Wednesday Journal 060524

Whether

Dan Browne, OPRF AlumFred Arkin, OPRF Alum

Congratulations, Class of 2024

Produced in partnership with Oak Park and River Forest High School. Special thanks to Karin Sullivan

Editor Erika Hobbs

Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead

Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea

Designer Susan McKelvey

Sales and Marketing Representatives

Lourdes Nicholls, Ben Stumpe

Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan

Digital & Development Stacy Coleman

Circulation Manager Jill Wagner

Publisher Dan Haley HOW TO REACH US

141 S. Oak Park Ave. Oak Pak, IL 60302

Phone 708 524 8300

Fax 708 467 9066

Online www.OakPark.com Wednesday Journal is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. © 2024 Growing Community Media NFP.

As I said during commencement, rooted in the tradition of the diploma you have received is an obligation to pay it forward---to pay attention to those who will follow in your footsteps and challenge them to do so even better than you have done.

And that’s a tough task. To name just a few of your accomplishments: Among the graduates are 42 Scholarship Cup Recipients, 97 state qualifiers in 14 different sports, and 10 national merit finalists.

Almost 400 of you have taken more than 1,000 AP Exams, and collectively you’ve earned roughly $9.5 million in merit-based scholarships. Clearly…this is much to live up to.

As the rest of your class knows, though, these bold, very public accomplishments are really just the tip of the iceberg: Consider your accomplishments from the plays, concerts, spoken word performances, clubs and activities, athletics, academic competitions, service to our community, and many other ways that you’ve thrived while you’re here. And perhaps even more impressively, still others of you--

perhaps many of you--have struggled through personal obstacles in your pursuit of this diploma. In some cases, having the courage to work through those struggles is worthy of accolades far beyond what we offer our academic scholars and state champions.

As you set out to tackle life’s challenges, as you strike new ground and enter the world of adulthood, I challenge you to take seriously the legacy of this diploma, to hold in the highest regard those who follow in your footsteps, to challenge, support, and inspire them to exceed your accomplishments--even as you take a wellearned moment to reflect on your own.

With all best wishes, Dr. Greg Johnson Superintendent

Don’t Miss Our Current Exhibit of OPRF High School at 150 Open Wednesday-Saturday afternoons and by appointment for group or alumni tours

Join us at Oak Park River Forest Museum as we tell some of the many stories of OPRF High School in dramatic fashion with artifacts, spirit wear, photos, and the biographies of notable alumni--some you know and some who you SHOULD know more about!

The exhibit, “Ever Changing, Yet the Same: OPRF High School at 150,” is featured until the end of 2025! Learn more about the impact the high school has had on this community--and the wider world.

Questions? 708-848-6755 or oprfmuseum.org 129 Lake St., Oak Park, IL 60302

DR. GREG JOHNSON Superintendent

The Class of 1884

The Class of 2024

AAisha Abdallah

Ruben Acevedo

Nico Ackerman

Stella Ackerman

Janine Acosta

Henry Adams

Ryan Adelstein

Vilas Advani

Kasey Agnew

Giovanna Aguilar Ripley

Jenna Ahn

Leen Alaraj

Francesca Alesi

Jordan Alioto

Christian Allen

Margaret Allen

Esmihin Alwaeli

Emerson Amstutz

Horace Amusa

Alena Anderson

Donnell Anderson, Jr.

Isabelle Anderson

Phoenix Anderson

Charlotte Andersson

Mary Andolina

James Andrews

Xavier Anello

Ashley Anguiano

Ivy Apacible

Aaron Aquino

Peter Armstrong

Lyra Arvetis

Simone Arvetis

Ian Askham

Sophia Augustine

Willa Aumann

Hana Austin

Manuel Avalos

Ella Avrushin

Ilsu Ayaz

BMahani Badjie

Brady Bailitz

Emmett Baker

Marin Balaz

Marvin Ball, Jr.

Niaom’E Barnes

Miles Baron

Guinevan Barr

Malachi Barrett

Robert Bates

Claire Battoglia

Randy Bean, Jr.

Shane Beck

Lincoln Beecroft

Dion Beene

Nora Bekteshi

Leonid Beliaev

Maxwell Bennett

Cole Benson

Lucas Binning

Sofia Bishop

Talia Black

Joseph Block

Joseph Blonski

Easton Bogard

Dadria Bolen

Jacqueline Bollinger

Julian Borchardt

Elise Borel

Rebecca Bostwick

Katheryn Botero Saavedra

Abigail Boucher

Quinn Bozarth

Charles Brauckman

Eduardo Bravo

Ava Breitung

Sydney Brennan

Quinten Brigham

Tyler Brock

Katherine Brooker

Norah Brooker

Alex Brown

Ashley Brown

Avrie Brown

Imani Bryant

Rachel Buchta

Mia Burin

Connor Butler

Claire Butterly

CEstrella Cabrera

Corey Caffey

Catherine Cahill

Grace Cahill

Macy Callahan

OPRF 2024 GRADUATES

Charlotte Campbell

Noah Campbell

Diego Campos Ayala, Jr.

Margaret Carr

Madeline Case

Skyy Cast

Adriana Castillo Briones

Julia Casto

Jesus Cervantes

Calla Champaneri

Sameer Chand

Kevin Chavez

Xochitl Chavez

Marcus Cheeks

Cameron Chi

Emory Chien

Madison Chisley

Makenzie Chisley

Natalia Chlebek

Tessa Christman

Rachel Chung

Lindsay Chyna

Ascher Clark

Kai Coffee

Sydney Coligan

Aidan Collins

Kiera Collins

Riley Comstock

Cortez Cook

Vaughn Cooper

Jefferson Cordes

Omar Cornejo Torres

Natasha Cosgrove

Emma Costello Wollwage

Jaden Cousin

Arianna Cox

James Cozzi

Saniya Cross

Victoria Cross

Lucas Crossman

Christopher Cunningham

Fiona Cunningham

Justin Curry

Adam Curtis D

Elizabeth Dabney

Amelia Dalton

Ivy Darrow

Natalie Dauphinee

Isaac Davies

Brianne Davis

Donald Davis, Jr.

Kaelin Davis

Nathaniel Day

Sonja De Jong

Jaylene De La Torre

Gabriela De Santiago

Lincoln Dean

Samuel Debush

James Degnan, IV

Katya Deleon Terrazas

Sebastian Delgado

Sebastian Delgado

Neil Denhard

Eleanor Derks

Christian Desir

Mary Devitt

Sahiba Dhillon

Lillian Donarski

Bianca Donlin

Roan Doody

Adam Dubina

Audrey Dumelle

Eden Dunavan

Beatrice Dunbar

Ziana Dunlap

Gus Dwyer

Maya Dysico

Emily Eastman

Julia Eckman

Elliott Edwards

Edward Eggert

Dallis Ellis

Liana Elshareif

TODD A. BANNOR

EJanneke Engbers

Phil Epps, Jr.

Sarah Epshtein

Max Ernst

Tamera Erving

Israel Erwin, Jr.

Mariano Escobedo

Sary Espinoza

FNathan Falbo

Miles Fedowicz

Isaac Felder

Ines Feliciano

Sarah Fieser

Henry Fitz

Lilian Fitzgerald

Jalen Fitzpatrick

Meah Flodin

Samara Flowers

Sara Flynn

Gabriel Ford

Daniel-Jacob Fountain

Michael Fox

Hannah Franke

Ruby Franklin

Jack Fransen

Lillian Friesen

Astar Frye

Jevell Fuqua, Jr.

GGrace Gallagher

Amihan Garcia Gonzales

Isabell Garcia

Mateo Garcia

Kaden Garland

Isabella Garner

Jackson Garrett

Griffin Gee

Alison George

Raven Gibson

Shelby Giloth

Maxine Gimbel

Ashaiyt Givens

Aidan Goble

Jacob Goldberg

Deirdre Golla

Kevin Gordon

Matilda Gore

Luke Gotti

Asher Gottlieb

Anthony Govorunov

Xiomara Grachan

Jamese Graham

Evan Grant

Kaleb Gray

Samuel Gray

Jacob Green

Chloe Hernandez

Sebastian Hernandez

Anja Herrman

Addison Heskett

Aniyas Hill

Tracy Ho

Patrick Hoffman

Kieran Hogan

Samuel Hollenbach

Alie Homeric

Ella Homrok

Damita Hopkins

Daavion Howard

Justin Hsieh

Harmony Hubbard

Oliver Hug

Johnathan Hughes

Ella Hullinger

Seth Greenberg

Simon Gutierrez

HRobert Haagenson

Amya Hall

James Hall

Joseph Halper

Sam Halverson

Alexander Hamblin

Aria Hammerschmidt

Sean Hanley

Ian Hansen

Kashiah Harper

Lena Hartman

Michael Hartman

Persephone Hartrich

Nuraini Hassani

Samuel Hassler

Leo Haussmann

Jaden Havener

Taurus Hayes, Jr.

Jack Heflin

Declan Henderson

Javon Henderson

Zoe Hendrickson

Nevaeh Henry

Salome Henry

William Hepburn

Jacob Hern

Rachel Janosky

Alexander Janssen

Lilianna Jasinska

Afton Jennings

Isabella Jimenez

Hayden Jingst

Porter Jingst

Chloe Johnson

Daniel Johnson

Joy Johnson

Mya Johnson

Oscar Johnson

Katherine Johnston

Cameron Jones

Clifton Jones, Jr.

Justin Jones

Khyra Jones

Sylvia Jones

Amelia Hunkele

Shea Hunter

Matthew Hyman

IOctavia Ikard

Rudy Irvine Stindt

Alexander Irvine

Reed Iverson

Bethann Ivey

Aaliyah Ivy

JCole Jackson

Leyla Jackson

Sharee Jackson

Sophia Jozefczyk

KAlexandra Kahn

Mia Kamenski

Maysoon Karim

Sophia Keberlein

Ian Kedrowski

Daria Kelley

Maggie Kelley

Jude Kennedy

Danyl Kerr

Camron Khaledan

Natalia Kiessling

Elizabeth Kilburg

Miracle King

OPRF 2024 GRADUATES

Hayden Kirk

Cody Kirkpatrick

Ozgur Kirs

Connor Kitley

Keira Kleidon

Jackson Kluger

Winston Knicker

Jaliyah Knighten

Anderson Koch

Sidney Koe

Lily Koenig

Mary Koerner

Zachary Kohler

Aidan Komar

Camden Komar

Ava Konecki

Abraham Koransky

Patrick Kornowske

Caroline Korrison

Suzanne Kowalczyk

Bernard Krasinsky

Phyllis Kreiter

Elsie Kren

Wilson Kruse

Dylan Kruss

TODD A. BANNOR

OPRF 2024 GRADUATES

James Kruss

Lillian Kryger

Connor Kuehl

Maria Kunigk Bakalar

Patrick Kurrle

L

Scott Labarthe

Danisha Lamb

Jonathan Lambe

Lauren Landerman

Griffin Lane

Zachary Lane

Eris Lapat

Verona Larsen

Iman Lasalle

Imya Lasalle

Rashad Lawrence

Luke Lazzara

Mary Leavitt

Kate Lebling

Lane Ledogar

Faith Lee

Helen Lee

Lala Lema

Julia Leonard

Claire Lesiowski

Millea Lessin

Anthony Lewis

Katherine Lewis

Lindsey Libert

Tobias Liebermann

Matthew Liebl

Margaret Lillis

Drew Lingenfelter

Nathan Lintvelt

Pierson Lipschultz

George Liskiewitz

Carlo Lissuzzo

Henry Lloyd

Incoming Student Council President Caroline Vietzen and graduating Student Council President Ava Nicholson perform the Passing of the Axe ceremony at OPRF High Schools Commencement.

Angelica Lobaton

Molly Lock

Maxwell Lofgren

Gwenyth Lopez

Evan Louie

Brett Love, Jr.

Payton Lowenthal Wojcik

Bella Lubelchek

Antoine Lucas, Jr.

Avery Lucas

Angelina Luna

Garrett Lundgren

Anne Lynch

Teigan Macek

Jaylin Mack

Ieva Madison

Joseph Maggio

Charles Maguire

Konrad Mahler

Reese Major

Jasmyn Maldonado

Lilah Malik

Ashley Mandell

Henry Mann

Jenesis Manuel

Ezekiel Markley

Marcus Marquez, Jr.

Patrick Marron

Eli Mart

Belen Martinez

Salvador Martinez

Jake Matarazzo

Jaleah Mattox

Owen May

Jaidyn McBlackwell

Ainsley McConnell

Ashawna McCoy

Ella McGee

Elizabeth McGillen

Sylvia McGoldrick

Kevin McGovern

Liam McGovern

Ayden McKinney

Tyler McKnight

Declan McLaren

Daniel McNeilly, Jr.

Matthew Meagher

Ingrid Medgyesy

Esdras Medina Gamboa

Aaron Medley, Jr.

Dashel Meiners

Kathryn Meister

Hannah Mellman

Lillian Menconi

Samuel Mendez

Diego Mendoza

Riya Menon

Goran Metcalf

Malinda Meyer

Sylvia Meyer

Michael Michelotti

Anna Miller

Johane Miller

Lydia Missey

Malcolm Mitchell-Chablani

Benjamin Mitchell

Flynn Mitchell

Linus Mitchell

Naima Mitchell

Sadie Mitchell

Samuel Mitzenmacher

Violet Molony

Yaretzi Mondragon

Emilia Moore

Jack Moore

Kalik Moore

Reanna Moore

Gabriella Morales

Jane Moreno

Brian Morgan, Jr.

Christina Morgan

Eli Morgan

William Moroney

Kiara Morris

Tylun Morris

Lucas Morrison

Trinity Mosher

Margaret Moyar

Sebastian Mrotzek

Maura Mueller

Tristan Mullen

Matthew Munoz

Alivia Murphy

Angelique Murphy

Roan Murphy

Skyler Murray

Koan Muscarello

Kyle Muscarello

TODD A. BANNOR

WEDNESD AY

and River Forest

Local moms say, ‘Let em Play’

Group normalizes independence for kids in Oak Park

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

Gone are the days when neighborhood kids ran through backyards or rode their bikes through neighborhoods without a parent hovering nearby. Or, so it seems.

Local moms want to change that.

The vision of loosening parental oversight so kids can play more freely was the brainchild of a couple of Oak Park moms who said they saw the need to empower children to give them more independence, and to alter a cultural norm that has become restrictive to parents.

Elli Purtell, Sarah Gripshover, and Carrie Schwarz held the first meeting of the “Let Them Play Coalition” in early May, which more than 20 people attended.

Fenw ick’s Caity Barganski (arm raised) celebrates with her teammates a er defeating Nazareth 2-1 dur ing the Class 3A Benedictine University Super-Sectional, June 3, in Lisle. e Friars are advancing downstate for the second time in pr ogram history and the rst since 1998. Story on page 45. See LET THEM PLAY on pa ge 16

Teachers, parents say D97’s middle schools ‘are

not safe’

Administrators, acknowledging issues, say they are working to improve conditions

By HOPE BAKER Contributing Reporter

Parents and teachers say they are deeply concerned about safety and cell phone usage — amid a litany of other issues — at Percy Julian and Gwendolyn Brooks Middle Schools, and reinforced that message last week by holding small demonstrations at the Julian campus and directly addressing the District 97 School Board.

Their comments came at a tense board meeting last Tuesday.

Joel Blecha, a kindergarten teacher at Irving Elementary School who said he is also a parent of a sixth-grader at Julian said at the meeting that parents often receive emails from Julian about incidents of fighting and lockdowns.

“Everyone in this room can ag ree that we’ve got to do everything in our collective power to keep our children from becoming desensitized to violence,” he said. “Students and teachers need to feel safe.”

Hannah Boudreau, a social worker at Brooks, ag reed.

“Simply put, our middle schools are not safe,” she said.

Supt. Ushma Shah told Wednesday Journal in an email that Oak Park’s middle school experiences “must be universally excellent for all students.”

“To get to that vision,” she added, “our students must feel safe, engaged in robust learning, and supported to practice the skills they need in high school and beyond. All of us as school adults—administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, office staf f, custodians and others—are responsible to create the conditions for student success. Our district is committed to strengthening existing collaboration spaces and standing up new ones so that our values result in concrete actions.”

‘To ensure we are heard’

At the meeting, Boudreau explained students who engage in physical or verbal altercations are often just sent back to class.

“No consequences, no accountability, no

real restorative practices,” she said.

Boudreau added that she finds it concerning that if a suspension does happen to occur, attendance is frequently marked as a vacation or a mental health day.

“Why are we doing this?” she asked. “Are we intentionally doing this to alter our reporting numbers to ISBE? Are we putting our proverbial head in the sand and just pretending we don’t have an issue?”

Boudreau also said that the current Away for the Day cell phone policy, which was implemented at both middle schools in the fall of 2019, is great in theory but does not work.

“Why have the adults failed to make zero cell phone use a policy in our schools?” she said. “Why can’t we, like thousands of other districts globally, invest in locking pouches so students can be focused on learning and engaging with each other appropriately?”

Kelly Belmont, an educator at Brooks urged the Board to consider several changes, including smaller and more consistent class sizes, a consistent and comprehensive cell phone plan “that actually makes sense,” adding a third assistant principal, moving administrative staf f to office spaces throughout the middle school buildings, and enforcing the student code of conduct and handbook to accurately reflect behavioral consequences.

“School leadership must be seen by parents, students and teachers on a daily basis,” Belmont said. “We are your stakeholders and we are often overlooked.”

District spokeswoman Amanda Siegfried told Wednesday Journal that officials are taking a number of concrete steps to address the concerns as part of a broader, multi-year ef fort to redesign District 97 middle schools.

“We are definitely taking very seriously everything that everyone has been saying and I think we want to move forward in a positive and productive way to set the students up for success in 2024/2025,” she said.

Siegfried added that staf f members from

MIDDLE SCHOOLS on pa ge 16

Handyman Services

BIG WEEK

June 5-12

30th annual Oak Park and Forest Garden Walk

Sunday, June 23, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Oak Park - Riv

T he 30th annual Gar den Walk is a self-guided tour of eight unique private gar dens . Advance online tick ets ar e $18 until Saturda y, June 22 at 5 p On the da y of, all tickets ar e $23 (cash, cr debit or check). Children 12 and under are fr T he Gar den Walk is co -sponsor ed by the F of the Oak Park C onser vator y and the Gar of Oak P ark and Riv er Fo r est . Pur chase tick h ttps://gcopr f.org/garden-walk/.

Oak Park Vintage Car Show

Saturday, June 8, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., near OPRF museum

Supported Gardening

Monday, June 10, 10 - 11 a.m., Oak Park Maze

Librar y, Community Sensor y Garden

Join us for supported gardening where kids will grow Victor y Garden, read a gardening book, tend the garden, and make a gluten and dairy-free recipe. Designed for kids with disabilities age 3+ and their siblings. Visual schedules and sensory supports provided. Weather permitting. Register at https://tinyurl.com/3z7cf5x2. 845 Gunderson Ave., Oak Park

The John Boys

Tuesday, June 11, 7 p.m., St. Edmund Church

See dozens of vintage cars at the Vintage Car Show on the streets by OPRF Museum at Lake and Lombard in Oak Park. Enjoy free museum admission and live music. The event is brought to you by Duesenberg Sponsors and Cadillac Sponsors, including Scratch on Lake and Autobarn Volvo Cars of Oak Park. To show your vintage car, call 708-606-1740; insurance is required. Lake and Lombard., Oak Park

‘The Girl Who Wo re Freedom’

Wednesday, June 5, 1 and 6 p.m., Lake Theatre

Classic Cinemas celebrates veterans on D-Day by showing the award-winning documentar y, The Girl Who Wore Freedom, at Classic Cinemas’ Lake Theatre in Oak Park, which shares untold stories of D-Day from the men, women, and children who lived through German occupation and Allied liberation of Normandy, France and highlights the undying love and respec t that the French continue to have for the American veterans who risked so much to save them. A portion of the box o ce proceeds will be going to local veterans organizations.

H ear the beautiful voices of as they make a stop in Oak Park as part of their national tour before they head to Italy at St. Edmund Church (188 S. Oak P Tuesda y, June 11, at 7 p mentar y ic e- cr eam social. For more information, contac t St . E dmund Choir Di at 708-848-4417.

Compiled by Brooke Duncan

Tech Night for Kids: Explore Co ding with Robots (PK-2)

Thursday, June 13, 4 - 5:30 p.m., Oak Park Public Library - Main, Storytime Room

Join us for Tech Night where kids will learn coding c oncepts with programmable floor robots lik e C ode -a-Mouse, Botley, and Bee Bo t. Best for kids in Pr eK through 2nd grade. Register at https:// tinyurl.com/54djnjn v. 834 La ke St ., Oak Park

Listing your event

Wednesday Jour nal welcomes notices about events that Oak Park and River Forest groups and businesses are planning. We’ ll work to get the word out if you let us know what’s happening by noon Wednesday a week before your news needs to be in the newspaper. ■ Email details to calendar@wjinc.com

Dutchess Cannabis Company to replace MedMen dispensary

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

Dutchess Cannabis Company will be taking over the MedMen cannabis dispensary located at 1142 Lake St., which said it was temporarily closed in early April.

MedMen struggled financially, closing many locations across the c ountr y. T he c ompany eventually c eased operations and filed for b ankruptcy proceedings in C anada, a ccording to Fo rbe s, with $411 million in liabilities. MedMen subsidiaries in the United States will have operations dissolved or sold, according to Fo rbe s.

T he MedMen location in Oak Park beg an selling recreational marijuana in January 2020, after Illinois became the 11th state to le g alize it. In March 2020, the company received a cease and desist notice for failing to maintain social

distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MedMen was the only business in Oak Park that collected a local cannabis tax, Erik Jacobsen, the village’s communications manage r, told Wednesday Journal. Now, that revenue will hopefully be maintained as Dutchess Cannabis Company takes over.

Dutchess Cannabis Company will operate the Oak Park MedMen location as it works to finalize the purchase and acquire appropriate licenses, according to the village manager’s re port T he company is undergoing licensing operatio n inspections, the re port states, and will need to acquire an Oak Park business license and certificate of occupancy.

Re presentatives from Dutchess Cannabis Company said they are also working to purchase a MedMen location in Mount Prospect, according to the report

MedMen’s Oak Park location on Lake St reet

Oak Park to celebrate Juneteenth with ceremony, cookout

The village -sponsored events will be on June 12 and June 15

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

Oak Park will celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved individuals in the United States, with a flag-raising ceremony and a cookout.

Many consider this date as the “true anniversary of emancipation” in the U.S., according to an Oak Park news release. On June 19, 1865, more than 250,000 enslaved Black individuals in Texas were freed by executive decree, according to the National Museum of

COMMUNITY EVENT

PATRIOTIC POPS CONCERT

6:30 p.m.

Please join us for the University Band’s annual outdoor summer concert, conducted by Dr. Richard Fischer with commentary by Jean Harrison Bojes.

Lawn Rain location: Chapel of Our Lord

SATURDAY JUNE

African American History and Culture.

More Americans have become familiar with the holiday in the last few years, according to a study from the Gallup Center on Black Voices.

In a 2021 poll, 28% of respondents said they knew “nothing at all” about Juneteenth. In 2022, that number dropped to 11%, according to the study. In June 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden also signed legislation to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday.

About a year prior, in 2020, Oak Park’s village board voted unanimously to support a proclamation to for mally observe Juneteenth.

Oak Park’s celebratory events are coordinated by the Juneteenth Committee and sponsored by the village’s Office of Diver-

sity, Equity and Inclusion. Christina Waters, the village clerk, and Chris Thomas, founder and chief executive officer of YourPassion1st are co-chairs of the committee, according to a news release.

“It is the duty of the Oak Park community to break down systems of oppression and hate to achieve a society where race no longer determines one’s outcomes, where everyone has what they need to thrive,” Thomas said.

The fla g-raising ceremony will be 6 to 8 p.m. June 12 at Village Hall, located at 123 Madison St. This will be a free event with

SUMMER 2024

Arts

speakers and refreshments, officials said.

The cookout will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 15 at Village Hall. It will include music, food, kid-friendly activities and will feature local Black-owned businesses. Those interested can re gister to host a table, showcase their business or volunteer to help online.

“We are excited to continue Oak Park’s tradition of lifting up Juneteenth and recognizing its importance for African Americans and its significance in American history,” said Danielle Walker, the village’s chief DEI officer.

Pillars

OPRF junior wins big at state journalism contest

Sophia Lynn won rst place for her headline-writing skills

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

An OPRF junior made her own headline after winning first place in headline writing at the Illinois High School Association’s state journalism tournament.

Sophia Lynn, 17, placed first in headline writing and fifth in review writing at the Illinois High School Association’s state journalism tournament, held in April in Normal, Ill.

Sophia made her way to state following a gr sectionals, where the junior placed first in review and third in headline writing.

At the state competition, Sophia was given various ries to read spanning different flags including opinion and news. Sophia then had to produce a headline along with a secondary headline within a certain character limit for each piece.

“I liked headline writing a lot,” she said. “I liked how it was like a puzzle.”

At OPRF, Sophia started working at Trape ze this past year. She began as a staf f writer and is now the opinions editor for the paper.

“I really love opinion writing, I think it’s great to be able to share your perspective on things, especially in a school community,” Sophia said.

In her new role, she hopes to be able to wo rk with w riters who not only ha great ideas for stories ho are also able to open themselves to other p eople’s pinions and be able to “see the .”

An avid writer, Sophia said she struggled a bit cutting down her review writing to fit the character limit because she went “way over the 350 word limit.”

Despite her nerves, Sophia said she was able to flesh out her reviews and made the most out of the allocated time, making sure to edit through her stories and refer to her AP style book, which was allowed, throughout the process.

Her attention to detail and hard work paid of f.

Sophia said she was shocked but very excited about her placement.

T he junior said she has always had a passion for reading and writing from a young age.

She has channeled those passions into her work as a student journalist.

“I think what I like about journalism versus other types of writing is that it is more simple,” she said. “It is more about g etting the story and g etting straight to the facts and doing the best you can in the time you have.”

Kate Hawley, English and journalism teacher at OPRF, said Sophia has always impressed her.

“Sophia is a gifted storyteller with exceptional drive and focus,” Hawley said. “I wasn’t surprised to see her draped in medals after the IHSA tournament. en more impressed by her dedication to our team of student journalists who OPRF’s newspaper.”

“Sophia produces real stories like a pro. I’m excited to see what she goes on to do.”

Sophia said she has also channeled her love for reading and wanted to help children have access to books and become better readers.

“I am really passionate about reading and I definitely reco gnized that I have been very lucky in my life to have parents who always read books to me, I have always been so eng rossed with books,” Sophia said. “But I know it ’s definitely hard and I can imagine it being hard for students who come into school not knowing how to read.”

Sophia worked to star t a chapter of Ferst Readers in Illinois. The literacy program helps provide bookstore-quality, age-specific books and resources to children under the age of 5 in underprivileg areas to bridge the adolescent literacy ga

“I know that the literacy gap is a really

for a lot of kids and I know a lot of that is happening really close to my home and I just want to try to work to change that,” Sophia said.

Furniture, Big/Tall

Tween/Teen

SOPHIA LYNN

Grace Lutheran Church

FRIDAY, JUNE 7

8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

708-366-3900 www.graceriverforest.org

Clothing, shoes, accessories, toys, games, books, arts and crafts, household items, glassware, jewelry, sports equipment, tools, gardening items, book shelves, tables, chairs, lamps and more!

7300 Division Street River Forest, IL 60305

Entrance:

Glass doors on Bonnie Brae Street Parking: On Division and Bonnie Brae

A large crowd turned out for A Day in Our Village on Sunday, June 2 in Scov ille Park. Children (le ) revel in the suds from a foam cannon

Suburban Cook County houses 117 individuals in 100 days

The Village of Oak Park and others partnered to nd homes for unhoused people through nonpro t’s ‘challenge’

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

In 100 days, organizations across suburban Cook County, including in Oak Park, housed 117 individuals experiencing homelessness

The goal, set by Re!nstitute — a nonprofit organization that supports communities tackling complex issues such as homelessness — was to house 88 individuals from Feb. 12 to May 21. That’s double the 44 individuals that were housed the last time suburban Cook County participated in this type of challenge, about six years ago.

“There’s something really special about suburban Cook County, and the way that they consistently come together across a diverse geographic area,” said Sarah Hennessy, senior facilitator and regional monitoring, evaluation and learning manager at Re!nstitute. “They face the challenges that they have with equity head on.”

Another 310 individuals experiencing homelessness were connected to shelter during this challenge. Troy Garcia, a street outreach specialist at Housing Forward, said the nonprofit will work to stay in touch with the individuals in their shelters as they work toward finding permanent supportive housing.

“You immediately think, ‘100-day challenge, that’s an awfully short period of time to accomplish something that is an issue in society that seems so difficult to tackle and to solve,’” said John Harris, facilitator for the Oak Park Homelessness Coalition.

But setting a deadline, while daunting, was a catalyst to achieving their goal, Harris said.

What is the 100- day challenge?

The 100-day challenge is an initiative communities apply to participate in, hosted by Re!nstitute, with curated goals to tackle homelessness. Re!nstitute facilitates this challenge across the United States. They’ve done more than 100 of these 100-day challenges, Hennessy said. In this term, the areas of focus were suburban Cook County, Rockford, Joliet and Springfield. This is the first time Oak Park has participated

A focus was placed on this region of Illinois, Hennessy said, because of the increase of encampment homelessness in urban and suburban areas. But it’s a competitive application process, Hennessy said.

This year’s Point-in-Time Count, a re port of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, identified more than 255 individuals as unhoused in suburban Cook County, said Vanessa Matheny, special assistant to Oak Park’s village manager for community services.

A typical timeline from someone identified as unhoused to accessing permanent housing is more than two years, Matheny said. This initiative helped accelerate that timeline for the 117 individuals.

The initiative also had a specific focus on people ages 55 and older. Individual men ages 55 and older were identified as the biggest demographic within the 255 individuals from the area’s Point-in-Time Count, Matheny said.

In the last challenge in suburban Cook County, in which about 44 individuals experiencing homelessness were housed, only about 12% of them were ages 55 and up, said Katie Eighan, the

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Continuum of Care planning director at the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County. But about 22% of those staying outside were in that demographic.

On average across the country in 2023, about 25% of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness are ages 55 and up, Hennessy said. There was also a 73% increase in senior homelessness from 2019 to 2021, she said, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and loss of income for many.

Eighan added that they also chose this demographic because of the impacts of homelessness on the body Those 55 and up experiencing homelessness have health similar to those who are 75 and not experiencing homelessness, she said.

Part of the goal for this challenge, Eighan said, was that 30% of those housed in this challenge would fall in that age range. The final count was almost 34%, she said.

But the work isn’t done

“Now we are working on how do we sustain that, how do we continue to reduce those barriers?” Matheny said.

How was the challenge funded?

No new money was associated with this initiative, Matheny said, but all individuals in the program had housing vouchers, entitlement benefits or other for ms of rental housing assistance. The plan was to connect individuals who had these sorts of assistance already with landlords who can accept them. So, their rent will be at least par tially paid for, Garcia said.

The Village of Oak Park and others hosted events to facilitate these connections. At

an April 12 event at the Oak Park Public Library, 23 people were able to find housing and move in within 10 days. Some moved to Oak Park, but many moved around in the western suburbs, Matheny said.

Matheny said the village and others worked to help landlords understand that the individuals participating in this challenge were ready to be permanently housed and to gain employment.

“But they’re constantly being met with these roadblocks, because nobody wants to rent to somebody that is unhoused,” she said. So, it’s important to remove barriers to housing and to cor rect misconceptions that renting to those experiencing homelessness is risky, Matheny said.

“People who are currently experiencing homelessness can be and are great tenants,” Harris said. “These are individuals who sometimes just need a fresh start.”

There’s still lots of work to do, Harris said, given the number of individuals still in shelters or experiencing unsheltered homelessness. But this challenge proves that more can be done

“If you lay out a vision and a plan and get people together, this is a problem we can solve,” Harris said. “We can actually solve it reasonably quickly.”

This 100-day challenge and the resettlement of 201 migrants in and around Oak Park proves that when advocates rally around a crisis, successfully housing people is possible, Harris said.

“It gives me great hope,” Harris said. “We can, over time, solve the problem of homelessness, not only in our community but around the region or country.”

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Porter building opens in Oak Park

e Porter residential development at 1105 Pleasant St., formerly the site of Drechsler Brown Funeral Home.

Grand opening for new residences will be held on June 6

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

Por ter, a new residential development at 1105 Pleasant St. in Oak Park, will have its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 6.

T he complex is a seven-story tower with 158 apar tments, including studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units and maisonette homes

So far, about 50 units are leased at Porter, with about 28 occupied. No one type of unit has been more popular than others, yet, said Tim Anderson, chie f executive officer and founder of Focus, the developer and contractor for Por ter

Of the five maisonette homes located at Por ter, three have been leased, Ander-

son said. These two-story units have their own outdoor entrance, structured parking and access to amenities, he said. “They ’re luxurious but they’re really nice,” Anderson said. “Some of them have private patios.”

T he rent prices for studios start at $1,577 per month, according to Focus. One-bedrooms start at $2,225 per month, two-bedrooms at $2,973, three-bedrooms at $5,735 and maisonette homes at $6,250, according to Focus.

But for some residents making only 60% or less of the area median income, that might be hard to af ford Porter’s opening comes as af fordable housing has been a common concern in the Oak Park community for years, prompting a housing study to help address identify issues and suggest solutions. In 2019, Oak Park’s Board of Trustees approved an affordable housing ordinance that requires developers to make 10% of their units affordable to people making 60% of the area median income.

JAVIER GOVEA

nteract with them, Anderson said.

“It creates more of a sense of social connection,” he said. “It sets it up much better, I think, for long-ter m success.”

Located in the Oak Park historic district, complex also has ground floor retail space available for businesses. Anderson said they hope to fill that retail space with a ood or beverage-oriented business.

cus bought the property, which used to house a funeral home, after other successful elopments in Oak Park including the Euclid Commons

Outside Porter is a sculpture made from reled plastic by artist Cody Norman. It’s intended to reflect the arch of the tree line in the streets in Oak Park, Anderson said.

Fire Department to test all re hydrants

Oak Park crews will inspect, ush and measure ow rates on all 1,240 hydrants

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

In lieu of thi s, developers can contribute $100,000 per af fordable unit not included Por ter, according to Focus, paid $1.59 million to Oak Park’s af fordable housing fund T he two-year construction process was completed this year and residents were invited to apply in April. T he grand opening was set for June to allow residents to participate and allows neighbors a chance to

S ustainability is a priority for Po r ter, Anderson said. Por ter achieved the National Green Building Standard silver certification, he said. This certification encompasses standards in energy, water, and resource efficiency, lot development, operation and maintenance and indoor air quality, according to NGBS. Por ter’s development includes a green rood with water retention, drip irrig ation and heat pumps with heat recovery ventilation, Anderson said.

“Oak Park, generally, really wants to be on the leading edge of sustainability,” he said.

Oak Pa rk Fire Department crew s will be inspecting, flushing and measuring fl ow rates on all 1,240 fire hydrants in the village this summer to ensure proper operation.

Testing, a routine procedure, started in early May and is expected to c ontinue through the end of Se p tembe r, a ccording to village officials. Inspections will also ensure hydrants are accessible and undamaged.

After a hydrant is inspected nearby, residents could notice cloudy water, according to village officials, but it should clear after a few minutes

Children playing in a hydrant ca n be seriously injured d ue to the forc e of the water stream, a ccording to the District of C olumbia Water and Sewe r Authorit y. T he fl ow c an even knock an adult down.

To test a fire hydrant, crews attach a short hose with a diver ter to the device, according to village officials T he hose and diver ter ensure water does not damage landscaping.

A g auge records water flow which is then compared to data from the previous five years, according to officials. Fire department officials say this comparison can help identify problems in the water supply system.

JAVIER GOVEA

Sculpture by Cody Norman outside the Porter building.

Lincoln Elementary Fine Arts Night puts student work on display

Ar t teacher Mar ta Kozbur said thousands of pieces were on display.

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

The halls at Lincoln Elementary transfor med into an art museum for Fine Arts Night, a student showcase that brings to life their work for the year.

The event was held May 20 and was open to D90 families, as well as the entire community.

Marta Kozbur, art teacher, said the first Fine Arts Night was held back in 2018. Teachers at Lincoln are asked to take down

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their bulletin boards for the art to be displayed.

“I put up probably a couple thousand pieces of artwork that students have made throughout the year,” Kozbur said.

All grade level student art work, from kindergarten to fourth grade, is displayed.

“Every student gets probably three to four pieces in the show,” Kozbur said.

Kozbur said the event is always a hit with students, who are excited and proud to walk their families around the school, pointing out their art along the way.

For Kozbur, the event is also a great way to meet and get to know her students’ parents, who are equally excited to get to see the projects.

“It’s a nice time for parents to interact with each other,” Kozbur said. “It’s like an

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

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PROVIDED BY STEPHANIE RATH Student ar twork lls the art room at Lincoln Elementary School dur ing Fine Arts Night, held on May 20.

show of f his artwork to his family

“I appreciate how the Art Teacher, Marta zbur, gives the students a wide variety of projects which makes it interesting for them, like masks and model villages,” said Peter Zhang, Dylan’s father.

Nora Ignof fo, third grade, created a butdrawing using Cray-pas and glitter, ich she proudly showed her family ke trying different things,” Nora

ke to see how hard Nora is working and see her take pride in her work,” her mother, Heather Ignof fo said. “It is fun to see how she and her friends share their excitement when seeing each other’s k on display.”

he creativity on display was great to , said her father, Greg Ignof fo event also included dancing at the mnasium, where f amilies could join their students in learning different styles of dance.

Mona Mann, general music teacher, held the mini lessons, teaching parents and students folk dancing.

open house; there is really no time table.”

Over the years, the event has really become popular with students as well, Ko zbur said, adding it is a moment of pride for the children to g et to see their work on display

“It’s fun to reflect back on the work that we’ve done over the year,” said Dylan Zhang, fourth grade. “I had fun making it. Ms. Kozbur makes it fun and interesting.”

The night gave Dylan the opportunity to

“It’s a nice pairing because it gives people a sense of some of the activities that the students are able to do and helps create community within the school,” Mann said. One of the dances was a scatter dance to “Highway Number 1,” where students pretend to be driving and move around the room with their parents.

T he d ancing was a hit, with three sessions with each having b etween 40 to 50 p eople

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Dylan Zhang shows his art to his father, Peter Zhang.

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Nora Ig no o

Summer Serenade Dance

June 14 2024

Attire

e ax is passed at tion

nt Council President and graduating Student Ava Nicholson perform ssing of the Ax ceremony at OPRF mmencement May 26.

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the ax has been transfer red each year to the incoming senior class by the outgoing class as a visible symbol of the responsibility to uphold the traditions of those things that are best,” she said.

“The ribbons on this ax date back over 116 years. It is with pride and respect that I now pass to you, Caroline Vietzen, as the next student council president this ax as a symbol of Oak Park and River Forest High School. I know that next year’s Class of 2025 will take great pride in carrying on the traditions that are part of all of us.”

In his address Supt. Greg Johnson explained the origins of the tradition of the ax.

“In the 1890’s, the phrase “to fling the hatchet” was used to describe the behavior of those who were speaking in exaggerations, extolling their accomplishments loudly, quickly and dramatically,” he said.

In 1895, John Farson, a local businessman, created what was called a hatchet oration contest that was held during commencement week.

by a member of the senior oldly proclaim their accomfacets of school life: acathletics, clubs, publications, an think of,” Johnson said. ould then challenge the junior class to try and match or even exceed the accomplishments of the current seniors.”

In 1904, senior class president Francis Sullivan presented the incoming class with the very hatchet, or ax, that is still used today. Sullivan suggested that the ax be ke pt at the school as a symbol of the oration.

“In 1904, Senior Class President Francis Sullivan presented the incoming class with this exact hatchet adorned with the ribbons in the colors of his outgoing class,” Johnson said. “Sullivan further suggested that it be ke pt at the school as a symbol of the oration and from then on, this ax, as it was called, changed hands year after year starting the tradition. Now, while the annual hatchet oration ceased at some point, and there isn’t much room to add ribbons to its handle, the tradition of passing the ax continues as a visual reminder of those things that are best.”

Other than being taken out for graduation, the ax sits in the OPRF’s student activities of fice for the rest of the year.

TODD BANNOR

D97 celebrates middle-school graduation

‘Our hope for you is that you continue to take in the world without limit’

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School eighth graders walked across the stage into the next chapter of their academic career during their graduation ceremony, held Monday, June 3 at OPRF High School.

D97 Board of Education board member Jung Kim congratulated the class.

“The board is extremely proud of each Brooks eagle flying out of District 97 as the school year ends,” Kim said. “We look forward to seeing each of you soar as you head into high school and beyond. We will be cheering you on as we watch you reach new heights.”

D97 Supt. Ushma Shah spoke to the graduates about community and their hopes for their future.

“Even though you graduate tonight, we want you to know that the District 97 staff…we are all still on your team. We care about you and if you ever need us, you know where to find us,” Shah said. “Our hope for you is that you continue to take

Aaliyah Hennis-Branch speaks to students and audience at Brooks Middle School’s Commencement ceremony at OPRF High School.

“I am proud of every single one of us for making it to today,” Craig said.

in the world without limit. That you see no obstacles to what you want to achieve in your lives and that you know we are here,

your supporters. Congratulations to each one of you.”

The Percy Julian Middle School community celebrated their graduating eighth grade class during this year’s graduation ceremony, held on Friday, May 31 at OPRF

D97 Supt. Ushma Shah provided the graduates with words of encouragement and wisdom as they embark on their high school academic journey, as well as thanking them for their contributions during their time at the middle school.

“Please know that what you have shared, what you have said, we will continue to use to make District 97 better and we thank you for all that you have taught us,” Shah said. “Stay curious. Know that there are abso-

TODD BANNOR

Principal Award Winners Clare Newton, Hailey Mellios, Carl Hounnenou, Harper Trav is and Aaliyah Hennis Branch.

TODD BANNOR

TODD BANNOR

Percy Julian Middle School graduates.

LET THEM PLAY Promoting independence

from page 1

“It’s a scary idea to put out there,” Purtell said. “In the current culture, it is ve much that you have to be by your kids all the time. The full responsibility falls fully on the parent as an individual problem.”

Gripshover said the way her children are growing up is very different from her childhood when she was able to play outside in her yard without the constant supervision of a parent.

“I feel that that has become really stigmatized,” Gripshover said. “The police can be called.”

And it has happened to a few local moms already, she said. There does not seem to be a culture of support for parents, Purtell said. Instead, it feels like high expectations are placed on parents about vigilantly watching their kids, a pressure parents internalize, Purtell said.

“I start to believe those things,” Purtell said. “I think ‘they aren’t safe, I need to be watching, I am a bad mom,’ so it’s selfpressure.”

It’s an unrealistic expectation because parents are simply busier now than in the past, she said.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023 95.6% of fathers in the United States worked full-time. For mothers, it’s 80.1%. As parents’ schedules fill up with other responsibilities, they are not able to spend hours at a time with their children outside The alternative?

MIDDLE SCHOOLS Seeking a safer environment

from page 3

“I am so much more concerned about what happens on the internet than I am about what happens at the park,” Gripshover said.

Parents at the meeting shared that c once rn , G ripshove r said, especially because the normalization of p hones and tablets for younger children is grow ing. Fo r example, a 2023 Pew Research Center study, for example, showe d that most teens — 95% — have a ccess to a smartphone and an overwhelming majority have a ccess to a d esktop c omputer, laptop or g aming c onsole. About 65% have a ccess to a tablet. A C ommon S ense re po rt showe d that teens spend about 8.5 hours a day looking at a screen, wh i le for k ids 8 to 12, it was about 5.5.

Also, Purtell said, kids and parents alike,

sisted of staf f, students and parents.

Julian PTO Co-president Lauren VanderBerg was on campus in front of the school because she was there for a school field trip

Brooks and Julian planned to meet June 5 to begin addressing five key areas of middle school behavior for the next year: cell phones, IDs, hallway/bathroom transitions, backpacks in lockers, and lunch/social time

After last week’s meeting, demonstrators gathered in front of Julian on both Wednesday, May 29 and Thursday, May 30, to show support for the teachers and to advocate for making safety a top priority at the school. The groups, who held signs expressing their support for the cause, con-

“It wasn’t a protest,” VanderBerg said. “It was to raise awareness about some of the safety concerns and it was for the teachers, letting the teachers know that we were there and we support them. They deserve to be in a safe environment.”

VanderBerg said she feels there’s a disconnect between district administrators and the teachers.

“It seems like they’re not listening, at least from what I hear from teachers that I know from Oak Park that are also parents in the district,” she said. “They’re just feeling frustrated that they’ve been raising concerns that aren’t being heard.”

community but we aren’t taking advantage of that for this cause.”

The moms are also seeking a sense of childhood community, which they believe has been lost throughout the years.

Purtell said she looks back on her childhood and values the community of neighborhood friends she had.

Building back up that sense of childhood community and also community between parents can help foster a sense of independence that would only benefit children as they grow up.

“Learning to manage risks when stakes are lower is actually a very important part of childhood,” Gripshover said, adding that you wouldn’t want your child’s first time of walking down the street alone to be when they are already away at colle ge.

d is

dangerous and the only place to be safe is inside with a screen.

But Oak Park is the perfect community to be able to support the creation of this type of movement, Purtell said.

“I am so happy to be living here,” Purtell said. “I choose this place. A lot of people said this at the meeting, that they chose to move to Oak Park because they thought this would be the environment they wanted to raise their kids.”

Purtell said the village has “all the ingredients” to be the type of community where children can walk down the street or hang out with their friends at a playground. Its crime rate, for example, is low, and most re por ted crimes are burglaries.

“The mindset is there, the willingness is there,” she said. “It is a very tight-knit

Ahead of D97’s Board of Education meeting on May 28, the executive board of the Julian PTO shared a letter with the D97 Board and Shah.

“We were unaware of the significant disconnect between Julian staff and D97 administration,” they wrote. “We fully support our Julian staff as they are the ones in the building every day, meeting the challenges and joys of working with our students. If they are unhappy and feel that the current climate at Julian is impacting their ability to teach our students, then we must listen to these professional educators and respond.”

The list of concerns raised in the letter involved cell phones, consequences for poor behavior, the need for increased supervision throughout the building and the need for additional custodial staf f.

The mothers said they want to keep a “grassroot” mentality, and are focusing their energy to three areas for possible change in Oak Park: making roads safer, public education, and policy.

They said they hope to find community involvement and partnership with community stakeholders or other organizations that are already doing similar work

Although the coalition is new, support seems to not be an issue. So far, more than 55 people joined the email list, Gripshover said.

“I would love to see kids outside, a lot,” Gripshover said. “Oak Park is a wonderful community; people do know their neighbors. People are looking out and I would love to see that concern channeled into helpful directions.”

The next meeting will be held on June 18. For more information, contact Elli Purtell at elli.purtell@gmail.com or Sarah Gripshover at sarah.g rip@gmail.com.

The letter also stated that it has come to their attention that there is a plan to outsource the D97 custodial staff.

Siegfried said this is not true. District 97 has no plans to outsource custodial work, she said.

“We highly value the contributions of SEIU members, and our custodial staf f’s dedication and hard work are essential to the smooth operation of our schools,” Siegfried added. The Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, re presents the district’s custodians.

Luis Fernando De León, assistant superintendent of middle schools said he was looking forward to the June meeting.

“The large number of staf f who signed up demonstrates our community’s commitment to getting this right,” he said.

PROVIDED BY ELLI PURTELL

Local Oak Park moms (le to right) Carrie Schwarz, Sarah Gripshover, and Elli Purtell, founders of the Let em Play Coalition, at a local park with their children.

80 years later, D-Day memories live on

A Galewood woman recalls her father’s stories about how he sur vived Normandy Beach

By HOPE BAKER Contributing Reporter

June 6 marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when more than 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, as part of the largest seaborne invasion in history.

Oak Park native James Francis Collins was a decorated World War II veteran and a D-Day survivor. His daughter Grace Collins is honoring the 80th anniversary of that fateful day by sharing her late father’s story. Her father enlisted at just 18 in March 1943. He was honorably discharged with the rank of PFC in December 1945.

“It is important to me because my dad is a hero,” said Grace Collins, who now lives in Galewood. “I have a hard time reconciling the joking, loving father with the boy of that day. He did not like to speak of that day. He brushed it off by saying the real heroes died on that beach.”

James Collins was one of 10 children. He and three of his older brothers enlisted dura child, Pa High School. Collins left halfway through his senior year when he enlisted

“He knew he had a responsibility to his country and to what was right,” Grace Collins said.

On D-Day, Collins was part of the fourth wave of soldiers to storm Omaha Beach, one of the five landing areas along the 50-mile stretch of the Nor mandy coast.

Throughout his life, Collins never discussed the details of D-Day with his family. However, that changed in 1998 when he decided to open up about it. He was 74. His niece’s 18-year-old son had just announced that he was joining the U.S. Marines, and because his niece and her husband wanted to better understand what their son was getting into, they turned to Collins for insight about his years in the military. For the first time, he told his family all about what he had experienced on June 6, 1944.

Collins, his daughter said, told his family that after his boat landed on Omaha Beach, all he could do was run a few yards because

climb into a fox hole that had been dug by another solider from a previous wave. In order to enter the fox hole, he had to pull a deceased soldier out so he could get in. Once the gunfire weakened, he was able to advance farther up the beach and reunite with his squad

“What he went through was just so frightening and he was only 19 years old,” Grace Collins said.

Collins told his family that the bravest men he saw that day were Navy signalmen who stood with their backs to the machine gun fire. He said they held flags and guided landing crafts so they could maneuver and avoid underwater stanchions. Collins told his family that when a signalman was killed, another one would pick up the flags and take over. In Collins’ eyes, those men were the most selfless that day.

After he was discharged in December 1945, Collins returned to Oak Park and started working at Burt’s Shoes on Lake Street. Soon after, he began dating a fellow

o Street,

Store. Collins had been just two years older than Gale when they were kids at Ascension School. The two married, moved to Charlotte N.C. and had eight children. Although they moved to the south, the family regularly came back to the Oak Park area for family reunions. Collins, who died at 76, spent his career selling textiles. For fun, he coached youth football.

“He was such a natural coach,” Grace Collins said. “He could teach any kid how to play football.”

She added that although her father rarely spoke about being a veteran, he was a very patriotic man who loved the Fourth of July.

“He carried a pocket-sized version of the Constitution with him at all times,” she said. “The Constitution was very important to him.”

Grace Collins also recalled the answer her dad gave her when she would ask him about their family’s heritage as a kid.

“When I’d ask ‘What are we? Are we Irish?’

“‘No,’” he would say, “‘you’re American.’”

CREDIT MARY GR AC E COLLINS

James Francis Collins Sr. with his band of brothers.

CREDIT MARY GR AC E COLLINS

James Francis Collins

How to eat well using the weeds in your yard

Skeptical? This professional forager wants to show you how

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

Summer is here and native plants are poking up everywhere: in yards, parks, and in sidewalk cracks. Most people never wonder, “Can I eat those weeds?” Now you can.

Each month this summer, fora ging expe rt Dave O dd kicks of f one-hours tour s from Ca rn ivo re in Oak Pa rk . His express i ntent is to g et you to c onsume the landscap e. According to O dd, he is the only f ull-time professional fora ger in the Chicago area. He has b een at it for more than 20 year s.

The first tour of the season started in a weedy parking lot next door to Carnivore and ended in Mills Park. In a radius of two blocks Odd identified more than 50 edible and medicinal plants

Many people know that dandelions leaves are edible. But did you know that every part, except the fluf f is? Before the

flowers open the leaves are good as a peppery lettuce. Buds are a decent substitute for capers. Flowers are best lightly battered and fried or made into wine Roasted roots can be ground into a coffee alternative and if you roast them darker, a chocolate powder substitute.

T here is a dif ference between edible and enjoyable, but it all depends on your reason for eating, said tour guide Odd. Many plants identified on the trip are ones dined on or used medicinally by Native Americans, he said.

One particularly useful plant is plantago, a native that has many health benefits.

“This plant is like magic for bug bites, bee stings, eczema, sunburn,” Odd said. “Take one of the leaves, smash it up, put it directly over the affected area and hold it on there. Put down a piece of tape or a Band-Aid or whatever. It will stop the pain immediately. It is not just a symptom reliever. It is a cure.”

Non-native plants, introduced to beau-

tify the landscap e, are edible as well, such as the very common tiger lily. All parts of the lily are edible: the flower, the leaves, the roots

There are several plant families that fall into what Odd called the 90% r ule.

“Most anything in the viola, rose, lily family, as well as stone fruit, clovers, mustards, are edible.”

“My favorite wild mustard of the region is called poor man’s pepper,” he added. “This is a very common Chicago area alley weed. Because before you could go to the grocery store and buy pepper, people would use these seeds as a replacement.”

There were 10 curious souls on the tour , including three Japanese entomologists visiting the state to experience the historic cicada emergence. One is even working on a book about edible insects

Of course, not every plant is safe to eat at every stage of growth. Take pokeweed for instance, it is fine in the early spring.

But, he said, “later on in the summer, it’s going to get real tall, with bright magenta string of pearls berries on it. That’s when it’s poisonous.”

Odd emphasized that most everything can be tested for potential allergies or poison by eating a piece of it about the size of your finger nail, wait a few hours, “If you feel fine, then it’s probably edible.”

At the end of the trek, Carnivore of fered a foraged lunch. Chefs served a seasonal appetizer, tempura fried cicadas. Looking at the bowl filled with tater tot-sized nuggets was daunting, but the taste was mostly oil and salt, with a slightly nutty addition that was not unpleasant.

Foraging expert Dave Odd

past, both Knaub and co-owner Erik Williams worked for Odd, foraging materials for other local chefs.

“Anytime you were out of work, you would jump into Dave’s 18-passenger church van ride down by Joliet and pick ramps all day long,” Knaub said. It made ends meet.

The main course was a spring pasta medley with items Odd had foraged the day before. It included wild onions, asparagus, and nettles. Dessert was a milkshake flavored with rhubarb and mint.

Carnivore’s owner Brad Knaub said he feels there is a connection between what Odd does and his butcher shop.

“He does a cool thing with food that’s hyperlocal. And we do a thing with food that’s hyperlocal too.”

“Foraging is something that Eric and I both have done for fun and for profit most of our careers. So, it’s a nice tie in,” said Knaub. Odd offers tours throughout the Chicago area, is available for private outings, and also conducts more extensive classes. If you can’t get enough foraging on a tour, Odd also operates the “Land of Odd,” billed as a nature retreat and survival camp in Beaverville, Illinois, near Kankakee. There you can take longer tours and even camp overnight. Know before you go:

Sign up for local foraging tours at:

Two men with rearms hijack resident’s car

Two men approached an Oak Park resident with firearms and demanded the victim’s keys May 28 on the 100 block of South Austin Boulevard. The men then stole the resident’s black 2018 BMW M550. They were last seen southbound in the Humphrey Avenue and Austin Boulevard alley. The estimated loss is $30,000.

Residential burglary

Someone entered an Oak Park residence on the 100 block of Clinton Avenue through an unlocked back door May 27. The person stole the resident’s car keys and then stole the 2019 Toyota Prius that was parked behind the residence. The estimated loss is $20,000.

Disorderly conduct

Someone threw eggs at an Oak Park resident’s car and residence on the 100 block of Forest Avenue May 27.

Battery

A man struck an Oak Pa rk resident in the face with his hand around 7 a.m. May 28 on the 0 – 100 block of Le Moyne Parkway. T he man left in an unknown direction.

Catalytic converter theft

■ Someone stole the catalytic converter from an Oak Park resident’s 2006 Toyota Prius. The incident, which occurred between May 25 and May 28 on the 100 block of Chicago Avenue, resulted in an estimated loss of $3,600.

■ Someone stole the catalytic converter from an Oak Park resident’s 2008 Toyota Prius between May 27 and May 28 on the 300 block of North Grove Avenue. The estimated loss is $2,000.

■ Someone stole the catalytic converter from a Brookfield resident’s 2004 Honda Element between May 27 and May 28 on the 300 block of South Oak Park Avenue. The estimated loss is $2,000.

■ Someone stole the catalytic con-

verter from an Oak Park resident’s 2005 Toyota Prius on May 30 on the 1000 block of North Harvey Avenue. The estimated loss is $2,500.

Motor vehicle theft

■ Someone stole an Oak Park resident’s 2016 Nissan Maxima between May 26 and May 27 on the 0 – 100 block of Van Buren Street. The estimated loss is $17,000.

■ Someone stole a Glendale Heights resident’s black 2013 Ford Escape May 28 on the 1000 block of Lake Street. The estimated loss is $10,000.

Arrests

■ A 25-year-old Chicago man was arrested for criminal damage to property May 27 on the 0 – 100 block of South Boulevard

■ A 22-year-old Chicago man was arrested for aggravated fleeing and eluding May 28 on the 700 block of South Central Park Avenue in Chicago.

■ A 31-year-old Evanston man was arrested for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault May 31 on the 1000 block of Lake Street.

Theft

A man stole an Oak Park resident’s navy-blue Trek Domane bicycle from a bicycle rack May 26 on the 100 block of Forest Avenue. The estimated loss is $2,000.

These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department re ports dated May 27 – June 3, and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these re ports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We re port the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police ha ve provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Revised plans sought for Oak Park Village Hall project

Trustees agree police station needs work, prefer rebuilding in place

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

Oak Park’s trustees pressed forward Tuesday on what is shaping up to be a tough topic after they participated in a facilitated discussion to help them determine how to rehab Village Hall.

“We each were stuck in our own perception of how we would proceed,” Village President Vicki Scaman said. “I wouldn’t oppose it being called a step back, but I think it was a necessary step to go forward.”

Options range from somewhat minor renovations of the hall to a nearly $150 million redevelopment of Village Hall with a new civic center – a project with an estimated price ta g that some trustees called a “non-starter.”

One thing they agreed on, Scaman said, is that the police station, housed in the basement of Village Hall, needs work and trustees prefer it be rebuilt on the current property. They also agreed in general that the rest of Village Hall needs change. How that will look is not yet clear

Village staff will later offer a recommendation based on Tuesday’s discussion before a final vote is taken. That vote, Scaman noted, might follow a difficult conversation.

In 2023, the village board proposed demolishing and rebuilding the historic Village Hall while constructing a new police station and village gover nment headquarters at an estimated cost of $118 million to $124 million. Later, a Facility Review Committee presented alternative options that included maintaining the hall’s historic design while upgrading much of its interior.

At Tuesday’s meeting, trustees continued discussions with Steve Ludwig from Ludwig Speaks, LLC, who guided the conversation. As part of that, trustees worked to build consensus by defining what they called their “needs” and “wants” for the project.

The “needs” include ensuring an adequate healthy and more professional workspace; ensuring safety for all employees; creating public and private spaces while establishing accessibility in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and working toward environmental sustainability. They also agreed to keep fiscal responsibility in mind and to create a “modern” police station and sufficient parking.

Their “wants” include working beyond ADA compliance rules to ensure everyone feels they can participate equally, according to Trustee Brian Straw. This list also includes earning a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certification, engaging the community by having dedicated spaces for activities like youth programs, and creating a “destination” workplace by having benefits such as childcare facilities for employees. They said they would also like to implement green space and partner with other organizations in the facility

Preserving the historic Village Hall, committee co-chair Daniel Roush pointed out, was not mentioned as a “need” or a “want.”

The committee’s recommended plan had been estimated by Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects to cost between $39.2 million and $41.2 million. That would not include the cost of a new police station, which likely wouldn’t be cheap.

“This is a building that we’re hoping is going to outlive us all,” Straw said. “But we’re certainly hoping that the debt related to it would not.”

Options

Ludwig pointed out options based on research the village has already done. One is to build only a new police department on site. Another is to build a new police department on site and renovate Village Hall. The third is to revise both entirely.

The option to build a new police station on the current campus and to renovate the Village Hall basement areas – where the station is now located – to house internal police services and training spaces would cost an estimated $80.2 million to $83.5 million, ac-

cording to officials

This would allow police more space, which the department needs. To meet the goals laid out in the BerryDunn Community Safety study, the department would need 78,112 square feet, more than double the current space.

Another option, the cheapest, comes in at an estimated $71 million to $73.6 million. This builds an entirely new police station at another location, without renovating Village Hall. This would require acquiring a new property Trustees agreed at the Tuesday meeting that only building a new police station was off the table, as it wouldn’t meet their list of “needs” for the project.

A third option, to build a new police station and renovate Village Hall, jumps up in cost at an estimated $132 million to $138.3 million. This plan would address some parking and facility issues at Village Hall. But it would be hard to meet all goals for sustainability, equity and accessibility within the current structure, according to officials.

Because significant renovations would be required, the historic architecture of the building could be compromised, officials said. While this plan would address police and village staff space needs; it would also separate those services.

The most expensive option calls for redeveloping Village Hall and to build a village civic center.

This option addresses parking and space needs, while maintaining existing green space on the property. It would likely meet sustainability, accessibility and equity goals and provide opportunities for commercial space development on Madison Street, officials said. The cost is an estimated $139.4 million to $144.7 million.

A project in the range of $150 million is

a “non-starter” for Trustee Cory Wesley, he said. Trustee Ravi Parakkat, echoing him, adding that the option he prefers is to build a new police station on site and renovate Village Hall. But the cost needs to come down, he said.

Staggering the remodel of the police station and Village Hall might help, Parakkat said, but the police station should be the priority.

A nancial possibility

As part of deliberations over cost, Joseph Saverino, a partner at Chapman and Cutler LLP, presented the board one option. They could create a public-private partnership for the project.

“You really need political leadership, investment, commitment, a project champion, early on,” Saverino said.

Such a partnership would permit the village to avoid individual ne gotiations with partners, which would save time and money, Saverino said. Private companies would also likely be able to give more competitive pricing, he said.

This is a once-in-a-generation type of project, said Village Manager Kevin Jackson said, and it’s expensive. So, village staf f wanted to explore every possibility for financial support, even though some trustees didn’t seem sure a public-private partnership would be the way to go.

“We may never be 7-0 on this,” Scaman said. “But we can push each other to be as fiscally responsible and as creative as possible.”

Next, village staf f members will present a recommendation. A date for that has not yet been set.

Oak Park Village Hall

Annual Pride Month is in full swing

Celebrations of identity and selfexpression invigorate the West Suburbs and Chicago

By ALEX GOLDSTEIN Contributing Reporter

As June marks a month of celebration in LGBTQ+ communities nationwide, the Western suburbs and West Side are no strangers to the festivities.

Looking to celebrate? Here are concerts, parades, scavenger hunts and other events you don’t want to miss.

Oak Park/River Forest

Wednesday Matinee Film Series: “Pride”

Wednesday, June 12, Oak Park Public Library Veterans Room, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

This film screening highlights a friendship between a mining community in Wales and a group of London-based queer activists. Re gistration is limited

Grandad’s Pride Parade & Craft

Monday, June 17, Oak Park Public Library outside plaza, 11 a.m. to noon

This craft hour will start with a reading of “Grandad’s Pride” outside the main library. Afterward, staff will scatter ribbons throughout Scoville Park for participants to find to create their own rainbow wands.

Pride Shake, Rattle & Read with Oak Park Public Library

Tuesday, June 20 , Lindberg Park, 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

This storytime session features books, songs and games centered around identity, self-expression and love Weather permitting, the event will feature a visit from the Oak Park Book Bike, OPPL’s mobile library where patrons can learn about services and programs, check out books and apply for a library card.

2024 Oak Park Pride Party

Saturday, June 22, Village Hall South Lawn, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Participants should bring their rainbow-themed outfits

for this family-friendly celebration. Hosted by the Village of Oak Park, it will feature ice cream, face painting, a DJ, games, a bounce house and a magician.

Brunchin’ Beauties drag show

Saturday, June 29

Two shows at Kettlestrings Tavern, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Sponsored by the OPRF Chamber of Commerce, this year’s event features two drag shows, up from one due to popular demand, along with drinks, mocktails and a fourcourse meal.

Forest Park

Pride Kite Kits

June 1 to June 17, Forest Park Public Library

Starting on the first day of Pride Month, the library will distribute make-your-own kite kits to library patrons for pride-themed decoration. Participants must return their kite by June 17 for display at the library and a chance to win an Escape Factor gift card.

The winner will be drawn July 5. Participants who wish to be entered in the raffle must include their name somewhere on the kite. Re gistration is limited

Rainbow Dance Party Pride Storytime

Thursday, June 20, Forest Park Public Library Austin Room, 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Celebrate love and self-expression with a morning of music and movement at the Forest Park Public Library. The event is designed for children ages six and under, accompanied by a parent. Re gistration is limited

Forest Park Annual Pride Fest

Friday, June 21, Constitution Court, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Co-hosted by the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association (OPALGA+), Play it Again Sports and Robert’s Westside, admission is free to this evening of drag performances, live music, food and drinks.

Pisco 4 Pride

Friday, June 21, Table and Lain, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Featuring cocktails, appetizers, a live DJ, dancing and a drag show, all proceeds from ticket sales for this community party will go towards OPALGA+ fundraising.

Riverside/Brook eld and Ber wyn

Teen Craft: Rainbow Bookmarks

Wednesday, June 12, Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Library patrons are invited to make their own rainbow bookmarks. Re gistration is required and limited, but walkins are welcome to observe.

Fifth Annual Berwyn Pride Walk

Saturday, June 24, Beginning at Stanley Av enue and Gunderson Av enue, noon. to 2 p.m.

T he Pr ogr ess and P ride L GBTQ+ Youth A dvo cate P anel will precede the parade at noon at Youth Crossr oad s, w here youth activists will w elcome pa rt icipants and provide i nsights on c hallenges and t riumphs in the community.

T he parade starts outside Youth Crossroads at 1 p. m. , loops around Proksa Pa rk and ends at 2 p. m. with a Juneteenth celebration.

West Side/Chicago

Film screening: The Kids Are Alright

Wednesday, June 5, Chicago Public Library

— Austin Branch, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

This romantic comedy is a tale of commitment and the emotional flows of raising children in a queer relationship. It’s a part of the Chicago Public Library’s Community Cinema program.

West Side Chicago Gay/LGBTQ+ Ride

Sunday, June 23, Starting at 2 p.m. at Joey G’s Mac n’ Cheese, Augusta Boulevard. and Western Av enue

This event is tailored to enthusiasts of bikes, motorcycles, scooters and other two-wheeled contraptions. Joey G’s Mac n’ Cheese organized the ride through Chicago’s West Side as a celebration of love, identity, diversity and the community for med around riding in groups. Participants are free to don their pride-themed gear, and no prior re gistration is required

Film screening: Bros

Thursday, June 27, Chica go Public Library — Austin Branch, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.,

This coming-of-age film follows a gay c ouple’s journey from attraction to commitment as they expose their vulnerabil-

itie s. It ’s shown as a pa rt of the Chicago Public Library’s Community Cinema progr am.

Pride Picnic — Chicago Urban Pride

Sunday, June 30

ginning at Jackson Pa rk from noon to 8 p.m. with an after par ty at The Promontory from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

This free and family-friendly picnic will feature live DJs, entertainment, giveaways and food. The after party is limited to patrons 21 and over.

PRIDEChicago’s Chicago Pride rade

Saturday, June 30, Starting at West SheriRoad and North Broadway at 11 a.m.

On the last Sunday of June for more than 50 years, the organization PRIDEChicago has topped of f the month of celebration with a procession through Lakeview and Lincoln Park. It’s one of the city and couns most widely known and well-attended pride events, and one of the world’s largest neighborhood parades.

This year’s parade features 150 re gistered entries including community organizations, businesses, government officials and individual community members. It’s decked out with floats, outfitted vehicles, marching bands and perfor mance groups.

Dr. Stephen Whitfield, a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, brings a passion for community-focused healthcare to Oak Park. Completing his residency at Northwestern, he is board-certified in family medicine with a specialization in HIV treatment and LGBTQ issues.

Dedicated to addressing healthcare disparities and promoting inclusivity, Dr. Whitfield provides comprehensive care for patients of all ages. Fluent in Spanish, he strives to ensure that every patient receives culturally competent treatment.

CONTACT US

Outside of his medical practice, he enjoys listening to comedy podcasts, engaging in friendly games of chess, and spending quality time with his siblings.

WIKIPEDIA

Chicago Pride Parade

Pride is ‘loving who you are,’ Angel LeBare says

Forest Park’s famous drag queen shares insights into their life behind the stage

By JACK HELBIG Contributing Reporter

Angel LeBare, Forest Park actor, ballroom dancer, drag queen sublime, used to host shows for five years at the late, lamented Oak Park branch of Hamburger Mary’s, but now hosts at the original Hamburger Mary’s in Andersonville.

LeBare also hosts events throughout the suburbs and is one of the forces behind the Forest Park Pride Celebration Friday, June 21, that was founded three years ago by Forest Park business owner and resident, Erich Krumrei, LeBare, and their partner, Dan Walsh.

T he event includes P ride Drag Pe rfor mance at 7 p. m. at the Constitution Cour in downtown Fo rest Pa rk , wh ich L eBare, naturally, hosting. T he event also includes a retinue of other performers: Fox E. Kim, Andromeda, A lex Kay, A kasha Voye r, Elle Bowz, Britney Taylor, and L ondon BaCall. After the event, an after pa rt y with a dditional drag performances will be held at the 2nd floor of the near by Scratch Public House

We recently caught up with Angel to discuss their life and career. T he conver sation has been lightly edited for clarit style and length.

Re porter: You have been performing drag for how long?

Angel: 15 years.

Re porter: What do you like best about performing drag?

Angel: Things I like most to perform in drag are impersonations or female artists I like to pay homage to their looks and perfor mance styles. I do impersonations of Dolly Parton, Katy Perry, JLo, Cher, and Pink. I also enjoy doing cosplay and character drag, perfor ming various superheroes, cartoon characters, and Disney characters. I have costumes for almost every Disney Princess, superheroes and villains. Every Halloween my perfor mance troupe does a Hocus Pocus tribute. I play Winnifred.

Re porter: Who were the perfor mers you idolized growing up?

Angel: The Spice Girls, Judy Garland, Charlie’s Angels

Re porter: Who, other than yourself, is your favorite performer?

Angel: Beyonce

Re porter. If you could meet anyone in history, who would you meet and why?

Angel: Judy Garland. I am a huge Wizard of Oz fan.

Re porter: What was the last movie or TV that really touched you?

Angel: I am currently entrenched in watching Bridgerton. The storyline is great and the costuming is sublime.

Re porter: How did you get into performing?

Angel: I have been a perfor mer my whole life. I have always been a natural performer. I have studied theater, music,

and dance and am also ballroom instructor and musical theater teacher.

Re porter: So, you were, like, a theater growing up?

Angel: I did plays and musicals growing up. Roles I have played outside or drag include Paul in “A Chorus Line,” The Beast in “Beauty and the Beast,” Emmett in “Legally Blonde,” Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” The Tin Man and The Lion in “The Wizard of Oz,” The Scareow in “The Wiz,” and Skimbleshanks and Munkustrap in “Cats.”

Re porter: How did you get into drag? Angel: I got into drag when I pl ayed the role of Angel in a production of onathan Larson’s iconic musical) ENT. Side note: Angel is an ambiguous haracter in RENT who some beli eve is a drag queen, others a transgender oman, and others read as genderfluid; the author neve r specified. The piece tself is incredible, and I felt honored to be able to be a pa rt of telling that story. he perfor mance as Angel inspired my drag career and will always hold a ve ry special place in my hear t. While performing as Angel, I entered a local drag c ompetition and won. Th at led to c ompeting the following month. ontinued to win, wh ich led to me being of fered a host p osition. While pe rrm ing there, various other ve nues approached me about performing for them and things just sort of took of f.

Re porter: Where have you performed? An ge l : I have performed extensive ly throughout the Chicagoland area, I was a hostess at the Hamburger Mary’s in Andersonville for 8 years and the Oak Pa rk location for 5 year s. I’ve also perfor med at every other perfor manc e ve nue in Chicago’s Boystown, as well as The Office in Ro ckford, LaCa ge in Milwaukee, and Club Icon in Kenosha. I have also perfor med at ve nues in New Yo rk , Texas, Florida, and Hawaii.

Re porter: How long does it take you to get ready for a show?

Angel: It really depends on the look I am

doing and how extensive the make-up and/ or costuming is. Generally, about 2 hours.

Re porter: Do you become someone different when you become Angel, or is Angel just another side of your real life personality?

Angel: Angel is absolutely an extension of me, Angel is a very extroverted version of me.

Re porter: What do you like to do when you are not on stage?

Angel: I like to play video games and enjoy time with my par tner and pets. I have two Pomeranians, a Shiba Inu, and two Persian cats.

Re porter: Are you developing something special for the show in Forest Park in June?

Angel: I have created three new looks for the Forest Park Pride Performance and the after par ty at Scratch Public House. I am looking forward to presenting them.

Re porter: This is not your first Pride event in Forest Park. What is it about this event that keeps you coming back?

Angel: This has been a project my partner and I helped to build and create from the ground up three years ago and we are very proud and honored of what we have built and hope everyone will join us. Our first year was a trial, setting up the event with the village. It went well, so the next year we added some elements and this year we are adding more. The

community really seems to love it so that is why it has continued into year three.

Reporter: What does Pride mean to you?

Angel: Loving who you are and striving to be the best person you can be.

Re porter: What does Pride mean in Forest Park?

Angel: I can only speak for what Pride means to me, but I would assume the feelings would be similar for the village of Forest Park — Pride in oneself and pride in the community.

Re porter: As a Forest Parker, do you find the community welcoming? A good place to live? Open to the LBGTQIA+ community?

Angel: Yes, I do. I have been a part of various Pride events in Forest Park, Oak Park and Berwyn, and have always felt that the general populace is welcoming and inclusive

Re porter: How do you create energy and a sense of community in your shows? Or is it just something you have always been able to do?

Angel: I don’t really think about it to be honest. Once the show starts it just sort of naturally happens. I am a people person and I try to make everyone at my shows feel welcome and a part of it.

ANGEL LEBARE

The recipients of the OPALGA+ Scholar ship include Archer Bart and Aspyn Lawrence from Lyons Township High School, Emma Costello-Wollwage and Jude Kenned from Oak Park-River Forest High School, Sean Groh from Lane Tech College Pr and Sherlyn Herrera from Steinmetz Colle Prep High School.

Delaney McHugh from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and Kennedy Smit from Lindblom Math & Science Academy also have been awarded scholarships. turning scholars include Taylor MontesWilliams, who attends the University of Ne Mexico, and Emily Gonzalez, who attend Dominican University.

Each scholar possesses their own uniqu narrative, and this scholarship holds significance within the LGBTQ+ community by not only offering financial assistance but also affirming and bolstering the identities of recipients, officials said.

McHugh said they have been on a personal journey of self-discovery within the queer

an application, submit essays, and provide letters of recommendation.

“We are looking for strength of character as leaders in the LGBTQ+ community and identifying those who, during their high school career, have gone above and beyond They can be allies or LGBTQ+ parents, but they must have done things to help the community at large. Selection is based on the strength of the essay and the recommendations,” Becvar said.

Returning scholars play an important role with mentoring the new scholars for OPALGA+

“We want them to demonstrate that we support and care for the new generation entering our organization. As our organization becomes younger, originally for med by 35 members, we involve people from various backgrounds, aiming to cultivate them into leaders and encourage their long-term commitment,” Becvar said.

PROVIDED

e scholarship aims to prov ide a network of support for LGBTQIA+ students.

Throughout the year, OPALGA+ organizes approximately 40 social engagement events,

ARCHER BERT (he/him)

JUDE KENNEDY (he/him) ASP YN LAWRENCE (they/she)

DELANE Y MCHUGH (they/he) KENNEDY SMITH (she/they)

EMMA COSTELLO-WOLLWAGE (she/her) SEAN GROH (he/him)

SHERLYN HERRERA (they/them)

Co-Chair John Becvar

including monthly potlucks, family outings at the park, and visits to sponsors. Upcoming activities include attending the Cubs’ Pride Night and volunteering at Oak Park’s Farmers Market, where they will raise funds by making donuts. Additionally, their scholarship program remains their largest fundrais-

ing effort, supplemented by smaller events throughout the year.

“We do about 40 social engagement events throughout the year. Every month, there is a potluck, and we have family outings at the park. We visit sponsors once a month. Next month, we will attend the Cubs’ Pride Night. This month, we did an architectural tour with the Chicago Architecture Center,” Becvar said.

OPALGA+ generates funds by reaching out to its members year-round, hosting a fundraising Scholarship Gala each October, and securing corporate sponsorships from local businesses

Supporters can join OPALGA+ in recognizing the 2024 scholars at the OPALGA+ Scholarship Gala Oct. 19 at the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association in Oak Park The theme for this year’s gala is “Equality for Everyone.” Tickets will be available starting in August, with proceeds benefiting the 202526 scholarship program.

Relying solely on private donations, OPALGA+ does not receive any gover nment funding. Those interested in contributing to next year’s scholarship can visit opalga. org/donate.

OPALGA+

How to change your gender on Illinois state IDs

A new law permitting this went into e ect in April — what does that mean for nonbinary residents?

By ELIZABETH SHORT Contributing Reporter

As of April 1, I llinois residents now have three g ender options, “M,” “F,” and g ender- neutral “X,” on drive r’s licenses and state identification documents. By doin g thi s, Illinois joins 21 other states with similar policies.

A 2019 law allowe d g ender- neutral marke rs on I llinoi s ID s, but it wasn’t until this s pring that residents had the o pportunity to select the g ender- neutral option fo r ID s, because the Secretary of State’s office needed to u pdate its card issuance system.

S hortly after the new p oli cy c ame i nto effect, Christop her Jensen, board member of LAGBAC , Chicago’s LGBTQ+ bar association, went to the DMV to chang e their ID. Jensen uses he and they pronouns and was the first openly nonbinary member on the board.

“I was excited,” they said. “I wanted it so badly. I was just really excited to have it, for it to accurately reflect who I am…It’s a really powerful affirmation from the state, and it takes a step towards taking away that erasure, giving people their identities back, hearing their voices.”

The National Center for Transgender Equality’s 2022 U.S. Trans Survey Early Insights report showed that 22% of respondents had been “verbally harassed, assaulted, asked to leave a location, or denied services” after showing an ID with a name or gender that did not correspond with their presentation.

with lowe r attempts of attempted suicide.

“For p eople who are g etting it, it ’s a p eace of mind,” sai d Jensen. “There is a c omfort in knowing that the state acknowledges that we aren’t male or female and that’s okay. ”

Jensen also said that having docu mentation of nonbinary residents in Il linois c ould help to create new progr ams for nonbinary and transg ender residents

“I think if they noticed that there is a sign ificant enough amount of the population then they can say this is a community that needs to be addressed,” they said.

Gender incong r uent identificatio n c an result in d enial of employment, housing, and b enefits and bring harassment and violenc e, a ccording to the NCTE’s 2015 National Transgender Discrimin ation Su rve y. Accurate and c onsistent identification is necessary to open b ank a ccounts, starting jobs, enrolling in school, and traveling Fo r transgender and nonbinary individuals, affirmation of g ender and pronouns can also be life-saving and vital in suicide prevention. According to the Trevor Project, respecting g ender identity among young transg ender and nonbinary people is consistently associated

wever, some p eople are hesitant to identify as nonbinary on ID s. T he trans ommunity experiences high levels of violenc e, especially transgender p eop le of c olor and Black transgender women. According to the 2015 U. S. Transgender Survey I llinois Stat e Re po rt , 69% of respondents wh o i nteracted with p olice or other law enforcement who knew they we re transgender re ported experiencing mistreatment. Especially for those with a dditional identities targeted by p olice violenc e, the “X” marke r as an automatic signifier of a trans identity brings some concer ns

“I’ve talked to a lot of p eople about this and a lot of them are oncerned about the fact that it is going to be a signal i mmediately to a olice officer that they ’re trans,” Jensen said. “Just by handing over their ID. S ame for TSA securit y, bars checking I Ds… I think there’s some personal safety c oncerns that p eople have about sharing that info rm ation with everyone they encounter.”

S ome p eople have a dvo cated for an elimination of g ender alto g ether on identification documents.

“While including a g ender- neutral option on identity documents is a step in the right direction, it would be b etter to eliminate g ender from I Ds alto g ether. It ’s not

relevant anymore since the p hoto ID became prominent,” St ep hanie Skora, executive director of Br ave Space A llianc e, a Black- and Trans-led L GBTQ c enter on the South Side, told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2019. Fo r p eople who do choose to change the g ender on their ID, the nonbinary option c an bring securit y, c omfo rt , and af firmation.

“The most important thing is for affirmation of individual p eople’s g ender identity,” said Jensen. “For me, having a state ID that says a ccurately wh at my g ender is, rather than being forced to pick b etween one of two things that do n’ t apply, there’s a ps ychological b enefit to that for individuals.”

To ensure that this new p oli cy is p ositive, re g ular trainings c ould be essential. “A nybo dy that i nteracts with the public, as a gove r nment official, should have some kind of training on how to have a respectful c onve rsation with p eople that you may not understand or even ag ree with,” Jensen said. “It’s still none of your business. You still have to treat them with as much respect as you do anyone else.”

Since April 2022, United States citizens also have been able to choose the nonbinary “X” g ender on passports T he gover nment has resources for nonbinary international travelers: https://ow.ly/SIIf50S7gzm

Illinois residents wanting to change their gender can go to the DMV and complete a gender designation change form. The fee for a new dri ver’s license is $5 and for a new state ID card is $10.

Planned Parenthood has a comprehensive guide on how to change g ender and name markers in Illinois: https:// ow.ly/b0GO50S7gI2

To find more information on different states’ policies on ID documents and gender, visit transequality.org/documents

ird annual Forest Park Pride Festival is ‘for everyone’

The event will be held on Friday, June 21, 2024 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Constitution Cour t in Forest Park

By MARTHA BRENNAN Contributing Reporter

“I’ve had a lot of people come up to me after and during the event and share really moving and powerful stories,” said Erich Krumrei, owner of Forest Park Play It Again Sports on Madison Street in Forest Park.

He organized the festival when it first premiered in 2022.

“There was really no pride events in the area between the surrounding villages so I wanted to do something,” said Krumrei.

Krumrei, an Iraqi war veteran, premiered the event on his own. In subsequent years, he partnered with the Village of Forest Park and other community organizations. Because his son is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Krumrei said he wanted to show his support, both for his son and the entire community

In 2023, the event attracted roughly 450 people. Attendees included members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies. Megan Roach, the executive assistant to Mayor Rory E. Hoskins, emphasized that the main purpose of the event is to build a supportive community within Forest Park and surrounding areas.

“It’s definitely for everyone and everyone in the community is welcome. We want people to feel respected,” Roach said. T he village became involved with organizing the festi-

val in 2023. T he festival is also partnered with the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce.

“We wanted to participate as soon as Mayor Hoskins heard about it,” Roach said. “It has become a way for people to come together. We want everyone to feel valued.”

Last year’s celebration also involved eight drag performers. They took photos with attendees and chatted up customers inside Madison Street businesses, such as The Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor and Kribi Coffee Air Roastery.

“It’s free, it’s open to the public,” Krumrei said. “I just would hope that people who have never been to a drag performance before maybe stop by and come with an open mind.”

This year, the event will be held at dinnertime to promote family attendance.

“I think it’s a way to celebrate all families,” Roach said. “It’s also hosted by the OPALGA+ and they are very involved, helping to get the word out there.”

Cas Scaman, co-chair of OPALGA+, is hoping for a recordsetting festival tur nout.

“It has been really great for the community the past couple of years. It’s really great to do cross-community events like this,” Scaman said. “It’s really important for the LGBTQ+ community to have this kind of support.”

Last year, OPALGA+ gave Krumrei an award for his organization of the festival. Before this event, members said they felt that not much had been done to celebrate pride in the area.

Still, Krumrei is quick to deflect the focus of f of himself.

“It’s a community event,” he emphasized. “I don’t want this to be seen as my event or a Play It Again Sports event. I feel very fortunate to be a part of it.”

OPALGA+ merchandise will be sold at the festival to raise funds for its scholarship fund, which is donated annually to LGBTQ+ members and allies for their future endeavors.

In addition to the support that the festival provides to the LGBTQ+ community, there are also economic benefits for Madison Street businesses.

“It encourages people to walk up and down the strip and visit those businesses,” Scaman said. “

Robert’s Westside, located at 7321 Madison St., debuts

Children celebrated the Walk & Roll and created fun memories throwing color ful powder into the air to celebrate the beginning of Pr ide month.

its first year of involvement in the Forest Park Pride Festival. At the event, they are going to have a band and be a drink vendor

“We’re looking to create a fun, family friendly event for everyone,” said owner and founder of Robert’s Westside, Donnie Biggins. “We are working on adding a few more vendors for food and, hopefully, ice cream.”

Biggins also noted that the band will run from 6 to 6:45 p.m. and will be followed by drag shows from 7 to 8 p.m. on Constitution Court. For adults who wish to continue the festivities after 8 p.m., Robert’s Westside will be hosting an afterparty. Scratch Public House will be hosting an afterparty that will be partnered with the drag queen performers. Both afterparties will allow attendees under 21 if a guardian is present.

“This is our first opportunity to do something outside of our space and I’m just excited for Forest Park to be hosting this event,” said Biggins. “I think it’s needed for our community.”

Biggins acknowledged that Forest Park is quick to practice inclusivity.

“The village has always, from my perspective, been one to include the LGBTQ+. I feel like we’re joining a community that’s already inclusive.”

He noted that “[his] stage is always welcome to everyone.” Biggins also said festival attendees should bring their own lawn chairs to ensure that there is enough seating for everyone. Chairs and tables will be limited.

Krumrei captured the event’s purpose in a nutshell.

“At the end of the day, it is about spreading awareness and recognizing that we are all human beings. The world would be a pretty miserable place if we all looked the same.”

TODD A. BANNOR

TODD A. BANNOR

Drag queen Angel LeBare per forms at the Pride event in Constitution Cour t.

Homes

North & Madison’s recent projects bring the color to local interiors

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

As co-founders of interior design firm North & Madison, Robin Flaherty and Jess Milburn have been teaming up to bring their signature brand of colorful interiors to the western suburbs and Chicago area for seven years. Two recent projects – one in River Forest and one in Forest Park – showcase the duo’s skills in transfor ming a variety of homes.

In River Forest, a working mom of four sought their services to update her historic house. Milburn said that the house had a lot of quaint vintage char m to start with.

“The goal was to keep that vintage integrity of the home but update it,” Milburn said.

What started as the idea of creating a more modern bathroom turned into a bit more.

“The owner joked that she thought she was just going to paint the kitchen cabinets,” Flaherty said.

Instead, they ended up gutting the kitchen and adding a mudroom on the first floor. One thing they didn’t do? Take down walls to create an open concept great room.

“It doesn’t feel like new construction,” F laherty said. “It’s so rare these days to not open up space to the rest of the house. It really feels authentic to what the house wants to be.”

In the kitchen, they got creative to make a small space live large for the family. They closed of f the back door to the porch to create an area for a large, built-in refrigerator. The new mudroom has a door to the back porch.

T he original kitchen cabinets had been painted a rose pink, which F laherty and Milburn say was charming, but the cabinets had to be re placed to make the room more functional.

They added back fun punches of color with new paint. Two arched cabinets flanking the stove are painted a teal that purposefully ties into the stone countertops. F laherty and Milburn sampled countless green paints to get just the right shade for the new cabinets.

In the center of the kitchen, they added a custom wood table instead of an island.

“It looks like it could’ve been there for 100 years,” Flaherty said.

On the second floor, they connected the main bedroom to another bedroom to create a primary suite with its own bathroom, but again, they ke pt most of the walls in place.

“We didn’t rearrange all of the walls,” Flaherty added. “We just opened up her room to the bedroom next to it to create a bathroom and two closets.”

Milburn said the turnaround time on the project was a few months, noting, “we got it done really quickly, but no detail was left undone. It’s modern but really paying homage to these old historic homes of River Forest.”

In Forest Park, a long-time condo owner called on North & Madison to help breathe new life into her space. The loftstyle condominium had been finished in the early 1990’s

COURTESY OF NORTH & M ADISON

COURTESY OF NORTH & M ADISON

*AnnualPercentageYield(APY)accurateasofOctober26,2023andissubjecttochange. Aminimumof $10,000isrequiredtoopentheaccountandtoobtainthestatedAPY.Feesmayreduceearningsonthe account. Apenaltymaybeimposedforearlywithdrawal.Offerisfornewmoneyonly.

*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) accurate as of May 22, 2024 and is subject to change. A minimumof$10,000is requiredtoopentheaccountandtoobtainthestatedAPY.Feesmay reduceearningsontheaccount.Apenaltymaybeimposedforearlywithdrawal.Offerisfor newmoneyonly.

NORTH & MADISON

Color

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but had not been updated since. Milburn said that the space was essentially a loft with exposed bricks and beams, but that it had dated and dark finishes that we letting it shine.

The pair renovated two bathrooms and reworked access to a bedroom and laundry space to create a better flow

The kitchen was where they made their biggest chang e.

“This client was really up for having fun,” Milburn said. “She really gave us creative license. We made it fun and airy. It has some contemporary diner vibes.”

The cabinets are painted a rusty tone, and the tile backsplash sports a checkboard pattern featuring similar, toned tiles interspersed with white tiles. The tiles accent the wall behind the sto and are applied to the back of the island.

A teal retro refrigerator adds some fun to the space.

“In old houses, a lot of the time, you need more space for storage, and you can’ with the appliances like we could her Flaherty said.

One of their favorite details is the use of wood above the kitchen cabinets.

“Because the ceilings are so tall,” Fla-

herty said, “we couldn’t take the cabinets all the way to the ceiling. We added a cedar planking that feels like it was always there. It enhances the loft feeling of the space.”

Milburn and Flaherty said that while both were very different, the River Forest home and the Forest Park condominium designs are pure North & Madison style with plenty of color and personal touches. They said that kitchen and bath design is never immune to trends – the pair have seen their share of navy and green kitchens – and they see the trend shifting in home colors. Green and navy read like neutrals now, as people are gravitating to warmer colors. Both see burgundy and bur nt reds making their way into more living spaces.

T hey might acknowledge design movements, but Milburn said North & Madison strives to create individual looks for each client.

“We try to give each client their own de-

sign. We don’t want their kitchen to look like everyone else’s.”

After almost seven years in the business, North & Madison is expanding in more ways than one. They’ve added five people to their team and are beginning to work far from the western suburbs where they got their start. Current projects are taking them to Florida and Washington D.C.

While they used to focus on kitchens and bathrooms, they are now doing full house design and consulting on the design of newly build homes. They have also expanded their offerings to be able to work with more clients

North and Madison offers two services: full-service projects, which are primarily whole-house design, and design concepts in which they design the project but hand it of f to clients to execute. Perspective clients looking to get a feel for their work can visit https://www.northandmadison.com/ or @northandmadison on Instagram.

COURTESY OF NORTH & M ADISON

North & Madison gave this Forest Park kitchen a retro diner feel

COURTESY OF NORTH & M ADISON

River Forest mudroom renovation

Here’s our most fundamental message. Genuine local news with real reporters, editors backing them up, a design and digital team are all essential to crafting actual news that’s important to you. And it costs money.

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Good news, disappointing news

LVIEWPOINTS

Shrubtown: The power of a certi c

ast Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report titled, “Aging in the United States: a strategic framework for a national plan on aging.” The repo lines steps to create a national effort to foster both positive and communities that respect and embrace old people.

Imagine that! Creating a national plan on aging right at the moment of our never-seen-before demo graphic shift. Could our huge federa gover nment be doing the right thing at the right time?

BLESOFF

And that’s where the good news gets just a bit disappointing.

As I’ve written here before, our changin emographic requires thinking outside the box. day, for the first time ever, there are more than 77 million people in the U.S. over the age of more than 23% of our population. Every day in our country, 15,000 people turn 60, and this trend is expected to continue for the next 50 years. In years, for the first time ever, there will be more people in the U.S. over 65 than under 18. ust doing more of what we’ve been doing will not cut it

And that’s what’s disappointing about the just-released HHS re port. This entire 40-page re port, with contributions from 8 HHS divisions, as well as the U.S. departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Transportation, and Veterans Af fairs, as well as the Social Security Administration and AmeriCorps, mentions the word ageism once. One time in 40 pages.

Yale University’s Becca Levy, in her book Breaking The Age Code, using evidence-based research, identifies how our beliefs about aging determine how long and how well we live. If we think old is bad and young is good, we will die an average of 7½ years sooner than people who have positive beliefs about aging. If we think old is bad and young is good, we will be more likely to manifest Alzheimer’s disease than people who have positive beliefs about aging.

How can we talk about wellness and healthy aging if we don’t talk about ageism?

How can we craft a competent national plan on aging if we don’t talk about ageism?

Most institutions and individuals are behind the curve on aging and ageism. It’s just a fact of life in our mainstream society. This is both a challenge and an opportunity. It is important to identify weaknesses in the plans our governments unfold to meet our needs. And it is also important to educate ourselves and our leaders about how to reduce those weaknesses. One opportunity to do this is Ageism Awareness Day, on Oct. 7.

Yes, we need a national plan on aging. Kudos for the good ef for ts to make that happen.

And we need a national plan on aging that is forward-looking and includes the effects of ageism, both systemic and inter nalized.

The following commencement address was deli vered during last week’s ceremony by District 200 school board member Fred Arkin:

Congratulations to the Boys Track team for yesterday’s State Championship Victory. It is a great day to be a Huskie! OK, today is Plan B. You can handle it; you can handle any obstacle; you beat COVID, so a little rain won’t stop you. I must express the district’s gratitude to all of you, for your dignity and grace in facing the effects of the COVID pandemic. You have sacrificed greatly by completing your eighth-grade experience and beginning your high-school career in your bedrooms, living rooms and basements. We appreciate that you lost your eighth-grade graduation and a quarter of your high-school experience, and now this blasted rain. The tenacity, grit and perseverance you have exhibited will serve you well in the years to come. So welcome and congratulations, Class of 2024! Today we are here to recognize and celebrate your success. You do this not only as individuals but together as a class who, bound by your unique community, has completed this rigorous academic journey as one.

Yes, I graduated on this field a mere 50 years

ago. One thing I have come to understand is the brevity of life. That graduation feels like only a few years ago. As you march through life, savor every moment because it will seem such a short time; you will, like I am today, look back and ask yourself,

“How did that go by so fast?”

I do not intend to indoctrinate you with some esoteric political ideology. Rather, I would like to give to you the benefit of my life experience and the advice of my classmates on how OPRF provides Huskies a solid foundation for life.

Last weekend while attending the OPRF block party I had the opportunity to chat with many of my classmates. I asked each a simple question, “What advice would you give your 18-year-old self if you could go back to your high school graduation?”

Here are a few gifts to you from Huskies of 50 years ago as you navigate life:

■ Dream big, and follow your passions. Pursuing your dreams takes courage and resilience. You will have milestones and setbacks, but always be true to yourself in your relentless pursuit of the realization of your ambitions

■ Be sure to connect with people on a personal level, life is about relationships, and a relationship

Graduating seniors take their seats at OPRF High School’s Commencement on Sunday May 26.

OUR VIEWS

A Day to remember

Sunday was the 50th go-round for A Day in Our Village. And what a grand day it was in our village. The weather was a postcard. The crowd in Scoville Park was large and happy. Dozens on dozens of area nonprofits and businesses lined the walkways peddling goodwill and welcome. The music was great, the food outstanding.

And then there was the return of endless foam and endless numbers of children to run through the foam. The event’s host, the Park District of Oak Park, may have been a bit dismayed by the condition of its hill on Monday mor ning, as pure mud started to surface as the afternoon wore on.

At the Growing Community Media booth adjacent to the stage, we thought our hook was giving leaf-embattled Oak Parkers a free lawn and leaf bag as a head star t on bagging all leaves come autumn. But a surprising number of our visitors live in condos and apar tments and, honestly, they are laughing at leaves. Many more than expected said they had turned to composting leaves years ago and their laugh was a little smug by our estimation. The rest of the crowd got the humor, took the bag and seemed resigned to needing 39 more bags before the last leaf falls.

Turns out our real hook at the booth was being a credible local newsroom at a time when local news in many places is teetering or has already, what, tipped? So many people stopped by to tell us just how long they have subscribed. A few people have actually subscribed for more years than we’ve published (44) which is a cool trick. Others proudly identified themselves as GCM donors for which we are proud. And so many people, a good number of them young and new to the village, wanted to know how to subscribe to print.

We’re grateful that so many of our readers recognize that even with our imperfections, having a local newsroom with real re por ters is increasingly rare and to be suppor ted. Our thanks.

Final thoughts on the Day

Day in Our Village has been celebrated for 50 years. Oak Park was a different place in the 1970s. In the early days of open housing, it was uncertain if the village’s bold step toward racial inte gration would take hold or just be a moment in time between an all-white and an all-Black version of Oak Park. Many defined the village as east of Ridgeland or west. T he boundaries of the elementary schools we re about to shift and the middle schools carved out as a way to avoi d majority-minority schools. Downtown Oak Pa rk was fading. Ap ar tments and homes built 50 and 75 years earlier we re in tough shape. White flight was real but was capped when older families dug in and young liberals got the best deal on housing ever.

A Day in Our Vi llage was a declaration of home, of pride in dive rsit y, of hope and deter mination to nur ture a better Oak Pa rk

And Sunday was proof.

Fourth grade is history. Another station on the way to whoever my grandsons will end up becoming, an utterly f ascinating and eng rossing mystery to those of us accompanying them for part of their journey, cheerleading here, nudging toward best outcomes there, helping them navigate the traps and pitfalls whenever possible.

But I’m more intrigued by who they are right now. I will remember year 10 as a sweet spot in their evolution. The boys seem to enjoy school, and their minds are flourishing, but they’re ready for summer to begin, and so am I. Their longish auburn locks have been shor n, re placed by a cooler look and no more bedhead for a while. They say they could have sold the loose leftovers for wigs — prized, too, judging by the compliments they receive about their color.

A good start to summer KEN TRAINOR

Fireflies! The beach! Cicadas! Bike riding! With tires inflated and hear ts full, we set of f in search of the Prairie Path. We skim the gravel pathways under arching trees, accompanied by a heavenly host of 17-year hatchlings heaving for th their dome of symphonic sur round-sound. The boys are leery of these winged, red-eyed minions who are sharing our domain. Bryce aims for population control using his front wheel.

We pass three teachers from school, hiking the path, celebrating their own summer liberation. Momentarily as we pass, we shed our respective roles like insect exoskeletons.

The first week they savor sleeping in, wellearned after a year packed with student council, running club, art class and sports. But this week they’ll be at the public pool, bright and early, stroking laps for the summer swim squad.

And they also have a morning mandate from Mom, half an hour of reading and a half-hour practicing piano. They take turns playing “Stor my Seas,” their current assignment, for me; then I dial up Debussy’s “La Mer” on my phone so they can hear what stor my seas sound like with a full orchestra. On the spot, Tyler improvises his own version, which includes sharp lightning strikes (high end of the keys) and rumbling thunder (low end), with playful motifs in between, simulating a sinking ship, ending with his arms spread eagle across the keys for a flat-out finale.

It’s important to practice, of course, but summer is also a time to play.

We exercise liberties, telling lies on Lies Road (the only place they’re allowed), our favorite street in Carol Stream, where we dish truth’s polar opposite. “I’m going to throw you in the pool up ahead with your clothes on,” I say. “What pool?” Bryce responds. Curses, foiled again. Tyler adds, “My brother never tells the truth.” “That’s true,” Bryce says.

Turning onto a more truthful avenue, we drive past the townhome where they lived when they attended pre-school and kindergarten, a font of fond memories, including the crazy lady in the cul-de-sac who yelled at them. “Wait, that’s her!” says Tyler. She glares at us as we pass. The boys chortle with delight.

Bryce asks, “When you think of summer, what’s the first thing you think of?”

We browse a bike shop near the bagel deli in the strip mall after lunch. They’ re thinking about an upgrade because their current bikes just cannot keep pace with their rapidly enlarging frames.

It’s summer so the rules are looser. All three meals include bacon, but we ride 10 miles to work it of f. We also find a way to justify stopping at Kimmer’s for ice cream, then sit out front on benches, watching freight trains pass, trying to coax a whistle from the engineers, and feeling like experienced summer-vacation veterans. An older gent (even older than me) walks by with his snow-white canine. On cue, as is their custom, they say (in unison, jinx!), “We like your dog.” Approving of their approval, he stops to chat. The boys pet Sn owball, while the leashholder enumerates his grands and great-grands and marvels, “We’re lucky, aren’t we?”

That’s the truth.

With sore butts and heavy legs, we stop at the library in the late afternoon to sign up for the summer reading progr am.

T he conversation ranges from reveal to surreal. “I’m going to change my will 5 minutes before I die,” states Tyler with firm conviction in a respectable English accent. “I’m going to make my will 5 minutes before I die,” counters Bryce. His will may or may not include his brother, whom he teases for believing that penguins wear top hats, which prompts a discussion of reliable vs. unreliable sources of information online.

As first days of summer vacation go, this one was a winner, and I’m not saying that on Lies Road.

Later that night, relaxing at home, as I watch a chase scene in Love Happy, an old Marx Brothers movie, I can’t help noticing that, among myriad other antics, the characters pass a penguin wearing a top hat.

WEDNESD AY

JOURNAL

of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor Erika Hobbs

Digital Manager Stacy Coleman

Sta Reporter Amaris E. Rodriguez, Luzane Draughon

Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor

Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora

Digital Media Coordinator Brooke Duncan

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

Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck

Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead

Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea

Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza

Marketing Representatives Lourdes Nicholls, Ben Stumpe

Business & Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan

Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com

Special Projects Manager Susan Walker

Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

Publisher Dan Haley

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair Judy Gre n Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Steve Edwards Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

About Viewpoints

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

Please understand our veri cation 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 veri cation, 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 con rm 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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SHRUB TO WN by Marc Stopeck

So what if he dies?

Which “he”? Both, actually.

Trump (77) and Biden (81) have a similar probability of death (0.05 and 0.07 respectively), and almost identical life expectancies (87 and 86) per tables found on www.ssa.gov.

So does it matter should either of them die while in office? Succession is written into the constitution. It has happened before, a-plenty, roughly 17% of the time. In the course of our 46 presidencies eight vice presidents who assumed the presidency upon the death of the president.

Year - President - Vice President 1841 - W.H. Harrison - John Tyler

1850 - Z. Taylor - Millard Fillmore

1865 - A. Lincoln - Andrew Johnson

1881 - J. Garfield - Chester A. Arthur

1901 - W. McKinley - Theodore Roosevelt

1923 - W.G. Harding - Calvin Coolidge

1945 - F.D. Roosevelt - Har ry S. Truman

1963 - J.F. Kennedy - Lyndon B. Johnson (www.archives.gov/winter)

A total of 15 vice presidents — roughly 33% of our 46 presidencies — went on to become president (www senate.gov). Some of their records have been exemplary. Think of Teddy Roosevelt battling monopolies and instituting national parks, Truman steering the free world through the conclusion of World War II, and Lyndon

Johnson’s “Great Society” fueling the passage of civil rights legislation.

Succession is an integral part of leadership, in business, politics, or any other sphere of endeavor. Eight times the wheels of constitutional succession have turned for a presidential death, and the gover nment kept on ticking.

So why all the wailing and gnashing of teeth? Yes, it is possible that either of our current presidential contenders might die in office, and a vice president might assume office. As of this writing we do not know Trump’s running mate. We’re familiar with Kamala Harris. She has been accomplishing things concerning environmental justice, drug enforcement, and generally shaking up the Washington patriarchy (www.whitehouse.gov). She is an attorney, and was attorney general for, and senator from, the state of California. Vice President Harris has recently traveled to 17 states. (www.presidency.ucsb.edu)

Conclusion: Let’s not use age as a reason to vote for, or against, a candidate for political office. There are other criteria on which to base our vote. Here’s the rub: we must not stay home, cop out, ignore everything, and otherwise fail to cast our ballot. Don’t be confused by polls. Quantity does matter. A 60% turnout of 100 voters is not the same mandate as 60% of 1,000 or 10,000.

Finally: Democracy is a noun, but voting is most definitely a verb.

Full disclosure: I am 71.

Karen Muriello, Oak Park

National Gun Violence Awareness Day

WHEREAS, every day, 120 Americans are killed by gun violence and more than 200 are shot and wounded, with an average of nearly 18,000 gun homicides every year; and

WHEREAS, Americans are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries; and

WHEREAS, in Illinois has 1,657 gun deaths every year, with a rate of 13.2 deaths per 100,000 people, a crisis that costs the state $18.6 billion each year, of which $625.5 million is paid by taxpayers, and Illinois has the 35th highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S.; and

WHEREAS, gun homicides and assaults are concentrated in cities, with more than half of all firearm-related gun deaths in the nation occurring in 127 cities; and WHEREAS, cities across the nation, including in Oak Park, are working to end the senseless violence with evidence-based solutions; and WHEREAS, protecting public safety in the communities they serve is mayors’ highest responsibility; and

WHEREAS, support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns away from people with dangerous histories; and WHEREAS, mayors and law enforcement officers — in partnership with local violence intervention activists and resources — know their communities best, are the most familiar with local criminal activity and how to address it, and are best positioned to understand how to keep their citizens safe; and WHEREAS, gun violence prevention is more important than ever as we see an increase in firearm homicides, and nonfatal shootings across the country, increased calls to domestic violence hotlines, and an increase in city gun violence; WHEREAS, in January 2013, Hadiya Pendleton was tragically shot and killed at age 15; and on June 7, 2024 to reco gnize the 27th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton (born: June 2, 1997), people across the United States will recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Day and wear orange in tribute to Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun violence; and the loved ones of those victims; and

WHEREAS, the idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya’s friends, who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by wearing orange; they chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods, and orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human life; and WHEREAS, anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear orange on June 7th, the first Friday in June in 2024, to help raise awareness about gun violence; and WHEREAS, by wearing orange on June 7, 2024 Americans will raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors; and WHEREAS, we renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the hands of people who should not have access to them, and encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our families and communities safe; and

WHEREAS, the local Oak Park Austin Area group is honoring Wear Orange Weekend on Saturday, June 1st at 9:00 A.M. and will plant ve getables, fruits, and flowers in the Mercy Garden of Peace and Healing in the Austin neighborhood, and survivors of gun violence will share their stories as they meet others in the community.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that I, Village President Vicki Scaman declare the first Friday in June, June 7, 2024, to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day. I encourage all citizens to support their local communities’ ef for ts to prevent the tragic effects of gun violence and to honor and value human lives.

Vicki Scaman Village President Christina M. Waters Village Clerk

Support end-of-life options bill

I have been a physician for more than 40 years, and more recently, an interfaith minister. I have seen many people die. The ones who haunt me are those who suf fered, with or without someone at their side. It is time that we realize death is not an optional activity. To plan and discuss our wishes with our loved ones before our death is imminent is an act of courage and compassion for us and for our loved ones.

An important juncture of the death journey is the last six months of life. The Illinois End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (SB 3499), currently being considered in Springfield, would authorize medical aid in dying in Illinois. This bill allows this option: After two physicians have verified that an adult has six months or less to live, and that they are mentally capable of making their own health-care decisions, the terminally ill person can obtain a prescription which they can decide to take if they feel it is time to die because their suf fering is unbearable.

Up to one-third of terminally ill adults

who receive a prescription for medical aid in dying don’t end up taking it. But they get comfort from knowing they can take it if they need it, so they don’t have to worry about dying in agony and they can maximize the enjoyment of their remaining time with their loved ones.

This option is already legal in 10 other states and the District of Columbia. There has been no re ported abuse or lawsuits filed since it was first enacted in 1997. Seventy-one percent of Illinois residents are in favor of such a bill.

It is awful to watch someone you love in intractable pain or respiratory distress. We need to give patients the option to die in peace.

Please write to your state senator if you are in favor of having this option for yourself or a loved one. The nationwide nonprofit Compassion & Choices Action Network has an easy link to use: http://tinyurl.com/SB3499.

Rev.

Mary Kay Tobin, MD Oak Park

We need the end of war, not a cease re

Prior to the Hamas attack on Israeli towns on Oct. 7, there was a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The mood in Israel was hopeful re garding a long-lasting calm, hopefully leading to peace.

And then we woke up on Oct. 7. It was a Saturday and a major Jewish holiday celebrating Torah. First, Israelis heard the sirens indicating the rocket attacks. It was a massive one. That, Israelis have almost learned to live with. But then, the rumors came: There is a mass slaughter, there are bodies on the streets, many! No, it can’t be! It must be just a rumor! People were asking each other to stop sharing rumors, not to scare each other.

And then, we knew. We watched for days as Israeli first responders and forensic teams recovered bodies of people with clear signs of torture, rape and mutilations. Then came the scenes of celebrations. In total disbelief, we watched crowds cheering the “resistance act” that

was a massacre. As we watched in shocked silence, they chanted at us “resistance by any means necessary.” Given the atrocities by Hamas militants and those who joined them, this was evidently OK in the eyes of those who chanted these slogans.

Then came the announcement of Hamas leadership that they not only had no regrets about the massacre but that they believe it is totally justified and they will be re peated.

The end of war means Hamas and other militants should not have the means to commit the new massacres they promised. A ceasefire without the defeat of Hamas gives them a new chance to do exactly that. Hamas also ter rorizes Gazans. Hamas staying in power would be a disaster for both the Israelis and the Gazans.

“Yes” to the end of war. “No” to Hamas staying in power.

Irena Levitan Oak Park

Enhancing community safety with technology anks for Gun Violence Awareness Day

In our discussions about Flock, the automated license plate reader technology, data has often been selectively cited to support varying opinions. I urge you to set aside ideological differences and consider this issue purely on the basis of community safety, which is ultimately our shared goal.

Capabilities of F lock Te chnolo gy :

■ Investigative Efficiency: Flock assists our police in investigating crimes and apprehending criminals, which in turn reduces the likelihood of future offenses.

One View

■ Enhanced Safety: The system provides real-time alerts and notifications, enabling proactive responses and optimal de ployment of resources to ensure community safety.

■ Extended Reach and Flexibility: Flock is not limited to fixed locations. Equipping mobile units with these cameras would enhance our ability to adapt to changing safety needs across different areas

Currently, our police department operates with a significantly constrained setup: only eight cameras in limited locations with restricted functionality focused on solving crime instead of preventing crime. We have yet to activate crucial safety features like alerts and notifications that help us deploy our limited resources (our police department is 37 officers short) in ways that best contribute to crime prevention and hence community safety. While Flock technology deployed in Chicago helped quickly solve Jailyn Logan-Bledsoe’s murder, its deployment in Oak Park, with proactive capabilities enabled, could have helped prevent that murder and would have been beneficial in addressing the funeral procession shooting.

Also, these cameras as currently configured do not cross-reference license plates with their respective vehicles to check for discrepancies, such as switched plates — a loophole that criminals exploit to avoid detection. The technology has the ability to do this and other proactive measures focused on crime prevention but we have restricted its use to reactive investigation of violent

offenses, missing persons, and stolen vehicle scenarios.

Restrictions we should reconsider.

By limiting the system’s reach and flexibility, i.e. arbitrarily reducing the initially requested 20 Flock cameras to just eight, and not extending this technology to mobile units, we also may have hindered our ability to prevent recent violent incidents, such as the shootings near Oak Park’s main library at Scoville Park and previously at Lake and Forest Ave. These limitations should also be reevaluated

As I think of Flock in our community (its use and conversations surrounding its use), an analogy comes to mind: It is like giving someone a smart phone and instructing them to use it only to make phone calls — which is OK, but then let’s not complain about what the technology has not accomplished for us. Our expectations and criticism cannot be based on what a technology is capable of if we have severely limited the use of those very capabilities.

Despite these constraints, the current deployment of Flock technology has yielded significant investigative benefits.

We have successfully removed firear ms from the streets and enhanced our cooperative efforts with other agencies, solving crimes more effectively. Furthermore, there have been no complaints about interactions resulting from the use of Flock technology.

Our police department, led by our first female African-American police chief, Shatonya Johnson, has shown a profound commitment to community-oriented policing

We are fortunate to have her leadership. It is crucial that we support her and our dedicated police department by providing the necessary tools to excel in their roles

Let’s unite to empower Chief Johnson and her team, as they pursue our community’s safety by fully leveraging the potential of technology in general (and specifically Flock) through its safe and bias-free use.

This is not just an investment in technology but in our collective security and well-being.

Ravi Parakkat is an Oak Park village trustee.

Thank you to the Village of Oak Park Trustees for approving the resolution for June 7, the first Friday in June as Gun Violence Awareness Day. Thank you to the Oak Park-Austin Moms Demand Action team for proposing this resolution.

This commemoration helps us:

■ Honor the victims who have died from gun violence, including death by suicide;

■ Honor the surviving victims who are living in our communities with the injuries and scars and trauma of gun violence;

■ Honor the family member survivors in our communities who have lost loved

ones to gun violence, and

■ Encourage us to continue to take action in the many ways we can.

This June 7, wear orange to witness to your compassion for the victims and survivors. Wear orange to witness to your support for the sensible gun laws that promote responsible gun ownership. Wear orange and encourage safe storage of firearms in friends’ homes and vehicles. Wear orange and imagine a world without gun violence. We can get there!

We need a petition on leaf disposal

I need your help. I have spoken to many friends and neighbors, and I have yet to speak with anyone who is not disappointed, or even downright angry, about the recent and excessively rapid Oak Park Village Board decision to require leaf-bagging by residents.

Unlike many controversial issues, this directly and tangibly impacts everyone, village-wide. I recently wrote a letter to Wednesday Journal expressing my concern that insufficient research and community feedback has been gathered. Accordingly, I have prepared a petition, which urges that the village board:

1) Amend the board decision to require residents to bag leaves for disposal, delaying rollout until 2025.

2) Conduct necessary studies and publish results on comparative costs, resi-

dent labor, and environmental impacts to enable everyone to make an infor med and intelligent assessment of alternative leafdisposal methods.

3) Let the decision on leaf-disposal methods be decided by village-wide referendum on the November 2024 ballot.

If you would like to assist me in gathering petition signatures from friends, neighbors, and fellow residents, at your earliest convenience please send an email to me with your name and address to OPLeafPetition@gmail.com and I will forward a printable pdf of the petition to you along with instructions and suggestions. I hope to complete this process in time for the petitions to be submitted at the June 11 board meeting.

Robert Parks Oak Park

Empty your Little Free Library

I love Little Free Libraries. I visit them all the time. So often, in fact, that I know when a book has become “stale” — it’s been on the shelf for three months, six months or more

Now is the time to spring clean your Little Free Library. Take those books that aren’t circulating and donate them to the book sale held by the Friends of the Oak Park Public Library. You can drop them of f at the Main Library any time it is open

throughout the month of June.

You will be delighted by how empty shelves attract new books. And if your shelves aren’t filling fast, stop by the Friends Book Fair at the Main Library, July 12 through 14. For just a few dollars, you can put some new titles on your shelves — both inside your house and in your Little Free Library

Kris Hansen, Oak Park

Lois Love Oak Park

I’m responding to two One Views in the May 22 Viewpoints section, one addressing my essay of May 8 directly and exclusively (David Gilbert’s) and one referencing it indirectly and partially (Caren Van Slyke’s). We are all concer ned with a proposed village board resolution on the Israel-Hamas war

We agree on the need for discourse STEVE

GEVINSON

One View

To read Mr. Gilbert’s version of American politics, culture, and economy, which he says were designed to be divisive, one might conclude that a local government has an obligation to find ways to divide its community and create disruption. But I think he has it exactly backwards. People are competitive by nature and will always have conflicts among themselves. Hobbes famously described nature as “red in tooth and claw,” implying that social institutions were necessary to curb and control human nature. To a great extent, U.S. governmental design aims to order and structure our competitiveness, providing ways to resolve conflicts fairly and without violence.

Ms. Van Slyke says that calling the permanent ceasefire resolution “divisive,” as I did and do, is a “cudgel to suppress public discussion and debate.” But it’s not. It’s a recognition of the effect her resolution would have on the community. Mr. Gilbert “was taught that persuasion and argument ultimately strengthen us.” I ag ree. Arguing is what I was doing in my One View and what I’m doing her e. I recommended “education and civil discourse,” preferring that we learn about the complex issues rather than fight over a wrongheaded resolution.

That said, it’s worth noting more generally that these two proponents of argument and debate are sometimes rhetorically deceptive and otherwise unscrupulous. Ms. Van Slyke twists her opponents’ intentions and provides partial information. Mr. Gilbert oversimplifies. He attributes Israel’s actions to one motive: vengeance. He ascribes a singular and uncharitable motive to the resolution’s opponents: to stifle the will of the people. He also traffics in insult, not content to argue against my ideas, but wanting also to under mine my credibility with ironic, disparaging references

to me as “the educator,” as if I had claimed some authority from the fact that I was a teacher, administrator, and board member at OPRF. But I did not identify myself as an educator; I simply emailed my piece to WJ, and an editor decided to note my for mer connections to the high school. I’m proud, of course, to be an educator, notwithstanding a David Gilbert slinging it as a slur.

Ms. Van Slyke tells us that of 203 municipalities that have considered such resolutions about 150 have passed them. The Census Bureau re ported in 2012 that there were 89,004 local governments in the U.S. If the same number exist today, it means about 99.83 percent of local governments have not passed permanent ceasefire resolutions. Shouldn’t Ms. Van Slyke have provided the relevant context?

Mr. Gilbert says our public policies should reflect “the will of the people,” informed by specialists. Let’s suppose that village trustees decide to add to their ordinary responsibilities the responsibility of reflecting the will of Oak Parkers on important matters — domestic, foreign, and extraterrestrial — in symbolic resolutions. Let’s put aside the fact that the board has never done so, as far as I know, except in the case of declaring the village a nuclear-free zone, missing many, many oppor tunities along the way. On which matters will the board research, write, debate, and vote on resolutions? Guns? Abortion? Climate change? Microplastics? Affirmative action? Gender identity? Me-Too Movement? Cancel culture? Social media? Inflation? Voter suppression? Fake news? Supreme Court cor ruption? Know-nothing populism? Christian Nationalism? Capitalism? Other -isms? Obamacare? Bidenomics? Democracy? Lab meat? Ukraine? Russia? NATO? Taiwan? China? North Korea? Sudan? Somalia? Eritrea? Tibet? Myanmar? Syria? Iran? Saudi Arabia? Yemen? Space exploration? Et cetera.

How to decide? How to determine the will of the people in each case?

Ste ve Gevinson is a retired OPRF High School faculty and board member. A longer version of this essay can be found online at oakpark.com/opinion.

STo the River Forest Board of Trustees GIUSEPPINA NUCIFORA

ome time ago, the village published a pyramidshaped diagram in which at the very top are the residents. Below them, are the board trustees, whose members are elected by to represent the residents. Still lower are several committees and specialized boards with experience and knowledge in evaluating the problems that arise in the village. Their job is to offer guidance and recommendations to the village’s trustees. One of them is the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), which deliberates and provides guidance to the trustees on proposed changes to the zoning code.

One View

of the board of trustees. Each one of you has been elected to represent the people who elected you. We thank you for your work, which has no monetary reward, but takes away time from your family, friends, and jobs. Still, you agreed to represent the village’s residents

On May 9, the ZBA met to for mally adopt their recommendation about the village’s petition to alter zoning in all commercial zoning districts through a series of text amendments. The petition had been publicly discussed by the ZBA in four hearings, and after listening to the residents, the ZBA voted 6-1 against adopting the proposed text amendments because “they are not in the best interest of the village and its residents and property owners.”

About a year ago, to my direct question on the interdependence and the respective roles of the governing bodies, Village President Cathy Adduci replied that the board of trustees listens to and follows their recommendations as much as possible. I trust that who is at the top of the pyramid and what Ms. Adduci stated to me are true This letter is addressed to each member

Biking in Oak Park

Had a nice bike ride with a friend the other day on a beautiful, warm, spring evening. We rode a couple of miles from east-central Oak Park to Fatduck in Forest Park. Lovely evening. We enjoyed drinks and a basket of fries in the outdoor patio. The french fries were very good, lots of flavor, but I like my fries a little crispier. I found myself digging around for the smaller, crispier fries at the bottom of the basket. Anyway, we had an equally nice ride home under a full moon later that evening. That outing got me wondering how we came to this state where our cars are the default go-to choice for nearly every destination, even those within a few blocks. I used

The opposition of the residents to the village’s petition to alter the zoning codes in all commercial zoning districts is reasonable: more information is needed about the cost and revenue, about the adequacy or inadequacy of infrastructure, how to mitigate the suf focating ef fect of 5- to 6-story buildings on the neighboring single-family homes, the effect of all the added cars on traffic, the inevitable increase in property taxes.

When you make your decision and cast your vote, please remember that your first loyalty should be to the residents, not to the village president or anybody else. Just to the residents. We rely on you. You are our voice in all decisions that the village makes. Please remember what the president herself said: The board of trustees listens to and follows the recommendations of commissions and boards as much as possible.

The ZBA was very clear: 6-1 against adopting the proposed text amendments because “they are not in the best interest of the village, and its residents and property owners.”

This is the bottom line

Giuseppina Nucifora is a resident of River Forest

to drive to the hardware store five blocks from my house. What was I thinking? I understand the appeal of speed, convenience and comfort we get with our cars, but what have we given up? We’ve largely traded outdoor life for indoor creature comforts and in so doing have become more and more disconnected from the natural world. Perhaps a little more time outdoors would ease some of our modern physical and mental ailments.

I do realize bikes are not for everyone, but for me that bike ride over to Forest Park was terrific. I’d take that over a ride in my car any day.

David Hammond recently wrote about the fries at Parky’s. Perhaps that will be my next local biking destination.

Karl Lauger Oak Park

Proposed cease re resolution takes sides

First let me re peat that I am no fan of Netanyahu, that I am heartbroken at the suffering of Gazan civilians, and that I believe the U.S. should insist that military assistance to Israel (and any other recipient) accords with our values.

JUDITH ALEXANDER

One View

However, I believe that the proposed permanent ceasefire resolution is misguided, divisive and takes sides.

There is no local precedent for a village board resolution on any international issue. Supporters cite how many towns have issued ceasefire resolutions. But this number is dwarfed by those which haven’t, including Evanston and Waukegan. Per Waukegan’s mayor, the issue is simply out of local governments’ wheelhouse. (1) State officials may have mad e statements support ing Ukraine, bu t that was a noncontroversial response to an unjustified Russian invasion. T here is no consensus re ga rding a per manent Gaza ceasefire, pa rt ly bec ause the situation is ve ry complex. It ’s not only that the war resulted from a broken ceasefire and brutal attack. Hamas must answe r for war c onduct, including use of human shields and denying civilians tunnel a ccess. Sadly, neither are mentioned in the proposed resolution.

Consider also:

Recently, the Israeli government made a ceasefire offer, rejected by Hamas, that Secretary of State Blinken described as “extraordinarily generous.” (2) Another proposal is on the table now. (3)

In contrast, the call for a permanent ceasefire is the Hamas position and leaves a ter ror group intact and in power. Hamas started this war, massacred, and kidnapped Israelis and stated its intent to do so again and again. It makes no sense for the village to adopt Hamas’ position or to inject itself into such a dynamic situation with a fixed position.

Some Jewish residents support the ceasefire resolution. Some are anti-

Zionist. But I re peat: Some 80% of Jewish-Americans care de ep ly about Isr ael as it is now, a Jewish state. (4 ) We want to see Hamas defeated. The resolution supporters have given no indication tha t they share this desire.

The suggestion that ending military assistance to Israel will result in more funding for local gove r nment progr ams is naï ve. No dive rsio n of federal funds from Oak Pa rk to Israel’s military has been re ported . Why expect a local increase if military assistance ends?

Jim Schwartz wrote of his love for student protesters and Gazan Palestinians [I can speak up for those who can’t, Viewpoints, May 22]. Sadly and shockingly, he doesn’t mention love for Jewish students who are spat upon or made to feel unsafe on campuses (including, repor tedly, at OPRF). He doesn’t mention love for Israeli hostages or for Israelis who live under ongoing and threatened missile attacks, or the 135,000 who are internally displaced. (5) His omissions are part of a pattern that has Jewish people in our area and nationally feeling frightened and alone. The proposed resolution is also part of this pattern.

It is my fervent hope that the village board will courageously continue not to take it up.

(1) https://www.chicagotribune c om/2024/05/22/wauk eg an-councilagain-declines-to-take-up-ceasefire-resolution-silence-is-more-of-a-statement (2) https://www.washingtonpost. c om/ wo rl d/2024/04/29/israel-hamaswar-news-gaza-palestine/ (3) https://www.reuters .com/ world/middle-east/biden-unveils-newga za-truce-proposal-hamas-respondspositively-2024-05-31/ (4) h ttps://www.pewresearch org/short-reads/2021/05/21/u-s-jewshave-widely-dif fering-views-on-israel/ (5) https://www. thelancet.com/ j ournals/lancet/ar ticle/PIIS01406736(23)02521-7/fulltext

It’s great to live in a community that is health-care rich. Some communities have sparse health-care facilities and even non-existent opportunities to receive optimal care As things like allergies, broken or sprained limbs from the multiple sports taking place in and around schools and little leagues, we are fortunate to live in an area that has an abundance of health-care facilities to meet all of these various needs.

Good medicine EL SERUMAGA

One View

Although the combined towns of Oak Park and River Forest have a population of about less than 100,000 people, we have four hospitals nearby: West Suburban (now acquired by Resilience Healthcare), Rush Oak Park, Loyola Medical Center, and Gottlieb). This does not even include the multiple medical offices, Elmhurst Hospital (now Endeavor Health) and Loyola Immediate Care facilities, and even a newer facility, Oak Street Health, which caters to senior citizens.

The wait lists for medical appointments are perplexing with so many available facilities, which could be attributed to various insurance constraints. It could be worse and we could be in a medical desert.

It makes me think about the relationship between patient and facility and how fragile a relationship that is. Our tax dollars help to pay for these facilities so we need to be happy with them. Patients need to feel listened to in regard to their concer ns, and not managed. One thing I lear ned recently was that some medical facilities use consultants who are not staff. For example, Rush Oak Park Hospital has used consulting physicians and travel nurses instead of staff physicians in some cases, as many facilities do. Although

some are outsourced, they are still responsible for your care under the facility. This means that if there’s anything that you are unsatisfied with or unsure of in your medical care, you can still address the issues

Here are a few tips to help make those medical trips more productive:

■ Whenever possible, try to go to your medical appointments with at least one other person.

■ Make sure you go with a list of questions and concer ns, preferably backed by reasonable and factual information to present to your care provider as to why you are concer ned about a particular thing

■ Saying you saw something on the inter net is inadvisable

■ Do not leave your medical office without having all of your issues addressed, and be fir m in the level of care that you would like to receive.

Practitioners and medical facilities are there to serve you so get your worth. Try to develop the best relationship you can with your practitioners, but at any time if you feel the relationship is not working, do not be afraid to end the relationship and seek out a practitioner who is more comfortable for you, especially if you need a second opinion. You might be surprised to know that doctors lear n as much from us as we learn from them. It’s a more symbiotic relationship than you realize. They are also under a lot of stress inter nally and externally with demands that we are not privy to, so it’s good for us to realize that and adjust our relationships and approaches with them.

El Serumaga is a resident of River Forest.

Pest control and cicadas

As cicadas began to emerge across the area after 17 years underground, pest control professionals are being urged to avoid spraying broad-spectrum insecticides that could inadvertently kill these insects. The cicadas pose no threat and are an important food source for many species of birds, mammals, and re ptiles and help keep pest insect populations in check naturally.

Today in Oak Park, a pesticide company (Mosquito Squad) sprayed harmful chemicals on these harmless insects in front and I stopped them from going into my backyard. Not only did they spray my front yard and

the wonderful cypresses full of bird nests by my house entrance, they sprayed the wrong house. I never hired the company, they got the addresses mixed up.

Cicada experts warn that spraying insecticides intended for other pests could disrupt this essential ecological process and needlessly endanger beneficial species.

Property owners are advised to simply tolerate the cicadas during their 4-6 week lifecycle aboveground, after which they will disappear until their next emergence in 2038. Alejandra Moran Oak Park

Open letter to the Oak Park Village Board

The proposed implementation of a new code for the annual fall leaf collection has fomented much discussion in the village, little of it favorable. We are joining the many residents who have already voiced their legitimate concerns and objections to the new code.

■ After allowing for many wheelbar rows full of leaves for compost, we still rake mountains of leaves to the front of our homes for collection.

■ We let fallen leaves remain as protective layers on our garden beds, and yet have plenty remaining for raking.

■ Leaves do not mulch well unless they are shredded, which some of us do. We still have many bushels left to rake.

■ Our typical weekly pile measures approximately 13 feet long by 3.5 feet wide by 3 feet high. An online calculator estimates that’s 12-15 compacted 30-gallon bags per household per week.

■ To bag this volume of leaves each week would be onerous for all and not even doable for those of us who are seniors or have physical limitations.

■ The consumption of large numbers of paper bags would be costly and ecologically wasteful.

■ Bags of wet leaves are horrendously heavy and could disinte grate in rainy weather.

■ Without a guarantee of village-provided assistance for labor, we might not be able to comply and will be deterred from planting new trees.

■ This code would be an unnecessary burden and mean the subtraction of a service in a highly-taxed village.

If you are concerned about safety and visibility being compromised by overly tall leaf piles, we suggest (a) conducting an education campaign for drivers and parents, and (b) challenging LRS to come up with a pickup method that works with smaller piles.

We respectfully request you to consider the inconvenience and hardship to your constituents and rescind the proposed change.

Thomas Bair, John and Joyce Cassel, Linwood and Susie Duroe, Denise and Bruce Hartney, James and Diane Martin, Julie Robichaud, Zarine Weil, Je and Diane White Oak Park

ARKIN

Wisdom from the class of ’74

from page 36

cannot be developed digitally. Meet people face-to-face in order to build bonds and establish connections

■ Live a life you can be proud of; respect others but also respect yourself. Be kind. Listen in order to learn and grow. Give to others who need help

■ Learn about money. Be financially responsible, as your responsibilities will change as you grow. Put in savings at least 10% of everything you earn. You will thank yourself when you hit our ag e.

■ Dance like no one is watching, be

Listen to the teachers

There are a lot of wonderful things happening within our Oak Park and River Forest public schools. However, many of these positive developments may soon get overshadowed, or simply stop happening if we don’t listen to the teachers on the front lines. Some teachers in our combined communities are concerned about our schools. For proof, please watch and listen to the District 97 board meeting link below. Teachers are speaking up, they are concerned, they want help and to help. We should listen, full stop.

I hope that our community can muster up the same amount of conviction and courag e that our teachers showed last month. Teachers bravely spoke up at the board meeting in front of their ultimate boss and board members who ended up lecturing them on speech code and of fered more canned consultantbased PowerPoints as a response to their many concerns. Teachers risked their careers for the sake of our students and f amilies. If there ever was a time to stand up and suppo rt our teachers, write an ar ticl e, talk to a board member, talk to neighbors, now is that time. Fo r c ontext, in May 2021, D97 c ommunicated the overriding philosop hy our schools we re going to f ollow. This Parent University session entitled “Social Justice L essons in D97” https://www.youtub e. c om/ watch?v=PPgGlPvSH0c spells out this philosop hy ve ry c learly. Our schools have b een f ollowing this path for seve r al years and so it is fair to ev aluate wh at it has d elive re d for students, f amilies, our teachers and our c ommunity

yourself in expression by releasing your inhibitions and following your passion. It requires courage to take your own path in a world that expects us to conform. Be yourself. After all, the only one you need to satisfy is you.

■ Keep your friends forever. As you grow, friendships will drift apart, and it is amazing when you do get back together with your friends that it’s like you have never been apart. You have a great tool in social media that makes it easy to stay connected, so make the effort and keep your friends close

■ Do not fear failure. Embrace your challenges; you will learn far more from your losses and setbacks than you ever could from your successes

■ Don’t stress and worry about things that you have no control over; be agile; adjust and move forward.

This month’s board meeting appears to sugg est that such initiatives, while well intended, are not working out in an educational setting as planned. Here is the May 2024 D97 Board meeting video that we all should listen to and understand: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=sYWT6p7zJx8&t=6638s. Public comments begin at Minute 0, Second 46. T he superintendent responds at Hour 1, Minute 46, Second 22. Both sections are wor th listening to. If you care about education in our community, please watch and start your own community conversation with your friends about it . Many in our community believe our elementary schools are at an inflection point, possibly not so different than on our colle ge campuses. It’s time that we listen to the actual experts in the classrooms instead of the administrat ive theory based ivory tower PowerPoints and consultants who claim to know what is best for everyone. I am reminded of an article by a for mer and wise OPRF educator, which was published in this very paper titled, “A school’s purpose” (https://www oakpark. com/2023/08/22/a-schools-purpose).

Oak Park and River Forest have always been willing to make tough and honest decisions re garding our schools. For some reason we now seem to be shying away from such datadriven principles even when serious issues are right in front our eyes and the stakes cannot be higher. Why?

Ross Lissuzzo Oak Park nati ve, Ri ver Forest resident Attended Mann, Hawthorne (now Julian) and OPRF H.S.

■ Travel, travel, travel, seeing the world, experiencing different people; different cultures and environments will enrich your life like nothing else

■ Live life with no regrets. Make your best decisions with the information you have. Accept the outcome; grow from the experience and move on. Dwelling on decisions that did not work out is a waste of time and emotion.

■ Be grateful. Express your gratitude by saying thank you and writing a thank-you note. Return the favor or pay it forward. Sincere gratitude has positive side effects of enhancing emotional well-being, strengthens social bonds, and moves humanity in a positive direction.

OPRF High School is a reflection of our unique community. We pride ourselves on our diversity; however, our diversity is not just racial, ethnic and gender differences,

but we also cherish our diversity of thought, interests and opportunities. This is borne out by our great variety of academic courses, activities and sports, to which you have been exposed and which you have mastered.

You will find, on your march through life, as I did, that the experiences and oppor tunities OPRF has provided you, most others in this world have not realized. For this reason you will always be a step ahead.

You have done well. We salute you and wish you the best in your future endeavors. Now is the time for celebration.

So one last gift from the Class of 1974 to you: this was blaring in the Student Center as we collected our books and left the building for the last time as students. Yes Trinity, Sarah and Tamara, one last one from my playlist:

(Play Alice Cooper’s “Schools Out”)

Supporting a cease re resolution is a Jewish value

We, a group of Oak Park residents of diverse identities, including Jewish Oak Parkers, are working to build support for a permanent ceasefire resolution to be adopted by village trustees. Oak Park is a community that stands up for peace and equality for all peoples. That is why we must take a stand to end the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza by passing a ceasefire resolution.

While doing this work, we have encountered the disturbing narrative that supporting a bilateral permanent ceasefire would create a ne gative community climate for Jewish members of the Oak Park community

As a longtime Jewish resident of Oak Park, I strenuously object to the spreading of this falsehood in my name. Calling for a permanent ceasefire is in accordance with the most basic lesson learned by Jewish people from our centuries of persecution and oppression that included the unfathomable atrocities of the Holocaust: Nev er Again for Anyone

The people of Gaza are enduring a horrific assault that must end. Civilian death, grievous injury, orphaned children, entire families wiped out, destroyed hospitals and schools, and now widespread famine and disease should not be acceptable to any Jewish person in our community. By inflicting this harm on the Gazan population, the state of Israel is not acting in accordance with Jewish values.

Jewish Oak Parkers will do more to ensure Jewish safety and put an end to the evil of antisemitism by aligning with the forces that call for an end to this destruction and violence. We must hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza. That is the Jewish way.

Deborah Adelman Oak Park

Elaine Pierce, 69 Musician, reader, traveler

Elaine (Riskedahl) Pierce, 69, a resident of Oak Park, died on May 26, 2024. Here is her story in her own words: I was born in 1954 in rural central Iowa, the fourth child (after Sharon, Jon, and Rebecca) of Jasper and Maurine Riskedahl, who far med just outside of Williams. Ours was a staunchly Norwegian Lutheran home, with an emphasis on church, family, and keeping the house clean, although as the youngest child I had lots of play time and truly look at my childhood through rose-tinted glasses. With an abundance of love, laughter, books, and music in our home, it was a wonderful way to grow up.

In 1967 Interstate 35 was built through the center of our farm, and we moved to the metropolis of Independence, population 5,000, two hours due east. Our house was next to the Wapsipinicon River and we had a huge backyard and a big garden, and a raspberry patch which ke pt trying to take over the rest of the yard

I graduated from Wheaton Colle ge in 1977, with a double major in literature and music. With equal hours taken in voice, piano, and organ, I became a jack of all trades and master of none, but I very happily ended up using all three instruments equally. My primary goal was to have fun, and with the dubious help of a lot of skipped classes I succeeded.

I married Wayne Pierce (a fellow Wheaton graduate) in 1978, and we moved to Oak Park, Illinois, where we had a daughter, Trinity, in 1985. After we divorced, Larry Ritsert and I had a son, Jeff, in 1992.

I was musically active all my life, singing in choral ensembles, leading children’s music at church, and substituting as a (very pedestrian) church organist. I loved old movies. I loved reading medieval mysteries and my annotated Sherlock Holmes. I loved traveling anywhere, but especially to Italy. I loved all things Disney and all things Norwegian. I loved having Jeff read me poetry. I loved visiting national parks with Trinity.

How can parents even begin to verbalize how much they love their children? I didn’t quite worship the ground they walked on, but it was close. Trinity and Jeffrey were my north and south and east and west, and after Jeff was overwhelmed by the lies of depression and died by suicide in 2017, Trinity, even more, became my heart’s delight. As much as I loved her, she loved me back. If ever any beauty I did see … ’twas but a dream of thee.

Our conversations may have included a lot of grousing on my part, but I always knew that God was beside me with a love that was infinite. I believe that I will see my loved ones and all those who have gone before, and it will be in a place beyond my imagining.

I am survived by my siblings: Sharon Riskedahl, Jon Riskedahl, and Rebecca Mitchell; by Trinity’s father, Wayne Pierce; by Jeffrey’s father, Larry Ritsert; and by my extraordinary daughter, Trinity.

A memorial service is being planned for a later date.

David Williams, 83 Minister

Rev. David Charles Williams, 83, of Oak Park, died on May 13, 2024. A Refor med Christian Theologian, he loved to teach the truth of scripture. Born in Chicago on March 4, 1941, he and his family moved to Oak Park in 1951. A proud Oak Park and River Forest High School alumnus (1959), he graduated from Millikin University and then attended the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, the University of North Wales, and the University of Oxford Harris Manchester College.

Following his ordination, he started his ministry in Pitcai sylvania in 1967 at the Presbyterian Church helped organize the Philadelphia Conference of James Montgomery Boice.

In 1984, he moved back to Oak Park to be close to his family and continued to spread the word and teach. He started a small group Bible study which grew in numbers.

He always loved the city and enjoyed downtown Chicago where he became acquainted with a group of professionals who had started a PCA church that met in rented spaces in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. He became their pastor and in 1993 they purchased the for mer All Saints Cathedral in the Bucktown neighborhood where they remain today as Covenant Presbyterian Church. He retired from Covenant and was asked to assist and mentor young pastors in dealing with pastoral issues. He was then called to Westminster Presbyterian PCA Church and School in Elgin, IL where he served from 2007 to 2016.

When he retired again, he was asked by Covenant to support and encourage a plant church, Boulevard Presbyterian Church of Oak Park, which started services on September 24, 2017. They rented a sanctuary on Scoville Avenue in Oak Park. In March 2021 they purchased their current building at 607 Harvard Street in Oak Park where he attended till he died.

Proud of his Welsh heritage, loved taking trips to Wales to visit relatives who still live there, and was a longtime member of the Welsh Cambrian Benevolent Society.

Dave is preceded in death by his parents, Marge and Dick Williams; his brother Bob Williams, his sister-in-law Betty Kraakevik Williams, and his nephew Richard Gonzalez. He is survived by his sister Margaret Williams Gonzalez and brother-in-law Arthur Gonzalez; his brother Larry Williams and sister-in-law Mary Marsh Williams; his niece Margaret Gonzalez, ne phew Arthur Gonzalez, ne phew Grif Williams, niece Amy Williams Johnson, and grandnieces and nephews Noah Gonzalez, Alyssa Gonzalez, and Richie Gonzalez, Catherine, Annabel and Elizabeth Johnson, and his great-grandne phew Aiden Weir Gonzalez.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., June 27, at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2012 W. Dickens Ave., Chicago, IL 60647.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to further the work of the kingdom; Covenant Presbyterian Church (www.covenantchicago.org).

Arrangements were handled by Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home.

Memorial service for Harriette Robinet

Harriette Robinet will be honored with a memorial service at St. Edmund Church, 188 S. Oak Park Ave., this Saturday, June 8, with visitatio n be ginning at 10 a.m., followed by a funeral Mass at 11.

SPORTS

Fenwick so ball secures trip to state semi nals

Friars edge Nazareth for rst downstate ber th since 1998

By BILL STONE

Contributing Reporter

After last softball season, Fenwick High School seniors Maddie Entler and Sophie Stone attended the state championships in Peoria to watch their friends from Oak Park and River Forest finish third in Class 4A T hey also made a vow to g et there themselves.

“We texted our senior group chat saying, ‘We’ re coming back,’” Entler said. “That was our motivation. We wanted it and here we are.”

It’s the Friars’ turn.

On Monday, they earned the program’s second downstate berth, and first since 1998, as they won the 3A Benedictine University Super-Sectional by beating Nazareth Academy 2-1.

Fenwick (17-9) plays Pontiac (29-7) at 10 a.m., Friday at the Louisville Slu Com-

T he F riars won re gionals the past two seasons but lost in the sectional semifinals. As No. 3 seeds, they captured their first sectional title since 2013 by beatin g top-seeded Elmwood Park, 5-3, in six innings in the Glenbard South Sectional final Saturday.

“After we made it past [sectional], it was, ‘Well, we’ve made it farther than the last few years. Let’s just see how far we can go.’ Now we’re going to state,” said Stone, the winning pitcher in both games.

“With all of the seniors, this was it. This was our last chance to make it and just to have done it is super-gratifying.”

The victory was especially sweet for Entler, Stone and senior Ellie Kolb, whose varsity team as freshmen won two games, and for first-year head coach Valerie Jisa, who was a varsity assistant in 2023.

“[This game] could have gone either way. This is crazy. I’m so proud of these girl I

“I can’t believe I’m going to state with these girls. They did so much hard work. They did it all, so I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it.”

The Friars, who batted first, and Nazareth (16-20) each scored runs in the first inning. Fenwick’s leadof f hitter Gabriella Simon reached on an er ror and scored when Bella Bigham followed with a double. Junior Kailey Janda then hit her first home r un this season over the left-field fence with two outs in the fourth inning.

Janda had planned to take the SAT exam Saturday morning and then g et to the scheduled 11 a.m. start for the sectional final. When the g ame was moved to 9 a.m. in hopes of beating forecasted rain, she could not ar rive in time

“We told her since she missed [Saturday], she had to bring it [Monday] and she did,” Entler said.

“That [home r un] could not have been more timely,” Stone added.

Clutch pitching from Stone also helped She allowed seven hits with five strikeouts and three walks and also stranded four runners in scoring position.

In the seventh, Nazareth’s No. 9 hitter led of f with a single. Leadof f hitter Ken-

nedy Joe, who opened the first with a double and scored on a wild pitch, then flew out to right-fielder Leah Lowery.

When Nazareth pitcher Annabella Rychetsky tried to bunt, Stone caught it on the fly and threw to first base for the g ame-ending double play

“When that first girl got on, it was horrifying,” Stone said. “[Joe] is a good hitter. It’s loud and there’s a lot of pressure. People are screaming. Then she [flew] out and it was like, ‘Maybe this is it.’ It’s just kind of that mentality: either we win or lose here.”

Fenwick lost to Nazareth 2-1 on March 22 with 15 strikeouts. Rychetsky had 11 Monday but Fenwick had six hits, including doubles by Stone and Entler

On Saturday, Stone got the clutch strikeout to end the sixth with the bases loaded. After a rain delay with Fenwick batting in the seventh, stronger rains ended the game.

In 1998 when the Friars last ventured downstate, they finished fourth in Class AA

“Never been so excited to go to state,” Entler said. “Each year we got better and I’ve never been so ecstatic and so proud of everyone. We all worked hard and truly never gave up.”

STEVE JOHNSTON

Fenw ick’s pitcher Sophie Stone (24) delivers a pitch against Nazareth dur ing the Class 3A Benedictine University Super-Sectional, June 3, in Lisle.

STEVE JOHNSTON

Fenw ick’s rst baseman Molly Mullen (5) stretches to get Nazareth’s Taylor Rey nolds (18) out.

OPRF so ball shut down by Young in sectional nal

Huskies held to just one hit in season-ending loss

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The Oak Park and River Forest High School softball team started the IHSA postseason in impressive fashion, outscoring its two opponents, Niles West and Taft, by a combined 22-2 margin. But in the Class 4A Maine South Sectional final, May 31, the Huskies could manage just one hit, a Tyler Brock single, during a season-ending 2-0 defeat to Whitney Young

“We clearly got beat,” said OPRF coach J.P. Coughlin. “[Young] made every play, their pitcher threw strikes, and they came up with timely hits. At the end of the day, we didn’t get enough good swings. We didn’t play bad, but Young played great.”

OPRF junior pitcher Anna Topel delivered a splendid performance in the loss. She allowed two runs on seven hits and posted seven strikeouts in seven innings.

“Anna had nothing; she couldn’t throw any of her off-speed pitches for strikes,” Coughlin said. “But she g rinded and got us out of jam after jam.”

Young scored in the top of the first when Chiqui Vasquez tripled with one out and then scored on an RBI groundout by Kate Coonan. The Dolphins tacked on an insurance run in the seventh on a two-out RBI single from Emily Rodriguez.

In the bottom of the seventh, junior Maura Carmody reached on an er ror by Young shortstop Vasquez with one out to keep hopes alive for OPRF (28-10). But Dolphins’ pitcher Nyah Allen, the Chicago Public League Player of the Year, got Topel to pop out to Vasquez for the second out, then induced a fielder’s choice groundout by Rachel Buchta to end the game.

“They dominated us like we dominated other teams,” Coughlin said. [Allen] was fantastic; we only hit a couple of balls hard off her.”

Although they fell short of repeating last year’s trip to the 4A state finals, Coughlin said the Huskies had a very good season, but it’s difficult when the season objective is not fulfilled

“There’s a lot to be happy about,” Coughlin said, “but my heart breaks, especially for the seniors (Brock, Buchta, Jordan Alioto, Macy Callahan, Audrey Dumelle, Aria Hammerschmidt, Alex Kahn, and Lily Menconi). After we had a down season a

OPRF third baseman Gloria Hronek res to rst in a non-conference so ball game versus Fenw ick, May 16.

couple of years ago, they turned the program around. I’m going to miss them.”

OPRF had five players named to the West Suburban Silver All-Conference Team: Brock (third consecutive season), Carmody, Topel, and juniors Gloria Hronek and Julia Mattiace. With the exception of Brock (Lake County Colle ge signee), all are scheduled to return next year, along with juniors Sofia Ayala, Molly Chambers, and Elyssa Hasapis and sophomore Georgia Godellas.

Alioto, Buchta, Callahan, Dumelle, Hammerschmidt, Kahn, and Menconi were named to the WSC Silver All-Academic Team.

Coughlin believes OPRF should be in the hunt for the conference and state championships next year.

“We’ll bounce back and learn from this,” he said. “We’re going to keep developing the kids, and we’ ll be OK. We set high expectations and think we’re in play for state every year.”

OPRF boys volleyball

OPRF (25-10) lost in the Sandburg Sectional final, May 28, to Lyons Township 23-25, 25-22, and 12-25. The loss marked the first time since 2016 that the Huskies did not reach the state quarterfinals.

OPRF’s Roann Doody (14) follows through on a spike against Lyons Township dur ing the Sandburg Sectional championship, May 28.

STEVE JOHNSTON

C AROL DUNNING

VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in Room 4 of the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider an application for a Special Use permit to allow a Private School to operate at 53 Northgate Rd in the R1-A Zoning District.

Application No.: PZ 24-0004

Petitioner: Richard and Milagros Andrews for Intiraymi Montessori House Inc.

Address: 53 Northgate Rd

PIN: 15-25-302-008-0000

Requested Special Use: Private School

The above application is available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. During the Public Hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any evidence presented by persons interested to speak on these matters. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the matters being considered. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance by submission to the Village’s Community Development Department at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. the day of the public hearing.

The Public Hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Dated this 5th day of June, 2024.

Jennifer Henaghan, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission

Published in RB Landmark June 5, 2024

VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in Room 4 of the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider an application for Variations related to a new development.

Application No.: PZ 24-0005

Petitioner: Star Buds

Property Owner: Village of Riverside Addresses: 3320 S Harlem Ave and 363-369 E Burlington St

PINs: 15-36-212-013-0000 and 1536-212-012-0000

Zoning District: B1-TOD

The variations sought include, but may not be limited to, variations from the following sections of the Riverside Zoning Ordinance:

1. 10-9-6, to allow fewer interior landscape medians than required.

2. 10-6-2(C), to allow a portion of the landscape median next to the drive-through lane to be less than 10 feet wide.

3. 10-8-4(A)1 to allow the drivethrough lane to be 12 feet wide in areas.

4. 10-5-6(D)1, to allow the building to have public entrances at locations other than the primary street frontage.

5. 10-5-6(E)2 to allow Lexon paneling as a building material.

6. 10-5-6(B)2, to allow the ground floor windows of a commercial building to have a transparency of less than 50 percent.

7. 10-7-2(B), to allow light to shine on the public-right-way and to allow light intensity to exceed 1-foot candle at the property line.

The above application is available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. During the Public Hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any evidence presented by persons interested to speak on these matters. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the matters being considered. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance by submission to the Village’s Community Development Department at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. the day of the public hearing.

The Public Hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Dated this 5th day of June, 2024. Jennifer Henaghan, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission

Published in RB Landmark June 5, 2024

VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in Room 4 of the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider an application for a Variation to allow the entire length of a 31 foot, 7-inch-long driveway providing access to an attached garage to be widened to 12 feet, 8 inches wide.

Application No.: PZ 24-0003

Petitioner: Christopher Begbie Address: 162 Northgate Rd PIN: 15-25-300-037-0000

Requested Variation: To allow the entire length of a 31 foot, 7-inch-long driveway providing access to an attached garage to be widened to 12 feet, 8 inches wide.

The above application is available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. During the Public Hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any evidence presented by persons interested to speak on these matters. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the matters being considered. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance by submission to the Village’s Community Development Department at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. the day of the public hearing.

The Public Hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Dated this 5th day of June, 2024.

Jennifer Henaghan, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission

Published in RB Landmark June 5, 2024

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park will receive bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL 60302 Mon thru Fri, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm local time until 10:00 am on Mon, June 24, 2024 for the following: Village of Oak Park Building Maintenance Services Proposal Number: 24-122 Issuance Date: 6/5/24

There will be a mandatory pre-bid meeting at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL on Mon, June 10, 2024 at 8:30 am. Bid documents may be obtained from the Village website at http://www.oak-park.us/bid For questions please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700.

Published in Wednesday Journal June 5, 2023

VILLAGE OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Riverside will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the business of the Planning and Zoning Commission may permit, in Room 4 of the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois, to consider an application for a Special Use.

Application No.: PZ 24-0007

Petitioner: Star Buds

Property Owner: Village of Riverside

Addresses: 3320 S Harlem Ave and 363-369 E Burlington St PINs: 15-36-212-013-0000 and 1536-212-012-0000

Zoning District: B1-TOD

Requested Special Use: To allow a retail sales establishment with a drive-through facility in the B1-TOD District per Section 10-5-9.

The above application is available for inspection at the office of the Village Clerk, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546. During the Public Hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission will hear testimony from and consider any evidence presented by persons interested to speak on these matters. Persons wishing to appear at this hearing may do so in person or by attorney or other representative and may speak for or against the matters being considered. Communications in writing in relation thereto may be filed at such hearing or with the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance by submission to the Village’s Community Development Department at 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois prior to 4:00 p.m. the day of the public hearing.

The Public Hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Dated this 5th day of June, 2024.

Jennifer Henaghan, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission

Published in RB Landmark June 5, 2024

Deadline: Monday at 5 p.m.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION MORTGAGE ASSESTS MANAGEMENT, LLC F/K/A REVERSE MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS, INC Plaintiff, -v.-

ANDREW C. CRAWFORD, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Defendants 2021 CH 05362 827 N. GROVE AVE OAK PARK, IL 60302

NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on March 22, 2024, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on June 24, 2024, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 827 N. GROVE AVE, OAK PARK, IL 60302

Property Index No. 16-06-305-0200000

The real estate is improved with a single family residence. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Con-

dominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE

You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300

E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-20-03979 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2021 CH 05362 TJSC#: 44-840

NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Case # 2021 CH 05362 I3244734

NBenjamin Naber

Micah Nasralla

Lucas Navarro

Ray Nayar

Jasper Neace

Elsie Negron

Arianna Nelson

Grace Nelson

Paul Nelson

William Neumann

Esmee Newton

Khalil Nichols

Ava Nicholson

Catherine Nickles

Harold Niermann

Sara Nimz

Imani Nutall

OEvan O’Brien

Lucian O’Leary

Jonathan Ocasio

Lewis O’Connor

Eva O’Keefe

Noah Olguin

Diego Olivas

Misiani Ondande

Moruri Ondande

Ava Orozco

Anthony Ortiz Ferrer

OPRF 2024 GRADUATES

Victoria Ortiz

Vaughan Osga

Joshua Oxer

Alyssa Ozanic

PDarrien Page

Angele Pagee

Pablo Palmisano

Deshawn Palton, Jr.

Ella Papandreou

John Papandreou

Ava Pappalardo

Evan Parchman

Simon Parkhomenko

Baani Parmar

Dominic Parsi

Maya Patel

Radha Patwari

Siddharth Patwari

Sydney Pautlitz

Lucas Pawlikowski

Kelly Pedanou

Adan Pedraza

Dillon Pepper

Mia Peppers

Joshua Perez

Danaan Perry

Matthew Persaud

Franklin Peterson

Amy Phelan

Mason Phillips

Millie Pierce

Lilly Pillacela

Ruben Pillado

Elliana Ping

Kaya Piper

Lillian Plywacz

Alexander Pohl

Zachary Polan

James Ponicki

Evan Pope

Emily Porrez

Sophia Powell

Colin Powers

Charles Pozesky

Brooklyn Presberry

Rachel Prestes

Nilynn Profit

Renner Prouty

Geneva Pruden

Sebastian Puntillo

QBenjamin Quinn

Keira Quinn

RMicaela Radtke

James Radzinski

Sean Raihle

Lauren Rainey

Nassim Raja

Isaias Rakers

Ariana Ramos

Lars Rauch

Kiran Reddy

John Reeb

Daniel Regan

Julia Reisor

Nicholas Retterer

Carlos Reyes

Cameron Reynolds

Claire Rezny

William Rich

Lowell Rindler

Isabel Ring

Jaren Roberts

Kyle Robertson

Jayla Robinson

Zachary Robinson

Andre Rodriguez, Jr.

Javier Rodriguez

Mia Rodriguez

Ani Rogers

Theo Rogers

Joseph Roman

Hunter Romans

Charity Ross

Kennedy Ross

Kellen Rotatori

Whitman Rowe

Violet Ruff

Amelia Ruland

Elizabeth Russell

Owen Ruszczyk

Charles Ryan

SReid Sacks

Robert Sambou

Cameron Sameshima

Ryan Sampson

Benjamin Sanchez

Amir Sanders

William Saranecki

Olivia Sardenberg

Benjamin Sassone

Nicholas Saunders

Rommel Savage, Jr.

Tate Scanlan

Megan Scelfo

Henry Schaafsma

Henry Schacht

Xara Schellhase

Alix Schigelone

Sean Schimanski

Carter Schmitz

Trevor Schonman

Henrik Serjanaj

Benjamin Shafiro

Soren Shah Hempel

Corry Shannon

Liam Shea

Cole Shepherd

William Shepherd

Savana Shipp

Kiefer Shorr

Augustin Shumaker

Nathaniel Siegler

Devyne Simmons

Benjamin Sirota

Marina Sjoblom

Ryan Slade

Camille Smetana

Ashley Smith

Cameron Smith

Cooper Smith

Gabriella Smith

Kinsey Smith

TODD A. BANNOR

TODD A. BANNOR

SMeshalay Smith

Miracle Smith

Taylor Smith

Sela Snyder

William Snyder

Gibson Sokolowski

Brady Sorg

Claire Sparks

Ella Sparks

Madeleine Sparks

Beatrice Spell

Alexander Spielman

Shea Spillane

Shardae Spruille

Katherine Stabb

Kendrea Stackhouse

William Steketee

Mikayla Stephens

Lenora Sterritt

Elijah Stevens

Jalen Steward

OPRF 2024 GRADUATES

TJayla Tate

William Taylor

Paisley Templeton

Shiori Terretta

Shaan Thambi

Lucia Thomas Colwell

Alanna Thomas

Crystal Thomas

Nadjah Stonewall

Stephen Stovall

Charles Stow

Nia Strautmanis

Shea Sturtevant

Henry Stutz

Diana Subak

Holden Sullivan

Maya Sullivan

Bianca Summers

Kristopher Swets

Kiran Thomas

Bennett Thomason

Elizabeth Thomason

Aniya Thompson Vantrece

Aaron Thompson

Malcolm Thompson

Jameson Tiffen

Yoshi Timms

Ava Tomaso

Margaret Tomlinson

Miles Toppen

Octavio Torres Bojanowski

Otavio Tosin

Graduating senior Trevor Schonman sings the Star Spangle Banner at OPRF High School’s Commencement.

Oscar Towne, IV

Vu Tran

Elijah Travis

Tessa Troyer

Ada Truett Schriber

Jovan Truss, Jr.

Skai Tune

Aniya Turner

Leah Turner

Caleb Turnock

VLea Valentine

Santiago Valle

Saskia Van Der Meer

Lily Van Der Put

Adrian Vargas

Nathan Vattana

Samuel Vazquez

Olivia Villa

Arianne Villalvazo Serratos

Mara Vogen

Elizabeth Vollentine

WJackson Wagemann

Elsa Waichulis

Jane Walker

Kathelyn Wallace

Elias Wallichs

Alexander Walsh

Ethan Walsh

Olivia Wangerow

Joshua Ward

Asia Washington

Tayshaun Washington

Declan Waters

Marcus Wax

Sarah Wax

Cayden Weber

Julia Weir

Samantha Welin

Mia Wetzler

Andrew Whalen

Trinity White

Vyolette White

Annie Whitmore

Tara Wicklow

Vivian Wienke

TODD A. BANNOR

TODD A. BANNOR

Ashton Williams

Bria Williams

Jeremiah Williams

Justin Williams, Jr.

Makala Williams

Nyla Williams

Damaria Wilson

Arianna Winsett

Ronen Wittenberg

Alexia Wolf

Bailey Wolff

Eleanor Wolski

Hailey Wolven

Joshua Wood

Carter Workman

Elizabeth Wysockey

Maksym Yaremko

Lio Yates

Isabella Yipp

Yeoeun Youn

Victoria Young

Peter Yount

Alan Yumlu

Joseph Yutzy

Diego Zarate

Andrew Zavalkoff

Luca Zeiher

Alexander Zielinski

Tyler Zubkus

Leen Alaraj

(Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois Chicago

Noah Campbell (Scholarship Cup), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Deirdre Golla (Scholarship Cup), Johns Hopkins University

Maggie Kelley (Scholarship Cup), New York University

William Neumann (Scholarship Cup), University of CaliforniaSanta Barbara

Benjamin Sirota (Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Shea Sturtevant (Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Oak Park and River Forest High School Graduating Scholars 2024

Alena Anderson (Scholarship Cup), Emerson College

Emory Chien (Scholarship Cup), Grinnell College

Ella Homrok (Scholarship Cup), University of Wisconsin-Madison

Lindsey Libert (Scholarship Cup), Marquette University

Adan Pedraza (Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Marina Sjoblom (Scholarship Cup), Washington University in St. Louis

Paisley Templeton (Scholarship Cup), University of Chicago

Aiden Goble

Patrick Hoffman

Rachel Janosky

Hayden Jingst

NOTE: The Scholarship Cup is awarded to those students who have the highest grade point average at the end of their seventh semester using the high school’s weighted grade point index. To be eligible, students must have attended OPRFHS at least five of the previous seven semesters.

Porter Jingst

Daniel Johnson

Liam Shea

Katherine Stabb

Jane Walker

Lowell Rindler

Elizabeth Russell

NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN RECOGNITION

Aisha Abdallah Maya Berry Aminatta Brima Naimah Coleman Brenden

Willa Aumann (Scholarship Cup), University of WisconsinMadison

Madison Chisley (Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Daniel Johnson (Scholarship Cup), Syracuse University

Carlo Lissuzzo (Scholarship Cup), Carleton College

Joshua Perez (Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Gabriella Smith (Scholarship Cup), Temple University

Kathelyn Wallace (Scholarship Cup), University of MichiganAnn Arbor

Elise Borel (Scholarship Cup), Tufts University

Lillian Donarski (Scholarship Cup), University of Virginia Main Campus

Katherine Johnston (Scholarship Cup), University of Rochester

Garrett Lundgren (Scholarship Cup), Wheaton College

Amy Phelan (Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Claire Sparks (Scholarship Cup), Apprenticeship Program

Olivia Wangerow (Scholarship Cup), Kenyon College

NATIONAL MERIT COMMENDED

Jenna Ahn

Alena Anderson

Willa Aumann

Eduardo Bravo

Ava Breitung

Noah Campbell

Emory Chien

Natasha Cosgrove

Isaac Davies

Lillian Donarski

Sarah Epshtein

Maxine Gimbel

Ian Hansen

Jack Heflin

Alexandra Kahn

Abraham Koransky

Isabella Lema

Anne Lynch

NATIONAL HISPANIC RECOGNITION

Ainsley McConnell

Ingrid Medgyesy

Michael Michelotti

Linus Mitchell

Samuel Mitzenmacher

Esmee Newton

Harold Niermann

Sara Nimz

Adan Pedraza

Eduardo Bravo

(Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Epshtein (Scholarship Cup), Northwestern University

Sophia Jozefczyk (Scholarship Cup), Loyola University Chicago

Anne Lynch (Scholarship Cup), University of Notre Dame

Rachel Prestes (Scholarship Cup), Tufts University

Katherine Stabb (Scholarship Cup), Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Joshua Wood (Scholarship Cup), The University of Texas at Austin

Joshua Perez

Zachary Polan

Sebastian Puntillo

Lauren Rainey

Henry Schacht

Trevor Schonman

Benjamin Sirota

Camille Smetana

Cooper Smith

Sterritt (Scholarship Cup), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Andrew Zavalkoff (Scholarship Cup), University of Virginia

Ella Sparks

Lowenthal-Wojcik Benjamin Martin

Myles Millhouse Skyler Murray Imani Nutall

IV Elia Wei-Henrys

Abigael Cockerill

William Cote Vincent Czarnkowski

Margaret Dean Andrew Garcia

Simon Gutierrez

Mendez

Nora Meraz

Lenora Sterritt

Octavio TorresBojanowski

Elijah Travis Kathelyn Wallace

Joshua Wood

Macy Callahan (Scholarship Cup), Creighton University

Sarah

Maxine Gimbel (Scholarship Cup), The Juilliard School

Alexandra Kahn (Scholarship Cup), Villanova University

Micah Nasralla (Scholarship Cup), Seattle University

Henry Schacht (Scholarship Cup), Northwestern University

Lenora

2024-2025 ILLINOIS STATE SCHOLARS

Based

Jenna Ahn

Leen Alaraj

Jordan Alioto

Emerson Amstutz

Alena Anderson

Mary Andolina

Lyra Arvetis

Simone Arvetis

Willa Aumann

Robert Bates

Lincoln Beecroft

Leonid Beliaev

Jacqueline Bollinger

Elise Borel

Rebecca Bostwick

Quinn Bozarth

Eduardo Bravo

Ava Breitung

Catherine Cahill

Grace Cahill

Macy Callahan

Noah Campbell

Calla Champaneri

Emory Chien

Madison Chisley

Makenzie Chisley

Rachel Chung

Lindsay Chyna

Riley Comstock

Natasha Cosgrove

Adam Curtis

Isaac Davies

Lincoln Dean

Samuel Debush

Bora Demirtas

Lillian Donarski

Audrey Dumelle

Edward Eggert

CUM LAUDE SOCIETY

Ned Eggert

Janneke Engbers

Sarah Epshtein

Nathan Falbo

Lilian Fitzgerald

Hannah Franke

Griffin Gee

Maxine Gimbel

Aidan Goble

Deirdre Golla

Asher Gottlieb

Evan Grant

Seth Greenberg

James Hall

Aria Hammerschmidt

Ian Hansen

Samuel Hassler

Jack Heflin

Salome Henry

Patrick Hoffman

Alie Homeric

Ella Homrok

Justin Hsieh

Amelia Hunkele

Rachel Janosky

Isabella Jimenez

Hayden Jingst

Porter Jingst

Daniel Johnson

Katherine Johnston

Sylvia Jones

Sophia Jozefczyk

Alexandra Kahn

Sarah Kaufman

Sophia Keberlein

Ian Kedrowski

Maggie Kelley

Jude Kennedy

OAK PARK and RIVER FOREST HIGH SCHOOL

Elizabeth Kilburg

Cody Kirkpatrick

Ava Konecki

Abraham Koransky

Caroline Korrison

Maria Kunigk-Bakalar

Faith Lee

Helen Lee

Isabella Lema

Lindsey Libert

Carlo Lissuzzo

Payton LowenthalWojci

Bella Lubelchek

Avery Lucas

Garrett Lundgren

Anne Lynch

Joseph Maggio

Ashley Mandell

Jenesis Quiads Manuel

Eli Mart

Ainsley McConnell

Elizabeth McGillen

Kevin McGovern

Ingrid Medgyesy

Dashel Meiners

Kathryn Meister

Lillian Menconi

Samuel Mendez

Riya Menon

Michael Michelotti

Anna Miller

Linus Mitchell

Sadie Mitchell

Samuel Mitzenmacher

Margaret Moyar

Sebastian Mrotzek

Micah Nasralla

William Neumann

Esmee Newton

Harold Niermann

Sara Nimz

Joshua Oxer

Pablo Palmisano

Adan Pedraza

Joshua Perez

Danaan Perry

Amy Phelan

Mason Phillips

Elliana Ping

Lillian Plywacz

Zachary Polan

Colin Powers

Charles Pozesky

Rachel Prestes

Sebastian Puntillo

Lauren Rainey

Julia Reisor

Cameron Reynolds

Lowell Rindler

Jaren Roberts

Theo Rogers

Elizabeth Russell

Owen Ruszczyk

Cameron Sameshima

Benjamin Sassone

Henry Schacht

Trevor Schonman

Liam Shea

Benjamin Sirota

Marina Sjoblom

Camille Smetana

Cooper Smith

Gabriella Smith

Sela Snyder

William Snyder

Claire Sparks

Ella Sparks

Katherine Stabb

Lenora Sterritt

Shea Sturtevant

Holden Sullivan

Kristopher Swets

Paisley Templeton

Miles Toppen

Octavio TorresBojanows

Elijah Travis

Caleb Turnock

Adrian Vargas

Mara Vogen

Elizabeth Vollentine

Elsa Waichulis

Jane Walker

Kathelyn Wallace

Olivia Wangerow

Samantha Welin Mia Wetzler

Arianna Winsett

Mari Wolkstein

Eleanor Wolski

Joshua Wood

Carter Workman

Elizabeth Wysockey

Andrew Zavalkoff

Alexander Zielinski

Membership in the Cum Laude Society, OPRFHS’s honor society, represents a high scholastic honor. Juniors who rank in the top 5 percent of their class scholastically and seniors who rank in the top 15 percent of their class scholastically and who possess consistently high academic achievement are eligible for Cum Laude induction. Graduating members are:

Ryan Adelstein

Jenna Ahn

Leen Alaraj*

Jordan Alioto

Emerson Amstutz

Alena Anderson*

Charlotte Andersson

Lyra Arvetis

Willa Aumann*

Lincoln Beecroft

Jacqueline Bollinger

Elise Borel*

Eduardo Bravo*

Ava Breitung

Catherine Cahill

Grace Cahill

Macy Callahan*

Noah Campbell*

Calla Champaneri

Emory Chien*

Makenzie Chisley

Madison Chisley*

Rachel Chung

Natasha Cosgrove

Adam Curtis

Natalie Dauphinée

Isaac Davies

Sonja De Jong

* Denotes members who were inducted their junior year.

Samuel Debush

Lillian Donarski*

Audrey Dumelle

Maya Dysico

Elliott Edwards

Sarah Epshtein*

Nathan Falbo

Maxine Gimbel*

Aidan Goble

Jacob Goldberg

Deirdre Golla*

Asher Gottlieb

James Hall

Aria Hammerschmidt

Jack Heflin*

Patrick Hoffman

Alie Homeric*

Ella Homrok*

Amelia Hunkele

Rachel Janosky

Hayden Jingst

Porter Jingst

Daniel Johnson*

Katherine Johnston*

Sylvia Jones

Sophia Jozefczyk*

Alexandra Kahn*

Sophia Keberlein

2024 SCHOLARSHIP & AWARD RECIPIENTS

Ian Kedrowski

Maggie Kelley*

Ava Konecki

Abraham Koransky

Luke Lazzara

Helen Lee

Faith Lee

Lindsey Libert*

Carlo Lissuzzo*

Bella Lubelchek

Avery Lucas

Garrett Lundgren*

Anne Lynch*

Teigan Macek

Ashley Mandell

Eli Mart

Ainsley McConnell

Ingrid Medgyesy

Kathryn Meister

Lillian Menconi

Samuel Mendez

Riya Menon

Michael Michelotti

Anna Miller

Linus Mitchell

Sadie Mitchell

Samuel Mitzenmacher

Trinity Mosher

Margaret Moyar

Sebastian Mrotzek

Micah Nasralla*

William Neumann*

Esmee Newton

Eva O'keefe

Joshua Oxer

Pablo Palmisano

Maya Patel

Adan Pedraza*

Joshua Perez*

Danaan Perry

Amy Phelan*

Elliana Ping

Lillian Plywacz

Emily Porrez

Colin Powers

Charles Pozesky

Rachel Prestes*

Sebastian Puntillo

Lauren Rainey

Theo Rogers

Cameron Sameshima

Henry Schacht*

Liam Shea

Benjamin Sirota*

Marina Sjoblom*

Camille Smetana

Cooper Smith

Gabriella Smith*

Claire Sparks*

Katherine Stabb*

Lenora Sterritt*

Shea Sturtevant*

Paisley Templeton*

Octavio TorresBojanowski

Elijah Travis

Adrian Vargas

Nathan Vattana

Mara Vogen

Elizabeth Vollentine*

Jane Walker

Kathelyn Wallace*

Olivia Wangerow*

Julia Weir

Samantha Welin*

Mia Wetzler

Eleanor Wolski

Joshua Wood*

Andrew Zavalkoff*

A.P.P.L.E. SEED

Alison E. O’Hara, JD, OPRF ‘81 “Take the First Step” Scholarship

Emilia Moore

Alison E. O’Hara, JD, OPRF ‘81 “Take the First Step” Scholarship

Jalen Stewart

Alison E. O’Hara, JD, OPRF ‘81 “Take the First Step” Scholarship

Saniya Cross

Alison E. O’Hara, JD, OPRF ‘81 “Take the First Step” Scholarship

Shea Spillane

Alison E. O’Hara, JD, OPRF ‘81 “Take the First Step” Scholarship

Victoria Cross

American University - Tuition Exchange Scholarship

Ann Monaco Music Scholarship

Ann P. Bekermeier Scholarship

Elsa Waichulis

Ascher Clark

Taylor Smith

APPLAUSE: Performing Arts Scholarship

Trevor Schonman

Ariel Follett O’Hara ‘55 Family Scholarship Kashiah Harper

Arizona State University-Dean’s Scholarship

William Snyder

Beloit College - Presidential Scholarship Sadie Mitchell

Bernard “Duke” Gawne Scholarship

Jasmyn Maldonado

Beverly Memorial Scholarship (awarded by the West Suburban Physicians Association)

Boston Conservatory Scholarship

Marina Burke Sjoblom

Drew Lingenfelter

Brenda Schnede Grusecki Scholarship Amy Phelan

Carl Krafft Memorial Art Scholarship Amelia Hunkele

Carl Krafft Memorial Art Scholarship

Carl Krafft Memorial Art Scholarship

Henry Mann

Luke Lazzara

Carl Krafft Memorial Music Scholarship Connor Kuehl

Carl Krafft Memorial Speech/Dance/TV Scholarship Simone Cruz Arvetis

Carol Shields (Class of ’53) Memorial Scholarship Alana Thomas

Carthage College - Academic Honors Scholarship Benjamin Naber

Carthage College - Endowed Scholarship Benjamin Naber

Carthage College - Hay Scholarship Israel Erwin

Catherine Deam Memorial Scholarship Emma Rose Costello-Wollwage

Catherine Devereux Brandstrader Scholarship Ruby Franklin

Chapman University-Deans Scholar

Simon Gutierrez

Charles N. “Laddie” Follett Memorial Scholarship

Maria Kunigk-Bakalar

Class of 1940 Writing Award Amy Phelan

College of Lake County Athletic Scholarship

Tyler Brock

Colorado State University - Green and Gold

Scholarship

Columbia College -Faculty Recognition

Creighton University - Roman Shffel, S.J.

Eleanor Derks

Colorado State University - Green and Gold

Scholarship

James Ponicki

Columbia College - Columbia Scholar Award Ascher Clark

Creighton University Magis Award Macy Callahan

DePaul University - Dean Scholarship Emilia Moore

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