Wednesday Journal 050119

W E D N E S D A Y

May 1, 2019 Vol. 39, No. 39 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Annual Spring House Walk Page 19

Mohr on the market for $7 million Real estate listing comes after Oak Park tried to buy property for $4.4M

By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter

H.J. Mohr & Sons Co., an industrial concrete manufacturing company and one of Oak Park’s oldest businesses, is for sale for $7 million.

The 3.29-acre plot of land, which recently appeared on loopnet.com by realtor Peter Poulos, takes up a full block at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Garfield Street and includes a stripmall shopping center at the corner of Harlem and Garfield and property used to store Mohr trucks to the east of South Maple Avenue. It also includes a single-family home in the 900 block of South Maple Avenue.

The listing comes months after the village of Oak Park offered the company $4.4 million for the property, sometime last year, according to Mohr’s vice president, Karen Richards.

Village Manager Cara Pavlicek could not be reached for comment.

It’s been slow going putting the property on the market — the business ceased manufacturing cement in early 2018, keeping its doors open by apSee MOHR on page 16

Cilantro sisters

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Sisters Conley Rietema, 4, and Baylor Rietema, 6, helped chop up cilantro, sweet potatoes and other ingredients to put inside tamales during a family cooking event at Sugar Beet Schoolhouse on Ashland Avenue in River Forest on April 27.

For more photos, see page 3 and visit online at OakPark.com.

West Cook YMCA looks westward North Avenue Menards in Melrose Park considered for a second location

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

The West Cook YMCA is considering another location within the west suburbs, the organization announced during its annual fundraising gala, held April 27 in Oak Brook.

During an interview on Monday, West

Cook YMCA President and CEO Phillip Jimenez said the YMCA is poised to finalize a purchase-sale agreement this week with the owner of the vacant Menards, 8311 W. North Avenue in Melrose Park.

Jimenez said the agreement gives the West Cook YMCA six months to conduct due diligence, which would include holding numerous stakeholder sessions to

get community input about the project, conducting a member feasibility study, evaluating the condition of the site, and gauging the funding potential through a capital campaign, among other factors.

Jimenez said the YMCA would invest an estimated $250,000 to $300,000 in the See YMCA on page 17

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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I N S I D E

R E P O R T

OP-RF Chamber honors Forest Park Bank

The Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce has named Forest Park National Bank its “Member of the Year,” recognizing the community bank’s decades-long commitment to the chamber.

“It recognizes that we are a player in the community, that we have been really actively involved in doing as much as we possibly can to help start up businesses financially, and a lot of those are in Oak Park and some in River Forest and, of course, a lot in Forest Park,” said Don Offermann, senior vice president of business development.

“The money that comes here on deposits is from the community and, to the extent that it’s possible, we need to get that money into the community as capital to make improvements in the

businesses that we have or to help start up businesses.

“Every community needs capital in order to thrive and that’s where a community bank comes in,” said Offermann, a longtime instructor at Oak Park and River Forest High School who also served many years as District 200 superintendent.

The chamber chose Forest Park Bank for the leadership, promotion of business success, and friendship it has provided to its roughly 500 other members over the years. In the two decades the bank has been a member of the chamber, Offermann said, this is the first time it has been honored with the award.

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Nona Tepper

Mix master From left, Savanie Maithripala, Edina Kadunic, Kate Hunsberger and Mikki Hunsberger listen to Cheryl Munoz teach how to make tamales on April 27, during a family cooking event at the Sugar Beet Schoolhouse on Ashland Avenue in River Forest.

Something good is growing here

Photo provided

Garrett Minich helped the Belmont Village Garden Club install a new community garden for his Eagle Scout project on April 20. Scouts from Oak Park Troop 16 also helped install birdhouses and feeders, a bird bath and new planters for the senior community.

Amazon launches computer science initiative at Trinity

Amazon has selected Trinity High School to participate in its Future Engineer Program, a joint initiative between the online retail giant Amazon and Edhesive to improve access to computer science education in the technology field. Edhesive is a company that offers computer science curriculum to schools.

“Trinity High School is excited to partner with Amazon Future Engineers by joining 300,000 students and five private all-women institutions in 43 states who

are committed to providing access and support for learning in STEM fields,” said Trinity President Sister Judith Schaefer in a press release.

Students who enroll in computer science classes at Trinity will be eligible for scholarships and summer internships at Amazon. The partnership will also provide Trinity faculty with a network of STEM educators, professional development opportunities and curricular resources.

A cornerstone of the program will be Trinity’s coding class, an elective that helps students develop a foundation in core computer science and programming. Trinity will explore adding advanced computer science classes during the 2020-21 school year, in anticipation of growing with Amazon Future Engineers.

Nona Tepper

YMCA honors D90, D91 superintendents

The West Cook YMCA honored superintendents from Forest Park District 91 and River Forest District 90 schools with its prestigious Scott Gaalaas Community Partner award — named after the organization’s late and longtime head — at its annual gala on April 27.

Phillip Jimenez, current president and CEO, said the YMCA recognized D91 Supt. Lou Cavallo and D90 Supt. Ed Condon because of the success of the Power Scholars Academy, a joint initiative between the districts and the Y that addresses summer learning loss, the achievement gap, and increases student self-confidence.

“In today’s time of seemingly less and less willingness to collaborate or compromise, these three [entities] do so without seemingly any complications, and we were successful the first time out of the gate,” Jimenez said. “I think this is a sign of hope for all the communities that together we’re stronger, together we can achieve mutual goals, and it really does take a willingness to collaborate and sit at the table and work it out.”

Jimenez said the idea for Power Scholars Academy started in 2015, when

the Y met with River Forest and Forest Park school officials, asking about how the organization could better support the districts. After meetings with Cavallo and Condon, Jimenez said it was clear the Y could help the schools address an issue both were facing: the academic achievement gap between majority and minority population students.

“We’re not bound by zip codes or taxing bodies or anything,” Jimenez said.

“We wanted to see if there was a way to do some cross-village supporting of our students.”

Three years later, D90, D91 and the Y celebrated their first summer of the Power Scholars Academy, which represented the first time all the organizations had come together for a single initiative. It also represented the first time nationally that two school districts had come together for the summer program.

Nationally, students who attend Power Scholars Academy achieve a two-month gain in reading, 1.5-month gain in math and an increase in self-confidence.

“Historically, these two school districts have not collaborated in the past to provide programming options for families, but the West Cook Y provided the framework and inspiration for District 90 and District 91 to pursue one of our essential, shared imperatives — ensuring excellence in academic achievement for every child,” Condon said in an emailed statement.

Nona Tepper

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

Spring Festival Sunday, May 5, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Trailside Museum: Welcome spring with animal encounters, kids’ tree climb, guided wildflower walks, bird banding, dip netting, seed planting, building a birdhouse to take home, and more. All ages.

Inquire: 708-366-6530. 738 Thatcher Ave.,

Spring Music Festival Saturday, May 4, 7 p.m., Unity Temple: Hear the music of the congregation while supporting the Vocal Music Scholarship and music program. $15, advance; $20, at door. Tickets/more: unitytemple.org. 875 Lake St., Oak Park.

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Hemingway Foundation Gala: At the Ritz Saturday, May 4, 7 to 10 p.m., Main Library: Be captivated by French Gypsy jazz-guitar musician Stephane Wrembel while enjoying Frenchinspired hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Cocktail historian and author Philip Greene provides insight for the night’s festivities. Hemingway Scholarship and Shorts award recipients recognized. $125; $200 couples. Tickets/more: hemingwaybirthplace.com/2019-foundation-gala. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

May 1-8

“From the Screen and Beyond”

BIG WEEK Mothers & Others for Peace Mothers’ Day was founded to honor women for their role as active, civic-minded peacemakers. Events take place at the Main Library’s Community Engagement Space, 834 Lake St., Oak Park. More: facebook.com/MothersAndOthersForPeace.

Through May 31: “Mothers’ Day: Back to Our Roots,” is an exhibit exploring the history and commitment of women working for peace.

Monday, May 6, 1 to 3 p.m.: Learn what books have inspired others and share your beloved books, stories, songs or poems at this discussion.

Saturday, May 4 and 11, 1 to 3 p.m. and Wednesday, May 8, 2 to 4 p.m., Drop in for “Make a Flower, Give a Flower” and create one for your Mom or anyone else and another for someone you don’t know. Supplies provided. All ages, including adults.

Radio and World War II

“What They Had”

Monday, May 6, 7 to 9 p.m., Veterans Room, Main Library: World War II marked the first time Americans could hear about a global conflict over airwaves. Radio host Steve Darnall presents how radio brought presidential speeches, news, entertainment for the troops and programs to boost morale at home into the lives of its listeners. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Tuesday, May 7, 10 a.m., noon, and 7 p.m., Lake Theatre: See the movie based on a real-life Oak Park couple, written and directed by their granddaughter, Elizabeth Chomko. Bridget returns home at her brother’s urging to help as their mother struggles with Alzheimer’s and their father is reluctant to let go of the couple’s life together. Showing at Select Pix, May 21: Cold War. $8.50; $6, matinee/seniors/children.

Info: classiccinemas.com. 1022 Lake St., Oak Park.

Multicultural Parade de and Festival Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m., Percy Julian Middle School: Celebrate many cultures starting with a parade that kicks off the festivities. Following, check out musical performances, dancing, food, crafts and an international marketplace. Hosted by District 97. 416 S. Ridgeland Ave., Oak Park.

Saturday, May 4, 7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church: Hear music from film and works created by some of the greatest names in movie making performed by the Michael Teolis Singers. Soprano, Alfreda Burke, joins the ensemble to reprise her performance of Alex North’s cantata, “Negro Mother,” with text by Langston Hughes. Other featured composers include John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Harry Warren and more. $20; 15, seniors/students. Cash at the door.

Questions: 708-366-2889, info@ MTSingers.org. 324 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park.

“Flood of Waters” Sunday, May 5, 4 p.m., Grace Episcopal Church: The Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble premieres William C. White’s “Flood of Waters,” Op. 34, a tone poem depicting the Great Flood from The Book of Genesis. Also hear works by Mozart, Brahms, Johann Sebastian t Bach, Richard Wagner and others through arrangements for brass and the pipe organ. arr $20, $2 $15, seniors; free, 17 and younger. Tickets: gargoylebrass.com. 924 Lake St., Oak Park.

WSSRA Kentucky Derby Gala

HO Model Trains Run Here

Graduating Senior Art Show

Saturday, May 4, 3 to 7 p.m., Turf Club, Hawthorne Race Course: Help support WSSRA’s mission to serve those with disabilities while watching a simulcast of the running of the Derby. Option for off-track wagering and derby hat and tie contest while enjoying light dinner, beer/wine and raffles. $95. Tickets/more: wssra.net, 847-455-2100. 3501 S. Laramie, Cicero.

Saturday, May 4, Noon to 5 p.m., Lower Level, Dole Library: Visit the Oak Park Society of Model Engineers and see the club’s three-level, two-state layout.

Operate a train on their DC guest layout, learn about model trains and have a chance at a door prize. Free. All ages. More: opsme.org. 255 Augusta Blvd., Oak Park.

Reception Saturday, May 4, 2 to 4 p.m., Ferguson Gallery, Kretzmann Hall, Concordia University Chicago: Meet art majors in studio art, graphic arts, preart therapy and art education exhibiting a range of 60+ two- and three-dimensional artwork.

Through May 11. 7400 Augusta St., River Forest.

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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JUST THE TWO OF US: Erica Bittner as Caroline, and Matty Robinson as Anthony in Festival Theatre’s ‘I & You’ at Open Door Theater.

ART BEAT

Photo by Jhenai Mootz

‘I & You’ transcends its seeming simplicity

By DOUG DEUCHLER

“I expect to get an A on this project,” he announces to Caroline. She initially resists.

Theater Critic She insists she hates poetry. They need an here is an intense, rather sensational artistic poster display as well as their prejoint production produced by Oak sentation on the 19th century poet. But bePark Festival Theatre and Open Door fore long, they are both deeply involved in Theater currently playing at the lat- the assignment — which is due tomorrow.

They are very different teenagers in many ter’s home base in Oak Park. I & You,

by Laura Gunderson, initially seems a de- ways. Given her situation, we can underceptively simple story about two adoles- stand why Caroline is so often abrasive and cents, Caroline (Erica Bittner), a white girl bad-tempered, but we are also struck by Anwho is a shut-in with a fatal liver disease, thony’s patience and perseverance. He’s so and Anthony (Matty Robinson), an upbeat well-adjusted and positive. Anthony carries with him a backpack containand level-headed African-Amering waffle fries, Pop Tarts and ican basketball player from her See “I & You” recordings of jazz giant John class at school.

Fridays, 8 p.m.; SatColtrane. Caroline is attached to The strong actors, tightly urdays, 3 and 8 p.m.; a stuffed turtle and has covered directed by Bryan Wakefield, and Sundays, 3 p.m., an entire wall of her room with bring the story to life with clev- through May 26, at hundreds of cut-out photos, er performances and credibility. Open Door Theater, postcards and other illustrated One might initially think this 902 Ridgeland Ave., items. Their hesitant sharing play is a rehash of some after- Oak Park. $35; $28, school TV drama from the teens- seniors; $15, students and their budding friendship are touching to witness. with-a-scary-disease genre, but with ID. Tickets/ Milo Bue’s set design is strikGunderson’s dialogue is realis- more: oakparkfestiing, with its back wall entirely tic and sharp. I was surprised to val.com/project/icovered by photos and other learn that the playwright is the you, 708-300-9396. images. This setting forms a top, most-produced living drabackdrop collage that defines matist in America. A one-set, two-person show makes this work particu- the girl’s shut-in existence. Mike McShane larly attractive in terms of budget, but the provides dramatic lighting, which heightscript requires talented performers to bring ens several key points in the story. The prothe material to life and not seem hokey or duction runs about 90 minutes with no intermission. contrived. This is a solid production.

I & You is noteworthy for its fine perforCaroline, who seems an abrasive smartass, is actually a lonely, frightened teen who mances and its swift-moving, witty diahasn’t been to school in months and whose logue. There is a dramatic twist, but I won’t only social contact is via Facebook. She provide any spoilers for that.

Perhaps you may remember some feature keeps up with her lessons at home and is films a decade or so ago that critics dubbed waiting for a liver transplant donor.

Classmate Anthony barges in, sent up to “the magic Negro movies” in which beleaCaroline’s cluttered bedroom by her mom. guered white folks were rescued from dire He announces he’s been assigned to partner circumstances by selfless, generous Afriwith Caroline on their American Lit project can-American characters. I recall The Fam— an in-depth look at the use of pronouns ily Man with Nicolas Cage and Don Cheadle. in Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself ” from This crossed my mind with I & You. But it Leaves of Grass (hence the title of this dra- doesn’t take anything away from this fine play. ma).

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SHRED IT and forget it!

THE FPB FREE ANNUAL SHRED EVENT IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO SAFELY DISCARD YOUR SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS. Bring up to two 12˝x12˝x18˝ boxes of documents to be shredded at no charge. Forest Park Police & FPB personnel will be on hand with identity theft protection tips.

Shredding solutions services will be provided by Roy Strom.

SATURDAY, MAY 4 8AM – 12PM MAIN BANK PARKING LOT 7348 W. MADISON ST.

* Please remove any documents from binders that have metal fasteners.

Join us for a

Mother’s Day Brunch Sunday, May 12, 2019 10:30am – 3:30pm Breakfast Specialties, Omelets made to order, Slow-Roasted Prime Rib, Bone-in Ham, Smoked Salmon Platter, Shrimp Cocktail, Herb Crusted Salmon, Salads, Assorted Desserts & much more!

S ERVED IN THE G RAND B ALLROOM Adults $39.95* Children (5-12) $15.95* (Children 4 & under are free) *Plus Tax & Gratuity.

For Reservations, Please Call 708-848-4250 1110 Pleasant Street Oak Park, IL 60302 www.carletonhotel.com

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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Harrison Jewelers has been serving the Oak Park area for over seventy years.

We are a full service Jeweler, including repairs on jewelry and watches.

We look forward to your visit.

County eases housing hunt for ex-cons

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Contributing Reporter

Harrison Jewelers, Inc.

6032 Roosevelt Road, Oak Park, IL. 60304 • 1-708-383-4363 • Fax 1-708-383-4805 HarrisonJewelers.com • Harrisonjewelers@aol.com Hours: Mon - Tues - Fri 10:30am - 5pm, Saturday 10am - 3pm • Closed: Wed, Thursday & Sunday

Don’t miss … The fascinating documentary

HOW TO DIE IN OREGON Wednesday May 8, 2019 • 1:00 pm Oak Park Public Library • 834 Lake Street, Oak Park This fascinating film follows several terminally ill Oregon residents who take advantage of Oregon’s medical aid in dying law, and the 2008 campaign to establish this fundamental human right in the state of Washington.

Moderated by Doug Deuchler

Free admission, light snacks will be served

Sponsored by the Illinois End of Life Options Coalition

Compassion & Choices compassionandchoices.org

Final Options Illinois finaloptionsillinois.org

For further information call 815-366-7942

The ACLU of Illinois www.aclu-il.org

The Cook County Board of Commissioners recently approved a measure that makes it easier for people with arrest records to secure housing in the county. The board passed the “Just Housing” amendment as a new clause in the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance during a meeting on April 25. The board’s two Republican commissioners — Pete Silvestri (9th) and Sean Morrison (17th) — were the only votes against the measure.

Silvestri’s district includes River Forest.

“This amendment will provide greater family stability for more than 3,300 people who return to communities in my district each year from prison,” said Commissioner Brandon Johnson (1st), the amendment’s chief sponsor, whose district includes most of Proviso Township as well as Oak Park. The measure is Johnson’s first major legislative achievement since he took office in December.

The amendment provides a range of additional protections for people with arrest records who may be seeking housing.

Marie Claire Tran-Leung, a staff attorney with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, which helped draft the legislation, said the amendment requires landlords and real estate agencies “to determine whether a person has met financial and other qualifications before considering that person’s criminal history,” and prohibits blanket bans on criminal records, as well as housing discrimination on the basis of “arrest records, juvenile records and records that have been expunged and sealed.”

Tran-Leung added that the amendment allows housing providers to deny housing on the basis of a conviction, but only after an individualized assessment of that person’s conviction history that takes into account factors such as “the nature and severity of the underlying offense, the time that has passed since it happened and what the person has done to improve themselves upon leaving the system.”

Supporters of the amendment said it aligns with a 2016 guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which notes that landlords could be liable if they routinely exclude people with criminal records from housing opportunities.

“A housing provider violates the Fair Housing Act (FHA) when the provider’s policy or practice has an unjustified discriminatory effect, even when the provider had no intent to discriminate,” HUD explains.

According to a statement released by Johnson’s office on April 8, the amendment would also require landlords to notify prospective tenants “if a housing denial is based on a criminal record by providing the applicant with their findings and a written reason for the denial of housing.”

The amendment will also “enable people with arrests and certain conviction history

to file complaints against housing providers to redress the wrongs they have suffered from discriminatory conduct,” stated Barbara Barreno-Paschall, an attorney with the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

Barreno-Paschall added that housing providers “may face penalties such as fines and damages for failing to conduct individualized assessments of qualified applicants who have arrests and certain conviction records before making a determination on their housing application.”

Those changes could smooth the transition back into society for people like Maria Moon, a college student who was incarcerated for 13 years, worked to dispel some of the assumptions that often circulate about people with criminal records.

“When I got out of prison, I was homeless,” she said. “With the money I did have, I bought a vehicle and I had to keep all my things inside of it. I had two children who were in grammar school. This isn’t just about the people who have records; it’s about our children also. They are paying these collateral consequences.”

King Harris, a senior fellow at the Metropolitan Planning Council and board chairman of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, said that each year, around 28,000 people leave Illinois prisons.

Some industry organizations, such as the National Consumer Reporting Association and Illinois Realtors, have argued that the amendment could disrupt industry standards already in place, leading to unintended consequences and possible harm to tenants and housing providers.

Terry Clemens, executive director of the National Consumer Reporting Association, said that while his organization supports the spirit of the amendment, he was concerned about the short time it would give housing providers to implement the changes and the possibility that it would create additional regulatory obstacles for landlords.

Commissioner Larry Suffredin (13th) said the commission “is experienced in balancing federal, state and local issues and protecting the rights of the citizens of Cook County,” adding that the Human Rights Commission will work with housing providers during the rule-making process that will govern the amendment’s enforcement.

Suffredin also said that, based on input from industry insiders like Clemens, the county extended the amount of time that housing providers will have to prepare themselves to get into compliance — from 90 days to six months.

Johnson said his amendment still allows landlords discretion to deny prospective tenants who are sex offenders. In addition, municipalities are able to opt out of the amendment.

“It is possible some [municipalities] will try it,” Johnson said. “But what city wants to be known as the place where people are discriminated against?”

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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Black and brown faces in white spaces

Two OPRF students plan event to explore, navigate complexities of color

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

Naomi Coke, 18, and Aaliyah Brown, 17, have learned to master the acrobatics of growing up young, black and female in Oak Park. The Oak Park and River Forest High School seniors, both members of the club Students Advocating for Equity (SAFE), have had to maneuver a complex psychological landscape.

When she was young, Coke said, she was extremely shy before an adolescence spent vying for affirmation in a predominantly white environment forced her out of her shell.

“My time at OPRF has taught me to go for what I believe and advocate for myself, and how to deal with whiteness,” she said.

Brown said her experience with SAFE “helped me to grow into myself and to advocate for the equity issues I’m passionate about.”

But that self-determination and advocacy among black women can be translated into

threatening and aggressive by some whites, they said.

“One day, SAFE students had to present the dress code to members of faculty and this one teacher was telling SAFE students that a lot of other teachers were coming up to her, saying they’re really rude and aggressive,” Coke said. “Those SAFE members who were presenting didn’t know they were being perceived that way.”

Coke conceded that one go-to mechanism for coping can be effective, albeit somewhat tiring.

“While I don’t have to code-switch as much as other black people do, because I grew up in Oak Park, I do feel like I code-switch nonetheless; just differently,” Coke said. “I feminize my voice and try to talk higher. I try to make myself seem more girly and less threatening. I smile more. … I need to stop doing that.”

Coke and Brown are planning to hold a networking event for female students of color that they’ve dubbed “Black and Brown Faces in White Spaces,” which will allow young minority women to safely discuss the challenges of, and learn tools for coping in, white (particularly professional) environments.

“We’ll have different workshops on topics like public speaking skills, business attire and the importance of networking,” Brown

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GROWING TOGETHER: Aaliyah Brown and Naomi Coke, two OPRF seniors, are planning a networking event for black and brown female students who must navigate predominantly white spaces.

SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor

said. “At the end, we’ll have a panel discussion and people will be able to ask questions, feed off each other and grow in that space.”

The event, which the two students are planning in collaboration with OPRF Board President Jackie Moore, will take place on May 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at OPRF High School, 201 N. Scoville Ave. in Oak Park.

Coke and Brown said they’ve invited black and brown female high school and college students across the Chicago area to join

them.

“The whole premise of this event is centered on assimilation, on this theory that black and Latina women need to change themselves to fit into this white norm,” Coke said.

To RSVP for “Black and Brown Faces in White Spaces,” visit: blackandbrownfaceswhitespaces.eventbrite.com. For more info, email: blackfaceswhitespaces@ gmail.com.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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D200 hires equity director

LeVar Ammons comes to OPRF from Willowbrook High

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

During a special meeting on April 29, the Oak Park and River Forest High School Board of Education approved the hiring of LeVar J. Ammons as the district’s first director of equity and student success.

The appointment was the last action taken before the new D200 board was sworn in and seated later that evening.

In a statement released on Monday, district officials said Ammons will start on July 1. He comes to D200 from Willowbrook High School in District 88. Half the student body at the Villa Park high school is white with 28 percent Hispanic, 10 percent African American, 10 percent Asian and 3 percent multiracial. Roughly 44 percent of its students qualify as low-income.

At Willowbrook, Ammons was a member of the Equity Task Force that initiated a racial equity strategic plan for District 88. He

had a hand in developing an equity action plan for the DuPage County Regional Office of Education and co-founded the Black Educators Network of Suburban Chicago. He is also a member of the Illinois Coalition of Educational Equity Leaders.

He has a doctorate in education from Olivet Nazarene University, a master’s degree in school counseling and guidance from Lewis University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Quincy University.

Before he worked in education, Ammons was a finance specialist with the U.S. Army Reserves.

“Dr. Ammons has done impressive work at the national, state, and local levels around racial equity and its intersection with education,” stated D200 Supt. Joylynn PruittAdams. “He has a passion for education, collaboration, and — most importantly — students. With his ability to teach both students and adults, and his solid grounding in racial equity work, he will be a tremendous asset as the district strives to achieve excellence and equity for all students.”

The hiring of Ammons comes just a week after the D200 board unanimously approved a racial equity policy. The equity director

PHOTOGRAPHER/Title

NEW HIRE: LeVar J. Ammons is District 200’s first director of equity and student success, a position integral to implementing the district’s new racial equity policy. position was approved back in February, in anticipation of the policy’s implementation.

District officials did not disclose Am-

mons’ starting salary or the length of his contract.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

D200 approves ‘historic’ racial equity policy ‘This is a big deal’

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

During a regular meeting on April 25, the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education unanimously voted on a racial equity policy that some community activists had been waiting on for decades.

The policy “would directly confront systemic, institutional racism and inequities within our district, and its systems that perpetuate those disparities,” according to a D200 policy memo released April 25.

In addition, the policy states that equity must be applied across a variety of social and biological identifiers, “including but not limited to” race, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, among other factors.

“This truly is a historic moment for our district,” said board member Fred Arkin.

“I am glad that I am here to witness this,” said Burcy Hines, a 30-year Oak Park resident and community member who sat on the roughly 30-person Racial Equity Policy and Procedures Committee, which worked on researching and drafting the policy over the last six months.

Hines spoke on behalf of 40-year Oak Park resident and outspoken education advocate Wyanetta Johnson, who was absent.

For many people who spoke in support of

the racial equity policy, Thursday night’s vote was a watershed moment in a decadeslong struggle in which African American women, in particular, have figured prominently, albeit oftentimes in the shadows.

“I want to jump for joy,” said Melanie McQueen, the current president of AfricanAmerican Parents for Purposeful Leadership and Education — the organization founded 30 years ago by community members like Hines and Johnson.

“This is a big freaking deal, okay? It’s a big deal!” said McQueen, who stood at the podium on April 25 with APPLE’s vicepresident, Telicia Moore. “We stand here as parents who represent the burnout. We represent the parents who said, ‘Why? Why keep going? Nothing is going to change. It’s not going to happen. It’s a waste of time ... I am ready to shout and say, ‘This is why you keep pushing forward.’”

District 200 Supt. Joylynn Pruitt-Adams openly wept and District 200 board President Jackie Moore tearfully lamented that Johnson couldn’t see the historic vote herself.

Jennifer Cassell, the outgoing D200 board member who many people said was the glue that kept together the sometimes messy 6-month policy-making process, thanked teachers, staff, administrators and students like the young, mostly African American female members of Students Advocating for Equity (SAFE) — a social justice-oriented club at OPRF. “There are many people who have sup-

ported this work, but so many black women have been steadfast in seeing this work through,” said Linda Francis, the director of Success of All Youth and a member of the policy committee.

But the night’s emotional high was tempered by the reality that the policy is only the start of even more grueling work to ensure that systemic racism at OPRF is a thing of the past.

“Once the board approves this, we need to all roll up our sleeves, because it’s really tie to get the work done,” said Pruitt-Adams.

District officials said that administrators will develop specific procedures responsible for executing the policy and measuring its success. Those procedures should be in place by the 2019-20 school year, they said.

Just last week, it seemed as if Thursday’s vote might not happen. On April 13, some members of the policy committee, including representatives with APPLE, the Committee for Equity and Excellence in Education (CEEE), Oak Park Call to Action, and Suburban Unity Alliance (SUA), released a statement expressing their disappointment with a draft version of the equity policy that was supposed to be presented at an April 16 Committee of the Whole meeting.

The community leaders said they were concerned with “how the language in the goals have been made so general and vague that they delete substantially the spirit, details and intentions of community input in previous drafts that developed from Janu-

ary through early April,” Wednesday Journal reported at the time.

District officials postponed the April 16 presentation and sent the draft policy back to the Racial Equity Policy Committee for further review during an April 18 meeting.

During the April 26 meeting, it appeared that many of those concerns that community members expressed had been dealt with — even as community leaders shared lingering demands.

“One area where we believe the policy can be strengthened is by providing more explicit language that stresses the importance of assuring dedicated resources for curriculum reform focused on racial equity,” said John Duffy, the head of CEEE and a member of the policy committee, during Thursday’s meeting.

Some community members, like Terry Keleher — an OPRF parent and racial equity expert who helped Oak Park Elementary School District 97 draft the racial equity policy that the D97 board passed in March — urged D200 board members to “align your efforts across districts as much as possible.

There’s really no good reason not to do this.”

Charity Ann Caldwell, a D97 parent who is active in various parent groups in that district, said that D200’s policy “is not as strong as the one we passed in D97,” before urging the board to synchronize its policy with the one passed in D97.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

9

River Forest trustees wary of comp plan list of building heights Plan’s recommendation at odds with zoning code, might sow confusion

River Forest to hold its first tree tour Arboretum expert will be on hand as a guide

By NONA TEPPER Staff Reporter

River Forest will hold a tour of its trees on May 19, with a representative from the Morton Arboretum joining in to talk about the village’s wide diversity of trees.

“Learn more about the trees in your backyard, take a few minutes’ reflection to learn something new,” said Andy Basney, a commissioner with the River Forest Sustainability Commission. “It’s easy to sort of see the trees, but not really appreciate them. I’m not like a tree hugger or anything like that, but it’s pretty amazing when you take a look at them now over the next several weeks when they start to leaf out.”

The free walk, sponsored by the sustainability commission and Morton Arboretum, will run from 9:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. on May 19, starting at the River Forest Public Library.

An expert from the arboretum will lead the tour, where she will talk about how to identify and maintain trees and outline why they are important: “The great things they do with respect to climate change in particular,” Basney said. “Maybe people will say, ‘Hey what can I do every year?’ Think about planting a tree as a reminder of how every person can really have an impact on climate.” Children and adults are encouraged to attend.

“The idea is empowering residents to understand trees in River Forest,” said Basney, noting that he has not yet identified the route for the walking tour, but anticipates it will be less than a mile and will begin and end at the library.

Those interested in learning more about the trees in advance of the tour can also visit the village’s website, vrf.us, which offers an interactive map of the trees of the village.

“There are 8,000 trees and 90 different species in River Forest, and these are just the ones maintained by the village forestry division and arborist, just trees in the parkways,” Basney said. “There’s a wide diversity of trees in River Forest.”

By NONA TEPPER Staff Reporter

River Forest trustees continued debate over whether specific building heights should be included in the draft comprehensive plan at a meeting on April 22, since the proposed heights haven’t been formally approved but have been granted to existing properties.

The draft plan includes a table that recommends maximum building heights for certain commercial districts within River Forest.

For example, buildings along Madison Street would be permitted to rise 50 feet, compared to the current maximum height of 30 feet. North Avenue buildings could rise up to 60 feet, up from 30 feet.

Buildings east of Lathrop Avenue on Lake Street could rise up to 70 feet, up from 50 feet; and in the Village Center area, buildings could rise up to 70 feet, up from 50 feet.

The River Forest Plan Commission approved the draft plan on March 7, and trustees expect to vote on the comprehensive plan on May 13.

However, that table does not reflect River Forest’s actual zoning code, and is purely a recommendation. That discrepancy has some trustees concerned that differences between the comprehensive plan and village’s zoning code might sow unnecessary confusion.

Trustee Patty Henek said she felt uncomfortable listing numbers that haven’t been codified yet, even if residents have called for guidance in the plan on heights they could expect.

“We’ve granted taller, giving relief to the code that exists, but it was also done on a case-by-case basis. What we’ve talked

previously been granted zonabout is have our zoning code look at changing the heights ing relief, since that was done to our existing [properties] on a case-by-case basis and and that’s what we haven’t disdoes not set a precedent. cussed or really fleshed out,” He recommended including Henek said at the meeting. “So, the table listing maximum yes, these numbers might reflect heights, but adding a promipast approvals, but we haven’t nent note that the village retalked about the fact, do we reviews developments on a oneally in fact want the stretches off basis. That, he said, sends along North Avenue to be this a message that officials plan height?” to be mindful and eventually Trustee Carmela Corsini study increased heights. said omitting specific building The comprehensive plan, an heights in the comprehensive extensive, more than 100-page plan protects the village. document that discusses top“As long as I’m on this board, ics like future land use and we’re not going to be Oak Park. development, was last updated We’re not going to be building in 2003. these tall monstrosities,” Cor“It informs the reader, sini said at the meeting. “So by whether that be a resident, actually limiting the scope of a developer, a zoning board what we’re saying, what we’re member, etc., that we need to going to approve, it protects make some adjustments to River Forest from becoming CARMELA CORSINI our building heights, right?” something that we don’t want it RF trustee Palm said at the meeting. “The to be.” core of what we’re saying is Trustee Tom Cargie said he we have an issue, because we preferred leaving the buildingkeep approving these and this height table from the compreis an item, much like other hensive plan, and adding a placeholder mentioning the maximum parts of our zoning code, that hasn’t been heights that have been approved for other examined in many years. So we need to drill down on this.” buildings.

Trustee Respicio Vazquez recommended “The problem is most people have complained but they haven’t read the text. listing the building heights with a promiThey’ve just read the box,” Cargie said at nent caption that reads, “Possible building the meeting. “That’s why I think we need height considerations subject to approval to take the box out because, again, if it’s at a public hearing.”

Trustees directed staff to include that just a recommended height that we’re still line but did not take a formal vote. Village going to consider.”

Village Administrator Eric Palm cau- President Cathy Adduci was absent. tioned against listing buildings that have CONTACT: ntepper@wjinc.com

“As long as I’m on this board, we’re not going to be Oak Park.

We’re not going to be building these tall monstrosities.”

Free cardiac screenings coming to OPRF Young Hearts for Life (YH4L), an organization that regularly offers free screenings for high school students throughout northern Illinois that test for signs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which causes parts of the heart muscle to abnormally thicken, will be at Oak Park and River Forest High School again on May 9. The organization also conducted screenings at the school in 2016.

The organization is looking for adult

volunteers to help administer the free electrocardiogram testing for students throughout the school day. To sign up to volunteer, visit: https://signup.com/

client/invitation2/secure/2294361/ false#/invitation.

In 2016, five out of the nearly 1,000 students who were screened were flagged for additional testing, YH4L officials said. This year, they’re hoping to screen at least 2,000 students.

Michael Romain

10

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Park District prepares to take over Dole Center

Renovations will close center, library for two weeks

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

The Park District of Oak Park Board of Commissioners officially approved the Dole Center sale contract during its April 18 meeting, allowing it to officially take over the property early this summer.

The Village of Oak Park Board of Trustees approved the sale during its March 18 meeting. The sale won’t affect Dole Brach Library, but the village will have to remove its archives, which it is planning to either destroy or digitize.

The park district is expected to fully take control of the Dole Center, 255 Augusta Blvd., in June, and new programming is expected to start this fall.

The purchase of the center grew out of a discussion between the park district and Senior Citizens’ Center of Oak Park-River Forest. Funded entirely through fees and fundraising, the senior center has been struggling to stay afloat.

The senior center wanted to keep its programs going, while the park district saw an opportunity to offer crafting programs us-

ing senior center’s equipment for both seniors and the general population. Both parties were interested in moving senior center programming from Oak Park Arms retirement community to Dole Center.

At the park district board of commissioners’ April 18 meeting, park district Executive Director Jan Arnold told the board they will officially take ownership of the center on May 31.

According to a park district press release, renovations will begin in June. The center, including the library portion, will be closed for major renovations from June 22 to July 7. The senior center will move into the renovated basement space this fall.

Senior Citizens’ Center of Oak Park-River Forest offers creative writing, ceramics, jewelry making, weaving and world travel programs. All of those programs will transfer over to the Dole Center and, according to Arnold, the park district will offer additional senior programming during the day and allages programs on evenings and weekends.

“The park district will offer drop-in classes as well as programs,” Arnold said.

The park district is also hoping to work with Dole Library to “host some of their programs, such as book club and foreign language classes.”

According to the park district press release, senior center members and partici-

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15, hopes Class of 20 Adia Ivey,t spreads empathy projec HAEL ROMAIN

set expenses for supplies and programming as well as non-resident scholarships. Their office will be located in the Dole Center.

The non-resident scholarship part is important, since currently, all seniors – whether they are from Oak Park or not – pay the same fee. The park district traditionally charges higher fees to non-residents.

Finally, the park district is working with Oak Park Township figure out if they can provide transportation for seniors from “designated locations” to Dole Center.

If you don’t have a subscription to Wednesday Journal, you’re missing a lot.

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By MIC

pants in the park district’s Active Adults program will be able to take advantage of each other’s programs and classes. The fee will be $50 a year.

The senior center staff, pending background checks, will become park district employees. Volunteers will also be able to continue in those roles, pending background checks.

The senior center’s governing board will continue to operate as a 501c3 nonprofit organization responsible for raising money to off-

JOURNAL

Lo c a l hospital launches new opioid treatment Opioid-addictted mothe

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Editor

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11

Taliaferro delays vote on Galewood Sears project

Alderman cites uncertainty about redevelopment project

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

The April 24 meeting at Rutherford Sayre Fieldhouse in Chicago was supposed to be public’s last opportunity to provide input on the proposed redevelopment of the closed Sears at the northeast corner of North and Harlem Avenues.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) had announced on his social media accounts and in his official ward newsletter that residents of his ward would have a chance to vote on whether they want the project to proceed.

He held a similar public voting process for the luxury apartment development that was proposed at 6600-6700 W. North Ave., which would have included, among other things, the former U.S. Bank site.

But during the April 24 meeting, Taliaferro said that he decided to postpone the vote because there were too many unknowns: the traffic study would not be finished until the end of April, there were still discussions about reducing density and developer Tucker Development was still in negotiations with the city regarding how many affordable units would be included in the development.

Taliaferro said that, when he does decide to hold the vote again, residents will be able to weigh in by phone, in person, by e-mail and through Facebook comments. The alderman wasn’t prepared to give a precise date for when the voting would happen.

The Sears redevelopment project has attracted attention not only in Galewood, but in neighboring Oak Park, River Forest and Elmwood Park, since the property happens to be located at the spot where the four communities converge.

Although it is up to the Chicago City Council to sign off on any zoning changes,

By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER

the Council traditionally defers to the wishes of the aldermen whose wards those changes are located in.

For the earlier U.S Bank site project, Taliaferro promised to follow the wishes of the community and when the residents overwhelmingly spoke out against the project, he followed their lead and did not recommend that the project go forward.

During Taliaferro’s March 25 community meeting, Tucker Development unveiled their plans for the property. It called for turning the Sears store building into a mixed-use development, with branches of an unnamed “national grocery store” chain and “national health club” chain occupying the first floor, apartments on the existing second and third floors, and two more floors built on top above them.

The developers are also planning to build apartments and townhomes on the parking lot north of the Bank of America building, with the buildings wrapping around a resident-only parking lot in the middle.

During that meeting, most residents who spoke said they were concerned about density, an increase in traffic and the fact that most of the new units would be apartments rather than condos.

Since then, Taliaferro has held two more public meetings about the project, as well as private meetings with residents of the nearby blocks. He said that he asked Tucker Development to remove 18 out of 27 townhouses and replace them with green space. He said that they will talk about more potential reductions, but he was conscious of the fact that the project has to make financial sense to the developer.

“My goal is to reduce the numbers that they’re presenting us with,” Taliaferro said.

“They have to figure out what’s best for them, [just] as the community has to figure out what’s best for the community.”

He said that, ultimately, he hopes to find a solution that would be palpable for both

Rendering courtesy of Tucker/Seritage

HOLD UP: Public voting on the proposed redevelopment of the Sears in Galewood, at the corner of Harlem and North Avenues, was postponed by Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th). the residents and the developers. When asked whether he had an alternative plan if Tucker Development simply decides to look elsewhere, Taliaferro said that that he did not.

Residents were also concerned about affordable housing. Galewood housing activist William Smiljanich called for 16 of the units to be affordable, arguing that the new development could increase property values and tax bills, potentially pushing long-time residents out of the community.

“We, as the community, are entitled to have some units [that are] affordable to us and our children,” he said.

Taliaferro responded that this is something the city and the developer are currently discussing.

While most of the residents who spoke at the March 25 meetings expressed reservations about the project, the April 24 meeting was more evenly split between opponents and supporters. The supporters argued that the vacant site hurts nearby businesses by being an eyesore and that a mixed-use development could bring in more customers.

“In regards to changes in density, that would be good, but the way things are looking at North and Harlem Avenues now,

it’s not attractive,” said Lacey Harris Guisepinna Mancuse argued that leaving the site as is would hurt area homeowners.

“My concern is that if we don’t do anything, guess what, our property values will go down,” she said. “More than in our last [2008 housing] bubble.”

Most of the opponents who spoke said they lived on the nearby stretches of Nortica Avenue, and that people who live further away don’t understand how the development would affect them.

“I’m not against the commercial part, which is the grocery store and [the fitness center], because it will bring revitalization to the community and the schools,” said David Guzman, adding that he was concerned about how traffic would affect his kids.

State Rep. Camille Lilly (78th), who attended the April 24 meeting, urged compromise.

“Not everyone is going to be happy with everything,” she said. “It is time for us to put our hands together and move the community forward. So, I want to thank the alderman for continuing to bring projects and the committee that he works with. It is part of growth and development. This is what makes the community better.”

Wonder Works hires new director

Staff Reporter

Wonder Works Children’s Museum has named Ellen Farrar as its new executive director, succeeding Rachel Rettberg, who left the position earlier this year to become executive director of the Chicago-based nonprofit A House in Austin.

Farrar formerly worked at the Chicago marketing and communications company Time Zone One, which focuses on tourism promotion and destination marketing. Prior to that, she worked in marketing for the Magnificent Mile Association.

She holds a master’s degree in arts administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree

from Colorado College.

The change in leadership at Wonder Works comes at a time when the children’s museum is experiencing record-high attendance.

The museum, located at 6445 W. North Ave., had 80,000 visitors in 2018 — that’s up from about 74,000 the year prior. Wonder Works also claims more than 1,000 members and hosted about 200 field trips and 300 private parties last year.

“I hope to continue this great momentum,” Farrar said in a telephone interview.

Julianne Nery, Wonder Works’ board president, said in a press release that the museum, which caters to toddlers and children up to 8 years old, is “committed to providing an environment where early learning flourishes.”

“We see an opportunity to continue to significantly enhance our museum offerings and

service and are thrilled to have Ellen lead us in this exciting stage of growth,” Nery said.

Farrar, an Oak Park resident, said in an email that the museum provides an important place for children, which is focused on their needs.

The museum offers six interactive permanent exhibits for children to explore as well as educational programming and events for families.

“And while they play in our museum environment and take part in our programming, we know they are developing their curiosity and creativity without limits or parameters,” she said.

The children’s play allows them to develop important life skills that increase confidence, happiness and lay the groundwork for educational success, she said. “Access to

the types of quality, play-based early childhood learning experiences we provide is essential for a child’s healthy brain development,” said Farrar, adding that she is passionate about children’s museums because, “We need to remember that kids need to explore without too many boundaries.”

Her goals are to continue the growth of the program and establish more strategic partnerships to enrich the museum experience and provide new revenue sources for the operation.

Farrar said the museum’s recent Friday night pajama pizza party was a big success, and the museum plans to hold more in the future.

“We’re going to start doing that monthly,” she said. The next event will be held sometime in June. tim@oakpark.com

12

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Mancini’s is back

New owner to take the helm at longtime Oak Park restaurant

By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter

It’s been nearly a quarter-century since Al Mancini launched his Italian restaurant on Lake Street, but after selling the eatery and seeing it resold, he’s returning for the next year to help reboot the business.

The reprise comes with a new owner, Vince Pecora, who has spent the last 35 years working in the industry, at one point serving as the caterer for Air Force One during the Clinton administration.

Mancini’s, located at 1111 Lake St., closed its doors at the end of January and has been dormant since.

More recently Mancini, who also owns the building, has been working with Pecora on remodeling of the 65-seat restaurant, which also will feature a new menu.

The traditional Italian restaurant launched in 1995 at 1038 Lake St. Nine years later, Mancini bought the building at the current location.

Mancini sold the business in 2014, and

the restaurant was again sold to a different owner a few years later, but he remained the owner of the building. Mancini had been out of the business for about five years when the restaurant closed, and he did not hold the previous owner to the lease.

“The bottom line is I’m back,” said Mancini, who will work over the next year to help Pecora launch a reimagined Mancini’s.

“I’m going to be the landlord, but I’m going to help oversee the first year,” he said.

Pecora, who was born and raised in Oak Park, said the new menu will be Italian-American fare “geared toward foodies and families.”

He is the founder of Poppa Clemenza’s pizza and cafes in Palatine, Hoffman Estates and Elk Grove. He sold those restaurants and later opened Ciao, Baby! Restaurant in Barrington.

“I’m psyched to come back to Oak Park,” Pecora said in a recent interview.

While he has a long culinary pedigree, his most notable accomplishment is as caterer for Air Force One from 1996 to 2000.

His restaurant was randomly discovered

by Air Force One staff during a convention in the 1990s. The president enjoyed the pizza and “all of a sudden they started calling,” Pecora recalled.

He said the revamped Mancini’s will include about half Italian meals, a quarter

Recognize her legacy.

Celebrate her inspiration

TIMOTHYINKLEBARGER/Staff

TASTE OF ITALY: Al Mancini (left) and Vince Pecora plan to reopen Mancini’s in the coming weeks.

American fare and another quarter fusion dishes that incorporate Spanish, Asian and Puerto Rican influences.

The menu also will offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes, he said, and focus special attention on customer service, Pec-

ora said, adding that he and Mancini have the same ethics when it comes to customer satisfaction.

“If we make a mistake, we admit it,” he said. tim@oakpark.com

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13

Help with recovering from the fire

Friend of fire victims launches online fundraiser

By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter

It’s been over two weeks since a fire broke out inside a six-unit apartment building in the 500 block of South Scoville Avenue in Oak Park, and displaced residents are still working to get their lives back to normal.

Online fundraisers have helped provide cash for food and necessities, and a new one, launched a little over a week after the April 12 fire, aims to assist minister Marshall Hatch Jr. and his wife, Zulmarie.

Zulmarie, who was 33 weeks pregnant at the time of the fire, was treated for smoke inhalation after the fire but did not suffer serious injuries.

Jack Crowe, a regular contributor to Wednesday Journal, launched the online fundraiser through www.gofundme.com.

Crowe notes on the fundraiser site that “the baby checked out fine” but adds that “after investing their nest egg to move to Oak Park this year, they can use our help

with the relocation expenses and rebuilding their family.”

In a telephone interview, Crowe said it is the first time he has sponsored an online fundraiser.

By Monday, April 29, the fundraiser already has raised $5,320, which is beyond the goal of $5,000, but that goal was arbitrary, said Crowe, noting that the young family lost all their clothing, furniture and items for their forthcoming baby. “They are in temporary housing right now and working on a longer-term solution,” Crowe said.

In the online fundraiser, he said that Marshall “heads the New Mount Pilgrim

MICHAEL ROMAIN/Contributor

SETBACK: The fire at 530 S. Scoville Ave. disrupted Marshall Jr. and Zulmarie Hatch’s family plans.

Church MAAFA Redemption Project, an anti-violence, residential-employment program for high-risk men, 18-30 years old in West Garfield Park.”

“Zulmarie manages an iMentor college readiness program in a near West Side charter school,” he added.

Crowe, the executive director of Year Up –

Chicago, called the couple “friends in need.”

He has known Marshall for several years and served with his father on a board for the startup of Christ the King Jesuit College Prep.

The link to the fundraiser is: https:// www.gofundme.com/helping-a-new-familyafter-a-fire-in-oak-park. tim@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Comb company about heart, not just the head

Oak Park biz donates 10 percent to charity for kids with cancer

By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter

Like a lot of entrepreneurial ventures the relatively new Oak Park business, Steeltooth Combs, started out with a problem – but not the one you might think.

Entrepreneur and Oak Park resident Nicholas Baker needed a new comb.

“I had a regular plastic one, but I thought this was the opportunity to get a better one,” he said in a recent telephone interview.

Baker looked in the men’s hair products at a local retail store but only found cheap plastic combs like the kind he previously owned.

“I figured there was going to be a cool plastic comb, but it wasn’t there, and I was surprised by that,” he said.

After a search through the men’s hairsupply section, Baker realized he had to go to the women’s section to find what he was looking for.

Unsatisfied with his search, he turned to the internet to find a quality comb, but most of the combs he found went for between $30 and $50, he said.

And then a lightbulb went off.

“I thought that there has to be a way to reduce the cost of these combs and get one made out of steel,” he said, lamenting his burly head of hair, which, he said, has always been hard to get a plastic comb through.

Baker, who works in the finance tech industry for his day job, continued his research and ultimately launched Steeltooth Combs in 2017.

“I thought I could build a brand around men’s combs because no one is doing that,” he said.

Baker continued with his business, eventually shifting to the concept of combs that are geared toward helping people with thick hair.

They sell for between $16 and $23.

He said the business has experienced steady growth, and he’s selling them not only through his website but at a couple of barbershops – one in Los Angeles and the other in an Oak Park shop called Dapper, 745 Garfield St. Steeltooth also donates 10 percent of its sales to the charity Children With Hair Loss, which donates wigs to children with cancer.

Baker said he began donating to the charity through his sales on eBay, but he eventually started donating 10 percent of all of his sales to the charity.

“The hair on our heads is central to our identities as human beings,” he said in a recent press release. “We walk around with

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CLEAN CUT: Entrepreneur Nick Baker, who started his business, Steeltooth Combs, in 2017, says the operation has experienced steady growth over the last couple of years. it all day, style it one way, cut it another, and use it to make us look and feel like our best selves.

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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15

C R I M E

Porch pirate could become gardener, healthier

resident’s 2015 Kia Soul, which was parked in the 100 block of Pleasant. The incident took place sometime between 9 p.m. on April 25 and 8:54 a.m. on April 26. The estimated loss is $200.

Someone stole packages from the from door of a residence in the 900 block of North Grove at 2:30 p.m. on April 24. The packages contained perennial plants and B vitamins.

The offender was seen fleeing the scene in a gray 4-door vehicle. The estimated loss is $70.

Criminal trespass An 18-year-old Chicago resident was arrested at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building in Chicago at 11:15 a.m. on April 23 and charged with criminal trespass to motor vehicle. No additional information was provided.

Vehicle break-ins ■ A vehicle was burglarized in a parking lot in the 6400 block of North Avenue sometime between 2 and 10 p.m. on April 24. The offender gained entry to the vehicle and took a black leather women’s purse with credit cards and identification. The estimated loss is $200.

■ A vehicle was burglarized in the 1100 block of South Elmwood Avenue at 2 a.m. on April 23. The offender gained entry to the vehicle through possible means of an unlocked door. They then ransacked the vehicle and stole an Army backpack, two textbooks and an external hard drive. The estimated loss is $410.

■ A vehicle was burglarized in the 100 block of Superior Street sometime between noon and 4 p.m. on April 23. The offender entered through an unlocked door, ransacked the vehicle and took a key fob from the center console. The estimated loss is $200.

■ A vehicle, which was parked on the third floor of the parking garage at The Emerson in the 1100 block of Westgate, was burglarized sometime between 5 p.m. on April 12 and 5 p.m. on April 15. A second vehicle also was burglarized at the same address, but parked on the fourth floor, sometime between 9 a.m. on March 18 and 4 p.m. on April 18. The offender ransacked the interior and used a black permanent marker to damage the center console and passenger seat. The estimated loss is unknown.

■ Someone burglarized an Oak Park resident’s 2010 Jeep Patriot in the 100 block of South East Avenue sometime between 9 p.m. on April 25 and 5 a.m. on April 26. The offender ransacked the vehicle and removed

Theft

cash and a gray Champion brand jacket.

The estimated loss is $50.

■ An Aurora resident’s 2012 Hyundai was burglarized in the 300 block of Lake Street sometime between 6 and 6:34 p.m. on April 27. The offender gained entry to the vehicle by breaking the front passenger window with an unknown object. Once inside, the offender took a black leather purse that contained a Social Security card, an Illinois driver’s license, credit cards, a checkbook and a small wallet with cash. The estimated loss is unknown.

■ Two vehicles were burglarized in the 800 block of Columbian Avenue sometime between 12:30 and 8 a.m. on April 28. The offender gained entry to the Chevrolet Malibu and Toyota Sienna, which were parked in a private driveway. The offender stole a blank checkbook and a black wallet with identification and credit cards. The estimated loss is $300.

■ Two vehicles were burglarized in the 900 block of Forest, sometime between 5 p.m. on April 27 and 1 p.m. on April 28. The offender entered by means of unlocked doors to the Mercedes-Benz Metris and

Honda CRV, which were parked in a private driveway. The offender then took a Huskie workbag with tools. The estimated loss is $100.

Garage burglary A residential garage was burglarized in the 400 block of Washington Boulevard sometime between 2 p.m. on April 21 and 12:50 p.m. on April 27. The offender used a pry tool to pry open the lock. Once inside, they ransacked a storage bin and also used a pry tool to damage the basement door to the building. The estimated loss due to damage is $500.

Criminal damage ■ A Maywood resident’s vehicle was damaged in the 700 block of North Boulevard sometime between 8:30 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. on April 24. The offender damaged the rear passenger door with an unknown tool, according to police. The estimated loss due to damage is $400.

■ Someone used a piece of wood to shatter the front passenger window of an Oak Park

■ A locked, black 2006 Chevrolet Impala, which was parked in an alley in the 900 block of South Elmwood Avenue, was stolen, sometime between 2 and 9 a.m. on April 22. The estimated loss is $10,000.

■ Someone driving a red landscaping truck with the name “Rudy’s” on the side, allegedly took a green garbage can from outside a garage in the 900 block of North Euclid Avenue at 9:51 a.m. on April 22. The estimated loss is $65.

■ A Maywood resident reported being the victim of a theft in the 800 block of Lake Street sometime between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on April 22. The offender removed the victim’s black duffel bag, which contained books and clothes. The estimated loss is unknown.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park and River Forest police departments, came from reports, April 22-29, 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 Timothy Inklebarger

Man accused of exposing himself arrested Police file charge offender with one count of public indecency

By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter

Oak Park police have arrested a 21-yearold Chicago man believed to have exposed

himself on two separate occasions near Oak Park and River Forest High School.

The suspect was taken into custody on April 24, the same day school officials informed parents that a second incident had occurred near the school.

Police reported that the offender was charged with one count of public indecency, which is a misdemeanor.

The charges stem from the first incident on April 8 incident, where an 18-year-old fe-

male OPRF student reported that the man exposed himself from his vehicle, which was parked in the 300 block of North Scoville Avenue, at about 8:05 a.m.

That vehicle was a black Toyota Camry with tinted windows and temporary license plates. That vehicle returned on April 24, and a student walking to class in the same area reported seeing the man masturbating in his vehicle.

The victim in the more recent incident is

a minor and chose not to file charges.

Oak Park Police Commander Joe Moran said in an email that the offender was stopped by a patrol officer at 1 p.m. on April 24, in the area of 100 Chicago Ave. “The subject was transported to the Oak Park Police station for questioning,” Moran said in an email The offender bonded out of jail, and is due in court on May 15 at 9 a.m. tim@oakpark.com

16

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

MOHR

Future development? from page 1 pointment to sell off its inventory of mortar mix, stucco supplies and other materials.

Poulos declined to speak on the record about the sale, but the property is being marketed as a redevelopment site, meaning that, more than likely, the cement factory will be demolished and turned into something else.

“The 3-acre-plus assemblage is one of the largest land sites currently available in Oak Park,” the listing notes.

The village recently alerted Mohr to several building-code violations involving the factory and shopping center properties — infractions for cracks in the sidewalks; one instance of graffiti in the shopping center; peeling paint around the Mohr office building; and a pockmark left on the window of one of the shopping center storefronts by a BB-gun pellet.

Tammie Grossman, director of development and customer services for Oak Park, said the letters sent to Mohr to fix the issues came as the result of the village’s Neighborhood Walk program, which sends out building inspectors throughout the village to search for code violations. She emphasized that the warnings were not citations or tickets and that Mohr can appeal the warnings or arrange to fix them.

“I do have new staff and we’re trying to be more proactive in code enforcement issues,” Grossman said.

Meanwhile, the Mohr family has been working to sell off its remaining property. Richards said the company recently sold its fleet of cement trucks and other assets.

“My dad’s truck went to someone who … is going to keep it,” she said.

Richards said the truck has sentimental value because it was the first truck her faALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer ther, Henry “Bud” Mohr, purchased SOLID LEGACY: H.J. Mohr & Sons concrete factory (above right) went for $500. on the market this month for $7 million. Top, Karen Richards (left) Bud had come and Tracy Walsh, of Mohr, with the first cement truck purchased back from fighting

by Richards’ father, Henry “Bud” Mohr. Above left, the H.J. Mohr & in World War II Sons office. as a Navy serviceman and realized H.J. Mohr, in 1893. that the company, As the family has worked through the which then operated as a coal yard, needed to transition away from that industry. “My backstock of its holdings at the plant, they ma and dad just got married, and from the have come across several historical items, wedding money, they bought the first ce- some stretching back almost to the company’s beginning. ment truck,” she said.

“We found a jack up for a railroad car that Richards said the closure has been a sad for the Mohr family, adding that the com- says, ‘Chicago, Illinois, 1900,’” she said. “It’s pany was founded by her great-grandfather, sad. You’re going through all of this stuff

Photos provided by Mohr Concrete

that’s been here for over 100 years.”

She mentioned that the Christmas tree and Santa Claus figure perched atop the hopper at the plant, which could be seen year-round by motorists passing by on Harlem, also have been removed.

“People say, ‘I remember that from when I was little,’” she said. “It’s not going to be here no more.”

It’s uncertain what will become of the property, but some members of the Oak

Park Board of Trustees believe it could be turned into a residential housing building.

The issue became a topic of discussion during a recent meeting of the board, where trustees approved an affordable housing ordinance.

Trustee Dan Moroney unsuccessfully moved to exclude the property from the affordable housing requirement, arguing that it might deter development at the property. tim@oakpark.com

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

YMCA

Building capacity from page 1 various components of that six-month due diligence process.

“At the end of that process, we’re going to come together and say it’s either a go or no-go, and based on that we’ll determine whether or not we actually purchase the property and how long it will take us to build out,” Jimenez said. “Before the end of 2019, we’re going to have to know that answer.”

Jimenez emphasized that patrons who attend the West Cook YMCA’s Marion Street flagship facility in Oak Park would not be affected during those six months. He added that, if the organization ends up developing a Melrose Park location, the Oak Park flagship would not be negatively impacted.

“At this point, until there’s a new facility, there will be absolutely no change here,” Jimenez said. “We are by no means divesting in the Oak Park facility. If anything, we’ll be doing what we always do — looking for ways to improve the facility.”

Jimenez said the decision to expand into Melrose Park was the result of a conversation he had in 2017 with Jesse Rosas, executive director of the Proviso Mental Health Commission.

“Proviso had just done a comprehensive study with sixth-graders, nearly 900 of

Google Earth

INTERESTED BUYER: The vacant Menards in Melrose Park, which could be the future home of a YMCA, if all goes according to plans. them at various school districts and some stark [health and wellness] realities started to come through,” Jimenez said. “That got them thinking, how will we build our capacity to address some of this. A lot of it had to do with after-school enrichment and support.”

By May 2018, Jimenez said, the West Cook YMCA and the Proviso Mental Health

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Commission had developed a memo of understanding.

“We gave ourselves a year to evaluate whether or not we could make something happen,” Jimenez said. “We then started considering different sites and I kept coming back to the Menards site.”

The roughly 160,000-square-foot building — which is surrounded by some 400 parking

17

spaces, and lumber and gardening areas that could also be redeveloped — is “one of those unique spaces, where no one knows if its Maywood, Melrose Park or River Forest.”

Jimenez said the Menards site is roughly three miles further into the West Cook YMCA’s service area — which comprises 10 communities and extends as far west as Bellwood and Stone Park, and as far north as Franklin Park. The YMCA’s current Oak Park flagship is located near the easternmost border of its service area.

Jimenez said “if money wasn’t an option,” the former Menards, which has been vacant for roughly six years, would be home to a variety of preventive care and chronic disease programs, a natatorium and a food court serving healthy meals, among other services.

He said his team has already spoken to area hospitals about partnering to provide health and wellness services, and that a municipality has agreed to locate its emergency services center at the Melrose Park site. There would also be a 24/7 police presence.

Jimenez stressed, however, that all of these ideas are tentative and the redevelopment of the site, if it happens, would ultimately be affected by available funds. Jimenez declined to reveal how much the YMCA would pay for the building before the purchase agreement is finalized.

Jesse Rosas could not be reached for comment by deadline.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

18

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Enrich Your Life in 2019

THRIVE TALKS A FREE Speaker Series: Inspiring Healthy Families Presented by Thrive Counseling Center

Thursday, May 9 • 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Oak Park Public Library, Main Library, Veterans Room, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park

Speaker Series:

Inspiring Healthy Families

Help, Healing, and Hope for Families Living with Mental Illness with Marian Sassetti, MD, FAAFP Confusion, sorrow, isolation, and helplessness are emotions common to families facing mental health challenges. Come hear how families can find help for their loved ones and support for themselves. Learn where to turn for resources and how empowering it can be to ask for help. Learn how the myth of the “normal family” gets in the way of healthy healing and how we can all help dismantle this myth. We will also Marian Sassetti, MD, FAAFP explore how rapidly evolving research in brain function and self care hold hope for healing and happiness.

• Dr. Sassetti is a family physician who has lived and worked in the community for over 25 years. She is an assistant professor of Family Medicine at Rush Medical School and has enjoyed teaching learners about illness, health, and well-being across a person’s lifespan. Over the years Dr. Sassetti has developed a personal and professional interest in ministering to people with mental illness and in advocating for families and patients who have mental health challenges.

• Dr. Sassetti is an expert in violence against women and teaches health care providers across the country how to recognize and minister to victims of violence. She is excited about developing opportunities to collaborate with communities and families in preventing sexual violence and its mental health consequences.

All THRIVE TALKS are open to the public and free of charge.

For questions please contact Monique Slater at mslater@thrivecc.org or 708.383.7500 x322 www.thrivecc.org/thrive-talks/

HOPE

RESILIENCE

R EC OV E RY

120 South Marion Street, Oak Park, IL 60302 (708) 383-7500 www.thrivecc.org

I

Enchiladas Suizas and the search for authenticity

n an era of fake news and “used earth ovens to roast the general cultural dishonesty, it ‘hearts’ or piñas of agave/ shouldn’t be surprising that maguey plants.” Such earth many of us seek authenticity. ovens are suited to long cooks Watch any episode of Check, (necessary for fibrous agave Please, the excellent public televihearts). It would probably sion program featuring Alpana have been preferable to cook Singh and a panel of citizen enchiladas in earthenware reviewers, and you’ll likely hear “jars” over an open fire, if the word “authentic” mentioned indeed they were cooked at all. several times. People will say To be an enchilada, then, all that food at one restaurant is it takes is a tortilla “seasoned “authentic French,” or that food with chili.” at another restaurant is “auRecently, we sat down to thentic Mexican.” When people lunch at Margarita’s on Oak Local Dining say a food is “authentic,” what Park Avenue.

I ordered En& Food Blogger they usually mean is simply that chiladas Suizas, which is one they like it. A more objective enchilada dish whose origin is definition of “authentic” relates well documented — and thus to how the dish was originally one dish whose authenticity prepared.

804 S. Oak Park Ave., can be objectively evaluated National Enchilada Day is Oak Park in terms of conformity to the May 5, so I took it upon myself 708-386-3386 paradigmatic original recipe. to research the origins of the enEnchiladas Suizas, filled with chilada, which is now generally chicken and drenched in understood to be a tortilla wrapped around tomatillo sauce, were first served in 1950 meat or cheese and served in sauce. “Enat Sanborn’s Department Store in Mexico chilada” is the Nahuatl word for “chili,” or City. They’re called “Suizas” because pepper, flanked by the Spanish prefix “en-“ they’re topped with Chihuahua cheese, and and postfix “-ada.” The word “enchilada,” cheese is, you know, big in Switzerland. therefore means “seasoned with chili,” Alas, the Enchiladas Suizas at Margariand it’s possible the first enchiladas were ta’s, though they were filled with chicken simply tortillas, filled or unfilled, with and served in tomatillo sauce, were not chili peppers in a sauce or worked into the topped with any cheese at all but rather cornmeal of the tortilla. drizzled with crema, the Mexican cream Dr. Gary Feinman, who curates Mesosauce. Lacking cheese, this dish at Margaramerican anthropology at Chicago’s Field ita’s might be called “inauthentic.” When Museum, told me, “There is no evidence judging a dish, however, what probably that pre-Hispanic peoples made enchiladas matters most is taste, which has nothing to that were similar to today. To begin, they do with a dish’s relative authenticity. did not have cheese. [They] likely added On National Enchilada Day, Cinco de sauces from jars cooked over fires.”

Mayo, I will be in Mexico City celebrating Though many enchiladas are now baked, both holidays by having “authentic” Enit seems unlikely they were baked by chiladas Suizas at Sanborn’s Department Mayan and Aztec peoples. “Pre-Hispanic Store, their point of origin.

Mesoamerican peoples,” Feinman said,

DAVID

HAMMOND

Margarita’s

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

NEED TO REACH US?

oakpark.com/real-estate email: buphues@wjinc.com

19

Homes

The tales our houses tell Historical society housewalk explores northwest River Forest

By LACEY SIKORA

O

Contributing Reporter

n Sunday, May 5 from 1 to 5 p.m. the Oak Park River Forest Historical Society will open up six homes in River Forest’s northwest quadrant.

Just 100 years ago, this area north of Division Street was farmland and forest.

The 1920s were a period of rapid development of the former Longfield Farm, located between what is now Lathrop and Park avenues, and of a forested area between Park and Thatcher, developed by Albert F. Keeney and known as the Keeney subdivision.

Pre-Depression era developers saw a future in which paving North Avenue and Harlem Avenue would provide

easy access to the prairies and forests, as well as prime real estate opportunities for families looking for large homes with modern amenities.

Mary Boyaris, chairwoman of the housewalk, says the area is a fascinating look back into a suburban building boom.

“The Longfield family was very influential in River Forest and Elmwood Park and lent $1,000 to Elmwood Park to cover the cost of incorporation,” Boyaris said.

“John Longfield died in 1918, and his kids sold off the farm land, keeping the house, in 1922. It all sold in two weeks. This was a period of huge growth in the area.”

See HOUSEWALK on page 21

Photos courtesy of Historical Society Housewalk

BUILDING BOOM: Many of the homes in this year’s housewalk were part of a 1920s building boom in northwest River Forest.

20

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21

HOUSEWALK Farm to fab from page 19 Just west of the Longfield farm parcels, developer Keeney saw promise in the village. Boyaris says he was a developer on a large scale, who developed the North Avenue corridor through Chicago and Austin and had a similar vision for Lake Street.

“He gobbled up land and then just sat on it,” Boyaris said, noting that he was the biggest landowner in this section of River Forest.

“In 1925, he wanted to pave North Avenue all the way to Thatcher, and it was his policy to acquire large tracts of land in the path of progress and wait for the demand to come.”

Frank Lipo, executive director of the historical society, says this year’s walk points to a very interesting time in River Forest’s history.

“We have a mosaic map, which is sort of an aerial photo, of the village published in the Oak Leaves in 1926,” Lipo said. “You can see the Dominican Priory, Rosary College, and what became Trinity High School, and then you just see big open fields west of Lathrop and a fair amount of tree coverage towards Thatcher. It’s really interesting to look at this quadrant and realize how recently it was developed.”

Willard School connection Lipo notes that as the homes were being developed at a rapid pace, it soon became clear that another school would be needed for the village.

Photos courtesy of Historical Society Housewalk

GRAND STYLE: A house on Lathrop Avenue (above) was designed by Samuel E. Bird, who taught at OPRF before opening his own architectural office. A grand house on Ashland Avenue (below, left) built just as the Depression hit, sat vacant for years before being bought by a Mars candy scion.

“Our walk happens to tie in with the 90th anniversary of Willard School, which was built for the families of these new houses.

The first students came to the school in 1929.

“An Oak Leaves story from September of that year is titled, ‘Willard School relieves congestion.’ With 125 pupils, the school board president noted that all rooms on the first and second floors were occupied and stated, ‘With the rapid development of north River Forest, it will not be long before

the entire building will be needed.’”

The new school in the middle of the prairie was soon surrounded by houses.

“It’s the kind of suburban development story that we don’t really think about around here,” Lipo said.

To tie in with Willard’s 90th anniversary -a celebration at the school is planned for the fall of 2019 -- Willard School will be a pickup site for tickets for the historical society’s May 5 walk.

Sneak peeks into the houses Peggy Sinko, president of historical society’s board, researched one of the houses on this year’s walk and says what she learned about the Ashland Avenue home could be titled “the cautionary tale of the Great Depression.”

She says that developer Chris Reier, an See HOUSEWALK on page 22

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Photos courtesy of Historical Society Housewalk

GROWTH: The 1920s building boom brought so many new homes, like the one above, and people to River Forest that a new school – Willard School – had to be built to accommodate the influx of children. The school opened in 1929.

HOUSEWALK Great stories from page 21

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Beautiful kitchen & baths. In the heart of Oak Park, walk to everything.

Beautiful brick colonial.

Great location.

Great newer family home in awesome location. Walk to everything!

KATHY & TONY IWERSEN 708.772.8040 708.772.8041 tonyiwersen@atproperties.com

Oak Park builder who built dozens of homes in the area, intended to build six homes on the block, starting in the summer of 1929.

He built the first, which sold fairly quickly, and then set to o work on the second across the street.

By the time the French nch revival-style home was as completed in 1931, the stock market had crashed, taking with it interest in lavish houses.

The house had features that were not the norm for the era.

“It was built with h central air conditiononing,” Sinko said. “This This was a big deal then. It was so unusual to see it in a home that the Chicago Tribune wrote an article about it.”

The home also included a three-car garage, but was too rich for many to contemplate buying. It sat vacant for four years before selling in 1935 to William Kruppenbacher. The half-brother of Mars Candy heiress Ethel Mars, Kruppenbacher became the president of Mars and lived in the home for 20 years.

Kurt Etchingham researched a Lathrop Avenue home designed by architect Samuel E. Bird. He says Bird is a story unto himself.

“He lived in Oak Park for 60 years,” Etch-

ingham said. “He taught industrial arts at Oak Park High School for 10 years before opening his architectural office. He considered himself more of an engineer that an architect.”

Another favorite home that Etchingham researched on Forest Avenue was designed in the French eclectic style by Jerome Cerny.

“He was a Czech immigrant who became one of the premier architects of the French eclectic said. “It’s wonec ect c style,” sty e, Cerny C derful to have so many of his h homes in River Forest. His goal was to have homes that exuded Old World tha charm, but the intech riors were very conr temporary for the t time.”

Sinko says that the historical socieety housewalk aims tto go beyond the homes themselves ho and celebrates a neighborh borhood, great architeca ture and the interesting tha always come up stories that research during research.

“The walk is not just about presenting beautiful homes,” Sinko said. “We talk about people and put homes in the perspective of the neighborhood and the time period. In this case we learn a lot about the 1920s and the exuberance of the time.”

Tickets for the housewalk are $30 ($25 for historical society members) and can be purchased online at oprfmuseum.org/events/ tales-our-houses-tell-housewalk or by calling 708-848-6755. Tickets purchased on the day of the event are $35. Tickets can be picked up on the day of the walk at Willard School, 1250 Ashland Ave. in River Forest.

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Generations of Excellence since 1958

708.771.8040 • 7375 W. North Ave., River Forest Donna Barnhisel Joe Cibula 7375 West North Avenue Dan Bogojevich Don Citrano Illinois 60305 Anne Brennan Alisa Coghill Karen Byrne Kay Costello 708.771.8040 Kevin Calkins JoLyn Crawford Andy Gagliardo

Kurt Fielder Yvonne Fiszer-Steele Ramona Fox Laura Gancer Lisa Grimes Dan Halperin Sharon Halperin

MANAGING River Forest, BROKER/OWNERS

Tom Carraher Pat Cesario

Tom Poulos

Maria Cullerton Julie Downey

Greg Jaroszewski Vee Jaroszewski Noa Klima Sherree Krisco Jack Lattner Charlotte Messina Vince McFadden

Elizabeth Moroney Colleen Navigato John Pappas Sue Ponzio-Pappas Rosa Pitassi Caroline Rauch Michael Roche

Jenny Ruland Laurel Saltzman Laurie Shapiro Tom Sullivan Debbie Watts George Wohlford Nancy Wohlford

847 N ELMWOOD • OAK PARK

417 LATHROP #3E • RIVER FOREST OPEN SUNDAY • 1-3

728 S EUCLID • OAK PARK OPEN SUNDAY • 1-3

N E W LIS TI NG!

N EW LI S T I N G!

N EW LI S T I NG!

STATELY OAK PARK HOME on tree lined street! Pristine home offers quality & stunning details throughout with custom millwork, cabinetry & craftsmanship! Bright, open first floor with sunlit family room. Four spacious bedrooms on 2nd floor.

Awesome basement, park-like yard.................................$817,000

RARE OPPORTUNITY to live in the Windsor of RF. Custom designed 3 BR, 2-1/2 bath unit with 3000 sq ft of open floor plan.

Oak flooring, washer & dryer, private terrace, MBR has BI office nook. Kitchen features built-in desk, breakfast bar/island. Two car garage parking..................................................................$795,000

LOVELY BRICK HOME and its original details blend seamlessly w/ 2 story stucco addition on a large lot. Home offers 4 bedrooms, 2 full and 1 half bath, beautiful woodwork throughout, wood burning fireplace, updated kitchen. Plenty of storage, 2 car garage…so much to see. ................................................ $539,900

RIVER FOREST HOMES RARE NEW CONSTRUCTION like no other. From the cut limestone, European detailing to the unequal foyer, it has no peers. 7 BR, 7-1/2 BA with impressive lower level.................................................................... $2,490,000 STATELY BRICK/STONE ENGLISH STYLE HOME with 6 BRs and 7-1/2 BAs. Some features include limestone wood burning fireplace, dream kitchen, white oak floors, mud room............................................ $2,490,000 BURMA BUILT BUHRKE HOUSE combines Tudor revival & chateau style architecture elements. Gorgeous décor and impeccable attention to detail in both house and landscaped grounds..............................$2,199,000 BEAUTIFUL, CLASSIC HOME offers everything for today’s modern living. Custom-built home has the highest quality finishes. No detail was missed. LL has 2,000 feet of living area.........................................$1,595,000 BEAUTIFUL ITALIAN VILLA combines wonderful upgrades and finishes in a comfortable family home. New kitchen and four full floors of elegant living; spacious and sunny. ............................................................$1,349,999 HISTORIC PRAIRIE is believed to have been built around 1891 and remodeled by William Drummond in 1916. It has all of the classic features, and a pool in the backyard! ............................................................$1,199,000 A PERFECT 10! with many upgrades and finishes in this 4 BR, 4-1/2 BA home. Family room, 1st FL office/den, screened in porch, elaborate basement, 1st FL laundry........................................................................$1,195,000 SETTING A NEW STANDARD in approachable elegance, this 5 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath home will exceed your ex-pectations. One of a kind floor plan, and three fully finished levels.........................................................$1,175,000 LOVINGLY MAINTAINED AND UPDATED, move-in ready, 6 BR, 3-1/2 BA Burma Brothers Home. Tall ceilings, original woodwork, oak floors, art glass, fam room/sun porch, mudroom......................................... $1,095,000 IMPECCABLY MAINTAINED COMTEMPORARY HOME Includes 3 BRs, 3 full/3 half BAs, bamboo floors, multi-faced gas fireplace, private office, updated kitchen, in-ground pool.......................................... $865,000 UNIQUE QUALITY BURMA BUILT HOME has many wonderful features including two separate office areas, hardwood floors, adjoining eating area-family room............................................................................... $845,000 PRICE REDUCED MOVE IN READY home with everything you need and want. Wood burning fireplace, library, large kitchen, family room, 3 BRs, 2 full BAs, brick paver patio, 2 car garage........................................... $699,000 BEAUTIFUL, BRIGHT, METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED home on generous lot. Hardwood floors, white molding, French doors, expansive yard. LL has fin RR and storage.........................................................$640,000

ADDITIONAL OPEN HOUSES SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2019 RIVER FOREST 1207 JACKSON • OPEN SUNDAY 2-4

STATELY LANNON STONE GEORGIAN is move in ready with five large BRs, and three full BAs. Large room sizes, remodeled gourmet kitchen, family room, three fireplaces , full finished basement, walk up third floor storage with 10 foot ceiling. Slate roof. Attd 2 car garage..........$999,000

OAK PARK 1136 ONTARIO UNIT 3B • OPEN SUNDAY 1-3

NEW LISTING OUTSTANDING VINTAGE BUILDING with tons of natural light & tree top views. Updated unit with gorgeous craftsman wood-work, hardwood floors, & appealing lighting throughout. Spacious LR, large, separate DR. Backdoor leads to common area yard. Storage closet on main level.............................................................................................................................................................................................$218,000

FOREST PARK 106 ROCKFORD • OPEN SUNDAY 1-3

PRICE REDUCED AWARD WINNING RENOVATION of this impressive 4 BR, 3 full bath luxury home! Large open floor plan, designer kitchen, mud room with built-ins, pantry, finished basement rec room, loads of storage, three separate porches. Architect designed landscaping... ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................$599,000 PRICE REDUCED GREAT CURB APPEAL in this classic lannon stone house. Put your own touches on it and make it your own. Great bones, traditional layout. Everything you want.......................................... $599,000 VINTAGE CHARMER on tree lined cobblestone street. Warm, inviting home with lots of potential! Cozy fireplace, separate dining room, bright kitchen, spacious family room. overlooking backyard. .................. $450,000

OAK PARK HOMES UNPRECEDENTED ESTATE in the Frank Lloyd Wright Historical district of OP! Meticulously renovated property offers exquisite details and refined finishes. A showcase home!........................................................... $1,545,000 HANDSOME PRAIRIE INFLUENCED HOME, evident in gorgeous original wood and beautiful art glass windows throughout. French doors, built- ins. Charming coach house..................................................... $899,000 MOVE FAST! Lovely 4 BR, 2-1/2 BA Tudor home with original woodwork, windows with built –in screens, wood burning stone fireplace, built-in shelving. Meticulously maintained!................................................. $669,000 CENTER OF TOWN VICTORIAN with high ceilings, four spacious levels of living in Oak Park. This 5 BR, 3-12 BA home with great flow, tons of natural light & storage throughout!................................................. $605,000

MOVE-IN READY! Enjoy the well thought out design of this 5 BR, 4 BA home! Open floor plan, kitchen/fam room combo, finished bsmt.$584,900 WONDERFUL GUNDERSON HOME on a wide lot. 5 BR, 2-1/2 BA home features a spacious foyer, mudroom and a 3 season porch on the 2nd FL. Finished bsmt......................................................................................$577,888 PRICE REDUCED UPDATED VICTORIAN home with an open front porch, renovated kitchen, art glass windows, wood floors, 3rd FL fam rm.

Truly a move in ready and well-maintained home..........................$549,000 PRICE REDUCED FRESHLY PAINTED BUNGALOW on quiet cul-desac block with beautiful slate entry, art glass windows, hardwood floors & stunning period lighting throughout!.............................................. $499,999 CLASSIC QUEEN ANNE HOME with 3 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths includes sun room, family room, updated kitchen, great closet space, fin rec room, custom deck........................................................................................$519,000

Randy Ernst • 773-290-0307

330 FOREST • RIVER FOREST OPEN SUNDAY • 1-3

GREAT LOCATION & EASY LIVING in this single family Tri-level home on a quiet Cul-De-Sac street. Great flow for entertaining, complete with family room. MBR has an en-suite European bath.

Finished lower level has a 1/2 bath, study and exercise room.

Growth to make it your own............................................$585,000 WELL MAINTAINED 1894 FARMHOUSE that is ready to move in to. 4 BRs, 2 full BAs. Features LR/DR combo, kitchen with Island, semi-finished bsmt, hdwd fls, cen air...................................................................... $469,000 CLASSIC NORTH OP HOME with impeccable curb appeal. Home includes a wood burning fireplace, stained glass, family room, eat in kitchen, ample closet space, expansive deck .................................. $449,000 ORIGINAL CHARM AND CHARACTER can be found in this stucco side center entrance Colonial. Oak and maple flooring, built in bookcases, art glass windows, brick fireplace.......................................................... $399,000

FOREST PARK HOMES PRICE REDUCED RARE BRICK FOUR SQUARE HOME includes 4 BRs, 2 full, 2 half BAs, hardwood floors, remodeled kit w/attd fam rm, storage space in garage, deck with private fenced yard.............................. $389,000

ELMWOOD PARK HOMES RECENTLY UPDATED COLONIAL located in EP’s RF Manor. Huge 2-story addition which includes a family room and 2-room master suite. Lots of windows and natural light................................................................$485,000 NOT YOUR TYPICAL RAISED RANCH! This is a move in ready brick and stone house. Featuring 3 BRs, 2 Bas, LL open floor plan w/rec room, laundry, wet bar area. ...................................................................................... $329,900

CONDOS/TOWNHOMES/2 FLATS RIVER FOREST 2BR, 2BA. Top floor, large patio.......................... $220,000 RIVER FOREST 2BR, 1BA. Soundproof floor throughout. ...........$155,000 RIVER FOREST 1BR, 1BA. Newly updated....................................$114,500 OAK PARK 1BR, 1BA. Big, bright top floor unit. ............................$120,000 NEW LISTING FOREST PARK 2BR, 1BA.....................................$219,900 FOREST PARK 1BR, 1BA. Balcony. ...................................................$92,500

The Spring Market is Here!

Contact a Gagliardo Realty Associates Agent for a free market analysis

For more listings & photos go to GagliardoRealty.com

23

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

NEW LISTING

NEW LISTING

1147 FOREST AVE, RIVER FOREST

1227 JACKSON AVE, RIVER FOREST

735 AUGUSTA ST, OAK PARK

156 N OAK PARK AVE 1F, OAK PARK

718 N ELMWOOD AVE, OAK PARK

6 br, 4.1 ba $1,400,000

4 br, 3.1 ba $999,000

4 br, 2.1 ba $889,000

3 br, 2.1 ba $625,000

5 br, 2.1 ba $623,000

Pauline Sharpe 708.848.5550

Sarah O'Shea Munoz 708.848.5550

Alice McMahon 708.848.5550

Victoria Witt 708.848.5550

Jeffrey O'Connor 708.848.5550

NEW PRICE

NEW LISTING

OPEN SUN 111

NEW PRICE

922 N EAST AVE, OAK PARK

1224 N KENILWORTH AVE, OAK PARK

111 HOME AVE 1, OAK PARK

10 PARK AVE 10, RIVER FOREST

612 THOMAS AVE, FOREST PARK

3 br, 1.1 ba $599,000

4 br, 3.1 ba $595,000

$584,900

3 br, 2.2 ba $524,900

4 br, 2.1 ba $479,000

Cory Kohut 708.848.5550

Cara Carriveau (Busch) 708.848.5550

Sarah O'Shea Munoz 708.848.5550

Tabitha Murphy 708.848.5550

Dorothy Gillian 708.848.5550

Get Noticed.

World-Class Marketing that moves your home from Listed to Sold.

KoenigRubloff.com • 866.795.1010 OPEN SUN 13

NEW PRICE

OPEN SUN 13

NEW PRICE

614 WESLEY AVE, OAK PARK

300 N MAPLE AVE 16, OAK PARK

1230 N EUCLID AVE, OAK PARK

429 N HARVEY AVE, OAK PARK

934 THOMAS AVE, FOREST PARK

3 br, 1.1 ba $445,000

3 br, 2.1 ba $435,000

3 br, 1.1 ba $425,000

3 br, 2.1 ba $415,000

4 br, 2 ba $399,000

Kris McCartney 708.848.5550

April Baker 708.848.5550

Tabitha Murphy 708.848.5550

Tabitha Murphy 708.848.5550

Susan Abbott 708.848.5550

NEW LISTING

NEW LISTING

OPEN SUN 13

NEW PRICE

NEW LISTING

1020 RANDOLPH ST 3W, OAK PARK

120 CHICAGO AVE C, OAK PARK

302 N OAK PARK AVE 3, OAK PARK

6436 ROOSEVELT RD 401, OAK PARK

202 N KENILWORTH AVE 2, OAK PARK

3 br, 2 ba $297,000

3 br, 2.1 ba $289,900

3 br, 2 ba $270,950

2 br, 2 ba $239,400

2 br, 1 ba $210,000

Monica Dalton 708.848.5550

Michael Dmyterko 708.848.5550

Janet Rouse 708.848.5550

Donna Karpavicius 708.848.5550

Tabitha Murphy 708.848.5550

|

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

25

ASSISTED LIVING • SHELTERED CARE • MEMORY CARE • SKILLED NURSING • RESPITE CARE

We know what a living room is for.

More than a place to live, it’s a place to call home.

Laughter echoing across every room. Meals shared, stories swapped. Impromptu dancing in the living room.

At Caledonia Senior Living, we care for each person’s quality of life without losing the essence of life.

SCHEDULE A PERSONAL TOUR TODAY! 2800 Des Plaines Avenue, North Riverside, IL 60546 (708) 477-5092 | CaledoniaSeniorLiving.org

formerly The Scottish Home

No. 1 Oak Park Office in 2018!

4BR, Porch & Hammock Trees

718 Park Ave | River Forest $875,000

7828 Madison St | River Forest $529,000

738 N Marion St | Oak Park $715,000

133 S Lombard Ave |Oak Park $469,000

Kara & Jon Keller

Patricia McGowan

Catherine Simon-Vobornik

Bobbi Schaper Eastman

212 Marengo 2N | Forest Park $439,000

3219 Home Ave | Berwyn $339,000

1188 Clinton Ave | Oak Park $439,900

156 N Oak Park 1H | Oak Park $430,000

1188 Home Ave | Oak Park $339,000

(We get you.)

And your Baird & Warner Oak Park agent knows the home that’s just right.

Lakebreeze

Roomfor firepit

Quiet

street

Cool & shady

Big Yard

Ann Keeney

Sandra Dita Lopez

Heidi Rogers

730 Augusta St | Oak Park $399,000

808 N Humphrey | Oak Park $389,900

622 S Cuyler Ave | Oak Park $329,900

Near bikelanes

Linda Von Vogt 1037 Chicago Ave | Oak Park | 708.697.5900

Bethanny Alexander

Saretta Joyner

Swati Saxena

Vanessa Willey

Source: BrokerMetrics® Detached and Attached only. 1/1/2018 - 12/ 31/2018

26

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Open SATURDAY 10am - 12 1212 N. Edmer - Oak Park

Sunday, May 5, 2019 ADDRESS

REALTY CO.

LISTING PRICE

TIME

2229 N. 75th Ave, Elmwood Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re/Max In The Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $225,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1221 N. Humphrey Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $299,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1022 S. Cuyler Ave, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $339,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-2 617 N. Harvey Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re/Max In The Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $375,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 730 Augusta St, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $399,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

828 S. Lombard Ave, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $445,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1 1044 Wesley Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re/Max In The Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $449,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-2 1129 S. East Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $450,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:15-4 909 N. Harvey Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $495,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 611 S. Harvey Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $499,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 728 S. Euclid Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $539,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1212 N Edmer, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXP Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $549,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saturday 10-12 601 S. Lombard Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $575,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:30-3 330 Forest Ave, River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $585,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 106 Rockford Ave, Forest Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $599,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1130 Paulina St, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $670,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 1110 N. Grove Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $675,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 623 N. Grove Ave, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $750,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:30-1:30

IF YOU APPRECIATE THE WORKMANSHIP AND DESIGN OF THE CRAFTSMAN PERIOD, this classic Chicago bungalow is the house of your dreams. From the natural wood molding and 14 stained glass casement windows (rose motif) in the LR and and DR, to the oak floors, solid oak doors, and built-ins throughout the first floor, the Italian tile of the gas fireplace and the subway tiled kitchen and BR, the attention to detail is meticulous.

5BR (+1 Basement) / 3BA.........$549,000

526 Ashland Ave, River Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re/Max In The Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $799,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1:30 925 Bonnie Brae Pl, River Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $825,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 718 Park Ave, River Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $875,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1207 Jackson Ave, River Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $999,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 630 N. East Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,174,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

ADDRESS

REALTY CO.

LISTING PRICE

TIME

1136 Ontario Ave. UNIT 3B, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $218,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

For more info contact Matt Magee 773-991-1099

CONDOS

415 S. Ridgeland Ave. UNIT 2, Oak Park . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $233,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 170 N. Marion St. UNIT 10, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $364,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12:30-2 156 N. Oak Park Ave. UNIT 1H, Oak Park. . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $430,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:30-4 1018 Baldwin Ln, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $438,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:30-3 212 Marengo Ave. UNIT 2N, Forest Park . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $439,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1133 W. Chicago Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $775,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 417 Lathrop Ave. UNIT 3E, River Forest . . . . . . . . Gagliardo Realty Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $795,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

TOWN HOMES

ADDRESS

REALTY CO.

LISTING PRICE

TIME

1146 Schneider Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re/Max In The Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $349,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 7832 Madison St. UNIT 23, River Forest . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $479,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1 7832 Madison St. UNIT 23, River Forest . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $479,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sat. 1-3 7828 Madison St, River Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $529,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1

MULTIFAMILY

7828 Madison St, River Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner Oak Park/River Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $529,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sat. 1-3

ADDRESS

REALTY CO.

LISTING PRICE

TIME

7604 Harrison St, Forest Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re/Max In The Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $294,800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-12:30 724 S. Humphrey Ave, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyond Properties Realty Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $379,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-2

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

OPEN HOUSE | Saturday 5/4 | 12–2pm

1202 William St, River Forest

538 Monroe Ave, River Forest

$1,199,000 | 4 BR | 4.2 BA

$619,000 | 3 BR | 2.5 BA

Spectacular French Provincial is in the heart of beautiful central River Forest. Every bedroom with its own luxurious bath and so close to parks & schools.

Stately & solid brick 3 bedroom with master suite on huge lot in the heart of River Forest.

OPEN HOUSE | Sunday 5/5 | 12–2pm

15 Thatcher Ave, River Forest

320 S Maple Unit B, Oak Park

$515,000 | 4 BR | 2.5 BA

$465,000 | 3 BR | 3.5 BA

Beautifully renovated River Forest ranch is a must see.

Luxurious newer construction town home in the heart of downtown Oak Park.

Steve Scheuring Realtor and Local Expert, Oak Park & River Forest steve.scheuring@compass.com 708.369.8043

949 N Taylor Ave, Oak Park $369,000 | 4 BR | 2 BA Fantastic Craftsman Bungalow so much space and charm.

Steve Scheuring is a Real Estate agent affiliated with Compass. Compass is a licensed Real Estate broker with a principal office in New York, NY and abides by all applicable Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only, is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, and changes without notice. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other professional advice outside the realm of Real Estate brokerage.

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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Celebrating Seniors Week | Calendar of Events Thursday • May 2 Flower Power! Banish Winter Isolation Thursday • 5/2/2019 10 am - 12:00 pm Oak Park Senior Services 130 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park Great Neighbors Collaboration (Arbor West Neighbors and OPRF Senior Services) Barbara Bodner

The group will meet to make paper flower pins and share ideas on how to dispel social isolation. Participants from the Great Neighbors Program will be present to share their experiences with Great Neighbors.

Perspiration & Inspiration: Why Staying Active is for Everyone

Thursday • 5/2/2019 10:30 am - 12 pm West Cook YMCA 8020 Madison St, River Forest West Cook YMCA Healthy Aging Program and Gottlieb Personal Trainer for Older Adults Cathaleen Roach Representatives from West Cook YMCA Healthy Aging Program and a Gottlieb Personal Trainer for Seniors explain why regular activity is so vital to aging well, from Chair Yoga attendees to Marathoners. Some demonstration of great exercises and Chair Yoga included.

Citizens Utility Bill Clinic

Thursday • 5/2/2019 • 2 to 4 pm Forest Park Public Library 7555 Jackson Blvd, Forest Park Citizens Utility Board, Matt Cline

Bring copies of your gas, electric, ad phone bills for a free analysis from experts. They will show you how to spot unnecessary charges, what to watch for when shopping around the energy market, and your options when it comes to phone, TV, and Internet.

illnesses and pain, help you cope with feelings of isolation, transform you to become calmer and more relaxed, and lead you to a greater feeling of happiness and wellbeing.

Too Soon To Forget: A Documentary

Thursday • 5/2/2019 2 pm to 3:30 pm Dominican University, Priory Campus 7200 W. Division Room 263 River Forest Susan Frick, MSW, Julie Bach, PhD, LCSW, a “Dementia Friend” and a caregiver, Julie Bach A documentary developed by the Without Warning support group, a program for individuals and families who live with younger onset Alzheimer’s at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, is now available to view on local public television.

Too Soon to Forgetshowcases the importance of community in facing the journey of Alzheimer’s and shares the experiences and perspectives of nine families who have been affected by early-onset Alzheimer’s. The documentary was developed with leadership from Susan Frick, Director of the Without Warning program and a leader with Dementia Friendly Illinois and Dementia Friends Illinois.

The screening is presented by the Dominican University School of Social Work and Siena Center.

“Long Term Care Planning -Obtaining good care without going broke!”

Thursday • 5/2/2019 • 2 pm Oak Park Public Library Veterans Room 834 Lake St Delaney Delaney and Voorn, Ltd. Debby Preiser

Chair Yoga

Finding the best solution for the care of our loved ones is on everyone’s mind. The importance of making good decisions regarding the care of yourself or your loved ones is of the utmost importance. this presentation will outline finding quality care that

Are you looking to reduce stress, improve posture or increase mental clarity? Join us for chair yoga which may also lessen the impact of chronic

best suits your individual situion including: Home care, adult daycarre, independent living, and nursing care.

Get information on long term estate p lanning techniques, Medicare, Medicaid, VA Aid & Attendance benefits as well as negotiating the contract with a nursing home or home care agency.

Thursday • 5/2/2019 • 2 pm Oak Park Senior Services 130 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park Senior Services of Oak Park and River Forest Township Pamela Mahn

Giving 101: Strategies for making big impact in your community

Thursday • 5/2/2019 4 pm - 6 pm Oak Park Public Library, Small Meeting Room (2nd Floor) 834 Lake St Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation & Arbor West Neighbors Michelle Ptack

Learn the basics of giving from a panel including the experience of a nonprofit, a professional advisor, and a donor. You will gain the confidence to begin making charitable gifts, or to strengthen your existing philanthropy by hearing how gifts (of any size) can make the most impact.

Friday • May 3 Celebrating Seniors Special Preview and Shopping Event Friday • 5/3/2019 6 pm to 8pm Animal Care League’s 2nd Chance Shop-A thrift store benefiting homeless animals 808 Harrison Oak Park

Take advantage of special late shopping hours and a celebrating seniors preview of our store! Join us for beer, wine, appetizers, adoptable cats and a 20% off discount for all seniors attending the special shopping event. Shop for jewelry, unique gifts, housewares, cards, holiday decor and more with all proceeds benefiting the Animal Care League. Can’t make the event? Every Tuesday is Senior Discount day.

Shoppers 55+ can take advantage of 20% off store wide each and every Tuesday!

Re-Imagining Aging, One Breath at a Time.

Friday • 5/3/2019 2 pm to 3:30 pm River Forest Community Center 8020 Madison St, River Forest ML Wahlfeldt and Susan Lucci Cathaleen Roach

Time for a blend of breathing exercises (and why they are important) and mindfulness, with added experiences ofreflection. You’ll sleep better, find relaxation, and experience the power of community connection.

Beginning Bridge

Friday • 5/3/2019 11:15 am to 1:15 pm River Forest Park District, The Depot 401 Thatcher Ave, River Forest Mary Schultz, Karen Stille

Contract bridge is a partnership card game. Learn the basics of bidding, playing, and scoring through lecture and supervised play. Light refreshments will be served. Register online at rfparks.com or RSVP to Karen Stille at 708-366-6660 x105 or kstille@rfparks.com

The History of Baseball in Chicago with Dr. Kaufman Friday • 5/3/2019 • 1 pm Brookdale of Oak Park 1111 Ontario St. Oak Park Dr. Kevin Kaufmann, Patrick Carroll

Dr. Kevin Kaufmann of Loyola University will explore the history of baseball in Chicago. Come and enjoy this lecture and learn more about America’s favorite pastime.

An Introduction to Conscious Aging Workshops Friday • 5/3/2019 • 2 pm Oak Park Senior Services 130 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park Marc Blesoff and Sandy Prolman Pamela Mahn

Join us for a brief look at this innovative program focused on creating dialogue around looking for guidance, meaning making, connection and community as we age. Topics covered include shifting from self-limitation, lack, isolation, and fear toward expansiveness, inclusiveness, wholeness, connection, and compassion.

Terry Sullivan Trio Concert

Friday • 5/3/2019 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm River Forest Public Library 735 Lathrop Ave, River Forest Terry Sullivan Trio, Mary Kay Stiff

Enjoy a relaxing evening of fantastic music at an intimate jazz concert with the Terry Sullivan Trio! Vocalist Terry Sullivan, whose style is influenced by Anita O’Day and Blossom Drearie, sings in small nightclubs and concert venues in the Chicago area. You won’t want to miss it! This program is part of the 2019 Celebrating Seniors Week and is brought to you in partnership with River Forest Township.

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Saturday • May 4 Celebrating Seniors BlazeATrail 5K Run/Walk

Saturday • 5/4/2019 • 7 am Keystone Park 400 Keystone Dr, River Forest Celebrating Seniors, Richard Harrison

Enjoy a run or walk through beautiful River Forest, starting and finishing around Keystone Park. A goodie bag for all who register.

Pet Pals in the Park

Saturday • 5/4/2019• 9:30 am Keystone Park 400 Keystone Dr, River Forest Celebrating Seniors, Pat Koko

Bring your best four-legged friend—or any other pet you’d like—to a “pet pal” party. We will have local vendors and treats, especially for dogs. All are welcome! Plus bring your pet “Dressed to Impress” in their best costume!

Contest with prizes!

The Upside of Downsizing

Saturday • 5/4/2019 10:30 am - 11:30 am Oak Park Arms 408 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park Roz Byrne/Remax in the Village Heather Lindstrom Whether it’s sooner or later that you will be selling your house, you’ll find benefit from the up-to-the-minute info from a realtor who has been specializing in seniors for over a decade.

Caring for the Elder Caregiver Saturday • 5/4 • 2019 • 1 pm Oak Park Public Library 834 Lake St Monika & Blaine Robinson of Living Fully at Home Monika Robinson

Strategies for taking care of a family member or significant other, navigating healthcare and caregiver supports

Sunday • May 5 Perfect Pairs - Chocolate and Wine

Sunday • 5/5/2019 5 pm to 6:30 pm Ten Thousand Villages 121 N. Marion St, Oak Park Ten Thousand Villages Volunteers Chris Hauri Learn about the power of trade in changing lives around the world, while tasting delicious fair trade chocolate and luscious wines. You’ll get to be “the judge” on which wines work best with which chocolates. Yum! To help

us plan, please RSVP at the store or by phone, 848-4572, by May 3.

Monday • May 6 Between Generations: Interviewing for Genealogy Research and How It Promotes Family Connectedness.

Monday • 5/6/2019 2 pm to 3 pm River Forest Community Center 8020 Madison St, River Forest Abby Schmelling and Bob Ray Cathaleen Roach

Abby Schmelling and Bob Ray discuss and demonstrate interview techniques for high schoolers to grandparents and at least two different ways to use the information you glean in your genealogy research.

Books and Bagels at Coffee Monday

Monday • 5/6/2019 10 am - 11 am River Forest Public Library 735 Lathrop Ave, River Forest River Forest Librarians Dorothy Houlihan and Mary Kay Stiff

Come join us for coffee, bagels, and booktalks from River Forest Library’s very own librarians at this very special edition of our regular Coffee Monday program. We will tell you about some great reads you won’t want to miss! Please bring your own book suggestions to share with the group if time permits. This program is part of the 2019 Celebrating Seniors Week and is brought to you in partnership with River Forest Township.

Radio Goes to War

Monday • 5/6/2019 • 7 pm Oak Park Public Library 834 Lake St Steve Darnall, Debby Preiser

Radio host, Steve Darnall, presents “Radio Goes to War”. WWII marked the first time Americans hear about a global war through radio. Learn how radio brought tha war into lives of its listeners with presidential speakers, new, broadcasts, entertainment show for troops, and programs to boost morale at home.

Live Painting Performance with artist Michelle Thomas

Monday • 5/6/2019 • 1:30 pm Oak Park Senior Services 130 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park Michelle Thomas, Pamela Mahn

Join us for a fascinating live painting performance where this talented, passionate artist will feed off of the energy of the music and interactions

with the audience to create a beautiful work of art. At the end of the event, the piece will be available for sale with the proceeds benefitting the Celebrating Seniors Coalition emergency fund.

Getting Ready for Medicare Monday • 5/6/2019 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm Rush Oak Park Hospital 520 S. Maple Ave, Centennial Room, Oak Park Christine Brooks, Nathaniel Powell

RUSH Oak Park Hospital in conjunction with Oak Park Township Senior Services come get the facts about enrolling in Medicare and supplement plans that can seem overwhelming. Call to register at 708660-4636.

Tuesday • May 7 Fall Prevention for Seniors

Tuesday • 5/7/2019 • 3:30pm Concordia University Chicago KCC Alumni Room 7400 Augusta St. River Forest Nick Preys, Synergy Homecare of Oak Park Falls are the 2nd leading cause of accidental death in the US and can lead to bone fractures and serious injury. Join us for an interactive and lively discussion on how to minimize and prevent falls in your home and in your daily life.

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croach.rftownship@gma il.com or call 708.771.6259, Ext 234 and leave your name.

Platform Tennis Social

Tuesday • 5/7/2019 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm Keystone Park Platform Tennis Courts 7920 Central Ave, River Forest RFPD Staff & Experienced Platform Tennis Players, Karen Stille

Come try out the new fast-growing sport in the Midwest! Platform Tennis is a racquet sport derived from tennis, developed in 1928 in Scarsdale, NY. Platform Tennis is played with a solid paddle as opposed to a strung racquet, and a depressurized tennis ball is used along with an underhand serve. All equipment will be provided.

Light refreshments will be served.

Register online at rfparks.com or RSVP to Karen Stille at 708-366-6660 x105 or kstille@rfparks.com

SCCOPRF Open House/ Weaving Demo

Tuesday • 5/7/2019 9:30 am to 12 pm SCCOPRF Learning Center 414 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park Helen Schmuker and Nancy Grayson

Medicare Maze Informational Workshop

The Lifelong Learning Center offers ongoing classes in art, stained glass, weaving, languages, sewing, lapidary, woodshop, ceramics and more. Come and take an informal tour of our new space! From 10am to 11am there will be a simple weaving demonstration on a four-harness floor loom.

Let us guide you through the Medicare Maze. Snacks, refreshments and entertainment available for guests.

Tuesday • 5/7/2019 • 2 pm Oak Park Senior Services 130 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park Village of Oak Park Development Customer Services, Eric Pedersen

Tuesday • 5/7/2019 11 am - 12 pm Oak Street Health 18 Chicago Ave, Oak Park Oak Street Health, Sally Holian

Step-by-Step: DeCluttering & Downsizing and What to Do With All That Stuff Tuesday • 5/7/2019 1 pm to 2:30 pm River Forest Community Center 8020 Madison St, River Forest Laura Bruzas and Kristi Bangert Cathaleen Roach

Enjoy a great panel discussion with professionals Laura Bruzas and KTisti Bangert, including instruction, handouts, tips and strategies on your decluttering or downsizing projects. Come learn many specifics on the topic that is garnering national attention. Pre-registration recommended but not required. Email

Choosing the Right Contractor

Home renovations and projects can be overwhelming with colors, sizes, finishes, and budgets keeping you up at night. Now imagine picking the wrong contractor…. This seminar will educate you on how to pick “the best” and weed out “the rest”.

Wednesday • May 8 ZUMBA GOLD

Wednesday • 5/8/2019 10 am - 11 am ROOS Center Park District of Forest Park, 7501 Harrison St, Forest Park Rosemary Spirizza, Nathaniel Powell

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Celebrating Seniors Week | Calendar of Events Zumba Gold is a dance based fitness class sponsored by Rush Oak Park Hospital. Zumba Gold have participants exercising from their chair for the first XX hour followed by XX hour of standing. Come join fellow seniors in this exciting way to get fit.

OPTSS sponsors IL Secretary of State “Super Seniors” Day Wednesday • 5/8/2019 10 am - 2 pm River Forest Community Center 8020 Madison St, River Forest Oak Park Township Senior Services Cathaleen Roach OPTSS sponsors IL Secretary of State “Super Seniors” Day. Obtain State ID. Renew driver’s license.

Vision screening and Rules of Road book instruction included. Call 708383-4806 to register with Oak Park Township’s Charles Barnes. Preregistration suggested.

How to Die in Oregon: Film and Discussion Wednesday • 5/8/2019 1 pm - 4 pm Oak Park Public Library, Veterans Room 834 Lake St. Compassion & Choices, IL, Roz Byrne

Join Doug Devchler to view and discuss the sundance film and award-winning documentary about the growing “medical aid in dying” movement.

Crime Prevention: Scams and Fraudulent Activity Wednesday • 5/8/2019 11 am - 12:30 pm River Forest Village Hall Community Room 400 Park Ave River Forest

Officer Ben Ransom - River Forest Police Department/Emlee Hilliard-Smith - US Securities and Exchange Commission Teaching about crime, crime prevention and victim response.

Primarily addressing various popular scams and fraudulent activities to be aware of. Guest speaker (Emlee Hilliard Smith) from US S.E.C. to talk about financial fraud and scams. We will end with a Q&A session.

Can You Afford to Retire?

Wednesday • 5/8/2019 7 to 8:30 pm Forest Park Public Library 7555 Jackson Blvd, Forest Park Jim Flanagan, Skye Lavin

Jim Flanagan of Bentron Financial Group will help you ask the questions every retiree must answer before embarking on a successful retirement, with special attention to the nuances of Social Security.

Planning and Prevention

Wednesday • 5/8/2019 9:30 am to 10:30 am Ridgeland Common Recreation Complex 415 Lake St, Oak Park Aoife Lee (Presenter from Rush Oak Park Hospital) and Al Tischina (Fitness Instructor from Park District of Oak Park), Laura Greeley

Join us Wednesday, May 8th for a presentation on Advanced Directives

by Rush Oak Park Hospital from 9:3010A, followed by a light exercise class from 10-10:30A, hosted by the Park District of Oak Park. Please come dressed prepared to exercise.

Bocce Ball Social

Wednesday • 5/8/2019 4:30 - 6:30pm

Celebrating Seniors “60 Over 60” Celebration and Closing Dinner

Memorial Parkway Bocce Courts Lake St. between Jackson & Monroe, River Forest Karen Stille

Celebrate Seniors Week at Memorial Parkway during an introductory course on bocce play. The ancient game of bocce closely resembles bowling, requiring strategy and some luck. What a great game to play on a beautiful day with your friends and neighbors! Park District staff and players will be on hand to teach the game of bocce ball, followed by open play. Light refreshments will be served. Register online at rfparks.com or RSVP to Karen Stille at 708-3666660 x105 or kstille@rfparks.com

Thursday • May 9 Elder Life Planning Using Legal Tools like Advanced Directives, Wills and TODI’s.

Thursday • 5/9/2019 10:30 am - 12 pm River Forest Community Center 8020 Madison St, River Forest Tom Wendt, Cathaleen Roach

Always a hugely popular event, the Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL) Legal Director and attorney Torn Wendt educates and answers questions on irnpmt ant legal tools we can use for later life planning.

Medicare Maze Informational Workshop Thursday • 5/9/2019 1 pm to 2 pm Oak Street Health 18 Chicago Ave, Oak Park Oak Street Health, Sally Holian

Memory Café and Dementia Friendly?

What Does It All Mean?

Thursday • 5/9/2019 2 pm to 3 pm Oak Park Senior Services 130 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park Sharon Stolz, Lydia Manning, Pamela Mahn

Have you heard new terms being discussed in the community? What is a Memory Café? What does Dementia Friendly River Forest mean? Learn about these incredible programs and opportunities for you to volunteer and/or participate in our community!

Saturday • May 18 Who’s Knocking at Your Door?

Saturday • 5/18/2019 10 am - 12 pm Concordia University Chicago KCC Oak Park/River Forest Room 7400 Augusta St. River Forest (Bonnie Brae, just south of Division, next to garage) SCSCC and the Oak Park Police Department, Donna Smith SCSCC sponsors a ruse entry and fashion show of uniforms. Oak Park Police Department to demonstrate ruse entry and interviews several local utilities companies (uniforms) to know what to ask when they knock on the door. Hosted the by the Center for Gerontology.

Let us guide you through the Medicare Maze. Snacks, refreshments and entertainment available for guests.

Thursday • 5/9/2019 • 6 pm to 8 pm Concordia University Chicago • KCC Oak Park/River Forest Room 7400 Augusta St., River Forest (Bonnie Brae, just south of Division, next to garage)

60 Over 60 - Class of 2019 Join us as we celebrate this year’s “60 Over 60” honorees -- local citizens who have made an enduring and wide-ranging impact on the community through education, business, public service, social service agencies and beyond. For honorees and their invited guest. This year, we welcome additional guests to join this celebratory dinner. Dinner reservations available for only $25 per person. Proceeds are used to support senior emergency funds in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park. Call Oak Park Township Senior Services to reserve at (708) 383-8060.

Advanced reservations required by April 30.

CYCLING WITHOUT AGE

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

CYCLING WITHOUT AGE

May 9, 2019 9:00 am

Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care 2800 Des Plaines Ave. North Riverside, IL 60546

CYCLING WITHOUT AGE May 9, 2019

Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care 2800 Des Plaines Ave. & Memory Care Caledonia Senior Living North 60546 You’re never too old to feel the wind inRiverside, yourPlaines hair! ILAve. 2800 Des

Mayam 9, 2019 9:00 9:00 am

North Riverside, IL 60546 Join us for our kick off and inaugural ride never too old to feelof the wind in your hair! as we You’re launch the first chapter Cycling Without You’re Age innever Illinois! too old to feel the wind in your hair!

Join us for our kick off and inaugural ride as we thekick firstoff chapter of Cycling Joinlaunch usto forBYOB our andYour inaugural You’re invited – Bring Ownride Without Age in Illinois! as we launch the first chapter of Cycling

Bike – to the celebration and cheer on Without Age in Illinois!

Caledonia Residents and Own You’reSenior invitedLiving to BYOB – Bring Your their pilots ride through our You’re invited to BYOB –and Bring Youron Own Bike –as tothey the celebration cheer forestCaledonia and out to thecelebration neighborhood.

Bike – to the and cheer on Senior Living Residents and Caledonia Living Residents their pilots asSenior they ride through our and theirand through outas tothey the ride neighborhood.

Have aforest seat inpilots our trishaw bikes andour learn forest and out to the neighborhood.

more about the program that brings Have a seat in our trishaw bikes and learn together local volunteers Have a seniors, seat in our trishaw bikes and learn more about the program that brings and the community! more about the program that brings together local seniors, volunteers together local seniors, volunteers and the community!

and the community!

Cycling Without Age provides incredible opportunities to form Cycling Without Age provides Cycling Without Age provides cross-incredible generation bonds, enjoy the opportunities totoform incredible opportunities form benefits of the outdoors and just crossgeneration bonds, enjoy cross- generation bonds, enjoythe the benefits of the outdoors and just generally have a good time! benefits of the outdoors and just

generally have a good time! generally have a good time!

CYCLING CYCLING CYCLING WITHOUT WITHOUT WITHOUT AGE AGE AGE

THE RIGHT TO WIND IN YOUR HAIR! THE RIGHT TO WIND IN YOUR THE RIGHT TO WIND YOURHAIR! HAIR! For more information: 708.447.5092

For more information: 708.447.5092

For more information: 708.447.5092

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

Terry Lemley, Agent 191 North Marion Oak Park, IL 60301 Bus: 708-383-3163 Terry Lemley, Agent Terry Terry Lemley, Lemley, Agent Agent terry@terrylemley.net

191 North Marion 191191 North North Marion Marion Oak Park, IL 60301 OakOak Park, Park, IL 60301 IL 60301 Bus: 708-383-3163 Bus:Bus: 708-383-3163 708-383-3163 terry@terrylemley.net terry@terrylemley.net terry@terrylemley.net

Get a new lease on Get Get aanew new Get new renters Get aanew lease lease on on lease on insurance. lease on renters renters renters renters insurance. insurance. insurance.

Did you know your landlord’s insurance. insurance only covers the building? I’m here to help Did you know your landlord’s DidDid you you know know your your landlord’s landlord’s protect your stuff. insurance only covers the insurance insurance only covers covers thethe LET’S only TALK TODAY. building? I’m here to help building? building?

I’mI’m here here to help to help protect your stuff. protect protect your your stuff. stuff.

LET’S TALK TODAY. LET’S LET’S TALK TALK TODAY. TODAY.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Sawa’s Old Warsaw Come Celebrate early from Authentic Polish-American Buffet 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Sawa’s Old Warsaw Restaurant • Lounge • Banquet Rooms

Y A D S ’ E Mother’s I N DayE T T N E L A V Celebration T BUFF AS F K A E R B Roast Duck

• Smoked • Potato Dumplings Style French Toast  Texas Salmon wood Bacon  Apple • Sliced Smoked Porkloin • Best Salad Bar in Town  Scrambled Eggs • Shrimp Cocktail • Apple Blintzes Pancakes  Potato (Polish Sausage)  Kiszka • Boiled Potatoes • Ham off the Bone  Sliced Ham • Fresh Polish Sausage • Carved Roast Beef  Pork Sausage Links • Mushroom Soup • Broasted Chicken  Apple Crepes Apricot Crepes  • Potato Pancakes • Wine Herring     

$29.00

Blueberry Crepes Cheese Crepes Fresh Fruit Raisin Bread English Muffins

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VIEWPOINTS

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C O N S C I O U S

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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How did we do on Sustainability Report Card? p. 35

A G I N G

Creating connections and celebrating seniors Somehow we have to get older people back close to growing children if we are to restore a sense of community, a knowledge of the past, and a sense of the future.

Margaret Mead

L

ast week I had an introductory cup of coffee with a couple of local educators, Pam Lawrence and Jaime Moran. A mutual friend put us together via email because she thought we have interests in common. She was right.

Jaime and Pam are the inspiring entrepreneurs behind Kindness Creators Intergenerational Program, the preschool program housed at the Oak Park Arms on South Oak Park Avenue (www.kindnesscreators.org).

This pre-school program offers a unique opportunity for younger and older generations to interact and build meaningful relationships through purposeful activities, thus providing quality education and quality experiences for both groups.

Multi-generational connections like this add to the richness, livability and lovability of our whole community.

According to Pam and Jaime, their vision is to nurture the whole child through intergenerational, social/emotional and pre-academic programming in order to create lifelong, compassionate learners.

Also, they aim to both give back to our olders and reap the harvest of all that older people have to offer. They see it as a two-way street and a win-winwin situation — the youngsters win, the oldsters win, and our whole community wins.

This is an idea whose time has come, and it is an example of the outside-the-box thinking that is so necessary to sustainably address our new longevity phase. This is a project worth supporting. Contact Jaime and Pam at info@ kindnesscreators.org

MARC BLESOFF

■

Have you ever been to a Death Café? Well, now you have the chance. Why tea, cake and conversation about death, you ask?

Why not?!

It’s time to talk about one of the all-time biggest elephants in the room — our own death!

Tuesday, May 14, 10-11:30 a.m. at the Koehneke Community Center, Concordia University Chicago, River Forest. Contact Lydia.Manning@CUChicago.edu for more information.

See BLESOFF on page 39

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

HEIGHT FRIGHT: Rehm Pool’s high-diving platform will no longer serve as a rite of passage for young daredevils.

You could see Berwyn from there

W

ith news of its razing, I found myself looking back on the time a few summers ago when I, along with some brave cohorts, conquered the feat only known to those within a certain zip code.

The Rehm pool diving platforms stood as the solitary peak in the south Oak Park skyline. It offered an opportunity that few other monuments did, the chance to ascend it and jump with little to risk. I say little because there will always be an inherent risk in jumping off anything, something that anyone should come to realize while they climbed the winding steps and the expressway becomes visible and Berwyn peeks its head out in the distance.

Jumping off that platform has become a rite of passage for Oak Park teens. With every step, you come closer to a glory that would be lost on anyone south of Roosevelt. A glory that could be attained by the young, the old, the determined, or the wary who needed some coaxing from below.

When my other intrepid friends and I came up with the idea, the third platform had been closed for some time. There was lore of a belly flop gone bad but we took no credence in that. We knew they were close to shutting off the second and with that it would only be a matter of time until the whole thing was deemed a danger to the public.

Despite the warnings and the restrictions, getting to and up it was fairly easy. All you had to do was wait until the pool was closed and scale a 7- or 8-foot-high concrete wall on the south side of the pool. Once you dropped down, you were on the “Adults Only” deck and you could just walk to the diving area from there. The door to the

diving platform was padlocked, but you could easily pull it open enough for someone to squeeze through.

Timing was crucial if you wanted to jump off the third. The first two platforms were low enough that if you climbed fast enough and jumped without hesitation, someone walking by wouldn’t notice a thing. The third platform, on the other hand, was visible from the streets outside and you needed to wait until the police car that drove up and down Oak Park Avenue had passed.

If everything fell into place, the third platform was yours. Those years of yearning for a chance to conquer it but being told it was closed indefinitely were behind you and you stood at the helm.

The decision to jump takes a split second but the fall takes a week. Once you hit the water you immediately begin your exit. There isn’t time for a leisurely lap or two or maybe a bounce on the diving boards; you need to make it out of there in a timely fashion.

Once out and over the wall it was best to take side streets for if a cop saw something fly off the third platform in a closed pool, you’d better believe they were looking for some punk teen who was wet behind the ears.

The taunting of the platforms was over, a dream fulfilled. All in all it took about 15 minutes and my membership in the club was assured. It has no perks and the number of members is vast, but this club isn’t accepting new members currently, and I’m not sure if it ever will again.

John Bannon lives in Chicago now. He has been banned from the third platform for life — along with everyone else.

JOHN

BANNON One View

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

O U R

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V I E W S

Beyond racial mythology

t was a remarkable accomplishment Thursday night when, by a unanimous vote and in its final meeting, the school board at Oak Park and River Forest High School approved a strong racial equity policy.

There is credit to be shared as this history is made by a proud high school with a defining blind spot of built-into-thebricks systemic racism.

In particular, much praise goes to the hard-working, and often overlooked, African-American parents and activists in Oak Park — most of them women — who were making noise about the school’s racial inequity long before it was fashionable.

We should take special note of their achievement because the path to racial progress is often lubricated with the blood, sweat and tears of strong black women.

Going forward, we should also take note of Jennifer Cassel’s powerful last words as a board member: “Race and whiteness and power dynamics played out in the committee room and here tonight. [This work] would not have gotten done if not for the black women [in the community, on the board and in the administration] carrying the load.

“I hope that, moving forward, some of our allies will start to become more aware of what they’re bringing into this space and show respect and deference, in particular to Dr. Pruitt-Adams, as she embarks on this work. We need allies, but it should not be done in a way that diminishes the work, experiences and professional expertise of women of color who are leading this work.”

We have watched over decades as the very notion of race bias was vehemently denied at the board table. We have watched in too recent times as timid half-measures have been considered, half-heartedly adopted and, too often, discarded.

And we have watched with pride and some amazement as the school board over perhaps a half-decade evolved into a strong and united advocate for substantive change, as it finally hired and supported a superintendent capable of bringing true change, as citizen activists have powered tough conversations and, on occasion raised the roof, to guarantee headway.

There is also work left to be done in crafting the procedures which will make this board policy real in the day-byday-by-day actions in this school. For this to be more than a feel-good moment in villages which too often celebrate lofty rhetoric but shy from the pain of making change real, the work of the months ahead is vital.

What does equity look like in discipline, in curriculum, in hiring, in special ed and IEPs, in future faculty contracts, in facilities, in the broad culture of those things allegedly best?

That hard work is rightly left to Supt. Joylynn Pruitt-Adams and her hand-picked and fully overhauled administrative team. Pruitt-Adams has promised that the nuts-and-bolts procedures will be in place for the fall semester. That’s ambitious but necessary.

A hire still to be made is the newly fashioned post of Director of Equity and Student Success. The job is posted, applications, we assume, are arriving, a decision will come soon, with a July 1 start date set for this critical position.

There is one moment, right now, to feel good. Then there is a new board, also we are certain focused on racial equity, to be seated and empowered. Then it is on to our future as two villages ready to move beyond the mythology of racial integration battles long won and into the proving ground of whether Oak Park and River Forest are up for the actual fix.

V I E W P O I N T S

@ @OakParkSports

A civic ritual for the Oak Park story

‘T

he greatest need is for collective rituals,” wrote the New York Times’ David Brooks in a column last week.

Not the religious kind. Plenty of those. Not the personal kind either.

“A public civic compact, publicly sworn to, involving all,” he says, “would allow towns to do a lot of things. It would be an occasion to redraw the boundary of the community and thereby include those who have been marginalized. It could be done on a spot that would become sacred, become the beating heart of the community.”

It would be an occasion to “tell a new version of the town’s story,” which is important because “a community is a group of people who share a common story.”

Since 1964, our story has been about commitment to stable diversity. First it was racial diversity, which led to the historic Fair Housing Ordinance in 1968.

It’s a great story — about overcoming fear, resisting resegregation — and the story has broadened as we struggled to become more and more inclusive, embracing the LGBTQ community in the 1990s, and, more recently, declaring ourselves a “sanctuary community” for immigrants.

And now we’re attempting to take diversity to the next level: equity. School districts 97 and 200 recently passed bold, historic, educational equity policies — declaring their determination to conquer the longstanding challenge of eliminating institutional racism from our schools and ensuring real opportunity for all.

But passing a policy is not enough. As Brooks puts it, we need ritual.

“It would be an occasion,” he says, “for people to make promises toward one another — specific ways they are going to use their gifts to solve the common challenge. Towns are built when people make promises to one another, hold one another accountable, and sacrifice together through repeated interaction toward a common end.”

The new policies commit the elementary and high schools to taking specific steps to achieve educational equity, but what about the rest of us? Shouldn’t we also make a public commitment? What would that look like? Where would it take place?

I can think of only one civic ritual in Oak Park.

Every two years after the municipal election, the new village of Oak Park Board of Trustees votes to re-affirm Oak Park’s commitment to diversity. The Diversity Statement was composed in 1973 and revised in the 1990s, incorporating language used in the famous 1964 newspaper ad titled, “The Right of All People to Live Where They Choose,” a turning point in village history, as hundreds of Oak Park (and River Forest) residents put their names on a public commitment to the principle of fair housing for all and taking a firm stand against white flight. The Diversity Statement is as close to a foundational document as we have, a creed stating our core village values.

Here is a condensed version of the wording:

age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, economic status, political affiliation, or any of the other distinguishing characteristics that too often divide people in society.

Creating a mutually respectful, multicultural environment does not happen on its own; it must be intentional. Our goal is for people of widely differing backgrounds to do more than live next to one another.

A free, open and inclusive community is achieved through full and broad participation of all its citizens. We believe the best decisions are made when everyone is represented in decision-making and power is shared collectively.

We reject the notion of race as a barrier dividing us, and we reject prejudicial behavior toward any group of people. We believe residency in this village should be open to anyone interested in sharing our benefits and responsibilities. We believe that mutual understanding among individuals of diverse backgrounds can best be attained with an attitude of reciprocal good will and increased association.

The village of Oak Park commits itself to a future of ensuring equal access, full participation in the village’s institutions and programs, and equality of opportunity in all village operating policies. The success of this endeavor prepares us to live and work in the 21st century.

It is our intention that such principles will be a basis for policy and decision-making in Oak Park. The President and Board of Trustees of the village of Oak Park reaffirm their dedication and commitment to these precepts.

KEN

TRAINOR

The people of Oak Park choose this community, not just as a place to live, but as a way of life. Oak Park has committed itself to equality not only because it is legal, but because it is right; not only because equality is ethical, but because it is desirable for us and for our children.

Ours is a dynamic community that encourages the contributions of all citizens, regardless of race, gender,

The equity policies of districts 97 and 200 could adapt this wording and perhaps include it as a preamble to their policy statements because these new policies represent a continuation and expansion of Oak Park’s story.

But what about ritual? Voting on the Village Diversity Statement every two years doesn’t really qualify because hardly anyone attends. We need a public setting that includes an annual reading of our creed, reaffirming our commitment to diversity and equity.

I can think of two settings: 1) For the schools, the EthnicFest Parade on the first Saturday of May. 2) For Oak Park as a whole, A Day in Our Village, the first Sunday of June.

School board members and administrators from each district could take turns reading parts of the Educational Equity Statement before the parade begins — or after it ends.

The Village Diversity Statement, on the other hand, could be read onstage in Scoville Park during A Day in Our Village, by the village president and trustees, along with those from the many organizations on hand each year — OPALGA, APPLE, PASO, the Community of Congregations, the Board of Realtors, and the Business and Civic Council, just to name a few. Music could provide the soundtrack, with clips from “America to Me” (edited by Steve James) shown on a large screen behind the stage as a lead-in to get everyone’s attention — because attention is essential.

A friend even suggested distributing T-shirts with the slogan “Oak Park Lives It!” If David Brooks is right, telling our story once a year in the “beating heart” of our community would be one way to remind ourselves of the aspirations that bind us to one another.

V I E W P O I N T S

PlantItGreen’s local report card

W

ith climate change occurring far faster than scientists initially predicted, Oak Park and River Forest are lagging in their efforts to address it, as outlined in the sustainability goals they set for themselves in 2010. That was when the two communities launched a 10-year sustainability initiative called PlanItGreen, which every two years issues a report card on progress achieved — or not.

The 2018 Community Sustainability Report Card for Oak Park and River Forest is just out. And while the overall results are mixed, both communities got a “D” for their efforts in the energy category. Oak Park and River Forest have stagnated at 4% renewable energy procurement over the past six years — compared to the plan’s 25% renewable energy goal target by 2025. Also, per capita greenhouse gas emissions related to building energy use increased in 2018 compared to the last three report card years.

“A rapid and comprehensive change in policy and practice in our communities will be needed to keep pace with global forecasting,” the report card says.

dioxide (CO2) must be reduced 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Renewable energy, use would have to increase by as much as 67% by 2040.

While institutional leaders from both communities agree with the renewable energy goals of the plan, few are taking action. The Park District of Oak Park is a shining star, installing multiple solar panel arrays on its buildings and taking advantage of LED lighting installation rebates, among other strategies. The Oak Park Residence Corporation has procured 100% renewable energy through Renewable Energy Credits (RECs).

The village of Oak Park over the past few years has amassed a sustainability fund that stands at over $1.2 million, but it has yet to decide which efficiency and renewable energy projects the funds will support.

In other report card categories, the work of West Cook Wild Ones and other participating community institutions earned an “A” grade in Open Space/Ecosystems — as the project exceeded the goal of establishing a 500-garden native plant corridor.

In transportation, Oak Park boasts one of the highest Walk Scores nationally (78), a ranking that measures the ease of walking within a community to businesses, schools and other community destinations. Oak Park’s vehicle miles traveled have also decreased.

In the area of waste, River Forest surpassed the plan’s goal of achieving over 50% residential waste diversion from landfill. River Forest reached a PROVIDED 52% diversion rate MIXED RESULTS: The sustainability Report Card is a measure of our progress — or lack thereof. and Oak Park 42%.

Both communities have steadily deIssued by PlanItGreen, the report card is a project of creased potable water consumption since 2009 (RF 22%; the OPRF Community Foundation’s Communityworks OP 19%), creating a positive trend line in that category. initiative, facilitated by Seven Generations Ahead, In economic development, the nationally recognized which tracks progress against sustainability goals sustainability strategy of building density in downtown created by both communities. It uses the universally areas next to transit stops — called Transit-Oriented Deunderstood A to F grading system to evaluate nine velopment — was achieved through the construction of sustainability metrics. two high-rises in Oak Park. They both have green buildPlanItGreen, the only multi-community sustainability ing features, in addition to providing needed support for plan in the Chicago metro area, engages community local businesses and reducing reliance on automobiles. taxing bodies (governments, schools, park districts, Climate change is global and the Midwest, Illinois, and libraries), major institutions (hospitals, universities, Oak Park are not immune from the effects. More must faith-based congregations), residents, businesses and be done at every level — national, state and local — if community groups in implementing the sustainability we are truly serious about reducing greenhouse gas plan. emissions. Here in our two communities, we’ve taken A recent landmark report from the Intergovernmental some steps in a positive direction. But, as the report card Panel on Climate Change describes a world of worsenshows, it’s time to work on achieving much better grades. ing natural disasters, food shortages and a massive For full report details, visit https://sevengenerationsacoral reef die-off by 2040 if greenhouse gas emissions head.org/sustainable-communities/planitgreen continue to increase at current rates. According to the Gary Cuneen, an Oak Park resident, is executive director report, global net human-caused emissions of carbon of Seven Generations Ahead.

GARY

CUNEEN One View

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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 Associate Publisher Dawn Ferencak Staff Reporters Michael Romain, Timothy Inklebarger, Nona Tepper Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Sports/Staff reporter Marty Farmer Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, John Hubbuch, May Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger, Stan West, Michelle Mbekeani-Wiley, Cassandra West, Doris Davenport Staff Photographer Alexa Rogals Editorial Design Manager Claire Innes Editorial Designers Jacquinete Baldwin, Javier Govea Business Manager Joyce Minich IT Manager/Web Developer Mike Risher Advertising Production Manager Philip Soell Advertising Design Manager Andrew Mead Advertising Designers Debbie Becker, Mark Moroney Advertising Director Dawn Ferencak Advertising Sales Marc Stopeck, Bill Wossow Inside Sales Representative Mary Ellen Nelligan Event Coordinator Carmen Rivera Client Engagement Natalie Johnson Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Distribution Coordinator Wakeelah Cocroft-Aldridge Front Desk Carolyn Henning, Maria Murzyn Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

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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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

D O O P E R ’ S

M E M O R I E S

Our 8 grade class trip to Springfield th

T

he most memorable field trip I took when I was in school was when my eighth grade class went to Springfield in May, 1953.

Our history class had recently finished studying the Illinois Constitution, so our teacher decided that a trip to Springfield would be of educational value. The students arrived at Holmes School at 5:30 a.m. on a Thursday, and the chartered bus left a half-hour later.

The 50 students were accompanied by our history teacher, the school librarian, and three mothers of eighth-grade students.

The bus drove us down Route 66 toward Springfield.

We stopped at a diner in Pontiac in order to stretch and to use the facilities, and while there, two mothers took a cigarette break.

Our first stop on the tour was New Salem Village which was where Abraham Lincoln lived, worked as a store clerk, and studied law when he was in his 20s.

The guides who were dressed in period garb told us what life was like in New Salem in the 1830s. They also warned us to stay on the path through the village and not to pet any of the horses, sheep or goats that were corralled behind a wooden fence. And they told us not to go near the Sangamon River which flowed through the village.

Well, two boys from our group did go to the river, slipped on the embankment and slid into the river, and were soaked from their feet to their waists. Even though the temperature was 80 degrees, their clothing remained wet for most of the trip.

We had brought sack lunches, so we took a half-hour break to eat and use the facilities before heading to Springfield.

We arrived in Springfield in a half hour, and our first stop was the Old State Capitol building where Lincoln delivered the House Divided speech, and where he launched his presidential campaign against Stephen Douglas in 1860.

The next stop was the current State Capitol building. This magnificent structure capped by a zinc coated copper dome glistened in the sunlight. While there, we briefly attended a legislative session and listened to two lawmakers engage in an argument.

The only home Lincoln ever owned was the next stop. I thought the rooms would be larger, but the house seemed cramped to me.

One feature of the property that drew attention was the outhouse.

Most of the students had never seen an outhouse, much less ever used one, so the guide explained its function. A couple of guys wanted to inspect the facility, but it was locked and not open to the public.

The last stop before leaving Springfield was Oak Ridge Cemetery, the final resting place for Lincoln and all members of his family except for his son Robert, who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

I was familiar with Oak Ridge because many of my ancestors are buried there.

We left Springfield around 5:30 p.m., and after an hour and a half we stopped in Bloomington for supper.

We arrived at Holmes School around 10:30 p.m., and we were greeted by our principal who told us that we could come to school an hour late the next day if we were not on patrol.

Eight of us manned patrol posts, so Friday was like any other school day.

Although I had been to Springfield and its environs many times before taking the field trip, I had not seen all of the places that our class visited, so the trip was both memorable and educational.

John Stanger is a lifelong resident of Oak Park, a 1957 graduate of OPRF High School, married with three grown children and five grandchildren, and a retired English professor (Elmhurst College).

Living two miles from where he grew up, he hasn’t gotten far in 79 years.

JOHN

STANGER

V I E W P O I N T S

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OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

To our lovely Oak Park village

ast week, we were all devastated to hear about the two apartment fires that left our neighbors suddenly homeless.

We all felt sympathy. However, instead of just feeling sympathy, I wanted to do something. And I am so glad that Oak Park is a village that can move past sympathy into action.

As I saw the smoke from my house, I knew I wanted to do something to help. I didn’t know what exactly, but without much forethought, I created a “Facebook fundraiser” with a modest goal of $1,000. I thought maybe I could run to grab some food or little things that might help our neighbors. I quickly posted the fundraiser on local sites, and then went to finish a few errands.

Imagine my surprise when I returned less than an hour later, and the fundraiser said over $5,000 had been raised. In less an hour! Our Oak Park community galvanized and donated their money to do something, versus just feeling sympathy.

I am still in awe of this accomplishment. It has reminded me about the goodness of people and the specialness and value of the Oak Park community.

When I stopped the fundraiser that evening, in less than one day, my impromptu “Facebook fundraiser for Oak Park Fire Neighbors,” had over 177 community donors! Collectively, we raised over $7,000 in one day!

I was floored by how many people donated and knew I had to get the funds as quickly as possible to

those in need. After speaking with the landlord of the buildings of the fires, village trustees, and community leaders, I realized my original thought of getting money directly in the hands of the families, was the most efficient strategy.

As of Thursday, April 25, 2019, I have been able create a distribution plan for each of the seven families. Each of the seven family has a donation of $1,087, so they can best use the money for their family’s needs. I’ve been in touch directly with the families and landlords to ensure that each family is able to access the funds.

I am in awe of Oak Park’s ability to move from sympathy to action. I am in awe of Oak Park’s ability to care about neighbors we don’t know. I am in awe of how much the village of Oak Park, demonstrated our village values, to look out for one another.

To all who donated, helped advise me through the process, and really the whole of Oak Park, I am so grateful for you and am so proud to be a part of this village.

With our collective actions as a village, I am reminded of the prophetic words of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group, of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Dima Ali is an Oak Park resident.

DIMA ALI

One View

May the most moral, smartest Democrat win

There’s a reason why we should hold our elected officials to a higher standard. Democracy is a messy, unorganized, and inefficient way to govern, but it would be wrong to think the system cannot produce greatness. It will always be surrounded by ego-hungry people, but its greatness is seen through those who rise above the spectacle.

While the circus in Washington goes on, it’s important to define what this higher standard is and remember it when we step into the ballot box. I believe our elected leaders need to show a healthy mix of intellectual curiosity and sense of moral imperative. We need leaders who epitomize Plato’s philosopher king, those with a love of knowledge. I’m not saying every leader needs to come from the Ivy League; rather they must

Don’t hide from our past

Instead of removing a Works Progress Administration mural from Julian Middle School, painted in 1937, which represented what Oak Park looked like then, why not commission a mural that shows the diversity of Oak Park today and hang them side by side? You cannot erase your past by hiding from it.

George Recchia Oak Park

have a desire to see the world outside of politics.

But our elected leaders shouldn’t solely be intellectuals. They must possess a strong moral compass that makes them allergic to the lures of power. Approaching politics through morality means advocating for policy that is for the greater good, even if it’s politically risky.

If our elected officials hold both intellectual curiosity and a moral grounding, they can see through the messiness of American democracy and elevate the discourse from one of winning an election to one of seizing an era.

As we watch the Democratic primary play out, let’s see who’s able to pass this test.

Jimmy Herdegen River Forest

Taxing anecdotes

So Mark Meagher thinks, “anecdotally,” a $900,000 home in Oak Park will pay $12,000 in real estate taxes.

He left out the part about pulling a Pritzker, removing the toilets and convincing the assessor the home is uninhabitable. Otherwise, $27,000 or more is a better guess — $12,000 should cover the taxes to District 97.

Barely.

Bob Stigger

Oak Park

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Donna Carroll and Richard Ekman, president of the Council of Independent College join other leaders in front of Lewis Hall

Donna Carroll was presented by Rodrigo Guerra Botello, Secretary General of the Mexican Federation of Private Institutions of Higher Education, with a commissioned etching by Mexican artist Luis Moor. The etching includes symbols representing the long history and strong relationship between Mexico and the U.S.

Dominican University hosts U.S./Mexico Higher Education Summit

D

ominican University hosted on April 25 a delegation of 23 Mexican university presidents and senior leaders, as well as 31 U.S. college presidents, as the kick-off of a four-day U.S./ Mexico Higher Education Summit. The summit, which was organized by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), focused on the importance of international educational exchanges, particularly given the current nationalist political climate in the U.S. Dominican shared with participants ideas and opportunities for faculty and student exchange programs, including internships and shared research projects.

The summit follows the inaugural gathering in 2017 of U.S. university presidents in Guadalajara, Mexico, during which Dominican University President Donna Carroll served as a speaker.

Margaret Hug, regional education initiatives director of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, spoke during lunch about the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, a public/private sector partnership that supports student exchanges and training programs between the Americas.

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Delegates gather in the Parmer Hall Atrium after arriving on campus.

Roberto Curci, dean of the Brennan School of Business, talks with one of the Mexican delegates in the Noonan Reading Room before lunch.

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The roots of Mothers’ Day are in working for peace

ho talks about peace anymore?

Maybe the word gets an honorable mention during your church service, but it almost seems like a quaint remnant of the ’60s. Peace signs and anti-war protests are ancient history.

Which is disconcerting at a time when the U.S. is actively at war in 14 countries, according to a special issue of Smithsonian magazine (“America at War”) published in January. I would bet most of us could only name a handful of the countries we are fighting in, much less explain why we are fighting there.

As Daphne Eviatar of Amnesty International USA said, “The U.S. public simply doesn’t see deaths in other countries. They don’t see civilians being killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. With everything going on in the United States at the moment, the fact that we’re even at war has largely fallen off the radar.”

Former President Jimmy Carter recently spoke out about the U.S. being the most warlike nation in the history of the world due to “Washington’s tendency to force other nations to adopt our American principles.” He noted that our country has only refrained from war for 16 of its 239 years.

All that war costs money and the U.S. leads

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the pack in defense spending: in 2017, we spent $610 billion on defense — more than the next seven countries combined.

How do we start building a more peaceful world?

Mothers and Others for Peace wants to start by bringing peace back into the conversation. We are inspired by Julia Ward Howe, who in 1870, after witnessing the terrible loss of lives in the Civil War, published a “Mothers’ Day Proclamation” urging women to unite in resistance to war. Howe hoped Mothers’ Day would be a yearly event to celebrate and reinvigorate women as peacemakers.

Through the month of May, Mothers and Others for Peace explores the history and commitment of women as peacemakers in “Mothers’ Day: Back to Our Roots,” an exhibit at the Oak Park Public Library main branch (in the Community Room behind the check-out desk.)

Stop by and read Howe’s moving “Mothers’ Day Proclamation,” or pick up our brochure and find tips on resolving conflict through nonviolent communication, based on Marshall Rosenberg’s teachings. Tell us

“one thing you can do for peace” in your personal life, your community, or your world, and share your answer with us by posting it on our display.

The library has stacks of books for all ages that you can check out on peace and peacemakers. Tell us about a book about peace that has inspired you, and post that on our wall too! Then share your books, stories, songs or poems in our discussion, “What Books About Peace Have Inspired You?” on Monday, May 6, 1-3 pm.

Or bring the kids to make a flower for peace at one of our three paper-flower making activities.

“Make a Flower, Give a Flower,” is an easy, fun craft for all ages. We encourage participants to give away a flower — maybe to someone who would least expect it. Stop in Saturday, May 4 and 11, from 1 to 3 p.m., or Wednesday, May 8 from 2 till 4.

Whatever you do, join us in honoring Mothers’ Day by bringing peace back into our hearts, our politics, and our world.

Thank you to the library for hosting our project, and to the League of Women Voters of Oak Park-River Forest for their

DIANE SCOTT

One View

sponsorship.

Find out more about us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MothersAndOthersForPeace/ Diane Scott is a member of Mothers and Others for Peace and writes the oldbagblog. com.

Inclusion should be the norm at District 97

y son, a third-grader at Irving School, has autism and a speech delay. We live by Hatch Elementary School, but he attends Irving because four years ago when he was starting kindergarten he was placed in a self-contained classroom there.

We fought to instead have him in a general education class because the research we did told us the best way for him to learn how to speak and then learn how to read and do math and be a good friend was to be in a general education class with mostly typical peers and appropriate supports.

This is because two of the biggest factors affecting student learning are proximity to peers and expectations.

Research shows that children with disabilities placed primarily in general education classes have more rigorous IEP goals and thus better outcomes in the short and long term. Due to the life-altering, amazing work of the faculty and principal at Irving, our dream for our son became a reality. In fact, he did so well in the general education classroom at Irving, after a couple years he was invited to return to his home school, Hatch. We made the difficult decision to keep him at Irving because, in addition to the amazing faculty at Irving, his peers and their families have become his community and support system.

Our son’s inclusion has been a major factor in the amazing progress he has made in the last four years. He went from mostly non-verbal to speaking now in 8- to 10-word sentences. He can mostly perform at grade level with modified work. He is a real part of the fabric of his class and of the Irving community. We are so thankful that District 97 has and continues to include him. It has changed the trajectory of his entire life.

I want the inclusion my son has experienced to be available to as many D97 students as possible. To be clear, some students need a more restrictive environment and we are legally obligated to provide a spectrum of placement options. That said, the promise of education in this country is that its purpose is to help every child reach their full potential. If we could structurally alter our school system to help more of our students with disabilities harness their full abilities, how can we not make that choice?

And here’s why: Being educated in the least restrictive environment has real consequences for children with disabilities.

Indeed “many respected research studies have found that school achievement and quality post-school outcomes are positively correlated with the amount of time stu-

dents with disabilities spend in a general education classroom — regardless of the severity of their disabilities.”* No studies conducted since the 1970s demonstrate any advantage for students with disabilities educated in more restrictive, segregated classrooms. In fact, research also shows inclusive classrooms are an advantage for non-disabled students — who experience greater social, emotional and academic growth.

Inclusive classrooms are a rising tide that lifts all ships. In order to best foster inclusion, many school districts have adopted co-teaching, which is when a general education teacher and special education teacher work together to teach a classroom of kids both with and without identified disabilities. Through differentiation and universal design all students can access the curriculum.

In the past, including kiddos like mine in the general education classroom for most of the day was not standard practice in D97 elementary schools. However, that is changing. The district has made tremendous progress in the past three years. Now, one of the eight elementary schools, Whittier, has fully implemented co-teaching, and there are partial implementations at

ERIKA ECKART One View

three of the other seven schools. This is great news, but it means only some of our students have the opportunity to access the instructional design that best support inclusion.

Why not more? Why not all? Why should where you live in Oak Park determine your ability to access the education you need? The answer is about money and priorities. Each year since its inception, the board has graciously granted piecemeal funds requested by the Special Education Department to begin and then expand co-teaching, and the program has been in a pilot stage. This is a wise move.

Co-teaching, like any new initiative, is most successful when there is extensive professional development and deliberate planning.

But the data from Whittier speaks for itself. The pilot has been a success. It is time to roll it out for the entire district.

This cannot be a niche Special Education Department initiative. It must come from Supt. Carol Kelley and the school board.

Especially as we have new board members starting their terms, the time to examine this structural change is now. At the very least, it is incumbent on the board to research both the impact and the cost of expanding co-teaching district-wide.

Erika Eckart is an Oak Park resident.

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OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Hubbuch needs Race Conscious Dialogues

Need a helping of

Such head-spinning display of contrasts in the April 24 Wednesday Journal. I was feeling somewhat hopeful (an uncommon occurrence in the last 2½ years) after reading the great write-up on Race Conscious Dialogues (a program in which both my husband and I have participated).

Then I found John Hubbuch’s “Confessions of a Lapsed Liberal” [Viewpoints] a few pages later and I almost lost my lunch.

Wow, another old white guy thinks the achievement (I prefer “opportunity”) gap is “unfixable” — shocker — probably because he just doesn’t care. I personally am glad that our schools haven’t given up even though past efforts haven’t been successful.

He’s also so offended that an Oak Park school updated their art display with more diverse depictions of community life. What exactly is the problem? No art was destroyed. I do like his idea of removing some of the honorary photos of past white citi-

zens from public buildings; my guess is that had more people of color been on the committees (or in positions of power) deciding who should get honored, we’d see different and more colorful faces.

An added bonus he serves up at the end is, “I am very conflicted about abortion.”

Ummm, who cares? You’ve never had to think about personally making that choice.

Be conflicted all you want, but trust women to make their own choice!

In this column, Hubbuch proves he knows nothing about racism and how it works; he could make some headway if he were to participate in Race Conscious Dialogues. Unfortunately, I think he’s too far gone and has no interest.

I’ll take your bait, Mr. Hubbuch. You are racist and misogynistic. You prove it again and again on the pages of this paper.

BLESOFF

along with Sandy Prolman, A Taste of Conscious Aging. This will be a preview of the IONS Conscious Aging Workshop program which is starting on June 4 at Township Senior Services. Join us for a hands-on, experiential look at this innovative program, which creates dialogue and heartfelt learning around meaningmaking, connection and community as we age. Let’s re-frame aging, away from selflimitation, lack, isolation, fear and toward inclusiveness, wholeness, connection and self-compassion. Stop by and say hello at Township Senior Services, 130 S. Oak Park Ave., on Friday, May 3, at 2 p.m. Call 708383-8005 for more information.

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

Celebrate Seniors from page 33 ■

The 9th annual Celebrating Seniors Week starts tomorrow. It’s a week of over 40 local, grassroots activities of interest to and highlighting our older population. Last week Wednesday Journal published and distributed the Celebrating Seniors Guide which listed details of all the events as well as a list of the 60 over 60 awards. For questions, contact Jill at 708-613-3340 or go to www. celebratingseniors.net ■

Finally, as part of Celebrating Seniors Week, on Friday, May 3, at Township Senior Services, I will be co-presenting,

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

Deb Wolkstein River Forest

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

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O B I T U A R I E S

Robert Schappert, 93 Oak Park resident

Robert C. Schappert, 93, of Oak Park, died on April 17, 2019. He started the track team and the Newman Club at East Tennessee State University, as his Catholic faith was very important to him. He loved fishing, reading, writing, and most of all, telling jokes and making people laugh.

Robert was the husband of the late Ruth Lamie Schappert (nee Buchanan); ROBERT SCHAPPERT the father of Kevin (Betsy), James, Mary Anne (Tom) Daniels, Jenny (the late Joseph) Macino, Ruthie Schappert, and David (Jolene) Schappert; the grandfather of Katie (Sean) Fuller, Jennifer Morris, Jessica, John, and Joe Daniels, Lindsay and Julie Macino, Sarah Schappert, and Nina Schappert; the greatgrandfather of Hayden, Natalie and McKenna; brother of the late Joe (the late Mary) Schappert; and the uncle of many.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, May 4 at 10 a.m. until time of Mass, 10:30 a.m., at St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Church, 38 N. Austin Blvd. in Oak Park.

Interment is private.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the American Heart Association are appreciated. Additional information is available at 708-383-3191 or drechslerbrownwilliams.com.

A strong, loving, gracious woman with a great sense of humor, she was very active, whether greeting new neighbors, hosting an event, or helping those in need. She was welcoming and reached out to people.

The Sheehan family home was always filled with friends, family, and loved ones. An avid bridge player and book club enthusiast, she organized family camping trips and was active in softball and tennis. Up until two years ago, she was playing tennis. She was an active member of the Beye School PTO and a dean secretary at OPRF High School from 1977 to 1999. She was a beloved and popular member on the staff, known for her pleasant and supportive demeanor and her genuine interest in all of the students with whom she came in contact.

Jean Sheehan was the mother of seven children, all of whom graduated from JEAN SHEEHAN OPRF, Cathy Sheehan (Doug Perasso), Patty (Joe) Walton, Terry (Danyelle) Sheehan, Tim (Karen) Sheehan, Tom Sheehan, Colleen (Ken) Bird, and Kelly Sheehan; and grandmother of her 15 grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held privately by her family.

In lieu of flowers, the family appreciates memorials to the the Jessie Brown Memorial Fund Against Sex Trafficking, c/o Patty Sheehan Walton, 8 Windycrest Dr., Beaver Falls, PA 15010.

Mary Ditto, 86

Jean Sheehan, 86

Mother, grandmother and teacher

Jean Sheehan, 86, a longtime resident of Oak Park, died at her Englewood, Florida home on April 26, 2019 as a result of pancreatic cancer. She grew up in Deerfield and graduated from Highland Park High School where she met her husband-to-be, Neil. The Sheehans celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Oct. 10 of last year.

Mary E. Ditto (nee DiTullio), 86, of Rockford and Forest Park, died on April 22, 2019.

She began her teaching career in Downers Grove and Skokie, then taught for 33 years in the Rockford Public Schools. She was a founding member of the nationally recognized Teacher Development Center (Welsh TDC) in Rockford where she pioneered the Democratic Classroom. A graduate of Rockford East High

Former Oak Park resident

Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home

Since 1880

School and Northern Illinois University, she received her master’s degree in Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

She loved being a mother, grandmother and teacher.

Mary was the mother of Frank (Julie), Anne Marie, Catherine (Clifford Walker) and the late Teresa Ditto; she was “Drini” to Nicholas, Winifred and Elektra; sister of Dominic Anthony (Patti) DiTullio and the late Helen (the late Gene) Kohlhepp; MARY DITTO and the aunt and cousin of many.

Visitation and funeral Mass were celebrated on April 26 at St. Edmund Church, 188 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park IL. Burial at Calvary Cemetery in Rockford was private.

In lieu of flowers, donations to: WSSRA (wssra.net) are appreciated.

Rev. David Dowdle, 65 St. Bernardine grad

Rev. David P. Dowdle, 65, senior priest and former pastor at St. John of the Cross Parish in Western Springs, died on April 18, 2019. Born on Nov. 22, 1953, in Chicago, he attended St. Bernardine School in Forest Park REV. DAVID DOWDLE and Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Niles College Seminary of Loyola University and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein in 1977.

Ordained to the priesthood on May 9, 1979,

by John Cardinal Cody, archbishop of Chi-

Robert P. Gamboney Funeral Director

Family Owned & Operated

I am there for you in your time of need.

All services handled with dignity and personalized care.

Charles Williams, Owner/Funeral Director

Cell: 708.420.5108 • Res: 708.848.5667

203 S. Marion St. Oak Park 60302 708/383-3191

I am affiliated with Peterson-Bassi Chapels at 6938 W. North Ave, as well as other chapels throughout Chicagoland.

cago, he celebrated his first solemn Mass at St. Bernardine Catholic Church in Forest Park on May 19 of the same year. Following his ordination, he served as associate pastor at St. Marcelline Parish in Schaumburg, St. Mary of Celle Parish in Berwyn, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Glenview.

He was appointed pastor of St. Gall Parish on 55th Street in Chicago in 1992 and served in that role until 2000, when he became director of spiritual formation for the Institute for Diaconal Studies (then called the Deacon Formation Program). In that role, he oversaw the spiritual formation component of the training and supervised the spiritual directors who accompanied the men and their wives during formation. Deacon Bob Puhala, director of the Institute for Diaconal Studies who worked with Dowdle from 2005 until 2007, remembers him as a “direct communicator and fearless in his dedication to diaconate formation.” Very Rev. Gregory Sakowicz, rector of Holy Name Cathedral, met Dowdle at Niles College Seminary of Loyola in 1971. Sakowicz remembers his classmate as “very friendly, with a wonderful sense of humor, always willing to help others. He was loved by the people wherever he served.”

Visitation was on April 26 and on April 27, followed by a funeral Mass at St. John of the Cross Parish.

Elaine Kohn, 83 Former Oak Park resident

Elaine B. (Weinmann Harrington) Kohn, 83, of Crystal Lake, died peacefully, surrounded by family on April 16, 2019 in Barrington.

Born on July 17, 1935 in St. Paul, Minnesota to John and Eileen (nee Peck) Weinmann, she lived and worked in Oak Park for over 30 years. She enjoyed reading, entertaining, and cooking for her family and friends.

Elaine is survived by her husband, Larry Kohn, whom she married on Aug. 23, 1975; her children, William (Anna Marie) Harrington, Michael (Jennifer) Harrington, and Charles Harrington; her grandchildren, Kathryn, Tegan, Daniel, Christina, Amanda, William, and Elan; her five great-grandchildren; her siblings, Robert (Mitzi) Weinmann, Gerald (Barbara) Weinmann, Charles (Lane) Weinmann, and Vicki (Robert) Knoth; and her many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, John W. Harrington; and her siblings, Susan Weber, John (Joetta) Weinmann and Janet (Robert) Cummings.

A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, May 4, at Bethany Lutheran Church, 76 W. Crystal Lake Ave. in Crystal Lake, beginning at 10 a.m., followed by a service at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family appreciates memorial contributions to the Howard Brown Health Center (howardbrown.org/ donate/honorary-and-memorial-gifts). Additional information is available at 815-459-3411 and to leave an online condolence, visit www. davenportfamily.com.

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

RELIGION GUIDE Presbyterian

Check First.

First Congregational Church of Maywood

400 N. Fifth Avenue (1 block north of Lake St.) Come join us for Sunday Morning Worship at 11 am Pastor Elliot Wimbush will be preaching the message.

Refreshments and fellowship follow the service.

708-344-6150 firstchurchofmaywood.org When you're looking for a place to worship the Lord, Check First.

You’re Invited to A Church for All Nations A Church Without Walls SERVICE LOCATION Forest Park Plaza 7600 W. Roosevelt Road Forest Park, IL 60130

William S. Winston Pastor

ELCA, Lutheran

Good Shepherd

Worshiping at 820 Ontario, Oak Park IL (First Baptist Church) 9:00 a.m.—Education Hour 10:30 a.m.—Worship

All are welcome. goodshepherdlc.org 708-848-4741

Lutheran—ELCA

United Lutheran Church

409 Greenfield Street (at Ridgeland Avenue) Oak Park Holy Communion with nursery care and children’s chapel each Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Service 7AM, 9AM & 11:15AM Believer’s Walk of Faith Broadcast Schedule (Times in Central Standard Time) Television DAYSTAR (M-F)

3:30-4:00pm

Nationwide

WJYS-TV (M-F)

6:30-7:00am

Chicago, IL.

WCIU-TV (Sun.)

10:30-11:00am

Chicago, IL.

Word Network

10:30-11:00am

Nationwide

(M-F)

www.livingwd.org www.billwinston.org

West Suburban Temple Har Zion

1040 N. Harlem Avenue River Forest Meet our Rabbi, Adir Glick Pray, learn, and celebrate with our caring, progressive, egalitarian community.

Interfaith families are welcome.

Accredited Early Childhood Program Religious School for K thru 12 Daily Morning Minyan Weekly Shabbat Services Friday 6:30pm & Saturday 10:00am Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 708.366.9000 www.wsthz.org

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

744 Fair Oaks Ave. Oak Park 386-4920 Sunday Schedule Christian Education for All Ages 9:00am Worship Service 10:00am

Child care available 9-11am

fairoakspres.org OAK PARK MEETING OF FRIENDS (Quakers) Meeting For Worship Sundays at 10:00 a.m. at Oak Park Art League 720 Chicago Ave., Oak Park Please call 708-445-8201 www.oakparkfriends.org

Roman Catholic

Ascension Catholic Church

www.unitedlutheranchurch.org

708/386-1576

(708) 697-5000 LIVE Webcast - 11:15AM Service

Fair Oaks

Lutheran-Independent

Grace Lutheran Church

7300 W. Division, River Forest David R. Lyle, Senior Pastor David W. Wegner, Assoc. Pastor Lauren Dow Wegner, Assoc. Pastor Sunday Worship, 8:30 & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School/Adult Ed. 9:45 a.m.

Childcare Available

Grace Lutheran School

Preschool - 8th Grade Bill Koehne, Principal 366-6900, graceriverforest.org Lutheran-Missouri Synod

St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church

305 Circle Ave, Forest Park Sunday Worship, 9:30am Christian Education Hour 8:30am Wednesday Worship 7:00pm Wheelchair Access to Sanctuary Leonard Payton, Pastor Roney Riley, Assistant Pastor 708-366-3226 www.stjohnforestpark.org Methodist

First United Methodist Church of Oak Park

324 N. Oak Park Avenue 708-383-4983 www.firstUMCoakpark.org Sunday School for all Ages, 9am Sunday Worship, 10am Children’s Chapel during Worship Rev. Katherine Thomas Paisley, Pastor Professionally Staffed Nursery Fellowship Time after Worship

808 S. East Ave. 708/848-2703 www.ascensionoakpark.com Worship: Saturday Mass 5:00 pm Sunday Masses 7:30, 9:00, 11 am, 5:00 pm Sacrament of Reconciliation 4 pm Saturday Taize Prayer 7:30 pm First Fridays Feb.– Dec. & Jan. 1

Rev. James Hurlbert, Pastor

Roman Catholic

St. Edmund Catholic Church

188 South Oak Park Ave. Saturday Mass: 5:30 p.m.

Sunday Masses: 9:00 & 11:00 a.m., 5:30 p.m.

Weekday Mass: 8:30 a.m. M–F Holy Day Masses: As Announced Reconciliation: Saturday 4:15 p.m.

Parish Office: 708-848-4417 Religious Ed Phone: 708-848-7220

St. Giles Family Mass Community

We welcome all to attend Sunday Mass at 10 a.m. on the St. Giles Parish campus on the second floor of the school gym, the southernmost building in the school complex at 1034 North Linden Avenue.

Established in 1970, we are a laybased community within St. Giles Roman Catholic Parish.

Our Mass is family-friendly.

We encourage liturgically active toddlers. Children from 3 to 13 and young adults play meaningful parts in each Sunday liturgy.

Together with the parish, we offer Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based religious education program for children in grades K-8.

For more information, go to http://www.stgilesparish.org/ family-mass-community or call Bob Wielgos at 708-288-2196.

Third Unitarian Church 10AM Sunday Forum 11AM Service Rev. Colleen Vahey thirdunitarianchurch.org (773) 626-9385 301 N. Mayfield, Chicago Committed to justice, not to a creed

Roman Catholic

St. Bernardine Catholic Church Harrison & Elgin, Forest Park

CELEBRATING OUR 107TH YEAR! Sat. Masses: 8:30am & 5:00pm SUNDAY MASSES: 8:00am & 10:30am 10:30 Mass-Daycare for all ages CCD Sun. 9am-10:15am Reconciliation: Sat. 9am & 4pm Weekday Masses: Monday–Thursday 6:30am Church Office: 708-366-0839 CCD: 708-366-3553 www.stbern.com Pastor: Fr. Stanislaw Kuca

Upcoming Religious Holidays

May1-2 Yom HaSho’ah

1-2 Ridván (12th day) 5 Ramadan

8-9 Yom Ha’Atzmaut

19 Buddha Day-Vesak

23 Declaration of the Báb

Judaism

Bahá’í

Islam

Judaism

Buddhism Bahá’í

28 Ascension of Baha’u’lláh Bahá’

To place a listing in the Religion Guide, call Mary Ellen: 708/613-3342

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OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM New local ads this week

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

CLASSIFIED NEW!

Place your ad online anytime at: www.oakpark.com/classified/

WEDNESDAY Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

YOUR WEEKLY AD

REACHES SIX SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES: OAK PARK, RIVER FOREST, FOREST PARK, BROOKFIELD, RIVERSIDE, NORTH RIVERSIDE, AND PARTS OF CHICAGO

Please Check Your Ad: The publisher will not be responsible for more than one incorrect insertion.

Wednesday Journal Classified must be notified before the second insertion.

The newspaper reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement.

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 | BY E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@OAKPARK.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@RIVERFOREST.COM HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

CHURCHES

App Dev sought by US Bank Nat’l Assoc in Chicago, IL to design, test & dev SW. Reqs Bach CS or rltd plus 7 yrs exp & 4 yrs app dev exp in financial services or banking using ASP.NET, MVC, C#, AngularJS, WCF Services, JQuery, SQL Server, Visual Studio, CSS, Bootstrap, TFS, & Web API. Apply online www. usbank.com req 190010430

Senior Deployment Engineer sought

by Enova Financial Holdings LLC in Chicago, IL. Respnbl for bldg & autmtng our contnus intgrtn/delvry pltfrm. Apply at jobpostingtoday.com, ref 96294.

YOUR CHURCH HOME! New Life Community Church

BARTENDER Part-time bartender wanted.

Weekends only. Fri, Sat, Sun 4pm to 10pm. Willing to train.

Papaspiro’s Restaurant Oak Park Call 708-358-1700 or 708-267-0100 CHURCH MAINTENANCE The Assumption Greek Orthodox Church is looking to hire a professional and self-motivated candidate for routine maintenance and church security needs, including: landscaping/snow removal, security, deliveries, stocking, etc. This PT position guarantees 12 hours a week (more hour seasonally).

Must be able to work weekdays and Sundays, as well as weeknights and Saturdays as needed. Must have a valid drivers license and insurance.

Background check required. To inquire, please call 773-626-3114.

ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER PART-TIME Part-time Electrician’s Helper. Must have own transportation. Call for more info 708-738-3848.

Engineer III, HNTB Corporation, Chicago, IL. Complete discipline engg project elements such as structural analysis of bridges using 2D & 3D computer models. Travel req’d up to 25% during regular projects & full long-term relocation in Dsgn Build jobs. Ref. job #041920972 & send resume to K. Willard, 715 Kirk Dr, Kansas City, MO 64105. EOE. HUMAN RESOURCES REP The Royal Group is a 95-year-old, Midwest manufacturer located in Cicero, IL. This position reports to the Human Resources Manager and is responsible for actively managing all day-to-day divisional H.R. processes, programs and procedures.

The candidate must be a strategic thinker, with strong organizational skills, strong attention to detail, ability to work with a unionized workforce and ideally someone with previous H.R. experience and Spanish communications skills.

P/T SECRETARY/PARALEGAL Part time Legal Secretary/Paralegal for solo practitioner in Oak Park.

Ideal candidate has 3+ years legal experience, ability to multitask, and is detailed-oriented. Proficiency in Outlook, Microsoft Office, and Adobe necessary. Knowledge in following areas helpful: Family law, Criminal, Real Estate and Personal injury. 20-25 hours per week, flexible as needed.

Please send resume and salary expectations to staceyboduchfox@gmail.com Sprout Some Extra Cash with a spring garage sale.

Call our Classified Dept. to advertise: 708/613-3342

SERVERS AND DRIVERS We are seeking enthusiastic, positive, experienced servers and drivers to join our busy expanding team.

Full/ part time with flexible hours available. Apply in person at Jim and Pete’s 7806 W North Ave. Elmwood Park, IL (708)453-5204 SUMMER (TEMPORARY FULL TIME) SUMMER YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST The Summer Day Care Program is accepting applications for nurturing individuals to provide care and supervision of 5-11 year old children. Position is Monday through Friday, 8-hour shift between the hours of 7:30am and 6:00pm.

The summer program runs from June 10 through August 16th.

Responsibilities include supervising play shops, arts and crafts, activities, sports, group games and indoor and outdoor play. Staff accompany and supervise children at the swimming pool and on weekly field trips.

Requirements include: minimum of 6 semester hours in education, recreation, social work, or related college courses, along with previous experience working with school aged children.

Contact Amy O’Rourke, Director of Day Care at: aorourke@hephzibahhome.org Equal Opportunity Employer SYSTEMS ANALYST The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Systems Analyst in the Information Technology Department. Applicant will need to be knowledgeable and capable to apply the principles and techniques of various programming languages, database, computer programming, on-line programming and programming documentation.

Additional skillsets include systems analysis and design techniques, such as database normalization, business analysis, workflow procedure, modular programming, stored procedures, and interface with operating system. Our technology environment consists of MS-SQL & Tools, Superion OneSolution CAD/ RMS, CityView Permit, Licensing & Inspections, ERSI ArcGIS, Laserfiche and web software (Java, HTML, Adobe ColdFusion and Drupal).http://www.oak-park.us/ .

Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application position open until filled.

You have jobs. We have readers!

Find the best employees with Wednesday Classified!

Call 708-613-3342.

is your church home for Easter and beyond. We are a family of love that cooperates with God in making fully-devoted, fruitful followers of Jesus. We have a thriving children’s ministry, relevant worship and life-changing teaching form God’s word.

JOIN US SUNDAYS @11:30am 3801 Madison in Brookfield (meeting at Faith Lutheran Church).

SUBURBAN REAL ESTATE NEW CONCEPT FOR MAYWOOD

In this quiet residential neighborhood

902 S. 3RD AVENUE (2 blks W of 1st Ave & 1 blk N of Madison)

Reserve your own affordable 2 or 3 BR condo unit of 1000+ sq ft of living space being built on this historic site. You’ll benefit from a unique 12 year tax freeze and lower monthly living expenses from energy saving systems/appliances, and you can help design your own individual unit.

Plans also include building 5 new townhomes onsite. For details Call 708-383-9223.

Selling your home by owner?

Find the best employees with Wednesday Classified!

Call 708-613-3342.

SUBURBAN RENTALS BROOKFIELD 1BR & 2BR APTS Ground Floor. Steps to Prairie Metra stop. Central air. Clean & bright. Off street parking. No Pets. Plus utilities, security & credit check.

708-387-7459 FOREST PARK 2BR 2 BR 1 BA w/ 2 parking spaces.

Central heat & air. Laundry on site.

Close to River Forest Jewel. $1350 + 1 mo security. 7544 Brown Ave. Call 708-790-1914.

CITY RENTALS AUSTIN RENAISSANCE APARTMENTS. A HUD-subsidized affordable Apartment property announces the opening of its waiting list! The development is located on Washington Blvd in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Studio, one, and two-bedroom apartments are offered with a maximum occupancy of four persons permitted.

Properties feature modern kitchens, include appliances, and offer onsite maintenance and laundry facilities. Austin Renaissance will except requests for application packages by U.S. Mail postmarked no later than May 31, 2019. Send a written request for an application package that includes your name, mailing address. Daytime telephone number, Email address, and the number of persons in your household to: Town Center Realty Group LLC, PO Box 64, Huntley IL 60142-0064. You may also email a request to: mrpaul2u70@aol.com. Application packages available by mail or email delivery only.

No walk-ins or phone calls will be accepted.

Town Center Realty Group LLC

SUBURBAN RENTALS

M&M property management, inc.

708-386-7355 • www.mmpropmgt.com 649 Madison Street, Oak Park Contact us for a complete list of available rentals throughout Oak Park and Forest Park.

Apartment listings updated daily at:

Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.

CITY RENTALS AUSTIN VILLAGE 5937 W MIDWAY PKWY

Clean 1BR apt, 1/2 blk from OP Green Line & shops. 3rd flr. $785/ mo. Heat not included.

708-383-9223

ROOMS FOR RENT AUSTIN CLEAN ROOM With fridge, micro.

Nr Oak Park, Super Walmart, Food 4 Less, bus, & Metra. $116/wk and up.

773-637-5957 Large Sunny Room with fridge & microwave. Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $101.00 week & up. New Mgmt.

773-378-8888

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT THERAPY OFFICES FOR RENT

Therapy offices for rent in north Oak Park. Rehabbed building. Nicely furnished. Flexible leasing. Free parking; Free wifi; Secure building; Friendly colleagues providing referrals. Shared Waiting room; optional Conference room. Call or email with questions. Shown on Sundays.

Lee 708.383.0729 drlmadden@ameritech.net

ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES

29TH ANNUAL ANTIQUE & COLLECTIBLE SALE

Sponsored by the Berwyn Historical Society

6445 W. 27th Place, Berwyn Saturday, May 4 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission: $3.00

www.berwynhistoricalsociety.org

RUMMAGE SALES Brookfield

ST. PAUL EV. LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL ANNUAL SPRING RUMMAGE SALE 9035 GRANT AVE FRI 5/3 9AM-5PM SAT 5/4 8:30AM-11:30AM

Stop on by!

GARAGE/YARD SALES Forest Park

GARAGE SALE FOR CHARITY 430 HANNAH SAT 5/4 10AM TO 2PM

Want to help the hungry? Local group End of the Line Humanists, in conjunction with the Secular Week of Action will hold a 4-hr. multi-family garage sale to benefit the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry. Come and see which bargains speak to you!

NOVENAS NEVER FAIL NOVENA May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised, adored and glorified throughout the world, now and forever. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I put my trust in you. Holy Mary Mother of Jesus, pray for me. St. Theresa child of Jesus, pray for me. St. Jude, helper of hopeless causes, pray for me and grant this favor I ask. Say this prayer 9 times a day for 9 days. R.B. NOVENA PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (NEVER KNOWN TO FAIL) OH, MOST BEAUTIFUL flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me, herein you are my mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor in my necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, show me herein you are my mother. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and publish; your request will be granted. RB. PRAYER TO ST. JUDE May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved & preserved throughout the world now & forever. Sacred heart of Jesus, pray for us.

St. Jude worker of miracles, pray for us. St. Jude helper of the hopeless pray for us. Say this prayer 9 times a day for 9 days. By the 8th day your prayer will be answered. It has never been known to fail. Publication must be promised. Thank you Jesus. Thank you St. Jude.

TO BE GIVEN AWAY Free Comic Book Day

One Stop Comics will have professional and amateur creators at One Stop Comics showing their comic work.

Josh Blaylock, founder and CEO of Devil’s Due Publishing, will be one of our featured guests.

May 4 Kicks off at 10am & runs till 7pm One Stop Comics 111 S. Ridgeland • Oak Park IL Call Rick at 708 524-2287 LIKE NEW HOSPITAL BED Hospital bed fully motorized.

Weight lifting bench with weights Brookfield area PH 707-308-0869 Ed

ITEMS FOR SALE CERTIFIED WIND SURFER Full Size, with cover and sail $125.00.

WATER SKIS $10.00 708-488-8755 HEAVY WROUGHT IRON TABLE 60 inch round, with four chairs and round bench. $40.

708-488-8755 MOVIE PROJECTORS Super 8 movie projectors with extra lamp. Bell and Howell 497, Chinon 2500 with take-up reel, $50.00 each. ph. 484-358-3642 MUSIC Musical scores, piano trios, concertos, violin, cello and flute music.

All 1/2 price or less.

708-488-8755 RECORDS 1970’s Record Albums and 45’s for sale. Call 708-609-0446.

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

AUTOS FOR SALE 2002 HONDA LX 02Honda LX. NEW: front end suspension; control arms, bushings; ball joints; wheel bearings in ft. steering knuckles; rt. CV axel; ft/rear struts; tires. 155,00 mi. $1800.

After 4PM 708-819-0070

Lost & Found and To Be Given Away ads run free in Wednesday Classified.

Call 708613-3342

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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cat calls

Oak Park’s Original Pet Care Service – Since 1986

Daily dog exercising Complete pet care in your home )PVTF TJUUJOH t 1MBOU DBSF Bonded References

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AIR CONDITIONING/ HEAT AIR CONDITIONING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Air Conditioning Automotive A/C Refrigerators Ranges • Ovens Washer • Dryers Rodding Sewers Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

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CEMENT

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Specializing In: t 4JEFXBMLT t 4UBJST t %SJWFXBZT t 1BUJPT t (BSBHF 'MPPST BOE .PSF -JDFOTFE t #POEFE t *OTVSFE 'SFF &TUJNBUFT

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CLEANING Pam’s A+ Cleaning Service

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PETS

Drives Walks Patios Stamped Concrete Curbs/Gutters Garage Floors Foundations Water Control / Management

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708.442.7720 '5,9(:$<6 Â&#x2021; )281'$7,216 Â&#x2021; 3$7,26 67(36 Â&#x2021; &85% *877(56 Â&#x2021; 6,'(:$/.6 612: 3/2:,1* Â&#x2021; 67$03(' &2/25(' $**5(*$7( &21&5(7( FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

ELECTRICAL

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We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles.

We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs Home Re-wiring â&#x20AC;˘ New Plugs & Switches Added New circuit breaker boxes â&#x20AC;˘ Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp â&#x20AC;˘ Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential â&#x20AC;˘ Commercial â&#x20AC;˘ Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. â&#x20AC;˘ Bonded â&#x20AC;˘ Ins. â&#x20AC;˘ Low Rates â&#x20AC;˘ Free Est.

708-409-0988 â&#x20AC;˘ 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts â&#x20AC;˘ 30 Yrs. Exp Servicing Oak Park â&#x20AC;˘ All surrounding suburbs â&#x20AC;˘ Chicago area

FLOORS KLIS FLOORING INC.

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

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

GARAGE/GARAGE DOOR Our 73rd Year

Garage Doors &

Jump into spring! Everything we touch turns to clean! For a detailed cleaning please call 708-937-9110

Smart Door Openers

ELECTRICAL

(708) 652-9415

++++++++++++++ + + + HUGHS + + ELECTRIC + + + Appliance lines + Lighting + â&#x20AC;&#x201D;services + Furnace repair & tune-ups + + + Trouble calls Free Estimates + + + 10% Senior Discount + Insured Since 1986 + + Lic &Good References + + + 708-612-4803 + ++++++++++++++

LANDSCAPING

Residential Commercial Industrial Licensed Bonded Insured Free Estimates ¡ Veteran Owned

Ceiling Fans Installed

Sales & Service Free Estimates

www.forestdoor.com

HANDYMAN

HANDYMAN Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home Repair Drywall H Painting H Tile Plumbing H Electric H Floors Windows H Doors H Siding Ask Us What We Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Do

708-296-2060

HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs â&#x20AC;˘ Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates

773-732-2263 Ask for John

HAULING BASEMENT CLEANING Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery. 708-848-9404

Drywall Repair â&#x20AC;˘ Painting Fans Installed â&#x20AC;˘ Carpentry Trim Gutter Cleaning â&#x20AC;˘ Window Repair

708-488-9411

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BRUCE LAWN SERVICE Spring Clean-Up Aerating, Slit Seeding Bush Trimming, Lawn Maintenance brucelawns.com

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to â&#x20AC;&#x153;An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,â&#x20AC;? as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y19001043 on April 9, 2019. Under the Assumed Business Name of SERENITY INTERIOR SOLUTIONS with the business located at: 150 FOREST AVE 1101, OAK PARK, IL 60301. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: LUCIA GASCUE-CAROL 150 FOREST AVE 1101, OAK PARK, IL 60301.

The Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, located at 201 N. Scoville will be conducting a Timely and Meaningful Consultation Meeting on Thursday, May 9, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. in Room 107. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans for providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private/parochial schools and who are home schooled within the district for the 2019-20 school year. If you are the parent of a home-schooled student who has been or may be identified with a disability and you reside within the boundaries of Oak Park & River Forest High School District 200, you are urged to attend.

If you have questions regarding the meeting, please contact Dr. Kennedi Dixon, (708) 434-3105.

Published in Wednesday Journal 4/24, 5/1/2019

PAINTING & DECORATING

LEGAL NOTICE

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708.749.0011

WINDOWS Storm Windows â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

to protect your windows against weather, heat and cooling loss, cuts noise Most innovative interior and exterior storm frames, lenses and screens.

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Attention!

Homeimprovement pros!

Reach the people making decisions. Advertise here.

Call 708/613-3342

Published in Wednesday Journal 4/17, 4/24, 5/1/2019

PUBLIC NOTICE PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME In the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, County Department, County Division.

In the matter of the petition of Marisa Lynn Voss for change of name to Sammy Hayden James Voss, Case No. 2019CONC000481

708-243-0571

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing will be held by the Community Design Commission, acting as the Design Review Commission, of the Village of Oak Park on Wednesday evening, May 24, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in Room 101 of the Village Hall, 123 Madison St., Oak Park, Illinois on the following matter: Cal. No. 02-19-DRC: 408 S. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park Arms Property Index Number 16-07-418-001-0000 The Applicant Moses Williams, on behalf of Oak Park Arms, is seeking a variation from Section 7-7-12 (P) of the Oak Park Sign Code, which section allows one (1) commercial real estate sign no more than sixteen (16) square feet in surface area per street frontage advertising the sale or rental of the premises, to permit the installation of two (2) commercial real estate signs approximately 360 square feet and 236 square feet in surface area located on the south elevation of the building, a location where there is no street frontage, at the premises commonly known as 408 S. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, IL. All papers in connection with the above matter are on file at the Village of Oak Park and available for examination by interested parties by contacting the Zoning Administrator at 708.358.5449.

DATED AT OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, this 1st Day of May, 2019 Published in Wednesday Journal 5/1/2019

PLUMBING

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Notice is given you, the public, that I have filed a Petition For Change of Name in this Court, asking the Court to change my present name of Maris Lynn Voss to the name of Sammy Hayden James Voss.

This case will be heard in courtroom 1707 on June 21, 2019 at 10:30 a.m..

Published in Wednesday Journal 4/24, 5/1, 5/8/2019

PUBLIC NOTICE On May 3, 2019 at 9:15 a.m., a meeting conducted by Oak Park Elementary District 97 will take place at the Oak Park Main Library, 834 Lake Street in the Veteranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Room. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans for providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private schools and home schools with the district for the 2019-2020 school year. If you are the parent of a homeschooled student who has been or may be identified with a disability and you reside with the boundaries of Oak Park Elementary School District 97, you are urged to attend. If you have further questions pertaining to this meeting, please contact Donna Middleton at 708-524-3030.

Published in Wednesday Journal 4/24, 5/1/2018

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; CHANCERY DIVISION BANK OF AMEIRICA, NA; Plaintiff, vs.

UNKNOWN OWNERS-TENANTS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANT MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC AS NOMINEE FOR COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS INC.; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF MARVA BYRD AKA MARVA J. BYRD; JUANA BYRD; MICHAEL BYRD; THOMAS P. QUINN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR MARVA BYRD AKA MARVA J. BYRD; Defendants, 18 CH 5159 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 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: THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED REAL ESTATE SITUATED IN THE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE COUNTY OF COOK, IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS: P.I.N. 15-16-320-046-0000.

Commonly known as 926 Suffolk Avenue, Westchester, IL 60154.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 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 Sales Department at Plaintiffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 18-021115 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3118336 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; CHANCERY DIVISION US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION; Plaintiff, vs.

HENRY MCDONALD; Defendants, 18 CH 5656 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Thursday, May 30, 2019 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. 15-18-211-047-0000.

Commonly known as 302 North Wolf Way, Hillside, IL 60162.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 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 Sales Department at Plaintiffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 18-016593 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3118464 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENTâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; CHANCERY DIVISION CALIBER HOME LOANS, INC. Plaintiff, -v.DEXTER M. CRAWFORD AKA DEXTER M. CRAWFORD, JR., CRYSTAL R. CRAWFORD, UNITED STATES OF AMERICADEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY-INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, EMERGENT CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, LTD. Defendants 17 CH 06828 452 N. JACKSON BLVD. HILLSIDE, IL 60162 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on February 13, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 17, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 452 N.

44

Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

CLASSIFIED

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

(708) 613-3333 • FAX: (708) 467-9066 • E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@OAKPARK.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@RIVERFOREST.COM

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know

In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year oakpark.com | riverforest.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

JACKSON BLVD., HILLSIDE, IL 60162 Property Index No. 15-08-329-0200000.

The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

The judgment amount was $98,482.50.

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.

Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.

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(g1).

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 identifi-

cation for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, contact Plaintiff’s attorney: HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC, 111 East Main Street, DECATUR, IL 62523, (217) 4221719 Please refer to file number 2120-13631.

If the sale is not confirmed for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the purchase price paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee’s attorney.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC 111 East Main Street DECATUR, IL 62523 (217) 422-1719 Fax #: (217) 422-1754 CookPleadings@hsbattys.com Attorney File No. 2120-13631 Attorney Code. 40387 Case Number: 17 CH 06828 TJSC#: 39-2247 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.

I3118565

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(g1).

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, examine the court file or contact Plaintiff’s attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876 Please refer to file number 14-17-18077.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE, IL 60527 (630) 794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-17-18077 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 18 CH 00566 TJSC#: 39-2476 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.

I3118880

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION CITIZENS BANK NA F/K/A RBS CITIZENS NA SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO CHARTER ONE BANK, F.S.B. Plaintiff, -v.EDNA R. MCCOY, CHICAGO TITLE LAND TRUST COMPANY SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE TO LASALLE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE U/T/A DATED 10/17/1990 A/K/ A TRUST NO. 1182-CH, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 18 CH 00566 205 S HARVEY AVE 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 October 1, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 24, 2019, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 205 S HARVEY AVE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-08-307-0160000.

The real estate is improved with a residence.

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

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT– CHANCERY DIVISION JPMORGAN CHASE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION; Plaintiff, vs.

WILLA M. SPENCER AKA WILLA SPENCER; Defendants, 17 CH 11395 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 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. 16-07-420-004-0000.

Commonly known as 420 Wesley Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 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 Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611. 17-027765 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I3119649

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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

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

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

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

Wednesday Journal Landmark Forest Park Review

BOONE COUNTY TREASURE HUNT

3 Shows for the Price of One! May 4-5, 2019

America’s Premiere Antique Ad & Toy, Gas & Oil, Antique Market

at the Boone County Fairgrounds • Lebanon, Indiana Buy • Sell • Trade on Sat 8-5, Sun 9-2, Adm. $8 906-250-1618 – www.BooneCountyTreasureHunt.com

P

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

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Fenwick tops Trinity in softball

Trailing 3-0, Friars respond with superb defense, pitching and nine runs

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The high school sports rivalry between Fenwick and Oak Park and River Forest is the marquee matchup in town.

However, the Friars’ athletic battles with neighboring Trinity are often comparably intense, perhaps even more so given the teams’ common conference affiliation in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference.

In the latest installment of the rivalry, the Friars earned a 9-3 comeback win against Trinity at Triton College on April 15. Trailing 3-0, the Fenwick responded with excellent defense, pitching and hitting to score nine unanswered runs en route to victory.

“It took a full team effort to come from behind, take and the lead, and then add on to it,” Fenwick coach Sarah James said. “In our six losses, the mindset was to play not to lose which just doesn’t work. We needed to turn that (mindset) into play to win. We had an opportunity to play under pressure and responded well.”

Fenwick senior pitcher Cassy Lee added: “Trinity has always been one of our biggest rivals and toughest competitors so we are always hyped to play against them. Trinity started off very strong, but we were ultimately able to come back and work together as a team to score runs for the win.”

Fenwick third baseman Elena Vaccaro and shortstop Rachel Martinez turning in several defensive gems against the Blazers (9-8). During one notable play, Vaccaro made a diving stop to her left and then threw to first for an out, ending a Blazers’ scoring opportunity with runners on second and third. Martinez, a University of Southern Indiana commit, flashed a reliable glove and made several diving plays to keep balls in the infield.

ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Fenwick’s Gianna Amundsen (18) pitches the ball during a varsity softball game against Trinity at Triton College softball field in River Grove. (Below) Fenwick’s Rachel Martinez (5) reaches for the ball.

In recent games, designated player Alex Medina and catcher Tess LoGuidice have contributed as well for Fenwick. Medina has created a lot of scoring opportunities with her slap-hitting style, while LoGuidice has been consistent behind the plate and at bat.

The pitching staff has also played a large role in the team’s success this season. The rotation is led by strikeout

pitchers Alyssa Stramaglia and Lee, which has created an interesting dilemma for James.

“Our pitching is fantastic,” James said. “The only problem we have, which is something I’ll take any day, is that we’re getting too many strikeouts. It sounds crazy, but we’re pitching too many pitches per batter to get the strikeouts.

I would rather turn a few of those into groundouts or popups. Our pitchers need to feel they can count on their defense to make those sure outs.”

The Friars have also shown resiliency this spring by staying together during a brief slump.

“We hit a rough patch in the middle of the season, but we improved and worked our way up from there,” Lee said. “One of our most prominent advantages on the field is our team chemistry. We are able to work together and have each other’s back both on and off the field. We win and lose as a team.”

Mental toughness has been a point of emphasis all spring.

“We need to improve our mindset during the games,” Stramaglia said. “Being down in the beginning of the game often leads us to get down on ourselves. We need to keep the intensity from the start of the game to the very last out. I believe we have a very strong team though and if we put our minds in the game, we can beat mostly any team.”

With the state playoffs drawing close, James believes the Friars’ best softball is still to come.

“Overall, we’re steadily increasing in skill, motivation, power and leadership,” James said. “I want us to be peaking by the end of the regional and we need to be fully prepared for the sectionals.

“That means we’re confident in the expectations on the field, hitting and base running. We need to know our plan and purely work to our strengths because there’s no time to improve any weaknesses come postseason. Our goal is to score every inning and play to win. We’re eager for competition and we will thrive when the pressure is on.”

Fenwick (17-6) hosts Montini on Thursday, May 2. The game starts 5:30 p.m. at the Dominican Priory.

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OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM specifically help each individual to contribute their maximum to the team. I’m having a great time this season with my team. We have already created a lot more memories.”

Schainis, an aggressive middle blocker, leads OPRF in hitting percentage (.417 with 87 kills) and blocks (28 solo blocks, 18 block assists).

“Jared’s aggressive play keys both our defense and offense,” August said. “His ability to attack forces opposing blockers to key on him and opens up attacking lanes for our outside hitters.”

Rasmussen and Schattauer are major contributors as outside hitters. Rasmussen, who will attend New York University, has a team-high 144 kills with a .260 hitting percentage and 63 digs.

“Kyle is capable of attacking from the left side, the right side and the back row,” August said. “His capability to attack the quick set from the outside hitting position gives our offense a dimension not many other teams in the state have.”

Schattauer is third on the team in both kills (90) and digs (76).

“Lucas possesses one of the best vertical jumps on the team and is capable of hitting over most blocks,” August said. “He also has the capability to hit from either side or the back row.”

Kitzman is known for delivering clutch kills in matches. He’s a complete player with 111 kills on just 256 attempts, but he also has 15 solo blocks often battling opponents’ top hitters at the net.

DON AUGUST Perla, a libero with 198 digs and OPRF coach 194 serve receptions, leads the OPRF defense and serve receive formations.

“The team feeds off of his intensity in the back row and relies on the precision of both his passing and digs,” August said. “He has saved numerous points with some spectacular digs and incredible hustle.”

OPRF excels with plenty of athleticism and length. Other than Perla, the aforementioned players range in height between 6-4 and 6-6.

Juniors Nick Klein (69 digs, 31 assists) and Nick Altier (21 kills) lead the reserves.

With the playoffs about three weeks away, August is pleased with the Huskies’ progress. OPRF has it all in terms of offense, blocking and intangibles to vie for state this year.

There is room for improvement, however, particularly against the elite teams. August cited losses against highlyranked Marist and Glenbard West as examples of the Huskies’ weaknesses being exposed.

“We need to serve tougher against the top teams in the state and we need to receive serve at a higher level against those same teams,” he said. “We have identified four teams in the state who are playing at a slightly higher level than we are in those two skills. Our goal in the three remaining weeks of the regular season is to increase our capabilities in both of those areas.”

On April 24, the Huskies defeated visiting RiversideBrookfield 25-23, 19-25, 25-20 in the area rivals’ annual nonconference match. Kitzman (14 kills) and Rasmussen (11 kills) powered the offense, while Perla had 10 digs. Califf turned in a terrific all-around effort with team-high 32 assists, 12 digs and five kills.

Vejas Kuplinskas led RBHS with 11 kills, while Colby Campbell and DJ Degand had eight apiece. Jonah Raith dished out 29 assists and Lucas Reilley led the Bulldogs defensively with nine digs.

OPRF hosts Addison Trail (Wednesday, May 1) and Brother Rice (Thursday, May 2). Both matches start at 5:30 p.m. in the OPRF Fieldhouse.

“Their intensity in matches is amazing.”

Photos by Carol Dunning

(Above) OPRF senior Mike Perla makes a dig against Riverside-Brookfield. (Left) The Huskies’ Sean Califf elevates high on his jump serve.

OPRF

Net success from page 48 said. “Having lost to Glenbard West, we will need help if we are to win the conference. If that does not happen, we will finish second for the second year in a row and focus on state.”

The Huskies’ confidence stems from an experienced lineup of high-level players who have grown together over several years.

“After last season, I realized we played well, but we lost a lot due to our immaturity as a team,” Califf said. “We have matured this year. Playing in tough matches gives us more experience to be ready for that next tough match.”

In his 18th season as the OPRF head coach, August has relished the opportunity of working with this group.

“The team is a pleasure to coach,” he said. “Their intensity in matches is amazing. The seniors support the juniors and the juniors support the seniors, which makes for a cohesive group who enjoy playing the game at a high level.

They are respectful and coachable. Most important, they have fun playing volleyball.”

In terms of the aforementioned seniors, the 6-foot-6 Califf leads the way as an elite setter. Described by August as the Huskies’ quarterback, who directs the offense with a quiet confidence, the Purdue Fort Wayne commit has 407 assists, 62 kills and 34 service aces this season.

“This team has taught me a lot about actually being a leader,” Califf said. “I have learned a lot on how to engage and defer to the different members of the team and how to

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Friars sign letter of intent Another dozen Fenwick High School senior student-athletes recently signed a letter of intent to play their respective sports in college on National Spring Signing Day. (Sitting: left to right: Paulina Correa, water polo, PomonaPitzer College; Emily Franciszkowicz, hockey, Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Caroline Jenkins, hockey, Wesleyan University; Harper Daniels, water polo, Santa Clara University; Ciara Mulcahy, swimming, Kenyon College; Carlos Gutierrez, tennis, DePauw University; Anissa Nourse, soccer, DePauw University; Colleen Grogan, track & field, Tulane University; Jamie McCarthy, hockey, University of Michigan; Cassandra Lee, softball, Barry University; Brendan Kane, tennis, DePauw University; Jordan May, football, St. Norbert College

Courtesy of Fenwick High School

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Wednesday Journal, May 1, 2019

Fenwick tops Trinity in softball 45

@ @OakPark

SPORTS

Friars sign letter of intent 47

High-flying Huskies ready to contend again Two-time state quarterfinalists in volleyball hope to go further

By MARTY FARMER Sports Editor

T

Photo by Carol Dunning

OPRF senior Lucas Schattauer keeps his eyes on the ball during the Huskies’ 25-23, 19-25, 25-20 win over Riverside-Brookfield on April 24.

Soccer TRYOUTS

he Oak Park and River Forest High School boys volleyball team believes its “Super Six” can finally get past the Elite Eight. After quarterfinal appearances in the 2017 and 2018 state playoffs, perhaps the third time will be the charm for the Huskies’ state-title-chasing senior group of Sean Califf, Jared Schainis, Kyle Rasmussen, Lucas Schattauer, Quinton Kitzman and Mike Perla.

“This has been the most anticipated season for anyone who has known us in the program,” Califf said. “We want to win the first [state] championship for OPRF, our coaches, our parents, our program, but most importantly, for our teammates.”

Last season, these six players, plus 2018 graduate Jack Valenti, powered OPRF to a 28-8 record. The Huskies lost to eventual state champion Lincoln-Way East 25-22, 25-20 in the quarters. The Griffins went on to defeat Neuqua Valley 20-25, 25-21, 25-22 in the state final.

This spring, the Huskies’ ambitious goal of winning state seems reasonable considering their recent run of success and current 20-3 mark. OPRF has notable wins over St. Rita, St. Patrick, Lincoln-Way East, Deerfield and Hinsdale Central (twice), among others this year. The team is also 3-1 in the stacked West Suburban Conference Silver Division, its only loss against league-leader Glenbard West.

OPRF has won 41 of 49 sets overall.

“Our goal for the rest of the [regular] season is to finish as high as possible in the West Suburban Conference,” OPRF coach Don August See OPRF on page 46

Learn more and Register at:

OPRFAllianceSoccer.com

High School Boys, 2002-2005, Saturday May 4, 7pm to 8:30 pm, 2006-2005 Boys, Saturday May 11, 7 pm to 8:30 pm, Percy Julian Middle School Park Turf Field, Percy Julian Middle School Park Turf Field, 416 S Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park, 416 S Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park High School Girls, 2003-2005, Sunday May 5, 5 pm to 6:30 pm, Taylor Park, 400 Division St, Oak Park

2005-2006 Girls, Saturday May 18, 8:30 am to 10 am, Carbajal Park in Cicero, 3215 S Central Ave, Cicero

2007-2008 Boys, Saturday May 11, 8:30 am to 10 am, Carbajal Park in Cicero, 3215 S Central Ave, Cicero

2007-2008 Girls, Saturday May 18, 10:15 am to 12 pm, Carbajal Park in Cicero, 3215 S Central Ave, Cicero

2009-2010 Boys, Saturday May 11, 10:15 am to 11:30 am, Carbajal Park in Cicero, 3215 S Central Ave, Cicero

2009-2012 Girls, Saturday May 18, 12 pm to 1:15 pm, Carbajal Park in Cicero, 3215 S Central Ave, Cicero

OPRF Alliance is a competitive, travelling soccer club focused on building soccer skills, leadership skills, and confidence.

OPRF Alliance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, a registered non-profit with the state of Illinois, and a member in US Club Soccer, IYSA, YSSL, and IWSL.