Wednesday Journal 062321

W E D N E S D A Y

June 23, 2021 Vol. 41, No. 47 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Pavlicek sought new post after 13 years in Oak Park Village manager’s last day will be Aug. 19

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Photo by Paul Goyette

FREEDOM DAY: Community members celebrate Juneteenth for the first time since it was designated an offi cial holiday by the state of Illinois and the federal government. More photos on page 8.

After major shakeup, West Sub pulled from the brink — for now

Parent company Pipeline’s new CEO says the Oak Park hospital is headed in the right direction, but still needs help

By MICHAEL ROMAIN

Things are looking up at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, if judging based on the hospital’s very recent history. In the last year, Pipeline, the safety net hospital’s California-based parent company, has made some significant moves.

In December, Pipeline announced the promotion and hire of two new CEOs at both West Suburban and Weiss Memo-

Equity Editor

See WEST SUBURBAN on page 16

Oak Park will be in need of a new village manager come August. The village’s long-serving top administrator Cara Pavlicek is leaving her position as Oak Park village manager to serve in the same role in north suburban Northbrook – a position she sought out rather than being recruited for.

“I absolutely made an application for it,” she said. “I put my hat in the ring.”

The move was prompted by nothing more than a desire to move forward in her career, Pavlicek told Wednesday Journal.

“I don’t have anything negative to say about anything within the village government, or the leadership,” Pavlicek said. “Sometimes it’s the right time for someone professionally, and it’s right for me at this point.”

Village managers stay an average of six years in one community before moving on to serve another, according to Pavlicek. She exceeded that average working with Oak Park.

Her tenure in Oak Park began in 2008, serving as parking manager. She became village manager in March 2012, first in an interim capacity, before being appointed permanently in January 2013.

“I was impressed with Cara from the moment I met her,” said former village trustee Ray Johnson, who served on the board at the time of Pavlicek’s appointment. “There were really impressive candidates to consider as village manager, and she easily stood out from See PAVLICEK on page 13

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

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Behind blue sheathing, Field building gets routine fixes Exterior maintenance work only

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

It is one of the most striking additions to the landscape of downtown Oak Park this year. The iconic former Marshall Field’s building at Lake and Harlem is fully sheathed in blue cloth attached to sidewalk to roof scaffolding.

What’s going on back there? Will there be a grand unveiling?

Not so much. The building -- which younger residents may refer to as Chernin’s Shoe Express or Borders or that really empty storefront – is getting routine exterior maintenance, said John Lynch, executive director of the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation.

Lynch confirmed that maintenance work was happening at the historic building, but only externally.

“To my knowledge the maintenance work does not include any build out activity for new ground floor or lower-level tenants,” he told Wednesday Journal.

As for whether any new tenants will occupy the open spaces on the ground floor, Lynch had no major updates.

“The building remains well leased above the ground floor and we continue to work with ownership to identify uses for the ground and lower levels but there’s nothing new to report on that at this time.”

File photo

SHADES OF BLUE: An image of the iconic Marshall Field’s building before it went behind a Christo-like veiling.

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

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Hello readers

W

e know and appreciate that you value community news. That’s why you are a subscriber to Wednesday Journal.

Over the past 18 months we have reinvented ourselves as a nonprofit newsroom under the Growing Community Media banner. We’ve made some good decisions. And we’ve missed a few. We’re the first to admit we don’t have all the answers, even all the questions about what a sustainable, independent newsroom is going to look like going forward.

What should our news coverage focus on? How should we

deliver that news? What’s the blend of funding sources that allows us to grow? Yes. We’ve got questions.

So with the leadership of our board of directors, we’re starting in on a strategic planning process.

Like any worthy process it starts with listening.

That’s why we are asking you – all of our Journal readers and those who read our Austin Weekly News, Forest Park Review and Riverside-Brookfield Landmark to fill out the survey we’ve crafted with our consultants.

Here’s the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ CFYN8PP?fbclid=IwAR0SHu-OVoY6j2Jtjhwm0o9kjJy2vCg-

tIkMxBmEQespj8YMOs9JOX02UcKk Won’t take long. And the information we gather from you will be a big help to us as we make our plan. (Plus we’re giving away five $50 Target gift cards!)

As with everything we do here, we’ll be reporting back to you on what we learn in our listening and how it shapes our plan.

With gratitude.

Dan Haley

Editor and Publisher Growing Community Media

Westlake Hospital could reopen as Woodlake

A New Jersey company has filed an application with the state to reopen the Melrose Park hospital

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Equity Editor

A company based in New Jersey is in the process of getting state approval to permanently reopen Westlake Hospital, 1225 W. Lake St. in Melrose Park, as Woodlake Specialty Hospital.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board conducted a public hearing related to New Jersey-based Woodlake Pacific Holdings’s application on June 15.

The same day, Crain’s Chicago Business broke the news that it had obtained court transcripts showing that Westlake’s previous owner, California-based Pipeline Health, “never intended to keep the hospital open” despite promises to the contrary that Pipeline’s representatives made in the weeks and months leading up to purchasing the Melrose Park hospital, along with two others in the Chicago area in 2018. “‘Pursuant to the party’s acquisition agreement, the Westlake Hospital was required to be shut down by June 5th of that same year,’ bankruptcy trustee representative Allen Guon said during a hearing last November,” according to a court transcript Crain’s obtained.

“Pipeline’s 2018 change of ownership application with the state said the transaction ‘will result in no changes to the scope of services offered at Westlake,’” Crain’s reported.

Pipeline paid $70 million in 2018 to purchase Westlake, West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago from Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare. The company still owns the latter two hospitals. It closed Westlake in 2019, the year the Melrose Park hospital filed for bankruptcy.

Crain’s reported that it isn’t “clear why the acquisition agreement required Westlake to be closed,” but “Tenet’s deal with Pipeline came shortly after Tenet sold MacNeal Hospital to Loyola Medicine for $270 million in 2018.”

A Loyola Medicine representative told Crain’s that the health system “made no such request regarding the closure of Westlake Hospital.”

The proposed Woodlake Specialty Hospital would include 230 beds, the same number that Westlake Hospital had. In the application it submitted to the Review Board, Woodlake Pacific Holdings representatives said that they plan to

spend an estimated $43.4 million to acquire and renovate the aging Melrose Park property.

They said if their application is approved by the state, they anticipate completing the hospital by Dec. 31, 2022 and estimated that. “At least 500 to 600 permanent jobs will be created.”

As with Pipeline, Woodlake officials have vowed not to discontinue the hospital’s charity care policies, which are designed to provide affordable healthcare for low-income and indigent individuals.

According to Woodlake’s application, Mark Tress, the managing member of Woodlake Specialty Hospital and Woodlake Pacific Holdings, certified “under penalty of perjury” that “Woodlake Specialty Hospital LLC will not adopt more restrictive charity care policies that were in effect at Westlake Hospital prior to its closure in 2019 and that those charity care policies will remain in effect for no less than two years following the reopening of the former Westlake Hospital.”

Dr. Glenn Kushner, the last president of the medical staff at Westlake Hospital prior to its closure, has agreed to serve as the inaugural president of the medical staff at Woodlake Hospital, Woodlake officials stated.

Woodlake said on its application that the new hospital “is arguably the first project in at least 30 years where a new provider is prepared to invest over $40 million into an underserved community with no real commitment that the State will cover any unprojected, operating losses.”

The company added that the pending opening of Woodlake was made possible by Senate Bill 0168, which was filed

by Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (7th) in March. The legislation outlines the requirements for reopening a discontinued general acute care hospital.

Under the new law, any entity seeking to reopen a previously discontinued general acute care hospital has to reestablish the same number of total licensed beds as were previously licensed by the state at the discontinued hospital, among other provisions.

Among those 230 beds, Woodlake will have 80 acute mental illness beds, 60 long-term care beds, 33 long-term acute care beds, six intensive care unit beds to support the long-term acute care unit, and 40 comprehensive physical rehabilitation beds. The hospital will also maintain a stand-by emergency department.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Taste of Uncorked Friday, June 25, 6 to 8 p.m.

Rubinstein Garden, Oak Park Conservatory Enjoy music and drinks outdoors while celebrating the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory’s 35th anniversary. Guitarist Tim Coan provides the entertainment; beverages by Anfora Wine Merchants and Oak Park Brewing. Held the fourth Friday each month. $15, includes two drink tickets. 21+. Register: pdop.org. 615 Garfield St., Oak Park.

Side Yard Sounds

BIGJuneWEEK 23-30 “The Long Shadow” Free Streaming Event and Live Q&A with the Director

Friday, June 25, and Saturday, June 26, 7 to 9 p.m.

Compound Yellow See Dr. Belsidus on Friday night and Cliff, Will O’Callahan, Telo Hoy and Mána on Saturday. $15. Tickets/more (or pay with cash or card at the door): compoundyellow.com/events. 244 Lake St., Oak Park.

Unicorns: Break the Cage Tuesday, June 29, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Virtually with the River Forest Public Library Join Talewise for their live, interactive science show for all ages.

Register: riverforestlibrary.librarymarket.com/events/unicornscience-show

View Anytime through June 28, Virtually through Illinois Libraries

Oak Park & River Forest Garden Walk Sunday, June 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Take a self-guided tour of nine Oak Park and River Forest private gardens, along with the Oak Park Art League community garden. Brought by the Garden Club of Oak Park & River Forest and the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory. $15, if purchased by 5 p.m., June 26; $20 day of; free, ages 12 and under. Begin walk (9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.) at Oak Park Conservatory, 615 Garfield St., or Cheney Mansion, 220 N. Euclid Ave., Oak Park. More/tickets: gcoprf.org/events/garden-walk

Through Friday, June 25, Main Library Idea Box The first-floor Idea Box features artifacts from past Juneteenth celebrations in Oak Park and surrounding communities. Watch a video of Multicultural Learning Coordinator Juanta Griffin read the Oak Park proclamation from 2020 and the beginning of the documentary The Hope of Juneteenth. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Thursday, June 24, 7 p.m., Virtually through Illinois Libraries Join a Q&A with The Long Shadow director Frances Causey. Also submit a question to the filmmaker before the event. Register: thelongshadowfilm.com/illinois-libraries

Vote through June 24 See what local chefs, kids/teens and amateur adults whipped up in the kitchen with Beyond Hunger food pantry ingredients. Recipes can be viewed and everyone is allowed one vote in each category each day. Also, bid on silent auction items — Lollapalooza tickets, zoo passes, local restaurants and more. Vote/bid: gobeyondhunger.org/vote

HIV Testing: Friday, June 25, and Monday, June 28 STI Screening: Through June 30 The Immediate Care Center of Oak Park In recognition of National HIV Testing Day on June 27, uninsured or underinsured residents of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood and surrounding West-Side community members are eligible for free HIV testing and sexually transmitted infection (STI) screenings by walk-in and appointment. More: 708-660-1800. Brought by Loretto Hospital. 1000 Madison St., Oak Park.

Juneteenth Exhibit

Follow two filmmakers as they travel the roads of oppression and suppression to reveal the connections of slavery and strong-arm Southern politics to the current racial strife in America. Free. Stream here: thelongshadowfilm.com/illinois-libraries

The Healthy Chef Challenge Voting and Auction

Free HIV Testing and STI Screenings

Community Art Exhibit: CONNECTIONS+ View anytime through June 30, with By Discovery Through community donation of found objects, By Discovery artists created an installation in unused real estate space that is inspired by surrealism and artist Joseph Cornell’s assemblages. 159 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park.

Living History Project: Black Queer History Friday, June 25, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Zoom with the Oak Park Library For Pride Month, learn about the Black queer experience and history. For grades 6-12. Register: oppl.org/ calendar.

Writing Matters: Thomas Lynch

How to Make a Memoir Series

Sunday, June 27, 2 p.m., Virtually with The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association Join the poet, essayist, funeral director and philosopher as he converses with Bill Young at this Writing Matters event. Lynch’s work was a catalyst for “Six Feet Under” and the subject of a PBS Frontline episode. His critically acclaimed poetry includes The Sin-Eater: A Breviary (2011), Walking Papers (2010), Still Life in Milford (1998) and others. Free; $15, suggested donation. Register: nineteenthcentury.org

Saturday, June 26, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtually with the Oak Park Public Library Learn how to put your notes, life experiences and more into memoir form. First, work on what makes a memoir. In July, the different types and themes of memoir writing is the focus, and in August, learn the specifics on how to write a memoir. Also in August, Oak Park native Caitlin Garvey will be sharing from her newly published memoir, The Mourning Report.

Each session begins with discussion and ends with memoir-focused writing. Continues Tuesdays July 6 and Aug. 3, 6-8 p.m., and Saturdays, July 24 and Aug. 28, 2-4 p.m. Register: oppl.org/calendar

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working couple in show biz, were ay high on the running the CAST summer camp long list of things and our boy Ben, now 36, was I got totally wrong cast in Peter Pan as Michael, the would be the likeliyoungest of the Darling family. hood that boys in This was a gargantuan producmiddle school could be cajoled tion, held outdoors in the back 40 into taking to a stage and singup at Mann School. I remember ing in front of girls. two things. Ben flew. He really “Well that won’t happen in flew. High and wide thanks to the a million years,” I said when pros the Poehlman’s brought in presented in 1985 with a pitch to stage the flying apparatus. And to cover the creation of the I remember Jill’s pure joy as the CAST program at Percy Julian performances began in front of Middle School. Luckily, I rapturous audiences. wasn’t the only person picking Michael was well described in the stories we covered in the our obit last week by Roberta Heinrich, a Journal. We have since written one million retired Percy Julian language arts teacher. stories about CAST. “There was something golden about MiNot a single one would have been written chael. His way was to be fierce and gentle if it wasn’t for Jill and Michael Poehlman, at the same time. He believed in people’s the husband-and-wife founders, instigachildren and in people’s talents and in dotors, collaborators, champions, visionaries ing the work to realize them.” behind CAST. While the performances were strong and Last week we carried the obituary for the Poehlmans worked so hard to draw Michael. He was 60 and died at home early in June. Jill died six years ago.

State Farmthe talent out, it never quite seemed to be theILpoint of all the work. The point was to The pair left CAST in 1997, a dozen years Bloomington, reveal these kids to themselves. Not likely in. They moved on to resuscitate the theater program at Dominican University2001290 with as future performers but as people full of surprise, outward facing into the world.

Donna Carroll, the now, I think, former This is a better village for the Poehlmans. president of the school lavishing Jill with Who’s next? Keeping a running tab here praise upon her death in 2015. on high-level departures (though still alive) In recent years Michael took his stage from Oak Park and River Forest. If the COproduction talents into home remodeling, VID effect is that 40 percent of people want finish carpentry and furniture building.

I got to know the two of them, so perfectly a new job, we’re ahead of the curve.

Adding in Oak Park Village Manager matched and so remarkably dissimilar, Cara Pavlicek’s coming move to Northwhen I was drafted, along with Randy Blabrook, we have Eric Palm leaving River ser, editor of the Oak Leaves, into fronting Forest to run Hoffman Estates. There are the annual fundraising performance put on the two school superintendents – OPRF’s by the adults — parents, teachers, princiJoylynn Pruitt-Adams and District 97’s pals — who had waited their whole lives Carol Kelley. Dominican President Donna to get on a stage in front of an enthused Carroll has retired. Bruce Elegant is about audience. Always assumed Michael and Jill to leave Rush Oak Park. found this annual rite the least interesting Makes Ed Condon of River Forest’s thing they did each year. But it brought in cash, scratched some itch for many of us District 90 the senior educator. Park district and built buzz in town for CAST. leadership seems stable. Anyone else shopThen a couple of years later, the hardest ping their resumes?

DAN HALEY

Michael Poehlman (top) and Jill Poehlman brought the CAST program to life.

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

IN MEMORIAM

Carrie Bankes’ death opens wide a community of caring

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

On a warm Saturday morning, a handful of Steve Bankes’ neighbors gathered in the front yard of his Oak Park home.

The Bankes – who lived on North Grove Avenue – were known for their “conversation curve,” a small stone patio fixed in the front of the home, allowing couples and families nearby to come and hang out.

The block party on June 19 had just begun, and some adults cozied up on Bankes’ lawn chairs, while children sprawled on the sidewalk, scribbling with chalk pastels.

On a normal day, Bankes, a self-described extrovert, would be outside with them, mingling with old friends and making new ones. Bankes, 55, loved any excuse to meet people, but only a few days had passed since his wife, Carrie, died. And he couldn’t bring himself to go outside just yet.

Carrie died June 16 after suffering a massive stroke. She was 56 years old. She was an inveterate volunteer, a professional in nonprofit communications and a person who quietly cultivated a wide array of people within her network of kindness.

“So, I’ve been here,” said Steve, slouched on a chair inside his living room, his dog, Velman, beside him. A close friend had just stopped by, dropping off Polish food.

In the next room, floral arrangements for Carrie were lined up on the dining table. Steve said Carrie loved sending flowers, especially to elderly women she knew lived alone.

“It probably should be no surprise all these flowers are coming home now,” he said.

Steve described his relationship with Carrie as “two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together.” They were best friends – and complete opposites, he admitted – but that’s why they worked. “Anything I disliked doing or wasn’t good at, she was, and the opposite was true,” he said. “Together, we were a very good team.”

Unlike Steve, Carrie was an introvert. She wasn’t a fan of parties and loathed being the center of attention. He smiled, as he spoke about Carrie who didn’t enjoy the “conversation curve” as much as he did. “She would famously go out there and say, ‘I’m going to run in and get some ice’” and not return, but that didn’t mean she didn’t love people, Steve reassured. She liked to have alone time, a moment to recharge, he said.

“She was kind to everybody,” Steve said about his late wife. “You know, I really do think she loved everybody.”

He went on to say Carrie was good one-on-one. She stayed present with the people around her, remembering the little details of their lives and was always willing to lend a helping hand.

On Steve’s Facebook, tributes to Carrie from friends, family, co-workers and neighbors have continued to pour in. The words “caring,” “lovely” and “fierce” seem to follow closely behind her name. Pictures of Carrie are posted all over the page, her warm, inviting smile in focus.

“People I don’t even know are coming up to me and saying your wife did this for me,” Steve said.

For the last three years, Carrie worked as a communications coordinator at Housing Forward, an organization that sought to help people experiencing homelessness. Years back she was also a calendar editor and advertising coordinator at Wednesday Journal.

Erik Johnson, Housing Forward’s director of development and communications, said he admired Carrie’s patience, commitment and passion. “I know she’ll be incredibly missed here,” he said.

The Rev. Emily Gage also sought to honor Carrie’s life.

For 22 years, Carrie, Steve and their three children have attended Unity Temple in Oak Park. There, Carrie was an avid volunteer, serving on the Board of Trustees, teaching children of all ages through the church’s sexuality education

program and leading the Religious Education Committee for Children and Youth.

“She cultivated relationships with individual[s] and groups wherever she turned,” Gage wrote in an email sent to the congregation June 17. “She could be counted on for a creative auction event, new ideas for activities and bringing coffee hour food and making the tables look nice or whatever else was called for.”

“She did this all with humor, grace and wisdom, never drawing attention to herself, only to those around her,” she wrote.

Steve said it’s hard to name all the places Carried volunteered. “Every night, every day and every weekend, she was doing something, you know, like some walk for this march or vigil or bringing somebody food. It was exhausting to me because I just couldn’t do that. I’m just not that kind of person,” he said.

“But she was,” Steve said. “She was a bright light.”

While Steve and Carrie have been married for 26 years, he talked about the first time they met like it was only yesterday. The story is simple: they met at a bar on Halloween night in 1992, “one of those things where the universe just decides,” said Steve, bursting into tears.

Steve, a Detroit native, was visiting his friend in Chicago.

He remembered being dragged to a bar and being shy when he spotted Carrie and her friend. Steve said his buddy broke the ice between them and started chatting them up. Their friends partnered off, leaving Steve and Carrie together.

“Then, we ended up talking until 4 o’clock in the morning,” Steve said. “I knew instantly.”

Steve said he sees glimmers of Carrie’s – and his – personality in their three children, Julia, Abby and Will.

As the late Saturday morning turned into early afternoon, the sound of chatter and laughter from Steve’s neighbors grew just a little bit louder. Steve said maybe it was time for him to finally step outside and surround himself with people. Reflecting on Carrie’s life, he found it hard to sum it all up and strung together more small stories showcasing her grace and her heart – and the impact she left on her family and community.

Remembering Carrie The following was submitted by Carrie Bankes’ husband, Steve: Carrie died peacefully June 16 after suffering a stroke in her home.

Carrie loved reading obituaries.

And now, here is hers: Carrie was born at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan although her family, Bill and Mary and sister Jennifer soon moved from Michigan to Connecticut before finally landing in the Chicago suburbs. Bill passed in 1993, and Mary and Jen stayed close until Mary passed in 2017. Jen was at her side her final day.

After high school she attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and graduated with a degree in graphic design and journalism. She stayed in Des Moines for a couple of years before moving back to the big city, the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Halloween night of 1992 she met a boy named Steve, fell in love, got married and had three kids (Julia, Will and Abby) and four “second hand” dogs (Jack, Sadie, Velma and pandemic pup Khloe) whom she raised in Oak Park under two maple trees on Grove Avenue surrounded by neighbors who became close friends.

Carrie was an introvert but loved people. She was kind but you wouldn’t want to test how far you could push her. She wouldn’t tolerate bad manners but begrudgingly accepted the occasional bad-manner

night where all rules would be suspended for a single dinner. She was stoic but could laugh so hard she would run to the bathroom. She loved to stop at farm stands along the highway although her grouchy husband was too worried about making good time to show any interest in buying peaches and berries. She followed elderly pet adoptions on Instagram and would cry when one of them would die even though we knew it was inevitable that a blind, deaf 16-year-old chihuahua wasn’t long for this world.

She stopped eating pork because she believed pigs were smart and felt emotion. Same for the octopus. She loved gardening but was slow to pull some weeds in case they would flower and bring a little joy into the world.

Carrie spent little money on herself but wouldn’t hesitate to send flowers to an old lady living alone (which really adds up were you to ask her husband).

To so many, Carrie was the embodiment of kindness and strength. She quietly touched many lives but never sought help or recognition.

She and Steve were married 26 years, together for 29 and like two pieces of a puzzle fit perfectly and were very different. But the true loves of her life were her kid, Julia, 23; Abby, 20; and Will, 17. To them she said, “I don’t want to be your friend, I want to be your mom.” And by that

she meant, my love for you is unconditional, unwavering and no matter what you do I will always love you.

Friendships come and go, but a mom will always love you with a certain purity no friendship could match.

When each would speak, she listened, really listened to each of them and when they made her laugh — which was often — the laugh was different.

It was pure … like her love for them.

She couldn’t sing, but her laugh was her song and it was beautiful.

If you feel called to bring some joy into the world in Carrie’s memory, pull some flowers from the garden, wrap some wet paper towel and foil around the bottom and give them to your neighbor who lives alone. Or maybe volunteer at an organization to help someone. Still looking for ideas? Carrie was deeply committed to Housing Forward and their work to end homelessness. She also supported Planned Parenthood as well as FORA, an organization that she loved that helps refugee kids get caught-up in school and ready to tackle life’s challenges in their new country.

As was Carrie’s wish, she wanted to pass with as little fanfare as possible but also wanted to do some good and was an organ donor. So consider becoming an organ donor, too, because you might continue helping others even after you are gone.

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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2 teens, 2 mics, and, by the way, a podcast Two Brooks grads grow friendship and a following

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

What happens when two best friends have nothing to do?

If you’re Frank Delano and Desmond Murphy, you’ll launch a podcast and spend hours on end talking, laughing, debating whether Apple or Samsung products are better, and maybe even interviewing a few celebrities.

“We were like everyone famous now has a podcast,” Delano, 14, said. “Why don’t we just make a podcast and let’s just see what happens?”

The end result is 11 episodes of “Two Teens, Two Mics and a Ton of Ideas” where Delano and Murphy discuss politics, current events, sports and weather. The episodes — which are roughly a half-hour long — often include banter between the pair of teenage boys, anecdotes from their personal lives and updates on each other’s week.

In one show titled “Telepathy and Technology,” Delano pointed out Murphy’s new email profile picture and asked him to tell listeners about the changeup. Murphy, who is the more talkative co-host, dove into a quick story about his beloved dog who runs away to his neighbor’s yard and comes right back.

“I just love my dog,” Murphy told their listeners.

For Murphy, tidbits like those drive “Two Teens, Two Mics,” but the why behind them may not be the reason some think. It’s not always for show; there’s a sentimentality to it. Murphy said that during the pandemic, he and Delano sort of lost touch with each other. With school shut down for a while, they were off doing their own thing. The podcast became a way to stay connected and keep their friendship growing.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

PRICELESS PODCASTERS: Friends Desmond Murphy, left, and Frank Delano created the podcast “Two Teens, Two Mics,” in order to maintain their friendship during the pandemic.

“I feel like this was our time to get to know each other better and remember those times that we had in seventh grade, and bring them back in a new way, and share them with each other over Zoom,” said Murphy, who graduated from Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in Oak Park this year. The podcast was about “having a good time” and also letting their listeners in, he said.

Delano and Murphy mostly record their segments at their respective homes. There have been times when Murphy was on the road and forced to record in the car, frantically yelling at everyone to “shut it!”

“My dad sometimes comes into [my] room

while I’m recording and is like ‘Oh, what are you doing, Desmond? Can you come on downstairs?’” said Murphy, who is also 14 and tried to mirror his father’s low voice.

When it comes down to putting an episode together or planning one, Delano and Murphy tend to split up the responsibilities. Delano, who initially came up with the idea for “Two Teens, Two Mics,” works behind the scenes. He edits their audio, uploads the episodes on streaming services such as Spotify or Anchor, and updates their website.

Murphy is a solid conversationalist, said Delano, also a 2021 Brooks graduate. Whenever featured guests come onto the show,

Murphy takes the lead, asking insightful questions. Delano said that Murphy has the ability to relate to people and allows them to open up.

Since January, Delano and Murphy have welcomed professional speaker and humorist Jeanne Robertson and comedian Alonzo Bodden, a former contestant on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and regular panelist on NPR’s “Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me!” When Delano and Murphy booked Robertson, the podcast’s first guest, they were ecstatic. They couldn’t believe it.

“I reached out just thinking, you know, it’s worth the shot,” Delano said. “On Twitter, they responded, ‘Sure! We’re game! Let’s set this up.’ And, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’”

In the past month, Murphy said he has tried emailing other celebrities to get them on the show, including actress Amy Poehler, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Kevin Hart just to name a few. Delano and Murphy’s dream guests also include actors Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, as well as YouTube star MrBeast.

With summer now underway, Delano and Murphy plan to make more episodes and have more things to talk about, especially with freshman year of high school just around the corner.

“I believe that some people would listen to this, even though I’m just a 14-year-old kid,” Murphy said.

Though the two can’t foresee where this podcast will take them, they’ve already learned some lessons. Through “Two Teens, Two Mics,” Delano and Murphy have been able to step out of their comfort zone, meet different people and work together as a team. Delano said he even started watching the news because of Murphy, so they could have material for their show.

“If it doesn’t kick off then so, I mean I still got to know Frank,” Murphy said. “I still got to learn about the world. I still got to learn about what’s happening, and I’ve got a great friend out of this.”

Former Associated Tire undergoes maintenance No new development in the works

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Eagle-eyed drivers may have spotted some construction activity at the property that housed the now-closed Associ-

ated Tire & Battery, 6208 Roosevelt Rd., but the block-long building with the now deteriorating blue cladding is merely getting a facelift.

Oak Park Development Customer Services Director Tammie Grossman confirmed that no new development is in the works for the lot, despite listing the building’s use as multifamily residential on its permission to work permit, which Grossman chalked up to an administrative error.

“It should be commercial, not multi-family residential,” she said. “We have new staff in permitting and they must

have clicked the wrong building type when issuing the permit.”

The permit’s description of the work being done is correct, according to Grossman.

Midwest Construction Group is handling the renovation, which includes replacing the building’s lentils and steel pillars, as well as removing damaged bricks and tuckpointing.

“They are just repairing the façade of the existing building,” said Grossman. “No new development.”

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

After Lightford’s vow, Pritzker makes Juneteenth a holiday Governor signs bill made possible through efforts of Sen. Lightford, Speaker Welch

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Equity Editor

Last year on June 19, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (4th) announced in Broadview that she and state Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (7th) (who is now the Illinois House speaker) were going to push to make Juneteenth a holiday across the state.

“I’m going to do what I can and I know Rep. Welch will join me, as we request for the governor to make Juneteenth a state holiday,” Lightford said at the time.

Three days before Juneteenth 2021, it appears Lightford has kept her promise.

On Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker HB 3922, which makes Juneteenth an official state holiday. In Illinois, Juneteenth, which originated in Texas, will be recognized as National Freedom Day, effective Jan. 1, 2022.

“Just as Illinois led the nation as the first state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, in 2021, we are leading the nation in tackling structural racism head on thanks to the guiding vision of Leader Lightford, [Rep. La Shawn K. Ford], Speaker Welch and the entire Illinois Legislative Black Caucus,” Pritzker said. “It brings me exceptional pride to sign into law the declaration of Juneteenth as a formal state holiday in Illinois, making us one of the few states in the nation to give it the full status it deserves.”

In a statement, Pritzker said that Illinois will recognize the holiday throughout the state by “lowering all flags covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act to half-staff on Saturday, June 19. In addition, this year and henceforth, a Juneteenth flag will fly proudly over the State Capitol in Springfield.”

Juneteenth will also be a paid holiday for state workers and public school employees starting in 2023.

“Making Juneteenth a state holiday is a breakthrough in Illinois history,” Lightford said. “It reminds us that freedom and racial

PHOTOS BY PAUL GOYETTE/Contributor

FREEDOM IN THE AIR: Black people all across Oak Park and the Chicago area, including Austin natives Kina Collins (seen with her fist in the air in the left photo) and Reesheda Graham Washington, took part in Juneteenth celebrations in Chicago and Oak Park. equality have always been a hard-fought battle for Black Americans and gives us an opportunity to celebrate our culture and achievements.”

“Today, we can all stand proud that Illinois will officially recognize America’s second Independence Day,” said Welch. “As the first African-American Speaker of the Illinois

House of Representatives, this moment will forever be a treasure in my heart, and I hope it will become a treasure for all Illinoisans.

It’s a day of remembrance, but also a day of joy and perseverance.”

“On June 19, 2020 Governor JB Pritzker made a commitment that he would work with the General Assembly to pass a bill to

commemorate Juneteenth as a state holiday and today it happened,” said Ford. “Today is the first day for Illinois to officially recognize the pain of the black enslaved and a day to move forward with work to repair the harms for black people.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

CELEBRATING CELEBRATING 2021 2021

Listening to hear the worries of queer youth During COVID providing places for gay youth to be seen and heard B Y F. A M A N D A T U G A D E Staff Reporter For over a year, Ray Johnson spent a part of his weekend as a volunteer crisis counselor for the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth. For three hours every Sunday evening, Johnson would sit around his home, prop his laptop open and answer calls from the crisis hotline.

Using a digital messaging service, Johnson would mostly text or chat with teens or young adults in need of someone to talk to.

Messaging services often gave Johnson the chance to provide others a judge-free zone.

His job was just to listen, offering resources as the opportunities arose.

“They don’t see you, and they don’t hear your voice,” said Johnson, who among many things is a former Oak Park village trustee and once co-chaired the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association Plus (OPALGA+). “So, there’s no tone or inflection. It’s just what you’re typing.

“If you’re speaking to a young person who’s in a situation and your goal is to create a safer situation for them – a de-escalation if you will of what they’re feeling and sharing – there’s no time limit on that,” said Johnson, whose eyes began to swell with tears.

Prior to the global health crisis, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth

SenateSenator President Senator

Don Harmon Don Harmon Don Harmon 39th District President ProPro Tempore President Tempore 6941-B W. North Ave. 6933 W.IL North Ave. 6933 W. North Ave. Oak Park, 60302 Oak Park, IL 60302 (708) 848-2002 Oak Park, IL 60302 (708) 848-2002 (708) 848-2002 327 Capitol Building 329329 Capitol Building Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 Springfield, IL 62706 Springfield, (217) 782-8176 IL 62706 (217) 782-8176 (217) 782-8176 www.donharmon.org www.donharmon.org www.donharmon.org

harmon@senatedem.illlinois.gov dharmon@senatedem.ilga.gov dharmon@senatedem.ilga.gov

in the U.S. faced higher risks of depression, anxiety, substance use and suicidality, and those risks may have been exacerbated by the pandemic, according to the Trevor Project.

Last July, the Trevor Project polled 600 LGBTQ+ youth between 13 and 24 years old and found that over 50% of them reported symptoms of anxiety or depression during the pandemic. Youth who identified as transgender or nonbinary experienced higher rates of anxiety and depression.

The survey also found that one-third of LGBTQ+ youth “were unable to be themselves at home,” and about the same number of transgender and nonbinary youth said they felt unsafe in their living situations since the pandemic began.

As Johnson recalled some of the conversations he has had with individuals through

the hotline, he became emotional and was reminded of those moments in his life when he felt alone and hopeless.

When Johnson was 19, he was diagnosed with mononucleosis, mono for short. While it wasn’t uncommon for young adults to get mono, the infectious illness “created a spiral effect,” he said.

“I couldn’t work my three jobs, so I had no income,” he said. “I was already living on the edge. I applied for food stamps. I had to pay rent. I was totally, totally stressed out.

And, you know, you can’t go to school when you have mono, so grades are impacted. This whole cascade of chaos came down on me, and I got in a really dark place, and I remember that.”

That’s why Johnson became a volunteer. He See JOHNSON on page 12

Representative Representative P r o u d t o S e r v eRepresentative Representative

Camille Camille Lilly Lilly Camille Lilly Camille Lilly 78th District 5755 W. Division St. 5755 W. Division 5755 W.St. Division St. Chicago, IL 60651 Chicago, Chicago, IL 60651Illinois 60651 (773) 473-7300 (773) 473-7300 (773) 473-7300 282-SStratton Stratton 282-S 200-1S Stratton OfficeBuilding Building Office Office Building Springfield,ILIL 62706 Springfield, 62706 Springfield, IL 62706 (217)782-6400 782-6400 (217) (217) 782-6400

S e n a t e P r e s id e n t D o n H a r m o statereplilly@yahoo.com nstatereplilly@yahoo.com staterepcamillelilly@gmail.com & R e p r e s e n t a t iv e C a m ille L illy

WWW.OAKPARKDEMS.ORG WWW.OAKPARKDEMS.ORG WWW.OAKPARKDEMS.ORG WWW.DPOP.ORG

DON HARMON, COMMITTEEMAN EILEEN LYNCH, COMMITTEEWOMAN

1243 WOODBINE, SUITE 101 1243 WOODBINE, 101 1243 WOODBINE, SUITE 101 6941-A. W.SUITE NORTH AVE., OAK PARK, ILLINOIS 60302 OAK PARK, ILLINOIS 60302 OAK PARK, ILLINOIS 60302 OAK PARK, ILLINOIS 60302 (708) 386-0090 (708) 386-0090 (708) 386-0090 (708) 386-0090 DPOP@DONHARMON.ORG DPOP@DONHARMON.ORG DPOP@DONHARMON.ORG DPOP@DONHARMON.ORG

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June 23, 2021

At 53, Didato brings diversity, youth to OPALGA+ New board member wants to offer welcome to youth B Y R I M A H A M I LT O N Contributing Reporter Anthony Didato is 53. He’s lived in Oak Park for more than 18 years. And earlier this year, in February, he joined the board of the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association+ (OPALGA+).

At 53 he is among the younger board members as the organization, founded in 1989, has aged even as it notes its many accomplishments both locally and in the region.

OPALGA+’s primary focus has been to advocate for inclusion, equity and protection for the local LGBT+ community.

Didato’s passion is to advocate for LGBT+ youths. “It’s a crucial time for LGBT+ youths to feel like who they are is OK, that they are enough,” said Didato.

He said he also joined the group to find socialization, relatability, educational and professional comradery close to home. He has

found that in OPALGA+.

Didato, who is of Mexican heritage, also joined OPALGA+ in hopes that lending his voice and experiences will promote further ethnic diversity within the association.

“A fair representation of what our world looks like can only serve to enhance OPALGA,” said Didato. “A myriad of experiences from a diverse OPALGA+ will only serve to highlight the gifts each individual brings. Together we can share [our] different life experiences and expose ourselves to see that there is a lot more love and care beyond the difficulties of our [past] experiences.”

Many OPALGA+ members have been around long enough to recall the stigma attached to being openly gay. And today, though there is still much work to be done to ensure equity, that stigma has lessened as a result of the work done by associations like OPALGA+. The outcome of its dedicated work aimed at helping LBGT+ youths to further achieve their educational and professional goals through community events, fundraising and scholarship programs have often been successful.

Visit us on Facebook! @OakParkPFLAG

“I think the hard work that OPALGA+ does for the LGBT+ community, locally, has helped many to take pride in who they are and to accept others for who they are,” said Didato.

For Didato, Pride is about being comfortable with who he is and the gifts he brings.

He has learned to embrace and celebrate his natural and developed gifts, and he wants the same for all in the LGBT+ community.

At 53, “I wish that I had been prouder earlier,” added Didato.

With his optimistic mindset, sage advice

and determination to keep getting up no matter how many failures one faces, Didato is a perfect fit within OPALGA+.

“My five-year plan is to keep improving, leading, prospering, traveling and partnering,” said Didato. As a contributing board member of OPALGA+, “I want to be remembered for living my life helping others to fully embrace themselves,” he said.

For more information about OPALGA+ mission, scholarships and future community events, visit opalga.org.

Come Out and Enjoy Classic Italian Dishes on Cucina Paradiso’s Covered Outdoor Patio weather permitting

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender We meet every 4th Sunday 3 - 5 pm via Zoom or by Phone To receive the meeting link, email us at: pflagoakpark@pflagillinois.org

This is a place of confidentiality.

708.386.1738 www.pflagillinois.org • email: pflagoakpark@pflagillinois.org

Support... Education... Advocacy

814 North Boulevard • 708-848-3434 www.cucinaoakpark.com

June 23, 2021

proud to be part of our diverse community

www.opalga.org

11

12

June 23, 2021

JOHNSON from page 9 wanted to help someone else find that “glimmer of hope.” Through Johnson’s training as a crisis counselor, there is one lesson that has stayed with him, and it goes back to listening.

“Listen to hear, not respond,” he said.

Deborah Levine, director of LGBT YouthLink, a branch of CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers, echoed Johnson and reiterated that what teens and young adults need is a safe place. For some LGBTQ+ youth, schools and local centers became places of refuge, while others found home to be more welcoming. The pandemic’s shutdown and stay-at-home mandate last spring caused a shift, quickly eliminating those spaces, said Levine, an Oak Park resident.

Like most organizations, LGBTQ+ youth centers began hosting virtual events, but that became a challenge for those who couldn’t find any privacy inside their homes. That’s where messaging services like Q Chat Space come in.

Q Chat Space – which launched in 2018 –

allows teens between 13 and 19 years old to connect with each other. The conversations include discussion topics and are moderated by key staff to help ensure participants’ wellbeing. Teens have the chance to engage in hour-and-a-half conversations, which cover anything from learning how to cope with mental health or queer representation in the media. In the last three years, Q Chat Space has also expanded to host chats exclusively for LGBTQ+ youth of color, Spanish-speakers and transgender and nonbinary youth.

“The reality is, despite the really significant disparities that LGBTQ youth experience, most of them still end up being healthy, productive, successful adults and they need help to get there,” Levine said.

Q Chat Space gives teens the chance to just be together – a virtual hangout where they can be, said Levine.

Levine and Rachel Megibow, an Oak Park and River Forest High School psychologist, spoke more about the power behind creating an online community for LGBTQ+ youth.

Megibow, co-sponsor of the school’s A Place for All (APA), said Zoom became a platform for LGBTQ+ teens to continue offering sup-

You’re not alone. There are so many people out there waiting for you, and you just got to knock on their door.

Benitez said some of his peers did port to each other and expressnot have a home they could go to. ing themselves. Zoom gave stu“We know that queer folks and dents the chance to display their especially Brown and Black queer pronouns and preferred names, folks are at a higher risk of becomMegibow said. ing homeless,” Benitez said, addThe student organization also ing that people of color in the began collaborating more with LGBTQ+ community remain disother school groups to hold online proportionately impacted by the events. A Place for All partnered pandemic and often face another with two other clubs and invited RAY JOHNSON set of barriers on top of their genauthor Zaylore Stout for a Q&A der and sexual identities. about his 2019 book, “Our Gay Drawing from his own experiences, Benitez History in Fifty States.” Members of APA were also able to bring in Denali Foxx, a was critical about some LGBTQ+ resources recent competitor on RuPaul’s Drag Race, to that he has approached for help. Some groups – who appear to have a wealth of resources speak during a virtual session.

– ultimately become limiting, if they are While Megibow celebrated those pockets of opportunities, one thing that has been on her unable to offer bilingual services or do not mind is trying to make APA more inclusive clarify whether people who are undocumented or do not have health care can gain access toward Black and Brown LGBTQ+ students.

According to the Trevor Project’s July 2020 to services.

But Benitez encouraged people, young and survey, one in three Black LGBTQ+ youth – about 32% – said their living situation was old, to not be discouraged, ask for help over “much more stressful” than before. Nearly and over again until those needs are met, and 80% of Black LGBTQ+ youth also reported never give up.

“Take a deep breath,” he said. “You’re not that recent news stories, images and videos about violence against Black people in the alone. There are so many people out there US negatively impacted them “and with more waiting for you, and you just got to knock on their door. You really have to knock on their intensity.” door.

Carlos Benitez, a recent graduate of “It’s going to be a long ride, and it’s going to Dominican University in River Forest, said he noticed that many of his classmates, who are be very difficult. But you can find a place. You part of the LGBTQ+ community, stayed on can find space. You can find community. All campus and lived in their dorms. Like Levine, those things are very possible.”

For more information please contact Lourdes Nicholls at (708) 613-3329 or Marc Stopeck at (708) 613-3330

Pride.

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

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13

PAVLICEK

while he presided over the board for eight years, commended the departing village manager on her professionalism and dedication to working on behalf of the community. from page 1 “I don’t think we would have gotten as much done as we did without Cara,” he the others.” said, adding that he will miss Pavlicek.

Last fall, Pavlicek was among four finalAbu-Taleb continued to sing Pavlicek’s ists in consideration for the city adminispraises, calling her excellent at executing ter position in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but the policies put into place by the village she lost out on the gig to the city’s internal board. candidate. Now, she is preparing to depart “She’s trustworthy. She’s ethical. She’s Oak Park and take on Northa hard worker and she’s brook. extremely knowledgeable “They are very differabout running a village,” ent communities in a lot of said Abu-Taleb ways,” she said. “The popuPavlicek recently overlation [of Northbrook] is saw the transition of the like 35,000, compared to Oak village president role from Park’s 52,000. But in terms Abu-Taleb to Vicki Scaof square miles, the commuman, who formerly served nity is over 13 square miles; as village clerk.

Three new Oak Park is four and a half.” trustees also joined the vilNorthbrook has a signifilage board.

Pavlicek told cantly larger equalized asthe Journal she has enjoyed sessment valuation due to working with Scaman in having a large number of this new capacity . corporate headquarters, “I told her how much I while Oak Park is mostly really have appreciated getresidential, said Pavlicek.

CARA PAVLICEK ting to work with her,” she “There are some amazing said. “I wish [the village businesses and industries board] nothing but the best, headquartered in Oak Park, and I am here 110 percent in but that’s more the excepthe next two months to suption,” she said. port the work they’re doing Like Oak Park, Northright now.” brook has a residency reShe informed Scaman that she had taken quirement for its village managers, meaning Pavlicek will also be finding a new the Northbrook position over coffee June 17, putting in her notice the same day. Scahome there.

During her tenure as village manager, man said she had “no inkling” Pavlicek Pavlicek has led Oak Park through mul- was planning to leave prior to their coffee tiple high-rise housing developments, the meeting.

“We had a really wonderful conversaredevelopment of the Madison Street corridor and saw Oak Park through the CO- tion,” said Scaman.

Pavlicek will remain as village manager VID-19 pandemic.

“I will miss Oak Park,” she said. “It is a for the next 60 days, as stipulated by her very special community, and I am so grate- contract. Her last day on the job will be ful to have had the opportunity to be a part Aug. 19.

“I’m grateful for her service and her of the village organization.”

Former village president Anan Abu- leadership,” said Scaman. “I’m happy for Taleb, who worked closely with Pavlicek her and Northbrook is lucky to have her.”

Northbrook bound

“I will miss Oak Park.

It is a very special community, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the village organization.”

g n a H e r e in th k r a P Oak

File photo

Cara Pavlicek

Pavlicek’s greatest hits As Village Manager Cara Pavlicek’s time winds down in Oak Park, she spent some time reminiscing about the achievements she has seen the village make during her years in the role and the three that she feels had the biggest impact, the first being the village’s response COVID-19.

“Of all the things that people rely upon government for is to be there when that’s happening.” Pavlicek said.

The partnership in providing guidance and support, as well as instituting safety guidelines to safely see Oak Park through the economic and health crisis ranked high.

“I feel really good about the work that the staff and all the taxing bodies did around the pandemic and continues to do,” she said.

With 60 percent of the population vaccinated, Pavlicek feels Oak Park is in a much better position than it was previously.

“We still need to find ways for that 40 percent that’s eligible to be vaccinated to

do that in the village,” she said.

When Pavlicek first became village manager, she was tasked with reorganizing staff structures following considerable layoffs. She included successfully stabilizing the internal structure of village government across every department among her top three successes.

“I’m just really proud of staff,” said Pavlicek, noting that some staffers have since moved on and others have come aboard. “Their commitment to the community is amazing.”

Rounding out her top three is the redevelopment of downtown and Madison Street. Multiple high-rise, transit-oriented residential buildings were constructed downtown during Pavlicek’s time as village manager, while several new business ventures were established along Madison Street.

“Those new residents,” she said, “are so economically critical to long-term survival.”

Stacey Sheridan

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

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C R I M E

Handgun stolen from vehicle A handgun has gone missing in the Oak Park area after it was removed from a 2014 Jeep Laredo during a June 14 burglary that occurred in the 1000 block of South Humphrey Avenue between 4:45 a.m. and 10 a.m.

The firearm was taken from the Jeep along with a cell phone and two 12-inch subwoofers that were in the vehicle’s trunk. Police estimate the value of the entire stolen merchandise at $2,940.

Burglary ■ Five dumbbells were taken from a residential garage with an unlocked side service door between 7:45 a.m., June 13 and 7 a.m., June 14 in the 300 block of North Elmwood Avenue. The estimated loss is $350.

■ Someone broke into a residential garage by removing the screen to a window, then once inside, took a leaf blower, weed remover and a child-size motorized bicycle between 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., June 16 in the 500 block of North Cuyler Avenue. The estimated loss is $2,100.

■ Video surveillance captured a man breaking into a residence’s garage after breaking its security lock; once inside, the man removed three drills, a jigsaw and a miter saw between 4:33 a.m. and 4:52 a.m.,

derneath a rear residential porch in the 700 block of South Grove Avenue between 6 p.m., June 15 and 1:30 p.m., June 17. The estimated loss is $434.

■ A bicycle was removed from a playground in the 1000 block of North Ridgeland Avenue around 5 p.m., June 15. The estimated loss is $499.

Criminal property damage June 8 in the 500 block of North Ridgeland Avenue.

■ The interior of an unlocked Honda was ransacked, and a brown wallet containing money and identification cards taken from the vehicle between 9 a.m., June 15 and 11:20 a.m., June 16 in the 800 block of South Grove Avenue. The estimated loss is $100.

Motor vehicle theft ■ Someone removed a 2003 Subaru Legacy from the fourth floor of a parking garage in the 1100 Block of South Boulevard between 5 p.m., June 9 and 6 a.m., June 11. The estimated loss is $4,500.

■ Someone was seen removing a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse, left unattended and running, between 3:15 p.m. and 3:25 p.m.,

June 10 in the 300 block of Chicago Avenue.

The estimated loss is $6,500.

Theft ■ An unattended and unsecured black BMX-style bike was taken from outside a residence in the 700 block of Wesley Avenue at 6:44 a.m., June 11. The estimated loss is $100.

■ An Amigo Mobility motorized shopping cart was taken from Pete’s Fresh Market, 259 W. Lake St., between 8 p.m., June 5 and 7 a.m., June 6. The estimated loss is $1,500.

■ The catalytic converter was cut from a 2015 Honda Fit that was parked in a parking lot in the 1100 block of West Augusta Street between 4 p.m., June 9 and 7:30 a.m., June 10.

■ A black bicycle was removed from un-

The front windshield of a vehicle was shattered between 9 p.m., June 16 and 7:25 a.m., June 17 in the 1000 block of Wisconsin Avenue. The estimated damage is $500.

■ These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports June 14 through June 20 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded.

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

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

Oak Park couple mistaken for bank robbers sues U.S. Bank Couple was handcuffed and detained by police during 2020 incident

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The married couple mistakenly arrested in connection with the attempted armed robbery of an Oak Park U.S Bank branch last year are suing the branch for $50,000 in compensation for damages incurred during the incident. The complaint states that the husband and wife were racially profiled by bank employees, who identified them as the perpetrators to Oak Park police.

“As a result of the callous, negligent actions and inactions of U.S. Bank, the Plaintiffs suffered fear, pain, emotional distress, and monetary expense,” reads the complaint, filed June 15 with the Circuit Court of Cook County.

U.S. Bank categorically refuted the assertions made against them in the complaint, calling the accusations of racial bias false and unsubstantiated by facts.

“We empathize with the Dugars’ experience; however, the claims of mistreatment

and racial bias by U.S. Bank are not supported by the facts,” said U.S. Bank spokesperson Lee Henderson.

“While we cannot comment on how law enforcement conducted its investigation of the attempted robbery, there is nothing to suggest that the information provided to them by witnesses at the scene was in any way racially motivated or discriminatory— to say otherwise is simply false.”

Henderson stated that the branch intends to vigorously defend the bank and its employees.

The attempted armed robbery occurred at 11:27 a.m., Feb. 26, 2020. Police reports state that a Black man entered the branch, located at 6011 W. North Ave., told employees he was armed and demanded money, then fled the scene emptyhanded. The reports described the offender as Black, between 30 and 40 years old and about 5-feet-5-inches tall.

On that same day, Ottis Dugar, 86, and his 67-year-old wife Demitri Dugar, who are both Black, visited the branch. Shortly after leaving, the Dugars were pulled over, handcuffed and detained for over 45 minutes

by Oak Park police officers, who had guns drawn, according to the couple’s attorney Gregory Kulis. Wednesday Journal has requested the dashboard camera footage of the incident through the Freedom of Infor-

mation Act. “I can only believe that the real reason this occurred is because they are Black,” said Kulis, who called it a case of “banking while black.”

The complaint argues that U.S. Bank failed in its duty to treat customers fairly and not discriminate against them when bank personnel identified the Dugars, neither of whom matched the offender’s description, to the police.

“Defendant U.S. Bank breached said duty when its employee(s) provided false information to the police indicating that the Plaintiffs were the alleged attempted bank robbers simply because of the color of their skin,” the complaint reads.

Kulis told Wednesday Journal that he, on behalf of his clients, had reached out to the branch “some months ago” to seek resolution but U.S. Bank remained uninterested.

“U.S. Bank basically ignored anything that we have sent out,” said Kulis. “They have not given an explanation as to how and why they would think their regular customers at this branch was involved in a bank robbery.”

He has also reached out to the village of Oak Park in the hopes of resolving the matter. The village board has recently committed to pursuing a number of goals related

to racial equity and increasing community safety through police reform.

The Dugars, according to Kulis, have always been friendly with bank employees, going to the branch regularly for their financial transactions. Kulis believes Demitri Dugar even spoke to the bank security guard during their Feb. 24 visit.

Stress felt by the Dugars during their 45-minute detainment has exacerbated the couple’s health issues, according to Kulis.

Ottis Dugar is partially blind and a veteran of the armed forces. He told Kulis that it was the first time a gun had been pointed at him since he was in the service well over 60 years ago.

“Mr. Dugar’s blood pressure skyrocketed after this,” Kulis said.

Demitri Dugar, who is reportedly diabetic, experienced pain in her knees due to the way she was positioned into the police vehicle while being detained, according to Kulis, who stated that the situation could have resulted in far worse as both of his clients feared for their lives.

“Unfortunately, we see in America a lot of things happen to Black individuals when they are exiting a vehicle,” said Kulis. “They could have been shot.”

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

15

Community mosaics find home after 21 years Will be displayed outside planned recreation center

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Whatever happened to the five mosaic columns that were supposed to go outside Longfellow Elementary School? For about two decades, nothing – until now. The ceramic creations will at long last be displayed openly and permanently, enhancing the façade of the Park District of Oak Park’s planned community recreation center.

“After 20-plus years, these mosaics are going to take a place in the community,” said Camille Wilson White, executive director of the Oak Park Area Arts Council (OPAAC).

An act of community collaboration by OPAAC, the park district and the school’s parent teacher organization led to the ceramic creations being unearthed from storage and repurposed for the recreation center, for which funds are still being raised.

“We all had an epiphany one night,” said Jan Arnold, Park District of Oak Park executive director.

The mosaics were created for Longfellow by artist Mirtes Zwierzynski back in 2000, with the help of students, the PTO and Chris Worley, the school’s art teacher at the time. Using shards of broken ceramic tiles, the five columns represent Oak Park’s history, from the prehistoric epoch up until the year of their creation, depicting its everevolving social and geographic landscape.

The columns extended as wide as 5-feet in width and stood as high as 12-feet.

The Illinois Arts Council awarded Longfellow a grant to fund the outdoor art installation, which was titled, “Stories Of Our Neighborhood.” The school intended to

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

PIECE BY PIECE: Master artist Carolyn Elaine (right) and first-year apprentice Lauren Edwards handle the tesserae for the “Off the Wall” mosaic. mount the five pillars outside of the school, but that never came to fruition due to size and structural complications, according to Amanda Siegfried, spokesperson for Oak Park’s Elementary School District 97.

Last year, the park district requested OPAAC’s partnership in incorporating public art into the plans for the community recreation center. Meanwhile, the mosaics languished in the basement of a former Longfellow parent. Just as it takes time to arrange individual tile shards to create a final mural, the idea to display the mosaics outside the recreation center took a year to materialize.

Things developed quickly from there, with the PTO donating the mosaics to the park district. OPAAC began repurposing

the mosaics columns into a flat mural this summer as part of the council’s “Off the Wall” summer arts program under Carolyn Elaine, who has served as master artist every summer since the program’s 2005 formation. The reformatting will take about two summers.

While she played no role in the original Longfellow project, Elaine has her own special connection to the mosaics through Zwierzynski, under whom she apprenticed.

“It’s her design; it’s her energy; it’s her interaction with the community,” Elaine said of her former mentor and the five mosaic columns created at the turn of the new millennium.

The two artists have worked together over many years. Elaine asked Zwierzynski

in reimagining the Longfellow mosaics as a mural to suit the community recreation center, which she agreed to under one condition.

“Mirtes, being the type of artist that she is, said, ‘I just have one request… that in some way all the students who worked on this are acknowledged,’” said Elaine.

Elaine gladly agreed. The original assembly of the five mosaic columns was documented through photography. Zwierzynski has suggested using the pictures taken of the students working be transformed into an exhibition to be shown alongside the unveiling of the mosaics and the community recreation center, which has accrued about 75 percent of its fundraising goal of $22 million. The students will be invited to the eventual unveiling.

Depending on the recreation center’s construction schedule, the mosaics will be installed in the fall of 2022 or spring of 2023, according to Arnold. The columnsturned-mural will adorn the east side of the building.

The benefits of repurposing the mosaics include cost savings. The park district had budgeted about $150,000 toward purchasing an original piece for the center.

Beyond that, several materials used in the Longfellow project were saved and the mosaics themselves are also in wonderful condition.

“It’s easily saved the project about $100,000,” said Arnold.

The value of the opportunity extends beyond the monetary. The mosaics were created to tell Oak Park’s history but have become a part of that history themselves.

The brokenness of the journey from their creation, to reformation and their future installation is not unlike breaking whole tiles then assembling a new picture from the debris.

“There’s beauty in the brokenness,” said Elaine.

In Austin, discussing Baldwin’s ongoing influence

Festival Theatre hosted discussion with Eddie Glaude on June 15

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Equity Editor

James Baldwin was center stage on June 15 at Kehrein Center for the Arts in Austin during an event hosted by Oak Park Festival Theatre, along with several other organizations from Oak Park and the West Side.

Eddie Glaude, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, channeled the late Black essayist and novelist during a panel discussion on Baldwin’s life and work.

Glaude, author of Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, said while in the process of writing the book, which was published last year, he

had to really grapple with the thrust of Baldwin’s words.

Those words, he said, forced him to confront some hard truths about himself.

“Jimmy is demanding that we encounter honestly who we are,” Glaude said. “What’s so distinctive about the American project is that we’re comfortable in our myths and illusions because we don’t want to look the evidence of who we are squarely in the face. So there’s a kind of adolescence that defines this place.”

Glaude spoke virtually to a panel of three people seated onstage: Saudia Davis, director of the Center for Creative Entrepreneurship; director and actor Ron O.J. Parson; and actress Emma Sipora Tyler, who moderated the discussion.

“While I was writing this book, I drank too much Irish whiskey and the reason is because I wasn’t exactly prepared,” Glaude said. “[Baldwin’s] telling me over and over again, ‘If you’re going to write about this place, old boy, you’re going to have to deal with you now, because the messiness of the world is actually a reflection of the messiness

of our interior lives.

“I had to deal with the fact that I’m a wounded little boy who still has daddy issues,” Glaude added. “I had to deal with what was in me.”

Parson said he remembers watching Baldwin on the The Dick Cavett Show in the 1960s and the things he said still resonate, adding that he acted in Blues for Mister Charlie, a play Baldwin wrote in 1964.

“You can literally put him on a talk show today and he can say the same thing and it would be as relevant,” Parson said. “I think it’s all theater — the novels, the films, all of that. What we go through in society, a writer can make that happen on stage and say something.”

And what Baldwin would say, Glaude explained, is that we have an ethical imperative to bear witness, to be honest, to tell the truth — even though “we’re living in a time where lies abound.”

You can watch the conversation online at: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=PxdLa0ey3-Q&t=121s.

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

WEST SUBURBAN Back from the brink from page 1 rial in Chicago. In the last three months, Pipeline has hired a new CEO of its own, brought on two new board members at West Suburban, and contracted with two Blackowned consulting firms to conduct marketing and outreach.

And in just this month, Pipeline has gotten an infusion of state funding that puts it on firmer footing than it was less than a year ago, when company executives were talking about possibly closing the hospital, whose patient population is 76 percent minority. Around 61 percent of the Oak Park hospital’s patients live on the West Side, around 29 percent are in poverty and 20 percent are uninsured, according to data the hospital provided.

“Frankly, I’ve been brought into this job to make sure our future is brighter than our past,” said new Pipeline CEO Andrei Soran in an interview Tuesday.

Soran struck a vastly different tone than the company had less than a year ago, when former Pipeline CEO Jim Edwards was pleading with state lawmakers for additional funding and other high profile Pipeline officials were in a war of words with some powerful local stakeholders.

“At this time, I must share with you that the financial situation at Weiss and West Suburban is dire,” Edwards wrote in August 2020 to Illinois Deputy Governor Sol Flores.

“Without dramatically enhanced and sustainable Illinois funding in the very near future, I am afraid that we will have no choice but to consider closing or downsizing one or both of these hospitals.”

The language seemed pulled from a familiar playbook. The company struck a very similar tone before closing Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park in 2019 — just several months after it purchased the hospital, along with Weiss and West Suburban, from Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare for $70 million.

Before the purchase, Edwards and other Pipeline principals, such as Dr. Eric Whitaker, had vowed to state regulators, media and lawmakers that they would continue operating Westlake as a safety net hospital.

Westlake filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2019. Last week, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that, according to the court filings in the bankruptcy proceeding, Pipeline was “required” pursuant to the acquisition agreement to shut down Westlake “by June 5” of 2019.

The closure prompted a series of lawsuits, including two filed against the company by the village of Melrose Park and a class action lawsuit filed against Pipeline by former Westlake employees. Pipeline eventually agreed to pay Melrose Park $1.5 million. At the time, Pipeline officials called the village’s lawsuits “defamatory and false.”

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM The closure also opened up a rift between Pipeline and local lawmakers like then-state representative and current Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (7th) who lambasted the company, particularly Whitaker, in the press for weeks.

“Welch recalled that ‘every single time’ Pipeline Health officials spoke with hospital trustees during the purchase process, ‘they told us they wanted this hospital to invest in it, not close it. They said they believed in community, that they believe in the mission of community hospitals like Westlake.’”

Now, Pipeline is in the process of mopping up a lot of bad blood. Soran said Tuesday he’s committed to making things right, but declined to comment on events that happened before he was brought on three months ago.

“I can’t speak to the accuracy of those things, because I wasn’t there,” he said.

“But I can tell you what I’m doing through a very competent CEO at West Sub and a CEO with a lot of experience in Chicago. We’re making sure that all of our elected officials know our status and know our needs.

“We are making sure that we have enough community representation on our board, which can decide the future of this hospital to make sure it is reflective of the community we serve. We’re also hiring an outreach executive who will be part of the leadership at West Sub to make sure that our programs are reflective of the community’s needs.”

In May, West Suburban Hospital added Rev. Marshall Hatch, the well-respected pastor of New Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in East Garfield Park, and former Oak Park mayor Anan Abu-Taleb to its board of directors.

Abu-Taleb, who said he became West Sub’s board chair about two weeks after he left office, said the board is currently working on becoming more diverse.

“At one point, the board was not as functional,” he said. “Now, we are trying to add value to the board. The hospital has not had continuity of ownership or management, so send a positive prayer to them. West Sub is really important to our communities. It matters to all of us.”

Anan and Soran said that West Suburban receives less state funding relative to other institutions. In an April 2020 letter to Pritzker, Edwards said West Suburban and Weiss receive “significantly fewer actual dollars per hospital” in Medicaid funding and “less funding as a percentage of costs compared to other hospitals who care for similar patient populations.” Pipeline officials have also said that BlueCross BlueShield refuses to appropriately reimburse the hospital.

A spokesperson with BlueCross BlueShield did not respond to this claim in multiple requests for comment on Monday evening.

Recently, Pipeline has contracted with Brown Farmer Media Group, a PR firm owned by Deborah Farmer, a Chicago media expert responsible for leading the Chicago Police Department’s campaign to recruit more Black and Brown officers in 2016 and

West Suburban Hospital Medical Center.

2017, among other high-profile contracts.

Pipeline has also hired Phase 2 Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic advisory firm owned by Lamell McMorris.

“All they can do is what they’re doing right now,” said Farmer, referencing the recent changes that Pipeline has made in the last several months. Farmer said that Whitaker is no longer with Pipeline. Edwards, said Soran, is still with the company as a vice president.

An outreach and marketing campaign called SaveWestSub, which included newspaper advertisements in Wednesday Journal’s sister paper, Austin Weekly News, and a SaveWestSub website featuring testimonials by community leaders like Hatch and the rapper Twista, was recently postponed — the ads were pulled and the website taken down — as the Oak Park hospital’s financial situation improved in the last two weeks.

Soran said Pipeline is still working on striking the right tone with the outreach campaign, noting that while the hospital still needs funding he doesn’t believe it’s closing anytime soon.

“We want to set the right tone and we want to be truthful in advertising,” he said.

“So, we’re still trying to ascertain the right formulation for support. The situation is evolving. People are lining up and starting to help us and that may change how we address things.”

Soran credited Rep. Camille Lilly, Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, Speaker Welch, Senate President Don Harmon and Congressman Danny K. Davis for helping West Suburban secure $8.4 million in funding this month.

The money is a combination of $4.2 million worth of American Rescue Plan Act funding and a $4.2 million grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

West Suburban’s new CEO, Barbara J.

Martin, wrote Harmon a letter on June 4 thanking him for his efforts in securing the funds.

“Your support for West Suburban Medical Center and stewardship of these monetary resources makes a tremendous difference in the lives of our patients,” Martin said.

Eileen Lynch, Harmon’s chief of staff, said on Tuesday that Harmon has had at least five meetings with Pipeline and West Suburban officials, along with other lawmakers, in the last several weeks.

“We were in real dire straits, but the local elected officials have stepped up and helped us,” Soran said. “We’re in a less dire situation now, but we’re not where we need to be in order to have a sustainable entity. We need additional help.”

Soran said that last year, West Suburban was in need of roughly $20 million in additional funding. The $8.4 million helps fill that hole, but it’s not enough, he said.

He hopes the Health Care and Human Services Reform Act, the sweeping bill that comprises the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ fourth pillar, will also help. Pritzker appeared at West Suburban in May to announce the bill’s passage.

“The fourth pillar that talks about healthcare is of utmost importance,” Soran said.

“I think the Black Caucus has done unbelievable work. I work in multiple states and this is, by far, more advanced than in any other state. I think the appropriations has not really started, but if those initiatives pan out, there will be much-needed support.

There are very few hospitals in Illinois that do what we do in labor and delivery. This new bill secures some funding for providing those crucial services.”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

17

ART BEAT

Obama portraitist also has work in Oak Park library

By MICHELLE DYBAL

‘W

Arts Editor

e must take ourselves to public institutions to look at art because there is something happening right now where Black and Brown and female voices are being allowed to participate in something that heretofore has been something that has been so ivory tower and exclusive.”

That’s artist Kehinde Wiley’s take on the change underfoot, comparing it to his own time growing up, seeing art of the landed gentry and aristocrats in powdered wigs and jewels — paintings he was drawn to but also felt removed from. Wiley, along with Amy Sherald, became the first Black artists commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to paint a President and First Lady: Barack and Michelle Obama.

The Obama Portraits exhibition opened at the Art Institute of Chicago on June 18.

President Obama’s portrait is by Wiley and Michelle Obama’s by Sherald. The artists were chosen by their sitters. And while the 2018 paintings’ permanent home is the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington D.C., the artworks are on a national tour, with the first stop, at the request of President Obama, being the Art Institute of Chicago, which he and Michelle visited on their first date.

Here in Oak Park, meanwhile, a Kehinde Wiley oil on canvas hangs on a wall for all to see at the Main Library, part of an art collection meant to make visitors feel like they belong. It is the only Wiley work on perma-

Photo provided by Oak Park Public Library

REALIZED REALISM: “Easter Realness #2,” oil on canvas by Kehinde Wiley is on display at the Oak Park Public Library. nent public display in the state, according to the artist’s website.

“The Oak Park Library’s permanent art collection is amazing and quite unique, especially for a library of our size,” said Executive Director David Seleb. “We have pieces of a caliber and by artists that some in our community might not have other opportunities to see, and here they are, viewable and accessible whenever the library is open. It’s special.”

Wiley, born in 1977, is known for taking classical art subject matter, such as nobility on horseback, and reimagining it with modern-day Black Americans. His models have included people from the streets of Harlem, New York. The Oak Park Public Library’s “Easter Realness #2” includes colorful Rococo-style scrollwork, which is a recurring image in Wiley’s paintings of the time, framing four figures seen from below, which has been compared to viewing cherubs on cathedral ceilings.

In and Art Institute talk, “A Virtual Conversation: The Obama Portraits — Featuring Artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sher-

Kehinde Wiley. Barack Obama, 2018.

Oil on canvas. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. The National Portrait Gallery is grateful to the following lead donors for their support of the Obama portraits: Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg; Judith Kern and Kent Whealy; Tommie L.Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia. © 2018 Kehinde Wiley. Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

ald” on June 17, Wiley said, “I happen to be someone who spent his entire career painting portraits of people who happen to look like me, but also come from all parts of the world, underserved communities, by and large people who are minding their own business, trying to get to work. You tap them on the shoulder and you invite them to become subjects in a painting. And, most people say, ‘no,’ and are kind of weirded out by this notion of public engagement, ‘Who are you?’ ‘What is this picture?’”

When the new Main Library opened in October 2003, a fundraising gala and commemorative bricks raised money for an art fund. An art committee selected new works from local artists and others. The committee’s aim was to acquire art that was challenging, intriguing and enduring.

“Those who carefully selected our art collection almost 20 years ago, including our Wiley piece ‘Easter Realness #2,’ wanted all to be welcome, for all to see themselves and their lives reflected in the art, and to be uplifted and inspired by that,” Seleb said.

During the virtual conversation on the Obama Portraits, Wiley commented on the kind of paintings he creates: “I would posit this is more of a conceptual project or a social project. This has a reach that goes beyond an image on a wall. It points to how

societies are formed, what we value within those societies and who’s allowed to shine within those walls.”

Seleb responded, “It’s powerful when you get to hear an artist such as Wiley talk about their work and art in that way. I think the Oak Park Library’s permanent art collection does exactly as Wiley describes. By including artists such as Wiley in the library’s collection, by presenting them in a venue and format where anyone is welcome to see and experience them, we are saying that Black voices and lives matter, that historically oppressed voices matter, that all are invited and welcomed into our spaces to learn, to grow or just to be in a way they might not be welcomed to do those things in other places or spaces.”

“Easter Realness #2” hangs on the third floor of the Main Library near the study rooms. It is mounted on the diagonal and is an impressive 9.75 square feet. It was purchased from the Rhona Hoffman Gallery in Chicago in 2004 for $16,000. The Oak Park Public Library regularly updates appraisals on their permanent collection and in late 2020, “the replacement cost for ‘Easter Realness #2’ was stated as $145,000,” according to Jeremy Andrykowski, library director of operations.

“Those who selected our permanent art collection for the new Main Library, a group that included community members and library staff members, were quite intentional about curating a collection to include Black artists and artists of color and to include emerging American artists,” said Seleb.

“That included Kehinde Wiley at the time.

What a vision! I do not think, however, that even they could have foreseen how important and prominent an artist Kehinde Wiley would become. Every time I look at Wiley’s piece hanging on our wall and think about its significance, it takes my breath away.”

And the Obama portraits hold their own special significance too.

“The new normal now includes two African-American artists who have created portraits of the President and First Lady and that now is part of the historical record,” Wiley said. “These are now the new oxygen we will have to breathe and there’s no going back from it. In the blast zone of the Obamas’ decision to make that happen, there will be a lot of winners. I think the winners are those young kids who get inspired by that, people who feel there is space in the conversation for them. Not because anyone went out of their way to point them out, but because of their sheer existence, the humble fact of their presence was being nodded to in a very big way.”

The Obama Portraits are at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, through Aug. 15. More: artic.edu/howto-visit-the-obama-portraits. View Wiley’s “Easter Realness #2” at the Main Library, 834 Lake St., Oak Park. More: oppl.org.

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

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Get inspired by touring glorious gardens

27th Annual Oak Park and River Forest Garden Walk coming June 27

By LACEY SIKORA

A

Contributing Reporter

fter a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory (FOPCON) and the Garden Club of Oak Park and River Forest are bringing back the annual Garden Walk. On Sunday, June 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. visitors can tour nine private gardens in Oak Park and River Forest and the community garden of the Oak Park Art League.

Sue Boyer, co-chair of this year’s walk and FOPCON’s president, says that based on this year’s plant sales, she expects a bumper crop of garden walk attendees.

“Gardening has taken on a new life with the pandemic,” Boyer said. “We’ve even seen a more intense interest this year over last year when everyone was going crazy to try to get new plants when they were stuck at home.”

Every year, Garden Walk organizers choose a variety of gardens -- large, small, sunny and shady -- to provide plenty of inspiration to attendees. While each of this year’s gardens has a unique approach to landscape, all of the homeowners say that their gardens provide a sense of place that has been particularly soothing in a year touched by a global pandemic.

Carol Kasper, with her husband Gary Wilham, has been working on her Oak Park yard since the couple moved to the village in 1989 with their toddler son. Both Kasper and Wilham grew up in families that prized gardening and farming. The couple was no fan of simple grass lawns and wanted to do

If you go Tickets purchased in advance cost $15, and those purchased the day of the event cost $20. Children under the age of 12 are free. Advanced tickets are available for purchase via PayPal or credit card at gcoprf.org and must be purchased by 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 26.

Tickets or receipts can be exchanged for garden guides and maps from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 27 at the Oak Park Conservatory, 615 Garfield St. in Oak Park or the Cheney Mansion, 220 N. Euclid Ave. in Oak Park. Drive up accommodations for pickup will be available at both locations.

Photo by Zachary Whittenburg

SHOW TIME: Carol Kasper’s “typical Chicago bowling alley backyard” (above) in Oak Park now features very little grass but plenty of greenery. At right, Kasper prunes a shrub in her backyard on June 16. something different in their yard, which Kasper describes as “a typical Chicago bowling alley backyard.”

When their son was 5, he planted maple seeds in the yard, three of which have thrived the past 29 years. When he was 11, he and his father worked together to break up the straight concrete walkway in the yard and replaced it with a curved brick walk. They used stones and plants to create a backyard that features very little grass but plenty of greenery.

Over time, neighboring yards lost large trees, and Kasper and Wilham found their garden transitioning from a shade garden to a sunnier one.

“Gardens are living growing things,” Kasper said. “They change all of the time.

It was kind of sad to lose those trees, but it was an opportunity for change. Gardens are always a work in progress. You’re never finished.”

Over the years, Kasper says that not only

has the garden brought her family joy, but it also is doing its part to combat environmental issues.

“From the point of view of the ecosystem, gardens, trees and plants are a hedge against air pollution,” she said. “Gardens bring in pollinators like bees, too. You can do a lot with what you plant to try to replant the ecosystem.”

Another longtime Oak Park gardener, Sandy Noel, says that when she and her husband purchased their home in 1976, there was grass everywhere. Like Kasper, she eschewed chemicals, so she jokes that for many years, “I grew children and weeds.”

Once she turned her sights on turning the grass into a garden, she says she started in the front and moved towards the back. Over the years, the garden has evolved many times, but a recent re-working with the help of garden designer Bill Sieck has created a See GARDEN WALK on page 19

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

GARDEN WALK

Inspiration out there from page 18 design that she says will stick.

Sieck says that when he first saw the 40-by-40-foot backyard, he was immediately reminded of an ancient garden in Pisa, Italy that he learned about during his studies.

“I just mimicked that design,” Sieck said.

“That garden was all about the structure.”

Noel says Sieck added plants in her favorite color palette of blues and purples and suggested adding some espaliered pear trees that are now a favorite focal point.

“It’s such a wonderful event because people can see large estates, but you can also see what’s done in small yards,” Noel said of the Garden Walk. “There’s a lot of inspiration out there.”

Noel is also in charge of the raffle for this year’s walk and says that ticket purchases will benefit the Garden Club’s scholarship fund. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the

gardens during the walk for $5 for one or $20 for five.

Prizes include a $100 gift certificate to Luurs Garden Center in Hillside, gift cards for local restaurants Café De Lucca and Cucina Paradiso, and a tour for four of the Lurie Garden by a Lurie staff member.

Boyer said it is never too late to start plan-

19

ning for next year, so she asks longtime gardeners and those who have been inspired during the pandemic to reach out to FOPCON and the Garden Club if they think their gardens would make a good stop for Garden Walk 2022. As it is, she says that the 2021 walk will have something for all types of outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

ALWAYS CHANGING: “Gardens are always a work in progress,” says Oak Parker Carol Kasper, whose own garden has undergone plenty of transformation over 30 years. They tore out a sidewalk and installed curving brick path, planted borders with perennials and use containers with annuals to provide pops of color and interest

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Providing financing for homes in Oak Parkcommunities since 1989. and surrounding and surrounding communities since 1989.

Conventional, FHA, and Jumbo mortgages FHA, and Jumbo mortgages Conventional, Free Pre-approvals Free Pre-approvals

6821W. W.North NorthAvenue Avenue 7544 ElmwoodSuite Park,201 IL Oak Park, IL 708.452.5151 708.452.5151

Mortgage MortgageResource ResourceGroup Group is isan anIllinois IllinoisResidential Residential Mortgage MortgageLicensee.

Licensee.

NMLS NMLS##207793 207793 License License##1031 1031

20

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

PUBLIC NOTICE Village of Oak Park, Illinois

Annual Treasurer’s Report of Cash Receipts and Disbursements For the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2020 Published in compliance with Chapter 65, Section 5/3.1-35-65 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes Receipts: General Fund; Property Tax Levy 18,067,771; Police Pension Levy 6,393,328; Fire Pension Levy 5,476,869; CANNABIS STAT; EXCISE TAX ALLOTMENT 40,461; Use Tax Revenue 2,316,521; Retailers’ Occupation Tax Rev 4,118,456; Real EstateTransfer Tax 4,175,530; Exempt Real Estate Transaction 14,070; Hotel Motel Tax 80,777; Liquor Tax 538,340; Natural Gas Use Tax 422,514; Electric Utility Tax 1,605,573; Natural Gas Tax 710,594; Telecommunication Tax Rev 716,286; VEHICLE TAX 1,093,524; Residential Rental License 2,737; Business Licenses 207,117; Liquor Licenses 119,468; Multi Family Dwelling License 84,813; Chauffeur License Revenue 360; Chauffeur Background Check 175; Building Permits 1,416,525; Zoning Variance Application 12,875; Street Permits 60,905; Animal Licenses 26,500; Beekeeping 300; Building Permits Penalties 50,405; Grant Revenue 936,954; Grant or Loan Application Fees 415; State Aid Route Maintenance 83,054; RCFL OT Reimbursement 11,158; Drug Enforcement Agency Reimb 24,384; State Income Tax Revenue 5,637,527; Personal Prop Replacement Tax 1,349,357; ALLIED FSA DEP CARE CONTRIBUTIONS W/H 3,433; Ambulance Charges 1,576,587; CTA Reimbursement 149,193; Fire CPR Classes Fees 1,795; Sale of Liquid Gas 47,914; Charges for Repairs Parts 41,572; Reimbursement of Expenses 10,000; Crossing Guard Reimbursement 163,513; Arrest Warrant Reimburse Reven 770; Police Evidence Revenue 1,333; Cable TV Franchise Fee 794,404; Cashier Difference -40; Copy Fees 190; Elevator Inspection Fees 18,249; Vacant Bldg Registration Reven 600; Miscellaneous Revenue 34,412; MFT Tax Refund 9,149; Scrap Revenue 484; Special Events Revenue 25,152; Special Events Application Fee 200; Police Reports 12,166; Subpoena Fees 70; Recovered Damages 7,919; Alarm Fees 9,235; Pound Other Fees 4,835; Condo Inspection Fees 16,765; Environmental Services - VOP 2,250; Court Fines 42,797; DUI COURT FINES 3,222; Parking Fines 1,218,564; Non-Compliance Fines 27,989; Loan Interest 541; Interest Revenue 156,137; Gain/Loss on Sale of Property -999; Rental of Property 5,250; Trans Fr Motor Fuel Tax Fund 1,580,000; TOTAL 61,761,294 TRAVEL, TRAINING & WELLNESS; Credit Card Points Revenue 24,518; TOTAL 24,518 FOREIGN FIRE INSURANCE; Foreign Fire Insurance Allot 120,854; Interest Revenue 645; TOTAL 121,499 Community Development Loan; Miscellaneous Revenue 160; Loan Interest 78; Interest Revenue 50; TOTAL 288 STATE RICO; Asset Seizures Forfeitures 17,625; Interest Revenue 91; TOTAL 17,716 FEDERAL RICO; Asset Seizures Forfeitures 63,738; Interest Revenue 959; Gain/Loss on Sale of Property 3,961; TOTAL 68,658 FARMERS MARKET; Farmers Market Seasonal Fees 16,910; Sale Of Market Merchandise 200; TOTAL 17,110 MOTOR FUEL TAX; Motor Fuel Tax Allotment 1,887,909; Interest Revenue 1,078; Transfer From General Fund 601,669; TOTAL 2,490,656 MADISON STREET TIF; Property Tax Levy 62,924; Interest Revenue 3,073; TOTAL 65,997 COOK COUNTY LEAD HAZARD GRANT; Miscellaneous Revenue 8,000; TOTAL 8,000 Emergency Solutions Grant; Emergency Shelter Grants 122,336; TOTAL 122,336 SSA#1; Property Tax Levy 247,227; Interest Revenue 178; TOTAL 247,405 Community Dev Block Grant; Grant Revenue 981,969; FEDERAL CARES ACT REVENUE 372,206; TOTAL 1,354,175 SSA#7; Property Tax Levy 117; Interest Revenue 61; TOTAL 178 SSA#8; SSA#8 TAX LEVY 5,202; Interest Revenue 23; TOTAL 5,225

COOK COUNTY - WEST NILE VIRUS GRANT ; Grant Revenue 9,187; TOTAL 9,187 IDPH - CITIES READINESS INITIATIVE; Grant Revenue 43,762; TOTAL 43,762 CDBG - FARMERS MARKET INCENTIVES ; Grant Revenue 9,934; TOTAL 9,934 SHAWNASH - DOUBLE COUPON ; Grant Revenue 1,192; TOTAL 1,192 IDPH - BODY ART; Grant Revenue 4,425; TOTAL 4,425 IDHS - FAMILY CASE MANAGEMENT ; Grant Revenue 3,089; TOTAL 3,088 IDHS - HIGH RISK INFANT FOLLOW-UP; Grant Revenue 1,976; TOTAL 1,976 PHIMC - REGION 8 HIV PREVENTION; Grant Revenue 5,600; TOTAL 5,600 COVID-19 CONTACT TRACING; Grant Revenue 436,192; TOTAL 436,192 IDPH -VECTOR SURVEILLANCE & CONTROL; Grant Revenue 10,707; TOTAL 10,707 IDPH-LEAD CASE MANAGEMENT; Grant Revenue 26,133; TOTAL 26,133 IDPH - LOCAL HEALTH PROTECTION ; Grant Revenue 67,258; TOTAL 67,258 IDPH - MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS; Grant Revenue 107; TOTAL 107 IDPH-NARCAN; Grant Revenue 2,700; TOTAL 2,700 IDPH - PUBLIC HLTH EMRGNCY PREPAREDNESS; Grant Revenue 51,660; TOTAL 51,660 IDPH - ILLINOIS TOBACCO-FREE COMMUNITIES; Grant Revenue 17,320; TOTAL 17,320 Bullet Proof Vest Grant; Grant Revenue 6,807; TOTAL 6,807 Tobacco Enforcement Program; Grant Revenue 935; TOTAL 935 IL DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION GRNT; Grant Revenue 5,474; TOTAL 5,474 Sustainability Fund; Energy Efficiency Rebate 453,828; Environmental Services - VOP 74,585; Transfer From Solid Waste Fund 150,000; TOTAL 678,413 BUILDING IMPROVEMENT FUND; Transfer From CIP Fund 0; TOTAL 0 Equipment Replacement Fund; Grant Revenue -17; Transfer From CIP Fund 1,500,000; TOTAL 1,499,983 Fleet Replacement Fund; Transfer From Rico Fund 70,876; Transfer From CIP Fund 320,000; TOTAL 390,876 REBUILD ILLINOIS IDOT GRANT; Grant Revenue 1,139,655; TOTAL 1,139,655 GENERAL IMPROVEMENT FUND; Homerule Sales Tax 2,344,493; PACE Shelter Ad Revenue 6,231; CANNABIS TAX 198,518; Local Option Gasoline Tax 537,943; Grant Revenue 311,461; Sidewalk Repair Program 367; Infrastructure Maintenance Fee 143,250; Miscellaneous Revenue 340,350; Recovered Damages 584; Interest Revenue 6,251; Transfer From General Fund 1,430,000; Transfer From Debt Service 11,350,000; TOTAL 16,669,448 Debt Service Fund; Property Tax Levy 4,345,757; Miscellaneous Revenue 8,028; Interest Revenue 8,103; Intergovt Support Op Library 1,070,807; Transfer From General Fund 500,000; Transfer From Solid Waste Fund 280,000; Bond Proceeds 12,204,960; Premium on Bond Proceeds 300,713; TOTAL 18,718,368 WATER/SEWER FUND; Miscellaneous Revenue -43,565; Scrap Revenue 79; Utility Sales 18,819,244; Meter Charges 77,850; Penalty Charges 39,614; TOTAL 18,893,222 Environmental Services Fund; Miscellaneous Revenue -1,000; Refuse Collection Fees 4,305,146; Yard Waste Stickers 140,443; Refuse Stickers 89,273; TOTAL 4,533,862 Earth Fest; Transfer From Other Funds 7,000; TOTAL 7,000

Parking Fund; Parking Permits 518,536; Landlord/Corp. Parking Permits 384,595; Onstreet Parking Permits 630,905; Onstreet Paystation Revenue 264,828; Discounted Employee Cards 4,636; Garage Fees 1,051,903; Parking Meter Collections 403,992; Garage Validation Revenue 23,907; Miscellaneous Revenue 928; Special Events Revenue 5,373; Recovered Damages 3,320; Interest Revenue 95; Transfer From General Fund 40,000; TOTAL 3,333,018

Self Insured Retention Fund; Transfer From General Fund 500,000; Transfer From Water Fund 670,000; Transfer From Parking Fund 300,000; TOTAL 1,470,000 Health Insurance Fund; MET LIFE ACCIDENT PREMIUMS WITHHELD 10,940; MET LIFE CRITICAL ILLNESS PREMIUMS W/H 9,704; MET L IFE HOPSITAL PREMIUMS WITHHELD 10,601; METLAW LEGAL PREMIUMS WITHHELD 10,799; HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS WITHHELD 1,065,894; LIFE INSURANCE PREMIUMS WITHHELD 74,211; DEMNTAL INSURANCE PREMIUMS WITHHELD 216,732; VISION INSURANCE PREMIUMS WITHHELD 39,204; ALLIED FSA MED CONTRIBUTIONS W/H 270,387; ALLIED FSA DEP CARE CONTRIBUTIONS W/H 26,948; EMPLOYER LIFE INSURANCE CONTRIBUTION 33,406; Pensioneer Premium Payments 945,293; Outside Agencies Prem Payments 30,617; EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS 4,090,808; Miscellaneous Revenue 270; TOTAL 6,835,814 Police Pension Fund; Property Tax Levy 6,420,708; Pension Payroll Deductions 1,085,430; Interest Revenue 2,011,167; Net Change In FV of Invest 11,605,186; TOTAL 21,122,491 FIREFGHTERS’ PENSION FUND; Property Tax Levy 5,498,680; Pension Payroll Deductions 640,034; Interest Revenue 1,149,935; Net Change In FV of Invest 5,057,568; TOTAL 12,346,217 Gen Long Term Debt Acc Group; Transfer From Parking Fund 6,675,023; Bond Proceeds -12,505,673; TOTAL -5,830,650

PAYROLL: 0.01 TO 24,999.99 ADEPOJU, ABDULRASAQ; ANDERSON, DANIEL; ANDREWS, DENO; ANTOS, RANDALL; AUSMANN, STEVE; BAHENA, ANITA; BIRING, FRED; BOUTET, SIMONE; BUCHANAN, SUSAN; BUSH, KYLE; CAMERON, DAVID; CAMPBELL, NINA ; CARBONNEAU, THOMAS; CILEK, TIMOTHY; CONTE, PHILIPP J; COTE II, JEROME; CROWE, KAREN ; DAVILA, BRISIA; DE JESUS-VASQUEZ, MELISSA ; DE LA MORA, VANESSA; FADDEN, KEVIN; FAILOR, GRAHAM; FARNON, WILLIAM; FOYTIK, RICHARD; GILBERT, MELISSA; GLOODT, JACOB; HENKELMAN, MICHAEL; HOLDMAN, NATHAN; JIMENEZ JR, JAVIER; JONES, RAY; JUDAH, JADEER; KEENAN, CHRISTOPHER; KENNEY, GRACE; KOBYLESKI, RONALD; KOHLER, MATTHEW; L’HEUREUX, MICHAEL; LAFLEUR, GARRETT; LAGIOIA, VINCENT; LASSITER, DANIEL; LEIN, ANTHONY; LEINER, DANIEL; LINGENFELTER, STEVEN; MACKEY, CAMERON ; MARINIER, RYAN; MAYER, PATRICK; MCMORRIS, AMBER; MCNICHOLS, COLLEEN; MERCADO, BRETT ; MONTERUBIO, KENNETH; MORONEY, DANIEL; MURPHY, ROBERT; NATIONS, STEVEN; OLSON, JAMES; OSTRAND, GREGORY ; PATTERSON, JOHNNY; PAWLOWSKI, KAREN; PENDERGRASS, MICHAEL; POWELL, MARCUS; REHSE, ROBERT; SANCHEZ, MATEO; SCHAUER, CHRISTOPHER; SCHICKER, MICHAEL; SCHROEDER, DANA ; SMITH, ADAM; SPAGNOLI, DAVID; STEFFEN, TIMOTHY; TAGLIA, JAMES; TERRY, JOSEPH; TOTH, ROBERT; WALKERPEDDAKOTLA, ARTI; WEIDNER, JOHN; WHITE, MARK

PAYROLL: 25,000.00 TO 49,999.99 ABU-TALEB, ANAN; ALONSO, ASHLEY; BENNETT, GIA; BENSON-BAKER, DOROTHY; BERKES, NICHOLAS; BOEDEKER, KENT; BOSTON, DE ANGELA; CARTAGENA , TATYANA ; CASSIDY, KEVIN; CRICHLOW, MIZPAH; CURRY, KARLOS; DEBERRY, CHARLES; DIAZ, NANCY; DILLARD, JEWEL ; DORRIS, SHONTAE; DURR, JACQUELINE; FARMER, BRENDAN; FRANK, LOGAN; GOODLOW, VALENCIA; HANLEY, DANIEL ; HEDRICH, GINGER; LECH, ERIN ; MACIAS, JOSE; MCDONALD, CATHY; MCFARLAND, KIMBERLY; MCNABB, JOSHUA; MICHAELS, MARILYN; MORALES, YERALDI ; NESBITT, RACHEL; PATTERSON-MOSS, TINESHIA ; PEARSON III, IVORY; PEREZ, JUAN ; PERRY, HEATHER; RAYA , DAISY ; REDKVA, CINTHYA; ROBINSON, DANIELLE; ROBINSON, JOHN; ROSSI, GIOVANNI; SAUCEDO, DIANA; SCHELL, ANGELA; SCHOENNEMAN, MARY ANN; SHELTON, RYAN; SHORTY, TARSHANDA; SKODA, DAWN; SOCHACKI, JASON; SURACE , MICHAEL ; TONGUE, CHRISTOPHER; WATKINS, VALERIE; WOOLFORD, KEYWANE; WRIGHT-SIMMONS, DORIS PAYROLL: 50,000.00 TO 74,999.99 AGNEW, MARYNDA; ALMONACI, ROCIO; AVINGER, MARY; BALLARD, WILLIAM; BALTHAZAR, ERIC; BONIN, KATHLEEN; BOOKER, KIARA; BRELAND, DERRICK; BROWN, JAMARRO; BROWN, TINA; BRYANT, VINCENT; CHERVINKO, STEVEN; COLEMAN, ANTHONY; CURRY, JAMEELAH; DENNIS, JOSHUA; DEVILLER, LINDA; DEVINE PORFIRIO, ALANA; DEXTER, STACY; DOMINGUEZ, RITA; DONOVAN, MARK; FAHEY, ANDREW; FAMBRO, LISHA; FENWICK, MICHAEL; GHOLSTON, DIANNA; GOLUBEVA, OLGA; GUTIERREZ, ALFREDO; HARDAWAY, ALEJANDRO; HARGROVE, QUINN; HURT, CASSANDRA; JACOB, KATHLEEN; JACOBSEN, ERIK; JOHNSON, TRENIA; JOHNSON JR, DENNIS; JONES, JENNIFER; KAMYKOWSKI, GLENN; KARLOVITZ, JEFFREY; KASMIERSKI, JACOB; KEANE, SEAN; KIM, CHRISTOPHER; KINDRED, MARY; LANCASTER, ANNIE; LEWIS, KEITH; MANCE, ANDREA; MCSHEFFREY, NEIL; MENESES, DEBORAH; MORRIS, JOYLAND; MURPHY, KELLIE; OUCHERIAH , PAIGE ; PAULENAS, ANDRIUS; PENA, ROGELIO; PILAFAS, PETER; PRIMER, SAMUEL; PRZYBYLSKI, RONALD; REBELES, BRIAN; ROZHON, HENRY; RYAN, STANA; SAFFORD, CHARO; SCHAEFFER, RUTH; SCHRAMER, AUSTIN; SCHULTZ, JOSEPH; SCHWAB, RONALD; SHANKLIN, HALSTON; SOMERVILLE, MACEO; STACHURA, MARCELLA; STANISLAVSKI, DIANE; TREXLER, SUSAN; URIOSTEGUI, ELIDA; VAZQUEZ, ABNER; WATERS, CHRISTINA; WILLIAMS, SHAWNYA; WILLIAMS , ANGELA; WOLDEMICHAEL, RAHEL; YONG, SUSANNAH; ZIEGLER, JASON

PAYROLL: 75,000.000 TO 99,999.99 AGHAJAN, ROBERT; BABINSKI, ROMAN; BARBAHEN , MARGARET ; BLANCK , BENJAMIN ; BLANKENSHIP, BENNETT; BOBADILLA, DIANA; BRINKMAN, SCOTT; BROWN, DAVID; BRUCE, MICHAEL; CROWLEY, KEN; DAWSON, ELLIOT ; DOELL, ZACKARY; DURAJ, CONRAD; DWYER, MARK; ELZIE, SHANIECE; FLORES, ALEJANDRO; FULTON, THOMAS; GAONKAR, GAURAV; GLENN, THOMAS; HARTL JR., OTTO; HENDRICKS, CAMERON; HOWELL, KAITLIN; JORDAN, KYLE ; JULIANO, JILL; KILIKEVICIUS, TOMAS; KIM, LEE; KOPERNIAK, MICHAEL; KORNATOWSKI, SUZANNE; KREML, JOSEPH; KURASZ, MICHAEL; KUTZ, BYRON; L’HEUREUX, MICHAEL; LEITL, NATHANIEL; LEMMENES, JONATHAN ; LOGAN, VANETTA; MARINO, EUGENE ; MILLER, CHARLES; MURGUIA, RUBEN; OSTRAND, GREGORY ; PADILLA JR, PABLO ; PASSARELLA, RICKY; PRIOR, JEFFREY; REDDINS, ALLAN ; RODRIGUEZ, JESUS; ROKNICH, CASSANDRA; RUMORO, MICHAEL; SABALIAUSKAS, VICTOR; SADLER, DUSTYN; SARROS, JAMES; SCAMAN, VICTORIA; SCHAUER, CHRISTOPHER; SCULLY, MICHAEL; SEAT, KEITH; STEFANIK, DAVID ; STURDIVANT, PAUL; TAMASORLANDEA, DELIA; VAUGHAN, ANDREW ; VELASQUEZ, ORLANDO; VIVO , VICTOR; YOUSUF, MOIN

PAYROLL: 100,000.000 TO 124,999.99 ALVAREZ, ANDRES; ANDERSON, ROBERT; BARRERA, MIGUEL; BARRIENTOS, VICTORIO; BONGAT, RONALD; BRIMMER, JESSICA; BRUESCH, BRIAN; BRUNO, STANISLAO; BURGESS, COLIN; CARBONNEAU, THOMAS; CARVER, DAWN; CONTE, PHILIPP ; COOK, KRISTIN; CUNZALO JR, LEONARD; CUTAIA, STEVEN; DULSKI, MICHAEL; DUNN, WILLIAM; EURKAITIS, CHRISTOPHER; FAILOR, CRAIG; FARNON, WILLIAM; FENSKE, MICHAEL; FERRIER, ZACHARY; FOYTIK, RONALD; FREELAIN, RASUL; FRYE, JONATHAN; GHANMA, DANIEL; GRABOWSKI, JAKE ; GUY, STEVEN; GUZA, TIMOTHY; HARTLEY, BRETT; HARVEY, ANTHONY; HERNANDEZ, ERIC; HOLDMAN, NATHAN; HUMMONS, JOHN; HUSKA, DANIEL; JACKSON, RASHEDA; KANIECKI, BRIAN; KASS, ANTHONY; KEENAN, CHRISTOPHER; KELLY, MICHAEL; KERLEY, PAUL; KOHLER, MATTHEW; KRAMER, JOHN; LAMBERT, MICHAEL; LARSON, JONATHON; LEINER, DANIEL; LING, DAVID; LOCKE, ERIC; LOVE, TRACCYE; LYNG, SCOTT; MARCHESE, PETER; MASON, BRENT; MAYER, PATRICK; MCCARTHY, KEVIN; MELTON, CEDRIC; MERCADO, BRETT ; MEYER, DOUGLAS; MILLER, IAN; MILOSOVIC, JOE; MOONEYSIMKUS, CHRISTINE; MORRIS, JONATHAN; MURPHY, RAPHAEL; MURPHY, MICHAEL; NASH, JOSEPH; NG, BENZ; NIKISCHER, JOHN; PENDERGRASS, MICHAEL; POSHEK, JEFFREY; POSSEDI, KORTNEY; POWERS, DAVID; PRATHER-RODGERS, JAMES; RADTKE, TONI; RICCHIO, ANTHONY; RUMORO, JOHN; SANCHEZ, PATRICK; SCHEJBAL, JOSEPH; SCHICKER, MICHAEL; SCHROCK, MATTHEW; SMITH, ADAM; SMITH, THEODORE; SPROULE, ROBERT; STANFORD, ALVIN; STEFFEN, TIMOTHY; SUTAITE, KAMILE; THOMAS, KORRY; TOTH, ROBERT; TROIK, DUSTIN; TWOREK, KENNETH; UNZICKER, TIMOTHY; VALENTINE, JAMES; VERGE II, DERRICK PAYROLL: 125,000.000 AND OVER ANTOS, RANDALL; AUSMANN, STEVE; BARTELT, SCOTT; BAUDO, PAUL; BERTELS, JOSHUA; BYINGTON, ZACHARY; CAMERON, DAVID; CASTANEDA, JOEL; CHARLEY, MICHAEL; CILEK, TIMOTHY; COLLINS, KEVIN; COTE II, JEROME; CURTIN, JOHN; DAVIS, CAMERON; DEUCHLER, SAMANTHA; DONAIRE, LEONARD; DRANSOFF, THOMAS; DRAZNER, STEVEN; EBSEN, THOMAS; EPISCOPO, ANGELO; FADDEN, KEVIN; GLOODT, JACOB; GREET, MICHAEL; GROSSMAN, TAMMIE; HAAG, JACOB; HENKELMAN, MICHAEL; HENRY, WILLIAM; HERZOG, JEFFREY; JACOBSON, DAVE; JOHNSON, SHATONYA; JUDAH, JADEER; KOBYLESKI, RONALD; LAFLEUR, GARRETT; LEIN, ANTHONY; LINGENFELTER, STEVEN; MARINIER, RYAN; MAZUR, THOMAS; MCINERNEY, DANIEL; MCKENNA, JOHN; MCKENNA, WILLIAM; MCVEY, CHARLES; MONTY, ROBERT; MORAN, JOSEPH; MURPHY, ROBERT; NEPOMUCENO, ALVIN; O’CONNOR, MICHAEL; PANTALEO JR, JOSEPH; PAVLICEK, CARA; RALLIDIS, MICHAEL; REHSE, ROBERT; REYNOLDS, LADON; RUIZ JR., MANUEL; RYGH, WILLIAM; SANCHEZ, MATEO; SHELLEY, LISA; SILVA, DONICIO; SILVA, DANIEL; SPAGNOLI, DAVID; STEPHANIDES, PAUL; STEWART, SCHONELLA; TCHANG, KIRA; TERRY, JOSEPH; TOWLER, WILLIAM; VELEZ, NICHOLAS; WEIDNER, JOHN; WIELEBNICKI, JOHN

LIABILITY AUTOMOBILE MECHANICS LOCAL 701 8,630; BLITT AND GAINES, P.C. 5,925; EFTPS 5,624,484; ILLINOIS F.O.P. 4,056; FIRE FIGHTERS LOCAL 95 73,684; FIREMEN PENSION 640,251; FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE LODGE #8 91,767; LOCAL UNION #9 IBEW 1,411; ICMA 1,157,262; ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE 337; ILLINOIS STATE TAXES 1,277,632; FIRSTMARK SERVICES 135; ILLINOIS STATE DISBURSEMENT UNIT 94,340; SEIU LOCAL 73 24,624; SEIU LOCAL 73 5,376; MARILYN O. MARSHALL 5,100; NATIONWIDE IAFF 457 22,799; NCPERS-GROUP LIFE INS. 1,848; PEP FIRE CONTRIBUTION 46,781; POLICE PENSION 1,083,162; POLICE PEHP 24,533; LOCAL UNION NO. 705 7,283; TOM VAUGHN 9,000; TOM VAUGHN CHAP 13 6,532; TOTAL 10,216,953

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

21

PUBLIC NOTICE Village of Oak Park, Illinois

Payments ≥ $2,500 in the Aggregate For the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2020 EXPENDITURES AND EXPENSES 1 800MD, LLC 2,559; 1100 LAKE STREET LLC 30,000; 1101 LAKE STREET LLC 6,000; 3G SAFETY SUPPLY 7,138; 4 IMPRINT 3,745; 447 CLUB - FITNESS INC 5,000; A & B LANDSCAPING & TREE SERVICE IN 262,537; A C PAVEMENT STRIPING COMPANY 378,955; ABEBE GEMEDA 3,500; ABT ELECTRONICS & APPLIANCES 8,122; ACME SPORT INC. 17,700; ACS ENTERPRISES 5,591; ACTION TRANSMISSION & AUTOMOTIVE 2,575; ADAPT PHARMA INC 2,700; ADVANCED AUTO PARTS 2,573; ADVANCED AUTOMATION & CONTROLS, INC 4,973; ADVANCED SECURITY SOLUTIONS 201,480; AEI CONSULTANTS 15,050; AEROCLAVE LLC 16,813; AGOSTINO MAGLIANO 3,500; AHIMSA YOGA STUDIO, INC. 5,000; AIMCO 3,200; AIMCO - 100 FOREST PLACE 7,200; AIR ONE EQUIPMENT INC. 230,510; AJILON PROFESSIONAL STAFFING 4,975; AL PIEMONTE FORD 2,564; ALARM DETECTION SYSTEMS INC. 29,162; ALEX LUBERTOZZI 2,625; ALEXANDRIA ANDREEFF 3,500; ALL TECH ENERGY, INC 40,390; ALLIANCE CONTRACTORS, INC. 87,724; ALLIED GARAGE DOOR INC. 106,634; ALTAMANU, INC. 36,221; AMALGAMATED BANK OF CHICAGO 10,332,637; AMAZON.COM 41,354; AMERICAN BUILDING SERVICE, LLC 17,431; AMERICAN LEGAL PUBLISHING 4,201; AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION 2,674; AMERICAN RESPONSE VEHICLE 29,672; AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION 3,959; ANCHOR MECHANICAL INC 4,997; ANDERSON ELEVATOR CO 44,934; ANDY FRAIN SERVICES 81,103; ANIMAL CARE LEAGUE 117,866; ANTHONY PETER HAIR SALON, LTD 5,000; AQUA FIORI INC. 3,287; ARAMARK 7,413; ARIA GROUP ARCHITECTS INC. 12,642; ARROW LOCKSMITH 4,890; AT&T CWO ATTN: GENE FERRY 1,102,423; AUTOCHLOR 2,860; AUTOMATIC CONTROL SERVICES 16,646; AVALON PETROLEUM 72,754; AVALON PETROLEUM COMPANY 12,574; AVI SYSTEMS, INC. 10,988; AXON ENTERPRISE, INC. 15,808; AYRES ASSOCIATES, INC. 7,605; AZAVAR 3,587; AZAVAR AUDIT 3,374; B & H PHOTO VIDEO 4,712; BALANCED LOAD ELECTRIC, LLC 22,765; BAR CODE INTEGRATORS, INC. 9,261; BARRICADE LITES INC 34,946; BAXTER & WOODMAN, INC. 24,941; BELL FUELS, INC. 18,573; BENJAMIN ELECTRICAL SERVICES 4,900; BENTLEY SYSTEMS, INC. 12,303; BEST BUY BUSINESS ADVANTAGE ACCOUNT 15,529; BEST TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM INC. 4,350; BETH BURDIN 4,725; BETHANN FUENMAYOR 3,500; BEYOND HUNGER 30,998; BLA, INC. 38,350; BLAINE HYDE 3,500; BLU PETROLEUM, INC. 10,655; BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD ILLINOIS 4,552; BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD OF ILLINOIS 6,097,409; BLUE TARP FINANCIAL 4,776; BMC SOFTWARE, INC. 2,908; BOTANY BAY CHEMICAL COMPANY 9,942; BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGIES, LLC 11,581; BRIAN JACKSON AND RASHEDA JACKSON 2,953; BRIAN R. PORTER 23,302; BRISTOL HOSE & FITTING 3,104; BRUNNER, SUSAN 19,682; BS&A SOFTWARE 55,792; BYLINE BANK 3,002; C & J HOME IMPROVEMENTS 14,350; CALL ONE 73,883; CALVARY MEMORIAL CHURCH 6,000; CANON FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. 9,965; CARBON DAY AUTOMOTIVE 37,435; CARDINAL COLORGROUP 5,837; CASE LOTS INC. 37,777; CDW GOVERNMENT, INC. 11,920; CELLTECH, LLC 2,950; CENTER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD TECHNOLOGY 35,805; CERNIGLIA CO 1,642,731; CFA SOFTWARE 2,995; CHASTAIN & ASSOCIATES, LLC 142,143; CHEM-WISE ECOLOGICAL PEST MNGMNT 2,570; CHICAGO COMMUNICATIONS, LLC 2,896; CHICAGO PARTS & SOUND LLC 22,386; CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT 5,964; CHICAGO TRIBUNE 4,862; CHICAGOLAND PAVING 168,574; CHRISTOPHER B BURKE ENGINEERING LTD 199,354; CHRISTOPHER MORGAN AND KATIE ODOM 2,938; CHRISTY WEBER LANDSCAPES 63,322; CINTAS #769 19,713; CITRON HYGIENE US CORP 2,825; CITY ESCAPE GARDEN & DESIGN LLC 98,182; CITY OF CHICAGO 8,285,220; CLARK BAIRD SMITH LLP 27,285; CLARK DIETZ, INC. 50,574; CLASSIC GRAPHICS INDUSTRIES 8,672; CLEAN SLATE CHICAGO, ILL 15,044; CLYDE PRINTING COMPANY 15,951; CMV DEVELOPMENT, LLC 25,000; COLUMBIA III PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 5,000; COMCAST 16,830; COMED (6111) 71,138;COMED (6112) 178,178; COMED/CHICAGO NORTH OFFICE 47,651; COMMERCIAL TIRE SERVICES INC. 18,615; COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES 4,634; COMPASS MINERALS 136,653; CONCEPT PLUMBING, INC 47,159;

CONSTELLATION ENERGY SERVICES 126,016; CONSTRUCTION BY CAMCO 114,922; COOK COUNTY BUREAU OF TECHNOLOGY 3,856; COOK COUNTY COLLECTOR 52,888; COOK COUNTY TREASURER 1,435,098; CORE & MAIN LP 37,898; COSTCO WHOLESALE MEMBERSHIP 3,872; COTG 8,714; COZY CORNER PNG LLC 5,000; CRAIG YU AND LATHA CHEKURU 3,500; CRASH CHAMPIONS 16,172; CRE PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT LLC 2,592; CUMMINS INC. 13,632; CURRIE MOTORS FRANKFORT, INC. 66,849; DANICE SHER AND MATTHEW RYAN 3,500; DANIELLE MCCAIN & THE ALEXANDER 12,500; DARLEY & CO, W. S. 4,759; DARRYL SCHLEGEL 3,500; DATA TICKET, INC. 7,301; DATASOURCE, INC./GLOBAL PARTNERS, L 5,451; DAVID & NORA PRUSZYNSKI-JENKINS 3,500; DAVID OROMANER AND SARAH LATZ 3,500; DAVID P. HUBER 3,500; DAVIS BANCORP, INC. 15,789; DAVIS TREE CARE & LANDSCAPE INC. 274,858; DELL MARKETING LP (USA) 22,033; DELTA DENTAL-RISK 249,931; DESPOTES, JOANNE 18,032; DESTINY WOODS 3,500; DISTRICT HOUSE 54,660; DOWNTOWN OAK PARK 751,550; DRESSEL’S ACE HARDWARE 7,703; DTN, LLC 2,886; DYNAMIC LYNKS, INC. 5,000; EASTGATE CAFE’ 5,000; ECOKARAT JEWELRY 5,000; ECOWIDE FLOWER COMPANY LLC 4,985; EDWIN HANCOCK ENGINEERING COMPANY 224,373; EGGEN CONSULTING GROUP, INC. 121,207; ELECTRIC CONDUIT CONSTRUCTION CO. 209,337; ELECTRONIC HUB, LLC 5,000; ELITE RECOGNITION SERVICES 3,046; ELMHURST CHICAGO STONE 5,165; EMC FIRE 23,185; ENGINEERING RESOURCE ASSOCIATES, IN 60,458; ENGLER, CALLAWAY, BAASTEN & SRAGA, 38,425; ENHANCED CLINICAL SOLUTIONS, INC 5,000; ERAVALDIVIA CONTRACTORS, INC. 155,434; ESG ALLIANCE - HMIS 10,144; ESO SOLUTIONS INC 7,505; ESO SOLUTIONS, INC. 2,700; ESRI INC. 9,700; EVANS ROBINSON III & SPEARMAN LAW 10,000; EVEREST SNOW MANAGEMENT, INC 20,636; EXQUISITE MOVEMENTS LLC 5,000; EYES RITE, LTD 5,000; F.E. MORAN INC, MECHANICAL SERVICES 13,212; FACTORY MOTOR PARTS CO. 2,676; FAIR SHARE 2,625; FBI - LEEDA 5,295; FEDDE’S FURNITURE 2,800; FERGUSON WATERWORKS #2516 211,140; FGM ARCHITECTS 5,260; FGS, INC. 3,358; FIMA AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING 5,000; FIRE SERVICE, INC. 51,358; FIRST RESPONDERS WELLNESS CENTER 4,455; FIS 25,406; FLEET SAFETY SUPPLY 15,840; FLOOD TESTING LABORATORIES 3,751; FORWARD SPACE 4,032; FOUNTAIN PROS, LLC 3,754; FRANCZEK, RADELET 45,992; FREEWAY FORD STERLING TRUCK SALES I 10,485; G.A. PAVING CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. 232,978; GALLAGHER MATERIALS, INC. 11,982; GARAVENTA USA INC - ANTIOCH 36,452; GARCES CONTRACTORS, LLC 59,446; GARFIELD FAMILY DENTISTRY, PC 5,000; GASVODA & ASSOCIATES, INC. 13,266; GEOCON PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, LLC 7,980; GIAMMONA, JOSEPH 5,742; GILBERT J. GROSSI 19,695; GINO’S HEATING & PLUMBING INC 17,355; GIS BENEFITS 11,419; GIS CONSORTIUM 2,538; GLOBAL A COM, INC. 53,767; GLOBAL MAINTENANCE SOLUTIONS LLC 537,272;GOVHR USA, LLC 5,500; GRAF TREE CARE 24,250; GRAINGER 29,040; GRANICUS, INC. 22,935; GRANITE TELECOMMUNCATIONS, LLC 17,875; GREENPLAN MANAGEMENT 10,200; GREG AND CAROL HOLDERFIELD 3,500; GREGORY KOLAR 3,500; GREGORY S. CHASSON 3,485; GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA, NFP 11,783; GUGLY, INC. 11,724; GUGLY, INC. 5,000; H & H ELECTRIC CO. 154,021; HAIGES MACHINERY, INC. 5,468; HARRIS COMPUTER SYSTEMS 161,867; HARRISON STREET BIBLE CHURCH 6,573; HASTINGS AIR ENERGY CONTROL 3,477; HAWK CHRYSLER, DODGE, JEEP 6,944; HECKER & COMPANY, INC. 238,775; HENRY SCHEIN, INC. 23,254; HEPHZIBAH CHILDREN’S ASSOCIATION 16,000; HERVAS, CONDON & BERSANI, P.C. 32,965; HINCKLEY SPRINGS 12,928; HOLLEY COURT TERRACE 6,494; HOME DEPOT (BROADVIEW) 4,537; HOUSE OF MELANIN 5,000; HOUSING FORWARD 382,358; HR GREEN, INC. 705,508; HYATT REGENCY LONG BEACH 3,179; ILLINOIS STATE POLICE 27,242; ILLINOIS WORKERS COMPENSATION COMMI 11,173; IMRF 2,118,557; INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL SOLUTIONS 49,896; INNOVATIVE AV SYSTEMS 8,389; INSIGHT PUBLIC SECTOR, INC. 23,523; INTERIORS FOR BUSINESS, INC. 6,967; INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL 4,166; INTERSTATE BATTERIES 3,097; INTERSTATE BATTERIES OF NORTH CHGO 7,322;

INTERSTATE BILLING SERVICE, INC. 8,134; INTRINSIC LANDSCAPING 2,906; IRON MOUNTAIN 6,884; IT SAVVY LLC 6,735; IT’S A SIGN, INC. 5,000; J GILL & CO 327,472; J.G. UNIFORMS 11,802; JACK STOCKMAN 4,500; JATHEON TECHNOLOGIES 5,399; JENNIFER STIX 3,500; JENNIFER TROTTA 3,075; JINNY’S CLEANERS 5,000; JOHN BIEMER AND JOANNE BIEMER 3,500; JOHN YOUKHANA 12,248; JULIE, INC. 4,562; KATHLEEN MONTY 5,350; KELLER HEARTT CO INC. 3,275; KELSEY ROOFING 5,000; K-FIVE CONSTRUCTION 1,076,774; KING’S KIDZ ACADEMY INC. 5,000; KLEIN, THORPE & JENKINS 53,912; KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 53,838; KRISTOPHER HULT AND CAMERON DUBOIS 3,500; KRONOS 19,333; KRONOS SAASHR, INC. 38,405; KRONOS, INC. 5,068; KYLE TOBOLIK AND LINDSAY TOBOLIK 3,500; LANCE AND NINA HELGESON 3,500; LANDMARK MEDIA SOLUTIONS, LLC 8,235; LASER AMMO 6,522; LAURA & MICHAEL BAIG 3,500; LAUREN WELLEN 3,500; LAUTERBACH & AMEN, LLP 9,950; LEADSONLINE 8,627; LEFTA SYSTEMS 8,620; LEHIGH HANSON 12,118; LEXINGTON HOMES, LLC 16,479; LEXIPOL, LLC 30,176; LEXISNEXIS /RELX, INC 5,689; LINDAHL BROTHERS, INC. 1,558,520; LINDCO EQUIPMENT SALES INC. 5,834; LIVE 2.0, LLC DBA LIVE CAFE 5,000; LJC DEVELOPMENT, LLC 5,000; LMP SERVICES, INC. 4,750; LOVE, TRACCYE 4,800; LYDEN OIL COMPANY 5,870; LYONS ELECTRIC 11,170; MABAS DIV. XI 10,122; MACKIE CONSULTANTS, LLC 9,300; MACQUEEN EQUIPMENT LLC 696,999; MARK KLAFETE AND AMERI KLAFETE 3,500; MASCARA INC, DBA MASCARA LASH CO. 5,000; MATT PHILLIPS AND BRIGITTE BILISKIS 3,500; MC SQUARED ENERGY 11,907; MCADAM 43,705; MCCLOUD SERVICES 3,814; MCLAUGHLIN, TRACY 4,850; MCSHANE HIIBBITTS INC 5,662; MEADE ELECTRIC COMPANY INC. 48,095; MENARDS-MELROSE PARK 9,778; MESIROW INSURANCE SERVICES INC. 385,253; METLIFE 33,535; METRO MORTUARY TRANSPORT, INC. 14,780; MEV OAK PARK LLC 13,966; MGP, INC 87,991; MICHAEL J GOODMAN 3,500; MID AMERICAN WATER INC. 13,658; MIDWAY BUILDING SERVICES 4,570; MIDWEST METER INC. 8,160; MIKE ALBERT LEASING, INC. 65,061; MINER ELECTRONICS CORP 3,529; MINUTEMAN PRESS 6,668; MISFITS CONSTRUCTION CO. 2,782; MJA PLUMBING & SEWER CO. 9,295; MONICA’S SKINCARE BOUTIQUE 5,000; MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, INC. 30,937; MUNICIPAL EMERGENCY SERVICES 17,564; MUTUAL OF OMAHA 106,560; NAFISCO, INC. 12,720; NAMEONANYTHING.COM 2,675; NAMI METRO SUBURBAN INC. 11,000; NAPLETON FLEET GROUP 25,462; NATHANIEL C. LIM, D.D.S., P.C. 5,000; NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES 41,538; NATIONAL POWER RODDING 3,000; NETRIX, LLC 6,292; NEW MOMS, INC. 18,699; NG PLUMBING 5,500; NICHOLAS SCHIAVONE 2,950; NICOR GAS 5,138; NORTH EAST MULTI-REGIONAL 13,525; NORTH LAWNDALE HIVE, LLC 3,260; NORTHERN SAFETY CO., INC. 3,744; NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 3,400; NSS EXTERIORS 2,850; NUZZO SEWER & PLUMBING 6,500; NYHAN, BAMBRICK,KINZIE & LOWRY, P.C 38,184; OAK BROOK MECHANICAL SERVICES INC. 48,427; OAK LEYDEN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 15,600; OAK PARK AREA ARTS COUNCIL 111,667; OAK PARK ARTS DISTRICT 2,720; OAK PARK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP. 571,500; OAK PARK HOUSING AUTHORITY 70,000; OAK PARK LIBRARY 148,606; OAK PARK PRIME CLEANERS, INC. 5,000; OAK PARK REGIONAL HOUSING CTR 100,751; OAK PARK RESIDENCE CORPORATION 42,500;

OAK PARK RIVER FOREST INFANT 21,449; OAK PARK TOWNSHIP YOUTH SVCS. 48,579; OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH CENTERS 30,458; OCCUPATIONAL HELATH CENTERS 5,090; ODB COMPANY 2,832; O’HARE TOWING SERVICE 11,237; ON TARGET A.D.C. 3,500; ON TIME EMBROIDERY 29,907; ONE STOP COMICS 5,000; O’REILLY AUTO PARTS 11,964; OSBURN ASSOCIATES, INC 4,938; PACE SYSTEMS, INC. 7,050; PARAMONT-EO INC 7,738; PATRICE STEURER 11,350; PCC COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTER 13,845; PENTEGRA SYSTEMS 26,350; PERSPECTIVES, LTD. 12,804; PEST MANAGEMENT SERVICES 19,433; PILGRIM CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 11,821; PJD ELECTRICAL SALES, INC. 9,596; PMA COMPANIES, INC. 882,193; POMP’S TIRE - ELK GROVE VILLAGE 3,728; PORTER LEE CORP. 2,953; POWERDMS, INC. 8,412; PRESCOTT GROUP LLC 3,900; PRESIDENT & FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLL 3,600; PUMPKIN MOON, INC 5,000; QUADIENT LEASING USA, INC. 7,555; QUALITY COUNTS, LLC 4,230; R & L MAINTENANCE 18,485; R. E. WALSH & ASSOCIATES, INC 19,438; RAINBOW FARMS 3,350; RASENICK’S 6,021; RAVE WIRELESS, INC. 7,920; RAYMOND CONNOR 2,500; RELIABLE FIRE EQUIPMENT CO. 7,973; RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP 20,870; REVCON TECHNOLOGY GROUP, INC. 83,974; RHONDA SALLEE 7,100; RHONDA SALLEE’ 3,439; RHONDA SALLEE RAMOS 9,880; RICA PROPERTIES, LLC 2,800; RICHARD & CHERYL CURRY 3,500; RITAMARIA LAIRD AND JEREMY CUNNINGH 3,500; ROBBINS SCHWARTZ NICHOLAS LIFTON 21,309; ROBERT M. AND MICHELLE JERRY 3,500; ROMEOVILLE FIRE ACADEMY 3,610; ROSA ABREU AND NEIL CLIPSTONE 2,928; ROYAL PIPE & SUPPLY CO. 6,258; ROZA CONTRACTORS 60,630; ROZALADO & CO. 143,265; RRV MOTORCARS 125,721; RUMORO,JOHN 4,800; RUSSO’S POWER EQUIPMENT 4,855; SAFETY PROVISIONS INC 4,079; SALLY SLOANEKAZARIAN 3,500; SANTANNA ENERGY SERVICES 3,202; SARAH’S INN 9,167; SAUBER MANUFACTURING CO 50,167; SCHROEDER & SCHROEDER, INC. 18,548; SCRATCH ‘N SNIFF 5,000; SEASONNE ROSE 3,500; SECRETARY OF STATE-DEPT OF POLICE 3,926; SECURITAS SECURITY SERVICES USA 343,667; SERENITEA, INC. 5,000; SERVICE KING PAINT & BODY, LLC 11,000; SEWERTECH LLC 55,093; SHABLAMITY, LLC 5,000; SHAKER & ASSOCIATES, INC. 13,150; SHI INTERNATIONAL CORP. 29,176; SIEMENS BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES INC. 7,978; SIEVERT ELECTRIC 19,095; SIGN EXPRESS 9,584; SIGN OUTLET STORE 3,608; SIKICH LLP 67,259; SIMPSON, M.E. CO., INC. 22,260; SIT SERVICE DOGS 6,000; SITE DESIGN GROUP, LTD 18,722; SLEEP NUMBER 18,325; SLEEP NUMBER CORPORATION 2,618; SMITH ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS INC 14,283; SNI SOLUTIONS 21,351; SOUTH WATER SIGNS 7,168; SOUTHERN COMPUTER WAREHOUSE 67,259; SP PLUS CORPORATION 27,697; SPROUT & SPRUCE LLC 5,000; STANDARD EQUIPMENT COMPANY 132,573; STATE CHEMICAL 3,633; STEINER ELECTRIC COMPANY 10,450; STENSTROM PETROLEUM SALES & SERVICE 3,797; STERNBERG LANTERNS, INC. 14,045; STOVER, K V & SONS 3,635; STREICHER’S 11,084; STUART & ROBIN TITUS - SCHWARDRON 3,500; SUBURBAN LABORATORIES 15,741; SUBURBAN TREE CONSORTIUM 50,618; SUGAR FIXE OF OAK PARK LLC 5,000; SURE-CLOSE INC. 2,970; SURMIN, RONALD 28,639; SUSAN HARROLD AND RICHARD HUETTEL 3,500; SWALLOW CONSTRUCTION CORP. 107,878; TAPCO 2,870; TAYLOE GLASS COMPANY 16,438; TELCOM INNOVATIONS GROUP, LLC 32,360;

TEREX SERVICES 150,625; TEREX USA, LLC 15,497; TERRA ENGINEERING LTD 477,565; TETRA TECH, INC. 4,745; THE ACTORS GARDEN 5,000; THE DALY BAGEL 6,137; THE FITNESS CONNECTION 9,150; THE GREEN MEDICAL PRACTICE LLC 5,000; THE HEARING PLACE 2,500; THE WRITE PEOPLE, LTD. 5,000; THIRD MILLENNIUM 17,973; THOMAS ENGINEERING GROUP 45,469; THOMPSON ELEVATOR INSPECTION 17,742; THOMSON REUTERS - WEST PAYMENT CENT 4,319; THRIVE COUNSELING CENTER 171,705; TILES IN STYLE, LLC 10,000; TIVOLI ENTERPRISES INC 4,487; TKB ASSOCIATES, INC 29,434; TOTAL PARKING SOLUTIONS 176,633; TRAFFIC CONTROL & PROTECTION 49,823; TRAFFIC CONTROL CORPORATION 10,652; TRANSYSTEMS CORPORATION 1,147,774; TREASURER OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 6,471; TREESTUFF.COM 2,565; TRIGGI CONSTRUCTION 328,429; TRINE CONSTRUCTION 2,270,465; TRINUC, LLC 9,726; UCP SEGUIN OF GREATER CHICAGO 24,400; UL LLC 4,548; ULINE 7,575; UNIQUE PLUMBING CO. 228,404; UNITED RADIO COMMUNICATIONS 2,545; UNITED RENTALS 30,620; UNITED STATES ALLIANCE FIRE 3,576; UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS 5,269; UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE 16,827; US BANK - CORPORATE REAL ESTATE 33,872; USA BLUE BOOK 5,712; USPS - MAIL PERMIT #1894 19,801; USPS MAIL PERMIT #26 12,884; UTILIS, INC. 7,000; UTILITY DYNAMICS CORPORATION 17,400; V3 COMPANIES 11,301; VANTAGE OAK PARK 35,418; VÉLAN SOLUTIONS, LLC 2,520; VENTURE 1212, LLC 4,380; VERIZON CONNECT NWF, INC. 15,783; VERIZON WIRELESS 86,216; VIGNESH KARUMBAYA AND NICOLE LINDER 3,500; VILLAGE OF OAK PARK (WATE BILLING) 34,304; VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ECC 177,608; VISION SERVICE PLAN (IL) 42,517; VISIT OAK PARK 67,504; VISTA NATIONAL INSURANCE GROUP 39,000; VISTEEN PLUMBING, INC 10,500; VULCAN CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, LLC 7,349; W. R. WEIS COMPANY 5,500; WALKER RESTORATION CONSULTANTS 36,271; WAREHOUSE DIRECT 18,799; WARREN OIL CO, INC. 102,344; WASHBURN MACHINERY INC 8,945; WASHINGTON,CARRIE BELLE 27,255; WASTE MANAGEMENT - METRO 4647 212,463; WASTE MANAGEMENT - METRO 4648 2,511,468; WATER PRODUCTS COMPANY OF AURORA, I 9,707; WAY BACK INN 2,847; WDN ARCHITECTURE 5,000; WEBSTAURANTSTORE 3,363; WEDNESDAY JOURNAL, INC 16,044; WEIMER MACHINE 6,126; WELLAVITA INC. 10,227; WELLO 21,400; WEST CENTRAL MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE 23,750; WEST COOK COUNTY SOLID WASTE AGENCY 499,696; WEST COOK YMCA 12,000; WEST SUBURBAN CONSOLIDATED DISPATCH 1,093,015; WESTERN UTILITY CONTRACTORS, INC. 2,203,596; WIGHT & COMPANY 22,992; XEROX FINANCIAL SERVICES 22,303; YMI GROUP, INC. 17,874; ZEIGLER FORD OF NORTH RIVERSIDE 7,690; ZIEBELL WATER SERVICE PRODUCTS 3,301; ZOLL MEDICAL CORPORATION GPO 62,266; ZONES CORPRATE SOLUTIONS 73,987; ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 3,609;

EXPENSE DISBURSEMENTS UNDER 2,500.00 565,024

TOTAL: 64,522,561

Village of Oak Park, Illinois

Annual Financial Summary For the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2020

Beginning Balance January 1, 2020 Revenues Expenditures Other Financing & Misc.

Prior Period Adjustments Ending Balance December 31, 2020

General Fund

Special Revenue

Capital Improvements

Debt Service

Internal Service

Enterprise

Fiduciary

16,284,358

11,988,728

1,867,770

1,716,237

3,365,078

97,853,019

161,683,083

60,752,336 (57,875,961) 165,331

5,740,612 (6,644,803) (1,045,245)

3,889,435 (9,027,958) 12,850,875

5,432,697 (7,109,098) 203,342

8,305,544 (7,018,149) (1,000,000)

26,758,190 (20,935,686) (7,993,693)

33,122,300 (16,511,538) -

19,326,064

10,039,292

9,580,122

243,178

3,652,473

95,681,830

178,293,845

Subscribed and sworn to the 23rd day of June, 2021 Steven Drazner, CFO & Treasurer Village of Oak Park

22

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

SPORTS

Lake Park too much for OPRF in volleyball quarterfinal Huskies will return all but three from 11-6 squad

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

When the Oak Park and River Forest High School boys volleyball team met Lake Park High School in IHSA state quarterfinals on June 18 at Glenbard West, a good start was imperative, given that the Lancers were one of the state’s top teams and went on to place second in the tournament.

Unfortunately, the young Huskies fell into an early hole as they dropped the first five points of the match en route to a season-ending 15-25, 19-25 defeat.

“Lake Park has some strong servers and they’re a real physical team. They have a lot of size at every position,” said OPRF coach Justin Cousin. “I thought our guys could’ve responded better to the aggressiveness of the game, but we’re really young, and those guys were really good.”

One bright spot for the Huskies (11-6) was the strong effort from junior middle blocker A.J. Robateau, who registered a team-high eight kills. However, OPRF was unable to get him the ball more often, thanks to Lake Park’s aggressive serving style.

“They didn’t make a lot of mistakes; they didn’t much to help us,” Cousin said. “Their serves took us out of our system.”

Other notable OPRF performances were produced by junior outside hitter Daniel Scholvin (4 kills, 3 digs), senior outside hitters Tim Pecenka and Owen Saranecki (3 kills apiece), and junior outside hitter Joshua Rasmussen (5 digs).

Cousin believes his debut season was a success, especially because the Huskies were able to win a sectional champion-

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

GOING UP: OPRF volleyball players A.J. Robateau (left) and Owen Saranecki leap up to block a smash from a Lake Park opponent during the Huskies’ state quarterfinal loss on June 18 at Glenbard West High School. ship. Moreover, he implemented some changes to the program, including placing an increased emphasis on nutrition.

“I’ve got my guys on meal plans,” said Cousin. “There’s no more junk food, and they’re feeling good. The parents love it, too. If you get buy-in from them, you’ll get it from the players as well. And they’ll see the results.”

OPRF returns all but three players for next season, and

Cousin is confident that the experience gained this year will pay dividends next spring.

“My juniors told me in the locker room that we played scared. That won’t happen again because no one likes that feeling,” he said. “This whole season we worked really hard and we’re probably going to be back here next year and hopefully capitalize on that opportunity.”

OPRF girls hoops coach laying groundwork for success

Rosemond wants to implement fast-paced style

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

More than 20 years ago, Carlton Rosemond’s basketball coaching career began in interesting fashion -- as a spectator rooting for his sister’s team.

“A parent of one of the team’s coaches saw me coaching from the sideline essentially,” said Rosemond, who was introduced as Oak Park and River Forest High School’s new girls’ basketball coach June 11.

“She said I should help coach, but I was just there to support my sister. I didn’t want to necessarily get involved with coaching, but she said the coach needed help. So after

the game, she forced me to introduce myself to him, and he said anytime you want to come and help out, you can. And I got into coaching that way.”

Rosemond spent 15 years as a coach in Evanston’s Fellowship of African-American Men league (FAM), which was created to help youth stay off the streets. Then he spent eight seasons at Evanston Township High School, coaching at all levels, including leading the junior varsity team for five years.

He said he hopes to use his years of experience to create success for the Huskies.

Rosemond said one of the things that appealed to him about OPRF was that the community reminded him of Evanston. “[Evanston coach] Brittany Johnson knew I had a desire to become a head coach.

She told me the OPRF job was open,” Rosemond said. “I asked her if it was something I

should try, and she said I should apply for it.

OPRF and Evanston are like sister schools in that they mirror each other in so many ways, including the diversity in the school and community.”

Rosemond has been working with his new players for the past two weeks and is impressed with what he’s seen so far. He feels that talent, discipline and commitment will be the ingredients for the Huskies’ success this coming season.

“We have some good talent,” he said. “We have some tools to be successful, even this year. But I believe with any success you have to lay groundwork and there has to be a foundation, and these last two weeks we’ve been building on what we want to be as a program going forward.”

Rosemond said he doesn’t like boring basketball and wants OPRF to push the tempo on both ends. He wants to play at a fast pace,

but in order to do that the Huskies have to play sound defensively.

“Defense is all about effort, desire and heart, and I think these girls have given a lot of effort and heart,” he said. “They have a lot of desire to want to be good. Offensively, we’ll push the tempo, but we’ll also work on half-court sets. You’ve got to effective playing both styles.”

Rosemond is excited to be at OPRF and start a new chapter for Huskies’ basketball.

He’s eager to see what things will look like when November begins.

“I want to build great relationships with the girls, parents, and community,” he said.

“What you can see come November is a team that is hungry and has the desire to be successful. We’re going to lay it all out on the court and play together, and I think you’ll see a team that’s different from past years.”

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

@ @OakPark

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Friars turn in record performance at state track meet Rill leads the way with 4th place finish in 800 meters

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Fenwick sophomore Grayden Rill was focused on a great boys track and field season in the 1,600-meter run when he raced the 800 the Friars’ third meet May 12 simply for speed work.

“I ran like 2:00 and after that I was like, ‘OK. I think I can improve on that,’” Rill said.

Rill significantly improved his 800 personal best to 1:57.80 on June 18 to finish an all-state fourth at the IHSA Class 2A state meet at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston and further improve his frosh-soph school record.

That was only part of the greatest collective state performance in Fenwick history.

Junior Lee O’Bryan joined Rill in top-nine, all-state 800 honors with eighth in 1:59.41. The 400 relay of juniors Stephen Brown and Max Reese, senior Joey Schultz and junior Jacque Walls was eighth in an all-time, school-record 43.22 to become the program’s first all-stater in any of the four relays.

Before Friday, the Friars, who tied for 27th (10 points), had two all-state individuals in 3A in 2011 and in 2A in 2015. Throughout the years,

Fenwick has competed between A, 2A and 3A, the divisions for schools with the highest numeric or adjusted enrollments.

“We had a good day, probably one of the best Fenwick has ever had,” Fenwick coach Dave Rill said.

Everything fell into place for Grayden Rill’s 800. The start of the meet was delayed by hot temperatures, so the 800 went off at 6:45 p.m. rather than the scheduled 3:42 p.m.

Rill said that gave him additional time to prepare physically. Having O’Bryan competing with him also helped mentally.

“It wouldn’t have been as fun if I were alone.

For both of us, warming up, we got to talk about other stuff, get our minds off it a little bit, just relax,’’ Rill said.

The 400 relay continued improving after Walls and program newcomer Reese joined the season late from football. Schultz – Fenwick’s only senior in the state lineup – converted to sprinting from running 800s and cross country.

Brown also qualified for state in the 200 (15th, 22.89) and 100 (17th, 11:20). Junior Zac Daley was 12th in the 3,200 (10:28.30) and Rill later finished 13th in his 1,600 (4:33.25).

Photo by Dan Chamness

PR: Fenwick’s Grayden Rill (left) placed fourth in state in the 800 meters and improved on his own frosh-soph record at the IHSA Class 2A finals in Charleston on June 18.

OPRF places 9th at boys track state meet

Huskies turn in four all-state performances

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Deshawn Willis was among the Oak Park and River Forest High School seniors finally getting their chance at the IHSA Class 3A boys track and field state meet June 19 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Competing in Lane 8 in the first of three heats of the 100-meter dash and the No. 24 seed based on sectional times, Willis exemplified the Huskies’ determination.

“This whole week, [assistant coach Keven Allen] and I sat beside each other and watched videos,” Willis said.

“We changed a few things, how to get out of the blocks, staying low, maintaining my speed. All week we worked and my start was 10 times better. Coach Allen said, ‘You’re going to run a 10.7 at state.’”

Never breaking 11 seconds in competition, Willis blazed to 10.66 seconds fully automatic time to finish an all-state fourth with the Huskies’ fastest time in the FAT era.

It was among the Huskies’ four top-nine all-state performances by a veteran sprinting group who missed out on 2020 state because of the COVID-19 pandemic. OPRF finished ninth overall with 21 points.

Willis, senior Ryan McFadden, freshman Liam Moroney and senior anchor Naahlyee Bryant finished second in the 400 relay (42.30), 0.29 seconds behind champion Minooka,

and fourth in the 800 relay (1:29.14). In the 200, McFadden took ninth (22.55) out of the first of that event’s three heats in Lane 6 with the No. 20 sectional time.

Bryant, who will play football at Western Michigan, Willis (McKendree) and McFadden (St. Xavier) also started late this season because the end of football overlapped with track. “[Willis’] start, you could have made a training video. It was so good. Just a remarkable performance,” OPRF coach Tim Hasso said. ”I told the [first-heat] kids, if you win your heat, you have a chance. It’s going to put pressure on everybody else. DJ [Willis] and Ryan have kind of been overshadowed by Naahlyee most of the year. For those kids to step up for the relays and for themselves, it was impressive and nice to see them get their bit of recognition.”

Bryant nearly didn’t compete after injuring his right hamstring during the 400 relay at sectionals. Also injured for 2019 state as a sophomore, Bryant rehabilitated and finally practiced again with the relays Friday.

“This time last week, I didn’t think I’d be running,” Bryant said.

“It was a bit of a concern for us how he had to start the week,” Willis said. “I’m just glad he was 100 percent for the most part.”

When Bryant received the baton in the state 400 relay, the Huskies were in a battle for second through fourth. Bryant pulled out second by .005 over Normal West (42.294 to 42.299).

“I would say before the 4-by-100, I was about 85 percent,” Bryant said. “It was a proud moment. That last dive in, lean in, benefitted us in getting second place. We’ve run faster,

but we gave it all we got. We’re happy with the results. It definitely could have gone either way.”

With his injury, Bryant sat out the 800 relay and 200 at sectionals. At state, he scratched his 100 or else he would have joined Willis in that first heat.

Willis, who ran 11.05 at the conference meet, equaled the Huskies’ highest 100 state finish since Oliver Lacy was fourth in AA in 1987.

Bryant rejoining the 800 relay also had family ties. Bryant’s older brother Naz was part of the Huskies’ secondplace 2019 state performance, which probably would have included Naahlyee if not for his injury.

“It’s definitely nice having both of us on the Wall of Fame, a tradition at OPRF. Definitely a great feeling having the Bryant legacy at OPRF,” Bryant said.

In pole vault, senior Thano Pantazopoulos was 10th (personal-best 4.40 meters/15 feet-5 inches), losing the ninthplace, all-state tiebreaker with Batavia’s Nick Fortino, who cleared 15-5 on one attempt and Pantazopoulos needing two.

Sophomore Josh Meister was 21st (personal-best 4.10m/135).

Junior Ian Kelley was 12th in the 300 intermediate hurdles (41.34), .64 from ninth. Freshman Kaden Garland was 19th in shot put (14.09 meters/46 feet, 2.5 inches) and 22nd in discus (34.61 meters/113-6.5). Senior high jumper Wells Ipema missed the 6-1 opening height.

The 1,600 relay of senior Emmett Perry, sophomore Owen Augustine, junior Leo Rooney and senior Ben Brandt was 17th (3:30.53). The 3,200 relay of Brandt, senior Eamon Cavanaugh, Augustine and junior Lou Delano was 21st (8:16.66).

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

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OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

After a crazy year, here’s hoping for return to normal

ith the Fenwick High School boys track and Oak Park and River Forest High School boys track and volleyball teams ending their seasons this weekend, the 2020-21 high school sports year has come to a close.

Needless to say, it was a year unlike any other. While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted many aspects of everyday life, it adversely affected high school athletics in Illinois.

In the fall, there was a limited number of sports that could be played. None included state final competitions as schools were restricted to playing within their conferences.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker moved winter sports to

the spring, and with the pandemic worsening, there was serious doubts about the spring season occurring as well.

But in early February, the IHSA announced there would be a six-week basketball season, citing the implementations of new COVID-19 vaccines. Then football, which didn’t take place in the fall, was moved to March along with girls volleyball and boys soccer. And the traditional spring sports like baseball and softball were moved also.

The result of this maneuvering was condensed seasons for every sport. COVID-19 protocols required limited attendance in most cases, only the parents of the home teams

were admitted.

It was a challenging year, and I hope we never have to experience this again. While I am glad Pritzker eventually let the kids play, the fact that all the seasons were abbreviated made it difficult to get all sports covered.

I apologize to the teams that were overlooked. That wasn’t the intention, and I plan to run stories soon about some of them. But, I also believe I did the best I could over these last three months, and I will only become a better reporter for this experience.

I believe that the return of sports is a sign that we are on the road to normalcy. I think people took them for granted and appreciate

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them more than ever before now that they know they can be taken away because of circumstances beyond control.

I’m optimistic the high school sports season will be back to normal this August. I want to see Friday Night Lights experiences for football at OPRF and Fenwick, and I yearn to see more crosstown athletic contests among Fenwick, OPRF and Trinity.

Then, when winter comes, let’s get back into the school gyms to watch exciting basketball and wrestling action.

I know I can’t wait for August, and I hope you feel the same.

REACHES SIX SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES:

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

VIEWPOINTS

25

Support the Lake Theater p. 27

A good week for reasonable gun regulation

wo significant pieces of reasonable gun regulation legislation are headed to Governor Pritzker’s desk for signature after having been approved by substantial majorities in the House last week.

Firearm Restraining Order

The first piece of legislation is HB1092. It amends Illinois’ version of a “Red Flag” law known as the Firearm Restraining Order (FRO) Act. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted Red Flag laws so far. They vary greatly from state to state, but they tend to have one thing in common. They are intended to give local authorities the opportunity to prevent gun tragedies before they occur. The Illinois FRO Act as originally enacted into law on 1/1/2019, allowed family members of a respondent gun owner to petition the police or the courts to temporarily remove guns from the respondent owner’s possession because they present a danger to the owner or to others. The owner has the right to contest the petition. The local authorities can seek to extend the temporary time of removal of the gun or guns, due to the continuation of the circumstances that gave rise to the removal of the gun(s) in the first place. Under the law, once the danger has passed, the gun is to be returned to its rightful owner.

HB1092 only somewhat expands the scope of the FRO Act, but it significantly strengthens the administrative and enforcement processes. Substantively, the bill expands the class of people who will be able to petition the police or the courts from just the immediate family to both ex-spouses of, and common parents with, the children of the respondent gun owner. Ammunition was being removed along with guns under the original act. Now ammunition and gun parts to build a weapon are specifically called out for removal under the amendment to the act.

The strengthened administrative framework for the act will: 1) Now require the IDPH to create a program to promote public awareness of FRO. 2) Require the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Board to create a standardized FRO training program for officers.

3) The Illinois State Police will now be required to file a report annually on their enforcement activities under FRO. 4) Finally, the director of the Illinois State Police is authorized to create a commission to review all aspects of the FRO law and to develop policies for its effective enforcement.

These are the kinds of administrative underpinnings that we have needed for the last couple of years to assure that the goals of the Firearms Restraining Order Act will be met. We owe much to Rep. Denyse Stoneback, as primary sponsor of the bill, and Speaker of the House Chris Welch, and Senate President Don Harmon for successfully shepherding HB1092 into law.

RAY HEISE

One View

See HEISE on page 31

FILE PHOTOS

REVENUE RISING: The Albion building (left), the Emerson buildling (top right), the Vantage building (above).

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Thank you, Anan and team

his letter is an attempt to express my view of the many accomplishments made throughout the eight-year leadership of Village President/ Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb. It has been a major team effort to make these significant contributions, and his leadership provided the impetus.

Oak Park currently has more than 20 new developments, four of which are high-rises downtown.

These four buildings have provided over 2,000 more residences and added close to $4,500,000 in taxes.

Every year the Total Taxing Bodies need $220 million for operating with a minimum increase of $6 million needed each year. The Albion building alone pays over $1,250,00 (six years ago this property paid $38,000), plus they have been re-assessed with a staggering 33% increase before any contesting. Another positive side of the developments are that these new residents helped our restaurants to survive this past year through many carry-out orders. Increased restaurant visits create more sales tax revenue for the village.

Biggest tax winners because of the new developments are the school districts. Albion, with a small percentage of children, provides a major net contribution to the 3% to 8% increased annual tax base. Another winner is the ability to receive monies from developers to build affordable housing, which would not have happened

unless Anan’s team made this a priority.

Madison Street eight years ago had numerous properties owned by the village with zero tax contribution and many deserted buildings. Now the village does not own any vacant land/buildings. With the additions of senior housing, Rush Emergency, Pete’s Market, Lexington Place, and a new recreation center, the village will have a significantly different look and experience than before. Madison Street will provide over $1,750,000 in annual property tax revenues, not including additional sales tax income.

I am in favor of more high-rises, more business development. However, with the current new tax assessments, higher cost of construction, and less priority given to expansion, Oak Park will see little growth in development over the next four years. Without new development, the average homeowner will have to pay these upcoming increased taxes ($6 million plus/ year), thus forcing middle-income folks out of Oak Park.

It is a great disappointment to me that some do not see the value of continued development and change.

Thank you, Anan and team, for working 40-plus hours per week these past eight years to get us where we are today. Your contributions to Oak Park will be lasting for many years to come.

Paul Beckwith, a longtime resident, describes himself as an “Oak Park and River Forest cheerleader.”

PAUL

BECKWITH One View

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

O U R

Praising summer

V I E W S

Cara Pavlicek’s service

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here’s no surprise to news that Cara Pavlicek, Oak Park’s village manager for the past nine years, is leaving her post and taking the top spot in suburban Northbrook. She will depart village hall in mid-August.

With those years of service as interim and permanent manager, coupled with three previous years in the thankless post of parking czar for the village, Pavlicek has already beat the average term of service for managers by a wide margin. That she was looking a year ago and came up second for a prestigious post as city manager in Ann Arbor was also an obvious sign she was ready — to get out of Oak Park or for a new challenge. Maybe both.

Oak Park is a hard town to manage. The issues are complex, from integration to equity, from obsolete infrastructure to property tax saturation. Our politics have gone from intensely opinionated to near toxic. And now there is a newly formed village board that will inevitably, and not incorrectly, see Pavlicek as the mainstay of policies it seeks to move past.

As she readies her departure — which will be fully professional — we focus on the many successes she has crafted over her tenure. Promoted to the post in the wake of the financial collapse of 2009, Pavlicek had the burden and the opportunity to wring costs out of village government. Between folding in departments and privatizing some services, Pavlicek consolidated leadership and streamlined reporting which focused in the manager’s office. Some took offense and branded her as power hungry. We saw a woman in charge and taking some heat for the leadership she exhibited.

The manager’s post was open after a frustrated village board fired her predecessor for his unwillingness to remake village hall with new technology and more logical processes. Pavlicek took a building and permitting department that continually frustrated citizens and contractors, entrepreneurs and landlords, and remade it in short order. She restructured departments and consolidated services even when it ruffled critics. She finally set Oak Park on a path of continuous investment in infrastructure.

And then came COVID. Hard to imagine village government being more responsive and resilient to this overwhelming disaster than it was under Pavlicek’s leadership.

There are exceptions, HR comes to mind, but it is notable to us how several of Pavlicek’s key department heads have been with her through it all.

Our relations with Pavlicek have always been cordial and professional. She was responsive to our questions, respectful when, at times, she chose not to answer them.

Hard to overstate the challenges just ahead for this new board. It is good they will choose their own manager. This board’s focus on policing, equity, climate, transparency, will need new thinking from its single employee.

But the learning curve for a board with only one member having served longer than two years, with a manager learning both the ways of the board and the intense issues of running this organization, well, it is going to be measured in half years and full years of transition.

It will be useful that the village president, Vicki Scaman, served within village hall as clerk for the past four years.

Even as we start looking forward, we look back with thanks to Cara Pavlicek.

A correction In an editorial last week on expanding citizen review of police conduct in Oak Park, we incorrectly reported that, because police officers’ names are redacted before the Citizen Police Oversight Committee reviews complaints, it was not possible for the committee to track repeated complaints against an officer.

In fact, each officer is assigned a unique identifier that permits committee members to track repeat complaints against that officer.

This is an important point brought to our attention by Trustee Jim Taglia, board liaison to the oversight committee. A letter from Taglia appears this week in Viewpoints (page 29).

We regret the error even as we look forward to the village board and the committee working to open up the oversight process to greater transparency.

Honey moon keep a shining in June, Your silvery beams will bring love’s dreams … he much-maligned season of summer has been with us since the Saturday before Memorial Day, when we finally bid the 40s a not-sofond farewell. We can complain only about the heat now. I complain only about the cold because it dominates two-thirds of the year. Heat can be withering, but it will be gone too soon.

As my patient walking partner will tell you, I complain about weather most of the year, but in summer I am in full praise mode. It’s all about warmth. In winter, I praise relative warmth (even the 40s get their due). In spring, I praise grudging warmth (the sun is trying, it really is, as it creeps north, inch by inch, measured along the western horizon). In autumn, I praise lingering warmth as the feckless sun plots an annual escape to its other lover, the Southern hemisphere. In summer, warmth rules — and can be forgiven, in my opinion, if occasionally it gets carried away.

I love lukewarm summer mornings, bordering on cool, rousing the birds at 4 a.m. to their morning psalms, sweetening the soft air with song in the grey pre-dawn. Summer mornings offer a largesse of extra hours, so jealously guarded until recently by winter’s austere dominion. Early morning is now a viable option, inviting emergence from my bedding cocoon, giving reason to rise if only to sample and savor the awakening world, runners and walkers and their dogs, workers setting about their daily commerce.

No price is exacted for getting out of bed on a summer morning, no chill tempts me back under covers for a few more comforting moments, forcing a daily battle of will vs. chill. In winter, getting out of bed is an act of moral courage. In summer, it is effortless.

I love summer’s early morning light, which steals into the room, coaxing me awake well before the alarm clock sounds.

Opening blinds reveals sunlight, low-angled, illuminating every crack and crevice, bathing the world in beauty. The more you see, the better you’ll like it, the sun seems to say.

Why let an hour lapse? If you can’t get out, sit by an open window and watch the world flow past.

I love the evening warmth as well, but, even more, the light. In June, “night” is a relative term. The day’s afterglow lingers past 9 p.m., extending along the northern horizon. In June, daylight lasts from 5 a.m. till 9 p.m., 16 hours at its peak. And balmy nights feel friendlier, luxuriously perfumed by linden blossoms. Walking at night becomes an olfactory exercise in tree inventory. The undifferentiated mass of leafy growth I take for granted later on, is distinguishable during blossom time, a tutorial on how many lindens, catalpas, black

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locusts, and horse chestnuts, were planted here once upon a time. The mid-month arrival of fireflies makes me wish we could do without streetlights for the next several weeks.

Summer afternoons, admittedly, are an acquired taste, but the sun overhead whitewashes cumulus clouds and thunderheads, adrift in the blue vault above. The midday heat can be withering, but that’s why trees invented shade and why people invented front porches and back decks. The formerly frigid dead zones of winter are transformed into leafy oases that sway in the breeze and let in enough dappled sunlight to make even sidewalks dance with fancy finery.

In summer, interior living spaces become air-conditioned fortresses, but when temps are tolerable, opening the tall casement windows that run the width of my living room draw the outdoors in. It reminds me of summers spent reading on an enclosed porch, as I grew painfully up, socially awkward, and turning inward — into myself, into books, but also into summer itself. Most of the year I fret about how many books I haven’t read. In summer I am content with the Book of Nature.

A summer afternoon’s deep stillness is worth the walk — if I can dodge the lawn care services, which compete to out-decibel the cicadas with their infernal noisemakers.

Soon enough though, the ethereal balm of crickets will arrive to soothe my aggravated ears. Handling the afternoon heat requires cultivating a comfort level with the fine sheen of sweat that is our God-given, breezeactivated cooling mechanism. It sure beats dogs’ dangling tongues. At some point each summer, I am unable to recall the last time I wore a jacket or coat. I love forgetting what it feels like to be cold.

I love summer because it is stingier with rain and more generous with sunshine. The grass browns up, but the lawns are white with clover flowers, prairie plants with deep roots grow tall, where they’re allowed to, and all feels full and right with the natural world.

I have dreamed of this so often during the long 7-8 months of late autumn/midwinter/ early spring. Here in the upper Midwest, we are given four months of non-chilly, nonovercast, sun-basted weather to savor — five months if we’re lucky. Sans smart phones, unmediated by windshields and A/C, summer is a lovely space and time that I try never to take for granted.

Let the water sprinklers strafe your legs as you pass, contemplate the caterpillars dangling over the sidewalk by a thread from the tree above. Learn the names of roadside wildflowers — purple chicory, Queen Anne’s lace, black-eyed Susans, bee balm, purple coneflowers.

Sample summer’s buffet. Inhale its bouquet.

Here. Now. Mid-June. Summer Solstice.

Exactly where I want to be.

KEN

TRAINOR

V I E W P O I N T S

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Why we should care about Wolf Road prairie

n the context of Chicagoland’s urban development, building yet another townhouse subdivision on a small piece of open land in Westchester should be matter of course. It’s only 15 acres, and sprawl has long ruled. But stop already!

That parcel is integral to a vitally necessary buffer zone that shields Wolf Road Prairie, an Illinois Nature Preserve, from nearby development’s negative effects, while itself providing valuable ecosystem services.

Wolf Road Prairie is one of the last remaining examples of undisturbed black-soil grassland on earth. Its unusually intact ecosystem supports a large, interdependent community of wild animal, plant and other species. A legacy of the indigenous nations that formerly held sway, it is now protected for future generations.

Scientists, students, and tourists visit from all over to admire and study this beautiful place. An unspoiled landscape like this would be unusual in a wilderness area; that it exists in Cook County makes it even more remarkable. It’s so special, it’s shocking that anyone would consider doing anything to jeopardize its well-being.

To help guard the prairie, the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources (IDNR), Cook County Forest Preserves, and the Save the Prairie Society created the buffer zone by buying and restoring adjacent acreage. This particular parcel, apparently unavailable, borders 31st Street and forms part of an oak savanna full of 200-year-old trees. (Savannas, themselves, are among our region’s rarest ecosystems.)

Besides sheltering myriad non-human species, this key parcel enables the buffer zone and prairie together to function as naturally-occurring green infrastructure that — through the interaction of plants and soil

— cleans the air, manages storm water, prevents flooding, and stores carbon.

It’s also key to mitigating water and soil pollution from 31st Street and the closed Chicago Highlands Landfill. In 1985, the buffer-zone land was included on the IEPA Site Remedial Priority Action list, owing to dangerous levels of carcinogenic and neurotoxic chemicals. In 1996, the land was de-listed on condition that it remain undisturbed.

There is no evidence the ruling has changed.

Clearing, excavating, and paving over much of this site would lead to newly released toxins, diminished biodiversity, and shattered ecosystem functions.

Flooding could increase, overwhelming Wolf Road Prairie’s wetlands, leading to further ecological degradation. And gray infrastructure along 31st Street might need modification, at taxpayer expense.

Furthermore, solving the twin crises of climate change and environmental destruction requires “nature-based solutions,” i.e., conservation, restoration, and management of open lands. Not only do they offer refuge to wild species, but they are such potent carbon sinks that the federal government has pledged to conserve 30% of U.S. land by 2030, in support of its goal to reduce U.S. emissions 50% below 2005 levels by then. In Cook County we clearly should be redeveloping, not breaking, new ground.

Wolf Road Prairie with its buffer zone intact offers vast, tangible benefits — to the wild species living there, and to the citizens of Cook County and beyond.

Let’s not pave paradise. Let’s understand and keep what we’ve got before it’s gone.

Adrian Ayres Fisher is on the board of West Cook Wild Ones and serves as volunteer steward of National Grove Forest Preserve in Riverside.

ADRIAN AYRES FISHER One View

Support the Lake Theatre My husband and I saw In the Heights at the beautiful Lake Theatre. It’s a wonderful, touching, feel-good movie. And if ever there was a movie best seen in a theater on a big screen, this is it. Please don’t watch it on your TV. The theater was almost empty last Thursday at 7 p.m., and this made us sad.

Please don’t be afraid to go. You’ll receive assigned seats a good 6 feet from anyone else.

If we don’t go to The Lake, it won’t be able to stay open. Did you know that ownership remodeled The Lake into the Art Deco treasure it is today without asking a single penny from the village? It really deserves our support. We collectively kept The Book Table open, and it’s time for us do that again for The Lake.

Judith Alexander Oak Park

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

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

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

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

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

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

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

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY

■ 250-word limit

■ 500-word limit

■ Must include first and last names,

■ One-sentence footnote about yourself,

municipality in which you live, phone number (for verification only)

■ Signature details as at left

your connection to the topic

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

H O W

T O

R E A C H

U S

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

A one-year subscription costs $41 within Cook County and $51 outside of Cook County.

Advertising rates may be obtained by calling our office. Periodical rate postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS 10138). Postmaster, send address corrections to Wednesday Journal, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, Il 60302. © 2021 Growing Community Media, NFP.

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

Who will unmake this world?

T

his world will be unmade.

Will it be by the creep of increasing vapors altering the chemistry of our atmosphere and oceans? By the waters and winds of a weather cataclysm? By the scorching inferno of an unstoppable fire? By the armed conflict of desperate peoples battling for the scarce resources that remain? Which demon will unmake this world for us?

Or can we unmake this world by choice?

We have made this world by our choices.

■ Our choice to privilege our immediate comfort over our long-term sustenance.

■ Our choice to prioritize our wealth and safety over the freedom of other peoples.

■ Our choice to strip our land and oceans of resources to manufacture into perishable goods, dump the excess, and ignore the byproducts.

■ Our choice to sacrifice our own lives on the altar of Apple, Instagram, and Adidas, listening to the call of profit, for the benefit of our lord, Perpetual Growth.

Just as we chose to make this world, we can choose to unmake it. It is not too late.

We are scared and it is dark. It feels easier to huddle down and cling to what we know and believe we can hold: our Lexus SUVs, our iced Frappuccinos, our Egyptian cotton sheets that bind us inside the sepulcher of our consumer-

ist lifestyle.

But the end is coming. We can choose to release ourselves and walk forward into the darkness, or we can be prey to the demons that come seeking us in these homes they know only too well. We have bound ourselves so tightly and so long that we no longer know what it looks like to walk free of the burdens of coveting and consuming, junking and judging.

Although we do not know it, we can feel it. We can feel deep inside what it means to build without buying, to live without lying, to try without tying ourselves to a corporate economy that always wants more, takes more, destroys more. Always with a smile on its face.

We must trust not in what we know but in what we can feel — that our lives are about relationship with other people and with the world around us. And we must take small, meaningful steps toward it. This is the key to releasing ourselves, to abandon this consumerist sepulcher and vanquish our self-made demons. We must make one small, meaningful movement each day to unmake our world, and to remake it as the entwining of our individual and collective connections.

This world will be unmade.

The question is by whom.

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

JIM

SCHWARTZ One View

Our hearts are broken at the tragic loss of our colleague and friend Carrie Bankes.

Years ago, Carrie came to work for Wednesday Journal as our Sales Administrator. Then at some point, she became our Calendar Editor and occasionally she would appear filling in as a graphic designer laying out pages on deadline.

Most recently she was our client, purchasing ads for Housing Forward.

Carrie Bankes always seemed to be there for us, a welcoming and reassuring presence. As she was for her family, her block and her community.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Steve, Julia, Abby and Will.

We will so miss Carrie.

- the Staff at Growing Community Media

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Will you take my word for it?

I’ve been thinking about James Baldwin’s question to himself, “Do I really want to be integrated in a burning house?” One way to understand the “burning house” is to see it as our society, our nation. After witnessing a violent crowd run amuck through the halls of our Capitol, we can no longer blithely claim to be “one nation under God indivisible.” Those words went up in smoke on Jan. 6.

In our economic life, we find the slow burn of wage erosion and disappearing jobs are consuming that hardy perennial, the America middle class.

These realities would reinforce Baldwin’s doubts about integration.

Another way to understand “burning house” is a place where cultural burning occurs: My family provides a case in point. My grandfather, Bill Hartigan, belonged to the Irish Fenians, a fractious, violent group working in the 1800s to liberate Ireland from British rule. Family lore has it that my grandfather swam the River Shannon to escape capture and flee to the United States. Though a fierce Irish nationalist, he gained a kind of notoriety for tirelessly exhorting his fellow immigrants to “get rid of the brogue,” a distinctly Irish speech pattern. The Irish

did learn to eliminate the brogue, along with spoken Gaelic. This was the necessary price to gaining employment in a time when job notices included the phrase, “No Irish need apply.”

Certain fragments of Gaelic survived in my mother’s language like fossils from the distant past: shemajah I understood as a smart-aleck girl. I knew that an omadhaun was a fool.

Irish playwright Brian Friel, in his play Translations, tells the story of the British civil engineers who replaced the traditional names for Irish crossroads with their own terms.

Novelist Elena Ferrante in her Neapolitan novels explores the necessity of abandoning the neighborhood dialect to gain acceptance.

Phlilologist Daniel Walden writes, “We have language precisely in order to invite others into our own interiority, to tell them our story.” To tell our story, we need our language. When we speak of desiring diversity in our communities and organization, we need to take care that we are not unconsciously requiring of those we invite to join us that they pay the price of losing their language.

Tesse Donnelly Oak Park

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

V I E W P O I N T S

Clarifying the police oversight process I’m writing to clarify a statement made last week in an editorial regarding Oak Park’s Citizen Police Oversight Committee (CPOC).

[Rethinking police oversight, Our Views, Viewpoints, June 16] In the editorial, a statement was made that unintentionally leaves the reader with the wrong impression of a key element of CPOC. Specifically, it was stated, “That CPOC does not see the names of the officers who have received citizen complaints makes it impossible to note repeat complaints.”

That’s simply not correct — each officer referenced in a complaint registered with CPOC is assigned a unique identifier and the committee monitors these identifiers to see if he/ she has repeat complaints. Any officer with a repeat complaint is quite easily identified and

CPOC members can report that to the village board or question the police chief directly.

While officers’ identities are kept confidential to volunteer members of CPOC for a number of good reasons, those with repeat offenses are, in fact, identicated and noted by the committee.

As a village board member, I sit as the board liaison to CPOC and can say the process is clear and functions well. In no instance would police officers who were the subject of repeat complaints filed by citizens go undetected. I thought it was important to clarify this point in order to avoid giving Oak Park residents incorrect and potentially misleading information regarding CPOC and how it operates.

Jim Taglia

Village trustee, Oak Park

here: The continuing issues of racism affecting many groups of minorities, the losses (through death or loss of employment) of those who affected students so mightily, the continued concern for the 15th Amendment on the part of Harriet Hausman, indefatigable writer on important topics at the age of 97, and so much more.

But the positivity of this week’s WJ was a cause for celebration.

In light of the recent news of so many columnists being “bought out” by the Chicago Tribune, we must keep our local newspaper alive. The truth must be reported, independent voices must be heard, and so, Wednesday Journal must thrive.

Here is an idea, based on Village Trustee Ravi Parrakat’s idea of spending $25 a week per family on local restaurants. What if every village family were to subscribe, and/or donate, yearly to WJ? Use any combination of 2’s and 5’s that work for you! Perhaps $25? $5.20? $52? $250? I will send a check today!

Let’s keep local journalism alive — and let’s be sure to also contribute our points of view on any and all subjects that are important to life in this great town!

Janet Haisman Oak Park

At-risk person wants to know

The Oak Park town pools are now open.

The COVID policy is: If you’re vaccinated, no mask is required. However, about 70% of the population of the pool is too young to get vaccinated. They are not wearing masks. When asked, the person in charge of the pool that

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Preserving our democracy

Keep local journalism alive What a pleasure it was to read last week’s Wednesday Journal (June 16)! This issue was full of positive stories that made my day. Here are my highlights: ■ Michael Romain’s commentary and the Event Guide to Juneteenth celebrations ■ The positive stories of the excellent new hires for Oak Park and River Forest High School ■ The amazing stories of this new village board — especially their efficiency in adopting their five goals for 2021-23 after only a month-plus in office ■ The end of COVID limits on capacity and on most safety restrictions ■ The opening of many organizations that provide food, fun, and welcome respite for residents ■ The aspirations for a restoration of our main post office ■ Joe McDonald’s positive spin on loving your enemy — even Mitch McConnell (Viewpoints) ■ Actions and events that point to getting back to school ■ And sports! Summer is truly back!

Of course, there are many sad and difficult issues still affecting our communities, and it is essential that our newspaper continue to report on them in depth as they did

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

day said, “We try to enforce.” And yet nothing is said when you enter the pool.

How are they are trying to enforce if they say nothing upon entering?

Kevin Durr Oak Park

O

ver the years, historians have written that democracies are “experiments in government,” rarely surviving more than a few centuries. The reasons they state for the failures are many.

First is the burden placed on its citizens. Consensus for group decisions is difficult to reach and seldom satisfactory to participants, necessary honesty and transparency are difficult to maintain, and the goal of equality for all is an enormous challenge.

Second, democracy is based on peaceful co-existence, often leaving these countries less prepared for war, violence, and invasions from enemy forces.

Third, historians have not written much about domestic terrorism, a present threat to democracy’s existence in America and elsewhere. Our nation’s Civil War was the most formidable threat to our democracy, and much of the hatred and racism continue to exist.

How could we ever imagine there would be large groups of citizens who would seek to overturn the government?

After the November election, Trump convinced a large number of his devoted supporters to believing his Big Lie: that the election was fraudulent and that he was the duly elected president. Masterfully employing his honed showmanship skills, power-hungry Trump soon garnered a huge following. Who’d ever think a president of the U.S. would refuse to follow the law; lie about and dispute our free and fair election; and reject his oath of office to uphold the Constitution? It is amazing that he has had an increasing number of believers. It should be noted that Trump is determined to destroy democracy and establish his presidency in an autocratic America.

Shockingly, Trump instigated a vicious attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2021.

Without concern or regard for folks who might be killed or injured, or for damage to our treasured Capitol building, Trump did nothing to stop the melee after he encouraged it. The coup was unsuccessful, but great damage was done, and the fury over election results continues to the extent that many of our states are now initiating questionably unconstitutional election restrictions.

Fourth, another obstacle to our democracy is from a group of influential Republicans, determined to rewrite history. They would like us to forget the despicable ways we dealt with native Americans and forget our abuse of enslaved non-white people. Vociferously,

they want us to reject history and believe, instead, that early settlers, land owners, and slave owners were fair and concerned folks who offered “help” to “needy” people in “our” America.

They even desire re-writing current events, claiming that the violent incursion of Jan. 6 was merely a Capitol tourist squabble. How is it possible to re-write Jan. 6 history with the thousands of photographic and video footage that exist of this horrendous event?

Democracy demands truth and transparency. It also demands accountability in the face of unlawful actions. How else can our society combat wrongs and tackle unconstitutional problems?

To dispute historians’ prediction of democracy’s failure, we must evaluate our existence — although on “shaky” ground at present. As noted previously, we have faced a multitude of problems.

We have been able to win wars due to the noble sacrifice of many Americans devoted to fighting for our way of life.

Over the years, we have rebounded from economic crises, and we have survived inept and unqualified leadership in both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Now it depends on us to fight for our special, diverse and peaceful way of life. Our devotion to democracy must include action. The seemingly impossible task of establishing cooperation between the two polarized parties is critical. We must convince our leaders to move past their prejudice and party disputes in order to collaboratively address the greater threats and problems facing our nation.

We know that “true” Republicans did not want or support the bigoted, dictatorial ways of Donald Trump. Yet many of those good folks were, and continue to be, silent. With mob-like threats, Trump bullied moderate Republicans into silence and reluctance to oppose him. The only way to combat a bully is to publicly expose him. Exposure will garner media support that will hopefully encourage cooperation between folks, necessary to defeat Trump and preserve our democracy.

For the present, let us bombard true and honest Republican senators and representatives with our voice, imploring all of our elected officials, from both parties, to take bi-partisan action.

Let’s do our part to preserve our democracy and its precious tenets of truth, justice, equality, and fairness.

Harriet Hausman is a longtime resident of River Forest and a longtime member of the ACLU.

HARRIET HAUSMAN One View

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

Race, gender, socioeconomics and the military

L

ast week, a deep scroll into the Twitter-verse led me to an article revealing that in certain predominantly Black and Latino, low-income Chicago Public Schools, students are automatically enrolled in Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or JROTC, courses. The same week, the Supreme Court decided not to hear a case challenging current law that only requires men to sign up for the draft. Both headlines reveal the unfortunate reality that, like many things, military policy is applied differently along the lines of race and gender.

The automatic enrollment of Black and Latino CPS students into JROTC programs is a remnant of troubled practices of the past: exploiting the country’s poor and sending them to the frontline to do the fighting. Of the 10 high schools where students were known to be automatically enrolled in JROTC programs, all were located in low-income areas on the South and West sides of Chicago with predominantly Black and Latino student body populations.

While participation in a high school program does not guarantee a military career, at high schools with JROTC programs, students are two times more likely to enlist.* That means for students in Chicago where the majority of JROTC programs are affiliated with the Army, the branch of the military that has historically experienced the most casualties, the consequences of their decision can be serious.** A career in the military can undoubtedly make for a fulfilling experience for some, and the social-net programs it offers can be serious tools for upward mobility. However, students should not be funneled toward certain careers simply because of their race or socioeconomic status.

A similar lack of policy uniformity, in this case on the basis of sex, makes the Supreme Court’s recent decision not to hear the case about women registering for the draft especially disappointing. Since 2013, the military has permitted women to serve in all combat capacities.

Women take part in the military at all levels, including programs like JROTC. There is no difference in the military service capabilities of a man and a woman. The draft process should be changed to reflect that.

Either all Americans should be required to register with the Selective Service or no one should. To do anything otherwise discredits the contributions that thousands of women have made and continue to make.

Failing to administer this policy uniformly also perpetuates outdated ideas about a woman’s role as being at home and nowhere else. Some women do not want families, some cannot have them, and plenty of women trust their partners to take equal responsibility in familial duties while they are serving.

These two cases are examples of how simple policy decisions can prompt meaningful strides toward equity and tangible change for many Americans. We are familiar with the enormity of some of the problems in our society, but it can be daunting to figure out where to start to address them. Sometimes, though, the policy changes are simple enough and right in front of us.

We just need to recognize them. * https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/4/22512734/chicago-schoolsautomatically-steer-some-black-and-latino-students-into-military-runjrotc ** https://www.chicagoreporter.com/chicago-schools-junior-rotcprograms-some-see-troubling-trend/ and https://fas.org/sgp/crs/ natsec/RL32492.pdf Mary Hester is a student at Kenyon College. She is serving an internship at Wednesday Journal this summer.

MARY HESTER

V I E W P O I N T S

‘W

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Real men change diapers

hen I was a child,” my 44-year-old son told me recently, “I didn’t feel close to you.” Maybe that’s because in 1976 when he was born, I wasn’t sure what it meant to be a man.

My most important role model growing up was, of course, my dad. The time he spent with me — and there was a lot of it — was devoted to doing something. We raked leaves and shoveled snow together.

He built a pitcher’s mound in the backyard and we would work on pitching.

One time when he and I were playing a round of golf together, I saw him muttering to himself something like, “Keep your head down. Keep your elbows in.”

So there on the fourth hole of the Elks Club Golf Course I asked him, “Do you ever play a round of golf just to have fun?” In all seriousness my dad replied, “I believe that if God has given me a gift, I must work to make the most of it.”

At funerals in the German/Polish community in which I grew up, the nicest thing you could say about the guy in the casket was that he was a good worker.

My father served in the Army in World War II and as a navigator-bombardier during the Korean Conflict. Part of the Greatest Generation, my dad saw his identity as a man in terms of the role he played. The way he saw it, he was the breadwinner and my mom was the homemaker. I don’t think he changed a diaper in his life.

He clearly loved me, but his way of showing it was by doing things. That worked for men in my dad’s generation, but the problem for me was women in my generation wanted me to feel as well as do.

So about 30 years ago, six of us formed a men’s group in which we met every Thursday evening in each other’s homes and when people asked what we talked about, we would reply, “The women in our lives seem to know how to express their feelings and nurture relationships and we want to learn how to do that.”

We were like toddlers learning to walk. We had all learned how to be disciplined professionals who knew how to use our heads instead of our hearts, but now we were trying to “get out of our comfort zones,” as people like to say these days, and learn how to be vulnerable.

The women in our lives began to notice a change and some even called us SNAGS, sensitive new-age guys. We were learning to value relationships as well as success at work.

But that’s where the rub was and still is. The myth was that we could “have it all.” We could be successful at work, loving in our relationships,

active in the community, do our share of the housework, change diapers, take care of ourselves by jogging and still at the end of the day, have time to get a good night’s sleep.

The problem was, and is, that we’re like guitar strings. In order to make music, a guitar string needs to have tension, to be pulled taut between the bridge and the tuning nob. In trying to add aspects to our self-image, we started to feel tension, which wasn’t producing music but was making us feel like we were going to snap. Being all that we could be takes time and emotional energy, the supply of which was limited for all six of us.

When I became a single parent, the mythical balloon of “we can have it all” was fatally punctured. I dutifully did it all but I didn’t have it all.

And we began to watch the women in our lives go the opposite way on the identity spectrum. They began trying to have it all by breaking into the areas of life where men had traditionally excelled.

They wanted to become executives, presidents of the local chamber of commerce, fly airplanes and even be included in army combat units.

And, God bless them, women deserve the same opportunities I’ve had. But not without a warning on the label of the myth — this product may be harmful to your health.

What used to be “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget that you’re a man” has been replaced by “not tonight honey, I’m too tired.”

A recent study by the World Health Organization found that working more than 55 hours a week was associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% risk of dying from heart disease. The study estimated that long working hours were killing 745,000 people a year.

The classic history of Alcoholics Anonymous is titled, Not God. Atul Gawande, a doctor, wrote Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Icarus and his father Daedalus were imprisoned on an island, so to gain their freedom, Daedalus made two sets of wings with feathers held together by wax. When Daedalus give a set to his son, he gave him a warning to not fly close to the sun.

Icarus did not consider the limits, got intoxicated by his newfound technology, flew too close to the sun which melted the wax, and plunged to his death in the sea.

In my old age, I’ve learned to loosen by grip on the myth and become vulnerable, limited, and therefore human.

At the end of his comment about not feeling close to me as a child, my son added, “like we are now.”

TOM HOLMES

Emailed every Friday morning!

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

The booming real estate market

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had been reading about the current shortage of real estate inventory. Because of it, people have been offering to pay more than the listing price for houses. As I perused the real estate listings, I found a house for sale in the 1400 block of North Parkside.

The listing price was $125,000. Based on the pictures accompanying the listing, it was easy to see that the house needed at least a minimum of $50,000, maximum of $100,000 in work. At minimum, it would need a complete gutting of the interior, with a new kitchen and bathroom a must. I would presume the heating system and hot water system would need to be replaced. Repairs to the front and back porch would also be a necessity. And a new roof.

The listing said the house was “hot” and would sell quickly.

Being a skeptic, I wondered if it would. So every couple of days I would check the listing to see what was going on. In just over two weeks, the listing went from available to sell pending. And another quick check of the listing a couple of days ago showed it’s now reported as having sold. The fact that it closed that quickly means it was probably paid for in cash. And the closing price was $20,000 more than the asking price!

Truthfully, I was amazed the house sold for that much.

But it was probably purchased by an investor type who will be rehabbing the house to resell it. And the resale price is going to be an interesting one. So fair warning to people who try to sell their homes outside the current real estate agent market. With the housing market and the final sale prices going out the roof, you could be cheating yourself out of thousands of dollars if you accept a low cash offer. Rare is the property in Austin that should close for less than $100,000, no matter the condition.

I had the opportunity to be in a local home improvement store and checked the price of lumber. It is not a pretty sight! But when work has to be done, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and just pay the cost. I am fortunate in that the majority of my projects currently do not involve needing to purchase lumber.

With the real estate market in Austin booming, it is imperative to take care of the property we already have.

Thus, I spent two weeks removing Home Depot’s Behr brand DeckOver paint from my deck. Since I am the one who painted it in the first place, my only anger was at myself for having been lured into the belief that the stuff would last for 10 years, maintenance free. It barely lasted four.

For the past couple of years it had been peeling in various spaces. I tried putting paint stripper on it, but even after an hour it would not get that stuff to come up.

It was gummy like melted crayons. I was forced to use a heat gun and supplement that with a paint remover pad on a grinder. Finally I was able to make progress. I got the stuff all up and I’m currently resealing the deck with waterproofing sealer.

I currently do not have plans to sell my home, but when I do, I expect top dollar for it.

Arlene Jones writes a weekly column for our sister publication, Austin Weekly News.

ARLENE JONES

V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

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HEISE

Progress, but more needed from page 25

Fixing the FOID The second piece of legislation adopted last week by the House in a concurrence vote is the bipartisan compromise bill, SB562. It had a slightly more complicated path to the finish line, and, while containing substantial and important gains for the reasonable regulation of guns in Illinois, it also leaves us with the significant and necessary task of continuing to pursue the incorporation of mandatory fingerprinting into the FOID (Firearm Owner ID) application background check process.

Some of the gains under SB562 include: 1) Authorization of the State Police to remove guns from owners who no longer possess valid FOID cards. This corrects one of the major flaws existing in the law at the time of the Aurora mass murder. This provision was carried over from HB1091, known as the BIO Bill.

2) SB562 also carried over from HB1091 the requirement that background checks be conducted on all gun sales. The elimination of all remaining gun sale loopholes is a huge step forward for the FOID card background check process in Illinois.

3) A permanent record will now be required to be maintained of all lost, stolen and recovered guns.

4) $9M will also be budgeted for mental health care in areas of the city that have been impacted by gun violence.

While this does not advance the goal of keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, the dangerously mentally ill, and minors, it does contribute to addressing one of the harsh realities that accompanies the tragedy of gun violence in the city — the mental health of people forced to live in such a war zone. It also begins to address racial equity issues by focusing this mental health funding on the areas most impacted by gun violence, which happen to be both minority and poor.

There are also important pieces of the BIO (Block Illegal Ownership) HB1091 that were left on the cutting room floor when the Senate spliced together compromise Senate Bill 562.

One of the most important provisions in HB1091 that did not to survive the transition is mandatory fingerprinting. The impetus for the FIX the FOID/ BIO Bill was born of tragedy and driven by the intention to fix the flaws in the law that allowed it to happen in the first place.

A brief description of that tragic

event demonstrates the important role that fingerprinting played in it, and how, if mandatory fingerprinting had been in place at the time, the tragedy may have never taken place at all.

On Feb. 15, 2019 a mass shooting occurred at a manufacturing plant in Aurora that left the shooter and five civilians dead, and six wounded, including five courageous Aurora police officers. Five years earlier, in January of 2014, the shooter was issued a Firearms Owners Identification Card (FOID) in spite of the fact that he had a 1995 felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi. This felony conviction should have prohibited the shooter from being issued a valid FOID Card, but the background check conducted at that time did not require fingerprinting, and, therefore, did not reveal the felony conviction. Instead, on March 6, 2014, the shooter purchased a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun, which he eventually used to kill those five people and wound six others.

On March 16, 2014, five days after the shooter obtained possession of his handgun, he applied for a concealed carry permit. As a result of that application, the shooter chose to be voluntarily fingerprinted to expedite the background check process, and it revealed the shooter’s 1995 felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi. As a result, the shooter’s concealed carry permit was rejected and his FOID card was revoked. The then Aurora police chief indicated that a letter was sent to the shooter notifying him that his FOID Card had been revoked and further notifying him that he was required to relinquish his firearm to the local authorities. The shooter did not comply with the letter and no apparent action was taken either by the State Police or the Aurora Police to recover the shooter’s handgun so the shooter retained possession of this handgun until he used it to commit mass murder on Feb. 15, 2019.

The “incentivized” fingerprinting offered in SB562 as a replacement for

“mandatory” fingerprinting, is not an acceptable substitute. The incentive for volunteering to be fingerprinted under SB562 is a free first-time FOID card renewal worth $10. Since any applicant who has a felony conviction virtually guarantees that his felony conviction is discovered during the course of a fingerprint check, his FOID card will be rescinded or denied, or his concealed carry permit will be denied and any gun he may have will have to be relinquished to the authorities.

How likely is it that a FOID card applicant with a felony conviction will volunteer to be fingerprinted to save a $10 permit fee? I would suggest that, aside from the Aurora shooter and his odd behavior, not many in their right mind will step forward.

HB1091 proposed FOID card renewals every five years with a $20 fee.

SB562 instead held firm on the existing 10-year renewal period and the $10 fee.

Ten years is a long time for any authorizing permit to remain in place).

If the bottom-line purpose of the BIO Bill is to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, the dangerously mentally ill, and minors (and it is), then there can be no doubt we need to begin pursuing mandatory fingerprinting as an absolute requirement for FOID card background checks.

If you need further incentive to renew your active support for mandatory fingerprinting and shortened FOID card renewal periods, just remember that these provisions are proposed because they can save lives, while those who oppose them do so to either avoid minor personal inconvenience or out of irrational paranoia.

The sooner we have the reasonable and rational tools we need to prevent gun violence from continuing unabated, the sooner we can gain control over this epidemic and really begin to save lives.

Ray Heise, former Oak Park village attorney, is a member of Gun Responsibility Advocates.

32

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

O B I T U A R I E S

Alice Clark Brown, 68

Joe Citari, 57

Baseball coach, mentor and player

Ringling Circus pioneer

Alice Clark Brown, 68, of Oak Park, died on June 6, 2021. Born in Chicago, she had lived in Oak Park since 1986.

As a teenage Andy Frain usher, she caught the eye of an official for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. A year later, in 1972, she became the first Black dancer/aerialist in Ringling’s Blue Unit, one of the circus’ two touring companies.

She enjoyed recounting nights of riding elephants and days of living on the circus train, visiting major metropolises and small towns along the way. Life on the road had its lows due to racism — not being served in a Texas restaurant and ants in her food at a Florida eatery — but the highs more than made up for the Southern inhospitality.

While doing publicity for Ringling, she met stars such as actor Fred MacMurray and pro football player Roosevelt Grier. She and two other Ringling performers were interviewed once on national TV by Barbara Walters.

After three years in the circus, she became a tour guide at Johnson Publishing Co.’s headquarters in Chicago. It was there that she met the man who would become her husband for 44 years, journalist Geoff Brown.

In 1993, Alice portrayed Nettie in the original cast of Black Ensemble Theater’s production, Precious Lord, Take My Hand. Later Alice would sing at jazz open mics across the Chicago area, with the stage name “Brandee” Brown. She played piano a few semesters with one of the Triton College jazz bands and was also a frequent participant in the annual Oak Park International Film Festival.

SUBMITTED

Alice Clark Brown when she performed with Ringling Bros.

After overseeing her own children’s education, she made good on a promise to her mother to finish college. In 2004, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois Chicago. Another passion was writing. She penned short stories, plays, poems and freelance newspaper articles.

Her concern for the plight of others led to training for substance abuse counseling.

She donated time to a domestic abuse hot line.

She was vice president of the DuSable High School Alumni Coalition for Action.

Through the coalition’s efforts, the city of Chicago granted the high school campus landmark status in 2013.

During her last years of life, she developed end-stage renal disease. Ultimately, various issues with low blood pressure led to hospitalizations. Exhaustive testing during her final hospitalization got to the bottom of her troubles. A rare affliction, amyloidosis, had been ravaging her organs for an unknown length of time, leading to interstitial lung disease. She died peacefully at home. Services were held June 17.

Alice Clark Brown is survived by her husband, Geoff Sr., a retired Chicago Tribune associate managing editor; her son, Geoffrey Jr.; her daughter, Christina; her brother, Gerry; her sister, Anna; her niece, Shana; and several cousins.

Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home

Since 1880 Family Owned & Operated Charles Williams, Owner/Funeral Director 203 S. Marion St. Oak Park 60302 708/383-3191

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Joseph Andrew Citari, 57, of Downers Grove, died of ALS on May 19, 2021, with his family at his side. Born on Aug. 31, 1963, in Oak Park, to parents George and Marilyn, he helped OPRF High School win the 1981 state baseball title and was drafted into Major League Baseball, playing nine seasons in the minors with Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. He coached and mentored hundreds of youths in the game of baseball, through the Chicago White Sox, Wheaton College, Concordia College, Downers Grove Dragons, and Orange Crush. A business owner and salesman, he took over the family business, Dial Lighting Supply, and finished his career with City Electric Supply. He was a longtime member of the Showman’s League of America.

Joe is survived by his son, Joseph; his daughter, Kaitlin; his former wife, Alicia; his brothers, John, Stephen (Jayne), and Rade Zone; his sister, Therese Sittler; and his nephew, Scott.

He was a great friend to every life he touched.

Burial will be at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Elgin in a private ceremony. Family and friends will celebrate Joe’s life in gatherings to be announced. Donations are being accepted at // gofundme.com/f/joe-citari.

Shawn Gilley, 32 Educator, musician, writer

Shawn Benjamin Gilley, 32, a 31-year resident of Oak Park, died peacefully in his sleep on June 17 in Chicago. In his short lifetime, he touched the lives and souls of countless people through his extraordinary kindness, quick wit, masterful music, and raw and gut-wrenchingly honest writing. Hear his music at shawngilleymusic. com and read about his battle with cancer at www.caringbridge.org/visit/shawngilley.

Shawn attended Longfellow Elementary School, Julian Middle School, and was a 2007 graduate of OPRF High School. He earned an honorary degree in Education at Indiana University. In 2011, he worked briefly at Wednesday Journal. He was a lifelong member of Oak Park Temple, where he taught, led music programs in various capacities, performed concerts of original music. He wrote his first liturgical composition for his Bar Mitzvah at 13, and later other spiritual music for Oak

Park Temple religious services.

Shawn Gilley was the husband of Arielle (nee Kaplan); the son of Sheri Gilley and the late David Gilley; grandson of Calvin and Sandra Deitz, Anne Gilley and the late William Gilley; nephew of Ronald Deitz, Lori (Gregory) Barsh, and Lynne Larabee; cousin of Leah Jackson, Mya MacPherson, Maizy and Meadow Jackson, Henry and Samuel Barsh, Christopher, Daniel, Hunter, and Justin Larabee; son-in-law of Karen and Robert Kaplan; brother-in-law of Sasha (Andreas) Papazafeiropoulos; uncle of Penelope Papazafeiropoulos; stepson of Debra Fleishman; and step-brother of Johanna Jameson and Rich (Kelesy) Grosse.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation (carcinoid. org), Wellness House (wellnesshouse.org), or Oak Park Temple (oakparktemple.org).

Julia Faust, 81

Library director, active community volunteer Julia Faust (née Bodman), 81, died on June 10, 2021 in her home at 1700 Riverwoods Drive, Melrose Park. Julia grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1962.

While at the U of I, she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and met her husband of 46 years, Carl F. Faust Jr. (deceased, 2008). Julia and Carl made their home in River Forest where they were immersed in the community and raised their two children, daughter Karen and son Stan.

She earned a Master in Library Science degree from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in 1978, and served as director of the West Suburban Hospital Professional Library and the Riverside Public Library. She also sat on the Illinois Library Association Board. An avid volunteer, she was especially proud of her work as an Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation board member, West Suburban College of Nursing board trustee, River Forest village trustee, and Family Service & Mental Health Center board member and president.

She is survived by her daughter, Karen; her son, Stan (Sara); and three beloved grandsons, Connor, William and Stephen; her sister, Jane Converse; her sister-in-law, Patricia (née Faust) Martin; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family. She is preceded in death by her husband, Carl, and her brother, Stan.

A celebration of Julia’s life is planned for 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, at First United Church of Oak Park, 848 Lake St. Memorial donations may be made to the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation Annual Fund (www.oprfcf.org).

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

33

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Public Notice: Your right to know In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com | RiverForest.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 | BY E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@OAKPARK.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@RIVERFOREST.COM PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Village of Oak Park Program Year (PY) 2021 Draft Action Plan is available for public review and comment during business hours Monday-Friday, effective June 24-July 23, 2021 at the Oak Park Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street; on the Village Housing-Grants webpage; and at the Public Library, Main Branch, 834 Lake Street. Reasonable accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities and non-English speaking persons, as needed.

Comprising year 2 of the Village PY 2020-24 Consolidated Plan for Housing & Community Development (Con Plan), the Draft PY 2021 Action Plan contains goals and objectives for implementing the Village’s Con Plan, as well as a description of proposed projects to be undertaken in PY 2021 as part of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Community Development Block Grant Program for the period October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.

Any comments concerning the Draft PY 2021 Action Plan can be submitted in writing to Mark Dwyer, Grants Supervisor, at grants@oakpark.us, including at the virtual draft Action Plan Public Hearing to be held from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on July 23, 2021. Send a message to the email address to attend the virtual Hearing.

Published in Wednesday Journal June 23, 2021

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF AUDIT REPORT OF THE PARK DISTRICT OF OAK PARK The Park District of Oak Park hereby provides public notice that an audit of its funds for the period January 1 through December 31, 2020 has been made by Lauterbach and Amen, and that a report of such audit dated May 4th, 2021 has been filed with the County Clerk of Cook County, in accordance with 30 ILCS 15/0.01 et seq. The full report of the audit is available for public inspection at 218 Madison Street, Oak Park, during regular business hours, 8:30 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, except for holidays.

Dated: June 23rd, 2021 By: Commissioner David Wick Treasurer, Board of Commissioners Park District of Oak Park Published in Wednesday Journal June 23, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: Y21007190 on June 14, 2021 Under the Assumed Business Name of GEEK WRANGLER with the business located at: 3130 KENILWORTH AVENUE, BERWYN, IL 60402, PO BOX 510 OAK PARK, IL 60303. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: DAVID SCHAEFER 3130 KENILWORTH AVENUE, BERWYN, IL 60402, USA. Published in Wednesday Journal June 23, 30 and July 7, 2021

    

Illinois Classified Advertising Network LEGAL SERVICES

INJURED? If you’ve been hurt in an accident in Illinois, call for a FREE CASE CONSULTATION. Calls Answered 24/7 by Staver Accident Injury Lawyers: 1-888-310-8322

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LEGAL NOTICE LAW OFFICE OF LINDA EPSTEIN Attorney for Petitioner 722 W. Diversey Parkway Ste. 101B Chicago, IL 60614

sealed envelope marked with the Contractor’s name and address, and “Bid for Aquatic Center Splash Pad,” on the face of the envelope.

Bids must be received no later than July 14, 2021, 10:00 AM. Bids will be opened on July 14, 2021, 10:00 AM at the Park District of Forest Park, 7501 Harrison Street, Forest Park, Illinois 60130. All bidders will be required to submit Bid Security in the form of a Bid Bond in the amount of 10% of the Base Bid, payable to the Park District of Forest Park.

STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF COOK )ss Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Domestic Relations Division.

In re the marriage of Bridgette Thatch-Nixon, Petitioner and Cedric Nixon, Respondent, Case No. 2021 D 004962.

The requisite affidavit for publication having been filed, notice is hereby given to you, the above named Respondent, that a Petition has been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, by the Petitioner, for Dissolution of Marriage and for other relief; and that said suit is now pending.

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on or before July 14, 2021, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk.

Published in Wednesday Journal June 16, June 23, June 30, 2021

LEGAL NOTICE Park District of Forest Park 7501 Harrison Street Forest Park, Illinois 60130 Aquatic Center Splash Pad The Park District of Forest Park does hereby invite sealed bids for Aquatic Center Splash Pad. Work will include removals, earthwork operations, asphalt paving, concrete curbs and paving, site furnishings, splash pad equipment, utilities fencing, seeding, planting, and subdrainage.

Project manuals, including bid form and specifications, and construction documents are available after 10:00 A.M. on June 16, 2021, from Accurate Reprographics 2368 Corporate Lane, Suite 100, Naperville, Illinois 60563, 630.428.4433 www.hitchcockplanroom.com. Bidding documents are available to download and print at the non-refundable cost of reproduction.

Bids will be accepted at the Park District of Forest Park, 7501 Harrison Street, Forest Park, Illinois 60130 during regular office hours.

All bids must be submitted in a

   

The successful bidder, as determined by the Park District of Forest Park, shall be required to pay, and to agree to pay no less than the Prevailing Rate of Wages, pursuant to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (820 ILCS 130) for the locality of the Park District of Forest Park (Cook County), to each laborer worker, or mechanic needed or used to complete the work as detailed in the contract to be let. The successful contractor, and all subcontractors shall be required to submit, to the Park District of Forest Park, certified payrolls no later than the tenth day of each calendar month for the immediately preceding month.

The Park District of Forest Park reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, parts of any and all proposals, or to waive technical errors or omissions in submitted proposals.

No submitted bid may be withdrawn until a period of ninety (90) days after the bid opening date, without written consent of the Park District of Forest Park. The Park District of Forest Park encourages minority business firms to submit bids on this project and the successful contract bidder to utilize minority businesses as subcontractors for supplies, equipment, services, and construction.

Questions should be directed to Bridget Deatrick, Andy Howard, or Eric Hornig, Hitchcock DesignGroup (630) 961-1787, bdeatrick@hitchcockdesigngroup.com, ahoward@ hitchcockdesigngroup.com, or ehornig@hitchccockdesigngroup. com Published in Forest Park Review June 16, June 23, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

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

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

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

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

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

CLASSIFIED HELP WANTED HUMAN RESOURCE COORDINATOR The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Human Resource Coordinator in the Human Resources Department. The ideal candidate will have a high level of customer service skills, Will provide routine to complex office, clerical, and administrative tasks. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http://www.oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. This position is open until filled. Applications will be accepted until July 1, 2021.

BAND SAW WELDER TECH, GENL LABORER OPENINGS Local sharpening service has two openings: Band Saw Welder Technician and General Laborer position. Apply at 1233 Circle Ave. Forest Park, IL 708-209-1636

PART-TIME ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER Must have own transportation.

For more information CALL 708-738-3848 GRANTS SUPERVISOR The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Grants Supervisor in the Development Customer Services Department. This position will perform a variety of responsible for developing. Administering and coordinating activities related to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and other grant-funded programs for the Village. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/ jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application no later than June 25, 2021.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT SANITARIAN The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Sanitarian in the Health Department. This position will perform a variety of duties including education and enforcement activities for the promotion and protection of the public health environment. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application no later than Until position filled.

RESIDENTIAL COUNSELOR Hephzibah Children’s Association is a social services agency in Oak Park, IL that helps children thrive and families flourish. We offer a variety of programs including residential group homes for children, family-based services (foster care and intact), and after school and summer day care.

We are hiring for a full time Residential Counselor to provide physically and emotionally nurturing care for the children in the Residence, a structured environment that provides consistency and predictability in a community-based setting.

This position will work weekdays (four 10-hour shifts) noon - 10:00 PM and every third Saturday. Flexibility to work other shifts is desired.

Requirements include: • Bachelor’s degree • Experience working with special needs children.

• Must be at least 21 years old.

•Valid IL driver’s license and good driving record • Experience with Medicaid documentation a plus Hephzibah Children’s Association is an equal opportunity employer.

We welcome qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply. We embrace a respectful, multicultural, and inclusive environment for employees and the clients we serve.

PART-TIME FACILITIES MANAGER Oak Park Church seeks part-time Facilities Mgr to oversee daily operations of physical plant weekday mornings; on call for emergencies. Prior experience & computer skills a must. Basic knowledge of heating systems, plumbing & electrical. Supervise custodians, contractors, and space-sharing agreements. Send resume to churchoffice@firstumcoakpark.org

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

MARKETPLACE HELP WANTED

River Forest Public Schools District 90

District 90 is seeking qualified and experienced applicants for the following positions: English Language Learners Teacher (Full-time at Roosevelt Middle School and Part-time FTE 0.50 at Lincoln Elementary School) Social Worker (Roosevelt Middle School) Physical Education Teachers, ( Full-time at Roosevelt Middle School and Part-time FTE 0.77 at Willard Elementary School) STEM Teacher, Grades 6-8 (Roosevelt Middle School) Instructional Specialist (Roosevelt Middle School) For detailed qualifications requirements and job duties, please visit our website at https://www.district90.org/about/employment for our complete list of employment opportunities.

General Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Education License with endorsement in field of study, a Master’s Degree is preferred and successful teaching experience with students in a classroom setting is preferred.

General Duties: Provide excellence in education by developing and implementing activities that encourage students to be life-long learners.

Possesses knowledge of District policies and regulations relating to areas of responsibilities. Create an environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the developmental maturity and interests of each student.

Application: Apply online at www.district90.org. Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90.org. Please do not send hard copies of supporting documentation, i.e. cover letters, resumes, licensure, etc. to River Forest Schools District 90; instead, upload these materials onto the online job application system for proper processing.

P/T SHAMPOO ASSISTANT Part-time Shampoo assistant salary plus tips please apply in person Anthony Lullo’s Hair Designs 721 South Blvd.

708 848 4455

ITEMS FOR SALE We are hiring Relationship Bankers in Oak Park, IL. Visit the link below to check out this opportunity to join a great team! https://wintrust.taleo.net/careersection/2/ jobdetail.ftl?job=2100424&lang=en You can also learn about other career opportunities nearby.

BLACK LEATHER COAT Beautiful black leather coat purchased at Saks 5th Avenue. Excellent condition. Size 6. $40.

708-488-8755 NEW AUDIX SPEAKERS PH-3S video shielded power speakers. $100 for both obo. Cash only.

708-383-7892 CHERRY WOOD CHAIRS 2 new cherry wood chairs with leather seat cushions. $70 each obo.

Cash only.

708-383-7892

AREA RUG 8 FT X 9.5 FT very beautiful area rug. Design of natural figures in earth tones. $60.

708-488-8755 OAK TV STAND Oak TV stand with w/ 2 cabinet doors, 1 shelf. 32”h x 27”w x 18”d. $25.00 708-488-8755

HOME HEALTH ASSISTANCE River Forest family seeking overnight in-home healthcare assistance. Nursing students, Respiratory Therapists, CNAs, LPNs, RNs, etc. welcome. For more information, contact kpatterson10@gmail.com.

ELECTRIC YARD TOOLS Electric Leaf Blower $25 Electric Hedge Trimmer $25 708-488-8755

LIVE-IN CAREGIVER NEEDED LA GRANGE 60525 Live-In Caregiver Needed, La Grange (60525) every other Weekend or Tues 7pm-Fri 7pm, $230-$260/Day ($16.43-$18.57/hr) min 10 hrs for sleep/breaks. Includes meals, own bedrm, guest bathrm, garage pkg, across from Metra, safe condo & area, supportive team. Final pay based on the abilities & communication skills you demonstrate during paid training. I am 69 yr female,105 lbs, polio survivor using tracheostomy, ventilator, oxygen, braces, wheelchair, speaking valve, assistive devices. Responsibilities: Must follow Covid & infection control procedures, safety/sanitation practices.

Transfer me with assistive devices. Operate medical machines, suction trach, perform Foley & suprapubic care, provide personal care.

CHAIRS Small bedroom arm chair with plaid slip cover. $25.00.

Comfortable upholstered chair with matching footstool from Pier1.

Very light green. $60.00.

708-488-8755

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

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

Requirements: healthcare experience, honest, respectful to all, Covid vaccinated, speak/read/write clear English, attentive to details, physically able to perform all tasks & safely lift 50 lbs, pull, bend, stoop, reach. References, clean criminal backgrd.

Contact Bonnie, at 847-797-9410 (no texts) or email myinbox123@yahoo.com

Lost & Found, Items for Sale, and To Be Given Away ads run free in Wednesday Classified. To place your ad, call 708-613-334

HOME HELPER HOME HELPER WANTED. NICE ELDERLY BROOKFIELD COUPLE, LIGHT DUTIES, 4 TO 8 PM. CALL (708) 341-4077

 

KING SIZE MEMORY FOAM MATTRESS King size, nearly new firm memory foam mattress. (Used only 2 nights) Mattress only. $500 obo.

708-642-1408

NEW STUDENT DESK New student desk. Cherry stain. 48w x 26d x 28.75h. $199 obo.

Cash only.

708-383-7892

CAREGIVER WANTED MCKINLEY AREA Looking for a caregiver (PA) to work nights 11p-7a and days 7a-4p, days needed will be discussed, to care for adult female with special needs. Training by mother approved by DHS HSP. Contact Maria 312 282-5760.

JOB TYPE: Part-time PAY: Competitive hourly rate COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS: Masks are worn. Social distancing.

Extra cleaning schedule.

HUGE ESTATE SALE 411 N OAK PARK AVE FRI 6/25 & SAT 6/26 STARTING AT 8:30 AM

60+ years’ worth of unique and interesting items. Hand tools, leather couch, bedroom furniture, wicker outdoor seating set, lamps galore from several decades, antique Chinese Art Deco Walter Nichols rug, antique and vintage china, glassware, linens and lace, and much, much more.

CAREGIVER SERVICES WANTED

JOB REQUIREMENTS • High school diploma (or equivalent). College or Technical Education preferred • A minimum of three (3) years of work-related experience • Computer skills including the ability to navigate and utilize internet and email communication • Strong organizational and communication skills • Driver’s license and reliable transportation with evidence of current insurance • Ability to lift and carry 50 lbs.

• Sufficient hearing ability to manage communication in person and on phone • Own and operate a mobile phone

ESTATE SALES Oak Park

local employees . . . happy employees!

Hire Local.

Place an ad on Wednesday Classified’s Local Online Job Board.

Go to OakPark.com/classified today!

Contact Mary Ellen Nelligan for more information.

(708) 613-3342 • maryellen@oakpark.com

Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

CLASSIFIED

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(708) 613-3333 • FAX: (708) 467-9066 • E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@OAKPARK.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@RIVERFOREST.COM R E N TA L S & R E A L E S TAT E

SUBURBAN RENTALS

SUBURBAN RENTALS

ROOMS FOR RENT

DOWNTOWN OAK PARK 1BR

Apartment listings updated daily at:

Small 1BR apartment in DTOP. Renovated and freshly painted. Harwood floors. Walking distance to El. No pets. $850/mo, utilities included.

Large Sunny Room with fridge, microwave. Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $125.00. New Mgmt.

312-212-1212

708-657-4226

SUBURBAN REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.

STUDIOS, 1, 2 & 3 BR Best Selection & Service

OAK PARK & FOREST PARK

708-386-7355

MMpropMgmt.com

RIVERSIDE 3 FLAT FSBO Three above grade 2BR apts. Unfinished basement w/ laundry & 1/2 BA. 4 car brick garage. Zoned for residential and office, if desired. Well maintained. $529,000

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY 708-446-1324

OFFICE /RETAIL FOR RENT RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. * 1116 sq. ft. * 1400 sq. ft. Dental Office RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. * 960 sq. ft.

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

COMMERCIAL/RETAIL RETAIL SPACE FOR RENT A RETAIL SPACE FOR LEASE IN SHOPPING CENTER! 315-325 S. Harlem Ave. Forest Park, IL. 1,000 sq ft. Good cond. *Recently Updated. Heavy Business/Traffic Area. (Min. Monthly Rent in the area: $17.50 sq ft.)

OUR PRICE-NEGOTIABLE! TEXT, EMAIL or CALL Mr. B.(708)828-6491 If leave a message: Include Your Name, #, and Type of Business.

OFFICE /RETAIL FOR RENT LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION FOREST PARK HIGHLY VISIBLE OFFICE/STORE AVAILABLE FOR LEASE 1350 SF w/ AC & HIGHLY VISIBLE MADISON STREET EXPOSURE. 7607 Madison Street. Village parking lot next door. Bright, clean office. Great Madison Street exposure! Call Francis 708-3838574.

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT THERAPY OFFICE OAK PARK Free wifi; flexible leasing, and offices nicely furnished right down to the Kleenex. Secure building & friendly colleagues, often giving referrals to other office mates. Shared Waiting room, Conference room & option to join Peer Supervision Group. Ideal for new practice or 2nd location.

708-383-0729

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

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

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

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-6699777.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark • Forest Park Review

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

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Wednesday Journal, June 23, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Join us for Takeout Stakeout Fridays Great way to network, pick up lunch & support local Chamber restaurants.

learn more about the Chamber and our programs @oprfchamber.org

DON’T MISS IT!

RESIDENTIAL — COMMERCIAL — RETAIL — CHURCHES — SCHOOLS

139 S GROVE, OAK PARK :: $1,235,000 :: 6 BED :: 4.5 BATH Majestic Victorian in central Oak Park Historic District.

KATHY & TONY IWERSEN 708.772.8040 708.772.8041 tonyiwersen@atproperties.com

SERVING OAK PARK AND RIVER FOREST SINCE 1976