

“That’s one of the things that has really bothered me at the board table,” incumbent trustee candidate Chibuike Enyia said. “When we had our Aging in Community people come, we watched a man almost fall down the stairs.”

“You ought to be able to walk into the place no matter how old you are, so there are aspects of that facility project that do need to be addressed, and the accessibility part of it is the biggest one for me,” he said.

Other topics covered in the forum included how the village will account for disruptions to federal grant funding, how will candidates look to promote affordable

housing opportunities and increase population density, as well as how to navigate funding infrastructure projects as building costs reach dizzying heights across the re gion. Election day in suburban Cook County is April 1, with early voting begins Monday, March 17.

Oak Park hears update on economic vitality plan

Village board heard recommendations from a consultant on what policies could boost economic growth in the village

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park’s village board last week heard more from the consultant group it hire d to develop a plan to promote economic vitality in the village

Trustees heard from staf f at Camoin Associates, Inc. as they presented a nearfinal draft of their economic vitality plan for Oak Park T he consultants went over highlights from the 197-page re port that contained 62 total recommendations, taking questions from the trustees throughout the study session.

T he consulting group sent staf f to Oak Park several times and administered a community wide survey to develop its recommendations.

Camoin’s recommendations included forming a new economic vitality commission within the village gover nment and, in some form, resur recting the now

shuttered Oak Park Economic Development Corporation. It also recommended streamlining processes for businesses through the village ’s development services department and working to increase resident and business owner diversity across racial and generational lines

All these strat egies would look to counter the perc ep tion that Oak Pa rk is less friendly to businesses than i ts municipa l neighbors, Camoin Associates Vi ce President Daniel Gunderson told the board.

“The g oal should be to achieve a p ositive assessment of the business climat e,” Gunderson said. “We heard time and time again, ‘meh, compared to its neighbors Oak Park is not very friendly to business.’ That is so deeply ingrained. Be it true or f alse, it is deeply ingrained and it needs to be addressed.”

T he consultants also recommended that the village hire an assistant village manager for economic vitality to oversee growth

ef for ts across the village. Last month, the village put up a job posting for the role, advertising a salary range of $134,000 to $194,750 for qualified candidates

Camoin hopes that that new official will oversee a new economic vitality commission “to serve as an advisory body for guiding village investments” and work with a restarted nonprofit Oak Park Economic Development Corporation which would use technical expertise to “implement new (re)development and lending projects,” according to the consultant’s re port

T he village board voted to stop funding the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation in 2023 after 49-years of operation, ef fectively shutting down the entity.

“It’s an inte grated approach to economic vitality,” Gunderson said. “We see different skillsets working with one another.”

T he consultants also recommended developing more infrastructure to support

minority business owners, in an ef fort to promote diversity throughout the village.

Oak Park also needs to attract younger residents, Gunderson said.

“There’s quite an interesting and stunning figure of those residents aged 25 to 40 being lower here than in surrounding areas,” Gunderson said. “We need to do a better job of helping those people find homes here and decide to stay here. That is the future, that is so critical to prosperity going forward.”

In addition to supporting the closing of the “missing middle” af fordable housing gap, the work of attracting younger residents could include amending the village’s liquor code, Village Manager Kevin Jackson said.

“T his is a strat eg y to declare that we actually want to create a nightlife,” Jackson said.

The board will likely vote on if it will adopt Camoin’s plan later this month.

Re-elect Vicki Scaman for Oak Park Village President

Adam Salzman, Former Oak Park Village Trustee

Annie Button, Former Oak Park Village Trustee

Brian Straw, Oak Park Village Trustee

Camille Y. Lilly, Illinois State Representative

Cathy Adduci, River Forest Village President

Chibuike Enyia, Oak Park Village Trustee

Christina Waters, Oak Park Village Clerk

Colette Lueck, Former Oak Park Village Trustee

Eric Davis, Oak Park Township Trustee

Holly Spurlock, District 97 Board Member

Early Voting Begins March 17th

Jeff Weissglass, Former President District 200 School Board

John Hedges, Former Village of Oak Park Trustee

Alison Askham

Alma Klein

Amy Starin

Ana Garcia-Doyle

Aya O'Connor

Barbara Rose

Bart A. Smith

Ben Freireich

Bobbie Eastman

Brad Bartels

Brenda Parker

Bruce Broerman

Caitlin Wilkes-Johnson

Camille Wilson White

Carollina Song

Carolyn Goldbeck

Cat Nickles

Char Schwar

Cheree Moore

Cheryl and Miles Jackson

Christina Dyson

Danielle Dengel

Dave Miller

David & Mena Boulanger

David Ubogy

David Weindling

Deacon Wiley Samuels

Deborah Wess, Realtor with BHHS Chicago

Dot Lambshead Roche

Douglas Woodson

Edward Barth

Eileen Hattan Lynch

Elizabeth Lippitt

Emily Eastman

Emily N. Masalski

Erin Newman

Fernando Moran

Gabrielle Pendley

Gail Holmberg

Gary Cuneen

George Bailey

Geraldine (Jerry) Delaney

J. Michael Williams

Jack Crowe

Jack and Kelly Stockman

James Gates

Jane Lambshead

Jean Louise Edwards

Jeanne Nohalty

Jeff Clark

Jen Quinlan

Jen Trudell

Jenna Leving Jacobson

Jennifer Czajka

Jim and Sally Prescott

Jim Corbin

Jim Doyle

Jim Kelly

Joan Dyer

JoAnn Lewandowski

JoBeth Halpin

Jodi Walker

Joe Raschke

John B. Flanigan

John Dengel

John Duffy

John Sullivan

Jon Hale

Juanta Bennett Griffin, ASE Productions

Julia Huff

Justin Johnson

Kai Stockman

Karen Crowley

Karen McMillin

Karen Queen

Kate Walz

Kathleen O’Shaughnessy

Kim Johnson, Keller

Williams Realty

Laura Lallos

Laura Voigt

Len Palombi

Lesa Struck Kiefer

Linda Francis

Liz Barnes

Liz Singh Holt, Former Director OPRF Chamber

Lou Anne Johannesson

Jon Hale, Former Oak Park Village Trustee

Jonathan Livingston, D200 Board Member

Katrina Thompson, Village of Broadview Mayor

La Shawn K. Ford, Illinois State Representative

Nathaniel Booker, Village of Maywood Mayor

Ray Johnson, Former Oak Park Village Trustee

Rory Hoskins, Village of Forest Park Mayor

Sara Spivy, Former D200 Board Member

Susan Buchanan, Oak Park Village Trustee

Tara Stamps, Cook County Commissioner

Teresa Powell, Former Oak Park Village Clerk

Thomas Gary, Former Triton College Trustee

Tim Thomas, Oak Park Township Supervisor

Lyn C. Conniff

Lynn Kamenitsa

Manuela Trombetta

Marge Epstein

Mari Hans

Matthew Clifford

Mattie Langenberg

Maureen McLachlan

Meghan Carter

Meghan Paulas

Michael and Libbey Paul

Michele Wheeler

Michele Zurakowski

Michelle Melin-Rogovin

Mika Yamamoto

Mike Doyle

Mike McGowan

Mike Sturino

Mitch Hendrickson

Moses N. Valdez

Nallely Gass

Nikita Horton

Nora and Tony Abboreno

Norah Eastman

Patrick Obrien

Paul Beckwith

Paul Clark

Paul Goyette

Peter Norvid

Rachel Walker

Randy Schnack

Ray Heise, Former Oak Park

Village Attorney

Rebecca Ho

Renee Stelter

RhonaTuschscher Taylor

Rob Breymaier, Former Director

Oak Park Regional Housing Center

Robert Kleps

Ron Orzel

Ruth Lazarus

Ryan Abbott

Ryan O’Malley

Sarah Shirk

Scott Kiefer

Scott Schwar

Andrew Celis, Community Development Citizen Involvement Commission Chair

Christina Welter, Board of Health Chair

Gregory Kolar, Citizen Involvement Commission Chair

Julia Knier, Farmers Market Chair

Masaru Takiguchi, Zoning Board of Appeals Chair

Michael Sturino, Plan Commission Chair Chair

Ron Burke, Transportation Commission Chair

Sarah Corbin, Liquor Control Review Board Chair

Sharon Newton, Civic Information Systems Commission, Chair

Tim Kelly, Building Codes Advisory Commission Chair

Sheela Raja

Sheila Wesonga

Sherry Nordstrom

Stefanie Glover

Steve Handoyo

Sue Bridge

Susan Reynolds

Terrence Roche

The Reverend Canon Dr. Alonzo Pruitt

Thomas H. Ptacek

Tina Harle

Todd Kiefer

Todd Stern

Tristan Rogers

Trudy Doyle

Wendy Daniels

William Riley

Winifred Haun

Yoko Terretta

Zerrin Bulut

Chris Pinc, OPCAN Member

Derek Eder, OPCAN Member

Laura Derks, OPCAN Founder

Laurie Casey, OPCAN Member

Macey Majkrzak, OPCAN Member

Manolo Avolos, OPCAN Member

Mike Trenary, OPCAN Member

Nick Bridge, OPCAN Member

Nicole Chavas, OPCAN Member

Pam Tate, OPCAN Member

International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 95—

Oak Park Fire Department

Oak Park Area Association of Realtors

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Trying more than a little kindnes

Lincoln students realize sentiment is wor th a lot more than pennies

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

Legendary country music crooner Glen Campbell once sang a song titled, “Try a Little Kindness.”

Some try. Other do, like the students and staff at Lincoln Elementary School did in February, and plan to do well after the school year is over

According to principal Casey Godfrey, each month Lincoln has a schoolwide theme, such as respect, friendship, gratitude and honesty, with kindness slated in February.

The humble copper penny shows Abraham Lincoln’s face, and in February students who were recognized by teachers and staff doing something kind earned a penny.

Each class set a goal of how many pennies they wanted to earn. Once they reached that threshold, they got to have a special day. One class got to bring blankets to school and built forts for lear ning

But that’s not really the whole point, according to Godfrey It’s what he saw from students who wanted to earn those pennies.

“It runs the gamut,” he said. “One of the most tangible is the older kids helping the kindergarteners zip up their coats. They could run out to recess, but they didn’t. Holding the doors open for people

“We have kids who help the kindergarteners in the lunch period. Opening their milk carton is a challenge, even now.”

Fourth grade teacher Maggie Berg said the halls throughout the school were covered with student-created drawings illustrating what kindness looks like in practice.

Why is teaching and talking cause it leads to action.

“Of all the lessons we teach one I most hope that my students will al be kind to other people,” she said.

What did the students do to show kindness February? The ways were man

“This month, I have held the everybody,” said fourth gr sad, I comforted them.”

Added another fourth gr this month to show kindness is still being kind to someone who wasn’t the nicest to me. Ever since I did that, nice to me back.”

That’s the whole point, Godfrey said, and the prime direc tive is to keep the focus on kindness going beyond this school year. Of all the monthly themes, he said, kindness is the most important one

As it is for his students, many of their kindness efforts on the school’s morning announcements, resulting in a selfie with Godfrey that’s sent to their parents and then posted on the school’s video board.

Fourth-graders listen to one another dur ing a morning meeting with Maggie Berg.

The students recognize, though, that there is more to kindness than just that.

“Kindness means being nice to someone even if they were rude to you,” said Vivian, a fourth grader

Another fourth grader, Olivia, said that kindness “means to respect people. Also, to me, it means to help someone when they are alone or sad.”

The kindness theme is likely to have a broad impact locally.

“I’m confident Lincoln isn’t the onl y school that focuses on kindness,” Godfrey said. “Kindness permeates society at all schools. I’m always looking for things that other schools are doing, and often we borrow ideas from other schools.

“Hopefully what we do at Lincoln inspires other schools.”

ere has got to be a better way to disagree politically

Recent Oak Park workshop focused on strategies to get along, not unlike in a marriage

By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter

The 40 or so people who attended a recent workshop at the Oak Park Library seemed to agree on one thing: the way we do politics in this country isn’t working.

The title of the March 8 workshop was Skills for Disagreeing Better, a program developed by Braver Angels, a national organization whose website declares: “Fighting Over Politics is Tearing Us Apart.”

If the workshop participants were surprised that what they heard felt more like what would be taught in marriage counseling than in a session about political conversations, it is helpful to know that Bill Doherty,

one of the co-founders of Braver Angels, has a background in family therapy and community engagement. He is a professor and director of the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota.

The workshop’s goals included developing listening skills that make the other person feel heard and learning skills that help you to share your own perspective in a way the other person might hear even if they disagree.

In one workshop activity, for example, people paired up to discuss the question: “How might better understanding the core values and concerns of people who differ from you politically help you listen, communicate and disagree better about policy differences?”

The first skill Braver Angels teach is what might be called “active listening,” which includes turning off your “inner debater” that wants to prepare your retort in a debate instead of really listening to the other person’s core values and concer ns

The second skill is “acknowledgement.”

This is letting the other person know that you hear their viewpoint and the strength of the feelings, values and concerns about it. The goal is to connect before disagreeing. The third step is “pivoting.” This is telling the other person that you would like to offer your point of view after you discern that they feel you have worked hard at understanding theirs. For example, you pivot by saying, “Can I offer my thoughts on this?

This is something I’ve thought a lot about.”

(Braver Angels gave no advice on how to proceed if your conversation partner refuses to let you share your perspective. In fact, the workshop leaders encouraged participants to let go of the expectation that your conversation partner will be following the same game plan and using the same skills that you are.)

The fourth skill is presenting your own perspective in a way which does not undermine the foundation you’ve worked hard to build. For example, it was suggested at the workshop to say, “This is the way I see it” as opposed to “This is how it absolutely is” and to share personal life experiences and story to support your point of view.

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With ‘tra c calming toolbox’ River Forest focuses on safety

Speeds tempered on Monroe and Washington

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

An overview of River Forest’s approach to traffic safety issues plus updates on projects on Washington Boulevard and Thatcher Avenue were front and center at the March 10 village board meeting.

In his presentation to officials, Jack Bielak, director of public works and engineering, said community engagement was “the cornerstone” of the village wide traffic study that was presented in 2023. He noted that traffic safety is a high priority of residents based on input provided at the Neighborhood Dialogues program conducted last year and at sessions of “casual conversations” with village President Cathy Adduci.

The goal of the traffic study was to identify high risk streets and intersections,

LIVELY ATHLETICS

from page 5

“We never considered opening anywhere other than Oak Park,” Pezalla said. “We grew up here and are raising our own kids here. We love it here – it’s home We knew the community would support us here, and we have been proven right over and over again.”

Over the last decade, Pezalla and Marlin’s goal has been to deliver a friendly approach to women – and now men and children, too –selling apparel, footwear and accessories for all, no matter where they’re at along their fitness jour ney.

“I think the fact that we ourselves exercise for the joy of it, not to break any records, really resonates with our customers and helps create a welcoming vibe in the store,” Pezalla said. “Kate and I sort of simultaneously fell in love with running as adults For me, it was a great way to deal with the stress of graduate school. For Kate, it was a new challenge and a way to stay in shape. I think this has helped us with our customers a lot over the years. We aren’t selling shoes to Olympic athletes; we’re selling to people who might be going for their very first run ever in the shoes they buy that day.”

Pezalla said that while she once used to love creating video content for Lively and chatting with customers for hours on end,

incorporating data from the safe route to schools and village wide bike routes efforts, Bielak said. Among the results was a traffic calming toolbox.

Based on data collection, the Traffic and Safety Commission will review requests and vote on recommended changes. Signage and striping changes are handled at a staff level because no code changes are necessary. Proposed changes to traffic control, parking and roadway configuration are sent to the village board for review and consideration.

Bielak cited the 1500 block of Monroe Avenue and Washington as demonstrating the effectiveness of traffic calming measures

On Monroe, staff members responded to resident complaints about speeding vehicles by striping parking lanes. Data showed that the average speed on that block dropped from 35 miles per hour to 29 miles per hour.

On Washington, which Bielak said led to “significant feedback,” installation of delineators at each intersection led to a reduction in average speed of four to seven

she and her sister feel that neither of them can muster up the same passion for Lively.

“Luckily, we have amazing employees and a superstar manager so the store is running really, really well,” she said. “But, I can only imagine how it will improve and grow under the care of someone who has passion and fresh ideas.”

While the sisters don’t have a set time frame for selling Lively, Pezalla said she hopes to have a buyer selected by the end of this month to set the gears in motion for transitioning the store over the summer.

“We’re going to take our time with the sale and really pick someone who we think will carry on the culture of Lively and take the store to the next level,” she said. “We know the support we’ve gotten over the years is because Oak Park liked to see two sisters building a community-oriented, small business together. We don’t take that for granted, and we want to make sure that this is a fun and happy transition.”

Pezalla said that the sisters have already met with six prospective buyers, with additional meetings scheduled

“If someone reading this article is interested, we hope they’ll reach out,” Pezalla said. “I think we’ve built a great business… and the fact that it’s profitable, turn-key and not owner-operated is another huge bonus.”

Pezalla said the sisters’ dream owner would be someone who has secure financing in place to purchase Lively and the desire to

miles per hour.

Bielak noted that the traffic calming measures on Washington are a temporary solution with long-term measures included in a proposed $1.8 million project in 2027. That project would include a road diet, bump outs, Americans with Disabilities Act improvements and various other traffic calming measures that contribute to bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Traffic safety on Thatcher would be addressed in conjunction with the coming extension of the Des Plaines River Trail. The River Forest section of the trail would mainly run along Thatcher between North Avenue and Madison Street.

“We need wholesale changes through the entire corridor,” Bielak said, noting the street’s imbalanced lane configuration of one northbound land and two southbound lanes He said the average speed in the northbound lane is 38 miles per hour and in the southbound lanes is between 42 and 44 miles per hour. The speed limit is 25 miles per hour.

maintain the store’s positive, communitycentric culture.

“We’ve never had a problem hiring or retaining employees, and we try to treat everyone who works for us as a part of our Lively family,” she said. “The fact that many of our employees stay for years and ask us to hire their own children is one of the biggest compliments we could get. So, we’re looking for someone who understands that the magic of Lively starts with the care we show for our own employees, which then extends out to our customers.”

“The potential for growth is there and so ready for the next owner,” she said.

While acknowledging the many challenges of a small business, particularly at time when big box stores are so dominant, Pezalla said stores like Lively are still very much wanted and deserve space in the retail world. But other things have also changed.

“Gone are the days where you can just stock cute stuf f, open your doors and await customers. Now, you have to understand search-engine optimization and social media,” she said. “But I know I personally don’ t want to live in a town without a cute downtown and I put my money where my mouth is. T here will always be a place for small business and I will continue to be an advocate for boutiques, even when Lively has sold.”

In the past year alone, Pe zalla says that Lively’s online sales have risen 207 percent,

Improvement options on Lake Street are limited because the street is controlled by the Illinois Department of Transportation, unlike in neighboring Oak Park, where the street is controlled by the village Trustee Erika Bachner suggested that the village take control of Lake, which Adduci supported.

“This is an opportunity for us to make it safer,” Adduci said. “We should ask Oak Park how they did it and how it’s working out.”

Village Administrator Matt Walsh concurred, saying, “It’s worth taking the shot.”

Data collection includes a five-year crash history study provided by the police department and data gathered through a traffic monitoring device. Bielak noted that the device not only provides data such as vehicle speeds but also is cost effective. Since purchasing the device for $3,000, it has been used 10 times. Before staff members had the device, such data collection was conducted by an engineering firm that would charge the village between $2,000 and $4,000 per study.

a testament to both the in-demand products Lively sells and the strong clientele base the sisters have worked to maintain all these years.

“The small businesses that are thriving are ones that understand their community and are willing to take risks and tell stories,” she said. “I see my teenage daughter out shopping with her friends all the time. I think the social aspect of enjoying the sunshine, walking around with a coffee in hand and looking at beautiful things won’t be going away.”

Though the end of family ownership of Lively draws near, Pe zalla said what she has loved most about being a small business owner can be summed up with one word: community.

“When we opened, I think Kate and I both naively saw ourselves as two sisters embarking on our own adventure. But, Oak Park was there for us right from the start. I had friends from high school and my kids’ preschool in the store setting up merchandise the night before we opened. Our very first customers were loyal runners from my running group, Best Foot Forward. And as the years went by, I’ve made friends with so many customers. What Lively has done in terms of building community is something I will never take for granted.”

For those interested in reaching out to Lively as a possible buyer, the sisters can be reached at info@livelyathetlics.com.

TEA PARTY Learning to lead

from page 3

to be proud of who they are and that being Black or someone of color, is a beautiful and special thing.

Juanta Griffin, Ase Productions executive director, added that because African Americans are sprinkled here and there throughout Oak Park, Black girls are not necessarily aware that they are a part of a larger Black community until they get to junior high school.

Her daughter Yemi Griffin, now in 8th grade, attended Horace Mann Elementary School in northwest Oak Park which is predominantly white.

“So putting on events like the Tea Party is a way to help Black and Brown girls feel seen,” Griffin said.

What started with empowering Black girls in Oak Park has grown over the years to include girls from neighboring communities

“When we did that we got more girls with more experiences and we got a richer, more fulfilling workshop where the girls are really sharing, “ Griffin said.

Elementary and middle school girls are the focus of the event. With the exception of the 8th grade mothers who took part in the rite of passage ceremony, mothers are not allowed to attend so that girls feel free

lights, the court performed a line dance to the popular “Boots on the Ground” song with fan popping and audience participation part of their routine

The “It Takes a Village” saying was put into play with people from all walks of life in Oak Park and surrounding communities including elected officials who either sponsored, in some way supported or attended the event.

State Sen. Don Harmon, Oak Park’s village clerk’s office, The Nova Collective, Suburban Unity Alliance and Westgate Flowers sponsored the event. People from the community donated all of the swag bag items that were gifted to the girls.

Khalida Himes, a social worker at Oak Park and River Forest High School and mentor fo r the event, led this year’s leadership-themed exercise centering around putting the girls in the mindset of creating a product and owning their own company.

Ryann Dawson, a junior at Fenwick High School served as emcee for the event. An icebreaker session kicked of f the event with 100 or so girls seated at tables covered in white tablecloths, chanting “I love being Black.”

“Speaking up, knowing when to listen, and continuing to learn are three leadership characteristics,” Dawson told the girls, her ice filling the second-floor ban-

Dawson also introduced the Inaugural 2025 Uniquely You Tea Party Court made up of 8th grade girls referred to as ‘butterflies’ which symbolizes their evolution from middle to high school. Presented with class and elegance in an upbeat manner to the delight of all in attendance, the court entered the banquet room in step with Kendrick Lamar’s “They Not Like Us.”

“I like being here because a lot of these 8th graders are going to be seeing me next year,” Himes said. “So, it’s really important for them to see a Black woman in the building. I just love being involved with anything that’s going to help them with their social and emotional health.

It was 13-year-old Jour ni Bolar’s third time taking part in the event.

“I feel special and I learn something every time.”

Sophy and Katara Watson were among the mothers and daughters who took part in what was a tearful, and emotional rite of passage ceremony for the eighth-grade girls.

Continue on pa ge 21

ERICA BENSON

Cook County Board Commissioner Tara Stamps talks with National Council of Negro Women’s Allison Albert and Kidada Robinson during the annual Uniquely You Tea Party, March 9. is year’s theme was Leadership and Civic Engagement

ERICA BENSON Oak Park students, including Rachel Smith, share their ideas on being a leader. Rachel said, “An example of a leader is being someone who takes charge in certain situations.”

ERICA BENSON

Ladonna Daniels of Oak Park (le ) celebrates the creator of Uniquely You Tea Party, Juanta Gri n, during the annual event.

“Juanta does so much for the community at large. Speci cally trying to amplify the voices, the images and the self-con dence of Black and Brown girls in the Oak Park community which has a history of being very liberal and welcoming but that’s not always the experience of our girls.”

TA RA STA MPS Cook County Commissioner

The ceremony was also an opportunity for words of appreciation, encouragement and support as mothers placed a gold key –symbolic of unlocking the door to the future –around their daughter’s neck.

The daughters in turn presented their mothers with a meaningful bouquet of flowers and a word describing the parenting

they’ve received.

“This event allows my daughter to be involved culturally and to experience sisterhood,” Sophy said.

Juanta and her own daughter, Yemi, were also part of the rite passage ceremony.

In a touching exchange, Juanta told her daughter that her wish for her was that when she made decisions for herself, that she would also make them for others and also fo r her community. Yemi expressed her appreciation for her mother’s hard work.

“I love being part of the event,” Yemi told Wednesday Journal prior to the ceremony.

“It’s a way for [girls] of color to feel included They come here and feel supported. My main takeaway is women empowerment. I’m in a room filled with powerful women.”

Tara Stamps. 1st District Cook County commissioner, has been part of the event since the beginning.

“Juanta does so much for the community at large,” Stamps said. “Specifically trying to amplify the voices, the images and the selfconfidence of Black and Brown girls in the Oak Park community which has a history of being very liberal and welcoming but that’s not always the experience of our girls.”

Vicki Scaman, Oak Park village president, was in attendance, telling Wednesday

Eighth-grade members of the Butter y Cour t dance dur ing the tea party.

Journal the event was a display of Black excellence.

What’s behind the big numbers in participation? Griffin said she thinks it’s because people want to connect culturally and belong.

“I like cotillion culture,” Griffin said.

“That’s a part of our culture that I want to reclaim. This is like a mini cotillion. Our girls deserve to be presented and held in the highest esteem and have beautiful things around them and to dress beautifully. I think this is important for all Black girls.”

SafeStreets

VisionZeroisa commitmenttodecreasetrafficinjuriesand deaths.Let’smakeOakParksafe,walkableandwelcoming.

DefendOakParkValues

Iwillprotectourmostvulnerablecommunitiesanddefend oursharedprogressivevalues.

DataDrivenLeadership

Good data produces good policy. I will use technology and data to better serve our Village.

RealEconomicDevelopment

Grow

and decrease our reliance on property taxes.

Affordability

Create the housing diversity that allows seniors to stay in the community they love and gives the next generation the opportunity to build their future here.

Systemic Sustainability

Create the walkable, human scale density that enables efficiency and supports our local businesses. Invest

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ERICA BENSON

Oak Park re chief retires a er 40 years with department

Fire Chief Ron Kobyleski will step down after decades of service on May 10

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park Fire Chief Ron Kobyleski has announced that he will retire from the department later this spring.

Koblyeski will end his career with over three years as the department’s top official, and 40 years with the department overall, according to a village release announcing the move.

“It has been an honor and privile ge to spend my career with the fire department here in Oak Park,” Kobyleski said. “The bravery and dedication shown by all of the men and women of this department has been inspiring to me and something that keeps all of us motivated to be our very best every single day. It’s a bitter-

sweet feeling to step away from a role that I deeply cherish, but I will do so knowing that the Oak Park Fire Department is in great hands and remains committed to carrying on the mission and serving the village with pride.”

Since joining the department in 1985, Kobyleski has held every available rank in Oak Park. In addition to his three-plus years as chief, he served one year as deputy chief, 10 years as a battalion chief and seven years as OPFD’s training officer, according to the release.

Across his tenure in Oak Park, Kobyleski has served as a certified fire investigator, hazardous-materials technician, technical rescue in building collapse, high-rise rescue, trench rescue and confined-space rescue. Kobyleski also created the mutual

aid box alarm system (MABAS) technical rescue team and led them for nine years, according to the release.

“Chief Kobyleski has poured his heart and soul into this village and for the critical function our fire department serves for four incredible decades,” said Village Manager Kevin Jackson. “From firefighter all the way to chief, Ron has risen through the ranks with a strong sense of integrity and commitment to safety, while never failing to put the needs of the community first. I congratulate him on a uniquely amazing 40-year career of service in Oak Park. It has been an absolute honor working with Chief Kobyleski over the past three years. And, on behalf of all Oak Parkers, I thank him deeply for his unwavering dedication, leadership and service to our village.”

As chief, Kobyleski oversaw facility upgrade projects, the purchase of multiple new emergency service vehicles and over 26,000 calls for service. His final day with the department is May 10.

PROVIDED

Oak Park Fire Chief Ron Kobyleski

MIMBY Oak Park Report: MIMBY Oak Park Report:

Village Board Candidates Village Board Candidates on Development on Development

We advocate a “Maybe in My Backyard” (MIMBY) development process. NO or YES should come only after a proposal is fully reviewed, with real public input. The Village Board should take these actions:

Add more and earlier meaningful public engagement and transparency, to truly engage the opinions of all neighborhood stakeholders.

Enforce the existing zoning code and ordinances, with any changes only after robust public engagement.

Protect and expand affordable housing with multiple strategies.

On February 5th we hosted a forum on development with all Village President and Village Trustee candidates. Their general consensus was to add more and earlier meaningful public engagement and transparency. A partial transcript is at www.mimbyoakpark.org. Here are our top takeaways from the candidates:

Village President

Ravi Parakkat and Vicki Scaman both said they want to reform the public-engagement process.

Ravi advocates maintaining community character, balanced historic preservation, protecting tourism dollars, and keeping large planned-unit developments (PUDs) along commercial corridors. Vicki advocates affordable housing, the missing-middle strategy, programs to help home maintenance, and early architectural review by the public.

More Information

To see more candidate quotes about development, and details about density and earlier public engagement in development decisions, please visit the Quotes and Details section at www.mimbyoakpark.org.

Chibuike Enyia said he wants development in scale with existing Oak Park buildings, matching our existing aesthetic. He is strongly in favor of inclusionary and affordable housing. He favors the missingmiddle strategy to make neighborhoods more diversified. Developments should be along commercial corridors and railways. Oak Park should build up its community character.

Jenna Leving Jacobson said we can strengthen our existing historic-preservation ordinance and rules with really transparent and clear processes, while addressing racial equity and high housing costs. She supports missing-middle efforts. She advocates paying density bonuses to developers so they will provide more affordable housing, since a

Village Trustees

study indicates Oak Park is less affordable than 93% of other Illinois communities.

Lucia Robinson wants to balance our need for modern zoning with our community values, including historic preservation. She would focus on preserving our “more affordable” housing units. She advocated Oak Park’s existing small-home rehab and energyefficiency grant programs. We can improve our historic-preservation ordinance to help homeowners seeking economic-hardship waivers. Larger luxury developments are not addressing Oak Park’s housing shortage.

Jim Taglia said he supports Oak Park’s historic-preservation ordinance to protect historic neighborhoods. He wants to keep taxes down and cut expenses

when necessary to keep our village affordable. While previously on the Village Board, he voted against proposed developments on Marion Street because he didn’t think they fit. He voted to enact the first inclusionary zoning ordinance.

Josh Vanderberg said we have about 100 architectural gems, but beyond those, he doesn’t think historic neighborhood preservation is accomplishing Oak Park’s goals of tourism and architectural reputation. Neighborhood preservation also prevents architectural innovation. He supports the inclusionaryzoning ordinance and the missing-middle strategy. He doesn’t think anybody wants a development that's out of scale for their area.

Wright home in Austin makes endangered list

Architect’s only West Side house in jeopardy

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

Last week Preservation Chicago announced its annual Chicago 7 list, identifying the city’s most endangered historic buildings. Prominent on the list is the only home designed on the West Side by Frank Lloyd Wright. The future of the dilapidated house is precarious.

Since 2003 the non-profit group, which advocates for historic preservation, has sounded the alarm on historic buildings that are in danger of being lost.

The group hopes that identifying the buildings will motivate stakeholders and the public to offer the support necessary to save the buildings from demolition.

Ward Miller, Richard H. Driehaus Executive Director of Preservation Chicago, notes that the timing of the announcement coincides with the incorporation of the city of Chicago on March 4 and aligns with construction season in the hopes that the list’s publication will inspire people to stabilize the buildings.

“A ’re celebrating our city, it’s ood to

don’t realize that some of our landmarks can be in peril,” said Miller.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s J.J. Walser House at 42 N. Central Ave. in Austin is on this year’s list. The home was built in 1903 for printing company executive Joseph Jacob Walser. It is one of only five existing Wright-designed Prairie structures in Chicago and is the only Wright-designed single-family home on the West Side.

Since the death of owner Anne Teague in 2019, the home’s future has been precarious. Before her death, she had a reverse mortgage on the home. That reverse mortgage and pending foreclosure proceedings are complicating effor ts to save the home.

Anne and Hurley Teague purchased the house in 1970, and Hurley, a contractor, worked to stabilize the home, which had seen many alterations to Wright’s original design under previous owners.

T he house was named a Chicago Landmark in 1981, a designation that prohibits demolition and requires approval for exterior changes. In 2013, the home was listed on the National Re gister of Historic Places (NRHP.)

e J.J. Walser House at 42 N. Central Ave. in Austin.

was not known. Not only has the house suf fered exterior deterioration, but the interior has been ransacked and there is significant water damage.

“Most of the time, Frank Lloyd Wright houses are extremely valuable, but this is in an area that’s seen disinvestment, and it needs a lot of work,” said Miller.

“This is not a property that you’ll turn around and sell for half a million dollars, but it needs a million dollars to re pair and stabilize. This is really going to take a special kind of person.”

The foreclosure proceedings and the impacts of a reverse mortg age are complicating ef for ts to find a new owner and steward for the house

Preservation Chicago has partnered with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, Landmarks Illinois and Austin Coming To gether to monitor the conditions of the house and work with the mortgage company, financial firm and City of Chicago to expedite the foreclosure process in hopes of getting a new owner for the home.

The advocacy groups are working to help out-of-state banks and mortgage stakeholders understand that the home is in dire

need of stabilization and that there is not time to let the process run its usual course.

As a NRHP-listed property, the house is a certified historic structure and a qualified rehabilitation project undertaken by future owners could qualify for federal and state historic tax credits to help finance the much-needed re pairs.

“This is a project that would really give back to the community. We want it to be a landmark and a point of pride for the neighborhood and the entire West Side,” said Miller.

The complete list of Preservation Chicago’s Chicago 7, 2025 Most Endangered Buildings can be viewed at https://www. preservationchicago.org/chicago-7/#

■ The Delaware Building

■ Clarence Dar row Memorial Bridge ■ J.J. Walser House ■ Olivet Baptist Church ■ Central Manufacturing District Clock Tower ■ Western Boulevard Industrial Buildings ■ St. Martin’s Church

Nonpro ts navigate federal budget cuts, policy changes

Zoom meeting held to discuss how nonpro ts can survive

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

There are about 80,000 nonprofits in Illinois that, in total, employ one million people. And on Chicago’s West Side, nonprofits make up about 25% of the economy.

But those numbers could change as the recently created United States Department of Gover nment Efficiency has laid off thousands of gover nment employees, claimed over $50 billion in budget cuts and shifted policy. Such developments are likely to disproportionately affect nonprofits, which depend on federal funding and partnerships.

Valerie Leonard, founder of Nonprofit Utopia – a West Side organization that helps other nonprofits build capacity – hosted a Zoom meeting at the end of last month, when Rep. Danny Davis, local experts and community members discussed how nonprofits will

likely be impacted and strategies to navigate a new presidential administration.

“The state has identified $1.88 billion in federal grants that have not been dispersed,”

Ralph Martire, executive director at the Center for Budget and Tax Accountability, said on the Zoom call. That money “covers everything from supporting small business and solar development to veterans, AIDS prevention and help, mental health, developmental disabilities, support for senior citizens, support for children.”

“This is just a snapshot of what could be coming our way,” Martire added. “All of it will create significant negative economic multipliers that will reduce our private sector growth in the next few years.”

Marc J. Lane, president of the Law Offices of Marc J. Lane, is an expert on gover nment and nonprofit structures and has helped write legislation to support nonprofits.

“In Illinois, 67% of 990-filers that get government grants would be at risk without them,” Lane said on the Zoom call.

And while gover nment funding is vital to most nonprofits, federal policies are also affecting these organizations. President Donald

Trump has issued executive orders to prohibit programs that advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

“That’s the hallmark of many nonprofits,” Lane said. “The populations they serve are marginalized populations in disinvested communities, in many cases.”

“My congressional district has more nonprofits on average than many other places because of who the people are who live here,” agreed Davis, who represents the 7th District that covers part of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, Oak Park and Forest Park

What can nonpro ts do?

Within the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats are actively working to address the current stall in federal funding.

“We keep preparing and working every day, pushing back,” Davis said. He is a member of the House’s Ways and Means Committee, which influences tax policy. “Democrats have a strategy. We are unified. The one thing we have been pleased about has been the unification of our group, of our party.”

Working together could transcend House

Democrats, spilling into the local nonprofit community.

“In this country, as it was evolving into a country, people would form things and do things themselves, and not wait for the gover nment to do them,” Davis said.

Others on the Zoom call agreed, suggesting that nonprofits mobilize and form coalitions.

“Nonprofits are increasingly backing away from advocacy for fear of retaliation, for fear of being conspicuous,” Lane said. But, he added, existing laws allow public charities to lobby, and for private foundations to fund such charities.

“There are ample opportunities for nonprofits to coalesce, do that which is in their collective best interest, and secure funding from foundations and individuals and others who care about this stuff and see the nonprofit community as the vanguard of change,” Lane said.

Nonprofits can also increase earned revenue by emphasizing their core competencies and underutilized assets, diversifying

Continue on pa ge 27

TAGLIA

Taglia

DEI CHIEF

Sign of the times?

from page 3

sponsoring and promoting Oak Park’s first Juneteenth celebration and helping the village create a racial equity assessment, although that re port has not been released and the Engage Oak Park page associated with the project hasn’t been updated since December 2023.

Before coming to Oak Park, Walker had served as the DEI officer for the City and County of Denver — City Attorney’s Office. She was also the first person to hold that title Prior to that, she had served as a policy advisor for the Colorado Department of Health Care, Policy and Finance, where her work focused on equity issues affecting disabled people.

education from the University of Colorado -- Denver.

“It’s really important for me, building these relationships and these connections,” she told Wednesday Journal shortly after her start in Oak Park. “And so I really am grateful and honored to be in thi s inaugural role and to really grow with the community.”

Walker’s departure comes less than a month after Emily Egan, the village ’s development services director, left after less than a year in Oak Park for a job with north suburban Wilmette

During a Wednesday Journal sponsored candidate for um earlier this month, current Village Board President Vicki Scaman said the rate that high ranking village staf f members leave Oak Park speaks to the Oak Park gover nment’s well-respected place in the job market.

She holds a PhD in philosophy with a concentration on critical social issues in

Continued from previous pa ge

funding sources so they can depend less on federal dollars.

“There are techniques and structures and designs that allow you to [leverage] those businesses and different entities that are not dependent upon tax deductible or tax exemption, where the revenue would drive your programming or be reinvested in the growth of that social enterprise,” Lane said.

Lane, Davis and Martire also suggest that nonprofits engage with the private sector for funding and, above all, remaining confident.

“We need to have hope,” Lane said. “We

“We have staf f who’ve been able to get up to $80,000 more in their new jobs,” she said during the for um. “The market that is out there for municipal employees is very competitive.”

also need to plan for things that may not go in a better direction.”

Nonprofits that are looking to network with each other and learn more about getting local support can attend a symposium next month that is hosted by the Cook County Commission of Social Innovation – which creates actionable social policy recommendations for the county board – and the nonprofit, Social Enterprise Chicago.

The symposium will be held at UIC, 750 S. Halsted St., on April 4 from 8 a.m. to noon. It is free to attend and those who are interested can re gister at https://www.e ventb rite.com/e/social-enterprise-2025-tickets-1238168759089.

DANIELLE WALKER

ART BEAT

Exploring Heaven and Hell on Earth: e Oriana Singers debut at two new venues

Choral per formance re

By HECTOR CERVANTES Contributing Reporter

The Oriana Singers continue its 45th anniversary season with a choral performance of “Music of Heaven & Hell on Ear th” at two new local venues.

Led by founder and artistic director Bill Chin, the group will perform at United Lutheran Church in Oak Park on March 15 and at Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago on March 16.

The eight-voice ensemble will showcase a variety of musical genres, performing both accompanied and a cappella works.

The show will explore life’s heavenly and hellish experiences through an arranged program featuring works by Vienna Teng, Philip Glass and Meredith Monk. The Oriana Singers are also celebrating its 45th season.

“We’ve weathered the storms of the pandemic and the constant struggle to be an arts organization in a culture that doesn’t always prioritize the arts. It’s really notable that we are still here,” Chin said.

When asked what he hoped audiences would feel or reflect on after experiencing the program, Chin said that he primarily hopes the audience would leave the show reflecting on the contrasts between what is good and bad and the idea of heaven on earth versus its opposite.

“My hope is always that I’m performing music I’m excited about and can share that excitement with others and get them interested in it,” Chin said.

In terms of the setting for the performance, the Bohemian National Cemetery holds a particular significance for Chin, who first visited many years ago and was struc k by its unique atmosphere. While the cemetery resembles a traditional burial ground in many ways, it is also home to the columbarium, a structure that serves as both a crematorium and a resting place for ashes.

The columbarium at the Bohemian National Cemetery consists of hallways lined with niches, each containing the ashes of loved ones along with photos and mementos, offering a deeply personal tribute to those who have passed. At the heart of the building is the grand Ceremony Hall, an ornate, domed space known for its remarkable acoustics and historical significance.

“It’s a place that has been used for performances and it plays into the idea of heaven and hell,” Chin said. “If you believe in an afterlife and that you’ re going to one place or the other, it kind of makes sense.”

Chin’s approach to curating concerts has evolved signifi-

e Oriana Singers

experience, he began exploring new directions, eventually transitioning from conducting larger groups to a smaller ensemble of six highly skilled singers.

“Over time, I’ve increasingly foc used on music that fit s within that ensemble size –you know, six singers with a specific voicing. This concert will feature eight singers, which may not seem like a significant chang e, but it opens up many new possibilities in terms of re per toire,” Chin said.

For “Music of Heaven & Hell on Earth,” Chin believes that incorporating both a cappella and accompanied works enhances the concert experience, as a cappella

unfamiliar way. Additionally, the use of instruments –primarily keyboards rather than a full orchestra – adds another layer to the performance while maintaining the intimacy of a small ensemble,” Chin said.

He added: “These pieces are chosen not simply because they include accompaniment but because they align with the overall vision. T he goal is to stay true to the group’s signature style while also shaping the program in a meaningful way.”

Tick ets are $35 for gene ral admission, $30 for seniors over 65 and free for students. Purchase a tick et at https:// ow.ly/OI8Q50VfcH m

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It’s time to vote. Here’s what you need to know

All democracy is local. And in a moment when our democracy is at risk, focusing on local issues and local races has never been more important. As Oak Park and River Forest move toward the Spring elections for village and school leaders, library and park board offices Wednesday Journal is offering you this Election Guide. That coverage comes in print today and, more expansively at oakpark.com/2025-localelections

didates in contested races are presented here in this Election Guide which was designed by Javier Govea, our editorial design manager. You can find questionnai re responses from every candidate in the Election Guide at oakpark. com/2025-local-elections. That project was headed by Stacy Coleman, our digital manager. Let’s start with the candidates

This year we have profiled almost every candidate in a contested election, held three candidate forums – live, live streamed and recorded. We had forums for school board candidates at Oak Park and River Forest High School and at the District 97 elementary schools. We also hosted the candidates for the Oak Park village board and for village president. Thanks to Laura Maychruk, Realtor and late owner of The Buzz for moderating the village forum and DeRondal Bevly for moderating the D97 event.

We’ve also sent detailed questionnaires to every candidate running for local office. The answers to our questions for can-

UNC ONTESTED RACES

There is something brave and generous, only occasionally ego-driven, that leads a local person to run for local office. We’ve been watching local elections for 45 years and our observation is that with a dud once in a while, with people we have disagreed with on policy, that in our non-partisan elections almost all candidates run because they care about the high school or the parks, have a vision for the library, are committed to better village services or holding taxes or growing equity. Or all of the above.

As you read these pages of questions and answers from each of these candidates know that there is a lot on the line this year.

Your vote truly matters.

Most candidates running unopposed in this year’s election were asked to complete a questionnaire from the Journal. Those responses do not appear in our print Election Guide

Oak Park Village Clerk (one seat open)

■ Christina Waters

Oak Park Township Supervisor (one seat open)

■ Timothy Thomas

Oak Park Township Assessor (one seat open)

■ Ali ElSaffar

Oak Park Township Clerk (one seat open)

■ Lou Anne Johannesson

Oak Park Township Trustee (four seats open)

■ DaToya Burton-Cox

■ Eric Davis

■ Juan Munoz

■ Margaret Trybus

River Forest Village President (one seat open)

■ Catherine Adduci

River Forest Village Trustee (three seats open)

■ Lisa Gillis

■ Me gan Keskitalo

■ Respicio F. Vazque z

River Forest School District 90 (four seats open)

■ Kathleen Avalos

■ Katherine Bevan

■ Joshua Ehart

■ Beth Vlerik

Park District of Oak Park Commissioner

■ Sandra Lentz

■ Adekunle “Ade” Onayemi

Ashley Lenz, a candidate for the District 97 school board, did not return the Wednesday Journal questionnaire by deadline. Also missing that deadline was David Schaafsma, a write-in candidate for the District 200 OPRF school board.

Do you plan to early vote? The details on how to do it are just below.

Finally, this expanded coverage is possible because of a donation to our Growing Community Media nonprofit from the Good Heart Work Smart Foundation. It has allowed us not only to fund our election reporting and create this guide but also to widely increase our circulation for this issue of Wednesday Journal.

We are mailing a paper this week to thousands of additional neighbors across Oak Park These are people who do not regularly receive the paper. We hope they will be motivated to vote, and, yes, we hope they will consider subscribing to our weekly print edition or become a donor on our digital side.

This election is in your hands. Educate yourselves on the issues and the candidates. And then seize the power of your vote

Dan Haley Growing Community Media

Brendan He ernan ELECTION COORDINATOR Wednesday Journal

VOTING LO CATIONS (APRIL 1, 2025 C ONSOLIDATED GENERAL ELECTION)

The early voting locations listed here are for Suburban Cook County voters only. If you live in the City of Chicago please visit chicagoelections.gov for their Early Voting locations

OAK PARK VILLAGE HALL

123 MADISON ST OAK PARK, IL 60302

Monday-Friday

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mar. 17 - Mar. 21 Mar. 24 - Mar. 28 Mar. 31

Saturday

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mar. 22, Mar. 29

Sunday

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mar. 23, Mar. 30

MAYWOOD (PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT) 121 S 5TH AVE MAYWOOD, IL 60153

Monday-Friday

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mar. 17 - Mar. 21 Mar. 24 - Mar. 28 Mar. 31

Saturday

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mar. 22, Mar. 29

Sunday

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mar. 23, Mar. 30

BERWYN (PAVEK COMMUNITY CENTER)

6501 31ST ST. BERWYN, IL 60402

Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mar. 17 - Mar. 21 Mar. 24 - Mar. 28 Mar. 31

Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mar. 22, Mar. 29

Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mar.

Why we no longer endorse candidates

Since 2020 Growing Community Media has been a nonprofit news organization. Because of that change we operate under re gulations set by the Internal Revenue Service. Among those IRS require-

ments is the rule that as a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit that we are no longer permitted to endorse specific candidates for of fice.

That ended our long-standing process of interviewing all local candidates and offering endorsements. In lieu of that we have stepped up our information gathering and reporting on the candidates and are presenting that to voters in this Election Guide

jayne

Get ready to vote in the April 2025 local election

By LUZ ANE DRAUGHON

Voting is one way Oak Pa rk and Rive r Fo rest residents c an make their vo ices heard and enact change on the local leve l during the April 2025 local elections.

This year ’s election takes p lace April 1, or voters c an g et out early to c ast a b allot in March. Residents will choose the outcome of p ositions including the new village president, three seats on the village b oard of trustees, local school b oards, pa rk district and library boards

Register to vote

First-time eligible voters, those looking to change their registration address or anyone looking to double check they’re set for Election Day can do so at https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections/voter-registration.

To vote in Illinois, you must turn 18 years old on or before the date of the consolidated election. You must be a United States citizen and live in your election precinct at least 30 days prior to the Election Day. You cannot be serving a jail or prison sentence and cannot have claimed the right to vote anywhere else

For the April 1 election, voters can register online, in person or by mail.

With an Illinois driver’s license or state ID, you can register through the Illinois State Board of Elections at https://ova.elections. il.gov/ by March 16.

To register in person, suburban Cook County residents can go to one of the Cook County Clerk’s locations, a village clerk, an Illinois Secretary of State’s drivers license facility or deputy re gistrars.

Individuals wanting to register to vote during early voting can do so by bringing two pieces of identification, one with a current address, to their voting site. You can also register on Election Day at your home precinct or an Election Day Vote Center

Elec tion Day

Voting is open for the consolidated municipal elections from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 1. Oak Park’s Village Hall is not a polling place on Election Day. Instead, residents can find their designated polling place at https:// www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections/yourvoter-information.

As village president, how will you respond to Trump administration policies on a local level?

OA K PARK VILL AG E PRESIDENT (2 C ANDIDATES FOR 1 OPEN SEAT)

Our federal gover nment is making changes that are a direct attack on our values. I participate on weekly calls hosted by our Gover nor’s office to inform legal steps we need to take to protect residents. I will ensure infor mation, legal and social service resources are available. I will work with neighboring communities, go tal partners, and elected representatives to advocate for our needs. We are a community that believes every person deserves to be safe, respected, and cared for. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not words we use to fear-monger. I will protect these values. Our historic commitment to fostering racial integration, and to cultivating diversity and equity will continue. We will stand in loving solidarity with our LGBTQ+ siblings We will always be welcoming

How is Oak Park doing on promoting economic development and vitality? What needs to change?

Oak Park was named to Travel Lemming’s list of top 50 places to travel in 2025. Oak Park has 12 vibrant business districts, each with their own unique flair and a low vacancy rate of 3%. It is my priority to invest in our small business districts with infrastructure that will attract opportunities to grow our tax base and promote cultural events that contribute to a stronger sense of belonging for all. I am interested in further diversify our housing stock for affordability and inclusivity. We are creating an economic vitality plan that will provide a blueprint for attracting new growth and an economic development framework that merges the recruitment strengths of the past with the transparent incentive policies tax payers and developers appreciate

What are your thoughts on the new leaf collection program and would you support repealing the decision to bag leaves for collection?

I voted “no” on changing our leaf pick-up program because we had not engaged residents nearly enough. I requested the engagement of our commissions and gover nmental partners, specifically; aging in communities and disability access. Further community engagement still needs to happen to better in-

form a path forward, even if it leads to reversing the program. I have heard from some neighbors that like the change. The fact remains, we did not do the work to eng age our community on how to address concerns that existed related to our leaf pick-up program.

With federal COVID-era funds coming to an end, how can Oak Park fund special efforts such as it did with migrants or to invest in sustainability?

I am committed to identifying diverse funding sources to fully support our Climate Ready Oak Park plan and special efforts that speak directly to our community goals and values. I have a strong track record of successfully leveraging relationships and partnerships for projects important to Oak Park I am a founding village president of a public private partnership called “Cross Community Climate Collaborative” with Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson, River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci. We work with fourteen communities to collectively seek grants and funding partnerships for large scale sustainability projects with over $3M in grants to date.

The Oak Park Police Department has been seriously understaffed for multiple years. What will you do to recruit and retain officers to ensure public safety needs are met?

I have led a multi-faceted approach to recruit and retain officers and ensure public safety needs are met. We re-evaluated salaries, benefits, and incentive programs to be more competitive. Working with the Chief, we approved lateral hires for qualified candidates from other police departments. We are investing in officer wellness programs inclusive of a therapy dog, social services, and access to workout facilities. We have prioritized building of a new police facility that meets the needs of our department and welcomes collaboration with partner agencies and space for community eng agement. I have led on eng aging a task force to advance an alternative response model for mental health and wellness calls that includes care coordination with the goal of reducing calls to our police

As village president, ho will you respond to administration policies on local level?

Current federal policies threaten Oak Park’s values in two ways: • Withholding Community Development Block Grants cial programs and federal to support public safety and health. • Enforcing federal gration policies that conflict with our commitment to inclusivity. If federal funding is withheld, we will be forced to rethink how we allocate local funds to ensure continued support for critical services. We also need an action-oriented strategy to collaborate with our supportive Illinois state government. Additionally, we must refocus local spending on real community needs rather than wasteful projects like the $150+ million Village Hall project promoted by President Scaman that price residents out of our community.

going to go”, bypassing community input. She later reversed her stance in April—but the damage one. In 2023, 2,196 tons of were collected; in 2024, only 580 tons, forcing residents including seniors to manage 1,616 tons on their own. This was a poorly lanned decision. As Village President, I will listen to residents and repeal this policy, ensuring equitable, cost-effective solutions

With federal COVID-era funds coming to an end, how can Oak Park fund special efforts such as it did with migrants or to invest in sustainability?

How is Oak Park doing on promoting economic development and vitality? What needs to change?

Oak Park deserves leadership that delivers results, not delays. Two years after disbanding the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, we still lack a clear economic development plan or vision. The Economic Vitality Plan has been needlessly delayed, leaving key sites like the Mohr property undeveloped and retail vacancies unaddressed. We must take a strategic approach working with the Chamber, Visit Oak Park etc.. I’ve proven how innovative solutions can drive impact without tax dollars through Takeout 25 which strengthened the small business economy. As Village President, I will prioritize $500 million in strategic investments, strengthening our economy while ensuring growth supports—not displaces—small businesses and preserves our architectural legacy as a key economic asset.

What are your thoughts on the new leaf collection program and would you support repealing the decision to bag leaves for collection?

The January 28, 2024, Fall Leaf Collection Report confirms what residents already know—citizen concerns were ignored in the report and in the March 12th decision to switch to leaf bagging. Video evidence shows President Scaman dismissed street sweeping as “not working” and declared, “I’m fairly convinced this (leaf bagging) is where we’re

Too often, we just throw money at problems. Instead, clearly defining the problem leads to more effective, cost-efficient solutions—sometimes without any funding. Takeout 25 proved this, as collective action provided meals for migrant families, and established Illinois’ first Green Dining Hub in Oak Park—all without tax dollars. That said, the Village Board’s role is to allocate funds responsibly for essential services. However, four years after the pandemic, we continue to rely on pandemicera federal funds for local priorities leaving us vulnerable This is why fiscal responsibility matters. Innovative thinking, strategic leadership, and effective gover nance ensure every dollar spent delivers real impact for Oak Park

The Oak Park Police Department has been seriously understaffed for multiple years. What will you do to recruit and retain officers to ensure public safety needs are met?

My top priority is to create a positive work environment for police officers, ensuring they feel valued and supported while maintaining accountability and the Village Board must lead by example. Unfortunately, during discussions on FLOCK cameras (Automated License Plate Readers), professional staff were treated with disrespect and distrust, undermining their expertise and demoralizing the department. My priorities infor med by experts include: • Lateral hiring ,training and competitive pay adjustments • Technology investments, including ALPRs and a new Records Management System. • Expedited construction of a new police facility, Oak Park deserves leadership that prioritizes both public safety and responsible gover nance.

VICKI SC AMAN

RAVI PARAKK AT

In light of recent incidents of gun violence in Oak how do you plan to pre gun violence and promote safety?

OA K PARK VILL AG E OF BOARD TRUSTEES (5 C ANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS )

I am honored to be endorsed Moms Demand Action as a Gun Sense Candidate. Addressing violence requires a multi-faceted, community-driven approach that prioritizes prevention, enforce ment, education, and investment in root causes. Oak Park ready taken action by passing a Safe Gun Storage ordinance, and I support expanding ef for ts like gun lock distribution and education. Gun violence is both a public health and safety issue, requiring strong partnerships with public health officials, law enforcement, and schools. We must also invest in mental health resources, economic opportunities, and conflict resolution training to reduce violence at its roots. A comprehensive, community-led approach is key to a safer Oak Park.

CHIBUIKE ENYIA

es can encourage new affordable units, while programs the Af fordable Housing Fund and F lexible Rental Assistance Program ensure housing stability. Addressing homelessness means strengthening partnerships with groups like Housing Forward and investing in prevention services, job training, and mental health . Collaboration with government agencies, nonprofits, and neighboring communities is key to long-term solutions. By leveraging resources, we can create a more inclusive, stable Oak Park

What are your thoughts on the proposed Village Hall remodel?

Community experience

Village of Oak Park: Member, Fire Pension Board Member, Finance Committee Member, Personnel Committee Member, Collaboration for Early Childhood Member, Citizens Police Oversight Member, Zoning Board of Appeals Township of Oak Park: Member, Senior Services Committee Member, Community Mental Health Board Other Boards: Greater Chicago Le gal Clinic Oak Park & River Forest History Museum

In light of recent incidents of gun violence in Oak Park, how do you plan to prevent gun violence and promote safety?

Have the combined levies of Oak Park taxing bodies pushed taxpayers to a point of property tax saturation? What should the response of the village board be to control property tax levels?

Oak Park’s many taxing bodies provide essential services, but rising property taxes are a concern. The Village Board must balance af fordability with maintaining services by collaborating across taxing bodies to find cost-saving efficiencies. Expanding our commercial tax base helps distribute the burden, while using home rule authority strategically. I will continue advocating for state property tax reforms, including a graduated income tax, to shift the burden from homeowners. Above all, fiscal responsibility is key—we must assess the longterm impact of new programs to ensure sustainability. By working together and spending wisely, we can keep Oak Park vibrant and af fordable

How will you promote affordable housing development and aid those experiencing homelessness in Oak Park?

Expanding af fordable housing and addressing homelessness in Oak Park requires a multi-faceted approach. We must preserve and improve existing housing by using Community Development Block Grants and expanding Housing Choice Vouchers. Exploring zoning changes and developer in-

The Village Hall remodel must balance functionality, accessibility, and fiscal responsibility while meeting the needs of residents and staf f. We must assess infrastructure challenges, space limitations, and inefficiencies to ensure the project truly improves service delivery. The remodel should include energy-efficient upgrades and full ADA compliance to make village services more accessible. Given tax concerns, we must carefully evaluate costs and explore grants and public-private partnerships to minimize the impact on taxpayers. Transparency and community input are key to shaping priorities. Ultimately, this project should enhance efficiency and accessibility while being financially responsible.

How will you help Oak Park reach its sustainability goals and are the cur rent goals too ambitious?

Sustainability can’t wait. Climate change is already impacting our lives, and Oak Park must take urgent action. Our sustainability goals aren’t too ambitious—they’re the bare minimum needed to protect our environment, public health, and future. We must accelerate clean energy adoption, modernize public buildings for energy efficiency, and ensure new developments meet high sustainability standards. Expanding bike and pedestrian infrastructure, public transit access, and EV incentives will cut emissions, while preserving green spaces and tree canopy strengthens climate resilience. Sustainability must also be equitable, with energy grants and af fordable transit for all. Incremental change isn’t enough, Oak Park must act now.

Public safety is one of my top priorities. Community engagement and education on gun safety and storage is paramount. Also, continuing to support programs like free gun locks at Village Hall for anyone who wants one is a good step in the right direction. Also, doing what we can to get ille gal guns of f the streets requires a fully staf fed police department, which I support. Finally, suicide prevention programs for all villagers can save lives.

Have the combined levies of Oak Park taxing bodies pushed taxpayers to a point of property tax saturation? What should the response of the village board be to control property tax levels?

Yes. The Village Board must prioritize responsible fiscal management to prevent further burdening residents. Some might argue that the village only makes up 16% of the total budget and use that as justification to look elsewhere for savings. I disagree with that and believe we have a duty to our taxpayers to be good stewards of their hardearned money. I pushed for a cap of 3% on levy increases and the village has been able to maintain that level for five or six years now. But the renovation of village hall is going to raise the levy 20%-30% for the next 20+ years. As a trustee, I have supported fiscally responsible budgets while maintaining essential services. We must set clear budget limits for new projects and find ef ficiencies in gover nment spending to avoid unnecessary tax increases

How will you promote affordable housing development and aid those experiencing homelessness in Oak Park?

I proudly supported Oak Park’s historic Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance in 2019, which has raised millions for af fordable housing and helped fund workforce and other affordable housing. I will continue advocating for af fordable housing solutions that are practical, well-inte grated, and community-driven, ensuring that new developments align with our community values. Addressing homelessness requires a multiagency approach, combining af fordable housing expansion, mental health services, and job training programs to provide longterm solutions rather than temporary fixes Our partnership with Housing Forward has been incredible and I see me voting to support future collaborations with them and others fighting for the unhoused

What are your thoughts on the proposed Village Hall remodel?

Our original goal was to build a muchneeded police station—not to spend $100M+ on unnecessary Village Hall renovations. The current proposal would raise property taxes by at least 20%-30% over 20 years, which is completely unsustainable for residents, and a breach of fiduciary duty on the part of trustees who vote for such wasteful spending. We should return to the original plan, focusing on a cost-effective, stateof-the-art police station while making only the most necessary upgrades to Village Hall, such as improving accessibility.

How will you help Oak Park reach its sustainability goals and are the current goals too ambitious?

Sustainability is an important issue, and Oak Park has taken significant steps toward reducing its environmental impact, all of which I have supported as a trustee. While I support realistic and impactful sustainability initiatives, we must ensure that goals are achievable without placing undue financial burdens on residents and businesses. I don’t know if the current goals are too ambitious, mainly because I am not an expert in this field and do not know what is possible. We have a group of experts in Oak Park who work tirelessly to guide the village on these initiatives. I tend to trust the input of these experts and see my job as a trustee as making sure our actions do not cause harm or unforeseen circumstances to the village.

JAMES TAGLIA

OA K PARK VILL AG E BOARD OF TRUSTEES (5 C ANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS )

In light of recent incidents of gun violence in Oak Park, how do you plan to prevent gun violence and promote safety?

I will build on my record of gun violence prevention work by insisting on a public health response to this crisis. As a mom, I will never accept that we have allowed gun violence to be the leading cause of death for children in this country. I refuse to be desensitized and accept it as normal. The IPLAN identifies gun violence as one of the Village’s 4 strategic priorities, yet many of the strategies were not implemented As such, I am committed to our public education campaigns, supporting survivors and those most at risk of exposure to gun violence, and to engaging regionally with broader policy efforts. We must address root causes, and do so collaboratively across municipal agencies and neighboring communities, as gun violence doesn’t begin and end at our borders.

Have the combined levies of Oak Park taxing bodies pushed taxpayers to a point of property tax saturation? What should the response of the village board be to control property tax levels?

Oak Park should be an af fordable place to live for anyone-no matter what you look like

or where you come from. High taxes remain a barrier to the ra cial and economic diversity tha we value. While the Village Boar doesn’t levy the greatest contribution to the overall taxes paid residents, it does have leve when it comes to refor ms tha can make the property tax system more fair, and can help create enue through sales taxes to help offset demand on property taxes This is where I’d like to focus efforts as strong local businesses bring stability to our community

How will you promote affordable housing development and aid those experiencing homelessness in Oak Park?

For our community to thrive, we must ensure safe, stable housing for all. But in Oak Park, 2 out of 5 renters struggle to pay their rent and older residents are the most housing cost burdened. Shortage in affordable housing has contributed to both our Black population loss and to the alarming rise in homelessness Specific actions the board can take include updating our Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to

20% of new units to be affordable, increase in-lieu-of fees to non-profit developments the 2 coming on Madison and elt, and establish density bonuses to incentivize developers to include the required affordable When everyone has access to housing options that they can our entire community benfits in health, economic, and public safety returns

What are your thoughts on the proposed Village Hall remodel?

Local gover nment and municipal services must be accessible for all. Currently, Village Hall is not adequately accommodating to all of our community. The building’s deficiencies have been neglected long enough that the next Board cannot defer renovations of the Police Department. Because this construction will inevitably disrupt all of Village Hall, I understand why we are coordinating a larger renovation project. Without seeing the full results from community input surveys, I find the scope of the proposed remodel project to be too big, and too expensive. I would encourage

us to rethink long-term community needs of the space, tax levy implications and potential partnerships with other agencies to make the remodel a more modest investment.

How will you help Oak Park reach its sustainability goals and are the current goals too ambitious?

Climate change threatens the bright future we wish for our families. Rather than change our goals to make them easier to meet, we must commit to the timely implementation of the Climate Ready plan with the urgency that this crisis demands. It’s likewise essential to commit to the Vision Zero plan-developing safe, healthy, equitable mobility infrastructure that will allow more of us to walk and bike, thereby less reliant on cars. I will ensure that we prioritize solutions in partnership with the members of our community most adversely impacted by climate change, so that we are taking good care of our environment, and each other

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at: oakpark.com/2025-local-elections

•

OAK PARK VILLAGE BOARD TRUSTEE (5 CANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS)

• All Instructors and Masters are Local, trained from within by GrandMaster Yu: consistent, high standards

Community experience I serve on the Civic Infor tion Systems Commission (CISC) where we worked with the village board and the police department to shape critical policies around police surveillance, includin implemented the ACLU’s Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) model legislation. I run a local community called ‘Yes Oak Park’, with the of reforming restrictive zoning rules and creating housing dance in Oak Park. We’ve got an sign. I’ve also engaged with the for years, deep diving into local data sources and producing easy to digest summaries. For example I maintain a 20+ year history of property tax data in Oak Park, and periodically publish trend analyses and breakdowns

In light of recent incidents of gun violence in Oak Park, how do you plan to prevent gun violence and promote safety? We need to fully staff our police department, and continue to implement the Alternative Response plan, now called ECHO. This program will strategically deploy non-sworn officers to mental health and non-violent calls for service. This will free up officers to deter and investigate violent crime. We also need to invest in technology and data reporting to promote transparency. I’ve been frustrated for years with the quality of crime data in Oak Park Good data makes for good policy.

Have the combined levies of Oak Park taxing bodies pushed taxpayers to a point of property tax saturation? What should the response of the village board be to control property tax levels?

How will you promote affordable housing development and hose experiencing homelessness in Oak Park?

I support the affordable housing und, and advocate for finding recurring, stable sources of revenue so that its fully funded. I also supontinued funding of HousForward, and other partners agencies, to provide emergency housing and other services for those experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is strongly correlatfordability. Those areas of the counry that are the least affordable have the largest unhoused populations. We need to create housing abundance in Oak Park by reforming zoning to increase residential development, allowing new housing that’s appropriate to the scale of what’s already in the neighborhood

What are your thoughts on the proposed Village Hall remodel?

I support both the new police department and village hall facilities. They are much needed upgrades. But the projected total budget for these facilities is eye watering. Funding these top dollar plans will costs millions of dollars more per year than more modest projects. These are millions of dollars we will need in the coming years, as our sources of federal funding vanish. The village board should reset and place a reasonable but adequate budget on these projects, and look for economies of scale, combining the two projects into one larger building.

How will you help Oak Park reach its sustainability goals and are the current goals too ambitious?

Property taxes over the last 20 years have outpaced wage growth. This decreases economic diversity in Oak Park as those who can’t afford it move. Though the village has contributed to that growth, 2/3rds of our taxes are generated by the school systems. That doesn’t mean that the Village shouldn’t watch its property taxes, but its portion of the property tax pie is relatively small. Where the village has significant leverage is in the fact that the majority of its revenue comes from non-property taxes sources: sales taxes, other taxes, and fees Economic development is the key driver of these revenue streams. The more we increase the revenue from business activity, the less the village needs to rely on property tax revenue.

I support the Climate Ready Oak Park plan (CROP). It’s a good, comprehensive plan - but its scope is massive. I support the initiatives to fund the plan, but so far the funding, and results, have been minimal. It’s hard to see where significant funding for these goals will come from, especially under the new administration. People often say that we cannot address climate change at the local level. But local governments have extensive control over how we live - key drivers of our carbon footprint. We should reform zonings laws to increase density. New multifamily buildings will be more efficient, density will drive economic development, increase walkability, and decrease car dependency. Zoning reform, though challenging, is free.

JOSH VANDER BERG

Political experience

OA K PARK VILL AG E OF BOARD TRUSTEES (5 C ANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS )

Current Trustee (elected 2021); Tri-Board Member Collaboration for Early Childhood; Village Board Personnel Committee; Village Board Finance Committee

Community experience

Oak Park Spring Neighborhood Clean Up Project; Pro Bono Legal Work; 2024 Oaktoberfest Volunteer for OPALGA

In light of recent incidents of gun violence in Oak Park, how do you plan to prevent gun violence and promote safety?

Gun violence is a public health issue. I support measures that address the underlying causes of gun violence and will advocate for permanent supports to continue the Village’s alternative calls for service pilot program. This program allows mental health clinicians to respond to mental or behavioral health related calls and connect individuals with continuing resources. It makes appropriate resources available and decreases the likelihood of violent actions resulting from low and high risk mental health situations

by identifying individuals may be at risk for gun violence due to untreated mental health conditions and reducing stigma associated with mental health support. Have the combined le of Oak Park taxing bodies pushed taxpayers to a point of property tax saturation? What should the response of the village board be to control property tax levels?

I consistently voted to maintain an average property tax levy of 3% or less throughout my term, including one year with no levy increase. I will continue to support Village levy increases that are sensitive to the property tax burden without sacrificing core services. We should maximize other sources of revenue, such as sales, liquor and hotel/ motel taxes, so that residents as well as visitors contribute to our revenue base. Increasing non-property tax revenue reduces the reliance on property taxes and keeps levy increases inline with the Village’s af fordability goals

How will you promote affordable housing development and those experiencing homelessness in Oak Park?

I support incentivizing affordhousing development in two ways 1) easing zoning restrictions esidential and commercial districts to allow for multi-unit homes (referred to as “Missing iddle” in a recent housing study) le maintaining the integrity of those districts, including our historic districts, and 2) promoting adaptive reuse of existing structures that can be redeveloped as affordable housing

What are your thoughts on the proposed Village Hall remodel?

Village Hall plans should prioritize the building’s maintenance and structural needs. As good stewards of a municipal building, the Village Board is obligated to ensure the building is safe and well-maintained. However, final design or construction decisions should only come after an assessment of the property tax impact resulting from any remodel plans. This

will ensure a community-centered focus for the overall project by considering staff and community needs as well as taxpayer cost.

How will you help Oak Park reach its sustainability goals and are the current goals too ambitious?

The current goal of a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2030 is ambitious. I support the continued roll out of our climate action plan, Climate Ready Oak Park (CROP), to reduce GHG and get us as close as possible to our 60% reduction goal. To further our efforts, we should identify anticipated greenhouse gas reductions for each goal within CROP and use these as benchmarks to measure our efforts an annual basis. In addition, any gaps in our residential energy efficiency efforts should be addressed so that all types of residential structures, including multi-family units, can participate in such programs

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at: oakpark.com/2025-local-elections

LUCIA ROBINSON

OPRF does not hold an “exemplary” designation from the state, a rating given to the top 10% of public schools, how would you help the school get there? Why is it important to get there?

We have missed the `exemplary` designation for the past two years. in both years we scored very high in the academic categories, as high as our peer districts. Where we fell short two years ago was in our support of english learners. This past year our lower scores fell in Chronic Absenteeism and Freshmen on Track. Both of these categories are not altogether independent. I think really disseminating the data around the 10% of freshmen that are not on track will help us identify those students that needs additional supports and the appropriate support for those students. Being an exemplary school benefits us by knowing the areas where we excel and those where we fall short, therefore enabling the district to take cor rective action

D200 BOARD OF EDUC ATION (6 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes effecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate?

As of today we do not have the knowledge of what changes the Federal Gover nment will be making. We receive about $2.5-$3M in federal funding. As loss of federal funding will effect programs that benefit our most vulnerable students. We need to keep abreast of what is happening and also work with our state representatives to insure and funding can be substituted by the state. We must also make sure in our budgeting process that we eliminate any wasteful or ineffective spending.

FRED ARKIN

you look to keep the plan on budget?

The most important part of Project 2 is the overall upgrade to our educational spaces, especially providing access to those spaces in compliance with ADA. We monitor the project through a `real time` dashboard on our website. The board also has re gular re ports and discussions with the general contractor and architects that allows proactivity when an issue re garding the budget arises. We also have a facilities committee whose makeup includes our vendors, administrative team and community members that re gularly meet to discuss the progress of the project.

they need to achieve at the highest level. I have been a staunch advocate for Equity for my full tenure on the board. I would continue to support programing, initiatives and policy that provides an equitable experience for all of our students.

In recent years, OPRF has changed its behavioral policies to put a greater emphasis on restorative justice, what do you make of these changes?

What is the most important aspect of the Project 2 facilities upgrades currently underway at OPRF? How would

What does equity in education mean to you? How would you advocate for it if elected?

Equity means each student received what

We are in the 2nd year of a Behavio r Education Plan. We have seen our out of school suspensions drop 56% our g oal was 10%. Our disciplinary incidents have g one down almost 30% from 2023 to 2024. I think restorat ive practices have a great d eal to do with this but also I would credit are wo rk and awareness of mental health i ssues. I think a dding mental health professionals to staf f and especially a Trauma Infor med Specialist has helped to improve our b ehavioral issues

David Schaafsma, a write-in candidate for the District 200 OPRF school board, did not return the Wednesday Journal questionnaire by deadline.

Kindergarten Information Night

6pm Thursday, March 13

Lincoln and Willard Schools

TSponsored Content

evaluation of all public schools that provides each school with an individual Summative Designation.

Lincoln Elementary School, Willard Elementary School, and Roosevelt Middle School all earned Exemplary Designations, the top Summative Designation.

Exemplary Designations are awarded to the top 10% of schools across the state that achieve high levels of student academic growth, overall achievement, attendance, and other relevant factors.

District 90 was one of only two districts in Illinois with three or more schools to be awarded Exemplary Designations for all schools in the district.

OPRF does not hold an “exemplary” designation from the state, a rating given to the top 10% of public schools, how would you help the school get there? Why is it important to get there?

D200 BOARD OF EDUC ATION (6 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

For the 2023-24 school year OPRF’s overall index score was 90.36, less than one point aw from the exemplary designation. For half of these metrics: ELA Proficiency, Math Proficiency, Science Proficiency, and Graduation Rate (which comprise 70% of the overall designation), OPRFHS scored at 100%. On the other half of the metrics, 9th Grade on Track, ELPtP, Chronic Absenteeism, and Climate Survey, the school scored below the maximum potential weight.

OPRFHS is a great school and worthy of an exemplary rating. Achieving this rating is one way to show continued progress towards the vision and mission which are focused on achievement and excellence. Work is already underway to address the identified areas of opportunity. There is improvement from the prior year for the Climate Survey and ELPtP scores, and that work will continue.

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes affecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate?

We find ourselves in very challenging times, experiencing changes that are impacting our institutions and ways of working. These changes are coming at a magnitude and pace that feels dizzying, and they bring a lot of uncertainty

The most important thing we can do as a district is to live by our values. When times are challenging, leaning into your values provides clarity and direction for action planning and how you communicate with stakeholders.

As a member of the school board, I would seek to defend what we stand for in a thoughtful and pragmatic way.

What is the most important aspect of the Project 2 facilities upgrades currently underway at OPRF? How would you look to keep the plan on budget?

I had the opportunity to serve as a member of the Imagine Work Group. With a focus on student learning and equity in the context of facility impact, we talked with students as part of the data gathering process, result in

recommendations for a master facilities plan tied to:

• Student learning spaces nefficiencies from decades of piecemeal construction

• Connection and community

• Equity, along several dimensions

onfiguration and capacity to optimize the physical learning environment

• Unmet student, enrollment and curricular space needs

Project 2 modernizes the physical education spaces to support OPRF’s PE curriculum. As an institution focused on the whole student, physical fitness is an important part of educating students

What does equity in education mean to you? How would you advocate for it if elected?

My vision for OPRFHS is for it to be “a vibrant, equitable, and radically inclusive school environment that supports the socialemotional and academic needs of ALL students”.

Equity is about providing individuals with what they need to be successful. It requires acknowledging that everyone did not have the same starting point in life, as well as removing barriers that perpetuate inequities. If elected, I would continue to push for my vision of supporting the needs of all students.

In recent years, OPRF has changed its behavioral policies to put a greater emphasis on restorative justice, what do you make of these changes?

OPRF has implemented restorative justice practices as part of its disciplinary approach. The school’s policy is clear about prohibited student conduct and disciplinary measures, with a broad range of actions depending on the infraction. However, the primary goal is keeping kids in school and using restorative practices supports this goal.

The state data shows that Black students at OPRF are being suspended out of school at a higher rate than their peers. As a result, the district is required to file a Discipline Improvement Plan with the state. The district is in Year 2 of a three-year plan to improve the discipline data.

I am proud of the work the school has done, and continues to do, to support all students.

OPRF does not hold an “exemplary” designatio from the state, a rating given to the top 10% of public schools, how would you help the school get there? Why is it important to get there?

Of course, we want our high school to be among the best in the state. Having an excellent high school, that meets the criteria fo “exemplary” designation, creates opportunity for our children and keeps our communities thriving. Data shared by the district with board candidates indicates that the areas of concern on the 2023-24 Illinois Report Card include the percentage of freshmen “on track” as well as some measures of climate and collaboration among teachers and students. This suggests that in order to move OPRF toward exemplary status, the board should advocate for supporting freshmen who are struggling academically, as well as for building a cooperative and collaborative culture within the school.

rt of Project 2 will create physieducation, athletic and arts spaces that are safe, modern, and ccessible. The work underway also includes some great sustainbility initiatives, such as a green and geothermal. This is a much-needed modern facility that will benefit almost every student OPRF, on a daily basis. To keep the Project 2 construction on budet, the board should continue to receive regular reports from the ontractor, become aware of any anticipated overages at an early stage, and be prepared to adjust as needed

What does equity in education mean to you? How would you advocate for it if elected?

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes af fecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate?

There are at least four areas where the district will need to be prepared and organized to respond to changes, while staying in compliance with relevant state and federal laws. First, ensuring the safety of immigrant students and families is critical. The school needs to ensure that policy is in place regarding how law enforcement is received at the school entrance and the need for a warrant, signed by a judge, to come on school property. Data management policies should be reviewed to avoid collection or retention of any unnecessary information pertaining to student or family immigration status. Second, as federal policies regarding LGBTQ+ students shift, the district must uphold and extend protections for these students Gay, trans, and non-binary students have the right to feel safe and supported at school. Third, while there may be changes in federal health and wellness policies, the district must maintain a science-based approach. Finally, curriculum. The curriculum must remain robust, standards-based, and culturally responsive.

What is the most important aspect of the Project 2 facilities upgrades currently underway at OPRF? How would you look to keep the plan on budget?

The new facilities under construction as

Equity means that every student should have access to the resources and opportunities to be successful, and that race and socioeconomic status should not predict outcomes. It also means that systematic barriers to student success should be eliminated. One of the most important equity initiatives currently underway at OPRF is the new freshman curriculum. Since 2022, most freshmen coming into the high school participate in honors-level courses in science, English and history. The current freshman class is the third class to participate in the revised curriculum, which means that the data is just coming in about its outcomes. What we know so far is that more students are taking AP exams and overall scores are improving, and standardized test scores remain relatively stable.

In recent years, OPRF has changed its behavioral policies to put a g reater emphasis on restorative justice, what do you make of these chang es?

I am supportive and appreciative of this approach. Data shows that disciplinary actions taken by the school, such as out of school suspensions, disproportionally affect students of color at OPRF. A restorative justice approach centers student well-being and is appropriately aligned with the role of the high school: to provide a high-quality education that prepares all students for their futures. Under this approach, the goal is to keep students in school and to provide structure and guidance to help students stay on track and work through disciplinary issues. The use of restorative practices is called for by Illinois law. Of course, threats of violence or extreme violations such as bringing weapons into the school, must be taken seriously.

AUDRE Y WILLIAMS-LEE

KATHLEEN ODELL

Growing Community Media’s

D200 BOARD OF EDUC ATION (6 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

OPRF does not hold an “exemplary” designation from the state, a rating given to the top 10% of public schools, how would you help the school get there? Why is it important to get there?

Campaign for Democracy

A designation of “exemplary” is awarded to the top 10% of schools that do not have underperforming student groups. The designation is important because our children deserve the best education we can possibly offer them, and we should always challenge ourselves to achieve at the highest levels. OPRF receives a “commendable” rating because we rank just outside the top 10% of schools. Our greatest opportunity for improvement is in our “9th graders on track” score. A student is not “on track” to graduate on time if they fail more than 1 semester of a core class. To address this, Nate Mellman and I are proposing a targeted, intensive summer school offering to incoming 9th graders that are performing just at or below grade level in order to give them a firm foundation to build upon during their years at OPRF

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes affecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate?

As an attorney, I frequently have to find ways for clients to accomplish their goals within legal restrictions; I’d hope to work closely with the district’s counsel to identify policies or practices that may not be congruent with updated Department of Education guidance. Once we have assessed potential violations, we would then determine the potential ramifications to the district and make educated, decisions moving forward. We won’t be able to predict every legislative change, but having people on the board that have experience adapting to changing environments will prove resourceful.

What is the most important aspect of the Project 2 facilities upgrades currently underway at OPRF? How would you look to keep the plan on budget?

The most important aspect of the Project 2 facilities upgrades currently underway at OPRF is to ensure that the project is safely completed on time. Given the threats of tariffs, the longer the project lasts, the more likely construction materials may inflate in price and cause the total expense to mushroom. Nate Mellman and I

would be sure to review any cost overruns and change orders with strict scrutiny as well as direct the administration to consult with experts like construction law attorneys when necessary. We’d also continue with regular progress checks to confirm that everything is moving toward its August 2026 projected deadline on schedule

What does equity in education mean to you? How would you advocate for it if elected?

Equity in education means that every child is met where they are and given an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of that individual’s race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or any other characteristic. This is not a blanket solution; it requires tailoring approaches to cater to the strengths of each child. That’s one reason why I am weary of single level or survey courses; they do not adequately tailor the pace and material to the wide variety of students that are enrolled; this, in turn, can negatively impact grades and potentially inhibit future opportunities. If elected, I’d want to make sure less advantaged populations are succeeding and we are making progress towards narrowing the achievement gap that persists.

In recent years, OPRF has changed its behavioral policies to put a greater emphasis on restorative justice, what do you make of these changes?

As parents, our preeminent concern is for the safety of our children. Restorative justice is effective in resolving lower-level conflicts; it can leave all parties in a better position and more understanding of one another moving forward. However, Nate Mellman and I believe that there is an opportunity for some adjustment to the current behavior education plan that would help to ensure more students and faculty feel safe. We do not believe that the current behavior plan is being enforced in a way that aligns with state law regarding serious infractions with a weapon. Some of the more relaxed responses to violence may have contributed to a marked increase: the school is on pace to double the number of physical altercations this year compared to last. By applying Illinois law properly, we can work towards reducing the most threatening behaviors without being overly punitive towards lower-level violations.

JOSH GERTZ

D200 BOARD OF EDUC ATION (6 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

OPRF does not hold an “exemplary” designation from the state, a rating given to the top 10% of public schools, how would you help the school get there? Why is it important to get there?

When you spend over $25,000 of taxpayer money per student, you expect the best. The most significant Illinois Report Card metric that the school can improve upon is having our ninth graders pass all their core classes. Compared with peer schools identified by the administration, we are last in this metric. We can improve by offering more active tutoring opportunities and an intensive summer program for incoming ninth graders. We need to challenge all our students at the level they are at, including those who are still growing into their potential and need more assistance. We need to track academic growth metrics over the four years while students are in our care

voters is water under the bridge. What is important now is to have independent, critical thinkers on the board to ensure it is delivered on time and on budget. Project 1 was 29% over-budget. What’s past is prologue and the community senses this with the $140 millionplus Project 2. If we want voters to pass future referendums, we must ear n their trust now.

What does equity in education mean to you? How would you advocate for it if elected?

Keystone Montessori School

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes affecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate?

Regardless of what is happening at the federal level, our core mission does not change. The primary purpose of any school is to educate kids. When we take our oath as a school board member, we each swear to faithfully discharge our duties in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the laws of the State of Illinois. We are a nation of laws, not men. If there is a legal dispute, we will get le gal advice on the best course of action. Josh Gertz and I are running on three priorities: keeping all of our kids safe, challenging all students academically, and safeguarding taxpayer dollars. We can do all three while navigating any changes that happen above the local level.

What is the most important aspect of the Project 2 facilities upgrades currently underway at OPRF? How would you look to keep the plan on budget?

Earning back taxpayer trust. In 2015, board members circumvented voters in trying to fund a new pool. In 2019, they told voters it was a mistake and they would never bypass voters again. Four years later, some board members did just that to partially finance Project 2. Whether Project 2 should have gone to the

We want each student to be challenged and for each to graduate. I have three kids. They each grew up with the same parents, the same environment, and the same economic opportunities. But as any parent of more than one child knows, to be successful each kid can have very different development and academic needs. OPRF needs to be able to meet each student where they are at, and provide the educational rigor that enables them to be academically challenged and ready for steps beyond high school. We need to provide adequate resources and opportunities to those with lesser economic resources so they have the opportunity to succeed. We can do so with methods that have a proven history of success: tutoring and intensive support programs, especially for incoming freshmen.

In recent years, OPRF has changed its behavioral policies to put a greater emphasis on restorative justice, what do you make of these changes?

No one wants to see a student expelled. Yet, as board members, we have a serious obligation to consider the safety of the entire student body Keeping students safe is one of our top priorities. If a child does not feel safe, they simply cannot learn. While we understand the potential benefits of restorative justice e orts, we also wor ry about a school environment where dangerous and disrespectful behavior becomes commonplace. We believe violence in school should never be nor malized. Unfortunately, OPRF, through mid-January of this year, has seen almost as many fights and threats as we had all last school year. Yet, the majority of consequences for fights is an “in-school reflection.” OPRF’s own policy on firearms and other weapons is out of compliance with state law. We need to correct this for the safety of our students

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Introduction to Centering Prayer Workshop

Sat urdayMorning , March 29 8:30am - 12:00pm

Sat urdayMorning , March 29

Saturday Morning, March 29 • 8:30am-12:00pm St. Edmund Murphy Hall • 188 S. Oak Park Ave.

St Edmund M urphy Hall 188 S Oak Park Avenue

8:30am - 12:00pm

St Edmund M urphy Hall

Introduction to Centering Prayer Workshop

Contemplative prayer allows the hunger and thirst for God to well up.

188 S Oak Park Avenue

Sat urdayMorning , March 29

8:30am - 12:00pm

Deepen your relationship with God. Centering Prayer is a silent method of consenting to God’s presence and healing action within us. Learn the basics of a centuries-old method of silent prayer by sitting with God while opening your mind and heart to wordless communion.

St Edmund M urphy Hall

188 S Oak Park Avenue

Contemplative prayer allows the hunger and thirst for God to well up.

Register at 8:15. No charge. Donations welcome. Register by sending an email to rbrtgorman@protonmail.com Walk-ins welcome.

Contemplative prayer allows the hunger and thirst for God to well up.

You are encouraged to attend four follow-up sessions on Wednesday evenings in April from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Zoom.

Contemplative prayer allows the hunger and thirst for God to well up.

eepen your relationship with God Centering Prayer is a silent method of consenting to God’s presence and healing action within us. Learn the basics of a centuries-old method of silent prayer by sitting with God while pening your mind and heart to wordless communion. Register at 8:15. No charge. Donations welcome. Register by sending an email to rbrtgorman@protonmail.com Walk-ins welcome.

Bob and Kathleen Gorman of Oak Park are commissioned presenters of the Centering Prayer method and facilitate silent retreats for Contemplative Outreach.

Register at 8:15. No charge. Donations welcome. Register by sending an email to rbrtgorman@protonmail.com Walk-ins welcome.

Deepen your relationship with God Centering Prayer is a silent method of consenting to God’s presence and healing action within us. Learn the basics of a centuries-old method of silent prayer by sitting with God while opening your mind and heart wordless communion.

You are encouraged to attend four sessions on Wednesday evenings in April from 7:00

D97 BOARD OF EDUCATION (5 C ANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS )

Last summer, Wednesda Journal reported on a demonstration by district parents and teachers expressing concerns over student safety and beh ioral policy. What do you ma of D97’s behavioral policies?

Significant behavioral p changes were made at the state level and in the district just before the outbreak of COVID-19. W students and staff returned to in school learning, in addition to the general mental shift of returning, these policies were in place with no training and no discussion around implementation. Working across the two middle schools, administrators, teachers, students, and families have now had the time to implement components like restorative justice in practice, not just in concept. Supporting these efforts and requests by the Board to provide a better transition for students as they move from elementary to middle school, we have seen improvements in connecting students to peers and adults in the building with our incoming sixth graders. These connections make a significant difference. There is always room for improvement, but I appreciate the amount of progress this year.

Regarding in-school resources, the district is selecting a new K-5 literacy curriculum and is about to begin the selection process for K-5 math. The current, thoughtful timeline, which involves educators and robust in-district evaluation of the materials, will avoid past pitfalls and yield the best resources for our students. We need a change in how we think about out-of-school time. We could use this time to make a difference in the opportunity gap based on research assessing a wide variety of out-ofschool programs. Offering quality, deliberate out-of-school programming has been shown to improve academic gains for all students but most significantly for those students with the lowest standards-based test scores.

What does equity in education mean to you? How would you advocate for it if elected?

Don’t miss these upcoming League programs

Coffee and Conversation

Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Ave. Oak Park, 9:30-11 am

March 13

An update on the SAFE-T Act that ended cash bail in Illinois. With Jan Goldberg, chair of the LWV Cook County Criminal Justice Interest Group

April 10

What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing elementary and middle school students in our post-pandemic world? How would you work to support D97 students?

Mental health, finding sense of belonging, and the opportunity gap are the biggest hurdles facing our students in the post-pandemic world. While our amazing teachers and families rallied around students to keep learning loss to a minimum, the toll of the pandemic in Oak Park could not be overcome when it came to our students’ mental well-being and loss of grounding in the school community. With the district’s equity policy passing just before the pandemic, we lost two years to meaningfully address the opportunity gap while we focused on keeping everything and everyone afloat. Today, we must continue creating and implementing strategies to reconnect and reengage our students and support their mental health. Is there any program or resource you’ve seen implemented in another school district that you think D97 students and families would really benefit from? How would it fill an existing gap?

I define equity in education as providing resources and support with the recognition that we don’t all start from the same place or face the same barriers. I support the continued implementation of the District 97 Equity Policy. I believe there is rightly an extra onus placed on public officials to listen, pay attention, support, revise thinking on equity, and speak up I continually adjust my assumptions, reading articles and books that challenge my thinking and listening to those who point out inequities in our community. I have and will continue to challenge the district to do the same.

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes affecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate?

Right now, all the shifts coming out of the new presidential administration are chaotic and attention-seeking. I would guide the district by not being distracted and following our vision: Create a positive learning environment for all District 97 students that is equitable, inclusive, and focused on the whole child. That is our core, and in the flurry of changes, our students are best served by holding to that vision. From a pragmatic viewpoint, I also have a spreadsheet of current and potential changes, related state and board policy, and budget items that might be impacted. Understanding where federal policy could take us is essential to being prepared.

Journal questionnaire by deadline.

Challenges Facing the LGBTQ+ Community in 2025. With John Becvar, co-chair of the Oak Park Area Lesbian & Gay Association

May 1

The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women went into effect in 1981. Where do things stand today? With Jane Ruby, president, LWV Chicago

Drinks and Dialogue

Friendly Tap, 6733 Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn, 6:30-8 pm

March 20

From Awareness to Action: Mental Health Within Reach. With Jennifer Rook, president and executive director, Thrive Counseling Center

April 17

Help Save the Planet and Save Money. With Pamela Tate, certiﬁed climate reality leader trained by Al Gore

May 15

State vs. Federal Law. With Steven D. Schwinn, professor and associate dean at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

All League programs are free and open to the public.

NANC Y ROSS DRIBIN

Ashley Lenz, a candidate for the District 97 school board, did not return the Wednesday

ANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS )

school students in our post-pandemi world? How would you work to support D97 students?

The challenges D97 faces in a post-pandemic world are typical of any school district. While the pandemic has forever changed us, our students are navigating the usual student experiences similar to any of our peer school districts. I am committed to supporting our students’ individual success, our staff’s professional development, and ensuring we have the resources needed to exceed state standards and improve both our test scores and sense of belonging. We strive to attract and retain top talent within our district, fostering a supportive environment that encourages innovation and demonstrates a clear commitment to equity and excellence. Post-pandemic, we are nearly back to where we were before, both as a school district and as a community

Is there any program or resource you’ve seen implemented in another school district that you think D97 students and families would really benefit from? How would it fill an existing gap?

Our district leadership stays well-infor med about advances in education and actively seeks ways to meet the needs of our students We also benefit from a knowledgeable and vocal community that shares information about

ams from across the country ould like to see implemented in D97. Our administration and teachers are aware of areas that need improvement and consistentseek ways to accelerate learning oost outcomes for all stuents, particularly our Black and Brown students, who have faced a persistent opportunity gap for ast 40 years. While we are not there yet, improving outcomes and experiences for Black and Brown along with our special needs students emains a top priority for the district.

at does equity in education mean ou? How would you advocate for it if elected?

I am a strong advocate for equity, and before being elected to the school board, I collaborated with many community members on the development of our current equity policy. Equity means ensuring that every D97 student, rerdless of background, has access to the right esources and support to succeed and reach ull potential. It involves addressing and emoving barriers that disproportionately affect our marginalized and underserved stuents. D97 is committed to equity, and we approach our actions and programs through an equity lens. As a board member, I will continue the hard work of our equity champions

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes affecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate?

I am genuinely concerned about the changes coming from the current administration, especially since many services and resources for our Title I designated schools are provided by the Department of Education. Thankfully, most of our school funding comes from state and local taxes. However, I do not want to place an additional burden on Oak Park taxpayers to make up for any shortfalls caused by changes to federal funding under the Trump administration. Our public schools must be properly funded to meet high standards and offer a culturally relevant curriculum. One potential solution could be developing a “D97 Foundation for Education” to secure funding that is not typically pursued by school districts. D97 operates in a fiscally conservative manner with our current resources, and our district leadership is staying infor med on any further changes while seeking guidance from our Gover nor and state superintendent.

Last summer, Wednesday Journal reported on a demonstration by district parents and teachers expressing concerns over student safety and behavioral policy. What do you make of D97’s behavioral policies?

The conversations that raise awareness about the behavioral needs of our students are important to help inform the culture and climate of our school buildings. D97’s restorative practices and continuum of responses for behavioral errors is available to the community, but the implementation can vary from building to building. As a board member I would encourage the review of existing resources for students with behavioral needs and how we can continue to respond from a systematic and pragmatic perspective while also emphasizing student growth and accountability.

What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing elementary and middle school students in our post-pandemic world? How would you work to support D97 students?

Access to technology has been a remarkable tool to help close gaps in communication that occurred during school closures. However, constant access to technology may limit so-

D97 BOARD OF EDUCATION (5 C ANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS )

cial and emotional development, especially at the K-3 stages. D97 is facing the challenge of managing behavioral needs in a fast-pace technologically driven society. In the upper elementary and middl school years, D97 is facing a generation of students that are mor likely to have background knowledge regarding mental wellness targets. In the same vain, mor information, especially for middl school students can lead to misunderstandin or overgeneralizing how mental illness leads to poor student outcomes. People dealing with mental illness can be functional and contributing members of society if resources are accepted, students are held to a high standard, and collaboration is granted by families. School administrators and families need to work together and not against each other

Is there any program or resource you’ve seen implemented in another school district that you think D97 students and families would really benefit from? How would it fill an existing gap?

Partnerships between boys and girls club, big brother/big sisters, YMCA, etc have been

implemented in high need districts to offer childcare and tutoring services after school for families with struggling students. The district has an achievement gap and opportunity gaps in the community as part of the challenge for struggling students is they have working families that have to prioritize making ends meet. Having students at school for extended periods of time that enrich their learning and social needs helps close academic gaps.

What does equity in education mean to you?

How would you advocate for it if elected?

Equity in education is about finding creative ways to meet students where they are. At times, equity does not feel fair and may indicate resources are redistributed to offer support to communities that need more support However, if students and families have the means to navigate complicated school resources, community resources, than less is needed from the district for those students. That may not seem fair, but it is equitable. If families that are first generation, do not have generational wealth, and rely heavily on school resources to help feed and care for their students, then the

goal is to lift the families up to improve quality of life for all D97 students. I would want us to consider how achievement gaps coincide with opportunity and privilege gaps. Are we setting up students to feel welcomed in our schools and community? What does equity look like that would allow for better outcomes for all students, not just the ones that have the means to access the best resources.

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes affecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate? Resist any changes to social justice curriculum, uphold equity lens to drive decisionmaking, emphasize social studies and science as critical components of the American public schooling system that builds critical thinkers, and ensure schools are staffed by happy and well compensated, and highly trained, culturally competent teachers that are allowed to participate in a union.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at: oakpark. com/2025-local-elections

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D97 BOARD OF EDUCATION (5 C ANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS )

Last summer, Journal reported on a demonstration by district pa ents and teachers concerns over student safety and behavioral polic do you make of D97’s beh ioral policies?

As a parent, I’d heard troubling stories about safety the middle schools. son started at Brooks, I at the opportunity to be the parent liaison on the Culture and Climate participation, the more important great school culture is ensuring our teacher are fully set up to implement policies

tending both the number of kids a ounseling team can support and rsity to serve all kids Schools primarily use OpenSeat as a Tier 2 MTSS intervention students struggling with atades, and in-class enement to ensure students have the social-emotional support and lan they need to rebound. We need a more user-friendly SIS to make data more actionable -Pownew product created as rSchool. PowerBuddy can help students with their homework, teachers adebook trends, and parents get ts on their student’s grades.

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As a for mer teacher and principal, I kno that teachers and administrators need access to high-quality and ongoing professional development on creating and maintaining a positive and safe school environment. The D97 teachers who I’ve spoken with want to ensure there is clear and consistent accountability for students who disrupt the learning environment. By combining support for teachers with clarity for students about expectations, the overall school environment benefitted.

What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing elementary and middle school students in our post-pandemic world? How would you work to support D97 students?

For elementary students, I believe literacy is the greatest challenge. Looking at the NAEP score released just last week is a stark reminder of the ground lost during the pandemic and a call to action. I’m excited that the elementary schools are conducting concurrent curriculum pilots to help determine the future of literacy instruction within the district. We may need to experiment with other supplements.

For middle school students, their greatest challenge is developing important social opportunities they missed out on at earlier stages due to the pandemic. Now more than ever, these children are longing for connection and belonging, but are overly reliant on online spaces that can’t fill that need. Instead, I think we can help them build community in person by increasing the number of sports, clubs, and activities offered.

Is there any program or resource you’ve seen implemented in another school district that you think D97 students and families would really benefit from? How would it fill an existing gap?

Students need more support with Social Emotional Learning- OpenSeat expands a school’s capacity to provide personalized 1:1 social-emotional support to every student, ex-

What does equity in education mean to you? How would you advocate for it if elected?

I’m a proud first-generation college graduate who attended public schools in an economically disadvantaged part of Ohio. My college and graduate education has changed the trajectory of my life, thereby impacting the next few generations of my family Through playing sports, I became aware of the disparities in the quality of the schools I attended versus those of my opponents only a few miles away. Equity is making sure that all children in Oak Park receive an amazing education where they learn to the best of their ability in a supportive environment regardless of what quadrant they live in or any dimension of their identity, especially race or gender. If elected to the board I promise to remain committed to advocating for equity in our schools every day. The current inequitable outcomes didn’t happen overnight and thus the solutions addressing those issues won’t easily be solved. We need a board and a community that is willing to be in the fight for equity for the long haul for all children.

With a new presidential administration has come sweeping federal changes affecting public schools. How would you look to guide the district in this new climate?

Oak Park has a storied history of embracing diversity, using it as a strength instead of a liability, and being forward-thinking. It will take unwavering courage to make sure that we are protecting our students and our community. That courage will require us to have a steadfast commitment to diversity, our protection of LGBTQ students and staff, and our sanctuary status and inclusion of migrant students.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at: oakpark. com/2025-local-elections

VINCENT GAY

OA K PARK LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEE (8 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

What is the greatest challenges facing the Oak Park Public Library?

Good governance is currently our most pressing challenge at the library. The departure of our previous Executive Director revealed the need for stronger leadership and transparency in Board decisions, as well as the need for improved relations and communication between the Board and the Executive Director. As a professional librarian, I would bring valuable expertise and a fresh perspective to the Board, helping to ensure our decisions align with our community’s diverse needs.

In the face of national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, how will you protect and enforce DEI at the library?

As a l ibrarian, I am strongly c ommitted to l ibrarianship and i ts values. DEI is foundational to our wo rk - it is built into an official i nterpretation of the A meric an L ibrary A ssociation’s Bill of Rights

and is one of ALA’s four strategic priorities and ke y action areas. T he OPPL has established equity and anti-racis as one of i ts four strat prioritie s, alongside lear ning eng agement, and stewardshi p. This c ommitment fundamentally infor ms all l ibrary wo rk and is re ported monthl to the Board. Having DEI poli cies woven i nto the core wo of an organization makes it a robust and enduring p oli cy that protects it from shifting p olitica l climates or individual preferences. I strongly suppo rt DEI and am c ommitted to maintaining the l ibrary as a dive rs e i nstitution.

As a Board member, I would ensure a smooth leadership transition by working collabvely with the new ExecuDirector to establish clear expectations and processes. The Board’s role would be to provide strategic guidance ile respecting the Director’s autonomy to manage daily operations and implement their vision within the established priorities and budget set by the Board.

What is your take on the library as a third space, or place outside home and work that allows locals to connect with their community?

nity. A truly welcoming space must also be a secure one, and I support strengthening our Social Services & Public Safety area with additional staf f and resources to create a responsible space for everyone.

Wh at s hould the policy be on b anning books at the OPPL?

When a new executive director is hired, how will you help ensure a smooth transition and strong leadership?

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Modern libraries serve as vital third spaces in communities. Nurturing this essential function at OPPL is one of my top priorities. The library should be a welcoming space to all members of our commu-

As a l ibrarian, I strongly endorse OPPL’s Freedom to Read p oli cy, as it perfectly aligns with my professional values T he p oli cy firmly grounds our c ommitment in the A merican L ibrary A ssociation’s Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statement. It explicitly protects i ntellectual freedom and o pposes c ensorshi p in all fo rm s. T hanks to the wo rk of our previous Executive Director, Oak Pa rk became a Book S anctuary C ommunity in 2023, reflecting our c ommitment to ensuring dive r se collections that re present multiple viewpoints and defending ever y c ommunity member ’s right to read and a ccess info rm ation freely.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at: oakpark.com/2025-local-elections IN THE OAK PARK ART DISTRICT!

We’re thrilled to feature Patricia A. Clark, a talented Chicago-based artist whose vibrant and dynamic creations will leave you inspired! Patricia’s work spans across stunning mediums, blending realism with abstract fluid art to capture the soul of Chicago. Her vivid use of color and light invites you into a world that’s both grounded and full of possibility. Through her art, she shares a piece of the city—familiar yet imagined, full of energy and life.

Come meet Patricia Clark and learn about her artistic journey, creative process, and how she brings her beautiful visions to life. This is your chance to connect with a passionate artist and experience her work in person!

We’ll also be showcasing other incredible local women artists as part of this special event. It’s an evening you won’t want to miss!

Light refreshments will be served. March 15th from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

MEGAN BUTMAN

Political experience

I was student council presi dent in elementary school. did a fine job. In high school, I decided to run again for dent council president. My teacher encouraged me to for vice president instead sinc the president should be a bo (this was in Japan, in the 80’s). I disagreed with her and president. I lost, even though, to this day, I am convinced that I was the better candidate. Kamala Harris and I have that in common. Since then, my political experience has been in supporting other candidates until this election.

OA K PARK LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEE (8 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

When a new executive director is hired, how will you help ensure a smooth transin and strong leadership?

According to the June 27th pdate from the board, Koya s, the professional search etained to recruit the new ve director, “will support on-boarding to ensure a smooth transition.” As a new board member I will follow their lead to make sure the executive director, staff, and community are aligned

What is your take on the library as a third space, or place outside home and work that allows locals to connect with their community?

Community experience

When Oak Park welcomed 160 migrant neighbors on October 31, 2023, I was actively involved from the beginning. I am proud of Oak Park for being the only municipality to step up and help. I feel lucky to have been such a big part of that.

What are the g reatest challenges facing the Oak Park Public Library?

The global challenge is the current political climate that is hostile to freedom of reading and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

In the face of national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, how will you protect and enforce DEI at the library?

A well-trained board, staff, and community is a great line of defense. As with any crisis, we will be best equipped to mitigate har m if we are well prepared

On an extremely cold day in December, my 8th-grade daughter went to hang out in downtown Oak Park with her friend Her friend texted us to let us know that my daughter had forgotten her phone. Once it got dark, we texted the friend to see where they were...only to find out that she and my daughter had parted ways at some point. Now my daughter had no way to reach us and we did not know where she was. As I panicked, her friend said, “She’s probably at the library.” As soon as she said this, I knew this was true; the library was my daughter’s safe place. I want everybody to always feel this way about the Oak Park Public Library

What should the policy be on banning books at the OPPL?

OPPL has a strong policy that protects against the removal of books for personal, political, or religious reasons. I strongly support this policy and will work to uphold it and strengthen it if necessary.

Political experience

I’m involved in local activis and participate in campaigns tha interest me in every election

I am a member of The People’ Lobby, a social justice advo group. My work there has focused on bail reform, and the organization played a crucial role in ing the Pretrial Fair ness Act

Community experience

I give back to my community by leveraging my business experience, analytical thinking, and social nature. I am currently a member of the Financial Advisory Committee at Oak Park Township and serve as Vice President at Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation. Bickerdike is a major affordable housing provider on the northwest side, managing over 250 buildings with several midrise developments underway. Both roles have provided me with valuable experience in budgeting, audits, performance reviews and board gover nance.

building public support. DEI policies only hold weight if they are defended and put into practice. It es the whole village to do that.

When a new executive director is hired, how will you help ensure a smooth transition and strong leadership?

As a trustee, I would begin by establishing clear lines of communication between the board and the new executive director. My first step would be to review the board’s current onboarding plan—if one exists—to understand the framework for the transition. I would also facilitate a deep dive into OPPL’s mission, ensuring that everyone is aligned and operating from the same organizational ‘North Star.’ With a shared understanding and open communication, I’d focus on building a collaborative relationship with the executive team by setting up practical oversight measures.

What are the greatest challenges facing the Oak Park Public Library?

One of the most pressing challenges facing the library is leadership. In the absence of an Executive Director, critical executive functions that require ED approval are currently in limbo. Additionally, directors and managers are overextended, often taking on the responsibilities of an ED while managing their already demanding workloads. There is a strong likelihood that a new ED will be installed before new trustees take office. If that occurs, my primary focus as a trustee would be to ensure strong accountability mechanisms are in place—particularly during the crucial early stages of the new ED’s tenure—to support a smooth transition.

In the face of national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, how will you protect and enforce DEI at the library?

The library has taken meaningful steps, including its anti-racism initiatives and Book Sanctuary Community policy. As a trustee, I would work to protect and strengthen these policies, ensuring they are not just preserved but fully implemented. Beyond policy, trustees must actively engage with the community, making it clear why these values matter and

What is your take on the library as a third space, or place outside home and work that allows locals to connect with their community?

Third spaces are incredibly valuable—and increasingly rare—in the United States. Many places where you might meet friends, relax, or enjoy recreational activities now come with a price tag. Everything between home and work has become commodified, and we all deserve access to spaces free from financial pressures I believe that true community is fostered in these free, welcoming third spaces, which are essential for maintaining a cohesive, effective society. In my view, libraries are among the last strongholds of public space. While much of America focuses on privatization and commodification, libraries remain a vital, unmonetized resource for community connection.

What should the policy be on banning books at the OPPL?

I am against banning books. The OPPL has already passed several resolutions protecting intellectual freedom, which align with my values—especially initiatives like the Book Sanctuary Community. I would assess the ef fectiveness of these policies and consider whether they need to be further strengthened to ensure that our commitment to open access to ideas is maintained

MIKA SELENA YAMAMO TO COLIN BIRD-MARTINEZ

OA K PARK LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEE (8 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

What are the greatest challenges the Oak Park Public Library? etter gover nance - repairing elationship between the library and the community to clarify previoard decisions by the board;; (2) bylaws and/or policies to allow periodic infor mal meetings between oard and the executive director to substitute for for mal evaluations; (3) revise the employee grievance policy to emphasize that employee complaints are resolved by human resources and the decision by the executive director is final with no recourse to the board; (4) revise the bylaws to allow agenda items to be raised by board members and not solely at the discretion of the board chairperson; (5) investigate new funding sources including the potential of establishing a library foundation and (6) review and revise plans to ensure safety for the public and staff.

In the face of national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, how will you protect and enforce DEI at the library?

Oak Park is a blue community where the overwhelming majority of Oak Parkers agree with the principles underlying DEI. Theoretically DEI was infused into all OPPL policies by the previous DEI director whose principles are assumedly enforced through constant vigilance by the staff and the board. Whether a separate DEI department and DEI director is necessary should be a decision best left to the new executive director who should be selected after the new board of trustees has been elected

When a new executive director is hired, how will you help ensure a smooth transition and strong leadership?

I assume that the new executive director will hold meetings with the staff to facilitate an appreciation of the current internal issues facing the library. But there should also be an open meeting with the community to allow the new executive director to understand and appreciate the problems of communication stemming from previous decisions by the for mer board.

What is your take on the library as a third space, or place outside home and work that allows locals to connect with their community?

I fully endorse any means to encourage the library to be a viable third space as a forum for group-led events to connect and interact with people and groups in the community. The library should play a role in facilitating and celebrating efforts to bring people and groups together

What should the policy be on banning books at the OPPL?

OPPL’s policy should be to resist any attempt by any person or group, private or otherwise, to restrict in any way, shape or form access to information and/or books at OPPL. All opinions and viewpoints should be accessible at the Oak Park Public Library. Period.

Political experience

I am a first-time candidate for local offic sidering especially that only approximately1 5 library trustees across the country are cratically elected (rather than appointed), I am honored to participate in this competitive election for a trustee seat on our library b have been civically and politically engaged my twenties, engaging especially in national and international movements for gender and L justice, racial justice, and anti-war efforts. been a proud union member for over 10 first with UAW and currently CWA, and am member of the Working Families Party.

Community experience

I moved to Oak Park six years ago with my partner and our two children in search of a community to raise our nontraditional family in a place w here we could find belonging, grow together, and build community. We have since grown deep roots in our Oak Park community, especially through our local public school and our public library. As a working parent with two children attending school in District 97 and as a passionate educator myself, I am deeply engaged with our local school and community, including in my volunteer role co-coordinating our school’s PTO-sponsored afterschool enrichment program.

What are the g reatest challenges facing the Oak Park Public Library?

We face challenges common to many urban and suburban libraries, including meeting staffing needs, maintaining services and facilities amid resource constraints, and ensuring accessible and equitable services for a diverse community with varied interests, from youth to elders to people with disabilities. OPPL navigates these constraints with professionalism. Funded almost entirely by local property taxes, the library’s sustainability relies on the community’s social and economic wellbeing. While this may soften the impact of federal funding cuts, these rollbacks are adding strain to our community and increasing pressure on the library. As a trustee, I will prioritize supporting the library in weathering these challenges while ensuring it remains a vital pillar of our community

In the face of national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, how will you protect and enforce DEI at the library?*

Protecting and sustaining OPPL’s work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion starts with recruiting, supporting, and retaining a diverse staff and promoting the vibrant community engagement, outreach, and partnership efforts that OPPL staff have innovated in recent years. In the face of national attacks on DEI and the fear and self-censorship they attempt to induce, our independence as a locally funded public library af fords us an opportunity to remain steadfast in our values of upholding democratic, inclusive, equitable practices and fostering community belonging. As a trustee

I will offer resolute leadership to ensure our remains accessible, responsive, and acountable to everyone in our community and hold the line on our commitment to anti-racism and DEI.

When a new executive director is hired, how will you help ensure a smooth transition and strong leadership?

ostering a smooth transition and enabling our next Director’s success would be my top priould ensure a comprehensive transition lan is in place that sets clear timelines, respons, and initial goals, clarifies the board’s ole in the process, and ensures that staff are ppropriately included in the transition process. I would also work with library leadership to facilitate meetings between the new director and key staff members, community partners, and local leaders to facilitate relationship-building and knowledge sharing. To foster open communication and alignment, I would propose regular check-ins between the board and the new director during their initial months to ensure they receive adequate support, troubleshoot challenges, and adjust goals or the plan as needed

What is your take on the library as a third space, or place outside home and work that allows locals to connect with their community?

Our library is a crucial third space in our community, a free and public gathering place where all walks of life --all ages, genders, racial identities, class backgrounds, and abilities-can come together. With third spaces like these ever rarer, it is perhaps the only place many of us cross paths and engage with some of our neighbors, especially with those who differ from us generationally, culturally, or socioeconomically. That has always been important for fostering social cohesion, community resilience, and civic engagement; but it’s more vital now than ever that we protect our library’s ability to provide a welcoming and equalizing space for encounter--not only with information but also each other. As a trustee, I would ensure our library remains a vibrant community hub

What should the policy be on banning books at the OPPL?

I support the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read statement and the principles of intellectual freedom. We must stand firm against book banning and other censorship efforts that violate our fundamental rights and values, in alignment with our status as a Book Sanctuary City. As trustee, I would advocate for policies that protect access to diverse perspectives while ensuring appropriate material placement. I trust our library’s professional staff to carry out their delegated role of managing our library’s extensive collections based upon these principles. As trustee, I would be committed to ensuring our library follows democratic principles and practices, including providing free access to information from various viewpoints and defending intellectual freedom in our community

DANIEL SUBER

ANNIE WILKINSON

Political experience

Oak Park Library Board

Community experience

Oak Park D97 CLAIM C tee, Ernest Hemingway F tion Board

What are the g reatest lenges facing the Oak Public Library?

OA K PARK LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEE (8 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

Our most immediate challeng is identifying and hiring a new Ex ecutive Director. Beginning the work of the new Director to f amiliarize themself with the staf f and work with the board to set strategic priorities within the first few months. We are for tunate to be in a state with a g eneral assembly and Gover nor that have re peatedly demonstrated their support for public libraries. However, there have already been groups who have turned their gaze towards us and given the new presidential administratio n actions I expect these groups will be newly energized. We must also begin to prepare for significant building expenditures in the coming years as our main branch is now over 20 years old with many systems original to that construction that will need to be addressed in the next 5 to 10 years.

In the face of national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, how will you protect and enforce DEI at the library?

As I stated in my February 11 letter to the paper I strongly believe it is vital that public libraries and other gover nment organizations continue to develop and implement DEI initiatives. T he board should continue to review policies and re vise them as needed We must provide support to the new Executive Director in their review of practices and procedures that will guide staf f in their day to day operations T he board should ask that clear goals be established that can be assessed for their success.

When a new executive director is hired, how will you help ensure a smooth transition and strong leadership?

ould propose a planning meeting with the Board to establear expectations on goals ommunication. T he board should exercise the portion of the ontract with Koya Par tners to rage their experience in onoarding new executive leaders. encourage the use of the anonymous staf f survey results so that they have a comprehensive and open view into how the staf f on all levels is feeling about the work of the library. I would eng age with org anizations like RAILS and Illinois Library Association to identify tools and resources to assist with onboarding.

What is your take on the library as a third space, or place outside home and work that allows locals to connect with their community?

Public libraries remain one of the few spaces where you aren’t charged a fee to enter or expected to buy something to stay. The library should continue to establish eng aging progr ams, build an active collection, and develop an empowered, innovative staf f so that we continue to set an example of how vital a healthy public library is to the strength of a vibrant community like Oak Park We must also take care of our physical spaces and insure that our buildings are well maintained to keep up with our year round use

What should the policy be on banning books at the OPPL?

I am grateful that Illinois recently passed a law that would almost eliminate book bans in public librarie s. I am fully opposed to the implementation of any kind of categorical book ban at the Oak Park Public Library. I have trust in the professional judgement of our librarians to build a collection that serves our community’s needs and interests.

Political experience

Current Library Board Trustee; volunteer for various political campaigns

Community experience

Parent of children at Holmes Elementary School and Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School; Member, St Christopher’s Church

What are the g reatest challenges facing the Oak Park Public Library?

Ensuring that our library remains an intellectually vibrant space. Across the country we are witnessing ttacks on libraries and their intellectual vibrancy and freedom.

national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, how will you protect and enforce DEI at the library?

For tunately, DEI practices at the Oak Park Public Library are not being directly attacked on a national or state level. Our challenge here is to make the Library’s DEI progr ams work effectively for our community. Effective, thoughtful, and evidence-based DEI practices will deepen the library’s ties to the community and dovetail with Oak Pa rk’s many decades long tradition of working to create a welcoming and diverse community. If we make DEI practices with measurable goals that support the wellbeing of our community a part of the library, I expect we will see broad community support for their continuation.

When a new executive director is hired, how will you help ensure a smooth transition and strong leadership?

The Board must make its expectations clear to the new Executive Director. Likewise, the new Executive Director will need to clearly express their needs and expectations of the board. I look forward to frank and regular communication with the new executive director to ensure that they always understand the board’s expectations, and that the board understands the challenges and goals of the executive director so that the board can support them in their vision.

What is your take on the library as a third space, or place outside home and work that allows locals to connect with their community?

Public Libraries are one of the last places in this country wherein a person is not expected to buy anything. T he Oak Park Public Library is very much a community center where people meet to discuss books, attend lectures, or play a game of chess. It serves an essential function.

What should the policy be on banning books at the OPPL?

It is my understanding that for at least the past 28 years, the Oak Park Library board has not eng aged in any book banning. I’d like to continue this tradition. I fully support the right of people who are of fended by specific books to not check them out.

MATT FRUTH

MAYA GANGULY

OA K PARK LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEE (8 C ANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS )

What are the g reatest challenges facing the Oak Park Public Library?

T he biggest challenge facing the library is adapting to a rapidly changing info rmational environment while maintaining traditional services and collections. With so much info rmation and media readily available online the library must enhance its role as a hub for face-to-face cultural, educational and recreational activities in order to enrich the sense of true community in Oak Pa rk.

In the face of national attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, how will you protect and enforce DEI at the library?*

T he principles of equity, inclusion and diversity are core values of the Village of Oak Park and public libraries long before the designation of DEI as a ne gative catchphrase in recent culture-war politics. T hankfully, Oak Park Public Library is not de pendent on federal funding for its existence. It is the community of Oak Park that funds the library and as long as the principles of DEI are embraced by the community, the library need not heel to

outside pressure to deny them. As a trustee of our library will fight to uphold the place of Oak Park Public Library as true “Library for all” and resist outside attempts to erode these foundational tenets of our community

When a new executive di rector is hired, how will yo help ensure a smooth transition and strong leadership?

T he abrupt termination of director last year provided the impetus for my candidacy. T he Board’s explanation indicated that their relationship had deteriorated to the point where the parties could no longer work to g ether. So that this doesn’t happen again, I will ensure that the Board and Director have re gular communication and that feedback is given so that their values and priorities are cong r uent. This process should begin with orientation continuing with re gular evaluations of performance. Each month the ED re ports

activities in key areas of the ibrary’s strat egic plan. to the Board This should be examined losely and feedback given as to their alignment with expectations. With these processes lace the new Director will able to lead confidently and successfully.

What is your take on the library as a third space, or place outside home and work ws locals to connect with thei r community?

T he library is one of the few places in the community where all are welcome without membership or purchase. To make Oak Park Public a true third space for all it must remain a welcoming place in which all feel comfortable pursuing their interests. To do this the library must appraise its spaces and services to make sure they are meeting community needs, Furnishings need to be both comfortable and sanitary. Spaces should be able to accommodate the activi-

ties of individuals, small groups and large public events. T he Veterans Room should be upgraded to a space more conducive for perfor mances and other public events

What should the policy be on banning books at the OPPL?

Oak Park Public Library has robust Freedom to Read and Freedom to View policies in place. T he Library and the Village also declared Oak Park a Book Sanctuary in 2023. T hese policies affirm that collections reflect a broad spectrum of viewpoints re presentative of all cultures and lifestyles in our community. A process of review of book challenges from community members is in place, but politically org anized book banning campaigns motivated by the restriction of collections in contravention of library policies should be rejected.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at: oakpark.com/2025-local-elections

BRUCE BRIGELL

Homes

Cra sman home designed by Roy J. Hotchkiss snatched up

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

Roy J. Hotchkiss designed 219 Linden in 1923 for Jacob Ecker and his wife. A century later, the brick home with yellow trim and a tile roof across the street from Oak Park River Forest High School still has many of his architectural flourishes. When the long-time owners decided to sell, they turned to Baird and Warner’s Steve Scheuring, who listed the house for $1,090,000. The house was under contract quickly and closed this week for $1,100,000. Scheuring thinks the quick sale was due to a number of factors that

make the home unique, including its first-floor primary suite, its prime location and overall size

Hotchkiss had deep roots in Oak Park Born in 1877 in Richmond, Indiana, he moved to Oak Park in 1884 and, according to his 1945 obituary, he attended school in the old Temperance Hall at Lake and Forest avenues.

With only a high-school education, he became a chief designer for noted Oak Park architect E.E. Roberts in Roberts’ office at Madison and Oak Park Avenue before establishing his own architectural

See CRAFTSMAN HOME on pa ge 54

PROVIDED BY STEVE SCHEURING

CRAFTSMAN HOME

A quick sale

from page 53

practice in 1915 with offices at 115 N. Oak Park Ave. Hotchkiss designed many homes throughout Oak Park and also is credited with the design of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on East Avenue. He also designed the Art Deco Medical Arts Building on Lake Street.

Inside the roughly 4,300-square-foot home on Linden, a fireplace warms the living room. Scheuring noted that around the time the home was built, many area homes had fireplaces tiled in “St. Gile’s tile,” which was sold as leftover tile from the construction of the church on Columbian Avenue in Oak Park. He’s not sure that this tile is the remnant of the Catholic Church, but it is similar to that tile and original to the home.

A solid terrazzo shelf over the dining room radiator serves as a plant shelf. Scheuring estimated the unusual piece weighs hundreds of pounds. Some original light fixtures and a safe built into the wall also remain from 1923.

Scheuring pointed out that the home has some unusual attributes for an older home. Chief among them, a first-floor primary suite. The four-room suite has a bathroom with a soaking tub, a bedroom, a sitting

room and a sun porch with heated floors.

The second floor was only partially finished when Scheuring’s clients purchased the home. Scheuring noted, “Like many homes of the era, the original second level was only partially finished. If the needs of the family only required one bedroom up, that is what was built, and the rest re mained unfinished – just open space.”

The sellers remodeled the second floor to include three bedrooms and a large hall bathroom.

The lower level of the home of fered another unusual feature: an under-house ga rage. There was much more living space on this level as well. “The basement alone is 2,900 square feet,” Scheuring said.

This space includes a rec room with a pool table. A movie room was soundproofed and completely wired for internet and power when it became a work-fromhome space during the pandemic. A laundry room and several storage rooms round out the basement.

Scheuring noted: “First floor primary suites are very rare in Oak Park. Especially in older vintage homes of the late 1800s to the 1930s. After that, an occasional ranch home here or there were the only dwellings to offer first floor primary suites. Now, 70% of my buyers are still some form of f amily entity with at least one child under the age of 5, so slee ping on a different level than your kids is not for everybody But the pandemic brought an increase in first-floor sleeping needs.

Families combined g enerations under one roof during the pandemic, thus creating a need for more first-floor full living.”

Beyond that coveted first-floor bedroom, “The Ec ker home is huge in squar e footage compared to many others in Oak Park,” he said. “More than 4,000 square feet in just the first and second living areas is crazy for a house in this price rang e

and in this location. ”

The third selling point was the neighborhood, which is the heart of Oak Park’s estate section. Noting that he and his wife have called the neighborhood home for years, he said, “The walkability really changes your entire lifestyle. The schools, the Far mer’s Market, the library, the dining, the Green Line... just minutes away.”

PROVIDED BY STEVE SCHEURING

ST. GILES TILE: e original replace may have tile also used at St. Giles Church.

PROVIDED BY STEVE SCHEURING

OH, THAT TUB: Primar y bathroom on the home’s rst oor

PROVIDED BY STEVE SCHEURING

UPDATED: e kitchen is updated and spacious.

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CRIME

Suspect arrested for October knife attack in Oak Park

Police have arrested a man suspected of attacking a Chicago resident with a knife and slashing their tires last fall.

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Pa rk p olice have ar rested a Chicago man suspected of attacking another Chicago resident with a knife before slashing their tires during an altercation near North and Austin last October.

Police ar rested the 34-year- old on charges of ag gr avated battery and c riminal property d amage shortly after 9:50 a.m. F riday, March 7, a ccording to a police department activity re po rt T he man was ar rested in c onnection with an Oct. 4 altercation in wh ich he alle gedly c onfronted the victim in the 6100 block of North Avenue wh i le brandishing a knife, a ccording to police.

T he man re por tedly swung the knife at the victim and struck them, before slashing one of the tires on the victim’s 2012 Nissan A ltima and c ausing d amage to it s

hood and d oor s, a ccording to an October p olice activity re po rt

Battery to police o cer arrest

Police ar rested a 26-year- old Chicag o woman on charges of battery to a p olice officer after she alle gedly p unched an Oak Pa rk officer in the chest. T he altercation o ccu rred in the 400 block of Washington Boulevard shortly after 11 p. m. Saturday, March 8, according to police

T he woman is facing an a dditional resisting ar rest charge, a ccording to p olice.

Domestic battery ar rest

Police ar rested a 29-year- old Wi nnetka man on d omestic battery charges for an alle ged attack on an Oak Pa rk resident. Police ar rested the man in the 1000 block of La ke Street at 2:24 p. m. We d nesd ay, March 5, according to police

Bike theft

An unknown suspect stole an Oak Pa rk resident’s bicycle on T hursd ay, March 6.

T he bike had b een secured to a bike rack , a ccording to police

T he bike is valued at $750, according to p olice

Arrest

Police ar rested a 63-year- old Chicag o man on charges of criminal trespassing shortly after 8:10 a.m. on Thursday, March 6 in the 600 block of South Boulevard, according to police. The man was also the subject of an outstanding Cook County warrant for battery, according to police. These items were obtained from Oak Pa rk Police Department re ports dated March 5–10 and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these re ports has only been charged with a

crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We re port the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

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Alice and Friends opening soon in the Munch space

New vegan restaurant on Marion Street in Oak Park hopes to attract non-vegans as well

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

Alice and Friends, a ve gan restaurant with two locations in the Chicago area, will soon open in the for mer Munch space at 104 N. Marion St. in Oak Park

“I really loved Munch, even before I had my restaurant business,” said Mun Wong, the owner of Alice and Friends. “When we found out that Munch was closing, I reached out. It was a good opportunity.”

“The grapevine in the ve g an community is pretty strong,” said David King, president of Oak Park-based commercial real estate company David King and Associates. “I’m beyond excited to find a ve gan restaurant to follow in Munch’s footste ps. T here are many local restaurants that offer ve g an options on their menu, but Alice and F riends is a true ve g an restaurant. And they have significant experience operating two other locations T hey truly are the real deal.”

The exact date of opening has not been determined, as upgrades to the space have not been completed.

Wong’s path to becoming a ve gan entrepreneur started with her love of animals.

“The ag ricultural industry is brutal. Animals suffer behind the scenes. But ve ganism isn’t only about animals. There has been research about how a ve gan diet can save energy, save water. It’s about doing something for our home, the planet.”

Wong bought Alice and Friends’ Chicago location in 2015 and since expanded to another spot in Glenview. The name is a reference to the original owner, named Alice, but there is another reason she decided to keep it.

“Because I want to create a wonderland for ve g ans, so they can enjoy everything on the menu without double checking,” Wong said.

She wants to attract non-ve gans as well. Two dishes she recommends to first-timers or the ve gan curious are Mushrooms Wonderland, a trio of mushrooms served with kale and broccoli over quinoa, and Kung Pao Ding, sauteed red and green pepper, ginger, scallion, broccoli and garlic with peanuts and a choice of meat alternative (tofu, oyster mushrooms or soy protein) with hot chili and house-made Kung Pao

Fans of Munch w ill have a new eatery in the same space when Alice and Friends opens

sauce, served over brown rice.

Another dish which is a favorite of Wong’s non-ve gan parents is ramen. There are two options on the menu: Tonkotsu ramen is made with plant-based broth, served with ve gan bacon, mushrooms, bok choy, corn and bean sprouts. Roasted sesa-

me miso ramen is made with house-made dashi, served with lightly seasoned mung bean sprouts, crispy tofu “skin” and corn.

“My parents think our ramen is actually better than meat versions,” Wong said.

Menu options change seasonally. Many dishes just happen to be free of animal products.

Thai tomka soup, Burmese noodle salad, heavenly curry, sweet and sour cauliflower, to name a few.

There’s a kids’ menu too. And don’t forget dessert. All items can be made nut-free.

Wong is excited to bring a fully ve gan

Keep a Lookout

Website: aliceandfriendsveg ankitchen.com

Address: 104 N Marion St, Oak Park

restaurant back to Oak Pa rk. “I li ke to promote ve gan food so, that’s what we are trying to do. We want people to know it can be delicious. That’s the goal,” said Wong.

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

Scents of summer at Russell’s Barbecue

Long-time Elmwood Park eatery draws patrons summer, fall, winter and spring

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

At Russell’s Barbecue, it’s always picnic season.

The distinctive building near the corner of Thatcher and North Avenue in Elmwood Park – with a smokestack proudly bearing the name – has beckoned generations with red-checkered tablecloths, unique BBQ sauce and good memories.

“The restaurant has been here since 1930, so a lot of people kind of grew up with it and they like the nostalgic look of it, the history of it,” said assistant manager Eric Meyer.

Ordering up a platter of meat accompanied by the signature, cinnamon-spiced BBQ sauce delivers a warm feeling even when there’s snow on the ground.

“When I come here, it reminds me that summer will return!” said recent diner Kim Martin.

No matter the temperature outside, the staff at Russell’s diligently crafts dishes that remind us of warm summer nights, seated at picnic tables, licking sauce off fin-

gers. They are sort of reverse-season Santa’s elves in that way. Conjuring up treats that evoke the best of outdoor dining.

“Ensuring that everything is consistent is important,” Meyer said. “Because folks come here wanting to have what they’ve always had. To relive memories. We introduce some new things, but also keeping the core, original menu the same.”

When Russell’s added smoked meats, the old-fashioned joint tickled the tastebuds of a new generation.

“The smoker, it’s been 7-8 years already,” manager Ben Tapia said. “We got a good response! Every year, it seems like people order more and more. But nobody’s forgetting about the BBQ either.”

On a recent weekday afternoon, the din-

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

Brisket sandwich and fries at Russell’s.

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

Russell’s Barbecue, 1621 N. Thatcher Ave, Elmwood Park.

Why my ag ies upside down

A letter to my neighbor who was upset about my displaying the American flag upside down: Dear Neighbor,

I recently received your anonymous letter expressing concer n about my decision to fly the U.S. flag upside down. First, I want to acknowledge and appreciate the sincerity of your message. I understand that for many, the flag is a deeply respected symbol of service, sacrifice, and national pride. Please know that my intent is not to dishonor those values but rather to express deep distress about the direction in which our country is headed.

Flying the flag upside down is a reco gnized signal of distress — a message that I, like many others, believe is necessary at this moment in history. The turmoil following the election of the current president, along with the erosion of the rule of law and constitutional principles, is alarming. The recent developments involving Ukrainian President Zelensky only reinforce the gravity of the situation.

I draw inspiration from Father Michael Pfleger’s editorial in the Chicago Tribune*, where he explains why his parish has also chosen to fly the flag in this manner. He states, “What’s happening is wrong and unacceptable and cannot be normalized. America, we must resist — nonviolently, yes, but resist. Or we will find ourselves re peating Nazi Ger many.” I could not ag ree more.

As a fellow veteran, I have served this country with honor, and my love for it compels me to speak out when I see it veering down this dangerous path. I believe that patriotism is not just about displaying the flag but also about standing up for the principles it re presents. My protest is not against the country itself but against the actions threatening its democratic foundation.

I respect your perspective, and I appreciate that you took the time to share your concerns. While we may see this moment in different ways, I hope we can ag ree that America thrives when its citizens engage in meaningful dialogue and stand up for what they believ e in.

*Reference to Tribune article http://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=9a57cbef-acbd-47ec85ff-db9b4c0ead70

Warren Jepson Oak Park

VIEWPOINTS

Skeptic urges ‘Y te for te

I’ve long been skeptical of term limits because they seem redundant since voters can just vote out of office those elected officials who have remained in office too long. But when local politics have devolved to the point where there’s nobody courageous enough to run against incumbents and give voters that choice, it’s time to re-evaluate that position and vote “Yes” on April 1 to establish ter m limits.

DANIEL LAUBER One View

One of the most important responsibilities of a village president and village board is to respectively appoint and approve residents to boards and commissions based on merit, not political loyalty. The underlying idea is to appoint residents who will make independent decisions and not be beholden to those who appoint them — at least that’s how it works in villages that practice good gover nment.

But in River Forest, political connections make all the difference with development approvals. The ill-advised and, fortunately, failed Lake & Lathrop development is a classic example of political connections counting more than the substance of the project. Those in power steamrolled it through the approval process despite all its red flags and flaws. I can’t recall another time that I’ve seen town officials repeatedly resurrect a development project that should have been denied in the first place, just to please a town’s top elected official.

In contrast, the equally ill-advised development at 11001011 Bonnie Brae by developers without political connections was denied. The contrasting hearings for the two developments offer a crash course in the adverse impacts of political influence.

But despite all the uproar from the public over these developments, poorly handled zoning text amendments, ethi-

cal conflict of interest, and a grossly inadequate affordable housing plan, all incumbent village officials on the April 1 ballot are running unopposed. That’s not due to satisfaction with their performance. It’s largely due to the political power amassed over three terms in office, going on four There’s no shortage of highly qualified River Forest residents to run for of fice. But I know that some declined to run out of fear of being subjected to the sort of disturbing smear campaign directed against village president candidate Patty Henek in 2021.

The best “good gover nment” village president in our 38 years living here was the only one to serve just two ter ms: John Rigas. President Rigas prudently appointed not just political loyalists, but also political opponents because he based his appointments on merit and qualifications, a practice rarely followed here since he left office. He served to advance responsible nonpartisan gover nment here, not to amass political power.

And that’s why it’s time to vote “Yes” on April 1 to establish term limits for the village president and trustees. Sadly, practices under three- and four-ter m village presidents have given River Forest a reputation in the development and planning communities that political connections are needed to win development approval in River Forest — something not characteristic of “good gover nment” communities

A “yes” vote on April 1 can help reverse this reputation and restore nonpartisan good gover nment — and appropriate development — to the village that we call home.

Daniel Lauber and his wife Diana mov ed to River Forest in 1987. As a professional city planner for 53 years, he has experience working with hundreds of municipalities and counties across the nation.

OUR VIEWS

Villages stand strong for our values

Over and again these past two weeks, the Jour nal has reported on, hosted, or attended events across Oak Park and River Forest where a range of people in a range of roles have actively, passionately, deter minedly stood up for the values of diversity, equity, belonging.

These have been unapologetic and unafraid declarations that diversity defines these villages, that equity is core to our values, that standing up for the LGBTQ+ community is a given, that fostering hometowns that welcome migrants is who we are.

It has been gratifying to see this in a moment where the Trump administration is working feverishly to erase all mention of DEI from the public dialogue and wants to deport people by the millions. Under the made-up and, as courts keep declaring, illegal efforts of Musk and DOGE, Trump’s administration works to actively defund any entity — gover nmental, academic, nonprofit — that dares to express values and make policy around what to us are foundational values for America.

In Oak Park we have elected leaders and candidates, nonprofit CEOs, clergy and activists with the courage to dissent.

At election forums, sponsored by Growing Community Media for the Oak Park Village Board and the OPRF and District 97 school boards, candidate hands shot up when we asked candidates if they would defend current, long-fought-for, policies around inclusion for all.

Are elected officials concerned that federal policies are going to impact their budgets? Absolutely they are concerned. As they should be Candidates for the OPRF board point out that some 6% of the school’s budget comes from the federal gover nment. And that does not reflect challenges to funding for infrastructure programs as Trump targets projects that dare to mention climate change.

But there is no sign of knuckling.

We have a story this week about the intersection of two vital local institutions. Tony Martinez, for six years the top person at the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, announced he is stepping down and stepping over to a critical post as the lead fundraiser at Dominican University.

Under Tony’s leadership, the foundation has actively, and with intention, broadened its vision beyond the two villages and now sees its mission as focusing on racial equity and social justice across the greater West Side, creating a powerful community needs assessment as its guide. It has shifted its grant-making processes to include new and smaller nonprofits. And at a meeting just recently, Martine z and the foundation board introduced new financial advisors who will actively align how it manages its donors’ assets so that those investments reflect the deter mination of the foundation to move toward equity

Dominican is another institution that, over a decade plus, has intentionally embraced a much more diverse student body with a wide welcome to young Hispanic students. That will not sit well with Trump and his MAGA minions. President Glena Temple made a strong choice in asking Martine z to raise more money in a fraught moment.

This is a dispiriting moment nationally. But it is good to live in villages that are clear-minded about our shared values

Around the world with Br yce & Tyler

Take me to the world,

Where I can walk for miles with you, Take me to the world that’s real, show me how it’s done, Teach me how to laugh, to feel, move me to the sun,

Just hold my hand whenev er we arri ve,

Take me to a world where I can be ali ve.

Stephen Sondheim “Take Me to the World” from “Evening Primrose”

Winter kept us inside, so my grandsons Bryce and Tyler and I took a trip around the world in 70 days. Each Wednesday, with two interruptions, we watched eight episodes of Around the World in 80 Days, a PBS Masterpiece mini-series from 2021, starring David Tennant as Phileas Fogg, Ibrahim Kona as his valet Passepartout (Pas-par-TOO) and Leonie Benesch as jour nalist Abigail Fix.

Talk about innocents abroad — sprung not from Mark Twain but the fertile imagination of Jules Verne. And we three innocents clambered aboard for the ride. It took a while to warm up to the characters, and for the characters to war m up to each other, but in each episode, along with life-anddeath complications, we watched these figments of imagination come to terms with each other and themselves.

We followed their progress on a small globe, just as the Reform Club in London followed the progress of their wayward member and his unlikely accomplices on a giant map on the wall of the sitting room where Fogg, a seemingly incorrigible fop, had wasted 20 years sitting in the same armchair with the same companions doing nothing with his life of any note — until one day he receives a postcard with a one-word message on the back: “Coward.” Hmmm.

That same day he reads an article about moder n (by 1872 standards) transportation technology advancing to the point where, theoretically, it would be possible to travel around the world in 80 days. His so-called club friends (and the woman who accused him of cowardice) goad him into making a wager that he can take that journey, and he leaves immediately, accompanied by a pseudo-valet (Passepartout) and followed by an ambitious journalist (Abigail Fix) who wrote the article that sparked his trip Vastly under-prepared, their odyssey sure to fail, with each near catastrophe the companions discover unexpected resourcefulness and resilience to keep going, and they witness the curious emergence of character, surprising themselves and mystify-

ing the others. Each, at various points, feels betrayed by the others, then finds forgiveness.

It is a grand tale of high adventure, and the boys were very much on board. The benefits of home viewing allowed for plenty of questions and commentary as we discussed racism, interracial romance, economic inequality, and class hierarchy — as well as their surprisingly detailed explanation of how steam engines work. How they figured this out I have no clue. They learned how different the world was 150 years ago and how it is still the same. And they watched these eccentrics grow significantly as human beings, becoming co-equals and devoted friends in spite of their own foolishness and society’s ridiculous restrictions

We munched on caramel popcorn, as we snuggled under blankets — couch travel at its finest, as educational as it was entertaining. It got us through the long, cold winter (along with bowling, Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit, and games of foosball).

A letter to the future:

Boys, though by now you are no longer boys, I wish I could go around the world with you, however long that might take, but I loved watching this journey with you when you were 11. I have seen some of the world. It is an amazing place. Maybe you will travel far and wide someday, perhaps with someone you love, as Phileas should have gone with Estella when he had the chance. He didn’t have the courage then, but he found it later — and, in the process, found himself

I won’t live long enough to see how all your adventures turn out, but you will go far, inside and out, seeing much and, as Louie Armstrong sang in “A Wonderful World,” lear n far more than I’ll ever know.

Though we won’t go “around the world” with you, all of us who love you dearly are trying to “take you to the world,” as in Stephen Sondheim’s song mentioned up top. It’s a big, beautiful world with some ugliness in it, just like in this mini-series, but that’s not the world’s fault. It’s ours, and I hope you will contribute, in your own way, small or large, to changing it for the better

In the meantime, our job is to take you to the dock, or the train station, or the airport or even a hot air balloon launching pad — or simply to the front door that leads to the road that goes ever on and on — to see you off. And just like Phileas and Abigail and Passepartout, you will discover that you have what it takes, most of it already deep down inside you, waiting for the moment you need it

Bon Voyage!

KEN TRAINOR

WOA K P ARK VILL AG E PRESIDENT C ANDID AT E

What it takes to be village president

hat will it take to be village president for the village of Oak Park over the next four years?

Over the last four years, our village board and staff have worked to create strategic plans to increase affordability, ensure community safety, and secure a more just and sustainable future. I’ve led on all of these plans through the COVID pandemic and a successful migrant crisis response.

The stakes are even higher moving forward. The call for leadership over the next four years will require strength, a genuinely collaborative spirit, vision, strategy, and empathy

In 1968, Oak Park made the intentional choice to work toward a diverse and integrated community. Why? Was it to protect property values and not feel forced to move, or was it because brave leaders believed in the potential for a more inclusive community that would thrive beyond our wildest dreams if only we could embrace diversity and integration as a strength? Maybe both. We are living in challenging times We need leadership that will not back down from our Oak Park values and will identify a path for sustaining our goals

and continue to thrive despite the division and dysfunction around us. Throughout my 20 years of public service to this community, and during the past four, I have established and grown partnerships and meaningful relationships with leaders in our neighboring communities, as well as with leaders across Oak Park’s taxing bodies. These relationships are built on mutual respect and solid accomplishments, providing me with a foundation for support and opportunities to collaborate that align with our common goals

I ran in 2021 because the board was divided, and that division was stopping them from being able to take action on what residents were saying; they just didn’t seem to hear community members’ needs. The first question I heard at every debate in 2021 was, “Vicki, how are you, as one person, going to make this board more effective?” I turned that around immediately, working with our trustees to form shared goals. Today we have a plan for supporting community safety, affordable housing, traffic, climate change, and continued growth — plans that we did not have in 2021. Today, we continue to work together

to bring forward successful initiatives that set Oak Park apart as a national leader. E.C.H.O., Engaging Community for Healthy Outcomes, will provide compassionate, non-police responses to behavioral health crises, homelessness, and other non-emergency calls. At the same time, we are on track to have a fully staffed police force by the end of 2025, at a time when police departments across the country are struggling with staffing. The response to our migrant crisis, which brought together public, private, and gover nmental stakeholders, is a national model for ef fective municipal crisis response. The for mation of C4, Cross Community Climate Collaborative, an initiative of which I am a co-founder, has helped secure more than $3 million regionally for climate change, including $500,000 for young adult sustainable workforce development, and strengthened our relationships with neighboring leaders.

As village president, I have leaned into my knowledge of our community resources and partnerships to set us up for success. I will lead during these uncertain times to see our values reflected in our actions and to support our vibrant, beautiful community for further growth, strategically and with empathy

I am Vicki Scaman. I am asking for your vote on April 1 for village president.

Support progress in choosing D200 leaders

Please join me in voting for Fred Arkin, Audrey-Williams Lee, and Kathleen O’Dell — and writing in Dave Schaafsma for the District 200 high school board. These candidates share a common vision on educational, behavioral, and financial issues.

As a for mer educator, I am delighted that they support the freshman honors initiative which, based on research and best practices, has extended honors-level study and expectations to more than 80% of our freshmen. While these are early days and improvements are needed, it has been encouraging to see rising PSAT scores and AP and honors enrollment at OPRF since the program was instituted following years of work by staf f (1). They also support positive student behavior with a comprehensive approach

that combines restorative justice with necessary consequences. According to of ficial school records, OPRF has experienced a decline in physical incidents and threats over the past few years (2).

In this election, voters should have serious questions about the Mellman and Gertz D200 candidates. If they are elected, they will have a conflict of interest with their pending complaint against D200 with the Illinois Attorney General and Illinois State Board of Education. Curiously, their campaign literature does not discuss this complaint.

They have demanded firing two teacher advisors to a student after-school club and Mr. Mellman tried to get the administration to cancel a world-class historian who was invited to speak to the club (3).

They cherry-pick school data (1) (2)

to support their views about academics and student behavior. This approach is antithetical to what we need on the D200 board.

Fortunately, Oak Park and River Forest residents do have four outstanding candidates with the qualities that D200 needs to target inequality and to provide a strong educational environment for all students. (1) https://www.oakpark. com/2025/03/04/setting-the-recordstraight-3 (2) https://www.oakpark. com/2025/01/30/d200-school-board-elections-mellman-gertz (3) https://www.oakpark. com/2025/03/04/the-need-to-listen-to-allperspectives

Caren Van Slyke Oak Park

A freshman curriculum success story

Creators of forward-looking policies sometimes, unfortunately, give them names that opponents can twist to distort their meaning and undermine them. I would add “detracking” at OPRF High School to this list.

Opponents of this still-very-new policy use this name to suggest that all students would take the same classes, regardless of ability. This is not the case For the affected courses, freshmen are placed in different paths based on their individual abilities. One group of students is not placed into honors courses, another group is placed into honors courses with an extra class of support to aid their success, and a third group is placed into honors courses without additional support

These are three different “tracks” that allow all students to be both challenged and differentiated. A student’s performance as a freshman determines what courses they’re recommended for in subsequent years (“retracking”) after they are given the opportunity to prove themselves.

My son, a sophomore at OPRF, is a success story of this system. While he was always quite bright, he didn’t apply himself in middle school, so he might not have been placed into honors courses in the old system. Under the new system, he rose to the challenge of being in honors courses in a way that, he says, he wouldn’t have otherwise. The coursework was not “dumbed down” and was, in fact, much more challenging than anything my husband or I faced at our competitive high schools. Now my son is an A student in all honors and AP classes, as result of being challenged early and supported by wonderful teachers.

In contrast, when I was in school decades ago, tracking was determined as early as fourth grade and never revisited. The system didn’t consider how students mature academically. My experience in high school would have benefited from a freshman reset, as is done now at OPRF

The fearmongering and misleading cherry-picking of data points by opponents of “detracking” mirrors national-level tactics. My son and I urge you to vote for experienced candidates who support the school’s forward-looking policies: Arkin, WilliamsLee, Odell, and Schaafsma (write-in).

Wendy Stone 15-year Oak Parker

SHRUB TO WN by Marc Stopeck

It’s

time for voter initiative

Since last November, when over 85% of Oak Parkers voted in favor of adopting initiative rights, I have had many conversations with village board members, candidates, and Oak Parkers about enacting an Oak Park Voter Initiative ordinance in line with the people’s will.

The ordinance I have proposed outlines a process by which community members could collect signatures of a couple thousand registered voters to bring an ordinance before the board. If the board does not take action that satisfies the petitioners and the village attorney determines the question does not infringe on rights protected by the Illinois Constitution, it would proceed to a referendum. The people would then have the opportunity to make their voices heard.

This will not undermine our village board. The board still reserves the right to amend and repeal any initiated ordinance. It will be an alter native pathway for the occasional idea to come forward. Great ideas about sustainability, ethics, or anything else don’t just have to emerge from the boardroom. They can also come from conversations between friends and neighbors. Right now, we might be missing out on those. The Oak Park Voter Initiative gives a structured, though rigorous, avenue for them to be advanced.

Nearly every municipality in our Midwester n neighbors, Ohio, Nebraska, Michigan, and numerous other states, provides their residents with initiative rights. Since 1981, Arlington Heights has had an initiative process in place. Their ordinance, drafted by their well-respected municipal attorney, serves as the model for the Oak Park Voter Initiative ordinance.

As democracy retreats across the country, we should champion its expansion here. Embracing tried-and-true practices like initiative will improve our local gover nance and show our residents that we fully believe in the merits of an expansive, inclusive democracy.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg put it best saying, “The invention of the initiative was in full harmony with the Constitution’s conception of the people as the font of gover nmental power.” The village board should heed Justice Ginsburg’s words and pass the Oak Park Voter Initiative

If you would like to get involved, please email me at Jacob. Drews@gmail.com.

Jacob Drews Oak Park

WEDNESD AY

of Oak Park and River Forest

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e goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have su cient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it o en is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it.

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DISTRIC T 200 C ANDID AT E

Regaining community trust in OPRF

Iam running for the District 200 Board of Education to keep all our kids safe, ensure every student has a challenging academic environment that sets them up for success, and safeguard taxpayer dollars to maximize resources for our schools while respecting the community’s trust (see more at GertzMellmanD200.com).

Regarding school safety, we need policies that students and staff respect and that keep everyone safe. We also need to be able to respond to emergencies better The school is proposing to make a trial purchase of the Raptor EM system (1). Unfortunately, this tool is too cumbersome to use in an emergency. Our teachers and staff deserve to have a wearable alert badge that quickly summons help in a medical emergency, for a fight in a classroom, or if there is an active shooter (2), not fumbling for an app on a computer (3). As an almost 30-year military officer whose last job was teaching and advising on how to properly respond to disasters and large-scale events, I know what it takes to make sure our school is safe so teachers can focus on educating students Second, we need more focused efforts to close the achievement gap. Since 2022-23, the gap between our Black students and white students on the English PSAT score has stayed the same (4). Our Hispanic students have seen a drop of 6% in that score in those

NATE MELLMAN One View

same two years (5). And compared to our peer schools, OPRF is last in keeping our ninth grade students on track (6). We need to focus on what works: tutoring and intensive summer programs

Third, one of the greatest challenges D200 faces is that many in the community feel they can’t trust the board with their tax dollars. In the past, candidates, such as Fred Arkin, have flipflopped on what they pledged to voters (7). It is important that there are independent, critical thinkers on D200 who will keep a keen eye on Project 2 to ensure it is delivered on time and on budget. Project 1 resulted in a 29% cost overrun (8). What’s past is prologue and the community senses this with the $140 million-plus Project 2 (9). I am an attorney I also have a degree in finance and international business, and I have construction experience. You can value-engineer a project to get what you want without overspending. I know how to ask good questions We need to closely look at each invoice and, if necessary, challenge them.

There is also too much administrative bloat. While student enrollment has dropped more than 5% since 2018, the number of fulltime equivalent administrators increased by more than 50% in the last four years (10). I want to give more resources to teachers and students, not to administrators.

Clean energy on view

Oak Park Climate Action Network’s first Clean Energy Open Houses, on March 9, was a resounding success. More than 100 folks registered to view the sustainability upgrades in three houses where homeowners and contractors were on hand to share their experience with heat pumps, rooftop solar arrays, electric appliances, and much more. We’re sincerely grateful to the homeowners who generously opened their homes and met with visitors, as well as to the numerous volunteers who pitched in to ensure an informative and enjoyable after noon for all.

Missed this event? It’s not too late to register for another set of open houses: three more Oak Park homes, featuring a range of clean energy upgrades, will be open on Sunday, April 6, from 2 to 4. It’s free, but registration is required and space is limited. Visit opcan.org/openhouses to sign up.

Wendy Greenhouse Oak Park Climate Action Network

Now is the time to regain community trust by having independent, strong voices and critical thinking on the D200 Board. Together, we can create schools that are safe, strong, and supportive for every child and every family

Sources:

(1) In-person conversation between Mellman/Gertz and Kristen Devitt, Director of Campus Security, and David Narain, Assistant Principal for Operations, 1/17/25, at OPRFHS.

(2) https://ow.ly/9WQm50VfajN; conversation with Centegix representative, 1/17/25

(see https://www.centegix.com).

(3) Id. above at fn. 1; https://ow.ly/IxIW50Vfamj.

(4) https://ow.ly/OTfC50VfanW (citing to OPRF D200 data).

(5) Id.

(6) Id. (Being “on track” as a ninth grader is defined as earning no more than one “F” in a core class (https://ow.ly/zjnj50Vfapw).

(7) March 4, 2019 D200 Candidate Forum (Fred Arkin: “if we issue bonds, I will pledge that I will vote to have a referendum. Period. Put it to the voice of the taxpayers. I am saying that publicly and you can hold me to it.” In April 2023, Arkin voted to not have a referendum on Project 2. https:// ow.ly/7iYI50Vfas5.

(8) https://www.oakpark.com/2024/10/15/ d200s-project-1-2-costs/ (9) Id.

(10) https://ow.ly/EoIw50Vfaup

An unfair letter

In a letter to the editor re garding Nathan Mellman and Joshua Gertz, David Gilbert wrote “political candidates, authoritarians typically exploit fear, in their hunt for enough votes to impose punitive controls” [Vote against fear on the D200 board, Viewpoints, Feb. 26]. Gilbert continues with characterizing the Mellman and Gertz candidacy as wanting to impose “harsher student discipline, an academic caste system for freshmen and DOGE-like scrutiny of projects and staffing.”

Mellman and Gertz advocate for appropriate discipline depending on the offense, reverting to tracking, which is not a caste system (the current detracking in place needs more time to determine viability, and if it is better, that’s great), and projects of course should be reviewed, staf fing should be reviewed. Those things are part of the duties of a board. DOGE-like scrutiny has no place anywhere, but that is not what Mellman and Gertz are advocating.

Whether you ag ree with any of these candidates’ positions, my years of experience living in Oak Park have shown me that the vast majority of people who run for public of fice here have the best interests of their desired of fice at hear t.

I believe both writer Gilbert and the editor at Wednesday Journal who allowed this letter to be published need to publicly apologize in Wednesday Journal to Mellman and Gertz.

Marty

Bernstein Oak Park

anks for recognizing Anthony Clark’s impact

Thank you for your editorial recognizing the racial equity work of Anthony Clark, both on behalf of OPRF High School and the broader community (https://www oakpark.com/2025/01/28/anthony-clarks-contributions). As an Oak Park teacher, Anthony Clark has lived, taught, and advocated for racial and social justice in the historical tradition of activist African American educators. He courageously embraced that legacy in a school and community where such commitment has too often been suspect and personally risky

Mr. Clark fully understood that his professional life was always a political act, rooted in the ongoing struggle for human rights and equality for all. In doing so, he exemplified what it meant to be a citizen teacher. He believed, and inspirationally acted, on the principle that his classroom was much larger than a room at OPRF. It also included the village of Oak Park, the West Side, and

other suburban communities

In addition to the work referenced in your editorial, we would like to note that Mr. Clark (and the Suburban Unity Alliance that he headed) was an advocate in several critical racial equity campaigns at OPRF with the Committee for Equity and Excellence in Education, including but not limited to, the push for the adoption of a racial equity policy and accompanying procedures at the high school, and the campaign to hire more teachers of color

We were for tunate to have a committed and enthusiastic partner and a talented organizer in Anthony Clark. On behalf of the Committee for Equity and Excellence in Education, our allies, and friends, Mary Bird, Mark Christiansen, John Du y, Burcy Hines, Ralph Lee, Paul Sakol, Sarah Schriber, and James Schwartz CEEE

Historic opportunity for River Forest

River Forest voters have a historic opportunity to transform our local gover nment on April 1. The ter m limits referendum question below, posted on the Cook County website, is on the ballot:

“Shall the Village of River Forest, after the April 1, 2025, Consolidated Election, enact ter m limits for the elected of fices of Village President, Village Clerk, and the six (6) Village Trustees for no more than two (2) four-year (4-year ) terms total as follows: for each of three (3) Trustees beginning with the April 3, 2027, Consolidated election, and for the Village President, Village Clerk, and three (3) Trustees starting with the April 6, 2029, Consolidated election?”

This referendum seeks to limit the terms of River Forest Village President, Clerk, and Trustee offices to two ter ms, prospec-

tively

Among many productive features, ter m limits for elected officials promote a healthier democracy by ensuring fresh perspectives and encouraging broader community representation.

Term limits for River Forest elected officials will enhance the gover nmental focus on representing us, the constituents of River Forest. Term limits will also open the door for new residents to serve as president, clerk, and trustees, with the opportunity to enhance their problem-solving skills for our local gover nment.

Term limits make our elected officials responsive, honest, and accountable to voters.

Vote Yes for ter m limits on April 1, 2025.

Debbie Borman River Forest

anks for an informative article

Four for the OPRF school board

On behalf of the OPRF High School Faculty Senate, I would like to share we have decided to endorse the following candidates for the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education:

Fred Arkin, Audrey Williams-Lee, Kathleen O’Dell, David Schaafsma (write-in)

We believe all these candidates are

well-qualified and merit our endorsement. They have reached out to the OPRF faculty and have demonstrated a sound understanding of the issues our school faces. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Sheila M. Hardin OPRF Faculty Senate Chairperson hardin8129@comcast.net

We need to do better

I am disheartened when I hear stories like La Tonya James’ experience at the Lake Theatre [A disturbing experience at the Lake Theatre, Viewpoints, March 5] with the racist remarks by young white men. We need to

be better and speak up and work together to make Oak Park the inclusive, open-minded, welcoming community we claim to be.

Support Ravi Parakkat for mayor

We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for Ravi Parakkat’s candidacy for mayor of Oak Park. Ravi embodies the values of dedication, innovation, and community spirit, making him an excellent choice to lead our village into a brighter future.

A classic column

The Ken Trainor column “Voting for Trump instead” in last week’s Viewpoints section [Knowing Christians by their love online] is a classic. This is complete analysis of how cruel and inhuman the actions of an unhinged sociopath Trump, coupled with Chainsaw Elon, are playing out all over America. No one could ever

Charlaine McAnany Oak Park

Thanks to Tom Holmes for the infor mative article on the CROP Walk [The localglobal-local migrant connection, News, March 5]. Church World Services (CWS) does so much good, and they are going to be hurt by the President’s cancellation of USAID money. We are really going to have to work hard this year to make up the difference. Thank you, Tom, for making the CWS charities known.

believe that this could happen in our socalled “Enlightened Age,” which is really the “Unenlightened Dark Age” of America. Thanks for saying what many of us have been thinking but could not put into words.

Charles Chauncey Wells Oak Park

During the pandemic, Ravi launched the “Takeout 25” initiative, encouraging Oak Park residents to spend $25 a week at local restaurants to help them survive economic challenges. This grassroots campaign not only saved numerous businesses, but also gar nered national attention and inspired similar efforts across the country.

Ravi’s leadership during this time was a testament to his ability to unite people for

a common cause and create a meaningful impact. He even chronicled this journey in a book, further demonstrating his commitment to community resilience.

As a longtime community member, he has consistently prioritized inclusivity, sustainability, and affordability in his service as village trustee. His vision for Oak Park is one of safety, equity, and economic vitality — a vision he has proven capable of achieving through focused and effective gover nance. We are confident that Ravi will bring innovative solutions and compassionate leadership as mayor of Oak Park

April Moon & Bob Royals , @properties Marion Digre & Kyra Pych, Remax In The Village

Vincent Gay for D97 school board

The Language & Music School at International Mansion, Est. 1994 “WE ARE THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION!!!!” Congratulating Maria Emilia Fermi on her 31 years in business! 1994 - 2025

I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for Vincent Gay in his campaign for the District 97 school board. As someone who cares deeply about our schools’ future and all students’ success, I can’t think of a more qualified, dedicated, and thoughtful candidate for this role

Vincent brings the perfect combination of experience, leadership, and a genuine commitment to our community. His background as a lifelong educator with experience in urban and suburban schools makes him uniquely equipped to tackle our schools’ challenges. He understands that strong schools are the foundation of a thriving community, and he is ready to roll up his sleeves to ensure every student has the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. What sets Vince apart is his ability to listen, collaborate, and make infor med decisions that put students first. I saw this firsthand working with him on the Whittier Elementary PTO. Whether it’s ensuring fiscal responsibility, advocating for teachers, or promoting policies that foster student achievement, he will bring a steady hand and a forward-thinking approach to the board.

I encourage everyone in our community to lear n more about his vision and join me in voting for Vincent Gay in the upcoming election. Our schools need strong, principled leaders, and Vincent is precisely that.

Amy O’Dea Oak Park

Betsy Kelly Oak Park

Gertz & Mellman will provide better oversight

After three years of OPRF High School’s detracking most freshman classes, it is now clear the administration made it impossible to assess the impact. Here’s what has been cited as “evidence:”

• More students are taking honors and AP courses. However, we don’t know if detracking caused the enrollment changes, as there are other ways to achieve that. Further, enrollment should not be confused with student achievement.

• PSAT scores are cited as a proxy for lear ning outcomes, but they are a terrible measure of the impact of detracking. The PSAT doesn’t test knowledge in history or science, and the reading and writing portions of the PSAT reflect learning from before high school. Further, the PSAT total scores include math, but detracking hasn’t affected math.

as looking “honestly at the data.”

It is a red flag that a current board member wrote an article in the Wednesday Jour nal citing trends in enrollment and total PSAT scores as evidence of the impact of detracking (https://www oakpark.com/2025/03/04/setting-the-recordstraight-3). It is even more troubling that this board member described his analysis

The school detracked to address the racial achievement gap in performance, but lacks the conviction to measure, document, and share results. Detracking was an experiment. Maybe the lack of success has them not wanting to be held accountable.

This makes board oversight critical. We’re fortunate there are two candidates on the ballot asking tough questions to improve learning outcomes, and their thoughtful approach is why I support Nate Mellman and Josh Gertz.

Eric Friedman, Oak Park

Colin Bird-Martinez will opposes bans, censorship

Libraries are more than buildings filled with books — they are the heart of our communities, hubs of knowledge and opportunity, and pillars of democracy. But today they are under attack. Book bans, censorship, and political interference — escalated under President Trump — threaten access to information and diverse perspectives. Now more than ever, we need leaders who will defend our libraries, which is why I’m thrilled that Colin Bird-Martinez is running for Oak Park Public Library Trustee

I’ve known Colin for over a decade and have seen his unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, and ensuring that public spaces serve everyone. When we first met,

he was leading a campaign to fund a new playground through participatory budgeting. He organized parents, built community support, and secured the project — bringing a much-needed green space to a neighborhood with none. His ability to unite people and advocate for resources has been clear ever since.

Colin’s leadership is exactly what we need to protect Oak Park’s libraries. As a Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation board member, he has fought for affordable housing and economic justice. He co-founded a Chicago nonprofit, focused on community empowerment and creating space for women to lead. As an Oak Park Township Financial Committee member, he under-

stands how to manage public resources responsibly while prioritizing families. As library trustee, Colin will fight censorship, protect access to information, and expand programs for youth, seniors, and lifelong lear ners. He will ensure our libraries remain inclusive, forward-thinking, and resilient against bigotry.

In an era of escalating attacks on free thought, we need leaders who will stand up and fight back. Colin Bird-Martinez is that leader. I urge my fellow Oak Park residents to vote for him on April 1 — our community and our children depend on it

Monica Trevino Oak Park

Pinocchio and Geppetto, 2025

Musk is pulling the strings on puppet Trump, and his nose keeps growing. These next four years we should measure how long that nose grows … an administration being run on false facts and lies Rick Klaus, Oak Park

Vicki Scaman, 4 more years!

I am writing this letter of support for Vicki Scaman in her re-election bid as president of the village of Oak Park. I am a 27-year resident of the village of Oak Park and have had the pleasure of knowing Vicki through her roles as chair of the Oak Park Liquor Control Board, village clerk and now village president. I have watched her take on tough issues in a thoughtful, collegial and respectful manner, and watched her flourish as a straight-shooter, a collaborative problem-solver, and rational thinker.

Through the Cross Community Climate Collaborative (C4), I watched Vicki build collaborations with neighboring mayors and experienced their tremendous respect for her. She has facilitated connections and driven actions that generate revenue for neighboring communities with fewer resources and generate revenue for the village of Oak Park toward advancing largescale projects to combat climate change.

Vicki builds bridges, is collaborative, facilitates extremely well, and is able and willing to pull back personal ego in the spirit of making best decisions regardless of the issue — which, among other attributes, distinguishes her as the best candidate in the race in my opinion. She understands that she doesn’t need to know all the answers, and reaching out to others with expertise across issues is one of her strengths. Her track record in advocating for equity, building community goodwill, and supporting local businesses complements her track record of working at all levels to support the implementation of rigorous climate actions

Vicki is not afraid to generate accountability, regardless of the issue, something that will continue to benefit the village of Oak Park. I invite you to join me in supporting Vicki Scaman for president of the village of Oak Park.

Gary Cuneen, Director, Seven Generations Ahead

Butman, Suber & Brigell for library board

I support Megan Butman, Daniel Suber and Bruce Brigell, candidates for the Oak Park Public Library Board of Trustees in the coming April 1 election. The candidates’ backgrounds in library science and the law will enhance their ability to carry out their three-point platform:

■ Oak Park Public Library is trusted and beloved by our community. The abrupt firing of the executive director by the board last year has eroded that trust. We advocate the maintenance of regular and transpar-

ent communication between the board and executive director to ensure that the mission and priorities of the library are advanced

■ The library is the champion of intellectual freedom. All library users have the right to explore and access materials and ideas that reflect the broad spectrum of human thought, culture, and experience.

■ The library is an inclusive institution that welcomes the engagement of all members of the community. Efforts should be made to reach out to those who are vulner-

able or under-served.

Megan Butman holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin and has 30 years of experience as a law librarian. She is a 22year resident of Oak Park. Megan is committed to guiding our library’s future through collaborative leadership.

Daniel Suber, M.S., J.D., has lived in Oak Park with his family for 38 years. He began his career in hospital administration. In 1979, Dan founded his law practice. He

retired last year. He has served on the Liquor Review Board for the village of Oak Park Bruce Brigell, a resident of Oak Park for over 30 years, holds a master’s degree in Library Science from the State University of New York. Bruce worked as a librarian in a busy, diverse public library (much like Oak Park’s) for over 40 years. As a trustee, he will advocate to ensure that the Oak Park Public Library remains vibrant, innovative, and welcoming into the future.

Ilene Thornton, Oak Park

Writing in Dave Schaafsma

I’m writing to endorse Dave Schaafsma as a write-in candidate for the Oak Park and River Forest High School board. As a dedicated educator and parent, he brings an invaluable perspective that will serve our students, families, and educators well.

Dave has spent years as a professor, working closely with students from diverse backgrounds. His experience in education has given him deep insight into the challenges students face, as well as the tools and strategies that best support their lear ning His commitment to fostering inclusive and equitable learning environments makes him an ideal candidate to help the current board maintain and strengthen the core values of a fair education for all.

Beyond his professional experience, Dave is also a parent who understands firsthand the complexities of navigating the school system, particularly for families of children with special needs. His own children attended OPRF, and he has been through

the process of obtaining Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). He knows the importance of ensuring every student receives the support and accommodations they need to thrive. His personal connection to these processes will make him an advocate for families seeking the same resources and opportunities for their children.

Dave is committed to education that is inclusive and equitable. He will work to make sure students, regardless of background, lear ning style, or needs, can succeed. He supports the current freshman program which has successfully provided honors level courses for 85% of the students.

I encourage you to write in Dave Schaafsma for the District 200 high school board. His experience, dedication, and deep understanding of both education and the needs of our students make him the right choice for this important role

Hajjar Herbert Oak Park

Proud to suppor t Scaman

Dear Neighbors,

We are proud to support Vicki Scaman for Oak Park Village Board president. Having served alongside her on the Liquor Control Review Board, we saw firsthand her ability to balance the needs of local businesses while upholding the values of our community.

Vicki is a creative problem-solver who listens, collaborates, and finds solutions that benefit everyone. She worked effectively with business owners, ensuring licensing of new establishments was fair and thoughtful. Her leadership style is inclusive, pragmatic, and driven by a deep commitment to our village

We need a village president who values community input, supports responsible growth, and approaches challenges with

innovative solutions Vicki is that leader I encourage you to join us in voting for her in the upcoming municipal election.

You can vote early at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. (dates and times below), or on Election Day, April 1, at your local polling place, which you can find via the County Clerk Website: https://www.cookcountyclerkil. gov/elections/your-voter-information. Early voting dates and times: Mon., March 17 - Sat., March 22: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sun., March 23: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon., March 24 - Sat., March 29: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sun., March 30: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon., March 31: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lyn Conni , Ron Orzel, Sara Dixon Spivy Oak Park

Trust in Taglia for trustee

I am sending this letter to endorse James Taglia for Oak Park village trustee. The residents at Heritage House will vote once again for Mr. Taglia to be our trustee. He has always taken care of us with such love, kindness, and understanding. He attended several of our meetings, listened to our complaints and concer ns, and was very

instrumental in helping us get much-needed repairs completed. We fully support him to be trustee for the whole village of Oak Park.

Rita Arrington Former president at Heritage House Irma Baker, Current president Betty Co ey, Former vice president

More “I’ll be there.”

Less “Where have you been?”

More “I’ll be there.”

As you get older, your risk of serious illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV is higher. Vaccines bring your risks down, so you can keep showing up. vaccines.gov

More “I’ll be there.”

As you get older, your risk of serious illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV is higher. Vaccines bring your risks down, so you can keep showing up. vaccines.gov

More “I’ll be there.”

Less “Where have you been?”

As you get older, your risk of serious illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV is higher. Vaccines bring your risks down, so you can keep showing up.

As you get older, your risk of serious illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV is higher. Vaccines bring your risks down, so you can keep showing up. vaccines.gov

vaccines.gov

As you get older, your risk of serious illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV is higher. Vaccines bring your risks down, so you can keep showing up. vaccines.gov

“I’ll be there.” Less “Where have you been?”

More “I’ll be there.”

Less “Where have you been?”

As you get older, your risk of serious illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV is higher. Vaccines bring your risks down, so you can keep showing up.

vaccines.gov

Real change, not spare change

Oak Park residents have always stepped up to support each other, whether through local nonprofits, faith-based initiatives, or direct acts of kindness. However, when it comes to panhandling, many of us struggle with how to respond in a way that is both compassionate and effective. While giving money to a panhandler might feel like an immediate way to help, it often does not lead to sustainable change. This is why the village of Oak Park is launching the “Make Real Change, Not Spare Change” campaign to encourage long-ter m solutions that truly support those in need Visit //oak-park us/realchange to learn more. How it helps:

Focused donations go toward trusted

nonprofit organizations that provide food assistance and temporary hotel vouchers for individuals experiencing homelessness, ensuring that resources are used effectively for long-ter m support

Education and awareness: Not all individuals panhandling or soliciting are unhoused. We are committed to redirecting giving away from panhandling and soliciting and toward unhoused individuals. In turn, this should reduce local panhandling

Public safety and community perception:

A well-coordinated approach to addressing panhandling benefits not just those experiencing homelessness but the entire community. By reducing panhandling, we can ensure

that our public spaces feel safe and remain welcoming for all.

What can you do?

Donate to the “Make Real Change” Campaign rather than giving money directly to panhandlers. You can find QR codes to donate in many local businesses and on signs around town.

Support Local Businesses: By shopping locally and supporting establishments that invest in Oak Park, we help sustain a thriving economy that benefits all residents, including those in need of employment and social services

Help us make real change.

Vanessa Matheny, Oak Park

How LRS became our problem

To those of you out there still wondering why we have leaf bagging, I offer this timeline:

1. Street-sweeping was safe and efficient in Oak Park for decades without significant complaint. It continues now in River Forest.

2. In 2022, LRS replaced Waste Management.

3. In 2023, a cost-cutting move reduced the frequency of leaf pickup, resulting in large piles of leaves accumulating in gutters and especially street corners. This produced numerous legitimate safety problems, including car and bicycle visibility issues, and dramatically increased probability of a car fire from motorists parking over leaf piles.

4. We don’t know what conversations occurred over the winter between LRS and Public Works, but by March, 2024 we had a new

initiative on the village board table declaring unsafe not LRS procedures or cost-cutting measures, but leaf street-sweeping itself Voila! LRS problems became your problems!

5. On March 12, 2024 President Scaman fell for this hook, line, and sinker, declaring street sweeping “not working”*. Resident feedback was bypassed to enable implementation in 2024. All trustees followed suit except Trustee Parakkat, who recommended a village-wide voter referendum.

6. Amid howling resident blowback, President Scaman reversed course, voting in late April with Trustee Parakkat to delay implementation. But the damage was done, 5-2.

7. In early June, I presented a 1,875 signature petition to delay to 2025 and create a referendum.

8. At the following board meeting, Trustee

Enyia moved to delay to 2025, but the measure was defeated 4-3 after an announcement that village sweep support equipment had already been sold! No time wasted!

Residents handled 73% of annual leaf fall in 2024 at their labor/dollar expense. LRS picked up 27%, with the same fees as in 2023!**

Voter advice: pay close attention to candidates. Decide who really recognizes what happened

*Wednesday Jour nal Article, 1/7/2025 https://www.oakpark.com/2025/01/07/ reason-we-had-no-voice-on-leaf-disposal/ **Wednesday Jour nal Article, 2/19/2025 https://www.oakpark.com/2025/02/18/ residents-ignored-in-leaf-report/ Robert Parks Oak Park

Ravi Parakkat is an innovative leader

Four years ago, when our community was in the depths of the pandemic, Ravi Parakkat heard from those who wanted to save our local restaurants and those who were more concerned about public health. From that debate he devised a solution that honored both perspectives. We are all now familiar with TakeOut 25 and how it saved our local restaurants while also prioritizing public health. This initiative ear ned him co-Villager of the Year in Wednesday Jour nal, and

it was adopted by communities across the country.

It is a rare person who can make that big an impact. Ravi’s innovation, problem-solving, and commitment to making a positive impact on people’s lives leads me to support him for village president.

As the great coach and leadership expert John Wooden said, never mistake activity with accomplishment. Ravi will prioritize the real problems that Oak Park faces, problems like

how to balance a high demand for services against a rising tax burden, how to provide public safety in a way that honors our community’s values, and how to bring private investments into our community to build the tax base and help alleviate our residential tax burden. Ravi has the courage and integrity to focus on our community’s real needs and to say no, or not yet, when doing so will allow the village to accomplish what needs to get done first.

Mellman & Gertz for OPRF board

I am voting for Mellman/Gertz, and I hope you join me. I have witnessed Mellman on the OPRF Community Council for years asking thoughtful and critical questions. I know him to be smart, caring, principled, and willing to roll up his sleeves to understand and evaluate complex issues. I value his service to our country. I have recently spent more time with Gertz and have found him to be smart, caring, analytical, and committed to our community and schools. Together they will make a lasting and positive impact on OPRF and our community.

As has been well documented, two incumbents are running to earn an additional term and some sitting board members are lining up to support them. Common sense suggests a continuation of the status quo if these candidates were to be elected. Currently, you can see and feel the pressure at board meetings to join the prevailing chorus leading to unproductive groupthink. For me, the recent negative messaging and campaigning against Mellman and Gertz is disappointing and does not represent the values of Oak Park and River Forest.

Service is about others, not self. While Ravi’s opponent voted to for a village board raise, he pledged to donate that raise to local charity.

I trust Ravi Parakkat to lead with integrity, with selflessness, and to make a difference in our experience of living in this community. He already has, and he will do so in the future. Please join me in voting for him on April 1.

Simone Boutet

Former village trustee

It appears this race is shaping up to be a contest of the insiders vs. the outsiders. Dogmatic thinking vs. critical viewpoints. The continued overreach of a school’s purpose vs a more thoughtful tailored approach to education. Nate and Josh want to maximize academic opportunity for all students with proven methods and not misdirection. They are campaigning on three core issues: Keep our kids safe. Challenge all students academically. Safeguard our tax dollars. That simple message resonates with me I am voting for Mellman and Gertz and not just because they are the nonestablishment candidates, but because they will bring a common-sense, caring and critical eye approach to the board table and are the best candidates for the job.

Ross Lissuzzo River Forest

OPRF alum, Oak Park native Parent of two former Huskies

Taglia’s no-drama approach

I am writing in support of Jim Taglia’s candidacy. I have known Jim as a neighbor, Oak Park elected official, and a friend for over 35 years. I support him for trustee for the following reasons: He has done the job and done it very well. He served from 2017 to 2023 and was recognized for his preparedness, thoughtful approach, engagement with the community to address problems, stewardship and diligence. He was recognized by the Illinois Municipal League for his effectiveness as a local trustee. His accomplishments and positions are at jamestaglia.com.

He is an engaged, curious and thoughtful public servant. While we don’t agree on everything, when it comes to his service as a trustee, I have come to appreciate his deep commitment to improving Oak Park for all, as well as his no-drama

approach. He listens and learns. He looks for options and tries to find common ground to solve problems or address important issues in order to move forward together. He sticks with an issue until it is resolved. He understands the difference between gover nance and management. He has relevant experience and skills that can be helpful around the board table and in performing his duties. In addition to his previous service as trustee, he also has served on the Oak Park Township Board, the Pension Board and numerous Oak Park committees and commissions, as well as local nonprofit boards. He is a CPA, has an MBA and has served as CFO and president of his family’s small business For these reasons, I believe he merits your consideration for election as trustee

Steve Derks, Oak Park

Vicki’s priorities are right

I am supporting Victoria Scaman, as she seeks a second ter m for Oak Park Village Board president, because of her sound leadership during her first term. Her governing demonstrated the quality and depth of her skills, values, integrity, character, and courage. I have known Vicki and her family since she was a teenager, a teacher, since she ran Steckman School of Music, worked for the liquor board, and as village clerk before winning her present office. In all these capacities she has exemplified effectiveness in community service as an attentive listener with a calm demeanor. And she is a kind person.

Vicki possesses the stewardship abilities to shepherd the priorities she has laid out. She showed her leadership capacities during the COVID period and through the migrant crisis. Her stands on thor ny issues, her decisions to show up, to invite other voices to the table, has contributed to tough-minded but caring governance. As we watch the current adversarial nature of our national gover nment, we need our communal branches of gover nment to function effectively for all its diverse consti-

tutes. Her priorities serve as a useful guide to confronting issues faced by people trying to better their lives — in these times, She has prioritized the following policy pursuits: sustainability, economic vitality & inclusiveness, and safe & accessible communities. Her unifying priority — collaboration — is a critically important strategy in achieving responsive government. Increasingly, Oak Park has struggled to be what it purports to be. Shared responsibility for solving increasingly complex quality-of-life issues doesn’t reside with a single person, or a few individuals, but with gover nmental units supported by diverse communities. Collaborative gover nment is not wished into being. In these extraordinary times, we need public officials who see that “binding up the nation’s wounds” is just as important as business ledgers, in fact more so.

I believe Vicki Scaman deserves another term to follow through on initiatives already underway and provide executive leadership for the future of the village of Oak Park George Bailey, Oak Park

Scaman endorsement

As a sitting village trustee with six years of board service, I wholeheartedly endorse Vicki Scaman for election to another ter m as Oak Park village president. Why should President Scaman continue her tenure?

1) Our village is in great shape! Under President Scaman’s leadership the board has tackled major issues and moved them forward. These include housing affordability, police recruitment and retention, support for small businesses, solutions for the unhoused, climate-change initiatives, police department reform, and pedestrian safety, among many others, all while keeping taxes from rising above the CPI.

2) Vicki is a strategic thinker and therefore knows how to go about achieving her aims in a thoughtful, methodical manner.

She knows who to call, cajole, and arm-twist to get things done, often without them realizing they are subject to her formidable emotional intelligence. She bends over backward to ensure she is meeting everyone’s needs.

3) She listens to residents. I disagreed with her vote on leafbagging (she voted not to change the previous collection program, despite what her opponent claims), but it was her concern about the lack of community input that influenced her vote. Similarly, after hearing feedback from constituents about the village hall redo, she supports a scaled-back effort (another position I disagree with). These were tough calls, and in each case, she thoughtfully considered village residents

4) Vicki is politically progressive while also embracing the

pragmatism required to be a successful elected official. She is a champion of racial equity, LGBTQ rights, and economic and social equality. Achieving these lofty goals in a small town gover ned by the village manager system of gover nment requires the skills to lead a group of trustees in the right direction and at the same time interfacing with the village manager in a respectful, open-minded working relationship.

There is no one else running who is as good at that as Vicki. If our village is to continue moving forward in the exciting manner we’ve been heading during the past four years, Vicki Scaman needs your vote. She sure has mine

Susan Buchanan, village trustee

Ravi will bring a fresh approach

As a leader of a child advocacy nonprofit, I invited a handful of village leaders to attend an informational session in Oak Park. Ravi Parakkat was the only one who replied and took interest in the issues we discussed at the library Veterans Room. I was so grateful for his presence as concer ned parents and Illinois lawmakers spoke about a pressing epidemic impacting our kids in schools

After the meeting, I met with Ravi to learn more about him, his experience as a village trustee, and his vision as a village president candidate. Ravi is softspoken, but willing to challenge an outspoken incumbent and status quo thinker. In weighing

the merits of his arguments, I’ve found that his articulation of the challenges in Oak Park are clear and his approach to solving them is focused. He is a levelheaded leader with the ability to prioritize the work flow. He will be instrumental to help navigate Oak Park during these uncertain times

As a 20-year Oak Park resident, I am looking for a leader with Ravi’s qualities to elevate our village and ensure it stays at parity with other surrounding suburbs. His personal and professional experiences, combined with local Oak Park experience, make him uniquely suited and qualified to lead Oak Park

He brings a global perspective

through his culture and business acumen in management consulting. From a local perspective, Ravi made contributions as Takeout 25 founder that helped sustain our restaurants during the pandemic. As a trustee, he has been on the ground floor seeing the gaps on the agenda; the mismanagement of the RFP process related to the new police station; and distractions with the bottomless pit of goals and smaller outcomes

We need fewer goals for our village to execute that will lead to bigger, longer ter m results for the residents of Oak Park. Ravi’s fresh approach will get this done Tania Haigh Oak Park

Mika goes above and beyond

Mika Yamamoto is currently my son’s teacher at OPRF High School. Early in the year, she called me to introduce herself and tell me how much she enjoyed having my son in her class. I had never gotten such a call and very much appreciated it. Mika made her intentions clear — she wanted the best for every student in her class. She is always

willing to give her students time, patience, and ongoing support. She consistently goes above and beyond to make their lives better. I have no doubt that Mika will bring the same dedication to the role of library trustee. I wholeheartedly endorse her for this position.

Saleema Muhammad, parent

Ravi Parakkat for a change

We moved from the far wester n suburbs to Oak Park nearly 30 years ago because of its racial and economic diversity and strong sense of community We support Ravi’s candidacy because we are concer ned about the same issues that Ravi is running on:

Diversify our tax base to reduce de pendence on property taxes: We have had sporadic success in attracting commercial investment to Oak Park over the years. However, as far we know, there has been none in the last four years. We have looked to securing grants from the government, an unsustainable strateg y, particularly in today’s environment.

Focus on essential items (e.g., new police facilities) rather than non-essential items (e.g., new village hall). Much time has elapsed since the need for new police facilities was identified and we are still in the analysis phase. Construction on the facility is yet to begin.

Make decisions that align with our value of fostering a welcoming and diverse

community. Oak Park is becoming increasingly unaf fordable for many residents due to the high dependence on property taxes.

Be transparent in decision-making: The decision on leaf-bagging appeared arbitrary. Salary increases for the board seemed like a reward for poor leadership resulting in long and inefficient meetings.

Accountability for perfor mance: What results have we seen in the last term that justify supporting the current leadership?

We believe that the underlying cause for many of the issues stated above is poor governance resulting from unfocused leadership. A change in leadership is required to keep costs under control, make decisions in a timely manner, and ensure that focus is ke pt on issues that are of high priority.

We believe that Ravi has the necessary experience and demonstrated leadership skills to address these issues. Let’s make a positive change together.

Anna Balakrishnan Oak Park

e Purge

Buried, suf focated under a lifetime of possessions and collections no longer meaningful, coins, cassettes, books, records, stamps, dishes, cups, saucers, plates, pots, and pans, tools, brushes, screws, washers, bolts, and nails, my kid’s stuf f, my parents’ stuf f, my grandparents’ stuf f, papers, documents, at one time impor tant, now, not so much, skinny clothes, fat clothes, out-of-fashion clothes, paintings, photos, wedding gifts, birthday gifts, holiday gifts, party gifts, for no good reason gifts, I’m drowning in all this junk, I can’t breathe or see the basement floor, or the walls, but every item is important, an expression of my history, my DNA, can I exist without them? That is the question. Is it finally time for a planned purge? How do I choose what I can live without, and what won’t rend my heart if thrown away? Where do I begin? With books I don’t read, records and cassettes I can’t play, words and music that no longer move my soul, tchotchkes in cabinets, and clothes that don’t fit, photos of a time long past, artwork that never made it to a wall, documents shredded, report cards, yearbooks, no longer needed furniture, given to family and friend s, or second-hand stores, tossed in the garbage or left in the alley for scavengers. As the symbols of my past evaporate, I still have my memories, but I am lighter, and aerie, relieved, and finally, free.

Gary Belenke Oak Park

Reaching out with musicality

‘Yo-oh Richie, yo-oh Rich!”

It was roughly, a major third — with the “yo” maybe a middle ‘E’, the “oh” a middle C shar p, and back to ‘E’ at “Richie.” That’s often what I’d hear through the door or window of our bungalow on Clarence when one of my friends from the block wanted me to come out and play We didn’t ring doorbells (until we got older), didn’t knock on doors. We just stood outside and sang that little sevennote tune, rhythmically using, first, if it fit the guy’s name, the two-syllable Richie or Tommie, followed in the second callout by the one-syllable Rich or Tom (or Jim, Mike, Ken or John).

RICH KORDESH

One View

The moms at home acce pted this way we had of seeking each other out. Were she the one to first respond, Mom would open the door or speak through the window to the calling friend standing on the front sidewalk: “He’ll be out in a minute.”

“OK, thanks, Mrs. Kordesh,” my buddy might say.

This simple tuneful way of calling each other out didn’t coincide with us singing together much beyond the greeting, except when we had to in school. And then we were often more reluctant to belt out what Sister Mary Electa or Miss Par tlo was having us learn with the rest of the class for Mass or for our annual performance for parents in the gym.

In fact, we didn’t think of our callout as singing at all. None of our moms acted like it was cute or endearing in any musical way. But it was music and because it was, I think it came across with more affection and more energ y than merely a door knock or ring followed by “Is Jimmy home?”

Where is the music in how we reach out to each other today? There is that one-note, high C that announces a new text’s arrival on my iPhone. For calls, many musical ringtones are available for purchase: rock, pop, re ggae, hip-hop and others. But while they are musical, those tones merely announce incoming calls which could be from anyone – a friend, a business, a political fundraiser or a scammer. And there’s nothing particularly personal about them.

While writing this piece the other day, I called my friend Tom. He lived a few blocks from me on Grove when we were kids We’ve updated with the times. He has me in his contacts, so my name flashed on his phone’s screen as the ring tone activated. He answered, “Hey, Rich.” I said something like, “Hey man, how’s it going?” And after a little chat, I asked him if he remembered the singsong way we had of calling for friends from outside their homes over 60 years ago. He did and proceeded to sing that old seven-note line back to me. Besides phones, other contemporary ways of reaching out also employ electronic instruments. When I go to pick up my g randdaughter from her mom on Friday mornings, I press the assigned number on their condo building’s intercom. The speaker rings. Kristen says, “Hello?” I say, “It’s Rich.” Holding Tessa last Friday as she picked up my call, I heard my daughter-inlaw say to the little one, “It’s Beepa!” I heard Tessa squeal. Kristen then relayed, “OK, I’ll let you in.” Not formally music, but her happy comment to Tessa and the 1-year-old’s response struck an inner note in me, enriching the moment.

We might not always be able to sing, but there are ways to be melodic or soothing with tone or timing as we convey our desire to be with each other. What is music, anyway? Mir riam-Webster.com defines it as, “vocal, instr umental or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody or har mony.” How can musicality enrich our way of saying, “Can we get to g ether?” By expressing it with the right volume and timing so that one’s interest is truly heard and felt. By enunciating it so that the practical as well as spiritual or emotional desire are conveyed. By being attentive to the context so that one’s words, gestures and expressions are in har mony with the setting, or at times appropriately discordant with what might be a difficult moment.

Despite the technolo gy we have to tap, it’s on us to be the composers. Rich Kordesh grew up in Berwyn and is a longtime resident of Oak Pa rk

Librarians for the library board

I’m writing in support of Megan Butman, Daniel Suber and Bruce Brigell for Oak Park Library Board trustees. As a lifelong Oak Parker, I’ve never thought much about the library board. However, after the national debacle of the ousting of our library executive director, I began to pay attention. I believe most Oak Parkers want the library and its board to be “drama-free.” We want a safe place where all community members can go and learn. I have fond memories of spending time at the library when I was growing up, and then taking my own kids there.

Unfortunately, the current board caved to a small, but loud, minority in town that didn’t like the approach of the for mer director, Ms. Dixon. She was unceremoniously fired without due process. Whether you ag ree or not, and I believe most don’t ag ree with her firing, the board botched it from the star t. Oak Park and the library need competent, level-headed, informed community members at the helm, trustees that don’t sway to political pressure.

I’m enthusiastically voting for Megan Butman, Daniel Suber and Bruce Brigell for library board trustees on April 1. Megan and Bruce are both longtime librarians and Dan is a lawyer. Who better to oversee our libraries than librarians? I urge my fellow Oak Parkers to move back to nor malcy and vote for these three highly qualified candidates who have devoted their lives to libraries and due process.

Joanna Ardell Oak Park

Historically, we have been able to practice our voting franchise freely, without any restrictions We vote to ke ep of ficials in office so long as we beli eve they are doing a good job. We vote them out if we beli eve they are not. C hoice is the basic principle of a re presentative d emocra cy

Now a local group is trying to convince us that it’s good policy to restrict our right of choice. They believe River Forest

Russia, our new goal

Disturbingly, Mr. Trump’s impromptu campaign rally last week before Cong ress reinforced his complete de parture from American foreign policy ov er the past 80 years. He is solidly allied with Putin and other dictators, and is picking fights with our long-ter m allies in Europe, not to mention wanting to annex Canada. In a few months, we find that our United States has switched sides in the RussiaUkraine war

TOM DECOURSEY

One View

At the same time, we have discarded our democracy in favor of a dictatorship. Obviously, every patriotic American is aghast at this treason. I do not believe that even the people who voted for Trump had any idea his plan was to overtur n democracy and pattern the U.S. after Russia. I am quite sure they did not realize he planned to steal Social Security and Medicare funds that hundreds of millions of hardworking Americans have paid into from their paychecks over their entire working lives, and use our money to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.

Let’s consider what is so attractive about Russia that makes Trump want to remake American in its image: First, it is a dictatorship that gives unlimited power to its leader, Trump’s idol Vladimir Putin. Aided by a billionaire-corrupted Supreme Court and abetted by spineless Republicans, he is well on his way to becoming King of a fascist America. The Russian “gover nment” is organized crime on a national scale. Trump’s appointees almost all have criminal backgrounds and/or personal scandals they do not want litigated. A prime example is Matt Gaetz (Trump’s nominee for attor ney general, if you recall!) and his desperate pleas for unlimited retroactive and future pardons (1) during the January 6 insurrection. Next is the elimination of all gover nmental oversight or restraints on businesses and corporations. They will have

Vote No on term limits

will somehow improve by limiting the number of terms our Village Board of Trustees may serve. Term limits has become a voting rights issue. The question of term limits will be on the ballot, April 1, and if passed, will produce long-ter m ne gative effects because it’s a bad policy It limits your choices.

In our small town, we know we’re already limited. Our limited population is a natural barrier to the number of people

free reign to pollute air and water, abuse their employees, sell contaminated food, and rip off their customers. Soon the U.S. will have pollution on a par with Russia, where the life expectancy is lowest among all wealthy countries. We now sit at #48 with life expectancy of 79.46 years (2), but after Trump’s deregulation we will aim to join Russia at 111th in the world at 73.34 years.

Our already dismal standing in this category reflects our lack of universal medical coverage. The life expectancy in 16 European countries with nationalized health care is above 82 years. But when Trump and his GOP lackeys take away Medicare and Medicaid, the U.S. will drop like a stone, and shocked Trump voters will be dying in droves. We will experience cart-haulers in our neighborhoods calling out “Bring out your dead!”

There are rumors that Trump was recruited by the KGB several decades ago and is now a not-so-covert Russian operative (3). Whether this is true or not is irrelevant, because everything he does weakens America, precisely as Putin would wish if he were in fact pulling the strings on his Orange Puppet.

Trump hates Americans because we voted him out of office in 2020, and he is exacting his revenge.

(1) https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/17/politics/matt-gaetztrump-pardon-justice-department/index.html

(2) https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/lifeexpectancy/

(3) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-was-donald-trump-a-secretrussian-spy-in-1987-codename-krasnov-ex-soviet-spy-alnurmussayev-makes-sensational-kgb-claim-putin-trump/ articleshow/118555667.cms?from=mdr

Tom DeCoursey is a longtime Oak Park resident.

who want to or can serve. Data reveals we have a low turnout of people who ste p forward to serve on our board. Contrary to what some want us to believe, limiting the ter ms of our village board will remove, not add, another group of possible public servants. They are the ones who currently hold office and should continue to do so When those who want to continue serving are pushed out of of fice by a term limiting mandate, we lose valuable resources

of experience and institutional knowledge. Eventually, we end up with people who will reluctantly fill a seat at the table and gladly let administrative staf f make the critical decisions. Remember, good gover nance is borne out of good policy

My vote, my choice. Vote No, April 1, on the question of term limits on the River Forest ballot.

Janet Saeger River Forest

Vicki Scaman is a leader

Over the past four years, Vicki Scaman has embodied a forward-looking approach to leadership based in our shared Oak Park values. Her collaborative approach to leadership, which includes and empowers her colleagues, is why Vicki has been so successful in moving our village forward. We need Vicki’s proven leadership as we tackle the challenges that the next four years will bring.

If the last two months are any indication, the next four years will demonstrate whether Oak Park is willing to lead based on our values or whether our values are simply a yard sign slogan we follow through on only when it is convenient.

On Oct. 31, 2023, when the snow was falling and our migrant neighbors showed up at village hall, Vicki showed what it meant to lead based on our values. She worked through the night and found shelter for more than a hundred migrants

In the months that followed, she advocated with state and county leaders to bring resources to our community. Through her efforts, she secured grant funding that allowed the village to provide food, housing, medical attention, and legal services to more than 160 migrants

Trustee Ravi Parakkat opposed these ef forts at every tur n and repeatedly advocated for busing our new neighbors back to Chicago.

Vicki’s approach to gover nance, much like her campaign, is based on a positive vision of what Oak Park can be for the future.

Vicki — and this board — inherited a police force that was severely understaf fed. As with so many issues, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work on finding solutions. She has worked with the police to implement programs that have streamlined recruiting and provided both recruitment and retention incentives. At the Oct. 29, 2024 Village Board Finance Committee meeting, Police Chief Shatonya Johnson reported that, based on the

rate of recruitment, all empty positions would be filled by year-end 2025. (https://oak-park. granicus.com/player/clip/2643?meta_id=24509 at 2:19:33)

In addition, under Vicki’s leadership, Oak Park is moving forward with a positive vision of public safety for the future — implementing an alter native response to calls-for-service program which will reduce demands on our police force and lead to better outcomes for our community.

Trustee Parakkat continually misrepresents Oak Park police staffing levels to score political points and fails to note that hiring is up. That isn’t leadership and it does nothing to make Oak Park safer

Two years ago when I ran for village trustee, I did not know Vicki well, but she took the time to meet with me and of fered invaluable advice re garding how to make the transition from advocate to policy-maker. She focused on the importance of working to build consensus Following my election, she became a mentor to me. When Jenna Leving Jacobson reached out to partner with me on passing a gun safe storage ordinance, Vicki helped guide me through the process. As a result of her guidance and mentorship, the village unanimously passed a safe storage ordinance on July 5, 2023 (https://www.oakpark.com/2023/07/07/oakpark-passes-gun-buyback-ordinance/).

I re gularly hear from fellow trustees in advance of meetings about issues they care deeply about. This approach is necessary for ef fective and efficient board discussions.

This has not been the case with Trustee Parakkat. Instead of reaching out in advance, Parakkat re gularly took to publishing hi s thoughts in Wednesday Jour nal about votes he lost in the most inflammatory rhetoric possible.

Brian Straw Oak Park villa ge trustee

Social Insecurity?

I am writing to you with deep concer n re garding recent developments that threaten the integrity of our Social Security system — a cornerstone of financial security for millions of Americans, including many in our district.

Recently, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have made alarming assertions about widespread fraud within the Social Security Administration (SSA). They claim that benefits are being paid to individuals age 150 and older, suggesting massive inefficiencies and fraud within the system. However, these claims have been debunked by SSA officials, who clarified that such data anomalies do not equate to improper payments. In fact, improper payments constitute less than 1% of total disbursements.

Proposed Cuts and O ce Closures

The administratio n’s response to these unfounded claims includes plans to lay of f over 10% of the SSA workforce and close 47 field of fices. These measures risk undermining the SSA’s ability to serve beneficiaries effectively, leading to longer wait times and reduced access to essential services.

Derogator y Remarks About Social Security

Elon Musk has publicly referred to Social Security as the “biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” a characterization that is both misleading and damaging. Social Security is a pay-as-yougo system that has provided reliable support to retirees, disabled individuals, and survivors for decades.

Save Social Security from Musk & Trump

Every day brings a new scary change by the Trump/Musk, or should I say the Musk/ Trump, administration. The latest is that our Social Security system is about to crash, despite campaign pledges and assurances to “save Social Security” by candidate Donald Trump. Based on statements on Rachael Maddow on MSNBC on March 2 by for mer head of the Social Security Administration Martin O’Malley, DOGE is gutting the Social Security Administration so it will be unable

to pay benefits to current beneficiaries within 60 to 90 days. On Substack’s Carry Water and Chop Wood, DOGE staffers are making changes in the Administration that will disable the system and make it unable to send Social Security checks to individual beneficiaries. What this means is that the majority of American retirees who rely on Social Security as their primary source of income will be without any income to live despite paying into the Social Security

Trust Fund for their entire working lives. Do we want to be the first generation that invalidates the promise of old age financial security put in place by Franklin Roosevelt in the New Deal and leave most retirees in penury? And where do the billions of dollars in the Social Security Trust Fund go if not used for benefits?

There is no hue and cry about this massive redistribution of wealth from retirees and current employees paying into the trust

Impact on Our District

In Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, approximately 82,603 residents receive Social Security benefits, with about 60,000 of these beneficiaries age 65 or older. These benefits are crucial for many, providing a lifeline that supports basic living expenses.

As of December 2023, the average monthly SSI payment for recipients age 65 and older in Illinois was approximately $553, totaling about $6,636 annually. It’s important to note that individual benefit amounts can vary based on specific financial circumstances, living arrangements, and other factors.

Our Commitment to Protect Social Security

As your re presentative and a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, I am committed to: Demanding Accountability: We are calling for transparency re garding the proposed workforce reductions and office closures within the SSA.

Protecting Services: We are working to prevent actions that would impair the SSA’s ability to serve beneficiaries effectively.

Fighting for Legislation: We are advocating for policies that strengthen Social Security and protect it from unwarranted cuts.

I urge you to stay informed and eng aged on this critical issue. If you have any concerns or need assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to my of fice.

Congressman Danny K. Davis 7th Congressional District of Illinois

fund to some undisclosed source and leaving retirees no income to live on. If this sounds seriously wrong to you, sound the alar m. Write, call or e-mail your Congressman and Senators representing the locale where you vote. For Oak Parkers that means Rep. Danny Davis and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin. There is no time to delay.

Frank Vozak Oak Park

Support for Chibuike Enyia

Smart, energetic public service e pitomized Chibuike Enyia’s first term as trustee. Like many Oak Pa rkers, his story is a migrant story too. His parents relocated from Nigeria to Oak Park when Chibi was young. Raised and grown to maturity here, he unapologetically and proudly proclaims his love of the Oak Park community and is eager to continue working on behalf of all residents to ensure Oak Park is still a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable community.

He supports community-led initiatives and local programs to expand the vibrant productivity of our communities. He has served as a human bridge between people from diverse cultures while voicing policy from different perspectives. An advocate for equity, inclusion, and transparency in governance, he has demonstrated abilities to encourage and create mediative, collaborative spaces for our community to productively eng age contentious, often intractably thor ny issues. He knows that much work remains

to be done before the beloved community he envisions is fully realized. As a parent and family person he knows the importance of advancing policies to provide af fordable housing for all income levels. He voted to keep Oak Park af fordable by holding the tax levy at 3%

He is devoted to helping youth sustain themselves as they work to overcome personal adversity by challenging youth to adopt valued principles that stress learning, self-worth, communal wellbeing, and communal growth. He has persisted in expanding mental health resources and accessibility. He supports ef for ts to strengthen community-police relations, improve neighborhood safety, and invest in resources for mental health and social services through the Mental Health Task Force. He sees value in exploring alternative citizen calls for police responses. His work in our community is in the service of a better future for all Oak Park citizens.

George Bailey Oak Park

Taglia works for the community

Oak Parkers will have someone to tur n to when we re-elect Jim Taglia as trustee Jim has served on the village board, the township board, the Firefighter’s Pension Board, the Finance Committee, the Personnel Committee, the Community & Mental Health Board, and too many other boards to mention. He is a committed and knowledgeable public servant and a man of the highest inte g rity. As a village trustee, Taglia is a responsive problem-solver. He will listen to your concerns and he will find a solution. Jim helped neighbors in south Oak Park address spillover violence from a bar in Berwyn. He worked with the Taylor Avenue residents to create a closinghours ordinance after the late-night tragic murder of one of our high school students and other acts of violence at a Chicago Avenue gas station. Thanks to Jim, the residents of Heritage House, a low-income senior housing building, finally had their concerns heard by the village, resulting in the issuance of more than 600 code violations. As a CPA,

he understands the village ’s budget. He led the charge to limit the village ’s tax levy growth to 3%.

Jim’s was the deciding vote on the adoption of the village’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, an ordinance that has resulted in the investment of millions of private, developer dollars to create affordable housing and to fund programs that serve and prevent homelessness. Earlier, he worked to shut down illeg al massage parlors that enslave sex-trafficked women. During his prior service on the Township Board, he was awarded Elected Official of the Year by the Illinois Township Association for an initiative he created to help seniors in need of emergency services.

Jim will not grandstand to make headlines. Rather he will dedicate himself to selfless service to the community with the highest level of integrity.

Some people are just plain good. Vote for Jim Taglia for Trustee.

Simone Boutet Former villa ge trustee

OBITUARIES

Helen Dickinson, 79

Helen Rose Dickinson, 79, for merly of Oak Park, died on Nov. 30, 2024 at Sancta Maria Nursing Facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was born in Skowhegan, Maine on Feb. 6, 1945, the daughter of George and Ruth ridgewock.

Helen grew up in Nor ridgewock, Maine on a dairy farm. She was the fourth of seven children — two boys and five girls. She liked to note that although there was no pony, the family farm had lots of cows, working cats, dogs, sheep and pigs.

She attended Skowhe gan High School and went on to colle ge at the University of Maine, where she majored in biochemistry, graduating in 1967. She then pursued graduate studies at Oregon State University, where she graduated with a PhD in biochemistry in 1972. Following that, she did post-doctorate work on complex carbohydrates at the Illinois Institute of Technolog y and on biological polymers at Case Wester n Reserve in Cleveland. She worked in the chemistry field in Maine, norther n New York, St. Louis, and the Chicago area.

She was an active member of the Oak Park Friends Meeting, first attending a Friends Meeting when she was living in St. Louis. She was attracted by the style of worship, as she had a long-standing interest in meditation.

Helen’s interests were varied. She was a member of Toastmasters International and also liked to paint and do photography. A number of years ago, she decided to take flute lessons and subsequently joined the Triton Colle ge Community Band. While in the band, She met her good friend Louise, the Triton birdwatching instructor, who introduced Helen to birdwatching through Triton’s yearly six-week birdwatching course. She attended the course for over 10 years.

After retirement in 2019, she kept fit by going on daily walks, often with a friend, around her Elmwood Park neighborhood. She particularly enjoyed seeing the birds and the enormous trees

Helen was predeceased by her parents She is survived by her brothers, Richard Dickinson; her sisters, Trudy Tremblay,

Colleen Dillon and her husband William, Lor na Bradbury and her husband Gordon, and Elizabeth Eggleston and her husband James. In addition, she leaves 12 nieces and nephews, and 14 grand-nieces and nephews.

A service of remembrance will be held at The Oak Park Friends Meeting on Sunday, April 6 at 10 a.m. Contributions in Helen’s memory may be made to the Oak Park Friends Meeting

Robert Lawton, 76

Robert Lawton , 76, of Chimerly rest, died on March owing lossmoor and attending medical school at rsity of Chicago, he went on to practice psychiatry for more than 40 years at the VA in Chicago, Ingalls Hospital in Harvey, the Robert Young Mental Health Center in Moline, Development Centers in Detroit, and in private practice.

From a young age, Bob was passionate about music: first Gilber t & Sullivan, later the folk scene. He built and/or played several stringed instruments, including the mandolin. And through playlists that spanned Chanticleer, Ottmar Liebert, Steeleye Span, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, he passed on a love of harmony to his kids He also embraced their hobbies as his own — his impressive, perhaps ridiculous, collection of nutcrackers standing as a fitting testament.

Bob is survived by his children, Jenny (Alex Gallafent), Matt (Alejandra), and Mike (Nicole); his grandchildren, Luke and Olympia; and his sisters, Nancy (Ar nee) Eisenberg and Joan (Bill Wandsnider) Van Hoof, along with their children. He was predeceased by his parents Helen and David Lawton; his brother-in-law, Tom Van Hoof; and his beloved golden retriever, Teddy. In lieu of flowers, please support the Old Town School of Folk Music. Or check out the overture to Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, to Bob’s ears one of the greatest pieces of music ever written.

SPORTS

Slow start dooms Fenwick in sectional nal

Key injur y to Marshall also hur ts Friars in seasonending loss

to St. Patrick

By MELVIN TATE

Contributing Reporter

Coming into Friday’s Class 3A Little Village sectional final against St. Patrick, the Fenwick boys basketball team had every reason to feel confident. The Friars had played excellent postseason defense, allowing a total of 56 points over three games

But the Shamrocks started the game with a 10-1 run to put the Friars in an early hole they couldn’t escape as their season ended with a 54-44 loss. Anthony Favia was St. Pat’s catalyst, scoring 15 of his game-high 25 points in the first quarter

“The slow start killed us,” said Fenwick coach David Fergerson. “We got it together, but it was just a little bit too late.”

Besides Favia’s hot start, a right ankle injury to senior Nate Marshall hurt Fenwick’s cause. He twisted it late in the first quarter after grabbing a rebound and required assistance heading to the locker room. He didn’t return, and his absence adversely impacted the Friars

“Nate brings so many things to our team,” Fenwick senior Kamren Hogan said, “so when he’s not there his presence is missed.”

“I never would’ve dreamed that,” Fergerson said. “He’s one of my toughest kids. I

knew it’d be really challenging without him, but our guys fought hard and we played to the best of our ability.”

Fenwick (23-11) trailed at halftime 30-17, but Ty Macariola (10 points, all in the second half) hit two three-pointers in the third quarter to keep the Friars in the contest. With Marshall out, Fergerson turned to seldomused 6-7 junior Michael McMahon (six points, three rebounds, one block), and he provided a spark by scoring a pair of baskets off his offensive rebounds.

“Mikey was huge for us, and his ceiling is really high,” Hogan said. “He gave us a fighting chance and that was all we could have asked for.”

Down 40-29 at the start of the fourth quarter, Fenwick went on a 7-1 run which was sparked by Dominick Ducree, who scored nine of his team-high 12 points in the stanza. The spurt energized the Friars’ faithful and cut St. Patrick’s lead to 41-36 with 5 minutes remaining.

“I had no doubt in my mind that Ty and Dom would get it going and that’s what they did, scoring huge as well as getting muchneeded defensive stops,” Hogan said.

However, Maurice Neeley of St. Patrick came off the bench to score five consecutive points over the next minute, giving the Shamrocks a 46-36 advantage.

Fenwick made a final push and trailed 4844 with :50 to play. After St. Pat’s RJ McPartlin missed a pair of free throws, Macariola grabbed the rebound, and the Friars had a golden opportunity to draw closer

By MELVIN TATE ontributing Reporter

“We have been in tough situations all year and I felt we were ready for the moment,” said Hogan. “Believe — that was the message at the time.”

However, Fenwick committed costly turnovers on back-to-back possessions, and Nevaeh Hawkins and Favia each hit two free throws — with Hawkins adding a basket at the buzzer — to seal things. Despite the outcome, Hogan loved the way the Friars fought until the end

“We played hard,” he said, “and although it didn’t end the way we wanted, the group of guys on that floor showed their grit and what Fenwick basketball is all about.”

Ducree, Hogan, Macariola, and Marshall are among seven Fenwick players departing due to graduation. Hogan, a three-year

varsity player who will play collegiately at Rockford University, said, “There’s so much I could say. Ever since I was in fifth grade, I wanted to come to Fenwick, and to come in and make the kind of impact that we did was nothing short of a dream. When I think about my career here, I think about all the work we put in together as a team and how these guys will be my brothers for life. I am proud to be a Friar.”

The expected return of sophomores Jake Thies and Jimmy Watts and juniors McMahon and Tommy Thies (5 points) provides the Friars with a foundation to build upon.

“The seniors set the example for the next group of guys,” Fergerson said. “We’ve got to regroup, let this sink in for a little bit, and then we’ll get prepared for next year.”

Association Class 3A/4A All-State teams last week. Goins made the Third Team, while Santos received Special Mention.

really big years for us.”

Juniors

Zaria Goins and Chloe Santos rinity High School basketball

were

named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches

“To get two people on there is awesome,” said Trinity coach Kimberly Coleman. “Both of them are deserving of it; they had

Goins, a 5-7 guard, averaged 12.3 points, five rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game. She was also named to the Girls Catholic Ath-

STEVE JOHNSTON

Fenw ick’s Deonte Meeks drives to the basket against St. Patrick during the Class 3A Little Village Sectional championship, March 7, in Chicago.

OPRF badminton on the rise

Huskies’ program draws increasing number of players

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

An increasing number of players has OPRF badminton head coach Paul Wright excited about the present and future outlook of the program. He’s especially impressed with how this has come about despite challenges presented by ongoing campus construction.

“[OPRF athletic director] Nicole Ebsen has been amazing; she’s found a way to help foster more space for our growing program,” said Wright, entering his 13th season. “We now have 18 courts in the fieldhouse and have added a junior-varsity two level and some additional freshman ‘B’ games to keep students involved. … This increase has allowed us to keep an additional 25 athletes

“The extra [junior-varsity] level really provides another year of development, athletic participation, and school connection,” he added. “It’s really hard to make the jump from freshman badminton to junior-varsity/varsity and this extra level helps with a more natural progression and keeps stu-

Continued from previous pa ge

letic Conference Red all-conference team for the second time.

“She’s one of the top players in the state. That was something she wanted people to know,” Coleman said.

Santos, a 5-10 forward, averaged 8.9 points, six rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Like Goins, she made the GCAC Red all-conference team.

“Chloe has made some big gains,” Coleman said. “She showed up in some big conference games. She’s surpassing her potential and we’re hoping to keep it moving forward.”

What has Coleman excited is that she gets Goins and Santos back for their final year

“It’s a blessing,” she said, “when your top two scorers and dominant players are coming back. We’re going to try to enjoy this last year with them, and try to get over this [sectional] hump.”

Trinity was eliminated in the IHSA Class 3A DePaul Prep sectional semifinal by Montini on Feb. 25, 34-29. The Broncos went on to win the 3A title, so that has Coleman optimis-

dents involved in a great sport.”

Here is a preview of the Huskies:

Head coach: Paul Wright (13th season)

Last season: OPRF went 10-6 in duals and sent Anika Gupta and Lilianna Jasinska downstate in doubles, with the duo going 2-2.

Returning varsity players: Josie Badrinath (Sr), Alice Cadwell (Sr), Sonja Emerson (Sr), Anika Gupta (Sr), Ada Klein (Sr)

Top newcomers: Evelyn Cultra (Jr), Malini Datta-Nemana (Sr), Stella Ludwig (Jr), Mariana Nache (Sr), Emily Smith (Jr), Ally Sugita (Jr), Olive Te pfer (Jr), Wes Wong (Sr)

Top invitational: Conant Invite, April 26 – “It’s a solid measuring stick for state and of how we have progressed this season,” said Wright.

West Suburban Silver outlook: “Hinsdale Central was young last year and extremely successful; they and York will be fighting for the top spot,” Wright said. “We had a lot more girls commit themselves to training during the offseason, and it will be interesting to see how we match up against those two programs.”

Season goals: “We really would like to

tic about a sectional breakthrough next season for the Blazers.

“We lost by five to the state champions. That’s how close we are,” she said.

Coleman added that neither Goins nor Santos has received college offers. But she’s hopeful that will change this summer

“They’re both open and ready to be recruited,” Coleman said. “They’re looking to have big AAU (American Amateur Union) seasons and get in front of schools. Zaria has a couple of visits lined up, but they’re waiting for the right moment and opportunity.”

OPRF’S O’Connor gets academic honor

Oak Park and River Forest senior Liam O’Connor, a member of the Huskies’ boys cross-country and track-and-field teams, was named to the IHSA All-State Academic Team on March 4. He is the school’s sixth student-athlete, and second cross-country/ track runner, to get this honor. The first was Irwin Loud in 2016.

“The IHSA All-State Academic Team truly represents the best that Illinois has to offer,”

e OPRD High School badminton program has expanded space in the eldhouse this season, given the increased roster size. e Huskies now have 18 courts to practice and play on, up from 12 last season.

qualify two double teams and a singles position for state this year,” Wright said. “We have some new faces that are eager for the challenge and the road ahead.”

said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Stacy Lambert in a press release. “When you look at the credentials of these team members, you are not only going to see outstanding grades and incredible test scores, but participation in multiple sports and activities, as well as significant contributions to their school and community. The ability to not only balance but also simultaneously excel in all these endeavors is inspiring. We are proud to have these future leaders represent the IHSA and Illinois.”

All IHSA schools nominated two students — one female, one male — for consideration.

Nominees must have a minimum 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale after seven semesters, have participated in at least two IHSA-sponsored sports or activities in each of the last two years, and show outstanding citizenship.

Last fall, O’Connor, who will run collegiately at NCAA Division III Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, became OPRF’s fourth multiple all-stater in cross-country with a ninth-place finish at the Class 3A state meet in a personal best time of 14:25.2.

OPRF opens the season March 19 at Leyden Township, and the Huskies welcome Hinsdale Central for their home opener, March 21, at 4:30 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BADMINTON COAC

Liam O’Connor

Request of Gabriella Rae Nolan Case Number 20254000800

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Gabriella Rae Nolan to the new name of: Gabriella Rae Rodriguez

The court date will be held: On April 8, 2025] at 11:00 AM at Maywood Courthouse, 1500 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, Cook County, IL in Courtroom # 0111.

Published in RB Landmark March 12, 19, 26, 2025

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M25000278 on March 4, 2025 Under the Assumed Business Name of JENNY KELLY ART with the business located at: 941 BONNIE BRAE PLACE, RIVER FOREST, IL 60305. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: JENNIFER KELLY 941 BONNIE BRAE PLACE, RIVER FOREST, IL 60305, USA.

Published in Wednesday Journal March 12, 19, 26, 2025

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: 1-800-669-9777

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given by the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of River Forest, Cook County, Illinois, that sealed bids will be accepted for:

Request for Qualifications for Design Build Firm, Design Build-2025 Potable Water Concrete Reservoir Maintenance Inspection and Rehabilitation

This project includes the Design Build of a Potable Water Concrete Reservoir Maintenance Inspection and Rehabilitation other associated work.

There will be a MANDATORY prebid site visit at 7525 Berkshire Street, River Forest, IL on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 10:00 am.

The bidding documents are available for download starting Monday, March 10, 2025 at: www.vrf.us/bids

Bids must be submitted by Friday, April 4, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at:

Village of River Forest 400 Park Avenue River Forest, IL 60305

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

No bid shall be withdrawn after the opening of the Proposals without the consent of the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of River Forest for a period of thirty (30) days after the scheduled time of the bid opening.

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

Published in Wednesday Journal March 12, 2025

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION FIRST SAVINGS BANK Plaintiff, -v.-

DDI HOLDINGS LLC, AN ILLINOIS LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; TANPHI WELLNESS INC., AN ILLINOIS CORPORATION; SPINOX1 INC., AN ILLINOIS CORPORATION; DONALD OLIPHANT; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS

Defendants 2023 CH 03962 6201 - 6209 WEST NORTH AVE OAK PARK, IL 60302

NOTICE OF SALE

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Order of Default, Default Judgment, Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, and Appointing Selling Officer entered in the above cause on February 22, 2024, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on March 28, 2025, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate:

Commonly known as 6201 - 6209 WEST NORTH AVE, OAK PARK, IL 60302

Property Index No. 16-05-102032-0000

The real estate is one-story commercial building.

The judgment amount was $2,667,110.06.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation.

No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours.

the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.

You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, contact Paulina Garga-Chmiel, DYKEMA GOSSETT PLLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 10 SOUTH WACKER DRIVE, SUITE 2300, CHICAGO, IL, 60606 (312) 876-1700.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION

One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE

You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc. com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

Paulina Garga-Chmiel

DYKEMA GOSSETT PLLC 10 SOUTH WACKER DRIVE, SUITE 2300 CHICAGO IL, 60606 312-876-1700

E-Mail: pgarga@dykema.com Attorney Code. 42297 Case Number: 2023 CH 03962 TJSC#: 45-479

I3261453

The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION US BANK TRUST NATIONAL AS SOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVID UAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST

Plaintiff vs. UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF ROSIE L. SIMPSON; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF ER NEST ROGER BRYANT; DENISE LASHONE COLLINS; ERSKINE LA TRELL RICKS; KENOSHA DEANNA RICKS; DENOTA C. RICKS AKA DE ONTE C. RICKS; REGGIE L. RICKS

AKA REGGIE RICKS; ROSIE RICKS AKA ROSE RICKS; ANDREA L NETTE COLLINS; AMIR MOHAB BAT AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR ROSIE L. SIMPSON; ERNEST R. RICKS; FIFTH THIRD BANK, N.A. S/I/I FIFTH THIRD BANK; RAYMOND E. RICKS; LATASHA D. RICKS; EARNESTINE RICKS; KENTON K. RICKS; RAQKOWN D. RICKS; DEMARCUS M. COLLINS; SHANNON RICKS; CORNELIUS RICKS; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendant 24 CH 393 CALENDAR 62 NOTICE OF SALE

PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on April 8, 2025, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty’s office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 15-10-319-012-0000. Commonly known as 602 S. 21st Ave., Maywood, IL 60153. The real estate is: single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Diaz Anselmo & Associates P.A., 1771 West Diehl Road, Suite 120, Naperville, IL 60563. (630) 453-6960. 1496-19

INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3261492

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Where you go for your cancer care is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Now, feel confident in that decision while staying right here in the western suburbs. As a national leader in whole-person care, AdventHealth offers connections to the renowned cancer care experts at UChicagoMedicine. Find a dedicated partner for your individual cancer journey just down the road.

To learn more, go to ChicagolandCancerCare.com.

THE BEST ELECTION COVERAGE IN OAK PARK & RIVER FOREST

For 45 years, Wednesday Journal has covered ever y River Forest & Oak Park election from nominating petitions to Election Day.

JAVIER GOVEA

digital edition of our 2025 Election Guide comes together with Digital Manager Stacy Coleman at work.

THE BEST ELECTION COVERAGE IN OAK PARK & RIVER FOREST

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