Wednesday Journal 071923

of Oak Park and River Forest

Dreaming in Austin Gardens

REVIEW

Running for their lives

Page

Former sta weigh in on demolishing Oak Park Village Hall

All agree new police facilities are needed

By STACEY SHERIDAN Senior Reporter

The prospect of the village of Oak Park tearing down its village hall to build a new one, complete with better police facilities, in its place has elicited quite the reaction from the public Architecture aficionados and historic preservationists are reeling, as the Harry Weese-designed building, has a place on the National Re gister of Historic Places. Some are concerned by the project’s estimated cost of between $118 million and $124 million. And many others are still scratching their heads over the idea, which seemingly came out of nowhere upon being presented to the village board July 7.

See VILLAGE HALL on pa ge 12

Oak Park resets goal setting to fost ersatio

Using an approach new to Oak P

By STACEY SHERIDAN Senior Reporter

Kevin Jackson, Oak Park’s village manager, has brought notable changes to the village board’s traditional goal setting process this summer. He added an outside facilitator for the four sessions and moved the meetings out of village hall and into a more casual and neutral setting. So far, with three of the four sessions completed, the response to the different process has been positive

“It’s kind of like a goal setting retreat, a board retreat,” said Jackson. “It’s supposed to be a safe space to encourage open discussion.”

This is a shake-up to what has been a somewhat staid and sometimes contentious ef fort in the past. Goal setting is one of the most time-consuming processes the village board undertakes after each election. In past years, and with a more ideologically divided board, trustees with opposing values have clashed over what should and should not be included on the list that will shape the board’s work for the next two years. That was no more apparent than after the spring 2019 municipal election, when the board dragged the process out for months, starting discussions in July but not adopting its goals until Jan. 13 of the next year.

Since then, goal setting has been smoother and quicker with the changing of seated members, but that does not mean the process was not in need of a shakeup. Based on his past experience, Jackson implemented his idea to hire an independent facilitator to guide sessions, all taking place outside village board chambers. The first two sessions were held back-to-back on July 10 and 11, with a third on July 17. The fourth and final session has been scheduled for the first week of August.

Discussions have indeed been open, evoking the type of high-level, respectful brainstorming sessions of colle ge capstone classes choosing topics for their final project. Facilitator Hilary Shine, of Strategic Government Resources, has easily stepped into the role of the university

professor, gently guiding her students as they turn their values – equity, af ity, environmental sustainabilit health and safety, economic vitality – into actionable goals, without pushing them in any one direction. Shine also intervie each board member individually ahead of the sessions.

So far, the new approach has put one, staf f included, on equal footing, making for an altogether positive experienc according to Village Vicki Scaman.

“It does help give us some clarity in a neutral wa it’s not just through the lens of the village manager or through the lens of just me, as village president,” she told Wednesday Journal.

In village boards past, goal setting was led by the village manager and carried out on village property, usually in the board chambers of village hall, but sometimes in a meeting room inside the public works building on South Blvd. The latter of fered a less stately, more administrative setting than board chambers, yet both still lend a very municipal atmosphere. The board will have at least two goal development sessions, depending on the board’s efficiency. Reviews and discussions of drafted goals are often tacked onto re gular board meetings.

While Scaman said she was “proud” of the goals she and her fellow board members set two years ago and the progress made on them, she does not wish to see the village return to the process by which the board set those goals. The retreat style, she thinks, will become the village’s standard method.

“I do think this will continue,” she said.

This year, the goal setting sessions are being held at the Nineteenth Century Club on Forest Avenue. Holding the meetings outside the confines of village-owned public buildings resets thinking. By being in a different physical space, the village board is put into a different headspace. The meetings are still open to the public in ac-

cordance with the Open Meetings Act and follow the same procedures as any other board meeting, but the overall feeling is less for mal in perspective, if not in actuality. Having a facilitated session on the meeting agenda allows the board to converse freely without violating any rules

“The first meeting was inspiring because we don’t get to all talk together like that,” said Scaman.

Changing approaches does have an economic impact, as the previously used method essentially cost the village nothing.

The Nineteenth Century Club commands a $300 rental fee per night and the facilitator’s services come with an estimated price tag of $10,925, plus an additional $1,243 in travel-related expenses, roughly, that include airfare, a car rental and hotel room for Shine. These expenditures fall under the village manager’s spending authority, meaning he did not need to seek the board’s approval beforehand, and will come out of his budget.

The retreat style is not a novel approach, although it is not the typical approach to goal setting the Village of Oak Park has previously employed. The method, complete with contracted facilitator, is a common practice nationwide, according to Jackson, who would even argue that it’s a best practice. Other communities may use the ter m “strategic planning” over goal setting, but

the two are essentially the same and the approach has existed for as long as Jackson’s worked in local gover nment – and, as he said, likely longer

This is the first time Jackson has gone through goal setting in Oak Park. He became village manager of Oak Park in March 2022, long after the then-village board adopted its 2021-2023 goals. It was his idea to implement the new-to-Oak Park process, having undergone it several times while working as neighborhood services director with the City of Champaign in central Illinois.

As Jackson hoped, the retreat is yielding the additional, equally helpful result of creating a collective vision, rather than just a list of independent goals. The third goal setting session was spent refining that vision and having that cohesion will help, Jackson believes, in keeping the board unified when it comes time to move forward on their goals, understanding how each one fits with the others, contributing to a wider picture.

That is as much for the benefit of the village board as it is for village staf f, who are tasked with carrying out the board’s vision. Village staf f department heads are attending all sessions, but not participating in discussions directly. Scaman credits staff for coordinating the sessions, despite being a “leaner” team than she thinks the public understands.

“Staff has been working very, very hard and it really needs to be commended,” she said.

Oak Park Village Hall

KEVIN JACKSON Village Manager

VICKI SCAMAN Village President

Unicorn Stor ytime & Craft

Wednesday, July 19, 4-5 p.m., Oak Park Public Librar y, Main Library

If your child loves unicorns, they’ll love this. This special storytime presents books, songs, crafts and play that encourage magic and imagination. Register now at oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park

Interactive Double Dutch Storytime

Saturday, July 22, 10-11:30 a.m., Oak Park Public Librar y, Main Library

The local 40+ Double Dutch Club presents an interactive, musical storytime adventure, devoted to one of the most intricate jump-rope games ever. Just as fun to look at as it is to do! Register now at oppl.org/ calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

BIG WEEK

July 19-26

Hidden Disabilit y Circle

Sunday, July 23, 2-4 p.m., Oak Park Public Librar y, Main Library

This circle for adults with hidden/non-apparent disabilities will be focused on healing. Peace circles

Barbie & Ken Club

Friday, July 21, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Oak Park Public Librar y, Main Library

The library brings the dream house, fashions, accessories, shoes, horses, cars, choice of dolls and all of that other cool etcetera. You just bring your imagination. And if you don’t watch out, you might learn lessons about storytelling, con ict resolution, narrative development and other things. But its all in the name of having unlimited fun. Register now at //oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Under The Stars

Friday, July 21, 7-8:30 p.m., St. Giles Cour tyard LOSA (Lyric Opera Stage Artists) present an evening of opera and showtunes. Donations of all sizes are welcome at this free outdoor concert. BYOB, snacks and chairs. In case of the rain, the show will be held inside Parish Center. 1045 Columbian, Oak Park.

Live Music In The Librar y: NEIU Flute Trio

Saturday, July 22, 2-3:30 p.m., River Forest Library

An intimate concert of classical ute music, featuring Marissa Walentschik, one of the librar y’s sta members. Brought to you in partnership with River Forest Township. 735 Lathrop Ave., River Forest.

Ladies Of Laughter: Great Comediennes

Saturday, July 29, 2-3:30 p.m., River Forest Library

Film historian Dr. Annette Bochenek presents a multimedia celebration of funny women in lm, television & radio, including Gracie Allen, Lucille Ball, E Arden and more. 735 Lathrop A

Friday At Heming Concert With Tr

Musical Theater Showca se

Wednesday, July 26, 7-8 p.m., Oak Park Public Librar y, Main Library his special evening of musical theater features Chicago artists performing gender-bending songs, solos, duets, and group numbers. Come and listen to your favorite classical Broadway songs to new orks. Register now at oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park

Wednesd about ev Forest planning. you let us kno Wednesd to be in the newspaper

■ Send details to Wednesday Journal, 141 S. Oak Pa

■ Email calendar@wjin

A House in Austin honors lives of generous Oak Park couple

Tom Johnson and Leslie Ann Jones will be memorialized with the planting of a tree and a room dedication

By STACEY SHERIDAN Senior Reporter

It’s been three years since Tom Johnson and Leslie Ann Jones were found murdered in their Oak Park home during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, but their friends and family continue to find ways to honor the married couple by supporting causes that were near and dear to their hearts in life

One such cause – ensuring children have loving, stable families – is the mission of the nonprofit A House in Austin, the beneficiary of a new memorial for Johnson and Jones. In a ceremony July 22, a tree will be planted, and a room renamed in the couple’s honor at the nonprofit’s Austin headquarters Ave.

The tree itself is a personal gift to the nonprofit from the couple’ longtime friend John Tuhey, chose to plant a dogwood in the front yard of a House in The arboreal specimen was selected to be viewed as a sign of newal and growth, not a symbol of the loss, which resonated with the nonprofit’s leadership reflecting Johnson and dreams for Chicago’s borhood.

“Every year it will we will be reminded of and how much they the Austin community, wanting to see it so much better than it cu rently is,” said Lynette co-executive director of A House in Austin.

The tree will be covered in pink

blossoms come spring, coinciding with the April 13 anniversary of Johnson’s and Jones’s deaths, which are still under investigation by the Oak Park Police Department. Tuhey wanted something beautiful and uplifting to mark that somber occasion.

“It flowers every year in spring, right around the time that they passed,” he said.

Tuhey, along with his wife Lisa, organized a wider gift to A House in Austin with the blessings of the couple’s sons. The agency’s parent education room is being renamed the “Fair Oaks Room” after Fair Oaks Avenue, the street Johnson and Jones lived on. The room is inte gral in the services the agency provides to its clients, serving as the location of the weekly parent chat and parent café support sessions. It’s also a space just for parents to carry out tasks that they might not be able to do elsewhere.

“Parents use the space individually to hang out, complete school assignments, secure employment through the use of our laptops,” said Kelly-Bell.

The room is connected to the nonprofit’s

kitchen, so it’s also used as the site of the nonprofit’s healthy cooking classes. Parents often use it to meal prep before heading home.

Not directly naming the room after Johnson and Jones was an express wish of their children, according to Tuhey. The couple, despite their prolific law careers and long history of volunteer work, were humble and unassuming. Everyone involved believed the couple would not want their names to overshadow that of the organization’s and the work it does. Their names are only featured on the invitations to the upcoming ceremony in the hopes that they will draw in greater publicity and revenue for A House in Austin.

“They want A House in Austin to benefit from this gift,” Tuhey said of the sons.

Johnson and Jones did not have a connection to A House in Austin during their lives, but it was chosen as the beneficiary by their sons, one of whom volunteered with the organization in the past.

During their lives, Johnson and Jones fostered children through Hephzibah Children’s Association. Jones, who was also extremely passionate about public art in communities, spent several years on Hephzibah’s board

of directors. Hephizbah’s “Art Heals” therapy program was started in the couple’s memory, as was a scholarship program by the Oak Park Area Arts Council benefiting young female artists of color.

Both organizations received much attention following the couple’s passing and their sons wished to see the same level of consideration paid to A House in Austin, a local agency equally deserving that provides services for the benefit of the community, according to Tuhey. Charlie Johnson, one of the couple’s sons, told Wednesday Journal he and his brothers are “thrilled” with the work the nonprofit does.

“Providing support to young families is something our parents were very passionate about because investments in early life development produce even more well-rounded people,” said Johnson. “Especially in communities on Chicago’s West Side which have historically faced multiple systematic disadvantages.”

A House in Austin’s mission is to empower parents to address the cognitive, physical, social and emotional wellbeing of their children through programming that strengthens the family unit. It also provides education, assistance and childcare, as well as access to a kitchen and a laundry room, where clients can use washers and dryers free of charge.

“It touches directly to people,” said Tuhey, just as Johnson and Jones directly touched the lives of so many people who knew and loved them.

FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ

A House in Austin is honoring Jones and Johnson with a tree and a room named for them.

Leslie Ann Jones and omas Johnson

New OPRF security chief is a retired Chicago police lietenant

Had roles in investigations and communications at CPD

By BOB SKOLNIK

Contributing Reporter

The new Director of Campus Safety at Oak Park and River Forest High School is a retired Chicago police lieutenant. As part of its consent agenda on July 13 the OPRF school board unanimously approved hiring Cindy Guerra as the school’s new security chief. Guerra is re placing Cherlynn Jones-McLeod who resigned from the position last month after only one year in the position.

Guerra retired from the Chicago Police Department in 2021 after a 27-year career as a Chicago police officer. For the past year she served as the interim chief of police for Northeastern Illinois University. Immediately after retiring from the Chicago Police Department, she worked for five months as the Incident Support Services director for Fairfax (Virginia) County.

As a police lieutenant she supervised the 19th Police District in the Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago before overseeing operations in the police department’s Office of Communications before retiring.

Supt. Greg Johnson told Wednesday Journal in an interview Tuesday that Guerra “checked all the boxes” the school had for this post.

In an email to the paper Johnson wrote, “Cindy Guerra has an incredibly robust skill set that made her our top choice for director of campus safety. She has a strong focus on relationships and restorative justice practices, experience with emergency response planning as well as safety protocols in an educational setting, and a strategic view of evaluating and implementing safety practices across the board. Her experience will help us further build on our collaboration with local law enforcement. On a more personal level, she’s a warm and

compassionate person, and she specifically wants to be part of this community,” said Johnson.

Earlier in her policing career Guerra served for two years as a detecti in the special investigations unit ing detectives investigating cases of sexual abuse according to her LinkedIn page. She also served as liaison with the domestic violence division of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

During an earlier three-year stint as a sergeant in the police department’s communications office from 2016 until 2019 Guerra served as the police department’s spokesperson for of fice involved shootings, active crime scenes and other important matters.

Guerra received a bachelor’s de gree in law enforcement management from Calumet Colle ge of Saint Joseph and went on to earn a master’s de gree in police psychol-

Flood fries OPRF transformers le

District will rent transformer in short term

By BOB SKOLNIK

Contributing Reporter

A thunderstorm on July 2 caused flooding and sparked a fire that ir re parably damaged three transformers that provide electricity to Oak Park and River Forest High School. Power was lost in the north wing of the building and since then electricity at OPRF has been at about one third of normal. Summer school classes had to be held remotely for one day, July 3, and since then all summer school classes have been moved to classrooms in the newer part of the school. The damaged transfor mers were rendered inoperable and cannot be re paired.

On July 13 the OPRF school board approved spending between $75,000 and $100,000 to rent and install a transformer

for the rest of the summer to restore power to the north wing of the building as administrators work to develop a solution for the upcoming school year that starts in about a month.

“We’re investigating really the long term solution to start the school year,” said Anthony Arbogast, the new assistant superintendent for business services. “There are a few options on the table and we’re just right now hammering out the details in terms of what’s the most cost effective and what is realistic.”

Arbogast told Wednesday Journal that the school will have a long term fix in place by the start of the school year. That could involve buying new transformers or renting them.

The school is investigating whether the cost of the rental of the transformer and the cost of re placing the transformers will be covered by insurance. OPRF owned the transformers that were damaged and cannot be re paired.

og y from the Adler School of Professional Psychology. She is a certified crisis intervention officer and a certified electronic criminal surveillance officer.

Guerra’s salary will be $115,000 a year. Her first day on the job was July 10 so she will be paid $112,788 for the fiscal y ear that began on July 1.

Guerra didn’t immediately return calls from Wednesday Journal on Monday

BOB SKOLNIK

Tony Arbogast, OPRF assistant superintendent for Business Services, reports to the school board on July 13 about a transformer knocked out of commission.

COURTESY OF LINKEDIN

Cindy Guerra, the high school’s new security chief.

GROVE AVE,

Get to know Oak Park police and re ghters

1 event is meant to build community, promote safety

By STACEY SHERIDAN Senior Reporter

village of Oak Pa rk is hosting a ommunity g et to g ether to strengthen elationship and promote c rime prevention ef for ts b etween residents and the Oak Pa rk Police Department. Th e event marks the first time the village is pa rt icipating in “National Night Out,” a nationwide c ommunity-police awareness event.

Oak Pa rk residents of all ages are invited to join Oak Pa rk p olice officers fo r an evening of f un and c amaraderie Au g. 1, 5 p. m. to 9 p. m ., on the south lawn of Vi llage Hall, 123 Madison St .

Now safely moving new residents to our small, wooded campus.

Now safely moving new residents to our small, wooded campus.

A safe & smart choice.

A safe & smart choice.

A safe & smart choice.

T he free event will have inflatable b ounce houses, face painting, refreshments, g ames and even a real fire engin e, c ourtesy of the Oak Pa rk Fire Depa rtment. A ttendees will also be able to take a crack at d unking Chie f Shatonya Johnson at the “Dunk the Police” dunk tank. Amid the merrymaking, attendees ca n drop by b ooths to pick up info rm atio n on c rime prevention and c ommunity resources. Firefighters and p olice officer s will also be onsite giving safety d emonstrations

Chief Shatonya Johnson

Choosing a community you can trust has never been more difficult.

Choosing a community you can trust has never been more important.

Choosing a community you can trust has never been more difficult.

Our community has an impeccable record of safety during the COVID-19 crisis and we will stop at nothing to make sure it continues.

Our community has an impeccable record of safety during the COVID-19 crisis and we will stop at nothing to make sure it continues.

Our community has an impeccable record of safety during the COVID-19 crisis and we will stop at nothing to make sure it continues.

We would be honored for your family to be part of ours.

We would be honored for your family to be part of ours.

We would be honored for your family to be part of ours.

OF OUR CALEDONIA STAFF IS VACCINATED

our

Oak Pa rk will be one of more than 17,000 c ommunities taking pa rt in the “National Night Out,” wh ich was star ted in 1984 by the National A ssociation of Town Watch, a non-profit, c rime preven-

tion organization. T he event is i ntended to promote partnership b etween resid ents and law enforcement and strengthen neighborhood b onds wh i le raisin g awareness of c rime prevention strategies and initiatives for the safety and wellbeing of the community

Estimated $70,000 taken in Oak Park armed robber y

The ar med robbery of a Tinley Park resident in Oak Park yielded an astounding estimated loss of tens of thousands of dollars. Roughly $70,000 in cash in a black grocery bag was taken of f the victim during the robbery.

The victim was sitting in a vehicle parked in the 1000 block of Lake Street at 9:50 a.m., July 13, when an unknown man entered and struck the victim in the head with a handgun. The of fender took the victim’s black iPhone 11, debit and credit cards, insurance cards and the black grocery bag full of cash, then fled in a red vehicle, according to police

Police declined to comment on the unusually high loss, citing an open investigation into the incident.

Armed robber y

Three Chicago residents we re robbed after three men, one ar med with a semiautomatic handgun, approached them

and d emanded their wallets, c ash and c ell p hones at 4:30 p. m ., Ju ly 11, in the 100 block of Nor th L ombard Avenue. Th e three of f enders then fled in a black Nissan with tinted wind ow s. T he estimated loss is $720

Aggravated assault

A man driving a silver 2003 Toyota Camry pointed a black handgun at a pedestrian and said, “I will shoot you,” after he slowed down to avoid a collision with the pedestrian, who tried to cross the street eastbound at Austin Boulevard and Har rison Street at 8:54 p.m., July 16. The driver drove of f in an unknown direction.

Motor vehicle theft

■ A silver 2014 Kia S oul pa rked in the 400 block of Nor th L ombard Avenue was taken b etween 6:30 p. m ., Ju ly 14, and 9 a.m., Ju ly 15.

■ A silver 2020 Hyundai Tucson parked in the 200 block of S outh Maple Avenue was taken b etween 5 p. m ., Ju ly 15, and 1 p. m ., Ju ly 16.

■ A gr ay 2015 Hyundai E lantra pa rked in the 1100 block of S outh Keni lwor th Avenue was remove d b etween 6:30 p. m. , Ju ly 12, and 8:30 a.m., Ju ly 13.

■ A black 2019 Hyundai Kona pa rked in the 200 block of S outh Oak Pa rk Avenue was taken b etween 1:05 a.m. and 1:15 a.m., Ju ly 14.

■ S omeone remove d a 2017 BMW X I, using the vehicle’s ke y fo b, from a ga rage with an unlocke d s ide d oor in the 600 block of S outh L ombard Avenue b etween 10 p. m ., Ju ly 10, and 9:05 a.m., Ju ly 11.

■ A 2015 Maz da C X5 pa rked in the 500 block of S outh Cuyler Avenue was taken b etween 2:22 a.m. and 8:58 a.m., Ju ly 10.

■ A 2018 Hyundai S onata pa rked in the 400 block of Washington Boulevard was taken at about 6:18 p. m ., Ju ly 10.

Theft

■ The front and rear license plates were removed from a 2008 Toyota Corolla in the 400 block of South Maple Avenue between 9 p.m., July 11, and 8 a.m., July 12.

■ A blue and yellow Stratus bicycle was removed after the cable lock securing it to a bike rack was cut between 5:30 a.m., July 12, and 6:30 a.m., July 13, in the 900 block of South East Avenue

These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department reports dated July 12-17 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

Kribi Co ee grounded in Oak Park high-rise

Albion will be the Forest Park-based co ee shop’s second Oak Park location

By STACEY SHERIDAN Senior Reporter

A new spot to grab a cup of joe is coming to Oak Park later this month – and it will be particularly convenient for residents of the Albion high-rise on Lake Street. Forest Park’s Kribi Coffee is opening a new location on the first floor of the building at Lake and Forest. This will be the coffee company’s second Oak Park location and its third shop total, but it is intended to become the flagship site.

“This third location presents an opportunity for us to build from the ground up, to design and present,” said Kribi founder Jacques Shalo, speaking to Wednesday Journal from his home country of Cameroon on the wester n coast of Africa.

Located on the side of the building at 149

before their eyes. Games, music and food ar also on the menu to celebrate the opening of the location that Shalo called the completion of Kribi’s story.

Kribi is an environmentally sustainabl Black-owned coffee company that works with coffee bean farmers across the world to distribute wealth back to them, breaking the cycle of poverty they face

That poverty Kribi works to end is not in substantial either. Over 80% of the wo roughly 12.5 million coffee farming fami lies live below the poverty line, according to Paul Stewart, global coffee director of profit TechnoServe. The company wor rectly with far mers, providing a mutually beneficial relationship, so you can indulge in a cup of Kribi coffee without guilt the wider, global impact of the corp coffee industry.

Supporting the needs of what’s happening closer to home is also a principle of Kribi company. For every bag of coffee pu chased, $5 goes to the Midwest Access C tion, which provides access to safe, free and

its products and platform to support youth education with its Black Lives Matter coffee. For each purchase of the special BLM blend, $2 goes to Tutoring Chicago, an organization which provides tutoring services for economically challenged children in the Chicago area. These products and more can be tried at Kribi’s Forest Park location, 7324 Madison St., or in Oak Park in the historic Boulevard Arcade building, 1033 South Blvd.

Kribi and its mission makes a good fit for Oak Park, a community that prides itself in having compassion for others and is home to many social support agencies. The winning combination of having a company local to the Western suburbs which provides a high-quality product and service makes the opening of Kribi’s third location particularly exciting for Albion Residential, the development and commercial real estate group that built and owns the high-rise apartment building.

“We’re really excited for someone local to come in and deliver the level of quality and service that he provides to the neighborhood,” said Andrew Yule, development vice president of Albion Residential.

Kribi is not directly affiliated with the

Albion company beyond its landlord-tenant relationship. It’s a separate retail storefront within the building, but the concept of having a coffee shop at the Albion was always part of the plan during its development.

The space for merly served as a Dollop Coffee Co. location, but the company faced “challenges,” according to Shalo, and the shop ultimately closed. Dollop’s exit freed up the storefront for Kribi, which he called an exciting opportunity for his coffee company.

“It’s a culmination of a vision of the future,” Shalo said.

He’ll be back from Cameroon before the grand opening, which the company is preparing for by redecorating the space with brightly painted walls and a new mosaic outside the entrance.

Shalo is not the only person excited for the shop’s opening. Yule, who works out of the company’s headquarters in Oak Brook, has not had a chance yet to try Kribi coffee, but he hopes to be the first to grab a cup once the Albion location is up and running

“As soon as it opens, I’ll be his first customer if I can get over there in time,” Yule said.

STACEY SHERIDAN

Prepping Kribi’s latest storefront.

STACEY SHERIDAN

Located on Forest Avenue, just north of Lake St reet.

e hot dog: America in a bun

By DAVID HAMMOND Oak Park Eats Blogger

July 4, 2023, I’m on air with friend and WGN host Dane Neal. Knowing that Monica Eng and I had just published Made in Chica go, a book about Chicago original food, his first question was, “What should we be eating for the Fourth of July?”

A Chicago hot dog, of course! Nothing symbolizes this national holiday more than the Chicago hot dog, composed of foods brought from many lands.

The sausage itself is a gift of German immigrants, who had a traditional pork-beef sausage. This sausage evolved to become an allbeef wiener that could be enjoyed by the city’s Jewish population, many of whom in the late 19th century had found a home on Chicago’s Maxwell Street. Some believe Abe Drexler, who founded Fluky’s hot dogs on Maxwell Street, was the originator of the iconic Chicago hot dog.

According to Bruce Kraig, food historian and formerly a writer for Wednesday Jour nal: “Germans always ate sausages on bread. And the earliest bun evidence we have is from New York — from a special bun maker on Coney Island as early as the 1870s. The poppy seeds are from Jewish East Europeans, and they didn’t become popular [on the Chicago

dog] until after World War II.”

The mustard was another German contribution to the Chicago hot dog, though the German mustards were usually quite a bit stronger than the less aggressive bright yellow versions

Sport peppers may have been carried up to Chicago by Mexican migrants coming north, or by African Americans who may have worked with Mexicans in Souther n farms before heading to Chicago during the Great Migration, bringing with them a love of chili peppers

Pickles were hugely popular in Eastern and Central Europe, and chopped onions could also be an Easter n European contribution. And according to Kraig the “slices of tomatoes come from Jews, Greeks, and Italians, all living together near Maxwell Street. Somebody thought they should put tomatoes on the dogs as an added value. And, of course, they also look good against the bright green relish.”

About that super strange blue-green, iridescent glow-inthe-dark relish, no one knows where the heck that came from. The celery salt is also a somewhat unexpected hot dog condiment, but it may have been added during the “celery craze” of the early 20th century when the North Side of Chicago was a center of celery production (I was surprised to learn that too!).

Like America itself, this all-American sandwich was created by many people from many lands. When we munch a classic Chicago hot dog on July 4th, we celebrate our country’s independence … and the interdependence of our people, from all over the world, who came here to make something good.

You’ll have to wait a year to celebrate the next Independence Day with a hot dog, but every hot dog you eat any time of year is a celebration of our interdependence, and what you have with this simple food is America, in a bun.

DAVID HAMMOND

VILLAGE HALL

Living with a landmark from page 1

While it is a prime source of local debate, Wednesday Journal reached out to a gr not yet heard from — for mer staffers who worked in the building at Madison Street and Lombard.

Their opinion on the current state of village hall and the potential for its demolition is shaped by their experience work there, giving them a unique point of vie The Journal interviewed three of the village’s past leaders – a village manage police chief and a department director – to gauge their reactions to the idea, wh it turns out, shocked more than just residents.

“I was having dinner with a buddy mine who still lives in Oak Park and he was telling me about which took me surprise,” said ny Ambrose, mer Oak Park lice chief.

Ambrose, who said his friend was ewise surprised, spent 34 years rking in the basement of village hall, which the police department occupies. The police station’s facilities outdated in 1984, when he joined the force, and even more outdated by the time he retired in 2018, Ambrose said. It lacks space and windows, has a non-operational shooting range, inadequate locker rooms, limited evidence storage and not enough room for training. The department’s one window – a skylight – is located inside a storage closet.

“I spent half of my life in the police department and it’s a great department with quality people. It’s just the facility doesn’t fulfill the needs of policing,” Ambrose said.

The idea currently being discussed was born from conversations and assessments re garding much needed new police facilities, and whether to renovate the current space or build anew elsewhere. Those discussions have spanned five years, with studies revisited and updated, and the rest of the building with chronic issues, according to the village’s hired engineer-

ing firm. This all culminated earlier this month with the board’s bombshell decision to explore building an entirely new village hall.

Ambrose isn’t sure if he thinks a brandnew village hall is the right answer, but he said renovating the basement police station is putting a Band-Aid on a wound in need of stitches. It helps in the immediate but isn’t a long-term solution. The only way he believes the police station can continue operating in the cur rent village hall is to expand the department’s space into the upper levels of village hall, which he called a “beautiful facility.” He knows this is not a viable option, however, as it encroaches upon space used by other village staf f departments –and he doesn’t think those employees probably have enough room themselves.

Still, his main concern is with the police station, sharing that he believes it’s a testament to the quality of the department’s officers that they’re able to work at all out of

that facility when a state-of-the-art station is in order.

Tom Barwin, a for mer village manager who resigned in 2012, told Wednesday Journal he loved working out of Oak Park’s village hall, calling it a “statement structure” of quality architecture. The commitment to transparency and openness in government, the principle that guided the building’s design, gives village hall “a warm and family type of feel,” according to Barwin.

Village hall though is not without its faults. He remembers space heaters being used in the winter to warm different wings, as the building’s U-shape makes its heating and cooling system inefficient. Space too was an issue, he recalls. The workspaces and offices in village hall were much smaller than those of other municipalities where he’s worked, he said, and he concedes the police station is insufficient.

That doesn’t mean he hopes a wrecking ball is unleashed on the building.

village hall can stay and quality accommodations for the police department can be figured out,” Barwin said. for mer business services eels torn. She worked in economic development, rather than building services or historic preservation. Yet she appreciated the building’s architecture because it created an atmosphere in which ing – especially in times of ather.

“It’s the best place to be in the middle of a really hard downpour,” ho left after almost two decades

The raindrops hitting the metal roof creates a pleasurable cacophony ile the auses water to slide of f the eat sheets, able to be viewed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of hall’s upper levels. These are very fond memories of Daly’s, even though the ceiling leaks when it rains.

own up in Oak Park before working for the village, Daly remembers when the structure was built. She was in high school at the time. The construction of village hall was something the entire community paid attention to, she said, and how its design really mirrored the concept of open government.

“The design of the building, albeit flawed, is really a tremendous benefit to the community,” she said.

In her 17 years working at the village, she continued to admire the openness, but found it not always suitable for privacy, particularly when citizens would come in to conduct personal business. The noise from the police station can be heard upstairs, including “rather filthy” language from people taken into custody, and she ag rees the department is underserved in the building. The building’s faults, however, do not outweigh its more positive qualities, in Daly’s eyes.

Daly would support demolishing the building if it comes down to it, she said, despite its architectural significance, which she admits is not her area of expertise. She’d like to see that same philosophy of open government applied to a potential new village hall.

“To me, it was much more about how the design created a feeling,” Daly said. “And I think that can be re plicated.”

LORET TA DALY

TOM BARWIN

TONY AMBROSE

Oak Park Village Hall

Still running at 88 and 77, local pair compete at National Senior Games

Editor’s note: In May, we profiled Bob Hakes and noted he and Bob O’Connor were training for the National Senior Games this month in Pittsburgh. Seth Engle, a 2020 OPRF grad and sportswriter for the Daily Collegian at Penn State, caught up with the pair and provided this report to Wednesday Journal.

By SETH ENGLE Contributing Reporter

PITTSBURGH – The seven-hour drive from Oak Park to Pittsburgh for last week’s National Senior Games was nothing for Bob Hakes, 88, and his 77-year-old running mate Bob O’Connor. The two have traveled thousands of miles together by foot since their first meeting.

Hakes has never had central vision in his left eye, directly impacting his balance. Meanwhile, O’Connor, a local psychiatrist, is two decades removed from a torn Achilles that became infected postoperatively. Surgeons believed the injury, which left him on crutches for two years, would put an end to O’Connor’s once world-renowned track career.

Despite bumps on the road, Hakes and O’Connor continue to strap on their red and white “Oak Park Runners Club” singlets, exercising daily and shoving it to anyone who’s ever doubted them.

To Hakes and O’Connor, times and leaderboards don’t correlate to victory. To win is to show up and compete, and the duo has no plans to stop.

“Don’t let anybody tell you what you can’t do because then you begin to believe you can’t do it,” O’Connor told Wednesday Journal. “You have to have a vision or dream of what you can do. Do what you can and see how it works out.”

O’Connor was told to quit before his

track career had even hit stride. His pa ents believed the time and physical commitment of track practices at Brother Rice High School had ne gatively affected his grades.

Turning a blind eye to his parents’ orders, O’Connor continued to show up to after-school workouts and eventually earned the opportunity to run at Loyola Chicag He briefly held the world record for yard dash in 1968.

Hakes, who had smoked cigarettes since he was 12 and drank regularly, didn’t begin running until his 40s.

With 38 marathons, a handful of 20-milers and a few triathlons under his belt, Hakes hasn’t looked back since. He’s outlived many of the runners and cyclists he trained with when he began his athletic lifestyle in the 1970s.

“It became an obsession. It ke pt me young. You meet on the corner, you’re with friends,” Hakes told the Journal. “I tell Bob O’Connor, ‘Don’t go die on me.’ All my friends that I ran with died on me.”

To the dismay of his doctors, Hakes does not take medication, but claims to have healthy vital signs.

Hakes attributes his good health to re gular exercise and a nutritious diet, which typically consists of whole-grain cereal with fruit, steak and rotisserie chicken. His wife, Lucy, does “99%” of the cooking, Hakes said, but he recently purchased an air fryer to help assist.

“You can eat as much as you want and you don’t put on any weight,” Hakes said of his routine. “That’s the neat thing about burning of f calories.”

Dr. Terry Nicola, the director of sports medicine rehabilitation at the University of Illinois, helped O’Connor return to the

track after his 2001 Achilles injury. He said fast food is the “most dramatic change” in the rise in obesity rates over the past 50 years and stressed the importance of a healthy diet.

Citing a 1989 study by Professor Steven Blair, Nicola also said there’s a direct correlation between consistent exercise and lifespan.

“Compared to a sedentary lifestyle, people (who exercise) live longer,” Nicola said. “As a rule of thumb, almost every hour they exercise they get back. … If a person walks at least 15 miles per week at a fourmile rate, that’s all you have to do to drop your cancer rate by 30%.”

With over 10,000 participants across 20 sports, the Senior Games features some of the nation’s fittest adults over the age of 50. Hakes and O’Connor are some of the most active track stars in their respective age groups.

Hakes competed in the 50-, 100-, 200- and 400-meter races while O’Connor ran the 100, 200, 400 and 800. The two have appeared in almost every Senior Games since 2001.

“I’ve always loved competing, so I was always looking for track meets and it was hard to find track meets for older guys,” O’Connor said. “Then I heard about the National Senior Games. I think I’ve only missed one or two.”

Even in recovery from his injury,

O’Connor couldn’t stop exercising.

Without the ability to run or even walk confidently, O’Connor borrowed an extra handbike from a man whose legs had been amputated and began competing in road races.

“It saved my mental health,” O’Connor said. “I rode my handbike back and for th to work. I did training runs. I did 50 miles one time. It really saved me. I’ve certainly had times in my career where I’ve been discouraged. You just have to do the best you can.”

The medals don’t matter to Hakes or O’Connor. All that does is the notion that they pushed themselves and took another step forward.

Their journey is a selfless one. Hakes doesn’t run to set personal records, he wants to put himself in the position to watch his four kids, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren grow up.

With each trip around the bend, Hakes knows his buddy O’Connor will be standing there to cheer him on and push him forward. A glance into the stands and O’Connor knows his longtime pal will be doing the same for him.

“I’m not a legend, I’m just doing what I can do,” Hakes said. “People don’t realize how precious life is. It’s the only one you have, so you have to respect it and do the best you can.”

It is not about medals, it’s showing up that counts

Bob O’Connor of River Forest, and Bob Hakes of Oak Park.

“I rode my handbike back and for th to work. I did training runs. I did 50 miles one time. It really saved me.”

BOB O’CONNOR

ART BEAT

Festival’s fairy tale, on a midsummer night, in open air

By DOUG DEUCHLER Theater Critic

Oak Park Festival Theater’s curr

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a blend of magic, love and playfulness. Shakespeare’s belo 1595 comedy retains all its charm in this nimble outdoor production in Austin Gardens, directed Festival’s new artistic director, Peter Theater in this community took a terrific ing the pandemic. It feels wonderful to be Gardens once again enjoying a young, senting such a captivating night of mer hearted fare brought much laughter to the opening night audience.

Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of popular and widely performed comedie around the adventures of four young Athenian lo group of performers who plan to present a pl wedding, plus the meddling acts of a gagg inhabit the forest outside Athens.

Evan Frank’s scenic design is impressi vise sitting directly center front. I sat a bit was often distracted by lots of backstage was clearly in view.

Janelle Smith, costume designer, dons the cast in contemporary attire For those unfamiliar with this pl might have been helpful if the different cals, fairies, etc.) had initially been dressed li sociates rather than having the entire same thing.

he troupe is lively and intrepid. Aaron Latterall plays onia Goldberg is Hippolyta, Will Wilhelm enens Puck, and Lucas Prizant is Helena. ay is entertaining and lively with a series of interconnecting plots. T he fun has been multiplied by the y mix and matching of the male/female roles. sander (Taylor Dalaton) loves his girlfriend Hermia (Rachel Jones). They want to mar ry but her father won’ t onsent, ordering her to marry Demetrius (Julio Cesar z).

our young love rs stumble i nto an enchanted fo rhere the merriment i mmediately begins to unfold group of amateur actors rehearse a pl ay -withinc elebrate an upcoming royal we dding. As Nick Bottom, Molly Brennan gives fine readings, well-enunciated.

T he wedding celebration features Bottom’s troupe per-

forming a play within the play of the ill-fated, yet farcical romance of Pyramus and Thisbe

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a warm, exuberant celebration of the transformational power of love. Comedy accompanies the intertwining stories of four lovers, a group of amateur actors, and the fairies who manipulate them for their own enter tainment.

Ian Tierney is assistant director. August For man provided the line-by-line script captions projected above the action throughout the perfor mance.

Festival T heatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is f ast and fun. It never feels like a museum piece. As a series of interconnecting plots, the show opens fresh new turf. This production will be presented beneath the treetops in Austin Gardens, Thursd ays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m., just steps from downtown Oak Park, through Aug. 19.

JOSH DARR

ennan, Chad Bay, and Aaron Latterell cavort on a midsummer night in Austin Gardens.

JOSH DARR

Will Wilhelm as Puck in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’

Native garden walk returns to western suburbs

‘Birds, Bees & Butter ies’ features Riverside and Ber wyn gardens

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

West Cook Wild Ones’ annual garden walk, “Birds, Bees & Butterflies: A Native Garden Walk” returns July 22 from 1 to 5 p.m. This year, for the first time, the featured gardens and gardeners hail from Riverside and Berwyn, Illinois.

The walk will feature 11 gardens, and homeowners and gardeners will be on hand to answer participants’ questions about plant names, favorite plants and other aspect of their native gardens.

Laura Hartwell Berlin, who co-chairs the West Cook Wild Ones Garden Walk Committee with Adrian Ayres Fisher, says that in previous years, the walk has been focused on Oak Park and River Forest, and calls this year’s move to the south and west an exciting one.

A few Berwyn gardens have been featured in the past, but Berlin says Riverside is “all new” to the tour.

See GARDEN WALK on pa ge 16

PHOTO S PROVIDED

e West Cook Wild Ones Garden Walk features 11 gardens ranging from prairie gardens to a spring ephemeral garden, rain gardens and shade gardens.

GARDEN WALK Large and small

from page 15

“Members of the Wild Ones community from Riverside came to us,” she said. “Riverside is such a lovely community It’s especially meaningful to Adrian because she is the site steward for the National Grove Woods, a Cook County Forest Preserve that is adjacent to Berwyn and Riverside.”

Fisher says that expanding the walk to other suburbs makes sense, given the growing membership of West Cook Wild Ones. There are more than 250 members throughout the western suburbs, and the membership spans as far north as Evanston and east into Chicago.

Fisher notes that interest in native gardening picked up during the pandemic when people had more time to focus on their gardens, but the

“It’s kind of remarkabl the most plants ever at coming more interested in birds.”

This year’s garden prairie gardens, a spring garden, a cutting garden, gardens, an edible and two rain gardens Some gardeners ha lovingly designed ev ery square inch of their yards themselves. Others have hired top native garden designers.

In one garden owned by two artists, unusual objects play with the garden plants.

“There’s a lot of ar tistic flair that reall shows off,” Berlin said.

In another garden, the ers lunch and dine ev fresco. Several gardeners and arranged plants for their lo

In Riverside, two traffic

Known for its winding streets tect Frederick Law Olmsted, Riverside has curved streets with large areas of green space between the streets. Local scout troops installed plants on the triangles featured on the walk.

“The kids are our future,” Berlin said. “It’s inspiring that they are thinking about this.”

If Riverside’s large lawns and lush green spaces illustrate what can be done with plenty of space, Fisher says Berwyn is equally as compelling, because it shows what can be done on a smaller plot of land

“People are very creative,” Fisher said. “It doesn’t really matter how big your yard is, you can make a difference.”

Fisher notes that West Cook Wild Ones has embraced Cli-

Ready Oak Park and the Global ampaign for Nature’s 30 x 30 initiative and explains, “Over 190 nations have embraced the global initiative to have 30% of land planted with native plantings.”

he notes that the simple for mula for letlocal yards go native is tied to the noted conservationist and ecologist counsels that converting lawns to plants nationwide could have a dramatic impact on ntimidated at the idea of converting Fisher points out that focusing on a po y ya can make a big difference. Berlin agrees and notes that’s why the garden walk is so inspiring.

“There are varying degrees of native-ness. It’s a spectrum,” Berlin said. “There’s no right way to do it.”

This garden walk is $10 for West Cook Wild Ones members and $15 for non-members. Kids attend for free. Ticket holders will receive a tour map two days before the event. Visit westcook.wildones.org to re gister.

Proceeds from the walk and the West Cook Wild Ones annual plant sale, which takes place every spring, are used to fund the organization’s grants, which allow Cook County nonprofits such as schools and churches to create their own native garden spaces

PHOTO S PROVIDED

including Riverside and Ber wy n in 2023, the West Cook Wild Ones Garden Walk has both large and small spaces, ones incor porating vary ing proportions of native species.

UNDER CONTRACT!

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Desirable Brentwood Subdivision and steps to Brentwood Park. Incredible 2 story, 4 BR/ 2.5 baths, with tons of improvements. Interior completely rehabbed. Highly desirable open floor plan that allows you to enjoy the nice size living room, separate dining room, beautiful updated kitchen and family room.

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PROPER TY TR ANSFERS

Oak Park home sells for $895,000

The following property transfers were re ported by the Cook County Clerk from April 2023. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the clerk.

Fair Oaks Ave

Acker Stephen Nicholas Billa Roberto

Madison St $820,000 Chicago Title Land Trust Co As Greenland Usa Llc Tr 8002357863 916 Hayes Ave $800,000 Tirman Michael Jones Kimberly

S Elmwood Ave $760,000 Mcmahon Nancy M Mowery Thomas 546 N Oak Park Ave

Ajax 2019-E Reo Corp Melis Aemilios P 1134 Rossell Ave

S Lyman Ave

Maddox Steven Fletcher Matthew Scott

Spruce And Douglas Llc Smith Allison Roberts

As Greenland Usa Llc Sparkle 1000 Llc

Dumelle Dorothy J Tr 101 Wolf John J

Dizon Angel Iii Barnett Scott

James E Fieser Brian

Thorgren Elin E Bell Nicolas 205 N Lombard Ave $680,000 Greco Zoe Tr Beile Bradley 835 N Cuyler Ave

Augusta St

Iowa St

N Lombard Ave

Prey Cynthia Alvertos Darice I

Putz Criag A Tr Rose Carolyn

Kozlowski Marek Kuehl Matthew

Fletcher Matthew S Castle Kyle S

Price Allison Meredith Cook-Ginn Kelly

Flanney Jeanne Vinaitheerthan Kannan 817 N Humphrey Ave $565,000 Leap Prop Inc Simon Blair

S Kenilworth Ave

1150 S Taylor Ave $564,000 P ederer Jordan Gay Jacob Devin 343 N Grove Ave $550,000 Kaman Rita M Wittekind Bryson 416 Washington Blvd $550,000 Gacem Movic Llc Pintado-Vertner Ryan 1218 N Marion St $550,000 Ulicny Robert Bacol Michael

N Ridgeland Ave $530,000 Ritzman Elizabeth Delphia Tr Cortes Aaron

Pleasant St $528,000 Wolowitz David Green Edward Iii

811 S Kenilworth Ave $515,000 Bell Robert A Jensen Colin A

828 S Lombard Ave $499,000 White Jordan Cohen Alyssa Rae

643 N Grove Ave $498,000 Loerzel James Moore Amanda C

S Humphrey Ave $477,000 Bernico Michael Scepura Spencer Graham 632 Home Ave $476,000 Goode Michael I Buhrke Peter

S Grove Ave $462,500 Zhang Tingwei Torres Jacqulin A 935 S Grove Ave $459,000 Sarikonda Anjamraj Navar Noe 174 N Humphrey Ave $440,000 Vernon

PROPER TY TR ANSFERS

RIVER FOREST

ADDRESS PRICE SELLER BUYER

Ken Trainor’s “Our Town Oak Park – Walk with Me, in Search of True Community”…

FOREST P ARK

ADDRESS PRICE SELLER BUYER

“… is like nding love letters at the bottom of a sock drawer. They are familiar but new, old yet young. They cover life’s spectrum: the grand, the small, the joyful, the sad. He has put into words the collective thoughts of our better selves. This is a book you will read many times.”

(McLouis Robinet)

“… takes us into the lives of its residents, to the benches and pathways of its parks, and the challenges and inspiration of a town working overtime to create COMMUNITY – not community as in a geographically de ned set of coordinates, but a sense of place that nurtures and sustains its residents.” (Rebekah Levin)

314 Lathrop Ave $130,000 Cisneros Ernesto Dex S Salazar Jose A

7320 Dixon St $128,000 The Judicial Sales Corp Pete Highland Rlty Ltd

600 Elgin Ave $125,000 Fannie Mae Garcia Miranda A

1008 Dunlop Ave $125,000 Worcester Mark Tr 106 Scolaro Debra S

315 Marengo Ave $115,000 First Midwest Bk Tr Ciura Krystyna

7713 Wilcox St $105,000 Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 041526 Rosca Gherorghe

“… invites readers to celebrate a simple, low-tech stroll around his hometown, discovering the fascinating villagers who make this community the eccentric, unique, cantankerous, and inspirational place it is for so many of us.” (Frank Lipo)

Join this “pedestrian friendly” journey of discovery (and rediscovery) through a community like no other yet, in essential ways, like all others.

“Our Town Oak Park” is available at the Book Table, the Oak Park River Forest History Museum, the Wright Home & Studio’s Ginkgo Tree Bookshop, the Oak Park Public Library, and online sites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

SPORTS

River Forest 14U so ball repeats state title

Little League Central region tourney starts July 20

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The River Forest Youth Baseball/Softball 14U softball team successfully defended its Little League state title July 11 in Brookfield.

The team opened the state tournament with three consecutive victories, but then lost 7-3 on July 11 to Sterling. However, River Forest defeated Sterling in the nightcap 18-0 to punch its ticket to the Little League Central Re gional Juniors tournament in Pendleton, Indiana, which begins July 20.

“It was fun,” said head coach Nick Samatas. “One of my other coaches, Steve Jasinski, and I have been coaching the kids in River Forest since they were 8 years old, so it was a great experience.”

The 14U team is comprised of the following players: C.C. D’Alise, Ava Dine, Katie Elza, Olivia Gall, Lily Harmon, Nicole Jasinski, Ella O’Brien, Ginny Redmond, Madeline Roginski, Grace Samatas (Nick’s daughter), Lilette Teclaw, and Charlie Terry. D’Alise, Jasinski and Grace Samatas were also part of last year’s state champions.

Scott Elza is the team’s other assistant coach.

“We’re having fun this year,” said Nick Samatas of the key to the team’s success. “The kids have a lot of defensive skills, so we just try to focus on our hitting.”

The 14U team also displ ayed fortitude after losing the first game to Sterling, which had to win twice since River Forest entered the day undefeated in the double-elimination format

“The first game, the girls were a little nervous,” Samatas said. “We talked to them and settled in, and they stepped up in the second game. It was great.”

River Forest now turns its attention to the Little League Central Re gional, which features teams from Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michig an, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Last year, the team won one of their three g ames, an experience Samatas

e River Forest Youth Baseball and So ball 14U so ball team holds the Illinois state championship banner July 11 a er defeating Sterling 18-0 to claim back-to-back state titles. e team plays in the Junior Little League Central Regional in Pendleton, Indiana from July 20-23, w ith the tournament w inner advancing to the World Series in Kirkland, Washing ton.

described as an “eye-opener.”

“There’s tough competition for sure; they’re all state champions,” he said.

“We’re focused on the hitting so much, because we’re going to see faster pitching. The defense is already there for our kids, and hopefully they’ll be ready to hit against some very good pitchers.”

Grace Samatas pitched for the Trinity High School varsity softball team this spring as a freshman and acquitted herself well. Nick Samatas feels that experience

will help this week.

“Grace went from travel ball to seveninning games for Trinity,” he said. “She got stronger and her stamina improved, and she doesn’t give up in the circle. Grace’s play with the older girls helped us a lot.”

River Forest opens up double-elimination play July 20 against a team from Michigan at 11:30 a.m. The game can be seen on ESPN Plus as well as the GameChanger app. The tournament runs through July 23, with the champion advancing to the Junior

Little League Softball World Series, which takes place July 30 through Aug. 5 in Kirkland, Washington.

The team is asking members of the community to help defray the travel costs. If you’re interested in making a donation, you can mail checks to the following address:

River Forest Youth Baseball and Softball, P.O. Box 5225, River Forest, 60305. On the check, write 14U Girls Softball in the memo area.

DENA SAMATA S

New OPRF girls hoops coach focuses on collective

Shimko looking to rebuild struggling program at all levels

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

The 2022-23 season was a very difficult one for the Oak Park and River Forest High School varsity girls basketball team as the Huskies won just two of their 33 games

Afterwards, head coach Carlton Rosemond stepped down after two years.

OPRF Athletic Director Nicole Ebsen took her time finding Rosemond’s replacement, and the District 200 Board of Education approved the hiring of George Shimko at its meeting June 22.

“It’s awesome. I feel very grateful and lucky, and I want to thank Nicole for this opportunity,” Shimko said in an interview with Wednesday Journal. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Shimko comes from St Laurence, where he established the girls basketball program after the school became coed in 2017. In six seasons, he guided the Vikings to a 94-80 record

Prior to that, Shimko coached for four years at Queen of Peace, the now-shuttered all-girls school that for merly stood directly east of St. Laurence. During his first season, the Pride won just two games, but in his fourth season, which was also Queen of Peace’s last, they won a school-record 28.

OPRF has struggled over the last several years, with its last winning season coming in 2015-16, when the Huskies finished 17-14. But Shimko said he’ll use his experiences at both Queen of Peace and St. Laurence to try to reverse the Huskies’ fortunes.

“The opportunity sounded great to me,” he said. “I have a history of building up programs, and I want to do something productive at OPRF.”

A 1974 graduate of St. Rita High School, Shimko, 66, still plays competitive basketball. At last year’s Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, he helped lead his team, Total Pack-

age, to the silver medal in the 65-plus division. In the final, Shimko scored 18 points and dished out 10 assists. This came after a 23-point, 12-assist effort in the semifinal.

He is also founder of the George Shimko Basketball School. Entering its’30th year, the school has helped over 1,500 male and female players improve their skills.

“My background helps me with my coaching,” Shimko said. “I got cut in high school, not making the varsity. But I was the only player to get scholarship [to St. Xavier University]. Then play ing overseas [with Vejas, onto-based team] against ussian national team. used those experiences to understand what players ha to go through to get better.” ko said he wants to culture in which play coaches are strivin ward a collective goal.

No place for hazing in sports at any level

While I have never coached, I have long admired those who do, especially head coaches. To me, the men and women who are in those positions wear a couple of hats. Not only must they develop strategies and plans to put their teams in the best position to win on the field, court, pool, ice or mat, they must also develop cultures that are conducive to physical and mental growth.

Which is why the situation involving Pat Fitzgerald came as a sur prise to me. I always thought Fitzgerald, who was relieved of his head football coaching duties at Northwestern University July 10, was a good guy who had control of his team (and as an Illinois alumnus that’s not easy for me to write).

But his 17-year career came to a sudden end in a matter of days. On July 7, Northwestern University president Michael Schill announced Fitzgerald would be suspended for two weeks after an investigation reealed that some of his players hazed some teammates. s just say some of the activities described in the were lewd in nature.

PROVIDED

“It’s not about me, it’s about ,” Shimko said. “It’s about we can do together tha allows us to do great thing and that’s always been my philosophy as a player, coach, and teacher.”

And, that’s not just for the level. Shimko wants elop all of his players, at each program level.

“I’ve always looked at a program as one unit, not as varsity, sophomore or freshman teams,” he said. “The idea is to build as one and watch the girls grow from freshmen into upperclassmen. Then it’s on the upperclassmen to teach the underclassmen what it’s like to reach the varsity. If you get the players to understand how important it is to see each other do well, that’s how you build a solid program.”

Shimko said it’s going to require some patience to turn around the Huskies. He’d like to see the program take baby steps forward this coming year and will encourage the best female studentathletes to come out for the team.

“At a school this size, there are a lot of athletes that didn’t want to play basketball for whatever reason,” said Shimko. “I want to show them it’s going to be a great environment for players to come in and enjoy the sport. There’s absolutely a place for multi-sport athletes, and we can build something solid to be proud of.”

Schill explained that the reason Fitzgerald was susended was that, although the investigation couldn’t find evidence he directly knew what was going on, it was his responsibility as head coach to find out. over that weekend, several players described the hazing culture prevalent on the team in graphic detail, and that Fitzgerald himself was complicit in fostering that culture. Moreover, allegations of racism in the am emerged. Some Black players said they had to cut their hair straight or

d and said on July 8 he made a mistake with Fitzgerald’s original punishment. Two days later, he fired him as more details regarding hazing and racism came out.

My opinion is that if you are a head coach, the buck stops with you. I know it’s virtually impossible to keep up with every single thing that happens in a locker room, but if you’re a true leader, you try to find out if there’s anything amiss.

Whether or not Fitzgerald knew what was happening is frankly irrelevant at this point; he showed a true lack of leadership, which is the top attribute of a coach. After all that emerged, there’s no way Fitzgerald could remain in his position.

There is simply no reason or excuse for hazing to go on in any sport at any level. Doesn’t matter if it’s college, high school or professional. Every young man and woman who participates as athletes should always feel confident that their physical and mental well-being will be protected. When it isn’t, that means leadership at the top is lacking

I’m glad Oak Park and River Forest, Fenwick, Trinity, Riverside-Brookfield and Lyons Township High Schools along with Nazareth Academy are on my beat. This will be my seventh year doing sports for Growing Community Media, and I feel the coaches and administrators at those institutions would never allow this stuff to happen.

Finally, to the student-athletes: Don’t be like the Northwestern football players. Hazing has dire long-term consequences -- especially mentally -- for those being abused. It is not a team-bonding activity; rather, it sows division.

As you prepare for the season to begin, do what’s right and be good to yourselves and your teammates. Do that, and the year will be successful regardless of the results

George Shimko is the new varsity girls basketball head coach at Oak Park and River Forest High School. He comes from St. Laurence, where he went 94-80.

The do’s of donuts

Woes of a techno dork

My family teases me about certain things I do that harken back to the horse and bugg y era. For example, my most enjoyable time of day is the mor ning, sitting with my coffee, brewed in my old electric percolator. As I sip my co ffee, I read a printed copy of the daily newspaper that’s been delivered to my front door. The newspaper company frequently offers me “deals” if I switch to digital service, but I resist.

I don’ t text, tweet, or use any tphone features a smar tphone, as a “dumb user.” I am also the riginal computer dummy. The bytes, and tes remains foreign to labored stages, tried to join the n about gies, ter minolog y, and usage. For years I refused to use a microwave oven.

My reasoning was twofold: “What’s the rush?” and “I f I were org anized in my food preparation, there’d be no need for it.” However, when I became so busy with my day-to-day activities, I decided to give it a try. Now I’m the Microwave Queen, using it every day.

In an ef fort to help me “catch up” to life tod ay, my son and daughter bought me a computer about 15 years ago. Realizing it is of no value unless I lear n how to use it, I signed up for a course at Triton Colle ge designed to teach older adults how to use the device. T he first day of class was a warm one in late August. As we students be g an assembling, we chatted with one another, and I realized that, to some extent, most of them had been using the computer. I immediately felt intimidated, but I stayed, determined to do this.

As our instructor entered the room, he smilingly greeted us and said, “OK, let’s star t by opening some windows!” I was seated next to a bank of windows so yes, you guessed it … I got up and dutifully tried to open one. As I did this, the room filled with uproarious laughter. I was so embar rassed by their reaction to my ter rible misunderstanding that I quickly grabbed my purse and left the room —— never to retur n!

An open letter to President Scaman and Board Members, Village of Oak Park:

The news is out that the Oak Park Board of Trustees is seriously considering demolishing village hall, designed by noted architect Har ry Weese and building a new building.

I was there at the conce ption. As the project manager (administrative lead) for the project in 1973 and 1974, I know the building well. I am aware of many problems inherent in the design, most especially the barriers to accessibility. Twenty years before the ADA became law, we were not the only ones insensitive to our mobilitylimited citizens. That is not an excuse.

Tearing down the building is a very poor solution. There are alternatives. I suggest you retain an architect with a strong design reputation and a proven re-

cord of sensitivity to historic preservation. Give him the list of problems and see what can be done.

Consider the very high cost of demolition and new construction (not to mention the environmental cost). You could af ford radical changes to the building at a small fraction of the cost — much greener too. And these can be done while keeping the essence of the original design.

Here are a few ideas that the architect might consider:

■ Get everything on the main floor on one level. This may mean redoing all of the raised level floors, or perhaps raising the lower aisle with one, long easy ramp.

■ The interior and exterior entrances to the Council

Oak Park Village Hall

Oak Park’s gun safety e ort

Oak Park has been a proud national leader on gun safety since the 1980s. From its groundbreaking ban on ownership of handguns in the village, which was passed in 1984, to battling and narrowly losing that ban in a 2010 Supreme Cour t ruling, Oak Park has stood up for the rights of citizens to be safe from gun violence.

Now the village is back at it

On July 5 the Oak Park Village Board unanimously approved a gun safety ordinance with two parts. One aspect focuses on requiring the safe storage of firear ms within the village. The other allows the village to conduct gun buybacks aimed at taking firearms of f the street.

Yes, these are modest initiatives taken within the limits the current Supreme Court might well allow within its warped interpretation of the Second Amendment. Still, it is notable that this small town in the Midwest is staying true to its conviction that the flood of handguns, mostly illegally obtained or loosely re gulated, overtaking our wider Chicago community is a public health hazard.

Standing up for gun safety measures, even modest ones, is a bold statement that Oak Park is not buying into the gun-buying frenzy which has swept this nation over the past dozen years.

Credit goes to the village board, to Chief Shatonya Johnson who called the proliferation of guns a “public health crisis,” and to the local Gun Responsibility Advocates and Moms Demand Action groups, who have been steadfast in kee ping a focus on the necessity of common-sense gun safety measures.

Back in 1985, the NRA pumped massive funds into a handgun ban referendum held in Oak Park. It sought to swamp the local ef fort to uphold the village government’s handgun ban. The vote was nar rowly won by gun safety proponents. Nearly 40 years later, the NRA is still pumping money into friendly political hands and defending the unfettered rights of gun manufacturers and gun sellers to further the mayhem of guns in America.

Oak Park’s action is a small light in a dark moment. Which makes it all the more impressive

anks to Gavin Morgan

Over time, this page has advocated for the abolition of township gover nments in Illinoi s. In a state with the claim to fame of having the most units of local gover nment in America, eliminating townships seems a logical step in defense of taxpayers.

That position, of course, included eliminating both Oak Park and River Forest township gover nments. T he concept, which we have not been alone in pushing, would fold the social services that are the focus of local townships into the local village halls .

Our ardor for this p osition has softened some over time, simply because the q uality of the services of fered by our local townships, the ef for ts they have made to blend some services b etween the village s, and the overall thriftiness of the townships is p lai n to see

Gavin Morgan, Oak Park Township’s manager for the past 15 years, g ets some of that credit. And so we wish him well as he depar ts to become village administrator in Indian Head Park.

A wake-up call for the unwoke

According to my online dictionary, the word “woke” means “alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination.” Where I come from, that’s considered a good thing. I’m not sure where Ron DeSantis is from, but he is presently governor of Florida, wants to be president of the whole country, and considers being alert to and concerned about social injustice a bad thing.

He is deeply anti-woke. Where I come from, that’s defined as someone who is asleep — with a big “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door. To run for president on a platform of being deeply committed to staying asleep while encouraging everyone else to stay aslee p, seems like an odd reason to run for president. From “Don’t Tread on Me!” to “Don’t Disturb My Beauty Sleep!”

But that’s still an improvement over DeSantis’ campaign slogan back in 2018 when he first ran for gover nor against an African American candidate in a tight race and told his mostly white supporters, “Don’t monkey this up!” Whatever could he have meant by that? But his racist dog whistle evidently worked well enough because he won and still opposes being alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination, having championed bills that prohibit teaching about social injustice and discrimination because he doesn’t want the enchanted sleep of his constituency to be disturbed by any discussions that might “monkey up” the selfesteem of white students and/or their parents.

He also hates Walt Disney — even though he has something in common with Sleeping Beauty (and it isn’t Beauty). And he’s also a cartoon character.

I keep hoping the media will wake up and start asking candidate DeSantis to explain what he means by the term “monkey up,” but I’m not hopeful. The national media is asleep as well.

“Stay woke,” on the other hand, is a long-established term among African Americans, going all the way back to the 1930s. According to Wikipedia, it was used by Lead Belly in his song “Scottsboro Boys” in 1938, and the Oxford Dictionary traces it back to a 1962 article in the New York Times.

“Woke” was revived following the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 and George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the Black Lives Matter movement that arose in response to those and other killings of unarmed Black men and women, which certainly woke me from my enchanted slee p. It’s hard to believe that every other white American wasn’t aroused by these “wake up” calls, but denial of reality seems to be a central feature of the Staying Asleep Matters movement.

I don’t consider myself “woke” because I’m not

yet fully awake. But I’m more awake than I used to be and grateful for the awakening.

It’s not sur prising, I guess, that those who stubbornly resist waking up should cling with such deter mination to their slee pwalking because our white-dominant society can no longer be so easily justified and rationalized by the traditional method of making people of color feel inferior. Which doesn’t stop many from trying. They have co-opted and twisted the rhetoric of self-esteem (muzzling classroom teachers and banning books), free speech (limiting gover nment communication with social media companies), freedom of religion (business bigotry over LGBTQ+ rights and restricting re productive rights), and equality (over tur ning af firmative action), all to maintain their cultural privile ges. They are adamantly opposed to addressing inequality if it means limiting the privileg es white people have enjoyed for centurie s.

Yes, the last thing they want to do is wake up.

So the call goes out endlessly to the slee ping masses, “We’ve got a good thing going. Don’t monkey this up,” despite the fact that they are sinking, along with the Good Ship Superiority — the leaky vessel for merly known as the Re publican Party — and they know it, so they grasp at words like “woke” which they can ridicule, calling those who are awake “the woke mob” because really they don’t have much left in their playbook — other than overturning democracy altogether. Misogyny, racism, and economic inequality just aren’t as effective at sustaining an underclass as they used to be.

Of course, they resent those who are in the process of waking up. They claim the woke are looking down on them. “We are the oppressed,” they say, “and the woke are the oppressors. We’re not on top, they are.”

The privileged always imagine themselves a victimized underclass. “You woke people think you’re so morally superior. You’re the elite, not us. People of color are not the underprivileged, we are.”

Martin Luther King defined a dream 60 years ago next month, and the anti-woke have one too. It’s the dream of a white majority enjoying its privileges because, hell, they worked hard for them and earned them, and anyone who doesn’t have them didn’t work hard enough.

And that’s a dream from which they definitely do not want to be awakened.

So they dream on, blissfully undisturbed by the pesky Paul Reveres of social justice.

Ready to ride through village and farm sounding the alarm clock.

Seriously? Demolish village hall?

Everyone knows, and accepts, that we need a new police station. It was meant to be temporary, and it looks it. That is not a controversy. A vote to pursue the destruction of Oak Park Village Hall, on the other hand, is disturbing. What are they thinking? Every time I go to village hall, I marvel at the openness, the angularity, and uniqueness. Designed by the renowned architect Harry Weese, it is significant enough to be on the National Re gister of Historic Places! As a longtime resident of Oak Park, I have taken pride in our community being ahead of the curve. We take pride in our architectural heritage. Village hall is a unique architectural modernist landmark for Oak Park and, really, it’s the only major example of quality modernist architecture in the village.

Love it or hate it, that fact remains.

Too many in our community only want buildings to reflect the FLW era of 1880-1940 to be “contextual.” Anything else is unimportant. That mindset seems to have been at play when the trustees voted to prioritize the scenario for destruction of village hall. That architecture isn’t what they care about. Really?

Oak Park strives to be a leader in environmental adaptations to battle climate change. We work to embrace our values of diversity, tolerance, and servic e. I never thought I would see our village trustees try to destroy our architectural heritage while simultaneously being environmentally destructive. Demolishing buildings to build anew is near the bottom of preferred environmental practices. We talk a lot about preservation, restoration, and maintenance of our buildings in Oak Park. Why doesn’t that apply to a mid-century modernist landmark?

An alternative that was seemingly dismissed is the preservation/restoration and environmental upgrading of village hall. The possibilities are many: solar, geothermal, ther mal windows, more and better insulation, and many other options. It would require creativity, money and time, but wouldn’t it be worth it to show our community is committed to our values? Would those costs exceed the $140M to destroy village hall?

The timing is right to obtain federal and state funding for environmental improvements. Given the possibility of getting federal grant funding for the environmental upgrades, the costs may not be as exorbitant as they appear.

Another suggestion: Build the new police station on the present heat island, eyesore parking lot next to the village hall. Put the parking into the lower stories — or even better, underground. The closer proximity to village hall would seem to be an advantage. The neighborhood could keep its green space. Better yet, give it to the park district to upgrade to a nice pocket park.

Terry Grace

edo’s of donuts

Donuts are a unique part of the Oak Park Far mers Market. You may wonder how and why the sale of donuts started. When I asked Lee Capps, a member of the Donut Committee and a Pilg rim Church member for over 30 years, he shared some of the history:

“On the first market day in 1976, three Pilgrim members spent a Saturday morning around a home fryer, cooking three donuts (and holes) at a time from Pillsbury biscuits with the centers cut out. The church netted $65 and decided to continue. For several years the entire operation was done in the church kitchen with three or four Pilgrim members sugaring and powdering the donuts Members would come in at 6 a.m. to set things up, and frequently stayed until noon to clean up. A few youngsters served as runners, and the minister occasionally served as the cashier. It was a lot of work to do every Saturday, but members were committed to raising money for church outreach and building maintenance. The church also enjoyed playing host to the community, a benefit they had not anticipated.”

Now there is a restaurant-quality fryer in the kitchen and, during the season, Pilgrim hosts the donut operation from 3:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The church provides full staffing for six of those Saturdays, and other organizations staff the remaining Saturdays under the supervision of Pilgrim shift captains. It requires 37 people for the donut operation each Saturday. Donut making is serious business and there are job descriptions and a procedure manual.

The donuts are not only sweet to eat, but the profits enable area nonprofits, community groups, schools, civic groups, service organizations and churches to raise money for their own organizations

Capps also noted that, “In 2023, twenty other nonprofits are using donut sales to raise money for their missions and creating more visibility in the community. The revenue from the sales goes to cover costs, and the net is split between contributing to Pilgrim Church’s mission and the work of partner volunteer groups.”

When asked about the popularity of the donuts, Capps said, “It seems that people appreciate a good donut made by hand with ‘loving care.’ The donuts are fried cake donuts, made from mix and water, served coated in powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar or plain, so there’s nothing extraordinary about the product, but they are consistently high quality.” The donuts come in bags of three or boxes of a dozen.

“On the last Saturday of the season,” Capps added, “wider variety is offered, including varied combinations of chocolate batter, chocolate frosted, and apple frosted. It’s typically a feeding frenzy on that day. Many people love to sit in the shade at the Far mers Market with their coffee, donuts, and friends and listen to folk and bluegrass music. It’s an Oak Park tradition, and families grow up with the anticipation of getting their Pilgrim donuts at the market.”

I, too, like to eat a cinnamon donut while I’m sitting and listening to music. In next month’s story, I’ll focus on the background and behind the scenes of the Oak Park Farmers Market Band.

Joy Aaronson is an Oak Park resident, regular Oak Park Farmers Market shopper, and volunteer at the market. She has contributed to Chicago Parent and written the Kids’ World column for the former Logan Square Free Press

Oak Park

If you could save lives, would you do it?

Public comments recently deli vered at a Village of Oak Park Board of Trustees meeting:

I am Rev. Michael Hayes, and I am here in my capacity as a staff chaplain of the Department of Spiritual Care at Loyola University Medical Center, a position it has been my pleasure to hold for over 9½ years.

MICHAEL HAYES

One View

As one who provides care to gunshot victims and their families, I can tell you that the staff of our Emergency Medicine and Trauma teams celebrate whenever our ef for ts successfully help a patient survive from gunshot fire, and we cry when our ef forts are in vain. When we cannot save someone, the pain is palpable and the futility of this meaningless loss of life leaves us feeling hollow inside

For too long, we have waited for lasting, commonsense policies that would help us stem the tide of this public health crisis in the community we love. We can wait no longer. For too many of our citizens, tomorrow is not guaranteed. There is no time to wait.

I remind everyone what we as care givers do, and why we see this moment as an urgent one. Hospital care givers support individuals and families through devastating loss every day. Gun violence attacks traumatize whole families with misery, anger, fear, shock, and life-altering stress, and it is unremitting in its re gularity.

There is no denying that certain of our patients are law breakers. We care for them to the best of our ability while law enforcement waits for the proper time to take them into custody, but the gun violence epidemic we have in metropolitan Chicago robs from all, with impunity! We have also cared for innocent bystanders, for people whose only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time of the wrong outbreak of gunfire. Our mission is to care for every person who walks through our doors and to extend that same compassion to their families.

I urge the board of village trustees to have the courage to listen to the various voices of victims of gun

violence. Listen, as we have, to the voice of the boy who discovered an unsecured handgun while playing at home with his little sister. They both were brought to our hospital. She went immediately to our Operating Room because she had been shot. He went to our Emergency Department because the powerful recoil of the weapon struck him in his face. She did not survive her injury He survived his.

But have the courage to listen to his words when he asked his doctors at discharge, “Will my sister be OK?”

If by passing a measure requiring that all firearms be secured with gun locks, you could save that young girl’s life, would you save it?

Mandatory gun locks and gun buyback programs are effective tools that make common sense. Gun locks save lives because they eliminate accidental discharges — accidental discharges like the one that happened when a friend of my uncle discovered his unsecured service revolver in the dining room buffet as they were setting the table for dinner. She spun around on her heels and joked, “Stick ’em up!’ and accidentally killed my uncle

Imagine the irony: He had survived the Korean War only to be killed by his own service revolver after coming back home!

Imagine the thousands of tragic re grets she must have had over that one innocent joke. If, with one stroke of a pen, you could make sure that every soldier’s pistol in Oak Park was rendered inoperable without a key to release its gun lock, would you secure them?

If you could make sure that families of deceased soldiers, families of deceased police officers or deceased hunters had an easy and familiar buyback program for taking their unwanted firearms out of circulation, would you create it?

The time to act is now. These common-sense policies will save lives from Day One.

Let’s save lives in the village of Oak Park now!

St. Edmund School building is not ‘unsafe’

In a Wednesday Journal article re garding The Children’s School’s move to their new home at First Baptist Church [News, July 5], it was stated that their move out of the St. Edmund School building was due to the school building being “declared structurally unsafe.”

That is inaccurate

Most certainly, just like with any of our older homes, there are going to be yearly maintenance, re pair, and restoration requirements for that historic and beautiful school building and some of those re pair require-

ments have been recently discussed publicly. However, the St. Edmund school building has been certified annually for use after passing rigorous safety inspections conducted by the village of Oak Park.

It can’t be stressed strongly enough that no one from the Ascension and St. Edmund faith community would ever allow a single day of activity in one of our campus buildings that was deemed unsafe for use.

Tom Wheeler Ascension and St. Edmund parishioner Former St. Edmund Parish Council president

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Development Services should foster climate action Practicality over luxury

I am not going to deny that Oak Park Village Hall needs to be replaced. I acknowledge that the subject matter experts — the people who work in it every day — would be able to determine this much better than I can. I just hope that if it is determined that we ultimately need a new building, we end up getting a boring old cheap building for this use.

I am sure people will come out of the woodwork clamoring for something “architecturally significant” or “interesting,” ignoring that this is how we got to the point where we need to re place the current building. This is how our town ended up with the world’s fanciest garage and will eventually end up with the $100 million pool voters rejected previously.

Let’s just build a boring old tilt-up building like the ones literally millions of people in our re gion work in every day! Make it functional and flexible instead of fancy. Give the taxpayers of Oak Park a break for once.

Before you support a fancy and expensive building, remember that we are gaining an increasing-by-the-day quantity of Oak Park residents who literally have no home to live in. The time has come for practicality over luxury.

Don Anderson, Oak Park

Where was Medill on the hazing stor y?

I have been following the fallout from the Northwestern University “hazing” story and its football program. Quite the sensational piece of red meat for the Medill cadets. Did coach know, and if he didn’t, why not? The local media — especially WSCR and AM 1000 — mostly expressed shock. Then the non-sport news outlets sank their teeth into it. Quickly the initial two-week suspension of coach became dismissal of coach. Some tenured faculty are demanding a proposed upgrade of Ryan Field be ashcanned. Sure NU’s head coach makes faculty salaries seem like chump change. I wonder why that is?

Hmmm.

Right now, no one can say with any certainty — or proof — that coach was aware or not. But sensation sells, as always. And now that coach has hired a powerhouse law firm and arguably its most skilled attorney, the narrative shifts dramatically. My guess is NU will cough up many millions of dollars to make it all go away without going to court, where “innocent until proven guilty” takes over. No way NU dares invite the inevitable lawsuit to proceed

Whether or not the allegations are true doesn’t matter to me. The story galls me from a different perspective, however. Medill can brag about its journalism program, but where real journalism counts the most, it does not even exist. If it did, it would not have fawned over Donald Trump instead of hounding him into exile back in 2015.

No school of journalism has produced a Woodward or Bernstein since the Post brought down Richard Nixon. We don’t live in that journalistic world any longer. Probably never will again. Real barbarians are at the gate. Print and electronic “journalism” loves it, the truth and facts be damned. Sensation sells while rational thinkers get sold out. Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable? Not in Mayberry. Or in Evanston.

Joe Harrington, Oak Park

The following letter was sent to Village Manager Kevin Jackson:

On behalf of the Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN), I am writing to advocate for the hiring of a director of Development Services who is dedicated to promoting climate action, sustainability, affordability, and transit/bike-ability/walkability within our vibrant community

We acknowledge the retirement of Tammie Grossman, and commend her years of service and dedication to Oak Park’s development and urban design. As we face a critical juncture with the restructuring of the department, it is essential to seize this opportunity to appoint a visionary leader who can shape the next 5-10 years and beyond, guiding our village towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.

The responsibilities outlined in the job description for the Development Services director position make clear how important this leadership role will be in realizing our collective aspirations. The director will oversee crucial departments such as zoning, development, urban design, building codes, and parking. Each of these areas hold potential for advancing bold policy changes that are essential to achieving the goals set forth in Oak Park’s Climate Action Plan.

As you know, our country is grappling with a climate crisis, an affordable housing crisis, and a traffic safety crisis, among other challenges. Oak Park has also experienced these problems. However, our community has a rich history of pro-actively addressing crises, guided by a commitment to inclusivity and integration that dates back to the 1960s and

1970s.

Now is the time for Oak Park to reassert its leadership and set an example for municipalities across the region and the nation. In light of the growing recognition of the need for reform, numerous communities are re-evaluating their zoning laws, parking restrictions, and building codes to promote climate-smart building practices, foster more af fordable housing, and reduce reliance on cars. To maintain our true community character and demonstrate our values, we must lead rather than follow.

Therefore, we urge you to hire a director of Development Services who not only possesses the necessary qualifications but also embodies the goals of our Climate Ready Plan. We need an individual who recognizes the urgency of climate action, sustainability, af fordability, and is committed to a walkable, bike-able, transit-oriented village This leader should be prepared to advocate for these critical issues and drive progressive change in our village.

By selecting a director of Development Services who is committed to our shared goals, Oak Park can become a shining example of a community that successfully balances growth, climate and equity This hire represents a crucial opportunity to lay the foundation for a sustainable and resilient future for all residents

We are ready and eager to support the village’s effor ts in any way we can. Together we can create a thriving community that fulfills its commitment to cur rent and future generations

Oak Park Climate Ac tion Network (OPCAN)

Keep trying in the battle against plastic

Throughout Plastic Free July, we’ve of fered ideas to develop new plastic “freer” habits. Don’t give up! And don’t feel guilty when you mess up. We’ve all been there: when trying to create a new habit, we revert to old habits and feel bad.

It might take some of us 2-3 years to learn to remember to take a reusable bag into the supermarket and to ask restaurant staf f what type of takehome container they have and, if it’s plastic, to wrap the food in foil instead. And how many times have we forgotten to say no to straws or plastic utensils? Plenty! And when the cashier has already taken out a plastic bag and we say, “No plastic!” we know that the now-crumpled plastic bag we reject will not get reused but trashed. It still happens! Sometimes we are just not fast enough. Sigh!

The goal is to keep trying. We do better each time

we mess up. It’s a learning experience. When we mess up, the Earth says, “Thanks for trying. You’re going in the right direction.” And every time we do remember, the Earth sends a big, “Thank you!”

Here are a couple of new ideas to leave you with:

Keep the plastic or even compostable plastic produce bags to reuse the next time you go shopping. Rinse and dry them if necessary and put them in your car or reusable shopping bag so you’ll have them on your next shopping trip. Remember, reusing is good! Not using is even better: you can invest in reusable cloth or mesh bags (Trader Joe’s sells them) and skip the plastic altogether.

Come to our meetings to support each other all year long. Contact goplasticfree1@gmail.com

Phyllis Rubin, Wendy Greenhouse Go Plastic Free

e greenest village hall already exists

The greenest building is one that already exists. Central to this argument is the concept of embodied energ y, which is the total amount of energy and associated greenhouse gas emissions that go into the material extraction, fabrication, construction, and operation of a building. The preservation and reuse of historic buildings is thus inherently sustainable: it reduces the consumption of resources and materials, creates less waste to put in landfills, and embodies less energy than demolishing buildings and rebuilding anew.

In this context, the village board’s recent 5-2 vote in favor of seeking demolition of Oak Park Village Hall, and Village President Vicki Scaman’s stated preference to avoid “putting more money into an old car,” run counter to the village’s sustainability goals.

Allocating resources and design ingenuity to update the existing village hall is exactly what we should do. As to the noted accessibility and mechanical system concerns, unsurprising for a building of this vintage, these are architectural problems that, while more difficult to conceive than a new building, are certainly not impossible nor unprecedented.

As a community that prides itself on environmental stewardship and the cultural value of architecture, we must confront the uncomfortable realization that building new is environmentally indefensible, particularly when there is an option to renovate an existing facility, and an architecturally notable one at that.

Lee Bey reminded us recently in the Sun-Times that Harry Weese’s 1975 design was “nationally hailed as a symbol of gover nment transparency” and is deservedly listed on the National Re gister of Historic Places

T he village is ill-served by an architectural consultant that recommends the demolition of this ele g ant landmark for new construction and should instead seek more creative strategies that sustainably adapt the existing building to the village ’s needs. Doing so would allow Oak Park to once ag ain set a national example on this site, showcasing sustainable civic design through the adaptive reuse of a historic landmark.

Paul Dolick Senior lecturer, Department of Architecture School of the Art Institute of Chica go

DRING

from page 22

chamber are not only inaccessible but they are not very friendly. If a simpler solution cannot be found, perhaps it would be necessary to remove that small addition and create a new building with grade and floor level access points. If you do this, there may be other

Save the village green!

Nestled among the lively streets of Oak Park, there exists a park south of the current village hall fondly known as “the village green.” It has served as a cherished sanctuary for generations of families, offering abundant greenery and open space that supports a thriving ecosystem, including bees, butterflies, birds, squirrels and rabbits. The air resonates with the joyful laughter of children. The park has become a haven for picnics, outdoor games, and the creation of cherished memories. Throughout the years, children have reveled in the thrill of flying kites, found solace in stargazing, and sought knowledge under the comforting shade of the park’s trees

RICHARD WILLIS

One View

Preserving open park space in Oak Park is of utmost importance due to its rarity, ensuring that it endures for the benefit of future generations. Opting for the easiest solution will not lead to the optimal outcome

I propose an alter native solution, one that upholds public safety while safeguarding the park’s essence — renovate the existing police space and, if necessary, explore underutilized space within the current village hall and in other existing Oak Park buildings. Opportunities to acquire land along Madison Street for future use have arisen over the past 50 years but have gone untapped. I implore the village board to refrain from penalizing the children of Oak Park by eliminating their park

Unfortunately, a recent proposal presented to Oak Park’s village board has deeply unsettled neighborhood families. The plan entails transforming this treasured park into a concrete structure, intruding upon the very space that has brought immeasurable happiness to the community. Moreover, the park has served as an essential buffer, shielding the neighborhood from the bustling activity emanating from village hall.

The news of the current proposal is swiftly spreading, leaving neighborhood families distraught. They hold a profound appreciation for the park’s tranquility, recognizing its role as an escape from the concrete jungle that envelops them.

Parents dread the thought of relinquishing this cherished sanctuary to the coldness of an impersonal concrete structure that would not only fail to preserve the essence of the park but also exacerbate climate change.

HAUSMAN

from page 22

Since then, I’ve rece ived some guidance from the Rive r Fo rest Public Library and, of course, from my children, gr andchildren … and great-gr andchildren.

T he good news is, I now kn ow

problems you can solve at the same time

■ Providing an accessible and friendly entrance for the parking lot will be a challenge but look at I.M. Pei’s new visitor entrance to the Louvre in the form of a pyramid. It not only provides the functions, but it is a beautiful piece by itself and is respectful of the old buildings. (I am not proposing an actual pyramid.)

Some ideas may work and some do not. I am sure there are others. These are radical, expensive ideas, but they would be a bargain

I believe a win-win solution can be attained, one that fulfills the needs of the community while preserving the sanctity of the village green. I strongly advocate for careful deliberation, urging the pursuit of a solution that prioritizes public safety while safeguarding the ir replaceable space that has nurtured both mental and physical well-being and fostered a profound sense of community togetherness

With unwavering determination, neighborhood families stand united, their voices echoing through the streets of Oak Park. They hold hope that their impassioned plea will be heard, that the village board will acknowledge the significance of the village green and work toward a solution that both safeguards the park and ensures the safety of the community.

Richard Willis is a past Oak Park Township trustee and Community Mental Health Board member

how to use email. Howeve r, that’s about it. I am reluctant to par ta ke in other computer activities and b enefits li ke most folks do Fo r example, there’s no wo rd processing for me. I pen these weekly c olumns, scribbling aw ay with pa d of paper in hand — after wh ich, my daughter Barbara types them for submission.

I continue to most appreciate

compared to demolition. Some purists probably think that there should be no changes to a “perfect” design. I am not one of them. I don’t think Harry was either A not so minor other issue is the police facility. It never should have been in the basement in the first place but this was not the architect’s idea. A new building is probably appropriate.

I completely understand the embarrassment and frustration that the board and staff must face every day, trying to explain

sending and receiving a handw ritten note or a phone call more than any digital message or phoned elive red text. So the old fo gey still exists in me, but with ef fo rt , at the tender age of 99 year s, I still have time to catch up to the present!

As far as we know, Harriet Hausman, of Ri v er Fo re st, is still th e eldest newspaper columnist in th e country, possibly the world.

the lack of accessibility and some of the make-do solutions. But if you use your imagination, you may be able to have a truly functional facility and keep the charming, beautiful and historic building.

If a solution cannot be found, well, that is another story. I admire your desire and your diligence in trying to solve a long festering problem.

Bill Dring, a nearly 80-year resident of Oak Park, now lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Christopher Day Hunter, 52

Digital marketer

Christopher Day

Hunter, 52, died on June 28, 2023 from cancer in Oak Park. He slipped away peacefully at home with his family by his side. Born on Nov. 7, 1970 in Iowa City, Iowa to Thomas Hunter and Anne (Vicars) Hunter, the family moved to Ohio when he was a young boy. After graduating from Westerville North High School in Westerville, Ohio in 1989. He initially attended colle ge at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, then transfer red to the University of Chicago. After his first year in Chicago, he took a leave of absence to raise his son, Dylan, with his former spouse Amy Worsham. During that time, he had various jobs, including building train cars, assembling Honda motorcycles, and cable TV re pairs. He later returned to the University of Chicago and graduated with a de gree in English with double honors in 1999.

After colle ge, he began his career in digital marketing, working for top companies, including Electrolux, Nationwide Insurance, Sears, Valvoline, Jackson Hewett, and

JP Morgan. His most recent position was vice president of Digital Marketing for Good Feet.

Well-known for his infectious sense of humor, he enjoyed sharing the best food and drink with great friends, even if it meant waiting in line for hours in the rain. He eling and tending his ve getable garden.

On May 20, 2012, he married Jennifer Troyer. Surviving in addition to his wife is their daughter, Violet; their sons, Dylan and Owen; his daughter, Sylvia, with his for mer spouse; his sister, Leigh Hunter; his half-sister, Paige Hunter; his half-brother, Andrew Hunter; and his stepmother, Kate Hunter. His mother and father preceded him in death.

A memorial service was held on July 8 at Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home in Forest Park

In lieu of flowers, donations to the colle ge funds of his children, Owen, Sylvia, and Violet can be made at https://www.gofundme. com/christopher- hunter-memorial-fund.

Dean Sedgwick, 74 Engineer, judo champion

Dean Sedgwick, 74, for mer of Oak Park, died on July 8, 2023. Born in Oak Park on Jan. 20, 1949, he attended Grace Lutheran School in River Forest and Oak Park and River Forest High School. He gr uated from the Illinois Institute of Technolo gy in Civil Engineerin and was a re gistered professional engineer, designing and constructing power plants from nuclear to biomass. In the highly technical Engineering Mechanics Division of Sargent & Lundy, he met his wife, Sally Sedwick, who worked in the fledgling Environmental Division, when the mailroom confused their names, and he be g an receiving decidedly nontechnical mail.

Moving to Minnesota, he worked for Hibbing Public Utilities and Dairyland Power Cooperative. Later he would form Itasca Power Company and bring a 20 MW biomass power plant to the point of construction in Northome. He acted as consultant, owners re presentative and onsite manage r, and was known for his specia l talent in troubleshooting. Clients included large companies such as NICOR, Rolls Royce Energy Systems, T rigen Energy - PEI, Evantage/Dominion Power and more.

He was twice national AAU heavyweight judo champion and toured the world with the USA Judo Team, winning and medaling in international meets, including the Pan American Games, and later coaching a team re present-

ing the U.S. in Argentina. He spent a ear and a half studying judo at the dokan sponsored by Tenri University, Japan, meeting and practicing with many of the top Japanese plays. He achieved fourth dan before etiring from active tour naments A g entle soul, he loved and was ved by, his dogs, cattle and other animals on his f amily farm near Max. He was a planner, often acting as an agent of chang e. He had an open and curious mind, and loved a good conversation and a good chess g ame. He was currently serving as a board member at Bigfork Valley Hospital.

Dean is survived by Sally, his wife of 47 years; his daughters, Elizabeth (Curtis) Jones and Lt Col. Susan (Matthew) Martin; his grandchildren, Elisandra, Olivia, and Finnrick Jones, and Mikayla, Colton, and Scott Martin; his brothers, Allan (Joyce) Behar and Peter (Laurada) Sedgwick; and his sister-in-law, Ann (Stan) Martin. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Helen Sedgwick; and his brother, Ernest Sedgwick Sr.; and sisters-inlaw, Marian Harriss and Edith Sims.

A memorial visitation was held at Bigfork City Hall on July 15.

Arrangements were handled by Rowe Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. To sign the online guestbook or send condolences, visit www.rowefuneralhomeandcrematory.com.

PART-TIME ELECTRICIAN’S HELPER

Experience or not.

Call for more information.

708-738-3848

SYSTEMS ANALYST

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Systems Analyst in the Information Technology Department. The ideal candidate will perform a variety of complex technical duties in design, application programming and development, PC configuration and support, testing and maintenance of the Village’s computer application systems and perform a variety of technical duties as required. Knowledge of a wide variety of computer programming languages and systems, such as, City View Permit, License & Inspection Suite, Laserfiche, ESRI ArcGIS, MS-SQL, Reporting Tools, Java and HTML is wanted. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application by visiting the website https://www.oakpark.us/your-government/human-resources-department. This position is open until filled.

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN II

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Engineering Technician II in the Public Works Department. The employee performs layout, draft and design drawings from field survey information and field notes for various engineering and planning projects including existing improvements, right-of-way and various utilities and performs a variety of field inspections. 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.

Designer III (Chicago, IL) F/T - Plan & dsgn structures, such as commercial & ofc bldgs, & other structural property. Prep scale drawings or architectural dsgns, using computer-aided dsgn or other tools. Prep info regarding schematic dsgn, dsgn dvlpmt, structure specs, materials, color, eqpmt, estimated costs, or construction time.

Prep detailed drawings of architectural dsgns w/ computations & plans incl the corporate & urban dsgn practice.

Utilize technical skills in Autodesk Products (Revit & AutoCAD Architecture), Rhino, Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Enscape. Supervised by licensed architect. Master’s deg in Architecture (or foreign educational equiv) or closely rltd architectural field + 12 mos exp in job offd or as Architectural Associate or closely rltd reqd. Past 12 mos exp (full 12 mos) must incl exp working w/ architectural projects w/ a primary focus devoted to corporate, commercial architecture & urban dsgn practices; prep’g dsgn options w/ architectural computation; & working w/ Autodesk Products (Revit & AutoCAD Architecture), Rhino, Adobe Products (InDesign & Illustrator), & Enscape. Email resume to Perkins & Will, Inc., Attn: Laura Byrd, Talent Manager, Sr. Associate at: Laura.Byrd@perkinswill.com w/ ref#dsg3-ch

River Forest Public Schools

River Forest Public Schools District 90 is seeking a School Social Worker

Qualifications:

a) Valid State of Illinois Professional Educator License

b) Licensed Clinical Social Work (LCSW) preferred

c) At least three years of successful School Social Work experience preferred.

Job Duties: The School Social Worker provides needs-based behavioral and social-emotional services to the students, parents, and faculty/staff of a school. The role includes, but is not limited to, individual and group counseling with students; direct and indirect consultation with students and teachers; assessment, behavior planning and

Senior Project Manager, Buffalo Grove, IL, Winfield Consulting specializes in the pharma industry, provid’g problem-oriented solutions & data services for the analysis & report’g of in-vivo & in-vitro studies, as well as phase I-III clinical trials & NDA submissions. JD: Plan/direct the OPNS of the COMP. Monitor the OVAL project MGT. Manage the projects for global OPNS/IMP. Define the project success criteria. DEV scheds to track projects. Min. Reqs: MA deg in BUS ADMIN, MGT / a rltd fld. Strong KNWL of project MGT, team MGT, risk MGT. Strong KNWL may be gained thru EDU coursework, TRNG, / exp. Sal: $92,000/Yr. Send resumes: Lily Tan, Winfield Consulting Corporation, 1130 W. Lake Cook Rd, Ste 202A, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089. Job ref: 1001.

COVID-19 EPIDEMIOLOGIST

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Covid-19 Epidemiologist in the Public Health Department. This is a One-Year, Full Time Temporary position as of date of hire. This position will serve as a subject matter expert on communicable diseases of public health concern, including COVID-19. This position will work on the surveillance and investigation of infectious diseases and other public health threats; rapid response to disease outbreaks including assisting the community’s emergency preparedness and response team. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website https://www.oakpark.us/your-government/human-resources-department. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. This position is open until filled.

intervention implementation and monitoring; and universal screening/ prevention of behavioral & socialemotional concerns. The School Social Worker hired for this position will assist teachers in development and implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MtSS) social/emotional interventions, and may provide some school-wide SEL programming and parent outreach. Interested candidates, please complete an online application at https://www.district90.org/about/ employment

IT OFFICE COORDINATOR

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Office Coordinator in Information Technology. This position will perform a variety of responsible and complex administrative duties for the IT Department; provide information and assistance to Village staff regarding requests for service; and provide administrative support to the IT Di

rector and the IT staff. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website https://www.oakpark.us/your-government/human-resources-department. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. 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 https://www.oakpark.us/your-government/human-resources-department. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application.

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.

MARKETPLACE

GARAGE SALE

GARAGE SALE

1103 CIRCLE AVE FOREST PARK

SATURDAY, JULY 22,

9:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Household tools, painters tools, books, kitchen items and misc. household items.

GARAGE SALE

MULTI-FAMILY GARAGE SALE

843 S. Grove, Oak Park

Saturday, July 22

8 AM – 2 PM

IF YOU WANT IT, WE HAVE IT

Kitchen items, household miscellaneous, garden items, art work, vintage & collectibles, antique linens, and collars,

GARAGE

708-386-7355 Best

CARS WANTED

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

CLASSICS WANTED

CLASSICS WANTED

Restored or Unrestored Cars & Vintage Motorcycles Domestic / Import Cars:

Restored or Unrestored Cars & Vintage Motorcycles

Domestic / Import Cars:

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

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

Collector James

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

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

AUTO SERVICES

Collector James

630-201-8122

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE RESOLUTION NO. R - 2023-

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING

THE LEVY OF ADDITIONAL TAX FOR LIBRARY PURPOSES IN THE VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD, ILLINOIS

WHEREAS, the Board of Library Trustees of the Village of Brookfield has requested the corporate authorities of the Village of Brookfield to levy an additional tax of 0.02% for certain library purposes, pursuant to Article 3 of the Illinois Local Library Act [75 ILCS 5/1-0.1 et seq. (2016)]; and

WHEREAS, this 0.02% additional tax shall be in addition to the annual levy of .35% allowed for the establishment and maintenance of the library.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VILLAGE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, as follows:

Section 1: The corporate authorities of the Village of Brookfield herewith determine to levy an additional 0.02% tax for library purposes for the tax year commencing January 1, 2023.

Section 2: Such 0.02% additional tax shall be levied on the value of all taxable property in the Village of Brookfield, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, and shall be used for the purpose of sites and buildings, for the construction and equipment of buildings, for the rental of buildings required for library purposes, and for maintenance, repairs and alterations of library buildings and equipment.

Section 3: The levy of said additional 0.02% tax shall be effected by the adoption of an appropriate levy ordinance by the corporate authorities pursuant to statutory requirements, which ordinance shall be filed in the office of the Cook County Clerk.

PUBLIC NOTICES

Section 4: The Village Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to publish a copy of this Resolution at least once in the Riverside/Brookfield Landmark, a newspaper with a general circulation in the Village of Brookfield, within fifteen (15) days after its adoption, and also the “Public Notice” attached hereto as “Exhibit A” hereof, shall be included with such publication or posting.

Section 5: If no petition is filed with the corporate authorities of the Village of Brookfield within thirty (30) days after publication of this resolution, requesting that the question of the adoption of this resolution be submitted to the electors of the Village of Brookfield, or if all petitions so filed are determined to be invalid and insufficient, the Village shall then be authorized to levy the tax. However, if a petition is filed with the corporate authorities within said thirty (30) day period, which petition is signed by electors of the Village of Brookfield equal in number to 10% of the total number of registered voters in the Village of Brookfield and which asks that the question of levying such a 0.02% tax be submitted to the electors of the Village, then the question shall be submitted at the next applicable election, or at any special election called in accordance with law. The Village Clerk shall provide a petition form to any individual requesting one.

Section 6: This Resolution shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its adoption.

ADOPTED this 10th day of July 2023 pursuant to a roll call vote as follows:

AYES: TTE’s Cote, Gilhooley, Kaluzny, Ketchmark, and Narimatsu

NAYS:

ABSENT: TTE Hendricks None

ABSTENTION: None

NOTICES

APPROVED by me this 10th day of July 2023.

Michael

J. Garvey, President of the Village of the Brookfield, Cook County, Illinois

ATTESTED and filed in my office, this 10th day of July 2023.

Brigid Weber, Clerk of the Village of Brookfield, Cook County, Illinois

“EXHIBIT A”

PUBLIC NOTICE

The public is hereby notified regarding the above “Resolution authorizing the levy of additional tax for library purposes in the Village of Brookfield, Illinois” determining to Levy for the tax year beginning January 1, 2023 an Additional Tax of up to 0.02 Percent of Equalized or Assessed Value of Taxable Property for Particular Building and Equipment Purposes in accordance with Article 3 of the Illinois Local Library Act [75 ILCS 5/10.1 et seq. (2016)] that:

1. The specific number of voters required to sign a petition requesting that the question of adoption of the Resolution be submitted to the electors of the Village is 1,373 voters.

2. The time in which the petition must be filed is from the date of publication of this Resolution until 30 days hereof, being the 18th day of August 2023.

3. The date of the prospective referendum, if one should be called pursuant to such petition, is the General Election, held Tuesday the 19th day of March 2024.

4. The Village Clerk shall provide a petition form to any individual requesting one.

DOCKET NUMBER: PC 23-03 (Planned Development)

HEARING DATE: August 3, 2023

TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits.

LOCATION OF HEARING: 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, IL 60302 (Council Chambers –Room 201)

SUBJECT PROPERTY ADDRESS: 201 N. Scoville Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302

ZONING DISTRICT: I – Institutional Zoning District LEGAL DESCRIPTION: PARCEL

4: LOTS 1 TO 25, INCLUSIVE AND THE VACATED ALLEYS LYING WITHIN AND THE SOUTH HALF OF VACATED ONTARIO STREET LYING NORTH OF LOTS 1 AND 25 ALL IN BLOCK 28 IN THE VILLAGE OF RIDGELAND, BEING SUBDIVISION OF THE EAST HALF OF THE EAST HALF OF SECTION 7, THE NORTH WEST QUARTER AND THE WEST HALF OF THE WEST OF THE SOUTH WEST QUARTER OF SECTION

8, ALL IN TOWNSHIP NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THRID PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS AND PARCEL

5: THE EAST HALF OF VACATED EAST AVENUE FALLING WITHIN ONTARIO STREET AND THAT PART OF EAST AVENUE LYING WEST OF AND ADJOINING LOTS 17 TO 25, INCLUSIVE, IN BLOCK 28 AND LOTS 10 TO 18, INCLUSIVE, IN BLOCK 27 IN THE VILLAGE OF RIDGELAND, BEING SUBDIVISION OF THE EAST HALF OF THE EAST HALF OF SECTION 7, THE NORTH WEST QUARTER AND THE WEST HALF OF THE WEST OF THE SOUTH WEST QUARTER OF SECTION

8, ALL IN TOWNSHIP NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

P.I.N.: 16-07-221-008-0000

PROPERTY OWNER: Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, 201 N. Scoville Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302

REQUEST: The Petitioner is requesting Planned Development approval for a 4-story 170,935 square foot school addition with three (3) allowance requests for:

1) An increase in building height to sixty-two (62) feet, where the maximum height allowed is forty-five (45) feet (an extension of ten (10) feet above the existing building height) as stated in Article 6. Special Purpose Districts, 6.2 Institutional Zoning District, Table 6-2 Maximum Building Height, 2) A decrease in front yard setback to eight (8) feet – three (3) inches where fifteen (15) feet is required (an extension of an existing nonconforming setback along Scoville Avenue) as stated in Article 6. Special Purpose Districts, 6.2 Institutional Zoning District, Table 6-2 Minimum Front Yard Setback, and 3) An increase in illumination at the property line up to four and nine-tenths (4.9) footcandles where the maximum footcandle measured at the property line should be (1) footcandle as stated in Article 9. Site Development Standards, 9.2.B (1) Maximum Lighting Regulations.

LEGAL NOTICE

The Village of Oak Park --Office of the Village Engineer, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302-- will receive electronic proposals until 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 17th, 2023 for Project: 23-3, 2023 Sidewalk Improvements Program - Rebid. Bids will be received and accepted, and bid results posted via the online electronic bid service listed below. In general, this contract includes sidewalk angle-cutting, removal and replacement of public sidewalk, parkway and carrage walks, combination curb and gutter, driveways, and PCC basecourse; pavement adjacent to curbs, adjustment of drainage structures, buffalo boxes and all appurtenant work thereto. Sidewalk sequencing during the work and adherence to the completion date is of emphasis for this project as outlined in the plans and proposal forms.

Plans and proposal forms may be obtained via the electronic

service starting on Thursday July 27th, at 4:00 p.m. Plans and proposal forms can be found at https://www.oak-park.us/yourgovernment/budget-purchasing/ requests-proposals or at www. questcdn.com under login using QuestCDN number 8596947 for a non-refundable charge of $64.00. The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue plans and specifications only to those contractors deemed qualified. No bid documents will be issued after 4:00 p.m. on the working day preceding the date of bid opening.

This project is financed with local Village funds and federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and thus is subject to all federal rules, regulations and guidelines, including Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, Section 3, and Equal Opportunity requirements.

THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK

Bill McKenna Village Engineer

PETITIONER: Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, 201 N. Scoville Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302

A copy of the application and each of the applicable documents are on the Village Website at www.oak-park.us and also on file and available for inspection at the Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, during current business hours, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Plan Commission may continue the hearing to another date without further notice by public announcement at the hearing setting forth the time and place thereof.

ALL INTERESTED PERSONS ARE INVITED TO BE HEARD OAK PARK PLAN COMMISSION Oak Park, Illinois 60302

Published in Wednesday Journal, July 19, 2023

Patti Sprafka-Wagner Harry Walsh