Wednesday Journal 040622

W E D N E S D A Y

April 6, 2022 Vol. 42, No. 36 ONE DOLLAR @wednesdayjournalinc

@wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL @oakpark

of Oak Park and River Forest

All-clear after Fenwick bomb threat Page 17

Longtime Fenwick teacher accused of misconduct Former student accuses John Quinn of inappropriate physical contact

By ANDY VIANO

Hoops homecoming Ashleen Bracey, former OPRF star, is back as UIC women’s basketball coach REPORT BY MELVIN TATE, PAGE 18 STEVE WOLTMANN/UIC ATHLETIC

Staff Reporter

A Fenwick High School graduate has called for the firing of a prominent teacher and former boys basketball coach after what she says were multiple instances of inappropriate physical contact made by the teacher, John Quinn, in 2012 and 2014.

Helen Quinn Pasin posted a YouTube video on March 28 detailing some of her allegations against Quinn, who she said she met in 2012.

She called Quinn her “abuser” and accused him of hugging her tightly and rubbing his cheek and lips against her face while asking about her See FENWICK on page 16

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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April is Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month KIDS TOO invites the Oak Park community to join the KIDS TOO movement for child protection.

KIDS TOO is a movement that empowers parent voices in the realm of child protection and is affiliated with Parents Against Child Sex Abuse.

Show your support by visiting one of the participating small businesses for various fundraising activities. For more information, visit KIDSTOO.ORG PARTICIPATING PARTNERS

Westgate Flowers

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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Austin family of former OPRF student seeks answers Edjuan “EJ” Wilson’s family canvassed the neighborhood on March 31, in search of information about the case

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

Over a month after Oak Park River Forest High School alumnus Edjuan “EJ” Wilson was killed after exiting the Subway 5973 W. Madison Street in Austin, the teenager’s family is urging anyone with information about the perpetrators to come forward.

Wilson, who lived in Oak Park at the time of his death, was shot on Feb. 13 at 5:25 p.m. According to the Chicago Sun-Times wire report, he was shot in the chest and leg at 5:25 p.m. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, but died of his injuries.

On March 31, Wilson’s family, their supporters and some police officers walked around the 5900 block of Madison Street, handing out fliers and taping posters asking for any information connected to the case.

Wilson’s aunt, Chinyera Moody, said that, while the Chicago Police Department has the video footage of the incident and potential suspects, the family hasn’t seen any progress on the case.

According to his obituary, Wilson was the one of Ed and Helena Wilson’s four children. He played football and basketball at OPRF, graduating in 2019. The obituary also Edjuan “EJ” Wilson mentioned that he took part in several fundraising walks and runs, mentored his fellow students and volunteered at WVON radio station. Wilson was attending Malcolm X College and, according to Moody, was trying to become a rapper.

The funeral service program reprinted a poem Wilson wrote at age 14, where he promised to “stop being silly and be more responsible” and learn “how to be a leader,

IGOR STUDENKOV/Contributor

Chinyera Moody, the aunt of Edjuan Wilson, passes out flyers on March 31. to never follow others who make bad decisions” for his own sake and for the sake of his family.

Community activist Anthony Clark, who was one of Wilson’s teachers, set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the family cover the funeral expenses.

In the campaign description, Clark wrote that he “never met someone PROVIDED like EJ, who always could make me smile and lift my spirits.”

Moody said that around 100 people attended the vigil in the wake of her nephew’s death, which, she said, showed how much impact he had on others.

Wilson’s family members said while getting justice for Wilson doesn’t take away the pain and the sense of loss, it would at least bring them some sense of closure.

“This is a senseless, tragic situation,” said Ed Wilson. “[Dealing with my son’s death] has been hard, but we’re

here, trying to [ensure] justice for my son, because he didn’t deserve it. He was a vibrant, happy person. I just want justice, justice for my son.”

Moody said that, while she appreciates the support her family got from the South Austin community, “we really want people to talk.”

“It’s really hard to live in the city, in the same community where your loved one was taken,” she said.

While Moody maintained composure through most of the interview, she got choked up when she talked about what her nephew meant to her.

“I don’t have children, but he was like my own child,” she said. “He was not given an opportunity to live out his life, to become a man. It feels like the worst violation, to have him taken from us. The only consolation is if we bring the [perpetrators] to justice.”

Anyone with the information about Wilson’s death should call CPD Area 4 detectives at (312) 746-8252.

CONTACT: igors3@hotmail.com

C O R R E C T I O N An article in the March 30 edition of Wednesday Journal headlined “OPRF students, faculty urge overhaul of athletic facilities” included two notable errors.

The current architectural firm working

on the project, FGM Architects, has not yet made a cost estimate on the Phase 2 project to improve the school’s inside athletic facilities. Perkins + Will, a firm which worked initially on the broad Imagine OPRF project,

had provided an estimate of $65.3 million.

Additionally, a quote was misattributed in the story. Lynn Kamenitsa, a co-chair of the Imagine OPRF project, should have been quoted as saying rehabbing the cur-

rent facility would cost tens and tens of millions of dollars, not $10 million.

We regret these errors which were called to our attention by both the high school and a reader.

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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BIG WEEK April 6-13

Lucinda Williams

LUCINDA WILLIAMS

Monday, April 11 & Tuesday, April 12, 8:30 p.m., Unity Temple This renowned singer songwriter makes a special appearance in the Oak Park area. Her most recent album, Good Souls, Better Angels, is very much in the topical vein of recent times. $150, 875 Lake St. Oak Park.

The Cash Box Kings Saturday, April 9, 8:30 p.m., FitzGerald’s The legacy of this band is split between Illinois and Wisconsin.

Vocalist Oscar Wilson is representing Chicago, while harmonica player Joe Nosek is based in Madison, WI. Together, these men pursue a hard-driving blues sound that leans in a traditional ‘50s-styled direction. Bonus points for their song, “Joe, You Ain’t From Chicago,” which mentions Johnnie’s Italian Beef in Elmwood Park. $12, 6615 Roosevelt Road., Berwyn.

Celebrating Ramadan Read Aloud & Craft Hour DUO DIORAMA

Duo Diorama & CSO Wind Players Friday, April 8, 7 p.m., Unity Temple Unity Temple Restoration Foundation welcomes Unity Chamber Music Series artistic directors Winston Choi and MingHuan Xu of Duo Diorama, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra clarinetist John Bruce Yeh and horn player Oto Carillo. The evening will also include rising star musician Nick Reeves on cello. The program will feature trios by Bartok, Brahms, and Khatchaturian. Proceeds from the Unity Chamber Music Series will benefit UTRF’s mission to preserve Unity Temple and provide quality public programming. $10-30; $5 off for UTRF members. 875 Lake St., Oak Park.

Garden Club Presents Richard Hentschel

Chicago a capella: Swing, Swing, Swing Friday, April 8, at 8 p.m., Pilgrim Congregational This a capella choir will take on jazz standards at this special show. 460 Lake St,, Oak Park.

RICHARD HENTSCHEL

Wednesday, April 13, 12 p.m., Cheney Mansion Richard Hentschel from the University of Illinois speaks about plant-breeding techniques. 220 N. Euclid Ave., Oak Park.

Sunday, April 10, 1-2 p.m., Oak Park Public Library Ramadan will be celebrated with books and a craft. Ramadan is a month-long observance when Muslims all over the world spend a month fasting and coming together as a community. The purpose of the month is to focus on doing more good deeds such as giving charity, fasting, and praying. It is a time meant to focus on gratitude, sharing, empathy, compassion, generosity, and selflessness. For elementary and middle school students. Masks are encouraged. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

THE CASH BOX KINGS

The Swingers: Jazz Couples Who Play Together Wednesday, April 6, 7 p.m., FitzGerald’s side bar Hosted by vocalist Petra Van Nuis, she will be joined by her husband guitarist Andy Brown, along with the spousal duo of vocalist Jeanne Lambert and trombonist Russ Phillips. 6615 Roosevelt Road., Berwyn.

Chamber Orchestra Of Concordia University Sunday, April 10, 7 p.m., Concordia University Chicago This program draws together the masterful “Ricercare 6” from The Musical Offering of Johann Sebastian Bach in a new orchestration by Concordia-Chicago alumnus Jeremy Zimmer; nostalgic and spirited pieces by Francis Poulenc; a dramatic percussion concerto

by Darius Milhaud; characterful Renaissance suites reimagined by Ottorino Respighi and Peter Warlock; and a stirring set of folk pieces by Edvard Grieg.

Dr. Maurice Boyer, professor of music at Concordia University Chicago, conducts the Chamber Orchestra, the chapel choir (Schola Cantorum) and the women’s choir (Laudate), and teaches aural skills. 7400 Augusta St., River Forest.

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

Life-Changing Education for Tomorrow The Board of Trustees congratulates Glena G. Temple on her inauguration as Dominican University’s 11th president.

From first-generation college graduate to college president, Dr. Glena G. Temple’s journey has taught her the power of servant leadership in higher education. As we celebrate 100 years in River Forest, Dominican University is advancing its vision of a university of the future through service to our students and community, excellence in Catholic higher education, and solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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Oak Park to get eight license-plate-reading cameras The plan for 20 cameras left village president ‘uncomfortable’

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The village of Oak Park will be utilizing the services of Flock Safety Inc. to bring eight automatic license plate reading cameras to as yet-undetermined Oak Park locations. The decision came Monday night as a compromise after the original resolution for a two-year Flock contract worth $112,500 to purchase 20 cameras and the associated software was struck down.

“I am not comfortable with 20 cameras at this time,” Village President Vicki Scaman said, before voting against the original resolution.

That resolution’s defeat was narrow, with four board members voting against it and three voting in favor of it. The second resolution for eight cameras, brought forth

by Scaman, passed by a thin margin as well; four board members voted in favor of it and three against it. Scaman, naturally, voted in favor of her compromise.

For both resolutions, Trustees Jim Taglia, Ravi Parakkat and Lucia Robinson voted in favor of Flock, while Trustees Susan Buchanan, Chibuike Enyia and Arti Walker-Peddakotla were in opposition.

The controversial surveillance technology is intended for police use as an investigative tool to help solve crimes, not prevent them. However, several village board members and members of the public believe that the system leaves people of color open to potential police racial profil-

WWW.FLOCKSAFETY.COM

ing and the security of all people’s personal information at risk. Just who owns the data acquired through Flock was another major concern.

Parakkat acknowledged that the “risk of abuse exists,” but remained staunchly in favor of the technology, stating that the crime solving benefits and cost effectiveness outweighed any potential downsides, including errors made by the Flock system.

In an impassioned speech against Flock, Walker-Peddakotala said the technology would turn Oak Park into a “virtual sundown town” and “surveillance state.” She invoked the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., discussed the prison industrial complex and made note of her stance as a law enforcement abolitionist.

Oak Park’s police department has already used Flock databases but never purchased cameras. Robinson leaned on this to

argue that the system has already proven useful to Oak Park.

“We don’t even have to guess what the impact is going to be on this community,” she said. “It’s been a proven method in solving crime in this community.”

Enyia, however, felt that the village board had not engaged the community enough or its commissions during this process. He also believed Flock’s presence would provide an uninviting atmosphere to the village, which would go against the principles of Oak Park.

“Who are we if we’re saying we’re a welcoming village, but this is how we’re welcoming you – we’re flashing your license plate real quick just to see if you’re good,” he said.

Scaman’s compromise included a modified resolution for the purchase of eight Flock cameras and the necessary software with the contingency that the village’s Civic Information System Commission thoroughly vet a privacy policy and that the Citizen Police Oversight Committee review usage reports monthly.

Despite the contingency included in Scaman’s motion, neither CISC nor CPOC were given the opportunity to appraise Flock and make recommendations to the board prior to board discussion. The counsel of the Community Relations Commission, which submitted a letter to the village board in strong opposition to Flock, was likewise not requested by the village board. Scaman apologized to the commissions for the board’s failure to include them. The village

Consultant’s policing report due by late August

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

BerryDunn is “squarely in the middle of data analysis” regarding the consulting firm’s independent assessment of the Oak Park Police Department, according to BerryDunn’s Michele Weinzetl. She was on the agenda of the village board meeting Monday night to give a progress report on the project, which was commissioned by the board to improve equity in Oak Park law enforcement.

Weinzetl told the board that BerryDunn will continue analyzing data and then develop recommendations based on its findings

in the next couple of months. She shared that BerryDunn has conducted additional interviews with village staff and various community members. BerryDunn has also conducted a series of open forums and met with the Citizen Police Oversight Committee.

The project’s online portal, which allows the public to submit suggestions and questions at will, has gotten 187 responses from members of the community to date, Weinzetl said. The portal can be accessed through the village of Oak Park website.

An initial report regarding essential calls for services is expected to come out in May. An administrative draft report will likely be

released in late June or early July. The administrative draft will basically serve as the first full draft of the project’s final report, according to Weinzetl. Village staff will review the document and then BerryDunn will make appropriate changes to the draft as necessary.

“That process will take about a month to get done,” said Weinzetl.

The document will then be published on the online portal, where the public will be able to review it for a period of two weeks and submit feedback. That feedback will be included as part of the final document, which is expected to be completed by the end of August or early September.

board had previously promised greater commission involvement in its decision making.

It should be noted, as many public commenters did, that the village board did not seek the advice of BerryDunn, the consulting firm currently conducting an assessment of the Oak Park Police Department, nor did it choose to shelve the resolution until the assessment was completed. Many public commenters, however, urged them to do so.

Community Relations Commission strongly opposes Flock The village of Oak Park’s Community Relations Commission has come out against the idea of Flock Safety automated license plate readers being used in the village. In a letter to the village board read Monday night, the CRC urged trustees and the village president to reject the resolution to install and use Flock plate recognition cameras in Oak Park. The CRC drafted the letter during a special meeting held March 30.

The commission used the letter to denounce the $112,500-two-year-contract as fiscally irresponsible and the contract’s lack of a privacy policy a danger to data security. The CRC also stated in the letter that the surveillance technology could encourage racially biased policing.

“These cameras could potentially create inequitable treatment of Black and Brown folks who drive in our community,” the commission wrote.

The CRC further labeled Flock cameras as all-around ineffective. The letter references a 2021 Bloomberg news story that reported between one percent and 10 percent of license plate hits are misreads, depending on the plate recognition system used.

“Furthermore, the cameras do not seem capable of accomplishing the stated goal of preventing crime,” wrote the CRC.

Stacey Sheridan

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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Wait, Gerald Ford lived in Oak Park? Yes, for two months River Forest native turns his discoveries into a ‘passion project’

By KATE HESTERMAN Contributing Reporter

Gerald Ford was appointed president of the United States via the 25th Amendment, pardoned Richard Nixon a disgraced president after his resignation and then lost to Jimmy Carter when they competed for the seat in 1976. Along with many Americans, this is the only information River Forest native Jonathan Panton knew about the late president.

Driven by a natural curiosity for history and an interest in presidential biographies, Panton searched for Ford’s biography on the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum website. After a little digging, he was shocked to find one of his hometown villages had been home for the late president for just a smidge during his first year.

educate, leading him to create his Ford and his mother, Dorothy “passion project.” He dedicated Ayer Gardner Ford, moved to Oak his time and efforts to developing Park in 1913 after fleeing from a presentation that would inform her abusive relationship with Oak Park and surrounding comFord’s father, Leslie Lynch King. munities of his discoveries.

For roughly two months, the pair To further awareness, Panton settled at 410 N. Humphrey Ave., suggested the Village of Oak the home of Dorothy’s sister, TanPark place a plaque in front of nisse James, and her husband, the house on Humphrey. The vilClarence James. While Ford’s lage denied his request as Ford time in Oak Park was brief, phoJONATHAN PANTON did nothing of “historical signifitographic evidence compiled by cance” in the home.

Panton shows he and his mother “Even though Gerald Ford only spent a returned to visit family here on numerous occasions after moving to their permanent brief portion of his life here, he did still at the end of the day live in a historic city. I really home in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“A common reaction I get is either an ini- do think that the Village of Oak Park should tial disbelief that President Ford lived here, at least acknowledge it and recognize a Presisurprise that no one knew about it, and then dent of the United States for living here,” excitement to learn about his story,” said said Panton.

Determined to have a plaque placed at the Panton.

Motivated by these reactions, Panton home, Panton contacted the Historical Soreached out to the Oak Park and River For- ciety where he was met with fewer requireest Historical Society to find out if they were ments than the village. He merely had to already aware of his findings. Their unfa- prove the home was owned by Gerald Ford’s miliarity sparked Panton’s enthusiasm to aunt, which was information he had already

obtained from the Cook County Clerk’s Office proving she owned the home from 1913 to 1983. With support from the current homeowner, Panton hopes the plaque will be established and unveiled this summer.

Consistently reading presidential biographies helped shape Panton’s love of history and attending Oak Park and River Forest High School fostered his innate love of learning. Throughout his time as a student, Panton developed a deeper appreciation of other historical figures rooted in his community such as Ernest Hemingway and Percy Julian.

“I really do think the history department at OPRF really benefited me. It really had a great impact on my love of history,” said Panton.

While stressors of attending law school in Washington, D.C. put the timeline of his presentation on hold, Panton says he is now ready and excited to present Gerald Ford’s life story and adventures in Oak Park. Panton’s presentation, “Gerald Ford: Oak Park’s First President” will be available through the Oak Park River Forest Museum via Zoom on Friday, May 27 at 11 a.m.

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Wednesday

COURTESY GERALD R. FORD PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

JUST MISSED BETTY WHITE: Future President Gerald R. Ford Jr. (left) looks … presidential … during a visit to Oak Park, where he had lived for a couple of months in 1913. Here he’s photographed with his cousins, Gardner James, Adele James, and his half-brother Thomas Ford, in front of 410 N. Humphrey.

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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Creating the ‘ripple’ effect

Four OPRF students launch business to help families honor departed loved ones

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Four Oak Park and River Forest High School students are working with families near and far to ensure their deceased loved ones are celebrated. Grayson Adelstein, Noah Campbell, Joey DiMaso and Ivan Gillman are the founders of Ripple, a digital service that offers custom video montages, interviews or other recordings to help people remember the lives of departed friends and family members.

Adelstein, a junior at OPRF, said he pitched the idea to his teammates during a business incubator course, a class at the high school that allows students to explore entrepreneurship and develop their own product or service startup. Amidst a brainstorming session, the 17-year-old said he opened up to Campbell,

DiMaso and Gillman about losing someone in his family and what it was like to attend a virtual funeral service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The [online] experience was just really poor,” Adelstein told Wednesday Journal as he sat at a small table inside Panera Bread in River Forest with his teammates turned business partners around him. “There were a lot of technical difficulties. The Zoom ended short. People were talking over each other.

Overall, it was just a really bad way to remember someone who we really love.”

DiMaso, who is also a junior, and Campbell, a sophomore, explained Ripple is more of a service to streamline different aspects of planning a funeral. The two clarified their business is not meant to replace the services of funeral homes, meaning they do not do burials or other things of that nature. They are an add-on, “an assistance to the funeral home itself,” a way for guests who cannot attend or participate in an in-person service to be part of the experience, Adelstein noted.

They often work with clients to collect pictures, home videos or other key mementos

and ask them to record their eulogies, piecing those images together to create one virtual tribute. The tribute, they said, could be played before a service or after, whenever and wherever clients choose.

“The idea of celebrating someone’s life – that’s really important to us,” DiMaso, 17, said.

Throughout the past few months, the four teens have been reaching out to various funeral home directors and religious leaders to strengthen their relationship with community members. What they learned so far, they said, is that their business is “niche,” and some people may be wary of working with a group of teenage boys under serious, sensitive circumstances.

“We know we’re teenagers, and that might seem a little scary,” Campbell, 15, said. “We just want to really emphasize that we are just here because we really care about our community, and we really care about the people.

We want to help them. We want to help bring in our expertise in technology in order to help connect them to this experience.”

Campbell said Ripple aims to aid in other

Find out more For more information on Ripple, visit rippleservicesinc.weebly.com or find the business on Instagram at the handle @oprf.ripple. For questions or inquiries, contact the Ripple team at contactrippleinc@gmail.com.

parts of a funeral service, including helping families organize a meal train or creating user-friendly donation links.

As the four took turns speaking about their business expansion, they reflected on the last few months spent together. They said they often met here, inside the local Panera, to brainstorm, plan and put Ripple together. This was their makeshift office, a place where they gathered for hours and days on end building Ripple. To them, Ripple is a homegrown effort, something special for the community.

“When a ripple drops in the water, it kind of goes outwards,” Gillman, 17 and an OPRF junior said. “It kind of has an effect on other people. We want to capture the significance of someone’s life, the delicacy of remembering someone.”

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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ART BEAT

Toomey & Co. thrives during pandemic as it marks 40 years

Prices spark during online auctions

By MICHELLE DYBAL

I

Arts Contributor

n a storefront on North Boulevard, currently reached by strolling through Cucina Paradiso’s inviting outdoor dining setup, is a vibrant business that has called Oak Park home for 40 years this month. It is Toomey & Co., a mid-level auction house, which attracts buyers and sellers from the neighborhood and around the world.

While the pandemic hurt many businesses’ bottom lines the past two years, and affected the supply chain for consumers, the story for the arts and antique market was quite different.

“Following the largest drop in sales in 10 years in 2020, the global art market bounced back in 2021, with aggregate sales of art and antiques up 29 percent to approximately $65.1 billion, surpassing pre-pandemic levels,” according to the 2022 Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, written by the cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew. “All segments of the market grew in 2021, but the auction sector showed the strongest year-on-year advance, with public auction sales increasing by 47 percent.”

Toomey, 818 North Blvd., went along for the ride, shifting some of the ways they do business such as halting in-house bidding during auctions, and saw their sales increase during the pandemic.

“For a while we were closed to the public, but we still had lots of bidding, very active bidding on the telephone, absentee bids, and particularly on the internet,” said Lucy Toomey, CEO of Toomey & Co. Auctioneers.

“For some people it became a new hobby.” Online bidding is done through LiveAuctioneers or Invaluable.

“We saw more bidders coming in online, so it was more competitive,” said John Walcher, vice president and senior specialist. Without

travel, entertainment, and going out to dinner, he said, there was more disposable income among buyers. “And, spending the amount of time they were at home, they wanted to reevaluate their living environment and wanted to add to their aesthetic space.“ Before each auction date, items may be viewed by appointment or virtually, or on Toomey’s online catalog (toomeyco.com).

Toomey & Co. is known for holding focused, curated sales of Early 20th Century Design, Modern Design, Fine Art, Decorative Arts, Silver & Objects of Vertu, Ceramics, Post-War and Contemporary Art, and Interiors. In this ripe auction market, some art auctioned at Toomey has reached far beyond its pre-auction estimates in recent months.

An oil on canvas by Alphonse Mucha, “Young Couple from Rusadla,” was given a pre-auction estimate of $100,000 - $200,000.

This fully realized study for another Mucha painting, “Rusadla,” shows a young couple embracing. It is described as “rediscovered” and was authenticated by the Mucha Foundation one month prior to Toomey’s December 2021 Art & Design auction. The Czech artist’s work from 1920 sold for a surprising $965,000.

The buyer, also Czech, is Leon Tsoukernik, an art collector and owner of King’s Casino, which has the largest poker room in Europe.

He has also been an antiques dealer.

Work by a female Chicago surrealist also exceeded estimates at Toomey’s February Modern Design + Post-War & Contemporary Art auction. Gertrude Abercrombie’s “Leaf, Ribbon, Domino, Dice, Shell, Pieces of Eight,” sold for $185,000, and her “Old Phonograph” sold for $209,000. Both oil on Masonite works from 1954 were originally sold at Marshall Fields, and each had a pre-auction estimate of $30,000 - $50,000.

Most sellers looking to consign with Toomey come in based on word-of-mouth, Toomey’s reputation, knowing Toomey’s auction schedule, and looking at past auction records and artists sold. At times, some items arrive with a little nudging. Take art by Chicago women artists, who Walcher said they are

PROVIDED BY TOOMEY & CO.

John Walcher (left) and Lucy Toomey of Toomey & Co. constantly pursuing.

“For a long time, they’ve been overlooked and as of late, a lot of institutions and collectors alike are avidly seeking those works,” Walcher said. “And we know where a lot of those works are, so it’s a matter of, if those people are ready to sell yet. We are constantly watching the market and reminding them of how the market is doing. Over time that has worked out well in getting consignments.”

A notable item with Oak Park roots came up in the December auction – a copper weed holder, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. According to the catalog note, it “was one of a pair owned by the Burdick family of Oak Park, Illinois. The other example was donated to the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust by Dr. and Mrs. A.L. Burdick Jr. on December 29, 1995; it is currently on display in the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park, Illinois.”

The slender, nearly 28-inch-tall tapering obelisk sold for $161,000.

On April 7 Toomey will host The Ira Simon Collection: Sold for the Benefit of the Art Institute of Chicago on April 27.

Simon, an art collector who focused on late 19th to early 20th century pieces, bequeathed the contents of his home to the Art Institute “to choose items to keep for the permanent collection or to sell the remainder for future acquisitions,” said Walcher, who knew Simon.

By-appointment previews will continue for now, but they hope to return to open hours and exhibition preview events. The auction house sees a time when they will return to inhouse bidding during auctions, too.

“I’m one of the auctioneers,“ Walcher said.

“I always prefer to have an audience to auction in front of – it makes it more interesting.”

Auctions have been occurring in the space since 1987. John Toomey, Lucy’s father, purchased the building and opened a gallery on April 1, 1982.

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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River Forest principal honored for service, also, kindness, humor Lincoln’s Casey Godfrey one of many selected for ‘Those Who Excel’ award

By F. AMANDA TUGADE

Roshni Ricchetti, whose children previously attended Lincoln, nominated Godfrey for a Those Who Excel award, an award that recognizes various elementary Extraordinary. Thoughtful. Personable. and high school educators every year for Those were the words Anne McDonnell their contributions. Godfrey, who has been used to describe Casey Godfrey, principal the principal at Lincoln since 2015 and was of Lincoln Elementary in River Forest. Mcrecently named a 2022 recipient, was listed Donnell, who has two of her three children as one of more than 20 people honored for attending Lincoln, 511 Park Ave., said Godtheir meritorious service. The award’s frey is the kind of person who remembers ANNE MCDONNELL other categories include Award of Excelhis students by name. In the mornings, beLincoln School parent lence and Award of Recognition. fore school starts, Godfrey is often waiting “As an adult, if you think back on your by the entrance, ready to personally greet education, lots of people can recall influhis students. ential teachers, really important profes“It’s not like, ‘Hey buddy! How are you?’”

McDonnell told Wednesday Journal. “It’s, ‘Hi, Colin! Hi, sors, people in those leadership, pedagogical roles,” RicKyle! Hi, Sally!’ – which is such a basic thing – but when chetti told the Journal. “But I imagine very few people you stop and think about it, what a difference it makes look back and think of an administrator as someone who is truly special. And Casey is a stark exception to that. when somebody remembers your name.”

“He is part of the fabric of what makes D90 a phenomAnd that’s only part of the reason why McDonnell and Staff Reporter

JOHN HODGE

MELISSA DE JESUS-VASQUEZ

“When you stop and think about it, what a difference it makes when somebody remembers your name.”

LEE-ANN ROSKOPF

NICOLE GRANT AND NATALIE CAMPBELL

ELYSE SMITH AND NICOLE PINES

More excellent educators

Several Oak Park District 97 staff members have also been named recipients of the 2022 Those Who Excel award by the Illinois State Board of Education.

■ Three individuals – Irving Elementary School Principal John Hodge; Irving parent volunteer Melissa De Jesus-Vasquez; and Lincoln Elementary School administrative assistant Lee-Ann Roskopf – were honored with a Those Who Excel Award of Excellence. Irving is at 1125 S. Cuyler/ ■ Nicole Grant and Natalie Campbell, who co-teach kindergarten at Whittier El-

ementary School, received a Those Who Excel award for their meritorious service.

Whittier is at 715 N. Harvey.

■ Elyse Smith and Nicole Pines, who coteach kindergarten at Mann Elementary School, were also named recipients of a Those Who Excel award for their meritorious service. Mann is at 921 N. Kenilworth.

■ Ashley Kannan, a humanities teacher at Percy Julian Middle School, was named 2022 Regional Teacher of the Year for Cook County by the Illinois State Board of Ed and a finalist for 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year. Percy Julian is at 416 S. Ridgeland.

PROVIDED

PARENT RECOMMENDED: Principal Casey Godfrey, was nominated by parents at Lincoln School in River Forest. enal district.”

Early on in the pandemic, when schools went into lockdown, Ricchetti recalled Godfrey’s virtual morning announcements, a popular highlight for her children. She remembered how her children used to race for the iPad just to watch recordings of Godfrey. McDonnell, whose sons also adored those announcements, said the Lincoln principal was quickly known for his goofy dances or playing popular songs on his violin, his dog often popping up in the background.

“That’s one thing he did to make it special,” McDonnell said.

Ricchetti told the Journal she and McDonnell began the nomination process last summer. The two, who admired Godfrey’s work with students, said they reached out to Superintendent Ed Condon, gathering recommendation letters and completing the paperwork. Ricchetti said she and McDonnell believed Godfrey embodied the meaning of the award and deserved to be celebrated.

Godfrey said he was humbled by the nomination and being named an awardee.

“I feel very fortunate to work at such a wonderful place and to be acknowledged for such a prestigious honor,” he said. “I’m just very humbled by that and the opportunity to continue to serve Lincoln. It’s a great school.”

C O R R E C T I O N ASHLEY KANNAN

A story in the March 23, 2022 print edition of Wednesday Journal had an inaccurate headline on page 1. It involved Ashley Kannan, a Percy Julian Middle School teacher, being named a 2022 Regional Teacher of the Year for Cook County.

The honor was given by the Illinois State Board of Education, not Cook County. We regret this error.

EASTER CHURCH GUIDE

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

2022 Easter Church Guide

11

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

WELCOME HOME for Easter April 10

Forest Park Baptist Church 133 Harlem Ave, Forest Park | 708.366.5091 | info@forestparkbaptist.com

A multi-ethnic, intergenerational community of believers glorifying God, encouraging everyone to know & follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

PALM SUNDAY APRIL 10 10:15 AM Palm Procession, Children's Play

MAUNDY THURSDAY APRIL 14 7:00 PM Holy Communion

GOOD FRIDAY

EASTER SUNDAY

APRIL 15 7:00 PM

APRIL 17 10:15 AM

Holy Service of Darkness Chancel Choir & Communion, Instrumentalists Festival Worship

First Presbyterian Church of River Forest www.firstpresrf.org

Quick and Lathrop, River Forest

Come for COVID-cautious family worship Easter 2022! (learn more by scanning QR code)

Palm Sunday

4/10, 10:45am

Good Friday

4/15, 7:00pm

Easter Sunday

4/17, 10:45am

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EASTER CHURCH GUIDE

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

JOURNEY WITH US THROUGH HOLY WEEK Understandings of the CrossNightly Short Meditations: April 10-16, 7:00, on YouTube Palm Sunday 8:30a - Worship, Palm Parade 10:30a - Worship, Palm Parade & Dance

Maundy Thursday

Easter Brunch 9:00, Easter Worship 10:30 Pilgrim Congregational Church, UCC, 460 Lake St www.PilgrimOakPark.org

7:30p - Worship

Good Friday 7:30p - Tenebrae Worship

Easter Sunday 8:30a & 10:30a - Celebratory Worship 10a - Easter Egg Hunt

Happy Easter from

10:30 livestream worship via website

611 Randolph, Oak Park (corner of East & Randolph)

oakpark.com • forestparkreview.com

708-848-4741 GoodShepherdLC.org

HOSANNA! Come journey through Holy Week with the Catholic Parishes of Oak Park and Chicago

ST. GILES CHURCH 1045 Columbian Avenue, Oak Park

ASCENSION CHURCH 808 S. East Avenue, Oak Park Palm Sunday, April 9/10 Saturday, 5:00 pm* Sunday, 8:00 am and 10:30 am THE TRIDUUM Holy Thursday, April 14 Mass of the Lord's Supper, 7:30 pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 9:30 pm to midnight Night Prayer, 11:45 pm There will be NO daytime masses or prayer services on Holy Thursday.

Good Friday, April 15 Morning Prayer, 8:30 am Family Stations of the Cross,** 12:00 pm ** Please note that the noon service on Good Friday will be geared towards families with children K-12. It is not intended for infants and toddlers.

Taizé Prayer around the Cross, 3:00 pm* The Passion of the Lord, 7:30 pm Holy Saturday, April 16 Morning Prayer with RCIA, 8:30 am The Easter Vigil, 8:00 pm

ST. EDMUND CHURCH 188 S. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park

ST. CATHERINE-ST. LUCY CHURCH 38 N. Austin Boulevard, Oak Park

Palm Sunday, April 9/10 St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church St. Edmund Church Saturday, 5:00 pm Saturday, 5:30 pm Sunday, 9:00 am Sunday, 11:00 am COMBINED SERVICES FOR THE TRIDUUM Holy Thursday, April 14 7:00 pm: Mass of the Lord’s Supper, St. Edmund Church Live-stream link: https:youtu.be/0eAxURD5h94 Good Friday, April 15 7:00 pm: The Passion of the Lord, St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church* Holy Saturday, April 16 7:00 pm: The Easter Vigil, St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church*

Palm Sunday, April 9/10 Saturday, 4:30 pm* Sunday, 8:00 and 10:30 am in Church 10:00 am Family Mass in Gym Outdoor palm distribution on Saturday from 3:30 – 4:00 pm and Sunday from 11:30 am -12:00 pm in front of the Courtyard Cross on Columbian Avenue.

THE TRIDUUM Holy Thursday, April 14 Morning Prayer, 8:30 am Mass of the Lord's Supper, 7:30 pm* Adoration until Midnight Night Prayer, 11:45 pm

Good Friday, April 15 Morning Prayer, 8:30 am The Passion of the Lord, 3:00 pm* Living Stations of the Cross, 7:30 pm Holy Saturday, April 16 Morning Prayer, 8:30 am Blessing of Easter Food, 11:00 am in Church The Easter Vigil, 7:30 pm (No 4:30 pm Mass)

Easter Sunday, April 17: The Resurrection of the Lord 7:30 am, 9:00 am, and 11:00 am*

Easter Sunday, April 17: The Resurrection of the Lord 8:30 am, St. Edmund Church 9:00 am, St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church* 11:00 am, St. Edmund Church Live-stream link for 11:00 am mass: https://youtu.be/R7M4og2G-Bw

Easter Sunday, April 17: The Resurrection of the Lord Sunrise, 6:00 am in Church Courtyard, Weather Permitting 8:00 and 10:30 am* in Church 10:00 am Family Mass in Gym

*Please see the website, ascensionoakpark.com, for live-stream links.

*Please see the website, stcatherinestlucy.org, for live-stream links.

*Please see the website, stgilesparish.org, for live-stream links.

EASTER CHURCH GUIDE

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Join us for Holy Week Worship Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday Holy Communion April 10, 9:30 a.m.

Maundy Thursday Holy Communion April 14, 7:30 p.m.

Good Friday Liturgy April 15, 7:30 p.m.

The Resurrection of Our Lord: Easter Vigil Holy Communion April 16, 7:30 p.m.

The Resurrection of Our Lord: Easter Day Holy Communion April 17, 9:30 a.m.

United Lutheran Church 409 Greenfield Street (at Ridgeland) Oak Park, Illinois www.unitedlutheranchurch.org

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

First United Methodist Church of Oak Park 324 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 You are invited to join us for any or all of our upcoming events to celebrate this special time of year. It will be our first Holy Week with our new pastor, Rev. Adonna Davis Reid.

Sunday, April 10, Palm Sunday 10am -- Worship with palms to commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Wednesday, April 13 7pm -- Messiah in the Passover presentation. (See below) Friday, April 15 7pm -- Good Friday remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death.

Easter Sunday, April 17 7am -- Sunrise worship experience. Weather permitting, this will be held outside on the church grounds.

10am -- Celebration of Resurrection! Activities for children pre-school through 12 years old will be offered during worship. Blend of traditional, contemporary, and gospel-inspired music styles will be part of this service.

Messiah in the Passover Demonstration Wednesday, April 13

Celebrate the Resurrection!

MESSIAH IN THE PASSOVER, a vivid and exciting demonstration showing how Jesus fulfilled the ancient feast of Passover.

MESSIAH IN THE PASSOVER will be conducted by Roy Schwartz of Chosen People Ministries. Chosen People Ministries is an over one hundred-year-old mission that was founded in 1894 by Leopold Cohn, a Hungarian rabbi who came to believe that Jesus is the Messiah promised by the Hebrew Scriptures. From humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, Chosen People Ministries has grown into a worldwide ministry to “the Jew first and to the Gentile.”

7600 W. Lake St., River Forest 801 Elgin Ave., Forest Park St. Luke and St. Bernardine Parish ● www.stlstbparish.org ● 708-771-8250

This service is open to the public, and First United Methodist Church of Oak Park would like to invite the Christian as well as the Jewish community to attend. For more information please call 708-383-4983.

A love offering will be received.

MESSIAH IN THE PASSOVER begins with the traditional Passover Seder table – complete with all the articles of this important Jewish celebration. The speaker will explain the symbolic meanings of the various items of the Passover feast and highlight their relationship to the Last Supper that Messiah celebrated with the disciples, giving special emphasis on the redemptive significance of the crucifixion.

MESSIAH IN THE PASSOVER gives the Christian community insight into Jewish traditions so that the Jewish roots of Christianity can be better understood.

This program also helps the Jewish and Christian communities understand their common heritage.

13

14

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Harlem Avenue resurfacing underway

Months-long project will cause traffic delays from 26th Street to North Avenue

By ANDY VIANO Staff Reporter

Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) crews have begun work on what will be a summerlong project to resurface and repair Harlem Avenue through a handful of suburban communities, including Oak Park and River Forest.

The $5.7 million project was slated to begin on Tuesday, March 29 and is expected to last through late October, according to IDOT. Officials described the work as normal maintenance on a “heavily traveled” patch of road that was last resurfaced in 2012.

Work will be done on a 4.5-mile stretch traversing the communities of Berwyn, Riverside, North Riverside, Forest Park, Oak Park and River Forest. The resurfacing work is scheduled to be done Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will include installing new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalk ramps and replacing deteriorated curbs.

The project also includes deck repairs on the Harlem Avenue bridge over the Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

The Illinois Department of Transportation’s resurfacing project for Harlem Avenue will continue through October. Work will avoid the area between 21st and 25th streets, which is due to be overhauled either late this year or in 2023.

290). That portion of the work is scheduled to be done overnight and will not impact pedestrian access to the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line station at Harlem, IDOT says.

Local political officials recently touted a dormant plan

to completely reimagine the highway crossing at Harlem Avenue as part of a major rebuilding of the highway, something that gained renewed traction with the passage of a multi-billion-dollar federal infrastructure package last year. IDOT officials say the current work on the Harlem Avenue bridge is unrelated to any future projects involving I-290.

Traffic is expected to be limited on Harlem Avenue throughout this resurfacing, although the roadway will remain open in both directions at all times and access to residences and local businesses will not be restricted.

There will be “intermittent daytime closures,” however, and IDOT recommended travelers budget extra time to get through the area for the foreseeable future. Motorists are urged to pay close attention to workers in the area and obey all posted speed limits.

In the next six years, IDOT is scheduled to improve more than 3,500 miles of Illinois roadway and 9 million square feet of bridge deck as part of a campaign known as Rebuild Illinois. In the first two years of the $33.2 billion project involving a variety of modes of transportation, IDOT has performed more than $5 billion in improvements on 3,000plus statewide highway miles and 270 bridges.

For more information on IDOT projects, visit idot.illinois.gov or follow IDOT on Facebook and Twitter. For traffic information, check out gettingaroundillinois.com.

Quality, Affordable, Independent Housing for Seniors

O

ur beautiful 6-story building provides quality, affordable, independent housing for seniors. The Oaks offers studio and one-bedroom apartments, with kitchens and private bathrooms.

Amenities include an award winning interior landscaped atrium, central meeting room, library, laundry facilities, computer learning center, internet access, electronic key entry system, and parking.

On-site management includes 24/7 emergency maintenance service and a senior services coordinator who is available during business hours to assist residents in accessing service

agencies and programs designed specifically for seniors. The Oaks is owned and operated by the Oak Park Residence Corporation and is funded by the US Department of Housing and Ur-ban Development through the 202/ Section 8 Program. Monthly rent is based on the resident’s income, with individuals paying approximately 30% of their monthly income toward rent.

For more information, please visit us at www.oakparkrc.com or contact us at 708-386-5862.

114 South Humphrey • Oak Park, Il 60302 • 708-386-5862 • oakparkrc.com

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

15

Prepare to queue up for Kyuramen Highly anticipated Marion St. noodle bar set to open by week’s end

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

Local food lovers are pressing their noses to the window of Kyuramen, 118 N. Marion St., to assess the progress on the highly anticipated arrival of ramen in downtown Oak Park. Barring any unforeseen delays the restaurant anticipates opening on Friday, April 8.

On a recent weekday one such voyeur took co-owner Terry Wilson up on his invitation to enter the near-finished restaurant. She breezed through the dining room declaring excitedly that she had “audibly gasped from across the street” when she saw how close the shop was to opening. She snapped a few photographs, committed to visiting the restaurant on opening day, and left just as quickly as she had arrived. In addition to in-person visits Kyuramen watchers are regularly posting to social media about the opening — posts are amassing hundreds of likes and comments urging the business to “hurry up and open.”

Looks like noodle lovers will need to queue up for Kyuramen.

Wilson, who brings 16 years of global restaurant experience to the Oak Park Kyuramen endeavor, ensures he and his business partners are ready to accommodate the high demand Kyuramen’s opening will likely create in the community. The noodle shop will welcome both leisurely diners and those who come in for a quick meal. In addition to serving quick-serve dishes like ramen, Chef Zhixin Hu has been busy perfecting flashier dishes like omurice — the fried rice dish topped with a soft egg omelet is finished tableside with servers dramatically splitting the delicate egg bundle to create a pleasing waterfall effect.

The rapidly growing global franchise has more than 120 locations worldwide with more than 100 locations in Japan. Stateside there are three New York shops and 10 states, from California to Massachusetts, have opened or are preparing to open Kyuramen locations.

Wilson and his partners Hui Zhu, Miao Chang along with Chef Zhixin Hu are bringing the Kyuramen experience to Illinois for the first time.

MELISSA ELSMO/Food Editor

ALMOST OPEN: (from left) Miao Chen, Terry Wilson, Hui Zhu and Chef Zhixin Hu anticipate opening on April 8. The “wishing tree” (left) is an interactive art installation inside Kyuramen on Marion Street in Oak Park.

The Oak Park noodle shop passed its health inspection and final village inspections last week. An important milestone, passing the heath inspection freed Kyuramen owners to bring food into the establishment and begin training their staff. Ingredients arrived in the MELISSA ELSMO/Food Editor restaurant on Wednesday, March 30 and the ownership team will host a friends and family event in advance of opening to the public.

Initially Wilson and Zhu anticipated opening Kyuramen in August 2021, but pandemic related supply chain delays impacted the young restaurant.

“We waited six months to get an ice machine,” said Wilson matter-of-factly. “And getting the sheer amount of

bamboo we needed into the country was also challenging.”

Millwork and carpentry are at the heart of the Kyuramen aesthetic; diners can expect a bounty of bamboo to create a streamlined, yet welcoming environment. A wall of inviting private dining cubicles join traditional dining tables in the front of the house while a generously sized noodle bar at the back of the restaurant offers a counter service option.

A thoughtful “wishing” tree and wall anchor the bamboo theme and give diners an interactive opportunity to leave their thoughts behind after a enjoying a bowl of chicken, pork or vegetarian ramen.

“Everyone will have the chance to write down a wish on one of these and hang it up,” said Wilson. “The wishes will become part of the restaurant. We want them to represent hope and joy in the community.

Let the ramen countdown commence!

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

FENWICK

vestigation, something that was a point of contention with Pasin in her video.

Pasin said she felt bullied after a lawyer representing the school asked to speak with her last year, and she added that once she approached the school with her own attorney, the school “ghosted” her for two months before reaching out last week to conduct an interview, an opportunity Pasin said she declined. She called the school’s initial investigation inadequate and said it was “disappointing” and “immensely triggering.”

Peddicord did not respond to a request for follow-up comments this week.

Inappropriate touch from page 1 “love life” approximately 10 times between 2012 and 2014. In one instance, Pasin said, Quinn looked her up and down “and [made] noises that sounded like he was growling” while hugging her.

Helen Quinn Pasin and John Quinn are not related.

John Quinn released a statement through an attorney last week, touting his accomplishments as an educator and denying Pasin’s claims.

“John Quinn has given his heart and soul to teaching at Fenwick High School for over 40 years,” the statement reads.

“The recent accusation that John abused a Fenwick student over eight years ago is categorically false. John has never abused a Fenwick student, at any time or in any place. John looks forward to continuing in the profession to which he has devoted his entire career.”

Quinn, the younger brother of former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and a longtime employee of the school, was Fenwick’s boys basketball coach from 1985 to 2013 before being abruptly fired as coach. He has continued to work at the school as a social studies teacher since then.

Quinn was a decorated basketball coach before his firing, earning induction into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame in 2009. He also won a Golden Apple Award for his work as a social studies teacher in 1992.

In her video, which by the morning of April 5 had been viewed more than 42,000 times, Pasin read a letter she sent to Fenwick administrators in December 2021 that detailed the alleged abuse, calling for a full investigation and asking for Quinn to be fired from his job.

The Oak Park Police Department confirmed that Pasin filed a police report with authorities last year and said the report was sent to the state’s attorney’s office, which declined to press charges. Pasin, in her video, and a police report completed late in 2021 both indicated charges could not be pursued because the statute of limitations had expired.

According to a September 2021 police report, Pasin was made to feel uncomfortable on multiple occasions around Quinn, and she alleged that “Quinn was overly aggressive with her and would put his arm

‘Weird behavior’ not taken seriously, accusers say

FILE

John Quinn (above) was Fenwick High School’s boys basketball coach for 28 years before being abruptly fired in 2013. He was named to the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. He also won a Golden Apple Award as a teacher in 1992. around her neck with such force it would pull her body closer to his. [Pasin] further related Quinn would put his face directly next to her face, ultimately making cheek to cheek contact with her.”

In one incident, which occurred in the school’s basement after a school-sanctioned meeting Pasin was leading, Quinn allegedly hugged her and made comments that made Pasin uncomfortable, including “what is your love life like?” and “you are so beautiful.” “[Pasin] related she stated to Quinn that she was not interested in love or relationships like that and Quinn replied back to her, ‘Well we should change that,’” the police report says.

Fenwick responds Fenwick officials said Quinn remained in his teaching job through at least March 30, when the Journal first reported the allegations. He was apparently then placed on leave later in the week, according to the

Chicago Tribune.

Rev. Richard Peddicord, who is Fenwick’s president, said that while Quinn was at work March 30, he was “not in the building” late last year while Oak Park police conducted their investigation. Peddicord also added that the school’s probe into Quinn’s behavior was ongoing.

Peddicord did not comment further, instead referring to a statement he released on the night of March 29, apparently addressing Pasin’s video.

“As some of you know, [last week] a Fenwick alumna posted a video detailing her experience as a student at Fenwick and our handling of a serious matter involving a faculty member,” the statement reads.

“Please be assured that we took, and are taking, her allegations seriously and the inquiry into the incidents she describes is ongoing.”

In the statement, Peddicord also says the school had been in contact with Oak Park police and that the school had offered Pasin an opportunity to participate in a school in-

Pasin spoke to the Journal this week regarding her allegation, the attention that has arrived at her doorstep since the release of the video and the school’s response to her report. The Journal also spoke to a second former student who said she complained to a school counselor about Quinn’s behavior but was ignored.

Pasin said she spoke with her family immediately after the incident in the high school’s basement and considered reporting it to school administrators but declined to do so after Quinn was fired from his boys basketball coaching job, something Pasin believed was connected to an unrelated incident with a different student. Pasin said she assumed Quinn would not return to teaching either and she could put the incident behind her.

Fenwick has never commented specifically on why Quinn was fired as boys basketball coach.

“One night in 2019, my family was having dinner and my dad and my brothers were sharing fun stories from high school, and I just burst out crying because I felt like it hit me in the face that it wasn’t my experience and I felt like it wasn’t fair,” Pasin said. “I just burst out crying about this and it woke me up that this isn’t going to go away.”

Pasin and the second former student, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Journal about the “arm thing” Quinn would do frequently with students, where he would hug them unannounced as they walked into his classroom. Pasin did not have Quinn as a teacher but said that when Quinn would see her walking past in the hallway, he would often leave his classroom, call out to her and do the “arm thing.”

Continued on next page

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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OPRF equity director to leave for principal position Patrick Hardy, who was hired last year, will become principal of Hinsdale South in July

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Equity Editor

Dr. Patrick Hardy, who was hired last summer as executive director for equity and student success at Oak Park and River Forest High School, will become principal of Hinsdale South High School in July Hardy will take over as the new principal of Hinsdale South in Darien. The school, which enrolls about 1,400 students, is part of Hinsdale Township High School District 86.

The District 86 school board approved Hardy’s two-year, $176,000 contract during a regular meeting on Feb. 24. Hardy’s first day as principal will be July 1.

In a statement, Hardy, who came to OPRF after serving roughly six years as principal

at Proviso East High School in members the equity work he and Maywood, expressed his enthuhis coworkers in the equity office siasm about the appointment. had performed, which included “The school and district have “expanding the understaffed ofa long and proud history of acafice; creating trauma-informed demic excellence that reflects care practices; building a better the high quality of instruction resource program for families; that is available to all students,” and recruiting and retaining Hardy said. students for the department’s “I hope to continue building main counseling program, Motion this strong foundation by vational Mentorship,” according PATRICK HARDY to previous Wednesday Journal working with the members of reporting. the South community to create a In the long term, Hardy said during a learning environment where every student feels welcomed, supported and empowered board presentation on Jan. 27, “it is our belief that Oak Park and River Forest High to reach their full potential.”

Just before his departure was announced, School should be a model school for racial Hardy shared with District 200 school board equity. That’s the vision. And we believe

these goals and the projects associated with them will help us begin and continue the process down the road.”

Now, that vision will be left to someone else to carry out. The district posted the vacant equity and student success director position more than a week ago, with a salary range of between $122,000 and $152,000.

Hardy is the second equity head at OPRF since the position was created in February 2019.

Dr. LeVar J. Ammons, who was hired that year as the school district’s inaugural director, served for roughly two years before resigning in March 2021 to pursue other career opportunities.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

OP police give ‘all clear’ after bomb threat at Fenwick

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Oak Park police officers investigated a bomb threat at Fenwick High School earlier this week.

On April 4, Fenwick faculty, staff and students promptly evacuated the school lo-

Continued from previous page “Everyone just accepted this behavior from him,” Pasin said. “The times where he didn’t do it to me [when I walked past his classroom], I most always saw him doing it to someone else.”

In her video, Pasin claimed Quinn’s habit of hugging her tightly was not unique to her and said that Quinn’s “arm thing,” which she called his “signature move,” was so widely known that students imitating Quinn in an annual school stage revue would act out the hug and headlock. Pasin added that Quinn “has harmed other people, and the school is well aware of his bad actions.”

“He grabs students in front of the whole Fenwick community and even to the point where he’s famous for it,” Pasin told the Journal. “It’s against the law to do that so

cated at 505 Washington Blvd. after police told school officials about a bomb threat.

School officials say police received a call about the threat around 10:15 a.m. and immediately contacted them. Staff and students were alerted, vacating the building and walking to Ascension Catholic Church just a half mile south on East Avenue,

while police investigated the incident. The Chicago Police Department’s Canine Unit and officers from the Cook County Sheriff ’s Police Department also arrived at the scene to help with the investigation, said Oak Park Police Cmdr. Paul Kane.

Bomb-detecting dogs searched the premises, and the police department gave Fen-

wick an “all clear” sign, allowing faculty, staff and students to return to the building, school officials wrote in an email to families sent on the same day of the incident.

“All students, faculty and staff are safe and secure,” school officials wrote in the email.

he’s breaking the law in plain sight and a lot of people don’t think it’s a big deal.”

The other former student the Journal spoke with echoed that sentiment. She said she did not experience the kind of physical harassment Pasin described but said she was familiar with the “arm thing.”

The former student, who had Quinn as a teacher and graduated from the school in 2015, said Quinn made comments to her in class that made her uncomfortable, telling her in one incident that she wasn’t going to be able to understand a concept he was teaching because she “grew up without a father.” When she reported those comments to a school counselor, she felt they were not taken seriously.

“I reported that to my counselor and she said, ‘That’s kind of how he is,’” she said.

“I told her that and it was just not really taken seriously at all.”

In Peddicord’s statement, he asked that anyone else with concerns contact Fenwick administrators. Peddicord’s statement did not mention Quinn or Pasin by name.

“The safety of the young people entrusted to our care is of the utmost importance to us,” Peddicord’s statement reads. “If anyone feels he or she has suffered abuse or other misconduct at Fenwick, we ask them to come forward with any information and to receive the help and healing they deserve.”

Peddicord said the school has received numerous responses to his March 29 statement.

“We have gotten a whole lot of commentary, and we’ve got to figure out which of them would rise to the level of being part of any further investigation,” he said.

Pasin cautioned against students coop-

erating with the Fenwick investigation, feeling that school officials were still not engaging in the process openly, and recommended that any other accusers contact the police.

Pasin also was not encouraged by the fact that Quinn had apparently been placed on leave but left the door open for Fenwick to do what she felt was right and terminate Quinn from his teaching job.

“I don’t trust Fenwick to fire him because this teacher has probably been put on leave so many times,” she told the Journal. “If they fired him that would totally exceed my expectations. The history with him does not suggest they would fire him so if they did, I would be very happy and very grateful that I did everything I could to get a dangerous teacher out of the school. But I’m so weary because they have protected him for so long.”

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Former OPRF basketball star named UIC women’s coach Ashleen Bracey says she’s ready to turn around Flames program

By MELVIN TATE

T

Contributing Reporter

he Bracey siblings have been prominent in Oak Park and River Forest High School basketball over the years.

The eldest, Bryan (Class of 1996), played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Malcolm X College and the University of Oregon before getting selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the 2001 National Basketball Association draft. He would later have a lengthy playing career overseas.

Bryan’s younger brother, Chris (Class of 1998), played at San Jose City College and West Texas A&M before embarking on an eight-year overseas playing career. He later served as an assistant coach at OPRF under Matt Maloney and is now an assistant for women’s basketball at the University of Missouri.

And then there’s their younger sister, Ashleen (Class of 2006), who was introduced as the new head coach for the University of Illinois at Chicago’s women’s basketball team March 28.

Ashleen Bracey was coaching alongside brother Chris at Missouri, but when the opportunity to become a head coach near Oak Park was offered, it was one she simply couldn’t pass up.

“When I started to envision about coaching in my hometown, I thought it would be during my first couple of years as an assistant,” Bracey said. “It’s truly a dream come true, and I’m really excited to be back in Chicago.”

While playing at OPRF under head coach Adrian Newell, Bracey was named All-West Suburban Conference three times. Then she had a stellar career at Illinois State University under head coach Robin Pingeton, helping lead the Redbirds to three Missouri Valley Conference championships, an NCAA

tournament berth in 2008 and back-to-back Women’s National Invitational Tournament Final Four appearances in 2009 and 2010.

“We had fun and I did pretty decent at OPRF, but I really feel I came into my own in college,” Bracey said. “Not only as a basketball player, but as a person. Coach Pingeton is good at developing people who are going to be successful in life. I’ve been truly blessed.”

In her senior season at ISU, she was named captain and led the Redbirds in both scoring and rebounding while earning All-MVC First Team honors and MVC-All Defensive Team recognition.

“I had an amazing experience playing for coach Pingeton,” she said. “I couldn’t see myself walking away from the game. I wanted to be a part of creating the experience I got.

I played professionally for a year [in Greece], then I got an opportunity to be a graduate assistant on coach Pingeton’s staff at Missouri.

Ever since then, I haven’t looked back.”

After a year at Missouri, Bracey became an assistant coach at Ball State University the following season. Then, she served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Alabama-Birmingham for

FILE 2005

While she was a player at OPRF (above), Bracey was named an all-conference player three times before playing at Illinois State University and winning three league titles with the Redbirds.

STEVE WOLTMANN/UIC ATHLETICS

IN CHARGE: Ashleen Bracey takes over as women’s head coach at UIC after spending the last six years as an assistant at the University of Missouri, where she was known as an ace recruiter, leading the Tigers to three 20-win seasons and a No. 12 national ranking in 2019. three seasons.

Bracey returned to Missouri for the 201617 season. In her six years as one of Pingeton’s assistants, the Tigers won at least 20 games three times. An ace recruiter, Bracey helped Missouri sign several strong classes, including the 2019 group that’s considered the best in school history as it was ranked 12th nationally.

“I got to coach SEC basketball, which in my opinion is the best in the country,” she said.

Bracey enjoyed working with Pingeton as well as her brother Chris and knew it would have taken a special opportunity for her to leave.

“I’ve known Robin since I was 16 years old.

We have a great relationship and she has really been my mentor over the years,” she said. “She’s developed me into somebody that could be a head coach one day.

“It was not an easy situation to walk away from Chris. We’ve had quite a bit of success over the years and the only thing that could’ve gotten me away from that was to be back in my hometown as a head coach.”

Bracey will need to utilize her recruiting acumen as she attempts to reverse the fortunes of UIC’s program in preparation for a move from the Horizon League to the MVC. The Flames went 2-25 this season.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work,” said Bracey. “The thing I’ve learned in life is that what you put into things, you’ll get out. It

starts with recruiting the right people, hiring the right staff and creating an environment where we can be successful. That doesn’t come easy this day and age, but we’re going to work our butts off to get it done.”

One thing Bracey has going for her is plenty of good talent in the Chicago area. Tapping into that will be key.

“I’m very knowledgeable about basketball in Chicago and the suburbs,” she said.

“I know it’s good. The youth developmental programs are very strong and I have relationships with several of the coaches. If you can tap into that talent, it helps you be successful.”

Bracey says she’s thankful for her outpouring of support she’s received from the Oak Park and River Forest communities since being named the Flames’ head coach.

“Thanks for welcoming me back. I’m going to give the area something to be proud of at UIC,” she said. “I appreciate everyone’s support. It’s been overwhelming. My family has had a positive impact on our youth in Oak Park, and it’s something we’re passionate about.”

With her mother, younger sister, Bryan and several other relatives still living in the area, Bracey plans on visiting as much as possible, given it’s only a 15-minute drive from the UIC campus.

“My mom’s important to me, and I’ll be in Oak Park often,” she said.

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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19

Housing Center honors female housing leaders

‘Heroines of Housing’ marks center’s 50th Year

The Oak Park Regional Housing Center honored more than 50 women who have advanced fair and equitable housing as “Heroines of Housing” at a March 24 event at the Nineteenth Century Club that also celebrated the housing center’s 50th anniversary.

Speakers at the event included Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman, Chicago Ald. Emma Mitts and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. Athena Williams, executive director of the housing center, presented the awards.

“Each of these honorees has provided tremendous service to the community and has been on the front lines in the fight for fair and equitable housing,” Williams said. “The Oak Park Regional Housing Center is honored to recognize these remarkable women who have worked so hard and achieved so much over so many years.”

Distinguished Service honorees were: State Sen. Ann Gillespie, State Sen. Mattie Hunter, State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, State Rep. Delia Ramirez, Marisa Novara, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Housing, Tammie Grossman, director, Development Customer Services, Village of Oak Park Leaders in Innovation honorees were: Angela Hurlock, executive director, Claretian Associates; Donna Clarke, chief operating officer, NHS Chicago; Claudette Soto, president and CEO, baso, Ltd.; Eleanor Gorski, executive director, Cook County Land Bank Authority; Gail Schecter, executive director, H.O.M.E.; Gianna Baker, co-executive director, CAFHA; Gwendolene Newton, president, Dearborn Realtist Board; Kristen Komara, vice president of lending and co-founder, TRP Lending, LLC; Lynda Schueler, executive di-

OAK PARK REGIONAL HOUSING CENTER

Commissioner Marisa Novara of the Chicago Department of Housing (left) speaks after accepting an award from Oak Park Regional Housing Center Executive Director Athena Williams. rector, Housing Forward; Margaret Wooten, vice president housing and financial empowerment, Chicago Urban League; Molly Surowitz, designated managing broker, Baird & Warner; Nicole Wheatly, community development consultant, NJW; Patricia Fron, co-executive director, Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance; Sharon Legenza, executive director, Housing Action Illinois; Tiff Beatty, program director of arts, culture and public policy, National Public Housing Museum; Tonika Johnson, creator, Folded Map Project; Paula Bush, associate director, Northwest Housing Partners; Yolanda Fields, executive director, Breakthrough Associates Outstanding Achievement honorees were: Amber Hendley, home buyer outreach & training specialist, Lawndale Christian Development Corporation; Cynthia McDowell, mortgage loan originator, Fifth Third Bank; Deborah Moore, director of neighborhood strategy and planning, Neighborhood Housing Services; Deborah Wess, Coldwell

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Banker; Jeannette Vigil, mortgage specialist and community lender, Associated Bank; Karen Woods, director, Homeownership Services Neighborhood Housing Services; La Shone Kelly, director of housing, Garfield Park Community Council; LaVerne Collins, OPRHC property provider; Letrusia May, vice president of mortgage lending, Guaranteed Rate; Melanie Herron, Greater Austin Development Association; Nevila Halili, mortgage loan officer, US Bank Home Mortgage; Norka Escobedo, OPRHC property provider; Rosie Dawson, director, real estate development, Westside Health Authority; Sheila Sutton, housing policy organizer, Housing Action Illinois; Shirley Fields, real estate agent, Coldwell Banker; Tonisha Brown, program director, South Suburban Housing; Valerie Lester, OPRHC property provider; Whitney Ellis, senior vice president, development manager, Brinshore; Allison McGowan, real estate agent, @properties Stars of Excellence Appreciation honorees were: Bibian Cristino, capacity building specialist, Housing Action Illinois; Dena Bell, managing director, development, IFF;

Jennifer Pallas, capacity building specialist, Housing Action Illinois; Stephanie Socall, managing director of lending, affordable housing, IFF; Wanda Collins, capacity building specialist, Housing Action Illinois; Michelle Gilbert, legal director, Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing; Allison Bethel, clinical professor and director fair housing clinic, The John Marshall Law School; Becca Goldstein, founder and managing principal, consultant; Irma Morales, deputy commissioner, Chicago Department of Housing; Linda Greene, development consultant, NHS; Mary Rosenberg, senior attorney; Cathleen O’Brien, housing policy & organizing coordinator, Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago Honorable Mention honorees were: Susan Campbell, director of planning and development, Cook County government; Linda Greene, director, NHS Redevelopment Corporation Williams also remembered the late Roberta “Bobbie” Raymond, the founder of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, who was represented at the event by her son, Oak Park’s Charles Raymond.

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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Armed robbery arrest ■ Oak Park police arrested Chicago resident Edward Searcy on March 31, after he was positively identified by a witness as the shoplifter who brandished a knife while trying to make his escape from the Jewel Osco grocery store at 438 Madison St. ■ A namecheck of Searcy revealed that a warrant out of Cook County and DuPage County had been issued for the 51-year-old for manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance.

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An Oak Park resident was the victim of an armed carjacking at the Shell gas station, 6129 North Ave., at midnight, April 1. As the victim exited the shop, she was approached by a man requesting spare change. When the victim refused and started walking to her beige 2012 Nissan Altima, the offender placed a hard object against her stomach, which she believed to be a firearm. The offender took the victim’s keys from her hand and then fled in her vehicle, traveling westbound on North Avenue. The police report describes the offender only as an unknown male.

A short time later, the victim’s Nissan Altima was found on fire by the Maywood police in the rear of the 1400 block of South 6th Avenue in Maywood.

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exiting her vehicle, an Oak Park resident was approached at the front door of her residence by two male offenders, one of whom pointed a handgun at her and demanded her keys, at 1:47 p.m., March 29 in the 400 block of North Lombard Avenue. The victim handed over her keys and the two men ran across Chicago Avenue to where the victim’s gray 2017 Nissan Rogue was parked, got into the vehicle and fled. The estimated loss is valued at $18,000.

■ Chicago police recovered the vehicle unoccupied and with seven bullet holes in front windshield on the driver’s side at 8 p.m., March 30 in the 5300 block of West Kinzie Street in Chicago.

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A teenage boy, about 14 years old, slapped the back of an Oak Park resident’s head

while waiting at the CTA platform in the 700 block of South Boulevard at 7:30 p.m., March 21, then punched the victim once while inside the train.

Burglary ■ Three leaf blowers were removed from the attached trailer of a Hoy’s Landscaping Inc. work vehicle between 10:48 a.m. and 10:52 a.m., March 28 in the 1100 block of South Taylor Avenue. The estimated value of the loss is $1,500.

■ A Gucci bag, a pair of Gucci sunglasses, a pair of Ray-Bans sunglasses and 20 other pairs of miscellaneous sunglasses were taken out of an unlocked Nissan Murano between 5:30 p.m., March 30 and 6:20 a.m., March 31 in the 1100 block of South Kenilworth Avenue. The estimated loss is $2,500.

Recovered stolen auto The black 2014 GMC Sierra pick-up truck reported stolen Oct. 8 from the first block of Chicago Avenue in Oak Park was recovered by the Chicago Police Department without apprehension at 7:41 p.m., March 29 in the 4600 block of North Marine Drive in Chicago.

Theft ■ The catalytic converter was cut from a white 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander parked in the 100 block of North Cuyler Avenue between 7:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., March 29.

■ The catalytic converter was cut from a silver 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander parked in the 400 block of Wisconsin Avenue between 4 p.m., March 28 and 6:52 p.m., March 29.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports, March 29 to April 3, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

Homes

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oakpark.com/real-estate editor Ken Trainor at 613-3310 ktrainor@wjinc.com

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

Another Oak Park church property is listed for sale Lots to consider when marketing a house of worship to the public

By LACEY SIKORA

P

Contributing Reporter

arkview Church at 641 S. Oak Park Ave. is for sale, and its listing agent says there’s a fine art to selling a house of worship. Matt Messier, principal of religious, education and not-for-profit real estate at Foundry Commercial, says that helping churches find buyers has been his family’s business for over 50 years.

Messier’s family got its start in the church-selling business with his father in Detroit. A Korean War veteran, the elder Messier was working in residential real estate when his family church merged with another congregation. He was asked to handle the sale of the extra building.

The rest is history. Messier ended up selling more churches over the years, and his sons carry on the business. Based in Detroit and Orlando, the three MATT MESSIER brothers help Principal at Foundry Commercial on Parkview Church market churches nationwide. in Oak Park Matt Messier estimates that he’s sold more than 3,000 churches across the country during his career and at least 15 in the Chicago area in the past year. He often works with a particular denomination’s headquarters in town and is selling Oak Park’s Parkview Church for the Chicago Presbytery, which owns the property.

“The difference between a church and a commercial building is clear from the seller’s perspective,” Messier said. “Lots of times, there’s just so much emotion tied to the building. There have been baptisms, weddings, first communions there. There’s

“That uniqueness and that location across the street from the park will spark a lot of ideas.”

PROVIDED

While churches, like Parkview Church in Oak Park (above), are most often sold to other congregations and remain houses of worship, they can attract residential and commercial developers, but municipal zoning is a key factor in that equation. a kind of sacredness to that property that you may not find with others.”

Roughly 75 percent of Messier’s listings sell to another church, which will continue to use the building as worship space. The other 25 percent are often redeveloped.

Whether those buildings are turned into condominiums, renovated to some other use or torn down depends on a number of factors, including the location.

Zoning considerations Parkview Church is located in a residential district. Like a lot of older churches, there is no parking lot included with the building because it was built as a neighborhood church where parishioners would walk to services. It is also surrounded by single-family homes and is across the street from Fox Park.

Messier says Parkview has a lot going for it.

“It’s a nice building with beautiful stained glass,” he said. “That uniqueness and that location across the street from the park will spark a lot of ideas.”

He says he’s had five to six showings of the property on some days, and many difSee CHURCH on page 23

22

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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23

PROVIDED

Parkview Church in Oak Park (above) sits in a tight lot with no parking in a residential district. In addition to the church sanctuary itself, the property includes a classroom (above right), offices and other gathering spaces that could be converted for other purposes.

CHURCH

Churches rethinking needs from page 21 ferent parties are expressing interest, including developers.

“There’s what the property is and what the property could be,” Messier said.

He always points interested parties to municipality to see what is possible within current regulations, calling zoning “super important.”

Parkview Church is surrounded by single-family homes, and Messier thinks it is unlikely that a village would spot-zone something in a residential area for commercial use. In other locations that might work well.

Outside of Oak Park, he has seen one church rehabbed into offices for an architectural firm. Another recent sale is going to be renovated in a 55-and-older community.

Changing church needs Messier says that even pre-pandemic, some churches were seeing their congregations dwindle and that COVID-19 drove

an increase in online services, which in some areas resulted in decreased in-person attendance.

As Oak Park’s Catholic churches undergo the process of consolidating as part of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Renew My Church initiative, Messier says religious entities are rethinking their real estate needs.

“Back in the early 1900s you had an Italian-speaking church, a Polish-speaking church and a Romanian-speaking church within blocks of each other, all serving a different population that walked to church,” Messier said. “Nowadays, the archdiocese is starting to combine some of these smaller churches.”

Parishes are starting to question whether they need all of their real estate and realize there are significant cost savings to be had if there are fewer mortgages and fewer buildings to maintain. Messier notes that those savings can be put to other uses.

While it can be sad when a church closes, Messier notes that often it can signal something positive when churches combine.

“It can create a lot of good momentum,” he said. “A combined church can offer more programming and bring in more people. The church can be more vibrant and more appealing to people.”

Calculating price In a typical residential real estate listing, a selling agent looks at nearby comparables to price a home. Messier says that approach is challenging with a church because they are all unique and because there are far fewer on the market at any given time.

When it comes to pricing, he says, “You look at the economic strength of the surrounding community, the history of tithing and the functionality of the space.”

Listing agents factor in how many people can the church seat; how many classrooms, if any, there are; whether there’s a fellowship hall, kitchen, gymnasium or parking.

All of those factors affect the listing price.

Messier notes that the larger the building, the smaller the buyer pool and says that a 15,000-square-foot church would garner a lot more interest than a 75,000-squarefoot church.

At just over 13,000 square feet on a little more than a quarter-acre site, Parkview Church is listed at $650,000.

Looking for a church?

Take your pick Parkview Church at Oak Park Avenue and Jackson Boulevard may have just hit the market, but it’s not the only house or worship listed for sale right now in the village.

In March 2021, we covered the listing of New Spirit Community Church at 542 S. Scoville Ave. in Oak Park. The 9,600-square-foot church was listed at $750,000 with the option of adding the parish house and lot next door for an additional price.

The church was later remarketed with

New Spirit Community Church the two lots, 538 and 542 S. Scoville, combined and priced at $1,295,000.

To date, the church has not found a buyer.

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Saturday, April 9 • Sunday, April 10 ADDRESS............................................................................. REALTY CO.......................................... LISTING PRICE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TIME

CONDOS

641 S. Maple Ave., Unit C, Oak Park...................................Baird & Warner ................................... $399,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sun 12-2 222 S. Oak Park Ave., #6, Oak Park ..................................Baird & Warner ................................... $130,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sat 11-1 1308 N Harding Ave., Chicago .............................................Baird & Warner ................................... $345,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sat & Sun 12-3 1193 S. Grove Ave., Unit #8, Oak Park ..............................Baird & Warner ................................... $399,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sun 12-1:30 110 Belvidere Ave., 1F, Forest Park .....................................Baird & Warner ................................... $339,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sat & Sun 11-1

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ADDRESS............................................................................. REALTY CO.......................................... LISTING PRICE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TIME 824 N. Ridgeland Ave., Oak Park .......................................Baird & Warner ................................... $369,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Sun 11-1

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SPORTS Fenwick softball’s Lorenzo fires two no-hitters

Junior follows up first with a perfect game against DePaul Prep

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

It isn’t often that a high school softball pitcher throws not just one, but multiple no-hitters in a single season.

But Fenwick High School junior Talia Lorenzo has already done so this year. On March 21, she tossed a nohitter against New Trier in a 10-0 Friars’ victory. Lorenzo allowed only two Trevians to reach base -- both on walks -- and struck out 12.

Then on March 29, she threw a perfect game against DePaul Prep in another 10-0 victory, striking out 13 Rams.

“Talia has pitched real well,” said Fenwick coach Bryan Hoffman. “It looks like she’s picked up some velocity on her fastball since last year. She’s doing a great job hitting spots and been extremely composed in the circle. Talia’s got a great work ethic.”

Hoffman also credits Fenwick catcher Caity Barganski for helping Lorenzo with her pitching.

“Caity is a terrific catcher, and she and Talia work really well together,” he said. “Caity does a great job of framing pitches, and Talia knows she can bury her dropball on the ground. Caity will block it and throw runners out at second.”

While Lorenzo possesses a powerful fastball, she feels she was most successful against DePaul Prep and

New Trier with one particular offspeed pitch.

“My best pitch was probably my curve,” she said.

Throwing two no-hitters in a season is a remarkable feat, and Hoffman is thrilled to have Lorenzo around for some time to come.

“It’s exciting for us that Talia is a junior and we get to have her again next year,” he said. “We just want to keep her healthy.”

The Friars have begun the season 4-0, already exceeding last year’s three wins. Lorenzo believes that not having to deal with COVID-19 restrictions this year has made a huge difference.

“The environment feels a lot better this year,” she said. “We’re having fun.”

Fenwick’s lineup was a bit of a question mark entering the year given that last season’s top hitter, senior Maddie Krza, is out this spring due to injury. But Lorenzo feels a great group effort has been a key to the Friars’ good start.

“We really focus on everyone bringing their best every day in practice and in games,” she said. “Everyone feels confident.”

Hoffman is pleased with Fenwick’s progress overall this year, but he feels the Friars can do much more.

“We’re not comparing ourselves to last season,” he said. “We’re just trying to get better every day. The goal is to be playing our best towards the end of the season.”

After having numerous games postponed last week due to rainy weather, Fenwick was scheduled to resume its’ season April 5 against visiting Montini. The Friars then host Mother McAuley April 7 and travel to St. Laurence for a doubleheader April 9.

PROVIDED

Fenwick’s Talia Lorenzo threw her second no-hitter in two weeks on March 29 — this one a perfect game against DePaul Prep after fanning 12 and allowing just two walks while blanking New Trier on March 21.

Fenwick girls water polo on the rebound

Friars hand tough against state runner-up at tourney

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Despite losing the last two matches of its annual Mike Murphy Tournament on April 2, senior hole set Linden Gierstorf and her Fenwick girls water polo teammates could see the progress.

The Friars (10-4-1) lost to two of the

state’s top teams – Evanston 9-3 and undefeated Stevenson 11-7 – in their fiveteam, round-robin division after beating Oakville from St. Louis 9-5 and St. Ignatius 9-4 on April 1. Fenwick previously lost at Stevenson 11-6 on March 17.

“We know in the future, come the state tournament, we’re going to see these teams again,” Gierstorf said. “We’ve played a few of them so we’re excited for rematches.

Based on how we played earlier, we definitely think we’re improving.”

Last season, Stevenson finished second

in state and Evanston was a sectional finalist. The teams played to a 5-5 tie April 1 with Evanston winning the division based on fewer overall goals allowed.

Fenwick boasts a large group of varsity returnees from its 2021 sectional semifinalist.

“I think we did a very nice job overall and every game we’re learning something new.

We’re just really excited to see where we’re going to go,” Fenwick coach Elizabeth Timmons said. “[Goalie Nahla Basile] definitely had some very key blocks that kept us in these games. Our team is very small. We’re

continuing to build into being able to put a game away, everyone being able to finish.”

That made the Stevenson result even more encouraging. The Friars trailed throughout yet closed to 9-7 midway through the fourth period.

“Our biggest takeaway from this tournament is that we need to communicate more and just work on our plays and being a team,” senior driver Demi Ovalle said. “There’s work that needs to be done but compared to last year, our chemistry, our dynamic as a team is a lot better.”

26

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

S P O R T S

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OPRF, Fenwick coaches garner honors Publications name Wirtz, Battaglia coaches of the year

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

Successful seasons long ago concluded for Oak Park and River Forest High School field hockey coach Kristin Wirtz and Fenwick High School football coach Matt Battaglia.

But each continued to reap rewards KRISTIN WIRTZ in March as they earned Coach of the Year awards.

Battaglia was named one of Prep Insight Magazine’s football Coaches of the Year. PIM is a digital magazine that honors area coaches who guide MATT BATTAGLIA their student-athletes to winning seasons while developing their sportsmanship and teamwork.

In his second season, Battaglia led the

Friars to a 12-2 record and the IHSA Class 5A championship, the first state football title in Fenwick’s illustrious history.

Wirtz was named Illinois Coach of the Year by Max Field Hockey. She led the Huskies to an 18-3-6 record and a second-place finish at the state tournament.

OPRF, which recorded 16 shutouts and outscored its opponents 57-17, finished the fall No. 15 in Max Field Hockey’s West/ Midwest Region rankings.

Fenwick students named Evans Scholars Zechariah Daley of Oak Park and Daniel Ruggie of River Forest were among six Fenwick seniors recently named recipients of the prestigious Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship. Both Daley and Ruggie are golf caddies at the Oak Park Country Club.

Fenwick’s other recipients are Natalie Archacki of Chicago, Elijah Bolger of Berwyn, Hugo Nunez of Berwyn and Anastasia Shkibara of River Grove.

The scholarship, named after legendary amateur golfer Chick Evans (18901979) and sponsored by the Western Golf Association and Evans Scholars Founda-

PROVIDED

Six Fenwick High School students were awarded prestigious Chick Evans Caddie Scholarships. The scholarship pays for recipients’ full tuition and housing at their future colleges and universities. Those getting the scholarships were (from left) seniors Daniel Ruggie, Elijah Bolger, Natalie Archacki, Anastasia Shkibara, Hugo Nunez and Zechariah Daley. tion, pays for the recipient’s full tuition and housing in college.

Caddies are nominated by their country clubs and must have a strong caddie record, excellent grades, outstanding character and demonstrate financial need. Recipients are selected by the Ev-

ans Scholars Foundation.

Currently, there are 965 Evans Scholars attending colleges and universities across the country, including 15 from Fenwick. Since beginning in 1930, the program has paid for the education of more than 11,000 young men and women.

Fenwick boys lacrosse, off to 3-2 start, tops RBHS

Friars hope for improvement on subpar 2021

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The Fenwick High School boys lacrosse team is off to a 3-2 start this season, which includes a 13-9 victory over neighboring rival Riverside-Brookfield High School.

Sophomore attacker Jack Hoeller leads the Friars with 11 goals and an assist for the year. Other top performers have included junior midfielder Nick Scudder (8 goals, 7 assists, 15 ground balls defensed), senior midfielder Harry Kenny (4 goals, 12GB), sophomore midfielder Charlie Ward (3G, 3A, 9GB) and senior defenseman William Stead-

man (13GB, 7 forced turnovers).

Fenwick has also received a boost from a trio of newcomers: freshman defenseman A.J. Guercio; freshman attacker Sam Guercio (6G, 6A) and junior attacker Tommy Fleming (3G, 2A).

“We have a really dedicated group of guys who are committed to getting better and playing hard every time they step on the field,” said Fenwick coach Dan Applebaum.

Applebaum is seeking to return the Friars (7-8 in 2021) to their prior competitive form.

It’s something that could slowly develop given the youthful roster.

“We want to compete,” he said. “We’re a pretty young team with a lot of underclassmen making big contributions, so getting them comfortable in their young high school careers is important.”

OPRF girls off to 1-1 start

The Oak Park and River Forest High School girls’ lacrosse team is 1-1 this season, defeating Lane Tech but losing to St. Ignatius.

Junior midfielder Grace Koch leads the Huskies in scoring with seven goals.

“Grace and [senior] Jessica [Sloan-Cooper] are dominating midfielders that can score and play great defense,” said OPRF coach James Borja. Sloan-Cooper has committed to playing collegiately at Claremont-McKenna College in California.

Senior attacker Greta McNulty is in her third varsity season, and Borja feels she’s a vital part of OPRF’s attack.

“She has great stick skills and is comfortable playing anywhere on the field,”

he said.

OPRF has also received valuable assistance from a pair of newcomers who are sisters. Junior attacker Rachel Simon has six goals, while younger sister Hannah, a freshman, has four.

“We are a very talented and fast team,” Borja said. “Once these players build more chemistry, there are not many teams on our schedule that we can’t compete with.”

The Huskies, who finished 8-8 with a sectional final loss to St. Ignatius in 2021, feel that this year’s rigorous schedule will pay dividends come postseason time.

“Our primary objective is to compete with some of the top teams in the state and get over the mental hurdle that we’ve struggled with in the past,” Borja said.

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

VIEWPOINTS

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

27

Less patriotism, more citizenship p. 28

Don’t expect justice from the Dominicans

T

he news this past week was about a Fenwick High School alum who alleges that a longtime teacher, John Quinn, brother of former Governor Pat Quinn and former Fenwick high school basketball coach, sexually abused her.

Helen Quinn Pasin accuses Quinn of “hugging her tightly and rubbing his cheek and lips against her face while asking about her ‘love life’ approximately 10 times between 2012 and 2014” (https:// www.oakpark.com/2022/03/30/ prominent-fenwick-teacheraccused-of-misconduct).

(Full disclosure: I long attended church with Ms. Quinn Pasin’s family at the St. Giles Family Mass.)

Fenwick has gone into defense mode, stating for the record that it takes the claim seriously. But Fenwick has apparently known about the allegations since last fall and only suspended the teacher when Ms. Quinn’s allegations became public this week.

And that’s where the story could have ended if not for the fact that Fenwick and the Dominican Friars have a decades-long history of shielding sexual abusers from scrutiny.

In fact, the string tying Ms. Quinn Pasin’s story to earlier Dominican denials starts at least in the 1960s.

According to a Sun Times article last year, eight Dominican clerics have been accused of sexual abuse, including at Fenwick and St. Vincent Ferrer Church in River Forest (https://chicago.suntimes. com/2021/2/26/22299424/dominicans-dominican-friarschild-sex-abuse-catholic-religious-orders-marchiondajames-blase-cupich).

A 2019 article in Wednesday Journal told the story of Rev. William Ferrell O.P. (https://www.oakpark. com/2019/01/08/victims-of-former-fenwick-priest-telltheir-stories).

Two former Fenwick students confirmed that in the 1970s Ferrell, a faculty member, sexually abused them.

The head of the Dominicans in the Midwest, Prior Pro-

JACK CROWE

See CROWE on page 32

I

To the girl with the butterfly tattoo

pulled into the parking lot in front of an Auto Zone needing two new windshield wiper blades. One came off easily, the other tore up my right thumbnail after repeated failures to remove it. I gave up, carried the one into the store, and walked up to the counter.

The girl with the butterfly tattoo on the back of her right hand was hunched over her phone in front of the cash register.

“Can you help me?” I asked.

“What do you need?”

“I need two new wiper blades and I can’t get the other one off.”

“Where’s your car?”

“In the lot,” I replied.

“You will have to pull it up right in front of the store.

What make and model is it?”

“Subaru Forester, 2010.”

I gave her the blade in my hand and went to get the car. Two minutes later, I pulled up to the front of the store. She has two wiper blades in her hands, and I get out of the car. In less than a minute, I have two new blades.

“Did you learn this in shop class in high school?” I asked her.

“No, they taught me everything right here.”

She never rolled her eyes, never gave me look, never

treated me like the helpless male I was. Her interpersonal skills were perfect. I tipped her $10.

This fall, more than two million American kids will enter college as freshmen. To get there they probably took an SAT exam to measure their verbal and mathematical competence. Words and numbers. They applied because everyone told them you won’t get far without a college degree. And the better your scores (in words and numbers) the better the colleges that will offer you enrollment.

And, of course, the better the college you attend, the more likely you will experience success in your future.

Sound familiar?

Howard Gardner has written the classic book on multiple intelligences (Frames of Mind). In addition to Linguistic (words) and Logical-mathematical (numbers), the other seven intelligences are Spatial-visual, Musical, Bodily-kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalistic, and Existential. While we can argue whether these are “intelligences,” “gifts,” or “talents,” we each have a unique profile, rating extremely high on some, average on others, and pitifully low on hopefully only a few.

So let’s imagine a different world. What if those two

BILL SIECK

One View

See SIECK on page 34

28

V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

O U R

I

V I E W S

Wrong timing on Flock

n a moment that called for clarity, Oak Park’s village board on Monday grasped for a clunky, ill-considered compromise. The upshot, which is still a little vague to us, is that Oak Park’s police department will seek a contract with Flock, a public safety technology company, to install eight license-plate-reading cameras in the village rather than the 20 cameras included in the original proposal.

That original proposal was narrowly defeated — 4 to 3 — in a contentious vote by the board on Monday. That’s when Village President Vicki Scaman, who had made an impassioned argument against the initial proposal for several well-articulated reasons, lobbed out her compromise concept.

Now on Tuesday morning it appears that compromise was narrowly backed by a board majority, but it is not completely clear to us that this resolves the matter or results in a signed contract.

In any event this was a controversial idea brought forward at a totally inopportune moment in what has been a multi-year botch regarding Oak Park village government’s halting, faltering effort to discuss policing and public safety in this village.

Let’s review. The license-plate-reading technology was brought forward as a tool to address legitimate concerns over carjackings in town.

But it was brought forward by Police Chief LaDon Reynolds who has been a lame duck for nearly a year and who will “retire” from the force in less than 10 days. There will be an interim chief, likely from within the department. There will be a national search that will take months at least and which will be pre-eminently informed by candidates’ expertise and attitudes toward reforming policing.

That search will be led by a village manager, Kevin Jackson, who has been sitting in his village hall office for two weeks. This Flock flap landed in his lap virtually on the day he arrived.

The discussion of this technology leapt from the police department to the village board agenda in a step the village president concedes was a mistake. For all its words about community engagement and respecting village commissions, this notable proposal bypassed the Community Relations Commission and the Citizen Police Oversight Commission.

That did not stop the CRC from issuing a last-minute, unrequested and scalding recommendation that the Flock contract be killed.

All of this at a moment when BerryDunn, the village board-hired consulting firm, is smack in the middle of its own efforts at community engagement on policing and safety, leading by late summer to its expected wide-ranging report and recommendations on what Oak Park needs to do next.

All of that makes this the worst possible moment to layer on a policing strategy that is being vocally repudiated by many Black and Brown (and white) residents of this town. There are many voices questioning if this technology will be another way that people of color are profiled in this town, and who raise concerns about Flock’s error rate, and who have legitimate worries over how the massive amounts of data collected by Flock will be shared.

This reality does not make it a ripe moment for compromise. Eight versus 20 cameras is not the issue. This proposal should not have surfaced now. At all. It ought to be back-burnered until the new manager and a new police chief, informed by citizens and citizen commissions, with a consultant’s report in hand, can come forward with a considered plan for policing and public safety. Maybe it includes Flock, maybe it doesn’t. Until then this is just more trust-damaging noise.

Less patriotism, more citizenship

W

e should talk about citizenship. Americans seem more interested in patriotism. The two are not synonymous. In fact, they are almost mutually exclusive. Either/Or instead of Both/And. There is overlap, but it widens and narrows from person to person, patriot to patriot, citizen to citizen. With some Americans, it seems, patriotism is everything and citizenship only for geeks, if they think about it at all.

Consider those who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. I suspect every one of the invaders thought of themselves as patriots. Not one, I’ll bet, thought about what it means to be a good citizen. That day they were neither.

Citizenship and patriotism have been on a lot of minds lately, judging by the number of blue and yellow flags flying from cars and displayed in shop windows. Today I saw an entire bush festooned with blue and yellow ribbons.

The Ukrainians have been conducting a clinic on citizenship … and patriotism. This is what it looks like when they’re one and the same. They are putting their lives on the line, not to fight wars in far-off lands and claiming self-defense, but defending their actual country, which is actually being invaded.

The whole world is watching. We are mesmerized and inspired. And maybe we’re learning some lessons about what it takes to be a good citizen and an authentic patriot.

Does anyone think about citizenship anymore?

Do we even have a working definition? Does it begin and end with voting? Jury duty? Paying taxes? Following laws, more or less? Staying informed, more or less? In the Age of Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories, does your definition include the capacity to differentiate between truth, falsehood, and deliberate lies? I’m guessing every American, if asked whether they can tell the difference between truth and untruth would immediately answer, “Yes.” But that’s not always true.

Does your definition of citizenship include fighting the battle between truth and misinformation, our crisis of credibility? At the moment, it is our most important struggle. One we seem to be losing.

Big time.

Patriotism is an emotion. Love of country. National pride. Displaying that pride by singing the National Anthem at baseball games, cheering “U.S.A., U.S.A.” during the Olympics, flying the flag on holidays or year-round. Patriotism can be authentic and inspiring or it can be showy and shallow.

Citizenship, on the other hand, is active. Patriotism doesn’t get anything done. But it provides

the fuel, the drive, the motivation for citizens to get involved and make our country better, stronger.

Do good citizens violently assault or legislatively undermine democratic institutions? Or do they work to strengthen democracy? Do they attend rallies for self-serving demagogues? Or do they volunteer at local food pantries and homeless shelters? Do they vote for candidates who say only they can make American great or do they vote for those actually doing something to make America better? Do they resort to violence when provoked? Or do they rely on reason?

Do they promote individual rights and defend freedom? Or do they promote the common good and defend those who are marginalized?

Or both?

Patriotism doesn’t ask anything of us. Good citizenship asks us to accept personal sacrifices for the sake of the common good. Good citizens answer the question, “What is best for the whole?” by doing something to make it happen.

Patriotism in this country is often loud and frequently divisive. Citizenship is usually quiet and unassuming. It doesn’t seek the spotlight unless it involves nonviolent resistance to injustice.

Not everyone is a good citizen. I would grade myself a B-. I could do a lot more. What grade would you give yourself ? Do you have role models? Was Rush Limbaugh a good citizen? How about John Lewis? Donald Trump? Joe Biden? Two of these were/are phony, blowhard patriots motivated by money and self-interest. The other two were/ are hard-working, authentic citizens, motivated by quiet patriotism. I’ll leave it to you to decide which was which.

This country needs less patriotism and more citizenship. The media needs to pay less attention to the attention-seekers, and more attention to unsung heroes.

As with everything else these days, patriotism and citizenship have become polarized. Patriotism has been hijacked by those with a political agenda and we undervalue pragmatic citizenship.

We need to put them on the same footing and reunite them.

We have a lot to learn from the Ukrainians.

Think about the difference between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Which leader would you vote for? We had a comparable choice in this country in 2020. The same choice may present itself in 2024. Who did you vote for then? Who will you vote for next time? Your answer says a lot about your notion of citizenship.

Patriotism is not always good citizenship.

Good citizenship is always patriotic.

KEN

TRAINOR

V I E W P O I N T S

We, the distracted

Just dropped in (to see what condition my condition was in)

Mickey Newberry

T

The First Edition

he COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered and disrupted all aspects of our daily routines. We wistfully look back on our pre-pandemic lifestyles and harken back to the “good old days” — which, upon reflection, really weren’t that “good.”

So exactly what did the pandemic take from us? Or better yet, what did it reveal to us? Can we, honestly, say our lives were better? Was there more civility, more love, or even more tolerance? The short answer, in my mind, is “No!” All the ills and outlandish behaviors that characterize our pandemic lives existed pre-pandemic — albeit, sometimes bubbling under the surface, and sometimes not hidden at all.

Simply put, the pandemic brought these issues out in more vivid detail. So the real question is, what has changed in our lives because of the pandemic?

Well, I have a theory. In a word, I believe the pandemic took away the distractions that allowed us to think we were engaged in living the good life!

These distractions included, but are not limited to the following: ■ Going out to eat ■ Spontaneous travel for a change in venue ■ Watching TV to see people worse off than us ■ Being more concerned about the lives of celebrities than our own ■ Joyfully and in a detached mindset watching dystopian movies thinking such realities would never happen in our lifetimes.

The fact of the matter is that we’ve avoided eye contact with our mundane and repetitive existence.

This pandemic has forced us to take a deep look at our lives, our relationships with family and friends, and with our own mental state. Upon reflection, what it revealed to us is scary. We discovered the shocking reality that we have been going through life but not living life.

By the way, living life is never easy — and it is especially challenging during this tenacious pandemic. Sure, some of us wear masks, take vaccine shots, and social distance to protect our physical being. Yet our mental state remains most vulnerable. We can’t put a mask over our mind. Every day, we see videos of people losing it in public settings.

Yet rarely do we acknowledge that these public meltdowns are a culmination of minor breakdowns having finally triggered a public display of our

anger and rage.

As a result of public policy or a personal decision to self-quarantine ourselves, we are now face-to-face with the people we live with on a day-to-day basis. Suddenly, we are paying closer attention to who is front of us — the people we thought we knew. As one pastor said recently, “I didn’t know how crazy I was until I was locked up in the house with just me!”

Idiosyncrasies that we’ve long ignored become irritations and vexations. In many cases, we discover that we are no longer willing to continue “going along to get along.” Our minds are overloaded with consistent reminders that life, as we knew it, is morphing into another reality.

This new reality is terrifying.

As we impatiently wait for this scourge to end, we must “work” overtime to stay alert to what’s happening to our mental state. In the spirit of sharing, here are some coping mechanisms that I’ve employed to keep myself mentally centered — I think … I hope!

■ Realize that your family and friends are also wrestling with the same, or in some cases even more significant, mental pressures. Try to be understanding and gentle as possible.

■ Take time to reflect. By reflection, I mean cultivate the ability to really see oneself observing oneself. If certain behaviors didn’t bother you before, ask yourself, “Why am I allowing them to dictate my attitude now?” Get a grip on your mind and move on.

■ Work on creating a “pause button” in your mind so you can appropriately respond and not react to every perceived insult or indignity.

■ Do not assume that people have it out for you and are targeting you for some reason. Most times when a person is acting out, it is not about you — it’s about them and whatever demons they are fighting.

■ Recognize and use the awesome power of a smile, a kind word, and a pleasant demeanor to change the attitude of people you interact with daily or occasionally.

■ Edit the so-called news you take in daily from the mainstream media and the social media platforms. Good news doesn’t sell as well as bad/negative news.

Remember, while we are evaluating the mental state of those around us, it might serve us well to check in on ourselves to “see what condition our condition is in.”

Kwame Salter is president of The Salter Consulting Group LLC.

KWAME SALTER

”We can’t put a mask over our mind. Every day, we see videos of people losing it in public settings.”

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022 W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

your connection to the topic ■ Signature details as at left

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

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

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

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M E M O R I E S

Radio days: The Shadow and Captain Midnight

I

listened to the radio broadcasts of The Shadow from the time I was 7 until I was 14 when the show was discontinued (1954). I was told The Shadow aired for 23 years, making it the longest running radio show of all time.

The story lines were well developed, with each episode pitting Lamont Cranston (The Shadow) and his girlfriend Margot Lane against vampires, zombies, and other scary creatures.

I really liked this show, but occasionally I had wild dreams at night when I was asleep.

In one nightmare, I was being chased by a laughing zombie swinging a sword at my head. I awakened, however, before he got me.

Other kids I knew who listened to The Shadow also had occasional nightmares.

The sponsor of the show probably received complaints from parents, so the sponsors must have told the writers of the program to lay off the zombie stories, because very soon further stories of the living dead were no longer broadcast.

The writers, however, came up with new

bizarre story lines featuring a host of malicious characters. I particularly recall a story where a physically small toymaker, who hated tall people, obtained a formula for shrinking people. The toymaker turned a very tall politician into a tiny doll by giving him a cup of coffee laced with the liquid formula.

Nowadays, the episodes would probably be considered corny, but what would the knowledgeable Shadow say?

I was also a great fan of Captain Midnight. I read the comic books, the comic strips, listened to the radio show, and I was also a member of Captain Midnight’s “Secret Squadron.”

Each day when the show aired on the radio, I anxiously waited to hear the secret code that would be given out at the end of the show, but could be decoded only by using a special decoder badge that only the Secret Squadron members possessed. The decoded

secret message would let the Secret Squadron members know what would happen to Captain Midnight in the next episode. My friends who were also Squadron members and I felt pretty important knowing what would happen before the non-members did.

Another valuable device I received was the Captain Midnight Detect-O-Scope, which was a 1-inch-by-1-inch mirror attached to a popsicle stick that would allow me to see behind me without turning around.

One day in my sixth-grade math class, I was using my spy scope to watch the kid sitting behind me when suddenly our teacher, Miss Sawyer, was standing over me with her hand out, indicating that she wanted me to put my scope in her hand. Reluctantly, I gave the scope to her.

After class, I pleaded with her to let me

JOHN

STANGER

keep my scope with the promise that I would never again bring it to school. She told me I could reclaim it at the end of the school year which was six months in the future.

Alas, my spying days were finished.

By the time June rolled around, I was a member of Captain Video’s TV Space Rangers.

~ ENSEMBLE ESPANOL

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

31

Confusing a pool with equity

O FILE

Bad optics for District 200

A

t their last meeting, the District 200 Board of Education chose to limit public comments for the first time ever, citing a policy it approved in January 2020. There was just one problem, the board and administration didn’t comply with the policy, making no “attempt to ensure that a representative sample for and against any agenda item will be read as public comment.” The board debuted this policy in a meeting in which OPRF’s longestrunning and most controversial topic was on the agenda: the high school’s pools.

What resulted was an orchestrated, onesided parade of comments and bad optics for D200.

The 30-minutes of public comments came exclusively from students, recruited to speak by the physical education (PE) department, and a PE teacher. Almost all the students talked of rodent and cockroach infestations and the deferred maintenance of the southeast corner of the building, the PE wing and the pools.

Several students talked about the dance studio needing renovations. The students shared their love of the PE program and, of course, their love of swimming. From their comments, one would assume that the community opposes all PE improvements. That simply is not true. No other comments were permitted at the meeting.

The bad optics didn’t end with public comments. What happened next was just as problematic. No board member questioned Supt. Greg Johnson about the alleged building issues. With nearly $100 million in the cash reserve, there is no excuse for infestations and deferred maintenance, and there is no excuse for the

inaction of the board, failing to hold Johnson and his administration accountable.

The string of student comments about rodents and building issues was nothing new. Students highlighted the same issues in the Imagine propaganda video that premiered at the Town Hall meeting in October 2018, and Johnson used the same propaganda messaging in his opinion letter in Wednesday Journal [This is what equity looks like, Viewpoints, March 23]. If anything needs to be repaired at OPRF, fix it, don’t use it to manipulate the community to support the controversial $65 million Project 2.

Imagine’s presentation of Project 2 was paired with a disingenuous renovationonly comparison. Nothing about the sham exercise was sincere, nor was the architect who said that the pools had been well maintained.

The closed west pool was also on the agenda, with the board again failing to hold the administration accountable. D200 received the Larson Report in August, which stated that the west pool required an “immediate” structural repair, one that would necessitate its closing. The administration waited six long months before closing it, placing students’ safety at risk.

The board voted to spend nearly $800,000 to repair the west pool when it’s superfluous, and the space should be repurposed to expand the cramped Field House for the school’s largest and most diverse team: track and field. The track in the Imagine Plan will likely never be built, as it’s in the fifth and final project of the $219 million plan/wish list.

All bad optics for D200.

Monica Sheehan is an Oak Park resident.

MONICA SHEEHAN One View

PRF High School Supt. Greg Johnson recently wrote an opinion piece under the headline, “This is what equity looks like” [Viewpoints, March 23].

No, sir. The pool is about anything but equity, a much overused word these days, sprinkled on every idea for public spending. Overuse dilutes its power. Equity is about fairness to all people. It is not about building a $65 million 600-seat pool facility for aquatic sports teams of about 125 kids each year (about 3% of the student population).

Mr. Johnson’s piece cites swimming as a “life skill” and that the pools serve “all students” who take PE. Unmentioned: the school uses PE to falsely inflate demand for pool time as part of its effort to justify a larger, much more costly than necessary pool solution than his district’s own studies have recommended.

Unmentioned: the state of Illinois has no requirement for swimming in PE. He also fails to offer the option to have students test out of swimming if they can demonstrate proficiency when they enroll at OPRF. For those who cannot, OPRF could make arrangements with the park district, which operates two swimming pools, one within eyesight of OPRF, or with the Oak Park YMCA and FFC. This would be an economical, efficient way to address swim proficiency. As for being a “life skill,” it is one for parents to provide during early childhood long before high school and the same aforementioned options (including at needs-based low or no fees) are available to all families residing in Oak Park.

D200 paid for at least two commissions to study pool replacement needs.

In 2013, the Stantec Report recommended replacing the two existing pools with one 8 lane/25 yard (60 feet by 75 feet) standard-sized high school pool and no oversized seating. The Imagine Committee’s wish list includes a 17 lane/40 yard pool (75 feet by 120 feet) and seating for 600 spectators costing about $65 million. An Olympic pool is 82 feet x 164 feet.

In 2016, the Fako Research & Strategies community survey documents support for a $68 million pool plan at 69%

against, 27% for.

The November 2016 pool referendum about a $50 million plan similar in pool size to the current Imagine wish list was defeated.

If two studies and one referendum have rejected what Phase 2 calls for, why is the D200 board even considering it? And why is the superintendent lobbying for it?

There is no widespread public support and clamoring for the Imagine group’s pool wish list. The only clamoring for this oversized solution is coming from a small but influential group of swim families overfocused on one pet sport/vanity project with nominal student participation while ignoring other sports and the big picture of the school’s academic core mission.

Equity? Nope. Overfocusing on a pool is missing the forest for the trees.

Were I board member or superintendent of a land-locked high school with an intractable achievement gap in a high-tax village and a diverse student population of around 3,400, the very last thing I would want is concentrating so many precious taxpayer dollars, permanent-maintenance dollars, and space on a 600-seat natatorium that at its core serves around 125 students annually in aquatic sports and subsidizes private swim clubs by providing pool space. I would be adamantly advocating for a reasonable pool replacement in line with the studies my district paid for so that I could preserve dollars and space for my academic core mission.

Equity is not a grandiose pool facility serving few; it is not about ignoring data and referendums. Equity is 100% about raising academic achievement for all students. Equity is about addressing the intractable achievement gap, giving those students the tutoring, mentoring, remedial help they deserve and is owed them. Put the money and effort there.

Is there Equity in the current pool plan for overburdened taxpayers still listening to why they should fund something they already said no to?

The pool is a sideshow. The board enables it by not putting its foot down once and for all. Build a modest pool, skip the 600-seat nonsense, get it done.

Jack Powers is an Oak Park resident.

JACK

POWERS One View

32

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

V I E W P O I N T S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

A personal and public blessing

PROVIDED

Bergie curls up in his new home.

Finding a forever home After our blind Shi Tzu, Muggles, passed, my wife was searching for another small dog.

Once again we found him at the Animal Care League, a Schnauzer/Scottish Terrier mix, a puppy just over a year old. He was dumped there by previous owners, malnourished, hair overgrown and matted.

The ACL had him cleaned up and fed. The whole family went to meet him and we sat in a room as they brought him in. He was shy, but eventually his tail wagged. We took him home to foster for two weeks. He was a bit nervous at first but when he started getting a lot of love and attention he realized he had found a

CROWE

Lack of transparency from page 27 vincial James Marchionda O.P., who is on the Fenwick board of directors, acknowledged these assaults and stated that the Dominicans were “all on board” with releasing documents about credibly accused priests to “start setting everything right.”

Marchionda called it a “moral obligation.”

Three years later, the Dominicans have made no such disclosures. This despite

family and a home.

I went back to formally adopt him. His new name is Mossberg, after the shotgun — Bergie for short. He goes on walks, eats regularly, and has a large, fenced-in backyard to run around in. He’s fast and agile so the squirrels never venture far from their trees. When he is at full speed his paws leave the ground so it looks like he is bounding like a gazelle.

When I come home after work, he will come straight to the door to greet me, tail wagging.

Yep, Bergie has found a forever family/home.

It’s a cold, brightly sunny springtime Sunday afternoon, and my family has been invited for dinner. The meal is simmering on the stove, and its fragrance permeates the entire house. While the television in the family room blasts the excitement of March Madness basketball, by contrast, in the living room, soft music has lulled my Patti dog and cousin Ben to sleep. The picture is framed in peace, security, and love. I am so very blessed.

I am struck by the realization that no one in war-torn Ukraine is able to experience this tranquil scene, and neither can the families of Russian soldiers, even though their leader perpetrated this suffering. Our duty, one democratic nation to another, is to help Ukraine. We here in the United States have the good fortune of living in a thriving economy with low unemployment. Yes, inflation, here and abroad, means we have to pay more or do without certain things. I understand this is a sacrifice affecting some more than others, yet I contend it’s a small sacrifice resulting primarily from helping Ukraine.

Ukrainian families have already endured over a month of torture by Russian troops. They have fought valiantly to protect their homes and their land. Yet Russian troops and bombings continue to devastate all that is within their path — homes, schools, hospitals, etc. The Russian military is wreaking waste as they seem to be moving toward the port cities along the Black Sea. We Americans should be proud that our country has been able to provide both military equipment and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. President Biden has been steadfast in his supportive efforts and stewardship during this crisis.

I am very grateful for his leadership.

May the days ahead of us here in America continue to reflect our blessings. We have freedom and we live in a lawful and constitutional democracy.

We have leadership which appreciates humanity and strives to preserve our way of life. Let us do all we can to help our leaders protect and spread the blessing of peace, here and abroad.

Harriet Hausman River Forest

Emailed every Friday morning!

Emerson Bolen River Forest

pleas from Cardinal Blase Cupich. The Archdiocese of Chicago has “been in discussions with religious orders about how their members, under their jurisdiction and control, who are credibly accused, are to be publicly listed,” an archdiocese spokesman said (https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/5/10/22428988/ catholic-church-abuse-religious-ordersmarists-augustinians-dominicans-cardinal-cupich-editorial).

So the Dominicans have a history of stonewalling. But there is more.

As I wrote in these pages in 2018, in the 1960s, a Fenwick faculty member sexually assaulted a family member of mine

(https://www.oakpark.com/2018/12/04/ catholics-need-a-truth-reconciliationcommission).

In 1937, my father, Albert Crowe, was a Fenwick graduate, and two of my brothers later attended there. One was sexually assaulted by a Fenwick athletic director and teacher, who was my father’s first cousin, Robert Francis Crowe O.P. In 2002, I alerted the Dominicans, if they didn’t already know, about the sexual assaults by “Fr. Bob.” The Dominicans have never publicly acknowledged this fact.

I have met other Fenwick alums who were sexually assaulted by Dominican priests who will not come forward because

they do not trust the Dominicans.

With good reason.

I bring this up to say that Fenwick sees sexual assault primarily as a public relations issue as opposed to a justice issue that, as Catholics, requires them to side with the victims.

My words for Ms. Quinn Pasin? I believe you. Your recounting is credible. There is a great chasm in the power dynamic between an older teacher doing inappropriate things and a high school student. I am so sorry.

But I wouldn’t look to Fenwick and the Dominicans for justice. It’s not in their DNA.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

33

34

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

I

t was the kind of fight that the Vegas oddsmakers would have set the chances of winning at something like a billion to one. One average worker in an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, would spent three hours a day traveling to work, then put in a grueling 8-hour shift.

Once finished, he had to spend another three hours getting home. He decided to take on the corporate giant Amazon after seeing that his co-workers were coming down sick with COVID-19.

Of course the greedy corporation, which professed on one hand that they were concerned about their workers, was also making and seeing extraordinary profits thanks to so many customers being confined at home starting in March of 2020.

Brotha boy Chris Smalls tried to get his superiors to address the issue, to no avail. As one of the so-called “essen-

SIECK

Multiple intelligences from page 27 million students who show up this fall are told their verbal and math scores no longer count. Your classwork will provide a rich selection of art, music, physical education, botany, self-awareness, and leadership classes to choose from. By focusing on those rather than just two kinds of intelligence, you will actually have a much better chance of being, and feeling, successful. It is our mission to help you succeed. Enjoy your studies, your teachers, your classmates, and your experience.

With the shoe now on the other foot, imagine the excitement so many freshmen would feel, whose real talents were not verbal or math, when they realize that finally someone truly values their talents and will do everything to develop those gifts. Imagine the deadening disappointment of those with high verbal and math scores as they come to realize their talents are no longer considered important. The shoe is now on the other foot.

A third of all high school seniors will never go to college, and of those who do, 40% will never finish. Is it possible that the third who never go, apart from obvious financial reasons, know right off that

V I E W P O I N T S

Bro vs the billionaire

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

tial workers,” he organized a walkout and strike. An absolute no-no in the world of Amazon. He was subsequently fired, using some of the BS reasons the company is well known for. Their “multimillion-dollar, brilliant legal team” decided to make Smalls the focus of their ire because he, as they stated in a company memo, is “not smart or articulate.”

Can you say wrong decision? Smalls didn’t take his squashing without fighting back. For one thing, he was well known and liked throughout the entire facility. Plus for the majority of the workers, he looked and talked just like them. This was not a stranger from out of town showing up to tell them

to join the union. This was someone who knew exactly what the job entails, and the frustration and aggravation of trying to do a good job in an atmosphere where every movement is tracked because Amazon’s philosophy is that people are lazy and thus can’t be trusted.

So for the past two years, he has stood out in front of the giant fulfillment facility, the equivalent of 14 football fields in length, talking to current workers, cooking and handing out food, and advocating for them to join a union. He had been one of them and he knew intimately what was happening inside. Those essential workers knew that the stuff they were packing were not essential items to help people

too scared to venture out because of COVID-19, but rather the miscellaneous nonessential goodies that people sit and order in the middle of the night. The vote was taken last month and over 50% of those who voted decided to go with a union.

Brotha boy had succeeded where many others with deeper pockets had failed.

But the success is not Smalls’ alone.

Major kudos also go to those workers who stood with Smalls and voted to join the Amazon Labor Union. They beat the odds.

And we can expect there will be other Amazon facilities, including many in the Chicago area, that will soon join in and also want to become a part of the union.

But against Amazon, this victory symbolizes just one of the many battles and not the winning of the war!

Arlene Jones writes a weekly column for the Austin Weekly News, a Growing Community Media publication.

words and numbers are just not their thing?

Is it possible that even those who did have the courage to start eventually quit when they realized that their real gifts were being completely ignored? Worse still is the real tragedy of those who spend four expensive years hating the entire experience, taking courses that do nothing to nurture, strengthen, and reward their true talents.

How many students with high verbal and math skills would be in that 40% number if school treated them with the same indifference it now treats those with the seven other kinds of intelligence?

Who do you think would be more interested in majoring in “Leadership and Community Building: History, Methods, and Skills,” the kid who loves calculus or the kid who can read a room? How in the world does it make sense to devote expensive resources to one and ignore the other when they are equally bright and equally needed in our world? If we force kids who are good with their hands (craftspeople, sculptors) or have tremendous body control (athletes, dancers) to “love” Shakespeare’s sonnets, is that somehow better than forcing kids who are great writers or mathematicians to learn how to carve beautiful statues from blocks of wood or dribble down court and shoot three pointers? Yet that’s exactly what we do.

Did the girl with the butterfly tattoo really need to know the importance of the Ro-

setta Stone or the power of Shakespeare’s St. Crispin’s Day speech? Or be able to provide the next number in a Fibonacci series or explain the beauty of the golden ratio? Maybe her real genius was in rejecting the notion of what you “have to do” to be successful, and finding genuine success, and happiness, in a setting that maximized support and development for her unique profile of spatial-visual, bodily-kinesthetic, and interpersonal intelligences. Maybe, too, she was fully supported in that decision by those people important to her.

When Tom Brady takes a snap from center, falls back into the pocket, reads the defense, and releases a pass in 2.17 seconds, throwing the ball not to the receiver but to the place where the receiver will be in another 2 or 3 seconds, how can we see that as anything other than spatial-visual and bodily-kinesthetic genius?

When your car (any make, model, or year) is sick with a cough (making strange noises) or a fever (warning lights are flashing on your dashboard), you take it to your favorite mechanic who, in 24-48 hours will “diagnose” the problem, order the proper “medication” (parts), and perform the required “surgery” (replacement) so you are up and running again. A place like Auto Zone is his pharmacy and medical supply house. Is his skill really any less because his hands are greasy and his nails not manicured?

I have in my garden a handful of orange milkweed and butterfly bushes visited regularly by Monarchs. I have in my head a tremendous respect and admiration for the girl with the butterfly tattoo who has found both her gifts and the environment in which they can be developed and honored. I have in my heart the hope, for those reading this who are just embarking on life’s journey, that you take time to realize what your gifts are and seek the best environment, whether that be a “Harvard” or an “Auto Zone,” in which to nurture them.

And for those entrusted with the “care and feeding” of these young voyagers, that you help them explore, understand, and honor their unique profile of gifts and provide every ounce of encouragement as they develop them, no matter which of the nine equal gifts they are.

When the day comes where the senior partner at a corporate law firm can brag about his car mechanic son as honestly as a plumber can brag about his Harvard Med School daughter, then, and only then, will we finally respect the full range of equally important but very different gifts bestowed on mankind. Dedicated to the true genius in each and every person, and to the hope you discover it, nurture it, are supported in it, and enjoy it, this one’s for you — and for those who care about you.

For more information, go to www.simplypsychology.org/multiple-intelligences.

ARLENE JONES

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

C

Survival of the fittest?

harles Darwin proposed the theory of natural selection, and Herbert Spencer paraphrased that theory into the phrase “survival of the fittest.”

I like one of the Red Bull commercials as a way of explaining what Darwin meant. In the ad, two gazelles are talking, with a lion lurking in the background.

One is drinking a Red Bull.

“That won’t enable you to outrun that lion,” says the one. “Don’t have to,” says the other. “I only need to outrun you.”

One way of looking at Housing Forward is that its mission is to take care of the losers in this high-stakes, competitive game called American society. Kim and Anthony are two of the homeless people the nonprofit has gotten off the street and into an apartment, but the funding that subsidizes their rent is about to end. The Housing Forward model assumes people living on the street need a handout for a while to recover, and then a hand up to find jobs with the goal of getting back to living independently.

In other words, if life is like an ocean and you’re drowning, what Housing Forward does is throw you a life preserver to help you catch your breath, but after a short time they insist that you start swimming on your own or, if you don’t know how, they will teach you, but either way eventually they will take the life ring away so they can throw it to another person who is going under.

That model, declared Housing Forward’s executive director, Lynda Schueler, has been successful 70% of the time.

The problem for Kim and Anthony is that they’re among the 30% for whom the model doesn’t work. It’s as if even when they try to let go of the device keeping them afloat in order to swim on their own, the weight they’re carrying drags them down no matter how hard they try.

Even in the Housing Forward model, clients need a certain level of “fitness” or resilience in order to benefit from the hand up.

Take Kim, for example. She’s in her 30s and has never had a job. In addition if she doesn’t get her medication on time every day, she falls apart. Whenever she’s in social situations, like a job for example, her anxiety level soars and she has to get away from the crowd. Good luck finding employment.

Anthony had jobs before becoming homeless, but right now he’s carrying several

burdens that make his chances of outrunning the lion slim. For one, he has his own mentalhealth issues. Another is that he has a felony drug conviction on his record, which prevents him from getting many jobs.

Then a year ago while he was driving a friend’s car, he was pulled over because of a tail light not working. When the officer ran his license number, he found there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest, a warrant Anthony didn’t know about. He insists he’s not guilty of the burglary charge, but the public defender assigned to him lacks either the time or desire to do the work required to get the judge to throw the case out.

So even though he is talented and experienced in working with computers, when he applies for a job at a business that requires he handle money — Best Buy, for example — the burglary charge ends the interview.

Housing Forward is limited in the amount of money they can provide. In addition to hefty rent subsidies, they have given the couple Link and Ventra Cards but at this point the nonprofit has no money in their budget for medication or electricity.

Financial help from family is limited and sporadic. Friends have given the pair literally thousands of dollars but that well is beginning to run dry.

They say America is the land of opportunity. For many, of course, it is. But way back in 1962 Michael Harrington published a book titled, The Other America, which points out that we’re not just a place where you can become anything you want to be.

Many of you have volunteered at a Housing Forward shelter and vote for political candidates who promise to help the poor.

You’ve helped make the glass 70% full. My question is how far are we willing to go? How much are we willing to give to help Kim and Anthony and the other folks in the 30% to enable them to just stay afloat?

When some people see them panhandling on an expressway ramp and holler, “Get a job!” they reveal their cluelessness about “the other America.”

Are we willing to make it part of our mission statement to help our neighbors like Kim and Anthony?

Tom Holmes writes a column for the Forest Park Review, a Growing Community Media publication.

TOM HOLMES

35

O B I T U A R I E S

Michael Goggin, 74 Prosecutor, adjunct law professor

Michael Joseph Goggin, 74, of Oak Park and River Forest, died on March 31, 2022.

Born on Nov. 12, 1947, he was a proud Fenwick Friar and Wisconsin Badger. An adjunct professor at Loyola University School of Law, he was a celebrated prosecutor, representing the people of Illinois and Cook County. He was the definition of honor, legal talent and true friendship.

Michael was the husband of Nancy (nee Hanson) Kolovitz; the father of Sara Goggin Young, Michael (Kristen) Goggin, Patrick (Bridget) Goggin, Maureen (Timothy) Funke, Kelly (Jason) Widuch, Brie (Charlie) Cibula and John McConachie; the grandfather of Taylor, Ryan, Daniel, Luke, Olivia, Liam, Aea, Shae, Viviene, Waylon, Finn, William, Colette, Wes and Patrick; son of the late John and Helen Goggin; brother of Jack (Sandy), Terrence (Gail), Brian, Kevin (Dee Dee), Trudi (Sue Kaszynski) Goggin and the late Daniel; friend of Kathy Panek; and uncle of many.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on

Wednesday, April 6, at St. Giles Church, 1045 Columbian Ave., Oak Park, followed by private interment.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to Misericordia (www.misericordia.com) would be appreciated.

Arrangements were handled by ConboyWestchester Funeral Home.

Robert P. Gamboney Funeral Director I am there for you in your time of need.

All services handled with dignity and personalized care.

Cell: 708.420.5108 • Res: 708.848.5667 I am affiliated with Peterson-Bassi Chapels at 6938 W. North Ave, as well as other chapels throughout Chicagoland.

Need a helping of

Call Jill at (708) 524-8300 or visit OakPark.com/subscribe

36 Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022 Growing Community Media

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

HELP WANTED POLICE RECORDS CLERK

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Police Records Clerk in the Police Department.

This position will perform a wide variety of specialized clerical duties in support of the Police Department including processing and maintaining documents, correspondence and coding reports; and to provide information and assistance to the public.

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

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

HELP WANTED

Part-time. 5 days per week. Evening hours 5-9. $14-16/hr to start. Job located in Morton Grove, IL. Must have own transportation.

Call Larry for more information. 773636-2505

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

software and other forms of systems and data.

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

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

13. Participate in research and recommendation of technology solutions.

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

2. Participate in the preparation of various activity reports.

3. Travel and support remote facilities and partner agencies.

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

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

6. Complete projects on a timely and efficient manner.

7. Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

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

9. Perform related duties and responsibilities as required.

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

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

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

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

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

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

JANITORIAL

VB scripts.

Modern office procedures, methods and computer equipment.

Technical writing, office productivity tools and database packages.

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

Maintain reasonable and predictable attendance.

Work overtime as operations require.

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

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

Vaccination against COVID-19 strongly preferred.

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

PART-TIME ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER

Call contracter for more info.

708-738-3848

BUDGET AND REVENUE ANALYST

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Budget and Revenue Analyst in the Development Customer Service Department.

This position will Serve the public with professional administrative and analytical duties in the areas of budget preparation, purchasing, payroll, data analysis and process improvement. Provides, prepares and maintains records, and financial and statistical reports and analysis which assist in the Village’s ability to improve business processes and gain efficiencies through better use of technology. Budget duties include assisting in the development, analysis and application of performance measures with regard to Village services and resources; preparing, modifying, tracking and monitoring Village expenses and transfers; and conducting budget-related research and analysis. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application.

PART-TIME SEASONAL OPPORTUNITY

The Riverside Department of Public Works is seeking energetic, responsible, and motivated applicants who enjoy working outdoors. This is a parttime, seasonal position lasting from approximately May through September.

Applicants will be expected to work up to 40 hrs. per week or as scheduled by staff. Primary tasks will include, but not limited to: cutting grass, maintaining athletic fields, general facilities maintenance, flushing hydrants, reading water meters, installing water meters, assisting full-time employees, and other duties as assigned.

Applicants must be 18 years old, possess a valid Illinois driver’s license and

PART-TIME FORESTRY INTERN

high school diploma or equivalent. Applicants will be subject to a criminal background check, pre-employment physical and drug/alcohol screening.

Applications can be downloaded from the Village website at www.riverside.il.us or picked up at the Riverside Village Hall located at 27 Riverside Rd, Riverside, IL 60546. Completed applications should be submitted to the Riverside Village Hall or the Riverside Public Works Department, 3860 Columbus Blvd, Riverside, IL 60546. Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled. Pay rate is $15/hr.

The Village of Riverside is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

COVID-19 EPIDEMIOLOGIST

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Covid-19 Epidemiologist in the Public Health Department. This position will serve as a subject matter expert on communicable diseases of public health concern, including COVID-19. This position will work on the surveillance and investigation of infectious diseases and other public health threats; rapid response to disease outbreaks including assisting the community’s emergency preparedness and response team. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/ jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. This position is open until filled.

PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Parking Enforcement Officer in the Police Department Field Services Division. This position will perform a variety of duties and responsibilities involved in the enforcement of Village parking regulations; and to provide general information and assistance to the public. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/.

Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application.

The Riverside Department of Public Works is seeking energetic, responsible, and motivated applicants who enjoy working outdoors. This is a part-time, Forestry intern position lasting from approximately May through September.

Applicants will be expected to work up to 40 hrs. per week or as scheduled by staff. Primary tasks will include monitoring of Village Trees for disease and insect issues, updating tree inventory records, maintaining woody and perennial plantings in parks and parkways, record keeping and administrational duties related to forestry operations, and assisting the Forester with various forestry related activities and ecological restoration.

Applicants must be 18 years old, possess a valid Illinois driver’s license and high school diploma or equivalent.

Course work and/or experience pertaining to urban forestry or a related field are desirable for the position. Applicants will be subject to a criminal background check, pre-employment physical and drug/alcohol screening.

Applications can be downloaded from the Village website at www.riverside.il.us or picked up at the Riverside Village Hall located at 27 Riverside Rd, Riverside, IL 60546. Completed applications should be submitted to the Riverside Village Hall or the Riverside Public Works Department, 3860 Columbus Blvd, Riverside, IL 60546. Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled. Pay rate is $15/hr.

The Village of Riverside is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

FULL TIME DELIVERY DRIVER

Local company looking for full time driver.

Must be drug free and have a valid IL DL. Must be able to lift 75lb. $14-16/hr Email resume: HR@sievertelectric.com

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION LABORER

Construction laborer wanted. Residential concrete. Must have own transportation.

Call 708-203-7132 for more info.

River Forest Public Schools District 90

Payroll & Benefits Specialist

River Forest, District 90 is seeking an experienced Payroll & Benefits Specialist with a high school diploma supplemented by two years of college-level coursework in accounting or business administration, or equivalent combination of experience and training in payroll and benefits is preferred.

Working knowledge of Windows, Word and Excel Programs. Accounting and payroll reporting software familiarity. Infinite Visions software is a plus.

Responsibilities: Maintain a high level of confidentiality of all District and Boardrelated business. Work cooperatively with the township school treasurer’s office, thirdparty vendors and staff to project a positive,

service-oriented demeanor.

Prepare and maintain payroll contracts for each employee annually. Complete bi-monthly payrolls including substitute and stipend pay; balance all payrolls to coincide with year-end W-2 forms. Ensure proper payment of insurance premiums, Flexible Benefits Plan premiums, Tax Sheltered Annuities, and RFEA Dues. Complete calculation, forms administration, and payment of TRS, THIS and IMRF reports; and complete quarterly reports for Federal and State taxes. Assist with annual financial audit and other audits, as necessary.

Interested candidates should complete an online application at www.district90.org

COVID-19 RESPONSE INTERN

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of COVID-19 Response Intern in the Health Department. This position will perform a variety of responsible and complex professional COVID-19 response support, as well as routine documentation of related tasks in support of the Emergency Preparedness & Response Coordinator.

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

COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of COVID-19 Response Coordinator in the Health Department. This position will perform a variety of responsible and complex professional COVID-19 response support, as well as routine documentation of related tasks in support of the Emergency Preparedness & Response Coordinator. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application.

SEASONAL FARMERS’ MARKET ASSISTANT

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Seasonal Farmers’ Market Assistant in the Health Department. This position will provide administrative support to the Farmers’ Market Manager to allow growers and producers of food to sell directly to the public within established guidelines.

This position requires work in inclement weather conditions; some heavy lifting of up to 50 pounds; walking or standing for sustained periods of time. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/ jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. Open until filled.

WATER AND SEWER SUPERVISOR

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Water and Sewer Supervisor in the Public Works Department. This position will plan and supervise the day-to-day operations of Water and Sewer Division field personnel, including assigning duties of personnel, equipment, and materials. Typical responsibilities include the maintenance, operation and repair of the Village water pumping, storage and distribution systems and maintenance repair of the combined sanitary/storm sewer system and providing highly responsible staff support and assistance to the Water & Sewer Superintendent and the entire public works department management team. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http:// www.oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. Open until filled.

 

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

CLASSIFIED

HELP WANTED

Senior Analyst, Card sought by Avant, LLC in Chicago, IL to dvlp cmprhnsv Unit Economic mdl. Telecomm prmtd. Apply @ jobpostingtoday.com #18815

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

CARS WANTED

ENGINEERS

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago will be accepting applications for the following classification(s): Assistant Civil Engineer (Original) Assistant Electrical Engineer (Original) Assistant Mechanical Engineer (Original) Assistant Structural Engineer (Original) Engineering Technician IV (Original) Additional information regarding salary, job description, requirements, etc. can be found on the District’s website at www. districtjobs.org or call 312-751-5100.

An Equal Opportunity Employer - M/F/D

37

CLASSICS WANTED CLASSICS WANTED Restored or Unrestored

or Unrestored Cars &Restored Vintage Motorcycles Domestic / Cars & Vintage Motorcycles Import Cars: Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette,Cars: Ferrari’s, Domestic / Import Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang & Mopars Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, $$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

Ferrari’s, James Jaguars,• 630-201-8122 Muscle Cars, Collector Mustang & Mopars

$$ Top $$ allWANTED makes, Etc. RENTALS & REAL ESTATE CLASSICS

Collector James Restored or Unrestored SUBURBAN RENTALS Cars630-201-8122 & Vintage Motorcycles STUDIOS, 1, 2 & 3 BR OAK PARK & Domestic / Import Cars: FOREST PARK Best Selection & Service Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, 708-386-7355 Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, MMpropMgmt.com Mustang & Mopars

HOME SERVICES

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

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400 I BUY RECORDS!!

Cash for your vinyl records. Rock, Metal, Jazz, Punk, Reggae, Soul, Blues, etc. All genre’s considered. Why let your records collect dust when you can get cash for them.

Call or text 773-372-6643

YARD SALES Oak Park

YARD SALE 1107 NORTH GROVE SATURDAY, APRIL 9 9AM TO 3PM

CLEANING SERVICES T&M Deep Cleaning Service 32 Years of Experience We go where other cleaning services don't. We get behind and underneath furniture & appliances.

Residential/Commercial HONEST • RELIABLE • THOROUGH • EFFICIENT INSURED • EXTERIOR HOUSEWASHING AVAIL.

630-400-3744 ORGANICFARMTOM@YAHOO.COM

FLOORS KLIS FLOORING INC.

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

Low prices, insured.

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

Kitchen miscellaneous (wine glasses, glasses, serving bowls, etc.), classical albums, books, furniture including wicker, a pack ‘n play, artwork, picture frames, costume jewelry, filing cabinets, “vintage” roller skates and ice skates, DVDs, CDs, VHS, knickknacks, cleaning supplies, automotive supplies, shears, Christmas decorations, luggage and more.

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc. OFFICE/RETAIL SUBURBAN Collector James FOR RENT RENTALS

1 SPACE FOR RENT IN STRIP MALL

Forest Park, IL 1,700 Sq. Ft. (END CAP) Excellent Condition. Recently Updated. *Heavy traffic area. Hospital across street.

SPACE FOR A DRIVE-THRU BUILD *Special Discounted Rate-Limited Time!

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

TEXT or CALL: (708)828-6491

NORTH RIVERSIDE: 2BR/1BA APARTMENTS FOR RENT Overlooking Riverside Golf Club, steps to N.R. Library and beautiful Commons Park. Award-winning Riverside schools: Ames, Hauser, Riverside-Brookfield H.S. Well-maintained, NO SMOKING building. Spacious, freshly painted, new carpet/floor tiles, bath and kitchen upgrades.

Laundry on-premise, storage space in basement, off-street parking for 1 car in rear. Rent starting at $1200; heat and water included. Application/credit check required. No Pets.

Please mention this ad to receive a special incentive when calling 708-4471000 between 10 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday.

DOWNTOWN OAK PARK 2BR APT

2BR, 1BTH apartment for rent.

Hardwood floors. Renovated and freshly painted. Small, vintage building. No smoking. No pets.

Parking included.

708-657-4226

CEMENT

MAGANA

C O N C R E T E C O N S T RU C T I O N “QUALITY IS OUR FOUNDATION” ESTABLISHED IN 1987

COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL RESIDENTIAL

708.442.7720 '5,9(:$<6 )281'$7,216 3$7,26 67(36 &85% *877(56 6,'(:$/.6 612: 3/2:,1* 67$03(' &2/25(' $**5(*$7( &21&5(7( FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

ELECTRICAL

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

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

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

630-201-8122

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

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

CEMENT

RENTALS & REAL ESTATE

SPACE FOR RENT

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

708-296-2060

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

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HAULING BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery.

708-848-9404

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

38

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

CLASSIFIED

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

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of MIRA MERCEDESZ RAUCH Case Number 2022CONC000005 .

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: MIRA MERCEDESZ RAUCH to the new name of: MIRA MERCEDESZ RANAI The court date will be held: On March 28, 2022 at 1:30 pm at 50 W Washington St, Room 1202, Chicago, IL 60602, Cook County via Zoom Video Conference Meeting ID: 914 0410 9299 Password: 395850

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: Y22008892 on March 28, 2022 Under the Assumed Business Name of CFC SERVICES with the business located at: 424 MARENGO AVENUE APT. 1W, FOREST PARK, IL 60130.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: CELESTE ADRENA FRAZIER 424 MARENGO AVENUE APT. 1W FOREST PARK, IL 60130, USA

Driveways), Chapter 11 (Definitions) of the Riverside Zoning Ordinance and Title 4 Chapter 3 (Signs) of the Village Code of the Village of Riverside. Among the potential changes being considered are changes relative to the provisions regarding window signage and displays, exterior lighting, accessory structures and uses, landscaping and screening, nonconforming residential driveways, definitions, and updated sign regulations.

evidence presented by persons interested to speak on these matters. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the proposed variations. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance by submission to Village Planner Francisco Jimenez via email at fjimenez@riverside. il.us or delivered to the attention of Village Planner Francisco Jimenez at the Village Offices at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. on the day of the public hearing.

Published in Wednesday Journal March 23, 30, April 6, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in the Riverside Township Hall, Room 4, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider proposed text amendments to the Village of Riverside Zoning Ordinance and to the Village Code of the Village of Riverside relative to the incorporation of concepts related to transit-oriented development best practices and to make certain other changes. The proposed text amendments have been reviewed and shaped by a Steering Committee consisting of Village staff, Village stakeholders and representatives from local mass transit agencies, and are, among other things, designed to promote transit-oriented development and transit-friendly design for purposes of enhancing accessibility, safety and accommodations for pedestrians, bicyclists and mass-transit users.

The changes address a number of subjects, including the purpose and intent of zoning, development standards in residential and business districts, definition of terms, and signage.

PUBLIC NOTICE VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in the Riverside Township Hall, Room 4, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider an application for a variation from Section 10-7-3(D)(2) (Accessory Structures and Uses) of the Village of Riverside Zoning Ordinance to allow the construction of a deck at five feet (5’) above grade and from Section 10-10-4(C) (Nonconforming Buildings and Structures) of the Riverside Zoning Ordinance to allow the expansion of two (2) existing nonconforming stoops/decks to form a single 280 square foot deck in the rear of the house at five feet (5’) from grade.

Application No.: PZ22-03 Petitioner: Frank and Laura Serge Property Commonly Known As: 263 Blackhawk Rd, Riverside, Illinois PIN: 15-36-408-007-0000

Dated this 6th day of April, 2022.

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of Hamed Aliabbasipoor Case Number 20225001309.

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Hamed Aliabbasipoor to the new name of: Sam Kaplan.

The court date will be held: On May 19, 2022at 9:30AM at 10220 S 76 th Avenue, Bridgeview IL 60455, Cook County in Courtroom # 0203 Published in Wednesday Journal March 23, 30, April 6, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of Matthew Murdock-Barriball Case Number 20224001174.

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Matthew Flanigan Murdock-Barriball to the new name of: Matthew Flanigan Bariball The court date will be held: On 05/17/2022 at 11:00am at 1500 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, Cook County in Courtroom # 0112 Published in RB Landmark March 23, 30, April 6, 2022

Published in Wednesday Journal March 30, April 6, 13, 2022

Application No.: PZ 22-04 Petitioner: Village of Riverside Proposed Text Amendments: Various changes to the Village of Riverside Zoning Ordinance regulations and sign regulations. Affected sections include, but may not be limited to, Section 10-4 (Residential Districts), Section 10-5-7 (Business Districts), Section 10-7 (Site Development Standards), Section 10-9 (Landscaping and Screening), Section 10-10-7 (Nonconforming Residential

The above application and proposed text amendments are available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546.

The proposed text amendments may be added to or otherwise revised as a result of the public hearing. During the Public Hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any evidence presented by persons interested to speak on these matters. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the proposed text amendments. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning & Zoning Commission in advance by submission to Village Planner Francisco Jimenez via email at fjimenez@riverside.il.us or delivered to the attention of Village Planner Francisco Jimenez at the Village Offices at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. on the day of the public hearing.

The Public Hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act. The proposed amendments may be added to, revised, altered, or eliminated as a result of the Public Hearing and prior to final action by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Riverside. Dated this 6th day of April, 2022.

Jill Mateo, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission Published in RB Landmark April 6, 2022

The Property is legally described as follows: THE EAST 1/2 OF LOT 231 IN BLOCK 2 IN 2ND DIVISION OF RIVERSIDE, IN SECTION 36, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. Proposed Variations: 1. A variation from Section 10-7-3(D) (2) (Accessory Structures and Uses) of the Riverside Zoning Ordinance, which states that decks shall not be raised more than four feet (4’) above the established grade. The current stairway stoops/decks are five feet (5’) from the established grade and the proposed replacement deck construction would match the existing stoops/decks in height from grade.

2. A variation from Section 10-10-4(C) (Nonconforming Buildings and Structures) of the Riverside Zoning Ordinance, which states that a building or structure that is nonconforming with respect to its bulk shall not be added to or enlarged, unless permitted by certain other specified subsections. The proposed construction and consolidation of the existing stoops/decks would be 280 square feet.

The above application is available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. During the Public Hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any

The Public Hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act. The proposal and zoning relief sought may be added to, revised, altered or eliminated as a result of the Public Hearing and prior to final action by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Riverside.

Jill Mateo, Chairperson Planning and Zoning Commission Published in RB Landmark April 6, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE STATE OF ILLINOIS COUNTY OF COOK VILLAGE OF NORTH RIVERSIDE Notice Of A Public Hearing

Starting a New Business?

• Austin Weekly News • Wednesday Journal • Forest Park Review • Riverside/Brookfield Landmark Call the Experts Before You Place Your Legal Ad! Call Stacy for details: 773/626-6332

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE STATE OF ILLINOIS COUNTY OF COOK VILLAGE OF NORTH RIVERSIDE Notice Of A Public Hearing

By The Joint Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals Of The Village Of North Riverside

LEGAL NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that a Public Hearing will be held by the Joint Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of North Riverside on Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 6:00 P.M., in the Council Chambers located in the Village Commons, 2401 S. Desplaines Avenue, North Riverside, Illinois.

The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed Bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL 60302 Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 for the following:

At such time and place, the Joint Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals will consider additions and amendments to Title 17 of the North Riverside Zoning Ordinance regarding short term rentals.

Village of Oak Park 2022 Parkway Tree Watering Contract Bid Number: 22-116

Applicant: Village of North Riverside 2401 S. Desplaines Avenue North Riverside, IL 60546 All persons desiring to appear and be heard for or against said petitions may attend the Public Hearing.

Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/bid.

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

Published in Wednesday Journal March 23, 2022

Village of North Riverside Pat Ferriter, Chairman of the Joint Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals Published in RB Landmark April 6, 2022

By The Joint Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals Of The Village Of North Riverside Notice is hereby given that a Public Hearing will be held by the Joint Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of North Riverside on Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 6:00 P.M., in the Council Chambers located in the Village Commons, 2401 S. Desplaines Avenue, North Riverside, Illinois.

At such time and place, the Joint Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals will consider a request for a variance to Title 14 Section 14.01.050 (B13) to permit a changeable copy/electronic message center sign.

Applicant: American Real Estate Management and Development Co., LLC 8400 W. 26 th Street North Riverside, Illinois 60546 All persons desiring to appear and be heard for or against said petitions may attend the Public Hearing.

Village of North Riverside Pat Ferriter, Chairman of the Joint Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals Published in RB Landmark April 6, 2022

Publish Your Assumed Name Legal Notice in

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK COMMUNITY DESIGN COMMISSION HEARING DATE: April 27, 2022 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 01-22DRC APPLICANT: Ashok Pandya ADDRESS: 217 Madison Street, Oak Park, IL REQUEST: The Applicant, Ashok Pandya, is seeking a variation from Sections 7-7-14 (B) and Section 7-7-15 (D) (1) (b) of the Village of Oak Park Sign Code, which sections require that menu board signs shall not exceed six (6’) feet in height and that there shall only be allowed one wall sign per street frontage, in order to install a 6’-10” Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robins menu board sign and to install both a “Dunkin Donuts” sign and a “Baskin Robins” signs on the north elevation of the building at the premises commonly known as 217 Madison Street.

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The Community Design Commission will conduct a remote meeting with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/commissiontv

as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person meeting is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the meeting due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Public statements of up to five minutes may be made during the meeting. A limited number of written comments will be read into the record at the meeting, all will be placed on the record. To provide public comment at the meeting, you must email a request to zoning@oak-park.us, indicating an intent to speak at the meeting.

Requests must be received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. If email is not an option, you can drop comments off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, to be received no later than the day prior to the meeting.

The public hearing may be adjourned by the Commission to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

Published in Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

CLASSIFIED

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

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NE FL W AS S H!

PUBLIC NOTICES

39

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC D/B/A MR. COOPER Plaintiff, -v.LATANYA WILSON A/K/A LATANYA PERKINS A/K/A LATANYA T. WILSON, 327 SOUTH WISCONSIN CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION Defendants 19 CH 14237 327 WISCONSIN AVENUE, UNIT 3B OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on January 26, 2022, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on April 27, 2022, 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 327 WISCONSIN AVENUE, UNIT 3B, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-07-315-023-1007 The real estate is improved with a condominium.

The judgment amount was $87,572.57.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to 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 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 The sales clerk, LOGS Legal Group LLP Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301, Bannockburn, IL, 60015 (847) 2911717 For information call between the hours of 1pm - 3pm.. Please refer to file number 19-092068.

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.

LOGS Legal Group LLP 2121 WAUKEGAN RD., SUITE 301 Bannockburn IL, 60015 847-291-1717 E-Mail: ILNotices@logs.com Attorney File No. 19-092068 Attorney Code. 42168 Case Number: 19 CH 14237 TJSC#: 42-496 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 19 CH 14237 I3190817

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 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.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088.

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.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088 E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com Attorney File No. 20-04687IL_613739 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 18 CH 12736 TJSC#: 42-1079 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 18 CH 12736 I3191182

closure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Monday, May 2, 2022 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-18-428-043-1032, 16-18-428043-1051and 16-18-428-043-1059.

Commonly known as 6436 Roosevelt Road, Unit 415 and P-17 and P-25, Oak Park, IL 60304.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a condominium residence. The purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by subdivisions (g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Law Clerk at Plaintiff’s Attorney, The Wirbicki Law Group, 33 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603. (312) 360-9455. W19-0997 ADC INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3190604

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION SELENE FINANCE LP Plaintiff, -v.LARSENIA HORTON, NEIL SMITH, ASSURANCE RESTORATION & CONSTRUTION, INC., PRAIRIE HOUSES OWNERS ASSOCIATION, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 18 CH 12736 14 DIVISION STREET, # 14 OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on December 16, 2019, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 2, 2022, 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 14 DIVISION STREET, # 14, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-05-127-048-0000 The real estate is improved with a brown brick, three story townhouse, attached one car garage.

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

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY AS TRUSTEE FOR AMERICAN HOME MORTGAGE ASSETS TRUST 2006-5; MORTGAGE BACKED PASS THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2006-5; Plaintiff, vs.

KARRI L. SPILLANE; PRAIRIE PLACE AT 6436 ROOSEVELT CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION; ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 19 CH 14565 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Fore-

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Wednesday Journal, April 6, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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