Wednesday Journal 052020

WANT SOME GOOD NEWS? A masked wedding. Page 9 Irving’s Balicki retires. Page 10 OPRF hockey team’s fundraiser. Page 12

W E D N E S D A Y

May 20, 2020 Vol. 40, No. 43 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

COVID-19 and the ‘race tax’ Why are blacks dying disproportionately? Start with historic plunder of black wealth

Pavlicek said “now is the time” to address the downturn during the presentation she made with Steven Drazner, chief financial officer/treasurer.

Elected officials are expected to discuss the matter further at a June 1 meeting and consider an amended fiscal year See FINANCES on page 13

See RACE TAX on page 14

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

RIVER RISING: River Forest and Oak Park suffered major flooding Sunday both along the Desplaines River and in many basements.

Coverage on page 3.

Oak Park finances dire due to COVID

Pavlicek presents board with cost-cutting options

By ROBERT LIFKA Contributing Reporter

Oak Park Village Manager Cara Pav-

licek sounded the alarm on the village’s financial outlook May 18, warning that the pandemic-induced economic downturn is “significant.”

She informed elected officials at the virtual village board meeting that the $13.9 million general fund balance at the start of the fiscal year would be gone by the middle of 2021 if action is not taken.

A

ccording to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly a third of COVID-19 cases in the United States have afflicted African Americans, who comprise only 13 percent of the country’s roughly 330 million people.

Since this disproportionality was made abundantly clear a few months ago, there’s been a tendency to look at it spatially.

“In urban centers large and small across the U.S., the novel coronavirus is devastating African-American communities,” writes a reporter

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

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With Hollywood’s help, Crawford puts on virtual plays Oak Parker raises funds for COVID relief

By JAMES KAY Staff Reporter

When Oak Park native Brando Crawford dropped out of high school to pursue a Hollywood career in acting, he was left disenchanted over how Hollywood was run. His frustration with the industry led him back to Oak Park to regain something he felt he lacked: control.

After four years of building and managing a real estate portfolio, Crawford has taken his passion for theater and persistence in business to launch a production company called Acting for a Cause.

Since late-March, Crawford has led six virtual play readings including “Jane Eyre,” “Pride and Prejudice,” and “Hamlet” through Zoom video conferencing. Academy Award-nominee Florence Pugh, “Stranger Things” star Nicola Dyer, and Brandon Flynn from “13 Reasons Why” have all joined Crawford’s project.

Being able to do what he loves on his own terms, Crawford has found comfort in the arts again.

“I realized how powerless I was in the industry and how it didn’t have the same priorities that I did,” said Crawford, who is also the co-founder of the International Mansion School of Education and Innovation, located

Brando Crawford on 509 N. Oak Park Ave. “When I came back after becoming a businessperson, I went in putting producing as my first priority since producers are the only people who hold any sort of power in the direction of their careers in that industry. Whether it was conscious or subconscious, I wanted to return to the world of art with a sense of power and do it where arts and charity can meet.”

Crawford started a GoFundMe page the night before the first reading and, as the project has evolved, there has been a farther reach outside the greater Chicago area.

According to Acting for a Cause’s website and Crawford, 50 percent of the donations go to Mount Sinai Hospital on Chicago’s West Side. The other half goes to Entertainment Industry Foundation which was founded by

entertainment icons such as Humphrey Bogart and the Warner brothers.

Crawford said in an interview with Wednesday Journal on May 18 that each reading has generated “about $5,000” and that as he continues to organize these readings, he hopes to reach a $100,000 plateau.

“I benefited from consistent arts programs that changed my life,” said Crawford.

“The programs that are funded by EIF impact people from when they are five years old to when they are in 12th grade. I think that’s better than programs that come in and out of someone’s life.”

Crawford went on to say that choosing Mount Sinai Hospital for the other half of donation money was an “easy decision.”

“We didn’t choose Northwestern for example because in Chicago, more than 75 percent of the reported [COVID-19] cases are from pretty low-income minorities,” said Crawford. “All hospitals need funds but I wanted to go to a hospital that statistically had the most people in need. I know someone who was born there so there was also a personal connection to something I am fighting for.”

With all of the success he had so far with raising money and parlaying this project into a production company, he is working around the clock to keep everything going.

At the beginning, there was no perfect system to get this off the ground. Initially, his week started off by picking a play on Saturday, creating a list of artists he wanted to work with on Sunday before cold calling

representatives of those artists on Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday are used to set the cast before Thursday’s rehearsal.

After the logistical chaos is sorted out, the final product comes out on Friday before the whole process starts over for planning the next reading.

“It’s hectic for sure,” said Crawford. “It’s also a nice distraction because, while I am working 18-hour days, I was still hurt on the real estate side where I would typically be showing people apartments all day. So while Acting for a Cause is something that takes up most of my time, it really helps with distracting me from being panicked about the other stresses that I am dealing with.”

While COVID-19 has impacted his business, Acting for a Cause is generating a lot of buzz to the point where Crawford is getting direct messages via social media from up and coming actors wanting to join in on one of Crawford’s production. For a production company that launched less than two months ago, Crawford seems to be heading in the direction he wanted to go in after his rude introduction to Hollywood.

“The feedback has been amazing,” said Crawford, who was featured in the Chicago Tribune recently. “I don’t know where it will take me like I said but at least one of the things that we’ve actually been able to do is to formalize Acting for a Cause as a production company. This is the direction my team wanted to go in. It’s going to be the first of many projects.”

Heavy rain causes River Forest, Oak Park flooding woes Both villages work to pick up soggy refuse

By MARIA MAXHAM and STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporters

Heavy rainfall over the weekend caused flooding in River Forest and Oak Park, and the villages and residents have been dealing with the aftermath, including wet basements and street closures.

On March 17, as the Desplaines River rose, River Forest activated its Flood Protection Response Plan and closed Chicago Avenue from Thatcher Avenue to First Avenue to all traffic. They constructed a flood wall as a precautionary measure.

On Monday, President Cathy Adduci announced in an email to River Forest residents that “the village understands that residents are dealing with a wide variety of flooding issues as the area has experienced significant and historic rainfalls.”

Oak Parkers suffered flood damage over the weekend, Public Works Director John

Wielebnicki told village trustees during a May 18 village board meeting. “Today we had about 30 calls for sewer backups.

We’ve been responding to those residents,” Wielebnicki said.

Oak Park received just under four inches of rain Sunday.

“Typically, what happens when we get these intense rains, the sewers literally fill up,” Wielebnick said. Oak Park has combined sewers which means storm water and waste from homes both flow into the sewers.

River Forest is partnering with waste hauler Roy Strom to make special pickups for flood-related refuse. Residents are asked to place items at the curb or in the alley prior to 7 a.m. on their collection day. Items may be put out in advance, and waste stickers are not needed. Roy Strom will pick up items on regular collection days this week and next week, although next week’s pickups will be delayed one day due to Memorial Day. “For COVID-19 related concerns and for the protection of waste haulers, residents are asked to place refuse in garbage bags if at all possible,” reads the message.

Wielebnicki said Oak Park’s waste hauler will pick up large items residents lost to flooding later this week. To schedule a pickup, residents should contact the public works department at 708-358-5700.

The west suburbs have seen heavier than normal rainfall. “According to the National Weather Service, O’Hare airport recorded 3.53 inches of rain on Thursday, May 14, and then an additional 3.57 inches from the storm event on Sunday, May 17,” said Adduci. “These saturated conditions were the impetus for the flash flooding observed across the western suburbs, southwestern suburbs, and the City of Chicago.”

Funds are available through River Forest for residents who wish to install eligible flood control improvements such as overhead sewers or backflow prevention valves. There are varying levels of funding available. For seniors unable to afford a basement protection system for residential sewer lines, the village has a grant program to provide assistance.

More information is available on the village website at www.vrf.us/guides/guide/6.

The village of Oak Park has programs

available to residents who have suffered significant losses due to flooding. One such program is the Sewer Backup Protection Program, a grant available to eligible homeowners to support the cost of backup prevention improvements.

“That program has been very popular,” said Wielebnicki. “We have probably, since we started this in 2012, had about 400 residents take advantage of this.”

The RainReady program allows grant funding to help residents use landscaping to manage rain and subvert flooding.

Wielebnicki also said the public works department would put together some COVID-19 safety guidelines for residents should they need to call in contractors to fix flooding, plumbing or water and sewage issues in their homes.

If nothing needs immediate fixing, don’t hire repair services until the pandemic subsides, he said. Should the necessity arise, maintain social distancing as best as possible, Wielebnicki said.

“If you have to get it done, you need to move out of the way and let them do their job.”

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

BIG WEEK May 20 - 27

Grief Journaling Workshop Sunday, May 24, 2 to 4 p.m., Zoom Have you experienced the loss of a loved one? Or, are you experiencing ambiguous loss (loss without closure, such as infertility or a loved one with Alzheimer’s) or anticipatory grief? Sessions begin with prompts followed by time to journal. At the end, there is time to share (optional).

Resources for grief, where to get help, writing and more is provided. All welcome. Register: oppl.org/calendar.

Sunday Morning Zen Sunday, May 24, 9:30 to 11 a.m., Zoom Join Zen Life & Meditation Center for free meditation (9:30 - 9:45) and weekly talk. This week – celebrate Poetry Month with group poetry reading. Up next, May 31, Death, Grief and Gratitude during Difficult Times.

Email for Zoom link: info@zlmc.org. Questions/more: 708-689-1220, zlmc.org

Tips for Submitting Online Job Applications

Read, Listen, & Watch: What’s Next Wednesday, May 27, 1 to 1:30 p.m., Zoom with the Oak Park Library Hear what librarians are reading, listening to and watching while at home. Join the chat to share or to ask for recommendations. Register: oppl.org/calendar.

Memorial Day Ceremony Monday, May 25, 10 a.m., Zoom The annual event at the Peace Triumphant Memorial in Scoville Park may look different in 2020, but it will go on. Join the History Signers, “Abraham Lincoln,” Army Chaplain Hedlund and others to pay tribute to service members. Author and historian Kathryn Atwood will deliver remarks reflecting on the end of World War II. Zoom meeting ID: 865 4038 4086, password: kilroywas.

Or Zoom by phone; call 312-626-6799, meeting ID: 865 4038 4086, password: 310933.

Wright Sites Thursdays, Noon Livestream on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Virtually visit Frank Lloyd Wright-designed public sites closed due to COVID-19. Access via social sites or websites. Previous visits can also be viewed. Free. Brought

by Unity Temple Restoration Foundation. More: utrf.org/ wrightvirtualvisits/ May 21-Beth Sholom Synagogue, Pennsylvania May 28-Darwin E. Martin House, New York

Middle School Book Group: “They Called us Enemy” Friday, May 29, 4 to 5 p.m., Zoom with the Oak Park Public Library Students in grades 5 to 8 meet virtually and share thoughts and opinions on the graphic memoir by George Takei. In it, Takei reveals the story of his family’s incarceration during the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The book is available through Hoopla with a library card. Register: oppl.org/calendar.

Pro Musica Mini-Performance Premieres Friday, May 22, 5 p.m., and available for later viewing online See the Youth Chorus as they sing a 3-song mini-concert under the direction of Artistic Director Bill Chin. The group has been rehearsing via Zoom during quarantine and is ready to share their talent with the community. To view the premiere live or watch later, go to: promusicayouthchorus.org

Wednesday, May 27, 2 to 4 p.m., Zoom with the Oak Park Library Online job applications are run through a tracking system used as a screening tool by employers. Learn what to watch for and how to answer questions, along with tips and techniques for optimizing your resume for an Applicant Tracking System. Register: oppl.org/calendar.

Virtual Book Club: “The Revisioners” Thursday, May 28, 7 to 8 p.m., Zoom with the River Forest Library Read the critically acclaimed book by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton about women, showcasing the impact of racism over time. Then join others for a live discussion. All welcome; it is not necessary to be a RF resident. This title is available for checkout on Hoopla. Register: riverforestlibrary.librarymarket.com/events/virtual-book-club-0

Mindful Middle-Schoolers 6:30 – 7:45 p.m., Zoom Take part in one or more virtual community talks designed to support resiliency skills for anxiety, depression, executive functioning. Presented by DePaul University, Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park Township, and District 97.

Wednesday, May 20 Strategies to Support Executive Functioning & Self-Regulation Wednesday, May 27 Mindfulness-based Strategies & Their Applications in Academic & Home Settings Thursday, May 28 Understanding Anxiety in Youth & Strategies for Treatment and Support Wednesday, June 3 Technology & Mental Health: Strategies to Promote Mindful Digital Citizenship Wednesday, June 10 Understanding Depression in Youth & Strategies for Treatment & Support More/register: oakparktownship.org/download/mindful-middle-schoolers-program-may-june-2020/

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

ART BEAT

Community Talkboard

By LUCIA WHALEN Contributing Reporter

Social isolation has left people all over the world feeling, well, isolated. That’s why Vince Murphy, an Oak Park therapist with 18 years of experience, partnered with the non-profit Compound Yellow to create the Community Talkboard, a socially engaged art installation that serves as an outlet for residents to share their thoughts and feelings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each Wednesday, questions like “If you stop believing in the future, what do you start believing in?” are written on the large chalkboard located on the lawn of Compound Yellow’s Lake Street gallery (just across the street from Pete’s). Residents can then visit the Talkboard throughout the week and write their answer with chalk provided at the site. The Compound Yellow Facebook page also encourages individuals to bring their own chalk in order to prevent cross-contamination.

Murphy conceived of the Talkboard through his practice at Vince Murphy & Associates Psychotherapy. After observing the general isolation that people are feeling due to the pandemic, he realized the need for a space where people can connect and reflect.

“I thought that there could be a shared container for peoples’ thoughts and emotions.

A community art piece could be an interesting way to capture the moment and where people are at,” he said.

Murphy brought the idea to Laura Schaeffer, founder of Compound Yellow, who provided the materials and space for the Community Talkboard to come to life. The project fit in with Compound Yellow’s mission as an experimental art space, as Compound Yellow accepts proposals for a variety of socially engaged art installations. The site has previously hosted multimedia artists, musicians, and its ongoing project, the Self-Reliance School. Like most public spaces, Compound Yellow has cancelled its programs indefinite-

Compound Yellow, 224 Lake St.

ly due to the pandemic. However, the Community Talkboard’s outdoor location makes it safe for social distancing.

The focus on asking questions is a part of the project that Murphy finds to be especially important, as many of the questions posed on the chalkboard are questions that people may already be thinking about, but not have a space to outwardly express.

Murphy said that in a world-wide crisis, people often seek certainty in professionals such as therapists and leaders. However, crises also reveal that even world leaders cannot provide absolute answers. “The whole circumstance is so uncertain for everybody that nobody can really provide a guarantee.

So what I reflect on with people is living one day at a time.”

Rather than forcing optimism, Murphy focused the project on posing questions that lead to conversations. He said reflection and self-expression during a crisis provide an opportunity for growth.

“We’re trying to get people to think a little bit about this experience [of quarantine], and that even through this struggle, we can develop an understanding of ourselves,” he said.

Social distancing dictates that groups cannot congregate around the chalkboard.

However, Murphy said the simple act of writing on the chalkboard can foster a sense of connection to others.

The Community Talkboard opened on Wednesday, May 6, and will remain open on the Compound Yellow property through the end quarantine. Community members are encouraged to post question ideas on the Compound Yellow Facebook page, and authorship will be given on chosen questions.

While nothing is certain, Murphy expressed hope that the Community Talkboard will provide a momentary pause for anyone who stops to participate. He explained that by seeing other responses on the board, individuals are reminded that while everyone is having a range of experiences, everyone is in this together.

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

M

ike Charley, head of Oak Park’s health department, said he is still putting in some 12-hour days, but twoplus months into Oak Park’s stay-at-home regimen, he is no longer working seven days a week.

Asked Friday what his biggest concern is at this point, Charley said, “If you’d asked me that six weeks ago, I’d have said what should the protocols and the procedures be? I’d ask, ‘What is COVID-19?’ Now, as a local village, we’ve learned a lot.”

What comes next though has concerns attached. “There is an unknown. What happens as we open up? Oak Park, the state of Illinois, will we see a spike?”

Charley, with 16 years in the Oak Park Health Department, 24 years total in public health, was a one man band pre-COVID-19.

The health department had been pared back considerably over decades. But even with one staff member, Oak Park had the advantage of being a state-certified public health

Health director’s self-assessment department, one of a handful in Cook County.

Since the pandemic was declared, Village Manager Cara Pavlicek has surrounded Charley with colleagues from other departments — police, fire, development services — and has rehired public health nurses.

Charley has worked to expand the Medical Reserve Corps — a local team of volunteers with health backgrounds which is now up to 30 to 40 people.

“Cara Pavlicek has done a great job,” says Charley. “It has been all hands on deck.”

“I’d be lying if I said we were fully prepared for this. You don’t ever get 100 percent prepared for a novel virus. But in public health there is a lot of training so we were pretty prepared.”

Charley said the village “knew right away that nursing homes and other congregate settings” would be hot spots. “We were in those facilities before they had their first case,” he said. “You look at this disease and how it transmits — airborne, within 6 feet —

DAN HALEY

W H A T ’ S

C L O S E D ?

Virtual CROP Walk breaks all records There’s nothing virtual about the record-breaking $85,000 raised this month by the annual CROP Walk – converted this year by COVID-19 into a virtual event and online fundraiser.

Joanne Despotes, chair of the Hunger Walkathon West, announced Sunday that the CROP Walk expects to take in $85,000 after all the checks have been counted and numbers tabulated.

“We will have a record income in 2020,” she said, “due to the generosity of so many supporters and the hard work of the planning team, the team captains and participants. It’s amazing and heartening that people have embraced the needs of their neighbors during this frightening time.”

Instead of 300 participants gathering at Pilgrim Church on May 3 for a rally and big send off, each participant was on their own walking in back yards or parking lots or even cemeteries. The amount given is surprising and gratifying, because most of the money raised in the past was done in churches by face to face meetings. This year, of course, almost all of it was done online.

Despotes said 25 percent of that $85,000 will be distributed to local food pantries and agencies. The rest is distributed through the Church World Service to fund empowerment projects such

W H A T ’ S

and you know.” open the Oak Park Farmers MarAs of the weekend, five ket on May 30 were “not complilocal nursing homes or secated. We have just relied on best nior facilities had reported practices.” The modified market resident deaths. Belmont he said is “very important. It is Village, Berkeley, Brookan opportunity for residents to dale and the Oak Park enjoy the outdoors and get fresh Arms each had lost a resifood.” dent to the virus. But Oasis, Charley said 95 percent of a nursing home on Harlem the feedback received from resiAvenue, had reported the dents is positive. He credited deaths of seven residents. first responders, mask makers, Why so many? nonprofits working with the MIKE CHARLEY Charley was both direct homeless and hungry and resiPublic Health Director and diplomatic in responddents who are following the chaling. He said skilled nursing lenging quarantine rules. He facilities like Oasis will alexpressed worries for the mental health of ways have more direct interactions between some people in isolation or otherwise under staff and patients that boost the transmissevere stress. sion potential. Beyond that the facility’s “I feel horrible for the business commudouble occupancy rooms, the size of those nity and people who are out of work,” he rooms, the number of patients all contribsaid. Now, “after the first couple of weeks ute. However, he noted, the deaths at Oasis that were crazy and chaotic,” he feels “cauare “not just happenstance either.” He refertiously optimistic.” enced “internal procedures” and “infection At the start, he said, it was about “makcontrol” measures that “made it an uphill ing decisions and more decisions, good decibattle to get control.” sions. And about learn, learn, learn. We’ve On the other hand, Charley said plans to accomplished a lot.”

N O T ?

W H A T ’ S

as well-digging and latrine construction in the U.S, and across the world. Ted Despotes, the HWW treasurer summed up the reaction to the good news by the members of the planning team by saying, “God has smiled on our efforts this year as in the past. This will feed a lot of hungry people.”

Tom Holmes

Craving a feta burger, gyro sandwich or grilled octopus?

Kalamata Kitchen, 105 N. Marion St., has re-opened for take-out and delivery from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Visit kalamatakitchen.com to view their special carry-out menu that includes appetizers, sandwiches, wine and beer.

Owner Gus Karas and the entire Karahalios family hail from the Kalamata region of Greece. Known for producing their namesake olives, Kalamata is located on southern Peloponnese peninsula and boasts beautiful beaches and a vibrant nightlife. Karas and his family have been celebrating their rich culinary history since opening Kalamata Kitchen in December 2019.

Kalamata Kitchen’s traditional dishes are now available via free, no-contact delivery within a three-mile radius. Opa!

Melissa Elsmo

Kalamata Kitchen, 105 N Marion St

C H A N G E D ?

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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It’s the farmers who make the market

Modified Oak Park Farmers Market a reminder it all starts with the farmers

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

Farmer Scott Koster and his son Corban, of Geneva Lakes Produce, made their way from Burlington, Wisconsin to Oak Park on a rainy Thursday last week. They were on a mission to support Colleen McNichols, Oak Park Farmers Market manager, as she took measurements of the streets set to host the COVID-19 modified market which opens May 30 at 7:30 a.m.

“I hope that people understand this is an incredibly tough year for agriculture,” said Koster. “We want people to utilize the Oak Park Farmers Market to eliminate a trip to the grocery store and limit their exposure to COVID-19.”

Consumers are emphasizing health and wellness in the age of COVID-19 and Koster knows his fresh picked produce is wellsuited to boosting immune systems. Once markets were named essential in Illinois, Koster and his team worked quickly to put more plants in the ground to keep up with anticipated demand.

Unfortunately, more than half of the markets Geneva Lakes Produce participates in have been cancelled for the 2020 season leaving the producer with fewer places to sell. As a result, the dedicated shoppers frequenting the Oak Park Farmers Market have become even more valuable to independent farmers.

Vendors at the Oak Park Farmers Mar-

Courtesy Melissa Elsmo

GO THE DISTANCE: Scott and Corban Koster meet with Oak Park Farmers Market manager, Colleen McNichols, to measure the new market layout. ket are not subsidized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and rely on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions and farmers markets to survive.

The local market’s leaders anticipate increased attendance at the Oak Park market this year as COVID has made people more sensitive to responsible food sourcing and some markets in the city have been cancelled.

The farmers worry fear of long lines may deter people from attending the weekly market.

“Headlines about other markets have focused so much on lines that I am worried it will keep people away,” said Corban Koster.

“Really though, any lines I have seen, even at the Evanston market, are fast moving

and well organized. I expect the same will be true at the Oak Park market.”

Sixth generation Oak Parker and commuter farmer, Matt Rossow of Chanticlare Farm, has been waiting patiently for years to take a slot at the Oak Park Farmers Market.

“This is our hometown,” said Rossow. “We are excited to have a spot at this year’s modified market.”

From day one Rossow has been dedicated to selling directly to customers. The fouryear-old farm is located on two acres of land in Aurora and employs just three people including Rossow’s wife, Mary. Chanticlare Farm participates in two markets annually and they have become his farm’s “bread and butter.” Rossow appreciates the seasonality,

personal connections, face to face interactions they offer.

“It’s not good it took a pandemic to wake people up to holes in our food system, but less moving pieces means less can go wrong,” said Rossow. “Touch, smell and feel are part of any farmers market and the modified Oak Park market will get us closer to that.”

Known for salad greens and offering six varieties of garlic, including Russian Giant and Chestnut Red, Chanticlare Farm will be situated on East Avenue during the Oak Park Farmers Market. Truck size will determine the placement of other vendors.

Commissioners will be on hand to help individuals locate their preferred vendors to minimize doubling back in the market.

Both Koster and Rossow want to participate in the online pre-ordering system, but noted it is both complicated and timeconsuming to update the online shop in between planting and harvesting. Modified markets, especially those with added preordering programs, increase staffing requirements at a time when farmers are not capable of making additional hires. Specifically, Koster expressed worry about longtime Geneva Lakes Produce customers who may not have internet access, while Rossow is concerned about knowing exactly how much produce he will harvest from Chanticlare Farm from week-to-week.

Despite numerous uncertainties, both farmers agree open-air, in-person markets are vital in the age of COVID-19 and beyond.

“A good market depends on both vendors and customers making a commitment,” said Rossow. “Oak Park is one of the best markets because they are producer-focused and have customers who show up rain or shine.”

North Ave. shops offer incentives to lure customers

Spend $10, you could win $100 gift card

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

The North Avenue District has more than 100 businesses, including 20 restaurants, open during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to concerns for the financial health of local businesses, The North Avenue District has created a contest to incentivize purchasing in the area.

“Whatever you may be looking for — from accountants to veterinarians — chances are you can find it on North Avenue,” said Judith Alexander, president of the group. “In Oak Park there is a tendency to focus south, but we want people to be aware of all the wonderful businesses in the North Avenue District.”

Through June 8 every time a shopper spends $10 on North Avenue from Austin to Harlem, they can email their receipts to info@n-ave.com for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to be used in the district.

Alexander hopes to encourage contest participants to post to social media and use #IBuyNorthAveDistrict by offering an additional entry for posts.

“This has been a difficult time and there are some places that are not sure they are going to make it through,” said Alexander.

Basehit BBQ, 6606 W. North Ave., recently reopened after closing their storefront for more than two months in response to COVID-19. Catering supported the business during that time, but now the restaurant, known for their Nashville hot chicken sandwich, is offering carryout.

“Our business was down the first week we re-opened,” said Basehit BBQ co-owner

Tony Garland. “The North Avenue Business Association $100 contest has been a huge help. Our business increased 60 percent in the second week.”

Garland looks forward to promoting the contest in his restaurant and hopes to draw in new customers with new items designed to enhance his menu beyond chicken and pork.

Health conscious diners could qualify to enter the contest by ordering Basehit BBQ’s new fresh salad or grilled shrimp offerings.

Denise Roy, Oak Park resident and co-owner of Surf ’s Up, 6427 W. North Ave., is a proud member of the North Avenue District.

“I love how Judith [Alexander] watches out for the businesses here and helps us all interact,” said Roy. Surf ’s Up is a small, minority and family owned business that takes pride in creating jobs in the community. The restaurant has hired workers who lost their jobs because

of COVID-19 closures to work as both cashiers and cooks. The rapidly growing franchise has nine locations, four of which have opened during the current pandemic.

“There is no high and mighty attitude here,” said Roy. “We are just trying to make a living like everyone else and we want to be sure the people who work here are happy when they get here and happy when they leave.”

North Avenue is a busy street and Roy worries cars zoom by and miss the counter-service establishment located in an unassuming strip mall. The large colorful outdoor sign helps draw attention to the seafood restaurant, but Roy admits the pandemic may have helped her business.

“I think this quarantine is making people sit back and look around,” said Roy. “I think people are seeing the businesses on North Avenue more than they may have before.”

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

D97 updates board on racial equity analysis tool

Administrators say they’ve utilized equity tool to make ‘gifted program’ more inclusive

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

During a regular meeting on May 12, District 97 officials administrators gave a presentation to board members outlining at least one area where it has been utilizing a Racial Equity Analysis. The analysis is one of the most critical aspects in the racial equity policy that was approved last year. The policy has an ultimate goal of eliminating race-based outcomes in D97.

During the virtual meeting, D97 Supt.

Carol Kelley said board policy calls for district officials to “review existing policies,

programs, professional development, and procedures for the promotion of racial equity and elimination of equity and its contributors.”

Eboney Lofton, D97’s chief academic and accountability officer, said the district has been using a racial equity analysis tool to develop a 5-year outlook for its Gifted, Talented and Differentiation program.

According to district data, although African American and Latinx students make up 29 percent of the students in grades that qualify for gifted instruction, they only comprise around 11 percent of GTD students.

Lofton said that some “critical hallmarks” of the 5-year plan include making sure that critical thinking units are taught to all students by enrichment specialists (formerly called GTD teachers). In the past, gifted students would be pulled out of their normal classrooms to receive the instruction separately. In addition, GTD students will also receive “math enrichment” in the general

education classroom.

Lofton said administrators and enrichment specialists are working to make sure that all kindergarten through second grade students are working toward the same curricular goals.

“We want to bolster our supports to students in kindergarten through second grade,” she said. “We know this is a really critical age for students as they’re developing both an academic vocabulary and also academic background knowledge, so we want to lean into those classrooms and support them in that way.”

Lofton said that although advanced students will continue to receive accelerated instruction, administrators will work at ensuring that the opportunity to access GTD instruction is open to all students who have the ability to perform at that level.

She said some factors that could be contributing to equality of opportunity, such as eligibility criteria, will be “ripe for exami-

nation.”

“As we move to opening this opportunity for all students, the eligibility criteria start to kind of fade away and you focus on those separate supports [in the] acceleration process, which have their own set of criteria [based more on] individualized assessment and not as rooted in some of the previous hallmarks we used for eligibility,” Lofton said.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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District 90 unveils Comprehensive Transition Plan

All students will be promoted to next grade

By ZACH BATIA Contributing Reporter

River Forest’s District 90 unveiled a comprehensive plan last week to assist students’ transitions to the 2020-21 school year amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the Comprehensive Transition Plan (CTP) is “to guide planning and set direction for the shift back to in person instruction from remote learning.”

The guidelines are divided into three timeoriented sections: near-term (Spring 2020), mid-term (Summer 2020), and long-term (August-early Winter 2020). The plan is de-

signed to be remediable and flexible due to the possibility of complications due to the pandemic.

Key considerations of the CTP include: prioritization of timely and accurate communication between staff and families; provision and maintenance of iPads and internet access for students and staff; ensuring healthy meals for students who need them; focus on quality instruction; and care for social and emotional well-being.

The short-term section of the CTP provides outlines for the conclusion of the current academic year.

Notably, the CTP declares that all District 90 students will be promoted to the next grade, regardless of formal grade performance. However, students will still be expected to complete essential assignments, and will have numerous opportunities to re-

do missed work, including in the fall if necessary. Middle school students’ GPAs will be frozen during the online learning period.

Teaching instruction during this time will focus on “emphasis and reinforcement of previously learned content and introduction of essential standards.” Upon students’ return to school, instruction will focus on remediating gaps in learning which may have arisen during the online period.

Outside of district-wide events, individual schools will make decisions on spring events and activities, potentially in accordance with school PTO organizations.

District-wide events, such as the honoring of retirees and service awardees, are being examined on a case by case basis, as opposed to a blanket decision on all events.

Eighth grade graduation ceremonies will be replaced with a virtual ceremony video featuring photo montages of each graduate. Students will be provided with caps and gowns ahead of time, so that families can provide photos of graduates in proper attire for the video, which will be distributed for viewing by students, families, and extended family members.

No cost lunch services have also been made available to all families, rather than continue on a need-based foundation. The CTP states that current subscription levels sit at about double the usual rate of students. The lunch packages, assembled by the Food Services Department at OPRF High School, are delivered to families on a weekly basis.

A process is being formalized for students to obtain belongings that were left in schools. Families will be notified once the

process is finalized, which the CTP estimates will be in late May. Student class placement for the upcoming year is also still being examined. The CTP says teacher feedback and student assessment data will be used, and that families can reach out with their own input on student classroom needs prior to final placements.

As with the belongings pick up process, more information will be provided to families when available.

Finally, provisions for social and emotional needs of students and families are a main priority of the CTP. Communications with teachers and social worker services are available to provide for a wide range of issues. Students and families can also find extensive, age appropriate social and emotional resources on the “Remote Learning and Coronavirus Update Center” page at www.district90.org.

The mid-term and long-term sections of the plan focus on issues such as virtual summer school programming and necessary adjustments that will be required for students returning to school. However, these sections are designed with the understanding that pandemic related complications are likely to arise. All portions of the plan are designed to be flexible and adjustable if necessary.

In the case of online learning being required in the fall, a Remote Learning Action Team will be formed to evaluate and improve the existing online learning plan.

In the meantime, the full Comprehensive Transition Plan is publicly available for view by students and families at the District 90 website.

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Couple ties the knot

Oak Park cyclists marry in social-distance wedding

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

While droves of engaged couples have had to cancel or postpone their weddings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, newlyweds Grace Guo and Daniel Smalheiser exchanged marital vows in a small, socially distanced ceremony in Oak Park, May 18.

“We’re ecstatic,” said Smalheiser. “It’s a very unorthodox, very unique situation and we’re going to make the best of it.”

He and Guo wed outside of his parents’ home on Carpenter Avenue. Oak Parker and Cook County Circuit Court Judge Pamela Meyerson officiated. Guo wore a wedding gown and Smalheiser a sport coat.

“She found a wedding dress, like, yesterday,” said Smalheiser.

The newlyweds accessorized with protective masks. The 10 or so guests who attended the small affair also wore masks.

Guo, a Chinese citizen, came to the United States on a student visa a few years ago. She received her master’s degree in business from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Both avid bicyclists, Smalheiser and Guo met two years ago through the Oak Park Cycle Club.

“We chatted a lot, found out we had a lot of things in common and gradually fell in love,” said Guo. Smalheiser proposed on Christmas Day 2019, before COVID-19 had reached its status

as a global pandemic.

Guo went back to China in January to see family and friends, whom she hadn’t been able to visit for over two years. Shortly after her arrival, China was placed under lockdown due to the virus.

“When I went there, the second or third day, the whole of China was locked down,” Guo said. “All the flights from China to America were canceled.”

Guo ended up stuck in China for a month longer than she had planned. Finally, she was able to get a flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

“I stayed in Dubai for almost 17 days to quarantine myself,” Guo said.

She returned to the United States from Dubai on March 13, the same day that President Trump’s widened travel ban went into effect.

The couple plans to have a traditional ceremony in China eventually, as well as one in the United States.

“We hope to have one down the road, but that could be quite a while from now, even years,” said Smalheiser.

Once the pandemic subsides, Guo and Smalheiser also hope to move into a house and spend more time outdoors, which they both love.

Guo and Smalheiser have been sheltering in place together in their one-bedroom apartment without any problem.

“We’re still very comfortable with each other,” Guo said.

And they are still very much in love.

“It’s a big adventure,” It’s a new chapter in our life.

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

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One teacher’s 35 years at Irving School Linda Balicki looks back and looks ahead

By MELISSA ELSMO Contributing Reporter

“I can’t believe I’ve walked these halls for 35 years,” said Linda Balicki, as she gazed at Washington Irving Elementary School.

“Well 34 2/3 years — I’ve spent the last third at home,” said the retiring teacher.

Balicki was drawn to teaching from an early age, staying late to help her teachers’ grade papers and playing school at home, but credits “mentor teachers” for inspiring her to dedicate her life to education. After graduating from Illinois Benedictine College (Benedictine University, today) Balicki interviewed for her first teaching position at Irving in 1985. Hired as a first-grade teacher, she enjoyed stints teaching kindergarten, third and fifth grade over the years, but never moved on from the southeast Oak Park school, 1125 S. Cuyler Ave. “They blur together, but all the years I was at Irving didn’t feel like work,” said Balicki.

“It was a happy place to go because of the feeling of home there. The staff felt like family and the kids and parents did, too.”

Balicki remembers that when she was hired Irving was viewed as a struggling school with a reputation for underperforming compared to other Oak Park elementary schools. Over three decades, however, she witnessed the school transform into a high-achieving environment dedicated to fostering a sense of belonging among students.

The longtime teacher, who has taught second generation students, credits the start of the turnaround to former Irving principal,

Tim Hull. In a post on Facebook Hull said of Balicki, “I still refer to you as one of the most exceptional teachers I ever worked with, and as one who understood that teaching didn’t happen unless the student learned.”

In addition to figurative growth, Balicki witnessed the literal growth of the student body over the years. When she stared teaching, Irving had just 280 students and today boasts an enrollment of nearly 500.

“The support of good principals was key to my happiness over the years.” said Balicki. “They trusted what I was doing and gave me the freedom to teach the way I wanted to teach.”

According to current principal, John Hodge, Balicki endeavored to build a classroom community each year. He said the veteran teacher remained committed to staying updated on curriculum advancements and implemented best practices in her classroom year-after-year.

“She always had high expectations and students would rise to the challenge,” said Hodge. “We’d see tremendous growth in her students as a result of her efforts.”

Balicki was known to go the extra mile for her students. She completed 32 years of lunchroom and play-ground duty and made herself available to students both before and after school. She especially enjoyed the outdoor education program, organizing the annual talent shows, and lead the Irving bowling league over the years.

Balicki also served as a longtime member of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) committee and helped cultivate a positive behavioral culture at Irving.

“We could always count on Linda to be consistent and steadfast,” said Hodge. “She was an advocate for students and would

Courtesy Melissa Elsmo

TIME FOR CHANGE: Irving teacher, Linda Balicki, is retiring after 35 years at the southeast Oak Park elementary school. work with families to help students achieve.

She will always have a home at Irving.”

Despite the strange end to her career, Balicki is grateful.

“I feel loved, like I shaped the lives of hundreds of kids. It melts my heart that people really feel deeply about what I have done with my life.”

COVID-related school closures have impacted Balicki’s big finish. Though she is still teaching online, she has already cleared out her classroom and canceled her plans for a retirement bash.

“It is bittersweet and I feel kind of alone,” said Balicki. “I never got married. I never had kids. I am not saying I deserved a party,

but it would have been nice to have some closure.”

Paul Packer, Irving enrichment specialist, taught with Balicki for 27 of her 35 years at Irving. In fact, he was hired as a third-grade teacher on Balicki’s team.

“She was a phenomenal mentor to me as a first-time teacher,” said Packer “Teaching came from her heart; it came from within her. She’s a rock and you can depend on her for anything.”

What’s next for Balicki?

“I still can’t believe I am retiring,” she said. “I don’t feel like I am done yet. I think I may go sub.”

D97 to pay bus firm, despite no passengers

Most will be reimbursed by state, which suggested the measure

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

Students across the state have not needed any transportation services since in-person classes were canceled in late March, but transportation providers, including the firm that services District 97 students, are still getting paid.

During a regular meeting on May 12, the D97 school board voted unanimously to approve an amended transportation service agreement with Lakeview Bus Lines to

continue paying a percentage of the money they would have gotten if schools had not closed.

The action comes after the Illinois State Board of Education strongly encouraged school districts in the state to continue paying their transportation providers for the rest of the school year even though students have not been transported during the shutdown, explained Rob Grossi, the district’s financial consultant, in a board memo.

“To encourage such action, Governor Pritzker has declared an executive order whereby ISBE will reimburse expenses made during the shutdown in the same percentage that existed prior to the shutdown,” Grossi said. “For Oak Park School District 97, that means approximately 70 percent of transportation costs related to special edu-

cation would be reimbursed by ISBE and basically 0 percent of regular transportation expenses would be reimbursed, since few of the district’s routes are eligible for reimbursement.”

Initially, Lakeview had requested 85 percent reimbursement of both their special education and regular transportation costs to be paid by D97, Grossi said, but “after considering the low state reimbursement percentages on the payment, this would have cost the district approximately $500,000 of their own dollars.”

Given the “uncertain financial impact of COVID-19 on the district, I could not in good faith recommend the acceptance of the request to the board.”

The agreement between Lakeview and the district entails D97 paying Lakeview

$400,000 for special education transportation, which is less than 50 percent of the “expected bill for the remainder of the fiscal year,” Grossi said.

He added that the district expects to receive $280,000 in reimbursements from the state, so the district will end up paying $120,000 of its own funds.

“As a part of the agreement, Lakeview would commit to providing credits to future bills in the amount of the funds for which the district is not reimbursed in order to make the district whole,” said Grossi, adding that Lakeview and D97 agreed the district will not pay any money for regular transpiration expenses, since D97 won’t be reimbursed by the state for those.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

11

‘Noble Army’ combats COVID with face shields

By JAMES KAY Staff Reporter

Oak Park resident Rob Parks didn’t want to sit around as health care workers and first responders called for help. After finding a design online for face shields that could be produced with a 3D printer, Parks went to work.

After hours of logistical work, Parks was able to deploy what he calls a “Noble Army” of 45 locals who have 3D printers and have been producing shields every day. According to Parks, the group has provided over 5,700 face shields to nursing homes, first responders in Evanston and River Forest, various service organizations in Cook County, and over 20 hospitals.

With 200 order requests coming in per day, Parks is hoping to expand the team to other areas and has created a website called faceshieldfactory.org.

“I am so proud of this group and its determination,” said Parks. “We are running it like a business and we want to keep this operation going. The public has come through so beautifully where we are now in the black again.”

Since we reported on Parks and the Noble Army’s efforts on March 29 Parks found an online supplier, explained what the Noble Army was doing and landed 19,000 plastic sheets (16,000 of which are currently piled

Photo Provided

PROTECTION: Zack Wachtel shows off a face shield made with a 3-D printer. on top of each other in his living room). Andrew Ziec, one of the group’s members, also modified the design of the masks so that it didn’t need elastic, eliminating one expense.

Parks lauded the selflessness his team showed in regard to picking up some of the expenses, which so far have totaled to $5,150.

“I’ve repeatedly asked them if they wanted reimbursement on the PLA [spool plastic material for 3D printers] and they have turned down my requests for invoices,” said Parks. “it’s just an amazing experience working with these wonderful people.”

With the operation on the rise, Parks

hopes the new website will help spread the word on this cause. Initially, he used an email chain to let people know that he was looking for those with 3D printers to contribute but, with the new website, people can now register to join the team.

“At first, a friend forwarded me an email from Rob saying he was looking for help,” said Ahren Sievers, who works at the Elmwood Park Public Library and has used its 3D printer to make face shields. “It was about as grassroots as you can get. Also, since the printer belongs to the library, I am trying to spread the word and sending out updates to the community saying, ‘we are able to do this on your behalf because of you and we wouldn’t have had this opportunity if you didn’t help us get it.’ It’s awesome because it’s something they can get behind and root for.”

“I didn’t know Rob before I started doing this but he is such an impressive guy,” said Dave Kleinhans, who is a teacher and science department co-chair at Fenwick High School. “Someone told me about what he was doing and I ended up bringing home a few printers from Fenwick and put them in my basement. It’s like Tony Stark’s set up.

So, I am able to print these frames with five printers and we are steadily keeping this whole thing going.”

Report: COVID-19 peaked in Oak Park in April

By JAMES KAY and STDACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporters

Oak Park’s board of trustees received COVID-19 updates from department heads during a virtual board meeting Monday, May 18.

Mike Charley, Oak Park public health director, reported that the village had seen its COVID-19 peak in April. The village has met some of the requirements necessary to proceed into the third phase of the Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase Restore Illinois plan.

“This plan will be used for us for our local planning,” said Charley. Oak Park is currently in phase two, the flattening stage.

Within the next few weeks, Oak Park should progress into phase three, which allows steps to reopen the village. Charley said the village will abide by guidance from the state regarding how to safely reopen.

Charley also said there have been 249 con-

Playgrounds, fields remain closed Mike Charley also announced on May 18 that all sports courts, which include public playgrounds, fields and courts, will remain closed until May 29. The village has had its sports courts closed since March 25.

firmed COVID-19 cases in Oak Park and 16 deaths. An “overwhelming majority” of the deaths, he said, “have been associated with our assisted and long-term care facilities.”

The health department continues to complete case follow up on every case, as well as conducting contact tracing. Dedicated staff provides guidance to those long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Trustee Arti Walker-Peddakotla, citing that 44 percent of local residents with COVID-19 are black, implored the public health department to do more to address that.

Trustee Susan Buchanan agreed. Charley said the health department would take care to do so.

Fire Chief Tom Ebsen said early on the department reconfigured personnel and appointed Joseph Terry as deputy chief of emergency medical services. His responsibilities include infection control and working with long-term care facilities.

“He’s really done great work on both of those tasks,” said Ebsen.

According to Ebsen, the number of COVID-19 patients transported by the fire department is now trending downward. The fire department’s workforce is healthy and stable. Out of the 66 members in the department, not one has tested positive for COVID-19.

“We think a lot of that in part is due to

the diligent procedures we have in place at the fire department for disinfecting the fire stations, all the equipment we use and the apparatus,” Ebsen said. “We’ve been very diligent about that.”

The fire department has three ambulances in service daily. After transporting a COVID-19 patient, the rig undergoes complete sterilization. The cleaning process takes about an hour, giving the crew time to shower and change into clean clothes.

Police Chief LaDon Reynolds said the department had distributed roughly 300 masks at the police desk and have had 20 COVIDrelated calls to date.

The police department is in the process of purchasing the same coveralls used by the fire department “to gown up and remain safe” while carrying out police activities.

The village installed washers and dryers for the police so that officers can launder their clothes after dealing with potential COVID-19 carriers.

Calls for service have begun to increase, particularly those related to crimes against persons, according to Reynolds.

Over the past week, 29 additional residents have tested positive for the virus. That brings the village’s total of confirmed cases to 249. The 29 residents who tested positive over the past week range in age from their 20s to 80s.

Along with the newest cases, Charley announced on May 15 that a fifteenth person, a man in his 90s, died after he had tested positive for COVID-19. On May 18, Charley also reported that a man and woman in their 80s died after they too tested positive for the virus.

With three fatalities in the past week, Oak Park now has 17 residents who have died after testing positive for COVID-19.

Based on the most recent info on the village’s website, long-term care facilities in Oak Park have not seen any changes in regard to staff and resident confirmed cases.

However, one resident at Belmont Village of Oak Park died.

As reported last week, two residents and four staff members tested positive for COVID-19 at Belmont Village along with the most recent fatality. Berkeley Nursing & Rehabilitation Center has one resident and one staff member that have tested positive for the virus while one resident died. Brookdale Oak Park has had five residents and five staff members test positive for COVID-19 while one resident has died. Oak Park Arms has had six residents and three staff cases. So far, Oasis of Oak Park has 20 residents and five staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19 while eight residents have died.

12

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Hockey Huskies raise $16K for Beyond Hunger

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Sports Editor

As we creep toward the beginning stages of summer, there is a lot of talk in the high school sports world about whether there will be a fall season due to ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic. For OPRF’s hockey team, that concern paired with the questions about pulling off its annual food drive for Beyond Hunger.

Instead of waiting out the summer heat, the Hockey Huskies banded together to raise over $16,000 for the food pantry.

“As you can imagine, [Beyond Hunger] is seeing an uptick in demand with all the recent unemployment,” said OPRF’s hockey coach, Dave Dyson. “There are a lot of folks right now who have to go a little further to make ends meet. We called over to [Beyond Hunger] with this idea and it took off from there. The families have answered the bell.

It’s been absolutely awe inspiring.”

Dyson rallied his team by putting them through fitness challenges to raise funds ranging from running a 5K to doing 100 pushups, squats and crunches. Because of social-distancing protocols, the group couldn’t do the challenges together. They did one of the challenges on May 16 and are still looking to raise more money.

Even at a young age, the players see how significant the cause is to the community. “[Beyond Hunger] can’t accept food right now and can only take monetary donations, which is different from the food drive we usually do,” said OPRF player Zack Heyer.

“This is the best we can do in the meantime.”

Heyer’s teammate, Miles Clary, echoed a similar sentiment.

“I think everyone was sad when we first heard we weren’t going to have a season,” said Clary. “We were ready for summer to get stronger, better and prepare for next season. Everyone is just really anxious to get back on the ice. It’s been great being able to stay together and keep interacting since we haven’t been able to see each other.”

Initially, Dyson set the goal at $2,500 ($1,500 coming from him and his wife, Mara) and thought the community would be able to hit that modest mark. Within a week, the team raised over $11,000. With their food drive in jeopardy this fall, the team is satisfied with what they’ve been able to do under these dire circumstances.

“By September, we want to get back to a little bit more normalcy where we can do our actual food drive,” said Dyson. “Until then, we want to do everything we can for those who are in need right now.”

Michelle Zurakowski, the executive director at Beyond Hunger, was taken aback by how the hockey team responded in a time where every donation can make a difference.

“We want to wish a huge thank-you to Coach Dyson and the hockey team for seeing beyond themselves,” said Zurakowski. “I think it’s sort of a spiritual practice almost, in terms of doing things that are beyond who we are as individuals for this greater good and they’re just such an exemplar of how to do it right.”

You can find the link to the hockey team’s food drive here: https://www.classy.org/ team/297558

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PANTING FOR THE PANTRY: Miles Clary (left) and Zack Heyer do push-ups to raise money for Beyond Hunger.

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

13

Shuttered police firing range gets funds for first repairs Business advocates recommendations reach village board

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Despite the financial straits caused by COVID-19, Oak Park’s village board Monday approved an agreement to begin improvements to the police department’s currently unused firing range in an amount not to exceed $35,000. This contract will focus on repairing inadequate ventilation and air flow

FINANCES

Village takes a hit from page 1 2020 budget at the June 15 meeting.

“There are many moving parts which we do not control,” Pavlicek said. “In this unprecedented time, uncertainty is unavoidable and projections likely will be wrong.

However, the difficult policy decisions recommended will be based upon the best information we have available.”

Drazner agreed, noting there are “too many variables.”

He said he anticipates a shortfall of $10 million in revenue by the end of the fiscal year “assuming everything stays the same.” Projecting further, he said the revenue shortfall would be an additional $5 million by the middle of the next fiscal year.

Pavlicek said village officials can begin by reducing materials or contractual costs; reducing spending; and finding new resources. She said reductions could come by reviewing contractor costs and renegotiating where possible; eliminating lower value or no-use programs; and rethinking subsidies “as painful as this may be.”

Pavlicek also said spending reductions could come by reducing capital asset investments; deferring some purchases; reexamining maintenance and replacement standards; and refinancing debt.

She said village staff members started the process of reducing spending by asking department heads to recommend where their budgets could be cut, which resulted in proposed reductions totaling $17 million, which would be 10 percent of the budget.

Deferring capital projects led to the deepest cuts, $7.9 million in the capital main fund and $3.2 million in the capital projects fund. Water/sewer fund cuts totaled $3.9 million. Also proposed were cuts of $1.5 million in the parking fund and $1.3 million in the general fund.

Trustee Arti Walker-Peddakotla ques-

issues in the firing range.

The firing range is located within the police department in the lower level of village hall. All certified police officers must successfully complete a minimum of one firing qualification course per year.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Oak Park police no longer have access to the Cook County Sherriff ’s Office firing range, putting them at risk of being non-compliant with state law.

Per the recommendation of the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, the village board also approved a county property tax incentive application for the commercial condo property at 100 Marion St. This

tioned “lower-value programs,” asking how staff members would determine how one program has a lower value than another.

Pavlicek used the village’s school crossing guards as an example of a lower-value program, explaining that funds budgeted for the program have not been spent over the past two months because schools are not in session. However, she said she would provide a more formal metric for determining program values prior to June 1.

In response to a question from WalkerPeddakotla, Pavlicek said village officials feel they cannot count on federal assistance to cover the shortfall, noting things “change day to day.”

Suggestions for possible new resources include monetizing assets; implementing new or revised fees where appropriate; and borrowing for capital projects rather than depleting cash. “We’re also seeking whatever state and federal assistance we can find,” Pavlicek said.

Admitting she wanted to “dive in,” Trustee Simone Boutet stressed the “need to go fast,” even suggesting the village board hold a special meeting May 26. “I feel a sense of urgency,” she said.

Trustee Deno Andrews cautioned against moving too fast, questioning whether staff members would have additional details needed by May 26.

In response to requests by Boutet and Trustee Susan Buchanan about which programs might be cut and a request by Boutet for a revised organization chart, Drazner said he would bring more detail to the June 1 meeting.

“The cuts are logical and practical,” Trustee James Taglia said, noting the village is “fortunate” to have a fund balance.

“None of this is easy,” Trustee Dan Moroney said. “Hard decisions have to be made.”

“I know it’s taken a lot of work to get to this point,” Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb said.

“There’s more work ahead.”

site was previously the home of Two Brothers Social Tap. The application is on behalf of a proposed developer for the location.

The board also directed staff to work on carrying out a number of recommendations from the ad hoc Oak Park Business Recovery Task Force, including the creation of loading zones to support curbside pick-up and a parking permit system for businesses that provide a point of service.

Staff will create a program for businesses to delay permit payments. Prior to July first, staff will put out an update with more information.

Staff will work with businesses to figure out special street closures to allow for more

outdoor activities intended to draw people to businesses.

To help businesses secure personal protection equipment (PPE) needed to safely reopen, the village will share their supplier information but due to high demand for such equipment and current supply chain, the village cannot act as a centralized PPE procurement system.

Staff will also help coordinate development of informational and promotional videos for businesses.

Village Manager Cara Pavlicek said it is important to note that the timing of each of these actions must align with the phases of reopening as they occur.

OPRF to hold first-ever virtual graduation June 14

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter

The Oak Park and River Forest High School Class of 2020 will go down in history as the only graduating class at the school to ever have a virtual ceremony. District 200 administrators announced May 13 that the virtual graduation will take place Sunday, June 14, at 3 p.m.

Administrators had previously announced that they planned to hold an in-person graduation ceremony on Aug. 2. The move came after an overwhelming majority of families noted that an in-person ceremony was their first preference.

Since then, however, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that his five-stage reopening plan for reopening the state prohibits gatherings of more than 50 people until the last stage — which will only come about when COVID-19 can be cured with a vaccine, effectively treated and/or shown to be significantly decreasing by the lack of

Key upcoming dates for OPRF seniors ■ Pickup belongings/drop off books for seniors only: Friday, May 22 and Saturday, May 23 ■ Cap and gown, diploma and yearbook pickup: Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30 ■ Virtual commencement: Sunday, June 14, 3 p.m.

new cases over a sustained period of time “through herd immunity or other factors.”

“Recognizing that our first responsibility is to the health and safety of our students and families, we will not hold an in-person graduation for the Class of 2020,” said D209 Supt Joylynn Pruitt-Adam in a letter sent to families last week.

“In the midst of so much loss for our seniors, we know that this is very disappointing news,” Pruitt-Adams said.

“We will do everything we can to make it special by replicating as many of the traditional elements of our commencement program as possible.”

The superintendent said that the virtual ceremony “will incorporate photos and names of all graduates,” similar to the virtual Honors Convocation that was held in April. She added that seniors will be asked to “send us photos of themselves in their caps and gowns to use instead of their yearbook photo.”

The district plans to post and archive the ceremony on YouTube, as well as air it on the village of Oak Park’s cable access channel.

The district also announced last week that the D200 school board approved several measures to waive some of the graduation requirements for the Class of 2020 amid the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.

The district reduced the overall number of credits to graduate from 43 to 38 and waived the graduation requirement to complete certain “in-progress” classes, including computer proficiency, financial literacy and driver education.

The waiver only applies to the Class of 2020 and “not to any future or past classes at OPRF,” Pruitt-Adams said.

14

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

RACE TAX

Here’s the history from page 1 for National Geographic.

“The environments where most live, the jobs they have, the prevalence of health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and how they are treated by the medical establishment have created a toxic storm of severe illness and death. (These common, underlying conditions make coronavirus more severe.)”

That’s indeed the case. In Chicago, African Americans are 29 percent of the city’s population but make up roughly half of COVID-19 deaths. And those case numbers and death totals are concentrated in black communities like Austin.

But make no mistake, the disproportionality is not just limited to black spaces. Black bodies everywhere are at higher risk of contracting and dying from this disease.

African Americans are 18 percent of Oak Park’s roughly 52,000 residents, but as of May 15, they were 44 percent of the 236 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, according to the Oak Park Public Health Department.

In Forest Park, where African Americans are 27 percent of the population, as of May 18, they represented 41 percent of the 107 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases.

What the data shows is that for African Americans, there is no escaping the risk of race. But what most commentary I’ve read about the racially disproportionate impact ignores is how this risk was manufactured by whites in the first place and that it was the perception of risk that created the reality.

We can attribute COVID-19’s disproportionality to a range of factors, several of which National Geographic outlined above, but in the grand scheme of things, those are all secondary to the essence of the matter, which is the chronic wealth gap between African Americans and whites — a gap that was cleaved by the idea that blacks are unworthy, particularly of credit to finance homes (a primary source of wealth for most people) and of capital to build more wealth.

What’s more, the historic denial of credit and capital to blacks has been directly correlated to the accumulation of the same among whites.

Take, for instance, the Freedmen’s Savings Bank. Founded in 1865, pamphlets promoting the bank at the time described it as “Abraham Lincoln’s Gift to the Colored People.” But the bank wasn’t actually a bank in the traditional sense.

Instead of lending to freedmen in order for them to grow their own businesses or purchase their own property, the bank simply collected the freedmen’s savings and served as a “teaching institution” designed to “instruct freed slaves about American values and ‘to instill into the minds of the untutored Africans lessons of sobriety, wisdom, and economy,’” writes Mehrsa Baradaran in The Color of Money: Black Banks

Courtesy Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America

RACE AND RISK: A map created by agents of the federal government’s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation between 1935 and 1940. Neighborhoods that received the highest grades were considered minimal risks for banks and other mortgage lenders who determined who should receive loans and what areas were considered safe investments.

HOLC agents wrote of Garfield Park at the time: “This is a mediocre district threatened with negro encroachment east of Sacramento Avenue.” and the Racial Wealth Gap. Within a decade of its founding, the bank had collected more than “$75 million of deposits by more than 75,000 depositors, an amount that would be approximately $1.5 billion today.” Despite freedmen comprising virtually all of the depositors, they were not represented in the bank’s management.

And they had no say in how the money was invested.

In 1870, the bank’s managers persuaded Congress to “amend and deregulate its charter,” effectively turning the savings institution into a private investment bank. But soon after deregulation, instead of investing the deposits in black businesses or property that would allow African Americans to begin wealth-building after two centuries of slavery, “the bank managers” — the very people who were preaching the value of financial sobriety and wisdom to the freed slaves — “began speculating in real estate and then, quite simply, a close ring of managers with unfettered discretion plundered the savings of the freedmen.”

Those investments began to unravel in the Panic of 1873, which precipitated the bank’s free fall. In March 1874, “in a last ditch effort to save the bank,” the trustees made Frederick Douglass its president. After lending the bank “$10,000 of his own money to cover the bank’s illiquid assets,” Douglass quickly figured out the ruse and alerted Congress to the bank’s insolvency declaring, “that he ‘could no longer ask [his] people to deposit their money in it.’”

The bank was shut down for good in 1874, but not before “more than half of accumulated black wealth disappeared through [the bank’s] mismanagement.”

According to the 1969 book The Negro as a Business Man, by John Henry Harmon, Arnett Grant Lindsay, and Carter Godwin

Woodson, “What is most lamentable is the fact that only a few of those who embezzled and defrauded the one-time liquid assets of this bank were ever prosecuted.”

Or take the history of the U.S. housing market.

“From the inception of the housing market in the United States, its viability had been structured around a scaffolding of racial knowledge that presumed insight into the speculative elements of ‘good housing’ and ‘good neighborhoods,’ which could then be actualized through ascending property values,” writes Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor in Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership.

Segregating African Americans into urban ghettos like Austin and “starving those communities of resources and other investments greatly limited their access to better-paying jobs and well-resourced public schools, while pushing them into substandard housing,” Taylor writes. “These conditions were then spun into the evidence that African Americans were unfit as potential homeowners and deleterious to property values within the housing market.”

That blacks were unfit for good housing was a justification for confining them into “black-only neighborhoods where they could not ‘infect’ the larger housing market.” The “scarred geography” of places like Austin was the “physical evidence invoked to legitimize keeping” blacks out of places like Oak Park.

Real estate operatives profited on the “allure of exclusivity for whites” that was created exclusively from the distance their homes were from “inferior” black communities — what’s called a “race tax” (in one sense, the tax is colorblind, because it can also be felt by whites who live within prox-

imity to blacks; just ask Oak Parkers who own homes on the east side).

But the very remedies that, at certain points in history, more enlightened whites have proposed to address this race-based economic exploitation have themselves been tools for further exploitation and predation.

In the early 1960s, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the urban riots (what historians more accurately call upheavals or rebellions), the federal government slowly implemented laws to open up the segregated housing market, but the very real estate operatives and private interests that created the segregated market in the first place were now put in charge of carrying out so-called reforms.

Taylor calls this post-1960s era of reform “predatory inclusion.” In the past, blacks were denied the ability to purchase longterm, low-cost, government-backed mortgages. Now private real estate operatives, aided and abetted by government policies, coaxed blacks into purchasing “subprime,” or junk, loans in order to feed an overheated housing market that was desperate for higher profit margins.

When the subprime industry collapsed in 2008, black homeowners who were disproportionately herded into taking out those junk loans (regardless of their actual credit standing) lost everything while the profits, disproportionately owned by whites, were largely protected. Again, virtually no one was prosecuted.

Even for blacks in the suburbs, the creation of what Bararadan calls a “Jim Crow credit market” paved the way for a debt-cycle to become self-reinforcing.

“While the small black middle class may have been earning incomes similar to the white middle class, their upward mobility carried much higher interest,” she writes.

“Over 70 percent of suburban black families had to borrow just so they could purchase cars, appliances, furniture, and the life necessities.

“Because the black middle class had more debt, they were charged higher interest on each new loan. More debt begets higher interest and vice versa. The added debt burden and high interest was a direct result of the lack wealth, and, looping around once again, the debt made it even harder to accumulate more wealth. The debt-wealth cycle fed on itself.”

In 2016, the $171,000 net worth of a typical white family was 10 times greater than the $17,150 net worth of a typical black family, according to a recent Brookings report.

Risk follows race, whether African Americans live in inner-cities like Austin or in suburbs like Oak Park — and in both places the equation equals plunder.

In order to evaluate future reforms then, “we must absorb the lessons of the past and make sure we are not repeating the same mistakes,” Baradaran writes, adding that we should apply a “short litmus test to any policy proposal: does the program require some collective sacrifice or does it place the burden of closing the wealth gap entirely on the black community?”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Pursuit officer sprains ankle

Oak Park police officers responded to a report at 7:03 p.m., May 17 of two people fighting in the 200 block of Chicago Avenue.

Upon arrival, the officers discovered it was a domestic dispute between a woman and a man.

The man fled on foot after seeing the police, prompting an officer to chase after him.

The officer slipped on wet grass, spraining his ankle. The officer will need crutches for a few days but is expected to return to full duty shortly.

Police apprehended the man who tried to run away.

Burglary ■ Someone entered a residential garage through an unlocked door and removed two sets of keys, then opened the victim’s vehicle and removed a stereo and a pair of red and white sunglasses from inside between 9:30 a.m. and 10:36 a.m., May 13 in the 600 block of South Taylor Avenue. Estimated loss is $550.

■ A black-green Huffy bicycle was removed from a residential garage with an unlocked side service door in the 1100 block of

15

C R I M E South Elmwood Street between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., May 17. The estimated loss is $150.

Theft A teenage boy was observed with a cutting instrument underneath a vehicle, trying to remove the vehicle’s catalytic converter at 4:45 p.m., May 13 in the 100 block of

South Humphrey Avenue; the boy fled in an unknown direction in a black vehicle. The catalytic converter was damaged but not removed.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports May 11 - 18 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded.

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

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

Ike shut down due to shooting A shooting on the Eisenhower Expressway stopped eastbound traffic on Saturday, May 16 around 3:28 p.m. Forest Park police were called to assist state police at Circle Avenue and I-290, according to Forest Park Police Chief Tom Aftanas.

Aftanas said the case is “not ours” and is being investigated by the state police.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a 32-year-old Broadview man driving eastbound on I-290 was hit by a shot fired from another vehicle. He was taken to the hospital. The injuries were not life-threatening.

The case is still under investigation.

Photo byFrank Hansen

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

NEED TO REACH US?

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

17

Homes

File Photo

River Forest Women’s Club, 526 Ashland Ave.

River Forest landmark gets a new lease on life

A decade on the market, River Forest Women’s Club finds a buyer

By LACEY SIKORA

A

Contributing Reporter

t long last, the River Forest Women’s Club at 526 Ashland Ave. has found a new set of owners. The historically landmarked home, designed in 1913 by William Drummond, had languished on the market for years.

In 2005, previous owners Paul and Ellen Coffey purchased the club for a reported price of $425,000 and poured approximately $2 million into rehabbing the home. In the process, they sought and obtained landmark protection for the Prairie Style building, through Landmarks Illinois.

The protective easement covers the exterior and portions of the home’s interior. After winning a Richard H. Driehaus Foundation award for their preservation work in 2008, the Coffeys listed the house for sale in 2012 for $1.575 million.

Despite a completely remodeled lower level, the quirky home -- much of the main floor is auditorium space -- failed to find a buyer. After many price reductions, it was last relisted for $632,000 in October 2019.

Alliant Credit Union foreclosed on the house in January and relisted the house for sale in March for $600,000. Shortly

thereafter, Elizabeth and Vladimir Barisik purchased the house for $560,000.

Steve Scheuring of Compass, who represented the Barisiks in the transaction, said the property came with plenty of baggage, some much greater than the $1 million unpaid loan on the property.

“What killed this house was the landmark designation,” Scheuring said. “You can’t change the majority of the first floor, and it’s basically a stage and a ballroom. Seventy percent of our buyers in Oak Park and River Forest are young families with children under the age of 5.”

In spite of those restrictions, he says the Barisiks had long been enamored with the house.

“My hat’s off to Vlad and Elizabeth,” Scheuring said.

“From the start, they knew it would be challenge.

“The block is great. The bottom floor can be changed, and the kitchen is amazing. There is solar power, and the geothermal needs to be started up, but the potential is there.”

Vladimir Barisik says he fell in love with the house long before moving to the area. “I’ve been looking at this house in my mom and dad’s architectural books for years,” said Barisik, a native of Macedonia. “I dreamed about it when it first went on the market.”

After living in an Oak Park condo, he and his wife had moved to Iowa City while he finished his master’s degree.

As they prepared to move back to the area, he did not know

the house was still available, but he said Elizabeth noticed the listing, and they made plans to travel in for a showing.

Vladimir was excited about the home’s architectural history, and Elizabeth was reeled in by the home’s civic history.

“My first reaction -- maybe I wasn’t as enthusiastic as he was -- but once we got in there, I could really see what it could be,” said Elizabeth Barisik. “For me, it’s not just this building, but also what happened inside this building that we want to preserve.”

The couple are excited to share that history of women’s suffrage and dedication to local cultural causes like the River Forest Public Library with their two young children, but first they will tackle making the home into a good space for their family.

Vladimir Barisik says that Scheuring and Suzanne Germann of Landmarks Illinois prepared them well for what it meant to buy a historic structure – one of only two properties in the state with an easement on both the exterior and interior.

Scheuring, an Oak Park native who is no stranger to architecturally significant homes, says he never would have imagined that he would have had a part in the sale of this building. He said that prior to showings, Alliant’s agent made sure any potential buyers read the Landmarks Illinois See WOMEN’S CLUB on page 20

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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18

This home is a stunner!

illed with beautiful woodwork and art glass, 706 Lyman in Oak Park is a home updated with high-end finishes and large open spaces.

finished second floor over the new garage. This bonus space is currently used as an office, but it could be almost anything -- art studio, music studio, guest house.

The extra-large living room has a fireplace and opens to a bright sunroom. Prepare you holiday meals in the updated kitchen and serve them in the lovely spacious dining room.

A large mudroom off the kitchen leads to a huge deck and a lovely backyard with a paver patio. The first floor also has a brand new bath.

Upstairs you’ll find generous bedrooms with windows on two walls.

Located close to the Harrison Arts District, you can easily walk to shops, coffee spots, art galleries, and restaurants. Just a few blocks from the blue line and seven blocks from the green line, this home offers convenient access to the city.

One unique feature of the house is an entirely

706 Lyman is currently listed for $465,000.

For more information, contact Erica Cuneen at Beyond Properties, 708-220-2025 or erica@ beyondpropertiesrealty.com.

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

19

LIVE Online Open House Tours Growing Community.

See houses and ask questions in real time Sunday, May 24, 2020 ADDRESS

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235 Marengo #4a, Forest Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . $224,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BHHS CHICAGO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Facebook .com/thegbteam/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 pm 9115 S 87th Ct, Hickory Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $340,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BHHS CHICAGO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Facebook .com/thegbteam/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:30 pm 814 Wenonah Ave, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $434,000 . . . .Baird & Warner Oak Park River Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Facebook .com/OakParkBroker . . . .Sat, May 23 • 1-1:30pm 143 S . Harvey, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $539,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BHHS CHICAGO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Facebook .com/Zak .knebel/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 pm 834 Forest Avenue, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $659,900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beyond Properties Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . us04web .zoom .us/j/72239783230?pwd=U3RqWDJhcE8yNXgxN0tFaCtMMWhvdz09 . . . .1-1:30pm 600 North Ridgeland, Oak Park . . . . . . . . . . . . $895,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BHHS CHICAGO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Facebook .com/RobertHannRealtor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:15 pm 1636 Boeger Ave, Westchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . $237,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BHHS CHICAGO . . . . . . .Facebook .com/MKM-Group-BHHS-Chicago-106723867687606/ . . . . . .12 pm

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

WOMEN’S CLUB

Preserving for the future from page 17 restrictions.

“I gave them all the disclaimers,” Scheuring said. “I told them, ‘If you’re going to want to sell this down the line, you’ll have to make some changes.’”

Vladimir Barisik agree, saying, “It takes a unique buyer, a vision and a bit of courage. Taking this on will be a bit of a challenge.”

He praised the Coffeys, noting that while they didn’t get a good return on their investment, they laid the groundwork in preserving the home.

“Really, they did an incredible job,” he said. “We’re riding on their coattails. We are now thinking about how do we preserve it and make it work for the average buyer, which is a young family with two kids.”

After moving into the home during a pandemic, the couple are starting the process of finding an architect to help them realize their vision for the house.

“We have a few ideas,” Vladimir said.

“I think we’re on the cusp of solving this puzzle of this awkward space.”

Their hope is to take advantage of the beauty of the first-floor auditorium space and make that their main living area. While that floor is subject to the Landmarks Illinois easement, the Barisiks aren’t deterred

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM by the easement’s restrictions.

“We are constrained, but see it as an opportunity to work within the rules,” Vladimir said.

The couple can’t put up any walls in the room, but they hope to use furniture and lighting to designate different spaces in the large auditorium. They envision a space for a library, living and dining.

The downstairs level, which is not covered by the easement, will be reconfigured as well, in what will likely be a multi-phase project. In the future, they want to add a garage, perhaps after a design competition engaging Chicago-area architecture students.

“We would love to see a young, up-andcoming architect give us a bold idea,” Vladimir said. “We want to really get out of the box.”

The couple realizes the house has been the subject of much interest over the years and want to allay any fears people might have about their intentions.

“It is our duty to alleviate people’s possible questions about what we might be planning,” Vladimir said. “We see ourselves as the torch bearers to preserve this house for years to come.”

As they settle into their first weeks in the home, the Barisiks say they are taking their time to get to know the house and what it needs.

“We really want to be mindful and take it slowly,” Vladimir said. “We don’t foresee selling this space. We want to raise our kids here.”

File photo

LANDMARK CONSTRAINTS: Because much of the main floor “auditorium” space is protected by a landmark easement, the new owners hope to use furniture and lighting to designate different spaces within it.

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

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189 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 (708) 386-1400

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Featured Listings for This Week

Erika Villegas,

21

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22

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

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

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

VIEWPOINTS

23

Beyond Hunger is beyond belief p. 25

Trying to find the community we can be

I

am part of three different teams in different organizations that are currently developing policy and practice around how to be in community. All three are also re-envisioning how to do this in a way that is more restorative and inclusive of the diverse perspectives and needs we have in our community.

We continue to struggle with how to bring forward the best of what makes us who we are, leave behind the worst, and incorporate new knowledge. Whether it is in our schools, religious institutions or community organizations, there are three prompts that help in this work: 1. What do we believe?

2. What do we expect?

3. What will we do toward this end?

Answering the questions of what we believe, collectively, lays the groundwork for a shared agenda. It is nearly impossible to find common ground on which to build together, based on what we don’t want — higher taxes, racism, sexism, and stay-at-home orders. We need to establish a common set of beliefs that remind us of what we share despite our differences and individual needs and desires. Like our Constitution, it gives us a set of reminders to which we can be held accountable even when we fall short.

But this set of beliefs shouldn’t be vague or groundless.

It’s time to describe what is actually meant by OPRF High School’s motto, “Those Things that are Best.” It can’t be left up to interpretation. When we don’t take the time to help young people form a solid sense of shared beliefs but expect them to make healthy life choices, we don’t set them up for success.

Taking the time, energy and creativity to craft and explain how success looks in light of our challenges creates the opportunity to actually develop real solutions. Absent this, we are often stuck in the cycle of arguing our respective positions to no avail. For example, OPRF has decided to move away from the unproductive approach of reissuing an updated Code of Conduct and replace it with documented behavioral expectations that can be linked to shared beliefs about how students and adults support each other in sharing space, learning and growing.

Instead of requiring student signatures to a long laundry list of infractions and associated consequences, we have the opportunity to describe and model productive behaviors.

Instead of perpetuating a set of non-inclusive business practices, the board of a community organization has the opportunity to practice a more inclusive approach to management.

Instead of zero tolerance, we can talk about healthy expectations for all involved. It creates something that we can all be proud of and move toward versus shame and avoidance.

But all of this is for naught without purposeful action. The ultimate question to be answered is what we are willing to do in support of our beliefs and in pursuit of our expectations.

LINDA FRANCIS

See FRANCIS on page 26

Why are we afraid to stand up to the haters?

T

he Hater Culture is a sickness that is alive and well in the United States.

There is evidence of this everywhere.

The victimization and tragedy of the death of Ahmaud Arbery, just before his 26th birthday, and the subsequent victimization of his family — Ahmaud’s execution by a father and son in Georgia — is just the most egregious and publicly viewable recent example of this sub-culture.

Violence, one of the common characteristics of the Hater Culture, has, tragically, been tolerated by Americans for generations, and continues to be cultivated throughout the country and society while people turn a blind eye to it. Maybe, as with the phenomenon of organized crime, people feel powerless to a great extent to fight this sub-culture individually or even as a group for fear of retribution.

Decent people thought mistakenly that there had been progress made after Martin Luther King’s leadership and the Civil Rights Movement, and most recently with the election of Barack Obama as president. But it was mistaken hope, wishful thinking, naively delusional. Sadly, progress was not accompanied by the necessary constant vigilance and improvements in society to move toward justice.

There was an otherwise forgettable article in a national publication a few years ago titled, “A Culture of Enmity” (enmity: the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something, Oxford Dictionary).

The subtitle was, “Hatred ought to be a side dish, but it’s

becoming the meal.” When I read that, I was appalled. That statement reeked of thinking that normalizes hatred. A side dish?! Hatred is the spoiled, contaminated part of a meal that should be thrown out because it makes a person sick! It is what gives a person food poisoning.

Americans need to wake up to how pervasive and divisive the Hater Culture is that has overtaken America. It continues to bring a toxic sickness that permeates our society. Americans need to take a cold hard look at what they believe in; what they are perpetuating; what they are practicing; and what they want for our future as a nation. Americans need to take stock of their conceptual picture of themselves to see if it aligns with their operative actuality.

The divisive Hater Culture is contributing to our demise as a society, and as nation, whether it applies to race, ethnicity, gender, religion, politics, science, lies versus facts, and other aspects of what’s going on in the U.S. and World. It feels overwhelming. We could never make America great if we don’t address some of our most ingrained problems — like the blood lust of some people who need to kill for sport. We are failing on so many fronts, it is ominous for our survival as a nation worthy of the suffering, sacrifices and tireless generations of work by our ancestors.

We always hear people saying, “We can do better,” but the way things are going ... here in Chicago we hear of gun violence every day, unchecked by law enforcement;

CHRISTINE VERNON One View

See VERNON on page 26

24

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

O U R

V I E W P O I N T S

V I E W S

COVID’s fiscal pain

The news at Monday evening’s Oak Park Village Board meeting was not a surprise. The impact of COVID-19 on municipal finances has been devastating. Revenues from almost every stream have been stunted. Costs have been steady or even rising in direct response to the pandemic.

The presentation Monday offered a grim picture of already stretched cash reserves being spent down, of a long, challenged recovery of lost revenues and of a wide range of painful choices to be made. It also allowed that making assumptions in the midst of this massive economic collapse is near impossible and will require ongoing adjustments to any plan.

One hoped-for part of a recovery is direct infusion of federal cash to this small village as part of a nationwide rescue. We shall see. This is not a moment when one can have confidence in fairness, vision or quick action from a federal government led by such a flawed president.

And so village staff has put everything else on the table.

The budget of every department has been scoured for cash that might be saved. Line item savings range from less than $1,000 to cuts to local arts and tourism programs of nearly $200,000. Also hit would be the Early Childhood Collaboration.

Tree pruning, street sweeping, parking lot repaving, added signage, conferences and training all sharply reduced. Capital improvement plans delayed. Some vacant staff positions left unfilled. Alley improvements delayed.

On a weekend of intense basement flooding, especially in chronically submerged northeast Oak Park, there is also the proposal to defer $1.4 million in flood mitigation improvements on LeMoyne.

The list of cuts and deferments is long. It is a harsh selfassessment of what had seemed essential but can now be cut, dinged, reimagined. Altogether a brutal but necessary process. The hard budget review might provide some benefit along with the genuine pain.

Bringing back revenues is another challenge entirely. Lost sales taxes, delayed receipt of property taxes, drop in local share of state income taxes, parking revenue, parking fines.

There are a whole range of ways Oak Park’s village government cobbles together its revenue. Many of them have been reduced or interrupted during this crisis.

Monday’s discussion was just a starting point. After more village board discussion on June 1, staff will return to the table with a revised budget in mid-June.

There are no simple, no guaranteed, no certain decisions on this one.

The modified market It’s going to be weird. The Oak Park Farmers Market will open on May 30 in its COVID-modified form. And for that we are grateful. Fresh food. Connection to essential farmers. And donuts.

Beyond that we imagine this modified market is going to be a weekly reminder of how fully jolted from a contented normal this pandemic has driven us. Pre-orders placed on an app and picked up by car in the Pilgrim Church parking lot. No more touching the produce on the one-way pedestrian traffic pattern that will allow us to visit farmers’ stands. There’ll be no more circling back for better-looking blueberries. Half the fun of the market is the circling back looking for both plumper corn and more people to talk to.

It’s more than nostalgia we’re talking about here. It is actual diminishment of our shared lives. And that hurts.

We will make it through this. Doesn’t mean we have to like it.

H

Our unexpected sabbatical

ave you ever taken a sabbatical?

Not many Americans do. Mostly they’re reserved for clergy and academics. A temporary break, a respite, a time out from the preoccupations of your occupation. A chance to unwind and recharge. Most of us could use a sabbatical, but not many have that luxury.

Until now.

We think of sabbaticals as a “luxury,” but they’re really a necessity. Vacations are mini-sabbaticals. We don’t think of those as luxuries. Weekends were originally considered unnecessary niceties — by exploitative bosses — before the labor movement tamed capitalism a bit. Retirement is a permanent sabbatical, made possible by taming capitalism even more. We call it Social Security. Most Americans work for decades before getting their sabbatical.

The lucky ones are healthy enough to enjoy it.

Unemployment is also a sabbatical of sorts, though not the one we had in mind.

“Sabbatical” derives from the Hebrew word “shabbat” (or the Yiddish version, “shabbos”), Judaism’s great contribution to Western culture, courtesy of the creation myth in the Bible. After inventing the universe in six days, God takes a “day” off. Even the Supreme Being needs a rest. Inspired by that example, imbedded in every weekend is shabbat, a day of rest, which Christianity adopted and called “sabbath.”

Until recently, the Christian sabbath was pretty much limited to an hour or so in church and going out to eat or having a nice dinner at home with family. Among secularists, it might involve a leisurely morning at a café or lounging in the living room reading the newspaper. How do you do sabbath, if you do?

For observant Jews, being “at rest” is strictly defined.

In Israel, I recall a hotel elevator specially designed for shabbat. It was programmed to stop at every floor so you didn’t have to push buttons (which is considered “work”).

The pandemic has given all of us something we didn’t ask for: an involuntary sabbatical, more restful for some than others. A lot of people are working from home. A lot of people are out of work. A lot of people are sick or dying. A lot are at-risk for domestic violence or abuse as they shelter-in-place. Parents of younger kids are with them all … the … time.

We have been forced to alter our hyperactive, hyperscheduled, going-out-on-the-town, First-World lifestyles.

Whether the current situation reduces stress or increases it, we’re driving less with fewer distractions and spending more time at home or in the neighborhood.

We’re seeing a side of life that has always been there but which we didn’t focus on because of the role responsibilities we’ve shouldered.

Some might be reluctant to admit there is an upside to all this because a) there’s also a huge downside to it, and b) we didn’t ask for this. But there is an upside nonetheless, just as there is an upside to holidays and weekends and sabbaths and sabbaticals and retirement.

We need rest after creating our universes and we have been given that opportunity — countrywide, worldwide — for the first time.

Many are eager to “open up” again, and some are even jumping the gun. They argue we need to — but I suspect it’s also because they want to. Americans are a restless people.

But before we return to the treadmill of our previous existence (if it’s still there for us), here is some gathered

wisdom to reflect on during the rest of your involuntary sabbatical: *Eight things that will destroy us (attributed to Mahatma Gandhi): ■ Politics without principle ■ Pleasure without conscience ■ Wealth without work ■ Knowledge without character ■ Business without morality ■ Science without humanity ■ Worship without sacrifice ■ Discipleship without compassion (And I would add one more for our guntoting, arsenal-hoarding, can’t-wait-forthe-revolution friends who are protesting stay-at-home orders): ■ Rights without responsibility *From the “fence of quotes” along the Lake Geneva hiking trail: “When one door closes, another opens, but we often look so long and so regrettably upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” (Attributed to Alexander Graham Bell) “Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” (Hasidic proverb) “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” (Attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt) *From the pen of writer Parker Palmer: “Truth is an eternal conversation about things that matter, conducted with passion and discipline.”

“The question at the heart of every religious and secular search for meaning and purpose: How can I connect with something larger than my own ego?” *From AARP magazine: “You have to be willing to let go of the life you planned in order to make room for the life you’re meant to live.”

(Maria Shriver) *And from others: “A different world cannot be built by indifferent people.” (Attributed to playwright Henrik Ibsen) “We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” (Attributed to Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis) “Don’t forget the bridge that brought you across.”

(Beatrice Little, who cleaned our house once a week for decades and then became my parents’ caregiver) “God is a comedian playing to an audience that is too afraid to laugh.” (Attributed to Voltaire) “The doors of hell are locked from the inside.” (Attributed to Kurt Vonnegut) “It’s better to be a pilot light than a firecracker.” (Rep. John Lewis) “You can’t write your story based on what you get. It’s about what you go after.” (Martha Swisher) *From Albert Schweitzer’s “Memories of Childhood and Youth”: “At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think, with deep gratitude, of those who have lighted the flame within us.” *From mindfulness teacher and writer Jack Kornfield: “From moments of stillness, the most skillful way to love and serve becomes clear. By stopping to listen, we connect with one another, and true community is born.”

Whatever form your sabbatical is taking, may it prove an unexpectedly rich and rewarding experience.

KEN

TRAINOR

V I E W P O I N T S

Living into this new life … together

T

he coronavirus has altered life dramatically for all of us in a short time.

In Illinois, as in many other states, we are required to wear masks in public indoor spaces — grocery shopping, purchasing from other stores, picking up food from a restaurant.

Outside, we are asked to maintain 6 feet of distance from others. We are asked not to invite other people into our homes.

Still, many of us are operating according to the letter, if not the spirit, of these regulations. I see people gathering with others with whom they clearly don’t live, going on “socialdistancing walks” where they maintain 6 feet of distance — or maybe not quite 6 feet. I have been in my condo building’s laundry room and other residents have come in without masks. I have seen people inviting friends into their homes.

I’m sure there are a variety of explanations as to why people interpret the risks and the remedies differently in this moment.

First, people might not understand the reasons for the regulations. When various levels of our government contradict one another and the science about this disease is so new, it is easy for all of us to be confused. Second, people might understand the reasons, but might think those reasons don’t apply to them. Young adults and teenagers, especially, might think, “Most young people who contract the virus don’t get that sick. I’m not afraid.”

Third, people might understand the reasons and the risks, but might be getting tired of it — people want to

go back to “normal.”

All of these ideas resonate with me.

There are many, many moments when I am confused by conflicting news or when I just want to go back to how life was before.

But the fact is, we can’t go back. We must go forward, and the way forward will involve many new habits. This is especially true because we cannot get through this crisis by “toughing it out” or “buckling down.” Since we can carry the virus without showing symptoms for a long time, or maybe without ever showing significant symptoms, we must all act as if we are carriers.

I might have COVID-19 right now. So might you.

We just don’t know. We must act like we have it and take action to protect those around us.

I am by no means perfect.

I don’t always wear a mask when I am out for a run. I have dallied in conversation with a neighbor and let myself get closer than the recommended distance.

None of us is going to be perfect, and we don’t need to be. But we do need to adjust our expectations and live into this new way of being. It is not what we are used to, but it is what is necessary.

Wearing your mask is not an act of fear, it is an act of hope. It says, “I believe that I can take some action to protect your health, and I should.” It says, “I am willing to inconvenience myself to safeguard your life.” It says, “I believe we can be better and that we are better together.”

Let’s all live into this new life together.

Jim Schwartz is an Oak Park resident, an educator, and a blogger at Entwining. org.

JIM

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

SCHWARTZ

Editor and Publisher Dan Haley

One View

A community filled with kindness Each spring, Beyond Hunger, formerly Oak Park-River Forest Food Pantry, relies on the Can Do Community Challenge to help raise critical funds to feed hungry neighbors.

This year, we worried. Would community members, concerned for their own financial health be able to help? Would we be able to continue to support our programs?

We are grateful and proud to report that our community rallied — and how.

We have seen inspiring involvement across the board. School competitions raised more than any previous year, over $30,000 and still counting. Businesses, new and established, put the needs of others at the top of their ledgers. Congregations meeting virtually kept the hungry in their prayers and their collection plates. Individuals dug deep to help those in need. By the end of the Can Do Community Challenge, our worries were put to rest. The $100,000 goal was surpassed

by 50 percent and we received a $25,000 match from the Challenge Corp.

We’ve been moved to tears by personal efforts big and small. Notes on donations mentioned a gift being made because someone mowed a lawn, made a mask, taught others to bake bread, or provided a birthday sign. People used their birthdays to host social media fundraisers. Backyard Family Marathons and Miles for Meals Fitness Challenges. Students creating cookbooks. So many notes of encouragement.

It’s humbling to be included in such breathtaking acts of kindness. We all feel wrapped in the arms of community care.

We know there is an avalanche of need still coming.

But more than ever we also know that we are strong together.

Thank you.

Michele Zurakowski

Executive director, Beyond Hunger

Senior Editor Bob Uphues Staff Reporters Michael Romain, Stacey Sheridan, Maria Maxham Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Sports/Staff reporter James Kay Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, John Hubbuch, May Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger, Stan West, Linda Francis Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designers Mark Moroney, Javier Govea Business Manager Joyce Minich Advertising Design Manager Andrew Mead Advertising Designers Debbie Becker, Mark Moroney Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Advertising Sales Marc Stopeck Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner 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.

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

V I E W P O I N T S

Speak up, you never know Spring has arrived along with the robins, daffodils, tulips, and the gas-powered leaf blowers, the latter being less desirable than the others.

While we’re waiting for the village board to take broad and decisive action on regulating gas leaf blowers, we have another option.

Our landscaper’s first visit to our condo building produced a pollution storm of noise and fumes. When our Landscape Committee

chair texted the owner, his immediate reply was that his workers would use the battery blowers in the future. It was that easy. Who would have thought he had battery blowers!

Sure, there is still noise, and batteries need electricity to be charged, but the environmental impact appears to be much less.

So try it yourself. If you have a landscaper, express your preference. Just speak up.

Elaine D. Johnson Oak Park

The world turned upside-down The last two months have turned parenting upside down. Prior to the pandemic, parents were entering a groove as children steadied themselves in their school work, summer camp schedules were posted and parents pounced immediately to sign up for coveted slots, and preparations were underway for spring vacation.

The speed and gravity of the coronavirus and its effects on the human body led parents across the country to retreat immediately as news of exponential deaths in urban hot spots like New York, Chicago, and Seattle spread quickly. During this lockdown, our children are at home while we also work from home, and for essential workers, most have to find someone else to look after their children while they serve on the ground.

There are many funny memes, cartoons

and comedy sketches parodying this upsidedown world in which parents are monitoring their child’s e-learning while also attending their own Zoom meetings in shared spaces, dressed differently from their everyday work world and all of us behaving in more authentic and brutally real ways with our co-workers.

As we log onto social media, we are seeing examples of phenomenal parenting during the quarantine: parents baking healthy organic bread with their children, finishing off a thousand-piece puzzle together at the uncluttered den table, riding bikes throughout the neighborhood with their face masks on, and celebrating birthdays with homemade cakes and drive-by cheers from friends and family.

Samina Hadi Hadi-Tabassum Oak Park

Don’t forget, adults love to swim too!

It is understandable that Jan Arnold and other Oak Park recreation decisionmakers are wrestling with what recreation programming is possible and what park facilities can be open this summer.

I’d like to put in a plug for the local adult swimmers (ages 18-90). Like Oak Park kids, we too look forward to our three-plus

months of outdoor swimming. We promise to follow social-distancing guidelines as we swim laps in our lovely chlorinated pools.

Thanks for all you do.

FRANCIS

most likely, won’t be easy or come without sacrifice; but the fruit of what they will yield should be worth the work and the sacrifice.

We can’t be afraid to introduce new information into our decisions. The knowledge and evidence exists to inform us about how people thrive and respond.

Letting go of some of our less productive efforts may be precisely what is needed to get the desired results.

I’m really excited about working with my various team members in crafting new roads toward our desired visions for what our schools, religious institutions and community organizations can be for our community members. It gives me great hope for the “community we can be” on the other side of this pandemic.

from page 23 This will tell us who we really are and not just how we wish to be seen. I sat in a committee meeting several years ago listening to a report on yet another year of Courageous Conversations among staff. I said, somewhat jokingly, that I would throw my shoe at the presenter if the next year’s presentation was the same for the sixth year.

This was an example of actions without purpose. What do we believe should be the experience of youth and adults in our schools? What behaviors do we expect of the adults and youth? And what will we do to ensure that it happens? The actions,

Susan Stall

Active Adult Advisory Committee Park District of Oak Park

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Hephzibah never stops caring

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nnumerable articles have been published regarding the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have included “before and after” satellite images of city streets, parks, and tourist attractions that were once crowded and are now empty. The satellites that have captured these images have also sailed over a building in Oak Park that predates them all.

This building, in the shape of an H when seen from above, houses the children at Hephzibah Children’s Association’s therapeutic residence, who are cut off from the outside world during the COVID-19 crisis. It has been weeks since they have been able to see teachers and friends, spend time with volunteers, visit with family members, or participate in outings.

This sort of isolation is difficult for anyone, but it is particularly hard on young children who are trying to heal from past trauma. The staff at the group home has been working overtime to keep the children there active and engaged, and has quickly adjusted to support the children in their care, offering one-on-one educational aid to navigate e-learning goals every morning and providing creative and engaging activities every afternoon.

Hephzibah has also continued to work hard to support children who are at risk of abuse in their own homes. The Family-Based Services team is conducting more than 60 home visits each month for children who are forced to shelter-in-place with families that were already at risk for abusive behaviors prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Working with families at risk and keeping children safe in unstable environments is complicated work

under normal circumstances, and it becomes exceptionally difficult during a pandemic, when special (and expensive) safety measures must be implemented and many families are under additional strain as a result of lost incomes.

Hephzibah case workers continue to assist these families and to rally financial support for essentials such as rent payments and food in an effort to reduce some of the stressors that can lead to abuse.

Hephzibah case workers are also busy conducting weekly phone and video check-ins with the families they support, helping foster children stay connected to their siblings by facilitating virtual family visits, and helping families engage in fun activities with their children.

Because of all of the extra work needed to support and protect the children and families they serve during COVID-19, Hephzibah’s staff members are putting in more hours, delaying retirements, and putting themselves at risk for serious illness. They are also stretching the resources available to them as far as they possibly can and coming up with strategies for doing more with less.

Their unwavering dedication is making the difference between security and jeopardy for Hephzibah’s children and families.

At a time when everything seems so uncertain, Hephzibah’s commitment to caring doesn’t change.

Hephzibah has set up a COVID Emergency Relief Support page on its website. Those interested can go to: https://www.hephzibahhome.org/covid-emergency-relief-support.

Beth Cannon is the communications lead for the Hephzibah Auxiliary Board.

VERNON

mit to their demands because they are armed.

This surely is a threatening and hateful way to operate a democracy.

We don’t hear of valor and inspiration on a daily basis from many of the areas we depend on each day — not in business, not in politics, not in problem-solving during this pandemic.

We are only seeing inspiration in the care the finest of America’s medical professionals are admirably providing for their patients during the epidemic. They shouldn’t have the burden of being the only heroes in American society at this difficult time. What good is it if we are the wealthiest nation in the world but we are not the most moral nation in the world? What an unforgiveable fail that would be!

There is a crisis going on in America, an emergency that has been going on for generations. It is more invisible than global warming, more invisible than unemployment, more invisible than housing or health care.

It is seen glaringly in the words and actions of the Hater Culture. This is most visible when an innocent person lies dead at the hands of the haters. It remains to be seen if anyone is going to do anything about this state of affairs in the United States.

That anyone is each and every one of us.

BETH

CANNON One View

from page 23 a public health crisis unable to be cured by public health agencies enlisting the help of social workers, psychologists, and other social scientists; and career criminals, unable to be stopped and unmoved by the efforts of religious leaders.

No one seems to have the answers. And in the truest sense of the narcissistic anthropocentric nature of American thinking, nothing has been done to interfere with Americans who have an inordinate attachment to their weapons and lobby for protection of the rights of guns to kill people, rather than the rights of citizens to live. Those Second Amendment folks and their fierce need to own weapons, recently had the need to strut their guns and machine guns in a threatening fashion at state capitol buildings, seemingly bullying politicians and common people with their domination displays at the rallies which seemed to be a demonstration, an effort, to emotionally blackmail leaders and citizens to impress observers that everyone better sub-

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

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Put greater focus on eLearning going forward

s a Lincoln Elementary School parent, I have been invested in the recent departure of the principal and the subsequent aftermath that entailed. I attended the district meetings as well as Reesheda Graham Washington’s update to the parents on Feb. 26.

I agree there is a culture and climate crisis at Lincoln. I also agree we need to look at Lincoln through an equity lens. But as I read through the agenda and the meeting notes of the May 12 district meeting, some of the topics covered were culture, asbestos, and landscaping. There was no mention of perhaps the most current struggle to address — eLearning.

Hiring a consultant to lay a plan for culture and climate is not what Lincoln, nor any school, should invest in right now.

We need a plan now to address the 2020-21

school year. I cannot foresee any situation for the next school year that does not involve eLearning, whether it’s full-time, blended, part-time, etc. The culture and climate of Lincoln is not what currently goes on in the physical building. The culture and climate should now be the students at home with their parents working with the teachers and administrators who have laid out the eLearning plan to help achieve student outcomes for the upcoming school year.

Whether the COVID crisis extends into 2020-21, eLearning is the investment we need now. We need the resources to fully prepare the teachers, students, and parents for success. My child’s teacher is doing an amazing job, and I hear similar feedback from other Lincoln parents about other

teachers. However, there appears to be no consistency.

Some teachers are doing more video conferencing, and some are focusing more on activities.

If we need to extend eLearning in our district, we need a consistent virtual climate, as well as consistent resources. Some families were not prepared with the necessary equipment. We need a plan now to provide families with the essential items to execute eLearning.

Regardless of the pandemic, we need an eLearning solution implemented in our schools. It was very disheartening and embarrassing to start eLearning with nothing in hand. Providing students with tablets and implementing a Learning Management System in the school should seem like a given these days. If students are unable

RYAN

ANDERSON One View

Park district wants opportunity for all

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rowing up and living in Oak Park for the last 55 years, I have seen many changes but one constant has been the park district, which has consistently fulfilled Oak Park’s vision of being an inclusive community by bringing together residents of all races and economic background.

One characteristic of my family experiences at the park district is that its activities brought together residents from throughout the village.

This is possible because programs are affordable, and the district scholarship program provides $70,000 in funds each year. The district provides equitable access to recreational programming for all of our residents and reflects our village’s values of strength in diversity.

The park district is able to do this because it is a good steward of our tax dollars and its long-range planning — most notably, the construction of the Gymnastic and Recreation Center (GRC) and the Ridgeland Common Complex (RCC) have been revenue generators because of expanded programming. Annually, the GRC and RCC generated $2.7 million and contributed $700,000 to the capital fund. These funds pay for capital costs and offset the costs of programs.

Fifty percent of the park district’s budget comes from program revenues. Effects of the pandemic forced the closing of parks and elimination of programs, so half of the budget has suddenly disappeared. The district retained all employees on the payroll for three weeks after the shutdown began because it cares about its team. Unfortunately, with no program income and no budget relief, 262 part-time and seven full-time employees were furloughed. Since the park district is self-insured, it is continuing to pay 60 percent of the furloughed employees’ wages while they receive an additional $600/ week from the Federal Cares Act. Eligible employees are also keeping their health insur-

ance.

The park district is still looking to the future. Before the pandemic shut everything down, the district used capital funds — not operating funds — to contract with an A&E firm to begin plans for the Community Recreation Center (CRC). Developing plans and having a shovel ready project makes the CRC eligible for DECO Grant funds.

The estimated cost for the CRC is $25 million, of which $20 million is targeted to be raised by private donations through efforts by the Parks Foundation, run by volunteers who care deeply about Oak Park and its residents. The remaining $5 million will come from the district’s capital fund, supported by facility revenue generation.

The CRC is important because it ensures that every Oak Park resident can access recreational enrichment opportunities to nurture their mind, body, and spirit. Oak Park’s diverse collection of families presents different recreation and fitness needs, and although Oak Park enjoys many park district services and amenities local residents lack access to a gymnasium, fitness facility, indoor walking track, or multi-generational community center that serves families and individuals, including our growing senior population. The CRC will provide a safe place for middle-school students after school to do homework, obtain tutoring, play basketball and other sports.

The need to provide affordable adult fitness opportunities, as well as additional space to support team and individual sport endeavors is very real in our community. This facility will fill a void and extend affordable recreational services to Oak Park’s diverse population, reach underserved residents, and help strengthen our community bonds.

Vic Guarino is an Oak Park resident who served as a park district commissioner.

VICTOR GUARINO One View

to make it to school during normal conditions, we should not rely on asking teachers for work. eLearning should be a necessity whether we are in a pandemic or not.

I do understand that not all children do well with eLearning, but some children don’t do well in the traditional classroom. Yet we should be honest here: We may not have a choice for anything but eLearning.

So let’s take that $250/hour that was proposed by the third-party consultant to investigate the culture and climate and use it to hire curriculum experts to lay out a plan.

Let’s use that $43,000 landscape budget to investigate a blended learning culture within the district. Our school’s future landscape will not be built upon green grass and gardens. Our future landscape needs to be built upon providing our parents and teachers the skills to equip the students to succeed during our current crisis.

The selfishness of ‘King Trump’ Dear friends, How can we have such a dichotomy of goals within our nation? Here in River Forest, the leadership and the villagers are focused on helping each other — human life has great value — regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, or race. As a young student, I remember an expression I was taught, “If you save one human life, you have begun to save the world.”

This expression has been abandoned in this 2020 world of the coronavirus. Instead, a totally selfish viewpoint seems to prevail, frequently expressed by our U.S. leadership and “King Trump”! The emphasis is placed on hurriedly “opening America.” Damned are those humans who are dispensable, the sickly, the elderly, the immigrants, and the people of color and the poor.

King Trump recently announced to the nation that some folks will die, but many others will get back to work. I assume that it is therefore accepted that workers infect-

ed by this raging virus, possibly infecting others, and even dying, is a sacrifice worth taking.

Patience and a wisely planned opening of our nation is not acceptable under this administration because the numbers of unemployed must be lessened in order to possibly re-elect the greedy, narcissistic and power mad “King Trump.”

Our local goal of saving life is in direct opposition to the views of our national leadership. Perhaps my view is the warped one, but this is how I see my world. I thank our village’s small footprint in the midst of the giant selfish stomp of our nation.

P.S. I address our president as “King” because he has disregarded our Constitution, its guidance and rules of law, and he has also tried to abolish any law, good or bad, set forth by the Obama administration and past previous administrations.

The life force

There’s no controlling the unfolding Of leaves on the trees.

The magnolia is in bloom.

And children are an astounding year older And radically changed.

Spring is starting and the life force Responds to the sun As do we: Our hearts are lifted As we lift our faces to feel those rays.

The plants have an inner wisdom: They know just what to do To make their leaves and flowers.

We can only admire and enjoy Life.

Joanne Selden Oak Park

Harriet Hausman River Forest

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

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O B I T U A R I E S

Mary Philbin, 97 Catholic education supporter

Mary Duggan Philbin died on April 16, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, after a brief illness. Like all the corona victims, she was much more than a line in a death notice.

Born on May 26, 1922, she grew up on Mayfield Avenue in the Austin neighborhood, and attended St. Catherine of Siena grade school.

Her parents, John and Bernadine Duggan, were Chicago Public School teachers. The friends Mary made “on her tricycle” were still friends eight decades later, as were her friends from Trinity High School, from which she graduated in 1939.

Mary attended Chicago Teachers MARY PHILBIN College, but on the day she graduated in 1943, she went straight to apply for a job with United Airlines. She was a stewardess for 10 years and traveled the world.

In 1951, Mary became the first woman to serve as chief of Stewardess Service for United Airlines for the Chicago Region, until she was forced to retire from that position after her marriage in 1953, due to what was then airline policy — married women could not fly.

In 1953, at St. Catherine of Siena Church, the world traveler married the boy-next-door, John Fay Philbin — her Austin neighbor, Chicago Teacher’s College classmate, and her brother Jack’s best friend. Soon after, Mary and John moved into Oak Park’s Ascension Parish. In 1963, they moved to East Avenue and St. Edmund Parish.

They were both deeply committed to their Catholic faith and spent years volunteering for the Cana Conference and the Christian Family Movement, through which they made many cherished friends.

They were staunch supporters of Catholic education, sending all seven children through Catholic grade school (Ascension and St. Edmund) and high school (Trinity and Fen-

wick). Mary created a welcoming home that served as a refuge, snack bar, playroom, and gathering place to celebrate all manner of occasions.

The Philbins were actively involved in the Oak Park community, where John served a term as village president after retiring from a career with the Archdiocese of Chicago.

They were married for 59 years, until his death in 2012.

When age began to creep up on her (slightly!) she moved into St. Mary’s Home in Lincoln Park. She was always in-the-know regarding whatever was happening in the lives of her loved ones, and she kept up on current events.

The staff at St. Mary’s cared for her expertly during all the years she was a resident. Her generous spirit lives on and inspires those who remember her warmth, humor and kindness.

Mary is survived by her children, Mimi (Dave) Carlson, Marianne (Lloyd Sachs) Philbin, John (Gail) Philbin, Joseph (Cindy) Philbin, Madeleine Philbin, Meg (Marcus) McKinley, and James (Margo) Philbin; her grandchildren, Maggie, Alex, Laura, Elizabeth, Matt, John, Clare, Willa, Martha, Genevieve, Lucy, Chloe and Rose; and she was the aunt and great-aunt of many. Her brothers, John B. “Jack” Duggan and Rev. J. Edward “Bud” Duggan, preceded her in death.

Private interment was held at Queen of Heaven Cemetery. A memorial Mass will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Edmund Church in Oak Park or Little Sisters of the Poor-St. Mary’s Home in Chicago.

Mitzi Monroe, 91 Human relations professional

Mary (Mitzi) Monroe (nee Clausius), 91, formerly of Oak Park and Winnetka, died on May 16, 2020.

Before retirement, she was a human relations professional at Vance Publishing and The Million Dollar Round Table.

Mitzi was the wife of the late Stuart Monroe, mother of Kathy (Bruce) Hansen, Bill

(Carol) Johnson, and John (Yeanette) Johnson; grandmother of Erica Geil, Adam Hansen, Jennifer Thornton, Christine Kramer and Christopher Johnson; and great-grandmother of five. She was preceded in death by her MITZI MONROE siblings, June Loskill, George Clausius Jr., Marcia Anderson and Betty Walton.

Services were private.

Donations in honor of Mitzi may be made to the Children’s Heart Foundation (childrensheartfoundation.org), Northbrook, Illinois, or the charity of your choice.

Thomas Zimmerman, 41 Musician and medical student

Thomas William Zimmerman, 41, of River Forest died peacefully on May 13 2020. Loved by many, more importantly, he loved many. An innovative musician, writer, future physician, true intellectual, and lead driver THOMAS ZIMMERMAN of the Motorcade of Love, his heart had no barriers, and his friendship knew no bounds. He faced his illness with bravery, and humility, leaving this world on his own terms.

Born on Aug. 31, 1978, he spent his early years in Bloomingdale, Illinois, before moving to River Forest. He graduated from OPRF in 1996, Northwestern University in 2000, and attended Rosalind Franklin University Medical School for three years, leaving to fight liver disease. An avid guitarist and powerful songwriter, he performed with the John Barry Suggestion and The Interociter, playing lead

Robert P. Gamboney Funeral Director

Read Step 1. le . Recyc Step 2

guitar and doing vocals in Chicago venues.

He had a lifelong love of reading, and Chicago professional sports teams provided energetic diversions and discussions with friends. He cheered the Chicago Cubs to a World Series, the 1985 Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl, the Jordan years with the Bulls, and the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups. He scanned pet rescue internet sites to find the neediest cats and dogs to adopt.

“Tom was a front man for a band and pursuing a medical degree,” recalled Colin Jensen.

“I couldn’t reconcile that a guy so smart and so funny could actually be good at so many different things.”

“As great as the music was, so were the drives to Oak Park, grabbing greasy food before and after shows, meeting up at Rose’s and the Rip Tide Lounge, and general mayhem all around,” said Sam Grossman. “Tom always had the keen ability to steer you away from anything remotely phony and remind you to like what you liked.”

“My heart is heavy, but even after all these years since the days at Willard, when I think of Tom, I see him playing his guitar at some late night hour, eyes closed contentedly, a curled smile on his face,” added Taruna Madhav-Crawford.

Tom Zimmerman was preceded in death by his grandparents, Edward and Helen Zimmerman and Fred and Nancy Simon, and uncles Eddie Zimmerman and Bobby Simon. He is survived by his parents, Robert (Tobert) and Leslie Zimmerman of River Forest; sister and best friend Amy Zimmerman; nephew Andrew Zimmerman; brother-in-law Ryan Auerbach; uncles John Zimmerman, Joey Zimmerman, Lee Worthy, Jim Provines, Bruce Simon, David Simon, Jerry Simon, Danny Simon, Mike Simon, Mike Groves, and Eddie Simon; aunts Pam Zimmerman, Marguerite Simon, Karen Simon, Donna Kampner, Alison Simon, Mary Simon, and Chris Simon; and many cousins and second cousins.

A celebration of Tom’s life is planned for a safer and later date. Memorials in Tom’s memory can be made to the Chicagoland Food Depository, the American Red Cross, or Cavalier Rescue Midwest (cavalierrescuemidwest.org).

A special thanks from Tom’s family to Journeycare Chicago.

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Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

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This ofďŹ ce is perfect for a physician, anesthetist, masseuse, and/or acupuncturist. Space is available immediately. Please contact us for pricing and to schedule a tour of the ofďŹ ce.

Ask for NikI. 708-613-4417 Nikimoreno33@gmail.com

ITEMS FOR SALE FOR SALE - HOME MEDICAL EQUIPMENT Used, as is, cash and carry Wheel chairs, walker, cane, shower bench, commode, hospital bed, power chair, adult tricycle Call Jerry (708) 848-4611 LENOX CHINA 5 piece place settings Lenox china, Tuxedo pattern IRISH CARDIGAN Men’s size large.

WATERFORD GLASSES Colleen pattern, 2 water goblets, 2 wine glasses, 5 double old-fashioned glasses 708-386-6160 PATIO/DECK CHAIRS/OTTOMAN New� Patio/Deck Chairs/Ottoman Dk.Brown Wicker,� 3 Matching Sets, ““Beautiful $300.00 for Everything!!!!!

708-220-0881 WALL SCONCES 1PAIR Stainless Steel/Frost Glass Globe Sconce Wall Lights for the Bathroom/Hallway. $100 for pair.

708-220-0881

ITEMS TO BE GIVEN AWAY HOSPITAL BED You pick up.

708-485-0929

WANTED TO BUY 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.

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

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

PETS While you’re away, your pets are okay . . . at home

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

524-1030

CEMENT Residential Commercial Industrial Licensed Bonded Insured Free Estimates ¡ Veteran Owned

Drives Walks Patios Stamped Concrete Curbs/Gutters Garage Floors Foundations Parking Lots Water Control

devegaconcrete.com ¡ 708-945-9001

MAGANA

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

COMMERCIAL ˜ INDUSTRIAL ˜ RESIDENTIAL

708.442.7720 '5,9(:$<6 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 Ceiling Fans Installed

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors â&#x20AC;˘ Home Re-wiring â&#x20AC;˘ New Plugs & Switches Added â&#x20AC;˘ 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

ELECTRICAL

HANDYMAN

FOUR SEASONS ELECTRIC

Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home Repair

â&#x2DC;&#x2026;Cool your Homeâ&#x2DC;&#x2026; with Ceiling Fans!

Installing Ceiling Fans Rewiring Old Houses Service Upgrades

Reasonable Pricing & Free Estimates

â&#x20AC;˘ No Job Too Big or Too Small â&#x20AC;˘ Lic * Bonded * Ins * 24 hrs

708-445-0447

FLOORS

KLIS FLOORING INC.

New hardwood ďŹ&#x201A;ooring installation & pergo. Sanding, re-ďŹ nishing, staining. Low prices, insured.

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

GARAGE DOORS Our 73rd Year

Garage Doors &

Smart Door Openers

Sales & Service Free Estimates

Illinois Classified Advertising Network WANTED TO BUY

FREON WANTED: We pay CA$H for cylinders and cans.

R12 R500 R11 R113 R114. Convenient. Certified Professionals.

Call 312-598-1758 or visit RefrigerantFinders.com

3 Great Papers, 6 Communities

(708) 652-9415 www.forestdoor.com

HANDYMAN CURT'S HANDYMAN SERVICE Drywall Repair â&#x20AC;˘ Painting Fans Installed â&#x20AC;˘ Carpentry Trim Gutter Cleaning â&#x20AC;˘ Window Repair

FREE ESTIMATES Excellent References No Job Too Small

708-488-9411

Lost & Found and To Be Given Away ads run free in Wednesday Classified.

To place your ad, call 708-613-3342

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

773-637-0692 Ask for John

HAULING BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery. 708-848-9404

HEATING / AIR CONDITIONING HEATING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Furnaces, Boilers and Space Heaters Refrigerators Ranges â&#x20AC;˘ Ovens Washer â&#x20AC;˘ Dryers Rodding Sewers Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

CLASSIFIED LANDSCAPING Evergreen trimming & more.

Hand weed removal.

Clean-ups.

Call 24 hrs.

SureGreenLandscape�com

Attention Home-Improvement Pros!

In print • Online • Available to you 24/7/365

OakPark.com | RiverForest.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com

708.749.0011

PLASTERING

Mulch & Topsoil

847-888-9999 •• 630-876-0111 630-876-0111 847-888-9999

Public Notice: Your right to know

Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

FAST DELIVERY

Topsoil, Garden Mix, Mushroom, Super Mix, Compost, Gravel, Sand

Let the sun shine in...

CLASSIC PAINTING

708-447-1762

Premium Shredded Hardwood ���������������$20/yd Dyed Red/Brown �������$28/yd Playmat��������������������$28/yd Triple Brown �������������$28/yd Premium Blend Dark �$34/yd Premium Bark Fines��$42/yd Blonde Cedar ������������$48/yd • Spreading Available! •

(708) 613-3333 • FAX: (708) 467-9066 • E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@OAKPARK.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@RIVERFOREST.COM

PAINTING & DECORATING

NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN UP

McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

Licensed, Bonded, Insured, & EPA Certified Expert craftsmanship for over 50 years

ROOFING

MIDWEST ROOFING

Reach your target demographic.

Place an ad in Wednesday Classifieds! Call 708/613-3342

All Types of Roofing Repairs Shingles, Hot Mop, Torchdown • Free Estimates

773-637-0692

PPE

PUBLIC NOTICES OAK PARK TOWNSHIP NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to legal voters, residents of the Township of Oak Park, in the County of Cook, State of Illinois, that Public Hearings on the Tentative Town Fund, General Assistance Fund, and Community Mental Health Fund Budgets for Fiscal Year 2021, will be held at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2020, at the Oak Park Township Hall, 105 S. Oak Park Ave., in the Township of Oak Park. To request a copy of the Tentative Budgets named above for review, call Township Hall at 708-383-8005 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. A digital version of the Tentative Budgets is available at www.oakparktownship.org.

Oral and written comments concerning these proposed annual budgets are welcome.

All interested citizens, groups, senior citizens and organizations representing the interests of senior citizens are encouraged to attend.

Oak Park Township does not discriminate on the basis of handicapped status in the admission or access to, or employment in its programs or activities. Those needing special accommodations are asked to provide 48 hours notice.

Given under my hand in the Town of Oak Park, County of Cook, State of Illinois, the 14th day of May, 2020.

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION US BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST; Plaintiff, vs.

LORNA J. RANKER; CHARLES K. RANKER; CITIZENS BANK NA; Defendants, 18 CH 2459 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 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. 16-17-327-034-0000.

Commonly known as 1185 S. LOMBARD AVE., OAK PARK, IL 60304.

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 Mr. Ira T. Nevel at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Law Offices of Ira T. Nevel, 175 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606.

(312) 357-1125. 18-04613 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3150861

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. 15-10-431-012-0000.

Commonly known as 830 South 16th Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153.

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 Law Clerk at Plaintiff’s Attorney, The Wirbicki Law Group, 33 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603. (312) 3609455. W19-0247 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3150866

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION AM SOLUTIONS LLC; Plaintiff, vs.

ARIEL CHAPMON; TAJ CHAPMON; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 19 CH 7196 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 at the

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

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

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

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

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark • Forest Park Review

Gregory P. White Oak Park Township Clerk PLEASE NOTE: As of this time, it is uncertain whether the Governor’s ban on public gatherings will be lifted by June 23. Please visit the Township website at www.oakparktownship.org after June 16, or call us at 708-3838005. If the hearing is virtual due to continuation of the Governor’s orders, information will be posted on the website for participation Published in Wednesday Journal 5/20/2020

 www.OakPark.com RiverForest.com 

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICE On Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 9:00 a.m., Oak Park Elementary School District 97 will be conducting a “timely and meaningful consultation” meeting to discuss 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 2020-2021 school year. The meeting will be held virtually through Zoom. The details are listed below.

If you are a parent/guardian of a home-schooled student who has been or may be identified with a disability, and you reside within 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 District 97’s Department of Special Education at 708-524-3030.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86139115281?pwd=d0JEOXd3TWNQM0hUK3BQVUcxZWJFZz09 Meeting ID: 861 3911 5281 Password: 0ZwbeE One tap mobile +13126266799,,86139115281#,,1#,572874# US (Chicago) +16465588656,,86139115281#,,1#,572874# US (New York) Meeting ID: 861 3911 5281 Password: 572874 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kWgFpTfxu

31

Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

local employees = happy employees!

Hire Local. Place an ad

on the Journal’s Local Online Job Board.

Go to RiverForest.com/classified today!

Published in Wednesday Journal 5/13 and 5/20/2020

Starting a New Business?

Call the experts before you place your legal ad! Publish your assumed name legal notice here.

Call Mary Ellen for details: 708/613-3342

Contact Mary Ellen Nelligan for more information.

(708) 613-3342 • classifieds@RiverForest.com

32

Wednesday Journal, May 20, 2020

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Join Us in Celebrating the 2020 Seniors Over 60!

Since 1963 in the United States, May has been designated Older Americans Month.

And every year since 2011, this has also been the month when we have held Celebrating Seniors Week to celebrate, recognize and raise funds for older adults in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park who have displayed grace, caring, compassion, fortitude and resiliency in bettering our quality of life.

However, like so much in our society, this year will be different

because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Celebrating Seniors Week, a series of educational, entertaining and other activities, will be held at a to-be-

determined later date, based on recommendations from health officials and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

Meanwhile, please join us in recognizing and applauding this

year’s Celebrating Seniors Over 60 Class. We thank these people from Forest Park, Oak Park and River Forest who have made significant contributions to our communities and quality of life!

Joy Aaronson

Vickie Engelhardt

Jim Kelly

Theodore Ratajczyk

Sam Vaccaro

Ceal Bacom

Josette Feingold

Terry Kinsey

Phyllis Rubin

Ken Wahlstrom

Mary Bellile

Karen Glass

Judith McDevitt

Susan Scherer, MD

Ruby Whitaker

Dennis Bonner

Robert Glass

John McDonnell

Albert Sora

Carolyn Williams

Linda Bonner

Nancy Greco

Sheila McDonnell

Hyunchoo (Judy) Sora

Roger Wilson

Mary Anne Brown

Kathleen Haney

Jean Meister

Muriel Sweeney

Etta Worthington

Delilah Chan

Bill (Butch) Holmes

Bill Moy

Janice Thomas

Celine Woznica

Wendy Chiang

Phyliss Pendleton Howard

Mike O’Connor

John Tibensky

Don Woznica

Janet Cushing

George Isdale

Barbara Pendleton

Linda Tibensky

Bill Young

Mark Eggerding

Rich Jung

Wallace Pendleton

Barbara Vaccaro

Thomas Zurowski

The Celebrating Seniors Coalition: • Fosters collaboration between the business community, government agencies and non-profit organizations to help the senior population.

• Raises public awareness of issues affecting seniors.

• Promotes senior groups and organizations that serve persons 60 and older.

• Raises money to support at-risk and vulnerable elders.

Learn more about our history, past honorees and how you can get involved: www.CelebratingSeniors.net