Wednesday Journal 082824

Parent group wants to save smartphones till high school

‘Smar tphones on Hold’ launched its website in mid-August

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

A new Oak Park parent organization is hoping to ignite a conversation regarding smartphones on a local level with the creation of “Smartphones on Hold,” a grassroots initiative to help parents navigate their kids use of handheld devices

Gideon Bob, an Oak Park resident, said the idea for the group” came from his desire to address the topic before his kids enter middle school. The aim is to help create a community of families that are choosing to abstain from using smartphones until the end of eighth grade.

“This is not ‘the sky is falling,’ this is not the idea, that is not the feeling,” Bob said. “This is new technology that is newly being given to young people and it is something that needs to be navigated and figured out.”

Bob said he felt the natural breaking point

TODD BANNOR

New artwork in the Community Rec Center’s parking lot celebrates Oak Park’s history as “Motor Row” on Madison.

@wednesdayjournalinc @wednesdayjournal @oakpark

Oak Park housing trust fund applications are open

The fund helps the village provide local a ordable housing

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

Oak Park is accepting applications on a rolling basis for housing trust fund dollars, the intention of which is to provide and preserve af fordable housing in the villa ge

The total balance of the trust fund is about $1,950,000, village officials told Wednesday Journal. When funds are exhausted, any remaining applicants will be placed on a waiting list, village officials said, and the village board could decide if and how to fund additional projects.

Oak Park has been working to improve af fordable housing options to support socioeconomic diversity in a densely populated area where the cost of living is about 23% higher than the national average.

According to the Illinois Housing Department Authority’s 2023 analysis, Oak Park has 5,341 af fordable housing units for a population of more than 52,000 residents. That means only 23.4% of all village hous-

ing is af fordable for homebuyers who make 80% of the re gional median income and for renters who make 60% of the median income, according to village of ficials.

Proposals for the housing trust fund are not limited to a specifically outlined category. Rather, the proposals could be for the production of af fordable housing, grants or loans to nonprofits addressing housing needs, or financial assistance to rent or buy housing units. Other potential options include financial assistance to preserve existing af fordable housing, weather-proofing eligible housing units or conducting emergency re pairs.

Applicants can apply online. To qualify, applicants must provide an audited financial statement, tax returns or a 990 form for the past two years. Current interim financial statements and biographies of key staf f are also required. For nonprofit or ganizations applying, the village asks for a board list, including their affiliations, and a 501(c)3 determination letter.

To evaluate the applications, village staf f will consider criteria such as what proposals will provide a larger amount of housing per dollar, what will provide the longest-lasting af fordability and what will best serve the needs of low-income house-

holds. Village staf f can also answer applicants’ questions and discuss project ideas prior to submission.

After submissions, applicants can expect an initial review to occur within two weeks. Then, applicants that meet the requirements will be forward onto the housing programs advisory committee for consideration, according to village officials. Those applications that do not meet requirements will be returned to the applicant with a written explanation.

The committee will then make recommendations to the village board, which will decide whether to award funding for the project.

In 2024, the village board has already supported other af fordable housing initiatives, including the development of Keystone Apartments on Madison Street, work to expand “missing middle” housing options and the implementation of an Airbnb tax to aid af fordable housing services. The Oak Park Housing Authority also administers housing choice vouchers for low-income households.

At the July 30 village board meeting, Jonathan Burch, the neighborhood services director, told the trustees to expect related agenda items to come back in Se ptember.

Public librar y gets a shoutout on Stephen Colbert talk show

Actor Sean Hayes was a guest on the show

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

On the Aug. 15 e dition of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Oak Park got a shoutout during the “Chicago ’s Community Calendar” se gment.

T he local event mentioned was called “World Peace,” scheduled to take place Aug. 18 at the Oak Park Public Library’s Maze Branch at 845 Gunderson Ave.

“Unfortunately, world peace is only scheduled to go from noon to 3 [p.m.],” said actor Sean Hayes, an Illinois native who was a guest on the evening talk show.

“After that, it’s back to global chaos.”

Colbert acknowledged while the big event in Chicago may be the Democratic National Convention, lots of other local gatherings are happening, too, including in Oak Park.

Hayes, who grew up in Glen Ellyn, and Colbert mentioned local events in Chicago,

Lindenhurst, Yorkville, Brookfield, Mount Prospect, Grayslake and at Navy Pier

“August 24th to 25th, the city hosts the Chicago triathlon, which, as every Chicagoan knows, is r unning, biking and snorkeling through a deep dish,” Colbert said.

Colber t announced his talk show would be live from Aug. 19 to 22 in Chicago.

“As we say in Illinois, we hate to see you Chica-go,” Hayes said. “But we love to watch you Chica-leave.”

WEDNESD

AY JOURNAL

of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor Erika Hobbs

Digital Manager Stac y Coleman

Digital Media Coordinator Brooke Duncan

Sta Reporters Amaris E. Rodriguez, Luzane Draughon

Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor

Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora

Contributing Editor Donna Greene

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

Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck

Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead

Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea

Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza

Marketing Representatives

Lourdes Nicholls, Ben Stumpe

Business & Development Manager

Mary Ellen Nelligan

Circulation Manager Jill Wagner

Special Projects Manager Susan Walker

Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

Publisher Dan Haley BOARD OF

Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Steve Edwards Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

Comedy Plex Presents: Joe Fernandez

Friday, Aug. 30 and Saturday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m., Comedy Plex

Joe Fernandez is a halfCuban half-Irish (or Cubish) comedian and actor. Joe has been featured on NBC, TBS, Just For Laughs, Boston Comedy Fest, and was a nalist for the Andy Kaufman Award. 1128 Lake St., Oak Park

Author Visit: Ananda Lima

Wednesday, Sept. 4, 7-8 p.m., Oak Park Public Library Main Librar y, Veterans Room

Join us for a lively evening with Ananda Lima as she discusses her latest book, Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil, about a writer who slept with the devil. She sees him again and again throughout her life and writes stories for him about things that are both impossible and true. Register at https://tinyurl.com/5y76ctb6, 834 Lake St., Oak Park

Hemingway Food Tour

Wednesday, Aug. 28, 6 – 8 p.m., Scoville Park

Join us for a culinary journey through the Hemingway district in Oak Park, exploring local eateries and sampling a variety of dishes while discussing Oak Park’s rich culinary traditions. The meeting point will be at the Oak Park Main Library entrance nearest to Scoville Park. Your guide will be holding a green umbrella or a green cup. There are only 10 spots available, so book ASAP. Book at https:// tinyurl.com/yc3ervuc 834 Lake St., Oak Park

BIG WEEK

Aug. 28-Sept. 4

Open House: Come Say “Hi”

Thursday, Sept. 5, 4:30 – 6 p.m., The Collaboration for Early Childhood Join us for good company and paletas from Linda Michoacana. RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/9hw6kdej. 171 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park

Banned Books of the Bible: A New Discussion Series

APPLE Meet and Greet

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 7-8 p.m., Oak Park River Forest High School

Join us to learn more about APPLE (African American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education) and our plans for the school year. We appreciate your support and are excited to connect with the community. Refreshments will be ser ved. Parents, students, and the community are welcome. 201 N. Scoville Ave., Oak Park

Listing your event in the calendar

Jour nal welcomes notices about events that Oak Park and River Forest community groups and businesses are planning. We’ ll work to get the word out if

you let us know what’s happening by noon Wednesday a week before your news needs to be in the newspaper.

■ Email details to calendar@wjinc.com

Sunday, Sept. 8, 10:30 a.m., Grace Episcopal Church Sanctuary and Online Grace Episcopal Church hosts a ve-week series led by Father John Rumple exploring biblical texts excluded from the canon. Sessions include introductions during the Sunday service and in-depth discussions on Wednesdays.

Weekly Schedule: Sunday Morning: Introductions at 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday Evening: Discussions at 7 p.m. Wednesday Afternoon: Congregation-led talks at 1 p.m.

Workbooks with discussion materials will be available online at www.GraceOakPark.org/Banned.html. The series is free and open to the public. 924 Lake St., Oak Park

Reminder:

Libraries are closed on September 1 and 2

Compiled by Brooke Duncan

Got bites? It could be oak leaf itch mites

Oak Park residents have complained about unusual itchy welts

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

Experiencing itchy, red bites with an unknown cause? It’s likely the result of oak leaf itch mites, microscopic creatures that feed of f cicada eggs.

Oak Park residents have complained about these abnor mal welts that are different than typical summer ailments like mosquito bites. Jack Bizot, one Oak Parker, said he started noticing these bites on his skin in the beginning of August, prompting him to see a dermatologist, who said a lot of locals were in the same boat

“I got more bites in the past few weeks than I got in the last 10, maybe even 20 years,” Bizot said. “It was sort of alarming at first.”

It’s also not the first time Oak Parkers have experienced these mysterious bites.

A 2007 Wednesday Journal article re ported an uptick in bites from the oak leaf itch mites, likely tied to the periodical cicadas’ last emergence 17 years ago.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the microscopic insect-like creatures that cause these bites cannot be seen with the naked eye. The mites, which typically feed off eggs or larvae, bite people

PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS

accidentally while searching for their next meal.

The creatures stay on a person’s body for about four hours before they bite, according to the IDPH. The mites fall from trees in late summer and can easily float through open windows or door screens and penetrate loose clothing.

The bites can result in red welts, typically found on areas of the body more exposed such as the neck, face or arms. The bites are itchy and can last for about two weeks, according to the IDPH.

In a typical summer, Bizot said he doesn’t get many bug bites, making these new ones stand out. The bites don’t appear for him until about 12 hours after an outdoor activity, he said. One bite near his eye has been particularly annoying, Bizot said.

“Usually, they’ll show up in the morning,” he said. “It’s waking up like ‘Oh, where are my new bites going to be?’”

The itchy bites have made Bizot want to avoid spending as much time as he usually does outside, he said, which has been frustrating as the nicer weather entices him for walks around town.

Bizot said his bites only itch for about a day or two before new ones vie for his attention. Anti-itch creams and oral anti-histamines, or allergy medicine, can help control itching, according to the IDPH. Bizot said he’s also heard aloe vera gel can help soothe itchiness.

Billy Bricks (Pizza)

Brown Cow (Premium Ice Cream)

Cafe Cubano (Cuban)

Candycopia (Sweet treats)

Carnivore Oak Park (American)

Happy Apple Pie Shop, LLC (Pies)

Kettlestrings Tavern (Pub Style)

Khyber Pass (Indian) MORA Oak Park (Asian Fusion)

omas takes over as Township supervisor

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

Oak Park Township Trustee Timothy Thomas will step up as the new township supervisor, following the death of Clarmarie Keenan July 30.

The Oak Park Township’s Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Thomas for the role, according to a township press release, for the remainder of Keenan’s term. The seat expires in 2025. The job of the township supervisor, according to the release, is to oversee administrative services, manage the budget and re present the township, like a chief executive officer.

Keenan died at age 66 after living in Oak Park for 30 years. She was first elected township supervisor in 2017 and served as a township trustee before that.

Her successor, Thomas, has served as a township trustee since May 2021. Due to his appointment, however, the township board now has to fill a vacancy, too. The process will open Aug. 26 with applications due Sept. 18. The town-

Clarmarie Keenan, the previous super visor, died July 30

ship board is expected to interview candidates during the week of Sept. 30 and appoint a new trustee Oct. 8.

Township trustees are responsible for setting policies, approving budgets and ensuring services are delivered effectively, according to the release.

The newly appointed supervisor, Thomas, has served as the assistant director at the International Union of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. He has worked at Ford Motor Co. and served as vice president of SEIU Healthcare.

He also has a degree in automotive mechanics technology and one in automotive management, according to the release.

“I am honored to step into this role and continue the work that Clarmarie was so passionate about,” Thomas said in the release. “Oak Park Township has a rich history of serving our residents with integ rity and care, and I look forward to continuing that le gacy while focusing on innovation, civic engagement, and intergenerational programs.”

SAVE THE DATE!! Saturday, September 7, 2024 from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon

(NOTE: If the trucks fill-up sooner—we finish sooner!)

Forest Park Bank, the locally owned and managed community bank, is pleased to continue the tradition of sponsoring the Annual FREE Sensitive Document Shredding Event in the Municipal Parking Lot located south of the Drive-Up Facility.

The Bank has, again, engaged a professional shredding service to shred your documents with an industrial shredder.

Forest Park Bank and Forest Park Police Department personnel will be on site to discuss identity security issues, including ways to protect your identity and what to do if you become a victim of identity theft or financial scams.

You may bring up to two 12” X 12” X 18” boxes of documents to be shred at no charge. Three-ring notebooks and binders with large metal rings cannot be shredded. Staples are allowed. If you have questions, please contact the bank at 708.222.2800.

Timothy omas

SMARTPHONES

Hold o till high school

from page 1

when these conversations between students and parents begin to occur is middle school as kids are receiving more inde pendence and others begin to g et their first phones.

It’s a decision by default, he said.

Concerned over hearing how smartphones are major distractors at the middle school level along with seeing his ninth grade Sunday school students at his temple choose to be on their phones rather than eng aging in personal interactions during breaks, Bob said he wanted to find a way to help address the issue without fully excluding children.

“I don’ t want [my daughter] to be socially excluded but I also don’ t want to give them the entire internet in their pocket and have this constant distraction,” Bob said.

up saying they will be waiting until high school to give their children smartphones

While there are national organizations such as “Wait Until 8th,” having gr roots, local organization can encourag Oak Park parents to feel more invested and personally connected with the mo ment along with showing their children how many other families are also waiting to give their children a smar tphone

“You can see your friends and neigh bors on the list,” Bob said. “The public tening of being able to see each other, to be able to g enerate momentum I thought was the real value. real thing that would solve the problem.”

“I don’t want [my daughter] to be socially excluded but I also don’t want to give them the entire internet in their pocket and have this constant distraction.”

GIDEON BOB

Co-founder, Smartphones on Hold

T he solution is not to simply avoid giving your child a smartphone, said Bob, parent to a third and fifth grader at Longfellow Elementary in Oak Park Elementary School District 97, but to create a community that places value in waiting Bob connected with his friend Kelly Kribs, a parent at Longfellow, and the two launched “Smartphones on Hold.” The first meeting was held back in March . T he website launched on Monday, Aug. 19. It already has over 130 f amilies signed

ITCH MITES

Avoid oak trees

from page 5

And he’s not alone with the itchy frustration. Simone Boutet, also an Oak Park resident, said she posted about her first mite bite on Facebook, getting feedback that other locals were experiencing similar symptoms.

Calling the parent organization a “big tent” group, Kribs shared with local parents in the Oak Pa Working Mom’s Facebook group that the initiati is a place where parents can come together “without judgment.” The we site lists flip phones and smart watches as “practical” choices that still ke in line with the mission. Additionally, Bob said parents have chosen to simply “strip away” smartphones, essentially dumbing them down to the basic functions such as calling, photos and GPS.

“We understand every parent is doing their best for their own f amily, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution,” Kribs said via the post.

As smartphone usage increases in young adults and children, so do parental concerns over the long-ter m repercussions

According to a 2021 Common Sense Media census, 42% of kids have a phone by the age of 10 and by the age of 14 that

“Basically, every time you go outside you get another bite,” Boutet said. “The information I’m getting is that they’re coming down from the trees in like hundreds of thousands.”

Boutet said she’s had several bites that “don’t go away.” She’s a gardener and spends a lot of time working outside, biking, or walking her dog, resulting in additional bites.

“It’s not like you can stay inside,” she said.

After discovering a mite bite, it’s im-

Kelly Kribs and Gideon Bob, co-founders of Smartphones on Hold

number has increased to 91%.

A 2023 study by Common Sense Media analyzing smartphone data found that teens use their phones daily for an average of over four hours per day, picking up their phones an average of 51 times per day. T he same study found that students are more likely to turn to social media on their cell phone during the school day.

Bob said parents who have participated in the meetings have raised various levels of concerns, ranging from social media, increased anxiety levels, and an increase in addiction to phones

portant not to scratch it, according to the IDPH, as scratching can lead to an infection. A health care pro vider should be contacted in the event of a skin infection.

The mites are active near oak tree leaves that are brown with crusty edges. To avoid bites, avoid oak trees or nearby outdoor areas. Keeping windows closed, removing clothes each day and showering after outdoor activities are other ways to prevent mite bites. Bizot said he’s started showering twice a day to avoid any more unwanted itchy welts.

T he consequences range from minimal to possibly huge consequences, he said. With the goal of breaking down the illusion that everyone has a smartphone before high school, “Smartphones on Hold,” will help create an “intentional nor m around delaying access” to the handheld technolo gy.

“We’ve all come here chasing this highvalue, high community life,” he said. “We are willing to trade our yard and square footage to be closer to our neighbors. So, this says ‘here is what my neighbor is doing. Let’s do this to g ether,’ is the idea.”

“It makes you a little bit paranoid,” he said.

Insect re pellent will likely not work to prevent bites, but can be helpful for preventing mosquito bites.

Dr. Jordan Carqueville, medical director of The Derm Institute of Chicago, told NBC Chicago that there’s been an increase of mite bites in the suburbs compared to downtown Chicago, likely because more 17year cicadas emerged in the less denselypopulated areas.

PROVIDED BY GIDEON BOB

OP mom starts child transport service to help other moms

Your Village Transpor tation provides parents an extra option

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

An Oak Park mom wants to build a village around parents and children, meeting one of the biggest challenges families have to navigate: reliable transportation.

Krystle Gaylord, a single mom, said she knew firsthand the struggle of finding reliable transportation for her children — so much so that it affected her job.

“It affected my job to the point where I lost it,” Gaylord said. “It was even more difficult to find another.”

Navigating life as a newly single mother of four children, Gaylord said she struggled making it to daycare drop of f and pickup times, school dismissals and extracurriculars.

She said she knew she was probably not the only parent going through these situations and she wanted to be the one to fill in that need.

“I don’t know a parent who doesn’t struggle to ma ke it to daycare pickup by 5 p.m.,” she said.

And she’s not wrong

According to a national survey held by the Bipartisan Policy Center in 2019, 25% to 30% of parents need care during non-traditional work hours failing before or after the 9 to 5

p.m. workday. Despite the need, only 8% of centers and 34% of homes offer extended hours in the evening, overnight or weekends.

Gaylord launched Your Village Transportation in May and said the response has been big enough that she left her job to pursue this full time.

“From the very first flier I put up, within two hours, I had 20 messages on my website from parents who were interested and needed my help,” she said.

With the ability to transport up to 12 people in a passenger van, Gaylord said she also had the ability to transport to and from daycares and preschools because they operate on a different schedule than Oak Park school districts.

OPRF High School parent Monique Jones said Your Village Transportation has given her a way to be able to provide her daughter the ability to be part of extracur ricular activities.

“It’s hard to be everything your kid needs,” Jones said. “We all need to reach out for help They say it takes a village to raise a kid, but we are shying away from that.”

A single mother herself, Jones works and runs a small business, which can often conflict with her daughter’s extracurriculars.

Kr ystle Gaylord and her son, Evan Jackson, 3.

“It’s overwhelming not to be able to do things because you have to do other things to pro old without having to de might not be options transportation. n hopes she is able to grow the company in the upcoming months by adding another driver.

First United Methodist Church of Oak Park is seeking a dedicated Part-Time Facility Manager (M-F, 7am - 11am) to oversee the maintenance and facility operations of our church.

Join us in preserving our rich heritage! Apply today by emailing your resume to: churchoffice@firstumcoakpark.org with the subject line: "Facility Manager".

other parents, hopefully oth,” g saying the e , to help provide essential t

“I really just want to be the village that a lot of parents are missing out there,” she added.

Thinking about a career in local government?

The Village of Oak Park has job opportunities

AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ

Park District of Oak Pa installs ‘Motor Row’ mosaic mural

Ar twork is located in the nor th parking lot of the Community Recreation Center on Madison

By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter

The Park District of Oak Park, in collaboration with the Oak Park Area Arts Council, installed a mosaic mural titled “Motor Row” at the north parking lot of the Community Recreation Center.

Carolyn Elaine, a mosaicist, created the piece as part of the “Of f the Wall” program under the Oak Park Area Arts Council, according to a PDOP news release. The parking lot wall where it is displayed is at 228230 Madison St.

Of f the Wall is a summer youth program

for individuals aged 16 to 22, according to the release. Its purpose is to design, construct and install murals in and around Oak Park. So far, 15 large murals ha installed as part of this program.

Elaine, along with some Off the prentices, constructed and installed the piece. “Motor Row,” the mural’s title, honor a historic stretch of Madison Street visitors purchased cars and sought out hicle maintenance, according to the release.

“The Park District of Oak Park is proud to support local artists and bring public art to our community spaces,” said Kassie Porreca, president of the Park District

e mosaic

Elaine and other Of f the Wall artists also renovated the mosaic titled “Stories of our Neighborhood” on the east wall of the CRC. According to Camille Wilson White, the executive director of the Oak Park Area Arts

teachers or professional artists,” White said in the release. “They credit the Of f the Wall program with developing not only their artistic skills, but also developing their leadership skills.”

THRIVE TALKS HEALING OUT LOUD: CHANGING THE NARRATIVE ON SUICIDE

Join Keana Shatteen for an inspiring and transformative event on World Suicide Prevention Day. Personal experience and professional training inform this heartfelt presentation. This talk emphasizes the importance of suicide prevention and awareness by illustrating how open conversations can create safety and support.

FREE EVENT!

September 10, 6:30 - 8:00 PM Community Recreation Center (CRC)

229 Madison St, Oak Park, IL 60302

1 CEU Available for Counselors and Social Workers for $20

Scan the QR Code or Call 708-683-9091 to register

Thrive Talks are funded by the Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park Township.

Deadline for ‘Sun Bucks’ is fast approaching Applications

are due by Aug. 31

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

The deadline for enrollment for 2024 Summer EBT benefits is Aug. 31.

total household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. The allowable income also depends on the number of people in the household.

Summer EBT, also known as Sun Bucks, provides families with school-aged children with a one-time benefit of $120 for summer groceries per eligible child. Benefits are benefits distributed on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card.

“This benefit is important because children who rely on free or reduced-price school meals lose this important source of nutrition when school is out, creating hardship for families struggling to make ends meet,” said Camerin Mattson, manager of communications for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, via an Aug. 15 press release emailed as part of a statewide awareness campaign to promote the new program.

“We don’t want families of the more than one million Illinois children eligible for this benefit to miss out,” she said.

To qualify, families must meet the household income requirements for free or reduced-priced meals, which currently is a

According to the press release, some children have been automatically enrolled based on their participation in other programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Income Eligible Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, youth who are in foster care, and victims of traf ficking

Children who attended an Illinois school that has the National School Lunch Progr am, a voluntary progr am available to all public, private schools and residential childcare institutions that have a nonprofit progr am offering lunches that meet federal requirements to all children and have completed a free or reduced meals application or alternative household income application for the 2023-24 school year are also automatically enrolled in Summer EBT.

Additional information, along with a Summer EBT Screener, to check eligibility can be found at we gotyouillinois.org/ summer-ebt.

OUR SPEAKER

KEANA SHATTEEN

ART BEAT

Oak Park producer’s lm shines light on rock ’n’ roll gem

‘Don’t Turn Your Back on Friday Night’ is stacking up documentar y awards

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

It’s fair to say that Oak Parker Mike Schmiedeler has never known a stranger. His ability to make connections has brought him a wide array friends in Oak Park and across the country. (Full disclosure, I count myself as one of those friends.)

During his career as a producer and director, his ability to combine work and friendships has paid some surprising dividends, including in his latest endeavor, a documentary on Illinois

frontman, Ike Reilly.

As an executive producer for Weigel Productions in Chicago, Schmiedeler produces shows for MeTv and MeTv Toons, and in the past has worked on cable series such as Biog raphy for A&E, Gangland for History, Inside 9/11 for National Geographic, Sports Action Team for NBC Stations Group and the DIY network.

He first met musician Ike Reilly as a fan of the Libertyville-based rocker’s band, The Ike Reilly Assassination. Before too long, Schmiedeler was hanging out with Reilly, his band and his family and pitching Reilly on a documentary that covers his life and music.

Schmiedeler co-produced and co-directed the documentary film, Don’t Turn Your Back on Friday Night, which he hopes will introduce the musician to a wider audience. landed a major

ALL IN THE FAMILY: At the Parkway eater in Minneapolis for the screening of ‘D on’t Turn Your Back On Friday Night.’ Le to Right: Ike Reilly, Mike Schmiedeler (producer/co-director/co-writer), Mickey Reilly (vocals, youngest son), Kevin Reilly (vocals, middle son) and Shane Reilly (guitar & vocals, oldest son).

label recording contract and bought his family a dream home,” he said. “On the road, his band became what The New York Times called ‘one of the best live bands in America.’ Despite nine albums, a cult following, and immense critical acclaim, Reilly failed to achieve commercial success.”

The film is already racking up awards including winning Best Documentary at the 2023 South African Film Festival Sound on Screen, Best Feature Film in the Toronto Documentary Feature & Short Film Festival and Best Feature Documentary from the Hollywood Gold Awards.

In advance of the film’s widespread release on Aug. 27, Schmiedeler sat down for some questions with the Wednesday Journal.

The interview has been edited lightly for clarity and length.

Q: How did you first meet Ike Reilly?

A: I met Ike Reilly in 2013 through my friend [and co-writer and co-director] Michael O’Brien. O’Brien thought I’d like Ike and his music, and he was right. I was amazed by Ike and his music, and confused as to why he wasn’t more popular nationally. I got to know Ike, pitched him as talent for a series I was developing that ultimately didn’t get picked up. I stayed a fan and in touch as the years went by attending many of his shows.

COURTESY OF MIKE SCHMIEDELER

COURTESY OF MIKE SCHMIEDELER

Mike Schmiedeler interv iews Ike Reilly’s mother, Roz Reilly, in Libertyville for the documentar y ‘Don’t Turn Your Back On Friday Night.’

DOCUMENTARY

Don’t turn your back from page 11 WEDNESDAY |

Block of Bonnie Brae | River Forest

Q: What was Reilly’s path to becoming a rock-and-roll artist?

A: As you’ll see in the documentary, it was pretty unconventional. He learned to play harmonica and guitar early. Ike attended Marquette for colle ge, considered law school and the Marines, but decided to pursue music. He worked at a Libertyville cemetery throughout high school and colle ge, then became a doorman at the Park Hyatt downtown Chicago after colle ge. All the while, he was writing and performing music. He got his first record deal from Universal when he was 40.

Q: What’s Reilly’s music like? What kind of venues were you seeing him in?

A: I saw Ike first perform at [Chicago’s] Schuba’s in 2013 with his full band, The Ike Reilly Assassination. Ike’s music is tricky to put a label onto which may explain why he hasn’t had more commercial success. Some have called it post-punk blues, others Americana, and others simply rock n’ roll. One of my favorite places to see Ike play was his for mer residence in Libertyville, which was at one point a social hunting lodge before it was conver ted to a residence. His living room comfor tably held over 200 people and a small stage.

Q: What led you to start recording Reilly’s shows?

A: I knew from O’Brien and Ike himself that he had a very deep archive of shows filmed dating quite a way back. Having a deep archive is a dream for any documentarian, and it was one reason I wanted to do the film.

Q: When did you begin to think that you might be able to make a film about Reilly?

A: I was at a show of his at Fitzgerald’s in between Christmas and New Year’s of 2018, and Ike was telling stories and playing his music and was so entertaining and charismatic. I remember sitting there and I was almost angry that it had been over five years since I had been watching him perform and he didn’t have a bigger following … I thought, “someone should make a documentary about Ike to show the world as a whole who he is as an artist, a family man and a storyteller.” I then thought, “I

would love to make this film.”

Q: Did it take any convincing to get Reilly to ag ree to being the subject of a documentary?

A: Yes! I wrote a treatment for the documentary, including my thoughts on the narrative, the structure and the goal and potential marketing ideas for the film. Ike was complimentary of my work but said “I’m not that interesting. Who’s going to watch a movie about me?” I disag reed … Ike still wasn’t convinced, but I ke pt after him and wore him down after 9 months.

Q: Once he was on board, what was the process like?

A: The hardest part of any film, documentary or otherwise is usually securing the funding. In this case, I reached out to our investors, who are all fans of Ike and secured funding in under two months. So, I spent about four times more the amount of time convincing Ike to let me make a movie about him than it took to get the money. We entered film festivals in 2023 and that led to our distribution deal here in 2024.

Q: It sounds like Reilly’s family plays a large role in his life. What role did they play in the film?

A: Ike’s family plays a very, very significant role in both his life and the film. Ike married his high school sweetheart Kara Dean. They have four children — Hannah (Stone), Shane, Kevin and Mickey. Ike’s 97-year-old mother is also in the film and a very important part of his life. And Ike’s grandson, Riley Stone, has the last line of the documentary. Ike is incredibly close to his family, and we chronicle as his three boys joined his band The Ike Reilly Assassination. We also captured when Ike lost his house where the kids grew up in, and where he played so many of the famous home shows, to the bank. So, there are some real stakes to Ike’s artistic pursuits for him and his family

How to watch

Film Trailer: https://vimeo.com/ user15729508/iketrailer?share=copy Streaming begins Aug. 27 on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home, Google Play, Microsoft, YouTube and Vimeo.

Find it on demand: Comcast Xfinity, Dish, Spectrum, Alltice, Cox, Fios By Verizon, Frontier, SuddenLink, Mediacom, and Armstrong.

CRIME

rench bulldogs from Oak Parker stolen

g. 20, someone stole a merle-colench bulldog and a gray, black and ench bulldog from an Oak Park residence on the 500 block of South Ridgeenue. The estimated loss is $20,000.

Armed robbery

g. 16, a man approached an Oak esident and displayed a gun, demanding the victim’s property on the 100 block of North Kenilworth Avenue. The man then stole the victim’s Louis Vuitton bag that had an ID, debit and credit cards, a wallet, Apple Beats headphones and money. The man was least seen heading east on foot. The estimated loss is $310.

■ On Aug. 20, a man entered Luv 2 Smoke at 6317 North Ave. and displayed a firearm, demanding money. T he man took money and then fled on foot. T he estimated loss is $900.

Robbery

A man approached an Oak Park resident between Aug. 14 and 15 on the 1100 block of North Boulevard and then struck the victim in the face. The man then stole two Bose portable speakers, a blue Apple iPhone 12, a notebook and a charging cord. The estimated loss is $1,801.

Theft

Someone stole an Oak Park resident’s wedding band from their residence on the 500 block of South Humphrey Avenue. The incident, which occurred between Feb. 1 and Aug. 14, resulted in an estimated loss of $3,300.

Motor vehicle theft

■ S omeone stole an Oak Pa rk resident’s wh i te 2022 Je ep C herokee b etween Au g. 18 and 19 on the 1100 block of Ly man Avenue. The estimated loss is $30,000.

■ S omeone stole an Oak Pa rk resident’s wh i te and red Aprilia 660 E xtreme motorcycle.

Arrests

■ A Chicago girl was arrested for burglary and criminal damage to property Aug. 18 at the 7-Eleven at 661 South Blvd. She was also cited for a curfew violation.

■ A 72-year-old Colorado man was involved in a traffic accident and charged with aggravated driving under the influence Aug. 18 on the 700 block of Jackson Boulevard.

■ A 35-year-old Oak Park man was arrested for battery and assault Aug. 19 on the 300 block of Madison Street.

■ A 55-year-old Chicago man was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and for having no driver’s license Aug. 19 in Maywood.

■ A 35-year-old Oak Park man was arrested for battery and assault Aug. 20 on the 600 block of Randolph Street.

■ A 35-year-old Oak Park man was arrested Aug. 20 at the Oak Park Police Station for three counts of aggravated battery to three police officers.

■ A 25-year-old Oak Park man was arrested for domestic battery Aug. 20 on the 100 block of South Austin Boulevard

■ A 32-year-old Oak Park man was arrested for domestic battery Aug. 23 on the 0 – 100 block of Garfield Street.

■ A 54-year-old Chicago man was arrested for two counts of retail theft, battery, criminal trespass to property and assault Aug. 24 on the 400 block of South Cuyler Avenue

■ A 53-year-old Oak Park man was arrested for battery Aug. 25 on the 1000 block of Scoville Avenue

■ A 28-year-old Broadview man was arrested for domestic battery Aug. 25 on the 100 block of North Humphrey Avenue. These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department re ports dated Aug. 16 – 26 and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these re ports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We re port the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Luzane Draughon

River Forester seeks 8-year limit for village president

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

The fate of an effort by River Forest resident Deborah L. Borman to impose term limits on the office of village president through a binding referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot is unknown after a challenge by village resident Carolyn Kilbride and an initial River Forest Electoral Board hearing.

The electoral board hearing was continued to 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4 after the members of the electoral board and attorneys representing Borman and Kilbride agreed to adopt rules for the proceedings.

Borman filed petitions July 15 seeking placement of the question, “Shall the terms of office of the Village President of the Village of River Forest, Cook County, Illinois be limited so that, effective upon the passage of this question as certified by the election authority no person may serve as Village President for more than a total of eight (8) years?” be placed on the ballot at the Nov. 5, 2024 Presidential General Election.

The 90 petition sheets contained 753 signatures, well past the required 396 signatures

By state statute the number of signatures required is not less than 8 percent of the number of total votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election. In 2022, 4,941 votes were cast locally in that election.

Kilbride filed an objection to the petitions Aug. 12, leading to an electoral board hearing Aug. 20. By state statute, the initial electoral board consisted of the village president, village clerk and longest tenured village trustee, Cathy Adduci, Jonathan Keller and Respicio Vazquez, respectively. However, toward the end of the hearing, Adduci recused herself, citing a possible conflict of interest. At the suggestion of Vazquez, it was agreed that the board will ask the chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court to appoint a third member, preferably a member of the general public and not a member of the village board. State statute allows a replacement to be the second longest tenured village trustee but three of the current trustees were elected at the same time. At issue is the validity of the petitions. Areas in which objections are raised include the checkmarks and headings on the petitions and their notarization.

The electoral board also voted 2-1 to request

that the Cook County clerk conduct a records search of the signatures on the petitions to determine their validity. Keller cast the negative vote, saying the board was “putting the cart before the horse” for not waiting until other matters had been decided.

Borman was involved in civic activity as leader of the Lathrop-Ashland-Franklin Neighbors group, specifically regarding issues surrounding the demolition of three neighboring buildings on Madison Street and Ashland and Lathrop avenues in 2023.

She said the group expanded to include other village residents in an organized effort to oppose proposed changes to the village zoning ordinances that were introduced in late 2023 and eventually voted down by the village board in June.

“We hope to enhance and increase participation in village gover nment,” Borman said in explaining her decision to fight to impose term limits. “We hope to encourage new voices

“We want to improve the village. River Forest has been under essentially the same group for 40 years. There are a lot of things that need to change.”

As to why she is proposing term limits only on the village president and not the full village board, she said she is “starting at the top and working down.” As to other village board members, “We haven’t gotten that far yet.”

Borman criticized Kilbride’s objection to her effort.

“This is all to prevent voters from deciding a simple question,” she said. “This is being done at great expense to the village and is taking a lot of time and energy.”

Kilbride did not respond to requests from Wednesday Journal for comment but previously stated her position in a letter to the editor published in July.

“Imposing term limits on the elected position of president of the River Forest Village Board is not good policy,” she said in the letter. “A term-limit policy penalizes the residents. The democratic process allows residents to vote in or out candidates they find acceptable or unacceptable. Term limits circumvent the democratic process. Additionally, imposing term limits can have a detrimental effect with the loss of valuable experience and expertise. Let the voting process work. If a resident is unhappy, vote them out!”

Musical mystery at FitzGerald’s Nightclub

Golden Ticket keeps the mystery alive

By RISE’ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

There is not much delightful mystery always in regular adult life, but FitzGerald’s Nightclub is on a mission to generate some On sale now are tickets to its annual “golden ticket” concert. The catch is that buyers won’t know what four acts will take the stage on Friday, Sept. 6.

What is known in advance is that a $99 ticket buys a night of entertainment, a twohour open bar and a barbeque buffet from the adjacent Babygold.

The idea for this event started during the depths of COVID-19’s stay-at-home times.

FitzGerald’s Nightclub venue was closed, but the owners and staf f brainstormed ways to keep the music flowing. One stunt was to put bands on the back of their flatbed truck and take music to the people. Neighborhood blocks competed to invite the traveling concert to their address.

Musicians got work; people got live mu-

sic; FitzGerald’s ke pt the faith.

“We are a joy machine and when we can’t actually bring people here, we wanted to bring Fitzgerald to people, which of course meant coming up with creative ways to still generate a little bit of revenue and keep the musicians going until we could,” said Michelle Larson, general manager of Fitzgerald’s.

Still, the empty halls at 6615 Roosevelt Road in Berwyn were waiting to be filled again, and no one knew when that might be Then inspiration struck. Like children awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus, Fitzgerald’s came up with a way to inject some pleasant anticipation into what were anxious times.

“We knew we were going to host a show again sometime, someday. So, we sold tickets to the golden ticket show. We were not able to announce anything about the artists,” said Larson. “The tickets sold out immediately.”

The idea was that the tickets would be good for a date sometime in the future, once venues like FitzGerald’s could reopen. It turned out to be so much fun that they decided to keep it going.

“We think about our campus here as like a Disneyland for adults. We’re not often

COURTESY OF FITZGERALD’S

Musical mystery artist Les Greene, on stage at FitzGerald’s.

River Forest seeks to dismiss Lake and Lathrop lawsuit

Legal action is latest in dispute between village, developer

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

River Forest officials have responded to the lawsuit filed by Lake Lathrop Partners LLC against the village in July by filing a motion to dismiss

The village Aug. 16 filed the motion to dismiss the Lake Lathrop lawsuit, which claims the village acted illegally in its denial of a new building permit to restart a stalled mixed-use development on the southwest cor ner of Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue

The four-story, mixed-use development was to contain 22 condominium units with 14,000 square feet of retail space. The project had been on the drawing board since before the Village Board approved Lake Lathrop’s proposal in 2016.

The case is up for presentment before the court on Aug. 26.

“As is evident in the filing, the village remains confident in its position,” village President Cathy Adduci said in an e-newsletter posted on the village website.

River Forest pulled the plug on the Lake

surprised as adults; and so often when we are, it’s not in a fun way,” said Larson.

Tickets for the fourth installment of the golden ticket concert are currently on sale. You don’t find out who will take the stage until they step foot on it. But you do get a champagne toast (a holdover from the end of COVID celebratory nature of the first event). And there is an all-you-can-eat spread from the barbeque next door, Babygold: brisket, smoked cauliflower, smoked shrimp, all the favorite sides.

Previous artists, who have participated in this musical jack-in-the-box were Alejandro Escovedo, Les Greene and the Swayzees, Parker Millsap, Alanna Royale, The Iguanas

and Lathrop development almost a year ago, but Lake Lathrop officials in May countered by applying for a new building permit for the development. This too was denied by the village

In September, officials repealed the building permit for Sedgwick Properties, an authorized agent acting on behalf of Lake Lathrop Par tners LLC, and issued a stop work order. They said those steps were taken because Sedgwick failed to meet the requirements and conditions of the village’s 18-month building permit, which was originally issued in February 2022.

The long-delayed project had been on life support since April 2023, when Beverly Bank and Trust, a Wintrust-affiliated bank that was financing the development, filed suit against Sedgwick Properties in Cook County court, looking to claw back $4.2 million from the $20 million line of credit it issued in 2022. In the lawsuit, the lender has reportedly cited several provisions in its loan agreement with Sedgwick affiliates that were violated, including that the contract required the borrower to stay in compliance with local re gulations and to stick to a tighter construction timeline.

The foreclosure case between Wintrust Bank and Lake Lathrop Par tners LLC remains ongoing. The next hearing is on Sept. 9.

and Them Coulee Boys.

FitzGerald’s co-owner Jessica King teased who will hit the stage this year, saying “The last time the headliner was here, it was a sold-out show and we’re confident many people have been awaiting their retur n.”

Fo r a little trust and the price of a ticket, FitzGerald ’s promises to live up to it s re p utation.

“We can throw a good party,” Larson said.

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Speaking for those who o en are not heard

Working with inmates at Stateville is her latest focu

By JESSICA MACKINNON Contributing Reporter

Susan Lucci has spent much of her helping people find their voice, and stand ing up for those whose voices are not often heard. She is now dedicating her abundant energy to speaking for inmates at Stateville Correctional Center, particularly those wh are serving life sentences without the possi bility of parole, an issue with which she was largely unaware until a few years ago.

Lucci was invited earlier this year to visit Stateville, an archaic maximum-security men’s prison in Crest Hill, by a woman who leads an educational program at the prison. It was a transformational experienc She now meets with inmates once a week to collect their stories as the basis for creating policy change.

“[Stateville] is like the Roman ruin Lucci says. “The bathroom in the visitors center is like the gas station bathroom that you immediately leave because it’s so bad — but multiply that by 100. In the rece ption room, there is one little window but no air circulation. The air conditioning is unreliable. The water fountain oozes rust and hasn’t been used in years.

“There is a 34-foot wall around the facility — not to protect us from the men inside but to protect us from knowing how ugly it is and how we are treating these humans. It’s shocking to me that [in Illinois] we are a sanctuary for folks coming from Venezuela and for women seeking reproductive justice, but we treat our own people this way,” she said.

mantra — to whom much is given, much is expected — steered her toward consistent volunteering in her community and, even-

age in our comothers was in our blood. My mother was head of every PTO ever she volunteered, she was humble and did whatever was needed, including cleaning toilets, ,” she recalled

After leaving her legal career following child, Lucci found herself craving meaningful conversation, oups of women in model for elicitfacilitated conversad women and teenagers to share their experiences and imagine new nur turing environment. She estimates that she has led

“It’s neat to see how you can affect culhaving people sit in circles. The greater than any can become a trans” said Lucci, who has ted student/teacher mindfulness Christ the King Jesuit Colle ge High School in the Austin community and has served as a mentor for hundreds ge essays. In 2006, zards,” a servicemiddle-school students in River Forest School District 90 that is still going strong.

Gover nor J.B. Pritzker announced in March a plan to demolish Stateville — and Lo gan Correctional Center, a women’s prison in downstate Lincoln — and construct a new facility for both on the grounds of Stateville, at a cost of nearly $900 million. The announcement follows a state-commissioned report that determined that Stateville is in a deplorable state of disrepair

In 1978, Illinois ended discretionary parole and replaced it with a mandatory supervised release system for inmates who complete their entire prison sentences. Lucci believes that the revocation of parole eliminates a powerful tool for incentivizing rehabilitation.

“I can’t imagine what it must be like to be stuck in a place that is so hateful with no hope of getting out. We don’t believe in second chances and think that these guys are exactly who they were at 18 or 22 and are not redeemable. But I’m not who I was even three years ago, much less who I was at 18 or 22 or 25,” she said.

Lucci is committed to doing whatever she can to move our criminal system from a punitive to a restorative model. To that end, she is using her indefatigable communitybuilding skills to bring together activists committed to prison reform so they can provide a unified voice with lawmakers. These “justice allies,” as she refers to them, are promoting two Illinois parole-eligibility bills, one directed at elder inmates and the other relating to inmates who have served more than 25 consecutive years in prison.

In January, Lucci was involved in the fifth restorative justice conference at the Oak Park Public Library, which attracted more than 300 people. The conference focused on providing resources for the recently incarcerated to counter recidivism.

“What if we could get people to really care about this issue, the ordinary people who pay taxes for a system that is not really helping humans — not the inmates or the cor rectional officers who are impacted by the trauma around them?” she asked.

Legacy of local involvement

Lucci’s penchant for righting wrongs began when she was young and confronted a boy who was bullying her brother. As the oldest child, she was expected to stick up for her younger siblings. Her family’s

Her mark can be found on a wide array of local organizations, including the PADS homeless shelter program (now known as Housing Forward), the River Forest Park District and the One Earth Film Festival. As an ambassador for the Interfaith Youth Core (now Interfaith America), she organized Hunger Banquets at Dominican and Concordia universities to bring awareness around food insecurity. She also is very active in progressive politics.

The consistent thread of Lucci’s life is creating community to tackle difficult problems. While she used to juggle a do zen balls at a time, she admits that, as she gets older, she is trying to be more impactful by focusing on fewer issues, such as her work on prison reform, which has become allconsuming.

“Being an activist is the best way to make friends. Among activists, there is an amazing culture of care,” she said.

TODD BANNOR

Susan Lucci practices active citizenship from her Oak Park home.

OPRF alumnus returns to inspire the next generation of performers

Nathan Chester nished in the Top 5 on NBC’s ‘The Voice’

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

OPRF High School alumnus Nathan Chester, best known for his time on the hit reality television show NBC’s The Voice, came back to his old high school on Tuesday, Aug. 20 to inspire the next generation of stars hailing from the halls.

“It feels so good,” Chester, a 2013 graduate, said about being back at OPRF. “I am so grateful. It has also changed a lot; it makes me feel old. I hope cookies are still a dollar.”

Chester competed in this year’s Season 25 of the show, which features contestants singing during “blind auditions” in hopes of having a celebrity judge turn their chair around for a chance to be on their team during the competition.

He included an Aug. 21 stop at OPRF’s Little Theatre on his “Hometown Tour,”

which also included throwing the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game on Friday, Aug. 16, a show at City Winery Chicago on Aug. 19 and an appearance on NBC Chicago.

Michelle Bayer, director of theater and performing arts chair, who directed Chester in two productions, said he is a “sponge” and one of the best students she has had. When Bayer heard that Chester was going on the “Hometown Tour,” she reached out and asked if he would be able to squee ze OPRF High School into his schedule.

Bayer said Chester was more than happy to come back to his old school and not only perform for the acting and theater students, but also to host a Q&A as part of an in-school fieldtrip.

Chester sang a rendition of “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder before opening up the floor to students for the Q&A portion.

Many students had questions. These included:

■ How many theater productions has Chester been in? (Answer: approximately 30.)

■ Does he see himself first as a singer or actor? (Answer: singer because it brings him the most joy.)

■ What is working on a cruise ship like? (Answer: a lot of fun but he misses his family when working.)

■ What he would be doing if he weren’ t a singer? (Answer: being an entrepreneur.)

Students also asked more specific questions about how to pursue singing or acting, what the process of getting onto a show like The Voice was and how to continue to pursue this type of career even if your parents are not supportive.

“They are good questions, questions some of which I don’t think I have the answer to,” Chester said when asked what he thought of the student’s questions. “I am just hoping I can offer something. I have been in their shoes, literally, so I am trying to think of what I would have wanted to hear if I was sitting there and what would have actually helped me make the best decision for my life.”

Despite not winning The Vo ice , as he was eliminated after making it to the To p 5, C hester said he neve r f elt li ke he had n’ t won.

“As soon as somebody’s chair turned [during the blind audition], I already felt

like “whoa, I am in it, I’ve done it. We’ve won,” he said. “To make it as far as I did, it really didn’t feel like elimination. It felt like a congratulations to me.”

That glass half full mentality will be applied to his future projects.

Currently Chester said he is focusing on

his production company, Em&N Productions, which he owns with his fiancée Emily Viancourt, creating various shows for cruise productions.

New original music is also in the works, with hopes of releasing more music around late October, Chester said.

AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ

Nathan Chester, contestant on NBC’s ‘ e Voice,’ came back to OPRF High School to per form for acting and theater students on Aug. 20.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s George Smith House revived

By LACE Y SIKORA Contributing Reporter

Frank Lloyd Wright’s George Smith House, located at 404 Home Avenue in Oak Park, was in need of saving in January 2023

Built in 1898, the Shingle-style home had been in the same family for 60 years, and need some updates and maintenance to make it shine. When it was listed for sale for $595,000, Barbara Gordon and John Waters from the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy visited the home and of fered renderings of what the home could look like if the next owner spruced it up.

FLWBC Executive Director Barbara Gordon compared the home to Wright’s Parker House, built in 1892 in Oak Park and the Bagley House built in Hinsdale, noting that the young Wright was experimenting with different styles at the time. Waters emphasized the need to preserve original details in the living and dining room such as the diamond-paned windows, Roman brick fireplace and built-in shelving units

The home’s extensive needs, along with its one bathroom and small kitchen, deter red a few buyers, but after several months on the market it found a buyer and eventually sold for $485,000 in March 2023.

The couple was drawn in by the home’s architectural significance, but was not sure they were ready to take on a big project. The two have asked not to be named to protect their privacy.

One of the owners, an architect, had studied architecture at the School of Architecture at Taliesin and was determined to visit the house during their search for a home to purchase in Oak Park

His husband was not so keen on the idea.

“In early 2023, after we saw the house, he said, ‘I think we should do it,’ and I said, ‘No, definitely not.’”

“It was this brown, squat house with two window eyes,” the owner added. “We heard from people in the neighborhood that it was a big, haunted house.”

Daunted by the amount of work the house needed, the two were convinced they could make the house livable when they

See GEORGE SMITH HOUSE on pa ge 23

PHOTOS BY CRIS CUNNINGHAM

George Smith House, 404 Home Avenue.

cluding the basement space.

from page 21

were able to secure the services of general contractor Robert Jahn Construction.

The company had renovated many Wright homes in the past, and once the couple knew the contractor would be available to work on the house and had an estimate for the costs to restore and renovate, they were able to bid on the house.

They tackled the big issues right away The garage on the lot was falling down, and when the bank wouldn’t include it in the mortgage, they were able to save some money by having it removed.

They excavated the basement and shored up the foundation while creating livable space in the basement complete with a family room, bedroom and bathroom.

“The kitchen was kind of a joke, like it is in a lot of old houses,” one of the owners said. “There wasn’t even a refrigerator.”

Taking space from a rear staircase and rethinking the layout at the rear of the home, they were able to create a larger kitchen and add a powder room to the first floor. On the third floor, they took what was probably once maid’s quarters and created another bedroom and bathroom.

The owners hired local landscaper Garrett Designs to create a backyard oasis and are happily making the home their own.

Through the entire six-month renovation, the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house was transformed into a five bedroom, three full- and two half-bathroom house, in-

“We did this all without building an addition,” one of the owners said. “That’s where my husband’s real architectural wisdom came through.”

While initially he might have been reluctant to take on the demands of a Wright home in need of so much maintenance, the owner notes also said he had a huge appreciation for Wright from visiting so many Wright homes with his architect husband over the years.

“We’ve been privileged to have so many amazing visits to Wright houses in the past, so once we got started on this, I was all in.”

He said he worked meticulously to restore the details of the house, stripping paint and cleaning the original window hardware with ketchup and recreating missing beads in the original beadboard on the stairs to the second floor.

Along the way, he developed a deeper appreciation for Wright and a curiosity about the home’s past.

“It was slated for demolition in 1962. Around the time of the first historic preservation movement here. The neighbors started a letter writing campaign to save it,” he said.

While he and his husband were busy with the renovation and getting their daughter settled in Oak Park, he said, “It’s taken us until now to fully unpack the architecture and history about why this house is so significant.”

With no original drawings to go on, he began a quest to determine what Wright was doing with the home. He posits that this house might be one of the earliest precursors to Wright’s Prairie Style.

“I believe a Prairie Style element is represented here for the first time,” he said, explaining that the home appears to be laid out in a pinwheel style, which William Stor rer defined as a crucial floor plan for Prairie Style homes in his book, The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion.

The home exemplifies other Wright calling cards with a compression in the lowered, closed in entry that releases in the living room. The compression and release cycle is re peated in between the living and dining room, which are connected by a lowceilinged passage with built-in cabinetry.

Large windows on the front of the home, and a built-in banquette surrounded by win-

dows in the dining room let the outside in

“The inside-outside dichotomy is here too,” the owner said.

He added that the issues that once scared them away may have been key to the home’s survival.

“One of the amazing things about the house not being maintained was that it wasn’t renovated. Really, all of the architectural features of the house were intact.”

The two said they are looking forward to sharing the home with the community and continuing to discover more about Wright through their home.

“It’s not a fancy house, but he lavished it with a lot of fancy ideas,” the owner said.

GEORGE SMITH

PROPER TY TR ANSFERS

Oak Park home sells for $1.025 million

139 S. Grove Ave., Oak Park

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M.

Call Viewpoints editor

Ken Trainor at 613-3310

ktrainor@wjinc.com

Scratching a 7-year itch

I’ve been writing for almost 40 years, my very first article being published in the Chicago Tribune in 1984. I’ll let you do the math. My mother was a writer, my grandparents were writers and editors, and even my greatgrandfather wrote while stealing onto a sailing ship from England to navigate this country at the age of 16. Is it inherent? Or did I just follow along on the path of least resistance like a lemming nosing along the red slashes of an editor’s pen? Not sure, and it probably doesn’t matter because by 2017 I had stopped writing. Until today. Seven years, cold turkey. Just. Like. That It seems like it should be harder to give up something you love so much, something that has been such an integral part of most of your life, but it wasn’t. It makes me a little sad to think how easy it was. I didn’t feel guilty or like I had failed my writing forebears. I simply felt I had nothing to say, or at least nothing you would want to hear

JULIANNE

WOOD

One View

In my last year of published writing, 2017, I was lucky enough to have six or seven articles published in Wednesday Jour nal alone (thank you, Ken & Dan) and by that time the merda had squarely hit the turbo fan and was flying off in every direction: The Donald had been installed as the new Antichrist. Soon after, the Pandemic reared its ugly variant head, and I had not only lost my mother, but both of my in-laws during those seven years. However, the real Luxardo cherry on top of this crap sundae was being diagnosed with cancer in 2022. Helluva carnival ride, huh?

I’m not making excuses for myself, or looking for sympathy. As my husband likes to say, ‘I’m not complaining, I’m just explaining.’ I won’t unload the unpleasant and gory details that go along with a cancer journey. Many of you, sadly, know it all too well. I share this because surviving cancer, the sadness of personal loss, and the tangible fear of almost losing everything that makes America America, has brought me to the other side

Where I discovered I still had a voice. Kind of raspy, a little quiet from lack of use (unless you ask my family), but my voice just the same.

And this may be a bit of the reason why that voice reemerged today:

Monday night, Aug. 19, I sat with my husband and good friends in a box seat at the beautifully restored Auditorium Theater to watch the opening night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention on jumbo screens We were invited to be in the audience of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert “Live from Chicago,” the first of his 4-night stint here during the 2024 DNC. His special guest was none other than

VIEWPOINTS

IShrubtown: American Gothic, Oak Park style

Person-to-person is our only hope

am not much of a protest person. Just after graduating from college in 1982, I attended the No Nukes rally in New York’s Central Park with a million other people, but other than that, I can’t recall attending many protests.

I was 10 years too young for the 1968 riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, though an older brother of mine took the el to watch the melee

But when I heard that my friend Anan Abu Taleb was organizing a lakefront run during the current Democratic Convention to rally against ter rorism and for peace in Gaza and Israel, I was all in. We gathered at 7:30 a.m. by Buckingham Fountain. It wasn’t a big crowd. Mostly friends — from three different worlds.

Richard Goldwasser, a runner and local member of the Jewish community in Chicago.

Goldwasser is an attorney who began his legal career clerking for the Supreme Court of Israel. He and a few others were there to support a ceasefire in Gaza from a Jewish perspective.

The third group was a handful of curious outsiders like me — veteran Chicago runners who support peace in general and running specifically. I asked Anan and Goldwasser what they hoped to accomplish.

Goldwasser said that he and Anan have been friends for a while and are trying to put out a message that the way to a ceasefire and hostage release is by making a connection between two divergent communities.

Anan, a Palestinian Christian, was born in Gaza and has close family members who are suffering there due to the invasion by Israel following Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel last October

Anan is a longtime Oak Park resident, for mer village president, and business owner. He organized the run with

Anan agreed, saying, “What we’re missing is the opportunity to get to know one another and confirm that we have the same hopes, aspirations and fears.”

But bridging the divide between Gaza and Israel, or

JACK CROWE

A two-term limit?

Local electoral boards are odd creations. Created to resolve any range of issues around local elections, they inevitably have a whiff of conflict of interest. We get the upside of keeping these decisions local where the issues are best known. But quite often the decisions involve people or persons who are actually, under statute, on the electoral board.

That’s the case right now in River Forest where an effort to place a referendum on the November ballot, limiting the village president to two ter ms, has become an issue

The referendum question is being pushed by Deborah Bor man, an up-and-coming local activist. She and her compatriots have gathered 753 petition signatures. That is, seemingly, plenty to satisfy a requirement for 396 signatures. But the petitions have now been challenged by Carolyn Kilbride, another local resident. That led to a meeting of the three-person local electoral board. Under state law, that board includes the village president, the village clerk and the longest serving village trustee.

To her credit, Cathy Adduci, the village president now serving her third ter m, chose during the initial hearing to recuse herself That came after the electoral board voted 2-1 to ask the chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court to name a third member to the body, specifically a local person who is not on the village board.

There is a tradition in many towns that mayors and village presidents self-limit by stepping down after two ter ms. We recall an Oak Park village president who contemplated going for a third ter m on the basis of “work still to be done” but ultimately concluded that two terms was the wise, if unofficial, choice River Forest does not have that tradition. Adduci is only the most recent local leader to go long.

We understand the argument that voters should decide who is elected. But we also respect the citizen referendum path and, so far, do not see evidence on which to block that effort

e right response

Good for River Forest village officials for their rapid pushback against an annoying lawsuit filed by the failed developers of the vacant parcel at Lake and Lathrop.

The LLC behind that chronically stalled project missed both their contractual deadlines on the umpteenth extension granted by River Forest’s village board and found their bank loan foreclosed on by Wintrust Bank.

Rather than facing the reality that it had botched this project over and again, Sedgwick Properties, the agent of the LLC, instead filed suit against the village over its refusal to issue new building permits.

A fully preposterous request from a developer ter minally unable to make what should have been a slam dunk project happen years ago. They had the best site for luxury housing in the village, at one point they claimed they had presold half the units, and they had an overly generous village which gave them repeated do-overs.

So yes, River Forest must push to have this case dismissed so that the court-appointed receiver can move ahead with the sale of this sought-after parcel.

Getting my hopes up

Is it finally happening? The breakthrough? The transition to what comes next? What I’ve been waiting to see my entire adult life? Watching the Democratic National Convention had me wondering. This one felt different. The euphoria wasn’t forced. It didn’t feel entirely scripted and choreographed. It felt more authentic, exuberant, unleashed

The speeches were remarkable — eloquent and uplifting — like they all tapped the same wellspring, the same gusher. Not oil. Something cleaner, clearer: Joy and optimism, America’s living water. So beautifully articulating our foundational values that we felt tantalizingly closer to realizing them. Facing an existential threat to our democracy seems to have concentrated our minds wonderfully, uniting behind a shared vision of a better future. An achievable future. The real thing Ah yes, the caveats. Don’t get swept away. Anything can and probably will happen. We still have a long way to go. There will be setbacks. Don’t get your hopes up We’ve been disappointed before Yes, we have been thoroughly programmed not to expect “too much.” We live in an imperfect world. We’re only human. Over-confidence is always fatal. The voices of caution are coming in loud and clear None … the … less

KEN TRAINOR

Powerful and pure, / divided we cannot endure / but united, we can endeavor to humanize our democracy / and endear democracy to humanity

And make no mistake, / cohering is the hardest task history ever wrote.

Yet tomorrow is not written by our odds of hardship / but by the audacity of our hope, / by the vitality of our vote.

Only now approaching this rare air / are we aware / that perhaps the American dream is no dream at all / but instead a dare / to dream together.

Like a million roots tethered, / branching up humbly, / making one tree, this is our country / from many, one, / from battles, won, / our freedoms sung, / our kingdom come has just begun.

We redeem this sacred scene / ready for our journey from it together

We must birth this early republic / and achieve an unearthly summit / let us not just believe in the American dream, / let us be worthy of it

What will make us worthy of it? The first step is defeating extremism by actualizing the better angels of our nature and outvoting the lesser angels of our nature. After that? Ah, let’s dream a little

As columnist Will Bunch wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer: “A lot will happen this fall, but right now, I wouldn’t bet against the party that’s dancing in the aisles.”

I wouldn’t either. Speakers spoke truth and listeners recognized it, the quiet nodding of heads more impressive than the bellowing roars. The whole truth and nothing but the truth? Let’s not get carried away. But close enough for gover nment work, as the old saying goes.

And close enough to see the future from here — a brighter future. A new and improved American Dream.

As Amanda Gorman, who is fast becoming the poet laureate of democracy, put it last Wednesday night: We gather at this hallowed place / because we believe in the American dream.

We face a race that tests if this country we cherish / shall perish from the Earth / and if our Earth shall perish from this country

It falls to us to ensure that we do not fall, / for a people who cannot stand together / cannot stand at all.

We are one family / regardless of religion, class or color.

For what defines a patriot is not just our love of liberty / but our love of one another.

This is loud in our country’s call because while we all love freedom, / it is love that frees us all.

Empathy emancipates, / making us greater than hate or vanity, / that is the American promise.

Over the past 50 years, the Democratic Party has been evolving, whereas the Republicans have been devolving, turning too many Americans against their gover nment.

The Democratic Party has slowly become more open and diverse, the party of we the people. As for mer President Bill Clinton pointed out last Wednesday, since the end of the Cold War in 1989, our economy has added 51 million jobs — 50 million during Democratic administrations, 1 million during Republican administrations. That’s because Democrats believe in gover nment. Republicans don’t. And that makes all the difference.

Democrats are a functioning, and talent-rich, political party. Republicans are a personality cult, whose personality is long past his expiration date. If American voters deliver the White House and a large enough majority in Congress, Democrats can pass refor ms that will protect our democracy from authoritarianism; remove barriers to equality for women and people of color; make health care a right; legalize reproductive rights; regulate guns to make all of us safer, especially our kids; make the necessary progress on climate change that will save the planet for those same kids, and their kids; and create a stronger economy, based on clean energy, that will reduce economic inequality

We can, at last, make dramatic progress on transforming the planet. We’re not talking revolution here. We’re talking accelerated evolution.

It’s not a pipe dream.

It’s the New American Dream, the one that had people dancing in the aisles last week in Chicago.

SHRUB TO WN by Marc Stopeck

Why

I observe Be SMART Week

Thank you, village of Oak Park, for the Be SMART Week proclamation.

My friends, Christopher and Darius, should be enjoying the prime years of their lives, but two irresponsible gun owners did not store their guns safely.

Christopher was only a year old when I and my 1-year-old son, Zach, met him. At the age of 18, Christopher and other friends gathered, one afternoon, to hang out. One friend brought a gun he found at home. Christopher ended up dead

One hot summer evening, Darius was with his cousins on his front porch. A neighboring youth in a passing car was having fun shooting a gun, with no intention of hurting anyone. As Darius took a moment to stretch and stand up, a bullet struck his head and killed him.

I’ve carried grief for Christopher and Darius for years, and my heart aches with their parents. The two youth who found those guns, should not have had access to them. A responsible gun owner would have locked the unloaded gun up in a safe and locked up the ammunition elsewhere.

When these tragedies happened in the late ’90s, I had not heard of the concept of “safe storage of guns.” Today, I’ve joined the movement to protect our youth from these tragic,

needless deaths and injuries by taking effective actions to keep our youth safe from gun violence. The Be SMART program specifies practices to encouraging gun owners and non-gun owners alike to:

■ Secure all guns in homes and vehicles

■ Model responsible behavior around guns

■ Ask about the presence of unsecured firearms in other homes your child visits

■ Recognize the role of guns in suicide

■ Tell your peers to Be SMART

Great resources are available to safely store guns at https://besmartforkids.org/secure-gun-storage.

The Oak Park Health Department provides resources for conversations with others to ensure children are staying safe. These include sample conversation starters that help parents and grandparents check to see that their children may stay safe: https://www oak-park us/safestorage.

Thank you, village of Oak Park trustees for promoting SMART week and focusing on the prevention of gun violence.

Lois Thiessen Love Oak Park

WEDNESD AY

of Oak Park and River Forest

Viewpoints Guidelines

e goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have su cient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it o en is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it.

We reser ve the right to edit submissions. We do not have time to allow the writer to review changes before publication. We also do not have time to do more than super cial fact-checking, and because of our national epidemic of misinformation and conspiracy theories, when writers include statistical evidence to support their opinions, we require them to include the source of that information, such as credible websites, print publications, titles of articles and dates published, etc. Be as speci c as possible so that we and our readers have some way of assessing the credibility of your claims. Links may also be included for the online version. We follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics: seek the truth and report it and minimize harm. As a result, we will do our best not to publish pieces that espouse doubtful or debunked theories, demonstrate harmful bias, or cross the line into incivility. While we will do our best not to engage in censorship, we also do not intend to be used as a platform for misinformation. Your sources for fact-checking are a critical step in keeping the discourse honest, decent and respectful.

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If we receive your submission by 5 p.m. on Sunday, you can expect your opinion to be included in that week’s paper (and online), space permitting.

Pieces can be submitted through our online form at oakpark.com or directly to Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor, ktrainor@wjinc.com. For the latter, we prefer attached Word les or plain tex t included in the email.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

■ 350-word limit

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‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY

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Look for the helpers

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the injustices that exist in our society, especially knowing that so many people cannot af ford access to le gal services. But there’s a great quote from Fred Rogers that gives good advice: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

And here is where I’d like to draw your attention to Pro Bono Network (PBN) — a nonprofit, based in Oak Park, which has quietly and efficiently been making it possible for more “helpers” to take action to make justice more accessible in our community.

Pro Bono Network (PBN) was founded in 2011 by a small group of local attorneys to create opportunities for lawyers to provide pro bono services to clients who need it most. When Donna Peel, Oak Park resident and one of PBN’s founders, initially sought volunteer legal opportunities, she was baffled by how frequently the opportunities did not work because of her stay-at-home-mom schedule.

She connected with other attorneys who were similarly on career breaks to take care of family, and collectively they for med a network. As a larger entity, this group partnered with local legal aid agencies, organized training sessions and identified projects that fit their schedules. As time went on, our organization grew Attorneys found great satisfaction giving back to their communities through PBN and more volunteers joined, from more walks of life. Retired attor neys, looking for flexibility while giving back, got involved. Solo practitioners, in-house counsel, and attorneys from small- and mid-size law firms signed up as PBN volunteers. By creating pathways for “the helpers,” PBN has engaged over 500 highly-skilled attorneys to provide over 32,000 hours of free legal services. Current projects exist across four program areas: family law, immigration, racial equity, and senior work.

If you would like to learn more or get involved, stop by PBN’s Open House on Wednesday, Sept. 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Oak Park Main Library. Molly MacCready Executi ve director molly.maccready@pro-bono-network.org

Gun owners’ responsibility: keep kids safe

Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the U.S., which makes the backto-school season a perfect time to spread the word on the critical importance of secure gun storage to prevent school shootings, unintentional shootings and firearm suicide.

Aug. 26–30 marks the first annual SMART Week. Built on the foundation of the Be SMART public education program, this week highlights that one of the smartest things adults can do to keep kids, classrooms, and communities safe from gun violence is raise awareness about the simple steps that everyone, gun owners and non-gun owners alike — can take to prevent gun violence:

■ Secure all guns in homes and vehicles (unloaded, locked up, and stored separately from ammunition)

■ Model responsible behavior around guns

■ Ask about the presence of unsecured firearms in other homes your child visits

■ Recognize the role of guns in suicide

■ Tell your peers to Be SMART.

As we prepare for the school year, let’s normalize conversations about gun safety and share the Be SMART message far and wide

If you need a gun lock, contact the Oak Park Department of Public Health or Police Depar tment. Free gun locks are also available at:

■ Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison St.

■ Community Mental Health Board, 229 Madison St.

■ Oak Park Township, 105 S. Oak Park Ave.

To learn more about secure gun storage, text SMART to 644-33, follow @BeSMARTforKids on Instagram and Facebook, or visit besmartforkids.org

Jenna Leving Jacobson Oak Park

Let this be the last balloon drop

After a truly rousing DNC convention this week, I was horrified to see 100,000 balloons rain down from the rafters on Thursday night. All I could think about was all the plastic that was used to make these balloons and the absolute mess that the workers were going to have to pick up.

Even after I found out, days later, that the balloons were biodegradable and meant as a tribute to an ailing balloon artist, I still wish this trend would stop. These balloons still had to be popped by the low-wage workers at the United Center and who knows if they were disposed of properly?

It’s time to stop using balloons, of any kind, for events, store openings, and parties. The world doesn’t need more plastic consumed and there are many other options. The DNC could have continued the light show with the confetti that was right behind the lectern, along with any number of other lighting ideas with great music. Dropping waste on people’s heads, no matter if it’s recycled or composted, is still waste. If there must be decorations, think recyclable, reusable, non-plastic.

In this house

After reading the Aug. 19 article, “Police data shows most pedestrian stops are Black men,” [News, Aug. 21], the revelation that the overwhelming majority of police stops were initiated by calls from Oak Park residents should come as no surprise. For all the ire directed at disparate

policing, one is left to wonder whether those signs adorning the lawns of Oak Park should instead read, “In this house we believe: that black guy across the street looks suspicious.”

Alexander Papadakis Oak Park

Critic of Harris uses a priori fallacy

Let me be the teacher here because it appears that Jonathan Panton is very much in need of some review of “Logic and Rhetoric,” as his Aug. 21 “One View” [Who is the real Kamala Harris? Viewpoints] strongly suggests.

In logic, one must be quite careful that one’s argument does not embody what is called a “fallacy.” Many logical fallacies await those who would engage in debate or, particularly, political discussion. One of the most common is known as the “A Priori Argument.” The University of Texas’ “Master List of Logical Fallacies” defines the A Priori Argument as “a corrupt argument from logos, starting with a given, pre-set belief, dogma, doctrine, scripture verse, ‘fact’ or conclusion, and then searching for any reasonable or reasonable-sounding argument to rationalize, defend or justify it.” (1)

People who fall into — or intentionally use — the A Priori Argument fallacy tend to marshal only those “facts” that support the conclusion they start with and to distort otherwise credible sources of information. Jonathan has done both. You clearly star ted with “Kamala Har-

ris and Tim Walz, bad and evil; the other guys, good.” You then located sources, many of them biased to start with, that “prove” your assertions. You also excised objectively written sources from their contexts and quoted them as if they support your a priori conclusion, which they do not.

Were I grading your essay (and believe me, I’ve graded many such effor ts), I’d do a detailed dissection of it in red ink and give it an “F.”

It is quite possible to argue a political position without resorting to, as noted above, an obvious fallacy. Conservative positions can be adhered to without such dishonesty. We have many examples of this. I recommend that you study the work of Adam Kinzinger, David Brooks, and others like them.

Here’s my single footnote, this one an honest citation.

(1) https://utminers.ute p.edu/ omwilliamson/engl1311/fallacies. htm#:~:text=The A Priori Argument Ed McDevitt River Forest

Jen Packheiser Oak Park

Stuck in the middle

Inever paid much attention to the significance of birth order, but I recently learned it influences our whole lives. I knew I was a middle child but didn’t realize that middlers have a unique set of characteristics — some of which are very positive.

For example, we tend to be fearless. When I was a private detective, I became accustomed to facing danger on a regular basis. Today, the scariest person I have to face is my accountant. We’re risk-takers. When we were kids, we’d be the first to jump off the garage roof with an umbrella. We’re edgy rebels and act as agents of change — as in my mother’s warning, “You better change that tone of voice.”

feel comfortable confiding in us We want to make sure everyone’s needs are met. We develop empathy to the extreme

Sometimes our selflessness hurts. Since we aren’t demanding about our own needs, parents tend to overlook us. We’re like the fly-over part of the family, with parents focusing on their favorites. Older and younger siblings overshadow us We can spend the rest of our lives trying to catch up.

JULIANNE WOOD

Rediscovering her voice

from page 27

our 67th Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Auditorium was packed with 3,900, all the way up to the fourth-floor balconies. It was loud, joyful and hopeful for all the possibilities and potential of a new young Democratic ticket. The energy was electric and contagious, and it hit me like a 64-ounce Stanley of Jolt Cola. We got home at 1:45 a.m. (Love You, Joe!) and then I wrote this article.

JACK CROWE

Running for a cease re

from page 27

Jews and Palestinians, requires something more than physical proximity. It requires what Goldwasser calls “emotional connectivity.”

That is an insight I thought. It may be the missing link in our evolutionary DNA.

We were so attention-starved, we lear ned to stand out by becoming the “class clown.” We were labeled “troublemakers.” But because we always had to share a bedroom and were often stuck in the middle of the backseat, we needed to assert ourselves.

I paid the price for my rebellious ways When it came to fighting with my older siblings, I had zero wins. I kept fighting anyway because we middle children are seekers of justice — as in, “Why do the older kids get to stay up and I have to go to bed?” As crusaders for personal and social fair ness, it’s no surprise we make great leaders.

We’re also master negotiators. When we played pick-up games of football, I couldn’t stand the arguments over where to spot the ball. I just wanted to play. So I would place the ball in the middle between where both teams wanted it. The rivals were slightly disappointed with this compromise, but they would stop arguing.

We’re peacemakers because we’re good listeners (thanks to PI work and jour nalism, I’m a trained listener). And we have the patience to be good mediators. We’re open-minded and non-judgmental, so people

Despite this mistreatment, we tend to turn out well-adjusted. Don’t ask me how. I mean, many of us are considered the black sheep of the family When something was broken, we were the usual suspect. We were punished with chores, which freed-up the other siblings to enjoy their lives of leisure and luxury. But not being the center of attention meant we got away with more than our siblings. Lacking support from home, we became trail-blazers. We were independent from a young age. We were also ambitious, determined to have our own room someday, to wear clothing that still had the tags on it, and to sit shotgun during a family vacation. Sadly, this fierce fight for our rights takes its toll. We tend to have low self-esteem and suffer from shyness. Being somewhat invisible, I was known for making mysterious exits from family parties. I was just trying to find my own space, where there was peace and quiet — and didn’t have to share my dessert.

We middle children do not yet have our own organization or self-help group. It’s only a matter of time. When we do start the Forest Park chapter of Middle Children Anonymous, I want to sit at — or near — the front of the room.

John Rice grew up in Oak Park and now lives in Forest Park. He writes a column for our sister publication, the Forest Park Review

Was my 7-year curse broken? Who knows? And who cares? What I do know is that we all have a voice hidden somewhere behind the trauma, the tragedy and the day-to-day monotony. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have never stood up to live.”

Hopefully I’ve found my voice for good Here’s hoping you find yours as well.

I love walking my dog Abby every day, and have come to know many neighbors while out for our long walks I would like to respond to James Yount’s viewpoint about “A dog-friendly village.”

Yes, we are a dog-friendly village, with many

people who own dogs. To make us an even more dog-friendly village, we should know about keeping our dogs in their place. There was a time, when like many other dog owners, I did not know any better. Now I know. Alleys, sidewalks, streets, and park-

Goldwasser and Anan put this connectivity to the test personally. They for med a friendship that evolved to include a meaningful connection between a Palestinian American and a Jewish American who also happen to be marathon runners. Goldwasser lamented that “the two communities don’t see one another’s narrative and unless you know someone from the opposite group, there’s an obstacle to recognizing someone’s humanity.”

Anan acknowledges their differences. They don’t always agree. But they share similar values.

“We’re both ethical,” he said. “We don’t have double standards We believe hypocrisy is a terrible thing. We love our families We’re hard workers. We care about our community. And we care about other people.”

Hearing all this, a fool like me might think that Goldwasser and Abu-Taleb and a handful of lakefront runners represent a hopeless cause against an un-resolvable war

And yet … I can’t imagine any other way to resolve the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, or for that matter the divisions that afflict our American body politic.

PROVIDED

Julianne Wood and her husband at e Auditorium eatre on the rst night of the Democratic Convention.

A truly dog-friendly village

ways are the places to walk dogs, as these are “public” areas. More often than not, I see dog walkers allow their dogs to walk all over private property, areas that do not belong to them.

So please, when you walk your dogs, do

Pretty much the only tool we have is the person-to-person work of building human relationships.

However futile. However long

your part: keep them on a leash, pick up after them, and keep them from roaming all over private lawns and gardens. The parkway is for dogs!

Anita Morgan River Forest

Gene Newberry, 93

Longtime owner of Zehender Pharmacy

Eugene (Gene) Robert Newberry, died on Aug. 19, 2024 at home, surrounded by family. Born on April 2, 1931 he grew up in Danville. At age 14, he began working at the soda fountain at Carson’s Pharmacy and found a mentor in the owner, Ben Carson. With Mr. Carson’s encouragement, he attended the University of Illinois Chicago Pharmacy School and apprenticed at Zehender & Factor Phar macy in Oak Park. After graduation he was drafted into the Ar my and stationed at Bremerhaven, Germany, where he met his future wife, Louisa. After returning to the States, they married and lived in Danville where Gene worked for Carson’s.

In 1963 the family moved to Oak Park and he accepted a job at Zehender’s. He and another colleague bought the pharmacy in 1970. Later, he became the sole owner. He employed many students from Oak Park and River Forest High School, and hired others who had difficulty finding jobs. When the store closed in 1998, the Chicago New City arts weekly called the business “the best small pharmacy” in the Chicago area. Personal service — remembering information about customers’ lives and, of course, their medications, and filling emergency prescriptions and delivering them in the middle of the night — earned the store this reputation.

He was a member of the Oak Park Rotary Club and served as the 1976-77 president. He co-founded the 200 S. Taylor block party — one of the longest continuously running annual block parties in Oak Park — and helped plan it for 48 years.

A diehard Cubs fan, he was jubilant when they gave him a World Series win in his lifetime (2016). He relished travel, visiting 32 countries, and camping with his family across the U.S. He loved Christmas — putting up the tree and a huge wreath on the porch, decorating the house, playing Christmas music, and making 10 kinds of candy.

Family was everything. Gene was loved and will be dearly missed by Louisa, his wife of 67 years; his children and their spouses, Liz (Lou Ehasz), Carolyn (David Schwartz), Tom (Patti), Sam (Barbara Leutz), and John (Patty); his grandchildren, Will, Nat, Sylvie, Kevin, Lauren, Brian, Jacob and Jacquelyn; and his great-granddaughter London. He was preceded in death by his mother and stepfather, Ruth and Joe Beddow, and many friends. Memorial gifts are suggested to the National Parks Foundation. Peterson-Bassi Chapels (www.petersonfuneralhome.com) handled the arrangements.

Richard (Dik)

Faron, 92

Ar tist, owned The Glad Eye gallery

Richard Stanley (“Dik”) Faron, 92, of Hayward, Wisconsin, died on July 30, 2024. A native Chicagoan he was a graduate of Mount Carmel High School. As a young adult he followed his dream of becoming an artist and atnstitute of Chicago and the Art.

d an “art-full” life. Everything he touched he transformed. A black Sharpie pen was always in his hand as he tirelessly sketched, cartooned, and rendered on sheets of paper, backs of envelopes, or the always handy fast-food napkin

A commercial artist and fine artist he raised his family along with his wife, Helen (a fine art potter) in Oak Park. Over a 70-year career, he explored various media. He painted, sketched, made prints, and created 3D sculptures, which he called Whirligigs.

In the mid-1970s he opened a fine art gallery in downtown Oak Park called The Glad Eye at 1116 Lake St. The gallery featured his artwork along with the work of various artists from the area. The introduction he wrote for a local advertisement expresses everything in his philosophy:

The Glad Eye Gallery has come to the Village. We believe we offer something unique

in our area: a continual exhibit of contemporary work by artists of imagination and merit. We don’t sell frames and we can’t match paintings to drapery swatches, but we can give you … The Glad Eye.

Dik was the father of Richard and McAllister Faron and father-in-law of Liz (Ciota) Faron and Julia (Krasniewski) Faron; brother of Carol (Faron) Wulkowicz; and the much-quotable grandfather of Sean and seph Faron.

Dik was one of those special people would strike up a conversation with any

In lieu of any memorial, we encour to donate your time or a gift, if you are in memory of Richard “Dik” Faron imal Care League in Oak Park, http://www animalcareleague.org.

Ann Payne, 87 Nurse

Elizabeth (Caryl) Pa of Oak Pa rk , die d on Au g. 25, 2024. Born to Clifton and Mary Caryl of Marysville, Ohi o, she was a dedicated nurse for over 50 year s, wo rk in g many years for the VNA Health Care in Chicago as well as St. Mary of N azareth Hospital and the Little Sisters of the Poor. S he enjoyed time with her f amily and friends and was a love r of music and cats. Her heart was always open to those in need and she was love d by many.

In lieu of fl ower s, d onations to the Humane Society or animal shelter of your c hoice are appreciated

Lloyd Kinzer, 84 Minister and musician

Wesley eston, peaceully on May 30, 2024, ourageous battle with cancer. March 8, 1940, in Litchfield, harles and MariKinzer, he came while an ew up ashington & ourt.” It was named after his mother, their tenant hen they needed ersion to condominiums

He attended Emerson Elementary School (now Brooks Middle School) and Oak Park and River Forest High School. In high school he was on the football and wrestling teams, in the Burke Debating Club, in concert band, marching band, and the brass sextet on the baritone, and was the marching band drum major in his senior year.

A nn is survive d by her three children, Je ff (Bernadette), Mary A nn L ux (Brad), and Chris, and was preceded in death by her son, Michael (Carla); her f our gr andchildren, Bryan (Leah) and Kevin (Drea) L ux, Damon Payn e, and Vanessa Fa rl ow (Steven); and her two gr eat- gr andchildren, Rive r and Maxwell Lux.

T he f amily extends i ts heartfelt gr ati tude to the kind and loving staf f at A zura- Fo x Po i nt and St. Croix Hospic e who eased An n’s final years and days, and to her “besti e, ” T unisia, for her c ompassion and dedication. S he love d you all.

He graduated from Monmouth College in 1962 and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1965. Ordained on Sept. 8, 1965 at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Park, after several career starts, he became a sales representative for Bioquant Image Analysis Software. He met his wife, Joellyn Diener, in Washington D.C. They were married Nov. 30, 1968, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, in Falls Church, Virginia and moved to Reston, Virginia in 1970.

He was associate pastor of the United Christian Parish of Reston, a member of the Reston Chorale, and was involved with the Reston Community Orchestra. He supported the Boys Scouts, Cornerstones, and the Democratic Party.

Lloyd is survived by his brother, Charles Eric; his wife, Joellyn; his sons, Karsten of South Riding, Virginia and Kyle of Fairfax, Virginia; his grandchildren, Margaret and William; and his step-grandsons, Jacob Smith and Douglas Smith.

Please contact Ken Trainor by e-mail: ktrainor@wjinc.com, or fax: 708/524-0447 before Monday at noon. Please include a photo if possible.

SPORTS

Youthful OPRF football team is full of energy

Huskies look to turn their record around this season

By MELVIN TATE

Contributing Reporter

After finishing 1-8 last season, the Oak Park and Ri Forest High School football team is optimistic about a turnaround this year.

“A lot of us got experience last year,” said OPRF junior quarterback Johnny Nelson, one of six returning star “We’re also pretty confident in our young dudes.”

“They have worked really hard in the offseason, throughout the summer, and now into practice,” said OPRF coach John Hoerster, entering his 14th season. “I am looking ward to seeing how it all translates on the field.

At the Huskies’ annual scrimmage, Aug. 23, senior Owen Watson threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to senior WR Matt Winkelhake, a member of the 2023 West Suburban Silver All-Conference team. Watson, who added a 14touchdown to senior WR Mikee Vielehr, is competing re ps alongside Nelson, who had completions of 41 and 48 yards respectively and showed good touch on his throws.

“It feels fun to have competition,” Nelson said. “Owen one of my best friends on the team. Competing against him helps me hold myself to a higher standard.”

Another scrimmage standout was junior Chris Crape, who broke of f an 80-yard touchdown run from quarterback. Hoerster compared Crape, who also plays running back, slot receiver, and cor nerback, to an alum who had his number retired last year.

“Chris reminds me a lot of a young Dallis [Flowers],” he said. “He’s built like him, long and wiry. He’s a good player.”

Defensively, cornerbacks Isaiah Gibson, a junior, and Emmett Kennedy, a senior, had interceptions. Senior linebacker Hugh Vanek looked impressive, making multiple

2024 OPRF Football Schedule

(home games in CAPS BOLD)

8/31 FENWICK, 1:30 p.m.

9/6 MORGAN PARK, 7:30 p.m.

9/13 PROVISO WEST, 7:30 p.m.

9/20 YORK, 7:30 p.m.

9/27 at Downers Grove North, 7:30 p.m.

10/4 at Lyons Township, 7:30 p.m.

10/11 HINSDALE CENTRAL, 7:30 p.m.

10/18 WILLOWBROOK, 7:30 p.m.

10/26 at Glenbard West, 1:30 p.m.

Huskies’ QB Johnny Nelson heads dow n eld dur ing Homecoming last year.

good plays.

The line, led by junior Pier re Nelson and senior CJ Robinson, lacks size. But it shows great promise, and that’s a credit to another OPRF great who has come home to help.

“Allen Stallings (2016 alum) is coaching with us,” Hoerster said. “He was a guy from my early days who got after it. His energy is rubbing of f on these guys; we don’t have a lot of size, but we’ve got a lot of energy, grit, and toughness, and it’s fun to watch.”

Besides Crape, the Huskies’ other top newcomers are sophomore RB/LB Liam Smith, sophomore OT Brian Matthews, and senior wing/LB Jake Karnick.

Under Hoerster, OPRF has played strong schedules, and this year is no exception. The Huskies, who have six home games — including their first four — welcome Chicago Public League power Morgan Park, a 2023 Class 5A quarterfinalist, on Sept. 6. And as usual, the WSC Silver looks strong, with Class 7A runner-up Downers Grove North and 8A semifinalist York among this year’s top Chicago area teams

But Hoerster and his players are especially looking for-

ward to the season opener, Aug. 31 at 1:30 p.m., as they host their East Avenue neighbor, Fenwick

“We’re going to pack the place,” Nelson said. “It’s going to be fun.”

“It’s a cool thing for the community,” Hoerster said. “It gives the student body something to look forward to the early part of the school year. Our kids are excited to be back; they love the summer, but all these neighborhood kids come back and see what classes they have together, it’s fun.”

Hoerster isn’t setting specific goals for this season. Rather, he’s taking a holistic approach, something he feels will serve his team and coaches well.

“Don’t look ahead, don’t look behind,” Hoerster said. “We’re only guaranteed nine games and we practice so much more often than we play. So every day we get an opportunity to be together, enjoy it, get better, and improve. Show up with great enthusiasm and energy. Live in that day, and do the same tomor row…if we do that, we’ll be able to look back and say, “Man, what a great season.” - no matter what the record is.”

SARA JANZ

Flag football ies at OPRF and Fenwick

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

This fall, there’ll be plenty of football action in the community, and not just for boys on the high school and youth levels. Girls’ flag football has become increasingly popular across the country, and the Illinois High School Association knows it. Starting this year, the IHSA is sanctioning the sport and creating a state playof f series.

That’s something Oak Park and River Forest High School coach James Geovanes and Fenwick High School coach Lenae Fergerson are happy about.

“It’s incredible to be part of history as we launch flag football as an IHSA sport,” said Geovanes, who oversaw the program the previous two years as a club sport. “The enthusiasm from the players, coaches, and community has been overwhelming. We’re building something special here, and I can’t wait to see how the program grows in the coming years.”

“We’re all very excited for the sport to be taking of f as it has,” said Fergerson, who is also the varsity girls basketball coach. “More importantly, we’re going to be part

First year as an IHSA-sanctioned spor t

of history here at Fenwick. This is the inaugural year for girls flag football and we’re very excited, as the girls are as well.”

OPRF

The Huskies will field varsity and junior varsity squads, with 38 girls participating. Geovanes says freshman Nora Partin, along with juniors Cora Brown, Leah Hammerschmidt, Julia Henderson, and Niani Patton have stood out in practices.

Given that there are several colleges and universities starting programs, especially on the NCAA Division III and National Athletic Intercollegiate Association (NAIA) levels, Geovanes thinks flag football will create opportunities for players to develop valuable skills and further their careers beyond high school.

“We want to continue growing the game in our school and in the community,” Geovanes said. “We want this program to become a sustainable, inclusive sport at OPRF for generations.”

He would like to use the Huskies’ established relationship with the National Football League Flag Football prog ram

to help create a feeder progr am for local middle-school girls, as well as g et middleschool boys interested in OPRF’s intramural flag progr am.

While he’s eager for OPRF to compete for this year’s state championship, Geovanes says it’s about more than their record this fall.

“It’s about setting the foundation for future athletes,” he said. “We’re paving the way for the next generation of girls to see that they belong on the football field and that they can compete at a high level with confidence and pride.”

OPRF’s opener against visiting Proviso East, Aug. 26, was postponed due to excessive heat. The Huskies’ next scheduled game is at Joliet Central, Se pt. 3 at 6 p.m.

Fenwick

T he F riars have 40 girls in the progr am, fielding b oth varsity and j unior varsity teams.

According to Fenwick assistant coach Bryan Brohm, seniors London Almedia, Marie Barnett, Mia Hernandez, Olivia LaChance, and Caroline Skoufis along with

Marshall changes mind, commits to Auburn

Fenwick football star had verbally committed to Michigan

in the spring

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

With one week to go before the start of the season, Fenwick senior football player Nate Marshall, one of the state’s top players in the Class of 2025, has changed his colle ge plans

Marshall, a 6-foot, 4-inch, 270-pound defensive lineman and tight end who had verbally committed to the University of Michigan in the spring, announced on his Instagram page, Aug. 23, that he will instead make a verbal commitment to Auburn University.

Marshall was called up from Fenwick man team for the F riars’ 2021 playof f r un, culminated in the IHSA Class 5A state championship – the school’s first. He was named the Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic ence Orange Division Defensive Player of He posted 38 tackles (16 for loss), six sacks, 13 terback hits, four forced fumbles , and four bloc kick s. He was also named to the Chicago Sun-Ti All-Area First Team.

In the spring 247 Sports recruiting ranking shall was rated as the state’s #2 prospect of the Class of 2025, behind Edwardsville defensive lineman Iose Epenesa, who recently committed to the Uni of Iowa. He was also rated the #11 defensive and the #73 overall player nationally. Fenwick kicks of f the season, Aug. 31 at 1:30 p.m., at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

juniors Addison Brohm, Heaven Lee, Rosemarie Nowicki, Gianna Pescatore, Margaret Price, and D. Smith have been the practice standouts.

“They’ve been a large part of our leadership so far, and we’re excited to see how they all perform in our first few g ames,” he said.

In Fenwick’s first season, both Brohm and Fergerson want to establish a standard for future Friar teams to follow.

“We have the goals and objectives of competing to the best of our ability while still learning the game and having fun,” Fergerson said. “Many of our girls are new to the game and are soaking in all the information each day at practice.”

“We take the field with two major goals in mind: have fun and be competitive,” Brohm said. “Fenwick looks to raise the bar each time we compete. … If we do the fundamentals right and execute the plays on both sides of the ball, success will come. The standards we set this season become the foundation for future years. It’s not a task our girls take lightly.”

Fenwick meets host Lyons Township, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m., in Western Springs.

Nate Marshall

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION

NEWREZ LLC D/B/A SHELLPOINT MORTGAGE SERVICING Plaintiff, -v.-

JOSE G. ROMERO, GEMA A. ROMERO, BYLINE BANK, SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO COMMUNITY BANK OF OAK PARK RIVER FOREST, CROWN ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC, LVNV FUNDING, LLC

Defendants

2023 CH 02946

812 HUGH MUIR LN MAYWOOD, IL 60153

NOTICE OF SALE

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on June 10, 2024, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on September 11, 2024, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 812 HUGH MUIR LN, MAYWOOD, IL 60153

Property Index No. 15-02-322-0160000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

The judgment amount was $183,864.65.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

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

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW.

You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, contact CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 205 N. MICHIGAN SUITE 810, CHICAGO, IL, 60601 (561) 241-6901. Please refer to file number 22-087686. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION

One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE

You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

CHAD LEWIS

ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC

205 N. MICHIGAN SUITE 810 CHICAGO IL, 60601

561-241-6901

E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM

Attorney File No. 22-087686

Attorney ARDC No. 6306439 Attorney Code. 65582 Case Number: 2023 CH 02946

TJSC#: 44-1885

NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Case # 2023 CH 02946 I3249923

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS

Public Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of River Forest, Cook County, Illinois, on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. in the First Floor Community Room of the River Forest Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois, to consider amendment(s) to the Village’s Zoning Ordinance which include, but may not be limited to, the following:

1. A Text Amendment to Section 10-3-1 (Definitions of Words and Terms) of the Zoning Ordinance regarding to define terms relating to electric vehicle charging; and

2. A Text Amendment to create a new Section 10-7-7 of the Zoning Ordinance regarding Electric Vehicle Charging Station Standards; and

3. A Text Amendment to Section 10-12-8 (Off Street Parking) of the Zoning Ordinance to establish electric vehicle charging infrastructure requirements for new construction in C1, C2, C3 and ORIC districts; and

4. A Text Amendment to Section 10-21-3 (Land Use Chart) of the Zoning Ordinance to designate Electric Vehicle Charging as a permitted accessory use in all zoning districts.

The petitioner for the Text Amendments is the Village President and Board of Trustees. This public hearing is being held pursuant to direction given by the Village Board of Trustees for the Zoning Board of Appeals to consider these amendments. For additional information visit www.vrf. us.

All interested persons will be given the opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. For public comments to be considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals and Village Board of Trustees in their decision, they must be included as part of the public hearing record. If you cannot attend the public hearing but would like to provide input on this matter to the Zoning Board of Appeals you may submit your comments in writing, to Clifford Radatz,

Building Official, no later than 12:00 Noon on the date of the public hearing at cradatz@vrf.us or by mailing them to 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305. For further information or for a copy of the proposed text amendments, please contact Village Administrator Matt Walsh at (708) 714-3563 or at mwalsh@vrf.us or visit www.vrf.us.

Sincerely,

Clifford Radatz

Secretary, Zoning Board of Appeals

Published in Wednesday Journal August 28, 2024

Advertisement to Solicit Bids

Notice is hereby given by the Executive Director of Housing Forward, 1851 South 9th Avenue, Maywood, Illinois, that bids will be received for the following improvements at The Write Inn located at 211 North Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302: Roof membrane replacement, Roof insulation and Masonry Tuckpointing Bids will be received until 5:00PM, Central Standard Time on August 30, 2024, and emailed to RFP@iff. org. Please direct all bid proposals to Ann Panopio.

The bidding forms and documents will be available to request here (https://iff.org/rfps/). The owner, and owner’s representative have been authorized to refuse to issue plans, specifications and proposals to any person, form or corporation that they consider to be unqualified. Proposal must be submitted on the forms provided.

The bidder is specifically advised that Housing Forward is a Subrecipient of the Village of Oak Park of a grant pursuant to the Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, pursuant to an agreement entered between the Village of Oak Park and Housing Forward. Further, the work must adhere to federal labor compliance requirements (Davis Bacon). Housing Forward and Village of Oak Park have a preference to qualifying Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises. Contractors are expected to make their best effort in maximizing participation.

NOTE: No contracts will be awarded unless the contractor is actively registered with the “System for Award Management (SAM)” and permitted to work, certified by the Village of Oak Park.

Project Team:

Owner: Housing Forward Owner’s Representative: IFF

Architect: LBBA

Summary of Work – The project includes all work described in the Bid Documents including but not limited to all required site prep, scaffolding, temporary shoring, demolition, removal and appropriate disposal of waste materials, replacement, or repair of existing materials to remain, cleaning, and confirmation of water-tight enclosure for all areas of work. This work should be coordinated with Owner to minimize impact to Owner’s operations.

Published in Wednesday Journal July 31, August 7, 14, 21, 28, 2024

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF HEARING ON PETITION FOR TERMINATION OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP

SUPERIOR COURT OF ARIZONA IN MARICOPA COUNTY Juvenile Department

PARENT/GUARDIAN NAME(S):

Jennifer Elaine Ciszek-Gill – Mother

Joshua William Clark - Father

Case Number JS22090

Petitioner

Jennifer Elaine Ciszek-Gill

In the Matter of Minor(s):

Levi William Clark 05/02/2007

This is an important notice from the court. Read it carefully.

A petition about termination of parent-child relationship has been filed with the court, and a hearing has been scheduled related to your child(ren). Your rights may be affected by the proceedings. You have a right to appear as a party in the proceeding.

If you fail to participate in the court proceedings, the court may deem that you have waived your legal rights and admitted to the allegations made in the petition. Hearings may go forward in your absence and may result in the termination of your parental rights.

Judicial Officer: Honorable Thomas Marquoit

Hearing Date/Time: September 3, 2024 @ 9:30am (AZ time)

Hearing Type:

Publication Hearing

Location:

Court Connect Remote Appearance ***video appearance preferred

Court Connect Hearing: Yes Video: https://tinyurl.com/jbazmc-juj07 Phone (917)781-4590, Participant Code 764 718 766 #

How can I prepare for the hearing?

Any supporting documentation must be filed with the Clerk of Court at least seventy-two hours in advance of the set hearing date.

If I have questions or concerns who can I contact?

For questions concerning filing, please contact the Clerk of Court at (602) 372-5375. For questions about the hearing, contact the Juvenile Department at (602) 506-4533, Option 2 to reach the assigned Judicial Officer’s staff. If you have legal questions, seek legal counsel.

Docket Code: NOTJS Rev 09/27/23

Published in Wednesday Journal August 7, 14, 21, 28, 2024

LEGAL NOTICE

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS

Public Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) of the Village of River Forest, County of Cook, State of Illinois, on Thursday, September 12, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. in the First Floor Community Room of the River Forest Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois on the following matter:

The ZBA will consider an application for major zoning variations submitted by Ashley and Justin Collins, owners of the property at 7611 Washington Boulevard, who are proposing to construct a new detached garage.

Section 4-8-5 of the Village Code provides the Zoning Board jurisdiction to hold public hearings and offer recommendations to the Village Board concerning variations to Zoning Ordinance.

The applicants are requesting a major variation to Section 10-9-5 of the Zoning Ordinance.

Section 10-9-5 of the Zoning Ordinance (10-8-5) allows a maximum Lot Coverage of 30 percent of the lot area. The new detached garage will increase the Lot Coverage to approximately 32.07 percent.

The legal description of the property at 7611 Washington Boulevard is as follows:

LOT 13 IN WILLIAM P. TUTTLE’S RESUBDIVISION OF LOTS 11 TO 19 AND THE WEST 9 FEET OF LOTS 1 TO 10 AND THE EAST 9 FEET OF LOTS 21 TO 30 IN BLOCK 3 OF LOTS 1 TO 9 IN BLOCK 6 IN THE RESUBDIVISION OF BLOCKS 3 AND 6 AND THE NORTH 450 FEEET OF BLOCK 7 IN HENRY FIELD’S SUBDIVISION OF THE EAST HALF OF THE EAST HALF OF THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

A copy of the application will be available to the public at Village Hall and on the Village’s website at www. vrf.us/zoningvariation no less than 7 days prior to the public hearing.

The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting packet will also be available at www.vrf.us/meetings no less than 48 hours prior to the public hearing.

All interested persons will be given the opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. For public comments to be considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals and Village Board of Trustees in their decision, they must be included as part of the public hearing record. Interested persons can learn more about how to participate in the hearing by visiting www. vrf.us/zoningvariation.

Sincerely,

Clifford Radatz

Secretary, Zoning Board of Appeals

Published in Wednesday Journal August 28, 2024

OF PUBLIC HEARING

HEARING DATE: September 12, 2024

TIME: 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits

LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302

APPLICATION: The Historic Preservation Commission will conduct a public hearing on an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness filed by the Applicant, Anthony and Candice Drew, to construct a side porch addition on the residence at 631 Forest Ave., Oak Park, Illinois, P.I.N. 16-06-319-032-0000, which is located in the Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School of Architecture Historic District.

LEGAL NOTICE

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS

Public Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) of the Village of River Forest, County of Cook, State of Illinois, on Thursday, September 12, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. in the First Floor Community Room of the River Forest Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, River Forest, Illinois on the following matter:

The ZBA will consider an application for major zoning variations submitted by Shira Enbar and Michael Raspatello, owners of the property at 7618 Vine Street, who are proposing to construct an addition onto the existing residence.

Section 4-8-5 of the Village Code provides the Zoning Board jurisdiction to hold public hearings and offer recommendations to the Village Board concerning variations to Zoning Ordinance.

The applicants are requesting major variations to Section 10-9-5 of the Zoning Ordinance.

Section 10-9-5 of the Zoning Ordinance (10-8-5) allows a maximum Lot Coverage of 30 percent of the lot area. The proposed addition will increase the Lot coverage to approximately 32.81 percent.

Section 10-9-5 of the Zoning Ordinance (10-8-5) allows a maximum Floor Area Ratio of 0.40 (40 percent of the lot area). The proposed addition will increase the Floor Area Ratio to 0.439.

The legal description of the property at 7618 Vine Street is as follows: LOT 21 (EXCEPT THE NORTH 16 FEET THEREOF) IN BLOCK 6 IN THE RESUBDIVISION OF BLOCKS 3 AND 6 AND THE NORTH 450 FEET OF BLOCK 7 IN HENRY FIELD’S SUBDIVISION OF THE

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. The public hearing may be adjourned by the Commission to another date without further notice other than a motion to be entered upon the minutes of the hearing fixing the time and place of the date. The Commission shall issue or deny the Certificate of Appropriateness within 15 days following completion of the public hearing.

EAST 1/2 OF THE EAST 1/2 OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

A copy of the application will be available to the public at Village Hall and on the Village’s website at www.vrf. us/zoningvariation no less than 15 days prior to the public hearing. The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting packet will also be available at www. vrf.us/meetings no less than 48 hours prior to the public hearing. All interested persons will be given the opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. For public comments to be considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals and Village Board of Trustees in their decision, they must be included as part of the public hearing record. Interested persons can learn more about how to participate in the hearing by visiting www.vrf.us/zoningvariation.

Sincerely,

Clifford Radatz

Secretary, Zoning Board of Appeals

Published in Wednesday Journal August 28, 2024

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‘American food with a Mexican twist’ Chef Armando Gonzalez creates avors

By ELIZABETH SHORT Contributing Reporter

“When you mix things, it’s beautiful,” says Chef Armando Gonzalez, who owns and runs Amerikas Restaurant in Oak Park. The nuevo Latino restaurant, which will celebrate seven years this December, is inspired by cultures around the world while remaining rooted in Gonzalez’s upbringing in Mexico.

“I want to create food in my own style,” he said. “Amerikas, to me, is diversity. I’m able to use all types of vegetables, seeds, meats. So they’re not necessarily from Mexico. America, for me, is the melting pot you can create all together, mixing flavors and becoming very unique. I try and create. I don’t follow the rules. I have my own rules.”

From growing up in Oaxaca, Mexico to running Amerikas in Oak Park, food has guided Gonzalez’s life. When Gonzalez was a child, his mother ran a small restaurant where he and his brothers would help cook.

When Gonzalez was 17, he came to the United States with just one dollar in quarters and began working in restaurants. He worked for French,

across cultures at Amerikas

Japanese, and Italian kitchens, absorbing the diverse foods and cultures.

By 2011, Gonzalez had co-founded Mexican fusion restaurant Libertad in Skokie. In 2017, he opened Amerikas at 734 Lake St. in Oak Park. It was the people in Oak Park who inspired Gonzalez to open a restaurant in the area, he said. “What I do for the restaurant, it’s for Oak Park.” Amerikas’s philosophy of creating flavors across cultures is reflected in the restaurant’s dishes. While the breakfast and lunch menu offers more traditional Mexican food, Gonzalez showcases his creativity through the dinner menu. “It’s what a Oaxacan can do in America,” he says.

America has been coined “the melting pot,” and in terms of its foods, it’s literally that. People from around the world came to make America to make it their home, bringing and sharing their native cultures, flavors and foods.

American cuisine is hard to define for that very reason. Amerikas represents that very essence of American cuisine. Our concept is dedicated to blending Latin roots with flavors from around the world to create that unique taste.

At Amerikas restaurant our mission is all about embracing all the flavors of our very melting pot called America. As we continue to incorporate cultures into our own, the tastes we love will evolve to reflect the changing world.

Amerikas

734 Lake St, Oak Park

(708) 613-4254 • amerikasrestaurant.com

Gonzalez’s bestselling cauliflower dish, which he created in just 10 minutes, incorporates farro from Italy, manchego from Spain, and hibiscus from Mexico. The restaurant serves fish on Mexican fried rice, incorporating a Chinese fried rice technique. Instead of serving dishes with rice and beans, Gonzalez serves fresh vegetables from local farms.

At Amerikas, Gonzalez strives to provide guests with an “experience.”

The restaurant has no televisions. The layout and environment encourage intimate conversations. The food is made to share. During the summer, guests can enjoy meals outdoors on the vibrant Lake Street restaurant row. When the weather is nice, Amerikas keeps its doors open.

“For me, the money is not what I work for,” said Gonzalez. “I work because I love this: the hospitality, good food, cocktails, with no pressure, with no rush. People come in here and forget about everything.”

Amerikas Restaurant

734 Lake St., Oak Park (708) 613-4254

• amerikasrestaurant.com

Eat with your heart, mind and taste buds

There are so many factors my mind these days when it comes to food. Cost is number one. Quickly that come questions, such as is it sustainably caught/gr humanely produced, locally or re gionally sourced and so many more details that threaten to overwhelm the enjoyment perfect bite.

I love to eat. I love to cook. think you probably love one or both of those if you are reading our annual Eats special section from Growing Community Media. Our region is blessed with more high-quality restaurants than I’ll ever get around to eating at. But not for lack of trying! As I have interviewed owners and chefs over the past year, I’ve witnessed the passion that goes into these locally run establishments. Their dedication to doing the right thing by their ingredients and their diners is staggeringly beautiful.

As you peruse these pages, I feel confident that your mouth will start watering. While I hope you will be inspired to revisit old favorites, I also challenge you to venture to new ones. Not just for the culinary adventure, but to support the vibrant dining scene that we are so lucky to have and to have sustained thus far.

To paraphrase the bible (is that a wise thing to do?) where your money is, there also is your heart. We have been a community that has very consciously preserved our restaurants through the trauma of the pandemic, let’s keep it going. I say, put your mouth where your mind, heart and wallet are. Eat local!

Risé covers food and restaurants for Wednesday Journal, Austin Weekly News, Forest Pa rk Review and RiversideBrookfield Landmark.

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

What is a Green Dining Hub?

A GROUP OF RESTAURANTS THAT: REDUCE THEIR OWN IMPACT ON OUR CLIMATE

FIND COLLECTIVE WAYS TO TAKE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

OFFER LOCAL GREEN DINING EXPERIENCES

TAKEOUT 25 IS ILLINOIS’ FIRST GREEN DINING HUB

Takeout 25 Green Dining Hub

Sustainability Champions

“[Takeout 25] worked to have our community certified as a Illinois first Green Dining Hub in partnership with Illinois Green Business Program and decided to use that platform to address the commercial composting challenge...To encourage local restaurants to compost, Takeout 25 has partnered with WasteNot to make that service available and is offering $500 grants toward the cost of composting.”

Addis Café

Anfora Wine Merchants

Autre Monde Café

Betty’s Pizza

Big Shrimpin’

Blackout Baking

Brewpoint Coffee

Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor Buzz Café

Candycopia Carnivore

Chicago Waffles

Chubby’s Hot Chicken

The Daly Bagel

Fritzi’s Delicatessen

Happy Apple Pie Shop

Kettlestrings Grove

Kettlestrings Tavern

Khyber Pass

Kribi Coffee

Media Noche Café

Mora Asian Kitchen

One Lake Brewing

Poke Burrito

Starship

Sugar Beet Food Co-op

Taco Mucho

Wise Cup

- Risé Sanders-Weir, Wednesday Journal

Each participant is on a unique journey to be more sustainable. Your support helps them go further.

Celebrating our 19th year on Madison Street

Direct online ordering is available

Sunday brunch (10am-2pm)

Catering (please give 48 hours notice)

Private parties on our 2nd floor (bridal, wedding, and baby showers, birthdays, meetings)

2nd floor outdoor patio dining (subject to private party schedule)

Contributing

Photo by Todd Bannor

EAn egg-celent new breakfast option: Egg Harbor Cafe opens on South Boulevard

By ELIZABETH SHORT Contributing Reporter

gg Harbor Cafe celebrated its grand opening at 1111 South Blvd. in Oak Park on July 16. Nestled between the bustling Downtown Oak Park and Pleasant District and right across from the busy Oak Park Metra station, Egg Harbor is a calm, family-friendly haven offering affordable and high-quality breakfast and lunch options. Walking into Egg Harbor, guests will notice the smell of fresh coffee, bacon, and syrup, said Angel Gutierrez, who manages the Oak Park location. “We want people to walk in and feel the good vibes,” he said. “We want to make sure that when you walk in you feel comfortable, you feel safe, and that you feel a home away from home.”

Founded in 1985 by college sweethearts Jack and Paula Wright, their daughter Aimee and her husband Mike Farrell in Hinsdale, Egg Harbor now has locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Georgia. The South Boulevard cafe is Egg Harbor’s 24th location. The company has grown significantly across its nearly 40-year history, yet it has maintained its family feel and commitment to support the local community. Today, the cafe remains family-owned across three generations.

Lynda Dautenhahn, who stopped by the cafe at the end of a visit to Oak Park before returning home to Springfield, said the cafe was “bright and clean.” The “environment felt welcoming to young families as well as to an older person who might come in by themselves and wish to quietly read a book or write a note while they had lunch or breakfast,” she said. In the cafe’s dining room, booth and table seating are available under the glow of the cafe’s sky light. In warmer months, guests can choose to dine on the shaded patio located in front of

the entrance on South Boulevard. The cafe has a history of investing in local businesses and prides itself on providing high-quality meals for an affordable price (prices average $18.50 per customer). Egg Harbor buys its bread from Turano Bakery, pottery from Deneen Pottery based in St. Paul, gluten-free baked goods from Sweet Ali’s bakery in Hinsdale, and a proprietary roast created exclusively for Egg Harbor by Big Shoulders in Chicago.

The menu features classic American breakfast options such as skillets, omelets, frittatas, pancakes, and breakfast bowls, as well as lunch options such as sandwiches and salads. Popular dishes include the Door County Chicken Salad (made with dried cranberries, apples, and pecans after a suggestion from a customer), Strawberry Crunch French Toast, Smoked Salmon Benedict, and Maple Bourbon Bacon. An alternative menu is also available for gluten-free guests. Egg Harbor offers more in addition to these standards, such as the delicious Middle Eastern and North African favorite, Shakshuka. The cafe makes its own jam, made from blackberries, blueberries and strawberries, and banana bread. Egg Harbor also offers Natalie’s Orange Juice, espresso drinks, frozen espresso “Harborcci-

nos,” mimosas, and Bloody Mary’s. For special occasions and events, the cafe offers a catering service.

The cafe is devoted to creating a family-oriented environment. Just inside of the Oak Park cafe is a “Kidz Korner” providing toys, books, and screen-free entertainment for younger guests. Egg Harbor also has a paper kid’s menu, offering $8 breakfast and lunch options. On the back of the kid’s menu is an egg coloring contest; every month, the staff chooses winners that will win a free kid’s meal and have their art displayed at the cafe.

Above all, the company strives to “support the communities and the employees,” said Gutierrez, who started working at Egg Harbor as a server over 20 years ago. Egg Harbor is committed to developing leaders and helping employees to grow careers. Beyond its staff, the company has established a reputation for community involvement. At previous locations, Egg Harbor has invited school groups to visit the kitchen and hosted winter clothing drives.

Egg Harbor Cafe

1111 South Blvd., Oak Park Open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day • eggharborcafe.com

www.mayadelsol.com

Fashioned from NRebozo Fo

so many worthy cocktails at NRebozo, but this Old Fashioned stole my heart. Ingredients Casa Amigos Añejo, Banhez Espadín Joven Mezcal, Hibiscus nectar and Angostura are sipped from a rim dusted with Tajin.

5) Zucchini blossoms from Piacere Mio, Forest Park: This seasonal appetizer appears only when zucchinis are in bloom. Fried and filled with pecorino cheese mousse,

I love a ham and brie sandwich almost as much as I love ham and butter on a baguette. This rendition from Sawmilly includes thin apple slices and a drizzle of

4 5 6 7 8

8) Fried dill pickles from Irish Times, Brookfield: Are these an Irish staple? No But I’m not going to hold that against them. Ever since I first had this appetizer decades ago at Cock of the Walk in Hot Springs, Arkansas, I seek them out as a guilty pleasure.

7) Waffles from Addis Cafe, Oak Park: Waffles at Addis Café come in a variety of ways – with salted caramel and whipped cream, savory, Nutella and banana – but my favorite is the classic with maple syrup A hint of

coffee ice cream. This elixir performs that same alchemy for me.

10) Italian ice from Johnnie’s, Elmwood Park: This is the ultimate in Italian ice in my humble opinion. Is it a dessert or a drink? Depends on how fast you slurp the frosty mountain delivered in a cup I was wary of the lemon peel bits mixed in at first but came to treasure them.

Park Bakery, Oak Park: If you know, you know This is a slab pie sold by the square. It is a regional treasure. According to the Sun-Times it ’s getting harder and harder to find this treat these days, but Oak Park Bakery makes it daily 12) Turtle sundae from

sundae many places, but this was my nostalgia trip As a tween, I once stole 75 cents from my grandmother ’s purse to get one (I’ve since knelt at her grave and apologized).

A small bite from our chefs

By RISE SANDERS-WEIR

Oak Park | amerikasrestaurant.com

owner Armando Gonzalez worked in Japanese, Italian and estaurants as a young man. Those flavors excited him, so when it came time to imagine his own place, he wanted to keep his Mexican heritage in the forefront but inform his dishes with the best the world has to offer. He named it Amerikas to honor that mix. He chose a location in Oak Park for a similar reason: the diversity of people and the openness to tasting new dishes. His unique dishes combine the American melting pot tradition without losing his roots.

Ciro

Parlato

1048 Pleasant St., Oak Park | cirooakpark.com

Ciro restaurant is a concept born out of Chef Ciro grandmother’s salumeria (Italian for “deli”) where he spent his childhood years. It was a community hub, restaurant and store all rolled into one. The restaurant celebrates its first year in September There are eight bar-style seats along the kitchen counter for dining in but take-and-bake is the heart of the concept. All dishes ar prepped and ready to go. Specialties from all 20 regions of appear on the menu, with key ingredients imported from the source.

Johnny Mei and Jinn y Zhao

The curated list of offering changes e tar North Ave., Elmwood Park | newstarrestaurant.com

Johnny Mei worked for New Star’s owner Jinny Zhao long before joining her at the Elmwood Park restaurant. Zhao’s reputation for quality ingredients and attention to detail earned this level of loyalty from her staff. When Zhao decided to convert a dining room at the back of the restaurant into a hibachi-style dining experience, Mei was more than ready to sign on as head cook. Diners sit around teppanyaki grills, while Mei and staff deliver dinner and a show. Yelp rates New Star in the top three for Japanese grill estaurant in the Chicago area, well above name-brand chains.

Armando Gonzalez

Forest Park | newrebozos.com

How did “Oh My God” become Chef Paco’s signature When he bought the restaurant and renamed opez didn’t speak much English, but he was confident in his menu, especially his Fiesta Moles. His son helped a phrase book that included things like, “Hi, how are you ready to order?” After that Paco would say, “Oh my God!” This was an expression of both navigating in a language he didn’t speak and his owning his own place. Eventually Chef Paco got better but the catch phrase stuck.

1018 Lake St., Oak Park | facebook.com/wisecupoakpark

Wise Cup

When Shivangi Khetarpal opened Wise Cup with her husband Naveen, they imagined a continuation of the neighborhood coffee shop that had been in the location before. For Shivangi, it was an opportunity to bring her marketing and finance skills to a more personal project. They continued to offer coffee drinks, loose-leaf tea and a selection of pastries. But when they added Indian spice flare to the drink menu, customers clamored for food too. Now you can order samosas and other small bites daily, then on the first Saturday of each month the options with a pop-up menu that is a full meal.

Beau’s Kitchen

alendar Ave., La Grange | chefbeauskleankitchen.com

ood is fuel, but it is also what we are made of. What goes into our bodies can determine a lot about our overall health. Blackburn is an anti-inflammatory, autoimmune chef. His weekly meal service caters both to clients who have health issues and to those who don’t want to develop them. The location is delivery and take-away providing meals that are gluten free, mostly organic, grass-fed meats and wild caught seafood. It’s as clean as he can make it. Menus change weekly and are intended to feed clients day in and day out. lunch, dinner and snacks all roll out of Chef Beau’s Kitchen.

Paco Lopez

Shivangi Khetarpal

William Beau Blackburn

SWEET, SAVORY AND LO CAL PACKAGED GOODS

These are made locally but enjoyed far and wide

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

Wdisabilities. Their marquee jobs program is Knockout Pickles – available in classic, deli-style, spicy and bread & butter varieties. This artisanal business manufactures 10 five-gallon buckets and 120 jars of pucker-worthy slices each month.

hile our area isn’t a powerhouse of manufacturing, food entrepreneurship is strong. Several businesses, both large and small, ply their trade locally. This is a roundup of just a few of them.

Pickle power! Opportunity Knocks is a local organization created to support people with intellectual and developmental

The pickles are used at nine local restaurants and on the shelves of several local grocery stores, including The Sugar Beet, Alpine Food Shop and coming soon to Jewel in River Forest.

Meat joy! Jilly’s Jerky started with a desire to recreate the meat-based magic that Jill Evans LaPenna’s dad made. Through trial and error, she recreated the recipe which now comes in four flavors: original, Cayenne Tang, Chipotle Crush and Habanero Heat.

LaPenna and her husband Anthony still c ook je rk y locally for direct-toconsumer trade, but when demand ratchetted up, accelerating to retail speed was trickier than they had anticipated. Meat products sold at that level must be manufac-

Chicago Common beer from Kinslagher.

tured in a USDA-approved facility. Luckily, they found a Michigan partner who is carefully crafting their retail line Beer here! Kinslagher Brewin g Company’s owner Keith Huizinga keeps two of their brews on local retail shelves: Chicago Common and Prohibition Pilsner Chicago Common is Kinslagher’s own creation, an ode to a brick. The red hue references the red, orange and cream colors of that icon of construction. The flavor is a rye lager, with hops giving it an earthy and piney twist. Prohibition Pilsner is an American-style pilsner from back when

Continued on page 13

Beef Jerky from Jilly's Jerky.

KINSLAGHER BREWING COMPANY

Victory Italian: ‘We are

Believe it or not Victory Italian has been open in Oak Park for almost 4 years. We started the project pre covid but slowed our construction during the pandemic. Luckily, we purchased the property and were able to do our remodel slowly as things improved and opened at the right time.

Owner Tony Gambino said, “Oak Park has always been like a second home to me. I grew up in Melrose Park, but I opened my first full service restaurant in Oak Park in 2001, Fuego Loco on Lake Street, which was a block from my house on South and Euclid. I loved the area and it was a great place to raise my kids. When we sold Fuego Loco in 2008, I always wanted to get back to Oak Park. I looked at a number of locations over the years but never found the right space. When I saw the closed restaurant on the corner of South and Marion it seemed

perfect to me. I was a big fan of the Marion Cheese Market and loved the space. It had a look that was similar to what I like to design, lots of windows and light and a great deal of outdoor space.”

Oak Park has been great to be a part of, the rich history and culture of Oak Park work well with our traditional old school Italian menu and vibe. In Oak Park you can feel the history and when you walk into Victory Italian the feel is that this restaurant may have been here for 40 years.

Our food is traditional Chicago Italian, great pasta, sauces and Italian entrees with the addition of some exciting chef driven specialties. Our fabulous Brick chicken is an Oak Park favorite, as is the OPRF Chopped salad. Lamb chops Oreganata or Steak Gambino style.

Victory is open Tuesday thru Sunday

4 p.m. till 9 p.m. with the bar staying open later.

Victory has a full catering menu with its traditional offerings as well as specialty seafood items available during the holidays if you want to do the 7 fishes.

Victory is also a great place to have a family party of up to 60 people.

Victory Italian

100 S. Marion St., Oak Park 708-434-5766

• victoryitalian.com

Continued from page 11

recent European immigrant brewers started to adapt to fermentables available in the U.S. It’s drier and a touch hoppy-er than nationally marketed pilsners.

Hot or mild? Hank’s Giardiniera takes this local treat “from the Windy City to the world” according to creator Hank Tibensky. After closing his Italian Beef stand in New York City, due to Covid-borne complications. He pivoted to retailing his signature recipe.

The garden-in-a-bottle mix is whipped up in Cicero, but the retail footprint is national. Two heat options are available in Sprouts groceries stores in 24 states and locally at Carnivore.

Raising the bar! Silverland Bakery ships brownies, bars, and cookies nationwide. It started from a combination of owner Athena Uslander’s desire to work for herself and her, then partner, Lisa Silverman’s family brownie recipe. The company has expanded, adding ve g an, gluten free, keto and sugar free options. All are preservative free.

They’ve been the private label supplier to restaurant chains such as Olive Garden. But their storefront location in Forest Park was a life saver during the pandemic. Now the 41-year-old business is back to thriving. What packaged food survey would be complete without two local heavyweights Turano Bread has been making Roosevelt

opportunityknocksnow.org

jillysjerky.com

kinslahger.com

hanksgiardiniera.com

silverlandbakery.com turano.com ferrara.com

Road smell heavenly for almost 60 years. It all started with Mariano Turano’s classic recipes from Italy. Now it bakes in four states, but locals can visit Mamma Susi’s Bake Shop on Roosevelt Road.

Ferrara is seen by all who pass by their plant along the Eisenhower expressway near Harlem. The company is more than 115 years old and now encompasses brands such as Jelly Belly, Nerds, SweetTARTS and Trolli. The Ferrara Pan Factory Outlet Store in Forest Park is a real treat.

Kinslahger is a community gathering place designed for conversation (no TV’s) with friends new and old. We offer not only the beer we make on site but also a selection of wine, cider, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. Feeling hungry? We have fresh pretzels from Daly Bagel, cheese & charcuterie plates and some curated snacks. Want something more substantial, you can order delivery from one of the many great local restaurants right to your seat at the bar.

Kinslahger Taproom

6806 Roosevelt Road

Oak Park, IL 60304 (844) 552-4437 x0

www.kinslahger.com

Hours: Th & Fri 5-10pm | Sa 2-10pm | Su 2-6pm

HANK'S GIARDINIERA

Mild and hot Giardiniera from Hank's.

six layered French pastr y How Sugar Fixé makes a

Rachel Rogak, head pastry chef, places the first layer of sponge cake in the baking pan after layering the bottom of the pan with buttercream. A layer of chocolate follows and the second sponge cake layer is then placed.

PHOTO S BY SAM TUCKER

First of all, it takes three days. So be patient

By SAM TUCKER Contributing Reporter

What goes into making a six-layer entremet? Sugar Fixé Patisserie’s head pastry chef gives a window into the process of making this rich tasting and visually appealing French pastry.

gar Fixé Patisserie has been in business in do wntown Oak Park since 2011. The pastry shop, 119 N. Marion St., offers a range of familiar and unique pastry items, all proudly made from scratch.

Rachel Rogak, the head pastry chef, started working at the patisserie as a pastry cook three years ago. Now, she is head chef and maintains Sugar Fixé Patisserie’s high-quality attitude towards bakery and pastry foods.

“What I always loved about this place is that it’s not just a bakery, it’s a patisserie. It has some more of those interesting, higher-end kinds of items where you’re putting different interesting flavors and textures together … tha t’s something I think that we do differently,” said Rogak.

The “opera entremet” is a six layered coffee-flavored pastry that is created by layering buttercream and chocolate between thin layers of sponge cake. It is one of the many pastries they make that

2

Another layer of buttercream is carefully spread, with high attention paid to keeping a flat and even surface. Any inconsistencies will show along the side-profile of the finished entremet.

Once pulled from the cooler, the pan is flipped upside down so the first layer of buttercream that lined the pan is now on top Rogak said that working top to bottom and flipping the pan at this point in the process makes it easier to create the nearly perfect flat-layer on top of the pastry.

require time and patience, said Rogak.

The process, usually done over three days, starts with baking three thin layers of almond sponge cake and soaking them in coffee. The roughly half-inch layers of cake need to be refrigerated overnight so they maintain a structure.

On the second day, the layering begins. Two layers of coff buttercream and a single layer of chocolate ganache are spread between the thin sponge cakes, building the pastry up layer layer. Throughout the entire process, Rogak said paying close attention to keeping things flat is a necessity. Afterwards, the pan spends another night in the fridge to solidify.

3

The third and final layer of the sponge cake is placed. After making all the edges of the layers square and even to the pan, it is covered and placed in a cooler overnight so the layers can solidify.

4 5 6

Once cut to the final shape, icing and a chocolate emblem are carefully placed atop Making the “opera entremet” ready for serving.

On the third day, the final touches to the top and final surface are finished. The final chocolate glaze is spread and heated with a blowtorch to create a near-perfect flat surface. Then, the pastries are scored and cut to shape. A small chocolate emblem is carefully placed in the icing, finishing off the French dessert pastry.

Problem solving in the kitchen and bringing different flavors to the plates of Oak Park patrons is what makes her job enjoyable, said Rogak.

“We try to do interesting things with food. I mean, why not? There’s so much that you can do. Might as well try to put things together and expose people to different flavor combinations and things. That’s what makes this field so fun,” said Rogak.

Sugar Fixé Patisserie sugarFixe.com

119 N Marion St., Oak Park

Hours:

Thursday: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m

Friday/Saturday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wed.: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A scoring tool is then used to equally separate the individual pieces for cutting.

G eorge’s Restaurant & Pancake House

HAmazing Mexican at NRebozo

ey there! At NRebozo we offer a variety of unique moles featured in our Fiesta Mole, which includes six enchiladastwo classic moles and four that rotate throughout the year. Our fish tacos change with the seasons, such as featuring fruit salsas like Cantaloupe or Mango in the summer, Chicharron Mole in the fall, White Habanero sauce tacos in the winter, and Tamarind fish tacos in the spring. And you can’t have a great dinner without great drinks, right? We’ve got you covered there too, from traditional Margaritas to a Prickly Pear Margarita topped with Burt Rose. We also offer a delightful Hibiscus Guava Margarita made with Ritual

Zero-proof Tequila for those who prefer mocktails.

And if you’re thinking of having a special event, we’ve got you covered there too! Chef Paco and you can sit together and design a menu that best suits your event and any dietary restrictions you have. You can also rent out the full restaurant for your event and we offer private event packages that include a full bar of all our margaritas, beers, wines, Tequila, and

Mezcal. It’s a perfect place for family events, birthday parties, work parties, or just any celebration in general!!!

7403 Madison St, Forest Park, IL 60130 (708) 445-0370 newrebozos.com

An uprising of bakeries

So many wonder ful treats. So little time

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

There is a bakery goods surge happening in our area. Surely this is a good thing. Explore our eet/dulce/dolce abundance!

Mamma Susi ’s Bake Shop

6501 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn: Assunta ‘Susi ’ Tu rano was the family matriarch. The store ser ves up a wide variet y Tu rano breads and an assortment of I talian style pastries, donuts and cookies

Twisted Cookie

7401 Madison, Forest Park: Cookies, cookie pies, cookie cupcakes, cheesecake cookies, cookie bark, gluten free, dipped and stuffed brownies – so many flavors and varieties it’s hard to choose.

Sugar Fixe

119 N. Marion St., Oak Park: Macarons are a splash of color in cases filled with tarts, pastries, cookies. Custom cakes and bake-at-home options ound out the offerings

Publican Quality Br ead

211 Harrison St., Oak Park: Baked on premises, this location is bread forward, but includes pastries sweet and savory many of which follow seasonal flavor peaks.

Continued on page 18

Laury’s Bakery & Cake

12 Madison St., Oak Park: Jawdropping custom cakes. Sweet potato pie by the square and caramel cupcakes take the lead here. Red velvet cupcakes are not far behind!

Oak Park Bakery

904 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park: For more than 100 years the pies, pastries, breads, cupcakes, cookies and cakes have filled the cases here. They still make apple slices every day!

Forest Park Bakery

7332 Madison St., Forest Park: Donuts, cakes, pastries, pies, muffins, macaroons, breads, oh my! This long-time family operation knows their dough.

Vesuvio Bakery

8717 Cermak Rd., North Riverside: “Cannoli” is on the awning, so you know they aren’t playing. There are many flavors to choose from as well as breads, cookies and other pastries.

Silverland Bakery

Broken Tart

1108 Chicago Ave., Oak Park: This home of the “life-changing” kale scone also serves a curated selection of sweet and savory delicacies. Their olive oil cake is out of this world.

439 Des Plaines Ave., Forest Park: It started with a dream and a brownie recipe, now their many varieties of bars (including keto, vegan and gluten-free) are shipped nationwide.

Panaderia Puebla

614 Lake St., Maywood: Traditional Mexican pandulces, breads, cakes and pastries fill this shop. Their conchas get accolades online. Seasonal specialties.

Courageous Bakery

736 Lake St., Oak Park: Started in the cupcake craze of the early 2010s, but has expanded to pies, cakes and savory options. And now with ice cream – Courageous Cones!

Spilt Milk

811 South Blvd., Oak Park: Biscuits are the bomb. Artisan pies, cookies and pastries are baked with locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. Black cherry almond cake ice cream!

Vision-impaired baker loves selling sweets

S“My goal is to help others conquer the kitchen with poise, patience and perseverance,” said Keelie Banks, 35, owner of Suga Bakers, talking about her blog and her love for inspiring others.

But that statement takes on extra meaning when you learn about what Banks refers to as “a unique set of challenges.”

Eight years ago, she was diagnosed with retinal pigmentosa, a rare genetic disease that causes vision loss.

“With the help of God and my amazing support system, I remain committed to making my dreams a reality,” said Banks.

uga Bakers is not just an ordinary bakery. My mission far transcends the butter, flour and sugar that goes into making the good old fashion desserts that I am known for. My goal is to bring joy, happiness and connection to families, friends and communities-- one sweet treat at a time. Most of all, I want to show everyone that anything is possible when you believe.

My baking journey began over a decade ago. What started out as baking for friends and family turned into much, much more. Now, it is also my business as well as my joy.

Banks started baking 14 years ago. “What started out as a way to make extra money during my college years turned into a full- edged passion,”

Unfortunately, I was hit hard eleven years ago. I was diagnosed with a rare genetic eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. As my love for

baking began, my eyesight started to decline which caused me to put my dreams on hold for a while. I, however, didn't let that stop me. I regained the vision for my future four years ago in the midst of the pandemic. If the pandemic taught me anything, it taught me to embrace change, have courage, and that I was stronger than I had ever realized.

Banks said. But she’s always enjoyed creative endeavors and hobbies, like sewing, decorating and entertaining. She lives nearby in Bellwood, so she’s familiar with Forest Park, where she frequents restaurants, including Shanahan’s and Scratch Kitchen. Creativita is another favorite: “Painting and wine have become one of my new birthday traditions,” Banks said.

Now, I feel like it’s my mission to get back to the root of how we created special memories with the ones we love, with food, family, fun and delicious homemade sweet treats!

one of my new birthday traditions,” Banks

In her blog The Sweet Life, at sugabakers.com, she talks about her love of baking and shares recipes, like Ultimate Pumpkin Mu ns and Pumpkin Praline Pie.

Suga Bakers. Baking you happy one sweet treat at a time!

Suga Bakers bakery, located in Bellwood Illinois.

Decadent desserts, including German chocolate cake, red velvet cake, and a variety of cookies are for sale at sugabakers.com of

• 630-886-2525

• sugabakers.com

Taste the world on Elmwood Park’s Restaurant Row

By Risé Sanders-Weir

“Instagram-worthy” is easily the adjective for food served up on Elmwood Park’s Restaurant

Massa Café Italiano

7434 W. North Ave

#MassaCafe

Row. If you ate on North Avenue every day for a week, none of your social media followers would believe this much variety, paired with consistent quality, is packed into such a few blocks. It ’s the reason Elmwood Park has been a dining destination for decades. Free parking at 7420 W. North Ave. is a bonus too!

Italy is a little closer than you think. Massa Cafe Italiano has been serving up authentic Italian fare since 1968. Close your eyes as you bite into their menu, sip a house-roasted coffee, or delight in specialty frozen desserts and you will swear you’ve been transported abroad. Try an affogato – five flavor options all combine espresso, gelato and toppings to make you swoon.

Inari Sushi

7428 W. North Ave

#inarisushi

New Star

7444 W. North Ave

Spizzico

7446 W. North Ave

#newstarrestaurant

This mainstay of Restaurant Row was reinvented by Jinny Zhao Nothing from a can is her watchword. When Zhao took over the restaurant she added pan-Asian flavors to the mix. Can’t decide whether to eat Thai, Chinese, sushi, hibachi grill or just drink tiki cocktails? You don’t have to choose, because all are on the menu at New Star

#spizzicopizzapasta

The traditional thin crust cheese pizza at Spizzico is the measure all other pizzas should be judged against. The ‘Spizzico Special’ pizza has been called a love triangle, topped with sausage, mushroom, onion, and green pepper A full selection of Italian dishes fills out the menu. And delivery and catering are available too

Dine in or carry out, Inari is here to deliver sushi to your tastebuds. Lunch specials bring down the cost of your cravings and weekday specials give you permission to try something outside of your got-to order Ramen and poke bowls remix the sushi menu into new delights. And a selection of entrees sure to please nonraw eaters.

Taco Town

7446

#tacotownmexicangrill

There’s a new taco in town. They even serve up breakfast, a rarity in the arena of Mexican food locations. For later in the day, you choose your base (burrito, bowl, taco, tostada, etc.) then agonize over which filling – there are 17 options from chicken to tongue. Wash these treats down with horchata and agua de piña.

W. North Ave (enter on 75th Ave)

Alpine Food Shop

7538 W. North Ave

#alpinefoodshop

Other sandwiches try to reach this height, but an Alpine is an experience unto itself. Made to order when you order – meats, cheeses and other ingredients rest in cracklingly fresh Italian filone (of course you could also choose rye or multigrain bread). As a bonus, you can pick up many Italian treasures while you get your meal: pastas, sauces, spreads, and cookies.

Burger MOOvment

7512 W. North Ave

Johnnie’s Beef

7500 W. North Ave

#johnniesbeef

World-renown for a reason! Have you ever seen the building without a line out the door Me neither The menu is short and to the point. Italian beef wet or dry. Italian peppers sweet or spicy. Fries with just the right amount of crisp You can get a hot dog and a polish sausage here too Don’t forget the Italian ice!

Gringo and Blondie

7514 W. North Ave

#grindoandblondie

Mexican street food is their claim to fame. All the classics are waiting on the menu. Try a cemita on fresh sesame seed rolls with your choice of toppings and Oaxacan cheese. You can knock back mimosas and micheladas with brunch on the weekends featuring chilaquiles, Mexican French toast (cinnamon, caramel and pecans) among other delicacies.

#burgermoovment

Signature burgers for each season of the year (and a shake that coordinates) keeps the menu fresh at Burger MOOvment. All year round, you can choose what to slip between the buns: beef patties stacked 1, 2 or even 3 high; chicken breast – grilled or crispy; or black bean veggie burger There are toppings galore and bite-sized options for the small fry

Does the thought of BBQ sauce on your fingers in all its cinnamon-scented glory send you reeling back to a first date, an outing with grandparents or just the good old days? Since 1930 this temple of meats has been providing finger-licking good meals and is likely the oldest continually operating BBQ joint in the Chicago area.

Armand’s

7650 W. North Ave

#armands.ep

Pizza is at the forefront, but don’t forget about signature items, like, stuffed artichokes, baked clams and antipasto salad. Over the years Armand’s has expanded to locations beyond Elmwood Park, but this location is home. Need to feed a troop, order a yard long pizza. Need to feed yourself? Stop in for a lunch deal – personal pan pizza special.

Russell’s Barbecue 1621 N. Thatcher Ave

#russellsbarbecueEP

Elmwood Park has a long standing reputation for being home to outstanding restaurants. As a Village we are proud to share this reputation and work hard to promote it

RESTAURANTS

Alpine

7538 W North Ave

Armand's Pizzeria

7650 W North Ave

Ashleys Café & Tap

7500 W Grand Ave

Burger King 1750 Harlem Ave

Burger Moovement

7512 W North Ave

Caputo's

Fresh Markets 2400 N Harlem Ave

Circle Tavern 18 Conti Pkwy

Culvers 7542 W Grand Ave

Donny G's 7308 W North Ave

Dunkin Donuts 7201 W Grand Ave

Eggsperience 16 Conti Pkwy

Great American

Bagel

7230 W North Ave

Gringo & Blondie 7514 W North Ave

Happy Wok 1742 N Harlem Ave

Inari

7428 W North Ave

Jim & Pete's 7806 W North Ave

Jimmy John's 1702 N Harlem Ave

Johnnie's 7500 W North Ave

Massa Café 7434 W North Ave

McDonalds 7217 W Grand Ave

New Star Restaurant

7444 W North Ave

Old World

7230 W North Ave

Panera 7400 Nor th Ave

BARS

Celtic Corner

Circle Tavern

Russell's

Barbecue

1621 Thatcher Ave

Spizzico

7446 W North Ave

Sports Nook 7841 Grand Ave

Subway

2836 N Harlem Ave

7230 W North Ave

Tacos 2 Go

7530 W Grand Ave

Taco Town

7746 W North Ave

The Barre Studio & Café

12 W Conti Parkway

Tony D's

7725 W B elmont Ave

Trattoria

Peppino's 7440 W North Ave

Union Tap

7707 Westwood #1A

Wing Stop 1740 N Harlem Ave

Jim & Pete’s 7806 W. North Ave

#jimandpetes

Jim and Pete are no longer with us, rest their souls, but the quality of Italian food they envisioned serving when they opened in 1941 is still going strong. Owner Michael Bucchianeri says, “There’s simply too much tradition and history Great people, great customers and friends that will keep Jim & Pete’s alive forever.”

Trattoria Peppino 7440 W. North Ave

#trattoria_peppino

“Down-to-earth,” and “neighborhood favorite” are the words you want to hear when you are hankering for a big, satisfying plate of pasta. Pizzas don’t skimp on the toppings either Study the cocktail and a wine list until you find just what you are looking for. Peppino has an extensive menu that perks up your interest yet feels comfortable and filling.

Filling lunches that don’t empty your wallet

FBy Risé Sanders-Weir | Contributing Reporter

inding a good, cheap lunch has never been harder. Restaurants face the same inflation pressures as the rest of us. Luckily, our brain trust of people on social media helped us find some of the best deals in the area. Here are some ideas for the next time your stomach grumbles at noontime. All clock in under $10.

SANDWICHES

Sandwiches are a reliable option. Alpine Food Shop, 7538 W. North Ave. in Elmwood Park, has a variety made to order. Jerusalem Café, 1030 W. Lake St. in Oak Park, has both sandwiches and platters that limbo under $10. Sawmilly, 35 E. Burlington St. in Riverside, can fill you up on a budget too. You can imagine you are in Paris at Lea French Street Food, 106 N. Marion St. in Oak Park.

Continued on page 24

Sandwich from Lea French.

Continued from page 23

B URGER AND FRIES

For some a burger and fries hits the spot for a cheap and filling midday meal. Mickey’s Ribs & Gyros, 525 N. Harlem Ave. in Oak Park, has got you covered. Michael’s Beef House, 6747 W. North Ave. in Oak Park, and Parky’s (with windows now fixed), 329 S. Harlem Ave. in Forest Park, are worthy options as well.

PIZZ A

If a slice of pizza and a soda is a dream lunch for you, check out DiNico’s, 6627 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Berwyn or Cuzzo’s, 330 Madison St. in Oak Park. Both serve up large slices, ready to

OTHER BITES

There are many other lunch specials around the area that tip the scale just above $10 but are still very good deals (I’m looking at you Sen Sushi, 814 S. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park).

There are also many “bites” that might not tide you over until supper but deserve a mention. Two empanadas at Mulata, 136 N. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park, stay under our budget. And a couple of sides from Passion Eats Express, 7103 W. North Ave. in Oak Park, will satisfy a soul food craving. Enjoy!

burger and fries

FA L AFEL

If you are hankering for falafel and in Forest Park, Petra Falafel, 7314 Madison St., has got you covered. So does North Avenue Falafel, 6814 W. North Ave. in Elmwood Park

SALAD

How about a salad to keep you in trim? Maya Del Sol, , has got one that fits the Park, e. in

North Avenue Falafel

Mickey's

COURTESY OF MULATA

Empanadas at Mulata

Based here in Chicagoland, S. Rosen’s has been serving the area since 1909! Our selection of traditional rye breads, buns, and rolls have maintained the same great quality for over a century. Our latest addition is our Tuscan Cocktail Bread,

perfect for party fare and appetizers! Look for it in your local grocery store.

Italian Mini Beefs on Tuscan Cocktail

Ingredients Per App:

½ Slice of Deli Roast Beef (Italian seasoned is best)

½ Slice of Mozzarella cheese

3 Strips of roasted red peppers

1 Slice S.Rosen’s Tuscan cocktail bread

Directions: Place ½ a slice of the roast beef on the Tuscan cocktail bread, top with the mozzarella cheese and roasted red peppers. Bake in the oven at 375 for 7-8 minutes, until the cheese is melty. Serve immediately. Find more recipes at SRosens.com

Buy one Cookie and a Milkshake and get a second milkshake and cookie for 1/2 o when you bring a friend (also applies if you bring more than 1 friend). Friends must be present and must show coupon. Valid starting Sept. 1 - October 31, 2024

Let New Rose cook for you, with free delivery! Every week, we make two soups (serves 2) and two entrees (serves 2, 4, or 6). Free delivery to Oak Park, River Forest, and Forest Park. Dietary restrictions welcome.

Chef/Owner Su Jang

newrosecatering@gmail.com 708.261.6908

See our weekly menus, order, or cater your event at newrosecatering.com

Dining Plan: Riverside and Brookf ield

Iconic spots with a modern twist

CBy RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

ome for the zoo, stay for the food in Brookfield.

In the cheeky words of “The Irish Pub Song” by The High Kings every town has (or deserves) an Irish pub. Well, Brookfield has a wonderful one, Irish Times at 8869 Burlington Ave. From the moment you lay eyes on the exterior you feel transported into a cozier, friendlier, more relaxing mindset. Inside there’s a bar

and menu to match. Fish and chips, corned beef in various for ms and Shepherd’s pie come to the table to meet the cocktail, cider, beer or whiskey that you already have in hand. But you don’t have to stay in the traditional lane, there’s tacos, buffalo wings, fried pickles, and even a salad, if you insist.

Handcrafted barbeque is just down the street at Beach Ave BBQ, 3453 Grand Blvd. Beef, pork and chicken get in-house treatment – dry rubbed and smoked for more than 12 hours over oak logs. Meats platter up beautifully on the combo BBQ meat

sampler. There are sandwiches, ribs, rib tips, sausage, and even BBQ nachos. And do your kids like ribs, but you don’t want to share your slab? There are kid-sized meals for them.

Over in Riverside, downtown is popping with new options and long-time favorites

The Chew Chew, established in 1996, has become an icon at 33 E. Burlington St. In the evenings, this re gular award winner is great for a date night, a celebratory moment, or just about anytime delicious food is on your mind. The menu

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Beach Ave BBQ in Brookfield

IRISH TIMES

Irish Times in Brookfield

BEACH AVE BBQ

rotates to face each season’s freshest flavors. A featured appetizer is oysters, shucked to order. House specialty entrees include a smoked gouda alfredo pasta, steaks, and a variety of flatbreads.

La Barra, 2 E. Burlington St., covers a lot of bases. They have a patio, live music and a dedication to fresh ingredients with a modern take on Italian classics. Open in the evenings and also for lunch on the weekends, the menu spans pastas, salads, soups and many styles of pizzas. Crisp crusted ciabatta-dough pizzas are available in new and familiar flavors, such as cupping pepperoni with hot honey and margherita. Dee p dish pizza comes in re gular

Ending Hunger

More Info

Brookfield: irishtimespub.com beachavebbq.com

Riverside: thechewchew.com labarrariverside.com

or “skinny” varieties. There’s even a Chicago-style thin crust like the tavern style that Pizza Hut just introduced to a national audience.

Leave room for a sweet treat while you are in downtown Riverside at London Ice Cream, La Ofrenda Market, Sawmilly or Aunt Diana’s Old Fashioned Fudge.

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

The Chew Chew in Riverside

THE CHEW CHEW

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

La Barra in Riverside

LA BARRA

Range to La Gr ange for a change

Many choices in a diverse dining scene

By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

La Grange is a town that punches well above its weight in the sheer number of restaurants, as well as the variety and quality of those establishments. For a town of 16,000 it is remarkable that more than 50 restaurants can be found within its borders.

“We are c entrally located with accessibility to the western suburbs,” said Cathy Domanico, executive director of the La Grange Business Association. “We have a very vibrant downtown with a lot of retail and it is very walkable.”

There are several dining districts. In the Westend you find treasures such as Milkstop Cafe, where a bowl of French onion soup is almost a meal unto itself.

Downtown proper is filled with boutiques, necessities (lawyers, accountants, fitness, etc.) and fl avor s. An afternoon af fo ga to and a bite of f amous tof fee from L ilett C andies doesn’t disappoint. But nighttime is primetime for La Grange’s award-winning restaurants

Marco’s Kitchen opened in March 2020. Grit and community support pulled them through the darkest days of the pandemic. Now, they are back to their original fine dining plan.

“We’re French, Italian, little bit of Asian, Middle Eastern, Spanish and Mexican. So all of those flavors go on to Continued on page 30

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

French onion soup at Milkstop

MARCO’S KITCHEN

Duck Breast

MARCO’S KITCHEN

Marco's Kitchen

Lilett Candies

Continued from page 29

our menu to create our dishes,” said Marco Conte, chef and owner.

A crowd pleaser is roasted New Zealand lamb chops, encrusted with pistachios, served with a black garlic molasses. Another popular dish is duck breast and blackberry, sage reduction over pappardelle pasta.

In 2024 Marco’s Kitchen earned a DiRōNA award, given to exceptional restaurants in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Patrons are front and center for another restaurant called fourteensixteen This American “craft” restaurant relies on freedom for the staf f to try new things, reinvent old dishes and strive for the out of the ordinary.

“We are blessed that diners are willing to come out and experiment,” said Bret

Bohning, chef and partner. “They are also honest when things don’t work. Customers feel ownership of the restaurant too. It’s a lovely back and for th.”

Each season drives the menu. This summer pan-seared gnocchi graces the menu with a supporting case of ve getables: broccolini and romanesco. All top a bed of cauliflower puree. Watermelon gazpacho is poured tableside, sparkling with ginger, cilantro and lime facets

Modern, authentic Italian is the flavorprofile of the menu at GP Italiano.

“We say that everything goes on our plates would be something you’d find in Italy today We’ve done our research,” according to chef and owner Joe Dellacroce.

His flour-covered apron attests to the hundreds of pounds of pasta he makes re gularly. And speaking of flour, it is sourced from Italy, as well as the buffalo mozza-

milkstopcafe.com lilett.com marcoskitchen.com 1416lagrange.com gpitaliano.com

rella which is flown in from there too. Even the cows are Italian, sort of. Beef comes from Piedmontese cattle (an Italian breed) raised in North Dakota.

All dishes are cooked in the restaurant’s wood-burning pizza oven. Even pasta dishes, such as chicken parmesan is nestled in cast iron and finished there. Their Neapolitanstyle pizza took some getting used to for patrons, but now it is a fan favorite.

La Grange dining scene is a knockout! More Info

FOURTEENSIXTEEN

Alaskan Halibut

GP ITALIANO

GP ITALIANO

Neapolitan pizza

LA GRANGE

Dining Guide

With over 30 restaurants, visit La Grange for a vibrant and diverse dining experience!

RESTAURANTS

Antonino’s Ristorante

701 W. Hillgrove Ave.

Aodake Ramen

21 W. Calendar Ave.

Barrel House Social

100 W. Burlington Ave.

Billy Bricks

18 W. Harris Ave.

Blackberry Market

36 S. La Grange Rd.

Blueberry Hill

49 S. La Grange Rd.

Casa Margarita

32 S. La Grange Rd.

fourteensixteen

14 W. Calendar Ave.

GP Italiano

1 S. La Grange Rd.

Kama Bistro

9 S. La Grange Rd.

La Grange

Breakfast Cafe

24 W. Burlington Ave.

Lucca’s Pizzeria & Ristorante

108 W. Burlington Ave.

MAK’S House

46 S. La Grange Rd.

mána

88 S. La Grange Rd.

Marco’s Kitchen

26 S. La Grange Rd.

Milk Money Brewing

75 S. La Grange Rd.

Milkstop

700 W. Burlington Ave.

Nonna’s Good Life Pizza

40 S. La Grange Rd.

The Original Pancake House

942 S. La Grange Rd.

Palmer Place

56 S. La Grange Rd.

Prasino

93 S. La Grange Rd.

Q-BBQ

70 S. La Grange Rd.

Santiago’s Mexican

Restaurant

24 W. Calendar Ave.

Shang Noodle

19 W. Calendar Ave.

Steak + Vine

37 S. La Grange Rd.

Sushi Ukai

120 W. Calendar Ave.

BAKERY / DELI

Balkan Bakery

541 S. La Grange Rd.

Crumbl Cookies

1 N. La Grange Rd.

Swanson’s Deli

74 S. La Grange Rd.

TREATS / TEAS & SMOOTHIES

TATES Old Fashioned

Ice Cream Shop

25 S. Ashland Ave.

The Upbeet Life

18 E. Burlington Ave.

Uni Uni Bubble Tea

15 W. Harris Ave.

lgba.com/dining

“The reason for writing the book is Parakkat’s belief that good ideas can go farther with a map to follow...Throughout the book, Parakkat explains how anyone can start a movement with no capital investment, using tools freely available to most people on the planet.”

- Risé Sanders-Weir, Wednesday Journal

The Takeout 25 Effect is an inspiring account of a community-driven initiative, with lasting impact. Formed in Chicago’s western suburbs during the global pandemic, Takeout 25 aimed to save local restaurants while maintaining public health. It demonstrates the power of community-centric movements by illustrating the journey of Takeout 25 through compelling personal narratives, expert insights, and actionable strategies. This book is not just a recounting of events; it is a call to action for anyone motivated to make a difference in their community and beyond. In fact, it is a toolkit for social change.

The TAKEOUT 25 Effect

By Ravi Parakkat

Available in print, e-book, and audiobook

Locally: thepilebookstore.com

Online: bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

s es you just gotta g a

you

By Risé Sande rs

hen the thermometer rises you just gotta cool off. Air conditioning is nice. The pool is good option. But nothing tastes better than a hand-held blast of cold. There are still plenty of warm days ahead to enjoy what the area has to offer From tried-and-true to newcomers, you don’t need to travel far to discover a new favorite. Let the pros into their freezers and pull out just the right amount of winter to caress your tongue and cool your core. Use this map to locate them all. Then ride your bike to a few of them. Make it a chill crawl!

Amerikas

Amerikas represents the very essence of American cuisine, a concept dedicated to blending its Latin roots with flavors from around the world creating uniques dishes

34 Lake St, Oak Park • amerikasrestaurant.com

Cordial Inn

Cordial Inn Cheeseburgers go great with beer, seltzers, sodas, and all types of Mixed drinks. Tito’s cocktails are only $5 every Thursday!

La Parra Restaurant & Bar

Enjoy our Filet Mignon served with grilled asparagus, mashed potatoes, finished with a red wine garlic sauce and our Frida cocktails

6710 Cermak Rd, Berwyn • laparrachicago.com

The Coffee Shop

We offer an inviting space for people to connect or disconnect over a good cup of coffee and a fresh, made-toorder Walking Waffle. We are The Coffee Shop Oak Park! 163 S Oak Park Ave, Oak Park • thecoffeeshopoakpark.com

Blackout Baking Co.

Sweet, salty, rich, and smooth. Indulge in the perfect bite from this woman-owned Oak Park bakery. Baked fresh using highquality ingredients and shipping nationwide.

Thelogoshouldalwayshavean appropriateamountofclear spacesurroundingit.

Thisspaceshouldalwaysuse thesameproportionsand shouldn'tbeoccupiedby extraneouselements.

Getting to know Jinny and New Star

New Star Restaurant started over 60 year ago by the well-known Moy family. The Zhao family has been carrying the torch since 2014 with the same honest and delicious Chinese food every day. They added Thai, sushi and gluten free options always using the freshest ingredients!

What is your specialty?

We cover so many Asian dishes but our hibachi and sushi dishes are excellent! Our Thai noodles, Orange Chicken, Fried Rice and Eggrolls are dishes that our customers come back for.

What inspired you to be an owner?

I was a waitress on a student visa and after years of working the owner offered me the opportunity to buy the business. In 2011 I sold Chitung in Evergreen Park. I stayed home but was bored. When I heard about the Moy family selling New Star I was intrigued. New Star turned out to be a great opportunity for me and now my son Frank and daughter Jane help me with the business so it’s been an incredible journey for all of us. I look forward to the future!

What is your most popular dish?

Our Maki Sushi! We always use fresh salmon in our dishes.

What is the best thing about New Star?

- 9:30pm

There are several things! We always keep our place very clean. Our employees have worked here forever so they know our customers very well. We always get compliments on our take out packaging as well as the toys we give out to children who visit and the umbrellas we pass out when people are waiting outside. These gestures go a long way. Hospitality is everything. We aim to please our customers!

Flavors ofthe West Side

TBy RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

here are many kitchen g ems around the West Side of Chicago. The restaurant scene has many old faithfuls and some new entries.

TNT Rooftop at 5405 W. Madison St. opened less than a year ago. Owners Anthony and Taneka Anderson are bringing fine dining to the area. Custom cocktails from the full bar kick off a meal seated either inside or on the Miami-style rooftop. A wide menu fires up a fine-dining experience with the addition of lamb, seafood and many vegan options. And to make a night out even more relaxing the restaurant offers car service to and from your location for an additional fee.

T he Black Foodie s, Dino and

Coretta Dean, are on a mission to suppo rt and amplify Black-ow ned businesses. T heir social media posts span the globe, but one of their most recent finds is a new spot along Division Street called Shake A Le g

If jerk chicken, shrimp or lamb sound good, Shake A Leg at 5512 W. Division St. is for you. The restaurant recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. Order at the counter for eat-in or takeaway. The dining room has a classy, yet comfortable feel and there’s also seating at the fully stocked bar. Cajun flavors and traditional soul food sides round out the menu and can be paired with catfish, pasta and salmon entrée options. Weekly specials come with their own signature cocktails.

An Obama Philly Cheesesteak (chicken and steak) and jerk chicken eggrolls

Cajun pasta with salmon at Shake A Leg.

eggrolls.

are specialties at Jay’s Backyard BBQ, 5604 W. Division St. Jerk spices also flavor tacos, gyros, Philly sandwiches and even salads and fries. Owner Jay Young opened the place in 2015 and it is still going strong. The restaurant takes orders at the inside window and is takeout only.

Uncle Remus’s saucy fried chicken has stood the test oftime. The restaurant at 5611 W. Madison St. is one of several Chicago locations. Established by Gus and Mary Rickette as G & G Chicken Shack, they later expanded and changed the name to Royal Chicken. During the 1968 riots along Madison Street two oftheir three stores bur ned down. As the Rickettes rebuilt, they wanted a new sign As the story goes, the sign shop had one that hadn’t been picked up. It said, “Uncle Remus” and the rest is history… delicious chicken history.

No overview ofdining on the West Side would be complete without mentioning a mainstay at 5412 W. Madison St., MacArthur’s Restaurant. It’s been serving up soul and comfort food since 1997 and has become a hot spot for political and community activity. And speaking of Obama, in his book The Audacity ofHope he gives this endorsement, “One of my favorite restaurants in Chicago is a place called MacArthur’s … plates filled with fried chicken, catfish, hoppin’ John, collard greens, meatloaf, cornbread, and other soul-food standards.” Venture out! And bite into flavors served up by your neighbors.

More Info

instagram.com/tnt_rooftopchgo facebook.com/SHAKEALEG5512 facebook.com/jaysbackyardbbq uncleremususa.com macarthursrestaurant.com

Jay’s Backyard BBQ

Culture, taste blend at Anfora Wine Merchants

Anfora Wine Merchants, 128 S. Marion St., is a combination retail shop enoteca (wine library), named after a two handled terracotta vessel used in Ancient Rome to store or transport wine.

Since opening three years ago, the Pleasant District storefront has become a regional wine destination and captured national attention because of press received from the James Beard award winning drinks publication, Punch. In 2024, Anfora was nominated by USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards in the Best Wine Shop Category and placed third in the national line-up.

more indigenous grape varieties spanning well beyond the more wellknown international varietals.

A welcoming retail space engages customers upon entry, floral murals cover walls and terracotta pendant fixtures hang from the ceiling.

Wooden shelves house bottles of wine and a set of double doors give way to a cozy room with a counter suitable for hosting small classes and enjoying a glass with friends.

Anfora’s knowledgeable staff strive to make the shop a festive gathering space where people come to select a bottle to open at home or enjoy a bottle of wine onsite with friends.

Anfora is building a deeper sense of community through its wine club, annual store membership, and Sunday tastings.

Between their monthly wine club, and the annual store membership, the shop welcomes hundreds of local wine-lovers each month to pick up their curated collections, or to an exclusive monthly wine tasting for annual store members. Approximately twice a month Anfora hosts $5 Sunday afternoon casual tastings, which are open to the public to taste through five wines the proprietors love right now.

The best way to learn about Anfora’s events is to sign up for its email list (anforawinemerchants.com), or to stop into the shop and check out the monthly calendar.

“Our approach to wine at Anfora is not how a standard sommelier would approach it,” said Adrian Weisell, co-owner of Anfora Wine Merchants “Wine is about more than taste to us. We look at wine drinking through a cultural and historical lens.”

The Marion Street shop honors and celebrates, particularly, but not exclusively, Italian wines; a country with

Anfora has a dynamic wine by the glass list, but Weisell is quick to point out the entire shop is available to be enjoyed for a modest corkage.

The shelves are a retail wine list filled with unique offerings, where you’ll find bottles for the everyday, celebration, or collection.

Anfora Wine Merchants is a social destination where people embrace the thoughtful approach the entire staff takes to curate a wine tasting experience no matter if it is a private event or casual outing with friends.

128 S. Marion St., Oak Park 708-613-5388

ANFORA WINE MERCHANTS

DINE

FOREST PARK American

•BIZZY BEES CATERING

•CHARLIE’S RESTAURANT

•CHUBBY’S HOT CHICKEN

•ELBA’S GOLDEN STEER STEAKHOUSE

•FATDUCK TAVERN & GRILL

•GOLDYBURGERS

40+ DINING OPTIONS AT THESE & MORE RESTAURANTS!

EXPLOREFORESTPARK.COM

•HARVEST 365 FRESH GRILL

•JUNCTION DINER

•LOUIE’S GRILL

•MADISON PARK KITCHEN

•MCGAFFER’S

•OLD SCHOOL TAVERN & GRILL

•O’SULLIVAN’S PUBLIC HOUSE

•PARKY’S HOT DOGS

•RHYTHM & BLUES CAFE

•SCRATCH PUBLIC HOUSE

•SHANAHAN’S

•STARSHIP RESTAURANT & CATERING

•SUB TENDER

Chinese/Med/Thai

•CHINA DRAGON 2

•HABRAE THAI CAFE

•PETRA FALAFEL

•YUM THAI

•WHITE CRANE CREATIVE THAI & SUSHI

Italian

•CAFFE DELUCA

•JIMMY’S PLACE

•PIACERE MIO

•CASA HUMILDE CERVECERIA

•CACTUS GRILL

•CHIRRION MEXICAN GRILL

•DI’VINO

•MACHO’S MEXICAN GRILL

•MEXICAN REPUBLIC

•NREBOZO

•TACABRON

•FOREST PARK BAKERY

•KRIBI COFFEE

•SILVERLAND BAKERY

•THE BROWN COW ICE CREAM PARLOR

•TWISTED COOKIE

Zemi Coffee Cart owner Dominique Betancourt serving a customer.

CRedefining

COFFEE TO GO

By Risé Sanders-Weir

Contributing Reporter

affeine was never so convenient. Three mobile coffee vendors ply the area’s sidewalks, parks, parking spaces and block parties.

Spoke Cafe was a step up from the lemonade stands of Alec Olson’s youth. Four years ago, he noticed the popularity of nitro cold brew coffee at his dad’s office. His parents are his partners, but he does the brewing and selling. The OPRF high school junior often gets up at 4:30 a.m. to prep

The beans for his exclusive Bicycle Blend Coffee are roasted at Whirlwind Coffee on Madison Street. And Olson sells bean subscriptions, donating 20% from each bag sold to Beyond Hunger T he pedal-powered cart was crafted by the Oreg on-based Icicle T ricycle company. It has two taps: one for coffee and the other for root beer. In the warmer months, Olson brings ic e cream along to make coffee and root beer floats.

Olson will ride the bike up to 15 miles on weekends moving from block party to block party. He also stops at Dominican University’s Wednesday concert series. For booked events further away, Olson wheels the cart into his family’s van for quicker transit.

“I am not going to colle ge on Spoke money,” Olson said, “As an employee I do pretty well. As an investor, we’re almost there. We should get the cart paid of f this summer. But I am for sure having a lot of fun.”

Zemi Coffee Cart is owned and operated by Dominique Betancourt. In 2023 she started making coffee in her garage for neighbors. Her idea was to bring the culture and coffee of Puerto Rico to the area. With a generational connection to the island, Betancourt searched for her ideal coffee bean sourced on the island She taste-tested 25 farms before she found the one she wanted.

Her next step was to invest in a cart that could move the coffee around. She

Continued on page 42

Spoke Cafe-owner Alec Olson

PHOTOS BY RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

MyspecialtyisItalianCoffeeLavazza-OakPark’sfavorite coffee!

TheBuggyisnowgoingintoits secondyear!Itbecameastaple atthefarmer’smarket,Ridgeland Lstop,andLakeStreetatthe Library.The‘CafeBliss’isthe signaturedrink,madeofwhipped espressoovericecoldwholemilk. IpersonallyhavelivedinOak Parkfor25years,with3kids,one leftatthehighschool.Lovethis littletown!

-BelindaCarucci,owner

Continued from page 41

sourced the electric assisted bike-cart combo from a company in California called Ferla.

Zemi’s specialty is, “a Latin cafe con leche. So, basically steamed milk and I put a little different spin on it with the skadoosh of vanilla,” Betancourt said. She also serves a range ofdrip and espresso drinks, as well as coco rico (hot chocolate) for the kids and kids-atheart. A range ofmilk options and other cold drinks are on the cart as well.

Zemi Coffee Cart can be found Monday-Friday on East Avenue by Rehm Park and on the weekends at block parties and other events. The cart can be booked for events on her website.

The 22 Coffee Buggy can be found at the Oak Park Far mer’s Market on Saturdays and makes re gular stops during the week at the main branch ofthe Oak Park Public Library and the Green Line stop at Ridgeland Avenue.

Owner Belinda Carucci had a shop in the city but shut it down during Covid. While visiting her son, who was studying abroad in Italy, inspiration struck. “Their coffee bars, I

loved the way they were doing it. It’s a culture.” she said.

Back in town she started planning. First was to be sure that the village would license a cart like hers. Then she found the trailer she wanted, which was built overseas though she did the interior design herself The business was ready to roll on Memorial Day 2023.

Stocked with Italian Lavazza brand coffee, Carucci serves a variety ofespresso drinks, with decaf and milk options A specialty is the Sweet Mary: condensed milk, steamed milk and espresso. For non-coffee drinkers there is cioccolato (hot chocolate) and a select variety of canned beverages.

Carucci says the nicest thing is when, “a whole group of people are drinking coffee and chatting. It’s just the best. Coffee and community go together.”

RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR

22 Coffee Buggy owner Belinda Carucci (right)

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New Rose Catering Meal Delivery and Catering Celebrations by Us Catering

Jilly’s Jerky Gourmet Beef Jerky

Something’s Cooking Catering Corporate Catering

Sweet D'Lush Crepe Cart

Spoke Cafe Mobile Coffee and Root Beer Cart

Good Omen Gyoza Fresh Dumplings

Lil’ Greek Kitchen Catering

Rites of Wellness Herbal Remedies

The pulled pork sandwich process begins with rubbing down the pork shoulder with Q-BBQ’s Memphis rub It then marinades for five to eight hours.

Before marination, criss-cross cuts are made into the pork so flavors can be absorbed deep in the meat.

After smoking for about 16 hours in their in-house smoker, the pork is ready to be pulled apart.

How Q makes its pulled pork sandwich

It takes time, that’s for sure

By SAM TUCKER Contributing Reporter

Q-BBQ serves up infamous American barbeque styles from Texas to South Carolina. One of their signature menu items, the pulled pork sandwich, is their take on the classic BBQ staple.

Q-BBQ is a small inde pendent Chicagoland barbecue restaurant with three locations: La Grange, Naperville and Oak Park. Their Oak Park location, at 124 N. Marion St., has been in business since 2016.

On the menu, American barbeque styles like Memphis ribs, Texas brisket, and Carolina pulled pork are offered in all of their marinated and smoked styles. Ian Thompson, re gional operations manager, said Q-BBQ “mirrors the styles” of traditional barbecue.

During the “pulling” in the process of making pulled pork, the pork shoulder bone glides out of the smoked meat - a sign it’s been properly smoked. The meat is then mixed together by hand, combining the leaner and fattier portions into one mix of tender, shredded pork.

“I would say when it comes to us, do our best to stay ‘true and blue’ the re gions that we p ull from,” hompson said.

hompson said since they are a dwest-based restaurant, they try to give patrons options in the sauces and styles and educate them on what their menu entails. However, the root of their menu lies in popular traditional Southern barbeque.

The “Q-style” pulled pork sandwich, emulating the South Carolina style, has a combination of coleslaw, pulled pork and smoked gouda cheese. It’s one of the restaurant’s personal and fan-favorites on the menu, Thompson said.

The pork is rubbed down with their Memphis rub and then marinades for five to eight hours. The po rk, still on the shoulder bone, is then placed in their smoker, where it smokes overnight for usually 16 hours.

Once removed from the smoker, the morning after, the pork is “pulled”; sifted through for bones, and the lean and fattier pieces are mixed together by hand into a shredded, melt-in-yourmouth mix.

A toasted brioche bun, a slice of smoked gouda cheese, and a helping of coleslaw tops of f the simple yet classic sandwich.

3 4 5

“You’re gonna get creamy from the gouda and the slaw. You get a little more sweet from the slaw, and a little acidity. So it just adds more depth. If you’re going to add a barbecue sauce on it; for our patrons, Memphis is very popular,” said Thompson, “but for me, I’m all about the vinegar.”

Q-BBQ q-bbq.com/story-charities/ 124 N. Marion St

Hours: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Served in the “Q-style”, the pork is placed on a brioche bun with smoked gouda cheese and topped with coleslaw. Q-BBQ leaves the sauce selection for its customers’ taste buds to decide.

Alpha Baking Co . .

8424 47th St, Lyons (773) 797-3355 alphabaking.com

Advertiser & Restaurant Index

. . . 25

Amerikas Restaurant

inside front cover, 34

. . . . .

734 Lake St, Oak Park (708) 613-4254 amerikasrestaurant.com

Anfora Wine Merchants . .

128 S. Marion St, Oak Park (708) 613-5388 anforawinemerchants.com

Blackout Baking Co

210 S. Marion St, Oak Park (708) 948-7405 blackoutbakingco.com

Byline Bank .

1001 Lake St, Oak Park (708) 660-1000 bylinebank.com

Cafe Cubano

113 N Oak Park Ave, Oak Park (708) 456-6100 cafecubanochicago.com

Caffe De Luca

7427 Madison St, Forest Park (708) 366-9200 caffedeluca.com

Chef Beau’s Klean Kitchen

26 Calendar Ave, La Grange (708) 354-4844 chefbeauskleankitchen.com

Ciro Oak Park

. 39

. 34

back cover

38

9207 31st St, Brookfield (708) 485-9753

Cucina Paradiso

814 North Blvd, Oak Park (708) 848-3434 cucinaoakpark.com

Donny G’s Ristorante

7308 West North Ave, Elmwood Park (708) 456-3644 donnygs.com

Egg Harbor Cafe

1111 South Blvd, Oak Park (872) 215-3600 eggharborcafe.com

Forest Park Chamber of Commerce

PO Box 617, Forest Park (708) 366-2543 exploreforestpark.com

George’s Restaurant

145 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park (708) 848-4949

Hemmingway’s Bistro

1048 Pleasant St, Oak Park (312) 899-6059 cirooakpark.com Cordial Inn Bar & Grill

211 N Oak Park Ave, Oak Park (708) 524-0806 hemmingways-bistro.com

7225 W North Ave, River Forest (773) 818-1127 hubkitchen.com

1030 Lake Street, Oak Park (708) 848-7734 jerusalemcafe-oakpark.com K’s

Kettlestrings Tavern . . . . inside back cover 800 S. Oak Park, Oak Park (708) 613-5044 kettlestringstavern.com

1031 Lake St, Oak Park (708) 445-9032 khyberpassrestaurant.com

6710 Cermak Road, Berwyn (708) 317-5339 laparrachicago.com

7225 W. North Ave, River Forest (708) 261-6908 newrosecatering.com

Advertiser & Restaurant Index

New Star Restaurant

7444 W. North Ave, Elmwood Park (708) 453-8242

newstarrestaurant.com

N Rebozo .

7403 Madison St, Forest Park (708) 445-0370

newrebozos.com

O’Sullivan’s Public House

7244 Madison St, Forest Park (708) 366-6667

osullivansfp.com

Piacere Mio

7636 Madison St, Forest Park (708) 366-4010 piaceremiorestaurant.com

Publican Quality Bread

211 Harrison St, Oak Park (312) 736-1981

publicanqualitybread.com

Salerno’s Pizza

7128 Roosevelt Rd, Oak Park (708) 383-1500 salernospizza.com

Food Share Love Food Pantry

9030 Brookfield Ave, Brookfield (630) 347-5390 sharefoodsharelove.com

Silverland Bakery

439 Des Plaines Ave, Forest Park (708) 488-0800 silverlandbakery.com

Suga Bakers

Bellwood, Illinois 630-886-2525 sugabakers.com

74 S. La Grange Road, La Grange (708) 497-3676 swansonsdeli.com

Takeout 25

takeout25.org

22 Coffee Buggy

the22coffeebuzz@gmail.com the22coffeebuggy.com

163 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park (708) 665-3878 thecoffeeshopoakpark.com

N. Marion St, Oak Park (708) 613-5491 thelittlegemcafe.com

Madison St, Forest Park (708) 689-8029 twistedcookie.com

Italian Restaurant .

100 S Marion St, Oak Park (708) 434-5766 victoryitalian.com

of Elmwood Park

Conti Parkway, Elmwood Park elmwoodpark.org

Whether you’re seeing a movie at the Lake Theatre or strolling through Austin Gardens, we think you should be able to get all of your banking done in your neighborhood… with people who love the area as much as you do. Byline is privileged to be a part of the Oak Park and River Forest community, and we are proud to partner with local nonprofits like Beyond Hunger and sponsor local events like Thursday Night Out in downtown Oak Park.

To learn more about our commitment to Oak Park and River Forest, visit bylinebank.com/oprf

©2024 Byline Bank. Member FDIC.

Left to right: Denise Warren, Oak Park Branch Manager; Susie Goldschmidt, Oak Park River Forest Market President; Michael Starrick, River Forest Branch Manager