Wednesday Journal 071322

W E D N E S D A Y

July 13, 2022 Vol. 42, No. 50 ONE DOLLAR @wednesdayjournalinc

@wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL @oakpark

of Oak Park and River Forest

Interview with D97 Supt. Ushma Shah Page 15

Board discussion moves Oak Park reparations forward

Pulling no punches No losses, just lessons learned, for amateur fighters at Austin Boxing Club

Evanston program comparison viewed and critiqued, survey is now out

REPORT BY F. AMANDA TUGADE, PAGE 10

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Earlier this year, a grassroots group began taking steps to study the feasibility of a local reparations program in Oak Park — a process the group launched after they couldn’t persuade the previous village board to act on reparations proposals they presented last year.

Now, with a new village board and village president in place, the idea of local reparations in Oak Park is gaining momentum. At a village board meeting on July 11, nationally respected reparations advocate Robin Rue Simmons presented to the board, which has directed village staff to further explore the feasibility of a local reparations program. Last month, the village board adopted exploring reparations as one of its goals.

Simmons, a former Evanston alderwoman, led that city toward the 2019 passage of the first municipal-funded reparations program in U.S. history. Rue Simmons is currently the executive director of FirstRepair, a nonprofit she founded to inform local reparations efforts.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

See REPARATIONS on page 13

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Oak Park artist transforms used plastic into work of art Cody Norman’s ‘Plasticus Porticus,’ made from waste and with help from Takeout 25

By SAMANTHA CALLENDER Community Narrative Reporter

During the pandemic, Takeout 25 was created to help support local restaurants in Oak Park that were struggling to stay in business. The initiative, which started as neighbors helping neighbors, eventually turned into an organization that is still around today Recently, Takeout 25 inspired an art installation at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Oak park artist Cody Norman’s “Plasticus Porticus” sculpture is made entirely of waste from takeout containers and was created by Norman in his studio at 5339 W. Lake Street in Austin.

“I started working with plastics in graduate school,” said Norman. “Only 10% of plastic gets recycled, so I enjoy exploring how my work can recycle and tie back to these conversations of environmental consciousness and sustainability.”

Oak Park Trustee Ravi Parakkat, founder of Takeout 25 and the organization’s board president, said Norman’s work is a

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“Plasticus Porticus” by Cody Norman, top left, will be on display at the Chicago Botanic Garden through September. representation of both the past and the future of Takeout 25.

The organization’s projects fall under at least one of three core pillars: helping local businesses, addressing food security and sustainability.

“The connection that supporting businesses had with waste from takeout containers bothered me a little bit,” said Parakkat. “This was a way to address that sustainability pillar.”

“Plasticus Porticus” features a vibrant 12-foot arch that Norman created using a combination of high-density polyethylene and polypropylene plastics.

Norman used more than 250 pounds of the material for his work, which he describes as “a small-scale effort that can lead to larger changes in how individuals in our community choose to consume single-use plastic.”

In collaboration with Oak Park and River Forest High School’s Clean Up Give Back student group, Takeout 25 and Norman collected waste from area homes.

The piece will sit in residence at the Chicago Botanic Garden through September to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the gardens. Parakkat said he hopes the sculpture can find a permanent home in Austin, where it

was created.

While the studio where Norman works isn’t open to the public, he makes it a personal priority to engage with the neighborhood around him.

“I try to speak to folks and engage with them if they ask me what’s going on around here,” he said. “Folks have asked me what goes on in here and I tell them there’s a bunch of artists in there creating things. They tell me stories of racing go karts around the building when it was abandoned. I’ve learned so much about the history of this block from the residents.”

Parakkat said Takeout 25 wants to engage more with the Austin community and encourages small businesses in Austin to join their network.

“We want to break down the lines that exist with Austin.

We’re always interested in the impact versus our intent,” Parakkat said. “Our members share everything from resources to professional connections and just general advice. We’d really like for Austin business owners to be in on this as well.”

CONTACT: samantha@austinweeklynews.com

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BIG WEEK July 13-20

Crime & Coffee - Hell’s Princess: The Mystery Of Belle Guinness, Mystery Of Men Sunday, July 17, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Oak Park Public Library This discussion group focuses on a new crime case once a month. Expect multiple points of access to each case, from books, ebooks, and audiobooks to true crime podcasts, documentaries, and more. Coffee and snacks will be provided. Register now at //oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Bear Williams Trio Wednesday, July 13, 7 p.m., Dominican University This show is part of a series of free summer concerts on the Dominican quad. Bear Williams is the alter ego of Larry Kimpel, a longtime bassist and musical director with Frankie Beverly & Maze. Bear’s own music is described as a cross between Delta blues and “a modern uptake on originals and famous favorites,” with a touch of social commentary. 7900 W. Division, River Forest.

Hackensaw Boys with Al Scorch Thursday, July 14, 8:30 p.m., FitzGerald’s This veteran string band will be joined by Al Scorch, one of Chicago’s finest practitioners of traditional mountain music. $20, 6615 Roosevelt Road., Berwyn.

Sizzling Summer Dance: A Salute To Frank Sinatra Thursday, July 14, 7-9 p.m., Cheney Mansion Grounds Park district dance instructors will be doing some smooth stepping with the music of Sinatra as a soundtrack. Appetizer and two drink tickets will be included. $40-$53, 2200 N. Euclid, Oak Park.

Listing your event in the calendar Wednesday Journal welcomes notices about events that Oak Park and River Forest community groups and businesses are planning. We’ll work to get the word out if you let us know what’s happening by noon

Wednesday a week before your news needs to be in the newspaper.

■ Send details to Wednesday Journal, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, 60302 ■ Email calendar@wjinc.com

Words On Wednesday: The Loop Wednesday, July 20, 1-2 p.m., Oak Park Public Library Tonight’s book discussion focuses on The Loop. This novel by Jeremy Robert Johnson looks at a small Oregon town with a population that turns murderous, as a result of a biotech experiment gone wrong. Register now at //oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Hidden Memory: An American World War II Story Wednesday, July 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Oak Park Public Library Professional storyteller Anne Shimojima, a third-generation Japanese American, shares the moving story of her family’s journey from Japan and through the concentration camps of WW2. This presentation includes photos from both her own archives, plus the National Archives, 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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Two ‘persons of interest’ identified in Oak Park woman’s homicide

Police have not released names or descriptions

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Two “persons of interest” have been identified in connection with the murder of 18-year-old Jailyn Logan-Bledsoe, the Oak Park teenager who was found fatally shot in the parking lot of the BP gas station at 100 Chicago Av., around 1:52 a.m., June 22.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Officer determined the official cause of her death as a gunshot wound to the neck.

The names of the two individuals have not been released by the Oak Park Police Department to “protect the integrity of the investigation,” according to a July 7 news release,

which also stated that the department is following “multiple leads.”

“At this time the Police Department cannot disclose how the individuals were identified without impeding its ongoing investigation.

Descriptions of the individuals may be released in the future if it is determined that doing so would be helpful to the investigation,” Oak Park spokesperson Erik Jacobsen told Wednesday Journal.

Interim Police Chief Shatonya Johnson has stated publicly that Logan-Bledsoe’s case is the department’s top priority and committed to keeping the community informed without compromising the investigation.

Oak Park police are continuing to work with the West Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, the Illinois State Police, the FBI, the Cook County Sheriff ’s Police and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

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Every week, every day in

Israel/Palestine It’s All About Human Rights I believe that Israel’s

• apartheid practices, as documented by international and Israeli human rights organizations, are racist.

• laws and policies which discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel (such as the Nation State Law) are inherently racist.

• attacking Palestinian protesters with tear gas is wrong, just as using it against African Americans protesting racist policing in Ferguson, MO and other cities is wrong.

More information on this issue and others at cjpip.org/progressive-for-palestine and CJPIP on Facebook I AM ANTIRACIST, SO I SUPPORT PALESTINIAN RIGHTS.

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Porch Swing The porch concert season is in full swing. Friday night, Porchfest II entertained residents and friends on the 700 block of South Elmwood. The Dennis O’Brien Band and Summer Landing provided the music. O’Brien grew up in the house at 701 S. Elmwood, originally owned by Seward Gunderson, who built the Gunderson development with his brother George in the early 1900s.

Next up is singer-songwriter Lauren Duffy, who will perform on Oak Park’s largest front porch, Pleasant Home, 217 Home Ave. (corner of Pleasant and Home) on Thursday, July 14 at 7 p.m. ($10 suggested donation, bring chairs and/or blankets).

And on Friday, July 22, 7 to 9 p.m., The Local Group will perform from the front porch of the Hemingway Birthplace Museum, 339 N. Oak Park Ave.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Block party of the week • 1150 S. Cuyler and S. Ridgeland

Send us a note of your upcoming block party or send us your photos from your block party and you might be featured here as Block of the week. We are making our way through Oak Park and River Forest block by block and want to meet you and your neighbors. Email Jill@oakpark.com.

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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Fenwick teacher ousted on allegations of sexual misconduct Accuser says it took school 20 years too long to act

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Fenwick High School has chosen not to renew the contract of longtime teacher John Quinn. The school announced its decision July 6 following the result of a months-long investigation that “uncovered clear and unequivocal violations” against some students.

Quinn, a veteran educator and decorated basketball coach, was placed on administrative leave in late March after allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment surfaced from at least two former female students.

Helen Quinn Pasin and Emma Seavey, both Fenwick graduates, took to YouTube, publicly detailing their experiences where Quinn allegedly touched them inappropriately or made inappropriate comments.

On July 7, a day after Fenwick announced its decision to oust Quinn, Pasin released a new YouTube video saying that Fenwick had finally done the right thing but that it took 20 years too long.

In one of three videos initially posted to YouTube, Pasin called Quinn her “abuser” and described instances where he hugged her tightly and afterward ran his cheek against her face while asking about her “love life.” In one instance, Pasin said, Quinn looked her up and down, hugged her “and [made] noises that sounded like he was growling.” Seavey shared similar encounters, one in particular where Quinn also wrapped his arms around her and “slid his hand under my bra strap

FILE

John Quinn (above) was Fenwick High School’s boys basketball coach for 28 years before being abruptly fired in 2013. He was named to the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. He also won a Golden Apple Award as a teacher in 1992. over my blouse.”

In a July 6 email, John Barron, chairman of the high school’s board of directors, said the school sought legal counsel who oversaw a “third-party” investigation of Quinn, which has now concluded. The investigation was led by Lisa R. Callaway, a partner of the Oakbrook-based law firm Engler Callaway Baasten & Sraga, a spokesperson for Fenwick said.

“We are writing to notify you that Fenwick will not be renewing Mr. Quinn’s contract for future school years. Our inves-

tigation uncovered clear and unequivocal violations that warrant Mr. Quinn’s immediate departure,” Barron wrote in a schoolwide email. “This decision was made based on a comprehensive review of the findings of the independent investigation.”

John Quinn issued a statement through his attorney, his brother Thomas Quinn, denying the allegations against him (See Viewpoints, page 25). Thomas Quinn claimed that Fenwick’s public statement left out “critical” pieces of information – that the investigator “completely exonerated John from any sexual misconduct whatsoever” and said the school has yet to provide a copy of the investigation report to his brother.

Fenwick and the Callaway firm have yet to confirm Thomas Quinn’s claims. A Fenwick spokesperson, however, referred back to the school statement, again repeating that there were “clear and unequivocal violations that warranted Mr. [John] Quinn’s immediate departure.”

Barron said the school is planning to make major changes in its policies, including “implementing an ongoing, comprehensive review of our confidential reporting systems, strong governance and oversight procedures, and a renewed training program for faculty and staff.”

“Fenwick High School is steadfast in our commitment to providing students with a safe and inclusive environment to learn and grow,” Barron said in the email. “We promise you that we will always act transparently in our efforts to ensure our students feel safe and supported.”

On July 7, one day after Fenwick released its statement and outcome of the investiga-

tion, Pasin posted a new video to YouTube to share her thoughts.

“All along, my mission was to get this predator out of the school, and finally Fenwick has done the right thing,” Pasin said in a three-minute video. “It definitely took way too long. It took 20-plus years, and the damage he has caused is probably immeasurable, but at least we got this one predator out of the school.”

She said she and Seavey have not received a formal apology from Fenwick, pointing out they both remained unnamed even in the schoolwide emails.

“There was no acknowledgement of us, but I know it was us. And that’s good enough for me, I guess. I f– hate Fenwick.

So, the thought of them reaching out to me is just like cringe,” Pasin said candidly.

In the statement on behalf of John Quinn, Thomas Quinn argued his brother interpreted a phrase in Fenwick’s statement to mean something else: “Although Fenwick has refused to provide John with a copy of the investigator’s report, John understands that the ‘clear and unequivocal violations’ to which Fenwick refers in its communication to be alleged instances in which John patted students on the back or shoulder.”

Thomas Quinn maintained that his brother had always “conducted himself in a moral and ethical manner, and his record is one of honor, integrity and distinction.”

“John is deeply disappointed that he will not be able to continue his teaching career at Fenwick, but he will always treasure the joys of teaching or coaching thousands of Fenwick students.”

Fenwick DEI head departs to become Bellwood principal

Raymond Moland sets his sights on childhood school district

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

A Proviso Township native is heading back to his hometown to become a principal in his childhood school district. Raymond Moland, a longtime educator who grew up in Bellwood and is a product of Bellwood School District 88, was recently named

principal of McKinley Elementary School.

Moland spent almost a decade at Fenwick High School in Oak Park holding multiple administrative roles. He said his return to Bellwood and District 88 is a homecoming of sorts. While Moland attended Lincoln Elementary School as child, he told Wednesday Journal over social media that he landed his first teaching position at McKinley after graduating from college.

“I taught sixth grade there for three years,” he said via Twitter. “It is always a pleasure when my career and Bellwood come together. This principal position is such a blessing and a ‘full circle’ event in

my life.”

At Fenwick, Moland’s other alma mater, he served as senior dean of students, chaired the health and physical education departments and became the first diversity, equity and inclusion director and spearheaded a leadership team.

Early last month, Moland took to Twitter to publicly share the news of his latest role at D88.

“I am happy to finally announce that I am officially the Board approved, [sic] new Principal of McKinley Elementary School,” he tweeted. “I am humbled and excited to offer myself to my hometown and childhood school district.”

RAYMOND MOLAND

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Three OPRF students win prize for business aimed to help people remember their loved ones Students receive $4,000 to help grow business

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Three Oak Park and River Forest High School students were recently awarded $4,000 to help invest in and expand their business, which they launched while in school as part of a class project.

Grayson Adelstein, Joey DiMaso and Ivan Gillman – all of whom will be seniors next fall – were named the winning team in a business incubator class for the creation of Ripple, a digital service that offers people custom video montages, interviews or other recordings to preserve the memories of departed loved ones. From sophomores to seniors, the elective course lets students learn about entrepreneurship, receive mentorship from local business owners and develop their own products or service startups, said Matthew Prebble, an OPRF teacher and chairman of the business education department.

“It’s more experiential,” Prebble said of the business incubator course, adding students like Adelstein, DiMaso and Gillman get to explore different business concepts beyond the textbook.

Prebble said teams pitch a business plan to a panel of area entrepreneurs at the end of the first semester. The teams meet with the panel once more at the end of the second semester to provide an update on their business plans, which oftentimes include testimonials from clients. The panel then selects and awards a winning team with $4,000, and members can put the money toward their college tuition or grow their business.

This year, the competition was tight: It was between Ripple and The Box, a gift box service launched by a fourmember team, Prebble said.

“The judges had a very hard time actually determining the winner this year between Ripple and The Box, but Ripple clinched it just because what they’re doing has a wider reach perhaps than the Box’s subscription service,” Prebble continued. “And the testimonials from [Ripple] customers just showed how valuable and needed their service was and will likely continue to be even past the pandemic.”

Adelstein previously told Wednesday Journal the idea for Ripple came from a personal place. During the pandemic, the 17-year-old lost a relative and the experience of attending a virtual funeral stuck with him.

“The [online] experience was just really poor,” Adelstein said in a prior interview with the Journal. “There were a lot of technical difficulties. The Zoom ended short. People were talking over each other. Overall, it was just a really bad way to remember someone who we really love.”

Adelstein said he and his teammates are proud of get-

PROVIDED

RIPPLE’S EFFECT: From left to right: Oak Park and River Forest High School juniors Joey DiMaso, Ivan Gillman and Grayson Adelstein. ting the grand prize and have already come up with ways to take their business to the next level. The teens told the Journal they are in the process of turning Ripple into an LLC (limited liability company), the first of many steps that will make their business and brand more professional. They are also looking to connect with area hospitals and senior living communities, said DiMaso, also 17.

DiMaso said they just joined the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce and were informed they are the youngest members.

“It’s been really great,” DiMaso said, reflecting on his

group’s accomplishments.

For Prebble, he’s excited to see what else is in store for Adelstein, DiMaso and Gillman.

“I think that they really found a meaningful problem that was looking for a meaningful, high-quality solution, and they ended up finding that,” Prebble said. “So more power to them.”

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

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Postponed July 4 fireworks could be rescheduled Village, parks, high school consider finding new date

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

No fireworks graced the sky above Oak Park and River Forest High School on the Fourth of July, but there is a chance that the display could be reset to a future date. Oak Park’s firework contractor has agreed to allow the village to reschedule, according to Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman.

“The contractor, from what I understand, is willing to work with us in case an opportunity arises to reschedule,” Scaman said.

The annual display was canceled following the devastating mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park that left seven dead and dozens wounded. The shooter has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder for the premeditated shooting, to which he has confessed.

Scaman told Wednesday Journal she

stands “in solidarity” with the Highland Park community and “those affected by the shooting.”

“That parade was held at the same time as our own. We were having a very joyous time as our partner community was suffering,” she said. “It is with a very heavy heart that I think about that.”

In the wake of such a tragedy, Scaman said many considerations would have to be made before committing to rescheduling.

Such considerations include trauma caused by fireworks.

“They do honestly sound like gunfire,” she said.

Deferment of the fireworks is not solely up to the Village of Oak Park. The Fourth of July fireworks display is organized via a three-way partnership involving village government, the high school and the Park District of Oak Park.

At this time, no discussions have taken place between the three taxing entities regarding rescheduling the fireworks. However all the entities are open to the idea.

Jan Arnold, park district executive director, told Wednesday Journal the park district would “definitely” be open to rescheduling the fireworks should a date or reason be determined.

“We always look at opportunities that we can work together in partnership,” Arnold said.

OPRF is likewise interested in rescheduling.

“The district would be happy to work with the village to find a date that might work for a reschedule,” said Karin Sullivan, OPRF

spokesperson.

The annual Fourth of July fireworks are launched from the high school’s athletic fields north of Lake Street. Those fields are expected to be reconfigured and remade with synthetic turf replacing natural grass.

Whether the high school will host future displays of fireworks once turf is laid is up in the air.

“It’s too early to comment definitively on future plans, but if the fields are turf, fireworks could damage them,” said Sullivan.

This year’s firework display was paid for in large part by an anonymous donor. Scaman was unable to provide the total cost of the fireworks. Nor was she able to share the financial loss the village would incur by not rescheduling. She believes it would likely be the amount of the down payment.

“The amount is palatable that we would lose,” she said. “Certainly nothing that we would value anywhere near above the safety and mental health of our community and the respect and mourning of the crisis in Highland Park.”

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Financial Advisor Keon Long Receives Edward Jones Spirit of Caring Award

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‘Fighting for your life’

Austin Boxing Club members talk impact of their sport

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Nate Jones knows what it takes to fight — and win. He’s the kid from Cabrini-Green who won two Golden Gloves heavyweight titles back-to-back and an Olympic bronze medal within three years of being released from prison.

“It’s fighting for your life,” Jones, 49, said as he stood outside the entrance of the Austin Boxing Club (ABC) where he now trains a new generation of athletes.

“Boxing was the only thing that made me feel special.”

As Jones talks about his journey through boxing, he often ties his memories back to his coach, Tom O’Shea. According to a 1996 Sports Illustrated story, Jones told writer Johnette Howard that O’Shea was a constant figure in his life. He met O’Shea when he was 9 years old, at a youth boxing club, the Matadors. Though Jones dropped out of the club and became involved with a gang, O’Shea stayed on him. And when Jones landed behind bars, O’Shea remained, writing letters, closing each one with “Stay off the ropes and out of the corners,” Howard reported.

“I miss him. … He taught me about life and boxing,” said Jones about O’Shea, who died in 2020 of COVID-19 during the first wave of

the pandemic.

Inside the club, 5915 W. Division St. in the city’s Austin neighborhood, pictures of boxing legend Muhammad Ali and fight posters of local boxers hang on the brick walls next to signs that read “Unity in Community” and “Put the Guns Down.”

Many at ABC see Jones the same way he saw O’Shea. To them, he’s a living legend whose story feels all too familiar, and battle scars come with a plate of lessons. He’s a mentor, a cheerleader in the corner — the guy who isn’t afraid to say that your biggest opponent is yourself.

Those messages rang true for at least two ABC members, Zachary Harris and Gabe Ford.

“It kept me out of trouble,” Harris, 24, said.

“I used to have anger problems as a kid and just having an outlet to relieve that stress, it just kept me out of trouble.”

A former basketball player, Harris said he was used to being on a team where he worked with others to reach common goals, but boxing was different. Inside the ring, it’s just him. Training for a match taught him discipline, consistency — to “[show] up every day.”

“It’s not giving up even when it’s hard and pushing yourself beyond your limits, always ready to go, always staying sharp,” said Harris, a 2015 graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School.

Gabe Ford, 16, echoed Harris. The OPRF junior, who is on the high school’s wrestling team, opened up about the way boxing has

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Zachary Harris trains on the bag, at the Austin Boxing Club on Chicago’s West Side.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

CHANGING LIVES: Gabe Ford, right, with gym owner Nate Jones. Ford says, “I’m also fighting for my family.” changed him. Though wrestling is an individual sport like boxing, Ford said that, as a wrestler, he only thought of himself — how he could get better.

“I rewatch the videos, see mistakes that I made and improve by my next match,” he said.

“With boxing, I do this for the community, and I’m also fighting for my family.”

Ford, who credited his teacher Anthony Clark for introducing him to ABC, said the club has given him the opportunity to think about the “good things I can do with boxing.”

Clark, who has known Jones for the last 20 years and grew up just blocks away from the club, said boxing was key to his health and well-being. It’s a sport he loved watching with his father and an activity he took up to stay in shape, but now it’s taken on a whole different meaning. The 39-year-old said boxing has become a tool to fight for his mental health.

“Boxing has saved my life,” Clark said.

Back in the club, by the front door, there is a sign on the floor, listing ABC’s rules. Most are standard, reminding fighters to drink “water only,” not bring food in the gym, and wipe down the equipment after use.

The last rule, however, stands out: “Leave your ego at the door.”

“When you come in here, no one [is] bigger than no one else. ... This one-on-one time is about learning the game. It’s about learning life,” Jones said. “One thing I tell my fighters is you don’t lose. We call it an ‘L’ — a learning lesson.

“You showing up every day, you’re winning.”

Journey to the 2023 Golden Gloves tournament Anthony Clark, Gabe Ford and Zachary Harris have recently teamed up to launch a $20,000 fundraising campaign for the Austin Boxing Club (ABC) and two other local nonprofits, the Austin Family and Community Center and Root 2 Fruit Foundation. The fundraiser, said Clark, aims to bring awareness to the needs of the Austin neighborhood and ABC’s mission to end gun violence.

The three have taken on a challenge and plan to train and compete in Chicago’s 2023 Golden Gloves tournament.

The campaign runs until the $20,000 goal has been reached or until the time of the tournament.

For more information on the fundraiser, head over to www.gofundme.com and search for “Tony’s Boxing Challenge for Youth Opportunity.”

In addition, Harris, a personal trainer, has launched his own GoFundMe to help raise awareness for his newly opened gym, which he intends to make accessible to Chicago youth and families. For more information, visit the GoFundMe site and put “Raise Money for Low-Income Family Kids Program” in the search box.

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River Forest joins program to reimburse ambulance fees State-run effort could provide $125K per year

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

River Forest has joined a state program that has the potential to provide an extra $125,000 in ambulance fee reimbursements annually.

Village officials actually entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IDHFS) to participate in the Illinois Ground Emergency Medical Transport Program (GEMT) in March 2020. At the July 11 village board meeting, the four trustees present voted unanimously to approve amending the ambulance fees ordinance to meet IDHFS requirements. Trustees Erika Bachner and Lisa Gillis did not attend.

GEMT is a federally funded Medicaid program that has been in existence for years but was introduced to Illinois via

COURTESY VILLAGE OF RIVER FOREST

legislation in 2019. The program allows municipalities an opportunity to collect an additional Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance services, above and beyond what the state reimburses the village for Medicaid claims.

Fire Chief Tom Gartner said Illinois is one of 10 states participating in the program with over 250 departments in the state joining.

In a memo to Village President Cathy Adduci, Gaertner explained that the

program provides supplemental federal funding for Advance Life Support (ALS) or Basic Life Support (BLS) emergency ground ambulance service trips under the Illinois Medicaid state plan and provides additional reimbursement for unrecovered costs associated with those transports. Through this program, the federal government will pay the state the difference between the set amount for Medicaid transports and the actual costs incurred by the village, he said.

The village is required to submit an annual Integrated Disclosure and Medicaid Cost Report (IDMCR) to IDHFS to determine the covered ambulance rate for the subsequent year. The intergovernmental agreement eliminates the division between Medicaid ambulance calls and ambulance transportation fees charged to service and managed care organizations.

As a result, the village is required to apply the rate structure determined in the annual IDMCR across all users of the village’s ambulance services.

The ordinance change incorporates the

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requirements outlined in the intergovernmental agreement with a fee structure that is reflected in the annual IDMCR as filed with IDHFS. Amending the ordinance this way will eliminate the need to amend the ordinance whenever the village changes the rates. Under the previous ordinance, River Forest charged residents $900 and nonresidents $1,150 for BLS service and charged residents $1,150 and nonresidents $1,550 for ALS service. Increasing fees required amending the ordinance.

Under the change, the fee will reflect the actual cost according to the IDMCR filing.

Gaertner said if the 2022 IDMCR rate had been applied to the 2021 emergency medical service response calls, the village would have recaptured approximately $250,000. After subtracting the state of Illinois program costs, the village would have likely recaptured $125,000 from the program.

Medicare/Medicaid transports account for 16 percent of the department’s ambulance calls but 54 percent of the revenue according to Gaertner.

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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OPRF student pleads not guilty to weapons charges Teen faces five felony charges for possessing gun on school property

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An Oak Park and River Forest High School student who allegedly brought a loaded handgun to school in May pleaded not guilty to five felony charges late last month at the Maybrook Courthouse in Maywood, according to his attorney and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Keyon Robinson, 18, of Oak Park, was charged with one count of possession of a firearm, a Class 3 felony, and four counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony.

A Class 3 felony carries a prison term of up to 10 years and $25,000 in fines if convicted, while standard sentencing for a Class 4 felony charge could lead up to three years in jail on top of $25,000 in fines.

Cook County Judge Teresa Molina initially set Robinson’s bond at $500,000, but Tom Benno, Robinson’s attorney, said he immediately filed an emergency motion to lower the bail and release the high school senior on his own personal recognizance.

Molina granted the motion and released Robinson on a $50,000 unsecured bond, with electronic monitoring.

Benno said the first bond – $500,000 – was “excessive” and “punitive,” and the teen’s family needed to post 10 percent of that bond amount in order for the teen to be released.

Robinson’s family “just couldn’t raise it,” Benno said, adding other local community members reached out to him for help.

On May 3, around noon, Oak Park police said they responded to a tip about a person with a gun heading toward the high school at 201 N. Scoville Ave. Police said they immediately found the individual, whom they later identified as Robinson, outside the school’s main entrance with a firearm. Robinson was arrested and taken into custody.

Benno told Wednesday Journal that Robinson has no prior criminal record and was not known to be a violent individual. Benno said he spoke to many people about Robinson, and that they described the teen as “a sweet kid” and “well-liked.” According to Benno, those he talked to told him that “out of all

the kids at school, he’s the least likely to have been caught with someone like this.”

During Robinson’s June 24 arraignment, Benno said he presented Molina with a comprehensive report of Robinson’s IEP (individualized education program) and advocated that Robinson return to school to finish his senior year and graduate from high school.

“I believe in saving people, because if [Robinson] has a felony conviction, he’s done,” Benno said. “That’s all there is to it, especially for the aggravated [unlawful use of a weapon] at school.”

Benno told the Journal that Robinson brought a loaded handgun with him to school because he was being bullied and wanted to protect himself but had no intention of harming any other staff or students.

“He was getting threatened, and he would never say by who,” Benno said, adding Robinson received those threats via text messages and emails and was scared for his life.

“He got a firearm solely to protect himself.”

A police report obtained by the Journal through a public records request indicated that earlier on May 3, before Robinson headed off to school, he had gotten into a physical altercation with a relative at their home.

Robinson told police that his relative “was threatening him” and “was afraid that if he left the gun at home while he went to school, that [his relative] would use the weapon on him.”

Robinson told police he took the gun – a 9 mm semi-automatic “Glock-style” handgun – and placed it in his backpack. According to the report, Robinson said he kept the loaded weapon in his backpack, which remained with him throughout the school day.

The Oak Park teen also informed police he purchased the gun off of someone through the social media app SnapChat last summer.

Police indicated in the report Robinson’s weapon was a “ghost Glock” and did not feature any serial numbers. Ghost guns are “unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be purchased online and assembled at home,” according to Brady: United Against Gun Violence, a nonprofit that aims to expand background checks for firearms.

Benno said Robinson “never posed a threat” and “you could see how innocent he is because you don’t pack [a loaded handgun] at the bottom of your backpack.”

A status hearing for Robinson is scheduled for Aug. 10.

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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REPARATIONS

Exploration continues from page 1 “The conditions in Black America and in our cities are not only because of the Transatlantic slave trade, but also because of antiBlack practices that have been enforced by our municipalities and states and county governments,” Rue Simmons told board members.

The village board didn’t take any formal action Monday, but the village’s legal department laid out the legal framework that such programs need to meet.

All reparations programs must, according to Village Attorney Paul Stephanides, pass the test of strict scrutiny, the highest standard of review used by courts to evaluate constitutionality of governmental discrimination. To do so, the program must target specific past discrimination by the governmental entity, and evidence must be provided of past intentional discrimination.

In identifying instances of discrimination in Oak Park, Trustee Ravi Parakkat pushed for independent verification by multiple parties to ensure the veracity of the claims.

“That has to be really, really clear so that the village can verify and withstand any kind of legal challenge,” he said.

Evanston was able to meet the standards of strict scrutiny with the first initiative in its reparations plan, known as the Local Restorative Housing Program. Historic legislation in Evanston contributed to lasting racial zoning, including the 1919 ordinance that zoned as commercial use every block outside of the city’s west side, where Black residents lived. This resulted in the demolition of dozens of homes occupied by Black families, Rue Simmons explained.

A city council subcommittee conducted a feasibility study to evaluate potential ways to provide monetary reparations to Black residents and their direct descendants who have suffered from such discriminatory housing policies that were in effect between 1919 and 1969.

Through the Local Restorative Housing Program, Evanston seeks to make reparations to its Black residents by providing housing grants for property costs or home repairs. In January, the city chose 16 recipients to receive the first round of individual $25,000 grants. Evanston is funding the program using revenue from the city’s 3% Retailers’ Occupation Tax on recreational adult cannabis sales.

“We are working on additional revenue streams as we speak,” Rue Simmons said.

While groundbreaking, Evanston’s initia-

tive has been criticized for being a housing program dressed up as a reparations program. The initiative does not allow reparations recipients the ability to choose how to spend that money. Those critics include Oak Park Trustee Arti Walker-Peddakotla.

“I’m pretty critical of Evanston’s restorative housing reparations program,” she said. “Reparations to me, and as it’s been defined by sociologists and legal scholars, is really cash in hand for people.”

In developing Oak Park’s future program, Walker-Peddakotla recommended that staff not stick to the narrow scope of housing but to think of broader possibilities, and to do so from the perspective of Oak Park.

“It may not look like what reparations for Evanston looks like,” she said.

Rue Simmons acknowledged that reparations could and should be looked at from multiple angles specific to the community before writing any legislation, which must be informed by Black residents and developed in consultation with the village’s legal department.

The July 11 board meeting comes in the wake of work done by Walk the Walk, a local grassroots group that presented a reparations proposal similar to Evanston’s to the previous village board, then led by Mayor Anan Anu-Taleb, in February 2021.

After failing to garner sufficient traction at the board level, Walk the Walk began working on its own to explore the feasibility of reparations in Oak Park. The organization launched a nine-member Oak Park Reparations Task Force, which partnered with Dominican University in River Forest to create a community survey designed to gauge what Black Oak Park residents think about reparations. Residents can access the survey at https://bit.ly/3cacTX5.

Christian Harris, who leads the task force, said the survey results will be included in a report on local reparations that the group will present to the village board once it’s completed. On July 11, board members expressed support for the village collaborating with the Task Force.

Reached on the morning of July 12, Harris said that he has been in contact with members of the village board, including President Vicki Scaman, Stephanides and Oak Park Village Manager Kevin Jackson.

He said the task force last spoke with village officials “a few weeks ago,” but were not informed that Rue Simmons would be presenting at the July 11 meeting.

“In every community there is going to be disagreement, but somewhere in there, you have to get to consensus and begin the work because there is no shortage to serve and empower the Black community,” Rue Simmons said. “Starting somewhere is important.”

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Delia’s Kitchen’s future in flux Focused on farming, owner hopes to return to Lake Street

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

A love of bees inspired Veronica Cibotaru, owner of Delia’s Kitchen, formerly housed at 1034 Lake St. in Oak Park, to purchase a small farm in Portage, Indiana in 2018.

She once used the property to grow produce for use in the restaurant, but today Spur Farm is the lifeline keeping the restaurateur connected to the earth and her community after a devasting fire destroyed her 12-year-old downtown Oak Park restaurant in November 2021. As she busies herself growing vegetables and harvesting honey, Cibotaru, is using the summer to pause and ponder a potential return to Lake Street.

The Lake Street building that housed Delia’s Kitchen was deemed a total loss and Cameron Davis, assistant director of development customer services for the Village of Oak Park, confirmed a demolition permit was issued for the property, but a building permit has not yet been issued for a new structure. While the demolition is clearly underway, Cibotaru indicated her former landlords have a keen

MELISSA ELSMO/Food Editor

Veronica Cibotaru, owner of Delia’s Kitchen, organizes produce for Spur Farm CSA boxes.

MELISSA ELSMO/Food Editor

FARM TO TABLE: Kim Shimkus (left), owner of Manouche, and Veronica Cibotaru show off Spur Farm CSA boxes. interest in rebuilding.

“They want to build a brand-new building and want to design it with Delia’s in mind,” said Cibotaru. “My landlords are nice people, and they want me back, but they are still figuring out the business angle.”

The restaurant owner fears the new restaurant may be too big for her business or take years to become a reality.

But it seems like waiting for a new building to pop up in the same location may be her only option to revive the beloved restaurant. Cibotaru looked for a new home for Delia’s but found rents in Oak Park to be cost prohibitive.

“Delia’s has to be in Oak Park. Going somewhere else would feel like starting over, but the rents were just too high for me,” said Cibotaru. “I know my limits. I have been doing this for a long time and I know how much my restaurant can make.”

Cibotaru expressed concern that rent on space in a new building in the same location may also end up being higher than what she can afford but remains optimistic that striking a deal to bring Delia’s back to life is possible.

In the wake of the blaze the community rallied around the breakfast-focused restaurant with a GoFundMe amassing more than $30,000 for the displaced owner and her loyal staff. Cibotaru dedicated herself to finding local jobs for Delia’s employees; both Louie’s Grill in Forest Park and George’s in Oak Park found hours for the

seasoned servers. In fact, Cibotaru herself takes Sunday shifts at George’s, 145 S. Oak Park Ave., to stay connected to her Oak Park community and visit her longtime friends and co-workers.

In addition to pitching in at George’s, Cibotaru shifted her primary professional focus to Spur Farm where she embraces regenerative organic growing practices. She had always wanted to give the farm more attention but did not have enough time to make it more than a hobby.

In addition to hosting 10 honey bee hives, the farm helped to prop up Delia’s at the height of the pandemic through sales of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes. After the fire, Cibotaru managed to increase growing capacity on the farm and now offers a generous weekly box filled with items like Swiss chard, Russian kale, zucchini, carrots, beets and fresh herbs. Many Spur Farm CSA customers live in the Oak Park area and pick up their weekly boxes from Manouche, a women’s clothing boutique at 146 N. Oak Park Ave. Vegetables grown by Cibotaru are also sold at Sugar Beet Co-op, 812 Madison St. “Farming has taught me patience and bonding with nature and has been very healing for me,” said Cibotaru who admits she is at a crossroads. “I am still traumatized by what happened, but I know the universe brought me the farm at the perfect time. I am taking the summer to figure out what is next for me.”

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

15

New D97 chief talks journey as educator

Superintendent Ushma Shah tells how she got into teaching and equity work

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

When Ushma Shah first headed for college, she thought of becoming a journalist. While in high school, she was named editor of the newspaper and was inspired by the work her fellow classmates did. She enjoyed reporting, namely, the chance to interview school officials like the principal and ask questions.

That experience stood out to her, and “I saw the importance of it,” she said.

But when Shah got to Knox College in the fall of 1989, her plans began to change.

She was encouraged to sign up for different classes before selecting a major and ended up in one particular course that changed the direction of her life.

That class, she remembered, was taught by a professor who chaired the education studies department, and it focused on the role of social justice in public schools. The lessons stuck, and the 51-year-old Shah has spent the last three decades in education, first as a fifth-grade teacher and later as an administrator – and now as Oak Park Elementary School District 97’s newest superintendent.

Sitting in a conference room in the district office, Shah opened up about her journey as an educator, reflecting on that class she took on a whim at Knox.

“You couldn’t take classes around methodology or anything until you had a firm understanding of the history of our country and the way that public education fits into that history,” said Shah, a 1992 Knox College graduate.

To this day, she can still recall the professor’s three key questions: Where have we been? What kind of society do you think we should live in? How are we going to get there?

And those questions remain just as important now as they were then, Shah said.

“It resonated with me because I could see the purpose of my career,” she said, “and that has everything to do with why I’m here today.”

She added, “I’ve always viewed my work as this really important way of remaking

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Dr. Ushma Shah, supeintendent of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and making sure that the world we live in, the communities we live in, reflect our highest values of the kind of world we want to live in.”

Before Shah officially stepped into the superintendent role early last month, she served as an interim chief portfolio officer in Chicago Public Schools and oversaw four departments.

She also spent 10 years as assistant superintendent for elementary schools and chief of equity and social justice at the Elgin Area U-46, one of the biggest school districts in Illinois. While at U-46, she supervised the district’s 42 elementary schools and the district’s English language learners, early learners and assessment and accountability departments.

Shah told Wednesday Journal she also never intendent on becoming a superintendent, but once again, life – and maybe fate – had other plans. After seven years of teaching in CPS, she wanted to be a principal and started applying to colleges and

universities to get certified. She submitted an application to Harvard University.

“I was like, ‘Let me see just what happens,’” she said. “One Saturday, I get a call, and I pick it up. They said, ‘We’re calling from Harvard University, and we want to offer you a fellowship to the Urban Superintendents program.’”

Shah told the Journal she thought the call was a mistake.

“I must have checked the wrong box, because I’m looking to be a principal, not a super. I’m a teacher right now,” she remembered telling the rep.

The Harvard rep told Shah that she was what they were looking for: Someone who wanted to better serve students and advocated for more teachers to be part of the school’s decision-making process.

So, Shah’s journey continued.

Shah shared with the Journal that her arrival in D97, in some ways, is an extension of the work she has committed to. She said Oak Park has been “on my radar” because of its

values on equity as a community and in the school districts.

On a personal front, Shah said that when her parents first emigrated from India to the United States in the late 1970s, they initially settled in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood before moving out to the suburbs.

“It’s a place that I have connections to in both personal, as well as philosophical ways, so I’m really excited to be here,” she said.

Shah reiterated that equity needs to be front and center, on the table at all times, or else nothing will change. She said she understands that these conversations can be challenging but necessary.

“We’re going to have to learn some new ways of being together,” she said. “We’re going to have to learn some new ways of exchange, and we’re going to have to slow down and talk to each other and approach things with more curiosity and more commitment to our service to students – and all of us, self-included, checking egos in that process.”

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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Oak Park becomes abortion sanctuary Reproductive rights included in human rights under village code

By STACEY SHERIDAN

privacy — have all conflated the ability of people to choose their right to their own care to the point that it makes it super-emotional,” As of July 11, reproductive rights are Walker-Peddakotla said.

The entire village board voted in favor of now considered human rights under the Oak Park village code. The amendment to include passing the resolution to classify reproducreproductive rights enshrines the village’s tive rights as human rights in village code, save Trustee Jim Taglia who commitment to protect reprowas absent from the meeting ductive freedom and access to and therefore could not cast a safe and legal abortion as well vote. as reproductive health-care However, the amendment, services. which passed as is, did not “It is very important to me entirely satisfy Trustee Lucia that we use the language ‘reRobinson, an attorney. productive health’ because She took issue with a secthis is not just about abortion of the amendment that tions,” said Trustee Arti directs the village of Oak Walker-Peddakotla, who Park to object to any subpoerequested the village code nas or information requests amendment.

ARTI WALKERPEDDAKOTLA “from any out-of-state person The change comes on the Trustee or entity for the purposes of heels of the U.S. Supreme investigating a law criminalCourt’s decision to revoke izing abortion or reproducabortion’s status as a constitive health care as set forth in tutional right under its Dobbs v. Jackson ruling. The recent ruling directly this article or creates civil liability for aborreverses the legal precedent established by tion or reproductive health care.”

Robinson stated she is “really horrified” the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that the right to seek an abor- by the Supreme Court’s decision and that it was “critically important” for her as a legal tion was protected under the Constitution of professional to ensure the amendment is airthe United States.

The reversal now makes legalized abortion tight in its effectiveness, but she found it cona matter of state government but brings into cerning that the amendment categorically question the future legality of other repro- requires rejection of subpoenas for reproductive matters, such as in vitro fertilization ductive health cases and investigations. This, she said, is not a common basis for objecting and contraception.

“As somebody who is going through my a subpoena.

“I’m not entirely comfortable with by law own reproductive health challenges, I can tell you that the state of conversations — when directing the law department to just summarit comes to reproductive health, the right to ily object to every subpoena that we might reStaff Reporter

“It is very important to me that we use the language ‘reproductive health’ because this is not just about abortions.”

ceive,” she said.

Her concerns over this particular part of the amendment extended to future village boards, who would not have the power to direct the village’s legal department to respond to subpoenas of this nature without having to further amend village code.

“It is usurping that authority from future boards,” she said.

Citing how elections have the power to alter the course of legislation, however, Trustee Susan Buchanan said she was completely comfortable with not giving future boards the ability to decide whether or not to object on reproductive rights-related subpoenas on a case-by-case basis.

Robinson was also not convinced there was any likelihood at all that the village would receive such a subpoena, despite many states considering possible legislation that would punish those who seek out-of-state legal abortions. A bill is pending in Missouri, just below Illinois, that would allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps a Missouri resident have an abortion even if the procedure takes place in a different state.

“We may be putting forth legislation that has a piece of it that just doesn’t really have teeth,” Robinson said.

Walker-Peddakotla, a law student, disagreed, believing that portion of the amendment gives the village legal standing to object to those specific subpoenas.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of if we get a subpoena request, it’s a matter of when,” Walker-Peddkotla said.

Robinson ultimately voted in favor of passing the amendment, but wanted her objections noted for the record in the meeting’s official minutes.

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17

Failed carjacking leads to stolen auto recovery An Oak Park resident avoided a carjacking by driving away from his would-be carjackers this past weekend. The two men who had attempted to take the resident’s vehicle were later connected to a stolen vehicle out of Chicago.

The resident was seated in his black 2007 Toyota Avalon at 12:15 a.m., July 11, near the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Lombard Avenue when he was ordered out of the vehicle by two men, one of whom was pointing a black semi-automatic handgun, who had just exited from a vehicle that pulled up next to the victim.

Instead of getting out of his Toyota Avalon, the Oak Park resident drove off. He later witnessed a traffic crash at Randolph Street and Ridgeland Avenue involving the two offenders, who fled from a gray 2020 Chevy Trax, which was reported stolen out of Chicago.

The stolen vehicle was recovered, and its owner was notified. However, police did not apprehend the two men, who are described by Oak Park police as Black males, between the ages of 15 and 20, of thin build and approximately 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-11 in height.

The armed offender reportedly has short dreadlocks and was last seen wearing a blue facemask and a blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, according to police. His companion was last seen wearing a black facemask with a red hooded sweatshirt that had “Hilfiger” emblazoned on the back.

Armed robbery and aggravated battery arrest A 22-year-old resident of South Bend, Indiana, Dequan Fitch, was arrested after being positively identified as the offender who struck a victim in the back of the head with a black handgun and took that person’s cash in the 1000 block of North Boulevard at 10:16 a.m., July 7.

Aggravated vehicular hijacking A rideshare driver was held at gunpoint and ordered out of his blue 2019 Honda Accord by a masked man who exited from a different vehicle at 1:48 a.m., July 6 in the 500 block of North Euclid Avenue; the vic-

tim turned over the key fob and the offender drove off in the victim’s Honda followed by the vehicle from which he had previously exited. The estimated loss is $25,000.

Burglary A blue work bag containing a work badge, work keys, a computer mouse and a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop, was taken from an unlocked Kia Sportage parked in the 700 block of South Grove Avenue between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m., July 8. The estimated loss is $1,500.

Motor vehicle theft The black 2017 Nissan Sentra being driven by a Door Dash delivery driver was taken while the driver was delivering an order to a customer in the 700 block of Van Buren Street at 8:04 p.m., July 6. A man wearing a gray hoodie was seen driving the Nissan southbound on Oak Park Avenue. The estimated loss of the vehicle is $15,000.

Theft

■ The catalytic converter was cut from a Chevy pickup truck parked in the 1100 block of Wesley Avenue between 11 a.m., July 2 and 7:30 a.m., July 5.

■ The catalytic converter was cut from a black Toyota Prius parked in the 900 block of West Washington Boulevard between 6 p.m., July 5 and 11:30 a.m., July 6.

■ Two social security checks, worth a total of $1,466, were removed from an unsecured mailbox in the lobby of a building in the 100 block of South Harvey Avenue about 10:36 a.m., July 7.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports, June 6 through July 11, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. 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

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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C O N T E N T

Hibachi and a history lesson at New Star in Elmwood Park Restaurant Row mainstay brings fiery flair to daily fare

MELISSA ELSMO Food Writer

More than 30 years ago, Jinny Zhao took her first job at a Chinese restaurant.

Eventually she bought the place and grew the staff from

five to more than 150 before retiring.

Thankfully, retirement did not stick for the dedicated restaurateur -- Elmwood Park and surrounding communities have benefitted ever since.

Zhao left her leisurely lifestyle behind in favor of purchasing New Star, 7444 W. North Ave., in 2015. The veteran restaurant owner immediately turned her attention to updating the Elmwood Park mainstay. After all, New Star had been serving up traditional Cantonese cuisine since 1954. While Zhao is proud to carry on the New Star traditions started by the Moy family decades ago, she eagerly expanded the cuisines available at the North Avenue establishment bringing both Thai and Japanese dishes to the menu.

In 2017, Zhao turned her attention to the banquet room in the back of the

Hibachi dinners are at the heart of New Star in Elmwood Park MELISSA ELSMO

Jinny Zhao, owner of New Star, oversees her state-of-the-art hibachi room in Elmwood Park.

MELISSA ELSMO

restaurant. The outdated space was underutilized, and Zhao had a vision to bring entertaining hibachi dinners to New Star. Today the fiery meals are drawing customers by the hundreds seven days a week. On busy nights the room welcomes more than 300 hungry hibachi fans.

“I am always improving my restaurant,” said Zhao. “There was no hibachi in the area, and I thought offering the meals would be attractive to younger people and bring a new generation to New Star.”

A little bit of reading on Japanese Food Guide (japanesefoodguide.com) revealed the North American interpretation of hibachi is far different than the heating device of the same name that dates back to the Heian period (794 to 1185) in Japan.

Evocative of a flowerpot and commonly stashed in a corner, homeowners would

fill a traditional hibachi with hot coals to help warm a chilly room. More elaborate versions of the hibachi would offer means to warm water for tea before electricity was readily available and by the 1800’s hibachi use evolved to grill meats and snacks in Japanese households. The slow cooking charcoal hibachi was far from flashy, but Teppan grills, first used in Japan in the early 1900s, made their American debut in 1945 and brought the flair commonly referred to as “hibachi” today.

Zhao’s investment into the former banquet room brought eight state-of the-art cooking tables to New Star. The renovation took six months, and Zhao, the passionate owner, is particularly proud of the floor ventilation system that keeps smoke away from customers while keeping sightlines clear in the well-appointed dining room that boasts vaulted ceilings. Each table seats 10 and the flat top griddles allow for

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Golden Shrimp as served at New Star in Elmwood Park

Every hibachi dinner at New Star comes with a bowl of soup and a fresh salad with ginger dressing as well as noodles, chicken fried rice and vegetables.

MELISSA ELSMO

high heat cooking that brings flames and flavor to every meal.

Every table features a trained hibachi chef who puts on a show while deftly cooking dinner. Flaming onion volcanos and fried rice beating hearts enchant guests while tossing delicate eggs and flipping full bowls of fried rice draw applause from onlookers. Every hibachi meal at New Star comes with a soup and salad and sides including a vegetable medley, chicken fried rice and soft long noodles. Zhao points out the teriyaki steak is the most popular protein selection among patrons because of the fresh meat and skilled preparation.

Note that lines to enjoy a hibachi dinner at New Star are often long; guests have been known to wait more than two hours

for a table. To minimize wait times Zhao suggests calling to see if reservations are available on the evening you are hoping to dine and always advises arriving for an early dinner is the single best way to dine without a wait.

“I worry that long wait may disappoint customers, but our hibachi is popular because our chefs cook right in front of you,” said Zhao. “We want to be the place where your mom can have chop suey, you can order sushi and your kids can have hibachi.”

Zhao’s respect for both tradition and innovation are a key reason New Star remains a destination for both special occasions and everyday fare in Elmwood Park.

For more culinary delights, visit OakPark.com and click on EATS.

19

MELISSA ELSMO

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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21

Go wild at the Native Garden Walk on July Birds, butterflies, bees and rain gardens abound

By LACEY SIKORA

T

Contributing Reporter

he Native Garden Walk, with its focus on helping gardeners discover the benefits of growing native plants in their yards, returns to Oak Park and River Forest on Saturday, July 23.

Sponsored by West Cook Wild Ones, the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory and Interfaith Green Network, the walk aims to inspire experienced and new gardeners while teaching them about the usefulness of plants that have lived in the area of thousands of years.

The walk will feature 10 gardens, and Adrian Ayres Fisher, co-chair of this year’s walk, says each garden showcases design that is inspirational and obtainable.

“We have landscaper-designed gardens and homeowner-installed gardens,” Fisher said. “Native gardening is not confined to people who can afford professionals.”

Four of this year’s gardens include native plant rain gardens.

“Native plants and rain gardens are made for each other, with the deep root systems of native plants,” Fisher said.

“It’s really quite spectacular the effect they can have.”

Other gardens include creative ways to incorporate native plants with edible gardens and urban homesteading.

River Forest gardener David Hoyt says he started putter-

PROVIDED

David Hoyt has been enlarging his garden in River Forest since 2018, planting large areas of his front and back yards with native species, turning much of his property into a prairie. ing in his garden in 2018 and, bit by bit, has converted large portions of his front and back yards to native plantings.

“I grew up in Illinois in a town surrounded by agriculture and farm fields, and I never knew what the native flora were,” Hoyt said. “It’s only when we moved to the suburbs and got a house with a yard that I got into this.”

Motivated by trying to recapture his historical memory of rural Illinois landscape and a sense of what he calls “dire environmental emergency,” he turned much of his sunny yard into a prairie.

With over half of his lot now devoted to native plants, Hoyt hopes that all homeowners will address the ecological crisis,

no matter how small their lot may be.

“We can demonstrate that there are alternatives to traditional landscape practices,” he said.

Lauren and Andrew MacGregor were pulled into native gardening by water issues in their Oak Park yard, which big storms often flooded.

They turned to Red Stems Native Landscapes, which installed a rain garden that made a world of difference.

“During the last 100-year storm, our rain garden filled to the top,” Andrew said. “Then we noticed a lot of growth afterwards. We’ve seen lots of butterflies and birds.”

See NATIVE on page 22

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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PROVIDED

Sustainability professor Cindy Klein-Benai incorporated native plants to create a rain garden (above) that has helped mitigate storm water issues. She has also planted native species in the front yard (at right). The move to native plants has made her yard more usable.

NATIVE

Easy to maintain from page 21 According to Lauren MacGregor, the rain garden has also had a beneficial effect on basement flooding.

“Now, we have no water issues in our basement,” she said. “We didn’t realize how efficient it would be.”

After tackling their backyard, they turned to native plants to enhance their front yard in a joint effort with neighbor Annaig Le Sourd, who says that when she moved into her home in 2019, the MacGregors’ gardening efforts were already well underway.

“We had water issues in the spring, and we needed to simplify,” Le Sourd said.

“We saw what Lauren and Andrew were doing with their rain garden and called Red Stem.”

Le Sourd had rain gardens installed in her backyard and natives in the front space that is contiguous with the MacGregor’s yard.

“It’s so easy to maintain and the colors are so pretty,” she said.

Oak Parker Rachel Aubryn was also motivated to go native by storm water issues in her Oak Park yard. When her family purchased their house in 2018, the entire backyard was paved. At the time, the village offered a RainReady grant, which she and her husband applied for. RainReady made recommendations for the use of na-

Before you go The Native Garden Walk takes place on Saturday, July 23 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets for the garden walk are $10 for West Cook Wild One members and $15 for non-members. Children attend for free. Tickets can be purchased at westcook.wildones.org.

Two days before the event, ticket holders will receive a tour map for the walk. Volunteer docents are needed for the walk and will receive free admission to the walk. More information is available on the website.

tive plants and permeable ground cover to help manage flooding issues.

The Aubryns used their grant to rip out the concrete covering their yard, and on their own, sifted through mounds of river rock and dug trenches.

“This was in 2020, so we had a lot of time on our hands,” Aubryn said.

The Aubryns also frequented the West Cook Wild Ones plant sale to stock up on native plants. They have created a rain garden and are at work on the sun garden in their side yard.

Cindy Klein-Benai has lived in her Oak Park home for 24 years and says she had plenty of time to think about what she wanted her yard to look like. As a sustainability professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, she knew an investment in

PROVIDED

native plants would pay off. Water issues also had her thinking about the garden as a storm management tool.

“We were also entering the pandemic, so it had us rethinking everything,” Klein-Benai said.

She turned to Twig Landscape Design, which helped her come up with a plan that incorporated native plants and created a rain garden. Klein-Benai just planted 43 plants from the West Cook Wild Ones native plant sale this spring, and says the new landscaping enhances the hens she’s raised for 10 years and the raised beds where she grows vegetables and herbs.

“I couldn’t really sit in the backyard before,” she said. “Now, I can sit at ground level and really feel like I’m bathing in nature.”

Gardener Laurie Casey says her native garden is more structured than some, with a focus on native trees and shrubs.

“I have a husband who eats a fruit and then wants to try to grow it,” Casey said.

“We have 12 different types of fruiting trees and shrubs.”

Like Klein-Benai, she raises hens in her garden, and finds her native plants attract birds, bees and butterflies to her yard.

Fisher stresses that anyone with an interest in gardening can adapt their yard with native plants.

“Every single one is very special,” Fisher said. “Each gardener has adapted their garden to their space and their needs.”

For Fisher, the gardeners are great examples of village-wide effort taking place to combat climate change one yard at a time in Oak Park.

She notes that West Cook Wild Ones played a role in shaping the village’s Climate Plan, with an emphasis on native gardening.

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

SPORTS Fenwick assistant elevated to varsity baseball coach Reason for longtime head coach Hogan’s departure still a mystery

School and attended Fenwick High School, where he played under Hogan and earned all-conference and all-state honors during his junior and senior seasons. He graduated in 2000.

He competed collegiately at Millikin University from 2000 to 2003 and at SouthBy MELVIN TATE ern Wesleyan University in 2004-05 before Contributing Reporter embarking on a five-year career in the minor leagues, where he played for the Sioux Fenwick High School Athletic Director Scott Thies announced last week that Falls Canaries, the Kalamazoo Kings and Kyle Kmiecik has been named the school’s the Sussex Skyhawks.

He served as an assistant coach for Dovarsity baseball coach, replacminican University’s baseball ing Dave Hogan who abruptly team for the 2011 season. After disappeared from the Friars’ receiving a master’s degree dugout in May, without explafrom National-Louis University nation, during the IHSA state in 2012, he was hired by Fenplayoffs. wick later that year as a learnKmiecik served as the ining resource coordinator, a job terim head coach of the team he still holds. throughout the state playoffs, “I am thankful for the opporduring which the Friars adtunity to represent Fenwick vanced to the IHSA Class 3A and our baseball program, and supersectional round.

KYLE KMIECIK to continue working with our “We feel strongly that his exwell-respected and hard-workperience developing studentathletes while representing the school he ing coaches,” Kmiecik said in the school’s loves will make him a great fit to lead our press release. “Our program has a longprogram,” Thies said in a July 7 press re- standing tradition of excellence built by our Friar baseball alums and coaches, who lease announcing the change.

Kmiecik, a River Forest native, gradu- worked tirelessly and made many sacrificated from St. Vincent Ferrer Elementary es for their respective teams, teammates,

FILE

Dave Hogan and school.”

It is unclear what prompted Hogan’s sudden removal from the dugout. In May in response to an inquiry by Wednesday Journal, a school spokesman stated he was “not able to provide additional information at this time.”

In mid-June, the spokesman followed up with an email stating that Hogan would retire as a P.E. teacher and coach effective June 30.

“Dave has worked at Fenwick for 43 years and we wish him well in his retirement,” the spokesman said in the email.

Do you want to keep your public officials accountable?

The school’s July 7 announcement naming Kmiecik as head coach was Fenwick’s first public acknowledgement of Hogan’s departure, despite his accomplished coaching career and decades’ long tenure as a teacher.

During a career that began at the school in 1979, Hogan guided Fenwick’s varsity baseball team to an 862-476-4 record – a win total that ranks Hogan fifth all-time among high school baseball coaches in Illinois, just behind Oak Park and River Forest High School legend Jack Kaiser, who retired with 892 wins in 2000.

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

VIEWPOINTS

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

25

Tribute to John Wielebnicki

p. 28

Statement on behalf of John Quinn Editor’s note: We received the following statement and agreed to run it in full in the wake of Fenwick High School’s announcement that Quinn would not be returning next school year to teach after an investigation into allegations by former students of inappropriate conduct.

J

ohn Quinn served Fenwick High School for 42 years as a teacher of American history and coached Fenwick’s basketball team for 33 of those years. During his career, John regularly won teaching awards and was also elected to both the Catholic League and Illinois Coaches Association Hall of Fame for his achievements as a coach.

Several months ago, two former Fenwick students, who graduated over seven years ago, engaged in a false and malicious social media campaign designed to ruin John’s reputation and end his career at Fenwick.

In response to the social media attack, Fenwick hired an independent investigator with no connections to the school to investigate the former students’ allegations.

John fully cooperated with this investigation, answered every question asked of him, and categorically denied the outrageous claims against him. In contrast, his social media accusers refused to meet with the investigator.

Unfortunately, Fenwick’s public statement regarding John’s departure omitted critical information regarding the independent investigation, including that the independent investigator completely exonerated John from any sexual misconduct whatsoever.

Although Fenwick has refused to provide John with a copy of the investigator’s report, John understands the “clear and unequivocal violations” to which Fenwick refers in its communication to be alleged instances in which John patted students on the back or shoulder.

Throughout John’s tenure at Fenwick, he exemplified the Dominican values of study, reflection, community, and service to others. He always conducted himself in a moral and ethical manner, and his record is one of honor, integrity, and distinction.

John is deeply disappointed that he will not be able to continue his teaching career at Fenwick, but he will always treasure the joys of teaching or coaching thousands of Fenwick students.

And he will remember the countless notes of gratitude from Fenwick graduates and their families, who thanked him for imparting life lessons that have guided them throughout their personal lives and professional careers.

Thomas Quinn

John Quinn’s Attorney

MARTIN FALBISONER, CC BY-SA 3.0

U.S. Capitol

The way forward for our ‘House Divided’

W

e are in the midst of tumultuous times, nationally and globally, and not without local concerns. As I reflect on what has gone wrong and what might go right, my reaction to this paper’s recent coverage leads to some thanks and a gripe.

Thank you for including in the paper before the recent primary election the Check Your Judges voting guide from InJustice Watch. This comprehensive and well-organized insert had helpful advice for choosing judicial candidates. Without endorsing any candidate, the guide concisely showed their experience and the ratings received from various lawyer groups and others, and in some cases any associated controversy. An excellent read.

In a wise society the selection of wise judges is key.

Settling disputes fairly leads to trust within the society, smoothing the way to domestic tranquility and promoting the general welfare. Courts of appeal, composed of wise judges, serve to review individual judges. An ultimate decider, a supreme court, comprises the wisest of the wise.

Reality intrudes. Has the word “wise” ever been associated with Justice Samuel Alito? Another three SCOTUS justices were nominated by Donald Trump, the least wise of our 45 presidents. They gained narrow Senate approval with a margin provided by senators who later actively disputed the fair election of Trump’s successor.

The lack of wisdom by the current SCOTUS majority contributes to the U.S. reality of a house divided.

This paper’s June 29 editorial joins a move to declare Oak Park an abortion sanctuary but shows an exasperating understanding of the national scene. It name-checks

Trump and McConnell as villains but flunks the reality test by lumping in Susan Collins and Joe Manchin. The villains in the U.S. Senate are those who toady to Trump & McConnell. At least 40 senators fit that profile better than Collins and Manchin. The paper is lazy in ignoring this.

Citizens of Illinois seeking influence beyond the state border should focus on neighboring states, not those we rarely visit, such as Maine and West Virginia, which Collins and Manchin represent. Five states border Illinois and of the 10 senators representing those states, nine consistently follow the Trump/McConnell line.

Flip two of those seats and laws pass; flip five and things get moving. But I bet the editorial writers need Google Search to name even one of the senators from Indiana, our closest neighbor with our longest shared border.

Iowa, Missouri, and Indiana have had progressive senators in the recent past, Wisconsin has one currently.

If the voters of these states and others can elect people touched by, in Lincoln’s words, the better angels of our nature, we can regain the promise of America.

The New Yorker magazine’s July 4 cover, seen around the country and the literate world, features architecture familiar from some of those Oak Park blocks just south of the Green Line. Titled “House Divided,” the cover is

by Chris Ware, our local artist, who once again captures the ambiguity of the moment. Will these neighbors talk or ignore each other?

What is the way forward?

Jeff Petertil is a longtime Oak Park resident who has spent many days in Washington D.C. and still more time thinking about what happens there.

JEFF

PETERTIL One View

26

V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

O U R

L

V I E W S

Fenwick’s challenges

ast week, after being publicly called out by female grads on allegations of repeated, observable and actively ignored misconduct by a longtime teacher and coach toward young women, the school finally announced that John Quinn would not be returning to the school this fall.

Quinn had been on paid administrative leave since March when two students bravely took to YouTube to speak forthrightly about the harassment they faced and about the long-term pain it caused them. The school began what it termed an independent third-party investigation by a law firm, and last week announced that Quinn’s contract was not being extended.

An email to the Fenwick community from the board chair cited “clear and unequivocal violations” by Quinn toward students. The statement promised the school would work to build a “safe and inclusive environment” and that the administration would put in place confidential reporting systems for students, strong governance and oversight, and undertake renewed training for staff and faculty.

All good, but only if it is proved, explained, and lived.

A century-old Catholic school, all-male until three decades ago, does not change readily. And Fenwick has failed to anticipate the depth of the cultural morass it has created, allowed and not consciously fought to change.

A few years back we heard the same issues of culture raised around race in terms of welcome, equity and fairness at Fenwick. The school, at that time, promoted a dean to a new post as director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Raymond Moland, is now leaving the school. Last week the school announced its longtime principal was stepping down and returning to the classroom. Hard to believe all this is unconnected.

And a statement from John Quinn’s attorney, his brother Thomas Quinn, claimed that the school is overstating the conclusions of its own report and that he was somehow “exonerated” of sexual misconduct charges by the independent report.

If Fenwick is going to start new, be transparent, and lead its way to a better future, then it is going to need to release at least relevant portions of the report quickly.

Finally, we close by saying that we believe Helen Quinn Pasin and Emma Seavey, the two former students. Fenwick’s actions going forward need to prove they also believe in the truth these women spoke.

A

Summer’s sanity sanctuary

h, summer — which can’t be ruined even by rampant military-style weapons in the hands of the egregiously aggrieved, a Supremely Elitist Court in the hands of the egregiously aggrieved, weekly testimony about the Capitol building and the previous White House in the hands of the egregiously aggrieved.

Summer, when it isn’t in the hands of egregiously aggrieved Mother Nature, is a refuge from the insanity of a country and a world at war with itself. My sanity sanctuary is my weekly day with my grandsons.

When school is out, I have the luxury of longer, more leisurely visits. They just finished second grade, have joined a swim team, and by now are on their fourth Harry Potter book (a group read with Mom each night before bedtime).

Summertime allows the relatively unscheduled inner child to make his presence felt. In the back seat, as we drive to Morton Arboretum, Tyler uses old-fashioned phrases like “I beg of you” (where did he come across the archaic “of you”?) and shows dramatic flair when he says (about the latest revolting development), “That would be tragical!”

Recently, as they held a secret planning session (within earshot) for a collection of extremely involved pranks they’re planning to pull (I believe they’re writing a how-to book), Tyler says, with a mischievous smile, “I can’t tell you. Let’s just say it involves bean burritos!” Ooh, that can’t be good.

In addition to the tragical, we also touch on matters philosophical.

“Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Bryce asks one day.

“That’s a tough one,” I say. “You can’t have a chicken without an egg, and you can’t have an egg without a chicken.” Wisely, I fall back on a tried-and-true grandparent maneuver.

“What do you think?”

“I think chickens evolved from dinosaurs,” Bryce says with authority.

“You’re on the right track, Bryce,” I say encouragingly, “but it’s a long way from a dinosaur to a chicken.”

“I think they evolved from a monkey,” Tyler says.

“Just like us.”

“Interesting,” I say, “but how could both people and chickens evolve from monkeys?”

“God — he uses magic,” Bryce replies confidently.

And with that we resolve the age-old divide between science and religion.

Last week on the way to the car, I overheard the following exchange: Tyler: “When did you start finishing my …”

Bryce: “sentences?”

Can I get a rimshot? These two are ready to take their act on the road!

The boys recently broadened my cultural education

by urging me to read the Harry Potter books, so we can talk about them. Somehow, I managed to reach the age of 70 without sampling any of the books — or seeing a single Harry Potter movie. So I have some catching up to do. I’m halfway through book one. What a fascinating world J.K. Rowling has imagined. In our first discussion, I mention the Diagon Alley shopping district.

Bryce said, “You mean Diagonally?”

“Hey, wait a second, I’m the one who points out the puns!” (How did I miss that one?)

Hogwarts (what a name for an institution of higher/lower learning — or is it another pun?! Warthogs?) is a curious blend of darkness and light. Like our world, come to think of it. I found myself feeling surprisingly comfortable with it in a very short time. And the school song captures the essence of navigating a world that intermingles the dark and the light: Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, Teach us something please, Whether we be old and bald Or young with scabby knees, Our heads could do with filling With some interesting stuff, For now they’re bare and full of air, Dead flies and bits of fluff, So teach us things worth knowing, Bring back what we’ve forgot, Just do your best, we’ll do the rest, And learn until our brains all rot.

Sounds like a summation of the grandfather/grandsons relationship — all are teachers and all are students.

But there is one place in our world where darkness is minimized and light rules: summer afternoons in the backyard. I bought the boys a new slip’n’slide, set a chair in the shade, and watch them fling themselves headlong down the slick wet surface — or create a fox den with towels and chairs on the deck — or pile into the hammock and re-enact their days in the gestational womb.

As we inspect the garden, I ask if they would like to be a bee, flying from flower to flower spreading pollen and gathering nectar to make honey even though it looks like hard work.

“I’m the King Bee,” Tyler proclaims, “even if there is no such thing.”

Summer afternoon in the backyard is the grand and glorious Now, an eco-system in harmonious balance under a spreading silver maple, serenaded by songbirds, whisked by welcome winds, an endless sermon on the goodness of living. Add a popsicle and maybe a squirtgun fight or water balloons and you’ve got a prescription for sanity.

May it never end.

KEN

TRAINOR

V I E W P O I N T S

by Marc Stopeck

S H R U B T O W N

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022 W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

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

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Hemingway and baseball: A stub to remember

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rnest Hemingway was a lifelong baseball fan and wrote memorably about the sport in In Our Time, A Farewell to Arms, and The Old Man and the Sea. He even kept a memento from a 1918 Yankees-White Sox game with him during his service in World War I and for many years after. This ticket stub is now in the Hemingway Archives in Special Collections at Oak Park Public Library.

Before being sent to Europe for his World War I service as an ambulance driver, Hemingway arrived in New York City on May 13, 1918 for training with the Red Cross. On May 22, he attended the Yankees game with the ticket marked Game 20.

The New York Sun reported that 1,200 soldiers and sailors were present at the Polo Grounds, along with 4,000 civilians. In 14 innings, the Yankees won a remarkable 1-0 victory over the reigning world champion Chicago White Sox. “Somewhere at some time there may have been a better ball game played,” wrote the Sun the next day. “But we question it.” Both starting pitchers threw complete games. The Yankees’ Hank Thormahlen threw a 14-inning shutout, while the White Sox’s Eddie Cicotte had his shutout broken up when a Wally Pipp single scored Frank “Home Run” Baker with the winning run in the bottom of the 14th.

Cicotte and several other White Sox players from that day would become known as the Black Sox for allegedly conspiring to throw the World Series the following year.

Pipp would remain the Yankees’ starting first baseman until June 2, 1925, when he had a headache and was replaced in the lineup by Lou Gehrig, who would play the next 2,130 games.

On July 8, 1918, the 18-year-old Hemingway was badly wounded in both legs when a mortar hit near him in a trench near the Piave River in Italy. He was taken to the American Red Cross hospital in Milan, where he met the nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky, who later became the basis for his character Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms.

The stub is printed on blue cardboard, and is identifiable as being from the 1918 season because of its reference to the War Tax, which was collected from Americans in 1917-18. It also shows the printed signature of Yankees president, Jacob Ruppert. As part of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park’s archives, the stub is now in Special Collections at Oak Park Public Library, where it may be viewed along with the rest of the Waring Jones Collection.

Kheir Fakhreldin is the archivist in Special Collections at the Oak Park Public Library. You can learn more about the library’s Special Collections at oppl. org/special.

KHEIR

FAKHRELDIN One View

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

your connection to the topic ■ Signature details as at left

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

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

A one-year subscription costs $43 within Cook County and $53 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. © 2022 Growing Community Media, NFP.

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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Reflections of an election worker A finer tribute to a great public works director

After 35 years of exercising my right to vote, I supported voting this year by serving as an election worker. Growing up, my parents demonstrated to me the importance of voting. They even tried to make it attractive to my brother and me by picking up a box of donuts to share with us after they cast their vote. While we were not told how to vote, my parents often joked about canceling each other’s vote. Despite their humor, I always knew that voting was a privilege not to be taken for granted.

Barriers to voting were not on my radar prior to joining the staff of Community Renewal Society in 2020. I now understand better the barriers that exist for individuals who have a criminal record, experience unstable housing, speak a language other than English, have a physical or mental disability, or live in an area where physical access to voting is restricted through redistricting and limited or inaccessible polling locations.

As an election worker, I received inperson and online training and support

from my fellow workers. The atmosphere at Forest Park Middle School (FPMS) encouraged me. Seeing “Future Voters” come in with their parents gave me hope for the future. While consistently busy, the wait for voters at the three precincts hosted by FPMS was generally less than 10 minutes.

More election workers are needed. Ideal staffing would have four workers per precinct. One of the three precincts at FPMS had only one worker. Had we not helped each other, that precinct would not have been able to open. We surmised that the pandemic was still affecting the number of people, especially senior citizens, willing to serve.

Now is the time for young adults and others to help fill this void. At the end of the day, you will be glad you were part of protecting the right to vote.

Catherine Hegarty

Forest Park resident Development & Communications manager Community Renewal Society

Stacey Sheridan’s story on the retirement of John Wielebnicki [Oak Park’s longtime public works director retires, News, July 6] really captured what an excellent public works director — and all-around great guy — he’s been. He will be very much missed.

However, the story mentioned that he oversaw the North Avenue streetscape. In fact, he only oversaw construction of the stretch from Harlem to Oak Park Avenue because it was never completed (through no fault of Wielebnicki, of course). Our district needs it to extend all the way to Austin

Boulevard, as planned.

The completed segment also needs some updating.

Fortunately, there is a state of Illinois allocation that will completely pay for this project, thanks to Rep. Camille Lilly. Now it’s on Oak Park — and Chicago — to get it done. We hope both municipalities make this a priority.

Doing so will be a very appropriate tribute to John Wielebnicki.

Judith Alexander

Chair, The North Avenue District Inc.

When Colombians are shocked by our violence …

A good friend of mine from Bogota, Colombia, emailed me on July 4th to express his “shock and concern about the senseless violence in Illinois today.”

Just let that sink in a moment!

Pat Healey, Oak Park

Behavioral Learning 224 Lake Street Oak Park (866) 727-1194

behaviorallearning.com

Congratulations to Behavioral Learning for opening their new location on Lake Street!

Reach out to them to learn more about their services.

More details can be found at behavioral-learning.com.

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How to help Congress understand AR-15s Roleplaying can be a powerful learning tool. Even life-changing. It just might work with all those members of Congress who voted to keep military-grade AR-15s available to civilians, and even refused to raise the age limit to buy one to 21.

Here’s how it could work: Each congressperson would be taken to a firing range, handed a loaded AR-15, and told to shoot all the bullets at a life-sized dummy that matched the density of a human body — preferably wearing the face of a loved one.

They could experience how those bullets don’t just make a few little holes. This style of weapon tears a target to bits; recall that some children in Uvalde were so pulverized that they couldn’t be visually identified.

Correction: Cavafy was Greek

I am writing concerning your June 8 column, “The journey that may or may not end.”

I have been away, coincidentally plying the Greek Islands in the Aegean, and having returned, read your column with much interest as I sorted through a great accumulation of mail.

You write: “Egyptian poet C.P. Cavafy …

This is misleading. Although the great poet Cavafy was born in Alexandria, Egypt, he was by no means an Egyptian. He was Greek through and through. All of his poetry was written in Greek.

Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, was the center of much Greek learning until the Arab conquest. And after the conquest, Alexandria still had a sizeable Greek population until the early years of the last century. With the rise of Arab nationalism, persecutions of the Greek Orthodox ensued, forcing many Greeks to abandon Alexandria, leaving behind a mere remnant (about 5,000 souls) of a once lively minority population.

Vaseili Doukas Oak Park

Let the searing image of that horrendous destruction come unbidden to mind the next time they cast a vote for or against free, unfettered access to these terrible machines of death.

Fred Reklau Oak Park

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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Give up on ‘capping’ the Ike Village president, board members, and manager, I hope that the board, staff, and relevant citizen commissions don’t see the recently announced federal “Reconnecting Communities” pilot funding program as another opportunity for making an attempt to further study the ludicrous endeavor to “Cap the Ike.” Why throw more good money after bad?

It is my opinion that the portion of Oak

Park south of the Eisenhower Expressway has not suffered a loss of equity due to the expressway and disqualifies the village from obtaining these federal funds. Therefore staff should be notified to find better things to do with their time than preparing and submitting an application for the “Reconnecting Communities” program.

Chris Donovan Oak Park

Do you have DIABETES?

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f you do, you should know how important foot care is. Over time, diabetics risk developing foot complications. When the nerves are damaged from chronic high blood sugar, feet can become numb or painful with burning or tingling. This is called diabetic neuropathy. When diabetes affects the arteries, circulation to the legs and feet may be compromised. Either of these conditions may lead to serious problems including ulceration, even amputation.

The key to prevention is early diagnosis of diabetes, and regular foot exams from a podiatrist.

Diabetics who receive regular foot care, including paring of calluses and debridement of thick fungal toenails, are almost four times less likely

to undergo an amputation than those who do not seek treatment.

Medicare and some private insurances cover 1 pair of diabetic shoes and 3 pair of protective insoles each calendar year. Dr. Lambert has been a supplier of diabetic shoes since 2002. The shoes come in 30 different styles each for men and women. These include boots, lightweight colorful athletic shoes, and dress shoes. Even patients who are not diabetic love the look and comfort of the footwear. Diabetic socks, slippers and compression hosiery are also available.

Protecting your feet with appropriate footgear is an important aspect of preventive care for diabetics.

708.366.FOOT (3668)

Dr. Linda Lambert

7351 Lake St. (Just west of Panera Bread)

FREE PARKING (on street or lot on west side of building) Aetna, AARP, Blue Cross PPO, United Healthcare, Healthspring, Humana, Medicare Assignment, Medicare Advantage Plans & most other insurances accepted

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

Sedition’s venom is seductive

was riveted by the TV screen as I watched the June and July broadcasts of the House of Representatives hearings investigating the January 6 insurrection. I felt compelled to understand not only how a mob of hate groups became mobilized to storm the U.S. Capitol, but also how half of our nation came to believe that the mob’s action was justified and acceptable as some sort of “patriotic act.”

The goal of the House hearings is primarily to determine whether former President Donald Trump is to be held accountable for inciting sedition and thereby breaking his sworn oath to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States. The operative word is “incitement”. It means the act of provoking unlawful behavior or urging someone to behave unlawfully.

The third broadcast of the January 6 committee revealed that President Trump pressured Vice President Mike Pence to commit an unconstitutional act: altering or negating the vote count of the Electoral College in Congress. When Mike Pence chose not to comply with the President’s demand, Trump vented his anger and said: “Mike Pence deserves to be hanged.”

As the hearings continue to amass evidence of Trump’s conspiracy to terminate America’s democracy, I can’t help but recall the consequences of events in Europe that overshadowed my childhood and led to the eventual tragedy of World War II. First, Communism evolved after the Russian revolution, and culminated with Stalin’s oppression. The second major event, was the rise of Nazi power, and the establishment of Germany’s Third Reich with Adolf Hitler as Germany’s leader.

Both Russia and Germany are my native Lithuania’s neighbors.

Both nations felt it necessary to alter the forms of their governments.

But in their quest, both nations were seduced by flawed ideologies.

Russians sought socioeconomic equality through Communism, a perverted version of Marxist socialism. Germans aggrandized themselves as a superior race. Both Russia and Germany discarded constitution-based democratic governments, and became oppressive dictatorships.

Today, America stands divided politically, morally, and ideologically.

Nearly half of its citizens were seduced and captivated by the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. They question the validity of Joe Biden’s presidency. Seduction best describes America’s captivated status. Seduction means the persuasion to disobedience or disloyalty. What other word can better or more precisely describe the motivation to commit sedition?

The proof of Trump’s criminality or his complicity in instigating the January 6 insurrection is of paramount significance. The evidence revealed by the January 6 commission must lead to a Grand Jury indictment. A trial and conviction by the U.S. Justice Department must ensue.

In the third Senate hearing of the January 6 committee, Honorable Judge J. Michael Luttig testified that Donald Trump is an imminent threat to America’s democracy.

A criminal conviction would prevent Trump from seeking re-election and serve as a safeguard to America’s democracy.

Fred Natkevi is a longtime Oak Park resident who grew up in Eastern Europe during World War II.

FRED NATKEVI One View

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The downside of natural gas Tim Kelly, chair of the Building Codes Advisory Commission for the village of Oak Park, writes in his letter to the editor on June 21, that electrification is a “hot potato.” This is apt, because we feel the Earth we live on become hotter.

He also points out that Illinois electricity comes from coal, natural gas and nuclear power.

In the 1960s, I asked my father, an organic and nuclear chemist, what nuclear power was and he simply said, “It’s a dirty fuel,” meaning the waste’s toxicity never goes away in our lifetime. Solar, wind, hydro, and wave energy are available and much less dangerous.

A June 28 article in the New York Times delved into the health hazards of natural gas: “The natural gas delivered to homes contains low concentrations of several chemicals linked to cancer, a new study found. Researchers also found inconsistent levels of odorants — substances that give natural gas its characteristic “rotten egg” smell — which could increase the risk of small leaks going undetected.

“The study, which was published in the journal

Thanks for helping seniors access Farmers Market

Environmental Science & Technology, adds to a growing body of research that links the delivery and use of natural gas to detrimental consequences for public health and the climate.”

It goes on to say, “Over 16 months, researchers led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health collected 234 samples of unburned natural gas from 69 homes in the Boston metropolitan area that received natural gas from three suppliers. They found 21 “air toxics” — an Environmental Protection Agency classification of hazardous pollutants known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects or adverse environmental effects — including benzene, which was detected in 95 percent of the samples.”

Additionally, gas becomes more dangerous as its infrastructure ages and causes explosions from gas leaks.

For a history of gas leaks in the Chicago area, go to https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/tag/gasleak/2/

Dimitra Lavrakas Oak Park

Identifying potential mass murderers

I want to send a big thank-you to Erica Helms, Oak Park Farmers Market manager. She has restored the parking space for the Township Senior bus to its original position at the entrance to the market.

Seniors come with a variety of mobility issues.

Providing easy access to the market is essential.

Seniors can also experience isolation. Taking advantage of easy access to this community event with the bonus of fresh produce can help to alleviate the isolation.

Thank you, Erica!

Until society can better identify potential mass murderers, we need to greatly tighten up AR15-type rifle regulations. For example, requiring a social media review of the Highland Park shooter would have revealed his recent depictions of mass murder. In 2019, police came to his home because he “was going to kill everyone.” Requiring a local police department OK could have prevented his purchase of an AR-15-type rapid-fire rifle. We have a growing database profiling these mass shooters.

If our lawmakers need additional ideas, they can look at Germany’s gun regulations.

River Forest

Oak Park

Kris Cihlar

Emailed every Friday morning!

Robert Sullivan

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Improving OPRF facilities is way past due

Oak Park and River Forest is a unique community, in most aspects a terrific one.

We are united in the pursuit of so many great things, including care for our neighbors and our world, and in the power of working hard and getting the most out of the things we use and own. We are not a “throw-away” community; we use items until the end of their useful life and then, if possible, try to find a place to recycle them.

It is a great mindset.

It is time to turn that mindset to the support of Imagine Project 2. The OPRF High School building that is the subject of Project 2 has gone decades past its useful life.

For decades the OPRF’s building team has propped up, or recycled, a failing structure to allow it to continue to support our children’s education. We can no longer put Band-Aids on sections of this century-old building to prop it up for another generation of Oak Park and River Forest children.

Its useful life is simply over. There is no more time to discuss its potential repair or

discuss another ideation of how the building should be rebuilt. The Imagine Project’s multi-year community involvement was the time for those discussions. Project 2 is a mindful and prudent plan; it is time to tear down and rebuild this facility and build a structure that can support Oak Park and River Forest for the next century. This building has provided more than 100 years of service. It currently lacks so many needs that we take for granted in our modern era.

It is simply stunning that a community such as ours, where we value so many of the right things, especially the people and children in it, would let this cornerstone of our community fall behind the standards of what is currently considered acceptable, including Title IX compliance and ADA compliance, just to name a few.

We can no longer debate or discuss if the time is right to undertake this important community project. The time is now.

Laura Huseby River Forest

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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Righting voting wrongs The recent rulings by our Supreme Court have many of us deeply concerned. We worry what their next move might be as they seemingly interpret the Constitution with an agenda that limits our rights.

My primary concern is voting rights.

Without adherence to the Constitution’s 15th Amendment, we have no democracy. A few state legislatures have already brought cases to the Supreme Court with restrictions adversely and disproportionately impacting minority voters. The court has ruled in the states’ favor.

Each of us as Americans has this precious right to vote in free and fair elections. We select those we want to lead, and we accept the choices of the majority, the will of the people.

Deviant behavior such as lying or distorting results should not be tolerated. “Big lies” whether repeated by a former president or our next door neighbor, must be ignored as meaningless, albeit dangerous, noise.

Nevertheless, we have a major problem with today’s Supreme Court. Some states have already set voting restrictions that are racist, bigoted, and white-supremacist-

inspired. Sadly, the Supreme Court seems to go along with these restrictions, and “punts” the issue back to the states.

The recourse we have against these restrictions is to codify laws through federal action. We can pre-empt the possibility/ probability of the Supreme Court accepting further restrictions on voting rights by making sure we have a legislative ruling in place before more damage can occur.

We fortunately have a president who will make use of all of the authority he has to advocate for and sign into law a forceful voting rights bill, but this cannot happen without Congress introducing and passing such a bill.

Our job is to light a fire under our Congress. Republicans and Democrats alike must fulfill their sworn obligations and bolster the ability of all citizens to exercise their right to vote in free and fair elections.

Folks, let us use our voices to tell Congress to take action on a voting rights bill now. Voting rights is the very basis of our democracy.

S W NE LASH! F You can get local news delivered right to your email in-box.

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Harriet Hausman River Forest

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

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O B I T U A R I E S

Jim Grosso, 73

Farmers Market musician, OLA fire survivor Jim Grosso, 73, a longtime resident of Oak Park, died peacefully at home on July 1, 2022.

Born on Aug. 29, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois, he attended grammar school at Our Lady of the Angels and survived the infamous OLA school fire. He later attended Fenwick High School, then moved with his wife, Mary, to Oak Park in 1974, where he has been a long-running participant in the Farmers Market jam circle.

The son of a plumber and tradesman, he brought passion and professionalism to every facet of his life. He enjoyed a successful career as a consultant, loved and supported his children and grandchildren, and brought joy to many as a singer, musician, and multi-instrumentalist through his involvement in the Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, and the musical groups Thursday’s Child, Grosso Family Band, and Northern Skyline.

Jim is preceded by his parents, George and Adrienne Ryan Grosso, and his friends, peers, and teachers who lost their lives in the OLA school fire.

He is survived by Mary Grosso (nee Prodehl), his musical partner and wife of 52 years; his sons and musical proteges, Gabe, Adam, and Michael; his grandsons, James, Mason, and Dylan; his brothers, Frank and Tom; and his sister, Carole.

Memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, July 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. Arrangements handled by Zimmerman Harnett Funeral Home in Forest Park.

Annette Reid Nolan, 83

Psychiatric nurse, avid reader, great listener Annette Reid Nolan, 83, died peacefully in Oak Park in home hospice on Jan. 23, 2022, her children at her side, holding her hands as she gently left this place to join her husband in a long-awaited embrace. Born on Nov. 23, 1938 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, her early years were spent in Oklahoma. Her parents raised their five children across Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee, wherever he was called to serve in his capacity as a Presbyterian minister.

She was smart, athletic (basketball), played piano in church and won a Virginia statewide singing contest; she was crowned Homecoming Queen her senior year of high school. As a young woman, she lived in Richmond Virginia and worked at the Bank of Richmond, then pivoted to nursing school at Birmingham Baptist Hospital in Alabama. There she met her husband and together they participated in the Civil Rights Movement.

After they married, the couple moved to Chicago around 1966.

She found her calling in psychiatry, working first as a psychiatric nurse at Michael Reese Hospital, then accepted a nurse manager position on a psychiatricsubstance use inpatient unit at Hines VA Medical Center. In her spare time, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Xavier University in Art History, because art was one of her passions. To say

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she was an avid reader simply does not capture her long-term relationship with local librarians and the tenderly worn books shelved and stacked all throughout the family home. She also loved birdwatching, action movies, football, koi ponds, driving fast, gardening, cooking Indian and Mexican dinners, the Sugar Hill Gang, advocating for the Democrats, MSNBC, Stephen Colbert, and watching dolphins swim the Atlantic from her porch perch in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. A more accepting, loving ear for one’s personal crisis, struggle or story there never was. She was an informal therapist to many from the privacy and warmth of her kitchen table.

Annette was the daughter of Rev. Milton Prentiss Reid (d. 1989) and Myra W. Phelps (d. 1941); stepdaughter of Eleanor Reid (d.

2013); sister of Cameron Reid (d. 2018), Milton Prentiss Reid II, Judith Reid MD, and David Reid; wife of Philip Nolan (d. 2019); mother of Kisten Devine Nolan and Verdant (Philip Ravia Reid) Nolan (married to Jeanne Pinsof Nolan); grandmother of Nicholas Philip Laughton (10), Kye (Kisten Leslie) Nolan (14), Thea Day Atkins (20), and Kendall Brinkley Laughton (22); and aunt to many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life is planned for July 30 at 2:30 p.m. in their Waupaca, Wisconsin home. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to an organization/cause she felt passionately about, Planned Parenthood.

David Schweig, 86

Champion of the 2nd Amendment David Andre Schweig, 86, native Chicagoan and longtime Oak Park resident, died on June 4, 2022. The fifth and youngest child of Lawrence and Eila Schweig (nee Tripp), he was born on Hamlin Avenue in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neigh-

borhood on Jan. 15, 1936. His parents founded the popular Lawrence’s Fisheries, which has been a Canal Street fixture for more than 70 years. He attended Tilton Elementary School, Austin High School, Wilbur Wright Junior College and graduated with a degree in Economics from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He was employed by the National Labor Relations Board in Washington D.C. for several years after attending graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked for many years at Chicago’s Schwinn Bicycle Company in their Labor Relations Department before striking out as an entrepreneur in several ventures, including school food service and real estate.

He was a lover of captivating conversation, engrossing books, and vintage firearms. Those who knew him well, knew he was a collector of “lost souls,” in whom others might not have seen tremendous worth, but he saw inherent value. He was an optimist with a never-give-up spirit.

Even as emphysema and illness wracked his body in recent years, his mind remained inquisitive and active. He was an advocate for civil rights, as well as a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment — an apparent contradiction about which he loved to debate others. Above all, he had an abundant sense of humor, a keen intellect, and an affable personality which made him loved by those who knew him. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends.

David is survived by his wife, Cynthia; his daughters, Jessica Schweig, Leslie Bauer, and Melinda Schweig; his stepchildren Julia Harris-McCline and Chris Harris; his grandchildren, Carmelo Harris, JaMya McCline, and Jamall McCline; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Third Unitarian Church of Chicago on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022 at 2 p.m. All who knew Dave are invited to celebrate his life.

To run an obituary Please contact Ken Trainor by e-mail: ktrainor@wjinc.com, or fax: 708/524-0447 before Monday at noon.

Please include a photo if possible.

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022 Growing Community Media

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

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HELP WANTED

Mechanical Engineer sought by Ayulla Inc. in Chicago, IL. The candidate must have a Bachelor degree in Engineering - Mechanical, Manufacturing, Systems and at least one year experience as Engineer or Engineering Analyst. Send resume to hr@ayulla.com.

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

HELP WANTED ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

software and other forms of systems and data.

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

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

13. Participate in research and recommendation of technology solutions.

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

2. Participate in the preparation of various activity reports.

3. Travel and support remote facilities and partner agencies.

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

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

6. Complete projects on a timely and efficient manner.

7. Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

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

9. Perform related duties and responsibilities as required.

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

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

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

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

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

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

VB scripts.

Modern office procedures, methods and computer equipment.

Technical writing, office productivity tools and database packages.

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

Maintain reasonable and predictable attendance.

Work overtime as operations require.

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

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

Vaccination against COVID-19 strongly preferred.

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

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Animal Control Officer in the Health Department. This position will perform a variety of duties involved in enforcing Village ordinances governing the care and keeping of animals in the Village; and to impound, care for and assist with redemption of animals as appropriate. Applicants are encouraged to apply using the following link: https://secure.entertimeonline.com/ta/6141780.careers?ApplyToJob=218333253. For additional information on the position please visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/jobs.

This position is open until filled.

PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

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

SEASONAL FARMERS’ MARKET ASSISTANT

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Seasonal Farmers’ Market Assistant in the Health Department. This position will provide administrative support to the Farmers’ Market Manager to allow growers and producers of food to sell directly to the public within established guidelines. This position requires work in inclement weather conditions; some heavy lifting of up to 50 pounds; walking or standing for sustained periods of time. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website at http://www.oakpark.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. Open until filled.

PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER FOREST PARK, IL

The Forest Park Police Department is seeking Part-Time Parking Enforcement Officer(s); Shifts to be filled are 8:00pm – Midnight or Midnight – 6:00am. The position is a rotating schedule assigned by the Supervisor – 4 days on and 4 days off which includes weekends and some holidays. Eligible candidates will be required to pass an aptitude test and an extensive background check.

Qualifications include high school diploma (or equivalent), a valid driver’s

license, knowledge of basic parking regulations, and good verbal and written skills.

Open until filled. Applications are available at Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Ave. or at www.forestpark. net and should be returned Attn: Vanessa Moritz, Village Clerk, Village of Forest Park, 517 Des Plaines Avenue, Forest Park, IL 60130. Email: vmoritz@forestpark.net.

PARK DISTRICT OF OAK PARK LANDSCAPE SPECIALIST The Park District of Oak Park is hiring a Part-time Landscape Specialist with an hourly pay rate of $15.00. To view the full job description and apply online please click the following link: https://www.paycomonline.net/v4 /ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=66642 &clientkey=41D830018490 6117978771C10E755DC6

Aitysh Master (Arlington Heights, IL) Prep, dsgn, & implmt a curriculum to teach & transmit of Aitysh to younger generations; instruct individuals or groups Aitysh principles, rules, strategies, & techniques; demonstrate fine forms of Aitysh to the students; prep & administer written, oral, & performance tests, & issue ratings in accordance w/ performance; plan, organize & conduct practice sessions & competitions; perform Aitysh at annual Kyrgyz Festival & other cultural events organized by Kyrgyz Community Center. Bach deg in Acting, or Education reqd. Must be fluent in Kyrgyz lang & have official certifications of the participations in Aitysh competitions & being an Akyn (a performer of Aitysh). M-F, 40 hrs/ wk; Send resumes (by mail only) to Iliias Nazaraliev, Kyrgyz Community Center, 1114 N Arlington Heights Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60004.

RIVERSIDE, IL - POLICE OFFICER

Application deadline: Aug. 15, 2022 4 P.M. (CST) Find more detail at IO Solutions at https://iosolutions.com.

  

Orientation and written test is Sep. 17, 2022, 8 a.m. at Riverside Township, 27 Riverside Rd. Riverside, IL.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE COORDINATOR

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Emergency Preparedness and Response Coordinator in the Health Department/Village Manager’s Office.

This position will coordinate disaster response, crisis management and medical countermeasure dispensing/ distribution activities for the Village of Oak Park, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e.g., nuclear power plant emergencies, hazardous materials spills, biological releases) or disasters. This single class position is also responsible for the complex administrative duties required for state, federal and local response processes and grant management.

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. First review of applications will be August 5, 2022.

  

CROSSING GUARD

The Forest Park Police Department is seeking qualified individuals for the position of Crossing Guard. This position requires flexible hours during days when schools are in session.

A background investigation and drug screening will be conducted prior to consideration for the position. Applications available at Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Avenue or on-line at www.forestpark.net and should be returned to Vanessa Moritz, HR Director, at Village Hall. For additional information, contact Dora Murphy at 708-615-6223 or write dmurphy@forestpark.net.

Applications accepted until position is filled. EOE.

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

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Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

CLASSIFIED

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

MARKETPLACE

R E N TA L S

GARAGE SALES

SUBURBAN RENTALS

North Riverside

HUGE MULTI-FAMILY GARAGE SALE 2445 S 2ND AVE FRIDAY JULY 15- SUNDAY JULY 17 8AM-3PM

Oak Park

MOVING SALE 800 NORTH LOMBARD AVENUE SATURDAY JULY 16 9:00AM – 2:30PM NO EARLY ACCESS

Men’s Bicycle, Carpet Shampooer, Cedar Chest, Professional Clothes Steamer, Handheld Vacuum, Iron, HP Wireless Printers, Electric Hedge Trimmer, Leaf Blower, Spreader, Patio Furniture, Hammock, Decorative House Flags, Artificial Christmas Tree with Lights, Ice Chest, Twin Head Work Lamp, Fiberglass Extension Ladder, lots of quality household items and more.

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

STUDIOS, 1, 2 & 3 BR Best Selection & Service

HOME SERVICES OAK PARK & FOREST PARK

708-386-7355

MMpropMgmt.com

OFFICE/RETAIL FOR RENT OAK PARK THERAPY OFFICES:

Therapy offices available on North Avenue. Parking; Flexible leasing; Nicely furnished; Waiting Room; Conference Room.

Ideal for new practice or 2nd location.

708.383.0729 Call for an appt.

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

Restored or Unrestored

Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang & Mopars

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc. Collector James

630-201-8122

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

ELECTRICAL

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

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

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848

KLIS FLOORING INC.

Mustang & Mopars

Restored or Unrestored Cars630-201-8122 & Vintage Motorcycles Domestic / Import Cars:

CURT'S HANDYMAN SERVICE

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

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

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

$$ Top $$ allWANTED makes, Etc. CLASSICS Collector James

COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL RESIDENTIAL

FLOORS

Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang & Mopars Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, $$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

Advertise your garage sale for just $25 in Wednesday Journal, Forest Park Review and Riverside-Brookfield Landmark

Call Stacy at 708.613.3342

Mike’s Home Repair

“QUALITY IS OUR FOUNDATION” ESTABLISHED IN 1987

C O N C R E T E C O N S T RU C T I O N

Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

or Unrestored Cars &Restored Vintage Motorcycles Domestic / Cars & Vintage Motorcycles Import Cars: Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette,Cars: Ferrari’s, Domestic / Import

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

Ceiling Fans Installed

De-Clutter.

CEMENT

MAGANA

ELECTRICAL

CARS WANTED

CLASSICS WANTED CLASSICS WANTED

CEMENT

708-296-2060

Drywall Repair • Painting Fans Installed • Carpentry Trim Gutter Cleaning • Window Repair

Free estimates Excellent References No Job Too Small

708-488-9411

HAULING BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery.

773-722-6900

LANDSCAPING BRUCE LAWN SERVICE Spring Clean-Up Aerating, Slit Seeding Bush Trimming, Lawn Maintenance brucelawns.com

708-243-0571

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

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

cat calls

Oak Park’s Original Pet Care Service – Since 1986

Daily dog exercising Complete pet care in your home House sitting • Plant care Bonded References

708-524-1030

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

CLASSIFIED

35

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

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year • OakPark.com • RBLandmark.com • ForestParkReview.com • AustinWeeklyNews.com PublicNoticeIllinois.com PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE

STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY.

STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY.

Request of Vance 2022CONC000446.

Clark

Jr.

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Vance Clark Jr. to the new name of: Lavance Williams The court date will be held: On August 11, 2022 at 10am Via Zoom ZOOM MEETING ID:986 9592 1385 ZOOM PASSWORD: 539505 CALL IN: 3126266799 Published in Wednesday Journal June 29, July 6, 13, 2022

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: Y22009340 on June 28, 2022 Under the Assumed Business Name of SHE SPEAKS THE WORD with the business located at: 318 N. SALEM AVE APT !A, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: SHE SPEAKS THE WORD, 318 N. SALEM AVE APT !A, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005 Published in Wednesday Journal July 6, 13 & 20, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING DATE: August 3, 2022 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 17-22-Z APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public hearing on a special use application filed by the Applicant, Jeremy Storey, to operate a vehicle repair/ service – minor business, BM Custom, LLC pursuant to Section 8.3 (“Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance at the property located at 6212 Roosevelt Road, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-17327-038-0000 in the RR Roosevelt Road Form-Based District.

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

The Board will conduct the public hearing remotely with live audio available and optional video. The hearing will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public hearing is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public hearing is not practical or prudent

due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public hearing due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning@oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 3, 2022. An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public hearing if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public hearing. Interested persons may also sign up to participate in-person in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning@oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing. Individuals who sign up to participate in-person will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the hearing online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone.

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

Published in Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

Request of Maylee Cruz Case Number 20224003032 There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Maylee Cruz to the new name of: Roxas Amajiki The court date will be held: On August 30, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at 1500 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, Cook County in Courtroom # 0112 Published in Forest Park Review July 6, 13 & 20

NEWSLASH! F You can get local news delivered right to your email in-box.

Sign up for FREE at OakPark.com

Request of NYCHOLAS XAVIER DIAS 2022CONC000964.

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: NYCHOLAS XAVIER DIAZ to the new name of: NYCHOLAS XAVIER RODRIGUEZ The court date will be held: On October 7, 2022 at 10:30am at Via ZOOM: Meeting ID: 958 9492 1843 Password: 226532 Cook County in Courtroom # 1707 Published in Wednesday Journal July 13, 20, 27, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE Bid Notice The River Forest Park District will receive sealed bids for 2 components of the Keystone Park Batting Cage Project: Keystone Batting Cage Project, Concrete Keystone Fencing

Batting

Cage

Project,

Bid Documents may be obtained beginning at noon on Friday, July 8, 2022 at www.rfparks.com, About Us, Bids.

Bids are due on Friday August 4, at 10 AM. Bids shall be sent to Michael Sletten at the River Forest Park District, 401 Thatcher Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305.

Scope of Work: Excavation & installation on a concrete pad, and installation of chain-link fence unit for 2-60’x16’ batting cages.

All questions should be directed to Michael Sletten via email at msletten@rfparks.com In all work performed under this Contract, the Contractor and all of its subcontractors shall comply with the current provisions of the Prevailing Wage Act of the Illinois Revised Statutes, Chapter 48, Sections 39s-1 et seq.

Bids will be considered firm for a period of ninety (90) days. The River Forest Park District reserves the right to reject any or all bids or portions of bids/portions of work and to waive any technicalities in the bidding if it should be deemed in the public interest.

Published in Wednesday Journal July 13, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES 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: YY22009347 on July 1, 2022 Under the Assumed Business Name of THE BALANCED MYSTIC with the business located at: 830 S. AUSTIN BLVD APT. 3J, OAK PARK, IL 60304.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: CRYSTOL MARIE DEJOHNETTE 830 S. AUSTIN BLVD APT. 3J OAK PARK, IL 60304, USA Published in Wednesday Journal July 13, 20, 27, 2022

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: Y22009334 on June 24, 2022 Under the Assumed Business Name of HELPFUL TECH MEDIC with the business located at: 805 LAKE ST PMB 401, OAK PARK, IL 60301.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: MELVENA L SANDERS 805 LAKE ST PMB 401 OAK PARK, IL 60301, USA Published in Wednesday Journal July 6, 13, 20, 2022

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION TVC FUNDING IV, LLC; Plaintiff, vs.

NETWORK CONNECTION, LLC; BOBBY JONES; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 20 CH 2792 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-08-104-004-0000.

Commonly known as 53 Chicago Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois 60302.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call The Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Diaz Anselmo & Associates, P.A., 1771 West Diehl Road, Naperville, Illinois 60563. (630) 453-6925. F19120231 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3197556

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION MILLENNIUM TRUST COMPANY, LLC AS CUSTODIAN FBO PRIME MERIDIAN NPL, LLC; Plaintiff, vs.

52ND AVE., LLC - 841 LOMBARD LLC, AN ILLINOIS LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; FOSTER CHAMBERS; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON RECORD CLAIMANTS; Defendants, 21 CH 4618 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-05-303-023-0000.

Commonly known as 841 N. LOMBARD AVENUE, OAK PARK, IL 60302.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection.

For information call Mr. Ira T. Nevel at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Law Offices of Ira T. Nevel, 175 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. (312) 3571125. 21-02137 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3197560

Selling your home by owner?

Advertise here!

Call: 708-613-3342

36

Wednesday Journal, July 13, 2022

Recently Under Contract!

22w485 Balsam Dr, Glen Ellyn There are still buyers out there if you are thinking of listing your home! .... $415,000 Michelle Miller | 708-334-5833 michelle.miller@cbexchange.com

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Coming Soon!

205 N. Cuyler Ave, Oak Park 3 BR, 1.1 BA. Freshly painted side entrance brick colonial with large rooms, wood burning fireplace, plenty of office space. Close to shopping, schools, transportation....$515,000

Just Listed!

1003 Beloit Ave, Forest Park 4 BR, 2 BA. Beautiful 2-flat in a convenient location. Spacious rooms, outdoor space and parking. New back porch and siding. All the heavy lifting has been done! ..... $445,000

Sandi Graves | 708-752-6540 sgraves@cbexchange.com

Stephanie Eiger | 708-557-0779 Stephanie.eiger@cbexchange.com

Stephanie Eiger | 708-557-0779 Stephanie.eiger@cbexchange.com

Sandi Graves | 708-752-6540 sgraves@cbexchange.com

Sara Faust | 708-772-7910 sara.faust@cbexchange.com

Just Sold!

147 N. Euclid, Unit 501 Oak Park Sleek unit with private rooftop views made the new owners’ dreams come alive!

We will make your next move anywhere, anytime easy for you too!

Larger than it looks!

632 Home Ave, Oak Park 3 BR, 1.1 BA. Adorable spacious home with tons of charm & natural light. Beautiful treelined street, walkable to many things! ................................................... $465,000

Under Contract!

1126 S. Lombard, Oak Park

Lisa Andreoli and Meredith Conn 708-557-9546 or 708-743-6973 teamgo2girls@gmail.com

Laurie Shaprio I 708-203-3614 laurie.shapiro@cbrealty.com

Just Sold!

454 Iowa Street, Oak Park I couldn’t be happier for my client who received multiple offers on their home and closed $175,000 over list price...$1,100,000!

Under Contract!

River Forest Townhouse in a Great Location!

This went FAST...The Market is still hot!!!

Contact me today if you are looking to buy or sell!

Just Listed!

2337 Ridgeland Ave., Berwyn Solid and spacious unique 3 flat. Main house has 4BR, 1.5 BA over 2 floors with studio apt in walk out basement. 2 story coach house in rear with 2BR, 1BA + den.

Great potential!.......................... $350,000

Just Sold!

1006 S. Euclid, Oak Park This beautiful home was under contract in 2 days with multiple offers. Don’t hesitate to reach out for all of your real estate needs!

Open Sunday 12:30-2pm

1036 N Kenilworth, Oak Park 4BR/3.1BA Colonial on beautiful parkway. Big rooms, hrdwd floors & crown molding. Large yard w/deck & patio. 3rd floor w/built-ins & full bath. New roof and A/C.. ............ $839,000 Sara Faust | 708-772-7910 sara.faust@cbexchange.com Stephanie Eiger | 708-557-0779 Stephanie.eiger@cbexchange.com

Just Listed!

7442 Adams#3G, Forest Park Heart of Forest Park! Vintage one bedroom condo with in-unit laundry. One block off Madison Street Corridor! Perfect for first time buyer, cheaper than renting. ........... ................................................. $112,0000 Joe Langley | Cell 708-243-0330 jlangley.realtor@gmail.com

Shea Kiessling | 708-710-5952 shea@cbexchange.com

COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM

Oak Park 114 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park | 708.524.1100

Lisa Grimes I 708-205-9518 lisa.grimes@cbrealty.com

Deborah Wess | 708-212-1122 deborahsellsoakpark4u@gma

Patty Melgar Hooks | 708-261-2796 patty.melgarhooks@cbexchange.com

The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2022 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Realty LLC.